Overheard Owen from the other Room: “Oh man that was REALLY TIGHT DUDE!”

to which Reece replies “Yeah, really tight!”

Owen simply says, “Yeah, DUDE!”

Hahaha!! Welcome to a whole new world!

and wow, does this September ever feel God sent!

(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!

There is something about seeing these two together….

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.)

“Mom, isn’t Reecey is WONDERFUL”

I think I want to be Reece when I grow up!

Well usually I’m not a huge fan of the HEAT, but it has been so wet and rainy and cold so much this spring that a few hot days are so welcome even to me!

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!