Kite Flying

We got some kites for the kids this morning and after doing the yardwork and the sun coming out, we decided to go fly them. It has been pretty windy all day, but while we were there it was not as constant as it could have been!

The boys picked out some pretty small kites and they did not fly all that great. Andrew got a big kite (because we figured Daddy would be flying it more than AJ). His kite did awesome. We are going to get some more before we go to the beach.

The older boys took a bit to get down the flying techniques. Since their kites were smaller, they really had to work at it. Andrew did awesome. He got to where he was making his take off on his own. There were several times though that he had let all the string out and the kite was as high as it would go, but he would lose the spool and the kite would take off. The first time I was the one with him. I am so thankful we were alone at the soccer fields, because seeing a nine month pregnant woman run.....NOT PRETTY!! And it really hurt too! But I caught the kite. The rest of the time Daddy was with him and after chasing it a few times (Andrew decided it was funny to see us run after it), he held the string and AJ held the spool!

The boys had a blast. I don't remember the last time we flew kites. Isaac and Bryce probably never have :(

I took lots of pictures, but I am hurting REALLY bad tonight and honestly don't have it in me to post them. I need to lay down on my side and can't easily do that and type. I have a feeling if the next two weeks go like the last two days, I will be living on the couch or bed!! I am very uncomfortable and having lots of pain!

From the Mouths of Babes....

This conversation happened in the car on the way home from the grocery store this morning. We bought kites while we were there, for the kids to have over Spring Break (week after next).
The boys were asking if we could fly them today and I told them we had to get yard work done because it looked like it was going to rain and we can't fly them at the house.

Bryce was looking at his kite. Caleb says "If you break that kite you aren't going to have one for Spring Break. OH, and PAPA and MARMAR are going to be here over Spring Break!"

"THEY ARE?" Bryce and Isaac both yelled (guess they missed that conversation).

"No, Papa is coming next weekend and Marmar will be here the following weekend."

"Why are they coming and why aren't they coming together?" the boys all were asking.

I explained that Marmar had to work and Papa was coming a week early, just in case, to help out.

"Help out with what?" Bryce asked.

"Because Mommy and Daddy are going to be in the hospital giving birth to Mady" Caleb explains.

"Daddy will have to hold Mommy's hand the whole time to make her feel better." Isaac says.

"No, Mommy will just lay in bed and watch tv while she gives birth!" Bryce argues.

If only it were that simple!!!

Dr's Appt

I had a drs appt this morning. Unfortunately, there is nothing to report. I have not progressed at all and she has not dropped. :(

Her heart rate was between 156 and 160 bpm. As normal, the dr had to chase her to get the heart rate.

I have registered at the hospital, so that IF (hahaha) I go into labor, all I have to do is call the hospital on the way there and tell them I am coming and they will be ready for me when I get there.

I go back on Monday the 13th (they are closed next Friday for Good Friday). That should be my last appointment before they induce. YAY!!!!!

To Make the Day Even Better

because ruined wood floors and a leaking fishtank filter are not enough, we just had a bad storm. Lost electricity for about an hour. Broke our motorized gate over our driveway - it won't close. AND, I just went and looked out the front door and found that it rained in the door. There was a mat at the door and water was under it...ON THE WOOD FLOORS!

Guess who needs new wood floors!

Sitting in the dark hot house and listening to the neighbors full house generator was not AT ALL a tease!

I refuse to say it can't get any worse (I could go into labor with a broken gate across my driveway), but I think I should have gotten back in bed as soon as I saw the water on the floor this morning.

Bad Idea

I knew that a fishtank on hardwood floors was not an idea I was excited about. I woke up this morning to WHY it is a bad idea.

Last night, Paul commented that a lot of water had disappeared from the tank. I said it was probably on the floor. That was the end of it.

This morning....at 5:30....he again commented that there was a lot of water missing from the tank. He actually looked underneath the tank this time. There was water in the bottom of the stand and ont he floor. The filter has been leaking.

He took out the filter, couldn't find anything wrong with it. He put it back and left for work. He did leave a towel around the filter, just in case.

An hour later I checked to see if it was leaking. The towel was beyond soaked and there was even more water on the floor than there was this morning. The filter is now leaking from all four sides instead of just one.

I got the filter unplugged and in a plastic tub (only weighs about 40 pounds). Got all the water I could off the floor. I am now waiting on Paul to return home (should be here any minute) from work.

All of this, AND it is standerdized testing week. I had to get healthy breakfasts fixed (couldn't skimp even in a time of emergency), three kids dressed and to school on time. Bryce was in SLOW MOTION this morning. He got on the bus with a mouth full of food. I don't usually allow the tv on before the kids leave.....AJ has been parked in front of it this morning to keep him out of fishtank stuff.

The floors.....well, they are ruined. I can't help Paul move the tank. I am not even sure if the two of us could move it without emptying the water out. 105 GALLONS is a lot of weight, then add on the thick glass and all the wood, etc.

Not shaping up to be the best day!

So Sweet

Bryce asked what we were having for dinner tonight and I told him pizza. He gave me a hug and said "I love you so much Mom." I told him I love him too, but it was Daddy's idea. He said "I love Daddy so much too, even if he does fuss at me!"

We won't discuss that I am with him more than Daddy, so he hears more fussing from me!

Leap Test

Isaac has been telling us about his test everyday for a couple of weeks. Everytime he tells us, we tell him how exciting and fun it will be. So, today when he got home I asked if it was as fun and exciting as he thought it would be.

His eyes got big and in an exasperated voice he says "NO!! We had to sit for hours without talking or getting ANYTHING out. It was not fun at all!"

Okay, the truth is out. I don't know what to tell him for the next two days except enjoy when you ARE NOT testing!! I imagine sitting that still and quiet for that long is hard for any age, but especially first graders who have never experienced it before.

Note From School

Caleb came home Monday with a note from his teacher. She said that he was having problems staying focused on work. Last week he got in trouble for working on his homework during a lesson. Monday he got in trouble for reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea during his Spanish lesson.

I read the note, set it down and did not say anything other than "we will discuss it when your father gets home." He hates this response, so this is typically what I do. He is the type of kid that would rather suffer the consequence of his actions and get it over with. When I do this, he worries about what is going to happen. It is not that I want him to worry excessively, but it keeps him thinking about what he has done wrong.

So, he goes and locks himself in his room. He did not come out until I called him for dinner. He was expecting his lecture. We did not say anything. After dinner I told him to go clean his room. He just looked at me like "lets get this over with already."

After he got his room cleaned up we discussed what he had done and his punishment. We really were not that mad about what he had done. If this is the worst he gets in trouble for, we are doing good. At the same time, he does have to learn that there are lots of things we have to do in life that are not fun, rather boring, but we must do it anyway.

We made him write letters of apologies to the two teachers he was ignoring. I told him they had to be super neat and he had to show he was putting forth an effort. The first paper he came out with he had ripped out of his notebook. In one of the letters he wrote "I am sorry a read a book in your class." We made him go back and rewrite it because he should not be sorry he read a book in class (most teachers would want that at some point) but he needed to be sorry he read a book during a lesson and did not pay attention to what the teacher was teaching. I think he had to write one of the letters 3 or 4 times and the other one twice, but he finally got them.

Here is the big problem. Caleb did not get in to the GT program. In LA, you must take test to see where you are academically and psychologically. Caleb blew away the academics part. BUT, things like the above are why he did not blow away the psychological part. When it comes to maturity he is not where he is academically.

His scores on the academic part ranged from grade level to 10.9 (that would be TENTH GRADE NINTH MONTH....almost 11th grade). Which explains why he gets so bored, but does not excuse it. I am unhappy that he will not be challanged because he is not as mature as the school thinks he should be to be as smart as he is.

I have not told Caleb he did not make it yet. I have had the results for a couple of weeks, but he really wanted to be in GT because he wanted to have the oppurtunity to do projects and harder work. The standerdized testing he is doing this week and next determine whether he moves on. While I am not concerned whether he will pass, I did not want to put any more stress on him. We will probably wait and discuss it after school is out in May.

Leap Testing

The two oldest are doing standerdized testing the rest of this week (and first half of next for Caleb). The school has stressed to the parents and children that they need to go to bed early and eat a HEALTHY breakfast (which means no cereal or sugary food).

Between the almost daily notes home telling us this and the kids constantly telling us, I think we got the picture!

Yesterday when Caleb got home he reminded me (yet again) that today started the testing and he was NOT allowed to have cereal for breakfast this morning. I told him I knew and that he also had to go to sleep as soon as he was sent to bed and could not stay up playing and getting in trouble like they normally do. He argued with me and said that he could still stay up and play.

First off, I never fix cereal for breakfast. It is not that we are too good for cereal or that I am a better mother than those that do give cereal to their kids. We did cereal every morning for a while a long time ago. But, I had one that would never eat much and throw it all away and they all made huge messes with it. So, I stopped buying it. I have time in the mornings to make them a breakfast and do, every morning. So, not sure why they were both making such a big deal out of NOT eating cereal.

Secondly, when I send you to bed, you are supposed to go to bed. Whether there is testing the next day or not. I don't send you to bed to play and get in trouble. Caleb said he did not know what sleep had to do with testing. I said it had just as much to do with testing as a good breakfast. He says his teachers told him to eat a good breakfast, he doesn't know why. I asked if they said he should go to bed early, too (like all the notes that are sent home). He sheepishly said yes.

If you are going to listen to one part of the instructions (which by the way, is the part that really did not apply to us) then you need to listen to BOTH parts of the instructions and obey both because "my teacher said."

As I was serving breakfast to Isaac this morning (sausage/egg scramble and banana with a cup of milk) he lectured me on how he needed a HEALTHY breakfast today. I guess I did not serve healthy enough?

Bad Hubby

My husband.....

Arghhh!

My husband, who was told NO MORE OUT OF TOWN TRIPS (which he doesn't go out of town often anymore) until after the baby comes, informed me this morning he has to go out of town either the 13th, 14th or 15th (he told them "if I was stable"). I would prefer him to go this week or next, but he has been teaching training and will continue next week.

The main thing is this. I have REALLY been stressing about going into labor the week before I am supposed to be induced (the week of the 12th). That is the week of the boys Spring Break. When I went into labor with Bryce (luckily I was at the hospital to be induced when I went into labor with him) it was 2 hours from first contraction to delivery. I can see me going into labor that week, Paul almost an hour away at work and the hospital an 30 minutes away from here (assuming there is no traffic). I will be delivering at home with four kids!

I told him I could tell him now, without a doubt, that I would not be "stable" that week...physically or psychologically!! Even if I was not having contractions the morning he goes out of town, that can change quickly.

So, my new prediction for when Mady will get here......I am keeping it the week I predicted, but I am going to say that since Paul is planning to be in Mississippi for the day on the 13th, she will come that day! I will keep my fingers crossed that I am wrong.

Waiting on the Hiccups

As I have said before, Mady has stayed in the same position for quite a while now. She has been head down on the left side and her feet up in my ribs on the right. She moves around, stretches, etc.

Last night, Mady decided she was finally uncomfortable (I guess). Paul talks about how it looks like an alien is trying to break out of my stomach when she moves around. Last night, I agreed! I was waiting on her to break through my stomach.

My concern was that with the amount of moving she was doing she was turning breech. I still have a couple of weeks for her to turn back, but I would prefer her to just stay head down!

I have been waiting on her to have the hiccups since last night. That is the easiest way to tell how she is positioned for me. She has usually has them daily, but I have not felt them yet. She is moving around and she is kicking the same places she was before last night, so I think she is fine. I would still like to feel the hiccups as reassurance!

Silence

I am laying here on the couch, all the kids are sleeping, no tv....just silence.

Did you know that clocks make a tick tock sound?

Bryce's Field Trip

I asked Bryce when he got home if he had a letter about his field trip tomorrow. He said no, it was cancelled because it is supposed to rain all day. I paid $23 for this field trip and did not even get a note home to say it was cancelled, much less anything about us getting our money back.

He did say they may get to go to the zoo, but this field trip would not be rescheduled. The zoo does NOT cost $23!!

I feel bad because out of three field trips this year, this is his second to be cancelled and not rescheduled. So much for fun Kindergarten field trips!

No Physical Contact

I heard a story about a principal that has made a no physical contact rule at his school. A student was sent to the hospital after horseplaying with another student.

I can see the upside of this. No injuries, less spreading of germs, etc. But, let's be realistic. Kids will be kids. I don't think giving them detention or expelling them (which are the punishments if the kids are caught touching anyone else) is really going to do much to help. I think this is going to an outrageous extreme.

Easter Plans

Since we are planning a trip to the beach this summer, I decided instead of doing Easter baskets this year, we would do sand castle buckets. Today I went and got them each a bucket, some sand toys, bubbles, etc.

The buckets are much cheaper than the baskets and bigger than most of the baskets, and I love that they have a dual purpose! This will get them even more excited about the beach....oh wait, maybe I SHOULD NOT do this. They are already pretty excited.

I think we will just do what we normally do and let the boys dye eggs, and hide plastic and their decorated eggs in the yard and look for them. Mom doesn't have the energy to do much more than that, I am afraid! Mady will be here the following week. :)

Big Family

I was just reading a friends blog and she had a post about something that Paul and I were talking about last night (and frequently). She has seven kids between her and her husband and was talking about the comments she receives when she goes out with them all.

We always get comments. I don't know if it is the four kids or the fact they are four boys, but we defienently get attention. Lately, the comments all end with "is this one at least going to be a girl." It does not matter where we are we always get that question several times.

Yesterday, we were at Home Depot. I was walking behind Paul and all the kids and Paul was pushing AJ in the buggy. The man could only see Paul and they older three and asked if we were having number four. I said no, there was one in the buggy and this was number 5. His response surprised me. He says "I am proud of y'all." Then he started telling me how many kids, grandkids and great-grandkids he has. He was very nice, but we get such a range of reactions from people. Friday night, we went to a Mexican restaraunt for dinner. Our kids are usually very well behaved when we eat out, and they were Friday. Before we even got to our table there was a couple and there ONE child sitting at a table. They were enjoying their margaritas. They could not even wait until we had walked past them to start making rude comments to each other like "Oh my gosh, look at how many kids they have....and they are having MORE," and staring at us. They got up and left before we even got settled in. I guess the mere size of the family scared them off.

The New Bryce

Bryce has turned into another child this past week or so. I am getting letters home from his teacher saying how much she loves him. He is being VERY affectionate at home, continuously telling me he loves me and making me cards and asking about Mady. He is also constantly asking if he is being good. AND HE HAS BEEN VERY GOOD!! No temper tantrums ALL weekend. No time outs. No spankings.

I LIKE IT!!!

This is what I walked in on this morning. So sweet and cute!! Bryce has gotten so good at reading and sounding words out. This book he is reading is called Roadwork. We got it from the library along with like 15 other books. This is the only one he wants to hear and wants to hear it over and over! I think we might have to find it and buy it!

It is the little moments like this that make me know I can handle life with four boys! Sometimes I just wish these type of moments occured more frequently!

OCD?

Andrew was taking one bite out of piece of his food and then lining them up, chicken together and apples together.

He ate SIX nuggets and ALL his apples. Very unusual! BUT, that might explain those chunky cheeks in the picture!

Isaac's Honor Roll Program

Isaac's school had their Honor Roll program Friday. He got certificates for A/B honor roll and A conduct. I am very proud of how hard he has worked this year and how much he has learned.