Basketball

Charlie's Jr. High basketball team played in the Cartwright Classic Tourney this weekend.  Albiani won the first game they played and then lost the 2nd two.   He started all 3 games.

Charlie was named MVP for his team for the tournament.  He told us at dinner that in the 4th quarter when his coach put him back in and said "I need you to go to the post and score 10 points for us".  And he didn't get quite 10 but 9!  The amazing thing that happened was that he realized he could just be strong and play hard.   It was like watching switch flip and he went from good to amazing that last period. 

2016 - Off with a Bang

 

My Bike

By Audrey Garrison

My Bike is purple and fun,

I ride in wind and sun.

My bike zooms past cars,

It can take me to Mars.

Off in the wind we go,

Like Santa's Sleigh saying "ho, ho, ho"

My Bike is nice and sweet

It can not be beat.

The heat never gets to me,

When I am riding nice and free.

Back to school again? Already!!!

I can not believe we go back to school this week!  I am not ready, really I would be good with another month or two of summer.  I like having the kids home,the relatively calm, the relaxed schedule!  Ugh the schedule. I need to get on Cozi and up date the calendar.

Today I am going to visit an old friend and am so excited to see her.  Before and after the kids and I will make a few last minute stops for binders, backpacks for the girls, a ceiling fan for Audrey & Emilys new room.

Yikes, back to the grind stone already.

Where have we been....

I was reading on a friends blog today about something going on in her life and how she wasn't sure she should share but she decided she wanted to go back and see all the events and times in her life, good or bad.  It really makes me sad to think that the last year I haven't been very good about recording what our family is up to.  Not that we are just sitting around, honestly it is far from that. More often than not I feel like we are so busy that we are all just trying to keep our head above water.

First let me share this!

Charlie is now 11!  He is getting ready to go into 6th grade. I can't believe this is going to be his last year in elementary school and we will have a teenager in the house before we know it.  We just finished up a great baseball season.  He became an ace 1st baseman this year.  John coached his team, the Mets and they won our league's major division championship.  This meant that we moved on to TOC's and Charlie got to play at Rotary Park where John grew up playing.  TOC's ran straight into All Stars where the boys did great.  They didn't win it all but we won a few games through out the tournament

Annie is now 9!  She is getting ready for 4th grade.  She had a busy year with piano lessons, soccer, basketball right into softball then  All Stars for her also.  She is growing up into such a beautiful young lady.  

Audrey is now 6 and just finished Kindergarten.  She amazes us daily with how smart she is!  She started tennis this spring and seems to really love it. She is just super quirky and funny.

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That leaves us with Ms. Emily.  Our baby is now 3 1/2 and I am not sure exactly how to put it other than she is giving us a run for our money.  She is spunky, crazy, sweet, funny, strong willed, a spitfire and a sweetheart all rolled into a cute little package.  She did a 8 week preschool class this spring and loved it. She can't wait for fall til she can go all year.  

So there you go. In a nut shell where we are!  I won't bore you with the details like today Annie had 2 teeth pulled (she get's 2 more out next week) and when we came home from the 8:30 am dentist appointment there was water dripping onto my kitchen table directly below our master bath!  See life is always happening! But maybe if I jot them down someday they will seem funny and we will fondly remember when....

To Hear or not to Hear?

So amiss everything going on in life we have been taking Emily to the Audiologist every other month for the last year to follow her speech and hearing.  She has had a few ear infections but she has always had pressure in her ears, both fluid and just air.  About a year ago I was telling her Dr. that I don't think her speech is where it was supposed to be.  Plus she NO volume control and screeches a lot.  I am not sure if this is because she is the youngest, she can't communicate like she would like to or what. But it has been a source of stress for everyone for the last year.  (mostly for me - I liken it unto nails on a chalk board!!!)

So off to the Audiologist we went.  Every appointment for the last year she has had a different timpani-gran reading in each ear, nothing staying the same but consistently with pressure in both ears to some degree.  Last week after the whole ear wax issue we went in and her readings were at 35 for both ears. Her Ear Drums weren't moving at all and it read high enough that she has a moderate hearing impairment.

Monday we took her to another ENT and we have decided to put tubes in her ears.  It was an easy decision and one we both felt such relief at when the Dr. said she can fit her in Thursday to do it.

I told John I am dreaming of waking up with a different child living in our home.  John has tubes and ear issues so it seems fitting one of our kids would too.  Since John can articulate what he is feeling when his ears are bothering him or a tube has fallen out it sounds like it is painful when you feel like your head is always full of pressure.  I would probably screech too if I hurt and felt that way.

So hear is hoping for a smooth day tomorrow and a very happy and screech free Friday!

10 minutes to spare!

Last time I updated my blog I promised my self I was going to put blogging on my to do list each Monday morning, oh well I have already failed that one!  Here is it Thursday at 10:00 and I have 10 minutes to spare so here is what is happening in our family.

Last week we added some new things to our family calendar.  Charlie started flag football at the school.  You would think Tim Tebow has moved into our house the way Charlie is always trying to come up with plays and practicing throwing!  In fact this morning before school I had to send John and Charlie out front to toss the football around as it banged into the window yet again!  Today is his first game and we are all super excited to  watch him.

Annie started knitting club at school.  We have a great Kiwanis group where we live and these lady's come and provide this class for free at the school.  Annie and a bunch of her friends are doing it and they LOVE it.  She is always sitting around finger knitting.

Emily can't hear very well!  We have known it for a while but this week the Audiologist referred us to the ENT next Monday because her ears are full of fluid and she is sufficiently hearing impaired from it now for them to deal with it. (It has only taken a year!!!) I am looking forwarded to resolving this is some way.  I love Em but she screeches and it is like nails on a chalk board.  Now I just feel bad that I have no patience for it when it is her response to not hearing well. Basically it is the equivalent of someone walking around with their fingers in their ears all the time.  Since she doesn't hear right she doesn't talk right either!

Audrey as always is doing something that makes us laugh.  This weekend at Charlie's baseball game she went over to the visitors side and sat on their bleachers.  When Charlie came up to bat she started yelling at the top of her lungs "Charlie don't be afraid of the ball, it won't hurt you, come on Charlie there is nothing to be scared of!"  Oh poor Charlie, in case there was any doubt that any one couldn't hear her, John came up to me laughing after the game that he could hear it in the dugout with 10 boys!

Well my 10 minutes are up, time to go take Audrey to school!

Monday Morning recap

When your babies are little and you are exhausted and overwhelmed with the caring for every need you just assume life will get easier as they get older. In some ways it does. All my kids can get a snack, can go to the bathroom on their own, they can play for periods of time alone, they are becoming self sufficient people. But in other ways I have never been busier or more exhausted. With 4 kids and a husband that are all busy and have things going on it seems we never stop. I find myself waking up at 5 just so I can get a jump start on the day and fall into bed almost asleep before my head hits the pillow. 

Our days are FULL! Everyday there are multiple practices or activities for multiple kids which means shuttling, carpooling, eating in shifts or early or late or both (you get the drift), while the kids are at school my days are full of errands, cooking dinner, cleaning, laundry, play dates, working in the classroom, and with a half day kindergartner the day is chopped in half. There are play dates and homework to be done, piano to practice, you get it. Life is crazy busy and there is always hiccups too! 

On Wednesday evening Emily fell and hurt her mouth. This included an emergency trip to the dentist for 2 chipped teeth first thing in the morning. She will have to have dental work done to build up a few teeth but thank goodness she is OK! Dr. Tommy (our kids dentist and old family friend of mine) said he will make her smile look perfect again (seriously - Emily has the toothiest little smile, she looks like she has flippers like the kids in Toddlers and Tiara's). While I was at the dentist getting her checked out John sprained his ankle playing ball. As an indicator of how bad it was John voluntarily went to the dr for it. Luckily it isn't broken just badly sprained!

 

But during all of this and the busier and busier we are I often forget all the great fun we have. This week fall sports kicked off with a bang (no pun in tended). Audrey and Annie are both playing soccer this year and after a month of twice a week practices for both of them they had their first games.

Audrey is our kid who we keep a journal of quotes because she is always saying and doing quirky things. For example when she was practicing some sight words for school this week she was making curly q's come off her "n's". She said "mom look, my n's are dancing" with a completely strait face. Audrey hasn't seemed to show a love for team sports yet, although she is loving gymnastics. 2 minutes into the soccer game she just walked across the field, during the game, up to the golf cart and said "can we go home now?" So John and I were SHOCKED when 3 or 4 times she dribbled the ball up and down the field herself and was super aggressive and into soccer. After the game she hops on the golf cart and says "hey, I didn't know this but I really love soccer".

Annie did awesome, but then we knew she would. She loves soccer and has this amazing ability to run. I always tell John she looks like a gazelle when she is running, it is quite beautiful when you watch her natural athletic grace. 

Annie's game was in town at Elk Grove Park and as we were packing up our chairs a woman comes up to the team and asked if anyone had a black Yukon, and said it was broken into. Well the family next to us has the exact same car as us and theirs was packed to leave town so I assumed it was their's. Wrong, it was ours. Smash and grab - they got my purse! I had forgotten it in the car as we where herding 4 kids as well as lugging lawn chairs, umbrellas, team snacks, and water bottles to the field. Luckily all my cards are with USAA and they were able to cancel everything before any damage was done. The window gets fixed today. Nothing of great value was in my purse only the million things a mom carries around! As I have said to John at least no one was hurt and our car will be fine.

Often John and I forget what a small Mayberry town we live in! As a great reminder we had been planning on going to an outdoor concert at our Lake to watch a Frankie Valli and a the Four Seasons Tribute band that night. We had the best time. You cant see because it is dark but behind the band is a beautiful lake and as we sat there with our friends and kids running around happy as could be with shooting stars filling the sky. It made John and I stop and remember how blessed we are to get to live where we do to raise our kids.

Then Sunday afternoon Charlie had his first Fall Ball baseball game. He started the game as pitcher and did a great job. He loves to play ball and loves it even more that his dad is his coach. They have a great time out there together. (I love the look on Charlie's face as he is waiting on the mound - he loves it out there and I think he knows how good he is - lol! )

Now it is Monday morning again and it is quiet in our house at 4:30, before the crazy starts all over again for another fun filled week! 

 PS - love this shot of Em! I can just see her thinking "no biggie, no one will notice I am eating off the serving spoon!"