It’s Friday, which means game night. We play a board game or two (usually more than once), have a snack, and then end the night with a few hands of Uno. It is Adam and Luke’s favorite game. Whenever someone plays a “skip” card, they sing.

Maggie was not pleased that she and Dave were the ones skipped.

If Dave looks a little less than thrilled with Maggie’s kiss here, it’s because her very messy face was covered with macaroni and cheese. I still think it’s a cute picture though.

Luke’s favorite thing to wear lately is a button down shirt with sweat pants. He just needs someone to help him with the “dots” (which is what he calls buttons).

Adam assembling one of the Lego sets he got for Christmas.

We’ve been having family game nights on Fridays.

The kids played while we waited to get Luke’s stitches taken out.

Maggie calls sunglasses “cool dude glasses” and I love it.

Adam had a snow day last week.

Maggie helped clear the snow from the driveway.

That is until she and her brothers ambushed me with snowballs.

Maggie was carrying that t-rex around for a while in place of her normal baby dolls. She was giving him a bottle in that picture.

This was a gymnastics day – it’s so hard to keep Maggie from napping on those days.

Another game night.

The boys decided the normal Chutes & Ladders pieces were too boring.

Did you know January 22nd was National Polka Dot Day? Maggie rocked the dots from head to toe in celebration of it.

Adam had his first basketball game last weekend. He did great and was named the MVP of the game.

So that’s what we’ve been up to.

Adam had a really hard time the first couple of months of kindergarten. He never went to preschool, so the seven hours and fifteen minutes a day he spent away from me was really hard for him.

I did what I could to help with the transition. I put notes in his lunch box and snack bag each day. I put a small picture of the two of us in his backpack for him to look at whenever he needed. I bought a book about a little raccoon that missed his mama raccoon when he went off to school each night (they are nocturnal, you know).

We read the book each and every night before he went to bed. So often in fact, that I ended up memorizing it and would recite it to him each morning on our walk to the bus stop. Before he got on the bus each morning, I would kiss the center of each of his paws, just like the mama raccoon in the book, so that he had those kisses with him all day long.

Some days were harder than others.

There were days when he hopped on the bus with barely a backward glance. And there were days when I sent him up the bus steps and both of us had tears in our eyes.

It was just as hard for me to let go, as it was for him to leave.

All of the sudden he was spending all of this time away from me. He was having experiences, good and bad, that I wasn’t a part of. He was learning so much from classmates, teachers, kids on the bus – people that weren’t me.

And I was mostly okay with it all. I want our children to have wonderful, amazing, truly awesome experiences – both with Dave and me, and without. I knew that sending Adam off to school each day, even on the hard days, was necessary and would eventually get easier for both us.

Plus, it was something I could plan for. I read articles online, printed lunch box notes, and read the raccoon book. I knew what time the bus would pick him up and when it would bring him home again. I did everything I could to make the transition easier for him.

And I really feel like that’s our job as parents, isn’t it? We do our best to prepare them to go out in the world without us. Whether it’s kindergarten, college, or a move across the county, we just do all we can to help them be successful on their own.

I feel like my own parents did an amazing job in that respect. It’s not very humble of me, I know, but I am incredibly proud of the family and the life that Dave and I have created together, and I know it would not have been possible without the example they provided. I would not be the mom I am today without them.

I have learned so much from my parents: be polite to janitors, stand up for yourself, always put family first, be prepared to work for what you want, be a leader (not a follower), keep your ducks in a row, don’t burn the candle at both ends – way too many things to list here.

It turns out though, that the hardest lesson, is one I have to figure out on my own – how to go on without them.

My dad was diagnosed with cancer in November of 2014. He fought it, with everything he had. Unfortunately, in my family we learned a long time ago that cancer doesn’t fight fair, and my dad was taken from us a year later.

And I hate it.

I hate that Adam couldn’t call my dad up on Saturday to tell him all about his basketball game. Adam made two baskets and was named the MVP of the game. Papa would have been the proudest of all.

I hate how terrified Luke was two weeks ago, when I told him I needed to take him to the hospital after he slipped on the ice in our driveway and split his chin open. He thought going to the hospital meant he was going to die. It never crossed my mind that he would link the two stitches he needed to the last time he saw his papa.

I hate that Papa’s Princess (Maggie), my nephews, and any future grandchildren, will only really know my dad through pictures and stories.

It’s hard not to be angry at the unfairness of it all. My mom told me, “You had 36 years with an amazing dad and not everyone can say that.” And she was right (she normally is), but I can’t help feeling cheated. And while I wanted so much more, I am so thankful for the life he gave me, the lessons he taught me, and the memories he left me.

I’m trying not to be so mad, I really am. I know that if I didn’t have such an incredible dad and didn’t love him so much, that this wouldn’t hurt so badly. I’m not alone in this grief, I know my mom, my siblings, and so many others are hurting too. And so, in that respect, this heartache is just a reminder of how lucky we are, to have known such a wonderful man.

And I don’t doubt for a second, that it was just as hard for me to let go, as it was for him to leave.

I met with Adam’s teacher last night. Adam is doing great in first grade. His teacher said that he is doing really, really well with his math, reading, and spelling. He follows directions, listens, and pays attention.

He does need to work on one thing – he talks too fast. His teacher said she’d like him to try to speak a little slower (no idea where he gets that from – haha).

She also said he’s very kind and a really good friend to the other kids in the class, and then gave me a couple of examples too.

That was probably the best thing I took away from the meeting. I want all our children reach their potential and try their best academically. But more importantly, I want them to be good people. I want them to be polite and respectful. I want them to be kind.

My Grandpa Jim always used to say, “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.” That saying always stuck with me. I have a copy of it framed and sitting on my desk, and Adam has heard me say it more than a few times.

So I am incredibly proud of my first grader.

He can tell you the meaning of big words like “echolocation”. He can give you an example of an idiom and tell you the difference between fiction and non-fiction. He has awesome handwriting and is a great speller. He loves math and numbers. He is reading so well. He did fantastically on the standardized tests they took at the start of the year.

And he is kind.

I was able to get a video of Adam during his class tonight. He says, “gymnastics is fun.” He is doing really well, his cartwheels need some help though.

Here are some pictures I took a couple of weeks ago, of the the kids in their Halloween costumes. The boys decided earlier on they wanted to dress up as Star Wars characters, and poor Margaret didn’t have a choice.

Although, I will say, she makes an adorable Princess Leia.

I am very proud of how their costumes turned out. They are a mix of re-purposed thrift store finds and things we had around the house. Maggie’s was the easiest. I bought a turtleneck and a t-shirt, cut them up, and sewed them together. I found a free pattern online to make her belt and the silver fake leather came from Joann Fabrics. The hardest part was getting her to try it on so I could fit it to her.

Luke’s was also pretty easy. We had the long brown cloak in our dress-up bin (technically it’s a cowboy duster). I found the boots, long sleeve shirt, and pants at the second-hand shop. The vest and belt were made from an old t-shirt and purse of mine that were going to be donated.

Adam’s outfit was the most labor intensive. I found the boots, pants, and a black corduroy jacket at the thrift shop. I bought his shirt and belt from Wal-mart. The shirt was originally white though, so I used tea to dye it to a light tan color. I chopped the sleeves off of the jacket and shortened it. I also had to relocate the pockets and add a few new ones, to make it accurate enough for Adam. I ironed the red dashed stripes on the legs of his pants. The holster was the most difficult part. I used that old purse of mine again to create it and had some help from Dave figuring out how to attach the belt buckle (it’s just cardboard covered in duct tape – but it has a magnetic snap to close it).

And here they are with their movie counterparts, so you can see how well we did (I told you I was proud).

Luke as Obi-Wan Kenobi (do NOT call him Luke Skywalker!)

Adam as Han Solo.

And Maggie as Princess Leia.

As much as I love how the costumes turned out, the kids love them even more. The boys ask if they can wear them several times a week. So I would definitely call this year’s costumes a success.

Hope you all have a Happy Halloween!

Adam’s teacher has been sharing a picture or two a day of his class and their daily activities. She posted this one about an hour ago with the caption, “Twinsies on pumpkin carving day!”

I am so thankful that Adam was put in her classroom this year. I have been very impressed with the way first grade has gone so far, and I love that he is so excited about school each day.

Dave is flying solo this week with the kids and his biggest concern was how he was going to handle Maggie’s hair.

I think his first attempt at pigtails turned out pretty well!

Dave and the kids got me a cookie cake for my birthday last week. It was a busy day, Adam had church school and a soccer game that night and poor Luke fell asleep before dinner and missed out on the cake.

Maggie and Luke are both doing great at gymnastics.

Adam was so excited to send pictures of himself in his Bengals gear to my Western NY family before their game against the Bills this past Sunday.

He was thrilled that the Bengals won, but changed into his Buffalo Bills sweatshirt (they’re his 2nd favorite team) after the game, so they wouldn’t feel too bad.

Maggie is still all about her “babies”.

Adam aced last week’s spelling and math tests. Luke had fun matching up letters and going over his colors – even if we did run out of uppercase letter tiles. Adam and his friend AJ were accidental twins yesterday. They are aren’t in the same class at school, but they ride the same bus, played on the same soccer and basketball teams, and are in the same church school class (which is where I snapped this picture). The boys thought it was hilarious and decided to wear their basketball shirts to school tomorrow so that they can match again. Adam had me text the mom of his best friend, who was also on his team, and ask that he wear his basketball shirt too.

Adam has a really great group of kids that he has chosen as friends, and that makes me so happy.