I really can’t believe how Steven, Sammy and Amaya are taking off with their beginning reading. They’re all at different stages and all progressing on their own timeline. We practice site words and they spent their lunch today trying to spell words for me. Listening to them sound out the letters is one of my current favorite pastimes.

Sammy sounded out “October” as “Oktobr” which I thought was fantastic. Steven is absolutely flying through basic sight words. I’ve moved on to some harder words for him. And here’s a sample of a recent worksheet that came home with Amaya.

Here’s Amaya spelling. They love spelling! I’m having so much fun with this knowledge explosion, and their interest. They spent their entire lunch asking me to have them spell words.

Not a broken foot, just a new “Amaya pose.” 🙂

Steven, Sammy and Amaya love tracking their bus with me. As it gets colder, I’m happier and happier to have the app and we’re getting better and better with our timing.

Steven chose to wear some clips in his hair and we had our usual conversation:”What will you say if someone says clips are just for girls?” “I’ll say boys can wear clips if they want to.”

On Tuesday I headed off to DC for a trip scheduled to last through Thursday night which meant missing trick or treating at my office, the kids’ Halloween parade and party at school and actual trick or treating. When I arrived in DC I made a last minute call and ended up changing my flight to make it back in time to trick or treat with the kids.

My travels gave me a chance to have dinner with Aunt Ouize and Uncle Todd. Yay!

Halloween treats for the kids from Gabby. Thank you, Gabby!

Gabby took SSA to trick or treat at my office. It sounds like they had a blast. The kids were nervous about being able to go while I was out of town so my boss, Sean, made them a video inviting them to come trick or treat. 🙂

Not only did Steven get to take a picture in front of a tornado backdrop but one of my colleagues was dressed as tornado!

Making the rounds…

On Monday Amaya had her first kindergarten play date with Abby B, a friend she talks about all the time. I was so glad that Abby was also interested in having a play date with Amaya. I left work early to join Amaya. When we got there she ran up to the door and then took off with Abby. It was great to see how comfortable she was. In fact, Amaya had so much fun that she had an epic meltdown when it was time to leave.

At their Halloween party, Abby’s mom kindly took some photos of Amaya for me. I am so appreciative! We also got some pictures from her teacher. (Still no photos from the boys’ teacher, though.)

Abby B and Amaya. (Amaya is very impressed that Abby is already 6.)

Home in time to surprise the kids!! Sammy decided to be a ghost for trick or treating and poor Amaya realized her costume was not ideal for a cold, wet night. We made it to about 8 houses before the kids decided they had enough but, fortunately, those 8 houses pretty much filled their pumpkins.

Post trick or treating candy by the fire has become a fast favorite tradition.

Watching for trick or treaters. There were very few.

Shortly after 2am, Steven woke up Jason saying he didn’t feel well. Apparently that’s code for, “I’m going to throw up.” 🙁 And moments later Amaya was awake and sick, too. 🙁 We thought it might be candy but that idea was dispelled when Steven continued to get sick through the night. Sadness.

Sad boy in the morning.

I was really worried about how I’d convince Sammy to go to school without his brother and sister but he was so good about it. When Amaya told him he’d be the “only one” at school he said, “Well I’ll have my friends.” God, I was so happy to hear that. And incredibly proud when he got on the bus on this own without even a look back.

I worked from home while Steven and Amaya watched tv, threw up and napped. And napped. And napped. By early afternoon they both had fevers and Jason & I had to make a call about plans to go to Great Wolf Lodge this weekend and made the easy decision to push our trip out.

Sammy had a great day at school! He came in from the bus with a ton of energy and lots of excitement about his day. I asked him a question about a snack that was still in his backpack and he said, “We didn’t have time for an afternoon snack. We have so much to do on Fridays! There’s library and French class and reading buddies and American buddies and Thornton Creek buddies and assembly!” I know lots of kids go off to school on their own from the start but that’s not the experience for Steven, Sammy and Amaya so it fills my heart to see Sammy go off on his own so easily.

By Saturday morning, fevers were gone and Steven and Amaya were back to their usual selves. Thank goodness for all of us. And, miraculously, so far no one else has come down with whatever bug they had.

Spider-making Man

Sushi for breakfast is definitely a sign of a strong stomach.

The kids were so excited to help Jason with his laundry. Amaya was working on her Konmarie folding.

Sammy wanted me to take him to Benihana for lunch but Jason was able to convince him that we should all try Mongolian BBQ where he could still see the chefs cook his food. Jason snapped this picture of Sammy jamming to the music.

This was a weekend of games! I played Scrabble Jr. with each of them individually, Sight Word Swat with everyone individually, three games of Monopoly Jr. and one of Carcassone with all three and a game of Memory with Steven where he legitimately beat me.

In my game with Sammy, Amaya showed up with this “Go Mommy” sign. Can you even???? <3

Steven has taken to sleeping with my blankie. (It’s the Sesame Street sheet.) I’ve had it since it was a toddler and it’s so special to see my kids sleep with it but I’m pretty clear with everyone that it’s still mine.

We had an awesomely lazy Sunday. Sometimes it’s so nice to be home and do nothing at all. The whole weekend really felt like that. We were busy around the house but on our own terms.

I thought Steven was interested in what Jason was doing, but it turns out he was just waiting for Jason’s tablet battery to die so Jason could do something with him. 🙂

Three games of Monopoly so everyone could have a turn as banker.

Cuddles with Daddy

I’ll end with this – Today Sammy told me what he wished for when we were at the wishing well in Disneyland. At the time he said he couldn’t tell me or it wouldn’t come true. It turns out he wished that we could have a rainbow outside our house every day. How sweet is that child? Steven heard and said, “Couldn’t you have wished for 2 copies of Mommy and 2 copies of Daddy so we could each have our own mommy and daddy. But we’d still be triplets!” Another sweet child. <3 As is their sister (when she wants to be). 🙂

Our kindergarten school pictures came back and I love them so much.

Amaya planned everything down to her jewelry and exactly how she wanted her hair done.
* Sammy thought the blue UA shirt was boring and was much happier in his ballon animal tee.
* Steven got yogurt all over his blue UA shirt and had to wear Sammy’s, which is a size too big.

These pictures are so them.

Nana says she sees me in Amaya in this photo. <3

Grandma Betsy helped Amaya realize her vision for this over-the-top hair bow and she was excited to wear it to school on Monday. It even got another “amazing!” from Sammy and Amaya reported that everyone loved it.

We couldn’t find Sammy’s sweatshirt before school so I suggested he wear a rain coat. He didn’t want to be “the only Cline kid in a raincoat” so Steven agreed to wear his, too. Of course when he got on the bus he saw his sweatshirt in the lost and found bucket and quickly tossed his raincoat to me leaving Steven the “only Cline kid in a raincoat”.

I’m taking as many opportunities as possible to volunteer at SSA’s school. This week I went in at lunch to put together Monday Envelopes for Amaya’s class. These envelopes have standardized announcements and also individual student work. I timed it so that I’d be able to see the kids when they came back from lunch recess and, wow, it was worth it. They absolutely lit up when they saw me. <3 And the best part was that, as excited as they were to see me there, they still went happily into their classrooms after quick hugs.

I got a second chance to see Amaya because she was class messenger for the week and had some notes to deliver to the office. She was so proud.

Remember being a kid and pretending to be asleep?

Like her mother, Amaya hates the cold weather. This is a regular scene while walking the bus. She also complained that her pants don’t have pockets. So between thin leggings and no pockets, we invested in a few pair of sweatpants for her and she’s thrilled.

Hey Jason – think we should consider just taking the beds out of their room at this point? 😉

Before her sweatpants came, Amaya found a way to stay warm and stylish. (Five year old stylish.)

Wednesday was the boys’ turn for their Book Bucket Party.

What I loved was that both Steven and Amaya spent the morning trying to recreate one of the designs on Sammy’s bucket. I think he was really proud that they liked what he did enough to draw it themselves.

Amaya’s version

Steven’s version

This is the mid-October view on Cheltenham. I loathe winter but this is pretty spectacular.

Gabby was sick on Wednesday so Jason and I teamed up for the afternoon. I had another chance to take the kids to dance class which came with a double bonus of “costume day” and “bring a friend day”. SSA were so excited for their friend Emma J to join them!

Steven doesn’t take tap but he was upset that Sammy and Amaya were going to get more time with Emma so I told him that he could go in as a friend for the day. He said, “I better ask Ms. Christina first” and then marched right up to her and said, “Ms. Christina, is it okay if I come in to tap even though I’m not signed up and don’t have the right shoes?” That’s right along with his assertion to Jason that he’s “not afraid to talk to anybody.”

Sweatpants! With pockets!!

Before school on Wednesday Sammy took time to show Jason his handwriting book. “I wrote every letter myself!” Honestly, I can’t believe how much they’ve learned in less than 2 months of kindergarten. It’s amazing to see and, for me, completely unexpected. I’m really proud of how Sammy’s focus has developed, along with his interest in literacy.

At bedtime Steven kept yelling down questions to me. “How do you spell ‘from’?” “What’s your favorite letter?”[J] “What’s your favorite number? [3] “Who is someone you love who doesn’t live in our house?'” [Nana]

This was end result. “From Steven To Mommy I love you”. Even the orange is a tribute because it’s my favorite color.

Once a month or so it’s Spirit Wear Friday at school and this time Steven, Sammy and Amaya were ready with their handpicked Gator Gear. (With the new sofa, I need a new place for inside photos because the fireplace isn’t a good option any longer.)

We got a Friday photo of Amaya working in a math center. I love photos from her classroom.

These kids are really starting to read and I’m seeing success breeds more interest in reading. It’s so cool. Today Steven read the word “Fox” on the TV by sounding it out.

For me, I need to make a point to spend 1:1 time with the kids and make sure I’m not assuming they’re all on the same level of readiness & proficiency.

We had a family outing on Saturday morning for breakfast (at the counter!) and Street of Treats in downtown Northville. Since we can’t all trick or treat together on Halloween it was a great alternative and SSA had a blast.

After lunch I took Amaya to a birthday party at Airtime. It was our first time there and it was a tough start for her. (This was also the first school-friend birthday party she went to without her brothers.) First, she got upset about wearing grey and orange socks because they’re “so ugly”. Then she was upset about all of the other people jumping on the trampolines.

She finally tried it out but, on principal, wouldn’t crack a smile. That’s my Amaya. 🙂

Finally, her classmate Maia came by and asked her (again) to play and she said yes. From then on she was in good spirits, bolstered by ice cream and cake.

I met a number of parents from Amaya’s class at Airtime and then many more from Steven and Sammy’s class that evening when we went to a Halloween party at their friend Ben’s house. It was such a nice event and it was amazing to see the kids in action with their friends, especially Sammy who’d always seemed shy with the kids in pre-k. Here he was wrestling and running and right in the middle of everything.

Sammy wresting with Ben. Ben is the friend Sammy wants a solo play date with. He even brought Ben a coupon from Bring a Friend Day at dance class.

TP mummies! Ben’s parents had their nanny come to the party to help organize games for the dozens of kids.

Steven has truly never met a stranger. He loved meeting and talking to everyone at the party. He even found a box of rice krispie treats and took it upon himself to walk around the party and be sure everyone had one.

After a very busy Saturday, we had a nice relaxing Sunday morning at home.

Steven is so into reading right now so we played a few rounds of Sight Word Swat. Technically it’s a competitive game where you have to find and swat the word the fastest but, right now, the kids like playing one on one.

Steven also spent a long time, hours maybe, working with Jason to reorganize the kitchen. Like father like son, I tell you. (Except that Steven could never wear Jason’s shirt. He loves socializing. The jury is out on his feelings toward pants.)

Our afternoon event was the Dia De Los Muertos event at the Novi Civic Center. It was so cool. They had dancers, a mariachi band and a ton of crafts for the kids. Amaya and Steven even tried on some traditional clothing.

Decorating and personalizing Sugar Skulls.

Sugar Skulls and Flowers with smiles from the boys and a sour look from Amaya because she didn’t like how her flower turned out.

Custom puppets!

Cookie decorating! This activity definitely shows the kids’ personalities. Steven was precise. So precise that he used individual yellow sprinkles in the smile he decorated. Amaya had a specific plan but then went wild with sprinkles. Sammy’s goal seemed to be to load as much on as possible.

Sammy

Amaya

Steven

When we got home it was nice enough for the kids to play outside in just sweatshirts. We’ll take that weather when we have it!

Tomorrow Amaya has her first kindergarten playdate with a new friend – Abby B. The week holds lots more Halloween fun, too.

Have a great week!

The kids still have two alarm clocks in their room. One lights up when they can get out of bed and get dressed and the other when it’s time to come out of their rooms for breakfast. It’s not uncommon for me to wander in their room at 7:15am and find Amaya and Sammy watching their morning shows.

Amaya asked for a picture before and after I did her hair.

Steven, Sammy and Amaya have the opportunity for a little bit of TV in the morning, if they wake up early, and still 2 shows in the evenings. It’s a big deal to these kids if we run out of time for forget shows, or run out of time, so sometimes they run right up to bedtime.

Such a great chance for cuddles. <3 <3 <3

I love that the kids are learning another language at school and it’s so much fun to see what comes home with them, and what they’re learning.

For journaling at school, Mrs. Shuart asked that we sit with our kids and help them answer this “Ideas to Write About” sheet. It was fun to see Amaya’s answers. (For the record, she can not write in cursive yet.)

It’s getting colder and, like her mom, this girl is not a fan.

This is the ideal scenario at morning pick up – using the bus tracing app to get to the bus stop just before the bus arrives. We’re getting better at our timing though, on Thursday, as the kids were getting on the bus Sammy yelled, “Steven doesn’t have his backpack!!” I ran, fast, to get it from our kitchen. I ran so fast my lungs were burning and it took at good 5 minutes for me to catch my breath afterwards. But I was fast enough that Mr. Ed waited.

Jason checked out “Giraffes Can’t Dance” from Steven’s library.

Amaya started sleeping on the floor on her beanbag and Sammy has followed suit. They’re sleeping well, too! For as long as they good night’s sleeps I guess there’s no harm in it.

Can you tell what airline we fly? lol Steven spent Thursday morning making these pictures, as I got ready for an overnight trip to Milwaukee.

These two in conversation. <3 First, I love listening to them talk to each other. And second, I love Amaya’s braids and that purple shirt. Plus she was in blue pants! It’s fun to see her in something besides pink once in a while. 🙂

“No! Don’t got to work, Daddy!!”

On Thursday we started a long weekend visit with Grandpa Homey and Grandma Betsy!! The kids were so excited all week long.

Daddy got to get the kids on the bus on Friday morning. They were definitely ready for a cold front!

I got home from my trip on Friday in time to catch the kids enjoying fun with Ron and Betsy. The boys even figured out how to drive their car around the top of our driveway. Steven’s getting really good at it!

Bedtime books with special guest readers.

Last weekend the kids decorated big cleaning buckets for Book Bucket parties at school. Amaya’s was on Friday and she came home with a bunch of books to read. She’ll add more throughout the year. On Saturday morning, Amaya took time to read to me! Steven and Sammy have their own book bucket parties this Wednesday.

For doing such a good job with his eye patch, Steven got a new Lego set which he put together lickety-split all on his own. A boy after my own heart!

Sammy came to me with two doilies and said he needed paint, a sponge and a piece of paper. I got him the supplies and he did an art project where you use the sponge to paint over the doily and create a pattern on the paper underneath. He said he learned to do this from Arty (Creative Galaxy). I love it!

In addition to Grandpa Homey and Grandma Betsy’s visit, my friend Hannah was here from Baton Rouge for the weekend to run the Detroit Marathon. (WOW). On Saturday morning she ran the 5k and then spent some time reviewing the race map with Steven.

Amaya and I made some signs to cheer Hannah on.

Steven, Sammy and Amaya are ready for Halloween! This year we have a wizard, a witch and a lemon. Cutest wizard, witch and lemon I’ve ever seen.

Jason sent this to me, taken from our Nest cam. I love our front door photos.

To kick off the season, Ron, Betsy and I took the kids to an event at the Northville Community Center. They had stations set up where the kids could do crafts and play games for prizes. They even had a Haunted Hallway and cider & donuts afterward. The event had a fun small town feel to it.

Betsy remarked at how much more independent the kids are this year than last year when she visited. I see it, too. They got the lay of the land and off they went.

Grandma Betsy was guest reader again for bedtime books.

Today I took our homemade signs and headed down to Detroit to cheer on Hannah as she ran 26.2. (Seriously WOW.) It was awesome to be there to support her!

SSA got a kick out of seeing Hannah settle into an ice bath.

We celebrated with dinner at Zingerman’s Roadhouse where the kids were excited to hear stories about the marathon and see Hannah’s race photos.

That’s our week! We wrapped it up with Steven pretending he was making a video to show people how to cut out their drawings. They definitely get their fair share of instructional Youtube videos. 🙂

I was a theme in Steven’s work this week. <3

Photos from Amaya’s class – her Book Bucket party and planting at tree at school. She was clear that planting the tree was “boring and dirty”.

See below ↓ — Amaya’s displeasure seems legit. lol

She’s doing her part, though!

That’s all for this week. Have a great one!

We love the bows Amaya made with the kit from Aunt Dale & Uncle Arnie and she had fun wearing them throughout the week. <3 They’ve been a good motivator to let me do her hair, too.

Tuesday was flu shot day which Amaya has been dreading for a year. Literally. Back in early September she burst into tears when she heard it was almost fall because it meant flu shots were coming soon. That girl does not like pokes.

Gabby generously offered to tell the kids about their flu shots when they got home from school so we didn’t have to tell them earlier in the day.

Me: What number do you want to go? 1, 2, 3 or 4?

Amaya: Zero

Sammy made a friend while we waited.

So did Steven.

Shots were a nightmare. Truly. Sammy was a brave guy. He wanted to go first but decided to let me go before him. I had to physically restrain sobbing Steven and sobbing Amaya. Amaya was in such bad shape that the nurse had to use one of her hands to hold Amaya and do the poke one-handed. Brutal. But we got through it!

Even post shots, Amaya was not please. But she did it!

I stayed home from work on Wednesday for Yom Kippur and the kids stayed home for the morning. As a last minute audible, we decided to stream services rather than attend. I found one that looked appropriate and it meant I could get the kids to school earlier.

But first, Sammy inspired the kids to do sailboat races in the bathtub!

He wanted something to float on his boat and we realized very quickly that a cotton ball (my idea) is a terrible idea because it absorbs water. He kept at it, though!

Steven didn’t make a 3D boat like Sammy. Instead he made a boat on the water with waves.

Our service, with special guests Anna and Elsa singing reworded Frozen songs about being sorry and apologizing. Perfect!

I love taking these kids to school.

Since I was home from work, I also got to take the kids to dance class. A treat for all of us!

Waiting for the bus on Thursday – the last day I need to wait outside without the benefit of the bus tracking app that I hadn’t even known was a thing. Hallelujah!

“Amaya, your brush is beautiful!”

<3

We kicked off our weekend decorating buckets for a school project.

Sammy finished some artwork for Savta.

In preparation for a s’mores fun run, we got out some of our winter gear. Sammy grabbed his Batman hat from Aunt Annette.

“I’m going to flap the ears up like this when I finish the race!”

The s’mores fun run! There were crafts, games and live music plus a 1 mile family fun run where you pick up s’mores supplies along the way.

Before the race! Amaya hated it. She spent most of the time saying things like, “Why do they call this a fun run? It’s not fun.” Steven and Sammy were all about it, though. Off they ran and ran and ran!

Weary runners with our race medals.

Flapping those ears!

This was the first time SSA got to melt their own marshmallows.

We wrapped up the evening with a hayride and some playground time before heading home to bed. Such a fun night!

We started our Sunday watching the series finale of My Little Pony. SADNESS. I was legitimately bummed to say goodbye to the Mane Six. SSA prefer to watch new shows/episodes rather than repeats so I’m not sure how often we’ll get to see the ponies going forward.

As the weather gets colder we’re back to Legos. Hooray!

We closed out the weekend at the Maybury Farm pumpkin fest. The kids had a blast running around and today was another reminder of how far we’ve come from the days when activities like this felt nearly impossible on my own.

Amaya looks so much like Charlie in this picture.

We got some pictures from Amaya’s teacher this week.

Sammy was Star of the Day on Thursday!

Have a great week!

On Monday morning, Steven, Sammy, Amaya and I had a morning together celebrating Rosh Hashanah. As part of the festivities, the kids requested apples and honey for breakfast, for a sweet new year.

Amaya was grumpy here because she didn’t want her brothers to be in a picture with her.

Much better.

We decided to go to services with a local reform synagogue, Shir Shalom. Most of the synagogues are all clustered together and 20- 25 min away so it was a matter of trying to find a congregation we might like to join for religious school. The family services were held at West Bloomfield high school and, despite how it looks in this picture I took with Amaya, it filled up pretty quickly. I’d estimate ~300 people in attendance.

We need some dressier clothing for these boys. 🙂 For Yom Kippur we’ll at least go with cargo pants.

During the service we were encouraged to talk about a way we can spread kindness in the world. We discussed it and landed on “Share with friend” which the boys wrote on their papers. (Steven blue and Sammy yellow.)

They’re working on their lowercase letters so I wrote it for them to copy. Even with my model of a lowercase “r” Sammy preferred upper case but, truly, his writing skills have grown by leaps and bounds in just the first month of school. His concentration has increased, too. Where he erased his writing, it was after noticing that he forgot a space between the “e” and “w”. Also a new skill!

I took the kids to school after lunch, in time for them to still get some recess time. They loved leading me through the cafeteria to the outside doors and then off they went with just a “love you, mama!” from Steven. It made my heart very happy to see. I was also pleased that their principal noticed the boys’ haircuts. I like that he is aware of them enough to notice.

The whole gang after school. Another day when I got to to surprise them at the bus stop after school. Amaya’s face looks sour because she’s sucking a jolly rancher she won in French class.

Sweet Sal.

When Jason got home from work, he borrowed a book (The Quiet Book) from Steven’s library. He made a sign that included Jason’s name, the name of the book and a rendition of Jason’s phone number. If the book wasn’t returned by the Wednesday after Tuesday Jason would owe $59 in fines.

Steven has had trouble staying in bed in the morning so we went back to a star system and prizes. On Tuesday morning, everyone earned their newest set of prizes and Amaya got to work decorating her hair brush with some kind of colored glue and lots of bedazzling. She was very proud of her creation.

Tuesday was Walk & Bike to School Day. Gabby was originally going to walk with the kids but had lab at school so Jason saved the day and walked the mile+ to school with SSA. <3

Steven is a wack-a-doodle.

Steven chose to wear a headband to school on Friday. I asked him what he’d say if anyone said, “Headbands are for girls” and he said, “Boys can wear whatever they want” so off the went! (And then proceeded to leave his headband on the bus lol.)

Since Nana can’t travel to us right now, on Thursday evening we all headed to NY for a long weekend. We’re still having issues with moving walks so we solved it with Amaya on our suitcase.

Wearing our Nana shirts for the trip!

Two out of three kids stayed dry! (The wet child’s name rimes with Beeven.”

Another first! No one needed to hold my hand on the airport train.

Aaaaaaand, another first! No one needed me to lift them over the “crack” when we boarded the plane.

Other than a nasty flight between Steven and Amaya over an arm rest, the flight was uneventful. The flight attendant also comped my drink! It seems to be they see me with the 3 kids and decide they don’t want my money.

As he does, Sammy fell asleep literally 3 minutes before we landed. I couldn’t bear to wake him so I carried him off the plane.

Check this out! I took this just after the above photo but using the low light exposure on my new iPhone. Pretty cool!

Made it!!

While I fell back to sleep in the morning, Nana and the kids made some delicious banana muffins. They got to customize with chocolate chips, coconut and walnuts. So yummy!

Papa and Sammy games

We had a lazy morning at home that included a fun visit from Savta, Auntie and Dod Shuki.

As a special treat, we were able to meet up with Uncle Arnie and Aunt Dale for lunch! Ahead of time, I made a rudimentary stick figure family tree so SSA could see how they’re related to Poppy Steven.

Everyone was thick as thieves right from the start, even though it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. <3 Such a wonderful lunch.

We were able to pick up Chase and Charlie from school and then play on their playground for a bit afterwards, while Chase went off with his friends. (Big kid!)

Charlie spent a long time teaching Amaya how to swing on the monkey bars. She’s a phenomenal big cousin.

We went back to Aunt Sara and Uncle Dave’s house where the kids were able to work on craft projects that were gifts from Uncle Arnie and Aunt Dale.

Charlie is so cute. She asked the kids their favorite animals and colors and then came down with surprise gifts for them which she gave them in a “circle of presents”.

Tattoo Triplets!!

On Saturday morning, Nana took Steven, Sammy, Amaya and Charlie out to Panera for breakfast.

And one picture with the whole grandkid gang.

We totally lucked out because there was a fair at the church right behind Sara & Dave’s house! It was the perfect way to spend the afternoon.

Steven, Sammy and Amaya all pushed themselves out of their comfort zones. Steven tried the kiddie roller coaster and a kid’s version of a free fall ride. Amaya tried one of those big potato slides. In the past she’s climbed up to the top only to climb back down but this time she spent a good half hour+ going on again and again and again.

Sammy was his usual daredevil self. Along with Charlie, he pushed me to go on a huge ride that we loved so much we rode it 4 times. And Charlie – WOW! There’s no ride too scary for that girl!

Charlie and I tried it out before I let Sammy ride. I wanted to get a sense for how scary it was. It was right up his alley!

The trio!

This was one of the “kids win every time” games and the operator was fabulous with the kids. She was so patient explaining how to throw the darts and giving Sammy turn after turn until he got one.

After two full days, we were back on a 9:30am flight to Detroit today. A whirlwind for sure but totally worth every minute of travel.

In true Steven fashion, he made friends while looking at planes. He started talking to two couples and they had a long conversation that, eventually, Amaya joined. Sammy was shy until it was time to board the plane and then he was glad he went over because they raved about his backpack. It was really sweet and I could tell they were engaged in the conversation (vs. being annoyed by a kid who kept talking to them – also a possible outcome when an outgoing 5 year old walks over.)

Homebound!

It’s interesting. I still get a fair amount of attention traveling with the kids by myself. While still not easy, it’s immeasurably easier these days than 2 years ago and we travel frequently enough that we have a very specific routine down at each of the main airports we travel and in and out of.

Steven walked by the cockpit and yelled in, “Hi pilots!” which got them a visit inside and some captain wings. 🙂

I decided how long it took us to get to the car once we were off the plane: 49 minutes. Both my mom and Jason commented that that’s almost as long as the flight itself! We had to use the bathroom, take the airport train, walk sloooooowly, get our luggage and then navigate to the car with all of our gear. It’s easier but still quite the production.

And here we are at home!

Hard at fun on a Sunday afternoon.

Each of the kids picks out a bedtime book and I decided to start to add some chapter books into the mix. We’re starting with Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle for a couple of reasons: 1) I loved these books as a kid and 2) Each chapter is as self-contained story which I think is good for SSA at this point. We started tonight as Amaya’s choice and it was a hit! I can’t wait to get to “The Radish Cure” or the “Never-Want-To-Go-To-Bedders”.

Have a great week!

Tuesday was picture day and 2 of 3 Cline kids had very specific points of view on how they looked.

Amaya picked out this dress and asked for two small braids that meet in a pony tail.

We’d suggested collared Under Amour shirts for the boys which was fine with Steven but Sammy thought it was “plain and boring” and went for his t-shirt with a balloon animal dog. And then Steven got breakfast food all over his UA shirt and ended up in his brother’s size-bigger shirt. Good thing it was available for him!

I had a golf outing for work on Tuesday which worked out perfectly because the kindergarten classes needed parent volunteers to cut paper for an alphabet project. I volunteered with another mom from Steven & Sammy’s class (who, by chance, I met the weekend before at a birthday party for a pre-k friend). I’m so grateful to work so close to their school and have flexibility in my schedule. I really want to get there for volunteer opportunities and events as often as possible.

Mrs. M, the boys’ teacher, has a program called “Star of the Day” where a student stands in front of the class and all of the other kids draw a picture of them. The pictures come home in a “friend book” and it’s so cool.

Here’s Sammy’s picture. <3

Some others that I particularly loved.

At bedtime, Amaya was trying to tell me about her job in class this week. She said to Sammy, “What did I tell you my job is?” Sammy answered, “Mommy, what’s that thing where do you do all of the jobs but you only do them when the person who has that job isn’t there?”

A substitute! What a clever way to explain it to me.

SSA have started coloring in the morning while we wait at the bus stop. It works as long as they stop as soon as we see the bus coming. So far, so good.

I upgraded from my iPhone 7 to an 11 Pro and was playing around with the wide angle photos and portrait mode. Love it!

This picture made me realize it was time for haircuts lol.

Jason and I had plans on Friday night but got a little time with the kids watching the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movie before we left. <3

To get the kids out of the house for haircuts I bribed them with a trip to Starbucks for breakfast.

It was our first trip to a real barbershop. The kids place doesn’t do a great job so it was time for an upgrade (which, incredibly, doesn’t even cost more). Both boys were pretty nervous to try a new place. Steven was supposed to be up first but he panicked so Sammy climbed in the seat and did an awesome job. He was very clear that he wanted his hair to be very short with no bangs on his face.

Poor Steven was totally worked up and ended up with a nose bleed. I’m so glad Sammy was settled enough for me to disappear with Steven for a bit. Eventually he was calm enough to get a haircut sitting on my lap, scissors only – no clippers.

Handsome boys!

As of Saturday, my mom, sister and I are tattoo triplets! My mom got this “shehecheyanu” tattoo about a year ago and Sara and I joined her this weekend. In my mom’s words: “To me, this is a reminder to be mindful we are alive and to look for those times – big or small, special occasions or ordinary moments – that make us grateful for our lives and the people in them.” <3

We spent Saturday afternoon with Megan and family at a new kids fun place that Megan recommended. They loved it and we’ll definitely be back during the winter.

We wrapped up the day with a late dinner at Chili’s, at Steven’s request. We made it through with just four trips to the bathroom. Sometimes I’m amazed at what these kids can put back. Sammy at 2 kids cheeseburgers, an ear of corn, one of Amaya’s chicken tenders and a serving of mandarin oranges. Plus milk! I wonder if a growth spurt is coming.

Amaya had the idea to use leaves for hair on her drawing.

Some artwork from the week.

Steven drew a horse, a butterfly, his snake Rattle Spot, a tiger and an elephant.

Amaya and Steven made charts of things that are hot and cold so you know what you can and can’t touch. I’m guessing this came out of safety week at school.

Finally, for this week, I emailed SSA’s teachers and principals about our schedule for the Jewish holidays. I wanted them to know when the kids would be out and why, and that of course we take attendance seriously. Amaya’s teacher emailed back to say that of course it was no problem and, also, “Just want to let you know that Amaya is doing a great job adjusting to kindergarten.  She has made many friends, follows our classroom rules and is always ready to learn.  It has been a pleasure getting to know her!!”

I read it to Amaya and she grinned from ear to ear with well deserved pride.

Every morning is another day of bus stop adventures for Team Cline and every morning is a bit of “hurry up and wait”. We’ll definitely need to think through our plan as it gets colder but, for now, we’re (mostly) enjoying our morning time outside. SSA like the hunt for caterpillars and interesting fallen leaves.

Steven self identifies as “silly, cute, adorable and lovable” and tries to reflec that in his pictures. <3

Sammy is really enjoying cooking, especially now that we’ll let him work at the stove. (Supervised, and the pot handle was turned in.) I’d love to see if we can find a kids’ cooking class for him.

Amaya came home with this school work! They had step by step examples to draw the animals which she followed well, and embellished all on her own. I also love seeing her writing. Kindergarten is so cool.

On Tuesday I remembered the kids are learning French at school and asked them to show me what they’ve learned. They’re learning French!

Tuesday was Steven’s glasses follow-up appointment to see how they’re working for him. It was so much fun to go to his school and pick him up early. Any chance to be in his building and see the school in action. (On that note, I have a work event on Tuesday that doesn’t start until after 10am which gives me the chance to do some out-of-classroom volunteer work at their school. I’ll be cutting paper for an hour, and thrilled to do it.)

The eye doctor said that the glasses are the correct prescription but, even with glasses, his right eye is not seeing 20/20. What has since been explained to me by another eye doctor is that, when a child isn’t seeing with binocular vision, the brain blurs the vision in one eye so that it can make sense of what it’s seeing with one eye. It’s not an eye issue, it’s a brain issue. One way to build the strength in the weaker eye is to patch the good eye for some time each day. After the eye is strengthened, vision therapy may also be needed to help the two eyes learn to work together. So, Steven is beginning his patching journey – 4 hrs/day for 4 months.

He’s a total trooper. He doesn’t love it but he’s accepted it so easily. We’re very proud of him.

Dance class! Week 2 had the routine down even better thanks to Gabby’s suggestion that we change at home rather than at the studio.

Amaya loves writing. She’s been asking us to tell her how to spell a variety of words. It’s cute to see the kids help each other with letters. (Amaya: How do you write an “F”? Steven: It’s a line with a hat and a mustache.”)

Cat, Dog, Diamond, Fairy, Jewel, Flower, Leaf. (The top, according to Amaya, is “cursive”.)

Passing time while we wait for the bus.

After work cuddles with Mr. Patch. <3 <3 <3

Side note: Steven’s started doing some rudimentary math (single digit addition and subtraction). He says it’s easy because he has his fingers for counting.

We got this glasses cover to use as an alternative to patching. As long as he keeps his glasses on and doesn’t cheat by looking over the top of his glasses, it can work just as well without the annoyance of a patch.

He thought it was so cool he chose to wear it to school on Friday!

“Ugh, Mommy!”

This week was fire safety work a school and the kids started bringing home library books. It’s such a great way to read new books with them each week. And now they’re pressing us for our fire safety plan at home – which is a good idea to have in place.

Amaya’s class during fire safety week. You can see her in the middle of the line of kids – a tall girl in rainbow leggings.

Gabby was sick on Friday so I got to surprise SSA at the bus stop. Such a great for me!!

After dinner we had a treat for all of us and went out for some frozen yogurt.

“Look! My shoes fell off!” Love his smile.

Friday night story time, featuring Steven and Sammy’s library books. I’ve really been prioritizing bedtime reading and it’s such nice, valuable time together.

On Saturday morning, Steven tried out one of his new, super cool patches. Tiger Steven! He liked the patch so much he even wore it out to the start of a birthday party!

On Saturday afternoon we celebrated Ethen, Steven’s friend from the JCC. We hadn’t seen him since May so it was nice to connect and the kids had fun playing on the playground, fighting with light sabers, doing artwork and eating cupcakes.

There was a rain storm when we got home so Sammy and I went for a quick walk to see what it’s like to actually be caught in a storm. The answer: cold and wet. But worth it!

Post dinner cuddles for Sammy and Daddy.

This morning, my little chef Sammy did the bulk of the work making oatmeal. He’s so careful and proud.

I’m so glad to know that we’re not past the days of dress-up. This little girl has a very clear fashion vision. 🙂

Today it was Lizard Steven! He made it 3 hours in the patch and then we switched to the glasses cover. (He does wear his glasses with the patch but he wanted to see how it looked without them.)

This afternoon was another birthday party for a pre-k friend – this time Emma C. The party was at stables where the kids got to groom a horse, take a carriage ride to pet goats and bunnies and then ride horses. So cool!

The Clines kids were the last of the bunch to try grooming the horse but once they gave it a shot they loved it.

Sammy, Hannah, Amaya, Shoshana and Steven

Sammy wanted to feed the horse but lost his nerve right at the end so I helped him out and we did it together.

Carriage ride! Sammy was very clear about not needing to sit with me.

This guy and his sister, on the other hand lol.

Goats!! Sammy and Steven went right in the pen. It was so cute. Amaya was scared but worked up the never, holding my hand, and stayed for about 2.5 minutes before she decided it was not for her.

Just after I took this photo the goat gave Sammy a little head butt. Sammy was startled but totally took it in stride.

Amaya and I hung out while Sammy and Steven played with bunnies. Amaya wasn’t thrilled that they were running around, uncaged.

Horseback riding! Amaya opted out pretty quickly (though later she said it was helmet related). Steven and Sammy were excited but quickly got nervous when it was time to get on the horses. Sammy got on and off quickly and then got his mind set on the miniature pony in the barn. Steven was also nervous but I was able to convince him to give it a shot, with my hands around the waist, and after a few circles around the stable he sent me to sit on a bench with Amaya because he was totally fine on his own. Proud mama moment.

Sammy was thrilled to get his shot on the miniature pony and I bet he’d try a big horse if he had the chance.

Now they want us to buy a horse lololol.

To wrap up the week, here are some recent creations from the boys.

This is Steven’s family fire plan. He started off with a map to the house next door but Amaya is afraid of their dog so he moved our meeting spot to the house two doors down.

Sammy looooooooves Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (and the sequel) so he wrote a 3rd part for the series narrating the copy and images for me to complete. Here’s his masterpiece which he asked me to mail to Savta.

Steven created a tornado safety book, drawing the pictures on own and narrating the copy. I love his tornado sirens.

And that’s it for the week! Have a great one.

Week two of school! Amaya says it’s boring and she doesn’t like it but she still gets dressed and gets on that bus which makes me comfortable that her dislike is mostly superficial. The boys seem to enjoy being at school. At least they haven’t said otherwise.

I put a little pink in Amaya’s hair on Sunday night and she wanted a side pony to show it off.

Steven had an orthotics appointment on Monday morning and wasn’t getting on the bus which made Amaya a bit sad and jealous. Steven took these pictures of us hugging it out before the bus came. <3

Bye Sammy! Bye Amaya!

Mommy / Steven time!

The highlight of my morning was dropping Steven at school. I got to walk him to his classroom (and had to fight the urge to peek in and see Sammy because I knew it would just cause distraction and chaos).

Bedtime story books – somehow the kids convinced me to spend 45 minutes reading them a My Little Pony graphic novel. Time well spent.

On Tuesday morning Amaya found a centipede outside and ran to get a paper so she could pick it up and carry it around. Just like her cousin Charlie! (Only Charlie would carry it in her hand.)

Somehow standing on the manhole cover is a morning thrill. (And a regular morning fight between the kids.)

More bugs on Wednesday. This time we saw a cicada, too, that I thought was dead until I kicked at it and we all ran screaming lol.

Look at these waves, courtesy of the humidity. I love it. She’ll do beach waves well when she’s older, if she wants to.

Steven, Sammy, Amaya and I are back at dance! It’s a little more hectic this year because it’s a quick turnaround from the bus to dance class but we’re figuring out a good process. This year, like last year, Amaya and Sammy are taking jazz and tap and Steven is taking jazz. They all expressed interest in ballet, too, but there’s a lot of change right now and one night of dance class feels like enough, at least for now.

The zipper on Sammy’s new backpack broke (1-star amazon review, thank you very much) and he picked out a new backpack with flip sequins. He loves it and Amaya and Steven are jealous enough that I had to tell them that breaking their backpacks on purpose is a surefire way not to get their own sequin flip backpack.

Yet another bug for Amaya. Though they seem to escape her paper traps pretty easily.

Artwork came home with the boys on Friday.

Sammy drew a picture of himself at the north pole. “See all of the ice, Mommy?” On the left is a frozen tree. All of the blue is ice. The person is Sammy in a cool hat. (Sammy says that Steven drew his hat.)

Steven drew a picture of the two of us on the helicopter ride at Legoland. It’s a really nice representation of the helicopters that went up and down and around.

We got more pictures from Amaya’s teacher this week.

First up, Mrs. Shuart’s class at lunch.

And free choice time.

Grandma Sunshine came for the night on Friday. I snapped this sweet photo of mommy & son cuddling. (See boys??? Even grown men can cuddle with their mommies.)

Grandma got up with SSA on Saturday morning so both Jason and I could sleep in. I came down to find the kids playing with legos and the new magnet STEM kit from Grandma that arrived this week.

Jason worked with the kids to show how you can close a circuit to create magnetism, just like we do with electric circuits. Such a cool kit!

Lego time.

Amaya asked for beads in her hair.

The kids and I took advantage of a gorgeous afternoon at Maybury Farm. They all insisted on bringing their money with them and, for the first time, used their own money to make purchases. It was so cute to watch them count their quarters. They were so proud to buy something on their own.

Sammy really enjoyed watching the ducks.

Sammy was trying to make fire by rubbing two wood chips together.

Steven said, “The farm even has a sandbox now!” I had to explain that it was always there but I never let them go in it before. Sandboxes are a big mommy thumbs down.

When we left, the kids were insistent on finding toys they could afford with their money. It was slow going based on the prices in the shop but eventually they all found something they wanted. It was really cool to talk about what they could afford and whether or not it was something they really wanted to spend their money on.

Steven: Do a lot of sons and daughters have crushes on their mommies?

Jason eventually rescued me from the sweet boy lying on top of me and I found them both fast asleep a short while later.

It was a great Sunday. Lots and lots of play time.

“Look mommy! Steven is doing a handstand!”

Jason spent a good portion of the day going through our books and had three helpers ready as runners. “Mommy! Do you want to keep this one?” About 90% of the books I chose not to keep ended up in piles for them. I mean, sure, why wouldn’t a 5 year old want to keep a book on energy & economics? (And, to be clear, before they kept a book they were sure to ask what it’s about.)

The JCC had the Shofar Factor Festival today so we hit it up this afternoon. Steven’s highlight was a trackless train ride. Even after his ride he watched for a long time, waving to the conductor each time the train came around.

Amaya gave this bungee jumping activity a chance. The boys stepped up but were too nervous to ultimately go for it. Amaya was anxious at first but got comfortable once she learned to control the height of her jumps.

While Amaya and I waited in line for lunch, the boys spent about 20 minutes talking to bee keepers. Sammy even convinced me to buy some of their honey. Later in the day I went over to thank them for being so attentive to the boys and they said that my sons are “cute, smart and well-behaved – the perfect combination.” Proud mom moment for sure.

Photo of the boys. Credit: Amaya

Photo of bees and honey. Credit: Steven

Crafts to make Rosh Hashanah cards and tzedakah boxes.

First order of business when we got home was diving into the fresh new honey.

Steven and Daddy watched the Lions.

We wrapped it up with a family dinner and I had the best helper prepare. Sammy has always loved to be a kitchen helper and he’s so excited to graduate to real work like slicing cucumbers. What a sweet boy. <3

That’s it for us! Have a great week!

Monday was a beautiful, beautiful day and we took full advantage of Labor Day with a nice long bike ride around the neighborhood. Down the block is a family with another kindergartner, in Amaya’s class, and the mom joined me for my walk with the kids which was nice just prior to the start of school. She has two older boys and it was helpful to get a little extra perspective.

I’m not a huge fan of all of the segregated communities. I prefer to be able to ride/walk from neighborhood to neighborhood. But one nice thing about where we live is the kids can ride a pretty far distance without having to cross any streets thanks to some well placed courts.

How many Clines does it take to change a lightbulb?

We had some burned out bulbs in this high chandelier so Jason got some scaffolding to help with the job. I had so much fun I want to rent out my lightbulb changing services.

Photo credit: Steven

Sammy shucked his very first ear of corn.

Tastes even better after a little labor.

The rest of Monday was prep for the first day of school. (!!!!) Amaya wanted a curly ponytail so we prepped her hair with fancy braids. Braided braids, in fact!

Steven’s Lego creation

This is what lunch and two snacks looks like. We’re getting into a groove!

Ready to go! For the first week, SSA wore name tags with their names, teacher, grade and dismissal plan. Amaya wasn’t thrilled but survived the four days with her “ugly necklace”.

First day of Kindergarten!! It blows my mind that we’re here.

They walked onto that bus without a concern and now I wait hours and hours to hear about their first day. They’re totally ready but I still worried about the little things. Will they use the bathroom? Will they have enough to drink? Will their teachers be able to see them in a class of 22 kids? (What I don’t worry about at all is Amaya choosing to be in her own class. She’s ALL for it.)

When they grow up-
* Steven wants to be an EMT.
* Sammy wants to be a popcorn seller. (Two years running.)
* Amaya wants to be a princess mermaid queen. (Which Sammy says can’t happen because “mermaids aren’t real and you weren’t born to royalty. 😂)

Silly Steven

Sweet Sammy

And our poised fashionista, Amaya

Waiting for the bus! The timing works out well. It arrives around 8:05am which still leaves me enough time to get to 8:30am meetings. We knew the bus stop was on the corner that you can see peeking through the top left of this photo but weren’t sure of the exact location. We had to hustle over to the bus on day 1 when we saw where it actually stopped but it’s in a great location in front of the house next door.

Bus Driver: Turn around a smile for mom!

Steven, Sammy and Amaya hopped on that bus without missing a beat. It was great that they were able to get some practice the last four weeks of camp. The bus driver was great, too. He has the kindergartners sit right behind him and, since we’re the second stop, SSA are right behind him. Nice and safe!

Here you can see how close our house is to our bus stop.

Passing by their school on my way to work, while the kids were still making their way via the bus.

Jason and I were eagerly awaiting news from Gabby that the kids made it home. The bus was late on day 1 which caused me a touch of anxiety but at 4:15pm, here they came! Thanks to Gabby for catching this moment for us. (The bus driver even made a point to confirm that Gabby is an approved adult picking up the kids each day.)

I couldn’t help stalking the front door via the Nest cam while I was waiting for the kids to get home on their first day.

There they are!

It was difficult to get much info out of the kids. How quickly they resort to shoulder shrugs when describing their days! I heard the most about the lunch process and the bathroom. I’m trying to learn what questions to ask to get more details.

Amaya was the toughest because she told me she didn’t go to kindergarten, she went to 5th grade. She didn’t make any friends because all of the kids are older. And her favorite activity was swimming. That about sums up our girl lol.

Later in the week, Sammy told me, ” It’s way way way different than preschool. They don’t have toys!”

Here’s a picture Amaya’s teacher shared of her class on their first day.

Day 2! I was so glad they were still willing to get on the bus.

Day 3!

Thursday Sammy fell on the playground at recess. He had a rough bedtime, worrying about lying on his stomach and irritating his knee. When we finally got him to settle down he was asleep in 5 minutes. (Overall it was a week of emotional nights and kids who were quick to fall asleep.)

Friday – Day 4!

Some “First Friday” pictures of Amaya. She and her friend Emma are nearly inseparable.

Silly class!

The boys had art class on Friday brought home pictures of turtles they drew. I asked how they did these and they said they watched a video that showed them how to draw the turtles step by step. I’m really impressed, especially with Sammy who doesn’t always have a tremendous amount of focus for artwork!

Steven’s turtle

Sammy’s turtle

Amaya wanted to dress me and, foolishly, I said yes. This outfit followed me to CVS, to my office to drop off food for folks working on a weekend project, to the playground and out for lunch. Yikes. (Photo credit: Amaya)

The kids watching the copier lol.

Amaya posing after dropping off treats for my colleagues.

We all went to the kids’ school so they could have space to drive their car.

Amaya was happy to just scooter and play on the playground.

Back out for sushi!

Amaya and Sammy are obsessed with gum.

This weekend Amaya roped me into making hair tie bracelets – one for her and one for Emma.

She’s looking so old these days! And always posing.

I’m hoping to make the most of nice weather while we have it.

Collaborating with a huuuuuuge stick.

Until someone doesn’t like how they’re collaborating!

We started off the morning with breakfast at McDonalds.

Amaya and Sammy wanted to go swimming. Amaya, in particular, has been worked up over not having swimming at school this year and kept saying, “Can we go swimming since I don’t swim at school?” Honestly, they wore me down pretty easily.

The indoor kiddie pool is zero entry to two feet on the left and then 4″ on the right, starting with a 2″ ledge. It’s still a bit too deep for Amaya to swim much without her puddle jumper but she was having a blast. It took Sammy a while to get comfortable floating around in his puddle jumper but eventually he got the hang of it. In these two pictures Amaya is pulling Sammy though the water. 🙂 He kept saying, “I don’t know how to make myself move!”

Before we left they checked out the big pool, which actually starts off 6″ more shallow than the deep end of the kiddie pool.

While we were off at the pool, Steven played a round of golf and then hit up a playground with Jason.

We’re loving our new couch. The red one has amazing memories but, wow, we have such great space for lounging now. All of us at once!

I wrapped up my day with a game of Chutes & Ladders with Steven. After losing to both Sammy and Amaya earlier in the day I was hoping this was my time to shine but, alas, the Cline kids were 3 for 3 against their mom today.

Hopefully week two is equally successful. Fingers crossed!

Have a great week!

This was a gap week be tween the end of camp/our trip to NY and the start of school on Tuesday. I think it was valuable downtime but we also found ourselves in a position to cobble together childcare for a week. We had Monday and Tuesday covered with Penni until Gabby arrived in the afternoon. Friday was an all-day day for Gabby. Wednesday and Thursday were up in the air for the early part of the day. I had the idea to post on the Michigan Triplet Families facebook page to see if anyone knew someone who could help. I have the flexibility to work from home so it was fine if we had someone new come by for those days because I could be in the house with the sitter. It worked! A mom of 4 year old triplets said her sister was free and could help us out. Whoo hoo!!

Monday was a lazy, silly day at home.

On Tuesday, Penni took the kids for new sneakers, out for lunch and then off to get dance shoes. Steven still has the biggest feet!

All was going well until Sammy threw up all over the waiting area of the dance store. Thank goodness Penni was calm and collected through the ordeal. Sammy is not a calm puker. (“Why is this happening!?!? Why is my body doing this!?!?!” He’s also the guy who, last year, wailed “Darn it! Darn it! Darn it!” through a puking episode.) Our Bubba.

It was and odd one and done situation but it did mean I needed to cancel a work party scheduled for our house that night. Sadness.

Amaya with beach hair.

Bedtime snack. Amaya was not having it with the photos.

The dinner party was for my team, half of whom were visiting from out of town last week. Since we canceled the party and I was working from home on Wednesday morning, our sitter (Tricia), the kids and I headed into my office to meet everyone for lunch.

On the way we bumped into Sean, Amaya’s “favorite person” that I work with.

During lunch, Amaya started surveying everyone. “Raise your hand if you’re a lady with earrings.” “Raise your hand if you’re a man.” “Raise your hand if you have a cat.” My colleagues were very generous with their participation. 🙂

A benefit of working from home is cuddles with Sal.

Wednesday evening was Kindergarten open house / Meet the Teacher night. After what feels like a looooooooooooooooong build up, it’s almost here!

On they way to open house we had this exchange –

Me: Boys, do you think people will think you’re twins since you’re in a class together, without Amaya?

Steven: If they do, I’ll say, “Actually we’re triplets.”

Amaya: And they’ll say, “OH MY GOD! That’s amazing!”

 It’s so interesting to see her awareness of people’s reactions.

So when we met the boys’ teacher she did, in fact, ask if they were twins and Steven did, in fact, say “Actually, we’re triplets.” She did not, however, exclaim her amazement. 🙂

(It was interesting to me that Amaya’s teacher knew she’s a triplet with her brothers in another class but the boys’ teacher didn’t seem to have that info.)

One of the great pieces of news for this fall is that Amaya has a friend from pre-k in her kindergarten class! Emma J has Mrs. Shuart also! They were so excited to see each other and held hands the whole night. As they were walking into school Emma said, “Amaya, this is crazy!” lol

Amaya found her seat!

Meeting their teacher. It was pretty chaotic with 22 kids and their parents all checking out the classroom at the same time. Still, their teachers were able to be attentive with all of the kids who came by to say hi.

Steven and Sammy checking out their room. Steven was as chatty as I’ve ever seen him when he met his teacher, Miss M. Sammy said hi and was out of there pretty quickly to check out the rest of the room with Jason. (And while all of this was happening, Amaya was off at the playground with Emma J and her parents.)

Playtime and popsicles after the classroom tour. I was glad to hear that kindergartners get outside for recess twice/day (all the way to 0 degrees).

Tuesday is the big day!

The kids had a quiet morning at home with Tricia on Thursday.

Lemon eater!

Thursday afternoon, Gabby finished up the dance shoe shopping with Steven, Sammy and Amaya. It’s tap and jazz again for Sammy and Amaya and jazz for Steven.

On Thursday night, the boys and their daddy had a sleepover. Amaya got to sleep with me!

I told Amaya it was “bright clothes” day at work. She was determined to dress me. “Daddy, is this bright!?!” How could I say no to this ensemble, especially when it coordinated so well with what Amaya was wearing?

Gabby brought a fun Friday craft for the kids.

They made a short trip to the cider mill and then hit up a playground. I’m counting on many, many more weeks of outdoor weather. I’m not remotely ready to say goodbye to summer.

“We made these to catch butterflies. See? We put in everything that butterflies like.”

The kids were bummed we didn’t have a party at our house on Tuesday night because it meant they couldn’t stay up late. On Friday night we made up for it with a movie night. Sally got in on the fun, too, and for the first time EVER all 3 kids were able to pet her for an extended period.

Saturday was State Fair day! One of Jason’s friends from a local bar got us 4 ultimate pass tickets which was awesome. It was definitely a year for limitless rides!

Ferris Wheel! Amaya was insistent she sit without a grown up.

Steven’s first ferris wheel ride. “Hi Daddy & Sammy!”

Amaya and Sammy tried out this climbing activity which ends with a ride down the covered slide. Sammy loved it and went through multiple times. Amaya panicked at the top of the slide and ended up getting a ride down with a fair employee.

Amaya and Daddy, off exploring

We went on a ton of rides. Many were firmly in the “kiddy” category but others were fun for me, too. Amaya and Steven both went on a second ferris wheel with me. Sammy went on a few rides where he just made the height cut off. That boy loves his thrills!

Steven really pushed himself out of his comfort zone at the fair, but also did a good job pulling back when he knew it was going to be too much for him.

Amaya took a 2nd turn on the ferris wheel with a “friendly stranger”.

Great view!!

Last year Steven wanted nothing to do with this ride.

I think he was telling me about a tire he could see. I think.

Mommy and Sammy on a FAST ride. It made me nostalgic for our Disney trip.

Amaya’s #1 priority was face painting and this place didn’t disappoint.

Wonder Woman!

Hulk!

The Flash!

My loves. <3

Building and racing lego cars. I love seeing how they differ in their choices and approach.

I got to ride the Dumbo type ride with both Amaya and Steven. Another ride that Steven wouldn’t try the year prior!

Steven, Sammy and Amaya desperately wanted to play a game and win a prize so we found an “everyone wins” fishing game for them. Of course the picked the loudest prize there.

Serenading fair-goers.

We wrapped up the day with dinner at Shiro. Man, these kids can put back sushi.

The kids weren’t the only ones tuckered out. <3

Today was a wonderfully lazy day for most of the Clines.

Right out the gate, Amaya wanted to paint shells.

Despite the rain, the boys managed to get some bubble time.

Jason had to go to work and Amaya insisted she wanted to go with him. She can have a pretty solid attention span and Jason was game so I packed up some art supplies and off they went! Going to my dad’s store is such a special childhood memory. It fills me up to know Amaya had this experience today.

Steven, telling Amaya that he and Sammy were going to get to watch a movie while Amaya was with Jason. (My bribe to keep them happily home.)

This girl.

We have one more day home and then we’re off to Kindergarten. These kids are SO ready but it’s still incredible to me that we’re reached this point. Tuesday’s the day! (A special thank you to Aunt Bonnie who recently sent a ton of “bribing” candy which will come in handy on Day 1 when I corral the kids on our stoop for a First Day of School picture.) Have a great week!