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!