Our Elementary Principal

Recently our oldest son has been having trouble behaving at school.

Not only have I had to venture back to 3rd grade myself to sit with him, but his shenanigans  have also resulted in a recent trip (or two) to the principal's office.

I explained to CJ that if he didn't behave his principal could paddle him and I noticed that my child, who doesn't flinch at punishments, was suddenly nervous.

Now, for those of you who know our principal, this is where it gets funny.

After a rough day yesterday, and a long talk about getting paddled at school, we started out with an eerily quiet ride to school today.

That is, until the silence was broken, "Mom, let me tell you one really good reason why you should NEVER let Mr. Rice paddle your kid!" CJ hissed.

Apparently he had been marinating on this all night.

"Go on.... " I said, " I am listening."

"Well...for one, he has an anger management problem. Yeah! Did you know he has to go to anger management classes?" he worriedly explained to me.

"Mom, listen to me, Mr. Rice gets so angry, like, there is no telling what he will do to a kid! He can not control his anger! I'm serious! Did you know that he isn't even allowed to paddle kid with out another adult in the room? That's cuz he gets so crazy and stuff! Trust me I know. My friend got paddled and he told me!" he whined.

It took everything in my not to belly-laugh, aloud.

"Welp, guess you better behave today." I warned.

And I may, or may not, have chuckled when I read a message from CJ's teacher that said he received two swats from the principal today.

I couldn't wait to see that little turd just so I could say, "so... like, did he get crazy? Or has his anger management classes been working?"

And when I finally did, CJ's response was, "no. He was under control today. We had a long talk. He took it easy on me today. He said he just gave me a couple love taps today." he said, relieved.  

"Man, I'm glad he's taking those classes." he added.

Lets hope he learned his lesson, people. And props to the wonderful Mr. Rice- so glad those anger management classes are working!

My kids are Instagramin'

I plan to steer my kids from social media for as far as I can, however, recently my kids (ages: 7,8,9) have discovered Instagram.... as I am sure most of you all are aware of by now since they are following eveeeeeeryone they know.

After seeing that their cousins and pretty much everyone else in the family had an account, they begged us for one. We, reluctantly, agreed and forbid them from following anyone that was not family.

Next, they would see "People you may know" pop-up and they were seeing lots of Mom and Dad's friends, church friends, and former teachers. They had been doing so good following our strict directions that we gave them permission to follow anyone they knew. We also periodically check their accounts.

It never fails, just when you think you are doing something right as a parent, you are quickly reminded that you probably aren't.

A coupple of nights ago I walked in Rilyn's room to tell her  it was time to get off of her laptop, brush her teeth, and go to bed and I found her teary-eyed.

"Whats wrong?" I asked her. 

"This boy posted something on Instagram!" she sobbed. 

And my first thought, was OMG! Roxie, you are such an idiot to ever allow your kids to get on social media! #badmom

"Who was it and what did he say???" I asked.

"It was my teachers son. He said, if you do not re-post this by midnight you are going to die!!!!" she wailed.

"And I didn't re-post it so I an probably going to die!!!!" she cried.

Immediately, I was relieved. And I may or may not have chuckled a little.

I explained to her that it was not true and that I see stupid stuff like that on Facebook all the time. I told her to un-follow him and ignore it.

"Oh I am!" she hissed!  "And I reported him, too!! You should never scare people like that!!"

So, I would like to publicly apologize to whatever teachers little boy  just got suspended from Instagram......

Resolution #1, check!

One of my resolutions this year is to not be too bogged down with too many obligations.

I'm sure there are some who enjoy never having a moment to just breath, but not me.  With four kids we often find our self too busy. Like, waaaaaay too busy. Over the years we have slowly began to get out of so many activities and this winter we opted to take a break from sports and it has been great. I think we owe it to ourselves and our families to slow down, simplify, and just appreciate our blessings.

I love quiet evenings at home, when we are all together (sometimes a rare occurrence). Its tough having to run to and from practices and trying to get dinner on the table. I think its important to step back sometimes and cut back on things. Its a personal decision, but I think its really important to prioritize things in our lives. Sometimes this is really hard.

For instance, our oldest did gymnastics for over 5 years and eventually was invited to be on team. Her little sister followed in her footsteps. Her little sister who also played soccer. And softball.  I literally didn't know how we would be able to fit in time for our oldest son to get to  do anything. And this was before we added  a fourth child to the mix. So we talked about it and we decided to step out of gymnastics for a while, completely.

With our obligations cut, this allowed us time for everyone to take a chance and explore a lot of other sports with out being too committed to just one.

Over the years we have learned that our kids don't have to play every single sport ever single year. They don't have to attend ever single camp or function they are invited to. I don't have to run myself ragged trying to make it all happen.

Over the years we have valued a more simple life. And we especially value our time together.

Art Party! Raigen turns 7!

As cliche as it sounds, I seriously cannot believe my baby just turned 7!

Dear Raigen, 

Somehow your birthday crept up on us, sweet girl. Its funny how it seems to happen every year during this busy season, even with all of the reminders you give us.

It finally arrived, though. You turned seven.

It makes me sad, if I'm being honest. Something about this age both excites me and scares me at the same time.  Something about you  turning 7 just feels scary, monumental, like, you are a real big kid now. Like, my baby is not a baby anymore. My #3 is a big girl and I totally feel like a professional at this whole Mom-thing now. Even though most days I still have no clue what I am doing.

I know there have been a lot of, "I remember when you were a baby...." and "Can you just stay little forever?" and you just smile and tell us that even though you are growing up, that you will still live with us forever. Even your husband, too. And I'm not kidding when I say, I wouldn't mind that a bit.

Truth is- we are excited you are 7, Raigen. Even though we may not act like it all the time. Even though a lot of time it makes us sad.  Even when I ask you how you got so big and you say, "Mom, you knoooooow.." and smile. Even when your old baby pictures and videos pop up in my Timehop and it literally feels like it was yesterday. The truth is, we are happy. So happy because we have been blessed  that we have had 7 super lucky, fun, amazing, wonderful years with you.

You are the precious baby that knit us together and made us that family of four.

You are the baby that made Rilyn a big sister.

And CJ a big brother.

You are the toddler who tested our patience and colored on every wall, cabinet door, and appliance. In the middle of the night.

You are the girl who continually surprises us, teaches us, and reminds us of Gods love for us every single day.

You are a joy.

Happy 7th birthday Raigen Elise. You are loved, loved, loved.

This year Raigen is totally into art, so what better way to celebrate then with a painting party! She was super excited when her besties from school came! And I enjoyed making all the decorations and favors. Each guest went home with an apron and goodie bag with their very own blank canvas and paint palet!

By far, the easist party, ever!

Barbie Hair

When you put sisters in a shared room its enviable that at some point you will have to get out of bed at 9:30 PM (or later) and break up an argument. 

Which is exactly what I had to do tonight. 

All evening I rushed to get dinner cooked and make sure the kids had baths just so I could finally get to bed early.

And by that I mean, go to my room, lock the door, and eat Bluebell in my bed while I watch Netflix. 

My happiness was short lived when the girl's argement started to drown out my final episode of How to get Away with Murder.

#rude.

"Why do you always want me to sleep with you, Rilyn? Ugh!"  Raigen yelled.

"Just come on Raigen,  you know I get scared at night!" Rilyn begged. 

"Well quit itching your head... Im gonna get it and I'm gonna be so mad at you!!"

"Seriously.... its so not contagious. "

"Whatever! Im telling Mom!!"

At this point I'm  about to bust in their room because clearly I am now aware of our  "lice problem".

And right before I do,  I hear Rilyn, "Seriously Raigen... grow up, dandruff is not contagious!"

And Raigen,  who is now crying, "how do you know?"

Waaaait.

"Grow up" says the girl who makes her little sister sleep with her because she has been reading Divergent and is scared of the dark?

I then spend the next 20 mintues explaning to Raigen that she is not going to catch dandruff from her sister. 

Ju

And just to be on the safe side I  also check out Rilyn's hair, which is strangly stiff and greasy. 

"Rilyn! What's wrong with your hair?" I gasped, "have you not been washing it when you take a bath?"

"Yes I wash it! Tonight, I ran out of shampoo and didnt feel like getting any from the cabinet, so I just used Ryker's baby wash," she said, "then I put conditioner in my hair 3 times  to make it extra soft."

"Well congratulations,  you now have Barbie hair."

I then explained to her that,  that was not a compliment.  And exactly  what happens when Barbie's hair  gets so nappy that you cant comb it.

Suddenly she was scared again. But for an entirely different reason.

Our attempt at Fall Pictures...

 

Raigen's Prayer Wall

 

There is nothing sweeter that discovering your six year old has a prayer wall.

 

 

 

 

 

If you know Raigen, then you know she tender-hearted and sweet as can be!

As you can imagine, my heart completely melted when I found this!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll walk you thru her prayer list:

 

 

#1

Abraham Lincoln- for getting shot.

 

 

 

 

 

#2

Bre- Broker her toe.

#3

Emma- she almost broke her hand.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

#4-

Bayleigh- twisted her ankle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 #5

Aunt Chelle and Nelson- got in a car wreck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

#6

Lubby-  Got kidney stones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

#7-

Lilly- busted her head open.

 

 

 

 

As you can see, my sweetness has been praying hard for some of you. It looks like she has two spots left on her prayer wall. Let me know if you would like her to add you.