School is over!

The school year flew by (literally) and I now have a second grader and a first grader AND an almost preschooler!!!

Josh ended 1st grade with Mrs. Busi on June 2nd ... his class put on a wonderful play called "the Rainbow People". Josh was chosen to be the Narrator and he took his position very seriously!!! He was really on top of who did what when and who said what ... not to mention reading his part perfectly! He practiced at home for about 2 weeks and did a phenomenal job!!! Both Ryan & I were so proud!! He had a very successful year in 1st grade as well. Straight "O's" on his report card and is reading at a 3rd grade reading level. He tested very proficient in Math (did not get that from his momma!). I was pretty much in tears (yes AGAIN) over how I was able to produce such a smart and sweet child. Don't know how it happened but it DID!! Josh played soccer for AYSO in the fall (2010) and then took up swimming at the RHS pool again this past May. He will swim all summer there -- I really hope he makes the swim team this year because that is all he seems to be interested in. He doesn't care to play soccer again in the fall, which is FINE by me!!

My Maddie-Girl did a FANTASTIC job in Kindergarten this year! She had the same teacher as Josh did in K (Mrs Morris) and I will be sad not to see and help her in her classroom this coming year. She had a rough couple of months overcoming her "shyness" and at one point I heard that she was alone hiding under the slide at every recess until she finally met and became friends with the kids in her class. That almost killed me because that is NOT me (nor her brothers or father) and plus to see your child in an uncomfortable situation or position, you just want to run and make everything all better. But I couldn't make friends for her and eventually she did! Her best friend is Isabella (and still Gianna from preschool) but she and Isabella definately had a great year together!! We were worried about her social abilities at the first report card conference but after Christmas something just clicked and she ended up having a great year!! She had a perfect report card and also tested high in Math and Reading (I'm not kidding...WHERE did I get these smarty-pants kids?!)

Mad played soccer for AYSO like Josh (those were some LONG Saturdays in Sept-Oct-Nov!!) and then we switched her to a new dancing school in Redlands where she will be in her first recital this coming weekend. She's been dancing since about 20 months so I am estatic!! She is asking to add a tap class now in the fall so we will see about that.

So now we are into the summer and I MUST blog again (think I did last year too) about Tyler and his "Adventures in Potty Training" .....

Student of the Month!!

October 2010 ~ Yesterday I attended an assembly at Smiley where Josh was awarded Student of the Month for the month of October! I was so proud and I tried not to get all mushy (esp since my inlaws were sitting right there with me) as they called his name! Josh is the kind of kid who gets "overly" excited and you should have seen his face when he discovered that he was being called up on stage as he called it (there really was no stage!) And then, when his very good friend Morad's name was announced, he was more happy for Morad, than he was for himself. I don't think anyone clapped louder than Josh! What a good kid I have!! I am one proud Momma!!

The Tooth Fairy!

Josh finally lost his first tooth tonight! Before he went to bed, I asked to check and see how loose his tooth had gotten. It was pretty wobbly...so I encouraged him to wiggle and play with it as he got into bed. Lo and behold, 15 minutes later, out comes Josh, displaying in his hand the teeniest tooth I'd ever seen! He excitedly proclaimed, "there is not as much blood as Daddy said there would be!" ha-ha! Then he asked to call each of his grandparents. Aw!!

He is starting to ask a lot of questions about the Tooth Fairy .... questioning her ability to know when children have lost a tooth, how does she know where to go, how does she get in, where does she keep all the teeth ... hmm!! I'd better not be hearing Santa questions in December! I want a few more years of Santa power!

Did you know that the Tooth Fairy gets a special text message when a child looses a tooth??

Joshua's missing tooth ~ 9/26/2010

Pathetic! AND Updates!

My children's first day of school (August 12th) came and went. Where was the blog you ask? Where are the pictures? Where the heck did Caryn go? Pathetic!!

After learning from a friend that my blog was "messed up," I checked it out for myself and sure enough, some "image removed" thing was all over the place. Ugh. So back to square one and now I am up and running again, ready to blog more consistently .... I think.

Josh had a very good start to his school year. He is in 1st grade with Mrs. Busi, and he is loving every minute of it ... well, maybe not the homework part!! It is a total fight almost every night, complete with kicking and screaming, which reminds me a lot of the terrible twos ... but I digress! It's not like the homework is hard, or that he can't do it. He just wants to play! And I DO let him play after school for about an hour or so - you know, to relax and unwind. I can totally understand how it is a big jump from kinder to 1st. 1/2 day vs. whole day, group/table work vs. individual work, and all that! But I seriously would rather walk over hot coals some days than do homework with my son. Hopefully it gets better. I am praying for a miracle here.

So since August 12th, Josh has turned 7 (September 1st), and we had a party for him at the Jump Zone (which Ryan missed because he was away with you-know-who) and we were able to spend his actual birthday with him at Disneyland, which was a lot of fun!! Josh also started playing AYSO soccer again (year 2) and he is ... well, let's just say that the coach and the parents get good kick out of Josh on the field. I love him to death, but just don't think he is cut out for soccer. We've had 3 games and he is improving, which is good! He was player of the week this week, for what, we are not sure. LOL

Maddie also started school on the 12th. She has Mrs. Morris (same teacher Josh had, yay!) and to my surprise, she went to school skipping and jumping and sooo very excited! Where were the tears? The "don't go Mommy" pleas? I was proud of her for her "mature behavior" but a little sad that she didn't fuss the way she did in PreSchool to stay home with Mommy. So I swallowed my disappointment (haha) and let her go - only the tears were from me and not her. She had a slow start ... very shy and sat by herself a lot until she made a few friends in her class. Kids are clicky even at a young age. Makes me so mad!

Maddie has finally settled into her kindergarten routine. Gets all her homework done the very first night, loves to bring home her book bridges book to read to us every night and takes her "jobs" as Mrs. Morris calls their classwork, very seriously. We have started Daisy Scouts and AYSO Soccer. She is a pretty good player - we were all shocked. =) Love you too Maddie-Girl!

And last but not least, little Ty. Home with Momma full-time still. Life for us is quiet and different during the day now with only 2 of us at home for 1/2 the day. We are getting more time to play together...and he is really starting to become very verbal. He makes his demands known, and is using his words more than crying to express his feelings now. Still working on saying bye-bye to the ba-ba and once and for all ditching the diapers. Thinking about potty training again makes me very tired!

So we are back to "normal" 10 months out of the year scheduling again. It is hectic and busy, but I love it. Never a dull moment. I promise to be more up-to-date on the blog. August and September just kicked my butt!

Trying to be good ...

This summer has been long .... already! And it's only July 2nd!! I feel like the last 3 weeks have crawled by. Thinking I was crafty, I have kept Maddie in ballet through the summer, and Josh in swim classes with Redlands Swim Team at the High School 4 days a week - til August 5th. I also signed up with my friend Amy for a Baby Boot Camp class. Maybe I was wrong!! Who knew that my kids would all of a sudden decide to sleep in late (til 9:30 on some mornings) and that I would have trouble getting out of the house for the 9am class! It is taking everything I have to get Josh to his classes at 3:30 (not a good time!), and Maddie to her ballet/tap lessons. Who knew that my kids would be at each other's throats (literally) all day long, complaining that there is nothing to do, it's too hot out, and when are we going here, when are we going there ... Also to top it all off, who knew Ryan would be gone almost everyday, leaving me to play single mom? I rarely complain when he works long days, just because I know we are getting bills paid off faster with the extra hours. But, with the kids home all day, it is really HARD!!

SOOO chaos in ensuing in the Malak house most days. I am lucky if I get anything done (ie, dishes, laundry, grocery shopping, cooking...you know, the normal stuff!). Between breaking up fights between Josh and Maddie, Maddie and Ty, Ty and Josh ... Ty and the dogs? Racing Ty to the potty, fixing legos for Josh, getting Maddie's latest art project started, getting someone a snack or a drink or a movie.... agh! Bedtime is starting to become a very treasured time for me!

It is very hard for me to be good. It is hard for me not to complain about my kids, to yell at them, to threaten or to punish (the timeout chair has many visitors everyday .... sometimes two at a time, so I had to invent the sister chair!). But I am only human. I love them with all my heart, and couldn't imagine life without them. I am very blessed that they are all healthy and happy; that we are a family.

It's the little things that happen everyday that I reflect upon at night when the house is quiet, the tv is silent, and the toys put away. I love to watch them when they sleep, so angelic, so sweet. I love to hear Josh singing along to Moose on Nick Jr. I love to watch Maddie playing with her baby dolls, sometimes repeating some of the things I say to Tyler to them. I love when Ty comes up to me and gives me a big hug and tells me "I wuv you Momma". My kids will only be little once ... I keep telling myself to cherish these moments ...