Time Marches On....

I officially have a Kindergartner. And in 11 hours, I will have three 2 year olds. I don't know which one is harder to grasp! At times I feel that Marley should be the one turning two. It seems she has grown up so fast. I will always have a special bond with my first born. I need her and she needs me. There isn't much that we don't do together and unless one of us is at school, you often don't find me without her nearby. If it was up to her, I think we would be together every hour of every day of every year. Give or take a few. I am going to miss her so much when she is gone at school the majority of the day. And I know the babies will too. This week is her first week of summer break and every morning they have run out to her yelling, "Sissy home!" and give her big hugs the minute they see her. Her graduation ceremony was so nice. Her teachers are SO amazing. Not only are they just good, caring, kind people but they are wonderful teachers. They have taught my little girl so much about life and love and of course, learning. She is stronger, wiser and braver because of them. They taught her that it is okay to make mistakes, it is always important to try her best, that she should always believe in herself, when she needs help to simply ask for it, to be kind to her friends, and to start every day with a positive attitude. And that's not even including all of the reading, writing and arithmetic they taught her! I will always hold a special place in my heart for her amazing preschool teachers and hope they realize what special people they all are. Their patience may truly be tested in a year when the triplets start preschool with them!
Speaking of triplets, they are going to be two tomorrow! (I will write a detailed blog about that soon.)Two years ago at this time, I was sitting here in denial labor and thinking I wasn't quite ready for them to make their grand arrival. Obviously they didn't listen. And that was just the beginning of that! They have continuously amazed me since the day they were born. They are some sweet, loving, smart and wild little crazies. But they are my crazies and I am thankful every day.

Marley and her cousins

Mrs. Holly giving the graduate her diploma

So darn proud of herself!

Marley & Mimi

Still itty-bitties!

Always smiling

Jack & Marissa

I remember how Makayla (in very back) wrapped her arm around her brother all by herself and snuggled up as close as she could. Melted my heart

Marley & Bre :)








 

Student Teaching Day 1

I got to sit in my first classroom today for about four hours. It was a lot of fun and now I am REALLY excited to finish my program so I can start! And lucky me got to sit in the classroom of these two handsome fellas....

 

My friend (and Marley's old daycare teacher) Claire stayed with the babies until I got home and they all had lots of fun blowing bubbles and playing together. They really enjoy interacting with different people now. They all hugged her bye when it was time for her to leave but I have another day scheduled at the school for next week so it won't be long until they can play again.

 

I just put Marley to bed for the last time as a Preschooler. She graduates tomorrow!! I can't believe it. How bittersweet.  My little girl is growing up...

Birthday Time....And a New Look!

Today is Mike's birthday. I would say the person in the house most excited about this is Marley. She knows that the order goes daddy's birthday, the babies' birthday, her cousin's birthday and then her birthday! So, each birthday that can get checked off the list and therefore bringing hers closer causes a whole bunch of 4 year old excitement. We are working on a tight budget these days with one income for a family of six and pretty much anything that can break seems to have broken in the past 2 weeks, so we kept it a nice, low-key fun time at home. Mike had to work so while the babies napped today, Marley and I made him his favorite kind of cake as well as a batch of brownies. Not good for our diets, but oh so delicious! We all played out back for about an hour after he got home from work and then came inside for baths and just played inside until bedtime. Marley and I went to pick up my mom this evening so she could come over and see everyone and we sent her home with some desserts for later. Happy birthday to Mike!!

I am working on a new look for my blog. It is turning out to be more of a pain than anything, but hopefully by time I am done it will be worth it. So, if you are on the page and it looks a mess, please just bear with me until I finish.

Tomorrow is my first day of field experience and I am so excited for it so off to bed for me....

Brownies and cake! Yum!! And yes, those are '33' candles ;)

Makayla sat on Mimi the entire time she was here

Helping dad open his present

My little baker

Showing off his Yankees doormat and steering wheel cover. Can't say I will mind wiping my dirty shoes on that mat!

 

We Are Still Here!!

Life has been way too busy lately and blogging has not been a top priority. A few weeks ago I went to update everyone and the website kept giving me issues, but now it seems to be working fine. I am not even sure where to begin. There's been great things happening around here and not so great things. Let's start with the positive!

- Marley is graduating preschool. THIS Friday!
- The triplets will be 2 NEXT WEEK!
- I am back in school to be a teacher! And will be certified by THIS September.
- Mike has lost 80 pounds. Yes, that is 8 0.
- Marley & I were in a wedding this past weekend.
- We had a quick visit from Mike's brother & his wife recently

I am in disbelief that my little Marley will be turning 5 in August and a couple weeks after that she will be starting Kindergarten. It is just amazing what a sweet and loving little girl she is. She is doing so good in gymnastics, t-ball and swimming and hopefully will get to go to some summer camps in the upcoming months. She loves her babies more than I could have ever imagined and I am so proud of her. She is an awesome little kid!!

The triplets are almost 2!!! In 9 short days, they will officially hit the "Terrific Twos." They are doing great. The girls talk my ears off and are so dang smart. You can have actual conversations about things with them. Such as this recent one- Me: "Good morning girls. How are you this morning?" Makayla- "Good. I'm uppppp." Me- "I see that. Who made this mess in the living room?" Makayla- "Not me. It was Jack Jack." Me- "You didn't do any of it?" Makayla- "No. Just Jack Jack." It is amazing how quick they pick up on things and all that they know. I will give more detailed updates on their 2 year post. Jack is doing great too. He is not quite as developed in the speech department as his sisters, but he communicates in his own way. He is still a little ham and always so happy. He's a great brother to his three sisters. He's shown he can be very protective, very caring and very silly with them. They have a great bond and I have really enjoyed the age they are all at lately.

I decided to pursue a dream I have always had and am back in school to become a teacher. If all goes as planned, which so far it is with A's in my first two classes, I will be done by September. I hope to teach Kindergarten, 1st or 2nd grade. I will be certified to teach thru 6th though and will take what I can get!

Mike has still been going strong at eating good and exercising and is now down 80 pounds!! So proud of him. He has done really good and needs a new wardrobe. Maybe he should replace those Yankee shirts with Rays shirts!

This past weekend Marley and I were in a very good friend's wedding. It was so much fun and Marley rocked it out as a Flower Girl. I can't even count how many people came up to us to tell us how beautiful she is and what a good job she did. Girlfriend loved all of the pampering she received and is already asking to go back to get her nails done.

Mike's older brother and his wife came to visit us in March. It was a short visit, but we all had a lot of fun. The kids loved playing with them and we hope they come back really soon!

So, that is the big, good stuff quickly. Now the not-so-good stuff. Many of you know my mom and know what a wonderful person she is. My entire life, anytime I have met someone who knows my mom, they talk about how great she is. Or how she is always smiling. Or how she is just so sweet. Roughly 2 months ago, she was diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer. Words cannot describe the shock and sadness we felt when we found out. Life just isn't fair sometimes. She has already undergone two surgeries and is about to begin several months of chemotherapy, radiation and hormone replacement therapy. It really doesn't make sense sometimes, but I guess all we can do is hold on and keep moving forward. She's got 6 grandbabies who aren't slowing down for some stupid thing called cancer and I hope soon that this is all just a bad memory.

So, that is our life in the past couple months in a nutshell. I know it's been awhile and I rushed thru this, but I will be more diligent now :)

Playing in rain puddles at the front door

Marley loving on Makayla

My four loves

Jacqui & Justin's wedding

The beautiful bride....almost two years ago with Marissa!

Jack enjoying the warm weather

Gymnast girl doin' her thing

Oh I love these little faces

Before my mom's first surgery. Even smiling then!

It's gotta be fun to have built in playmates

They are all so silly

Uncle Shane & Jack

Some girl time with Aunt Jenn