School delays & Quick recall

Let's see...today was a great start to the day! An extra hour to sleep and a 2 hour delay meant our students were pretty low key! In the education field & working with kids, usually anything out of the ordinary creates crazy but luckily not today! The cold temps and delay meant attendance was down and thank goodness so was drama!  There had been a shooting over the weekend involving one of our students & I was kind of dreading returning to school after the break, but everything was pretty smooth given the circumstances. 

After a pretty easy day I picked up the kiddos and found out zach was having his first quick recall match! We seemed to be the only parents unaware of the schedule...poor zach & one of the challenges of being a fairly gifted kid is his totally lack of organization! However he made up for it at the match. During the whole first round he sat out...reading a book no less instead of paying attention to the match and questions. I have yet to give him the business about that! When it was his turn to go in they were down by 11 points. The other team only needed 3 more to win. That's when zach started firing them off! They caught up & before we knew it, tied up the match. They went into overtime and the opposite team was declared the winner but before we left, there were some challenges and we didn't hear the final outcome. It all came down to a question that zach got wrong when he identified the word "bicycle" as a noun. According to the question booklet it was a "direct object" and then there was a showdown between moms, teachers, coaches and judges at the end! We just left as we didn't need to see an argument and regardless of the outcome they did great! I was super proud of Zachary! 

My only pic of the day..not so classy! 

Frosty got disrespected by the neighbors dog.  We caught him making a great escape from our yard.  I took this picture as a joke for my brother...his reply was "he only has one eye..he didn't even see it coming!"  Poor guy! I guess his day wasn't so great! 

2 hour delay again tomorrow! -15 degree windchill expected. Ready for spring! 

Awards for Honors, Awards for Speed

First - my teeny tiny baby is 12 weeks old today!  It's hard to believe!  Today she was a dancer!  On Tuesday's we go to Wee-Rock class.  Last week she slept the entire time, but this week she rocked!  She was kicking and waving her arms during the dance session..I swear she was dancing although I don't think anybody believed me.

I don't have a picture of her dancing, but I do have a picture of her recently discovered ability to suck her thumb.  This started this week!  Last Sunday, she also rolled over on Vincent's bed.  I'm not sure if it was because the bed is a bit soft and easy to roll on..but she did it at 11 weeks.  I need to get out the milestone book and see when that is expected.  Even after 4 kids I can't remember these things!

Back-up to the Weekend:  It was an insanely busy weekend.  Friday night we had a soccer game and a mother-son event.  Zachary and I went to a mother/son baseball game at U of L.  The boys got to run out on the field before the game.  Zachary had a great time watching the game and hanging out with his buddies.

High fives with players before the game.

The cool fountain..Zachary decided to run through it after the game..but then regretted it afterwards.  He got pretty wet!

 

Saturday morning we had a track meet.  All 3 big kids ran.  They had so much fun and it was a real self-esteem booster, even though they didn't win.  They were very proud.  Vincent stole the show when he false started his race.   It was a preschool race and most of the kids were older..actually probably all were 3 or 4 except for him.  I wasn't sure he wanted to do it..he kept changing his mind.  I put him down on the track thinking he was going to back out, but when she told him to go up to the line..he went. He took off as fast as he could and didn't look back!  It was too funny!

Everyone was cheering for him as he sprinted down the lane..working his elbows.  They gave him a first place ribbon.  You can see the previous race finishing.

Isabella was super proud of her ribbon and even said she wanted to run track next year!  That was a surprise!

Zachary insisted I take a picture of "little oney" with his ribbon.

After the races Zachary had a piano recital.  It was his best recital yet!  He has really progressed and we are very proud of his for sticking with it!

On Sunday, Mother's Day we had 2 more soccer games schedules but thankfully they were rained out!  It rained all day long and we just got to stay home and relax.

My kids and I on Mother's Day!

On Mother's Day they had the basement set up for me...including toys spelled out to say "MoM"

I got lots of handmade presents, but also a sewing machine which Isabella has really wanted!  She wants to make dresses for all of the girls.  It will be fun mommy-daughter bonding time as we learn to sew together!

Daddy and Baby girl!

And tonight..both kids received an award for the honor roll at school.  Honor Roll at their school is a little different, which kind of makes it more special.  Instead of all A's and B's, it is given to kids who get all S+'s and CM's (commendable) on their report cards.  They received a certificate and pin.  They were very proud as well! 

Another busy week awaits but they are fun times!  Before we know it, school will be out and another year will be behind us.  I'm doing my best to enjoy all the time I get to spend home before going back to school in the fall.  I'm so grateful that I have gotten to stay home these 12 weeks and thankfully I have about 12 more to look forward to!

My Neptune

2 posts in one day?  I just had to post a picture of my Isabella, as she was so proud of her Neptune project for school.

First Day of School

Pictures from the first day of school.  Zachary's going into 3rd grade, Isabella into 1st grade and Vincent into 2 year old preschool.  It was an exhausting week for them.  Isabella started violin lessons and they both started cross country.   Vincent did sooo well at preschool.  He only cried a bit the first day.  After that he walked in and went straight to the toy shelves to find the cars.

Here are some more pictures of my big kids:

Isabella's first lost tooth.  It fell out a few days before school started.  Don't look to closely...she was eating pretzels!

A great picture of Vin from a couple of weeks ago!

JanFeb

We're back!  It's been a rough season for the Cats and for the old Yokids blog.  Maybe the Cats are suffering lack of support since I can't remember the last time we got to watch a game.  I guess that's what we get for canceling our TV service...but who has time to sit down and actually watch anything?  Anyway, lots is going on and lots is coming up.

In the near future we have:  the St. X play (1776), Pinewood Derby races, Zachary's SSM talent show performance (piano), Zachary's First Communion, Isabella's Spring Dance Performance, the end of the SSM Basketball season, Zachary and Isabella's first soccer season at SSM, and lots of shouting by Vincent.

We're happy that the warmer weather is coming up.  I'm trying to talk Kyle into the awesomest little/big playhouse I saw at Costco last week.   We (or maybe just myself) can't wait until it's zoo-season and the new polar bear exhibit is on display.  Also we can go to the Bernheim's kids programs and have an excuse to drive by Zappos shoe outlet and maybe stop in.  There are lots of fun things to do.

So now for a few little pictures and a video.

 

 Zachary's Blue and Gold Banquet for Cub Scouts

Vincent walking outside of SSM or "the big school" and the kids sometimes call it.

Zachary's first poster - The topic was "little blue penguins" done almost entirely by him...all I did was the cutting!

The video is a clip of Kyle reading Vincent's favorite book to the kids.  The book is called "Busy Birdies".  Vincent loves birds.  We don't know why, but he has since near birth.  For his first Christmas my mom got him a bunch of stuffed birds with authentic bird calls.  Then oddly enough, when he learned to crawl, he was constantly grabbing the Sibley's bird guide off of the book shelf and flipping through the pages.  So for Christmas we found him his own baby board book of birds and it is his favorite.  Watch the video and see his moves!

Kindergarten field trip

Today I took a "mental health" day and went to Huber's with Isabella's class.  Because there were 20 parent chaperons on the field trip, Isabella and another little girl were my entire group!  They were pretty easy to keep track of and we had a lot of fun!

 

Isabella and her pumpkin!  I got to carry this 10 pound pumpkin + Maddie's huge pumpkin about 1/4 mile back to the tractor.  I thought my arms were going to fall off!  They insisted we go to the back of the patch to find the biggest pumpkins.  No baby-babes!

Proof to show Dad that Isabella ate some of her fried chicken!

Cute picture of the girls!

At the playground

I just realized that these kids don't even have chalkboards in their own classrooms!

  That's why they were all so excited about writing on the boards!

..

Pretending to sleep on the way home!  They are sooo cute!

It was such a wonderful day!  I was really hesitating about taking the day off, but now I am really glad I did.  I know that it won't be much longer before these days are over.  I'm trying to cherish them while they last! 

My baby is no longer a vegetarian!

I guess I should add that my baby is also no longer a baby!  He is growing up too fast!  I picked him up from daycare today, which was another horrible story in itself, to find out he ate sausage biscuits for breakfast and smoked sausage and veggies for lunch.  (And here I am still feeding him pureed jar food!)  How fast did the time go?  Maybe part of me was resisting going to the table food just because he seems to be moving out of baby-hood and into toddler-hood so fast!  Oh well!  So tonight he ate peas (not mashed peas) and mac and cheese along with his pureed carrots.

Today was Isabella's first day of kindergarten, speaking of growing up too fast!  She was beautiful and looked so grown up in her school uniform.  She is totally ready for school and will be a wonderful student!  She loves doing "homework" pages out of her workbooks and she is already a great reader.  Of course Zachary is super smart too, but has a little more trouble concentrating at school.  Maybe that's a boy thing.  Zachary started 2nd grade this year and was really excited to get back to school with his friends.  It is so comforting to know that they love their school and there are a lot of great teachers and families there!   

Everything has gone smoothly this week, other than us being really busy.  Isabella is still doing ballet and tap.  Both of the kids are getting ready to start swimming lessons.  Zachary is still doing well on the piano.  I am still managing to get in a few runs and only regretting my decision to train for a marathon about 70% of the time.  Kyle is trying to maintain his sanity while doing a million things at school.  It should make for an interesting time.

I almost forgot my terrible parenting story.  It was a bit of a mix up.  I show up at Vincent's daycare this afternoon (the 1st time I've picked him up since he started back to daycare on Monday) and I was all excited to pick him up!  He was asleep in his little chair and I pick him up and ask about his day.  We get all his bottles ready to go and I look over and don't see his car seat.  Kyle had forgotten to leave it or else thought I was going to go get the mini-van.  I have no way to call Kyle so I have to leave Vincent there and go to St. X to retrieve the seat.  Of course, screaming ensues and I feel like the worst mom ever.  It takes me almost an hour and a half to finally get him and the big kids, thanks to all the traffic.  A bit of a hectic end to the school day, but not really that bad in the end.  Vincent has adjusted so well to daycare.  He is not tired or fussy when we get home.  When I returned to pick him up, after having to leave him there, he was smiling like he didn't mind at all.  He does have great caretakers.

Zachary's birthday is coming up.  He's going to be 7!  That's impossible to believe, but so is the fact that I have a kindergartner and a meat eating baby.

birthday, road trip, kindergarten madness

This is our last official week off as a family for the summer.  I start back to school next Monday, then Kyle, and later the kids.  Zachary is starting 2nd grade and Isabella is entering Kindergarten. Oh, and she just turned 5!  So, we also have a birthday to talk about!  It is unbelievable how quickly the time has gone.  I can't believe she is starting school!  Last week we went to buy school uniforms and it was so strange to see her try on her uniform.  There she was standing in her little uniform skirt and I was in shock that it could already be here.  It just seems like it can't be.  The greatest drawback of being so busy with 3 kids is the fact that the time seems to go by even faster.  I can't believe Vincent's 1st birthday is around the corner, that he will be walking soon and is already babbling his first words.  The time is just flying by.  I wonder what excitement that this year will bring??

 Isabella is the most fun when it comes to birthday's.  Weeks, if not months before, she begins planning and making lists of things she wants.  She talks about new privileges and things she will do when she turns 5.  She really gets excited and it's a lot of fun.  Zachary shares in her excitement.  I think her birthday was more exciting for him than his own..which is coming up soon also.  For Isabella's birthday she got a special trip to the zoo and splash park.  She also got gifts from her friends and family, including pet shops, books, a new bike, a giant container of cheese balls, a dance leotard and tap shoes, and the movie toy story.  Grandma Yochum also took her out to dinner later in the week. 

Here are a few pictures of the joyous occasion:

Cheese Ball Heaven!

                                                    picnic lunch at the zoo on her birthday

   A group photo at the splash park..it's increasingly difficult to take a group photo that turns out good and due to our size we are covering up any monument (or polar bear) that is meant to be in the background!  I love the look on Zachary's face.  He's got water in the eye.

Last weekend we took a trip to Nashville for a triathlon that I signed up for.  We stayed 2 nights and attempted to squeeze in as many kid friendly activities as possible.  Due to the scorching 110 degree heat it was difficult to really enjoy ourselves like we would have wanted to.  Upon arriving Friday afternoon we took a quick trip to the science center.  It had a few really nice exhibits that topped Louisville's.  The space exhibit was really nice and they had a few interactive exhibits that the kids enjoyed..ex: lifting a car with a rope, a ball that exhibited Bernoulli's principle.  However, their preschool/baby kids zone area was terrible.  It was nothing more than a table with a stack of blocks and a train track with no train.  Overall I think Louisville's science center was much better.  Nashville's zoo was nice, although not as big as Louisvilles and lacking all of the nice water features and playgrounds that we have.  Also, thanks to the heat we didn't last long before we were all ready to leave.    Opryland was still closed due to flooding and the Nashville Broadway scene was too hot to explore.  However, we did have the best Southern cooking food that we've ever experienced at the Loveless Cafe.  It's a 30 minute drive outside of Nashville, but well worth it!

                                       That's a giant Jupiter!

                                            Hey, even Conan O'Bryan recommended this place!

This goat head butted Isabella 3 times before she finally got the picture that he didn't want to be brushed.  He gave her one more good one on the rump as she got up to leave. 

    These pictures are from the replica of the Parthenon.  It's pretty large.  Sorry for the shady picture.  It didn't turn out so great.  I could photo edit it...but here it is.

This is the Cathedral at Nashville.  It was right next to our hotel so we went to mass on Saturday.  We walked out of our hotel and a horrible car accident had just happened right at the front steps of the church doors.  A SUV had flipped and we thought for sure no one could have survived.  Kyle had to take Vincent out of church for the whole service, because he was so amused by the echo his voice made, and was able to see the couple from the overturned SUV walk away from the accident.  I guess they were lucky that everyone walking into church was probably saying a prayer for them.

The triathlon was on Sunday.  It was a great experience!  I overcame my fear of swimming in open water.  The swim was in the Cumberland River and swimming across the current was much harder than I expected, but I made it.  Overall, we had a lot of fun on the trip.  It was a good get-away. 

 I won my age group and the kids were able to come with me to the podium to get my award!

This photo makes me laugh.  Isabella is rolling down a hill outside at the triathlon.  They also entertained themselves by collecting water cups.  I'm sure Kyle was having lots of fun too. Yes, I'm being sarcastic.

 Oh..last thing..I promise!  When we got out of the car upon our return from Nashville, Vincent felt warm.  I took his temp and it was 101.  Thinking maybe it was just the sun on him in the car, I gave him a cool bath but it didn't bring down the temp.  I was certain he had picked up some nasty disease from the hotel bathroom, but it turned out he had roseola (a common childhood illness that actually takes 10 days to develop).  Drea called it before he broke out into the characteristic spottiness that is a symptom of the disease.  I'm not sure where he picked it up since he hasn't been around too many kids.  He had 4 days of 102 degree fever..but I guess we can be glad that he got it now, rather than when we'd have to take off from work.  That's about all I can think of to write about tonight.  Kyle is bugging me to get off the computer so he can watch some Always Sunny.  Good night.