First Days are Done - Honesty and a Link

More than one person has asked about the vinyl on the sanitizer bottles and it caused me to think (I try not to do that - it makes my brain cry).  I quickly realized that I didn't give an explanation about the teacher gifts and was dishonest by omission.  Sorry, folks.

Okay, the truth is that I bought the vinyl online.  Yep, I ordered it from a very efficient gal and let her do the work while I was driving carpool. . . again.  I first read about Janae while reading this post on the HILARIOUS blog called Controlling My Chaos.  Janae runs a business called Thoughts in Vinyl and has lots of cute kits and quotes and more for purchase (I am getting nothing for telling you about her - I just like what I've seen) and she committed to make these vinyl cutouts for readers of Controlling My Chaos after Jill posted her own bottles and we all responded with a loud, "I want to do that too!!!"

You can order your own here.

Hope all is well.  I also hope to write more soon.  Bubba turned 6 yesterday and that was the second-to-the-last hurdle on the journey to sanity.  Now I am just waiting for transportation to get Bubba's bus schedule worked out. . .

First Days are Done

Everybody has had their day in the spotlight and the "first days" are done.   Pictures have been taken, new friends have been met, school supplies are tucked away, the carpool route has been driven and all the teachers have been given little back to school gifts:

I wrote about Bubba's first day and I'm about to give the girls equal "air time".  Little started on Wednesday and KB started today. Here is Little before her first day at Promise Christian Academy:

Seriously, it is a ridiculous grin she is pulling out these days, but she is so darn cute you just get over the crooked smile.  Oh, and a close up so you can see her little uniform embroidery:

She had a super first day.  She walked right in and said, "Hey There!" to whomever might be listening and went straight to hang up her backpack:

Did you see that loud and bright backpack? Ugh.  Another choice made by my daughter and another time to hold my tongue and remember it isn't about me.  Don't get me wrong, it's cute enough. . . just not girlie :)  See:

Her teacher was Mrs. Lee.  

I say was because I got a call before lunch telling me that they would really like to move Little to the middle grades class for several different reasons.  It was encouraging and sweet and now Mrs. Brittany is Little's teacher.    Little was in her class today and L-O-V-E-D it.  Little had homework tonight and it was FUN doing it; for the first time ever it was fun.  All in all, Little starting school seems . . . hopeful.

And this is how we started the first day in our three year old class at Kirk Day School (mom, this is the dress):

Who is that "masked" girlie? Yep, that's KB.  You wouldn't know it by the first photo but she was so very excited for her first day to begin.  She's been carrying around a backpack full of baby dolls for a week now.  It's really cute.

She hung her bag right up by her name plate and was ready to dash right away.

 I forced her to come back for a photo with her teacher and then said, "Have a good time," to the back of her head as she darted over to the dollhouse to play.  This is Mrs. Hauser.  She's been teaching here for awhile.  One of the mom's told me that Mrs. Hauser taught her in 3rd grade and now she was dropping off her son in Mrs. Hauser's class.  THAT would be weird, eh?

KB must have gotten inspired in that learning environment because she came home and produced this:

All By Herself!!!

Little has been ready to drop after both days of school and KB is exhausted but won't let herself nap.  Bubba's fatigue is showing up in hyper behavior and I am just plain tuckered.  (Honey is exhausted too but his fatigue is for reasons not elementary school related so we won't go into that.  Suffice it to say - meetings, meetings, meetings.)  It's a good thing these days are over because, as a family, we are done.

"Motherhood is Application"

If you don't regularly read "girltalk" you should make the effort and head over to read today's post - a quote.  Click through here to read what Rachel Jankovic has written about motherhood.

My Son and Soccer

So last week was the beginning of soccer.  Bubba will be quick to tell you that he "did not play soccer" he "practiced soccer".  It was boiling hot and they took water breaks ever 15 minutes, but after an hour Bubs came running to me (the first time I was aware that he was aware I was even there) and let me know he had "practiced too much".  Covered in sweat and exhausted, my little boy had enough for the day.

I gave him his water bottle and told him to take it back with him to Coach Wacker; all that was left to do was pray.  In a display of dramatics that would have made his little sister proud, our Bubba went back to the "huddle", took a long drag from his water bottle, and flopped down on his back on the ground with a moan.  Ridiculous.

He loved it though.  He did a super job and he loved it.  No practice this week but he's looking forward to next week already.  We got a soccer book from the library to hold him over.

Portraits and Puking

One of the beautiful things about family is how we share, right? Pbllll! Sharing is great until it comes to germs, three kids, and fever.  

The week before our guests arrived both Little and Bubba had experienced 12 hours of yuck.  Bubba's clash with grossness involved high fever and throwing up.  *Just a note on that.  This was the first time one of my kids had thrown up who could talk to me.  It was AWESOME! So great to have someone say, "I'm going to be sick" and then run to the bathroom instead of throwing up all over me and the carpet.  Seriously.  I know it is gross to talk about, but the fact that there was little to no clean-up was so GREAT.

Okay, back to the story.  Little had only had the fever.  So the upside of her soiree with sickness was that she wanted to snuggle but didn't vomit.  

KB was well until the in-laws arrived.  Tuesday she started feeling HOT but by afternoon she was fine again.  I decided we would keep the appointment we had for getting pictures made the next day (I really wanted a photo of the kids with the grandparents and who KNOWS when we'll be together again).  Well, she woke up with 102 and I gave her ibuprofen. The effects of the medicine were apparent, meaning she was running and jumping all over the place, and we headed out to be the first appointment of the day at Penneys.

Not only was it the WORST experience I have ever had at Penneys (I filled out an online survey of our time and told them we will NOT come back when that photographer is there), but because the picture taker was so slow and wouldn't listen to what we wanted KB's medicine wore off and she turned into a pile of hot mush.  These are what we ended up with - no choices really - just the decision to buy the ones that were somewhat centered.

We didn't intend to get individual shots done, but these were actually the best ones taken.  I love that I have this picture of Little with Scout - she takes that animal with her EVERYWHERE and now I have 1000 words wrapped up in this precious picture.

Bubba's birthday is next week so it was time for a six year old picture anyway.  This is the close up shot but in the one I framed you can see his legs and feet.  Those feet are HUGE.  I just can't believe how much he is growing.  Makes my mommy heart a bit tender.

And then there is this trouper.  This is my beautiful baby with 102 fever.  Look at that smile.  How could I NOT get a copy of this photo, eh? Seriously.  All the jokes I make about her giving us a hard time. . . KB is a delight; an absolute joy.  I'm just so glad God gave us this little one to bring spark to our little clan.

In true Blue Hutch fashion, we decided to do Chickfila for lunch.  We WERE already at the mall so it just made sense *grin*.  Halfway through the meal KB started looking peaked and super mom (that's me) got a fry container under her chin JUST in time to keep her sickness contained.  You should have seen the men moving.  Almost immediately I had Chickfila bags-o-plenty.  

The little girl threw up twice and was fine after that.  We didn't know that was going to be all, though, so we left immediately.  I went outside to sit with KB and wait for the family to bring the car around.  She would NOT take her face out of the bag.  She was so nervous about getting sick again.  She kept it just like this for the next hour.  Hilarious.

The rest of the visit was fun and low key.  We went to Office Depot as a family because they had pencil sharpeners for a penny and a limit of 3/person.  We ended up with 21 which will be great for one class on Valentines Day.

All-in-all it was a wonderful visit.  It was fun to have these two all to ourselves and spend time together at a relaxed pace.  The downside to living in the Midwest is the distance from family and we are so thankful the Lord saw fit to give up these moments together.

Sweet Kicklighter men.  

I wish Bubba had his glasses on because the resemblance between the three is already uncanny.  The glasses would have made it hilarious.

Hot Headed at Grants

Just to prove that we hadn't learned our lesson, we set out the next morning for Grant's Farm.  We were there 45 minutes, I think, before we were ALL ready to go.  Well, Little was doing alright because she was wearing her new cooling vest.  See that little pink vest she has? It's filled with ice and keeps her body cool since she can't do it herself.  It was a lifesaver that day.

A highlight of the day was watching these two mammoth tortoises walk and eat.  I have never seen them move and the show this day was amazing.  They had both been just sitting there (as usual) and all of a sudden one got up as if to say, "I'm done sittin' here.  It's uncomfortable."  When she (?) stood it was revealed that she was sitting on a plate of veggies.  No wonder she was a mite uncomfortable.

  No sooner did that tortoise walk away than the other stood and walked to eat off the tray.  Another first: watching a H-U-G-E turtle open those jaws and snap down on whatever there was.  (Oh, and when that tortoise moved we were shown another plate of veggies to fight over later.                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Relief was sought in the water sprayers/mist-ers BUT what it really did was make you feel all humid.

We rode the carousel, fed the goats, ate a snow cone and we were ready to GO.  See these smiling faces? This photo is called, "So Happy to be Leaving".

Magic with the In-Laws

The last thing that happened in July that MUST be told here, was the visit from the in-laws.  It was wonderful to have time with them after a LONG time of being apart.  Honey's folks live outside Savannah, GA and it's a 14 hour drive (Linda doesn't fly), so it is quite a commitment to visit.  It's hard for us to make the trip with three little ones and their weird sleep needs, etc.   So this was the first time they had seen KB since she was 6 months old and the first time she had met them in her way of thinking.  We planned a couple things but knew that time together was the main goal and doing that at home was just as great (if not better) as doing it on the go.

One of the outings we planned was to the Magic House.  I knew Jeriald would get a kick out of the place and the kids had won tickets from the library.  We went EARLY because the temperatures were supposed to be so high (heat indexes of 115 all week that week).  We also played in the front yard right away and for the first time ever.  We ALL had fun but we were ALL glad to go in to the air conditioned house!

Great minds at work:

Jeriald and Little made something that actually looked like a something!

Everyone went to the very top of the beanstalk for the first time.

I love the baby nursery.  It is my favorite room, I think.  It was so fun to watch Little dress as a doctor (ironically from the Children's Hospital where the doctor said she might not ever ____________) and read the chart that told her the five steps to take with the babies.  She listened to one's heart, weighed her, fed her, bathed her, and changed her diaper.  Then she crawled up into the rocking chair and rocked the baby before putting her into the hospital bassinet.  Absolutely precious.

It was seriously hot, folks.  

The adults were exhausted in no time.  Lunch was a great reason to head out and the rest of our day was spent lazily chatting together.

Not Forgetting - the end of that list

Don't know if you remember the list I was working on a month or so ago where I was trying to remember to not forget certain things.  Well, I forgot I had two things left and finally remembered and got the pictures together to share.  Here we go.


1.  KB's prayer
2. Bubba's bust the window outcha car
3.  Little's IEP
4.  KB - ur so ugly mamma
5.  Dominoes with Bubba
6.  The Help
7.  Promise
8.  Bubba's swingset concert
9.  1st grade read aloud
10.  Little's Mona Lisa and Starry Night


9.  At the end of the last school year Little's class invited the mothers to come for a Mothers' Day Read Aloud.  Each child walked up to a stool in front of the classroom and read their story aloud for everyone to hear.  It was extremely entertaining and Little did a super job.  This is her story (she won "Best Illustrator).

And LASTLY. . .

10.  You have heard me mention Little's surprisingly good drawings while at Mason Ridge Elem.  Her final two projects brought me to tears and merited a call to her teacher..

First there was this famous number: 

Good, eh? Picasso, eat you heart out. . . 

And just so Davincci won't feel left out by the artistic spankings my daughter is dealing out. . . 

Now I can go mark these last two things off my remember list and you can (finally) sleep soundly tonight.

Oh, the teachers says that Little received no more help than the other kids in the class.  Hmm.

So Sew

At the end of July a bunch of friends got together to sew.  Michelle is quite the seamstress and so she gets the group together and then she helps with questions that may arise, etc.   This particular month the gals decided to work on the same project: reusable snack bags.  I couldn't go because of visiting in-laws BUT I decided to sew at home while they were sewing across town. Not bad!!

The little purple bag was made specifically to go in KB's new school bag.  Now my little girly girl can be super matchy and cute.

And the girls start school in six days.  Smile

July 11 = 7-11

Yep, that's how far behind I am!!! July 11! 

Of course it is a yearly piece of fun to get slushees from 7-11 on the 11th of the 7th month.  This was KB's first year to participate and she loved the slush.  Little knew a couple of the kids inside from school last year and that made me smile too.  It felt like we are part of a community.

Big Day at the Blue Hutch

August 16 was a big day here at the Blue Hutch.  Honey had a birthday.

AND

Bubba had his first day of full day Kindergarten!!!

We started our special day with cinnamon rolls from a recipe I found on Pinterest (tired of hearing about that yet?).  We had candles for Honey at breakfast because we never really know how the day is going to go and I didn't want there to be no celebration of the 37 years my handsome husband has walked the earth.

Our school district changed their times for school's beginning and dismissing this year.  Bubba's school day begins at 8:55am and ends at 3:55pm - that's a long day folks.  Now, I know that the amount of minutes spent at school are the same, BUT for a kid who wakes up by 6:00am, it's a long day.

Another change this year is that there is no bus for our family and I am driving all three kiddos to their 3 different schools.  So, when everyone was ready, we jumped into the van to take Bubs the 1.4 miles to school.  One of the girls asked if we were go to walk in with Bubba and I responded, "yes".  Bubba cleared his throat and said, "Um, Mom, . . . but I am okay."  My next thoughts were literally, "Did I just hear that right? Could my 5 year old be telling me that he doesn't want me to walk in with him? Okay, this is the independence and confidence we work toward but COME ON!!!"

Outloud I said, "You want to walk in without me?"

His response, "Um. . . no.  But, Mom I am alright."

Me: "I know you are, Bubs.  Me walking in is more for my sake.
Mommy wants to take a picture."

So, I got to see him hang up his backpack like a pro.  .

AND got a picture of him with his teacher:

This was my first "First Day Drop Off" that involved NO tears.  It probably helped that I had KB and Little with me.  When we picked him up at 4pm, Bubba was so excited I had trouble understanding his stories.  Evidently it was a good day.

Then Honey got home and it became all about him.  The girls promptly broke our pact to keep the ice cream cake in the freezer a secret and then ate their dinner with lightning speed so that we could  open presents and eat.  

Honey was given four bottles of Rush Limbaugh's tea and a card telling how appropriate it was for my loony family to give him something like that. 

Overall, I believe the day would be considered a big success.  

To my special men: I love you both!

Just an FYI: I fell asleep four times (at least) while typing this.  ...................make that five.
Sorry.