Paging Evie

So it's no secret around here with the lack of posting that I have just not really been in the mood to write lately. It certainly isn't because we don't have anything going on. My head spins weekly trying to juggle swim, wrestling, gymnastics, tutoring, work, PT/OT/doctors and trying to fit in every last item on the summer list before we run out of time.

But by the time I sit down for the night? I have a million things I could be writing about, but pretty much just sit on the couch and stare at the TV. Hell, even I know I don't have time for that. I have about 2 and a half more weeks to clean out this entire house because it's going on the market. But somehow I can't manage to get anything done. Procrastination and my ADD at it's finest. I know it. I also know that I will cram it all into the last week. I will be miserable in the process, but I will get it done at the last second like I always do.

Tonight I actually shut the laptop down around 9pm - which is really early honestly. I checked the kids at 10 like I always do and got in bed to watch some TV. I felt my laptop calling me. To blog. So I started it back up because I have that overwhelming urge to pour out my feelings. And that hasn't really happened this summer before now.

This entire year was difficult for me for so many reasons. My oldest finally in full day school, my babies going to Kindergarten. I may be the only mom out there who is currently dreading the start of school. For close to 8 years now I have had at least one baby (sometimes two, sometimes three) home with me at least half days.

In two weeks? Both of my babies leave me at once and go to first grade.

For so many years when I was overwhelmed it felt like it would never get here. I have said it many times. And now I can't slow it all down fast enough.

I have this need to hit the breaks. To stop time. Yes, the house may finally be quieter ... the neighbors won't be listening to the ruckus that is always our house ... my work might even get done ahead of time. I will be able to take on more clients like I have wanted to.

But my heart is aching in a way I can not even describe.

With the Big Guy, it was tough - but I was more proud and excited for him because he was the oldest and I knew that he needed that independence that school brought from his brothers. I tell myself maybe I wouldn't feel so bad if the twins were not twins ... a year apart I could take. One goes, then the other. But when it's both of the 'babies' at once?

Killing me.

And I think what makes it even worse than that, is where we are. In just two weeks I have to return them to the very school that I again tried to permit out of just before they made the announcement permits would be denied. And for so very many reasons I won't even get into right now, it makes me ill because I want so much more for them. This house can not sell fast enough for me. If I could enroll the boys just about anywhere else in the meantime, I would do it.  It's somewhat of a comfort to know we will not finish out the school year where we are ... but it doesn't really make it easier right now.

How and when did these little chocolate covered faces that needed me for everything

grow up to be this big on me

Someone get me Evie Garland. I need her to stop time. I just can't do all three boys in full day school. And yes, I will be a mess the next two weeks. That I can guarantee.

Summer summer summertime

I know.

I know.

I promise I have not disappeared.

I am pretty sure this is the craziest summer we have ever had. The boys and I try to hit the beach two times a week. Favorite place for all of us. When we are not at the beach? I am shuttling the Big Guy between PT, OT and other appointments ... and all three of the boys to swim lessons, wrestling and gymnastics.

I know, right?

And then there is work. I have 4 clients now! So exciting!

What have I forgotten. Oh yes, the realtor coming this week so we can start the process of finally getting this house on the market. Cleaning spree would be an understatement.

Last night we hit St. Mary's Feast. It was the first time since the boys were born that we were able to go at night, which was really exciting to them. Crazy late night, but it was so worth it to see the boys enjoy the fireworks.

This morning, I dropped the boys off at VBS. They won't be able to finish the entire week due to some appointments near the end, but I wanted them to get a few days in since they had so much fun last summer. Grabbed a coffee and it's time to get my social media - and my clean on.

Catch you all on the flip side.

Catching up and moving ahead

So I'm missing the old blogging machine that I was. Before Boston, before life and the end of the school year for the boys ... and so many other small dramas got in the way. Blogging is my outlet and I hate that I have let it go lately. It's been months since I was regularly posting on Buy-Her and lets be real, I only get a post or two a week up here. (And one of them happens to be Wordless Wednesday so that isn't really writing writing.)

Changes I am making. I am telling myself that by the end of the summer, I will find a way to combine Buy-Her with Cira's Lyrics here and maybe add some other things as well. That's right, I want an entire blog overhaul. A little bit of everything - all of the pieces of me - all in one spot.

The last few weeks have flown by. The week before boys last week of school? Al was on vacation and we took the boys out for a day and played hooky. Their first trip to the Boston Museum of Science. So much fun! Even before we went into the museum, the Doodle Bop was dragging us to the giant dinosaur outside for a photo.

The Bunny Bee wanted to look like he was floating in space. Do you see it?

School ended a week ago. My babies graduated Kindergarten and will advance to first grade. My oldest is now going on to second grade in the fall. That alone deserves an entire blog post or two, but right now I just can't even do it. Having a hard time even thinking about all three boys in full day school after the summer.

We took another trip to the Boston area (can you tell how much we love it?!) and visited Uncle Pete. He took head shots for the boys and it went great. Not only are the photos amazing (and I promise you will get to see them soon), but the boys had a blast.

It took us till the end of June, but we finally made it to the beach for the first time with Laura and the kids. We had to squeeze it in before her surgery - and hopefully in a few weeks there will be many more trips to come.

Last week was also Give and Glam. Me and Li Li below. Love her!

My adorable niece G ... who happens to be getting entirely too big. Look at that tiny ponytail! I can't handle the cuteness.

This one below? Came out smaller than I wanted. A few weeks back I bought the boys a $5 sprinkler at the Christmas Tree Shops. On super sale as I like to call it. An octopus that should have shot water everywhere. But it didn't. Which is what you get when you only spend $5 and I should have known that. We set it up for the kids this weekend and when it didn't work correctly they spent an hour or two chasing poor Captain America with it.

This morning he exacted his revenge. Chewed half of the tentacles off of it and ate them. Take that!

And the Big Guy's first Big summer injury. Had to happen sooner or later, right?

 

He was trying to take the dog for a walk - with help on the way - but the moment he opened the front door Cap went flying out and my poor guy got dragged down the driveway before we could even blink. And he never.let.go.of.the.leash.

 

Two scraped up elbows, a bloody finger, two bloody knees (one that required two giant bandaids). From tears to smiles. Just like that. And now we will look for one of those harness leashes that go around the body for Captain America. The boys can help us hold the leash, but at 2 days shy of only 5 months, this puppy has gotten too big for my littles to try and handle themselves.

 

Call me crazy but I think Cap actually felt bad.

 

And that's what you've missed the last few weeks!

 

Making it my mission to get a post up a day again from here on out. The boys have made their summer list, we have praying mantis (or 'pretty mantis' as the boys still say) egg cases hatching in a few weeks, and so many more fun things going on. I will be posting it all!

Sunflowers for Wishes - in photos

A few weeks ago we hit up Sunflowers for Wishes again.  The boys made sure it went on the summer list after they had so much fun last year.  As is now tradition, it rained a bit while we were there but we sure didn't let that stop us!

Slater Park: Pawtucket actually has fun stuff. Yeah I said it.

Today the boys and I did something new. 

I had promised the poor kids when I went to New Mexico that I would take them to the beach at least two times after I got back - before I left again for NYC.  Well, its been two weeks and though the weather has not been horrible it has not exactly cooperated with our schedule.  And we haven't been once.  Today was our last shot.  With temps in the low 70's and cloudy skies, I figured that meant 60's at the shore making for a chilly day.

The boys were so upset this morning, even though I had warned them today did not look good.  I had to pull out something fun and new.  With almost no gas in my tank.  Because that is what my husband is for - he pumps.  Don't look at me like that.  I do it when its absolutely urgent - at the 7-11 only.  Don't ask.  You don't even want to know.  Trust.

I put out the call to my girls on Facebook and got tons of comments which was so sweet.  One of them suggested Slater Park in Pawtucket.  Long story for another day, Pawtucket and I are not fans of each other.  I knew about where the park was but had never cared to go... and couldn't imagine it being a nice spot.  And it had been at least 6 years since I had been over that way.  She had me at 25 cent carousel rides, a petting zoo and a playground.  How could I refuse. 

I googled the address and we were off.  To Slater Mill.  Because googling Slater Park gets you to Slater Mill.  Where this happens so often they have a printout of how to get yourself to Slater Park.  Which only got me lost further with a quick tour through Central Falls before I pulled my GPS back out and off we went. 

Finding the carousel (from the 1800's) the boys could not stop grinning as I told them it was one of the oldest in the county.  I asked the girl behind the counter, Is it Really 25 cents a ride?  She smiled and nodded.  I handed over enough change to get the boys each 4 rides.  The man running the carousel held the ride for us and then we were on.  Those grins from the boys?

Turned into a near freak out from the twins.  The Doodle Bop's face starts to say it here.

I have never been on a carousel that spun so fast.  The Big Guy however, loved every last minute of it.  After the first ride the twins were off, but the Big Guy stayed on for two more rides. 

We decided to save the rest of the tickets for another day.

From there we drove over to the petting zoo.  Growing up practically a few blocks away from Roger Williams Park Zoo I had no idea Slater Park had a zoo back in the day.  All that is left now is some smaller farm animals but it was still adorable.  Disclaimer, you can't actually pet - or feed - the animals, but the boys still loved it.  Giant piggie, chickens and roosters, fish and donkeys. 

And what is really cute is they have this mass of small toddler toys - climbers, rideons... if only I had known about this when they boys were tiny.  All the little ones just run wild.  On second thought, maybe its good I did not know then.

After the animals, we decided to walk on over to the playground because it was not that much further.  I thought it was cute to see the little greenhouse and how affordable the food actually was.  Most of the time when I hit somewhere like say Roger Williams Park, I stay far away because of the prices.  This really wasn't so bad!

The playground was adorable... several slides, awesome climbers...even a rock climbing wall for kids.  My guys however were in flip flops (my bad for not thinking ahead and putting them in sneakers).  Next time we will go in sneaks and have AT it!  They played on some of the things but gave up at the rock wall in flip flops.

I call this one below Rock Wall Fail.

Bottom line?  We actually had a really awesome time. 

Two hours of mostly free fun with a stop at the giant cannon thing that was so big the boys all took turns sitting in different spots after I hoisted them up. 

I definitely feel like I missed out not going here before and realized how important it is to discover different places near where you live.  Except for Slater Mill... because I was not paying the nearly $10 per kid for 5 and 6 year olds.  Maybe when they get bigger.

Stay tuned for more this week as I recap New Mexico with Mercedes Benz... working on coming up with a good title for that.  Wondering how The Desert is where they bury all the bodies will go over... hmm.... maybe I'll have to keep working on that one.  And Thursday I head to NYC with my girls so there is so much to come!!!  Stick with me y'all!

Mattel summer fun and giveaway

We have just passed the half way point of summer. 

Who else is starting to have trouble keeping the kids busy during the summer months?  I know it can't be just me. When school got out at the end of June, my guys could not get enough of playing outside in the backyard.  Fast forward a month and my pleas for them to just go play outside are met with actual tears.  They complain that they are now bored, that there is nothing to do.

Being one of those moms who keep the kids pretty scheduled during the school year, makes the extra free time in the summer hard for the boys sometimes.  While I could always get some extra time to write when they were in school for the morning, now I am trying to fit it in during the day while they are home with me.  And that doesn't always go over so well.

I definitely try to take a lot of day trips with the boys - even if that day trip is actually more like just a few hours out of the house.  With the exception of the last two weeks (not so wonderful weather), I make time for a trip to the beach with the boys at least once a week.  Sometimes twice.  That right there is my serenity.

When we aren't at the beach, I try to build something small into each day.  I find I can make a sort of trade off with the boys.  Mommy needs to write for an hour or so and then we can do this...  A play date with friends, an early afternoon trip to the local pool, going to the park or the zoo.  I also love to try and plan things in advance off of our summer list we came up with together.

I am a huge fan of scouring the local websites to see what is going on in the area at low - to no - cost.  Love free kid stuff!  And when all else fails on a hot summer day, I throw the boys in the truck.  We hit the drive thru at Dunkin Donuts so I can get myself an iced coffee and they can each have a donut - and we just drive.  My favorite drive down Scituate Ave in Cranston, past all the farms, my old dream house, and straight to the reservoir.  The boys love the bridge over all that sparkling water.

For the times we can't get out and I don't want the boys sitting like blobs in front of the TV (which trust me still goes on) ... certain games and toys at home keep everyone occupied.  And it is a wonderful thing.  My boys are obsessed with all things Hot Wheels. 

Mattel sent us both the Hot Wheels Wall Tracks they had so desperately been wanting, along with the Double Dare Snare for our review.  Seeing the UPS guy drop that box on the steps sent the boys into a frenzy. 

The Wall Tracks set we received was the Drift Rally Spinout.  The set up quicker than I anticipated and the cool thing is that there are several sets to choose from...you can play with each set separately or attach them.  You know the boys want more to attach.  They loved the flames on the track and the bumps (see towards the bottom of the photo) for the cars to go over. 

What I didn't like, is that the set comes apart easily.  No match for three small boys I'm afraid.  My husband had to put it back together more than a few times and the cars also get stuck going down the wall.  The boys didn't seem to mind the cars getting stuck, only the set coming apart.

The Double Dare Snare I would call the boys favorite, hands down.  Two cars race at one time and only one can win.  You know you have won when you go through the matrix loop and your car is saved by the rescue snare that snaps you up.  That was a huge hit.  Would you believe it even has an ejection ramp that tosses your car off if you start the race too soon?  Hysterical to the boys.  Since we have gotten it I can honestly say that they have spent hours on and off playing with that set.

We set both toys up in the living room initially, but I am thinking about moving the Wall Tracks to the basement playroom.  Cooler down there on hot summer days and I'm hoping it will get them playing with their other toys down there again.  Who doesn't need a change of scenery, right?

So those are my tips for trying to keep the kids busy during the summer.  And yes I am still a fan of tossing them in the backyard and making them play the good old fashioned way.  What are your tips for surviving the summer with your kids?


*** Now for the fun part! The giveaway!!!  Mattel is allowing us to give away prize packs to help your kids have some extra fun this summer.  Just enter on the Rafflecopter below to WIN either a Girls' Prize Pack or a Boys' Prize Pack! Make sure to visit the following sites from RI Digital Media Women (#RIDMW) as well to see their fantastic reviews of Mattel Products! And don't forget to check out Mattel on Facebook and Twitter as well.

Baby Gators Den

Savoring the Thyme

                                                                  Mama Luvs Books

Learning to Juggle
When The Kids Go To Bed
Blush Mamas
30 Something Mother Runner
Stephanie's Mommy Brain
Keekoin

Note:
Your choice of a Girl Prize Pack: (Barbie Dress & Design Studio ($21.99 APR), A Barbie Doll of the World ($29.95 APR) & Barbie I Can Be... Fashion Designer ($13.99 APR)
OR a Boys Prize Pack: (Matchbox Big Boots Fire Truck ($25.99 APR), Hot Wheels Wall Tracks ($24.99 APR) & Hot Wheels Ballistiks ($24.99 APR)
*substitutions may be made by Mattel if product is not available.


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Up in the sky

The South County Hot Air Balloon Festival is a newer tradition for the boys. 

In Junior High, I actually got to work a booth at the festival and loved it.  Getting to watch the balloons inflate and go up at sunrise was amazing.  Last year I felt like the boys were finally old enough and I packed them up early and off we went.  That was back when Al was still working weekends so he was not able to come.  The boys loved it and put it right on this year's summer list.  They could not wait to show Daddy the balloons.

We woke the boys up before dawn yesterday morning and headed on down. 

Having learned from last year, we brought chairs so we didn't have to put a blanket down on the wet grass.  Much better decision!  The boys had so much fun watching the balloons get ready to go up.  I have to say that it didn't compare at all to last year though.  Maybe it was the weather (several people commented on how windy it was)...but instead of tons of balloons taking off into the sky, we only watched 5 get inflated.  And they stayed tethered.  That part was a little disappointing (though nothing too disappointing that taking the boys for a McDonald's breakfast could not fix).

                                                                        The Bunny Bee. 

And then Daddy got silly with the other two boys.

 

We decided that maybe next year we will try to watch the balloons go up at sunset, rather than getting up in the early morning.  Glowing balloons as the sun sets sounds pretty, doesn't it?

Under pressure

This week has been insanely busy.  Drive-in with the kids Tuesday night.  Oh and lets not forget the emergency trip to the pediatrician earlier that afternoon when the Doodle Bop accidentally sliced above the Big Guy's eye with paper (that we though sliced his eye as well).  But it didn't. Score one more for the Doodle Bop.  Crushing fingers, knocking out teeth, and now?  Paper to eyes.

Looks good now that it's got the spidey band aid... but when it happened?  That eye was swollen shut.

Oooh and there is that time I found two kids playing in the sink.  Because they were bored.

Bill Harley concert with the kids Wednesday night.  A friend got the boys into his music and it was such a flashback because I grew up listening to him.  Not only did he come to all the local elementary schools, my mom took me to one of his concerts back in the day.  After the concert he mentioned he would stick around a little and though we were way up the hill and over to the side I grabbed the boys hands and we ran like something was on fire.  All my prior celebrity stalking is paying off, can you tell? 

We were the first in line.  I wanted to tell him what a big part of my childhood he was and how cool it was to take my kids to see him... but it was so crazy I only managed to get a photo of them before we stepped aside for the next person.

Thursday morning I was finally at the doctor's office.  For weeks now I have barely been able to hear out of one of my ears and it is driving me crazy.  Lets just say we were in there waiting too long and the boys went nuts.  Bones and muscles.

This one below is the Doodle Bop saying Poop! This is where POOP COMES OUT!  God help me.

Once I was finally seen they jumped on each other like they were MMA fighting as I tried to listen to the doctor tell me I had fluid in my ear ... but you know, I could barely hear anyway. 

I promised the boys this entire week that I would take them to the beach today and they could use their brand new boogie boards from Julie.  This morning I published my hair chalking post on Buy-Her, packed up the kids and headed out the door nearly 45 minutes behind my usual schedule.  I was kind of amazed that we made it to the beach in just over a half hour.  Where were all the cars?

We unloaded the car and trekked down the beach.  That is when the smell hit me.  Oh my gah.  Just ew.  Then I notice the water.

I texted Al to ask if there was a red tide warning...but there wasn't.  My friend found something about stinky seaweed invading the beaches and I have to say the description is pretty accurate.  The boys were devastated when I had to tell them they were NOT getting in that water.  Truth be told there was only a handful of people braving the water.  Mostly everyone else just sat around complaining about the stink.  We didn't even last an hour and a half in the sand.  While the boys can spend hours building sand castles they were too upset at finally having boogie boards and not being able to use them. This is pretty much all they did (when they weren't complaining).

The beach is my serenity.  I don't know how else to explain it.  I totally get that a ruined beach day is Nothing on the scheme of things... and its not like we won't be back again at the end of next week.  But I'm starting to fall apart over leaving on Monday and going on this trip (that I'm sure will be amazing but right now my nerves are getting the best of me)... and sitting on that stinky beach watching the boys flip out?  I wanted to cry my eyes out.

Its hard to find perspective on things when the place you go to Find your perspective is a mess.  I took my cranky kids home and showered them up, then we took a trip to McDonald's for lunch as a treat.  An employee came over to ask if I needed a high chair for the Doodle Bop (and only the Doodle Bop).  Uh...no thanks I stuttered.  I wanted to scream Seriously?  He's 5!  And I couldn't help but wonder how even if he seemed small enough, what about his twin brother sitting next to him.  Crazy funny the more I think about it.

I am now hiding out in my room with a Starbucks, my laptop and the ceiling fan on...hoping that the boys can occupy themselves for awhile because I feel like I am on my last nerve with them.  If I hear one more kid yell 'Mom!  Mommy!!!' one more time... I don't even know. 

Which is funny too because come Monday I know I will find it hard to leave them.

And now it has gotten way too quiet, which means they are surely up to something.  Do I want to know?  I'm not so sure.  Time to go check up on them I suppose.