Good-bye Summer...Hello Fall

Well it was fun while it lasted but our summer break is coming to an end. I LOVE summer, the warm sun, ice cream, huge chunks of watermelon, swimming, grilling out, picnics, playing at the park, laying in the grass under a big tree just relaxing... pretty much my favorite season :)
But then comes fall...and I love it ever more than summer! The warm air with the cool breeze, bonfires, cookouts, s'mores, and of course my favorite part..LEAVES!! I love raking a big pile of leaves and then jumping into it with the kids. Just thinking about fall makes me crazy happy :)

Good-bye Summer...Hello Fall

Well it was fun while it lasted but our summer break is coming to an end. I LOVE summer, the warm sun, ice cream, huge chunks of watermelon, swimming, grilling out, picnics, playing at the park, laying in the grass under a big tree just relaxing... pretty much my favorite season :)
But then comes fall...and I love it ever more than summer! The warm air with the cool breeze, bonfires, cookouts, s'mores, and of course my favorite part..LEAVES!! I love raking a big pile of leaves and then jumping into it with the kids. Just thinking about fall makes me crazy happy :)

Conversations At My House

Just a few things from Sorsha and Elle that you might hear at my house on any given day :)

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Elle: Mom, do people know you have squishy belly or do they think you have a fat belly?
Me: I don't know...
Elle: I think they think you have a fat belly, that's why everyone laughs at you.

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Elle: Mommy, you're the best in the small world (she hold her hands together in a very small cup) but Daddy is the best in the much world (her hands are now as far apart as possible)

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Elle: Mommy, you can't wear that shirt, everyone will laugh at you

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Sorsha: Mommy I need you to take me shopping!
Me: What do you need?
Sorsha: A big fancy dress!
Me: Why??
Sorsha: For my wedding. I found Prince Charming and we are getting married in a castle with unicorns and fairies!

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Sorsha's dinner prayer: "God is very thankful, God is very thankful, for our food.. for our food. Sorsha-Fireworks up in the sky-Matthews, amen."

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Elle: Daddy what bed can me and Sorsha sleep in tonight?
Gabe: You sleep in your bed and Sorsha sleeps in her bed.
Elle: Did you just hear yourself?!?! That's so funny! (walks of laughing)

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Gabe: Elle, sit down and eat your food right now.
Elle: You eat YOUR food Daddy!!

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Elle: Mommy, you can't wear your jammies in the van, people will laugh at you

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Elle: Only 3 people in our house are chubby. Me, daddy and mommy :)

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Sorsha: I love you mommy, I absolutely do!

I blinked again

4 years ago I wrote this post: http://the-matthews-family-blog.blogspot.com/2007/02/when-did-it-happen.html
And today as I celebrate Sorsha's 5th birthday, I realize I blinked again.
I have been asked why I have such a hard time with birthdays. It isn't because I don't want my kids to grow up. I love watching them grow up, it makes my heart swell with love and pride. I just wish it didn't happen so fast.
My days are so full of doctor appointments, dentist appointments, school, sport schedules, church, shopping ... and the list just keeps going...being a parent takes more hours in a day than I have.
By the time bedtime rolls around and they are all tucked into bed, sleeping soundly and I get to sit down on the couch a take a breathe, I can't help but wonder if I gave them all the attention I could.
Or did I say "go play" too many times so that I could do the dishes, laundry, and cleaning? Did I praise them for their little victories, did I hold them when they needed me, or was I too busy with everything else?
So on their birthday I sit back and look at my wonderful child, that I love more than life itself, and wonder if I have taken advantage of every moment with that child, or was I too busy to appriciate every blessing they gave me?
Sometimes I wish I could slow down time so that I could soak up every moment with them, so that next time I blink I would know I didn't miss a thing :)

Whoa...Slow Down!!

Wow...I have been so busy since school started. I kinda thought life would be slightly calmer than this...oh well, maybe one day :)

Anakin and Stasia are loving school, they love their teachers and they are having a great time! We signed Anakin up for football again this year. After all the baseball/softball games and practices, Gabe and I were feeling pretty burned out on the whole sports scene. But Anakin really loves this and I would feel guilty if he missed out so I put aside my feelings and now we are ready for the football season :)
I also told him he gets to choose something for just me and him to do. He wants a mommy and boy night with dinner and a movie (as long as it's not Twilight lol) I can't wait for this night...hopefully it will be soon! I seriously have tears in my eyes just thinking about it!

Stasia of course is doing great! She is such a ball of positive energy! She is my right hand, always looking for ways to help out, has a great attitude, and is the sweetest kid I know! My favorite thing is watching/listening to her read to her younger sisters! (agh more tears) She is dyslexic and couldn't quite get reading until last year. In one school year she brought her reading grade lv up 3 levels! She went from barely reading at a kindergarten lv to being able to read at 3rd grade lv! 2 years ago she and I would spend almost every day in tears with her trying to read. And now she comes home and sits down with her sisters and reads to them! And of course they love it too :) I am soooooo proud of her!

Sorsha loves, loves, loves preschool and her teacher! She comes home full of stories and songs. She even has Elle singing the songs. She is so serious about her papers and art projects that she brings home. She makes sure her papers go in a safe spot where she can check on them whenever she wants and her art work is proudly hanging all over the house, where ever she feels it is showcased the best :)
She is so amazing to me. The questions she thinks up and her logic definitely keeps life entertaining for sure! :)


Elle and I have, for the first time ever, real mommy and baby time. I know she is 3 and that's not much of baby, but she is my baby :)
She is my squishy babydoll and I love every minute with her! She gives me snuggles and is pretty easy going when it is just her. She has this wild, crazy, silly side that I just love! She is so serious most of the time so it can surprise me when she does something so silly :) She is also the sassiest kid I have for sure. The things she will say...and oh boy, does she have the attitude to go with it. She makes my heart full and my life complete.

So my life is crazy busy, a bit stressful and slightly overwhelming at times, but when I have chance to sit back, take a deep breath (or short one, whatever I have time for :) I feel so blessed! I love my family and our crazy life together!

My Little Man and I

Ok, so this post may not be the most happy post I have had in a while.
I love my little man so much but I feel like the worst parent 95% of the time at the end of my days with him. I don't know how to deal with the fact that the older he gets the farther apart we seem to be. I don't know how to get through to him and I am so frustrated right now. Is it because he is a boy and I only know how to relate to my girls, or is it more than that? Am I really just a terrible parent? I have told myself that everyone has these days but this is all the time! It can't be normal...can it? I feel so bad for him :(
He has always been the loner in the family and he just seem separated from us. He hates that he is the only boy. I am pretty sure he thinks I had 3 girls on purpose...really.
I know I have lots of friends out there who have wonderful relationships with their boys, please help me!!

This is how we're going out...

Our last week of summer break was busy busy :)
Anakin and Stasia went to VBS with their best friends, Seth & Eli. They had a blast :)
Thursday, Gabe and I took all the kids to Holiday World. This year Sorsha was 36in tall so she was able to ride some of the bigger rides for the first time. And she LOVED them! She even took on the wave pool and showed it who was boss! Elle is determined to be tall enough next year :)
Today I took the kids to a pool party hosted by one of their new friends, Kendall.
They all had so much fun :)
We have had a wonderful summer and I am so looking forward to my favorite season...FALL :)

I Love Summer!

Days full of trips to the Splash Park, Library, pool parties, friends hanging out, and ball games...what's not to love, right?
We have one more weekend of Stasia's Travel team games and then we are done with the softball/baseball season!! It has been alot of fun watching them play their hearts out but I am pretty sure I have eaten my weight in popcorn at these games!
I can't believe how fast summer flies by. Only 2 more weeks before school starts!!
Anakin and Stasia are excited about starting school and this year Sorsha gets to go to preschool! She is sooooo ready....I just hope they are ready for her hehe :)
Elle could start preschool this year but Mommy needs one more year with her baby.

Something is missing...

Anakin made me a very sweet card for Mother's Day.

On the front there is a crown and the words "Queen for the day".

Inside he wrote me a note:

You're the best mom Ever!
All that's missing is a brother!!

Then he drew a picture of him and his mystery brother...passive aggressive much?

I love my kids, they fill my life with humor :)

Crazy Busy

My last post was so short due to lack of time and energy.
We had a joint birthday party in March for Sorsha and Elle. It was princess themed and they had so much fun!! I love having girls!! :)

Sorsha and Elle keep me VERY busy during the day. They love playing with Mia and she (for whatever reason) completely adores them too.

Anakin and Stasia love school but are looking forward to having the summer off :)
Anakin is playing baseball and Stasia is playing softball. This is Stasia's first year and she LOVES it. They both are doing really well and I am so very proud of them!

We are planning a family vacation to Gatlinburg in June. We are going with Ben and Jada. I am sooooooo excited!! Gabe and I have never been to Gatlinburg and we are really looking forward to it. It will be so nice to just take it easy and relax for a week!

I can think of no better way than this to end my random post:
My warm, sunny, wonderful, non-winter weather is here and I AM LOVING IT!!

Elle

Elle's birthday was April 19. My baby turned 3.
She is so sweet and adorable! My heart swells every time I look at her.
Sometimes I wonder how I could have ever thought we weren't ready for her.
She fills my life with so much love and laughter!
I love you Elle Belle!!

Sorsha

My little Sorsha turned 4 Tuesday. She wanted a baby doll that looked like her with "big beautiful blue eyes". So that is what she got, and she named her "Sorsha Baby" :)
She definitely doesn't have a problem expressing herself...at all...ever!
She is my only momma's girl. She follows me around everywhere, always telling me a story about something. Her imagination is incredible! It is so funny the things she thinks up. And if there is something going on, you can bet Sorsha is in the middle of it. More than once she has proven to be our hardest child. The only one out of 4 kids that has ran away in Wal-mart, given us reason to call poison control, convinced me that NOTHING is out of her reach (even if it is way out of mine), and unlocked the front door to run down the street to visit with our neighbor. These are just a few things she has done with 4 years of life.
Sorsha is my sunshine, bug, princess, blue-eyed monster, and my mini-me :)
I love this girl with all my heart!
I look forward and brace myself for another year with this adorable, crazy child :)

Stasia

It is that time of the year again...my birthday girls.
First in line is Stasia :)
She turned 9 yesterday...9!!
She picked 2 friends to go out with her for her birthday Saturday. She keeps changing her mind about what she wants to do but I am sure they will have fun no matter what she picks :)
I don't even know where to start on how proud I am of this girl!
Charater-wise she is the most selfless person I have ever met. She thinks of her brother and sisters above herself all the time. She has so much love in her heart.
She is doing so well in school. She made honor roll and all her teachers adore her!
She is crazy scatter-brained, I call her my social butterfly :)
I love watching her grow up and I look forward to all the fun times we have ahead of us :)

Happy Birthday Stasia!! Mommy loves you with all my heart!

Happy New Year

We had a wonderful Christmas! Gabe has been on vacation all week and it has been so nice not having to be up at any certain time...now if only someone would let my kids know that :)
Anakin and Stasia LOVE school and are counting down the days till they get to go back..they are weird, I know.
I reorganized our bedroom this week and I love the new set up...it seems much roomier and less cluttered. Plus I now have all my craft/scrabooking stuff out, it makes me soooo happy! I was looking through all my pictures and cards today, it made me all mushy. Lots of cards and letters from when Gabe and I were just dating, they made me laugh and cry :)
I can't believe how fast time goes. As I was going through the pictures I was amazed at tiny Anakin was as as baby (he still is tiny, but ya know what I mean...) He is now 10 years old!! Gabe and I were talking the other day that if he gets married and has kids at the same age we did then we will be grandparents in just 8 years!! What were our parents thinking??!!
Anakin had his year in football and he loved it!! He can't wait for baseball season to start. Staisa is also wanting to join the sports field...sigh. She will be playing softball this year. I know where I will be spending my spring/summer :)
Sorsha and Elle love having all my attention during the day. It is so funny to watch them play together. My favorite thing is watching them ballroom dance together, Sorsha is always the princess and Elle is always the prince and they waltz around the living room. It is great!I have some ideas for their room and I will be working on that soon and then I will post pictures. First I have to remove all the crayon art from their walls :)

Well that is all I can think for now...Welcome to 2010!!

Update

This is a very short and random update:
I am doing very well with my baby fever...not weepy about it any more :)

Warm weather is here and I am LOVING it.
The kids play outside most of the day and that gives me a much needed break :)

I enrolled Anakin and Stasia in Oakdale school, they start in the fall.
They are pretty excited about it and so am I :)

Sorsha seems to ok with going potty now and Elle is doing pretty good too :)

That is all for my random update :)

Why I have been hiding...

Ok, now that I am past all the spring birthdays, I can make my confession.
I have the baby blues...it is silly I know, but that doesn't make it any less real.

I first started realizing in it Jan. The hardest part is coming to terms with the fact that Gabe and I are done having kids (unless God surprises us again). I know we are still young but we have 4 kids!! And we are busting at the seams as it is.

I cried ALOT the first few weeks when I realized that I would never again hold one of my babies for the first time, see them take their first step or hear them say their first word. My little Elle just turned 2, she is sooooo much the little toddler. Has it really been 2 years since I first held that precious chubby girl? It doesn't really seem possible...now she is running, climbing, singing, and way too busy for all my snuggles...
So as much as my heart is longing for a soft baby of my own, I will just have to make do with Jada's and Cassie's babies when they get here :)

That is my confession, my blah feeling explained, and why I have been hiding from my blog...some things are just hard to put into words...


*Warning* If you bring this subject up in person, I am very likely to cry...now you can't say I didn't warn you :)

Gabrielle

Today my sweet baby turns 2.
She is such a blessing to our family. I am so glad that God knew we needed her even though we didn't think we were ready.
She is quite possible the sweetest baby ever! She has captured all of our hearts.
Happy Birthday my little Angel!! I love you!!

It's been awhile...

Yes, I have been hiding from my blog. Sometimes things are just hard to put into words. Maybe it's the gloomy weather, maybe it's cabin fever, maybe it is something else all together, but I have been feeling....blah.

All my kids had their yearly exams a few weeks ago.
Anakin is a staggering (hehe) 49" and 48lbs. (5% on both)
Anastasia is close behind with 48" and 46lbs. (20% on both)
Sorsha is tiny at 34" and 26lbs. (5% on both)
And Elle is 32" and 26lbs (20% HT & 45% WT)

All received a perfect bill of health. They are all right on target for their ages and Sorsha and Elle were advanced in several areas. I am a very proud mommy :)

I will have more to post soon :)

Sorsha

My little bug is now 3 yrs old.
Her birthday was yesterday. We had a pincess cake and she loved it!
She is such a girly girl :)
She is my little shadow, she follows me around all day. I am amazed at how much she knows and how she can tell me about it. She is a total handfull but also such a joy to me. I can't wait to see what this year brings with her :)

Happy Birthday my little Sorsha Bug! I love you!!

Stasia

Yesterday my little princess turned 8 years old.
Gabe and I surprised her by taking her to Chuck E Cheese for lunch. She loved it :)
She picked Gatti's for supper for the family and when we got home, we had starwberry cake. My kids were bouncing off the wall...it took an hour to get them to stay in bed :)

This Friday Stasia is having a birthday sleepover with 3 friends and then Jada and I are taking her clothes shopping Staurday. She is so excited about her girly day :)

Happy Birthday Princess...I love you!!