Sep 23
Everyone,
Juice had most of the day off today so we spent it doing the things I needed to do. Like go to the grocery store. I have going to the Aldi here in town for almost 18 months for our groceries. Juice has NEVER been. I can’t remember the last time we actually went to the store together. At least over 18 months!
Lost at the store: my mind. Those boys are getting harder to take places. I suppose it doesn’t help that Juice was there to teach them to “fly”, super hero style, up and down the isles.
I made bread today. I made a half batch of crescent rolls. The boys have been scarfing these down for breakfast. It makes a quick and easy thing for me to toss at them as we’re out the door to wait for the bus. I suppose I could make muffins instead. Huh. That’s a thought.
I also made pizza dough for dinner tonight. The kids LOVE to assemble their own pizzas. Professor went first. He had sauce (home made, today, while dough was rising), cheddar cheese, and that’s it. Pirate had only white cheese, and a tiny bit of cheddar cheese and a WHOLE lot of whining. Butterfly was last. She had sauce, white and cheddar cheese, pepperoni, and little bit more cheese. Juice made his pizza up with sauce, mushrooms, peppers from our garden, onions, pepperoni, and 3 kinds of cheese. Mozzarella, cheddar, and pepper jack. He said it was very good.
Lost during pizza making: my shirt. I splashed oil all over it. Anyone know how to get oil out of a t-shirt?
We took everyone shopping at the $200 Store after dinner because frankly, we were out of cheese. We had a good time looking at all the Christmas stuff they have out. Already. We did a bit of window shopping in the toy isle. We comparison shopped. We impulse bought strawberries.
Lost shortly after the store: Butterfly’s 4th tooth! Her top left (?) and now she is missing both her front teeth!
Looks like the tooth fairy is visiting this house tonight!
Safire
SafireButterfly's missing teeth Butterfly, shopping
Sep 09
Everyone,
This week at Butterfly’s school was back to school night. Last year I found it very informative and really helped me to feel more comfortable in the school. This year, I really enjoyed being there. I enjoyed seeing the administrators I know, and having all the teachers happy to see (and call her by name!) Butterfly.
Butterfly happily showed us to her room. Mrs. Dez was making a presentation about the year. It was quiet and everyone (maybe 5 parents out of 15 kids) was paying great attention. We made quite the ruckus as Butterfly happily flounced to her DESK and pulled her supplies out of her DESK.
Pirate happily followed on her heals and picked the desk across from hers. He watched her pull out her supplies, and pulled out the supplies from Butterfly’s neighbor. We had to intervene.
There was wailing. I asked Butterfly (in a quiet whisper because Mrs. Dez was bravely still trying to talk) and she pouted at me. These were HER school supplies! HERS!
Now I hissed at her under my breath to just give the boy one crayon so that he could color.
NOW.
She threw a crayon out. I listened for about a minute to parent teacher conference dates and there was more wailing.
This time from Professor who just noticed that he was kind of being left out. Also, he didn’t want the cookie that he was given while walking into the school. He wanted a different one!
Sigh.
Please tell me it gets easier.
After the presentation, Butterfly showed us around (boys! put that back! no please don’t pull out all the boo— boys! please help me pick up all the books you spilled. No stay right here and pick up books! boys!)
We left rather quickly. They were much happier roaming the halls with the rest of the school than being in the classroom.
Butterfly showed us this gem hanging in the hall:
Butterfly knows what she wants to be. Do you?
A “nacholist” (for those of you who don’t read 1st grader) is a naturalist. See, Butterfly loves to draw and nature so she thinks that she should be someone who categorizes things in nature. See her drawing the 2 different kinds of flowers in her picture?
I think that is an awesome job!
We stopped by every table. I signed Butterfly up for information about girl scouts. We got bookmarks, 20 flyers and signed up to be Butterfly’s room mom.
At the end of the night, we came to the cafeteria and found out that we could have dropped our kids off for an evening of fun with the after school care people and we could have gone, alone, to the rest of the stuff.
Oops.
Oh well. We rested in there while the kids played.
Butterfly has the most stunning eyes.
Don’t you agree?
Safire
SafireButterfly in School Butterfly
Sep 04
Everyone,
This week at the Multiples and More site the question was on football.
College football to be exact.
Now, for those who REALLY know me, know that I don’t care for football.
Oh I don’t mind it. If someone is watching, I can watch too. I went to all the high school football games (to flirt with the boys and not watch the game) and I did record college football games on tape at one time. Why? A boy I liked played in the marching band and I wanted to see if I could see him on tv.
Really.
Dad, stop laughing.
Ahem.
The question this week! College football!
What team do you root for and why?
I root for BYU. Rise and shout, the cougars are out!
Both Juice and I went there so it’s only natural that we would take an interest in their football season. And their toffee peanuts. And their mint brownies.
I think they won yesterday, by the way. The football team, not the food. The food there is a winner every day.
I’m just happy that the football team won too.
Safire
PS- That adorable baby is mine…Butterfly makes the best BYU cheerleader!
SafireButterfly, Halloween Butterfly, BYU, Halloween, questions, sports
Aug 31
Everyone,
My goal for this school year for myself is to get Butterfly on time to school. Every day. Last year, I am ashamed to say that she was late 3-6 days out of the month. Every month. And I could never figure it out! I swear I got her to school by 9:25 am when it started!
Reading this year’s paperwork they sent home, school starts at 9:15 am.
Oops.
With Butterfly riding the bus this year, we will hopefully meet that goal! In order for her to be on the bus and us not running to the car in the morning, we leave for the bus stop 10 minutes before we’re supposed to get there. Because with all these little kids, you never know how long a short walk up the block will take.
Today, we were the second ones there and set my kids loose to run in the grass nearby. They were playing claw (it’s like tag but “scarier!”) and having a ball. I figured they were moving and getting all of Butterfly’s wiggles out before school started. And I didn’t have to answer the twin chorus of “why?” for a good 10 minutes. Win/win!
More kids showed up to the bus stop. They lined up nicely on the side walk. And watched. My kids screamed, ran, cried (“it’s too scary Mommy!”), and were general hooligans. I could see several of the kids bouncing on the balls of their feet with their heads following the path my trio was making.
One girl from Butterfly’s class last year joined Butterfly in running around. That seemed to break the dam and they had a rousing game of Claw going in about 2 minutes. It was a screaming mass of kids and I was enjoying watching them run!
Three minutes in, a mom started screaming at her girls (she has 3) to get back on the sidewalk. They were in the middle of the pack and didn’t hear her. She marched herself down there and physically yanked all three girls out of the pack and lined them up on the side walk. On the way past me, she said to the oldest girl “It’s wet and you will fall! If any of your sisters fall and hurt themselves, I’m holding you responsible!”
I’ve been thinking about this all day. It would not be this oldest girl’s fault. Yes, the grass was wet. Yes, kids did fall and hurt themselves. (okay, just Pirate) But I didn’t see any harm in the kids running before school. This mom started the trend and gradually, the kids with parents were pulled back into line.
Are we so afraid for kids to hurt themselves that we limit what they can and can’t do? Are we afraid of blood, sweat, tears, and some skinned knees? I see a huge trend in child raising here that you keep kids inside and controlled at all times. I don’t like that. I love to see my kids running and screaming and I let them do it as much as possible. (Just ask my parents after a fun 2 weeks of that!)
Or maybe I just can’t control my children.
Either way, I’m okay with it.
Safire
PS- I’m sure I will have lots of stories about the bus stop in the years to come. So welcome to a new series!
Safireall 3 kids, school bus bus stop, Butterfly
Aug 29
Everyone,
Today was the first day of school for Miss Butterfly.
We were all very (very) happy to hear that her school had power, after the weekend brush of Hurricane Irene, and would actually be open to receive students this morning.
This year Butterfly will ride the big “blue” bus that is yellow. She hopped right on this morning.
And after a few hours, she hopped right off.
Her teacher this year, Mrs. Dez, is going to be a lot of fun.
She is thrilled this year to have a DESK all her OWN. She is also excited to put her school supplies in her DESK.
It’s just too thrilling.
This morning, before the bus, I asked her a few questions:
“Are you excited?”
“Yep.”
“What are you excited about?”
“Playing with my friends on the playground. And lunch.”
“Who are you looking forward to playing with?”
“You know! My friends!”
“Are you nervous about anything?”
“Nope.”
“Alright. Have fun!”
“You know I will!”
Tonight we went out to ice cream to celebrate the first day of school. She had cookie dough ice cream with a cherry on top. She said it’s been a cherry on top kind of day, wonderful and special.
We measured her (52 and 3/4 inches tall) and ended with a father’s blessing for the school year (protection and friends).
I think it’s going to be a great year!
Safire
SafireButterfly, Butterfly firsts, Butterfly in School, Butterfly stats Butterfly
Aug 26
Everyone,
I have over 1000 pictures to look over and share the best of them with you in the next little bit. This is BY FAR the best one. And I didn’t even take it! Thanks to Flower for this awesome shot of Butterfly boogie boarding on our last night at the beach.
I think I might frame it. I love it that much.
Safire
SafireAssateague, beach Assateague 2011, Butterfly
Jun 16
Everyone,
Just a few months ago Butterfly started Kindergarten.
And today she finished!
In her own words about today:
“So we were all really sad that it was the last day and we wouldn’t be together anymore. I told everyone that Mrs. Madeline will be in our hearts forever. Is that right? Will we always remember her?
My backpack is SO fat and heavy! I have tons of things to show you at home! I had pizza for lunch. We played tag at recess. We got to have choice time.”
That was it. She was super bouncy and happy all day today. When she came home, she spent 20 minutes with Flower singing her the songs she learned (poor girl still can’t really carry a tune) and showing her all the paperwork. They sent home a writing portfolio which is super cute. She also got a report card. She got a P in everything. She is passing everything. Well, except music and gym. In those classes she got an I, which is not failing but not sailing through. (See above comment about carrying a tune.) Maybe it stands for Needs Improvement?
She had a great year. Mrs. Madeline said that she was a bright spot in her class. She is helpful and had really good ideas. They were having a problem of everyone not getting along about a week ago. Apparently, people were making a bunch of things for other people in choice time. Some people were getting a lot of things, some nothing. And the people who were getting nothing were upset (understandably so). So they had a class meeting about being nice to everyone. Butterfly piped up and said that everyone in the class is like a link in a chain. And the chain only works if everyone works together. Sometimes it takes things awhile to go down the chain, but each link will be touched eventually.
Huh. I don’t remember teaching her that. But the kids really got it and Mrs. Madeline said she’s going to use that next year. Way to go Butterfly!
She ended the year reading on a level 11. The benchmark for Kindergarten is level 4. She is well beyond that.
She is truly amazing. I am so blessed.
Safire
SafireButterfly in School Butterfly
Jun 07
Everyone,
Butterfly complained this morning that she had a few bug bites that itched. I noticed that she had more than a few! At least 10, maybe more. I put some anti-itch cream on them and a little bug spray on her and sent her off to school.
When I picked her up today, she was COVERED. Every inch that was not covered in cloth (and some that was!) had a bug bite on it. Did I spray some bug love juice on her this morning?!
Seriously, it was bad. So bad that when I pointed out all the bites to her and she paused to look, she had an audience of all the kids that were walking home. They were ALL amazed.
Way to get popular honey!
Here’s the run down:
Left arm- 5
Right arm- 5
Right leg- 18
Left leg- 28 (!!!)
Back- 3
Grand total: 59
She’s a feast!
Safire
Safirebug bites, Butterfly Butterfly
May 10
Everyone,
Happy Birthday to Butterfly! I don’t know why, but it seems her birthday is kind of different than the boys’ birthday. Oh sure, on the boys birthday I became a mother to multiples, but on Butterfly’s birthday, I became a mother.
And after years and years of TRYING to have a kid, it was a big day. Today is Tuesday. Butterfly was born on Tuesday. We’ve now come full circle to that day. The significance is not lost on me today.
Here are 6 things that I love about my newest 6 year old!
- I love how kind she is to others. Always. She is always helping someone. She always thinks the best of people. When other kids are mean to her (I see it rarely), she is never mean back. In fact, she doesn’t even realize that they are being mean to her. She just doesn’t see it. That is a rare quality in a person and one I hope she never looses.
- I love how full of life she is. She is almost always happy and skipping around. She is loud, full of vigor and strength. I look at her often and think that she comes from good pioneer stock. I could totally see her walking behind a covered wagon for miles and miles. She is one strong, exuberant girl. And she normally likes to be in the lime light. But today, she had a rough day at school because people kept saying happy birthday to her. Sad to cry at school on her birthday. And over such a fun thing too!
- I love her eyes. And her 7 tiny freckles sprinkled on her nose. I love how she has a cow lick right between her eyebrows and how tiny her mouth is when it’s shut. That is a rare thing. I love her dimple. Love it. It seriously makes me smile every time I see it flash. I love that she has my hands and my feet.
- I love how giving she is. She is always wrapping up pretend presents for me and leaving them for me to find or giving them to me in a big flourish. Sometimes several times in a row. I love that she always wants to draw pictures for other people. I love that she started the trend in her classroom to draw picture presents for her friends and now everyone does it. I love that she gives her extra time in the classroom (which she has a lot of, not surprising) to a friend who is struggling to read. She walks him through his sounds and congratulates him when he sounds out a hard word. I love that by doing that, she sounds just like me.
- I love that she is playful. She is always playing with things or telling stories to herself in her head. I love that she has kind friends who are happy to go along with her hugely detailed and entertaining stories. I love that her brothers perk up considerably when she is home and she allows them to play with her. Most of the time. I love her love of movies and the fact that she combines her stories from those of movies and makes “the story better.”
- I love that she makes friends where ever she goes. We went out to lunch today for her birthday during her lunch/recess hour. She chose to go to McD’s and get a toy. Okay. I picked the one that has a play place in it and let them play more than they ate. (Because the boys had to come too!) She instantly made a friend with another boy who was there and had him, his 2 little sisters, and the boys all following her around in some elaborate chase game that I did not understand. They had a ball. She gave this boy a hug and wanted to know if we could play with him again another day. I got his mom’s info while they were playing and so we might! She makes friends, and helps me make friends too.
I think 6 is going to be an amazing year!
Safire
SafireButterfly birthdays birthdays, Butterfly
Mar 10
Everyone,
Right now, if you’re looking for Butterfly, you can find her drawing. Somewhere nearby. She loves to color, draw, decorate, and create. She also loves to make things for people and I find scraps of paper all decorated for her friends at school, her grandparents, even the dog.
She loves to be read to. And look at pictures. Right now she is going through a planet phase and has brought home books about the planets for weeks. We’re learning lots, and she’s asking lots of questions about astronomy stuff. Like why can’t people live on Mars and why Venus is so hot. Also, is Pluto really a planet? I ask myself that one a lot too.
I’ve taken her out a few times to look at the stars (the few that you can see from our house) and we have a star globe that puts the constellations on the ceiling to look at. She is SO looking forward to learning about the other planets and so am I actually! She has them all memorized.
She is taking swimming lessons on Saturday morning and she is loving it. We also go bike riding (when the weather permits) to swimming lessons. She told me the other day that she didn’t know what she liked better, the riding or the swimming! She’s also is a bit horse crazy and adds them to a lot of her pictures. I’m excited to get her on a horse (this weekend hopefully!) and feed the fire. If only we could have one…
What a unique and diverse little girl we have!
Safire
SafireButterfly Butterfly
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