First week of school...check!

Well we made it through the first week of school....whew!  It has been the longest week ever!  I think that's because we've been trying to establish routines and figure out how everything works.  Overall, I am not thrilled with kindergarten here, but I guess that's the way it goes.  Having five-year-olds sit at a desk for seven hours a day with just one recess is somewhat ridiculous.  Kindergarten should be the trasition year into school, but instead they just get thrown right into the mix and are told to sink or swim.  Calli comes home each day whiney and overtired and it really tries my patience.  I know that she needs time to adjust, but I really feel that it's not what is best for her.  I understand that there are a lot of two working parent familes and having full day kindergarten benefits them, but it should be about what is best for the children, not what is best for the parents.  And the best thing for a five-year-old is not to sit at a desk all day long.  I remember kindergarten very well and there was lots of playing, along with learning.  In fact, we learned through play in a half day of school.  Nowadays they push the kids so hard to learn things early and I just wonder why?  Are kids today graduating high school knowing so much more than I knew when I graduated?  I don't think so.  So what's the point?  Kindergarten sets up a child's foundation for the rest of their school career.  If they come home each day tired and saying they can't wait for their day off, what kind of foundation is this?  They are learning from an early age that school is something to dread and that will follow them for the next 13+ years.  My daughter should not be coming home after three days of school telling me she can't wait for the weekend.  She should come home excited and full of stories about her fun day, especially in kindergarten.

Suffice it to say, it's been a very up and down week of emotions.  We've all been adjusting to having Calli in school.  Each day I pick her up I don't know the child I am going to get; yesterday she was actually in a good mood and excited to tell me about the new folders she got to take home (three folders to take home each week, woah!).  And the pick-up process is just a joke.  They basically hold your child hostage in a certain area and you can only pick them up right there.  They told us they let the kindergartners out at 2:30pm, fifteen minutes ahead of the rest of the school because they are younger and it gives us a chance to get to them first.  This was a great idea, only there are two problems. 1) The parents in the pick up line start lining up for their older kids even before 2pm.  So if I want to sit in the pick up line I wouldn't get to Calli until about 3pm.  So really what is the point of letting the kindergartners out early?  Can I please have a special badge for my car that says I can go to the front of the line?  Thanks.  And 2) Calli's class is constantly the last class out and never out at 2:30pm.  So I go at 2:30 to pick her up and sit and wait and wait and wait.  They get there closer to the actual dismissal time.  Okay, fine, I thought she would be getting out at 2:45 anyway when we started school, but don't tell me that you will release them at 2:30 if you are not going to make it out there at that time.  It's a waste of my time to sit there and expect my child to be waiting.  And it sure would be nice if I could set up a meeting place with her instead of having to navigate the crowds inside the school, but what do I know, she's only my kid.

On a positive note, Calli has seemed to enjoy her days mostly.  She comes home telling things she's learned and that is fun to see.  She is making friends and even has one of the boys from her preschool at this school.  They are in different classes, but they get to play together at recess and she was delighted the first day of school to see him there.  She is also making friends in her classroom and has learned one name so far.  She's the only blonde girl and one of about five caucasions in her class and I guess all I can do is laugh at that.  So far there are twenty students so I guess one thing I am happy with is the student to teacher ratio.

Meanwhile my days have been quiet without Calli around.  The little ones and I have been going to the gym or running errands.  Jameson had a dermatology appointment on Thursday and has his 15 month check-up next week.  Sometimes it's hard to figure out how to drop Calli off when I have somewhere to be.  Most of the time my appointments are at 9am and we can't walk because I wouldn't have enough time to get home and shower.  But when we drive, it's much quicker to drop her off and there's too much time to head straight to the appointment, but going home for fifteen minutes seems pointless and quite a hassle.  Serena has assumed the role of "big sister" and has been helpful with her brother.  She's quite an easy child without Calli around ;).  I've been enjoying my quiet time with the two of them and we've just been playing a lot and having fun.

So here's what we've been doing without Calli during the days:

Jameson has been putting on this raccoon hat that she made at school

Serena has been enjoying having all the toys to herself

And, okay, they haven't always been getting along perfectly ;)

Where is my good karma??

Slowly but surely I have been cleaning out our house.  I've officially decluttered the entire master bedroom and bathroom, two linen closets, the laundry room, some of the kitchen and the girls' closet...and I'm working on the garage and the living room.  It's a long and hard process figuring out the things I want to keep and the things I want to toss.  I've listed several things on craigslist, but haven't had any luck so I'm turning to other sources.  Tomorrow I have an appointment with a baby resale shop to sell some baby clothes and bigger items if I can.  So now I'm also up to my ears in laundry because of course the stores want everything washed and ironed before they will accept it, which they're not even guaranteed to do, so please cross your fingers for me!

Yesterday a donation center was scheduled to come around and pick up items left on the curb that we wanted to donate.  I got their flier in the mail a few weeks back and thought what perfect timing for us to clean out some things.  I gathered up unwanted toys, clothes in good condition, but too worn to sell and even some of my old clothes I knew I'd never wear again.  We also put out our old dresser and TV (which I'd had no luck selling).  If nothing else, we'd get a tax write off, so why not?  Plus come on, who doesn't feel good about donating!

After I dropped Calli off at school there was a knock on my door.  Thinking it was the donation workers to leave my tax write off form, I answered it to instead find a woman who had been walking her dog.  She asked if we were throwing out that old dresser (it was also trash day).  I told her that we were actually donating it and she inquired how much we would want for it.  I said I wasn't really sure and that the bottom drawer was broken, did she want to take a look?  She then told me how she had been searching for a dresser for her two new foster boys and had been trying to get their room together.  After hearing that I told her she could just have the dresser.  It wasn't as if it was in pristine shape with no scratches or knicks and the drawer was broken after all.  Besides that, we were donating it anyway and isn't that the kind of person you hope to help out?  She questioned over and over if I was sure I wanted to do that and I knew that I did want to.  She finished her walk and brought her minivan over so we could load up the dresser.  We also got to talking and she told me about being a foster mom and her family.  I ended up giving her the TV as well and she was so grateful for everything.

So this made me think that maybe, just maybe I would have some good karma coming my way.  I mean, I'm not asking for a giant check to fall out of the sky, but things going my way sure would be nice.  Okay, so at least when my car wouldn't start I was at the school picking up Calli instead of stranded at the mall wondering how I would get to her.  And it was only 95 degrees out instead of 105 (har de har har).  You gotta look for the silver linings right?!  Nonetheless, it was still beyond frustrating when the four of us walked back out to the car to go home from school and I leaned over the passenger seat to start the car and get the a/c going only to hear "clickclickclickclick".  I looked over at my sweating kids: Calli tired from a LONG day at school, Serena sitting in her poopy diaper that I wanted to wait until we got home to change and Jameson sick of sitting in his stroller and carseat all day, sweat pouring down his little face.

"Come on kids, we have to walk home".

At least we walked down the hill instead of having to walk up.  By the time we reached our little haven of cold air we were all sweating and mad.  Serena had fallen asleep in the front of the stroller and Jameson was making it known that he was not happy.  Calli was going on and on about her first fundraiser at school (REALLY?!) and selling pizza and I didn't have the patience to listen to any of them.  Once we all got glasses of ice cold water and sat under the fan for a few minutes things were better.  I was still worried about my car and because I knew nothing about cars, I didn't know what was wrong with it.  All I knew was that I needed it for the morning to get Jameson to his dermatology appointment that I had to schedule two months in advance: cancelling was not an option!  Luckily I have two fantastic friends who both offered their cars and time for the morning and I couldn't be more grateful.  It did turn out to just need a new battery and thanks to the heat and humidity here batteries last approximately 2.7 minutes.  Richard came home from work and got it taken care of and $100 later we were all happy again.

So this morning we dropped Calli off at school and then went to Jameson's dermatology appointment, which turned out to be at a later time than I thought.  Instead of going into that, suffice it to say it wasn't the greatest morning.  I paid $40 for the derm to tell me that there is nothing they can do to remove or lighten this kind of birthmark.  I have several of the same ones all over my body, but Jameson had the misfortune of getting one on his face.  Just when I was starting to see past his flat head, I have something new to get over.  My poor little flat headed, birth marked boy.  Hopefully he can find a girl someday who is in the same boat ;).  Anyway, now we have to go to a pediatric optomologist to make sure the birthmark isn't affecting his eye sight.  We can see the pigment on the skin, but have no idea what pigment is underneath it and possibly affecting his eye.  How many specialists do you think my kid can see before his second birthday??  Let's just see how many little annoyances can occur when it comes to him.

Rainbows and kittens, rainbows and kittens...I'm trying to think happy and positive thoughts!  Now where is my karma!?

Day 2

Today is a much better day.  I knew it would be and I just needed to get over the initial hump of my daughter starting KINDERGARTEN.  It is a big deal.  And you know something...I will probably have a nervous breakdown every year the night before school starts.  Why?  Because it means my kids are growing up and I have issues with accepting that and embracing change.  I want them to be my babies forever and I know that won't happen, so although seeing them take new steps in life makes me proud, it also hurts a little.

We walked to school again, but without Richard this time.  The first day of school buzz had worn off and when we got to Calli's class nearly all of her classmates were there.  We arrived about fifteen minutes early so this makes me think there are a lot of kids that come to school for the breakfast or come on buses.  She was excited to go to school this morning and had a great day yesterday.  She is very social and loved making new friends (although she can't remember their names yet!).  There is even a boy from her preschool who goes to this school.  He is in a different class but they got to play together at recess.  After we picked her up from school we went out to McDonald's for ice cream.  This will be the new tradition after the first day of school each year.

So now I'm home with two kids during the day and dare I admit, life is a little boring.  I don't really know why!  I hear from moms of two all the time that they are busy and have a million things to do and the kids are always needing something.  Maybe I am just fortunate that my little ones will play on their own and this allows me to do the dishes or do whatever needs to be done.  We went to the gym today and it was nice to get out of the house.  I also love walking to school because it is 1.5 miles round trip (pushing 50+ pounds in my double stroller, uphill the entire way to school) and I will get some exercise every day because of it.  I would love to walk to pick Calli up as well, but Mother Nature doesn't want to cooperate (I don't think she cares too much for Texas!) and it is 100 degrees at 2pm.  I drove to pick Calli up yesterday thinking that since they release the kindergarteners earlier than the rest of the school, I would be able to get through the pick up line quickly.  Well, not so because all the other parents whose kids don't get out of school until 2:45 all line up around 1:00 (okay I exagerate!) to try and get the best spot, blocking the way for us kindergarten parents to get through, which totally defeats the purpose of letting them out early.  I haven't quite figured out how we'll handle this for the next few months while it is still baking hot.  I ended up circling the parking lot and going back out to the street and managing to find a space on the road.  I think today I will leave a little earlier and guarantee a good spot on the street.  I will have to manuever the pick-up line tomorrow though because I have plans that will keep me out of the house all day and this means Serena and Jameson will fall asleep in the car on the way to pick Calli up from school.  Rather than wake them to get out of the car and get her I'll have to make her sit outside until about 3:00 when I'll finally get to her in my car.  I sure wish they wouldn't hold my kid hostage: being able to find a meeting place with Calli outside the school would be sooooo much easier, but what do I know.

My house is way too quiet.  I can actually hear myself think which is unheard of!  Jameson and Serena haven't reached that stage where they fight too much yet so life is good.  I do miss Calli during the day, but I love hearing about how she spent her time at school and what new things she learned.  I think maybe having some distance from her will give me a little patience when it comes to dealing with her and maybe I will be able to enjoy her more.  Let's hope we can get through the rest of the week now!

Enjoying her after school treat yesterday

Ready for the 2nd day of school.  A little less exciting, but still fun!

 

Hello Kindergarten!

Dear Calli,

I miss you.  I kind of didn't think I would.  At least that's what everyone told me.  "It will be nice to have a break" is what I kept hearing and thinking myself.  And while I must admit that it is much quieter, the house is a bit cleaner and the fighting has been nonexistent...I still miss having my little girl here spending the days with me.  You helped entertain your sister and brother, you drew me beautiful pictures and gave me hugs and kisses.  Now who is going to help me get snacks for everyone or tell me when I need to change a stinky diaper?

You woke up this morning so excited for your first day.  I, on the other hand, couldn't even fall asleep last night thinking about it.  I really didn't anticipate that I would feel this way.  I thought I would be sad, but I didn't realize how big a step I would think this is.  I didn't realize that all the memories of the last five years would come flooding over me; how I would think about the day you were born, replaying it over and over.  I remember thinking at some point during those whirlwind baby days that I had five years before you went off to kindergarten.  Five years seemed like such a long time, especially when you were a six pound infant.  Now you are a 37 pound, 43.5 inch little girl.  You grew up over these last five years and I have enjoyed watching you so.  I've lost my patience, I've cried, I've yelled, I've been less than perfect: but through it all I have loved the opportunity to stay home with you and raise you.  Now it's time for me to let you go on your journey through school and while I couldn't be more excited for you and proud, I am sad to see this chapter of our lives come to a close.

We had picked out your first day of school outfit last night, a pretty dress of course.  Unfortunately you were scheduled for PE today so instead of the cute matching black flats, you had to wear Hannah Montana sneakers.  But that's okay because they were purple like your dress!  I braided your hair just the way you wanted and packed your peanut butter sandwich in your new lunchbox, worrying if you would be able to open the applesauce on your own.  You insisted on putting on your backpack right away and carrying your lunchbox instead of putting it inside your pack.  I know you must have felt like such a big girl this morning.

We set off for school at 7:10am, but not before snapping many photos of this monumentous occasion.  Photos with Daddy, Mommy and your siblings were taken as well as photos of you alone, my big girl all ready for her first day of kindergarten.  You walked proudly with Daddy while I pushed Serena and Jameson in the big double stroller.  We passed lots of other kids and parents walking on our way to your new school and the excitement was growing.  As we saw the car lines forming to get into the parking lot I was grateful that we live so close and could walk so we wouldn't get stuck in that mess.

We walked into your school, an indoor campus much different from the outdoor ones I grew up with.  We turned down a few halls to find your classroom again where your teacher was outside waiting to greet everyone.  She seemed to remember you from last Thursday and was happy to see you.  We all got to walk inside your classroom with you and I helped you hang up your backpack and lunchbox on the hooks under your cubby.  You found your desk with your name on it ("my full name is Callisa, but it's Calli for short" you kept telling us) and there was a picture waiting for you to color while you waited for the bell to ring.  As you sat down I realized that this was it and it was time for us to leave you in your new surroundings.  I hugged you tight, trying to hold back the tears, blinking them back again now as I am remembering.  I told you to be good and listen to your teacher.  To have a great day and that I would miss you and love you so much.  Daddy hugged you also, slightly less emotional than me (haha) and we walked out, leaving you to conquer the world (or at least kindergarten).

Now I sit here wondering how your day is going.  I thought of you as I was making your sister and brother lunch and thinking how weird it was that you weren't here demanding a peanut butter and jelly sandwich too.  I wondered if you were running and playing during your one (don't even get me started on that!) recess of the day.  I wondered if you ate all your lunch and if you could open the juice and the applesauce by yourself or if you needed some help.  I wonder what you are doing right this instant.  I wonder if you miss me at all.  I can't wait to pick you up from your first day and hear all about the wonderful things you did today.  I hope you are full of stories and good news.  It has been somewhat lonely in this house today without you, but I'm managing.  The days will get easier and easier and I'll get used to having your gone.  But I will never stop missing you.

Breakfast on the first day of kindergarten...nothing new there!  A bowl of cereal of course.

Braiding her pretty hair

Sweet, sweet sisters!  Serena just might miss her big sister!

My BIG GIRL!

Calli in her classroom.  See ya, Mom, don't let the door hit you on the way out!  Okay, maybe she wasn't that mean, but she sure isn't one who is going to cling to me and cry.

What we've been up to lately...

Playing sock puppets

Trying to stay cool in the miserable heat

Coming up with new games to play together

Playing our last soccer game of the season

Throwing footballs (future quarterback alert!)

Building block towers

Giving me attitude

Celebrating Dora the Explorer's birthday (I just LOVE Dora, don't you!?)

Trying to keep three kids happy and entertained all day (no Richard is not completely gray, despite how this picture makes it look!)

It Will All Work Out

This is what I keep telling myself lately.  We have so many changes coming our way and it's scary to think about.  The changes are a good thing and I am excited for them, but heading into the unknown always makes me worry.  I can be a stress mess sometimes.  I'm not really a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of person.  I don't have to have every detail of my whole life planned out, but when I leave the house in the morning I like to know exactly what I'm doing that day.  I like to at least have an outline of how the future will go, but I know it doesn't work like that.  Life throws you curveballs and you learn to deal and make the best of it.  You go around them, you catch them, you just get through.

We've had plans to move for awhile now.  It's always been a dream that seemed so far off and is now slowly becoming a reality.  Has everything magically fallen into place?  No way.  But we are beginning to take steps to get where we eventually want to be.  It's scary and exciting all at the same time.

Suffice it to say, we have outgrown our house.  When we first moved in three-and-a-half years ago we were a family of three.  Calli was one-and-a-half and we had everything in front of us.  We were extremely optimistic, thinking this was the house we wanted to be in forever.  It is only three bedrooms, but I remember saying that the second bedroom was big enough that two kids could share if we ended up with so many.  Fast forward to three years and two more kids later and it's not working out quite as well as I'd hoped.  The master bedroom shares a wall with the girls' room, which means there's no separation of the master from the other rooms.  There's no extra room or game room upstairs for the toys to go, so we turned the unneeded dining room downstairs into the playroom.  The problem is, the toys have quadrupled since we moved here and they don't exactly stay in the dining area.  They get scattered throughout the living room and kitchen too, causing us all to trip over things every time we walk.  The toy box is overflowing and yes, I know that is our own doing, but it sure would be nice to have somewhere else to put all those toys!  Even if we didn't have a toy room, it would be nice for the kids to each have their own bedrooms and enough space to put the toys in their rooms.  I envision in our next house a small basket of toys downstairs and everything else upstairs; out of sight, out of mind!  At least when people come over the first thing they see won't be a gigantic mess and toys galore.

Aside from outgrowing the house, the neighborhood is going downhill.  It makes me worried that our home values are only going to drop the longer we wait because I don't think this neighborhood is ever going to be what I had hoped.  The new HOA board seems to be useless, there is graffiti everywhere (which is a big problem all over this city, but since this is our neighborhood I notice it specifically here), people let their dogs run loose all over (hello, ever heard of a leash law?) and the crime isn't great.  The last straw for me was going out for my evening run last week and seeing four police cars across from the park and someone being arrested.  I don't feel safe.  I don't feel safe for my kids and it's really not fair.  I've read of gang activity happening at the basketball courts near us and one time we were at the park when some police officers showed up asking if anyone had seen a knife in the trash cans because they had gotten reports that someone put one there.  I couldn't leave fast enough!  I have not heard great things about the schools and to be fair, I will reserve judgement until my kid actually attends.  I am a believer that even if you don't go to the best schools, you can still have the best teachers. 

My point with all this is: even if you took moving to California out of the equation, we would still want to move.  Knowing that it is in the equation, however, makes moving that much more appealing.  We are trying not to rush things, but timing everything is so hard.  There's no saying how long our house will take to sell or how long it will take Richard to get a job.  I worry about us finding a buyer before he has a job lined up.  I worry about him getting a job and us not having a buyer!  Who knows how long our house could be for sale in this market.  Every time I go out for a run I feel like I see more and more houses popping up for sale in our neighborhood.  I like to think that we have a great location, on a cult-de-sac down the street from the park and pool and 3/4 mile from the elementary and middle schools.  We have a great backyard, even if it does lack privacy, but that is fixable.  I hope these things are enough to make someone choose our house over the one down the street.  I worry about selling at all: why should someone buy our house when they can drive down the freeway and build their own new house for the same price?

The truth is, most of the things we worry about in life aren't worth fretting over.  It will all work out.  One way or another, it will all work out!  I keep thinking about "what ifs" and then realize that we will cross those bridges if we even come to them.  It's no use worrying about things if they might not ever even happen.  It's easier said than done, but I am working on adopting this attitude.  This doesn't mean we'll just act impulsively and hope everything will be okay.  We've made informed decisions every step of the way thus far and we will continue to do so.

As of now I am getting the house ready; decluttered, cleaned and staged.  I am throwing out the old and broken items we've been hoarding, selling things on craigslist and getting together bags to take to Goodwill.  The garage is being cleaned out, the pictures are being taken down, things are being packed up.  We are preparing to put this house on the market and see what happens.  We've set a tentative date for the week after Labor Day and everything is moving forward.  This is a big step for us; our first home sale!  I know it won't be easy and I know I have some hard days of scrubbing and packing ahead of me, but in the end it will all be worth it.  I don't know when it will happen, I don't know exactly how or even exactly where we'll end up.  All I know is that one way or another, it will all work out.

Yes I have two big sisters...

Why do you ask?

Maybe I just enjoy dressing up in purple tutus and aprons, did you ever think of that?

My Almost Kindergartener

It's hard to believe that a week from today my baby girl will be going off to school.  I will be packing her backpack, making lunch, getting her dressed, loading up the kids and making the 3/4 mile trek to the elementary school where she will begin her education.  It's the beginning of thirteen years of school, and hopefully another four after that.  It is such a bittersweet feeling.  It will be nice for me to just have two kids at home and to cut down on the sibling bickering.  It will be nice for Calli to make new friends and learn new things.  At the same time, I feel like I blinked and the last five years have gone by.  What happened to this itty bitty baby I gave birth to on Guam?

I remember thinking that I had five years with her.  I was always told by older mothers that they would go by in the blink of an eye, but five years sure seemed like a lifetime.  That was plenty of time to enjoy my sweet girl all to myself, to teach her and love her.  And now here we are, at the end of those five years, but at the beginning of her new journey in life.

I am so excited for her and so nervous at the same time.  Every day is an adventure and it has been so much fun to watch my first-born come into her own over the last five years.  She has grown from a six-pound infant, to a sweet toddler, to a sassy preschooler and now, a little girl.  She has her own opinions and her own voice in the world.  She is ready to take it on and is growing up faster than I can keep up.  I am scared, but I know she will be just fine.

I love you, my children! But...

Dear Jameson,
5:45am is a completely inappropriate time to wake up.  I have tried to show you, morning after morning, that my feet don't hit the floor until 6:30am.  You may as well go back to sleep (better yet, never wake up at that time in the first place!) or wait patiently and quietly until the clock hits 6:30am, when I will come rescue you from your jail.  Believe it or not, you actually need sleep (so do I, but that is beside the point).  Taking a two hour nap and then sleeping barely ten hours through the night does not qualify as enough beauty rest.  I don't know how you function.  I never had these problems with your sisters sleeping and neither of them tried to wake me up at the unGodly hour of 5:45am.  The sun has not even woken so what in the world makes you think it is okay to rise?  I am here to tell you that IT IS NOT OKAY.  Maybe one of these days you will learn.  There is no need to scream at me from your crib; I know you are in there and I am perfectly aware of what time it is.  I am also aware that you are absolutely fine, unhurt and have a clean diaper.  A little cooperation on this matter would be appreciated before Mommy completely loses her marbles.  Don't get me wrong: I am grateful you go to bed early and don't wake up at midnight or some other God awful time like you used to (please don't let me jinx it!) but before 6am??  Really?  I refuse to start bad sleep habits and let you think it's okay to wake up for the day before 6am.  Yeah, I am a mean mom!

Dear Serena,
I know you are Miss Independent lately.  After all, you are two-years-old and trying to assert yourself against your older sister and little brother.  You want to find your place in the family and I get that.  You are also trying to pass from baby/toddler to preschooler and that's a long and hard line to cross.  You have mastered the art of putting on your socks and shoes, opening your fruit snack packet, even buckling part of your carseat.  But remember, you are still a little girl and you will need help with things from time to time.  There is no need to scream at me when I try to assist you in getting your shirt off or want to help you reach something up high.  I love that you want to pick out your own clothes, but the only thing you can reach is the pajamas in your drawer and I'm sorry, but I'm not going to let you wear pjs out of the house (there's also no need to change your clothes every time you get a drop of water or food on them; this just creates an excessive amount of laundry for me).  Please remember that everything I'm doing is only trying to help you.  And I enjoy having my ear drums so kindly don't scream in them.

Dear Calli,
I know you have ears.  I remember when you were born and I was looking over every inch of you, I examined your ears quite closely.  This was because you had actual hair growing on the top of them.  It was weird and I had never seen anything like it and I immediately imagined you were going to be some hairy bohemian.  Luckily I was told the hair would go away and your ears would be beautiful (which it did and you are).  So if you could do me the favor of LISTENING with those beautiful ears, that would be much appreciated.  If I tell you not to do something, that means that I really don't want you to do it.  I am not just saying words to hear myself talk: I don't enjoy the sound of my voice THAT much.  If I have told you to do something (or not do something) five times over, please don't be surprised and whine at me when you are put in time out.  I, too, wish I didn't have to resort to that, but you've left me no choice.  If you would just open those pretty ears of yours and hear the things I tell you, these messes could be avoided.  Is it really that difficult to let your brother play with you or to not be so bossy or to stop banging on the drum when I am getting a headache?  These are good lessons to be learned since you are going off to school soon.

28...Part II

The girls at dinner

Fly on the shoulder!!

Jameson enjoying his dinner

Birthday embarrassment!

How cute is this.  Jameson loves the hat!

My cookies n cream birthday cake!

The girls singing happy birthday to Daddy

Blowing out his candles

Yay for Daddy!!

My beautiful cake has been destroyed :(.  Oh well, it was yum!

I think sangria margaritas + ice cream birthday cake = great birthday for Richard!