Star Student

I LOVE my kids' school! I love the teachers, the office staff, I've even begun to love the principal (who was new to the school last year and made me nervous after the first few interactions I had with her, but now I think she is just a sweetheart).
My kids come home at least once a week with a new goal they've set or passed off. It's awesome to hear them so excited about reaching their goals. And really, how rewarding is it for them to be learning the importance of setting and achieving goals? At the first Parent Teacher Conference this year Taylor made some goals. She was super overwhelmed by them and it was a pretty emotional PTC for her. If I'm being honest, I was overwhelmed for her. The poor thing just has a hard time focusing so she has always struggled with reading. I credit her super patient teacher for encouraging her, seeing the best in her, and being chill about the little things because she has helped Taylor achieve all the goals she set for herself. I was super happy to receive a phone call from the office the first week in January telling me that Taylor had won the Star Student award in her class and would be recognized in an assembly at school. It was the perfect ending to a great week for Miss Tay. That same week I had challenged her to finish a novel in 4 days and write me a book report on it. So she read Anne of Green Gables in 3 days and wrote me a book report on it. I was so proud. That is a huge deal for my girl who doesn't love to read and hates writing even more.
Kendrick was able to come with me and together we surprised Tay at her assembly. She was funny about it and assumed we were there to see one of her brother's win the Star Student. It was cute to see the look on her face when they passed both Kindergarten and 2nd Grade and none of her brothers won.
We are so proud of her!

Jack's reflections entry

In September all of our kids brought home an obnoxious pile of Reflections entry forms and rules and I got ready to do what I always do, throw them in the trash. Because I am awesome and super supportive like that.
Actually, let's be fair, none of the kids have ever expressed any interest in participating in Reflections before so I felt safe in assuming they wouldn't want to this year either.
But before I could even gather up all the papers, Jack informed me that he WANTED to enter the Reflections contest and that he knew exactly what he wanted to do: he wanted to type a story on the computer. The theme this year was The World Would Be a Better Place If...
I thought for sure he would write something like, "The world would be a better place if we had all day recess" or "The world would be a better place if Slurpees were free..."
But no. Instead our sweet, sensitive boy wrote this...

The World Would Be A Better Place If...

I think the world would be a better place if everyone had a twin. Being a twin is fun. Sometimes it is hard. Being a twin is helpful he or she can help clean your room if you share one. When people ask which one is taller I say my brother Myles because he is taller than me. A story I want to tell you about is when we were babies we used to change each others diapers sometimes. When we go to water parks my brother is too scared to go in three feet and four inches. So I have to be pretend to be scared too. My brother sometimes embarrasses me at school. One of my favorite things about being a twin is that you have the same birthday. My brother and I are always together we have the same friends. We like to play on our friends tramp and play avengers games. Another thing we like to do is play battleship. Some things that are cool about being a twins is that we get to play board games together, we like to build Lego stuff together, we get to ride bikes together and be in the same class at school. I like sharing a room with my brother because at night I have someone to talk to. I like having a twin because I have a friend on the first day of school I can play with at recess. I think the world would be a better place if everyone had a twin because you can share clothes then you don’t have to buy a lot of clothes. When you have a twin you don’t feel lonely at recess, because you know you can play with your twin and he will include you. And the house you buy doesn’t have to be so big because twins can share a room. I like being a twin. I think the world would be a better place if everyone had a best friend and being a twin is like being a best friend.

By,

Jackson Martinez

I don't know why, but I was so surprised when he asked me to check his spelling and I discovered what he had written. It took him about a week to complete this. He was a perfectionist and kept re-doing it. It took about 4 days for him to finally show me what he was writing. Jack is a very bright boy and gets good grades but this essay was still pretty impressive to me. The essay had to be written in his own words so I couldn't go through and fix grammar or punctuation. And that was hard. But I was excited about the way he expressed himself through his writing. Since writing this Jack has expressed interest in being a writer and someday writing a book. At 8 years old that seems pretty ambitious to me. I was 28 before I thought I might want to be a writer. And I am not nearly as brave as my cute boy so let's be honest, this momma will probably never be a published writer. And that's okay. Because I am one proud momma. Way to go Jack!!

He also entered a painting entitled,
"Best Friends"

Back to school rant and pics

Back to school time was rough for me this year. I really didn't want summer to be over. As much as I like a clean and quiet house during the day, I much prefer a life without waking up early and homework and SCC meetings and trying to remember who has PE and who has Library on what day. It was tough to see the big kids go because I knew it would mean that all those things were just around the corner. But it was heart wrenching to see Easton go because it felt like the end of a chapter in my life. A chapter I'm not entirely sure I want to be done with. I LOVE having kids at home, little ones to take care of, sidekicks to hang out with... 

So here we are now 2 or 3 weeks into the school year. Yeah, I honestly can't remember how long it's been. And I still hate coming home to an empty house after I drop Easton off. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of it. I always think, "oh, I can take a nap." or "I should watch one of my smutty shows now while I fold all the laundry" or "I can get in an hour of cardio with no one bugging me" but then I never do any of those things. I mostly just clean the house and putter or find a friend to go do something with.

Anyway, the big kids have been adjusting to school wonderfully. I knew they would. But Easton has been a roller coaster. Some days he hates it and some days he goes just fine. This week has been easier, but he still gets anxiety right before lunch when he remembers that he has to go to school. He's the youngest in his class and his teacher says he is very tentative about joining in on some activities and he lacks the self awareness and responsibility that come with being just a little more mature. Bottom line-never have I regretted a parenting decision as much as I regret putting Easton in Kindergarten this year. I so wish that I had waited until he was 6. I kick myself about it on a daily basis. My heart breaks when I watch him take longer to pick up on a concept than my big kids did when they were in Kindergarten. I wish I had just gone with my gut and held him back. We are putting him in a reading program and I am hoping that helps him, but honestly, I almost pulled him out of school on Wednesday. I can't imagine how we are going to make it through this year and I fear that I have given him a disadvantage for the rest of his school years by starting him before he was truly ready.

End rant. I am trying to have faith that things will be okay.

So here are some back to school pictures of the cute kiddos. The big kids started school on August 20th and Easton started on the 25th. I got a bug to color my hair on the 23rd and so I look like two different people in these photos. BTW-I miss my blond hair terribly. I am counting down the days until I can got back to it. I may be having a 1/3 life crisis...

Taylor-5th Grade

Jack-2nd Grade

Myles-2nd Grade

Kendrick and the big kids

The kids and I

It is crazy to me how much these three love school. They were so excited to go back.

His backpack drowns him. It's so cute on him though.

I was a mess. An emotional, crying, heartbroken mess.

Kendrick was a rock. I don't think he shed a single tear.

Saddest walk ever. I so wish I was exaggerating about that.

Nothing says, "welcome to Kindergarten" like a little apple juice and muffins. While we were waiting for our juice, a little girl spilled hers all over my foot. I was already crying at that point and when her mom turned to apologize to me she looked so sorry for me. I reassured her that I couldn't care less about my foot, I was more distraught about seeing my baby go to Kindergarten. Then she just looked at me like I was crazy. 

Oh my gosh! He is the coolest kindergartner I know.

When we turned to leave the school I was a mess. I couldn't stop crying. I wanted to go the long way and walk back up the steps and out to the crossing guard but Kendrick said we HAD to go through the parking lot. I turned around to reluctantly follow him and walking towards me were our sweet neighbors, Tiffany and Dean. And in Tiffany's hand was an open box of Banbury Cross donuts. Naturally I started crying harder. I was so touched. That thoughtful act of kindness helped me get through the rest of the week. I feel very blessed to have people in my life who care so much about me.

I don't know if this will end up being our last year at this school but I have to say, I have LOVED our time at this school. I have been so impressed with our kid's teachers and I love all that our kids have learned. They have made some awesome friends and this school has given us some neat opportunities to grow closer as a family and give back to the community. Even though we were brought to this neighborhood and this school due to a hard loss. This neighborhood, this school and even this ward have been an answer to my prayers. I feel lucky that our kids have had so many wonderful experiences while living here.

Classic Skating

Last night we were able to go roller skating for our school's family skate night. We have been getting flyers about these skate nights since Taylor first started school here and I've always thought skate night sounded fun, but also like a lot of work and expensive and honestly I was just too lazy to make the effort to get us there. This time I decided to just bite the bullet and go. I am trying to say yes to more things and take advantage of more opportunities and I figured if I can say yes to participating in a 2 hour long SCC meeting each month, I can say yes to roller skating with my family.

It was so much fun! I am glad we went. The kids are all at the perfect age where they could basically do what they wanted while Kendrick and I skated on our own. I haven't been on roller skates since I was a preschool teacher and Kendrick hadn't been on roller skates since before his mission. So we were both out of practice. Kendrick did awesome though and was going off of ramps and skating backwards and dancing. He only ALMOST biffed it once. And it was while I was turning around, laughing at him almost biffing it that I biffed it and fell on my arse. That was slightly embarrassing.

I am grateful that I am still young and healthy enough to get up on a pair of skates even though my butt and hamstrings are sore today. It was fun to watch the kids have fun with their friends, it was fun to watch Easton act like a big kid on his scooter, and it was even a little bit fun to hear Kendrick's stories about his glory days of skating and how back in the day "all the ladies loved him".

First days of school (2013)

Summer flies by. At the beginning of June when school got out I thought to myself, "I have 2 1/2 glorious months ahead of me." Where did those 2 1/2 months go!?! Don't get me wrong, we did a ton of fun stuff this summer and I still feel like there is time to cross things off my summer bucket list. But man, I sure wish summer vacation lasted longer...

We lucked out this year as far as getting ready for school goes. The Grandma's in our life hooked us up by buying all the big kids their new school clothes, underwear and socks. All I had to buy was lunch bags for the boys, a new backpack for Tay and shoes for all the kids. I am so blessed to have people who care about helping our kids get the things they need and who enjoy spoiling them to pieces.

Taylor started school on Monday. She was beyond excited about it all weekend. If she felt any anxiety about starting school at all it didn't show until we walked up to the door she had to line up at. When the anxiety hit her she told me, "I'm so nervous I feel like I have to pee!" It looked like she had a lot of friends from last year in her class but she was too nervous to talk to any of them. She just sort of stood there and smiled. Her Dad embarrassed her right before she walked inside so I felt kind of bad for her and hoped that didn't ruin her morning. Dad's can be clueless sometimes;) It was very hard for me to let Tay take the reigns on her first day of school look this year. SHE picked out her clothes and SHE chose her hair style. I had to bite my tongue. I would probably keep doing her hair and picking out what she wears until she goes to college, if she would let me. Unfortunately I think those days are over and she is now starting to have more and more of an opinion about how she wants to look. No matter how she dresses, she always looks cute...even if she does refuse to wear girly colors or let me curl her hair!

The sign says, First Day of 4th Grade "I want to be a wildlife biologist" August 19, 2013

Interesting outfit choice. Not the look I thought she would go with when she brought home all her back to school clothes...

Tay and I

K and Tay

Tay and Samuel

Walking to school

Looking so cute and not the least bit nervous as she stood in line and waited.

The twins started school on Tuesday. They had a mixture of feelings going on: excitement because now they are big tough 1st graders and they get to play on the big playground and eat lunch at school, but nervousness because it is ALL day school and not a lot of kids from their Kindergarten class ended up in their 1st Grade class. They won't admit it but I think they are excited to get away from me and all the chores I make them do but they also have anxiety over 1st Grade homework. Their teacher seems like a doll. She is young looking and thin and pretty and seems very sweet and patient. I hope the boys do well with her.

The boys also picked out their back to school outfits. I think they did a great job, although it's hard to really mess up boy outfits isn't it? I get a kick out of the fact that they have the same outfits but that they choose to wear them differently and on different days. Having twins is such a hoot!

Myles' sign reads, Fist Day of 1st Grade "I want to be a teacher" August 20, 2013

Jack's sign reads, First Day of 1st Grade, "I want to be a fireman", August 20, 2013

Myles and Jack

The boys and I

The boys and K

Such big kids

Walking to school with Samuel

Waiting in line-first ones there!! I love it.

Waving goodbye. I didn't even cry. It really didn't hit me, or maybe it just wasn't that big of a deal? They fought so much the day before that I was perfectly happy to send them off to school, I was looking forward to some peace and quiet!

Easton started at home Pre School today. I had such a good time and was so successful at teaching the boys Pre School that I decided to do it with Easton too. I can't believe I used to shell out money for Tay to go to Preschool each month! What a waste. We are still on the fence about whether or not Easton will start Kindergarten next year. He will be turning 5 a week before school starts and we don't love the thought of him being the youngest in his class. On the other hand, he is ready and wanting that experience. He wants to learn, he wants to join his siblings at school and he needs to be around other kids his age. But I don't know if he will be mature enough...we'll see what happens.

He has a special Pre School cupboard that we keep his stuff in and we decided to put his workbooks and crayons, scissors and pencils in his backpack so he can feel like one of the big kids. I have a hard time being disciplined with Easton because he is my baby and I just want to cuddle him and let him have his way all the time. So it will be a challenge for me to buckle down and MAKE him work this year. Wish me luck...

We are excited for a new school year and are so hopeful that it will go smoothly. I can't believe I have 3 kids in all day school now...

Kindergarten Graduation

When I was in elementary school we didn't graduate from grade to grade. It was a no fuss thing-we just kept moving up grades and at the end of 6th grade we had a party. Honestly, it was a bigger deal for me to "graduate" to a training bra then it ever was for me to graduate from any year in school. And maybe because of that I'm just not big on graduations... I didn't even go to my own High School graduation, a decision that 12 years later, I still don't regret...

But apparently at my kids' school, graduating is a BIG deal. At least for the Kindergarteners, 5th and 6th Graders. The twins had their graduation on Thursday and it was so cute. They sang way too many songs and they each stood up and said what they were thankful to have learned this year. Then they got the biggest pile of stuff I've ever seen, otherwise known as a portfolio, a "certificate of achievement" and a graduation cap and it was over. The teacher choked up when she talked about how much she loved this class and I couldn't help but shed a few tears. My boys being in Kindergarten was a huge, scary step for me. One I dreaded from the day they came home from the NI CU. I have a hard time seeing my boys grow up. So to know that we successfully got through Kindergarten and that it wasn't only survivable but enjoyable is a huge weight off my shoulders. I still can't say that I am ready to lose them all day to 1st grade but I am excited to see what their future in this school holds...

 Their Graduation photos: I always say, I hit the twin jackpot. These boys melt my heart!