Little Finn has no personal space, his bubble is invaded at any given moment. Sometimes by me, sometimes by Sean, sometimes by others but mostly by his siblings. Sean and I have been cautious not to poo poo the big kids every time they get in Finn's face. It's sweet to see them loving all over him, but at times I do feel for him.
The other day Aidan told me, "Mom, when you first had Finn I didn't really like him, but now, I LOVE him!" And that pretty much sums it up!
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Mellow Yellow
The first month of 1st grade (for Aidan) and Kindergarten (for Clare) is coming to an end. Everything is going GREAT! Now anyone who has a child in public school in the state of Maryland is aware of the behavioral chart they use. It's essentially based on a traffic light. Some schools add more colors but it's basically all the same concept.
Here at Mayo Elementary we use the standard tri-color light, kind of like the peppers in the grocery store. You know:
Green = GO (good behavior)
Yellow = SLOW (verbal warning)
Red = STOP (principal's office)
So far both of them have been on green everyday and then- bam! Within 4 days they each were on yellow once!
Clare's behavioral chart came home last Friday (which means I didn't look at it til Sunday) and it had a yellow check on it for that day. Under the check mark was a note that said, "Clare stuck her tongue out at the boy next to her because she didn't like what he was doing." After a nice little chuckle, I approached Clare about said yellow check mark. It went a little something like this, "Clare why did you get on yellow?" She immediately starts crying and says she's sorry! he he!
Fast forward to Tuesday afternoon, Aidan's chart comes home yellow. The 1st graders have to color in the daily box themselves. When asked WHY he was on yellow, he responded, "Oh I was fooling around with HF." UGH! "Great well now you miss the dance party on Friday." The 1st grade gets a dance party the last 5 minutes of school on Friday for everyone who stays green all week. His response, "That's okay, the dance party isn't that long anyway." (Great so now he's adopting the I don't care-i-tude."
At dinner that night I simply said, "Okay guys, you both know how the behavioral charts work right?! Well, you each got your one and only time on yellow. It won't happen again this year!"
"Okay Mom!"
Here at Mayo Elementary we use the standard tri-color light, kind of like the peppers in the grocery store. You know:
Green = GO (good behavior)
Yellow = SLOW (verbal warning)
Red = STOP (principal's office)
So far both of them have been on green everyday and then- bam! Within 4 days they each were on yellow once!
Clare's behavioral chart came home last Friday (which means I didn't look at it til Sunday) and it had a yellow check on it for that day. Under the check mark was a note that said, "Clare stuck her tongue out at the boy next to her because she didn't like what he was doing." After a nice little chuckle, I approached Clare about said yellow check mark. It went a little something like this, "Clare why did you get on yellow?" She immediately starts crying and says she's sorry! he he!
Fast forward to Tuesday afternoon, Aidan's chart comes home yellow. The 1st graders have to color in the daily box themselves. When asked WHY he was on yellow, he responded, "Oh I was fooling around with HF." UGH! "Great well now you miss the dance party on Friday." The 1st grade gets a dance party the last 5 minutes of school on Friday for everyone who stays green all week. His response, "That's okay, the dance party isn't that long anyway." (Great so now he's adopting the I don't care-i-tude."
At dinner that night I simply said, "Okay guys, you both know how the behavioral charts work right?! Well, you each got your one and only time on yellow. It won't happen again this year!"
"Okay Mom!"
Saturday, September 1, 2012
And she's off...
to Kindergarten that is!
I can't believe it but Clare started Kindergarten this week. She jumped out of bed at 6:00 Thursday morning, did a little victory dance outside the bathroom door to the tune, "It's the first day, it's the first day!"
She ate breakfast right away and was dressed and ready by 6:32. She then proceeded to ask repeatedly when we could go to the bus stop until 7:12 when we finally gave in and went out. The bus comes at 7:20 so she had a few minutes for a photo op and some mingling with the other kids.
When that bus came rolling down the road, I snuck in a quick hug and kiss and before I knew it she was off running. She never looked back. Part of me was sad, but most of me was happy for her. She's been waiting a long time for this and she was totally ready.
I realized something this week, sending your kids off to school is a true test of your parenting. This is your chance to let them out into the world beyond your safety net to use the skills you've been working on with them for the last 5 years. As far as I'm concerned we've done a pretty darn good job with these kids and it's time to share them with the rest of the world. We are very proud of them both and the cool little people they've become. I honestly think being a parent to Aidan, Clare and Finn has made me a better person.
I can't believe it but Clare started Kindergarten this week. She jumped out of bed at 6:00 Thursday morning, did a little victory dance outside the bathroom door to the tune, "It's the first day, it's the first day!"
She ate breakfast right away and was dressed and ready by 6:32. She then proceeded to ask repeatedly when we could go to the bus stop until 7:12 when we finally gave in and went out. The bus comes at 7:20 so she had a few minutes for a photo op and some mingling with the other kids.
When that bus came rolling down the road, I snuck in a quick hug and kiss and before I knew it she was off running. She never looked back. Part of me was sad, but most of me was happy for her. She's been waiting a long time for this and she was totally ready.
I realized something this week, sending your kids off to school is a true test of your parenting. This is your chance to let them out into the world beyond your safety net to use the skills you've been working on with them for the last 5 years. As far as I'm concerned we've done a pretty darn good job with these kids and it's time to share them with the rest of the world. We are very proud of them both and the cool little people they've become. I honestly think being a parent to Aidan, Clare and Finn has made me a better person.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Avalon
Last week we went to Avalon, NJ with the whole McDonough crew.
Here are some highlights:
23 people in one house
Finn's first trip to the ocean
watching Aidan and Clare surf and boogie board
seeing multiple dolphin in the ocean
a shooting star
meeting Rory Smith
dinner on the deck watching the ocean
trip to the candy store
getting all 23 of those people in one picture
Here are some highlights:
23 people in one house
Finn's first trip to the ocean
watching Aidan and Clare surf and boogie board
seeing multiple dolphin in the ocean
a shooting star
meeting Rory Smith
dinner on the deck watching the ocean
trip to the candy store
getting all 23 of those people in one picture
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Friday, July 13, 2012
July 11, 2012
My little Clare Bear turned 5 YEARS OLD! She's grown up so much, especially now that she's a big sister.
These days she's into painting her nails, doing arts and crafts, writing new words, bossing my around, fashion, doing makeovers on her baby dolls and stuffed animals, playing barbies in the pool, riding her bike, having sleepovers at cousins houses, playdates with friends, ice cream cones with sprinkles and telling me she loves me as many times a day as she can. She can also swim across the whole pool by herself and about 3 months ago ate her first whole cupcake. (If it weren't for her looks I'd question if she was really mine- the kid doesn't really like sweets?!)
She's growing like a weed and gets more beautiful by the day! Happy Birthday Buggy!
These days she's into painting her nails, doing arts and crafts, writing new words, bossing my around, fashion, doing makeovers on her baby dolls and stuffed animals, playing barbies in the pool, riding her bike, having sleepovers at cousins houses, playdates with friends, ice cream cones with sprinkles and telling me she loves me as many times a day as she can. She can also swim across the whole pool by herself and about 3 months ago ate her first whole cupcake. (If it weren't for her looks I'd question if she was really mine- the kid doesn't really like sweets?!)
She's growing like a weed and gets more beautiful by the day! Happy Birthday Buggy!
3 Kids, a Queen and the Force Field
Sean was out of town for work one night, his Mom came up to stay with us since it was the first time since Finn was born. Which was nice because I got to have some adult company.
When it was time for bed Aidan asked if we could all sleep in the same bed, OF COURSE! You see when Sean goes out of town overnight I always put the kids in bed with me. It just feels better to me to have the as close as possible, plus I feel like when we're all together I can pull my force field over everyone at once. So that night we got into bed- Clare got on my side, Aidan got on Sean's side (we actually started Finn out in the playpen at the end of the bed) and I laid at the bottom of the bed so I could hear Finn better (and had more room).
By morning, Finn was laying in my arms at the bottom of the bed while Clare and Aidan resembled somewhat of a pretzel at the head. As I laid there in my old lumpy queen size bed surrounded by 3 of my favorite people I smiled thinking about how lucky I am.
When it was time for bed Aidan asked if we could all sleep in the same bed, OF COURSE! You see when Sean goes out of town overnight I always put the kids in bed with me. It just feels better to me to have the as close as possible, plus I feel like when we're all together I can pull my force field over everyone at once. So that night we got into bed- Clare got on my side, Aidan got on Sean's side (we actually started Finn out in the playpen at the end of the bed) and I laid at the bottom of the bed so I could hear Finn better (and had more room).
By morning, Finn was laying in my arms at the bottom of the bed while Clare and Aidan resembled somewhat of a pretzel at the head. As I laid there in my old lumpy queen size bed surrounded by 3 of my favorite people I smiled thinking about how lucky I am.
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