Up Nort’, again

We spent most of last week up in Eagle River, in northeastern Wisconsin about 4 hours from home, and it was another great family vacation. One of our friend’s parents own a condo up there, and the resort ran a friends and family deal on renting out units for the whole week for a steal. So they invited us a few months ago, we had condos right next to each other, and we had a blast.

The kids loved the indoor swimming pool; playing with their new Squinkies; exploring the resort grounds with Ryan; watching movies; roasting s’mores; playing in the snow on our last full day there; watching all the animals out our patio door; and doing tons of coloring, drawing, and writing.

The twins ended up doing great in a new place after the first night, which was a no-sleep nightmare. The resort provided 2 pack n plays, so they were able to still have their own beds. We barricaded them in the living room during the days, and they spent their time playing with toys and exploring a new floor.

I enjoyed playing in the pool with the big 3, getting a snowy run in, working on this blog and pictures, reading, and relaxing. Ryan was our resident town explorer, making sure the fridge and liquor cabinet were well stocked and finding a good place for all 7 of us to go out for pizza one night.

I normally envision “up north” as a place for summer vacations, but this late fall getaway was really fun. Hopefully it can become more than a one-time trip!

 

4 generations

Last month I took all 5 kids to Tucson with my mom for this very reason.

My grandparents hadn’t met the twins yet, and, my grandma being a twin herself, it was very important to me to get them out there.

That part of the trip was wonderful. Gathering multiple generations under the same roof is pretty amazing, and it means a lot to do it as often as possible.

Watching my grandma get down on the floor, play with Avit and a slew of baby toys, let him crawl all over her and snuggle in her lap, and run his little hand along her face was one of the best things I’ll probably ever see in my life. My heart practically jumped out of my chest and swallowed them both up.

All of my grandparents are incredible people, and now watching them see and get to know my own children is awesome. I can literally feel the spirits of our family swirling when I see them all together. The greats and the littles.

So the family time was unforgettable. The rest of the time was… Hard and exhausting. It was the first time the twins were on an airplane, which, in itself, was a logistical nightmare. Avit spent almost the entire 4-hour flight on the way out crying, fussing, squirming, and being generally horribly annoying. Thankfully the big 3 were great and Nat was a little sleeping ray of sunshine. Of course he was on my mom’s lap.

Then while we were there, it was like jailbreak for the big 3. I swear every time I take them somewhere without Ryan, they feel like they no longer need to listen or remember their rules. And they adore their cousins, yet try to put on the worst behavior possible when they get together. Showing off? Who knows. But ugh. And wine.

So I was hugely relieved when we landed at O’Hare after our return flight. We had a great post-travel meal at Morton’s to let traffic clear and everyone decompress a little before hopping in the car to drive home.

It was a lot of work. But not much in life with 5 kids now isn’t. It was a really short trip, too, which also made it feel like such a whirlwind. Overall, though, I was so happy we went. Seeing my grandparents is always great, and there’s never a shortage of laughter when my sisters and I are together. I’m grateful that my mom took me and my gaggle of children, because the trip never would’ve happened without her.

Until next time, Tucson!

 

Back in the saddle again

School started for the girls right after Labor Day, so we’re fully back in the school days swing. K5 for Lana and 3rd grade for Della; Lana even wore the same dress for the first day of K5 that Della did. My loves! I must admit, the first week was a little mind numbing for me. It took me all 4 of those first days to figure out exactly when I needed to get up, when I needed to wake the big 3 up for breakfast/clothes on/teeth brushed, if I had time in the mornings to make lunches or if I should do them the night before, when the babies would wake up and if they’d need to nurse again before school, what time we needed to be out the door, etc., etc., etc. See? Orchestrating 6 bodies in the morning while preserving a modicum of my sanity takes talent.

But once we made it through that first week with all the first-day morning and afternoon pictures and a couple more days to smooth out our system and schedule, I felt much better. Last week was pretty easy and harmless, and now it’s fairly smooth sailing. The girls are loving their new classes and teachers, and so am I. I’ve already had great communication with both teachers, something that’s very important to me. I like having a good relationship with their teachers, since they’re in charge of huge pieces of my heart and soul all day long.

But before we started packing the backpacks and lunchboxes again, we had a lot of fun in those long, glorious summer days. We weren’t able to make it up to Canada for a vacation this summer, so I made sure the kids got to do plenty of fun things around here to make up for it. I inflated our backyard pool and kept it filled pretty much the whole summer for the first time. It was a really hot summer this year, so that worked out well.

We went to the zoo, Bookworm Gardens, the beach to hunt for sea glass, a pool/water slide park right near our house, did the library reading program again, and the big 3 played outside with neighbor friends as much as possible. One of the neighbor girls babysat them so I could run with the twins a couple times each week, which they loved. And I let the girls each pick a camp through our rec department, which we never usually do in the summers. Della picked a week-long gymnastics camp at the high school, and Lana picked a week-long NASA-sanctioned space camp at the other elementary school. They both had an absolute blast with their respective programs, and I know they liked getting to do some new and different things.

I took the kids to Peoria for a couple days in August to see family and give the big 3 some pool time, since they’re all little water bugs. That was a great trip. Much fun was had by all, and the twins got to meet a lot of new family members.

I think I hate to see summer vacation end just as much if not more than the kids do, but I have a really good feeling about this school year. Lana was totally ready for full-day kindergarten, and her teacher has already said how good of a listener she is and how well she follows the rules. And Della loves every single thing about her class so far, and her teacher totally understood all my over-emotional messages those first couple days. Plus I’ve figured out how to transport all 5 of them when we walk and where’s the best place to park when we drive. So we’re golden. Off we go!

 

These days

These days are full of burp rags and 2 a.m. feedings; diaper after diaper after diaper and tiny baby snuggles.

Watching them take in this whole new world with wide, innocent, beautiful eyes. Something new to them every day, each piece filling my heart more and more.

These days are full of wiping 3-year-old buns and filling milk cups; taking breakfast and lunch orders and cleaning off hands and faces.

Figuring out when to let them try it and when to keep doing it myself. Knowing they want to learn and grow but selfishly wanting them to stay my babies forever. Trying to raise them to be good, kind, strong adults while making sure they live childhood fully.

I tell them constantly – enjoy every single day and year as a kid, because once you’re a grownup, you’re a grownup for the rest of your life. Being a kid is so much more fun!

These days are full of “Mama, watch me,” and “Mama, know what?” and “Mama, can I have that?” and “Mama,” “Mama,” “Mama.”

And I try to answer each and every one, because I know someday I’ll hear it no more.

These days are full of giving back pacifiers and rubbing tiny noses, soothing and calming just by being near.

These days are full of onesies and strollers and bikes and dolls and toys and imagination and creation and fun. Even the really, really long days. Start over in the morning, look back, and I can always see the fun. They’re kids. They do.

These days are full of laundry and messes and cleaning and laundry and messes and cleaning. But they’re mine, and I get to do them. I don’t have to wait until after work or on the weekend.

These days are full of one more kiss when I go to bed. They’re always deep in sleep and smell warm. Like these long summer days of play.

These days are rarely my own and are almost completely for these 5 incredible, magical, wonderful little faces. But that alone makes me ridiculously happy.

 

Up Nort’

A couple weeks ago we took our first vacation as a family of 7, and it ended up being a lot of fun. We drove up to northern Wisconsin, rented a little cabin for a couple days, and tested the waters of big-family cabin life.

We went to a little place called Delta Lodge in Iron River, WI, which is all the way near the northern border of the state, up by Bayfield and Ashland on Lake Superior. It had 12 cabins on a small inland lake, and we were in cabin #4 – 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, kitchen, living room, and screened-in porch. We shared a dock and campfire pit with the cabin next door, and we got to use a rowboat and kayaks for the whole stay.

We split up the drive north, spending our first vacation night with my aunt and uncle in Eau Claire. That in itself was a great time, because we hadn’t been there in years. It made for a wonderful visit, and the kids had a blast exploring all their land on a couple nice long walks.

We only spent 2 full days at the cabin, after getting there around 3:00 p.m. on the first day and leaving at 10:00 a.m. on the fourth day, but Ryan and I agreed that it was plenty for this first trip. We really just wanted to get a feel of how things would go with this crew at a cabin, and we wanted to check out someplace new since we haven’t done this before. We won’t be going to Canada this summer, so I really wanted the kids to get some swimming and lake time in somewhere. This was perfect.

Ryan took them on row boat rides, Della learned how to kayak, the girls swam like water bugs with me, Morrison loved playing on the dock, they constantly fed hot dog and hamburger buns to the bluegill who lived under our dock, we made s’mores over the campfire, we played games after dinner in the cabin, we celebrated the summer solstice, the twins broke in their new playpen as their bed, and we figured out what we do and don’t want to do the same next year.

There had been some really severe thunderstorms in the area right before we arrived, and by the time we drove home, Lake Superior was still so churned up that the water looked red from all the iron in the soil up there. It was crazy.; it looked like we were on Mars.

It was a great time, and we’re already looking forward to finding another fun spot for next summer.

 

 

The monkeys are definitely out!

We’re reaching the end of the first week of summer vacation, and it’s off to a great start!

Personally, I love summer vacation, what with the total lack of schedules since I cherish our lazy days and don’t make the kids do tons of activities and lessons in the summer. People keep saying oh man, how are you going to manage all 5 at home this summer, and I just politely smile and nod and think psshht, I got this. Just like any other day.

Lana finished up K4 the day before Della finished 2nd grade, and they both had such wonderful years. I can’t believe Lana’s first full year of school is already over!

But to kick off our summer break I’ve already taken all 5 of them on a run, we got the big 3 signed up for the summer reading program at the library, they had a picnic lunch in the backyard, the girls have both created and started filling nature drawing binders, the girls are also loving the daily entries in their summer bridge workbooks (a sure sign it’s still early in the summer since Della has never wanted to finish it by the time school starts up again), we’ve played at the school playground where Della and I raced on the monkey bars (totally a tie!), and Ryan’s taken them to various parks a couple times plus out to lunch. He’s home for 4 weeks right now finishing his paternity leave from the twins and working on the attic. Plus we play with friends every day. And by playing with friends, I mean all the kids run around together while the parents enjoy cocktails.

We also sold the little wooden playhouse we’ve had in the backyard since Lana was born. The girls were outgrowing it, even though they all still played in it a lot, but they all voted to set up a new picnic area in that space instead of fixing up the playhouse. So away it went, with us all waving goodbye to a good little friend. Fortunately we are all enjoying what I like to call my new cocktail lounge very much.

We’re going on a family trip up north next week, and we’re all really looking forward to that. Summer is here, and life is good!