to which Reece replies “Yeah, really tight!”

Owen simply says, “Yeah, DUDE!”

Hahaha!! Welcome to a whole new world!

(I know bloggy has been woefully neglected… I decided to take August off from worrying about blogging or scrapping or making loads of kits… I wouldn’t call it a BREAK per say, because… um well, I have FOUR BOYS people! But it was nice to sorta just focus on the “real world” and let the Internet keep on keepin’ on with out me cranking the wheel for a while… goodness knows HOW it ever survived without me!)

So onward to the news at hand! IT IS SEPTEMBER PEOPLE! Which means back to reality for the Clingerman crew. Not only that, but a whole NEW reality for us! This year, we have three little men in school. Not only did our Gareth go back as a THIRD GRADER, but Owen started kindergarten, and we also signed the irrepressible Reece up for 3 days of afternoon Preschool, in order to give him a little taste of the school world and learning to be a bit more of a listener/follower before we hoist him into the public school system. (not to mention that Reece and Owen are SO close in age/such little buddies, it almost seemed unfair to have little Reece at home alone for a year after having constant companionship).

Last night we sorted/tagged/and packed up the loads of back to school supplies, and got three little back packs all ready to go… I have honestly been looking forward to back to school time, the kids were getting restless, the house was seeming small, and my endless reserves of patience were really starting to run dry (hahahaha). I’ve actually been joking about how MUCH I was looking forward to being free(er) for a bit each week, but to my surprise… when I kissed my third grade son goodnight at bed time (actually I tried to get a kiss on my cheek from him, but he just started cracking up and informed me he had completely forgotten how to give kisses!) I felt myself tearing up a bit, mostly with pride… but also with a bit of wistfulness for the days of having my young children that have begun slipping through my fingers.

Today was the big day, and of course my punctual Gareth (his dads son for sure) was awake and watching the clock at 6am. He is so incredibly self sufficient at this point, he needs me to make him a sandwich for lunch and really that’s about that… We were promptly headed out the door for the bus stop with plenty of time, and he was SOOOO excited. It really is fun to see the way Gareth doesn’t stress about new things… he’s completely cool as a cucumber, I think he’s lucky to be born with that “its all good” trait, and on firsts like today it always works to his advantage.

Here he is expressing his excitement over the third grade:

And a close up… I swear, maybe it’s just me… but I swear this kid is gonna be a heartbreaker… he’s sooo handsome!

After Gareth headed off on the bus, Owen and Reece were SO amped up… they wanted to be on their way to school RIGHT THEN… but with afternoon kindergarten and preschool we had a bit of time to kill first…. First they decided to spend that extra time yelling at me… literally… at which point I told them I didn’t want to talk to them anymore and I was not happy… So then, they spent the rest of their free time trying to make it up to me – seriously, they were bringing me “gifts” out of their play room. And Owen even drew a sequence of pictures of him and I doing nice things together (my favorite was when we were running toward each other in a field to hug )

Finally it was time to eat our lunch and head out the door to drop each of them off at school.

Reece was SO stoked… he was seriously yelling something like “YAY SCHOOL” when I took these pictures:

He had absolutely no qualms about me dropping him off, and got right down to the business of getting busy playing!

Owen, had been a bit more quiet… I think he was a bit uncertain of what to expect, and even asked me at one point why I couldn’t just stay with him once we got to school. But as soon as we walked into his classroom, he totally lit right up, he was really excited about the things on his desk and he seriously would barely make eye contact with me he was so distracted by the anticipation of what came next! Here is the one picture I managed to shoot of him in his class, and notice he’s SO not interested in looking at me!

I was surprised at how hard it was for me to leave him… even though he was clearly happy… So after he shoo-ed me out the door, I walked out of his classroom (Tennyson in my arms, Reece at Preschool, Gareth in his third grade class) and for a short second I felt a bit… lost… BUT just for a second! The school secretary saw me, and said “Oh my gosh, you only have ONE boy with you!!!” and I realized, WOW! I was free! Then she said “Hurry RUN!!! go do something before you have to pick them up!”

So, Tennyson and I went to target, and wandered aimlessly, relaxingly, quietly. I browsed the clearance isles (and no one tried to climb under the clothes racks). I tried on some shirts (and no one said anything to the effect of “ewww boobies!”). Tennyson even fell asleep in his stroller! After I felt like I’d wandered to my hearts content (and found a few dang good deals on some tops!) – I went and got a coffee…. It was divine! Then I drove back a bit early and just waited for Reece’s school to get out listened to the radio in peace and felt… well calm! Life is a good many things with 4 sons, most of them wonderful…. but what it usually is NOT is calm.

After we picked up Reece and then Owen (no busses for Kindergarten this week, but next week that starts up) we came home and Gareth met us a few minutes later after having ridden the bus. The boys all had such wonderful days they were just thrilled, and they spent a good 15 minutes in the living room with me, telling each other about their days. It was a moment for the memory banks.

Now, its a regular, normal evening around her… but it is also sort of the dawn of a new era for us…. And although not every day will be so peaceful (I do have better plans for my time on a regular basis than spending money at Target), it is nice to watch our little family evolve to this next step. I really am impressed with the ease with which all three of them are growing and changing and moving into this next phase – and with pride seeping out through my tear ducts, I can’t wait to see what is to come for my amazing little men!

They bicker and fight over EVERYTHING, they scream, they yell, sometimes they even hit…. and they make me completely insane…. But then out of the blue, they get together and they play and they smile and they giggle like this (they are both holding Owens blanket here and sucking their thumbs – apparently this is the funniest thing ever)… and that is when I remember, THIS is what its all about.

A sibling is an automatic best friend for life. I know from personal experience just how priceless that is! (I love you Liz!) Owen and Reece are only 16 months apart and it has been crazy at times to say the least, but you know what – you’re welcome guys… because I know we’ve given you the greatest gift we possibly can.

Here’s to siblings!

(I know I’ve been a bit quiet! Its been a busy past few weeks, but I should pop in with SOMETHING – and Owen and Reecey are total bff today, so i thought it’d be a good siblings post day I’ll be back later to show you all what I’ve been up to.)

it is like his way of pretending that he is difficult… Silly boy – with those cute little shiny eyes and cute little freckles… there is just no face that this mommy doesn’t want to smootch right up!

Even his stinky face is just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!

The boys have been DYING for some hot days too, and every time the sun is out they ask me if it’s “water hot” … well today it FINALLY is!

Now if only mommy could take advantage of this sunshine and run away to the beach for the weekend! Or go sit somewhere by a pool and sleep!

This year for his birthday, and to celebrate his last year before school starts, my parents are taking Owen on a special trip, just for him to Disneyland!

This morning bright and early I drove Owen to the airport and we met up with grandma and grandpa to send them off on their big trip!  Owen was so sweet and excited, it is not often as the middle guy around here that he gets to go do things just for him with out the brothers, and a trip to disney is something EXTRA special to make up for it.

Instead of running and jumping and screaming in his excitement, Owen was more serious and intense about it all, and he held his lips really tight and his little eyes were just shining.  I snapped this picture at the airport and tried to get him to smile, but he just looked at me
with his most intense of expressions – so I tried asking him to say “I’M GOING TO DISNEYLAND,” but he just looked at me like I was crazy and instead gave me the expression you see above.  He said “MOM, this IS my excited face”.  Pretty adorable to see all that excitement just bubbling under the surface.
We already miss him around here, both the brothers have already told me “I miss Owen”.  Pretty sweet

Have a good time Owen!  We’ll see you soon!!!

My sweet Owen, he is such a wonderful little soul. I am constanly amazed by how smart he is, how generous he is, and his sweet spirit is always shining through. This is the year that Owen starts Kindergarten, and it just seems like five marks the beginning of a whole new chapter in his life.
We are going to have his birthday party with his friends next weekend, but this weekend we got together with my parents and sisters at my sister Liz’s house. My niece has a birthday just a few days before Owen so we got together and had a family party for the two of them.

Here are a few pictures:

I love you Mr. Owen Daniel Clingerman!!!

One big goal I have had for this week, aside from trying to get some fun activities for the kids squeezed in, is that I really needed to get the three shaggy headed brothers in to get haircuts – usually I do this myself, but seriously three haircuts is not something that we just do in 10 mins and get done, it is quite the ordeal with bribing and begging to sit still, not to mention the mounds of hair EVERYWHERE to clean up afterwards… I have to admit, although I’m feeling pretty good, and getting ALMOST everything that is vital squeezed into my days, I just don’t have it in me to face the whole home hair cut fiasco.

Well today it was soooo nice out, very much like spring should be, and the boys were so kind to tennyson and I this morning, letting us sleep in (thank you very much to the new pokemon video!). So feeling rather well rested, I decided to bathe all the boys, put Tennyson in the stroller and take a walk down the road to great clips and get my boys hair cut (let THEM clean up the hair and deal with the wiggles this time).

Here is Tennyson all ready to go:

The boys were all about helping push – it was sweet, they really take such good care of him. Here are all four brothers together:

I hate the home haircuts because the kids will NOT sit still and they whine and all in all it is miserable for everyone. But ofcourse, when we go somewhere, it is like three totally different children! They were soooooo good, and even my Reecey, who has quite a bit of spunk in him, was a total angel – I couldn’t believe how still he sat, I don’t think I’ve even ever sat so still for a haircut.

Afterwards, they were sooo handsome They were proud too, even posed (somewhat) for a picture together!

After haircuts we all shared a tuna sub at the Subway next door, then we all headed home – I was feeling so pleased with my four sweet boys. Tennyson was so peaceful – he loved being outside and fell fast asleep, and the three big brothers were really good for me. I was a bit nervous about our first walk together with all four (and with my worn out postpartum body) but instead of it feeling stressful, it was so refreshing. I was so pleased with how good the kids were for me, and we all had a really great time.

As I was reveling in my wonderful outing with the kids, they totally put the icing on the cake with this little scene:

As if that wasn’t enough, then they all started yelling together “WE ARE THREE BUDDIES” seriously – one of those moments that make a mommy smile from ear to ear.

Then Gareth yells – MOM turn on your video camera (uh yeah, I’d forgotten my camera did this…) So, it would make Gareth very happy if you click HERE and see them in action (i still need to figure out a pluggin that will let me embed these things here on my blog).

All in all, it was a beautiful day – we got home with out a hitch and I breathed a deep sigh of relief… and then another sigh, because life is so darn good!