You are not special

Today Audrey had to wear make up to ballet class. As we ate dinner I looked at her all done up and pictured her as a teenager. It made me think...am I prepared? Is our relationship and mutual love & respect strong enough to survive those difficult, emotional years? I resolved *again* to be a happier, kinder mother.
Oh how I hate to get frustrated with my kids but it seems to happen way too often. But, as I realized tonight, the days are quickly counting down to the time when all that will matter is how loved I made them feel.  I had a long chat with a good friend today.  We talked about all the things our girls will face in the next few years.  Scary days ahead!
Have you been on wimp.com? I love this graduation speech:
http://www.wimp.com/graduationspeech/?dsk=1&mobi=1/

Belated Mother's Day Post

My awesome dad planned a big mother's day dinner for his girls, but we had to stay home at the last minute due to illness.  Big surprise!  Around here, with 3 kids who still stick their fingers in their mouth constantly, we seem to catch everything.  It turned out to be a nice, quiet day.  Jake installed a lighted mirror for me in our master bathroom the night before as my gift.

I love being a mom.  Even with all the ups and downs, the stress, the work and the worry, the joy it brings me is immeasurable.  I have the best mother on the planet too.  She showed me through her example that motherhood is divine.

 Izzy's latest obsession:  hats

 Abby, after splash mountain

 Audrey outside of the Rainforest Cafe

 Olivia's signature scowl

 Izzy snuggling up to Abby while she reads

My little Lucas man

SUMMER!!!

I promise to blog soon about our wonderful sealing day.  (Waiting on pics)

But for now, we are pretty excited around here about summer.  I get nervous about having all 5 kids home...bored...teasing...fighting...whining...

To kick it all off, we started with our Annual Backyard Slip N' Slide party on the last day of school.  The moms sit & visit, the kids run around and play.  We ate a billion chocolate chip cookies & scotcheroos, and drank a few gallons of lemonade & water.  (Audrey had a wicked stomachache later.)

Then we went to a swim party & BBQ with some friends.  Grilled chicken, fresh veggies, and homemade root beer ice cream.  Fun stuff.

We have survived the first week...but I'll be honest and say that it didn't go very well.  It will take me a while to adjust to the new schedules, and figure out how to evenly divide my time between the older kids and the babies when they're all home at once.  I definitely enjoy the time as a family, but there are kinks to work out.  This week was extra crazy because I had three 12 hour days in a row, I had to get my freezer meals finished (I'm in a freezer meal group now), and we had two separate stressful/sad situations happening (outside of our home) to people we love.

All I can say is that I'm glad this week is over...and I'm ready to settle in to the lazy days of summer.  Eating every meal on the back patio, late night visits with the neighbors while the kids run around, picnics, barbecues, swimming, Lagoon, fireworks, a trip to the lake, and all that jazz.

In other news, Olivia has graduated to the big girl swing...doesn't she look so grown-up?