Grade school notes

 Harper's slumber party. The big girls wanted the little ones to spend the night in their room. Probably so they could play with Harper's new toys but anyway, the next morning, Lily says, "They are never ever spending the night again, Harper asks too many questions and Haley plays with toys all night"

 We brought back buckets of acorns from Mammy & Pappy's house and have been feeding one very happy squirrel we've named Squeaky. Lily & Lacy decided to "observe" Squeaky one afternoon. My favorite is that Lily noted, "eats without manners"!!

 This is a Halloween card from Lily's friend Andrew...we then had a discussion about making sure we're FRIENDS. Uggghhh...I dread them getting older.

 Jason & Haley during the marathon Santa list making...pretty sure Jason had a hand cramp after the last one.

 Lacy's Note, "Dear Mommy and Daddy, I'm sorry if I laugh at you or don't listen to you. P.S. And God" I then asked Lacy if she laughs at us alot. She answered, "Not you, just Daddy. Like when he fell in that hole last winter"

 Lily has to write sentences with her spelling words each week. Here's some gems from this week, "When I am sick, I complain alot all day long" Truer words have never been spoken! and "My dad is underpaid at his job" Amen, sister!

 Lily made this cartoon for Lacy when her eye was hurting, it is titled "Get well Best sisters"

Serious Jib Jab video making on a crazy Friday night

Harperisms Last week

Harper had a big week last week...turned 4, hung out with Aunt Cheryl for a few days, wondered why she didn't have balls, called me bossy and shoplifted for the first time.

Here's the breakdown:
The balls...
"Where are my balls?"
Me, "WHAT?"
"Why don't I have balls like you?"
Me, "WHAT?" while racking my brain where on earth Harper learned about balls
Me, "What balls are you talking about?"
"You know, the balls on your belly"
Me, "Can you show me the balls on my belly?"
"Right there" while poking my boob AKA the balls on my belly.

We have welcomed Snowflake the Elf into our home for the Christmas season, she "watches" over the girls during the Christmas season to report back to Santa. She was perched on the kitchen light fixture the other morning watching over us during breakfast. I told the girls maybe she was in the kitchen to watch me since that's where I hang out most of the time.
Me, "What do you think Mommy does that Snowflake could report back to Santa? What does Mommy do that's naughty?"
Lacy, "You don't do anything naughty Mommy" LOVE HER
Harper, "You boss us around all the time"
I then felt the need to defend myself and my parenting to my 4 year old, going into detail how it's not bossiness but parenting, teaching right vs. wrong,etc....pretty sure I lost her after the first 20 seconds.

Harper is the latest Newton girl to disgrace our family by shoplifting. Browsing around Old Navy with the little girls, Harper found a very ugly crystal feather bracelet that caught her eye. She asked if she could wear it in the store, told her No and moved onto the rest of the store. Apparently, the bracelet went along with us in a pocket or something. We got home and a short while later, there was the hideous bracelet on the floor. She denied it at first when I started to interrogate her. I sent her to the corner until she was ready to tell the truth. Sooo....
"I'm ready to tell the truth"
Me, "Harper did you take this bracelet"
Harper staring back at me, mute.
Me, "Harper, tell the truth. Did you take this bracelet?"
"Maybe"
Me, "Go back to the corner until you're ready to tell the truth"
A few minutes later...
"I'm ready to tell the truth"
Me, "Harper, did you take this bracelet?"
Harper, "Yeah"
And then I repeated the stealing lecture from a year and 1/2 ago with Lacy...against the law, against God's laws,  yada yada yada. Maybe I should make a DVD and just play it for when Haley does this??? At this point Harper's crying because she knows she did the wrong thing & she's going to have to go back to the store to make it right. We practiced "I took your bracelet and I'm sorry. I won't ever steal again" She was very nervous heading back to the store but she did it. A lady on our way out had overheard Harper's apology and said, "Wow, what a great lesson for her" Well, we're not going to let her keep it!!! I wasn't quite as mortified as I was when Lacy did it, I think I've gained some perspective. It's normal for that age AND I've read if they do it when they're little, they won't do it when they're teenagers. Harper was so relieved after her public apology, she literally skipped out of the store to the car.

Conference Time

Parent teacher conferences were last night & as usual, I'm that OCD over organized parent who shows up with a printed list of questions that we compiled over the weekend along with report cards, copies of standardized tests,etc. I'm never sure if the teacher is happy I'm that crazy cares too much about everything that goes on at school Mom or if they're glad that I'm crazy like that.

Lily is a different kid at school than home, she's not loud or a little rambunctious. All of her awesomeness is exemplified at school, thoughtful, sweet, hard worker, very methodical or as her teacher says, "Wish I had 30 more like her" Love hearing that about our girl! No grades yet, they grade on a 1-3 scale. Lily had all 2+ so as her parents, we of course question, why not a 3? We expected 2s in math, it's her nemesis at times but the girl NEVER misses a spelling word and has exceeded her reading goals. Apparently, 3s are hard to attain in Mrs. Smiths class because she has high expectations & we're good with that because we do too!

Lacy was just about 3s in everything, her reading is exceptional & she's fast at math facts BUT we do need to work on her confidence to speak up in class, make eye contact,etc. Lacy is who she is and who she is, is much quieter and introverted than Lil. Our concern is not to change her personality or for her to think that she's not perfect exactly the way God made her. We do want her to be able to overcome her anxiety in bigger groups. We're starting to set goals for her to raise her hand to answer in class each day & always to look at someone in the eye when speaking to them.

Jason said conferences are a good reminder to focus on how well they're doing since usually when we're discussing school issues, it's "how can we make them better, smarter, faster....?"

When you die...

Harper informed me in the car the other day.."Mommy, when you & Daddy die, I'm taking your house and turning it into a farm"
Me, "Have you talked to your sisters about this?"
Harper, "Yeah, they don't want it"
And then 30 seconds later...
Harper, "When I get old, I will have a mustache"

Harper is...one of a kind

Harper has a wonderful little friend named Anthony...yes, she calls him her boyfriend.
On the way to preschool, "Hurry up Mommy, Anthony will be so worried if I am late"

"I am going to marry Anthony, I will make him so happy"
At the park with Anthony, "Anthony, you going to marry me?"  He did say, "yeah"


Some other quotes...
Very seriously, Harper comes up to me the kitchen and says in a loud whisper, "I need you to tell me all Lily's secrets or I'll lose my incredibleness"

At Mammy's house, Jason described the taste of a mint oreo as being "like Heaven" so when Harper was asked what she wanted for a treat, she replied, "I want that cookie that tastes like Heaven"

Our unsung Hero

Most people might think Moms are unappreciated, that they don't get the recognition they deserve. Sometimes this is true, sometimes I feel this way but not very often. I think this comes from Jason being very vocal about how much he appreciates what I do as a wife, a Mom and the manager of our home. I also think it's because I truly love what I do. Not scrubbing the toilet or cleaning up diaper blowouts (thank you Haley Mae) but most days, I love the busyness of our house and the chores that go with. I love picking out the girls clothes, talking with them while I make breakfast, fixing hair, hanging out in the driveway waiting for the bus, taking walks with the littles, one on one time with Haley while Harper's at school, grocery shopping, sneaking in some sewing while the littles nap, etc. The girls see all I do because I do it with them...the girls don't always see all Jason does for us. He goes to a job where he does feel underappreciated and undervalued because he wants to provide for them, pay for college and keep me at home forever. He gives up cable TV instead of cutting back on saving for college. When he takes over practicing speech with Sissy, he gives her undivided attention instead of trying to squeeze it in between homework and dinner and constant interruptions. When he review Math with Lily, he takes her in the office and gives her the time she needs so no one ends up frustrated or impatient. He reads books like "Barbie, a mermaid tale" and  over and over and over and the girls will never know how much he hates that book. It is a ridiculous book. And I rarely read it. But he does. He has the patience and desire to teach them to ride a two wheeler and to play Uno, to repeat the rules a million times until the girls get it. 

I thought on the day we got married, I couldn't possibly love him more. How wrong I was...10 years later, 4 kids, moves, the day to day that can sometimes feel like Groundhog day, I'm amazed at how my love for him has multiplied. He puts us first, our needs and our happiness. I'm so proud to have him as my husband. I hope the girls can look back at this blog/this post and know how much he strives to be the best father and husband he can be.

Snowy Hanukkah

I don't even know if I'm spelling Hanukkah right, that's how little I know about it....
On our way home from our "group" flu shot, Lily asks...
"Whats Hanukkah?"
Me, "Well...you know how we have Christmas? Well, Hanukkah is a different kind of holiday"
Lily, "Yeah but what is it?"
Me, "Ummm...you know how we know that Jesus is the son of God and that makes us Christians?"
Lily, "Yeah"
Me, "Well, Jewish people don't believe that Jesus was the son God, just that he was important so they don't celebrate Christmas. The celebrate Hanukkah instead"
Lily, "Well, does Hanukkah have snow?"
Me, "What?"
Lily, "Does Hanukkah have snow?"
Me, "Ummm...it's in the winter so sometimes it snows"
Lily, "That's good"

Thank goodness for Google...

Our Lily

If you ask me which child is the most "high maintenance", Lily is my girl who comes to mind. She's not defiant, doesn't carry much attitude, isn't mean spirited (most of the time) but she can be a challenge to "tame" at times. Likes to be the one who's talking, has trouble waiting, a little sassy and sometimes I have a tendency to focus on these instead of the wonderful gifts she has...I was reminded of a few this week.

Lily & I were on a grocery shopping date, she loves to hold the list and find stuff for me especially if I let her go down the aisle by herself...we were walking down the aisle and an elderly lady dropped her coupon and without even a prompt from me, Lily picks it up and very politely asks the lady, "Is this yours? I think you dropped your coupon" The lady thanked her and Lily says, "your welcome, have a great day" As ridiculous as it sounds, it got me a little choked up. We teach and teach and teach and model kindness, helping others, and every once in awhile I get to see a peak at the payoff.

Last night, after showers without being asked Lily combed out the little girls hair because she knows I have to battle Harper to get all the tangles out and as she says, "So you don't have to hear Harper whine"  She must have had a muzzle on Harper because I didn't even hear her yell once.

Such little things but I can't wait to see how this girl continues to grow....

Picture Round UP

 Harper @ preschool open house

 Lily working hard on homework

 Butterfly PB&J

 Swingset  canopy and flags I made, not perfect but way better than spending 300.00 on a new one!

 Last beach day on Labor Day

First day of preschool!

 Sure, she eats screws, smears lipgloss all over the carpet, colors on the walls and obviously just emptied a whole container of wipes in front of her BUT she also read Bible stories to her baby doll so who cares about the other stuff?

 I found this note Lily had wrote to me on her table at school for Open House

Dear Mommy, I bet your going to like my teacher. I will miss you alot. Your the best Mommy in the wourld. Love, Lily 

 Is this the face of a kid that cares she has a screw inside her? Nope. Waiting for the xray

 Blessed, our girls are so blessed to have him for a Daddy.

Haley & Jason playing roll the ball with your elbow, your chin, your thumb, your toes...it's pretty complicated..

The Rules

 

After the gum saga of a few days ago, Lily & Lacy have decided to lay down the law. They called Harper & Haley to a meeting in their room yesterday to talk about "Consecrences" which I think are like consequences. Here's what was discussed:

 

 

 I think those are the consequences for taking gum or other items from their room. I'm not sure if #2 & #4 mean that Haley & Harper will be pinched or scratched if they steal gum but seems pretty serious. I think #5 is scare 10x which they must have gotten from Jason who loves scaring people.

Here's whats so funny about this sign, besides the pretty hearts that Lily added to make it not look mean. I said, "Lily, I love the sign you made but Harper & Haley can't read"  Lily then gives me that awesome look that girls have that says "You are an idiot Mom" without saying a word and then replies:

"I know Mommy, that's why I wrote it so BIG"

The Screw Saga!

F

 

 

You know those shows or a news report about someone's kid swallowing a battery or a nail or a matchbox car? And you know how you think, "Gosh, don't people watch their kid?" and you judge just a little because your kid has never done anything like that? I mean, yeah, one shoved a fuzzy craft ball up their nose but they didn't swallow anything. Judge no more, Haley swallowed a screw, actually an eye screw to be specific. One Sunday, after lunch, girls were acting crazy, Jason's packing to go overseas, I'm upstairs putting away laundry, the stair basket gets knocked over & Haley finds two screws which looked tasty, puts them in her mouth. Lily starts yelling for me telling me Haley has screws in her mouth, I sternly tell her to "SPIT THEM OUT!", she did but only one. Lily stuck by the fact that Haley had two in her mouth and only one came out. Bless that child and her tattletale, nosy ways! We looked for the other screw, couldn't find it, Jason's getting ready to be picked up for the airport, I call the pediatrician, tell the other girls to pack some toys/snacks/books because I think I'll be sitting in the ER with my 4 kids while they extract a screw. Nope. Dr. said it's super common, should pass within a few days, call back if it hasn't. At that point, I really didn't think she had swallowed it but I still dug through her diapers all week.

 

 

Friday came, no screw. Jason was more insistent we go & get an xray. There was no radiologist to read the xray but they gave us a copy to keep. We got home, I gave it to Jason and I'm out mucking out the car and Jason yells, "Jenny, get in here" and my mouth fell open as I saw the screw in our little girls gut. We were much more worried than any Dr.! Dr. still said it should pass on its own, it was stuck in some stool. Tuesday xrays showed it hadn't moved much so we did Operation Clean Out for Haley. Giant doses of Miralax for 2 days + a liquid diet = one grossed out Mom. And still no screw! Friday's Xray showed it had moved & Dr. said another day or two. Great, that meant Jason would be there to dig through diapers! Of course not. Monday was the big day, said her bottom hurt a few times and then after one more diaper dig, there was the screw. No, I didn't save it.

 

 

Some of Haley's reaction to the screw:

Me, "Haley, we never ever put anything in our mouth, except food"

Haley, "And suckers!"

 

Jason, "Haley, it scares Mommy & Daddy when you do things like that"

Haley jumps and yells, "BOO! I scare you!"

 



Importance of Gum

Gum in our house is a valued commodity, I have no idea why but it's a ridiculously big deal especially to the little girls. I used to ban gum from their little mouths but quickly gave up on that idea when I unsuccessfully tried to potty train Haley & gum was her reward. Not only does she love to chew gum, she prefers to chew at least 7 pieces at a time. Whenever we're out and about, the older girls will ask for their own pack of gum, they will store up gum in their backpack for the 7 minute bus ride home in the afternoon and spend alot of time finding gum hiding spots in their room so the little ones don't find it. So, today while the big ones were at school, I hear Harper & Haley run in their room, close their door and then here them close their closet door. They're horribly bad about being sneaky! Ran upstairs, opened their door, their closet door, Haley immediately yells, "GUM!" and then shows off a whole pack of gum in her mouth.

Lily & Lacy get home and after homework, head upstairs to check their super secret gum hiding spots and alas, no gum. Lily starts sobbing because, well she's Lily and with that, goes alot of drama, even about gum. She then starts to interrogate Harper,

Lily, "Why did you take all the gum?"
Harper, "Because I love gum so much"
Lily, "Don't you see how upset I am?"
Harper, "But I love gum"
Lily, "DO YOU SEE HOW UPSET I AM?"
Harper, "Well, yeah, but I love gum"
Lily, "But we hid it from you"
Harper, "Well maybe you should put it up real high next time"

Harper's QPM

 Jason's term for Harpers' excessive question asking is "QPM", so when I told him that Harper's question asking has greatly increased with Lily & Lacy in school all day he said, "So her QPM is up?" Yes, her Questions Per Minute rate is at least double when she's not being interrupted. She also told me "Mommy, I can talk so much more when my sisters are not interrupting me!" Me too Harper, me too!

1st day of preschool!

My crazy girls' first day of preschool..Harper was unbelievably ready for her first day. Backpack on, waiting on the sidewalk with the big girls like she she was getting on the bus even though I explained to her several times she wasn't riding the bus. She hung up her backpack on her hook like she's been doing it for weeks, barely gave me a hug but did run back out the classroom door to give Haley Mae a big squeeze. Haley started to cry because she wanted to go with her!

I did shed a few tears on the way back to the car with Haley, what to do when all I had to do was walk with Haley. So many experiences with the girls are becoming bittersweet...I love that our girls are secure enough to walk right in to a new class & jump in but it hurts my heart to let them go, even to preschool.

Here's some Harperisms for this week:
When I told her she needed to go potty before we left for school, "No Mommy, they have potties at school. Really clean potties, not like a port a potty at all!"

"Mommy, why does everybody just think I'm so awesome?"

Harper tried to blame Haley for some writing on the back of the play kitchen, it was done a long time ago and it was actually probably Lacy but.."Mommy, Haley colored on the kitchen"
Me, "Umm...no, I don't think so"
Harper, "She did"
Me, "No, because those are words and letters, Haley doesn't know how to write her letters yet"
Harper, "yes, she does because I teached it to her. I teached her numbers & letters"
Ok, so now she's trying to blame something on her sister AND lying.

Back to School!

I knew the day was coming and that summer couldn't last forever...school is back in session! My house is way too quiet and orderly for my liking with just two kids home during the day..I told Jason its a good thing I'm "barren" because I would definitely be itching for a bunch more. Lily wanted to make treat baskets for her teacher so we made muffins and cookies our last day of summer, went to the park for a picnic with friends, picked out first day of school outfits and sadly had to go to bed before dark! And then the mad dash to get everybody out the door @ 8am with hair done, bellies full, cute outfits on without me raising my voice or losing my patience...I did get kisses before they got out of the car. I cried like I'll probably do every first day of school from now until graduate school..

 Little ones eating popsicles, waiting for the big girls bus

Back to school backyard slumber party campout!

 On our summer list was to campout in the backyard AND the girls have been asking to have their friends sleepover so...the idea of the back to school backyard slumber party campout was born. And because I can't just invite people over and hope things come together, I planned and created a theme and baked and organized to make it a super fun memory for the girls & their friends. They each invited a friend to sleepover, Harper & Haley had their little friends come for the evening and we:

Made our own trail mix
Made a picture frame for each girl to take home including a camp picture
Neighborhood scavenger hunt
Made smores (even though they were made in the microwave!)
Grilled Hot Dogs
Squealed and screamed at everything because that it was 8 little girls do

Lily & her friend were the loudest...Lacy & her friend were the calmest. No surprises there. Had to tell Lily & her friend to calm down a bazillion time...Lacy & her friend none. A super proud moment for me was when I heard Lacy say to her friend, "Now, we need to pray and thank God for our food before we eat. That's what we do at our house"

They were shockingly asleep by 11p, slept all night until 7a, ate a sugar filled breakfast and Moms picked them up around 9. It was exhausting but so much fun..makes me think I could handle more than 4...hmmm....anyway, I know we'll be having a lot more sleepovers & I'm totally Ok with that. I want to be the house that's fun, I would rather host chaos than have my kids at someone else's house.

 Make your own trail mix station

 Lacy & her buddy Claire

 Harper & Makayla

 Haley & Bella

 Peyton & Lily

 Making picture frames for camp pictures

End of Summer

Blahs today...end of summer is coming fast and I feel like a kid again because I know school starts for me too. No more unlimited time to have fascinating conversations about bugs or how they make glitter or building tiny rock towers at the beach.  I've seen each of our girls grow this summer, whether it be in their confidence in the water, Harper singing her heart out at VBS, Lacy's reading skills and her bravery in being the first one down the big water slide. This has been the best summer of my life and all because I get to share it with these 4 amazing little girls who teach me just as much as I hope to teach them. I also know I've put worrying about what our future holds on hold for the summer while I continue to pray that God will start revealing His plan but His timing is not ours and I pray to have a stronger faith in that.

Harper's bravery

Harper's new name is supergirl, like if you call her Harper and tell her, "Harper, get your clothes on" she corrects you and tells you, "No, Mommy, say supergirl get your clothes on" She's informed me that this her name until Jason gets home on Sunday. She said Supergirl is super brave.
Me, "Are you super brave Harper?"
Harper, "Yes, I am super brave"
Me, "How brave are you?"
Harper, "I'm so brave that the only thing I'm not brave about is if a giant put me in a bird cage and told me I was a birdie" Ummm.ok.

Lilys Olympic Commentary

Watching the cyclists this morning...Lily saw the motorcycles alongside the bicycles and says, "No fair, they're cheating"

Watching the swimmers, "Are they swimming like that without floaties?" with much awe.

"Do they like to get wet?"

And we're only an hour into watching it!

Summer in Pictures

Harper hanging out with Roman. Notice Roman is trying to still play Angry Birds while smiling for the camera 

Strawberry picking with our summer fun partners Lauren & Erin

Harper & Haley on their first movie day, can't beat .50 movies when you have 4 kids

A really fuzzy picture of all of the Clark & Newton kids, waiting for the train

Lily waiting for the train..Newton girls had purple backpacks, Clarks had yellow to make it easier to count kids..which we did ALL day long

Lacy & her soul mate Ava

Lily's picture of me. Jason made fun of my scarf all day, I kept telling him how trendy I was but now that I've seen pictures of myself with the scarf on, I agree with him!

Harper & Ella

Millenium Park Fountains...super fun but super stressful to keep track of all the kids in a huge mob of people

Surprise, surprise, Harper's booty is hanging out of her swimsuit!

Taxi ride...which is so exciting since no carseats!

Rainforest cafe for lunch

Giant mirrored bean in Millenium Park

Not sure where the Clark boys are, what Lacy is looking at, why Lily looks like she's going to marry that lego Woody but Jennifer's kids look good