Why I am here...

Well, not in the philosophical sense but why I started blogging here. I was inspired to blog here after reading the blog of Jody Ferlaak. This woman is just amazing. She is a phenomenal scrapper, too. How can I resist? I am completely addicted to her blog and hope to create something even half as insightful.
I have a lot going on today. I celebrated John Michael's half birthday with him at school today. He is 10 and a 1/2 years old today. Since he is my only child with a summer birthday, I decided to give in and let him celebrate it. We can't start doing every one's half birthdays...that would be 8 for the kids, 12 if you include the parents! I hope he had a good time. I brought up Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies (we can only bring store bought treats to school) and I brought him lunch from one of his favorite places, Culver's. They just opened up on Monday. He ate a Triple ButterBurger with cheese, some onion rings and a chocolate shake. The kid ate it all. I don't know where he puts it. We call him "bones" and I just don't understand his metabolism.
I also got to sit with my kindergartner, Joseph as he ate lunch. He is so cute and sweet. He was so happy to see me up at school. I also picked up Christmas books for both boys. I hope they like them.
Tonight is a typical night in a house with 4 kids. We have many exciting things going on. First, both girls are staying after school. Lauren until 3:45pm for Forensics and Ashley until 4:30pm for Show Choir auditions. Then Joseph is having "Family Learning Night" in his classroom from 5:30-6:45pm. It is an Open House sort of thing where we get to see what he has been learning about in class. John Michael earned "Honorable Mention" for his Reflections entry on the topic of "I can make a difference by...". He will receive a ribbon and certificate tonight at the PTA meeting. Lauren has a vocal concert at the high school. Both girls have a mandatory ref-ing clinic for volleyball tonight. Ashley is riding ahead with a teammate and I am meeting her there with Lauren later. John is taking JM to his thing and keeping Joseph for me. Plus, our new dishwasher is in and ready to be picked up.
This is my life. It doesn't stop. It doesn't slow down. I know all too soon, the kids will be driving themselves to activities or not wanting mom around so I have to savor it. It is hard sometimes when you are in the middle of it, to stop and actually enjoy running in four different directions. I remember when I had three kids under the age of 4 and wondered if it would ever get easier. I remember wanting everyone to be potty trained and walking as soon as possible. I barely remember JM being a baby. I tried to savor every little bit of Joe's babyhood. I held him more than I probably should have. I waited patiently for each stage of development to come. I was so happy he got teeth pretty late (11 months) compared to his brother (5 months). I was okay with the fact that he didn't walk until after his 1st birthday, as compared to his sister, Ashley, who walked at 8 months. I wanted him to grow, be healthy and hit his milestones but I didn't rush it. I held him out of Kindergarten because of his late birthday so I got an extra year with him too. I wouldn't trade it for anything. It was so hard to put him on that school bus this fall. Not because I love him more than the others, it is just knowing that he is the last one.
Well, I should probably get back to my busy day instead of just writing about it. The chaos should begin in a couple of hours...until then there is dishes, laundry and getting dinner ready for the troops!