On Saturday, my family had a graduation party for this year's grads - a college grad, two high school grads and an 8th grader grad. Unfortunately, Phil and I couldn't attend the party because we had to work at The Cottage to allow all of our kids and nieces/nephews who work for us to attend the party, but I hear it was a great time!
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| The Grads |
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| Maggie's sister/cousin |
My brother and his family came to stay overnight and he always loves to walk down to the historic fort in our town, so the littles and I (and Lucy Doodle) joined him on Sunday morning. It's a 3 mile walk round trip, and though Phil and I often run/walk this route, we hardly ever stop to explore the fort so it was fun to do that. We live in such a beautiful and historical spot and I don't take it for granted one bit!
In the afternoon, Phil and I went car shopping which is always such a drag BUT we found my next car! Since Eamon's car was totalled in the accident, we decided to pass down my 2013 Honda Odyssey for the kids' use and get me a newer car. I had my heart set on a Honda CR-V but after talking to family members and researching a lot online plus finding the best deals, I got something else. Or at least I hope I'm getting something else. They didn't have the color I wanted in stock (they only had one left on the whole lot and it was red) so they are trying to get one in for me this week. Any guesses on the make and model?
Xander and the rest of the middle school students had their annual History Fair on Friday. Xander chose Pearl Harbor for his topic and was judged by some AP History students from the Catholic high school. One of the judges is friends with Andrew's girlfriend and sent her this photo of Andrew's little bro:
He looks just about as thrilled as the actual sailors at Pearl Harbor.
On Memorial Day, the kids were able to watch the parade right from our front steps! Phil had to work again at The Cottage (small business owners life y'all) but I wanted to do something fun with the little guys at home, so we went for a 7 mile bike ride on the bike path in town. Our bottoms are still sore from it today - I guess our biking bums are not quite in shape yet. But I want to make this a regular outing now that I know Brendan (age 7) can hack it, what a legend!
Guess what's located at the start/end of the bike path?
I was a fun mom and let them get whatever they wanted. Declan got a Chocolate Frappe, Brendan got Blue Raspberry Shave Ice, and Xander got Chocolate M&M in a waffle cone.
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| Red, White and Blue (teeth) |
The big kids are always in and out of the house all the time. JP hangs out with his friend from high school, Andrew and Eamon go on dates with their girlfriends and hung out with cousins and went mini-golfing. Maggie had driving lessons and went shopping with cousins and then they all work a lot too. It feels like I am raising my second family with the last three boys, until it's dinner time when I still need to cook for nine because even if the older kids are not present, we deliver it to them at The Cottage or they eat when they get home from wherever they are.
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| Photo from Friday night, it was a very busy weekend! |
It's definitely a different dynamic and can be busy and overwhelming at times, but I have certainly learned to let go and let them grow. My first four really are flying the coop but they are ready. It's just wild to have the wide spread of ages from 21 down to 7. We are asking the big guys what time they're going out, and still putting the little guys in time outs. We get asked by the littles what we're going to do today, and have to ask the big kids what they did last night. We have car accidents and spilled milk accidents, wait up for big kids to come home and wake up littles to get to school, tell the big kids to take shorter showers and remind the littles to please take a shower. It's always a lot but it's always a lot of fun!
We had ribs and potato salad and corn on the cob for dinner on Memorial Day and it was delish. We used this recipe for the ribs.
And now it's back to work and school and life as normal-ish as it's going to get until school gets out for the summer. I've been seeing some states are already on summer break which is amazing and I want to move to there - ha! We still have school until mid June around here.
The downside to having school end before Memorial Day is that it starts in mid-August! And my kids' district added a week-long fall break which pushed the start date to 8/9! Too early.
ReplyDeleteI grew up on the East Coast, so in my mind school should start after Labor Day. Even after years in the Midwest, I yearn for August off.
Yeah, that feels way too early! We start the week before Labor Day and end June 18 this year. I would love a September 1- June 1 school calendar, which would mean cutting out all the breaks, which I would also probably complain about ;)
DeleteLooks like a great weekend! Glad the cottage was busy, sure eases the sting of having to work if you have customers!
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity, MA has the same 185 with 180 of those being school days law that we do here in IA. We are done on Thursday this year. But we also don't get that magical February Break annually that you do. There's one district here that doesn't have a spring break or Easter break or anything in the Spring semester but they're done in early May. It's interesting to see the differences in calendars!
Right! Being busy is always a GOOD problem to have. Your calendar sounds great - who needs a February Break??
DeleteWe are expecting our 6th and our oldest is 13, so I think we'll end up with an age spread similar to yours. I really enjoy and appreciate hearing your thoughts on that parenting big kids/little kids dynamic! With a range of 13 down to 2 right now I think I'm just starting to get a taste of that and it feels overwhelming and delightful all at once.
ReplyDeleteIt's wild! I remember my mom, who had 6 kids 14 years apart saying Pimples and Pampers! And that makes me laugh, we're out of the diaper stage now but the range is just so extreme and the goods /bads also seem extreme. Like hugs from my little one mean more to me now than hugs from the older kids did, because I always had a little one to hug back then!
DeleteI definitely feel like we have two families also with our big 4 and little 4. Okay, my guess on the new car is going to be a. . . Nissan Armada (that is the one I really want) Can't wait to hear what you picked out!
ReplyDeleteNot an Armada - I'm downsizing as we still have the minivan and the Ford Transit!!
DeleteToyota Spyder or Mazda Miata (with roll down tops).
ReplyDeleteSorry kids - no room for you!!!!!!!! Haha!
DeleteRegardless of when school let's out, I want to move to live in your neighborhood. Our kids could all be friends. I want to walk to the Ice Cream Cottage, but I'd hope to get cuts in line. Ha. This is so busy and so fun. I remember when Lad was in high school, I suddenly realized I had to stop telling him when to put on a hat or a heavier coat. I was ordering my little guys around and suddenly that wasn't right for the guys that needed to start figuring some things out on their own. *Our kids have ALL always liked long showers or baths. Our water bills are ridiculous. I have no clue on the car. A pilot? Does Honda sell those still? I hope they find your color.
ReplyDeleteI have ten, 21 down to 2 years old and it is really strange, and sometimes hard, to juggle the different needs. We also homeschool so that adds to the craziness. It's the bedtime that gets me because the teens stay up later but the littles still wake up early, lol.
ReplyDeleteI love to see that long line at the Cottage!! What a blessing and a testament to your hard work and delicious ice cream. And don't be too jealous of the schools getting out so early - they all go back in early to mid August while you are still enjoying the beautiful Cape Cod summer!
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