All good things must come to an end..

Isn't that the saying?

Today was the last time Megan will ever take a bus home from school.
Tomorrow morning is the last time I will put her on the bus that stops right in front of my house.

I am going to pick her up from school tomorrow.

Taxi driver, here I come!

(Yes, I know I've had it great for 2 years!!!)

Memorial Day Weekend

Ahhh, what a nice weekend at home.... At Easter time, Matt and I told ourselves that we were not going to go anywhere on the next major holiday. Sometimes we just want to stay home and enjoy the day off, so that is what we did! No camping, no driving anywhere, etc.

The girls were like long lost friends all weekend, I really didn't see them much. They had great lego, Barbie, and polly pockets adventures in the playroom and today, Megan has been working on this story. She wrote three pages about a week ago and I think she is on page 7. And this is on regular notebook paper! This girl loves to write stories! We've had our fair of fighting too, Courtney got a sad face today on her "attitude" because she pinched Megan once and then hit her (or something like that). We really try to make them work it out themselves.

Christian has been a great baby too! After almost a year, I have figured out (for the time being) that if I stay home in the mornings, he will take a 2 hour nap from 11-1. He will nurse when he gets up and then about 2, he will have lunch. He is well rested all day and then goes to bed about 8:30. If only I could stay home all day with him! Not going to happen. :)

As for Matt and I, we got much accomplished! With the girls getting along great and finally figuring out how to block Christian in rooms, such as the kitchen, we could let him go and we got our own things done. It worked out quite well!

Saturday we were on a quest to start babyproofing this house.

We have caught Christian "climbing" up our TV stand. He will actually stand on the bottom shelf and touch the TV. This needed to come to an end, can't you see him climbing all the way up??

Matt had come up with a plan to keep Christian away from all of this fun stuff, so we made a trip to Menard's and a few hours later, Matt had it built his own plexi-glass cage around the TV stand!
Next up is the fire place and steps. I'm getting tired of chasing him!

Sunday we went to church in the morning and spent the afternoon at home. Again, the girls were off and Christian was as happy as could be. While he was eating lunch, I decided to get busy. I cleaned out my laundry room and main floor bathroom. I wiped everything down and mopped the floors. I don't really know what got into me. But while I was at it, I decided that the refrigerator needed a good cleaning too, so I scrubbed that down too! Wow, everything is so shiny clean now! I also got all the laundry caught up and did three loads of dishes in the dishwasher.

Today, we got up and spent most of the morning outside. We are going on vacation this week and I keep telling myself that I need to clean out the van. Papers, toys, snacks, and trash have all invaded my van. With Christian sitting in his wagon and content playing, I got two bags and began to clean it out. One bag was "keep" and the other bag was "throw away." I was amazed at what I found in there. Colors, sunday school papers, black headband, polly pocket cup, bobby pins, snack bags, cups, markers, pens, safety pins, mothers day cards from church, napkins, etc. etc. I was even more ambitious and decided to vaccuum it out too! I have a brand new van! I was going to get a bucket of hot soapy water and wipe the insides down, but I didn't get that far.

After lunch, Matt finally gave in and put my new curtains up in the kitchen, except we both think they are too short. We really need to decide on these! I want them up by Christian's party.

Around 3, the girls and I decided to go swimming. I was itching to get out and I had told them we would go, so we left the boys here and went to the gym. We're paying for it, right? The girls had a blast and Megan is a little fish! I can't wait for them to start swimming lessons next week.

I gave piano lesson this evening, got bedrooms clean, gave the girls baths, and sent them to bed. Megan still has 1 1/2 days of school left before her 9 week summer break (seriously Millard, can we get a longer summer??)

I'm anxious for her to be home this summer. It will be a challenge to manage three kids, but Courtney has a constant play companion, which is wonderful. I enjoy playing with her, but those two get along and play so well together. Christian is in his own little world, when they aren't in the same room. Otherwise, it is monkey-see, monkey do.

Let the summer begin!

Silly Bird!

There is a bird that has somehow gotten himself (herself?) stuck in our garage. He is always by the door that we use to get into the house, so it's kind of freaky every time we get in and out of our car.

The girls saw him in there last night and I should've gotten a broom and chased him out, but I let him be. I told Matt about it so he could be on watch when he got home and maybe take care of him, but he said he didn't see him last night. Well, we saw him again today!

When I got home from the gym this afternoon, I spotted him right away. He was by the door again and did NOT want a bird in my house. I got the kids out of the van quickly and ran to the front door. I got to the door and tried to pull open the screen door but it didn't budge! I had locked it earlier when Christian was at the door looking out. I told Courtney to stay put and went back to the garage. I had to wait for the bird to move, so I could sneak by it and into the house. It worked and we got in. I left the garage doors open, so hopefully he will fly out.

I hope he gets out soon, I don't want a mess in the garage from him- there was already bird poop on the floor. I don't want him to die in there either. Yuk!

Dance is over ...

Tonight we had our final dance recital for the year. Megan did such a good job, we are so proud of her!

I signed her up for ballet at Prarie Life this summer, so hopefully she can learn some more and keep with it. I think she really enjoys it!

I'm sure she will want to sign up again in the fall. :)

One thing planned. :)

I guess the only thing we have to do is attend Megan's dance recital tonight. Who plans a dance recital on a Wednesday night anyway? Oh yah, all those people that are out of school already!!

Oh yes, and I can't forget to get Megan today off the bus, I forgot her last week, so I need to be home today. I still can't believe I did that!

Craziness!!

That is how I am describing the last two days around the Ruwe home! Crazy!!

This is what it looked like on Monday

7:25 everybody up!
8:20 Megan is on the school bus. (she had a field trip today too)

10 am- Had to get groceries, no milk left in the house. :( So instead of taking the kids out to the park to enjoy the beautiful weather, I took them to wal-mart for an hour and a half to get groceries. Not the best time, but needed to be done.

12:15- Out to lunch with my parents (Only after stopping at home to drop groceries off). My dad had two appointments in town that day, so why not meet up for lunch? I don't see both my parents very often.

2:00 Met with a dietitican. My gastroparesis has been acting up again and since I can't see my GI doctor until August 16th (CRAZY!!), this was the best they could do for me now!

4:00 Megan home
5:30 piano lessons
7:30 Bike ride to Aldrich and back.
8:30 Home, time to clean rooms, and go to bed

Tuesday was just as crazy!
7:25 everybody up
breakfast and all 3 through the bath by 8:15

8:20 Megan is on school bus
8:30 everybody else in the car, I had to drop off swimming lesson registration as early as possible at the gym, so I had to run to Prarie Life quickly

9:00 back home

9:30 playgroup at my house (had to clean the night before too)

11:30 playgroup over

12 Met with my parents again for lunch- more dr. appointments

1:30 shopping at Carter's- waiting for rain to stop so I can get home

2:45 back home

4:00 megan is home
4:20 Back in car (3rd time) and off to Aldrich for school presentations
5:30 done at Aldrich and now off to Florence Elementary

6:00 Dance Rehearsal
7:30 Leave dance rehearsal early because we still have school and homework to do

8:00 Home and making supper

8:45 start cleaning rooms and off to bed.

I was exhausted! Today, my dad is in town yet again, so we might meet up with him again for lunch- maybe surprise Megan at school. Besides that, we have NOTHING planned!!! Ok, except to catch up on laundry and dishes!

Are we walking yet?

Ok, Christian is VERY close to walking on his own. Matt and I have this thing we do when our kids are close to walking. We set up the video camera with us in the shot, we sit down and the kid walks back and forth between us while the camera records. We have done this with every kid and we did this with Christian on Saturday. He can easily take 10 steps or more between the two of us! And of course, we got it on camera. He is doing a great job...but then again, what are we doing?? We don't want him to walk yet!!

It has been so much fun having the other two girls around while Christian is going through his "major baby landmarks". It's fun talking about when each girl did what and what their first food was, etc. They think it is funny that Courtney's first food was an ice cream cone from Valentino's, but Megan's was boring old rice cereal. They think it is fun for us to tell stories about them and it's fun to tell them! I love seeing their reaction! I think it makes them feel pretty special!

Field Trip!

Megan had a field trip today. It was to Gifford Farms in Bellevue to learn about "farming." Does anybody know how irritating this is?? I can drive her to either grandparents farms and she can learn about "farming." But no, I have to pay $10 for her to learn about it!

When she got home, I asked her what she did and she responded, "I pet the cows, the pigs, the goats, etc." Really Megan, that's what you did?? She said they also played in an outdoor classroom, whatever that is. She said it was very hot and they didn't get any water. Plus there is no air conditioning on the bus, so I'm sure they all had red faces when they got back to school.

Is this worth it to me? No! But since it's school, she pretty much had to go.

I asked her if Aunt Sheryl's farm was better than this one and she said yes!

Crazy Friday

Today was Olympic Day at Megan's school. It is similiar to a track and field day, but yet different. They have opening and closing ceremonies and then 20 stations that the kids rotate through every 15 minutes. It is a long day, but it's fun.

Today the forecast was for rain, so it was very interesting watching all the people in charge of the day figure out what they were doing. We ended up having opening ceremonies outside, but by noon, it started to rain again, so they actually moved two of the stations inside along with closing ceremonies. Wow, what a feat! The day turned out wonderful and I was at school the entire day with all three kids. They were great!

We are having downtime right now. Tonight Megan has dance rehearsal from 6-7 and we need to be there by 5:30. Tomorrow is her dance recital and then she is done with dance for the year.

"I have your daughter"

Ok, so after Burger King today and the whole boys messing with Christian ordeal, I went over to Prarie Life Fitness for a tour and to sign up for a membership.

While I was signing the final paper, I noticed it was about 3 pm when my phone rang. It was our neighbor across the street. She doesn't usually call, so I answered it.

Here's how the conversation went:

Me: Hello
Neighbor: Hi Charla, how are you?
Me: Good, how are you?
N: good, did you get my message?
Me: No.
N:Oh ok, I just wanted to let you know that I have your daughter.
Me: What? My daughter....oh no, I forgot Megan!!!
N: She's safe over here at my house. I watched her get off the bus and walk home, but I noticed that your door wasn't open like usual, so after I saw her not able to get in, I went over and got her. She's been hanging out at my house for the last half an hour.
Me: Oh no, I'm so sorry! Is she crying at all?
N: No, I think I went over there before she had time to panic.
Me; Ok, I 'm heading home, is she ok there for a little bit yet?
N: Yes, no problem, she's fine. She's watching me pull weeds in the backyard.
Me: Ok, I'll be there shortly! Thank you so much!
N: No problem, we've all forgotten our kids in the past, so it's not a big deal!
Me: ok, bye.

I got home about 20 minutes later and Megan was just hanging out in their driveway! Thank you!

Here's the thing, every Wednesday, Megan gets out of school at 2 and is home about 2:25. I always try to stay home on Wednesday afternoons, but today, it was last minute plans and I totally forgot about her! Luckily, we have gone over a plan with her incase I do forget or can't get home in time, but luckily our neighbor saw her and took care of her. For that, I am thankful!!

She does love him :)

As much as Courtney wanted a baby sister when I was pregnant with Christian, I think she really loves her baby brother! Here's why:

I took the kids to Burger King today to have lunch with some friends and to play for awhile. After we were done eating, I took the kids into the play structure and even let Christian climb around. Being the boy he is though, he went straight for the steering wheel. While he is driving away, this other kid -we'll call him the boy in the gray shirt- came over, pushed Christian to the ground, and took over his steering wheel. Christian just sat there with a "I don't know what just happened to me look." He wasn't hurt or anything, so I just let it be. I was hoping to hear a mom tell her kid not to push babies, but nothing.

Next thing I know, I look at Courtney and she looks like she is about to cry! I said, "Did it bother you that that boy pushed Christian over?" and she burst into tears! She was crying over her brother!! I brought her out of the play structure and held her while she cried. I was really hoping a mom in there would say, "Why is she crying? What happened?" but nothing, I wanted to let some mom know what her son did!

So while I am holding Courtney, I look back into the play structure to check on Christian and a boy in a red and white striped shirt has picked him by his armpits. I say, "Put him down! Put him down!" and then I turn around to the mom in there and say, "Is he your son?" and she says no. Again, where are these moms?? So I get myself in there to make sure he puts him down before he drops him. I think this boy wanted to put him back by the steering wheel.

So I am now in the play structure right beside Christian at the steering wheel and the boy in the gray shirt tries to push him over again, I abruptly tell him to stop pushing the baby and he backs off. Luckily it was about time to leave, I don't think Courtney could take those boys being mean to her baby brother any longer!

10 on Tuesday

Ok, so I had a blog started about boys vs. girls that I accidently deleted, so we're doing a new one!

1. Millard Public Schools decided last night that our kids do not go to school enough (ok, they just really want more money from the feds), but they decided to add a 1/2 an hour onto the elementary school day next year. They will go 8:30-3:45! They added 15 minutes at the beginning of school and 15 minutes at the end.

2. They were also soooo thoughtful (insert sarcasm) and decided that it cost too much to run all the elementary school buses for kids who lived less than a mile from school, so guess what? No more bus for Megan next year!

3. I am NOT thrilled that I will have to have her to school by 8:20 in the morning next year. Not at all. I LOVE the bus, I was definitely spoiled. Now I can join the rest of civilization who really has to play taxi driver every morning and night.

4. Not only will I have to drop Megan off at school by 8:20, I need to drop Courtney off at 8:50 for preschool. Her preschool is 6 blocks away. Really, what am I going to do for a half an hour between schools???

5. I am sooo tempted to pull Megan out of school and homeschool her. I miss seeing her! Now with her going an extra 2 1/2 hours a week, that will be even more (but really, she rides the bus for that amount of time a week, so it might not be any different).

6. Matt and I have done some research into homeschooling and he says it is up to me. I am on the fence, in some ways, I can see all the advantages (more 1 on 1, spend more time on subjects, teach Megan the way she learns), but I can also see disadvantages (pulling her out when she's already experienced it, taking her away from her favorite classes and teachers, taking her to all her different classes around town and paying for it). It is definitely something to think about.

7. Ok, off my school soapbox. How about this summer? We are considering getting a gym membership. It's just as much as we were going to spend on semi-private swimming lessons for the girls, plus the gym has an outdoor pool that we could swim at every day for no extra charge (compared to $10-$12 a day it would take to get us 4 into a public pool). So between lessons and free swimming, it might be work it. Oh wait, they also have childcare, so I could go workout all by myself if I wanted to!! Again, something to think about.

8. Love this weather!

9. I got Christian's birthday invites ordered, they pretty cute! I can't wait to get them out, I think we're going to go all out for his birthday. We're going to have a "dump truck" theme. Of course, we need to celebrate our anniversary too!

10. Friday is Olympic Day at Megan's school. It is an all-day event with opening and closing ceremonies and 20 different activity stations. It is fun, yet exhausting at the same time.
On top of that, we have rehearsal for her dance recital that night and recital on Saturday. Busy weekend!

Playing with Courtney

I sure need to enjoy the time I have with Courtney before she goes off to preschool next year. I know it's only 2 1/2 hours 3 days a week, but I will miss her during that time. She is my company and lately, she's made me be a kid again. :)

Just this morning, she wanted me to build a ferris wheel out of KNEX, so I did. Except we can't fine 15 pieces that we need, we think Megan knows where they are. And when we find them, I'm going to finish that ferris wheel!

Last night, I spent an HOUR playing catch with her out front! I couldn't believe it! Megan was playing polly pockets in the house, Matt was mowing, and Christian was sitting in his wagon playing with toys. Wow, that was fun! I don't really like to play things that make me be creative (barbies, pollies), but I do love to play catch!

It's just amazing how different my two girls are. I don't think I could've played catch with Megan that long, she would've gotten bored and wanted to go inside. She would much rather play with her dolls or color a picture. It's also funny how there are times when Christian wants to go outside to swing, but the girls are inside doing thier own thing. This summer is going to be interesting. I am thankful that the girls are old enough and can be trusted if I am outside with Christian. I think it's neat that they are all individuals and like to do their own thing, but then again, who do I play with??

Weight Check

I had to make a quick trip to the doctor's office today to deliver Christian's monthly urine sample. This is due to his HS Purpura that he had back in January. Kids can get kidney damage up to three years after the outbreak, so we'll be checking it for awhile.

Anyway, while I was at the doctor's office today, I put him on the scale and he weighs 21 lbs. 12 oz!!! Way to go Christian, we are finally gaining some weight!

The best part is that when I got home, I checked to see what his weight was at 9 months and it was 19 lbs. 2 oz. He's gained over 2 1/2 lbs. in a month! (Babies are supposed to gain a pound a month.) He has his year checkup next month, so I'll be anxious to see what he weighs then. I've never had a kid weigh over 20 pounds at a year. I've never nursed a baby who has been over 20 pounds either!

Last Night.,.

Well, for those of you who are wondering, Matt came in and rescued Christian about 10:20 or so, (not so long after I blogged about it). I was very frustrated and so I'm glad he came in. Matt put him in his bed and said good night, it took about 5 minute and Christian was asleep! When I went in and checked on him before I went to sleep, he was curled up in a ball. This morning, he had his arm hanging out the side of the crib. Whatever works little man!

Tonight I refused to let him have an evening nap, so by 8 pm,, he was starting to break down on me. He was fed and in bed by 8:30! Hopefully I won't see him at 6:30 tomorrow morning. :)

You know, he might have a better schedule for bedtime if I had a better schedule during the day. Sometimes I go out in the morning and sometimes I go out in the afternoon. He gets his naps around the same times everyday, but they aren't always at home. He sleeps much better in the car, but I can't do that everyday. It also depends on his feedings and when they fall. Maybe things will even out when he's not nursing anymore. I guess we'll see in a couple of months.

This is what happens when...

Christian has an evening nap!

Right now, 10:08 pm, he is still up. He is very tired, but I don't quite know what to do with him. I have nursed him and he usually goes to sleep while I nurse him, but tonight, he is still wide awake. The little man had a nap from 6-7 tonight, hence he is not tired yet. He is in his pack n play crying at me. Poor thing.

This is my time. This is supposed to be time when I don't take care of ANY children and can sit back and relax before going to bed. It's not happening tonight, especially the night when I have a headache and just want to go to bed.

I was watching a movie while nursing him around 9 and then he sat there nicely for awhile and watched it with me, but then he got wiggly, so I put him into his pack and play because I am tired of chasing him for the day. He's not so happy now. :) I'm not either because I had to turn the movie off.

Lately, we have been napping an hour around lunch time and then go to bed about 9. Sometimes he takes a nap about 4 again, but that hasn't been happening lately. By 8:30, he is exhausted and ready for bed, which is wonderful.

But not tonight, he decided he needed a later nap and now we're off schedule! I wonder how long this will last!

10 on Tuesday

1. It is Megan's 7 1/2 year old birthday today and she got to be the helper at school. Probably the last time for the year.

2. Christian's new thing is that he LOVES snuggling things, such as blankets and stuffed animals. It is sooo cute, I'm sure Courtney taught him this.

3. Because Christian loves snuggling things and Courtney loves to make others smile, she gives him her beloved purple blanket. She was mad this morning when I said, "No Courtney, you keep it. It's yours." She was almost in tears, so I took it and gave it to Christian. He put his head down on it right away and snuggled with it. I am sure Courtney was happy!

4. Mother's Day was nice. No breakfast in bed for me, but that's ok, I would rather not eat in bed anyway. We were going to go out for supper on Monday night, but we didn't. I think I'm still owed a meal. :)

5. Christian is 11 months old today and is on the verge of walking. I am going to jump up and down on his birthday. He has been our hardest baby! Once he hit 6 1/2 months, he was much better, but it was a huge struggle until then!

6. Speaking of the baby, I'm sure he will be walking by his birthday. He crawls all over, pulls up on everything, and I have caught him even standing by himself. He has figured out how to get cupboards open and up the steps. He eats about everything you give him too. He loves the outdoors and bangs on the doors to go out. He is such a boy!!!

7. The bugs have come out and Courtney is already scared of them. Enough said!

8. I wish gas prices would go down. I really want to take a vacation this summer. Matt and I would love to take the camper up to the black hills for a week, but when you get 8 miles to the gallon, it would cost quite a bit to get there! We are going to Kansas City for a weekend in June, so that might be our only vacation, besides a few camping trips here and there.

9. One of my goals today was to take all the flannel sheets and comfortors off of everybody's beds. The girls' beds are done (thanks to Courtney wetting her bed last night), so just mine and Matt's to go. I should take the heated mattress pad off too, we probably won't need that anymore!

10. I can't believe Megan only has 15 days of school left, Where has 1st grade gone?? Here comes the summer!

Oh Courtney!

My middle child keeps me on my toes!

Random stories from today:

1. We were in the house playing after Megan got home from school and we saw that the sprinklers were on in the backyard. Courtney blurts out, "Mom, can we go put our swimsuits on and run through the sprinklers?? Please??" I said, sure, and off she ran.

Next thing I know, Courtney is coming down the stairs in her birthday suit with her swimming suit in her hands! She has a hard time getting it on, but I wasn't even sure if it fit her anymore!
We got the swimsuit on and out she went! I got a picture, but I wish I would've had a video camera. She was having a great time out there!

2. At supper tonight, we usually end up talking about God/ Jesus in one way or another. Tonight, Courtney said with a very thoughtful look on her face, "Where did people come from? Like, were they born first? Were they kids? Or did God just create adults?" I let Matt answer that one! He told her that God created Adam and Eve as adults and that everybody else was a baby and that everyone came from Adam and Eve.

I was amazed that Courtney came up with that! We then asked her and Megan, "What came first, the chicken or the egg?"

A Beautiful Night!

We made our first fire in our fire pit this evening! Wow, it was gorgeous out!

We grilled hamburgers/ hot dogs and ate outside. It reminded me of camping- it smelled sooo good!

We ended up sitting outside for a couple of hours, well, until I had to give Christian a bath and get him to bed.

I think Matt and I should start making reservations to go camping this summer!

Nah, making a campfire in the backyard is a lot less work. :)

Nothing to do tonight...

It is wierd.

Today is Wednesday and we do not have AWANA tonight.

This is the first Wednesday in about the last 8 months where we have nothing to do (with a few Wednesdays off in-between).

I just feel like we're off.

Megan will be home by 2:30 today and we get to enjoy the entire afternoon/ evening together.
Hopefully it won't be too windy and we can spend the majority of the time outdoors like we did last night.

It's nice that we are getting closer to summer, but I also hate to see everything come to a close.