An Empty Carseat

Easton started pre-K last week. I had dreaded that day since the day he was born. The day he would be big and no longer a "little" boy. The day that the changes start...new words (not usually nice ones), new attitudes (not usually nice ones either), and a different outlook on life in general. When Britton and Landon started I worried also. How would the "outside" world treat them and how would they respond? Are they big enough to stand up for themselves if they need to? I had been able to control what they saw and heard up until they went to school and just like that...I have no control. I am not complaining...don't get me wrong...I have been so blessed to be able to stay home with each of them for their first 4 years and many parents don't have that luxury. But it also makes it so difficult to "let go" when I've held on for so long.

Easton had been dreading preschool almost as much as me since his birthday back in March. He woke up the day of his birthday crying because he didn't want to turn 4 because 4 meant preschool. After a few weeks, we were able to convince him that school didn't start until Sept.

Sept. 8: Crying for 2 hours before bed. "I don't want to go to school tomorrow. I want to stay home with you. You will be all alone. I DON'T want to go." Over and over and over again until he cried himself to sleep.

Sept. 9: We got up and got ready. He kept mentioning he didn't want to go, but as long as I kept him moving and his mind on other things, no crying. Chad went with me to drop him off. No crying. He went in his class, hung his backpack on his hook, took out his folder and sat at his table and colored. Just that easy. I was sad and relieved and happy all at the same time. I saved my tears until we got out the door and thank goodness for really big sunglasses.

Chad drove me back home and went on to work while I sat in the living room and had my breakdown (which only lasted about 30 min.). I spent the rest of the morning on the phone, so my mind was occupied. Getting in the car to go pick him up was so strangely quiet. I turned around before I left to make sure he was buckled and realized for the first time in over 10 years I didn't have a child in the carseat. I've always had someone with me. Britton was born 10 years ago and then Landon came 18 months later. Then Easton came when Landon was 4 before he started preschool and there hasn't been a break in all that time where one of my babies hasn't been in a carseat. For me...it has been a sad realization AND a nice retreat. He's only at preschool for 3 hours a day, 3 days a week. It's not like he's gone all day, every day. One of those 3 days I take a class, but on the other 2 days...it's just me. So far...I've shopped. I need to be home cleaning the house or doing something productive, but to be able to go to a store and not have to drag someone out of the clothes racks or listen to complaining about "can this be the last store" is like a little gift. I miss my kids terribly when they are gone, but this quiet that I have discovered is becoming a really precious treasure that I look forward to each week.

I picked him up and the first thing he said, "The playground is HORRIBLE!". I couldn't help but laugh. He said is was so "babyish" and he would never play on it. So far, he still hasn't. He doesn't talk in class, but he will shake his head yes or no. He wouldn't sit on the carpet during storytime the first 2 days, but I bribed him with a sucker and he sat on it Mon. and today. He's so stubborn that I wonder if he will talk to his teacher at all this year. One thing I don't have to worry about with him is talking too much!

The Fastest Summer EVER!

Wow! It's been a while since I've been on here. So much has been going on...and just like that...summer's over. Today, the first day of school for Britton and Landon. Britton going to 5th grade and a new school; Landon going to 3rd grade and thinking he's grown. Easton will start preschool in Sept. I can't even talk about that yet.

It's been a good summer. We went camping at Buffalo National River, Chad officiated Arena football and got in the SEC as an official, swimming lessons, baseball season, swim meets, Baton Rouge, VBS, triathlon, Britt's birthday, Chad's birthday...I'll have to go back and look at some pics to remember everything. We've been busy and had a lot of fun.

I'm going into this coming school year with high hopes and expectations...both for my kids and myself. More organization, more quality time, more routines. This will be difficult for me since I'm more of a fly by the seat of my pants kind of person. I think for all of our sanity, we need a little more structure. Chad will be officiating football basically every weekend until Thanksgiving, both boys are playing soccer and I'm not certain what Britt will be doing yet, but I'm sure something that keeps us all on our toes. Schedules and routines will be good.

I plan on getting some pics posted soon of our summer adventures.

I hope everyone has a great school year!

His first 5K!

Crossing the finish line

The view from the stands

Today Landon ran in his first 5K. He came in second. He did so awesome! It was only a fun run, so no times or anything and they had a choice of running a 1K or 5K....he went for the 5! They did one lap around the track and then around the neighborhood behind the high school. We sat in the bleachers and watched for him to come down the street and he looked so strong coming back into the stadium. Another lap around the track and across the finish line. No medals or trophies for this one....just a ribbon and goody bag. He was proud that he did it and we were proud that he did his best(not to mention getting 2nd place!). Great job, Land!!

Light Blue!

She picked a color....light blue. Not exactly what I had in mind, but it turned out so cute. We bought these cute cast tattoos to put on, but she still wanted to save some room for signatures so we just put the panda and bamboo around her wrist. The dr. said only 4 weeks with the cast and then she'll get another splint for a couple of weeks. She's doing great!

So much for planning....

Those who know me very well, know that I'm not much of a planner. I'll just decide we need to take a trip and a day or so later we're off. This week, for Spring Break, I decided to plan the whole week out. Monday, relax and rest up for a fun week, Tuesday...go to Jump Zone since it was supposed to rain, Wednesday...go hiking at Petit Jean and picnic, etc. Well Monday evening when Chad got home we decided to go walking at the Tucker Creek Walking Trail. A really nice Walk/Bike trail just a few minutes from the house that the kids enjoy going to. So off we went for our 3 mile walk. We had a great walk and were about 10 feet from returning to the car when Britton and Landon decided to take off running and race each other to the car. Britt was in a slight lead and Landon edged her way a little bit to slow her down and and sure enough....she slowed down...all the way down and fell. She was crying and I could tell she had scraped her knee pretty good and then she said, "I think I broke my arm". As soon as I looked at it, I knew. I was praying she was just holding it funny, but in my heart, I knew. Chad came over and said, "Everyone in the car we need to head to the ER." Off we went to the emergency room and she was crying a little, but nothing like I thought she would. We got checked in and they asked her about her pain...1 on a scale of 1-10. Not much pain, but they gave her a tiny bit of Morphine anyway. The orthopedic doctor finally got there and they gave her some "twilight sedation" and set her arm back in place. She broke the radial bone right at the wrist. Thankfully it was only that one bone and he feels like it should heal just fine. He put her arm in a splint and she'll wear that for 10 days and then she'll go in and have a cast put on for 6-8 weeks. She did fantastic through the whole process. A little nervous, but not once did she cry or get upset. It took a long time for her to wake up from the sedation, so the boys kept talking to her to make her say goofy stuff, but other than that, it went as smooth as possible.
Swim team will be on hold for the next couple of months, as well as playing on the trampoline, but she is already wanting to go and do.
I think I'll just go back to my spur of the moment planning and not "plan ahead". The plan this week....hang out at home and relax and heal and thank God for all that he has done for us..it could have been so much worse.

I can't believe he's 4!!!

With my baby, the time has flown! I've tried to treasure each and every moment with Easton since he was born. Now don't get me wrong, I treasured it with Britton and Landon also, but with them there was always the possibility of having another baby so each special moment wasn't like it would be the absolute last time I would get to see one of my baby's do this or that. With Easton, things were a bit different. We knew that he was the last. So each time I put away a toy he had outgrown or moved him to a new carseat or gave him that last jar of baby food...I knew it would be the last time I would do it for one of my own kids. I've treasured each step...the cuddles in the middle of the night, the first "I wub you", the giggles when his brother and sister would give him zerberts and even the sleepless nights, the screaming in his carseat for hours on end, the constant spitting up until age 1. I've tried to soak in each moment. And today he's already 4. It seems like it was just yesterday that I found out about having an antibody and there might be a problem with the pregnancy. It seems like just yesterday some really wonderful friends joined hands with me and prayed for my baby because we were so uncertain about how things would turn out. It seems like just yesterday I saw one of the many ultrasounds with him giving us the thumbs up. It seems like just yesterday that a perfect and beautiful 9 pound 4 ounce baby boy was born that would change our lives, again, forever. Time flies.

Easton is in every meaning of the words, the baby of the family. He's by far the most aggressive of my three kids, but at the same time, the most shy around strangers. He loves to be home and playing outside. He loves sports...any sports. He is the first to defend his brother and sister and the first to call them a name if they upset him. He's big and rough and the sweetest 4 year old you've ever met...once he warms up to you. He's been such a blessing to us.... regardless of what his brother might tell you. God has blessed me beyond measure.

Happy 4th Birthday, Easton! I love you sooooo much!!!

Busy Days

It's been busy around here. Not much time in the day to update. Fridays are our "down" days. No practices or games or homework to have to hurry and get done. It's our day to just relax.

Britton is still swimming. She hasn't had a meet in about a month and I think she is just enjoying going to practice a couple times a week. She has a meet this weekend in LR, so I'll update on how she did next week. Landon has had a great basketball season. He has made major improvements and really gotten a lot more aggressive. Tournament starts tonight and and will end next week. Although it's been a great season, I'm ready to move on to the next sport. Spring soccer started last week and he had his first game last Sat. He scored 4 and his team won, so he was pleased. Baseball season will start in a few weeks and he is already excited about that. Easton will start soccer in a couple of weeks and he can't wait. I was really hoping for tball for Easton, but it appears that they are very strict about being 5 before they start. He won't be 5 until next March, so I guess he can wait another year. Chad will be heading to his Arena football clinic this weekend and then the season will start at the end of March. I have resigned myself to not being able to sleep in on a Sat. until at least the end of July. That's ok though. We are all healthy and happy and strong and having a great time. What more can you ask for?