The curse of the bean bag....

I know, I know, what could be a curse when you see these cute pictures? But man, I curse my cute sister for passing this on to us. I should have known. This is quite possibly the only time they have all shared it and loved each other......even here I want to curl up with them and hold them and love them, but now...
.....the curse is upon us. This stinkin bean bag has caused more injuries than any other toy in our home. Maybe because they like to pile toys on it as high as they can and bounce on it to see how many fall off (good for counting I guess). Or they like to play "Wipeout" and have invented a number of "stunts" or "obstacles" that end up with them wiping out on the bean bag. Unfortunately, a lot of wipeouts miss the bean bag. Or lastly, my sweet Jake decided (against my knowledge) to move it from time out on top of the washer down to the basement for me. He was wise when he chose to put Anna on the bottom end of it, but Anna had no idea what was coming. Jake couldn't have lifted that thing for more than a second and then it started to fall, completely flattening Anna. Jake wisely decided to "surf" down the stairs on top of it since it was already falling. Poor, poor Anna, she became the surf and scraped her back all the way down the wood stairs. That blasted bean bag. And now it has somehow made it's way to my bedroom. It won't stay for long because I feel certain that they will be jumping from my bed to the bean bag. I should have known it was cursed when my sister so willingly gave it to us. If they survive the bean bag, I have a feeling they can survive anything in life!

Back to School (Back in August!)

BACK TO SCHOOL BASICS

The first thing any good Mom does, is to make sure that her kids all have new shoes for school! We found these on sale earlier in the summer and were excited to get them out and make sure they fit. They were only pristine for a few hours. Now they are completely disgusting!The next step was to choose a first day outfit, but Jake wanted to do it himself. Love the orange shirt big guy! And he did his own hair. Better than when he woke up. Note his cool new backpack--thanks Nana! He loves having wheels since that thing weighs nearly more than he does! He was also too cool to pose for any other pictures or to let me bring the camera to the bus stop, so this is all we have of starting 2nd grade.Fortunately, Anna knows the importance of posing and was more than eager to have her special day on camera. It was a bit windy, but we had fun taking pictures.She even had to wear a necklace! And the famous backpack shot! She was so excited. The only disappointment was that she doesn't get to ride the bus to Miss Jen's preschool. But man, she loves it and is such a good learner! We are proud of her. I thought I would be better on the 2nd kid, but as she so nonchalantly jumped out and said, "See ya, Mom!" I totally teared up and had to drive away quickly. My big girl doesn't need me as much anymore! Sigh.

And lastly, for our back to school tradition, they each got to have a special dinner since they started on different days. Jake had breakfast for dinner and Anna had enchiladas and Spanish Rice. Thankfully, Nana and Papa could join us 2 nights in a row to make it even more special. And they each have a sign that says way to go back to school!

School is such a strange experience for me: I want them to go and yet I want them to stay. I need some space from them, and I miss them. It is so fun to watch them grow and learn and adjust every day. This year has been a great one so far. Let's hope it continues that way!