3 DOWN, 1 TO GO...The boys are ALL in School!

Yesterday was the end of Week 2 into the 2014-2015 school year and so far, everyone is doing really well!

Connor is loving kindergarten. Amazingly enough, no tears were shed by either of us on his first day (yay!) and every day he excitedly bounds out of the school doors to tell me all about lunch. Lunch is his favorite part of the day. What can I say, he loves to eat! And apparently, he really loves to eat the ''vegetarian'' options. He's had salad, salad with pasta noodles, a special tray that had cracker chips, yogurt, cheeses, celery and carrots. He usually tells me all about lunch, then all about PE or Recess and then something completely random and off the wall.

We did have a little hiccup when on Wednesday when I received a call from the school nurse. Connor had puked while skipping in PE but felt ''much better'' and had wanted to continue to play. Unfortunately for him, I had to pick him up. A quick doctor visit confirmed that all that running, got him to coughing and that the cough combined with a slight 'crackle' sound in his lungs earned him a preventative inhaler for the next two weeks. As bummed as I was, I have to say to go an entire year without an inhaler was a huge milestone for my little peanut. 

And the other boys? They are loving third grade and second grade.

Logan was actually assigned the same 2nd grade teacher that Ryan had and while he likes Mrs. G, he usually tells me all about how she called him ''Ryan" x amount of times today. His patience is a little thin but I explained how when she sees our last name, she naturally wants to say Ryan when calling attendance. And how they do look a little alike, so to give her some time. His best friend from first grade is in his class, so the two always choose to sit by each other (oh and he loves the ''open seating'' option that his teacher has). So far he hasn't had any homework but he is concerned because he remembers how much Ryan had last year. (Not a lot at all but Logan has never had a teacher who assigned much!).

Ryan was a little anxious about starting 3rd grade. When the class lists were posted, he realized that he didn't have any friends in his class (he did recognize a few names).  But now at the end of week two he is much more at ease. Apparently he is mostly in his class with his teacher, but for language arts they swap with another class so he has a different teacher. Then for block/specials (PE, Art, Music, Computers) they are the ''rainbow'' group so the entire class splits up and goes with other classes on different days so he is getting the opportunity to meet a lot of kids from other classes. I'm hoping that Ry might come out of his shell a little bit this year.  I know at home he is much more verbal and opinionated! The attitude of an 8 year old can be shocking some days.

And little Sis? She's loving all that time to herself. The first few days were a little rough; she missed her brothers. She would ask if it was time to pick them up. She would talk non-stop. But by this week, she was loving that alone time. Last Friday Ron had off so we took just Maggie and headed down to Galveston. She loved it. She got to walk on the beach and pick up shells, she got hold our hands and do the 1,2,3 swing. We went out  for seafood at lunch and she got her own steam-pot of crab, shrimp, sausage, corn and potatoes. And she behaved so well and helped clean the table at lunch, so the waitress gave her a plastic shark toy...her day was totally made. She was telling people ''I'm just one kid today!". Totally adorable and such a different dynamic.

Overall, it's been a really smooth transition. They all wake and get ready pretty easily. Connor has had a few mornings where he really wanted to just stay home with me (not because he dislikes school but because he ''just loves me so much''). Those mornings are rough because of course I want to say, "okay you can stay home and snuggle" but I don't, I walk him to school and he does great. His teacher actually approached me after school yesterday and wanted to let me know that she is so impressed at how well he is doing, both academically and socially.In fact, they earn tickets each day but can lose the tickets for bad behavior/not listening...Connor had the most tickets out of anyone in the class; he has never lost a ticket. He got to "shop" the prize wall on Friday and gets to bring a stuffed animal to school on Monday. He was elated to hear that!

It's been two weeks...

Since we touched down on US soil and I have to say, it's great to be back. We arrived August 8th/9th and luckily didn't suffer any jet-lag. Okay, let me rephrase that: The kids and I didn't suffer any jet-lag. B however slept WAY too much on the long flight over and his internal clock was all sorts of backward. We departed Italy at 10:55am on Thursday morning, landed in San Antonio TX at 8:30pm Thursday night (or what felt like 3am to us). However, I hadn't slept the night before we left so I was up a good solid 24 hours by the time we landed in Texas. The kids napped on the plane, but no longer than 2 hours (long enough for me to watch 'Pitch Perfect' uninterrupted). B however was in a seat all by himself as they couldn't get us grouped together (we were seats A-F on the plane but that left him sitting by a stranger rather than in a set of seats with one of us) and was able to nap much much more than I.

And I'm not gonna lie, I was ticked off. I was doing everything for the kids because a) I am their mom and always the first choice when they need water/potty/break up a fight and b) I was in arm's reach for 3 kids at a time. Every time I looked over and saw B peacefully sleeping I hoped that the person behind him would kick his seat-back. 

But little did I know, this worked out in my favor. Once we got off that last plane and settled into the hotel, I was O-U-T. He however, was restless. And for the first 3 nights we spent in Houston, the kids and I went to bed between 9-10pm and slept soundly all night. B was up at 2am taking Rascal and Lucca outside because they were all awake.

So, the kids and I did fine off the bat. We left San Antonio for Houston, got settled into the hotel here. Now when we landed in Italy, were in the hotel for 7 weeks so we know hotel-living. The room we have here is a suite; a kitchen, living room, one bedroom with 2 queen beds and a bathroom and another bedroom with a king bed and bathroom. It's nice but it's small. And as eager as we may get to leave, we have to wait 6-8 weeks for our household goods to arrive regardless of whether we buy a home or rent. So we unpacked, established some rules (like where toys go) and settled in.

Ron was adjusted by the fourth day which was great because he started work that day too. While he was at work, I was setting up meeting with our Realtor to look at homes. (We did leg work before ever arriving in Texas and knew which school districts we would consider, which towns and we had already been in contact with a mortgage banker and had a pre-qualification letter to buy our first home. Our Realtor already knew our budget and our must-haves so he literally just needed to start showing us homes). It took two days and 12 houses but we found ''the one'' for us and submitted an offer on the 13th. There was a day of negotiations (the biggest issue was the closing date...they wanted to wait until October 8th which just isn't an option for us) and we wanted a standard 30 days. We ended up negotiating to a date of Sept 20th. We set up a date/time for the inspection for that Friday and hunkered down to wait.

It's important to note, we weren't alone. Wednesday afternoon, Nanaw and Papa came to Texas! There was no way my mom was going to missing seeing us now that we were stateside. So we kept very busy. Children's museum, Kemah Boardwalk, Galveston Beach, we did it all and we did it Thursday- Saturday. (Pics to come, I don't have my computer yet obviously). So while we knew the inspection was done, we knew what the report was going to say for the most part...we just stopped and enjoyed the weekend.

Well apparently this made the sellers antsy. They are in contract to buy another home and it's contingent on theirs selling. So when the inspection was through and they received a copy/summary from their agent but didn't hear from us, they started to get concerned that we weren't happy. (We totally were but we just hadn't had time...Ron was back at work and we had planned to get in touch with our agent after he got off work Monday night to discuss what was next). Their agent called ours THREE times on Monday. They were offering to correct things before we could say anything. So we talked with our agent and came up with an amendment...lowering the asking price for a few repairs as well as them fixing two things prior to us moving in). We sent it off and Tuesday morning got word that they agreed. No countering, no negotiating, they gave us just what we wanted. Our agent drew up papers, we signed. Then our lender sent over the final locked in mortgage rate and break down and we signed. We're getting the house!

In addition to all the new house excitement, on Wednesday I got Ryan and Logan enrolled for school. They have their meet and greet tomorrow where they will meet their teachers and see the school. Classes start Monday! So we scrambled and got their school supplies together and they are ready.

So in two weeks we adjusted to jet lag, moved into a hotel, spent 3.5 days with my parents, went sight-seeing, put an offer on a house, enrolled our kids for school, got back to school hair-cuts, and signed the final papers to buy our first home. And we did it all with one vehicle as we still haven't found a beater car for B to use to commute to and from work. But considering all we did get done, It's been a pretty productive two weeks!

I now have a 1st grader and a 2nd grader

Where does the time go? I mean really. I cannot believe that the school year has ended already! While I remembered to take the boys' photos, you'll note a few differences. Like, they don't have shoes on. Of course they wore shoes to school but the ones from the beginning of the year no longer fit. I mean both boys went from a size 11.5 shoe to a size one and that's staying in the same brand (Converse All-Star). My boys may be small for their ages but they each grew quite a bit this year.

**Please ignore any typos (shoe 1 shoe...really!?) it's almost 10:30pm and I'd have to redo the whole thing**

 

Now granted, I didn't do a very good job of sizing up the photos, I should have stood much farther back but alas it is too late now. (And I can't even fake it and have a redo because I buzzed all their hair off!) Needless to say, they grew up a little this year!

Gah! Talk about a blogging hiatus...

So I kinda took an unintentional month long break from blogging there...I was busy living life, instead of just sharing and telling about it.

We had Halloween parties and B leaving for a couple weeks for work. One mama with four kids, in the middle of cold and flu season left us with some pretty rough days. We had ear infections and sinus infections, antibiotics, vaporizers and doctor appointments. Add in a puppy who I'm trying to house train and who is also on antibiotics, a torrential amount of rainfall and flooding, 6 days of no school due to parent teacher conferences and Veteran's day, then the day to day chores and lastly Mom catching the stomach flu and whew...a whole month flew by since my last post!

I could say ''Oh it wasn't all bad" but honestly, it was rough. I'm used to B working overtime or going TDY for a bit here and there but this time he got to return stateside while I stayed back dealing with everything in Italy. That was a tough pill to swallow. He got to see my family, his family, he got to meet my new baby nephew, he was able to catch up with friends and cousins and shop at Walmart/Target. He went to the casino, ate Mexican food and shop at ''real'' Malls. He got to sleep in on weekends and stay out as late as he wanted. Yes, he attended a course for work while home, but he also got to have a lot of fun. And he got to see Kansas in the Fall. I love the colors and the crisp air that Autumn brings. Needless to say, I was (and I still am) uber-jealous.

And I don't mean to sound like a Debbie Downer...we tried to have fun too! We did see ''Wreck it Ralph", we went to our favorite garden store and saw their Christmas display. We went to the park and playground, we took photos for our Christmas cards (not once...not twice...but THREE trips to the park in order to get a decent picture). We made pizza, we had our lazy pajama/movie/xbox days too. We played outside, we played with the doggies...heck we even taught Lucca how to fetch!

Bubba and Pooks each had their parent teacher conferences. Both are doing outstanding!

According to his teacher, Pooks is a well rounded student. He is on track socially and developmentally. He scored mostly "CD"s on his report card with a few "P"s as well. (P= progressing, CD= consistently displayed). He is doing very well in his Language Arts as well as reading and letter recognition. He went into kindergarten recognizing all letters of the alphabet, upper and lowercase, but now he knows almost all of the phonics as well. He's recognizing numbers, patterns and shapes. Socially, he's on track. He's a good listener  he works well with other students....I could go on and on, but he's doing great! Mrs. T even joked about putting in a request now, to have Peanut in her class later.

Bubba is doing just as well. Mrs O said that he was an ''ideal student'' and she wished her own kids had been so well behaved and eager to learn. She thinks that Bubba consistently displays a desire and a true interest in learning. He's a good listener, he follows instructions, he is one of the students in class that doesn't need reminded to stand still in line or to get his snack, etc. He remembers to do his homework and does it well. He is reading at a level "I" which is right where he's suppose to be. Mrs. O said that his listening comprehension skills are good and his spelling is too. Each week they have a spelling test of 12 words and Bubba has never missed more than one word (and correct capitalization counts for/against as well). He loves art, he's great at drawing pictures for his stories and he is just right where he should be.

As a mom, I left those conferences BEAMING with pride. When you have two kids so close in age, it's kinda nerve-wracking  I'll be honest, I knew Bubba was doing well at school. He takes him homework sheet very importantly, he's constantly reading (for fun), he's never been in trouble and I've always heard good things about him from any/all of his previous teachers. But, I was slightly nervous about Pooks. He's in kindergarten, it's all new to him. He isn't as slow and methodical as Bubba. He rushes through his homework to get it done (and while it's often done hurriedly, it is correct). He gets antsy and things sometimes come easy to him which means free-time, which means he gets bored. So hearing that they're both excelling, made me proud. They got to pick out a book from the book fair and go out to lunch with mommy to our most favorite Italian restaurant while their little siblings were in hourly care/preschool.

And those little siblings? They're doing well too! Peanut will be four (FOUR!!) on Monday. He's been going to a preschool program on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30-1:30 and while he's there, I've been putting Sissy in the toddler class for the same time. This gives me a break *yay* as well as time to volunteer in the older boys' classrooms (Bubba's class on Tuesday, Pooks class on Thursdays). He absolutely loves Miss Barbara, he has his little friends, he likes the lunch that he gets to eat and he naps there...he won't nap at home anymore. He has learned to write and spell his name, he knows all of his colors and shapes, he can count to at least 20. He has begun spelling small words (fun, me, go, no, yes...etc). He is always very excited to tell me what they did that day, what he got to eat and what friends he played with.

Sissy is still just a spitfire. She sweet and cuddly and lovey one minute and rough and tumble the next. She has been in the toddler class since she turned two and she also thoroughly enjoys going to ''school'' as she calls it. She has recently shown a huge interest in using the potty and has been going on the potty at school and staying dry the whole time she is there. Home is a bit different...she does sit on the potty but her success rate isn't as high. She constantly asks for a ''school potty'' which is impossible since it's a real toilet  just miniature in size. She is petite for her age (22lbs and wearing mostly 18mos clothing) so the "big potty" truly is BIG. She's staying dry at night, she can pull her pants up and down. Once we conquer the fear of the falling in, she'll do great. She is also learning her colors and loves to tell you when something is "purple'' or ''green'' (her favorite colors to say).

Overall, things are great. This month definitely had it's ''hiccups''. But this week is Thanksgiving! We're hosting which should be fun. Then Peanut's party will be on Saturday (a Curious George themed breakfast party). Pretty soon it'll be Christmas which means we will have lived in Italy for an entire year. That seems crazy!

I have a first grader and a kindergartner!

Labor day weekend brought big changes to our little household: the ''big'' kids are now back in school! Bubba actually started before Pooks (while they go to the same school) the kindergartners start a week later than everyone else. During that week we had Kindergarten orientation and then a ''home meeting'' with his teacher. I love the concept! It's so she can meet with the kids on a one to one, face to face meeting and get to know them. Their home life (names and how many siblings, any pets) how they read/write/draw, what they want to learn this year, etc. Pooks loved having her over and when the first day of school did arrive, he wasn't nervous!

Here was Bubba on his first day...

 

obligatory photo with mom before leaving the house

 And there he goes....my official First Grader! He didn't even look back. He was very excited that several of his friends were in his class this year and he was ready. No tears, not even a good-bye hug. So mature!

And one week later, it was Pooks' turn. We actually missed the bus so I had to drive them to school and was able to take a few more pics...

We did his stats the same day as Bubba's (Pooks' orientation) hence the different outfit below...

 

He did AWESOME! I got him all dropped off with his class and the parent's say goodbye as a group to all the classes, while still outside. As much as I missed walking him to his classroom and getting him settled (like I did with Bubba in kindergarten) this was much easier emotionally on everyone involved. There were no tears y'all!

So the next day, we made sure to HURRY and we got to the bus with a few minutes to spare. He was so stinkin' excited to ride that bus:

 So there you have it, my two big school aged boys!

Oh and my BFF Amy, volunteered in the Kindergarten class that first day so she took some of Pooks, just to reassure me that he was fine and doing great...

He got to be the Reporter for the Day.

Eating his first ever School Lunch!

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR THE SUMMER...

It feels like he's the last kid on facebook earth who is finally on summer vacation, but all that matters is that it's finally here! No more getting him up at 6:40am. No more waking the little kids up to pick him up from the bus stop either. Woohoo!
We don't have too many plans this summer. I want to go to Cinque de Terre for a weekend. We plan on returning to Venice and Lake Garda. My parent's are coming out at the end of July and staying for a few weeks! That is definitely the highlight. We're planning on going to Garmisch, Germany on one of the weekends that they are here. Definitely gotta stop in Austria and/or Switzerland too! We want to take them to Lucca and to Pisa to see the leaning tower. I want to go to some places that I've never been to: Jesolo Beach and Nove, definitely Verona. Random day trips for sure! But other than relaxing and traveling, our summer will hopefully be very un-eventful...and I'm looking forward to that :)

My kindergartner...

Has grown a lot over the years. I can't say that Bubba has changed a lot over the years. He looks almost the exact same! But, I can't believe that next year I'll have a First Grader!

and the real shocker is that I'll have a First Grader and a {new} Kindergartener...Yep Pooks is growing up quick too! He is extremely excited to start school and doesn't understand why he has to wait until September. Patience is not his forte.

And yes, we are taking over the school one year at a time :)

Kindergarten

Bubba has been in kindergarten for six weeks now, man does the time fly by. We're at the end of the first six weeks and that means Parent-Teacher conferences. I'll just go ahead and say that kindergarten sure as heck isn't the same as I remember. Gone are the days of 1/2 day kindergarten. There is no longer nap time, it's more like what first grade was to me. Each day bubba comes home excited to tell me what he did that day. Used scissors. Got to go to PE. Checked out his first book from the library. Had pizza for lunch! But never did he mention ''oh yeah, I learned how to read''. So imagine my surprise when 2 nights ago I'm reading some bedtime books (in this case the ''pigeon'' books) when Bubba says ''Hey, those are sparkle words....'to' 'do' 'the'...." and points out a bunch of words on the pages. I was kinda floored, up until this point he noticed words like his name, family members names, "Lightning McQueen", car...mainly words that interested him or words he saw frequently. I had no clue he was learning sight words.

Now that it's the end of the first six weeks, he will now come home each day with homework. Every Monday he's sent home with a homework folder and on Friday it's due back. Today's assignment was to write the words ''you'' and ''see'' ten times each, then find those words in books/magazines (in our case, the iPad) and use them in a sentence. ''Mom...you see me!!" I was SO proud of him as I watched him write the words over and over. He did so good too! Such concentration.

He really is just growing up! He even knew how to write the date without being prompted. At age 5!

8 days later...

and Bubba likes school! Kindergarten is super fun. He gets to be on the computer, he gets to paint and go to the library that's IN his school. He likes recess and the jungle gym. He doesn't like how the all the big kids take the swings. And he doesn't like some boy who pinched him one time. But he likes learning and drawing and listening to Mrs. S.

Overall, he's doing very well. Mornings are still a bit slow and whiny but once we're out the door he's fine. By about 6pm he's pretty much exhausted. This whole ''all day kindergarten with no nap'' must be tiring because he is Mr. Moody in the evenings.

His siblings have adjusted well. Sissy never seemed to notice he was gone but gets down right giddy when we pick him up. I mean giggling and kicking her legs like she hasn't seen him in months. Pooks and Peanut are doing okay. Bubba was more of a ringleader than I thought. It seems like I hear ''I don't know what to play" or "there's nothing to do" a few times each day. I just prompt them ("How about we get out the playdoh?") and they do just fine. Overall, it's a success. Next week we have Back to School night and Auntie Michelle visits then too. Bubba is very excited to show her his BIG school :)

First Day of Kindergarten...{pt 1}

 Well, the hard part is over with! This morning I dropped Bubba off for his first day of kindergarten. The morning went off without a hitch, though none of the kids were happy about waking up so early. In fact, Pooks' exact words upon waking and walking in to the living room? "Why did you wake us up when it's still night time?" Yeah, it was almost 6:30am. They were in bed by 8pm last night, but maybe now they'll listen when we say it's time to settle down and sleep?

 Bubba was not thrilled about eating breakfast so early. He just wasn't hungry and I think he was a bit nervous, he wouldn't admit that of course but he said his tummy hurt. After not eating breakfast, he got himself dressed, brushed his teeth and had me 'spike up' his hair. He was ready to go! We did the obligatory pictures before leaving...

 Then we drove to the school. Had to park quite a ways a way and walk him up and into his classroom. The first 3 days we're allowed to walk him into his room, after that it's drop off lane. He did extremely well. I could see the water building up in his eyes when we said bye, but he didn't cry. Which was quite the feat since 2 other little kids were bawling. Several had been crying {especially the ones who rode the bus!} so all in all, he did great. He gave us all hugs and kisses and sat down to play with his playdoh.

The hardest part was his siblings. Peanut refused to leave. In fact he sat down in a chair and when I asked him to move, he said "No!" I pointed out that the sign said it was Iliana's seat..he said ''No!" and when I reminded him that he would get to go when he was five, he said ''I AM FIVE!" I'm five now!". There were tears and crying (from him) and I had to carry him out. As we left the classroom, I looked back and saw Bubba wiping his eyes :( I know he was SO excited but I think the other kids crying freaked him out a bit. He didn't see me and I know he's fine but it was so hard not running back and giving him another hug.

So we left the school, dropped B off at home to get his truck and head on to work, then I took the littles to McDonald's. They shared a ''Big Breakfast Platter" watched the Disney channel (a real treat since we don't have cable...they were so excited for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!) and played in the play place.

 I think having that ''special'' moment with me helped Pooks and Peanut, they were thrilled as I have never let them play in a McDonald's play place...like, ever. (Usually they are gross and smell like feet and it makes me gag when I see other kids running through the structure with food in their hands) But this McD's was really big, clean and the playscape was HUGE.

Overall, part one is a success! Part two will be picking him up and seeing how he liked it...

in 2 days...

Bubba starts kindergarten. In honor of that, we took pics yesterday (his school starts at 7:20am so I seriously doubt we'll have a mini-photo shoot the morning of) and I asked him some questions. Ideally I'd like to do this every school year with each school aged kid all the way up high school, then have them made into a book or at the very least, put into their baby books.

 

He just looks so grown up! I can't get over it...

hand-holding and cheesing!? typical day around here :)

 Can you tell his little brothers were just a tad bit jealous that they weren't getting their pictures taken? In fact I had to stop taking photos of bubba to get peanut and pooks dressed, get their flip flops on and include then in the photos...