Happy Halloween!

Well our Halloween was a little wild and crazy this year! As we were getting ready to walk out the door to go trick or treating a tornado warning came across the phones. We had to stop and assess the weather and decided to go to the houses right around us. Once the lightening kicked up we hustled back inside just before it started pouring rain! Fortunately the kids were pretty happy with their haul. But then the storm moved through pretty quick and so we headed back out to do a little more trick or treating!

This year Emmie was Harry Potter in Quidditch robes, Ellie was Mary Poppins, Ruthie was Elsa, JP was a knight and Emma was a cat. Even though the weather was crazy and our plans were up in the air most of the day, I think the kids had a lot of fun and they definitely loaded up on candy!

"flying" to the next house!

JP also had his Halloween party at school today which I went and helped with. The kids were so cute and had lots of fun trick or treating at the preschool.

Ghost cupcakes (they were more ghost like on pinterest!), ghost chocolate covered banana, pumpkin ornange, and Halloween pretzels!

Setting Sail - Disney Cruise 2019. Part 1

**Most of my cruise blogs will be by topic and not in chronological order but I wanted to start out with the first day. **

We recently got back from an amazing trip on the Disney Fantasy. We went with my parents for 7 nights with stops in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Disney's island in the Bahamas, Castaway Cay. We also had 2 days at sea. We had a deluxe verandah stateroom and I think we were all a little bit ruined by the verandah...it was so nice! The stateroom had the shower in one room and the toilet in another and there was a sink in each of those rooms. Having the 2 separate areas was really nice since there were four of us in each room. This was the first time the kids had been on a cruise and it was the first Disney cruise for all of us. We booked through Kari at A Touch of Magic Travel. She's who I use for all things Disney and she always does a great job! Kari was so sweet and had sent the Birthday décor kit to my parents room (it was my dad's birthday the day the cruise started) which had decorations, a beach towel, magnet, storage bin, and a big oversize tie and the Halloween décor kit to our room which had a Halloween on the High Seas blanket, a Halloween treat bag, and decorations for our room. 

We picked the kids up from school at lunch time on a Friday. They had no clue we were going anywhere (let alone on a cruise) so they were a little confused about why I was picking up. Ellie asked me if we were going to the dentist. No friend, so much better! Once we got in the car Mickey and Minnie called them to tell them they were going on a Disney Cruise. They were so excited!

We drove to Port Canaveral on Friday and spent the night at a hotel near the port. Saturday morning we got up, ate breakfast, and then the kids (and Grandaddy) were able to play in the hotel pool for a bit before we had to leave to go to the port. 

We had a port arrival time of 12 and once we were checked in we were able to walk right onto the ship. Once we got on the ship we headed straight to Cabanas to eat lunch. It was packed but we managed to snag a table and grab food. 

By the time we finished lunch we were able to get in our rooms so we headed there and changed into our bathing suits and then hit the pool! The Fantasy pool area has 2 small pools, 2 splash areas (one for kids under 8 and one for anyone), a water slide for kids and the so fun Aquaduck which is a water slide that goes around the edge of the ship. JP wasn't tall enough to ride the Aquaduck and Emmie and Ruthie were a little nervous but Ellie and I went and rode it right away. By the end of the first day Emmie and Ruthie had also ridden in and we all loved it!

After the pool we headed inside to change for the Muster Drill (or Mustard Drill as the kids kept calling it). We managed to catch the end of the USC-Georgia game before we had to go to the drill. (Go Gamecocks!) After the drill we went to the Sailing Away party and then headed back to the stateroom. 

As soon as we walked back in to our room Ellie said her stomach felt funny and I looked out on the verandah and we had started moving. I was worried because she was feeling sick before she ever knew we were moving! We put the seabands on her and gave her something for the nausea and she was good to go thankfully. We went by and checked out the kids club and did a little bit of the Midship Detective Agency before we headed to dinner and the evening show.

We had a wonderful first day on the ship and I can't wait to share the rest of our trip!

JP's First Day of Preschool

This is soooooo late but better late than never right?

He loves his Paw Patrol backpack.

In September JP started 2 day a week 3 year old  preschool. His teachers are Mrs. Terri and Mrs. Jodi. Mrs. Jodi has kids that are in Ellie's grade at school and Mrs. Terri has taught all of our kids so she's pretty much family! We are so excited about all the fun he's going to have this year and are so thankful for his amazing teachers!

Mrs. Jodi

Mrs. Terri

JP was pretty nervous for his first day but every day when I pick him up he has a big smile on his face!

He gave the first day of school 2 thumbs up!

Celebrating JP

Yesterday we started off the day with JP's birthday party. We had a bounce house nd a few of his friends over and just let them play! At one point some of the kids wanted to come inside so I pulled out the trains and blocks and they had the best time cooling off inside and building castles and train tracks! We had pizza, goldfish and oranges for lunch and doughnuts to celebrate the birthday boy! It was lots of fun and JP loved having so many of his friends over to play.

After everyone left he opened his presents and was thrilled with all his new toys! His friends all apparently know him quite well!
After the party everyone needed some down time so JP picked to watch Pete the Cat on TV. Pete is one of his current favorites.
Later in the afternoon the kids jumped in the bounce house some more and then he opened his presents from us and his sisters and the Novak family and his cards from family (we had done birthday with family earlier in the summer so they had already given him their presents).

He was able to fend off his sisters long enough to play with his toys for a few minutes and then we headed to dinner. JP picked Rush's for dinner and he thoroughly enjoyed his hamburger.

After Rush's we went to Marble Slab.

When we got home everyone got ready for bed and once the girls were in bed JP got some special mommy and daddy time. He wanted to play one of his new games and we had SO much fun. It was the Paw Patrol version of Don't Break the Ice and our 4 year old boy thought it was great to have a game where the goal is to smash things with a hammer!

We loved our day celebrating the birthday boy!

Happy Birthday JP!

Dear JP,

Happy 4th birthday sweet boy! Four years ago you had me up at 5am and this year I guess you were taking a walk down memory lane because I woke up at 6:30am to the sounds of you playing upstairs. Next year let's celebrate your birthday by sleeping in, ok?
This past year was kind of a hard one for you. Your best buddy Ruthie was in preschool 5 days a week and because she was in preschool and the big girls were in elementary school you and I spent a LOT of time driving around. I know that was probably the pits for you. However, this year you get to go to preschool 2 days a week! It is finally YOUR turn! I've been trying to get my errands run while you're at school so that we can do fun things on the days you're not in school. Speaking of school, you have the BEST teachers! I am so excited about this year. You are going to learn so much and make lots of new friends. Your class is almost all boys and I love that you finally get the chance to hang out with other boys! So far you seem to like school, although between hurricanes and illness you haven't gotten to go much. Your one complaint about school is that you don't get to play in the kitchen the whole time. (The kitchen is your favorite center.)
You love to be around other guys. If there is a guy around you will glue yourself to his side. You love to help your daddy and will even give up fun activities (like going to the pool) to stay home and help daddy do things like cut the grass or other work around the house. Many times in the evenings you will consult with daddy about what color shirt he is wearing to work the next day so that y'all can coordinate your outfits. It makes me so happy to see how much you adore your dad!
You are not only your daddy's helper but you love to help me too. If I'm in the kitchen you will often come help me cook dinner. You really don't like to play by yourself so if it's just the two of us at home you would much rather come help me with whatever I'm doing than play by yourself. I've learned that if I'm cleaning I can just give you your own cleaning job and you are happy as can be!
JP you are ALL boy. I keep telling people I'm a really good girl mom. I don't know about all this boy stuff. I'm learning though. If it involves bodily functions it's funny, every action must have an accompanying noise, and if you can hit, kick, or throw the toy it's a keeper. Also, swords (you have an obsession with knights) and water guns are fun. Oh, and you are ALWAYS hungry. Always.
I think your biggest accomplishment this year was in the pool. You suffered through swim lessons in May but still HATED to put your face in the water. Even bath time was torture because you didn't want water in your face. I did convince you to sign up for mini team with swim team since you had to be there everyday with your sisters. The first week you were very reluctant. Then we were at the beach the next week and at the pool you said "look at me do swim team" and you happily stuck your face in the water! I was pretty excited that maybe you wouldn't go to college still wearing your puddle jumper! Sometime in July you wanted to see if you could touch the bottom in the shallow end without your float. So we took it off. You haven't really put it back on since! You are swimming so happily now! You still can't touch the bottom and haven't mastered taking a breath while swimming but you can jump in and swim to either an adult or the side and I love it! I have really loved seeing how proud you are of your accomplishment! It helps that your sisters heap praise on you for your swimming. They are your best cheerleaders for sure! In other big accomplishments you have become a bike riding pro (with training wheels). You are super fast and love to ride!
Speaking of your sisters I think you might not be scared of them anymore...and it only took 4 years for you to get there! Last summer you and Ruthie started sharing a room and I have loved watching how close y'all are. She is definitely your best buddy. Emmie is the one you go to when you have a problem and need help with something. Ellie is the one you hang with when want something a little quieter. You are such a sweet brother JP and I think often your sweetness gets overlooked because you're so quiet about it. There are many times I have seen you share something special with them because they were sad. If we are at the store and you see something they would really like you always point it out and want to get it for them. I love to listen to y'all play and giggle. I love to watch your sisters teach you a new game. I hope y'all will always be as close as you are now!
I think one of my memories from this year that always makes me smile is you and your robe and slippers. GiGi's friend, Debbie Baker, sent you a plaid robe that her grandsons had outgrown. You were obsessed with that robe from the moment you saw it. You will walk around the house happy as a lark in your robe. This year I told you if you were a big boy from swim lessons I would let you pick out something from Target. So all week you talked about wanting slippers. So when swim lessons were over  you got to go pick out slippers at Target. Every time I see you with your robe and slippers on I am reminded that there is a little old man inside of that 4 year old body!

I just had to share a pic of JP in his robe! I couldn't find one with the slippers on too but just take my word...he's adorable!

 This summer we buzzed your hair and all of a sudden you looked like a big boy instead of a little boy. I am a little sad that I don't have a baby anymore but really I love all the big things you are accomplishing. But then you open your mouth and ask for a "tup" of water or want to go visit our next door neighbor Mrs. "Wobbie" (Robbie) and for that brief moment you are my little boy again. I can't wait to see what wonderful adventures you have this year JP! Four is going to be a GREAT year!

2015

2016

2017

2018

First Day of School!

I didn't realize just how much taller Emmie was than Ellie until I looked at this picture! Poor Ellie, Ruthie is about to catch up to her!

Today the big kids headed back to school. Ruthie is a big Kindergartener, Ellie is in 3rd and Emmie is in 4th! Emmie and Ellie were nervous and excited but Ruthie was so excited!
We had Back to School night last week and they were able to meet their teachers and see their classrooms.

I wasn't sure how Ruthie would do this morning but she did awesome. We got to her classroom door and she gave all her siblings a hug and gave her teacher a hug and then started walking on in. I was like "Hello! Mom over here. Could I get a hug?" I finally managed to snag a quick hug and then she was off!

Then we dropped Ellie off. She was nervous because her closest friends are in other classes this year but she was a Rockstar and went right on in her class!

Then I took Emmie. About 2 days ago Emmie asked me if I would walk her to her classroom on the first day. I know the day is rapidly approaching where she won't want me to even be close enough by to be identified as her mom so I was more than willing to walk her to the classroom! She was really nervous but once we got to her room she went right in with no problems.

I know these girls are going to have a great day and I'm so looking forward to hearing all about it when they get home!


P.S. Little brother is not amused that they all went to school and left him behind but he's managed to survive the first few hours alone with me. ;)

Chore Chart

This week I started a chore chart for the kiddos. They will also start getting an allowance. Here's how it will work.
They have a list of their daily routine that they must follow. It's mostly pretty simple things like get dressed, brush teeth, etc. I laminated these lists and they can check each task off with a dry erase marker when they are done. (I ordered ultra fine point dry erase markers off of Amazon.)
Side Note: Kids with ADHD (like Emmie) generally have problems with executive functioning skills. Executive Function skills are mental processes that help with things such as remembering instructions, completing a task, multi tasking and being able to organize to achieve goals. We found last year with Emmie that things ran much smoother when she had a list of tasks for the morning and bedtime. She liked being able to check off her list and I liked that I wasn't constantly telling her the same thing over and over which only served to frustrate her and me.
Then each kid, depending on age, is assigned a few chores or the week. We have some chores that are daily (like setting the table) and some that are weekly (like cleaning the bathroom). For the big kids I tried to give them a combination of daily and weekly chores. Emmie and Ellie got 3 chores each and Ruthie and JP each have 2. These chores will be switched out each week. I put Velcro on the backs of the chores so that they could easily be changed.

Ellie's task list and assigned chores for the week. She later added some "high value" extra chores because she's all about earning money! You can also see how her allowance is split between the 3 categories. 

Each week the big girls will get $5, Ruthie $3, and JP $2. Now I know someone is saying why does JP only get $2 when he and Ruthie have the same number of chores? However, Ruthie has more things on her task list. Things like making her lunch for school, packing up her backpack, etc so that's why there is a difference in their allowance amounts. On their task list the kids have listed how much their allowance is each week and how it is to be divided up. Following Dave Ramsey's method we have 3 categories: Give (church offering), Spend, Save. The kids will put their save money in their piggybanks and they have envelopes for spend and give.
In order to get all of their allowance the kids must check all their boxes each week. If they have a reason they think they can't do a chore that day they can be excused from it but they have to first talk to "management" about their reasoning.  If they are missing chores and not discussing problems then their allowance will be docked.
There are also extra chores each week. These are each assigned a monetary value and the kids can opt to do extra chores in order to make some money over and above their allowance. These chores are totally optional and it is totally ok for them to choose not to do any extra chores.

Some of the extra chores and their values. There are a few missing because Emmie and Ruthie had already claimed them. This is also my holding paper for all the chores so I can see what options there are when I'm assigning chores for the week. 

We just started doing the chore chart this week and I think we will need to make some adjustments once school starts and after school activities pick up but for right now it's working and we're willing to be flexible and figure out what works best!

Ellie HAPPILY doing kid laundry! I had to provide a fair amount of guidance this week but I know that over time she will remember all the steps and so each time she does it she will need less and less help from me.