Rah Rah Rah!

Chloe is cheering for the second year for the Obion County Youth Football League, much to her daddy's dismay. He would much rather her be playing! Alas, she chose the girly-girl route and is cheering. There's 16 girls on her squad this year. We had the beginning of the year pep rally last night and it was such fun! The kids, grades 1st-6th, just love all the excitement and as parents, it's absolutely contagious! The players and cheerleaders were all introduced and the cheerleaders got to do a cheer. Chloe's squad won the Spirit Award (also known as the "Big Mouthed Parents" Award) for the loudest cheering from their crowd. I'm sure that no one is surprised that I can still holler out a cheer or two. This season will be exciting for sure! It will be the first year that the boys will be wearing full pads and the first year to play a weeknight schedule. So wish us luck adjusting to the busy weeks ahead.

Cooper's First Day at Preschool!

So, Cooper has started preschool in Fulton. Today was his first day! He was so brave! Just walked right on in like he owned the joint! He immediately layed claim to the play tool set and Lego table and began to watch the other kids. Oh, and just as he prefers, he's the only boy in the class on Tuesdays! He's happy as a clam that way! He is very much the ladies man, I'm afraid. Mrs. Melinda has quickly fallen under his spell and has threatened to take him home with her.

It's a morning only program, so he was there for 3 hours before pick up time. When I got back to take him home, he was dancing and shaking marakas along with music and two other little girls. So cute! He got to choose a prize from the treasure box...a yellow convertable. And on the way home, I treated him to a Happy Meal with chocolate milk. He's happily taking his afternoon nap as I type this out and looking forward to his next day in preschool!

Bam Bam! Bam Bam!

This baby boy! He's something else! Always into something. Always doing something new that makes us look at each other with astonishment. See above picture for the latest achievement. The kid is strong and a daredevil to boot! He's his daddy's boy!

Prepare yourself for the cuteness...

Yes, it happened again. After a full night of new classrooms and new teachers for Cooper, swimming and grilled hotdogs for supper, and cheerleading meetings (Rah Rah Rah!), we returned home to find a tooth barely hanging in. And so Chloe finds herself suddenly talking with a lisp. "Thally Thelled Theathells by the Theathore..."

In other news, Cooper met his new preschool teachers, Mrs. Melinda and Mrs. Ellen. They were also Chloe's preschool teachers, so it was wonderful to see them in that setting again. They have such caring hearts. It's such a comfort to know that you can leave your child in hands that are so tender and kind. He had such a wonderful time playing in the classroom. He visited the turtles and the guniea pig, also named Cooper! He already has a crush on Mrs. Melinda. His famous charm line was used almost immediately...."Mrs. Mewinda, you can be a beeeeeeooooootiful pwincess." The kid is such a flirt! And Melinda was aptly charmed.

Brody has finally figured out the whole pushing himself up into a sitting position thing. He has the whole army crawl down pat! He can move at breakneck speed! He's such a busy boy and I have to keep a much closer eye on him then I did his siblings at his age. He's just into everything these days! And he's formed a close bond with Jazz, the family dog! He loves to play with her paws and pull at her ears. Thankfully, Jazz is very patient and kind. And I think that she actually likes the attention.

Shudder...Cow Killer Ants

As we were walking out the door to go to the school's open house, we came across this....

After smashing this one inch long monster, we left for the open house all feeling quite nervous about what we had seen. Keep in mind, we are a family of frog and bug hunters. The kids and Michael Jon have spent many summer evenings chasing and catching everything from frogs to snakes; from june bugs to lizards. Not much makes this crew nervous. In fact, Chloe's claim to fame has become her ability to catch a wood bee without getting stung. She's quite proud of that one.

But this thing was HUGE. And it looked angry. Large and fuzzy. We assumed it was some type of fire ant.

So when we arrived home and did some research on it, we found out that it is actually a wingless wasp. The name "Cow Killer" comes from it's ferocious sting. So strong and painful, it could "kill a cow", but not really dangerous. Just a way of explaining how excruciating this thing can be. Fortunately, they do not live in colonies. They are solitary and will leave you alone if you leave them alone. But I just spotted another one in the flower bed. So it would appear that they are here for our Rose of Sharon bushes and the blossoms' nectar.

Now to convince the kids once again to not go barefooted in the yard. Sigh...easier said than done. Isn't summer over yet?

Sleep issues

Cooper, our three year old, has always been a wonderful sleeper. Slept through the night from 3 months on. Slept in his own crib. Woke up laughing and cooing. Then he had his first nightmare. Something about a white witch trying to get in his throat and a monster coming out of his belly. And in this awful dream, Mommy and Daddy were too scared and couldn't help him. Pretty awful stuff for a 3 year old.
That's the point he started having trouble sleeping all night. Now, my husband (aka Hubbin as I like to refer to him), works the night shift, leaving me to handle all bedtime issues. So if a baby needs feeding, a child needs medicine, a soiled sheet needs changing, or a scared little boy needs comfort, I'm all there is. There's been many sleepless nights in the last few months. But the last 2 weeks have been awful! Cooper has been waking up at least 4 times each night. Add to that Brody's 5:30 wake up and Chloe's 6:00 AM wake up for school, and I'm one pooped out momma!
Now, we've tried lots of remedies for this...everything from nightlights to flashlights to a good dream necklace (one of my necklaces that will keep bad dreams away and happy dreams there...I hope). We've tried skipping naps, moving his bedtime, changing from a lullaby to a story before bed, talking about all the happy parts of our day, talking about what's happening tomorrow. We've tried it all. I let him in my bed, but that usually doesn't last long. He's not a good sleeper when other people are around. He doesn't like cuddling and wants to be able to toss and turn all night. The poor kid is not scared of monsters under the bed or in the closet. He's scared to sleep, scared to dream. He just can't understand for the life of him why these dreams...so realistic to him...didn't really happen. He can't understand why Daddy and Momma don't remember what happened when we were there in his dream. It's so frustrating! How can I help him? I'm starting to think that it's just a phase that he'll have to get out of, but will my sanity survive the wait?
But then last night, he did sleep! From 8:30 to 7:30! And may I just say...
WOOOOOOO HOOOOOO!! I feel like a new woman! And I'm crossing my fingers that maybe this will be the start of a good stretch of sleep.

The first blog...

So, after seeing some of my friends posting their own blogs, I thought to myself...why not me? It's a great way for friends and family to see how my clan and I are doing.





So a rundown of what's happening now...





This week is full! Lots of running to registrations and meetings. School stuff, PTO stuff, pre-school stuff, after school stuff, church stuff. It's getting crazy. I'm already foreseeing a future that concerns me once the boys join Chloe in school. But all in all, life is running smoothly. Some positives that are happening...





Chloe lost a top front tooth. She's an official snaggletooth for her first month of 3rd grade.


Cooper is starting preschool in a few weeks. I'm sure I'll be blogging about that and all that comes with it.


Brody has learned to push himself up to sitting position and has the soldier crawl on the belly down pat. That kid is STRONG and FAST! He's taken to moving the dining room chairs around single-handedly. Which has led to his newest nickname of "BamBam"!


Michael Jon is looking forward to starting a new shift at work. It will be a 12 hour shift. Difficult physically, but at least he will be guaranteed some time off during the week.


I'm currently watching a few kids for friends that need part time childcare. There's lots of goods that come from that. Some not-so-goods as well. But for the most part, it's nice to have the house full of laughter and fun.