In the fall of 2010, Scott and I started to talk about potentially moving. Juliana was a year from Kindergarten and we were considering a move to a different school district. Soon we were looking at lots of houses and we found a few that we liked, but to buy what we needed it was going to be $$$ in our desired school district. We decided to wait to find out if Juliana made it through the lottery to the Charter School. When we found out she was going to the charter school, we put moving plans on hold.
A few weeks later, Scott’s mom called and said there was a house near us that had a price drop and it looked like it might work for us. It was in our same school district and only a mile from where we lived and slightly closer to Juliana’s school. I was firmly on “I don’t want to move!” because moving is so much work. But the next day we went to look at it – and it was a lot of house. There would be a playroom and an eat-in kitchen and a large living room. We went back the next day with my parents and soon after we made an offer. Between the original offer and the home inspection and the final agreement…there was a lot of paperwork. There were several points in the process where I was willing to walk away as we continued to find more things that we would need to fix; those were long months.
Two years ago today we moved into our home. We had closed several weeks before, but we were refinishing floors and painting rooms and moving stuff into the house little by little. A lot of smaller furniture, clothes, toys and the kitchen contents were moved into the house in the days before the big moving day. On May 16th, we hired movers to bring the furniture and appliances to our new house; the cribs and beds were set-up; and when school was done for the day, we picked up the kids and brought them here to sleep for the first time.
The house has seen a lot of changes since we purchased it.
And then we had a break, we didn’t make any major changes for a while. In the fall we replaced the garage doors – this winter there was no longer a cold breeze blowing in the garage when the doors were shut.
We also had two large trees taken down in front of the house.
We have a large project in progress behind the house, but that isn’t quite done yet. We still need new windows, and some updates in the kitchen, and …there’s always another project on the list.
If you want to see real change – look at how much these 3 have changed in the past two years – what happened to my babies!
Ah, Mother’s Day. The children are pleasant and spend the day with their father while the mother sleeps in, goes to brunch with friends, and has a relaxing day. Oh…that’s just folklore?
Don’t get me wrong, Mother’s Day did not go unrecognized. The children brought home projects and cards from school and Scott sent lovely flowers to me! Sunday morning the kids helped Scott make waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. Yummy! Ruslan was so pleased with himself that he had helped make breakfast for me, although all he ate was the whipped cream.
Most of the weekend was filled with normal activities. The kids were up early each morning (6:45 Saturday and 6:30 Sunday). Saturday morning Scott took Juliana to her soccer game and then they spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon together. While Scott was on soccer duty, I was taking the boys to a birthday party.
The boys had two hours of wild climbing and jumping and running. They hit the climbing wall early and often. At one point one of the other mothers commented on how quickly Ruslan could climb the wall and I responded – yes, that’s why we had to install bars over his bedroom windows. She wasn’t quite sure how to respond.
They had a great time and I love this picture!
My brother came to town to visit my mom for Mother’s Day and he and my parents were waiting at my house when we returned from the party. The boys and Juliana absolutely love their Uncle Nick and they hadn’t seen him since Christmas. They played with a matchbox car track for a while.
Then they moved on to Legos and Nick built a tower higher than the boys – I’m not sure if it was more exciting when they were building it or when it crashed to the floor.
Then it was Juliana’s turn and she and Nick played a bunch of board games and munched on dry cereal together. They were all sad when it was time for Nick to leave.
Wyatt has been waking Ruslan up early the past few days and Ru was suffering today. By noon on Sunday everything was a meltdown and it was clear he needed to nap. He doesn’t typically nap anymore, but he didn’t fight it. He even asked for footie pjs and for me to rock him.
While Ruslan slept, Wyatt and I hung out in the playroom together and then I snuggled a sleepy Ruslan when his nap was over. And then the boys had some quiet time together (Wyatt insisted on footie pjs when he saw Ruslan).
Juliana was great all day. Anytime I did something for her she responded with “You are the Best Mom!”. Ruslan spent the second part of the day bothering Juliana – hitting, taking things from her, etc. Things I said to him: “Stop wiping your hands on Juliana’s pants!”, “Don’t kick her!”, “Take your corn dog stick out of your sister’s ear!!!” You get the idea.
I usually have a glass of wine once they are in bed for the night. Yesterday I had to break out the wine while they were eating dinner to survive the final hours. It’s a good thing they are so cute!
A few months ago I learned that the first graders would be studying poetry in the last trimester. As part of that segment, they would be reading and writing poetry and working together to critique each other’s work. Then each student would select their best poem (what they thought was best) and read it at the First Grade Poetry Café.
Juliana did her own hair and it was neatly pulled back in the front and somewhat less smooth in the back. A 100% authentic Juliana look. They all wore black t-shirts and jeans for the event and instead of clapping for their peers, they snapped their fingers.
The poems were divided into categories and each category was introduced by one of the students. Each poem included a picture that was displayed on the Smart Board behind the student as they read their poem.
There were poems about people and animals and places and sounds. Several poems made me laugh and a few brought tears to my eyes. One of the girls wrote a short poem titled – My Godmother Died – I wasn’t expecting such deep content from a first grader.
Juliana’s poem was included in the section about Sounds. Poems included: Sounds I hear at school, Zoo Noise, and Juliana’s poem Outside.
Outside by Juliana Connelly
Outside you can hear birds
chirp chirp chirp
You can hear the wind blow
f f f f f f f f f f f f
Hear the trees sway
sh sh sh sh sh sh
The crickets
clik clik clik
Hear the bees
buzz buzz buzz
I was so proud of how confidently she stepped up on the platform to read her poem loud and clear. I was incredibly shy in first grade; I bet I would have whispered. When we first started to talk about Poetry Night, she told me that she was scared to talk into the microphone in front of everyone. A few weeks ago she told me that she was still nervous but if she was going to be famous someday, she would need to get used to being in front of lots of people.
When the event was over, Juliana happily ran off to the playground to play with a few of her friends. Always the social butterfly.
Both boys talk so much now. They have a lot to tell me and each other and they have started imagination play where their stuffed animals talk to each other – there is a constant stream of words flowing at our house.
It is a lot of fun to watch them and I love listening to them talk to each other in the backseat. Except when the chatter sounds something like this (which happens often).
Ruslan: I saw a big truck.
Wyatt: I saw the big truck too.
Ruslan: No you didn’t. It was on my side. Only I saw it.
Wyatt: I DID SEE IT!!
Ruslan: NO you didn’t. Only me.
Wyatt: I DID!!
Ruslan: NO YOU DIDN’T.
They also like to comment on my driving. “Mommy, pass that car!” “Pass that motorcycle!” “Yay, Mommy drives FAST!!!” This is followed by cheering and applause. I tried to explain that I am only passing the slow cars…
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I heard the bathroom door open and close while I was in the shower one morning.
Me: Who is in Mommy’s bathroom?
Quiet, little voice: me
Me: What is your name me?
*giggle, giggle, giggle* Wyatt
When I got out of the shower he pointed at my nipples and asked what they were followed by: “Are those hot? Will they burn me?”
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Ruslan: I want more Orange juice please.
Me: The orange juice is gone.
Ruslan: Mommy! We talked about this!
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I walked into the playroom to find Ruslan standing against the wall.
Me: What are you doing Ruslan?
Ruslan: Not pooping in my underwear.
He wasn’t, but I think he wanted to.
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At the store
Wyatt: Mommy, get those, buy those!
Me: No, they have too much sugar.
Wyatt: I LOVE SUGAR!!
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I heard a little boy coming down the stairs one morning.
Me: Who is that little boy coming down the stairs?
Ruslan: It’s me, Ruslan.
Me: Is Wyatt awake?
Ruslan: Yes. I talked to him. All he said was “blah, blah, blah”.
I had all sorts of ideas for the boys’ birthday cake and I finally decided on a construction themed cake. I found mini construction vehicles and had plans to destroy a perfectly good chocolate cake. I made a basic cake, ripped a crater in half of it, and frosted the rest. Then I positioned the vehicles and filled the dump truck with chunks of cake. Here is the final product.
The boys were very excited when they saw the cake. They waited patiently while we sang Happy Birthday.
As soon as the candles were removed, two little hands inched close to the cake.
It wasn’t long before the trucks were being used to dig more holes in the cake and the boys were scooping up handfuls of cake.
And then they ate cake out of the trucks.
If you make a construction cake…little boys will trash it and have so much fun in the process.
Tuesday was Wyatt’s first day of preschool! Last week and over the weekend people kept asking him if he was excited about starting preschool. He would nod his head but in typical Wyatt fashion there was no great enthusiasm.
Tuesday morning he didn’t kick and scream when it was time to get dressed and . . . → Read More: Wyatt’s First Day of Preschool
Juliana was a tiny baby when Bitty Baby arrived for her first Christmas. As a toddler, Juliana would occasionally carry Bitty around and play with her accessories. But usually after a week of play, she would forget all about her for months.
Every morning at drop-off for weeks, I would hear those words in the school hallway. One of the toddlers from Ruslan’s former class tugging on their parent’s arm to get their attention, pointing and saying “Ruslan goes to preschool now!”
Ruslan started preschool on January 22nd and he was so excited to finally move up. The first . . . → Read More: Ruslan Goes to Preschool Now
I didn’t want to be the parent who refused to believe that their child might need a little help. I didn’t want to wait until it was time for Kindergarten to realize that he wasn’t ready. I didn’t want to fail him as his mother.
The winter has been long and last weekend we had a glimpse of spring – a few days of sunshine and warm temperatures. My kids need outside time and in the winter they are stuck inside too much. Once spring arrives they will spend hours each day outside. Until then I planned to make . . . → Read More: We Pet an Elephant and Other Outside Fun
They had a great time and I love this picture!
