Goodbye Kindergarten!

It is hard to believe that Aiden is already done with Kindergarten! His last day was on Friday, with a party at the beach. Since we are moving, it was also goodbye to lots of great friends he has made in his class and his beloved teacher. :) Today we were driving by a school and Aiden said "I wish there was lots of Mrs. Dubbs." Me too!! She was wonderful and I wish all my kids could have her for kindergarten. Mrs. Dubbs made each of the kids a memory book of their year and this picture was on the last page. Made me cry. :) The class also made him a little book called "Why we will miss Aiden" It was filled with kids drawings and a sentence that started with "because" and then they filled in why they would miss Aiden. These were two of my favorites: This one says "Because you are a good man" :)

And this one says "Because you are pretty" :) Most of the others said things like "because you are a good friend" or "you are a good hugger" :) I love to read or listen to what kids have to say.

Here he is on his last day with his best buddies. When it was time for us to go his teacher said "Ok guys time to say goodbye to Aiden" All the kids came running out of the water and encircled him in hugs, pats on the back and yells of "We love you Aiden!" "We will miss you Aiden!" It was cute and sad! It was a great year!
The kids and I are now at Chelly's in NC. We are having a good time (well as good as time as you can have with 5 kids, 5 and under). :-) We went to the beach yesterday and we will have to blog about that later, it was quite an experience and Chelly and I have decided that we are crazy for attempting what we did! More to come.........

Cereal Anyone?

Ryleigh decided to pour some for herself. She didn't quite make the bowl.

Cereal is our main staple these days. We have it way more than we should. But with Jason gone, dinner is one battle I don't really feel like fighting. Everyone loves cereal, it is an easy clean up and it clearly says that "Lucky Charms" are made with whole grains! What more could a mother want? So I am lacking a bit in the nutrition department of mothering, it is only for a season......(hopefully)

I'm going to miss these days??

Here are the highlights from the last week or so.....

Ryleigh opening a "child proof cabinet" in the bathroom - getting a hold of some allergy meds, having to call poison control. (she was fine - I think they have my name taped up somewhere, probably flagged like stores do when people write bad checks)

Ryleigh throwing one of her shoes off while I was grocery shopping. Of course I did not notice until we were in line. Got back out of line, searched every aisle, could not find it. Paid for the groceries, put them in my car then went back in and got down on my hands and knees aisle after aisle, looking for the shoe under the shelves. (I got lots of looks - had to explain myself in every aisle, at least twice). Did not find the shoe until the LAST aisle. It was sitting on a display shelf.

Potty training at home and in every public restroom in a 15 mile radius.

Two busted lips.

Two skateboarding lessons.Sitting in a car dealership for 2 hours with Kyle and Ryleigh. Need I say more?
Quite a few goose eggs on foreheads. (and many, many narrow misses - one involving the counter tops and a little boy trying to "fly") Finding a puddle of pee on the garage floor. I guess according to the boys that is considered "outside" and it would "dry up".
6 house showings.

2 field trips.

2 swim lessons.

Getting corrected about my parenting skills from an older lady who has completely forgotten what it is like to have an almost 2 year old.

3 play dates.

1 goodbye party.

= One exhausted mom....... :)

Now, no need for comments or emails about how I need to treasure these days. I am trying!!! :)

Happy Birthday Alex!

Alex, I know you have been sitting at your computer all day just waiting for a post from me. Sorry I made you wait so long! :) We are thinking about you today and wish we were close enough to celebrate with you. You are a good friend, as well as cousin, and I am glad you are in our family. :) You are always a big help with my kids when we get together, playing with them or holding them when they were babies. (By the way, I could use some of that help today, any chance you want to drive to SC tonight???) We love you and hope you have a great day!

Love, all of us....

MAY 12th

Today was my grandmom's birthday. She loved her birthdays. She loved celebrating them. Today I would have called her. She would have would have been happy to hear from all her family in one day. She would have told me about all the pretty cards she got in the mail. She would have told me about the Mothers Day/birthday party we had every year. She would have said she missed having me there. She would have sent me a card for Mothers Day signed "Love, G-mom". I miss seeing cards with her handwriting showing up in my mailbox. I miss hearing her voice on the phone, hearing the little news of Mt. Airy. She would have laughed to hear about how Kyle tried to "skateboard" off his dresser yesterday. I can hear her saying "That boy!" I can imagine an entire conversation with her. I had lots of them. I wanted many more.

Happy Birthday Grandmom. We are thinking about you.

Aiden's first school play!

I by no means claim to be good at making these little videos, so just bear with it! I even have one of the clips out of order, which I am sure someone will point out, but I didn't have the time to fix it. Like I said, I am not good at this.... I didn't take our video camera, just our camera that only takes 3 minute video clips. I had to put them together somehow so I wouldn't have to put up 5 different clips. :) And this video is really long, like 8 minutes. But, Daddy wanted to see it, so this is for him. :)

Happy 20th Birthday Ryan!

Hope you have a great birthday Ryan! I don't know how the heck you are 20, but according to your mom you are, so I guess she knows what she is talking about!! You are a great guy, one that we all enjoy being with! You make everyone laugh and just are fun to be around. I miss those spring breaks that you and Ash would come spend with me! Why did you guys have to grow up and not have time for trips like that anymore? :)

Love, Erin, Jason, Aiden, Kyle and Ryleigh

Kids, Kids, Kids!

Here are the last of the PA visit pictures! I am sure most of you are sick of these pictures, but there is a small audience that never tires of pictures of my kids, or my sisters kids or my brothers and sisters, so this is for you guys! To break up the monotony of all those photos, I am including some funny sayings from the kids, been a long time since I did that and I have lots of material!!

Jason started the coffee grinder and it made Aiden's leg jump. He said "You scared my legs Dad!"

Kyle - "Mom, I really like your little tiny ears."

Me to Aiden "Why do you keep forgetting everything I tell you to do today?" Aiden - "My noggin is not working today."

Aiden, talking about baseball "I am going to hit a home made run!"

Aiden "Has God ever tasted lemonade?"

Aiden "Is three kids hard?"
Kyle, when putting on his underwear, "Is this the butt side of the underpants?"
Aiden "You scared the life out of me, but at least it came back."
Ryleigh was holding 2 baseballs under her shirt. Aiden says "Look! Ryleigh has baseball boobs!"
Adien "Kyle always falls into Granddad's jokes. Josh told me not to."

Aiden "Mom, I need the color crayon that is human"
Aiden "Ouch! My imaginary friends are pinching my butt!"
Aiden "Annah calls me a baby when I am just acting like a regular human."
Both boys were sitting on the same chair, crying after being punished. Aiden says "You broke my heart." Kyle says "You broke my brain."
Kyle, pointing to his elbows "Mom, are these called my uncles?"

Kyle "Can we get a duck pet? From the duck store?"

Don't have anymore pictures, but have lots more funny sayings. Here are a few more:

Aiden "If you are thirsty and you can't find something to drink, just swallow your spit."

Aiden "Mom, you are so cute I want to eat you up!"

Overheard Kyle saying quietly to himself in a public place "Don't pass gas Kyle, don't pass gas Kyle!"

Kyle saw some ants in the garage and said "Do ants have parties and drink juice and dance?"

Kyle heard crickets outside one evening and asked what they were doing. Aiden told him "They are singing lullaby's to their sons and daughters."

Kyle "Mom! There is some poop in my underwear, but it is fake. Touch it mom, it IS fake!"

Kyle "You are a great mommy. You are a great mommy cause you have great hair."

Kyle "Nobody can skateboard on their head except Tony Hawk....well God can."

Kyle to Aiden as he throws something to him "Fetch Aiden!" Aiden's response "I am not a dog Kyle, I am a human."

Hope you enjoyed and this post brought a smile to your face! ~

HOME!

Almost through posting all the pictures!! I think I have one more batch! :)

Happy boy Adam!

Joe against 6 little kids and a dog. I am not sure who won, but Joe looked a little beaten when it was all said and done.
Our wonderful mom. She makes each trip home special! How she continues to take care of ALL of us, is a mystery to me. My three wear me out!
Allie and Ryleigh wandering around in the back yard.
Aunt Liz with the little girls
Cait with Allie, Joe distracting
Hanging out at Grandmom Sally's one night.
Me and Grandmom
Grandmom serving us cake
Ryleigh getting her toe nails polished by Aunt Aimee. She won't sit that still for me.

Me with Ryleigh, Mom, Chelly with Allie. I forget what we were laughing about, but I do remember it was really funny whatever it was! :)
The newlyweds. Ryleigh and Katie
Katie trying out her new electric toothbrush. I think she brushed her teeth for about an hour. :)
Good times at Grandmoms!
Lydia and Jason enjoying a cup of coffee

Buddies