Here we go......

Every year at this time I get nervous about going back to school. Up until this year I have just been nervous for me and sad that I have to send the kids back to daycare. This year is different. I have to be nervous for me, Raegan and Colton. All three of us are taking on new roles.

My first baby, Raegan is heading to Kindergarten. She is excited. I am too, but wow, did those five years fly by. I know she will love school. She is getting so independent and loves to be around other kids. We aren't "good enough" any more. She is on to bigger and better things and it is exciting to watch her do this. However, it kind of tears you up watching it too. I caught Chris last night staring at her picture when she was 6 months old. He didn't say anything, but I could tell he was thinking the same things I am. So, tomorrow, I will take her to school to meet her teacher, drop off her supplies (all 5 boxes of requested crayons), and walk around the school, and then we will come home together. She only goes for an hour and starts full time on Wed. Chris will stay home to put Raegan on the bus Wed morning. I can't do it.

Colty is starting the Early Childhood program this year. His speech and language are delayed. I am so worried about him. I know it is for his own good. I feel like I am taking him out of his carefree, fun, little simple life and throwing him out into the world. We went to visit his classroom on Thursday. He did OK. At first he got all inhibited like he usually does when he gets shy. He starts to use a high squeaky voice and make little eye contact with new people. His sister acts the same way. Although she doesn't use the weird voice, which drives me nuts, she finally is starting to look at people and talk to them when they talk to her. So, why do I worry 10 times more about this kid. I worry that he will never progress like normal kids. It makes me sad to see all of my friends/co-workers kids that are the same age, talking up a storm and me interpreting for everybody what Colty says. I love this kids more than you can imagine. Maybe that is why I worry. When he was born he had a birthmark on his back. We had to have an MRI to make sure he didn't have a tethered spinal cord, he didn't. When he was five months old, he was diagnosed with Congenital Nystagamus. He wasn't going to develop vision like normal kids. Somehow this went away. The dr said that he has only seen this 4 times in his practice, but it happened with our son. He can see just fine and his eyes don't shake ever! But this, speech/language development issue is shaking me. He is the size of a 5 year old and talks more like a two year old. So, it is my hope that this year of school will trigger a language explosion. I can't wait...even if I have to cry tomorrow when I drop him off (after I put on the happy face and tell him he'll be fine while he screams and cries). It is for his own good..........right?

And Macy....She gets to spend three days a week in the arms of her grandmas and 2 days a week with my friend and her little girl. She will be fine. She is the one person in this family I am not worried about at all!

I am starting a new position at school. I am excited for the challenge and scared of the pressure. It was nice going in this year and not having to set up the classroom. It is nice to be able to go in at 11:30 the first day of school so I can get Raegan and Colton where they need to be. It is nice that if I am sick I won't have to go in at 5am and write sub plans. I am excited to focus on just literacy and not deal with FOSS, math, Social studies, recess, lunch and all of the other parts to being a classroom teacher. I will work with one kiddo at a time for 30 minutes. I service four kids a day. So I teach for 2 hours. Now, there is a lot of testing and paperwork with this job. I will be bringing a lot more home, but that is OK. I will be home by 11:30 each day. It is something that I will have to force myself to do. It will feel strange, but incredibly good.

Sorry for the non-uplifting post....Just needed to vent...

Here I Go Again....

Back to School Time

This time of year is always so hard for me. I have never had to grow up. I have never had a job that requires you to work year round therefore, every year I have to go through this slight mourning process....It's like leaving my baby after being home on maternity leave, except I do it every year. This year is even more anxiety provoking. I have 2 of the 3 kids starting school. Raegan is starting Kindergarten. Her teacher's name is Ms. Kennedy and she is very excited. I hear that the teacher is very LOUD, but nice. Due to some speech and language concerns, Colton will be getting on the school bus 3 days a week and going to the Early Childhood program in DeForest. I will be sending my little 3 yr old on a bus (the thought alone is enough to draw tears). The other two days a week he will be going to Country Creek, where Raegan went this past year. I hope he will love it as much as she did

I can't believe Raegan is starting her schooling experience. I want her to love it. So far she is sooo excited. I am more apprehensive than she is. We went shopping last night for her school supplies...Pretty uneventful. The only thing I found very odd is that they need 5 boxes of crayons. Target was out. I have been teaching for 10 year now and have never known a kids to blow through one whole box much less 5....If they really use that many crayons then they are spending too much time coloring in my opinion....

This year is different for me. I am going back to work part time and starting a new job position. I will be teaching Reading Recovery. This is a great opportunity. It is a program that selects children that are having the hardest time learning to read and write and designs lessons strictly focused on what the individual child needs. I teach 4 children per semester and it is one on one. I also have to be in training while doing this position. I will be taking a class for 3 hours on Tues nights and will be observed often. This is the part that is scaring me the most. Anyone who knows me well knows I do not like to be in the spotlight. I will be teaching behind a one way mirror while others watch....Enough to make me want to puke...Then the teacher leader will come a few times to observe me and I will have to video tape myself a few times. I am wondering if I made the right decision...

The most important thing is that I will be home by 11:30 every day. I will be here to get Raegan off of the bus. I will be here to make Macy and Colton lunch and put her down for her nap. I will be here for my kids.

This is only happening because I have the best mother, mother in law, aunt and friend, Jen, in the world. They are all helping me out to make this happen for me. If I had to pay to put the kids in daycare then I would not be able to do this. So thanks you all. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this.

So as I wrap up my last official day of vacation, I need to focus on the reasons why I took this new position and how it is benefiting me professionally and my family personally...Even if I throw up and freak out 4 times a year when I go BEHIND THE GLASS...

Just love this picture....

Raegan....where is time going?

Raegan and Colton are both taking swimming lessons this summer. I guess this is the weak attempt of us helping Raegan to practice in the 12 inch deep pool.
Raegan started Tball and daddy is the coach. She loves it and is doing very well. She is getting to be quite the fielder....
This is her last day of her "Flips" class. She couldn't wait to be done and now she wants to take it again. She is very interested in watching the Olympic Gymnastic trials....She says she will be able to that when she is 9
Raegan got glasses. She loves them. Also, she learned how to ride her bike this summer. We didn't really even teach her. We took the training wheels off and let go...She never looked back, literally..
Hardest part of the summer was the graduation from her pre-school ,Country Creek. Hands down the worlds best place. Here she is singing, "I'm going to be a star!" The processional was a tune by Rascal Flatts, "My Wish" Here I go again, crying just thinking about it....Read these lyrics and tell me you don't get choked up!

I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
and each road leads you where you want to go,
and if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
and if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' 'til you find the window,i
f it's cold outside,
show the world the warmth of your smile,
but more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
your dreams stay big, your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
and while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
all the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
and you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
and always give more then you take.
But more than anything, Yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
and while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you,
and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
your dreams stay big, your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
and while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you,
and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.this is my wish
i hope you know somebody loves you
may all your dreams stay big

Love this kid!

Never too early to play outside (he's still in his jammies)


Fun with foamy soap!
Classic Colton.... Colton is the epitome of a naughty little boy. On the complete opposite side he is soo happy and loving. It doesn't take a lot to make him happy, unlike his big sister. She isn't easily impressed. I admit I lose my patience with him way to often, but in the end...love this kid!

Raegan Picasso

The Titanic For a while she was into drawing wagons. Don't ask me.. My warm hearted daughter... She is thankful....for freakin Halloween!
Our Family Portrait. I just noticed that Chris only has one leg
This was a touching picture she drew when she was at school. I asked her what it was and she was sad and wanted me to come home:(

Macy - 9 months

Girlfriend needs a hairdo!

Long Time, No Post.

So much goes on in this little corner of the world. I have good intentions of posting more regularly, but life gets in the way sometimes.

So, I started summer vacation June 13th. It's been wonderful and crazy busy all at the same time.

Raegan and Colton had their 3 and 5yr check ups. Both passed with no issues. I think this is one of the first appts that I haven't come away with a referral of some sort. But....Raegan went to the Opthamologist and we got the word that she needed glasses. Apparently her eyesight is quite impaired right now. Her right eye is severely farsighted. She picked out a absolutely adorable pair of "Disney princess, Ariel" glasses. Of course they are pink. She has been a trooper and wears them all of the time.

Colton, our little Colton. He is a monster. He is a extremely active little guy. I know they say that the 2's are terrible, but 3 has been 10x worse. Sometimes we think he may be possessed. Under it all though he has this sweet interior. He is always telling us he loves us and we get lots of hugs. His speech/language isn't quite moving along at the pace it should. He is being evaluated by the school district to see if he qualifies for some S/L therapy. I am hoping yes. Everybody keeps saying, "He's a boy." I know this is true, but I still worry about the delay. It's hard to imagine that someday we will get past the "I YA YOU" for I love you. I truly believe that everything will be fine but I do have to remind myself of that....

Macy. Still a great little baby. She just had tubes put in her ears. She had 6 ear infections in the past 7 months and on top of that wasn't handling the anti-biotics well at all. She get a gut infection from them. She did great with the little surgery and has been a trooper. She still isn't crawling, but wants to bad. She is 9 and 1/2 months old now. Where has the time gone?

I'll post some pictures later with more stories to follow...

Crazy night at the Matson's

Chris had a bachelor party for his childhood friend Mark. It was bizarre to say the least. Mark showed up with the complete boxed set of "Little House on the Prairie". The picture here is the next morning when he insisted that he finish the beer from the night before with his morning coffee. He didn't want to waste it. He thought it would be a nice picture because the shirt matches the beer. This was after he got out pictures of his fiance to show me. Did I mention that they were her senior pictures? She is 35. Chris is in the wedding on June 13th. Have fun honey, I can't go, no babysitter:( or :)

Happy Molther's Day........... Raegan!

We went to Copps and they had cakes to decorate for your mom. This is Raegan eating the cake that she decorated for me, thanks Raegan.

Apparently through the mind of the 5 yr old...She said that Mother's Day is her day to have only her mom do stuff for her (I should be at her beck and call). Only I could help her that day, so much for a break.

New Camera!

Here are some fun shots of the kids with the new camera.

Last Saturday...boring title, I know

So I had a Pampered Chef Party and it turned into a Mega Play Date for the kids. Raegan can't get enough play dates right now. She had a blast. I captured a few of these "fun" pictures. After the party was over my friend Jen and I had a party of our own. We had some wine and then her husband joined us later. It was a lot of fun. The kind of weekend that doesn't come around that often. This weekend was fun too. Chris took Raegan bowling yesterday. We are trying to spend a little more one on one time with her. She had a blast. I know, I know, what about Colton? He has been getting a lot of Chris time because I usually take the girls and he is with Colton. We all went to Chucky Cheese today. It was the most fun I have ever had there!

My babies are getting Big!!!

Raegan and Colton both had a birthday last week. Colton turned 3 and Raegan turned 5. We celebrated on Colton's birthday at Red Robbin. It was absolutely how you would think dinner would go with a 3 yr old, 5 yr old and 6 month old. Chaotic and fun....The margarita helped me through. Then on Saturday, Raegan's birthday, we had a party at Little Gym. It was fun. Check out Colton in the last picture. It is truly a postcard..:) Here is a picture of Macy now. She is 6 and 1/2 months old now. She is sitting up. Thank God she is NOT crawling yet. I am not ready for that. She is starting to eat a bit more. She seems to like sweet potatoes and sweet peas. I have made pears, carrots, bananas and she isn't sold on any of those. She doesn't like oatmeal much either. I think I will try squash tomorrow. Wish us luck. She is a super baby. We kept her out too late tonight so she started crying on the way home. I told Chris, that I didn't realize how much she doesn't cry until I heard her tonight. Once we got her home, got her PJ's on, nursed her, and put her to bed, she actually smiled at me and was very happy to be put to bed. She loves her own bed. I love that little girl...

Here is the line where they would chant, "Raegan, Raegan, Raegan." Quite funny for a girl that likes no attention. She had a great time.

Birthday's are only truly fun if someone is crying, too bad it is the birthday boy:)

Random.....

Macy turned 6 months on Tuesday. She is a sweet baby. I think finally, I am enjoying this one. I can't get enough of her. She still has no teeth. I have sworn that she has been getting teeth for months now. She has NO desire to learn to crawl and I could care less. She hates being on her tummy, which is kind of necessary to learn to crawl. The way I see it, she isn't moving and that is easier for us all! I have been working a little on getting her to eat solid foods. My other two were definitely eating much more food. Her, not so much. She is truly our "baby". She has tried rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes and squash. I am making her baby food thus far. It is kind of fun, easy, and it makes me feel good. Wait, maybe that is why she won't eat, hmmmmm..... She is rather large. Shea hasn't had her 6 mos checkup yet, but I am guessing she is 17 or 18 lbs, and about 27 inches. It is almost time to get her out of the carrier seat. I know it says until 22 lbs, but she is already over the height limit. I just want to get into the warmer weather so I don't have to put her in the bunting.

Colton turns 3 on Tuesday. What a kid. We are going out to Red Robin for dinner. Raegan even gets to take the night off from Flips class. I know it sounds bizarre, but we have no idea what to get him. He LOVES tools, but has every one. He doesn't play with much else. He now carries a plastic Wal-Mart bag of tools every where he goes. My man has a problem. He is kind of OCD about them too.

Raegan turns 5 on Saturday. It is her golden birthday. We are heading for Little Gym for a "friend" party and them back to the house for a family party. Should be a good time. Right now she has a "thing" for Ariel- The Little Mermaid. I guess Chris is getting her a ball glove. He is going to attempt to coach her first T ball team this summer. Crazy....

Ode to Colton....

Colton has a full blown obsession with tools and anything that has to do with them. Even the clothes that he wears are full of tools. The first thing he does in the morning is get his tools and goes straight to his tool bench. He eats with his tools. When it is time to go to the daycare's house he packs them in a plastic bag. He prefers an electric drill the best. He has two, actually three. His Beepa Matson(grandpa) got him a new saw of some sort. Then his other Beepa and grandma got him a nail gun and some other odds and end tools for Easter. We had to hide the nail gun this morning because he has to be very quiet in the morning when he goes to daycare - whole other story. We didn't think it would be good to send the nail gun with him shouting, "Die, die, die" You may say to yourself, a three year old saying this is rather disturbing, and while it is, we couldn't figure out where he picked that up. The kid can hardly talk so at first we thought he couldn't be saying that, but he is. Yesterday Raegan filled me in on where he got it. Oh yes, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." OOPS. I guess he won't be watching that anymore. He really does imitate TV, so there is definitely truth to the fact that TV can influence kids. Chris and I both decided that we need to be more vigilant about what we let the kids watch. Sorry kids, no more Spongebob. Colton even ends his night with his tools. He sleeps with them like most children would sleep with a stuffed animal. He is surrounded by them. Very cute. If he continues this fad, he will be more handy than his dad. He can manipulate a screwdriver with one hand turning it like a professional. What talent. He is a neat kid........

Morning Chat

For those of you that don't know Chris' friend Mark, this won't be as funny....Chris is in Mark's second wedding this summer. And those of you that know Chris know how much he loves the spotlight especially to do it a second time. So he called recently to give him the details: The wedding is on a Friday night. There is NO alcohol being served. The reception is at the basement of the church afterwards. Here is the best part. The bachelor party is here. Yes at my house with my kids home. And no, nothing obscene will go on. They are going to watch movies...It will be Colton's first bachelor party and mine for that matter....

How fast can you type?

Check it out


http://speedtest.10-fast-fingers.com/

It's NOT Spring Mommy....

These are some pictures of when we went to the St Patrick's Day Parade on the square. It was a lot of fun. It was a bit chilly but everybody was so well behaved. I never thought I would be able to take Colton to a parade. He actually stayed by us. Yea Colton. HE turns 3 in one week.

So, today Raegan asked me if Easter was today. I told her no. She said,"Well then what are the flowers on my calendar?" I told her that it was the first day of spring yesterday. Then she said, "Mom , it is not spring. Look outside." I guess she was right. When you get over 10 inches of snow it is hard to think spring like.

I am having a great week home with the kids. I can't say I have been relaxing at all, but it has been so nice letting everyone just sleep in. Raegan didn't get dressed until 6pm tonight when she decided to help daddy shovel. Too bad he sold the snow blower last week:)

Macy is doing lots of fun stuff. She is rolling both ways now. She so loves watching her brother and sister. She smiles all of the time and even laughs when she sees them. The kid has one flaw. She still wakes up a few times a night. I've gotten used to it, but could use a great nights sleep some time. She still has no teeth and has made no progress with food. She gags every time I try to feed her.

Milestones

Friday, January 25, 2008

Milestones

Macy started giggling today. It is so adorable. She is such a smiley little girl. She is by far the happiest of the three. I think she is very close to getting her first tooth also. Tonight we put her to bed without swaddling her for the first time. She went right to sleep. It kind of makes me sad. She is growing up too fast.
Ding and Dong are so full of attitude right now. Raegan is sassy and then Colton copies her. So neat. They sure do love each other though. I think they need a weekend at Grandmas. Let me know when you want them!!

Update

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Update...
Spring Break starts tomorrow. I almost don't want it to start because I don't want it to end...So much is going on here. Macy is almost 6 months old. She is getting so big. She rolls both ways now. She started right about at 5 months. She rolls much faster from tummy to back. She isn't a big fan of being on her tummy. We started trying foods. We started with rice cereal, then moved to oatmeal and then tried carrots. She doesn't really like to eat much of anything. Whenever we try she just clenches those lips. I guess I will just nurse her until she is 6. We gave her a little hair cut. She was sporting the look of someone that was going through chemo ( no offense anyone). She had three different spots where her hair was 5 inches long and then other spots where it is just a quarter of an inch...She looks so much better now. Colton is well, Colton. He is a riot. He is the epitome of a naughty little boy and I love it. He is starting to master the technique of telling me (in Coltonspeak of course) to look at something and then he turns around and does something naughty. He still LOVES tools and everything that has to do with them. If it has a switch, button, knob,etc...he is obsessed. The tool bench we got him for Christmas was maybe the best toy for value ever spent. He still doesn't have the language skills that we would hope. I know everyone says that "he is a boy" but it still makes us worry a bit. When I say worry, I guess worst case he may need some help with speech therapy or something. We will ask his pediatrician. Some of my favorite mispronounced words by "the buddy" Oompa Doo (What he says when he wants to watch Willy WonkaBen -breadEecy - MacyAegan - RaeganTooahs - toolsAnd then there is Ragaen. She is registering for Kindergarten on Monday. Wow, this is so exciting, yet so depressing. I can't believe my first "baby" is going off to school next year. I also can't believe that in the last five years I have had 3 babies, and lived in two houses and gotten married been to Mexico, Punta Cana, Oh Vey, what will the next five years bring? She is growing up to be such a nice little girl. I never thought nice would be used to describe Raegan. Don't get me wrong. She still has her Raeganisms. She can't be VERY standoffish...She doesn't talk when SHE doesn't want to. In fact, she doesn't do anything when she doesn't want to. Last night she had two of her favorite friends over and they got along so well. There were no little squabbles or anything. I can't wait to see how she grows up, just not too fast:(

Poor Baby

I am home sick with Baby Mace today. She cried more yesterday than she has in her entire life. She was miserable. She had a 102 degree temp. So, I called the doc today and of course she is in a great mood.

Nick Names

In the almost five years that we've had kids, we have had so many nicknames for them. Here are a few

Raegan: Raegs, Raegie, Raegie Baggie Boogie, R, Aegan (Colton's), Sweet sweets (Chris)

Colton: Butters, Butterball, C-Man, Colty, Colty Bolty, C, Coley Boley,

Macy: Macers, Mace, Baby girl, Little Beebs

and then there are the dogs

Haley: Haley Bailey Booperton, Hay, Hay-yee, Goose, H, Goo, Gooey

Tyson: T-Pitters, Tyson Matson the storm trooper of love, Tysie, Ussa Bussa, Wussy Boy,Bussa Buss

at this rate, we will forget their real names. I wonder which ones will stick....

Going Back

7 days left:( I go back to work next Monday. I am not feeling that good about it. I have spent the last 13 months (9 in utero) with Macy. The most time I have spent away from her is about 4 hours. It just feels like I am giving by baby away. I will see her by 3:30 every day, so that is reassuring, but it still hurts. I find myself bursting into tears constantly. I just don't want to miss anything. She is growing up so fast.

Last night she found her voice and decided to just "talk" for hours. It was so cute. Raegan always asks what she is saying so I am the interpreter. I have had the best 4 months. I feel like a real mom. It has been so fun. We have spent our days doing so many things. We usually had coffee with our friends Jen, Mairin, and Kendall once a week, met daddy for lunch, went shopping, and spent lots of time together cuddling. She is a snugly baby and I spent the first 3 months of life her holding her. She finally lets us put her down now.

I know I will get through it, but it doesn't feel good. Ever since I had kids my job seems so secondary. Next year I am looking to go part time so I pray that I can find that job. Raegan will be in kindergarten, Colton will go to Country Creek a couple days a week and Macy will be watched by grandmas and a friend. Knowing this, I can get through the next 4 months, right?