Mamie's Fall Festival 2013

How many years have we been doing this fall festival now? 3? 4? I don't know, but the kids sure love it and look forward to it, and I'm pretty sure it isn't just because of the donuts they get to eat. Mamie had lots of activities planned this year; it's hard trying to make sure there is enough fun for everyone when the oldest grandchild just turned 18 then on down to the four 1 year olds. Mamie divided the kids into age groups and those of us without babies each took a group. I got to hang out with these two adorable and hilarious little people:

They had tickets and I gave them a little hole punch for every game they played; they had to have two hole punches before they could go to a treat station. The fished, bowled, tossed balls and beanbags, kicked some soccer goals, and tossed a shark. We never did make it to horseshoes because they stayed at the fishing game so long and then got sidetracked by the sand box.

Little L tossing the shark

C scoring a goal past his little sister

Making their turkeys
They did a pretty good job for little people

They made turkeys out of Oreos, candy corn, mini peanut butter cups and whoppers. Watching them try to eat a donut off a string was pretty entertaining. Note for next year - glazed donuts make a really big mess! People had glaze in their hair, ears, eyelashes, and of course, all over their faces. I'm sure Mamie is still finding places sticky hands touched in her house.

The big boys working hard on their turkeys

C decided to use the dipper when they took their turn to bob for apples; seemed age appropriate to me. I think several apples ended up returned to the barrel with a missing bite or two, thanks to Little L

Meanwhile, my kids were with their own groups. Papop was in charge of the archery station, which I think everyone liked or at least tried, except for Bubba who wouldn't even enter the roped off area. He was content to watch. Silly liked it. Cakes had a hard time getting it figured out at first, but she was determined. Once she got it, she decided to opt for rapid fire and just shot one arrow after another with hardly a pause between until she ran out.

Getting some help from his "coach" as he called her for the day

Instructions from Papop

Success!

All the girls

Figuring it out

Finally got it!

Bubba tried really hard to keep his arms down

Couple of cute little people in the background

The girls eating their donuts were quite hilarious, and they took a long time, because unlike some of the littler kids, they didn't get any assistance.

After everyone finished their activities we had a fall birthday celebration, and there happen to be a lot of fall birthdays in this group. Someone (I forget who) was trying to tell me I should be in the fall group, not winter, but even though my birthday is technically still fall, I was born in December, in a blizzard, so I think I have adequate claim on winter. Plus there just aren't that many winter babies in this group. I guess Bubba is a winter, born in March, but still technically winter, and also in a snow storm. I digress. I give you (if this video actually works) the Ramsey family fall birthday song:

After that it started to get dark so it was time for fires and hotdogs, baked beans and smores, plus a super yummy paleo salad and roasted veggies. But mostly lots of hanging out and chatting with all these people I like a whole lot.

Giving Silly a Break

I adore this little boy of mine. He falls asleep in crazy positions. He is hilarious and super smart. The more you talk to him, the more you want to listen to him. I went to his parent-teacher conference yesterday and she made it pretty clear that on top of being smart, he is also a great listener and a good friend and helper; she stopped short of calling him her absolute favorite, but just barely. She told me he almost made her cry one day because the girl across from him struggles sometimes, and he noticed she was having a hard time so he got up, went around to her desk, explained everything again and helped her get her work done. He saw someone in need and took care of it, all on his own. Makes this mom's heart melt! On the way out of the meeting I mentioned that Silly had a soccer game that night; she told him to score a goal for her, so you know what, he did! He was working hard that whole game, determined to score for her.

On the other hand, he is no 24/7 angel. He is a 7 year old boy, after all, who gets a little crazy sometimes (occasionally injuring his brother in the process) and has selective hearing. He sometimes blows little things out of proportion and then stays all bent out of shape about it for a good while (doesn't get that from me...). It is not unusual to have to ask/tell/remind him to do something a dozen or more times. It sometimes feels like his whole brain gets erased in his sleep every night because he wakes up acting like he has no idea what the usual routine is. Having to repeat myself is a major pet peeve of mine (which is a bit of a problem when I'm a mumbler, and also mother to 3 children! You'd think I'd be over it by now) so I get pretty fed up over having to say the same things over and over every single day. But I worry about fulfilling the middle child stereotype. Cakes suddenly got responsible last year, so we never yell or get mad at her for anything (except the fact that going into her 4th year of piano lessons she still refuses to learn the names of the lines and spaces on the treble and bass clef, for the sole purpose of driving her music major mother insane). Bubba is the baby, so I baby him, and I am strangely not at all bothered about fulfilling that stereotype, but he is still little so there are things he needs help with a can't do on his own. We worry that Silly feels picked on and a little less loved. He sees Cakes with a few more privileges because she's older, and Bubba who gets to skate by because he's younger. I'm pretty sure he feels like he gets the short end of the stick, and sometimes it's true.*

I've been pondering and praying over what to do with this boy; the right way to talk to him so he'll listen and obey or simply remember that he's supposed to do the same things every single day without so many reminders so I can be a nice mom instead of a nagging mom. One day last week I walked through the front hall and he'd thrown his backpack and lunch box in the middle of the floor, like he does pretty much every day, and every day I repeatedly tell him to pick them up and put them away. I was literally opening my mouth to call his name when the words, "Just help him" came into my mind. So I did. And I thought about what a great kid he is. And how he does such an extremely excellent job at school and church of listening, and following directions and being a great helper. And I know that takes an incredible amount of self control for a little kid, especially a boy. I should be more appreciative of that and cut the kid a little slack. Is it really the worst thing in the world if I put his backpack away for him? Or pick up the dirty clothes all over his floor? Make his bed? Turn off his lamp? I could have much bigger problems, but I don't, so why make such a big deal over these little things?

I went to Target last night to buy him some new socks. I mentioned to the cashier that my son needed new socks because he keeps going outside with his socks on, but no shoes, and completely ruining his socks. I told her I threatened to make him buy his own socks. She laughed and said, "Gotta love 'em!"

I said, "Yep, I do. That's why I haven't made him pay for them yet."

*Do you think I used enough parentheses?

Back to School 2013

The kids are back into the routine of school. We don't start until after Labor Day here, so it has only been a few weeks.

I can't figure out if Bubba likes preschool or not. He goes to school MWF, and just about every day he tells me he doesn't like it, or even that he hates it, but he goes skipping in with a smile on his face every time I drop him off. And he is actually talking about people in his class by name now, not just "him" or "her." He loves having a lunch box; I know that much. He keeps asking me how much longer he has to go to this school before he can go to Kindergarten. I asked him to let me take his picture on the first day of school, and he let me. I took this one:

Then he told me I could take more than one if I wanted to, and posed for me, which I don't think he has ever done in his life.

His shirt is a little wet because I spray his hair to comb it every morning, do the same thing to Silly too, but I don't know why I bother because it just goes right back to doing what it always does as soon as it dries.

Silly has a fantastic 2nd grade teacher. She has the cutest room and is clearly current on all the latest tricks, trends and research for teaching young children. I get to go in every Friday as a volunteer while Bubba is in school and she is so impeccably organized, but also lots of fun and she really does have a sweet group of kids. While I was in the room yesterday she announced the first student of the week - and it was Silly! She said he's her "go to guy" because she can always count on him to be doing the right thing and following directions. I am certain he will have an awesome year with her.

He's going through that awkward, suddenly-forgot-how-to-smile phase, so this is what I ended up with on the first day of school:

That last one cracks me up - that right there is why I call him Silly.

Cakes was not so lucky with her 5th grade teacher. She's got a bad reputation for being mean. A friend of mine had her for her son's 4th grade teacher and they called her Mrs. Kodiak at their house because she's as mean as a bear. Cakes doesn't have any complaints so far. After the first day of school she told us she thinks her teacher has "very reasonable expectations." Her desk was front and center when we went in for the open house before school started. She wasn't very happy about it, but I told her I was certain it wouldn't last more than 2 weeks; didn't even last 1 week. She certainly does not need to be front and center. We will see how the year goes. Her teacher sent me a note saying Cakes is a sweetie and she's glad to have her in class. I've been volunteering in the library at Cakes's school on Wednesdays and the assistant librarian asked me who my child was, I told her and she got this big smile on her face and told me how wonderful Cakes is. I told Cakes about that and said it made me pretty proud to hear teachers say such nice things about her. She is definitely a good kid.

No more baby stuff!

We passed a major milestone last night. Scott took the boys and the trailer and came back with a new mattress for Bubba so we could convert the crib to a full size bed. Nothing is ever as easy as it seems, so getting the thing assembled require Scott to drill another hole in each leg (no two of the five holes lined up with the 4 or 5 slots in the rails, of course) and a trip to the hardware store for some nuts. Quick and easy bed rail assembly turned into something like 90 minutes.

Bubba has been sleeping in it as a toddler bed for years, and of course Cakes and Silly used it before him. I think that bed spent a lot more time as a toddler bed than a crib now that I think about it. But let me tell you, Bubba was one happy boy last night! Of course, the first thing he did was jump on it. Then he emptied the entire contents of his toy box and lined up all of his stuffed animals and babies, because now he has space for all of them.

Most importantly, he can now have Cakes or Silly come sleep in his bed, and be the one to choose while they beg to be picked, rather than him asking one of them every single night if they have school tomorrow, and if not, can he sleep with them. And they were surely begging him last night. I think that made him happiest of all. Gives the poor kid a chance to be the one with some power for once. Cakes won last night, Silly gets to test it out tonight.

I sneaked in for a picture after they were asleep. Cakes said when she woke up this morning Bubba was already awake and he had lined his stuffed animals up all around the bed.

Bubba also recently decided that he is too big for his "squishy seat" at the table, so that has been put away too. The crib and the booster seat were the last of the baby gear. The stroller is still in the garage, but it has been promised to my younger sister; we're just waiting on our next trip to Richmond. So that is that. We are done with babyhood. Weird.

Another Summer Over

This has been a really lazy summer for us. We did have some adventures here and there, mostly with family and close to home.

We had a great time at Sherando Lake celebrating first birthdays for two of my nephews. We had never been there before, and quite enjoyed it. We took a little hike around the lake. My BIL said we couldn't finish in less than 30 minutes (was it 30 or 45?) so we took that as a challenge, and beat it. Silly kept running ahead and was briefly lost, but it all worked out. We had quite a pile of cousins there and they all played together for hours after we ate lunch and sang to the babies.

That last picture was taken just before my older brother's kids decided to dog pile him. That's just what happens to dads when they lay down on the ground.

We all had a great time and definitely want to go there again; it's good excuse to visit my sister.

Cakes finally participated in a swim meet (just before she quit the swim team; we're currently debating whether we should make her go back...) She did a really great job. She was a little upset after her first event because she got water in her nose. She placed in all of here events though, which I don't think she was expecting. She was sure happy to get those ribbons. She even placed in the butterfly, which is her weakest stroke.

She really likes to swim, and does quite well, so I think she needs to keep it up. I read Condoleezza Rice's autobiography last week and when she told her mother she wanted to quit piano lessons, her mother said she wasn't old enough or good enough to make that decision yet. That sums up how I feel.

In July we decided to go camping overnight with my older sister and brother's families. I'm pretty sure that turned out to be the hottest weekend all summer, but we survived. We decided next time we go camping it will be in the spring! I don't think it bothered any of the kids a bit.

We did some kid swapping; the three A's (the three girls closest in age all have A names) slept in their own tent. I ended up with all the little boys; my boys and my sisters boys were born in alternating years, works out great for swapping clothes. When I got up in the morning and checked on them Silly was already up, but the other three were all sprawled on top of each other. They didn't seem to mind. And all three of the older ones claimed they had to put the littlest one to sleep. They are pretty darn cute together. 

After our one night camp out we packed everything up and headed for the beach. My mom and 3 more nieces and nephews met us there. For some reason the water was colder than it has ever been before. I can't recall a time I went to the beach and couldn't get in for more than a few minutes because my feet and knees would go numb. The dolphins really liked it though; they kept popping up all over the place. Surprisingly, the people who spent the most time in the water were Bubba and my 5yo nephew; I don't know how it was they weren't shivering and blue.

My 12yo nephew found a good sized crab while digging a hole in the sand, and then he found an actual conch, which I had never seen in real life before.

The boys had swim lessons for two weeks. Bubba actually participated this year, which gives me hope that he'll do more than just sit and look at everyone in preschool. Silly improved his backstroke and freestyle quite a bit, much better arm control this year.

I love to watch Silly float; it always seems like he could stay there all day.

Bubba's backstroke

The last day of swim lessons they get to go down the big slide. Some of the little kids are too scared and won't go at all or will only slide down with their teacher; Bubba just marches up the stairs and hops into the slide. 

And then Bubba nearly gave me a heart attack at our friend's pool a few days later. He decided not to wear his floatie vest because he's tall enough to walk around in the shallow end. He jumped off the jumping square as usual, but then he started swimming underwater! No one has ever even showed him how to do that! I was sitting next to my friend saying, "What is he doing? He doesn't know how to do that!" But apparently he does. So now, much to my surprise, he is a swimmer.

Cakes had her 10th birthday in August. We got to steel her favorite cousin A away from her family for a week. They were born only six months apart. She is such a sweetheart and Cakes loved having her her; so much that she was really sad that she doesn't have a sister after A left. She was feeling a bit jealous of the boys that they always have each other.

We took her to get her ears pierced on the big day (after we talked Daddy into it, and he stayed far away from the process). She'd been eyeing these gummy bear earrings for a while, so we bought those for when she's allowed to put new earrings in. I have no doubt that she'll wear them mismatched, same as she does her socks. I don't even bother folding her socks together anymore.

As much as I try to avoid it, my kids always end up having multiple birthday celebrations. It is beyond my control I guess.

Gummy and Granddaddy came up with cake and presents the weekend before, and then Cakes had a party with her friends the day after her birthday. She requested a chocolate cake with yellow frosting and a smiley face on it. She wanted black frosting for the smiley face, but we couldn't find any, so we made do with chocolate sprinkles.

And that was all the excitement we had this summer. We had some pool days and some Busch Gardens days. The kids did get to spend a few more days with Gummy and Granddaddy while Scott and I went to Charlottesville to help my sister and her family move in. We are so glad they are back in Virginia even though Virginia made it awfully complicated for them! It was quite a whirlwind of activity for them from the time they announced they were moving from Washington. They not only had a household to move, but a shop full of machinery and glass, plus three cats and two dogs. Scott and I spent a good number of hours in their dance hall/cafe (we kept thinking of more ways to use their huge, beautiful great room) reassembling all of their IKEA furniture, some of which was quite a puzzle, or we'd be so close to finished then find we were missing a part. Hopefully they've got everything finished now.

Tomorrow Cakes and Silly start 5th and 2nd grades. I wasn't overly impressed with Cakes's teacher, but Silly's seems awesome, and his best buddy is in his class again. Bubba starts preschool on Wednesday. I'm not sure if I'm going to have to pry him off me and leave him in tears or if he'll just walk right in with his little lunch box and tell me goodbye. Time will tell!