We are having an incredible week, so I made strawberry cupcakes. I’m pretty sure that’s a normal reaction…

William will start attending his new preschool by the end of next week. He will be in the morning program, Monday through Friday. I am happy for him, but I am going to miss the little man. I guess we both need this to prepare for September. Our district has full day kindergarten!

There are lots of exciting things on the horizon, evoking a constant I-can’t-believe-this-is-happening feeling. I will explain later! For now, I’ll leave you with Mia, reading her favorite poem.

Winter is approaching. The last apple is about to fall from our trees,

and frost glistens on the lawn.

Molly and Mia sang at a nursing home with the church choir last night. They were really reaching out to the residents. I’m so proud of them! One woman spent a lot of time talking to them. Micah said the woman reminded him of his grandmother. It choked him up a bit. We both believe that she is watching over our family.

We have been very busy this week, but there are a lot of check marks on our to-do list. I have an appointment with the school psychologist and Molly’s teacher to review the evaluations before the IEP meeting. I hope to walk out feeling confident that everything will work out. I have been praying about this for a long time. We will have an answer on Wednesday.

Will approached us at the breakfast table with a paper towel roll. He wanted us to make a sword out of it. I grabbed a box of tin foil, and it went from there. He ended up with a full knight costume.

I can get ridiculously out of hand really creative sometimes. It didn’t last very long, but it made his morning.

Micah watched the kids while I was on the treadmill. I came upstairs to find a nice surprise:

The twins were covered in chocolate. They had so much fun! They made brownies, too. Needless to say, dessert was fabulous tonight.

Bob the turkey is thawing in the fridge. It’ll just be us this year, enjoying my subpar cooking! It’s easy not to disappoint when most of your guests are under the age of eight. I’ve done this a few times (seven, to be precise), so I can handle it!

It is a beautiful fall day. We started our morning with the usual rush, but once everyone was at school, we took Lily to Panera. When we were done, we picked up Barney and went for a walk.

Micah has been working night shifts for about a month. I think I finally worked out a good schedule to accommodate it, but it’s been difficult. We really value our family dinners on his days off, and it’s been nice to have a walking buddy every day!

$4.25 buys a lunch plate and priceless wisdom.

Mama’s running out of ways to keep her babies cool and entertained.

Micah had two consecutive days off. Family days are the best.

1. Tie a hose above the slide, inflate kiddie pool (complete with another inflatable arch fail):

I like to think of it as a poor man’s water slide. This was actually a success… for parents, too! Not that we would be caught dead on play equipment… especially with neighbors around. Really.

Lily had her own little play area, complete with a big umbrella and sprinkler access. She is endlessly entertained by watching her siblings.

2. Go berry picking. OK, this isn’t the best idea in 95ish degree heat, but on the upside, there were no bugs. The farm owners were so nice, and chatted us up for a while before we crawled back into the air conditioned car. Lots of fun, and lots of encouragement to eat as many blueberries as we wanted while picking because they would never all get picked.

Sunscreen works wonders. Straw hats would have made us look like idiots… Very comfortable idiots. Maybe next time. We were also smart enough to bring water bottles, which Miss Lily enjoyed immensely.

3. Get ice cream! I was pretty surprised when they rang up our five cones for less than $9.00. I am getting really good at these family-days-on-the-cheap thing. The place was even air conditioned.

There is nothing like a little quiet time to wind down at the end of the day. They watch TV. Yes, future parents, it really is OK to let your kids watch a little.

Everyone was so tired and went straight to bed on time. I grilled, and Micah and I were able to have dinner outside. It’s finally cooling off. I am simply blissed out. I hope you are all having a fabulous weekend!

No matter how many times people send you flowers in your lifetime, they will never be quite as special as handpicked wildflower bouquets from your children.

We’ve been super busy lately, but I swear, I will get around to a new mama-musings post very soon!