Soccer Fail

I had no idea that Joey was bi-polar until I signed him up for his first season of soccer. He'd wake up and put on all his soccer gear first thing in the morning in anticipation for practice that afternoon and then refused to get out of the car when practice time came. He'd jog around the field aimlessly until he was told to "kick the ball!", which would send him into a sour mood and he'd spend the rest of the quarter sulking in the middle of the field. I don't even know what to say about it...he's just a funny one, that kid. He didn't get his foot on the ball more than a handful of times all season, but he seemed pretty pleased with getting post-game treats. At the end of the day, he looked cute, and that's really all that matters;)

Mom and Dad for the win!

Oh Aaron! He actually thought that this would be the year that the boys would carve their own pumpkins. Not this year, babe. I cut out the stem, Hank and Max made a few token scrapes with their spoons before they gave up and passed their spoons to Aaron to make quick work of the gutting. But don't worry, because the boys claimed full credit for the work since they sketched the face design while Aaron tediously carved out the little shapes. The things we do for our kids, facilitating the entire activity so they can get that instant gratification of the final product. It's all worth it though to create those family memories, right?! Ben and Joey opted to paint their pumpkins (Joey painted his pepto pink and Ben chose blue). For my contribution, I helped the boys assemble bats made from peanut butter cups and Oreos. 

Student of the Month

I really have to check myself because I could brag about Max all day long. He dominates on the field/court, he is one of those kids that makes being 'cool' just look effortless, and he's a gem in the classroom. Last week Max was recognized as the Student of the Month and I couldn't be more proud of the great kid that Max is. Great job, Maxie!

My Van Gogh

If he can get his hands on it, he WILL scatter it, eat it, write with it, rub it on anything and everything, and smear it in his hair....and he seems pretty proud of himself for his artistic expression.

Cornbellies

Aaron has a lot of positive qualities, but he will be the first to admit that he is a Halloween stick-in-the-mud. He hit an all time low this year when he propositioned me with housework service and back massages if I would take the kids to Cornbellies without him. Well, the joke is on him because the boys and I (+ Nana Grover, bless her) had a really fun time at Cornbellies AND I now have a housework credit to redeem!

I thought we were being so clever to go to Cornbellies first thing in the morning on the first day of fall break, but evidently the rest of Utah had the same idea. We spent four hours climbing on tractor equipment, watching a dog show, and playing on giant slides and still didn't hit all of the attractions before we ran out of steam. 

We'll be back next year...maybe Aaron will see what he missed out on.

One-on-one time

One of the things that I struggle with most in having 5 kids so close together in age is feeling spread so thin. One-on-one time is a rare commodity. I think back on the type of mother that I was when I only had Hank and Max--taking them to the local nursery to learn about different plant species, and using leaves we'd gathered to create craft projects--and feel a little guilty that I've had to streamline many of those 'extras' out of pure necessity. I don't have time to read morning stories in bed with Joey because I've got lunches to pack and kids to get dressed. I can't push Ben on the swings at the park because I've got to shuttle Max to baseball practice and pick up Hank from scouts. So, I savor any opportunity to have one-on-one time, do an enriching activity together, or simply spend time with the boys without having to watch the clock and rush to the next scheduled item on the calendar. When Aaron took the 4 oldest to run an errand one evening, I let Rocky splash and play in the bathtub (poor kid never gets the bathtub all to himself) as long as his little heart desired and just showered him with undivided attention. Having three boys in school this year has been bittersweet: I miss being all together, but I'm also really eager to return to that mom that I used to be. 

Put that in your pipe!

I'm mailing copies of Ben's first kindergarten assessment out to every doctor who told us we should 'consider his quality of life,' 'the milestones only get harder,' and that his development 'is like kicking a puppy.' In case you can't tell from the picture, Ben recognizes all upper and lowercase letters, knows the corresponding letter sounds, identifies his shapes and colors, counts to 30, and knows upwards of 100 sight words. Of course he battles challenges every day, but he is not just passing kindergarten, he is excelling! He is easily the hardest working kindergartener out there, spending several hours outside of school each day working on flash cards, phonics games on the computer, reading books, and practicing letter formation and writing. His perseverance and hard work is paying off! I am so proud of him I could burst!

If Ben has come this far in five years, I can't imagine what he'll accomplish in the next five. Go Ben!