We got the sign we were looking for

As everyone is sick of hearing about, we've debated and obsessed and lost a lot of sleep about what to do when Sean's commitment to army is up next year. I half joked about waiting for a definite sign as to what to do and in the meantime we did extensive research about many areas, narrowing it down to Nashville and Manhattan. So when a house we'd always admired came on the market we wasted no time. Prior to touring the house I had just thought about how great it would be to tell the kids we bought it and could stay here. Imaging how excited they would be was MY sign. The kids are truly happy here, we are all happy here, life is easy here. So the next sign was "under contract".

As this did happen very quickly and we were in total shock when we got the news that our offer was accepted, we kept the news to a few close friends here. We told our families yesterday and the children only found out this morning. My apologies to other friends who didn't get the news from us but it was apparently very interesting information and spread quickly. If all goes well with inspections, we will close September 30th.

We are currently getting our house in the best possible shape so that inspections won't be an issue and then we will list, hopefully next week. Not an awesome time of year to sell a house but we are fine with having both houses for a while so we can do some renovations before moving in. The kids can't wait and are very excited to tell their friends that we aren't moving away next summer.

More details as we go along. I just had to do this post quickly and explain why I've been quiet on here lately. Now I need to get back to getting the house ready and packing up stuff we won't need for a while. I underestimated how much work this would be. Time to rent a dumpster...

First day of school 2013-2014

 It's a good thing I thoroughly checked Patrick's backpack the night before...  he must have taken this from Megan's room at some point.

 Waiting with his class before opening prayer in the gym. He scowled at me with the good camera but smiled for Sean's iphone.

 First time sitting at his kindergarten desk and he happens to be at the table with our neighbor. He knows one other boy from preschool in his class but the rest are in the other class.

 I took Emily to the park after drop off while we waited to meet friends for brunch. After ten minutes she was tired and wanted to go home so I gave up and figured I could start some laundry. Whee. It's a good thing she is not at MCS preschool which starts at 742 because this girl likes to sleep in.

 So goofy and excited.

Kindergarten, sixth grade, fourth grade. You can almost read the sign. I didn't have time to position them. They got out at 11am so a short day. Then I forced them to run errands with me all afternoon as there was still so much we needed... shoes, PE shirts, lunch food, orthodontist, car wash. They will be happy to stay all day tomorrow and Megan even starts volleyball practice. Hope we remember to pick her up!

Back to school night, finally!

The kids were so giddy to see their friends at back to school night. Perhaps I should have arranged more play dates. Oh, lazy, lazy mom. Maybe next year. Patrick is excited to start kindergarten now because he discovered that his favorite kind of legos are there, including "many blue windshields". The angels rejoice! I had no idea this was such an important factor, I would have checked that out sooner so we could have skipped the "angry about going to school phase". It turns out that Patrick was also very concerned that Megan and Anna would be in his class. Sean straightened that out. Bottom line: Patrick needs a break from all the girls in this house, mostly Anna.

The girls are in class with some of their favorite friends and it is looking like a good year for both of them. Megan gets a locker, big excitement there. She will start volleyball practice on Thursday which will be good for her socially I think. She will stay after school for that. My calendar of pick ups and drop offs is looking kind of insane but we'll figure it out. Patrick will do soccer a couple nights each week, Anna is doing tennis just one night each week, the girls have the option to do cross country club 3 nights a week (glad that is optional because some nights just aren't going to work), and the girls will continue with piano. Emily will ride in the car. Sean's schedule has scaled back so that will help too. The nice thing is that we have nothing on the weekends at all, other than watching football, which Sean just had the cable hooked up for (Cheryl, tell Ben, football season is ON).

As for update on our plans for next year, we honestly don't know. Not being coy, just waiting on some answers and options. Every time someone asks me why we are looking at Nashville I forget to say I want to be a country star. I mean, it's so obvious... my huge singing talent, my huge hair, and let's not forget my huge love of cowboy boots and country music! I will admit that the one pair of cowboy boots I tried on (Nana's) were shockingly comfortable, like the most comfortable boots ever, but I haven't gotten past that stage. I also don't mind some crossover country hits, so I am easing in. But the image still makes me hee haw.

The one thing I do know is that a big old house to renovate would be a nightmare. I do listen to the advice of those who have gone through this already, so I am taking that option off the table. So new and normal size is sounding good. Sean will appreciate that budget, seeing how the way we get the budget is I find a house I want and then I ask the bank how much Sean will need to work. Ha! True story and Sean knows it. We stay in this house and Sean can live a life of leisure... unless he wants a Tesla. That will motivate him through some 10 hour shifts...

 This is Patrick disobeying me. We hate when he does these headstands, that just can't be good for your neck. So when he is angry, he does this. Blurry because of his great speed.

 This is definitely the "angry about going to school" stage. I'd like to point out that this is a shot straight from a home magazine too... random princess slipper, Batman wallet... why? WHY??? Patrick asked why I boxed up most their toys a few weeks ago, because no one ever picked them up!!

 Megan setting up her locker. I didn't want to embarrass her by asking her to pose, so I just snuck this.

Emily wasn't feeling good this weekend and was very whiny the whole time we were at school. She even only ate half her ice cream cone, that's how I knew she was sick. Those are some sick eyes. She came home and pretty much put herself to bed, after insisting over and over that she wasn't tired... it quickly changed once I put her on the bed, then she asked me to bring me her toothbrush, she didn't want to get up. She may even be sleeping in this dress... I should go check. I do see that the Batman wallet and slippers are right where I left them at least... such a relief. I'd hate to lose them. Ready for Wednesday!

The last week of summer

Lots of Sean working lately, kids have lost all track of what day it is. Seems like we went to post a lot and have more trips there next week. I got my new army ID which meant I had to turn in my last one, which was taken a few weeks before Patrick was born, so I had fat pregnant face. Coincidentally I look much, much older in my new ID which I'm sure Patrick has everything to do with. It feels like we have had him 12 years so it's only fitting that I have aged 12 years since he was born. I hear a lot of other people marvel at how fast their children grow up. I see Patrick walking around here and am actually shocked that he's still so short. How is he not even 6 yet?!

He is counting down to his birthday of course, big plans for #6. He is coming to terms with starting school before his birthday, earlier in the week he was furious about that fact. Now he has played on the playground a few times when I've been at school for meetings so he is thinking school might be fun. Yeah, probably not Legos all day long though... When he had to read the eye chart for his school physical I wasn't sure if he would be able to say the letters... not because he couldn't read them but because he couldn't remember them. It has been a summer of leisure. I think we are finally ready for school to start though and while this will be the first time I have a child starting kindergarten while I'm not hugely pregnant, I think I will be fine with him growing up a bit. And I will see him at 2:42 which comes fast I know.

On a somewhat related note, in a couple of my magazines this month they are featuring India Hicks, a designer from a designer family (her Godfather is also Prince Charles). She has a house in the Bahamas and these articles gloss over it but they only show her 5 year old daughter in the photos... not her 4 older boys. And where might they be? Boarding school of course! Yes, that's how it works, in that family they ship their children off to boarding school at a young age because they don't have schools like they need in the Bahamas. Doubt homeschooling was ever considered, not that I blame her and I don't even run a design empire. Just puts sending your child off to kindergarten into perspective.

 I felt bad for not doing more fun stuff during our bonus days of summer so we ended up at Varsity Donuts late one morning. Patrick likes to take toys everywhere with him and he left that car thing in the bathroom there. Luckily we remembered before it was too late because you know I never would have heard the end of that.

 Girls weren't allowed to sit near Patrick. They are all ready for some time apart I think...

 Had a great night at the pool, complete with games and ice cream prizes.

 Megan mad that she didn't know the ice cream taco existed until now.

 Emily got herself a face staining popsicle.

As did Patrick...

Announcement from Patrick

Patrick would like everyone to know that if he told you he liked broccoli, he was lying. This is something he used to brag about to impress adults. It was all a farce. He won't even eat 5 tiny pieces of it tonight. Not even with ketchup.

I also keep forgetting to mention a funny story from Sean. Like many of my children, Patrick mumbles and gets mad when we don't know what he is saying. Sean told him recently that he couldn't understand him and Patrick lamented that no one understands his finger talk either. I don't know if someone else taught him this (Parker??) but he likes to use his version of sign language/ gang signs. When he is angry it's like his fingers are swearing. Good luck, teacher.

I had planned to take the kids to Target tonight just to check that off the list. Sean was working and I felt like torturing myself apparently. Well, after the broccoli fight and then Emily's meltdown I changed the plan to just taking Patrick as it would be easier for Megan to babysit if he was gone. He did okay grocery shopping this morning so I figured it would go well. It did except it took forever and we didn't check out until almost 9:30pm. Yes, I was getting some interesting looks from people who seemed to know that school starts bright and early tomorrow. Slacker mom with her kid out late, finally getting supplies.... It just didn't seem like it would help my case if I started talking loudly to myself about how he has a week until school starts, then I'd be crazy lady talking to myself. Now if this was at Walmart no one would have even noticed us I'm sure.

By the way, the most exciting purchase was a pencil box that locks. After hearing the kids complain for years about the religious education students stealing from their desks on Wednesday nights, we are going to win this year. Unless they steal the whole box... The teachers are well aware and will sometimes even push the desks together so those kids can't get inside them. Ah, a long standing tradition... I even remember it from my years in Catholic school. Megan has graduated to getting a locker she can lock though. Ready for junior high!

No more lazy days

The kids do have an entire week left to go before they start school, unlike their public school friends, but our lazy days are still over. It seems that all the random stuff I need to do every 6 or 7 years, I need to do again right now. Anything that involves lines, paperwork, federal employees, it's on my list. And oh boy, I see jury duty for September, possibly two weeks worth! There is no way I would be picked for that case, except by the prosecution, and I told them as much.

We are also taking care of many dentist appointments and doctor appointments and eye appointments. I've also managed to unload a lot of baby gear and random toys at the church garage sale. What I haven't done though is buy school supplies which is always a drill. Uniforms are washed, additional ones ordered, now we need belts, over the ankle socks and undershirts because the school crest is rather scratchy. I put Megan's school sports schedules on my calendar and that alone was exhausting, not sure how we're going to manage to go to all those games. I suspect we will skip the away games, out of respect for the three other children in the family. Plus, those other children have their own sports going on in town. Megan will become more independent this way, traveling with her teammates and coaches, not her mom. Or so the older moms have told me so I won't feel bad!

We are also working on fall travel plans and I think a lot of trips just aren't going to happen. The cost was starting to get ridiculous, not to mention the hassle of taking the kids out of school. We will go to only one of the weddings and combine that with seeing our good friends who are back stateside after three years in Belgium. I think only Sean will go to the ND games, including the one in Dallas. The logistics in deciding all this was driving me to drink, it was time to be realistic about what we can accomplish, i.e. not very much.

 Went and had lunch with Sean in the hospital cafeteria after school physicals.  Somehow Patrick is growing enough even though he eats a lot of cheeseburgers, french fries and ketchup. He always insists on ordering the ketchup, like it's a side dish, specifically he would prefer that we consider it a vegetable.

 Emily shot up the growth chart for height recently and it really could be due to chocolate milk since that is her most popular beverage of choice...

 I had to take them to this retired train by the park across from the hospital because they begged all morning to go there.

 Emily was Patrick's assistant for driving the train, lots of dials to turn.

The kids are constantly on the hunt for treasures and Patrick found this in the woods here. It was very valuable to him but you will notice that it's a rusty poking hazard so I paid him a dollar to turn it over to me. I think he knew he wasn't going to win so may as well take the cash.

Annoyance of the Week

Five, yes, FIVE different plungers were purchased in an attempt to unclog one of the new toilets. We thought we'd do a little updating to the rest of the bathrooms and bought the good toilets. The different shape means that you need a wider plunger which by the way, doesn't exist. I have start up money for anyone who knows how to get that into production and provide you (us!) with some passive income for life. Until the children learn to follow our instructions on how to avoid this enormous annoyance, I have bought them the super cheap thin toilet paper. Practical solution/punishment.

Much happier post!

After a 5 hour delay, Megan and Anna finally flew into Kansas City yesterday afternoon.

Patrick was just thrilled that the girls brought him "presents".  A golf ball and some candy that was probably just leftover from the trip but he doesn't care. Candy is candy. He was also so happy that the delay meant he could go to Superhero Gymnastics class, his last one. 

I'm still not really sure what skills he learned during this class all summer but he came home sweaty after being there two hours so I really don't care. Get tired!!

Don't be perfect

We attended a heartbreaking yet inspiring rosary and visitation tonight for someone we knew through Mardi Gras planning. I debated whether we knew him well enough to go but realized that I would of course want to pay condolences to the wife, whom I spent more time with on projects. I tend to run into her around town frequently and I would not want to put her in the difficult position of having to hear how sorry I was at say, the grocery store. She is the epitome of graciousness, I'd hate to inadvertently upset her if she finally manages to have a good day.

I only bring this up because it would be a shame if after all that has happened, no lessons were learned. There was talk tonight of the desire to be perfect and how falling short of that can lead to hopelessness. Working to look perfect and thus hide that hopelessness is the tragedy. We need to accept imperfections and move on together. And you know, talk about the real issues and work through them. I hope healing started tonight for the family and true friends and that they felt our compassion. That strong wife just asked me to pray for her husband. We are praying for all of them....

Love this photo from Camp Keenan!

They did a ropes course someplace in NY and Anna is so proud!

Forgot to post on the blog

I had a rare posting about this on facebook instead, forgot to put here:

That's right, our tax refund arrived! And then I removed our address from the photo of it because maybe someday someone other than family will find this blog and see my real address and want to send me a Christmas card? Anyway, I guess they finally realized that Sean is a Boy Scout who would never get in business with anyone shady and risk indictment. Nope, Sean works every single hour that he is paid for, I can vouch for that. The man is tired.

Camp Keenan

Here is the latest update I got:

What a whirlwind with Megan and Anna this summer. So many fun things in Michigan then Western NY and now Virginia!
In addition to Niagara Falls, the Maid of the Mist, Sky High Adventure Park, we have since added The Greenbrier Resort which is nothing short of Fabulous.  It has been compared to The Grand Hotel on Macinac Island as the other comparable hotel of its kind!  The girls loved it.  " Who Wouldn't want to stay here?" as Anna quipped.  We have had the duck races here at Stoney Creek and next year Anna has declared it will be "The Duck Olympics".  Ducks from other countries and an official finish line will be added as well as gold medals for the winners.
Bridget and Anthony are here and attended a wedding reception last night but have been here for   a late night dinner, a picnic and a hike this morning.  The girls are burning the candle at both ends!
In short, they will be happy to go home and rest!
Today we also plan the bungee jumping and tubing on the mountain and tomorrow Safari Park!
(the second most fun thing to do here, Anna reports).  Duck races being first..Thank you Maureen.
Tuesday on to Northern VA to visit Aunt Caroline Nicholas and Sienna then on to DC to the Newseum which we heard is fabulous for their ages.  Staying with Bridget and Anthony and metro-ing in to the city for a second day in DC topping it off with a Military Tattoo at Ft. Meyer evening.  We will take them Thursday morning to the airport to fly home.


(Back to me) I am afraid to ask about the Military Tattoo at Ft. Meyer. We'll see what they come off the plane with...

One more sleep!

I take the littles with me tomorrow to pick up the girls from the KC airport after their many days of fun at Camp Keenan which was the travel version this year it seems. I will post quotes from emails from Nana soon because I couldn't possibly recap it all. Sean had planned to take the day off to pick them up and spare me the drive with the kids but thanks to a certain indictment, we are screwed. I mean, not as bad as the person in jail for the indictment, but these aren't the best travelers. I did point out that Sean could take them to work with him for the day because there is a cubicle free now. Suggestion shot down. Sean just checked to see if the iPad was charged. Whoops, I didn't even think of that, apparently I was just planning on four hours of kids whining. Patrick has been taking out anger on me too. I must be filling in for Anna. We have caught him staring aimlessly into space and Sean correctly identified that as "at a loss for what to do without Anna here to annoy". His life was without purpose. Don't worry Patrick, purpose starts tomorrow. And school starts two weeks from today... maybe that is why he is angry. I have some concerns, I took this photo today at Varsity Donuts:

Nope, I didn't flip the photo. He is just so gifted that he can write so you can read it in the mirror. Good luck kindergarten teacher! Sean worked with him tonight, I think we have clarified a few things...

I just read a quote in the paper that is from the Charleston Tea Plantation, "Start your day slowly and then taper off from there". Yep, sums up our summer and most certainly these past couple weeks since we got home from vacation. Hermit much? Yes. In my defense most of my close friends have been gone so I've been inside emailing those who live far away. Poor Carrie, Carrie and Lisa... I had jokingly told the kids to not tell Daddy how much TV they watched today so then of course Emily had to confess to him. I got them out to the fountains in the morning and then got donuts so clearly we deserved an afternoon of leisure and email and TV.

Tomorrow we also have a meeting with the ND Development representative with other area alumni. We happen to live next door to one of the few others in the area and I joked with them about how I didn't know if Sean could make it but that's okay, I have the checkbook. Totally deadpan they said, "so this isn't an outreach program?". Ah, we are due for our football donation anyway if we want tickets in 2014. Or more importantly, if we want our kids to qualify for legacy status. I guess with the GI Bill we could allow one child to go now... who is our favorite?! Post your guess in the comments!

This totally works

Thanks Mom for the white wine aerator! It totally works, maybe too well. Maybe so well that I forgot to get dinner started. Even Sean could tell the difference and this is just "white table wine". So "fancy" but a good light summer wine. I wonder how it would work with Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill? I don't think I can bring myself to buy it and see.

I am ready for a glass now after spending far more time than usual working around the house. I wouldn't say I am normally lazy but wait, that is accurate. I read some nester blog and one of her tips for making her house look good is to take the screens off the windows. Since our screens are cobwebby and dirty and have some ivy on them, it made a huge difference taking them off. I will put back on the ones for windows I actually open (very few). I also bought that window cleaner stuff that you attach to the hose (this is my kind of lazy cleaning right here) and for the first time since we moved in, I washed the outside of the windows. It works about half as well as regular window washing and that is better than nothing. I was inspired enough to wash the ones I could reach for real though and it looks so good that I'm going to be angry when it rains...

Post-vacation life

 This little guy snuck in the door the other day and it took me forever to catch him. I know what you're thinking, it's so small, big deal? It is a big deal when it crawls on my face at night and those little ones are hard to spot....

 Not sure what resulted in these dolls going in jail but I can see one was caught naked in public. Maybe the others were indicted?

 While I was on my manic cleaning and organizing spree, the kids were also hard at work. This is apparently a race track for Patrick's cars.

 The kids are having a smores obsession and it couldn't be messier...

 Sky's the limit! Sean says that when he was a kid he used to dream of growing up and being able to buy all the Little Debbie treats he wanted. So I sent him this photo from the store and asked which ones he wanted. Yuck. I know, such a sugar snob...

The final frontier.... ah, the American Girl Doll loft space. Emily is anxious for Megan to come home and play with her so I haven't attempted to clean this up at all. Only place in the house that is out of control. I just need to work on maintaining everything now, no small task. I need the girls to come home and unload the dishwasher for me! It is endless.

Sean took Patrick golfing, happy afternoon for both of them I hope. I painted Emily's toenails and am letting her watch her beloved My Little Pony that resulted in many fights this morning. I finally had to remind them that I am the mom and I went and hid the remote to stop the yelling over what show to watch. Eventually they adjust and start entertaining themselves in other ways. It is so hard to get that TV off though, the tantrums...