Living Outside the Lines

 Murphy is our escape artist.  He has to be tied up in the backyard or he digs a hole and is out in about 10 seconds.  Today I let the dogs out in the backyard and went directly out in the front with the kids to ride bikes. By the time I had come out of the front door Murphy had dug a new hole and was outside the fence - still tied up by the way!  We got some dog food and enticed him back through the hole.  What a nut!

Murphy on the WRONG side of the fence:

 He's left a little fur there on the fence:

 Coming back through - I think it must have been easier going out:

 Found the food!

Chore Boards

I've been working on these chore boards for the better part of a week now and they are finally finished!  I'm not quite sure why it has taken me this long to come up with this idea but I did and it's awesome!  Declan is now 10 months and I finally feel like I'm coming out of the new baby blur.  This is great and all - I mean I feel better, I've lost all the weight, I'm sleeping (sort of) BUT I also now see the disaster that has happened around me for the past 10 months.  The mess seemed insurmountable, espcially with everyone home all day long and making messes faster than I could clean them.  If I cleaned someone's room upstairs then they would all destroy the downstairs and so on.  I felt like I was sinking into the mess and I just couldn't get out.  It was really really really getting to me and I was feeling terrible about myself and my inability to even keep my house clean!

I'm not sure why I started searching around on Pinterest for ideas but all of a sudden I was finding ideas that were pretty good.  I didn't find anything that I loved but I got an idea of what I wanted to do.  I thought that it had to be something where the kids could flip over a marker of some sort when they finished the chore and it had to be flexible.  They would get really bored (like I do) if they had to do the same thing everyday.

So we made a trip to Hobby Lobby which almost put me in the mental hospital.  There are so many fun things to touch and pick up and most of them are incredibly breakable or would make the biggest mess you have ever seen if dropped.  Lord help me but we did make it out of Hobby Lobby alive and without serious incident.  So we returned home with wooden plaques, some paints, screw in hooks and a mother just that much closer to losing her mind.

That night I gave the plaques a light sanding with superfine sandpaper and then wiped them down with a slightly damp paper towel to get the sawdust off. 

 Once they were dry I painted about 4 thin coats of Antique White paint and let these dry for a day or two.  I'm sure they were dry before the next step but I was busy!!

 I painted the names on using a technique I found on Pinterest.  I printed the names out on the computer in the font and size that I wanted.  I lined the paper up and taped it to the board so the name was where I wanted to paint it - tip - if you center the name of the screen before you print it then all you have to do is center the paper and voila!  a perfectly centered name!  Then I traced the outline of the letters in PENCIL and since the wood is soft, it left and impression in the plaque.  After that I used a very small flat brush to edge the letters and fill them in.  It took 2-3 coats depending on the darkness of the shade of paint! 

 Once the names were complete, I sprayed the plaques with an acrylic sealer and let them dry for 24 hours.   This gives them a nice satin finish and protects them from dirty fingers or spills!  Then I measured out where I wanted the screws to be and screwed in the hooks!  I thought I would have to drill pilot holes but the wood was so soft that I could do it by hand!

 I found some cute cards with pictures on them to identify each chore. They range from brushing your teeth to walking the dog to reading for 20 minutes to cleaning the bathroom and lots in between.  I hung the chore boards up on the wall using 3M mounting tape - it's like strong velcro and it's really easy to use and reposition so they are all level!

They turned out really well and the kids think that they're great!  The cards change daily and some days they will choose the chores they want for the next day and sometimes I choose and it's a fun surprise for them in the morning!!  Even Aoife has really gotten in to it and loves to dust - maybe she just loves the feather duster but either way, the dusting gets done - which is better than before!!  Once they finish a chore they run to the board to flip over the card and then choose which one they want to do next.  Last Friday we went out for ice cream because everyone had done a great job and finished all of their chores and helped me with other projects!

This was a big success!  The kids feel like they are contributing to our household and shockingly they are taking care not to make as much of a mess!!  Imagine that!  I really wish I had done this years ago but here we are - better late than never! 

The First Day of School - 2013

 Today was the first day of school!  Wow - we had some nervous little ones this morning!  A new school, new kids, and a new routine all added up to very little eaten for breakfast and very few words spoken all morning - except by me. "Do you have your shoes? Teeth brushed? Backpack?  GET IN THE CAR!!!!" 
We aren't within walking distance anymore and there is no bus from this area to the school so I get to drive them - it'll be three times a day once Aoife starts!  I don't really see this being much of a problem.  Once I start work up again, I'm going to be out doing workshops most mornings anyway and I'll just pick Aoife up on the way to get Declan from hourly care.
Once we got to the school we went inside and it was a MAD HOUSE!  People everywhere and no one knew where they were supposed to be.  Also since very few soldiers are deployed right now, most kids had both parents with them.  We managed to find the table that Aidan is supposed to wait at with his class until the teacher comes and gets them.  I snapped this picture as he sat down and within seconds he was up and walking to class! 

 The Kindergarten and 1st grade wait in the gym so after Aidan left I took Emmy to go stand in her line.  She really wanted me to walk with her to class so Aoife, Declan and I waited and walked down to the 1st grade pod with her class.  I didn't go through the door to the pod - I knew that was something she needed to do alone.  For Emmy, the anticipation is always worse than the reality.  Aoife was really sad to have Emmy go - she said she missed Emmy all day.  It's another 2 weeks until Aoife starts school.  Hopefully I can keep her busy enough!

 After we came home Declan, Aoife and I walked down to the park and got a treat at Starbucks and played.  It was the first time that Declan has really played at the park.  He wasn't crawling well enough for a while and we've spent the past two weeks in swimming lessons without much time or energy to go to the park.  He tried the swing and LOVED it.  He crawled around and pulled up on the play area and got lots of love from all of the little kids at the park.  He was in heaven with all of the attention!

At the end of the day we drove back over to the car - loaded down with freshly baked peanut butter cookies and Nalgene bottles of milk.  We waited in the car rider line which turned out well since it was a bit rainy.  The kids were delivered to us - happy and exhausted!  Emmy made friends with the little girl who was standing next to her in line this morning.  She also had PE and played on the playground.  The best part of the day seemed to be organizing her desk space and putting together her pencil box with various school supplies.  Aidan made a friend too and also enjoyed the playground.  He brought home his planner, math book and reading book and had reading, spelling and math homework!  It looks like his teacher is going to keep them busy!!!
Everyone was tired at bedtime tonight.  They didn't even complain about going to bed at our normal bedtimes.  The girls had lights out at 7:15 and Aidan had lights out at 8:30 and was asleep by 8:31.  Declan seems to be the only one not sleeping well tonight - I'm pretty sure he's getting more teeth.  Hopefully we'll make it through the night OK - we'll be up bright and early again tomorrow!!

School Orientation

We had orientation at the kids' school today and school starts bright and early on Monday morning!!!  We have switched schools - still on post but just at a different elementary school.  I needed to have them at a school where they would be challenged and they just weren't being challenged where they were.
Aidan is going in to 3rd grade and his teacher seems amazingly awesome.  She is tough - you can tell right away but he was so excited going to bed tonight.  He said, "I think I'm actually going to learn something this year!  She said that if we understand something we can keep going and learning more stuff!  School has always been so boring and easy - maybe it won't be this year!"  I nearly died.  Can you imagine?  3 years of being bored out of your mind everyday??  Holy mackerel. I have really high hopes for this teacher and this new school!!
Emmy was really nervous going in to the school.  All of her friends moved at the end of last year and she has been so lonely.  Playing with Aoife is great and all but I think she really misses seeing her friends.  This year at a new school she will be starting fresh but her teacher seems like the nicest person I have ever met - seriously.  Emmy warmed right up to her and found the treasure box - of course!!
Aoife had no problem dropping right into playing with the mass of chaos that was her PreK class.  Her teacher is super nice - really young and just had her first baby.  Aoife won't start school for another two weeks and her teacher will make a home visit next week - to check up on us???  Aoife is OK with not starting right away - she said she is looking forward to some fun Mommy-Aoife time!!  SO CUTE!!!
After we spent about an hour at orientation we went to Chipotle for burritos!  Mmmmmmm - even Declan gorged himself!!
Aidan's classroom:

 Emmy and her teacher, Mrs. Lewis:

 Aoife playing in her classroom - I think she would have been happy if I just left her there!

Visitors!!

A Big Day for Declan!

 Declan has been standing in his crib for a while but today he really started pulling up easily on everything in the livingroom!!  He also figured out how to go up stairs - and fell down one step as well.  Poor little guy.  He was hysterical and it was RIGHT before Brendan skyped but Daddy was able to make him feel better - even from Afghanistan! 

Last Day of Swimming Lessons

 Today was the last day of swimming lessons for the summer.  The pool actually closes after this weekend - AUGUST 5! - thank you sequestration.  School starts Monday so I guess they figure it's not worth keeping it open but last summer we went after school a lot!  Oh well - it is what it is! Everyone did very well in swimming and improved so much!!  Emmy was the only one who passed her class (Level1) but Aoife (preschool) and Aidan (Level 3) both did awesome and learned so much!!  I'm really proud of all of them and how hard they all worked - even today when the weather was chilly and rainy!!