Back to the Grind....3rd, 1st, and Pre-K

When you're a stay at home mom, you become accustomed to chaos...all around you...all the time!

Until your kids are old enough to go to school.  Then, you get a small break.  Kind of.

But then, just when you get used to that break, the kids get their {summer} break.

And all hell breaks loose.  Again.

Only one day in and I honestly wasn't sure we'd survive the whole summer.

Constant fighting, sh*t strung out all over, someone always hungry, another one always bored.

I complained.  A lot.

When you are a stay at home mom, you never leave your "office".  It's hard.

But it's also the job I chose to do.  The job my husband works so hard for me to do.

And I wouldn't change a thing.

Because just as I'm thinking about strangling those little loves {kidding!  kind of.}, summer is over and school starts all over again.



How does time pass so quickly?!

Evee has taken a liking to Blake Shelton's song, Sangria.  She sings her own lyrics, of course.

"...lipstick saaannnnd-greeee-diaaaaa"

The older kids laugh at her, but have adopted her lyrics.

And since our dvd AND cd player are out of commish in the van, the radio is our only choice, and the first song they ask for is Sangria.  All the time.

Yes, they think I control the songs the radio plays.

I wish.

Radio stations suck!

Anyways, after walking into school with three kids....




































































































then walking out with zero, I was lost.

And as I drove my van out of the school parking lot....

"lips taste like sangria" played on the radio.

Tears.

The days are long, but the years are short.

I never want to take this opportunity staying at home for granted.

The Y and Dillons consumed every minute of my alone time.

I'll take that!

Favorite snippets from kids' first day....

Evee - "I asked Miss Becky if she knew dehrrrrr dehrrr dehrrr dehrrr dehr {dancing motions included}.  She did." {Come and get Your Love dance sequence from Guardians of the Galaxy}.





































































Reese - LOVED every minute of her day!  LOVED her teachers!  And then proceeded to tell me that boy #1 and boy #2 "were so funny at lunch! Boy #1 kept saying that boy #2 likes me!  And boy #2 kept saying that boy #1 likes me!"  Oh. dear.
























































Cru - He was the most nervous, like last year.  But he LOVED staying all day!  LOVED eating lunch...."I ate and talked with girl #1".  Geez!  He also got "four recesses!"  Oh..."and I feel asleep in class."  Saaay whaaaat?!!!  Yep, on the carpet while his teacher was reading a book after lunch.  Apparently, boy #1 feel asleep too.  OHHH-EMMM-GEEEEE!!!!

























































































I think they're off to a good start :)

And they're all in bed at 7:45!

And I want more kids!

Back to Reality

We just returned from a wonderful vacation in Florida.

 
I plan to blog about it.  I think.  The reality is, we all know how that goes ;)

Speaking of reality, I got a hard dose of it today. 

Reality does not understand that parents need a vacation from vacation!

We were all up (with no alarms set!) by 7:30am.

Yuck!

Everlee had gymnastics.  The bigs wanted to go to Grandma's instead of watching, so I did what every good mom would do whose children ate donuts every day of vacation....got donuts and dropped them off at Grandma's!

After gymnastics, Ev and I headed to pick them up.  And ate donuts too.  Because what's one more pound when I've already gained 10 in 10 days.

Everlee never sits still while eating.  Half way through her donut and two outfit changes later, she walks into the kitchen saying she choked.  She's coughs a bit, and my mom and I run her into the bathroom.  She keeps saying she choked.  Then spews! 

In the toilet, praise God!

In the meantime, as I'm receiving this slap to the face dose of reality, a friend, whom also just arrived home from vacation, is texting me asking where I got my last pedicure because she's taking time for herself today.

Really???

I mean, good for her.

Moving on....school supplies.  Shopping for school supplies is the best....when you're a kid!  And all we bought today was paper, pencils, and some glue sticks!

This all happened before noon.

We spent the rest of the day delivering seashells to our neighbors (which turned into hours of playing)....

Never mind the laundry.

And I may or may not have stared at vacation photos....

And to think, while on vacation, I was only worried about the reality of school starting in 11 days.

Field Trippin' with Reese

First of all, BIG thanks to Chet and my mom for taking time off so I could attend these field trips with Reese {two in the past week!}.

First, we became one with nature at the Dillon Nature Center in Hutch.  Prior to last week, we had only been there once {and hope to visit again this summer!}.



























































We may or may not have spent 30 minutes talking about roly polies....



































And picked, rolled, and sniffed leaves!  Haha!  One with nature, I told ya!
























































More sniffing...














































































































































































Field trip selfies, a must!

















































































































































































































































































Next trip, Rolling Hills Wildlife Refuge outside Salina.  We haven't been there since the tax season after Cru was born{he was two months old}.  A lot has changed!

We spent all morning walking through the museum and attending an animal education class.  Followed by lunch and riding the tram through the zoo.  It was cold, but a great day!



My crazy passengers!  In the past, I've always had a van load of girls!  Who sit quietly, giggle, and play truth or dare.  Boys...NOT.SO.MUCH.













































































I love this^

And the "people" in the exhibits....so creepy!  And so real looking, yet so fake.  One boy walked away from the Native Americans waving at them thinking they were real.


































































































































Bat caves^



































































Puppet show!







Oh, you know, just passing around rhino poop!





































More selfies!!





We haven't had the greatest weather for field trips, which resulted in us heading home a little early.

I decided to drive by Dairy Queen after dropping off my van load of crazy 2nd graders {the kindergarteners were there enjoying treats with their adopted grandparents} and wouldn't you know, it started raining, so all the kids needed rides back to the school {they had walked there}.



Sure, why not chauffeur another van load of crazy kids!

I spend a lot of time in the van.

And I wouldn't trade it for anything!