Pa-Pa Needs A Time Out!

We went to my sister's new house on Saturday to celebrate my nephew's 7th birthday. Ty's favorite person was there. He calls him "Pa-Pa". Ty was pretty busy the entire day checking out the train table and all the big boy toys Theresa's house has to offer. He attempted dribbling a basket ball for an hour and has spent countless hours at home since trying to "bounce it". The highlight was likely the cake he tasted prior to the candles being lit. You've got to be on your game with this little guy around! Anyway, in a field not too far from the house were "loud cows" that Ty just had to find. My dad took him to see if they could find the cows but quickly realized it would be too far to walk. He told Ty they were hiding in the tree line in the distance. Ty immediately repeated "cows hiding in trees". Dad thought this was pretty funny and started looking up into the trees for cows. Ty was absolutely adorable as he searched up in the trees for those cows right along side Pa-Pa. Fast forward four days and we were in an area today with a lot of trees and Ty was once again searching for "loud cows hiding in trees"! I called my Dad. He still thinks he's pretty funny.

The Fair and a few other "Firsts" for Kate

My friend Jennifer loves to take Kate on field trips and introduce her to a lot of new things. She is the first one in our family to attend the Kentucky State Fair.

First corn dog

First driving experience

First Hamster Ball

First Bungee ride. She loved it!

Fist snow cone

First Bank Robbery.

She had a blast! Thanks Jennifer for all you do!

Done

 Before...

After...

Just playing around

"Truck. Loud. Make Mess."

One member of the family is excited to see the construction crews across the street. We spend our EARLY mornings (6:30am!) on the swing watching the "loud trucks make a mess". By late morning, Ty finds his big truck and takes it to the end of the driveway to better stalk this mess making process.

On Friday, the scoop truck was being used (Greg is not available for technical terms so bare with me) and Ty declared that it was pooping as it dropped dirt into piles. Scooping or pooping? At 6:30 am I really couldn't care less. He's adorable and entertained while I enjoy my first cup of tea each day.

I surrender.

My friend Jennifer gave Kate an old day planner last weekend. She carries it with her everywhere. She has a special pen she uses to keep her notes and takes her planning very seriously.  Jennifer says all busy little girls need a planner. After our walk the other morning, Kate wrote, "Kate and Ty had an adventure" on one of the pages. Sometimes a family walk probably does appear to be an adventure!

I have local friends with little ones who have commented that I seem to always have it together. "Seem" would be the operative word here. My life has been a mess lately. The kind of mess I think of when I see snow globes. There is a stationary object fastened to the base while someone shakes the heck out of the world around it just to see where the debris floating around said object will land. I'd like someone to stop shaking my world please. From where I am sitting today, the day-to-day parenting of little ones is exhausting work. Staying on top of behavior, monitoring attitudes, teaching, correcting, cleaning up after the little destroyers and spending quality time all take concentrated effort. By the time you reach the teen years, or even pre-teen overall, the day-to-day, hands-on portion of mothering subsides. It's not that I am no longer involved, but because of the hard work put into the early years, for the most part, I can sit back and observe behaviors, guide through conversations and allow the girls to live out the principles established in their lives. But when a teenager makes a poor choice, the job of Mom is tough. It is difficult to wade through boundaries, respectful discussions, discipline, consequences, and facing today's decisions with the knowledge that you have such a short window to make a difference. They are more independent and all too quickly emerging into an age of total independence. Put a toddler boy with temper in the same house with hormonal teenage girls and let me assure you that I am anything but "together".

I just wrapped up a bible study with a group of local mothers that challenged me in some of my beliefs. I tend to think I can handle it all. I am quick to lean on God when the big stuff comes down the pike, but the daily grind is something I rarely turn over to anyone, much less God. The last week and a half or so would be strong indicators that God really does want me to turn all of my days over to Him. He is also teaching me that I put my kids above my relationship with Him. This is a tough one for me. My kids really are my life and that is a frightening reality. I watched a neighbor lose her life to cancer two years ago and leave behind two young children. She fought death hard. She was angry and I could easily relate to what she was going through. My kids need me. I need my kids. God has a plan for those kids, just as God has a plan for my kids but imagining a life for them that doesn't include me is something in which I cannot fathom.
I was raised by a strong feminist who taught me that I need to handle my own issues, take matters into my own hands. My new life as a Christian is teaching me that I need to let go and allow God to steer. It's a struggle I constantly try to balance. In my life that struggle manifests itself in my perfectionist tendencies. If my house appears perfectly organized, school is marked off as complete each day, the kids have clothes on that not only match but are clean, laundry doesn't pile up, etc.....then surely I have it all together. Reality is that God is not looking for perfect people, He is looking for surrendered people. My messes don't surprise Him and for all that I have out there looking spotless, I have the messes in my heart and thought life. I stew and worry and fret. Those are not traits given to me by my Heavenly Father. He does allow me to get overwhelmed so that I come back to Him for healing and strength. By myself, I cannot do what needs to be done. By myself, things are a mess. By myself, the snow globe is still being shaken and as much as I crave the calm settling of the debris, life on earth is a journey and I hope to grow in the process. Today, God was who I met first, and then my kids. Tonight's journal entry will read, "Had an adventure with my family. I am blessed".

Officially in School.....

Lauren started her first day of freshman year at Community Montessori today. We met her teacher on Tuesday evening and she welcomed Lauren with a hug once we realized we already knew her from our church. That was a great start! 

Erin had her first day of  Junior Year at Floyd Central Monday, August 15. She hopes to have a calm year with some more interesting electives in her schedule.

Makenna's first day was rushed on August 8th because her start date was moved three times and we had company coming that day. She is in sixth grade with an online public school. She and Ethan enjoyed playing games on the school computer and apparently eating peanut butter right out of the jar??? Photos are revealing!

Kate also started her first grade year online last Monday the 8th but waited to have her picture taken with her neighbor friend after the school bus dropped her off. Kate would like to ride that bus "just one time".

The Park

Makenna, Kate and I started school on Monday. It was a chaotic start, to say the least. We joined an online, public school and have run into several miscommunications, curriculum errors, computer issues and even had three different start dates. We discovered on Sunday afternoon that we did in fact need to start on Monday, when Kristin and her boys were scheduled to visit. We squeezed in our first day that morning around two teens who are very much on summer break, a two year old who isn't back into independent playtime mode and sweet little Colby who is much busier this school year than last. We've ticked off three successful, although somewhat stressful days and celebrated with an afternoon visit to our local park. The temperatures were finally pleasant and the fresh air was welcomed. Colby went home early, Kate napped (school work wears a girl out), Lauren was too cool for the park and Erin refused to allow photos today. So, you get the these two. Aren't they cute?

Speaking of Cute.....

I couldn't resist a shot of Colby's little curls or a quiet moment of playtime. I had initially set out to get some photos for his parents but the little guy just won't stay still long enough for me to capture him on camera! He would much rather come after that camera!

Sigh

He was not posing for photos. He was eating the cereal he had deliberately dumped onto the end table and floor.  There is a reason he is so cute!

Uh-Oh

"Mom. Milk. In hole. With balls. Uh-oh."

When that sippy cup turns up in a clogged sewer line somewhere and Ty's name is clearly marked on the lid (because that is the kind of luck we Baughmans have!), I am sure this will no longer be funny. And, I was wondering where all the baseballs had gone!

Dance With Cinderella

"I'll dance with Cinderella" was playing on my way to the auto repair shop this afternoon and Kate's little voice was playing in my head. How many times today had I put off her requests for tea or to play a game? Sadly, too many. I have been caught up in my "to-do" list and have so many things on my plate as I prepare for a new season in our lives with an online school for Kate and Makenna, Montessori school for Lauren and another year of public high school for Erin. All require a lot of planning and preparation. On top of that, I am dealing with a mild arthritis flare. It is just enough to slow me down and make regular movements challenging. Slowing down is not something I do well and Kate needed me to. Most likely, I also needed to. So tonight, once the little destroyer was safely in his bed, Kate and I had tea. She was thrilled. Me too.

 Kate is playing school and attempting to teach Ty how to spell his name and say he is two years old. She's persistent and it appears to be a good thing! Little man is much more interested in climbing, exploring, destroying, playing, etc.....

Ty has started his version of counting which varies each time he does it...."1-2-1", "3-2-1" or "2-2-1". In all cases, something is thrown or jumped off once he reaches that final "1"! "Ready, set, go" are also favorites for the prior mentioned activities! "Ta-da" indicates he is proud of those results. "Hey, hey, hey" means he is not pleased with something, which typically means we've removed a weapon from his hot little hands. "I fix it" is adorable. "I help" is too. "Colby" is very clear and "play basket" was added today when he wanted to play basketball rather than eat dinner.
Yesterday, "I help" occurred when I caught him on a chair watering my kitchen. It didn't grow but "hey, hey, hey" was yelled as I removed him from the scene of the crime.

One More Off The "To Do" List

Thanks to Greg's dad this project is finally complete. He brought left over logs from the construction of their log home for us to landscape in the trampoline. It looks sharp. He worked out in the heat all day to insure it's completion and then treated us all to dinner. He's welcome anytime!
Greg's mom took the older two out shopping for some back to school clothes. They all enjoyed themselves and have some cute new items to wear in the coming weeks. She also got an exclusive tour of Erin's school building. We will be back on Wednesday for the check writing portion of that tour! For those of you outside our county, we write checks at several tables for school fees, PTO memberships, school lunch accounts, gym tee shirts, etc......I will spend around $300 in school fees alone. Good times.

Check out the little helper with the hammer!