Quick 5

It's a four-day weekend around here for us!

1. It's been pretty hot around here lately, and I almost forgot fall is coming. Which means my girls are going to need shoes. You know, the closed toe kind that you wear with socks. But apparently that is not an easy task. I mean, if you want to pay $25 or $30 for shoes for a preschooler that she'll wear for only 5 months or so, then you're golden. But if you don't want to pay that, you're kind of up a creek without a paddle. I suppose I could pay $11.00 for dirty, banged up used shoes, but that doesn't seem right either. So I've dragged my girls from store to store, and I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and pay the big bucks.

2. I'm torn between two generations. Mine, which filled our bellies with raw cookie dough, and the current one, which writes lengthy science filled articles about the dangers of such behaviors. Because of this, Bria got to try raw cookie dough for the first time at age 2 1/2. I love watching her eyes get big when she discovers the goodness of life.

 3. We have a four-day weekend because of Parent Teacher conferences. Alaina had Thursday and Friday off of school this week. We went to her conference yesterday, and she is doing quite well. She's ahead of the game in reading and math, which doesn't surprise us. Apparently her math class will be starting 3rd grade math soon, with the hopes of being done with it and ready for 4th grade math by the end of 2nd grade. It makes me a bit nervous, because I've been warned that it gets much harder much quicker, but her math teacher has an excellent policy about homework. If we can't figure out the homework at home, all we have to do is circle it and write "Teach Me," and then the teacher will go over it in class. That right there makes me feel better. Alaina's teacher also told us that she had a tendency to be a "bit chatty," but we all knew that about her, didn't we?

4. Alaina's school had a Book Fair this week. They let the kids walk through and make a wish list. Alaina was proud to be able to count out her money and take some with her to buy her very own book. (A Captain Underpants book, of course!)

 

5. You might be surprised at how often I have to remind my girls to look forward while they're walking.

Go Broncos!!

Quick 5

The days are hot and the mornings are cool.

1. Matchy matchy!! (Full disclosure...I had to practically force Alaina to wear the shirt. She's just not a pink stripe girl. But she finally got on board with the matching.)

2. On Sunday we went to my parents' house for dinner. We used to go there a couple times a month, but we've not been able to do that this year. Early last week, Bria started asking to see Grammy every day. Every time we got in the car she'd start cheering for Grammy's, then crying when she found out we were NOT going to Grammy's. So we made it a point to go to Grammy's. I think it helped. Now she has a bee in her bonnet about seeing Uncle Josh, Aunt Mindy, and Apple Ben. Unfortunately she'll have to wait awhile for those.

3. We tried to have a fun day on Labor Day. We took the girls to Cabela's to just wander around and see the animals. They loved the fish. Bria wasn't as thrilled with the stuffed animals as I hoped she'd be. Then she wanted all the things, so our last 20 minutes was spent dragging around a screaming toddler. Then we took the girls out to eat. To a sit down restaurant. Without a coupon or gift card. It was a big deal. And no, not as fun for us as we wanted, but the girls liked it.

 4. Tuesday did not go as planned. Alaina spent the day like this instead of at school:

Okay, she mostly watched movies. But then took a good nap. Hopefully it's the only sick day we'll have to take this whole year.

5. The rest of my garden may have flopped, but raspberry time seems to be kicking into gear. I'm getting about a dozen each time, instead of five. I would probably get more, but Bria pilfers them off the bush when she goes out to play. I should have seen that one coming. Alaina and Joya have a strong sense of staying away unless I tell them to go get them, but Bria feels the freedom to pick and eat whatever her little eye sees. Bless.

The weekend is upon us.

Quick 5

It's like my dear friend Becky always said in college: "The days are long, but the weeks are fast." Oh boy, are they.

1. I always hoped that since I have only girls, one of them would have long hair. Alaina can't be bothered with long hair and Joya has the world's most tender head (I'm tempted to contact Guinness World Records about it) so both of them have short hair. Bria has never minded me brushing her hair, so I thought she was it. Well, it's turns out she's a hair chewer. And that grosses me out to no end. So little Bria got her very first hair cut this week. I took her to the expensive kid place that lets them watch movies during the cut, and Bria watched Frozen. She was perfectly cooperative, although she kept telling the stylist that the conditioner she was spraying her hair "stinks!!"

2. You know all those jokes about people trying to pawn off their garden produce this time of year? That does not apply to me. So far, in my three years of home gardening, I've only gotten my garden to produce paltry amounts. Not really even enough to feed my family. I've gotten ONE zucchini this year, and one or two peppers. But never enough at once to really do something with them. I still have to buy stuff at the store. I've gotten TWO tomatoes:

 Don't worry; they're supposed to look like that. The girls must have horked my little plant marker that says what they are, but they're some kind of heirloom variety that would turn pink and black. Sure enough they did. Also my raspberry bush is giving us berries, but only about 5 at a time. We each get one tiny berry each day. I've tried leaving them on the bush until we have more, but then the birds get them. I think the dream of having a bunch of produce at once belongs in the category of unicorns and Neverland.

3. My left arm and my left thigh are nice and tan. That's it. I forgot the tan you get when sitting in the carpool pick up line. No need to point and laugh; I'm aware.

4. Thanks to a generous gift from Lee's parents, our house has gotten a facelift: a new front door! The old one was so brown and crusty. The installer even remarked at how big a difference a real, insulated, air tight door would make, compared to the splintered wood one we had before.

We decided to paint it red. After the first coat, we were kind of nervous at what we had done. It looked...amateur.

But by the end of three coats, we were SO PLEASED.

And now the great debate is whether or not to paint the door frame white or brown. The UPS guy says white (seriously), but I think I'm leaning toward brown, because the trim around the garage is brown. We're taking votes, by the way. Speak up!

5. We've done the best we can on our house so far:

2012

2015

Dead trees gone, new roof, new door...maybe someday we'll get a good handle on that yard of ours. Baby steps!

Have a great long weekend!

Quick 5

And just like that, August is out the door.

1. Bria had her 2 1/2 year old well check visit at the doctor on Monday. Here's a fun fact: neither of the other girls had a 2 1/2 year check up. Because I didn't know it was a thing. But the doctor's office insisted it was, and a friend assured me that insurance covered it, so in we went. It was easy because there were no shots, and we talked all things Potty the whole time. Whatever. We like our doctor. And Bria is still super tall.

2. We've settled into school routine like we never left. Except we added one key element: Bria screaming. Most days I can leave her home with Daddy while I do morning drop off, and on those days she screams like I'm leaving on a two-year trek through Antarctica. But on the few days that I have to take the sisters with us, she waits until Alaina gets out of the car at school, and then she screams the whole way home. She's inconsolable. It's cute that she loves her sister so much and so annoying. She is always so happy to see Alaina at the end of the day. This year she definitely misses her sister.

3. Alaina decided to shed a little weight this week:

 Maybe technically I forced her to pull the tooth. The dangling tooth was grossing us out, so she let me pull it. And now I have to cut up her food like I did when she was a toddler. She's so proud.

4. Joya has a new friend:

She had asked me to make her a unicorn. So I did. Obviously it was inspired by the unicorn in Despicable Me, and yes, she runs around the house now yelling, "It's so fluffy I'm gonna die!!" And to keep the peace, I just might have to make one for Bria.

5. The Kimble House had a procedure done this week. It's not fully completed yet, but as soon as it is, you'll see what I mean.

Welcome September!! No 90 degree days allowed for you.

Quick 5

Welcome back, busy days!

1. Saturday was the busiest day ever. Alaina's school had an all school work day. Since each family is required to do 40 hours of volunteer service for the school each school year, Lee and I went and spent 5 hours painting a hallway. One side was almost completely cinder block, so I spent the whole time brushing the cracks while Lee rolled the whole thing. It was so much work. But it looks nice now.

2. While we were painting, the girls had the funnest day ever. Grammy and Grandad came and whisked them away for a day of donuts and the splash park. I can guarantee they had more fun than we did, even if we DID get free pizza for lunch.

3. The first day of school came and went without a hitch! It helps that Alaina is in the same classroom, with 17 of the same kids she was with last year. Her class only got two new students. And she already knew her teacher from last year. So it was like no transition at all. The only difference is I have to deal with parents who either don't know or don't remember proper drop off/pick up etiquette.

4. Tuesday was a first day for the little girls too. They really miss Alaina. Bria still asks where she is quite often. It is not far from my mind that this is my last year having Joya home all day either.

5. Awana started up on Wednesday. Joya is in her last year of Cubbies and Alaina is in her last year of Sparks. Next year I'll have a Cubbie, a Spark AND a T&Ter. 

Routine is good for us.

Quick 5

Summer is over.

1. We had a great time at my nephew's Super Hero birthday party on Saturday. Here is how Joya dressed for the event:

Every super hero needs a princess to save, right? My niece was a Super Hero Princess, but Joya was just a princess...it's important that you get that detail right.

2. On Wednesday we had a play date with Alaina's buddy Owen. We went to a park with fountains, and I tried to get the girls to wear their swimsuits. They declined. But Owen and his sister were wearing their suits and therefore jumped right in the fountains. And then so did all three of my girls. Fully clothed. There was a little stream they all played in too. Even Bria. In her cloth diaper. They were wet and happy.

3. We went to Back to School night on Thursday and met Alaina's teacher. The fun thing about being in a small school is that Alaina already knows her teacher, Mrs. Capolungo. She cheered when she heard that she would be in her class. AND it turns out that Alaina's class will be in the exact same classroom that they were in last year. Alaina is a little less excited about that; she was looking forward to being in a new room. But I think it's because for some reason, the 2nd grade is the smallest class, and it just works best to have them in there. (P.S...there is still room at Alaina's school! If you are looking for a great charter school, with small class sizes and strong parental involvement, Collegiate Academy has space in all classes!)

4. I'm equally happy and sad about school starting. We like structure around here, and I can tell that Alaina needs to get back into the swing of learning and being around kids her age. But I did like the relaxed days of summer, when we didn't have to go to bed or get up quite so early. I've had to remind myself that summer is not real life...summer is break from real life, and it's time to get back to it.

5. Go Broncos!

Peace out!

Quick 5

Hot, dry, crunchy August.

1. The girls got to go to a birthday party at Home Depot on Saturday. We had never been to one of the kid workshops at Home Depot, and I knew they would love it. Building real stuff AND cake is kind of a winning idea. I did have to take Bria, which means she had a super short nap, and she was difficult, as I knew she would be. But the good news is while she was sitting in her chair hollering about the injustice of it all, everyone else was banging away on their projects. So no one could hear her. It was awesome. By the time we had cake she calmed down, though.

Bria is literally shaking her fist in this pic, screaming "No picture!! No picture!!"

 2. Joya was so proud of her project that she wanted to take it everywhere and show everyone. When I said that wasn't a good idea, she used her noggin and asked if I could take a picture of it on my phone and show everyone that way. So I did. And she made sure that I kept up my end of the bargain at church, showing everyone her project.

3. On Monday we had a Cousin Day in Colorado Springs. I don't have any pictures, and I'm a little proud of myself for that, because our generation feels compelled to document EVERYTHING in pictures. But instead I just enjoyed. We went with my sister and her kids to their neighborhood pool, and it was delightful. It's a fantastic pool for little kids. I'm also quite proud of the fact that it was my first time ever taking the girls swimming all by myself. Alaina is very trustworthy in the water, and Joya is too. Bria, not so much, due to her lack of experience. And her stubborn will. But we all had fun, and Aunt Jamie's brilliant usage of fruit snacks made even leaving a peaceful experience.

4.  Supplies have been purchased, registration fees have been paid, and her school picture has been taken. Alaina is ready for 2nd grade. Next Thursday is Back to School night when we get to see her classroom and meet her teacher. Alaina is ready to be with all her friends again. And she's looking forward to all the new challenging work. (Her words, not mine. She really is.)

5. My garden just might be a failure this year. I can't decide if I'm watering it too much or not enough. Maybe both. My zucchini plants have lots of giant blooms every day, but none of the blooms are the fruit producing ones. My tomato plant is totally lazy. My sugar snap peas dried up at the mere sight of the sun. However, my pepper plant has at least 10 peppers on it, and we're getting raspberries. I've been able to pull off three or four berries every day, and it looks like soon we might have a whole bunch at once. That is the most exciting to me. I don't know where I went wrong with the zucchinis, but maybe next year.

Peace out!