Cheers to 30

Yep, it happened. I had been dreading it and avoiding it the last few years, but if finally came.  I turned 30 on October 24th.  You know what?  It was not that bad.  At all.  Heck, it was a pretty freaking wonderful day! 

Zane and Violette had Thursday School from 9-1:30.  That right there was a nice break, but a group of friends got me a pedicure during that time!  I arrived at the salon to find a beautiful card and chocolates!  During my soaking a dear friend, Krista, came with a beautiful Happy Birthday Rose.  Chocolates and flowers, and a pedicure oh my! 

Tom came home with a beautiful birthday cake too. 

My big present was some gorgeous leather furniture bought a few weeks before my actual birthday.  Before any offers came in on the house, we thought new furniture would be nice.  Now that we have a new house, it will be delightful to decorate it with the new couches. 

The evening before my birthday I made a decision to chop a decent portion of my hair off too.  It was a freeing feeling.  New decade, new hair, new house, new beginning.  30 will be a great decade.  One without births, diapers, and all that goes along with wee little ones.  A decade of change and growth and despite my initial hesitation, I’m ready and am leaping into my 30’s gladly!

The sun has set on my 20’s and what a beautiful setting it was.

 

And He’s Three…

 

It was October 19th and that means a little boy in our house celebrates another birthday.  Zane Michael turned 3 years old!!  Each and every day I am so thankful for this little boy.  He’s completes our family, and I look at him with wonder in my eyes.  Blond hair and blue (mostly with a bit of green around the pupil) eyed, he truly melts my heart in many ways. 

The night before the 19th he was a bit wound up and went to bed late. He went down and about twenty minutes later I heard him shouting for me, so I go into his bedroom and he’s sitting erect in bed.  I snuggle him in and he says, “it’s tomorrow, you have to say ‘Happy Birthday Zane’ to me!”.  He was very excited about this birthday and insisted that tomorrow had arrived at every chance he got.

Saturday morning finally did come and Zane woke up way too early and ready for his birthday.  He immediately opened presents, as Tom and I rubbed the sleep from our eyes and scrambled to get coffee and the camera.  Zane loves The Incredible Hulk and his themed presents were just what he wanted.

Cake time came in the afternoon and I delivered with a Hulk themed cake.  A dear friend helped me, but I was pretty proud of the outcome and even more excited with Zane’s reaction.

All is good in the world of being three.  Zane tells anyone who will listen that he is now three and of course expectations of what he can do have dramatically increased.  This boy is a constant challenge (very similar to his big brother) but a consistent joy and we love and adore him very much!

On Sunday the sun was shining bright and he headed out to try out Zane’s new Stomp Rocket.  It was great fun for all, including Daddy, to compete on the height of the rocket and distance. 

                  

Happy Birthday Zane Michael!!

Fall Swing

It's Friday.  I spent the first hour of school at the school awarding prizes for our annual Walk-A-Thon fundraiser.  After an embarrassing trip of a stool in the Kindergarten class (not Max's) and face plant on the floor, I am sitting down relaxing as Violette and Zane toss a balloon back and forth.  The sun is glorious, shining down, bright and pure, and the air is crisp.  Fall is in full swing,  large tree swing, swing.  The type of swing that if you lean back your toes touch the sky and each pump of the legs brings you that much closer to the clouds.  The sway downwards brings tickles to your stomach.  It's a full swing Fall season and we all love it around here.

I bought sparkly acorns and pine cones to display on the table.  I am certain this was the key to receiving, negotiating, and accepting an offer on our house.  How could they not want to live where sparkly acorns are on the table?  It's big news, scary news.  It's still sinking in, and as you all know nothing is final until the closing date, and that will be in December.  As far as where we are going, that is still not solidified but we are working on it.  I'm not ready to say goodbye yet, and thankfully I won't have to for a few more months.

House woes and excitement aside, Max lost his first tooth!  That's some important stuff right there!  This front bottom tooth was hanging by the slimmest thread possible.  Noelle begged me to take it out before it got to this point, but Max was much more reluctant to me pulling it out.  He would push the tooth past horizontal and the darn thing still held on.  Finally, one strong tongue thrust and it popped out.  He was so excited, and coincidentally it was the night before school pictures.  The Tooth Fairy made her appearance and all was good in his five year old world.

Ready for School Pictures, my second grader and kindergartner:

Thursday School had their annual train ride this Thursday.  It was a cool morning with bright sunshine shining down on the open air cart.  Zane and Violette had a delightful time.  What child doesn't love a real train ride?  

With several stops for branches and a little late start we arrived home, all of us tired.  Zane was exceptionally tired and crashed on the chair.  Ahhh, to be a little one! 

The fall leaves are not the only things changing around here.  As much as we love this house, we have outgrown it.  Fingers are crossed (hesitantly) that a new house is in our near future.  One that fits our family a little better, but if not we have each other.  As far as the children are concerned, we will keep on keeping on, enjoy all the local festivities and the beautiful Autumn Season in Southern Michigan. 

Thursday School

It took me awhile to finally post my previous post about the first day of school, almost a month ago.  The days have filled up with busy tasks and my blogging has declined.  Today a fever has set in for me, which means much TV watching for the kids and I get to finally relax and get some blogging done!

So the first day of second grade and kindergarten were a success.  The next few weeks have also been a success.  Noelle is fed up with homework, begs daily not to go to school, then comes home filled with all consuming smiles and happy tales of her day.  Pretty typical!  Max loves kindergarten and of course his favorite part of the day is recess and gym class!  He has brought home a handful of "outstanding day notes" and is loving the daily routine.  He wakes up ready for the day, no complaining.  Noelle says to him, "enjoy kindergarten, it's the best time of your life  After that, it's hard work and not much fun!".  She's a bit of an old soul at times.

While Elementary plugs on, Thursday School for Violette and Zane started on September 12th.  Both were very excited!  Zane also expressed some hesitation and I had a feeling it would be a struggle with our little Zanezilla.  Upon drop off Violette hugged me, and was off, like a pro. Zane was a different story.

I took him into his room, hung up his backpack.  I held my breath as the tears were not appearing.  I turned to give him a hug goodbye and then it started.  He screamed and gripped me tightly.  I pried his fingers loose and began my exit.  He followed and held onto the door frame as I was leaving.  I looked back and saw the teachers trying to release his grip.  His obnoxious screams filled the little school, but I walked out, head held high!

I had plans get some MOPS (Mother's Of Preschoolers) things done and I also had a PTO meeting with the principal planned.  It was nice to keep busy during this time so I didn't dwell on how much I was missing them.

At pickup I was ready!  The teachers said Zane did good, although he cried most of the morning through lunch (about three and a half hours), but the screaming did die down and it was mostly soft whimpering.

Well, it's been a few weeks now and both Violette and Zane are more familiar and handling their school well! I am thoroughly enjoying this momentous weekly break.  Tom and I were even able to have a date day this past week.  He took the day off and we went out to breakfast AND lunch!  It was a large chuck of time spent together. I laughed and smiled and was able to look across the table at him unobstructed.  We both needed our little date day.  It refreshed us and  made me truly appreciate the love we have for each other.

Thursday School is good, really good! :-)

Off To School, Off To School

It has begun again.  Another year of school is upon us.  Nine months, five days a week, they are gone.  Entrusted in a teacher's care, given to them to instruct and guide their growth.  This is Noelle's third year attending full time public school and Max's first year.  That means this is, again, my third year freaking out about this start of school, wondering if, essentially, giving my children away for the next nine months is a good idea, or would they thrive more staying at home, while I do my best to home school them?  I play tug-of-war with public school vs. homeschool every year, and school wins out.  Although sending them to school seems to be the right fit for our family, it doesn't stop me from questioning and debating the decision.  Sigh.  For now I love their Elementary school and resume roll of PTO President.  Since they are not at home, I might as well throw myself into being that overly involved parent!

Tom and I asked the children on Monday, Labor Day, what they wanted to do for their last day of summer?  We gave suggestions like, go put-put golfing, go to the park, take a nature walk, etc.  They thought and decided they wanted to put a tent in the backyard.  That's all they wanted.  A simple back yard tent.  We obliged and they enjoyed.  Sometimes I shake my head at their wants, so simple and pure, nothing grand and overdone.  This is another example of how children chose to lead a minimalist lifestyle, forget the brand names, forget the fancy electronics, forget the expensive toys.  Give them plenty of love and read to them often.

So they gathered all their stuffed animals, and toy guns and engaged in creative play as Tom and I sat on the patio listening and holding hands.  Both of us were a bit nostalgic, having viewed past pictures over the weekend.  We saw baby Max, looking like a Zane's older clone, and the chubbiest baby Violette.  We were blown away and vowed to go back more often and view more photos.  Noelle was just this little pint size peanut when she received her first pair of glasses, almost six years ago.  Now, she has grown and her face completely transformed into a beautiful young lady.  Pictures of Max, before under a year old, on top of tables, so blond, so much trouble, and so Max.  Every picture of Max around a year to two years old, has us again in awe of the similarities between and Zane.  Oh, it's painful, but liberating how much our children are growing and seeing them reach milestones and start becoming their own grown little people.

Our neighbor, and Max's good friend, Luke, wandered over in the afternoon.  Luke was nervous about riding the bus and his Mom wanted to reassure him.  Noelle promised to watch out for the boys, and even said she would sit with them help them when they got of the bus and be there for them.  My heart swelled a bit at her kindness!  Max also fessed up to being very nervous and the boys went on playing.

The backpacks were hung by door and the children fell asleep with many butterflies fluttering in their little tummies.  They woke up before any alarms went off and excitedly got dressed and ate a delicious breakfast of warm homemade cinnamon rolls.  The morning was good and the excitement was in the air.  We snapped lots of pictures and headed out to wait for the bus.

I tried to get a picture of all four, but Zane was being very difficult and only wanted to be held by Daddy.  Sigh.  

The bus rounded the corner and they were off.  Ready to begin a nine month adventure! 

This year I decided to head to the school while Tom stayed with Vi and Z so I could see Noelle and Max at the school.  It was a last minute decision and the surprise on their faces when they saw me was priceless.  I'm so glad I went.  I was able to walk them to their classes and give one last hug.  

The came home from school excited about their first day, but glad to be home.  Max was tired, not used to such a long day, but full of stories with much enthusiasm.  

Violette and Zane anxiously waiting for Max and Noelle to get home.  Zane is wearing his Hugh Hefner robe!

A Little Surprise and Open Houses

Last weekend we decided to do something a little special and fun for the kiddos.  On Friday we  told them that on Sunday we would be going for a little overnight  trip.  We didn't give details, but after much pestering, gave them little hints, like, "we are going somewhere fun" and "you will need a change of clothes and maybe a bathing suit".  In other words, we gave them not much to go on.  Their minds were abuzz, coming up with many options and possible scenarios.

Sunday came and we packed up and left the house around 2:30pm.  We told the children we were going to make one stop first at Cabela's, then continue onto our destination.  We wandered Cabela's, admiring the animals, and large fish tanks.  They laughed and smiled and enjoyed the little detour.  After checking out with the obligatory fudge we told the children we had a few hour drive.  Everyone belted themselves in and readied for the continued drive.  We pulled out and quickly turned into the Dundee Splash Universe waterpark right next to Cabela's.  Tom and I yelled out, "Surprise!  We are staying here for the night!" They cheered like we were THE  Greatest Parents On Earth!

The suite we checked into had two bunk beds, a little sitting room, and then a separate king size bedroom.  It was perfect for our family of six, with enough room to accommodate all of us.  Room service pizza was ordered and then we suited up for the water park.  We spent several hours floating down the lazy river and going down the water slides countless times.  Noelle and Max were pleasantly surprised they were tall enough to ride the water slides without an adult.  Violette had to ride with Tom or I, but that was fine by us.  Zane was just shy of riding them, and I was more than happy with that since I didn't think we was old enough, or water skilled enough to even attempt them.  There were other little slides for him and he loved holding onto me and cruising down the lazy river again and again.

After a few hours we headed to the room for the night.  In the morning the water park was again utilized and we all had such a great time.  Only twenty minutes from the house, it was the perfect end of summer family getaway for us all.  They are still taking about the fun they had!  No pictures were taken due to our distraction, but part of me is glad we didn't take many pictures.  Tom and I were focused on enjoying every minute with the children.  We laughed and played like kids.  It was a magical overnight trip to be remembered for years to come.

After returning to the real world, we had school open houses this week.  Max was so excited and ready to see his classroom.  Luckily he will have the same Kindergarten teacher as Noelle had.  He was very familiar with the classroom and teacher, so his comfort level was sky high.  He explored the room with a smile planted on his face, finding his name on his assigned seat with ease.

This year will be a great one for him.  He even found out his good friend and neighbor, Luke, will be in his class.  Having a buddy in class before school even starts is a major plus for a boy's first full time school adventure.  He is growing so much and I am ready to let him fly away.  

After visiting Max's classroom we headed onto Noelle's.  The big deal in second grade are desks.  Noelle couldn't wait to find her own personal desk.  She lifted the top and looked in with awe.  I smiled at the simplicity of a desk, with looked on with joy at her excitement.  This is big time in her eyes, and she's right.  Second grade IS big time!  I have no doubt she will, again, flourish during  this school year.  She is our book worm. 

Thursday brought along with it Violette's first ever Birthday Party, by herself, and her open house for Thursday school.  Aunt CC came for a short visit and even did Violette's hair for the tea party themed birthday.  She looked like a little princess and due to the timing, wore her outfit to the open house.  She was familiar with Thursday School, as Max attended last year, and excitedly explored her classroom and found her labeled seat.  This will be a good year for her too!

After much speculation, I decided to sign Zane up in the Spring for Thursday School as well.  On a side note, that means from 9 to 1:30pm, every single Thursday I will be kid free.  Let me repeat that, kid free for four and a half hours, every single Thursday!!!!!  At first I was not sure, now I'm seriously counting down the days until September 12th, their first day!  Zane dove into his classroom and started to play.  He is very excited about Thursday School, but keeps asking me, "you're going to stay with me, right?".  I know that there will be many tears for him, but I put him in the two year old class (even though he's turning 3 in October) knowing that they are very good at dealing with criers, and will handle his hesitation well.  

He's our monster for sure, but the structure this once a week preschool will offer can only be good for him.  He will be a challenge for the teacher, I'm sure of it, but in the end this can only help.  I write this trying to convince myself of our decision! 

This will be a good school year, albeit, busy,  but good for us all!  

Swim Fishy Swim

We had to get one session of swimming lessons in this summer and I was able to get all four of the children in.  Although lessons start at age 3, Zane is almost there and they let him sign up.  I had reservations about our little Zanezilla, and they were correct.  He even inspired this lovely blog post on our local Great Start Blog. (click on "Great Start Blog" to read it)

This boy is T.R.O.U.B.L.E.

Each child was in a different class, positioned around the pool.  I tried to float around the pool, making sure each one noticed I was watching them, when all I really wanted to do was sit in the lounge chair with a book and take those thirty minutes to myself.  I brought the book, to every single one of those 10 lessons, and never once did I open it.  I thought about it, but then as I glanced around the pool I would see little heads poking above the water, searching for me, wanting me to see their new skill.  I couldn't get lost in a book, their precious faces were too wonderful to pass up.

They each did well in their respected classes, learning new skills and working on ones already learned.  Each morning they all got dressed with excitement in their steps.  Well, most of them did.  Zane rebelled the first week, but the second week was much better.  Over all Bohn Pool puts on some great swim lessons and on the last day they had fun, hit up the water slide, played games, and jumped off the diving board.

They love the water and one day we hope to have a pool, but for now we'll enjoy swimming lessons and kiddie pools.