It Began with a BBFT

You may have heard  me say this before . . .

change is not my strong suit.

I can rattle off a list of changes that triggered tears and emotions--

transition to college
transition out of college
transition to marriage
transition to parenthood (I literally stood in the garage crying the day I went into labor with the twins, telling Ryan that I wasn't ready to do this yet)

At these times, it is not that I am not excited for what is to come--clearly they are all very positive changes--it's just that it involves new territory and leaving behind times filled with amazing memories and nostalgia.

Today is no different. It is our official start of Kindergarten (we are part of a homeschool co-op community that has 'school' once a week) for the girls and preschool for Ben.  I can hear the hinges creaking mightily as Grace and Lydia close the door on the preschool years and turn the page to school years chapter. I know, I know--we are homeschooling so why the drama? Well, regardless of whether they are going to an official building every day or working at home with mom, the same principle holds true--we are launching into a new era which merit's some sappy pictures and a dedicated post.

At the time that I am writing this, Grace and Lydia are still snoozing but soon they will be up, scrambling into their new outfits which they carefully laid out last night,  putting on their backpacks and starting the day as shiny new kindergartners. It is surreal that we have passed the very long yet very full younger years with them. I am proud of the young girls they have become and excited to see what God has for them in the upcoming years.

It is equally surreal that my little man Benson is forging ahead into the preschool years. He is looking forward to it and is rockin' a very cool batman backpack.

We are prayerful and excited about this next step for our family. I know they will love it and I will too--since I get to be a big part of it via the homeschooling process. Stay tuned for more on that front.





Cliche yet adorable school pics below. Artwork compliments of Ryan.

Gotta finish the 3rd installation of vacation 2014 even if it was 3 months ago. After 7 days of family vacation it was time to knock the sand off of the beach toys, to gather the explosion of stuff we managed to bring and funnel it back into the family van once more for the trek home. Although we made the drive to vacation in one day we were not about to attempt that on the way home--not with 4 very overtired kids and 2 very overtired parents. We decided to split it up and so we were able to stay a little longer on the day of departure and enjoy just a couple more hours of island time. It was just enough time for a squirrel to get into our house that Ryan eventually chased out and for Ben to poop on the bathroom floor. Thank goodness we took our time leaving, otherwise I might have missed those life events!

So, the squirrel. We had gone on a bike ride that morning and Ryan arrived back at the house before the rest of us. We get this group text picture of a squirrel perched on the arm of the couch!  So of course while Ryan was trying to deal with the squirrel we were all rapid fire texting him: "how did he get in?" "Did you try peanut butter?" "What room is he in?"  Poor Ryan. I guess one of the kids had left the door open and hilton head squirrels apparently need to relax as much as anyone so he just came on in to check it out. When Ryan arrived home he saw an open door and then heard noises upstairs. He assumed it was an intruder at first. He hollered and waited for the confrontation that was to come but the noise kept right on going. So, brave soul that he is (compared to me--I would have called 911 and locked myself in the car) went upstairs to check it out and that's when he found our friend the squirrel jumping repeatedly into the glass doors that lead to the patio. The kids and I arrived soon after and my job was that of observer of the upper deck doors (to be sure he actually left) as Ryan flushed out the tiny invader. Whew, crisis averted.

The poop. Well as any seasoned parents know, packing up for a trip--on either end--is one of the most stressful parts. It always takes longer than you think it will take and with little ones it is basically a two steps forward one step back operation. So we were frantically packing and the kids were just roaming and playing. Then my sister says very calmly (this of course if the sister of 3.5 kids) "uh Heather, Ben just pooped on the floor of the bathroom".  Sure enough, there he was squatting over a full on pile of poop about 2 feet from the toilet. I guess he gets points for trying--and for doing it on the tile floor rather than the carpet. Regardless though it was not fun to clean up.

The ride home was not too traumatic. At one point a couple of the kids were asleep and Ben reported he had to pee--well I was not about to stop for that when I had two snoozing kids (one of them being the unsinkable Jack Battles) so I told Ben he had to pee in a diaper. Ben balked at that at first but he was easily swayed by a sucker in exchange for one pee in a diaper while driving. Deal. So I somehow wedged a diaper in there, he peed, and we were good to go. Pinterest that! Thank you Oprah Mom confessions (yes, some lady peed in a diaper on a road trip so as not to wake the kids--and I for one totally get it--I haven't done it--but I get it) for the idea.

Upon arrival to the hotel we enjoyed a nutritious meal of pizza, the kids took a quick dip in the frigid hotel pool (like seconds--it was just that cold) and settled into our hotel room. We somehow got all 4 kids sleeping in various nooks and crannies of the room by 8:30. Ahh, success.

We made it home with enough time to get unpacked a little bit, start some laundry and I was even able to make it to my evening yoga class for some much needed exercise therapy.  Although my purpose was to 'get away from it all' and I was tired as all get out, my mind kept drifting to thoughts of vacation and the memories that were made.  The waves of thankfulness started crashing in. Thankful for a family that loves each other and WANTS to take the time and resources to spend a week together, thankful for time with timeless friends, thankful for siblings (and siblings in law) that love my kids and helped out with them like they were their own, thankful for time to just play outside, thankful for parents who remember the challenges of young kids and help out in every way possible . . .

So we survived the 'getting there' and now for the best part--the whole reason we endure the 'getting there' . . . the staying there!   We were drained from the crazy all day ride (have I mentioned the getting there yet?) and were looking forward to a good nights sleep.  Last year Ben slept in my parent's closet and did wonderfully (never fear, it is about the size of a normal bedroom) so we decided to do that again. We offered him a toddler mattress but he begged for the pack n play which he barely fits in but he shimmied in like a champ and was out for the night . . . until about 5:30am when he decided to get out and check out his surroundings. Of course he had to say hi to grandma and grandpa at that ungodly hour. Upon hearing him on the monitor I swooped down and extracted him and what else could I do in a house full of sleeping people with a wired 3 year old but head to the beach? I had ambitiously planned to get in some early morning workouts so he and I hopped on a bike and got our first glimpse of the beach.  I tried to get in some semblance of a workout while he chased seagulls, waves and dogs as the sun slowly crept upwards on the scenic horizon. As disgruntled as I was to get up so early on day 1 I have to admit it was kind of fun and definitely a moment to remember with my little man.

With 13 adults and 10 kids how could the week be anything but fun, entertaining, crazy and exhausting? It did not disappoint. We were able to hangout with some of our other dear friends as well (The Nobles, my mom and dad #2 growing up and Susan--our honorary sibling--and her husband Dan and son Matthew) which made the week all the more memorable.

We moved to the next level with the bike riding this year as the girls are solid two wheel riders now sans training wheels. We didn't let them ride solo the whole time but did some family rides and allowed them to try their hand at independent riding a few times. They did great but I thought I was going to have a heart attack from anxiety at every intersection and stop sign.

We had only one significant near drowning event involving Ben which is a huge improvement from last year's record setting year of 4 attempted drownings. I was inside with Jack and Ben was instructed to get his floatie on before getting into the pool. He neglected to ask for help with the back buckle, jumped in and I guess his floatie just floated off. I didn't see it but came out on the patio that is above the pool and I saw a little submerged blond head not 3 feet from no less than 3 swimming dads. I hollered for some life saving to be done and he was quickly rescued. He did not require any resuscitation and other than some tears was no worse for the wear so he must not have been under very long. It apparently has and a huge impact on him though because almost every night he thanks God that dad saved him from drowning (that's right, no credit for mom) and he prays that he won't drown again and that someone will buckle his floatie next time. Geez Ben, squeezing my heart little man!  So next time Ben is going to just eat/sleep and drink while wearing his floatie. Jack too for that matter.

Jack was at that tough vacation age where he just wanted to crawl to his death in the pool or to his death in the waves or coat himself in sand and cry his eyes out. Next year will be better. Thankfully with so many loving family members around we had a lot of help which made all the difference. My sister Amy was especially helpful and was his nanny for the week. Couldn't have done it without her!

My parents generously offered to stay with the sleeping munchkins in the evenings for the sibs/spouses to go out which was always a good time. We still like each other after all these years :).

We taught the kids how to play 4 square on the beach which was  a hit and we had quite the age range of players from 75 down to 5. The 75 year old was no less competitive than the 5 year old (namely Lydia, my little clone). It was a fun tradition to start and hopefully continue.

The annual family picture was way less painful than usual. We still bribed the kids with lots of candy but they all did surprisingly well.

The annual family mecca to Hilton Head Island has come and gone and it is still choc full o' blogging material. I am sure that when they are teenagers the post will be able to be summarized in one sentence, but for now I think a 3 part series is still in order.

The packing list was similar this year--we aren't at the downsizing phase yet. It included but was not limited to: 2 pack n plays, a tent, two camping mattresses (explanation to follow in next post), a travel high chair, 4 bike helmets, 2 suitcases, 3 kids duffels, 50+ diapers (our lowest # yet!), 2 puddle jumper floaties (our anti drown devices), a myriad of books and noisy toys, multiple i-devices, plastic bags for vomiting, snacks, snacks snacks and the ever essential old person grabber stick for handing out snacks and toys to the back seat travelers.

We decided to attempt the trip in one day since last year's hotel stay was horrible to say the least (see Getting there 2013) so we woke the kids up early in the morning and loaded 'em up. Did they go back to sleep you ask? Of course not, this is the Battles vacation--it cannot be that easy. It all started out ok with everyone in good spirits. One hour into our drive Ben pointed out the window and said excitedly "Mommy look, I see Hilton Head!"  To which we responded "Where?" and he pointed out the window at the flat boring landscape of central Ohio and hollered "There!"  Not yet buddy, not yet.

2.5 hours into our trip both girls complained simultaneously that they felt sick.  Unfortunately they inherited their mom's carsickness and Ohio backroads plus the new tinker bell movie was not a good combo. We had vaca puke fest last year (see Leaving there 2013 ) so I was prepared this time and each girl had their own one gallon ziploc puke bag. Not long after their declaration Grace used hers and was a tidy puking superstar. I was quite proud of my preparedness and my vomiting offspring, zipped up the puke bag and we were good to go . . . that is until 15 minutes later when Grace yelled "I have to throw up again!"  I did the mini van yoga leap to the back seat and told Lydia (who seemed to have recovered from her carsickness) to quickly hand me her bag to which she replied (while clutching the precious bag) "No! I might need it!"  Well, I had no choice but to pull my sternest mom voice to demand the bag--thankfully she quickly complied and Grace promptly filled it up again!  This led to our first stop of the day---a West Virginia Kmart and let me tell you it was probably the best stop of the day.

We looked pretty rough straggling into a Kmart at 8:30 in the morning with the boys still in their jams and the girls green around the gills with crazy unbrushed hair. We were momentarily distracted by the outside sale racks ($1.98 for pjs or a hot pink faux fur kids vest? amazing!) and the 3 horse coin merry go round (total throwback to my younger kmart days) but eventually made our way to the ziploc bag section and the dramamine section after another brief detour to the shoe section (BOGO kids shoes?  Amazing again!). We changed the boys out of their pjs (right in the aisle of course because it was Kmart in West Virginia), accidentally stole a pair of shoes which we promptly returned to the braless customer service lady, let the kids ride on the circa 1970 mini merry go round and we were on our way again with anti-motion sickness meds all around.

Jack, who on any given day will fall asleep in the car for a routine trip to the library decided to be 'the unsinkable Jack Battles' and to only sleep 30 minutes the entire ride despite a small dose of Benadryl. I mean seriously Jack. C'mon. I can't complain though--after the pukey start the rest of the trip was relatively routine with a lot of time spent sitting in the middle seat between Ben and Jack, alternately handing them toy-then snack-then toy then snack and so on and so forth. We eventually made it in one piece, set up camp for the week and were even able to go out for a date thanks to my lovely parents.

I did not do much in the way of photojournalism on the way down but got one fuzzy shot of the back of the van for posterity.