Holy Crap My Kids Are Growing Faster Than My Crab Grass

Someone please explain to me HOW THE HELL IT IS AUGUST? I've got such mixed emotions about it. On one hand, we had such a wonderful vacation that a part of me was ready for school to start the moment we got back. But then another part of me wants to hold tight to these final days of summer and relish every last moment of freedom.

We've definitely enjoyed our freedom these past few months. Late nights, lazy mornings, pajamas till 3--we've done it all. And over the course of the past 70 days or so, my kids have changed and evolved so, so much, we all have actually. Here's the breakdown.

BELLA- Or should I say Miss-Brittanica since she effing knows everything about effing everything and can prove you wrong in 3 seconds flat leaving you a wide-eyed, open-mouthed 39 year old shell of a woman. And dude, she totally poses for pictures.

How can we make that go away?

MIA- After wiggling her bottom tooth for the past 60 days, the damn tooth finally gave up the fight. I was pleasantly surprised at how sincerely happy I was for Mia.

I thought it wouldn't feel the same the second time around, but oh my, it does! My little girl is growing up and I'm just so thrilled for her. She proudly flashed her new smile and I hugged her tight letting her know how much of a milestone I knew this was. And as we pulled away my sweet angel looked in my eyes and politely asked me to take her shopping at Justice and I swear to God I almost shoved that tooth right back in and started nursing her.

How can we delete her internal memory of that Godforsaken retail chain?




CHANCEY- Our little guy has turned 4 years old and we can officially understand what he's saying now. I kid, but not really.

Chance spent the first couple years listening to everything around him and just when I was about to intervene with professionals he started talking. Of course it was in Chanceanese, which only the four of us could readily comprehend, leaving everyone else around him bewildered. But slowly his speech improved and it wasn't until the last six months or so where things have really clicked for him. Now, my boy's being heard. And what I love about this new found vocal renaissance of his is that he's really, really funny. And extremely curious. And a major sweetheart. And a master kisser.

Coincidentally, we're also learning about personal space.



INDY- Indy McInderson (as he's known in these parts) is a living, breathing American Boy Doll.

My peanut son, shown above in an American Girl salon chair, is under the tenth percentile in weight (which was an improvement in the past month), 19th percentile for height and has a relatively decent size head. Point is, he's a teeny tiny little guy who's major success is being able to melt my heart all day long.

He started walking on our trip to California and it really is the cutest little walk around. He tucks his arms up so high and sounds like Frankenstein when he stomps his feet. Here's one of the early walking clips...

Like Bella when she was a baby,  Indy is very vocal in his own unique-mumble speak. My favortie thing to do is go back and forth in this strange talk and have what seems like a totally normal adult conversation about absolutely nothing in English, which I know I'm NOT supposed to do, but I don't care because I simply can't get enough of the drunken gibberish. He even gestures, and laughs mid-way at some of his jokes.

Between his cling-on and baby sign language, we're doing just fine understanding each other.



EUGENE- Our Wild Hog has turned 40 and bought himself his very own motorcycle. It's been secretly in the works for about 3 years now, despite how much it totally freaks me out.

You guys, he is so happy when he's out riding. You should see his smile when he rolls up into the driveway. It's a new found freedom that I can only understand and appreciate from afar. Maybe one day I'll be his backseat hussy but no time soon. In the meantime, it's quite hilarious how "helpful" Eugene becomes when I need an errand or two to run. Need a tomato for a recipe, or a check to deposit? Well then, Eugene's your man. As long as it can fit in his teeny tiny backpack, no job is too much for this hells angel. He even woos us with Dunkin Donuts on Saturday mornings at the crack of dawn. I should note that we have a Dunkin Donuts about .8 miles from our home but Eugene knows of a short cut down Lake Shore Drive. Hah!

GINA- This stay-at-home- mama is currently researching different routines and ideas for a kick ass curriculum for Chance. I've decided to keep him home this year and I've got big plans for Chance, Indy and I. Different themes and weekly field trips are on my docket, and I'm having a ball putting it all together. I also have big plans for myself. I am done, done, done having children so I really want to focus on myself for a change.

I want to be more active and more healthy this year. I have such a determination that I just know this year is going to be great. On another note, I'm still nursing Indy 2-3 times a day and I just can't stop. It's becoming more and more meaningful to me the older he gets. I know the end is coming soon and while I'll be so sad to that phase end, I will simultaneously high five myself that my body will be my own again and not used for anything other than WHAT I WANT.

So there you have it, an up-to-speed account of where we're all at. We've got two weeks of summer left, an awesome outdoor movie party to plan and school supplies to buy. I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T BUY THE PRE-MADE KITS!!!!!

Everything is Awesome!

Well helloooo there friends! We've just returned from a 3 week vacation in California and Nevada and had such an amazing time. Almost every day was planned with either fun, family or friends, which is always a sign of a good vacation.

Before I go through the thousand or so pictures that we took, I'll instead divide the trip up and focus on certain events.

First up is Legoland, which let me tell ya, was such a refreshing little amusement park. Unlike Disney, which all you really do is wait, ride, eat or shop, Legoland allows for some serious play time.

Awesome multi level play structures and a mini little water park kept our kids entertained ALL DAY LONG. The rides were great too. Of course, it can't compare to Disney in terms of magic and execution but we really did love our time there.

Indy making the sign for "more" as in MORE RIDES!!!

 My adorable niece Riley and nephew Max from San Diego joined us for the fun.

Thanks Molly and Jammee for spending the afternoon with us. Our belly laughs reminded me of all the crazy shenanigans us cousins did when we were their age. Sidenote, Darth Vadar is dead-on but Chewbacca looks like an angry armed koala, no?

Legos are everywhere!

This Lego Friends siting for Bella was equivalent to a Neil Diamond siting for me. See, Bella has spent the past year obsessed with this line of Legos and has proceeded to build almost every one of their structures, which currently catch dust on our living room shelves. Isn't the point of Lego's to build, take apart and re-build? I mean, COME ON! We spend all this money on these sets and in two hours she's done building. It drives me nuts. Play with the damn thing or take it apart, right? Okay, maybe I'm going overboard a bit, but I've got to set some kind of time limit on shelf space otherwise Olivia's Horse Stable's and Emma's Bake Shop are going to become permanent displays in our house and call me crazy, but I don't recall Nate Berkus accessorizing with plastic blocks.

Find my happy place. Find my happy place.

Ahhh, yes. Here it is. Our AWESOME day at Legoland:

Indiana Beach Take 2!!

We are days away from our summer vacation to California and I'm actually packing early for a change. We'll be out there for a long time, so it was tricky planning for 4 kids but I think we're good. I am SO excited to see family and friends, to swim in the ocean, to take my kids to Disneyland and to celebrate Eugene's awesome life with a 40th birthday he'll always remember.

It's going to be wonderful!

In the meantime, I want to share a little family video I put together from our 24 hour camping trip to Indiana Beach over Memorial Day weekend.

If you're anything like me, then camping is super adventurous and fun for about one night. That's my threshold. Now if you throw a camper and air conditioning into the mix, I might be able to extend it, but since all we have is a 5 person Coleman pop-up, one night is plenty.

This is our second time hitting up the nostalgic Indiana Beach and let me tell ya nothing has changed since we were there two years ago. In fact, nothing has changed since 1926 when it first opened. And that's exactly what we love about it. Vintage restaurants and benches that show the history of this summertime destination leaves my kids wondering what it was like "way back when." Old school carnival games, fireworks over the lake and a fried elephant ear were perfect ways to finish off our night.

For a little summer escape without expectations, this is the perfect little spot.

Stranded At The Drive-In

At about 5:00 on Friday Eugene came busting out of his home office ready to start our night, Friday Family Fun Night to be exact. I casually mentioned a drive-in movie theatre that we’ve always said we’d like to visit and without missing a beat Eugene agreed and was already yelping our take out dinner. That’s what I love so much about him, his incredible take charge attitude. I see it in so many aspects of our life.

The drive-in movie was as adorable and nostalgic as it probably was back in the 60’s. They even kept the famous dancing hot dog intermission cartoon. We ordered take out from a great place in Lombard, set up a table and folded down the back row of seats creating a perfect little fox den for the 6 of us.

The kids went ape shit once the seats were gone, swinging from seat belt to seat belt like they were Indiana Jones, tying each other up and then faking a rescue.

It is so funny to watch them play with each other these days—when I’m not too busy (which is almost never) I’ll look up and actually focus on what they’re doing and who’s doing the leading and who’s following orders and who’s who in their little triangle of trust. They’re a perfect case study in small group communication. I’ll have it noted for the record that when they’re “in the zone” Bella and Mia refer to Indy as “Mason” and Chance as “Brooky” every single time. Ummm, okay.

Back to the drive-in and on to the cutest possible picture EVER. That Chance of ours, loves to love!

It was such a perfect night too, with a tinge of crispness in the air and the faint glow of the “honey”moon overhead the 6 of us snuggled in our 2 person sleeping bag and watched How To Train Your Dragon 2.




 It was a great movie and another summer memory was made. Huddled in the back of our minivan, I realized how strong our team is. We may lay all over each other, accidentally kick each other in the face, pull off each other's glasses over and over just to see a response, and bicker over blanket hogging but we're a team in every sense of the word. 

Cascade Movie theatre can be found at 1100 E. North Ave in West Chicago (which is acutally a town, who knew).


Happy Summer!

In Summer!!!!

"I'm gonna do, what frozen things do in SUMMER," bellowed Olaf in the movie Frozen, which my daughters have finally been able to sing since it is actually, FINALLY summer.

We are done, done, DONE with school! And it's been an awesome year for everyone.

Here's their last day of school pictures:

 

Of all the older kids, I've seen the most growth with Mia this year. And I'm not just talking tally marks on our height chart. No,  I'm talking real, quantifiable growth this year. She has blossomed into the most lovely little 6 year old with the world's biggest heart. What a year it's been, Mama Mia.

I've purposely washed out the contrast and lightened the below picture because if you look closely you can see my brown eyed beauty waving back at me. That last kindergarten drive away DID ME IN! I thought it would be a breeze with the second child--NEWSFLASH it doesn't get emotionally easier, it gets surprisingly worse. At this rate, I'm going to need an EMT on site when Indy hops on the big yellow bus for the last time. 

For a class gift we had all the kindergarten students make a thumbprint and a pinky print around a ceramic plate. The awesome art teacher at the school fired the plate for us and with a very permanent marker I added all the names and details. Here's a before and after:

  

We had all three kindergarten classes do this and it turned out to be the cutest little teacher gift!

When asked about this school year Mia answered:

What was your favorite part of this school year? Meeting a new teacher and new friends.

What is your favorite book? Muncha, Muncha, Muncha

What is your favorite color? The rainbow

Who was your favorite friend at school? Mrs. Buschman (her teacher, awww)

If you entered the workforce today, (with the skills you learned this year) what would you like to be? A person who goes under the sea and gets stuff

************

Next up for last days of school was Chance. This was particularly bittersweet because Eugene and I have decided not to send him back to preschool next year. Instead, he and I are going to have an awesome year at home ( I can't wait actually). His teachers have been so awesome and frankly that was the hardest part.

For his teacher gifts we found some really cute naked wood trays at Hobby Lobby and I let Chance paint away and then we added some embellishments and a coat of Modge Podge to seal it up. Here's one of the finished ones...

And here he is on his last day of Montessori. 

What was your favorite part of this school year? Going to the aquarium

What is your favorite book? Creepy Carrots

What is your favorite color? Green

Who was your favorite friend at school? Matthew

If you entered the workforce today, (with the skills you learned this year) what would you like to be? A jet flyer

************

The last, last day of school was Miss Bella-Boo's.

She finished up her 2nd grade with such excitement. She was thrilled that school was over, but who's she kidding--she can't fool me-- Bella loves, loves, loves school! She's had such a great year of meeting new friends, academaically establishing herself and challenging herself in new ways. Who is this girl???? I hardly recognize her as the little ball of warm skin that I used to tickle and squish and raspberry for hours on end. 

She's 8 now. That's almost a decade and I can barely handle the amount of maturity spewing out of her. Case in point, she made pancakes for the family this morning. All by herself!

Another mom and I were talking about how strange it is to see the physical maturity happen so fast. Suddenly, Bella's big girl teeth are filling up the empty spaces that briefly made her look young again and in a blink of an eye her adult smile is back, more confident than before. I'm having a hard time processing it all. She's just getting so old...

What was your favorite part of this school year? I got Mrs. Tiernan as a teacher and I heard good things about her when I was in 1st grade.

What is your favorite book? I have many, but I'd say my favorite right now is Minecraft Handbooks

What is your favorite color? Turquoise 

Who was your favorite friend at school? I had a lot of friends, but I couldn't say I have a favorite.

If you entered the workforce today, (with the skills you learned this year) what would you like to be? A Readers Theatre actor (speech friends: I about fell over when she answered that!)

As soon as Bella deboarded the bus and her brother, sister and I dogpiled her in the street in a summer has officially begun bear hug, we loaded up the car and headed to the zoo to celebrate.

And just to prove that I do in fact have a fourth child here's Indy lovin' it up at an outdoor concert. 

Mark my words, this summer will be one to remember. We're headed to Cali for three weeks in July and will be getting our family fix on! Cousins, cousins everywhere cousins. We can't wait. We're doing Disneyland and Legoland, celebrating Eugene's 40th and we're even stopping by Vegas to see Christine and family. It's going to be so much fun!

Summer is here!!!!!!!!

"Bees'll buzz, kids'll blow dandelion fuzz

And I'll be doing whatever snow does in summer!"

SPY KIDS: The Case of The Stolen Cake

Our Mia turned SIX years old and we've spent the entire week showering her with special privileges and birthday serenades and the first choice of pretty much everything, trust me the queen has lived large. This birthday was especially awesome because our girl has had herself an awesome year. She's doing so well in school (just started The Magic Treehouse chapter books and is SO proud of herself) and at home she's become the most responsible and willing little helper a mother of 4 could ever ask for.

I tell you this daily and I mean it from the bottom of my heart, you will change the world Mia. I just know it.

Her birthday morning:

Our birthday pancake tradition

Here she is blowing out her first birthday cake. Lolo and Lola arrived from California just in time to  sing happy birthday to Mia. And folks we have another American Girl in the house--her name is Isabelle, she's the Girl of the Year. I'll save it for another post, but I will say this I think Bella and myself are totally jealous of the awesomeness that is Isabelle.

But on to the SPY PARTY!

Our kids have been OBSESSED with the Spy Kids movies over the past month and Mia was so excited when she came up with the theme for her party.

 

The family was told to dress in black and I about peed my pants when my parents arrived dressed like this:

I'm not quite sure exactly why my mom insisted on wearing a garbage bag cape but I think it has something to do with Robinson Karuso. Anyway, the mint juleps seem to be working :)

2014 National Spy Academy Recruits

You guys, Bella and Mia kept fighting over whose doll got to be in front. Ridiculous!

 As President of The National Spy Academy, I had all the agents meet on the patio for some background checks

Profile briefing

Agent B6--codename Jesse Hylander

My $2.99 thrift store find. I modge podged the spy seal for authenticity!

and some activities to test our logic, recollection, accuracy and speed.

they had a minute to examine tray before it was taken away and they had to recall as many items as they could. 

Indy was SUCH a mama's boy the WHOLE party. It was awful.

A fun filled game of Pass the Dynamite

Agent 588-- codename Fancy Starlight

A "top secret" envelope was delivered to the front door that told the kids to turn on the tv for breaking news. We all watched a 30 second movie that I put together at the VERY LAST MINUTE (which is why I look like a hot mess) that informed the agents of a serious situation where the evil Dr. Chaos had stolen Mia's birthday cake and had planted a bomb to blow it all up. The kids loved the shit out of it!! Video is shown at the bottom of the post.

This started the actual "mission" 

that included secret clues,

decoding ciphers,

and a laser avoidance mission.

After the kids got their clues at the end of the hallway they headed to the

living room for bomb detonation. 50 black balloons needed to be popped to find the three clues hidden inside.

the clues were made using invisible ink so they had to resort to their special 

blacklight markers in their toolbox.

Clues led the kids to the refrigerator where they disarmed the bomb by cutting the purple wire to save the cake and foil Dr. Chaos!

The mission may have been over, but the fun was just starting. Our menu included an "ingredient decoder" salad

"Avoid the laser" pasta dish. Gnocchi on the left, rigatoni on the right.

Homemade tuscan lasagna came next, a Mia favorite. 

And we topped it off with a small slice of filet mignon-

It was such a fun and interactive party for all of us! I want to thank Birthday Blueprint for all the awesome files and ideas!


But above all, happy birthday my dear, dear Mia. Here's your spy movie: