A Beautiful Ruckus

And then there were 5!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Sun, 21 Apr 2019 03:27:00 +0000

Once upon a time, we had quadruplets....

Ellie, Elijah, Caleb, and Abby

And then life took a crazy turn that we didn't see coming....

Caleb, Ellie, Abby, Elijah...and an extra pair of shoes??

For the last five years, we have been steadily working on improving our health. Taking toxins out, using natural solutions to help support our bodies, eating better food, working out...kind of a lifestyle overhaul for the better.

In fact, by the end of 2018, I was in the best health of my life. That's a pretty big statement for someone with my health issues to say...but I was proud of how far I'd come!

Sooo...I guess all of that "getting healthy" stuff has a side effect that we didn't anticipate. It seems that in the process of working to straighten out all of my other issues, we've also managed to straighten out my screwed up hormonal system because....

We have a surprise caboose baby on the way!

Caleb, Ellie, Abby, and Elijah

Yep! It's been a little bit of a shock! haha! But our kids are getting excited! It was the cherry on top that they were unanimously rooting for a girl, and we found out that they are getting their wish. Abby has been asking for a "sister baby" for years now, so we are thrilled to make her dreams come true.

So come mid-September, you'll start to see us carting around a baby seat, diaper bag, and stroller again!

18 weeks pregnant with a singleton

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The following is a Q&A for your enjoyment:

Q: Were you trying for another kid?!
A: Please see above where we said this is a SURPRISE caboose baby.

Q: How old will your quadruplets be when the 5th kid shows up?
A: 8.5-years-old. Crazy, I know.

Q: Did you have any help conceiving this one?
A: Didn't your mother ever tell you that it's rude to ask someone else about their reproductive system? No worries though. I've answered this one enough over the last 8 years, that I'm a pro at not blushing now. Nope. This one was a surprise.

Q: Are you planning on having more kids?
A: Let me put it this way. I enjoy pregnancy about as much as I enjoy eating calamari. (If you don't know, I hate calamari.) This little one officially completes our family!

Q: Are you sure there is only one baby in there?
A: Yes! Positive!

Q: But are you SURE sure there is only one baby in there??
A: I don't blame you for asking twice. I've asked every time I've been to the doctor. I've been assured by the ultrasonographer and twice by my midwife, that there is only one in there this time. I'm holding them to that promise.

This post may contain affiliate links. For more info, please see my disclaimer page.

8th Birthday Interview: Elizabeth Grace

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 20:27:00 +0000

Little Ellie!

Elizabeth Grace

Ellie is all heart and passion when it comes to life. She loves people but also loves the quiet, and can often be found retreating into a book if she needs some mental space from her siblings. She has a tight network of friends at school, and has learned the importance of choosing them wisely while also being inclusive of others. Just last week, her class voted her "most trustworthy" which made this Mama heart sing! Ellie is so sweet, but also has a strong sense of right and wrong and what needs to happen next to move a project, game, or assignment forward. Truly, if we weren't sure that she was our "runt", we'd be absolutely convinced that our little leader was actually the first born. As it is, she's finally come to accept and be proud of being the youngest....that only took about six years. haha!

How old are you? "8"
What makes you happy? "Playing my tablet and play with Abby"
What is your favorite animal? "Cats"
What is your favorite color? "Blue and purple"
What is your favorite thing to eat? "You know those brownies Cita (Grandma) makes and she puts ice cream on top? Those are good!"
What is your least favorite thing to eat? "Mushrooms and Brussels Sprouts"
What is your favorite thing to do? "Play my tablet or watch TV"
What is your favorite TV show? "Sonic Boom"
What is your favorite movie? "Mary Poppins Returns"
What are you really good at? "Reading"
What is your favorite song? "This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things by Taylor Swift"
What do you and your mom do together? "Go out for ice cream - we do a lot of stuff together - we do almost everything together, I think."
What do you and your dad do together? "Go on adventures"
What is your favorite book? "The Kittycorn Book. McKinley and me are writing and illustrating it together at school." (McKinley is her friend at school)
What is your favorite toy? "Grey" (her stuffed cat)
What do you want to be when you grow up? "A vet" (veterinarian)

8th Birthday Interview: Elijah James

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 03:46:00 +0000

Elijah's turn!

Elijah James

One thing I love about Elijah is that he knows exactly what he's interested in. This boy loves science so much! He's not picky either. If it can be related back to any scientific field, he is 100% on board. Like any good scientist, he loves asking questions....looooots and loooots of questions which keeps us on our toes, but he's a sharp kid, with a kind heart, so we try to remember that while he's talking non-stop.

How old are you? "8 on my birthday"
What makes you happy? "Playing my tablet and watching TV"
What is your favorite animal? "Husky Puppies" (stuffed animals)
What is your favorite color? "Green"
What is your favorite thing to eat? "Tacos...crunchy tacos!"
What is your least favorite thing to eat? "Brussels sprouts. Put an exclamation point after that."
What is your favorite thing to do? "Play my tablet and watch TV"
What is your favorite TV show? "Arthur"
What is your favorite movie? "Mary Poppins Returns"
What are you really good at? "Science, the school subject"
What is your favorite song? "I like all the classical music, but my most favorite would be the Nutcracker one."
What do you and your mom do together? "Cook sometimes, Kiwi Crate sometimes"
What do you and your dad do together? "Kiwi Crate most of the time"
What is your favorite book? "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the National Geographic Junior Almanacs"
What is your favorite toy? "My tablet"
What do you want to be when you grow up? "A scientist...I have no idea which kind"

8th Birthday Interview: Abigail Rose

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Tue, 19 Feb 2019 03:21:00 +0000

Up 2nd....Our Abby!

Abigail Rose

Abby has always lived in a land of unicorns and rainbows, and nothing much has changed there. If you've never met Abby in real life, she is every bit Amy Adam's character from Enchanted. In fact, I'm pretty sure Abby will do this exact song and dance number when she finds true love in about 20 years. She will probably be wearing that dress too. Until then, everyone she meets her new best friend, and she can turn any situation into "the best day of her life!" She is most definitely our ray of sunshine!

How old are you turning? "7.....wait a minute....I'm turning 8!"
What makes you happy? "Butterflies, princesses, mermaids, puppies and kittens, jokes, Mary Poppins, and unicorns"
What is your favorite animal? "Unicorns!"
What is your favorite color? "Pink"
What is your favorite thing to eat? "Ice Cream - Strawberry!"
What is your least favorite thing to eat? "Potatoes"
What is your favorite thing to do? "Dance and sing"
What is your favorite TV show? "Vampirina"
What is your favorite movie? "Mary Poppins Returns"
What are you really good at? "Pretending to be a unicorn"
What is your favorite song? "How Far I'll Go" from Moana
What do you and your mom do together? "We go out for ice cream"
What do you and your dad do together? "Wrestle the boys. They are knuckleheads."
What is your favorite book? "The Candy Fairies: Marshmallow Mystery"
What is your favorite toy? "The Puppy Purses"
What do you want to be when you grow up? "A mermaid princess!"

8th Birthday Interview: Caleb Sean

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Tue, 12 Feb 2019 21:52:00 +0000

Yay, birthday interviews! Our kids look forward to these as much as I do!

Caleb Sean

Caleb has been doing so well in school lately! He's learning how to be more flexible, and I think he finally realizes that school is a non-negotiable. haha! He takes great pride in being able to help when teachers or staff give him a way to be involved in his school community, and....our biggest news....he has stopped wearing his headphones all the time! He rarely ever wears them at home, church, or when he is out in public with our family now. He does still wear them at school somewhat, but he will leave the house with them in his backpack to start the day. He is adapting to life so well. We couldn't be more proud of the strides he's made in the past year!

How old are you turning? "8"
What makes you happy? "Whenever I watch Phineas and Ferb, be with my mom and dad, go to World's of Fun, when I see Blue (his stuffed doggy), data days with my resource teachers, I like speech (therapy) because it's during math time and that's not my favorite, but don't tell my teacher."
What is your favorite animal? "Lions"
What is your favorite color? "All the colors"
What is your favorite thing to eat? "BBQ Bacon Burgers"
What is your least favorite thing to eat? "Orange Chicken"
What is your favorite thing to do? "Build with Legos, build Fort Magic structures, hang out with Blue (his stuffed doggy), play Polly Pockets with the sisters, and hang out with all my Ishum Friends which is also known as Elijah, Abby, Ellie and Mom and Dad"
What is your favorite TV show? "Phineas & Ferb and Sonic Boom"
What is your favorite movie? "The Greatest Showman"
What are you really good at? "Making stuff for my Mom and Dad and all my Ishum Friends, building stuff with Fort Magic and Lego bricks"
What is your favorite song? "Under Pressure and anything with jazz"
What do you and your mom do together? "We hang out a bit. We eat, we cook, sometimes we bake a bit and play."
What do you and your dad do together? "We hang out with each other. We talk about stuff, drink pineapple peach kumbucha, and other things but I can't say them all on this thing."
What is your favorite book? "Kung Pow Chicken and Super Rabbit Boy books"
What is your favorite toy? "Legos and Fort Magic stuff"
What do you want to be when you grow up? "I can't decide if I should be a builder or a preschool teacher. This year, I think a builder...or an ice cream truck driver.

Hopeful Expectation

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Mon, 14 Jan 2019 18:05:00 +0000

In 2018, I picked a word of the year out of sheer peer pressure, and then promptly forgot it about 5 minutes later. I'm pretty sure that's not how it's supposed to work.

This year, the word picked me. Or two words, actually. Because apparently I'm consistent in my need to do things in multiples.

I was sitting on an airplane, heading toward Ecuador, when the phrase "hopeful expectation" leaped off of the page in my book and hit me square between the eyes. I read the paragraph again. I wasn't looking for any significant, life-altering concepts...I mean, I was reading one of my just-for-fun books, after all. I tried to keep going in the fiction story that I was reading, but I kept getting pulled back to the same paragraph. I read it a third time. I finally reached for my phone, typed in the brief phrase, hit "send" on the text message to myself, and then went back to my book.

It's almost two months later, and that phrase has popped up in my head so many times....along with the rueful knowledge that I can't for the life of me remember exactly which book I was reading at the time. (I'm blaming my lack of memory there on the trauma of our return trip from Ecuador).

Unfortunately, I have a tendency to not look toward the future with hopeful expectation. My approach seems to be much more of a "I hope I duck fast enough to avoid whatever is going to get thrown at me" strategy. So when I read about having a hopeful expectation for the future, I realized that those two words pretty much summed up what I have been missing in life.

I spent the majority of 2018 in a pretty bad funk. I had a hard time looking to the future for anything much other than the required grocery/meal list that my hooligans rely on in order to magically be fed each night. At one point, I ended up in my closet sobbing because I just didn't have anything left to give to any member of my family, my business, or my friends. It was a hard year on so many different levels, and one that I'm quite glad is over. I need a fresh start.

But it doesn't really make any difference if the fresh start comes and the hopeful expectation part is left out of the picture.

So I don't have a word this year. I have two. I *need* two. I need the word hope because it reminds me that even on my hardest days, the game isn't over until it's over. No matter what anyone says or doesn't say. No matter how I feel. The game isn't over yet. I need the word expectation because it's a word that gives movement and force to the phrase. It pushes me to keep my face turned up instead of my eyes buried in the dirt around my shoes.

Good things are coming this year. It's not about ducking fast enough to avoid the hard and scary stuff. It's not about trying to numb everything to avoid the emotional pain that sometimes accompanies life. It's not about racing through the days, thinking that maybe tomorrow might be better.

I'm choosing to live life in 2019, filled with hopeful expectation. Seems a heck of a lot easier than the way I did it in 2018. And if that means picking two words this year instead of one, then I'm cool with going rogue. In fact, expect a little more rogue-ness going forward. After all, hope does that to a person.

This post may contain affiliate links. For more info, please see my disclaimer page.

Our 2018 Family Christmas Letter

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Mon, 24 Dec 2018 19:12:00 +0000

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

If you want the official year-end Christmas letter...here you go! ;)

The Kids

Our kiddos are now 7-years-old and in 2nd grade. We joke that the hours of 3:30 pm to 8 pm are long (from school pick-up until bedtime) but the years are short. It does seem hard to believe 2018 is already drawing to a close.

Caleb had the best start to the school year ever! Usually, the fall is very difficult as he tries to adjust to a new routine and new expectations. This year, it went sooooo smoothly. I'm used to crying my way through September and October due to the stress of getting him settled, but this year, I didn't get a single call from the school about him. He adjusted so incredibly well! We've even noticed in the last few weeks, that he has started leaving his headphones at home as we've headed out the door for family activities. While he still wears them a lot at school, his teachers tell us that he has started taking them off occasionally. We are very proud of his progress!

Abby has had a much better year at school as well. Last year, we put a 504 in place to help her with anxiety. Between those accommodations, checking in with the school counselor, and her amazing teacher who she had in 1st grade and now again in 2nd grade, Abby has done quite well! She still gets nervous on occasion, but she is very grounded and secure for the most part. She has the best handwriting out of the kids and still lives a fairy tale life in her head.

Elijah has had the most difficult year out of the kids. He's naturally a sensitive kid, and picks up on a lot of what people are thinking and saying around him and then internalizes it. Unfortunately, this year has been a rough one for him, and we've had our work cut out for us as we've tried to help him protect his heart, manage anxiety and self-doubt, and rewire the negative self-talk that he has adopted about himself. We are definitely grateful to our school counselor who stepped in along with his teacher who noticed a marked change in his ability to function at school. His ups and downs come in waves, and Christmas seems to be extra hard on him, but we are confident he's going to be stronger on the other side.

Ellie is a feisty as ever, and her sense of justice seems to refine itself with each passing year. Watch out for this one, because she will most definitely end up making an impact on the world! This year, she has learned a lot about what makes a good friend, the importance of hanging out with people who make good choices, and that every decision has a consequence...whether that's good or bad. We're proud of the sweet girl that she is and her clear view of what's right and wrong. We just need to work on her delivery a bit. ;)

The Parents

Sean still works for Sprint (20 years!) in the IT department, and enjoys getting to work from home 2 days a week. This year has had it's challenges for him personally, but it's been amazing to watch him walk through situations with strength and choose to take the high road. I still teach people how to use essential oils and take toxins out of their homes with Young Living. I love working full-time from my couch, being available for my kids when they need me, and jetting off to Panera or Target when I need a brain break without having to check in with a boss. It's been the perfect job for me to have with our family and still be able to live in my passion.

As a couple, Sean and I started working out at the gym this past year. We began the year with a personal trainer and now follow an online workout plan. We've had a good number of pretty sore days, but we plan to continue on in 2019. We also took several trips to Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, and an all-expense paid trip to Guayaquil, Ecuador with Young Living this year. Sean and I love getting to travel together and see the world!

We are grateful for a year of good life lessons for our kids, blessings of provision for us, and good health despite Sean trying to crap out on me on the airplane back from Ecuador (click here for that crazy story!). We are excited for 2019 and a fresh start in a fresh year.

With love,
Sean and Rebecca
Caleb, Abby, Elijah, and Ellie

This post may contain affiliate links. For more info, please see my disclaimer page.

Halloween 2018 - Knights and Princesses

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 00:02:00 +0000

Every year, the highlight of the fall is our Halloween costumes!

And every year, I wonder if they are going to choose to dress up together, or if this will finally be the year when they all go their separate ways with their costumes.

This year, the verdict came instantly and was unanimous: dress up together!

Even more incredible was when they settled on their theme within 5 minutes and every single one of them loved it. It was crazy easy this year to figure it out...I definitely wasn't expecting that!

Caleb was 100% into his role as a knight. When I took the kids outside for photos, he snapped from pose to pose to pose, fully living and embracing his knighthood. He went with the more "hardcore" look and stance. He totally cracked me up!

Elijah loved his costume as much as Caleb did, but was a bit lighter on his feet. lol! Sorry for the weird orbs in these photos. We didn't actually have a ghost hanging out with us, although you'd think that might be the case given the occasion. Instead, it was just the sun at an awkward angle combined with my truly stellar photography skills. haha!

You know...when I went to buy the plastic swords, my inner mom voice said, "you are about to buy plastic swords for two 7-year-old boys. Are you sure that's a solid idea?" And I did it anyway. We clearly laid out the rule that if they hit anyone with the swords, whether on purpose or on accident, the swords would be confiscated. They were allowed one sword fight, and that's what you see in the photo above. (If you were curious, Caleb won. haha! I'm sure Elijah will deny that when he's a teenager, but it's now been documented.)

No one was more happy with her costume than Abby. If it involves princesses, unicorns, or the color pink, this little girl is allllll over it. Since this year's costume hit two out of three of those (and believe me, there was plenty of unicorn discussion going on at the same time), it was one of her favorite years of all time! Abby fully embodied a princess, right down to the way she held her chin up and her shoulders back, and walked with a regal air everywhere she went.

Ellie loved her costume too. She's really into blues of all shades right now, and this dress made her feel gorgeous. She was a little sad when the middle jewel on her crown fell off though. Other than that, she loved it!

My two girls. :)

And this year, we decided to get in on the fun as well! Yep, I got myself a princess dress and bought Sean a knight/king costume. He was a good sport! haha! The kids totally LOVED having the whole family dress up all together. We made the most of it and hit a few different trunk or treat activities around our area, and collected FAR too much candy. Before long, they will be past the dress-up years and be too interested in other activities to have time for this sort of thing. Until then, we will take all the photos and make all the memories!

This post may contain affiliate links. For more info, please see my disclaimer page.

First Day of 2nd Grade

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 16:22:00 +0000

First of all....if you haven't noticed, I haven't had the time to blog much lately. How is it possible that we are more busy with kids in school than we were when we had toddler quads? Lol! But the truth is that I'm still very much on social media, sharing ridiculous stories about my kids, and micro-blogging the quadruplet life. haha! You just have to know where to look to find our crazy stories in real time!

Pop over to Instagram, and follow our page ABeautifulRuckus! I drop the occasional giveaway over there too.

Our Instastories are always entertaining, and you can click on some of the photos in our main feed for some quad stories as well. In fact, I recommend starting with this one about the boys asking about "cutting the fur on their legs" that I posted on Sunday! lol!

I'll still certainly be around over here as well, but for all of the fun, in-the-moment stuff, Instagram is the place to be!

With that being said....on to today's post!

The first day of 2nd grade arrived last week, and I'm going to be the parent who admits that it came none too soon for our family. I knew we were about due when the week before school I heard:

*stomp, stomp, stomp. door SLAM*

"I need my SPACE!!!!"

yelled by one of my lovely little hooligans. She had experienced quite enough summer, and the kids close proximity to each other was starting to wear on all of them (and me. Who am I kidding? lol!)

I love my munchkins, but this family thrives on routine and stability! So back to school we gratefully go!

I have such high hopes for Caleb in 2nd grade! Usually our fall semesteris a bit rough with getting our little guy with autism acclimated to a new routine. This year he has a new main room teacher, a new resource (special needs) teacher, and a new resource para. It's a lot of new for a kiddo who needs plenty of notice for changes and as much familiarity as possible.

But as of the writing of this post, we are a full week (plus 2 days!) into the new school year, and I haven't been called one time about him. I'm trying not to count my chickens before they hatch, but I feel like this year is going to be easier on all of us as he moves through 2nd grade. Both of his teachers and his para seem to be very nice and understanding. I was especially delighted to find out that his resource teacher has a master's degree in special education with an emphasis in autism (if I'm remembering correctly). We are so very grateful for every teacher, the school administration, and the school staff who all individually look out for our Caleb. Even the school custodian has taken a special liking to Caleb and allows him to help with a few things here and there if Caleb needs a movement break.

Every special needs mom who reads this will know in her heart what I'm talking about when I say that it absolutely fills me up when people are kind, understanding, and make space for Caleb to be himself while still pushing him to meet his highest potential.

Last year was a bit of a doozy with Abby. Do you know how some people have that "fight or flight" thing when their anxiety kicks up? Well, Abby has high anxiety....and she definitely prefers the flight thing. There were a couple of times last year at school when she got spooked and ran without thinking. School staff caught her exiting the front door of the building twice. I asked her where she was planning on going once she made it out, and she had no idea. She just knew she needed to run.

As her Mom, I was like...!!!!

Our school was so great though. The school staff developed a route for her if she needed to run so that she would run to one particular teacher in a safe room. They also let the school staff nearest the front doors know when she was nervous so that they could keep an eye out for her. We were also able to get a 504 plan in place for her with her 1st grade teacher's help. All of that to say, we really felt like the school was all about getting Abby back into a place where she could successfully make it through the day...inside the building.

Why mention all of that? Because her 1st grade teacher was moved to 2nd grade this year. She requested that Abby be assigned to her 2nd grade classroom so that she could have a great year with as low anxiety as possible. I loooove her teacher. Truly the sweetest lady. And due to her foresight and willingness to take Abby (and Elijah) on again, Abby has had the smoothest start to school ever. No anxiety. None. She feels completely safe and secure knowing she is going back to the same classroom and the same teacher each day, just as she did for 1st grade. We are so grateful!

Elijah and Abby are paired together in a classroom for a third year in a row (because four different classrooms is too many!). We always ask to have these two paired together because they both have personalities that don't necessarily try to control another sibling. They are our more laid back kids which lends itself well to them maintaining their independence even while being in the same room.

Elijah also has the same teacher as he did in first grade, and we feel like we owe her a subscription to a monthly bottle of wine club. haha! Elijah is such a smart little dude, but he talks and moves non-stop. Non-stop. So many questions. So many soliloquies. So many words. All.the.time. His teacher was brilliant last year, and finally gave him a notebook to write all of this thoughts and questions in during the day, and then she would check it before dismissal to see what all he needed to say to her. Like I said, this teacher is amazing! And I definitely see that notebook coming back for a second year.

Elijah's two greatest passions right now are anything related to science and books by Roald Dahl. He absolutely loves school and can't wait to go back every day.

Ellie is paired up with Caleb again this year. Why those two together? Because they both like to be in charge and control the situation....so we know that they won't be able to control each other. Yep, that's our logic. And so far, it's working!

Ellie is a little social butterfly, but is already dealing with some mean friends at school this year. We are repeatedly reminding her that kindness is always the right choice, she doesn't have to put up with a mean friend, and that we become who we hang out with. It's hard for us not to be able to control the friend situation since we aren't there with her, but hopefully some of our advice on making good friend choices will settle into her head. She is such a kind, sweet girl, but unfortunately, I can tell that there will probably be a few hard knocks coming her way this year in the friend department. We are praying that she latches on to kind friends who will encourage and include her.

Ellie and Caleb's teacher seems to be really good, and has already been very responsive to emails that I've sent. Honestly, if there is one thing that our school does well....it's hire really outstanding educators.

Every year is an adventure with these four! Two years ago, we moved to a new school district to try to get our kids into a better education setting. God has really blessed our family by getting us into a good spot where we have teachers, school administration, and school staff who all love our family and want to see our kids successful. We are hopeful that this year bring much growth for all 4 of them.

Want to see the kids' back to school photos through the years? I couldn't believe how much they've changed when I was clicking through previous back to school posts!

First Day of 1st Grade
First Day of Kindergarten
First Day of Preschool (2015)
First Day of Preschool (2014)
First Day of Preschool (2013)

Two Weeks Later: Happy 7th Birthday!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Fri, 09 Mar 2018 16:31:00 +0000

Two weeks to the day later....Happy birthday to our 7-year-olds!

One of my favorite things to do is to click back year-by-year and see how much the kids have grown and changed. For anyone who wants to see their age progression (and so that I can easily look back in later years), here they are at age 6, age 5, age 4, age 3, age 2, and age 1. The thing that strikes me so much in looking at their photo this year is how little "baby" they have left in their faces. Even last year, there was still some left. But this year? Ack! I think we are definitely in the kid-phase no matter how much I wish I could freeze some of those early baby days.

It just goes too fast, you know?

Their 7th birthday didn't come without drama though. Abby has been dealing with a lot of anxiety lately, and it just became too overwhelming for her on their birthday weekend. I think it was the intangible change of turning 7 and not knowing what to do with it or how to handle it that put her over the edge. It was a rough couple of days with many tears to the point where she made herself throw up, she was so nervous. Next year, I'm going to try not to play up the birthday thing so much. Maybe it will go better for her. Thankfully, once the weekend ended, she adapted to her new age (I guess?) and life is better.

For the record, Caleb was also nervous about turning 7....but only because he was afraid of doing more "chores". Keep in mind that their chores have mainly consisted of putting their dirty underwear in the laundry basket, taking their dishes to the sink after meals, and picking up their toys. He is currently one of my "responsible humans in training."

Elijah and Ellie rolled with it and thought it was grand! :)

7th Birthday Interview: Elizabeth Grace

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 04:59:00 +0000

Little Ellie!

Elizabeth Grace

So much personality packed into such a tiny little girl....tonight at dinner, she turned to us and announced that she was "born serious." Lol!! Serious, yes, but also an absolute riot! She has a strong sense of justice, a determination to be the best at what she tackles, and a love of reading chapter books, along with a hilarious personality that fills the room when she speaks up. Ellie's focus on always improving herself will be so helpful in her future. We know there are big things in front of her!

How old are you? "Six, and I'm going to turn seven!"
What makes you happy? "Unicorns"
What is your favorite animal? "Tigers"
What is your favorite color? "Red"
What is your favorite thing to eat? "Pizza...Pepperoni Pizza"
What is your least favorite thing to eat? "Spinach"
What is your favorite thing to do? "Play on my tablet"
What is your favorite TV show? "Calico Critters" (this lady plays with toys on YouTube...and my kids love it. I don't get it...)
What is your favorite movie? "Frozen"
What are you really good at? "Playing Data Stream on my tablet" (it's a game on ABC Mouse)
What is your favorite song? "Cups" by Anna Kendrick from the Pitch Perfect soundtrack
What do you and your mom do together? "Go grocery shopping"
What do you and your dad do together? "Trivia Crack"
What is your favorite book? "Actually....I don't have a favorite book?"
What is your favorite toy? "My stuffed animals"
What do you want to be when you grow up? "There are a lot of things that I want to be. I haven't decided yet. I'm probably going to be a vet. If not, then probably an artist with [my friend] McKinley."

7th Birthday Interview: Elijah James

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 04:38:00 +0000

Elijah is our Baby C! He *loves* being asked his birthday questions!

Elijah James

Just looking at the difference between Elijah's birthday photo last year and his birthday photo this year...I realize how much he has changed and grown up on me. So many of his baby features have given way to this big boy look. I'm sure his new glasses (as of 6 months ago) are contributing to that! Elijah is a very tenderhearted kiddo who cares about what others think and if he is hitting the benchmark for everything. He worries often about his school work and making his teacher happy, so we are working hard on helping him be okay with where he is at....since he actually does quite well in school! His biggest struggle is just sitting still and knowing when to listen. He talks nonstop. Literally. Nonstop. So many questions and constant movement. It is exhausting. Our sweet boy doesn't realize it though, so Sean and I are refining our patience right now. haha! Elijah is all about science, all the time, and we love seeing his interests starting to bloom in a direction that makes him happy!

How old are you? "Six" (only for a few more days!)
What makes you happy? "Playing with Dad"
What is your favorite animal? "Monkeys, dogs, and science animals"
What is your favorite color? "Green and orange"
What is your favorite thing to eat? "Italian pasta and Mexican food, which you should know already."
What is your least favorite thing to eat? "Zucchini"
What is your favorite thing to do? "Play Trivia Crack or Words with Friends with Daddy"
What is your favorite TV show? "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Jimmy Neutron"
What is your favorite movie? "Winnie the Pooh and The Musical Too, and Cars 1, 2, and 3"
What are you really good at? "Somersaults"
What is your favorite song? "Jack Johnson songs"
What do you and your mom do together? "Cook"
What do you and your dad do together? "Play Trivia Crack and Words with Friends"
What is your favorite book? "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"
What is your favorite toy? "Baby Jingle, my stuffed animal, and my microscope"
What do you want to be when you grow up? "Paleontologist"

7th Birthday Interview: Abigail Rose

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 04:20:00 +0000

Up 2nd....Our Abby!

Abigail Rose

Abby is consistently our most grateful child. It doesn't matter what the situation is or how much she wants something, she will always say "thank you" and express her genuine appreciation for what she is given even if it's not quite what she wants. It's really encouraging to talk to her on days when it feels like none of the other kids care about what we are doing for them. Parents, you know what I'm talking about here. :) Abby works super hard in school to please her teacher and absolutely loves her friends. She feels the highs and lows of life deeply, and that comes through in dancing and in tears depending on the day and the situation. Abby is one of the most precious, loving souls and always ready to give a hug to anyone who might need one.

How old are you? "Six turning seven"
What makes you happy? "Unicorns!"
What is your favorite animal? "Unicorns!"
What is your favorite color? "Pink!"
What is your favorite thing to eat? "Waffles, even pancakes"
What is your least favorite thing to eat? "Spinach" (she is super picky)
What is your favorite thing to do? "Skip. Play Dragon Master. Jump Rope." (Dragon Master is a book she is reading at school)
What is your favorite TV show? "Calico Critters" (this lady plays with toys on YouTube...and my kids love it. I don't get it...)
What is your favorite movie? "Moana"
What are you really good at? "Hula Hooping!" Do you know how to hula hoop?? "Um...no. I just want to say that!"
What is your favorite song? "How Far I'll Go" from Moana
What do you and your mom do together? "Eat cake together"
What do you and your dad do together? "Drink kombucha!"
What is your favorite book? "Fancy Nancy: Apples Galore"
What is your favorite toy? "Moana barbie"
What do you want to be when you grow up? "A princess!"

7th Birthday Interview: Caleb Sean

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 05:31:00 +0000

Time for our birthday interviews! I'm a bit late getting started this year, so I'm going to have to post one every few days to get through all four kids by the time their birthday rolls around!

Caleb Sean

Caleb is doing so well these days! While he still gets several therapies at school, he has settled into a rhythm and is transitioning from activity to activity much better than at the beginning of the school year. He reads incredibly well, although any written assignments can cause some stress and frustration as it's definitely at the bottom of his preferred activities list. One of his best talents is having a super sharp memory which means that he can recall details, sections of historical speeches, and songs weeks after he hears them. At the same time, he doesn't talk nearly as much as his brother, but when he does, it's usually pretty well thought out and direct. Thankfully he has become good at letting us know what he needs, so there isn't nearly as much guessing now when he starts to struggle (he thrives on schedules, structure, and predictable days!) As a sibling, he most certainly has an ornery streak, and has clearly spent the last few years figuring out exactly which buttons to push when it comes to his brother and sisters. He can be both the most concerned kid for another sibling's welfare and push them to the edge all in the same 5 minutes. Sometimes it's hard to keep a straight face because his sense of humor is hilarious!

How old are you? "Six" (for two more weeks!)
What makes you happy? "My BB8 headphones" (He wears headphones to block extra noise.)
What is your favorite animal? "Lions, foxes, and cats."
What is your favorite color? "All of them."
What is your favorite thing to eat? "Pancakes, waffles, mashed potatoes, tacos, burritos, hash browns, fries, chicken nuggets, and chicken tenders."
What is your least favorite thing to eat? "Sweet potatoes and hash browns that are not in a fry shape."
What is your favorite thing to do? "Learn some good tricks and get fit."
What is your favorite TV show? "Miles from Tomorrowland and Sonic Boom."
What is your favorite movie? "Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Big Hero 6, Planes: Fire and Rescue, Cars."
What are you really good at? "Fitness tricks like stretch out."
What is your favorite song? "The Trolls Soundtrack....Hair Up."
What do you and your mom do together? "Have some fun and get a goodnight's rest"
What do you and your dad do together? "Rest and wrestle"
What is your favorite book? "A Fancy Day in Room 1-A. It's Fancy Nancy."
What do you want to be when you grow up? "I don't know what I want to be...I just want to be a hero."
What is your favorite toy? "My puppy named 'Blue' and all my other stuffed animals."

For fun, here is Caleb dancing to the "Hair Up!" song!

Our Christmas Family Recap: So long 2017, Hello 2018!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 23:44:00 +0000

I'm still of the old-fashioned sort to enjoy sending out Christmas greetings via snail mail. Nothing is quite like opening the mailbox to find a newsletter and a photo, in my opinion. Receiving them is one of my favorite parts of the holiday season, so I figure others might like it to? I don't know. No one has thrown the card back at me yet. haha! But because we have so many more friends than I can possibly get a card to, I thought I'd post our Christmas newsletter here as well.

We hope each of you had a very Merry Christmas and are enjoying a New Year filled with blessings!

-- Rebecca

(Special thanks to Elijah's preschool teacher, Ms. Brittany, for taking the photos in this post! When we make a friend, we try to keep them around for life!)

*****************************************************************************

A Very Merry Christmas to our Friends and Family!

I’m starting to realize that maybe a Christmas newsletter is a bit old fashioned in our high-tech age, but hey…I’m okay with bucking the current trends. Christmas cards have always been a favorite part of the holiday season for me, so I’ll keep the tradition alive as long as I can!

Elijah, Abby, Ellie, and Caleb

The Kids!

The kids are 6-years-old now, and it’s hard to believe how fast the time is going. Just today, we were watching videos of them as babies, and reminiscing about the 32 bottles that we used to go through every day….and now our kids are in 1^st grade!

Caleb had a few rough days this fall with adjusting to new teachers, a new schedule, and new expectations at school, but he seems to have hit his stride. Both of his teachers (regular and special needs) are such a good fit. They are patient but expect great things out of him, so they set the bar where he needs to reach for it. Even the school staff are working with Caleb this year by allowing him to go up to the front office to help with shredding paper one sheet at a time (white noise) or opening the door for visitors when he needs a break. Caleb definitely thrives on having “jobs” to do, and the whole staff seem to love and want to see him be successful. We are beyond thankful for his team at school. Caleb’s favorite things are Legos, Star Wars, Lego Star Wars, and teaching his invisible students at home how to do life. We just roll with it.

Abby has also had a bit of a rough time this fall, and was diagnosed with anxiety, social/emotional delays, and sensory integration disorder about a month ago. We are in the process of getting a 504 Educational Plan set up for her at school which will give her some accommodations to make it easier for her to function well. Thankfully, she has the best possible teacher to help her navigate life at school. Her teacher is beyond patient with her but pushes her to do hard things and give her best effort. We are very grateful for her calming, grounding influence in Abby’s life. Abby is still 110% girly girl and positively squeals with delight over dresses, glitter, unicorns, Moana, and the idea that one day she will be a princess who is a doctor. We are hoping that Prince George doesn’t mind an older woman when he comes of age.

Elijah is doing so well in school! He still gets speech therapy, but other than that he is entirely in his main classroom. Despite his speech delay, he talks non-stop. Literally, non-stop. We joke that he will be a politician, auctioneer, or motivational speaker as an adult, because he clocks so many words that it’s impossible to keep up. Little man has a lot to share with the world, that’s for sure! Elijah’s current obsession is all things science, and he is determined to be a paleontologist when he grows up (a perfect mashup of his love of dinosaurs and science). We love that he has such big aspirations! In his free time, he is always asking for paper so that he can create art and he enjoys writing his thoughts in his notebook (which we also appreciate).

Ellie is our sweet little spit-fire who is always bouncing around and making sure things happen on schedule and in the right way. She is the natural leader amongst her siblings even though she is our runt. Ellie is doing very well in school, and her teacher’s only issue with her so far has been Ellie’s tendency to socialize during the wrong part of the day. She loves her friends, loves school, loves reading chapter books, and loves pretend play.

Abby, Ellie, Rebecca, Sean, Elijah, and Caleb

The Parents!

In January, Sean switched departments at Sprint, and started a new career path in IT. He now works on…something. I’m actually still a little fuzzy on what he does, but it has something to do with supporting the website that people go through to apply for jobs at Sprint. He has been with Sprint now for 19 years, and has enjoyed the new challenge of IT. An extra bonus is that he gets to work from home two days a week, which gives us more family time since he isn’t commuting every day.

I am almost four years into teaching wellness and non-toxic solutions withYoung Living Essential Oils. Sean works the business with me on the evenings and weekends, and even the kids have gotten to the point where they pitch in and help as well! This year, we started off by winning an all-expense paid Caribbean Cruise that was charted just for Young Living members. It was amazing and most definitely one of the highlights of our married life! We also earned a promotion and were able to travel more for conferences and to teach classes. Young Living keeps us super busy, but we consider ourselves blessed to get to help thousands of people in the process. We love having this be a family affair as we get to enjoy more travel and freedom than we ever imagined possible a few short years ago. The best part of all is that our medically fragile babies have turned into very healthy 6-year-olds, and Sean and I are much healthier as well.

Each year makes us more and more grateful for the people in our lives who have helped us get to where we are today. Thank you so much for being part of the tribe of people who have prayed for our family and cheered us on as we raise our kids!

We hope your family has a very Merry Christmas!

Sean and Rebecca Ishum

Caleb, Abby, Elijah, and Ellie (age 6)

www.abeautifulruckus.com | www.oilyruckus.com

The Price of Missed Mother/Baby Bonding

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 23:23:00 +0000

“She lacked the usual mother/baby bonding.”

That was one of the entries in the evaluation form that we just went over in Abby’s 504 meeting today.

I know that. I know that the bonding didn’t happen like it *should* have happened. I remember the weeks where we couldn’t even touch her while she fought for her life in the NICU. I remember feeding babies systematically, putting each one down after their bottles were finished so that I could pick up the next baby and get them fed. I remember having to give up nursing to keep my babies from aspirating the breast milk into their lungs and drowning. I remember having babies crawl up to me to be held, but I was too busy trying to get 4 diapers changed and babies bathed, and I couldn't pick them up and snuggle for hours.

I know we didn’t get the cuddle time that we both should have had in her baby days.

I have grieved the loss of what pregnancy and motherhood should have looked like many times. People see a "cute quad family" but they don't realize the lost dreams that are often tied to it. Seeing a missing piece formally written out in official paperwork reopened every lost aspect of that first year that I’ve let heal over with time.

I feel like I failed, but I know I did the best I could given the situation I was in. Four babies and one mom. I didn’t have enough arms. I still don’t.

It’s been a rough year for Abby. She is so smart….genius level IQ…but she struggles with anxiety, social/emotional delays, and sensory integration disorder.

When she gets super anxious, her “fight or flight” response triggers, and she loses all rational. School staff have caught her fleeing the building twice this year already. Both times, they caught her after the first set of double doors, and as she was exiting the second set at the front of the school. I’m incredibly grateful to her teacher, principal, other staff, and the lunch ladies who all know that she is a flight risk. They warn each other if she’s having a rough day, and they pay attention to where she is sitting in the cafeteria to make sure she doesn’t get triggered and start running.

Today we had the first meeting to get a 504 in place at school. She needs some emotional accommodations so that she can focus better and manage the anxiety that pops up without warning. There is no predicting it. She is so social, adores people, and does amazing work at school….but the anxiety can cripple her in an instant, making it impossible to do worksheets or talk to friends.

“She lacked the usual mother/baby bonding.”

I’ll admit to crying in the meeting because I love her so much and don’t want this struggle for her. The teacher and school counselor tried to reassure me and offered to remove the sentence from her evaluation form if it would make me feel better. They weren't blaming me for anything, and made sure to clarify that it was just a collection of data on Abby and her past, but I told them to leave it in because it is part of her story. Her story is a beautiful one of hope, frustration, love, some downright scary moments, and ultimately God's graciousness on her life. I don't like this part of her story, but I won't edit it out because it's part of what has shaped our sweet spirited little girl...the part where there wasn't enough of me to go around.

I know she is struggling, but tonight I’m struggling too. Wishing I could have done more when she was a baby. I’m heartbroken that although she doesn’t cognitively remember those days when I couldn’t hold her because I was feeding another baby or because she was too fragile…that somewhere deep in the recesses of her visceral and emotional memory, there is a mom who couldn’t meet her basic needs.

She is one of my miracle babies, and while I wouldn’t trade any of them for the perfect version of motherhood that I thought would come my way when we decided to start a family, I can acknowledge that this quad thing means that some of my kids will struggle long term because of it. And yes, I do realize that even if I had held her constantly, she may still deal with these things, but it's hard to separate out what she didn't have from her struggles today. As a mom, I always wish I could be more for my kids. I think that's only natural.

Raising them doesn’t get easier. It just shifts into something different. Right now, our something different is helping Abby learn how to cope with the world emotionally. We will get there. It’s just another hill to climb, but we will do it together.

Halloween 2017 - Noah's Ark!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Mon, 20 Nov 2017 20:54:00 +0000

Since Thanksgiving is in...3 days...I should probably post this year's Halloween photos, huh? Eep!! So behind!

We have a rule at our house that we don't discuss Halloween costumes until after school starts in the fall. Why? Because otherwise, I have to listen to the costume requests change weekly all.year.long. and I just don't have that in me. Just being honest.

So instead, we let the kids percolate on it for a good 10 months, and by the time we get to the middle of August, we are usually able to narrow down the choices fairly quickly. It's worked out well so far.

Caleb, the Friendly Lion

This year, like in the last couple of years, I really thought that the kids would be done with group costumes and they would move on to individual choices. Surprisingly though, they both wanted and expected that group costumes were going to happen again this year! You don't have to tell me twice! I think our themed costumes are so fun!

But this year seemed to be a little harder than previous years. There was much debate....Abby was insistent that we go with a Moana theme, but there weren't enough characters to go around unless someone wanted to be Hei-hei. I tossed out the idea of Smores (2 graham crackers, a marshmallow, and a chocolate bar), but Ellie declared that she wasn't dressing up as food. Elijah and Caleb threw several suggestions out there, and were promptly shot down by the other kids. I asked if they were SURE that they all wanted to dress up together, and every single one of them said yes. Okay then...

Abby, the Princess Peacock

At the end of the day, we decided that Noah's Ark was our best choice, and the kids ended up LOVING the costumes that they each picked out! So much so, that they have worn them almost daily since Halloween. Dressing up is a favorite pass time at our house! I love that they get so much imaginative play out of their costumes every year!

Even better, they got a bonus stuffed animal to match their costumes this year. The animals went 2-by-2 after all!

Elijah, the Mischievous Monkey

It was SO incredibly cold when we took these photos, that each kid is wearing at least 2-3 layers, and only took off their coats for about 5 minutes for the photos. They were pretty disappointed to have to trick or treat in winter coats, but there was just no way around it. They certainly weren't going to let a little cold temperature stop them from walking the neighborhood though!

Ellie the Ticklish Tiger (she is SO ticklish!)

We did have an extra person in our group theme this year....Daddy went as Mr. Noah. I found the umbrella hat on Amazon for $5, and thought it was hilarious! I had my own rainbow umbrella that I carried as Mrs. Noah, but I had to keep pulling the girls' pants up, so it stayed closed the whole time (the weight of all of the layers + no hips yet. Lol!). haha! Mom duty never ends! But we had a great time with this year's theme...and of course, next year's theme is already being whispered about in bedrooms when they think I'm not listening.

Worlds of Fun: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 16:00:00 +0000

Thanks to Worlds of Fun and KC Parent Magazine for sending us on an awesome family adventure!

Caleb, Abby, Elijah, and Ellie

We kind of have a thing for Peanuts at our house. Not the peanuts you eat (although give me a maple iced doughnut with peanuts on top, and I'll love you forever!), but the Peanuts Characters. We like to watch the Peanuts movies that coordinate with holidays, and we have stuffed Snoopy, Woodstock, and Charlie Brown characters in our toy bin. In fact, we even dressed up as the Peanuts Characters for Halloween when the kids were 3! (Check out our Peanuts Gang here!) There is something about those fun, timeless characters that just take me clear back to childhood.

And then I found out that Worlds of Fun does an annual Great Pumpkin Fest in their Planet Snoopy kid section....what now??? That quickly went to the top of our "must-visit" list during my favorite season of the year!

On the Carousal: Abby and Mommy, Elijah and Ellie, Caleb and Daddy

**The Scare Factor Side Note**

If you are a parent, you are probably wondering the same thing I was before we headed to the park in October: "How scary will Worlds of Fun be right now?" Yep, it's a fair question since no one wants their kids to have nightmares.

Worlds of Fun actually goes BIG on their Halloween theme throughout the entire park from mid-September through the end of October. I'm talking...multiple haunted houses, roaming zombies after dark, scare zones, and very scary decorations. Because of that, I was a little bit anxious getting the kids from the front gate through to Planet Snoopy without coming across anything too upsetting. I actually warned them in the parking lot that they needed to stick with us and that there might be a few not-so-nice decorations. Abby is spooked so easily, that she is a legit flight risk when it comes to anything even remotely iffy. This girl takes off running and never looks back, and....oh my stars...she is SO fast. I had to give her the head's up going in so that I would know she would be right by my side.

Happily, Worlds of Fun actually did a really good job of keeping it pretty tame on the route from the front gate through to the kids area. There was one mean looking pumpkin/spider statue at the front, and a creepy jack-in-the-box that was easily walked around. Other than those, it was a clean walk back. They save all scary roaming minions for after dark when they close down the kids' section and suggest only age 14 and over stay (smart!). All that to say, we were happy to not have any nightmares to deal with at our house! And if my kids could make through the park, pretty much any child can make it. **End The Scare Factor Side Note**

Just like our visit this summer, the kids loved Planet Snoopy, this time enjoying it all decked out for The Great Pumpkin Fest! I'm so glad that we went!

Love all the Peanuts decor in Planet Snoopy!

Caleb, Snoopy, Ellie, Abby, Elijah, and Woodstock

In addition to all of the rides, The Great Pumpkin Fest includes a bunch of extra kids' activities that are all free with the cost of their general admission ticket. For this Mama on a budget, that's a super important thing! Activities for four kids can add up quickly!

We loved stopping by the Peanuts Theater to participate in Pig Pen's Creepy Crafts. The kids each made a spider webbed plate, complete with spider rings, and then jumped across the room to make puppets out of lunch sacks. All of the craft items were sitting out and just waiting for some little hands to get creative! Caleb has since named his puppet, Snoopy, of course!

Elijah, Abby, Ellie, Caleb, and Daddy

Linus' Great Pumpkin Patch was another winner! The park has a section set up for kids to explore and find the perfect mini pumpkin to take home with them. Take a backpack or stroller to store your pumpkins in while you enjoy the rest of your day. Head nod to Daddy for being our designated pack mule in the park!

Abby, Elijah, Caleb, and Ellie

Peppermint Patty's Hay Bale Maze was awesome because it wasn't complicated to get through. It was also low enough that we could let our kids run through the entire thing and still keep an eye on them the entire time. They begged to do this adventure multiple times!

I'll admit to not taking the kids' costumes with us because I don't like to give away our Halloween group theme too early in the year, but they also have Lucy's Costume Contest that kids can participate in. We saw a lot of kids with lightweight costumes running around Planet Snoopy. Anything to get a few more wears from those dress-up outfits! Even better, you can find several Peanuts Characters dressed up in their Halloween costumes too!

Abby, Snoopy, and Ellie

And then there was this....the trick or treating throughout Planet Snoopy! The kids totally did this twice, and would have gone back for a third round if we hadn't cut them off. There are little houses throughout the kids' area that are brightly colored and easy to find. When a child knocks on the door, a gloved hand pops out of the window and hands them a piece of candy or a small toy. (P.S. Parents, you can quietly ask the person in the house if they will hand you a bag for the candy too!) We found Sally's Doll House, Charlie Brown's House, The Elementary School, and Lucy's Doctor Stand. The kids adored this, and it actually out-ranked the rides in terms of their favorite part of the day...and I have to admit. It was a super fun, clever way of bringing yet another aspect of the Peanuts Characters world to life!

We love how Worlds of Fun goes out of it's way to create a family friendly experience during the summer, and then take it up a notch as the season goes on! Family memories, y'all....these kinds of play-all-day adventures are the best!

Clockwise from the bottom: Elijah, Mommy, Daddy, Abby, Ellie, and Caleb

Thanks to Worlds of Fun and KC Parent Magazine for sending us on this #IshumFamilyAdventure! This post may contain affiliate links. For more info, please see my disclaimer page.

Second Day of 1st Grade

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Thu, 07 Sep 2017 03:47:00 +0000

People ask, "Am I enjoying having the kids back in school?" Yes! I love them dearly, but it was a long summer, and the kids function so much better with structure. We've been highly structured and scheduled from day 1 out of necessity, so free time is actually harder for them to manage than a schedule.

But having them back in school didn't start without a few bumps in the road. I'm pretty sure the school nurse has me on speed dial from last year as she called me frequently about the bumps and bruises that are typical for kindergartners on the playground. I assumed that those calls would lessen with each year, but it seems instead, we are just starting 1st grade with more time in the nurse's office.

Halfway through day 2 of the school year, the nurse called to tell me that Caleb needed stitches in his lip for a collision sustained during PE. I guess the PE teacher had a white board and computer out in order to teach the kids what to do in case of a fire or other emergency (at least, that's what I think happened). Caleb was wearing his new "power shoes" that his Pa (Sean's dad) bought for him the week before school, and he "forgot to put his breaks on" as he was running, and he collided with the computer stand. He split his lip open and it needed to be stitched back together.

Poor kiddo. Any 6-year-old would be in pain and scared of the blood, but a 6-year-old kid with autism? It kind of puts it on another level.

After signing him out of school, and confirming with the nurse that the best place to take him was Children's Mercy Urgent Care, we went to leave the school. As I reached for the door knob, everyone in the office suddenly told me to stop and wait while they radioed for clearance.

Huh?

I've been in and out of that school a bunch of times, and never had to get clearance after signing a kid out. But okay? It only took them a minute to get me permission to leave, and out we went. I didn't really think much of it beyond that.

But about 10 minutes later, as I was at a stop light on the way to Urgent Care, a robo call came through to inform me that the school was on lockdown with all staff and students inside due to a threat in the area.

I sat back in the driver's seat and said, "Are you kidding me?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! It's the second day of school!!!"

And then I heard a little voice from the backseat, "Mama? What's wrong?"

I looked in the backseat at my bleeding 6-year-old, and said, "....nothing. Nothing's wrong, Caleb."

It's not like turning around and going back to the school was going to help him or the three others who were currently inside the building. So on I went...praying they would catch whatever the threat was, and that update would come through shortly.

At Urgent Care, they got us right back. Thankfully, Caleb wasn't crying anymore at that point. We went through registration, the triage room, vitals, and initial questions with the nurse. Then the doctor came in, looked at it, and said she couldn't stitch it because the wound crossed the lip border. If it wasn't lined back up perfectly, he would have some funny looking lips for the rest of his life.

So off we went to the Children's Mercy Emergency Room. Poor kid. At this point, he just wanted to go home.

Children's Mercy ER got us right back to start the vitals and questions all over again. They sent in a really nice Child Life Specialist (I didn't even know that was a thing?) who walked Caleb through every part of the stitching procedure and promised him he could keep the "squirt gun" that they were going to use to clean up his wound. She was really great with him! (And in the middle of all of this, the school called again to announce the all clear!)

After an unsuccessful attempt to stitch him up with only numbing cream, we finally had to partially sedate him to keep him from moving. It still took two nurses and myself holding him down while the doctor stitched and the Child Life Specialist held the tablet with the movie.

We got it done though!

In the interest of keeping his trauma to a minimum, we opted for two dissolvable stitches with 5-6 knots each vs. one regular stitch that would need to be removed a few days later. The doctor did a great job with that squirming/crying mass of a boy, and his lip was perfectly aligned. Even though he bit out two of the knots before we even left the hospital, the stitches stayed in and he has healed up nicely.

I really hope that's the last of the dramatic school episodes for the year. Stitches and a lockdown all in one day is quite enough for me.

Although, I found out after the fact that when the call went out from the school, two dads in our district went up to the school immediately and stood their ground directly in front of it to make sure nobody got in who didn't need to be there. It's good to know that there are people in our district who will go to bat for our staff and students if we can't be there...or if we are preoccupied with an emergency room run.

And now I *totally* get to look forward to an urgent care and an emergency room bill. Parenting is some kind of expensive.

This post may contain affiliate links. For more info, please see my disclaimer page.

First Day of 1st Grade

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 01:16:00 +0000

Another year...another grade! FIRST GRADE!!

I'm going to be straight up honest. Most of the time, the days seem very, very long with these four running crazy through our house. But then we hit a point like...the first day of a new school year...and I realize that this whole "raising quads" thing is going much faster than I should be okay with.

I really only have 12 years left....

STOP IT RIGHT THERE! I'm not talking about that today or the fact that I kind of got a little choked up at Meet the Teacher night and on the first morning when a couple of my littles told me that they were good to walk themselves to their class. *sniff*

Let's talk about the kids instead! Except first...I had a total mom fail and forgot to charge the battery in my good camera. Oh my stars, I was so frustrated with myself. So it looks like this post will be full of my finest cell phone photos because that's about all I had to work with in the moment.

At the end of Kindergarten, Caleb really started to struggle. He knew that school as he was familiar with was coming to an end, and the future held the unknown of a new regular classroom teacher and a new special education teacher. It was all going to shift and he didn't know what it was going to shift to. It got rough enough that I was called up to school one morning, and sat on the floor of the staff bathroom, holding a sobbing, angry, terrified little boy who couldn't pull himself together for fear of what was to come. Thankfully, his special education teacher realized that one of the best things she could do for him was give him the gift of meeting his first grade teacher. Although the school doesn't assign teachers until the Friday before the new year starts (like 4 days in advance!), she went to the school administration, and requested an assignment for him right away so that she could get him into that classroom and have him meet his teacher *before* he went home for the summer. The school administration immediately assigned him (and Ellie!), and Caleb was able to meet Ms. Horner. In fact, Ms. Horner gave him a little jar of bubbles which pretty much made her amazing in his eyes!

All that to say, we talked frequently about Ms. Horner all summer, and when it came time for Meet the Teacher Night and go to his classroom, he adjusted quite well. School has only been in session for a few days, but we haven't had to argue with him to go to school yet, so...major points there! Caleb also has a little friend from his special education classroom in his mainstream room, and was very excited to see him the first morning. Caleb has trouble connecting with other kids his age, so it was nice to see the two of them acknowledge and seem happy to see each other.

Caleb is still in therapies or special education about 65% of his day. He also has a new special education teacher, who seems really wonderful and sweet. As for his specials teachers (art, physical education, music, computers), they all greeted him with great excitement and his Art teacher has asked if he'd like to be her helper again this year which he readily agreed to. The whole school takes such great care of our special education students (not just Caleb!). Watching them love on and interact with these kids as important and smart human beings gives me such hope as a mom. I'm looking forward to seeing how Caleb progresses this year with such a strong team of educators behind him.

When they assigned Caleb, they also assigned Ellie, once again helping this mom out with two kids in two classrooms instead of four kids each in their own classroom. Ellie has declared Ms. Horner to be the most fun teacher she's ever had, and she absolutely adores her! Even better? Ellie's best friend is in her class! It's pretty much a dream come true for this kid on every point!

Ellie...ever the life of the party! Probably her biggest struggle last year was not talking when she needed to be working. She just loves people so much she "can't help it!"

The one big difference for Caleb and Ellie this year is that they are sitting next to each other at neighboring desks. Our two kids with the strongest personalities. Haha! It will either be perfect as neither one cares to listen to or follow the other one...or a total disaster. Stay tuned for how that plays out!

Elijah is down to just speech therapy at this point. All other therapies and interventions have been discontinued, and Elijah continues to do so well academically! He is sporting his new glasses and has been pretty laid back about the whole "back to school" idea. He wasn't too worried about Meet the Teacher Night and was totally cool on the first day of school. He is our super compassionate kid, and adores all things creative. He colors, cuts, and glues for hours at home as he makes his art, and I think as long as first grade incorporates some of that, he will be happy!

Abby and Elijah are both also sitting next to each other in Mrs. Thomas' class. Last year they were on opposite sides of the room. I'm thinking that won't be too much of an issue as they don't usually try to tell each other what to do.

While the other kids weren't too crazy nervous about school starting up, Abby was the exact opposite. She has some major anxiety and social/emotional issues still, and the thought of an unknown teacher in an unknown grade was cause for some sleepless nights and tummy aches (her anxiety manifests as tummy trouble). She cowered all the way to her new classroom on Meet the Teacher night, and I thought she actually might make a break for it (she strongly adheres to the "flight" in her fight or flight response). We managed to get her all the way to her classroom where the school had assigned her to quite possibly the best hand-picked teacher ever. Mrs. Thomas is very quiet but has a *very* grounding and calming presence. Abby was absolutely drawn to her and immediately connected with her on the spot. It was like watching a magnet attract her. We have not had one single belly ache or nervous comment from Abby about school since then. Even on the morning that class started, Abby was eager to get to school and see her teacher again. I wish I could fully describe what happened in the brief moments that Mrs. Thomas and Abby spent together that first night. I was kind of blown away by it.

Mrs. Thomas did tell me that Abby had about 7 meltdowns on that first day of school, but that she was able to calm and ground her again each time. Unfortunately for Abby, she tested too high on paper to qualify as a kid with social/emotional needs officially, but she still does have very real delays in this area. I'm hopeful that between Mrs. Thomas' nurturing personality and Abby's extra year of growth, that Abby can make good headway in this area this year. I'm honestly excited for her to have this chance!

So with that being said....this was the first day of school! It went well! The kids got there on time, their teachers seem to be amazing and perfectly paired with our little ones, and I'm happy to be able to focus more on work with a few extra uninterrupted minutes during the day as we head into the fall.

.
.....however, our second day had significantly more excitement than our first. That's a blog post all on it's own though. I'll get that up in the next couple of days, with bloody commentary and all. Haha...ugh.

Until then, this is my family. and I love them. that is all.

Ellie, Elijah, Daddy, Caleb, and Abby

This post may contain affiliate links. For more info, please see my disclaimer page.

Vacation Bible School: The Most Confusing Week of Our Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Tue, 08 Aug 2017 04:57:00 +0000

We are only 1 week out from the start of 1st grade, but there are still a few sunny days of summer to be enjoyed! (Let's be honest though. This mama is ready for school to start! Structure and predictable schedules are what this family thrives on!)

But summer is really good for one thing: ADVENTURES!

I used to love going to Vacation Bible School as a kid, and then I had the best time helping out with them as a big kid and adult. I've wanted to take my kids to one for the past couple of years, but we just weren't sure how that would all go down with the special needs that we have and the large number of same-aged children that we bring to the party. That's right. If it wasn't a party before the Ishums arrive, it's definitely a party once we double the size of a classroom!

Still, VBS was an undeniably important and FUN part of my summers as a kid, and I wanted my kids to have the same experience.

VBS Night 2: Western Theme

Caleb, Abby, Elijah, and Ellie (who decided to take the theme night seriously!)

We've recently started attending the church that my little brother works at (I guess he isn't so little anymore!) and their children's pastor has a background in special education. The volunteers in the kids area and the children's pastor have been super accommodating and have worked hard to make sure that our kids are accepted and their needs met on Sunday mornings...so I decided to chance signing them up for VBS.

VBS Night 3: Superhero Theme

Abby, Ellie, Caleb, and Elijah (it's a good thing we always keep a supply of superhero costumes on hand!)

It was the most hilarious thing trying to explain to our kids what VBS was. This pretty much sums up everything my kids said by the time we walked through the doors that first night:

Vacation = that must mean we need to pack our pajamas for a pajama party. Do they have a pool? How many days are we going to be on vacation?

Bible = all of this is happening at the church, of course. But which church? And it's at night instead of in the morning? Weird... so we are are sleeping there because it's a vacation?

School = why do we have to go to school? It's summer break! Wait...school is at church? That sounds BORING. I don't want to go. But are we going swimming since we are going on vacation?

Oh my stars! It was so hard not to laugh with all of their questions and downright confusion!

VBS Night 4: Pirate Theme

Heck, yes, those are homemade eye patches and hooks! I'm a whiz with a stapler, scissors, and foil!

Caleb, Abby, Elijah, and Ellie

We thought it might be hard for Caleb to adapt to a noisy room, lots of people, and an activity so far outside of his regular routine, but it was actually Ellie who ended up having the biggest struggle. She is our feisty, little go-getter, and she has overcome so much that sometimes I forget that she still struggles with sensory issues even though she has been discharged from all of her therapies. Poor little thing had an absolute meltdown/anxiety attack when we tried to leave. It was so unlike her, but at the same time, completely understandable. For awhile there, I thought we were going to need to stay, but finally, one of her group leaders leaned over and said the magic words, "Hey Ellie, if you stay, we are having doughnuts for a snack!" WHAT?! And just like that, our wee one became resolute in her decision to stay and make the best of a very foreign situation.

VBS Night 5: Galactic Starveyors Theme + Bomb Pops!

Caleb, Elijah, Abby, and Ellie

By the time we got back to pick them up, they were totally in the love with the idea of Vacation Bible School! Theme nights, fun snacks, lots of singing and dancing...they didn't want the week to end.

In fact, I'll just let them tell you the highlights of the week themselves. :)

Indecent Exposure

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 04:07:00 +0000

Oh my stars. Have you ever had a moment when you've questioned everything you've ever done as a parent??

I had one of those moments yesterday.

Yesterday, we went to a pool party with a bunch of our Young Living friends. It was the most gorgeous backyard...perfectly landscaped with a rock waterfall built-in that all of the kids were loving launching themselves off of. The owners own a landscaping company, and it showed in the impeccably designed yard. In fact, I took this photo when we got there to slap on my dream board.

So halfway through the event, most everyone there was in the pool, chatting and having a great time....and suddenly, I hear Sean say, "BEC...!!!!" And I look over to see the son-who-shall-not-be-named with his pants pulled down, casually watering the perfect landscaping, oblivious to everyone. Oh yes. And he was FACING the pool. Full frontal.

I've never scrambled out of a pool so fast in my life. I want slosh/running over to my proudly peeing child, and quickly tucked him back away. Then he pulled it back out because he wanted to finish.

Y'all....this.is.my.life. In all of it's glory.

I now need to tape this photo to my dream board with a little post-it note on the side that says, "where everyone keeps their pants on."

Worlds of Fun: An #IshumFamilyAdventure

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 03:42:00 +0000

Thanks to Worlds of Fun and KC Parent Magazine for sending us on an awesome family adventure!

Do you know what I love about Kansas City? The fact that we have *so many* fun things to do as a family here! From museums to parks, festivals to sporting events, there are always opportunities to make memories. But one thing that I sometimes forget about is our theme park since we rarely drive past it. But oh my stars! It's officially back on my radar! We took the kids to Worlds of Fun on Saturday, and had the best time!

Let me start by saying that I love roller coasters. LOOOOVE roller coasters! Sean does too! Ironically, we haven't been to Worlds of Fun since before we got married, so it's easily been about 10 or 12 years since the last time either of us went. While taking the kids to a theme park has been on our bucket list for awhile, we just weren't sure how that would play out with four young kids who sometimes struggle with sensory input and social/emotional delays. To be honest, we were hoping to get 2-3 hours out of this adventure, and would have called it a success if it had worked out that way.

EIGHT HOURS LATER....I'm really not sure what we were worried about. haha!

When we got there, we decided to ease them into it, still not sure how a few of them would do with the noise, speed, and crowds of a theme park. Our first stop was the carousal. We've done carousals in the past, so the kids knew what to expect there for the most part.

Ellie, Daddy, Caleb, Elijah, and Abby

For our second ride, we decided to launch them straight out of the shoot, and jump on the family roller coaster, "Cosmic Coaster" in Planet Snoopy, the kids section of the park. Elijah was our most timid kid the whole day, but he still did every ride except for one. When we walked up and saw almost no wait on this ride, I was determined to get everyone on it just so that they would see how much FUN our day was going to be. The roller coaster ended up being a favorite of the kids' along with the "Woodstock Whirlybirds" that flew up in the air. (Sean and I thought they were both pretty great too!)

Elijah and Daddy in the back, Caleb and Abby in the middle, Ellie and Mommy in the front

And then we spent the next several hours jumping on and off of a bunch of rides with no lines. Unbelievably, on a perfect June Saturday in Kansas City with temperatures ranging from 65 - 80 degrees, there was no wait on most of the rides, and only about a 5 minute wait on the most popular kid rides. When I say we were jumping on and off of rides, I literally mean we got off one ride and walked right on to the next one. It was amazing!!

Pro Tip: Go first thing in the morning and beat the crowds!

Ellie and Abby on "Snoopy vs. Red Baron"

Ellie, Caleb, Mommy, Abby, and Elijah on "Kite Eating Tree"

Lunch didn't happen until about 2 pm, which is late for four 6-year-olds who seem to demand food every 30 minutes on a normal basis. Sean and I had a quiet side conversation, wondering if we should break for lunch, but since everyone was happy and there were no lines, we decided to keep going until the kids said they were hungry. Clearly they were distracted with fun if they pushed a meal back that far!

Pro tip: If you plan on being in the park during meal time, plan on budgeting at least $18 per person for a meal and drink. No outside food and beverages are allowed.

After lunch, we rode more rides, but it was getting noticeably busier than first thing in the morning. By this point, the kids were starting to get tired, but refused to give up and go home. haha!

Thankfully, we walked past a Peanuts show right as it was starting. Just a short 15 minute show, this absolutely was Abby's favorite part because she not only got to meet Lucy Van Pelt, she also got to sing, dance, and parade around the room with the characters. We thought she was never going to let go when it came time to leave. "C'mon, Abby! You have to let someone else get a picture with her now!"

Pro tip: The Peanuts shows are in the gift shop where the "Snoopy's Rocket Express" ends. The Saturday we were there, two different shows alternated, and ran every 30 minutes all afternoon long!

Post "Team Charlie Brown Show" Family Photo

Caleb, Mommy, Linus, Abby, Lucy, Ellie, Charlie Brown, Daddy, and Elijah

One or two more rides later, and Caleb was the first to finally say that he was ready to be done. We were incredibly impressed that he made it so long, even with having to remove his headphones for a couple of different rides. We have come so far. SOOO far! And it was so fun for us as his parents to see him living in the moment and working to overcome his challenges so that he could fully enjoy the experience with us. A few short years ago, we wouldn't have made it through the front gate with him.

Abby, Caleb, Elijah, and Ellie on "Peanuts Road Rally"

Before leaving though, I had to insist on funnel cake. Although I haven't been to a theme part in over 10 years, funnel cake has always been a part of any theme park experience for me. I couldn't let my kids miss out on what I consider to be iconic theme park food in all of it's glorious greasiness.

Yep. It's still as good as I remember!

Daddy and Abby, Elijah and Caleb (top), Ellie and Abby (bottom)

When we left, all four kids asked if they could go back the next day. It seems we are a theme park family after all! I can see us making many future memories at Worlds of Fun and any other theme parks that we cross paths with!

And not-so-secretly, I'm anxious for them to hit at least the 48" mark so that we can all go ride the big roller coasters together!

Elijah, Caleb, Abby, and Ellie

One last bonus photo:

Look what I made my family do while we were at Worlds of Fun! HAHA! I've always wanted to do one of these photos, so I dragged everyone in and made them dress up. With the exception of Abby who really wanted a 1920's feather instead of the matching hat that went with her dress, I think everyone thought it was fun, and Sean at least tolerated my penchant for dressing up in other eras (I was a Civil War reenactor in college).

This is how we afford quadruplets, by the way....

Ellie, Mommy, Caleb (in back), Elijah (in front), Daddy, and Abby

Thanks for Worlds of Fun and KC Parent Magazine for sending us on this adventure! This post may contain affiliate links. For more info, please see my disclaimer page.

And That's a Wrap...Kindergarten Is Over!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Sun, 28 May 2017 04:42:00 +0000

Kindergarten is a wrap. It's hard to believe that our kids are 6...kindergarten is over....and....where did the time go??

I mean, next year is 1st grade. Do all moms feel like it's bizarre when they suddenly turn around and 1st grade is on the horizon? In the quad mom circles that I run in, I now have "older quads".

How. did. this. happen?

At our school, they have some fun countdown-to-the-end-of-the-year kindergarten festivities, (including the best day ever: pajama day) and they do kindergarten awards in the classroom instead of a kindergarten graduation.

Let me stop for a second and explain the dynamics of having 4 kids in kindergarten at the same time. Generally speaking, there is running involved. Between classrooms. Thankfully, our school listened to my impassioned pleas at the beginning of the year, and agreed to put them 2 to a room with Elijah and Abby having the same teacher and Caleb and Ellie having the same teacher. I fully intend to continue requesting that until either:

1. The kids are completely responsible and will always get every bit of homework done without supervision along with keying all important school dates into my Google calendar for me.

2. They refuse to hang in each other's vicinity. At which point I'll probably tell them to deal with it since they were wombmates in the first place or swap around the pairings a bit.

With our groupings of 2 and 2, their teachers were super gracious to coordinate the kindergarten awards between them since both award sessions ran concurrently. One teacher called two of our kids for their awards first and the other teacher called the other two kids at the end which gave me enough time to run between classrooms and see everyone get their awards. I'm sure all of the parents in both rooms wondered why I cut out early/arrived late. Lol! Such is life!

Anyhow, these cuties did great, and we are super proud of them! We have most definitely had some major challenges during kindergarten, but we made it!

Elijah: The Future Detective Award

Y'all, never in my life have I met a human with more words than this child. They say the average number of words that a guy speaks in a day is 10,000. The average number of words that a girl speaks is 30,000. Elijah has to be closing in on about 80,000 words a day...EASILY. He asks ALL the questions, narrates ALL the things, talks to himself in the 3rd person when no one else is talking to him...so. many. words. His teacher actually had to put a limit on him. He can tell her ONE thing as he walks in the door in the morning, otherwise, he just won't stop. This kid is a future politician or motivational speaker if I ever saw one. haha! The truly funny thing is that he still gets speech therapy, but that doesn't stop him at all! I think it might just be fueling his word count right along. He is very smart, so inquisitive, and wants to know why everything works the way it does. The "Future Detective Awards fits him so well!"

Abby: The Super Girl Work Award

Abby is always intent on doing her very, very best, and easily gets down on herself if she thinks there is a possibility that it could have been done better. Her social/emotional issues have been quite the mountain to deal with this year, especially since Christmas. She was tested in the fall, came back with a brilliantly high IQ, and the school removed her IEP and therapies, saying that she is no longer delayed. Sean and I definitely disagree with that, but since it couldn't be shown on paper via tests, they removed the services that she was getting. We fought long and hard for those services, and even our Pre-K teachers were floored that they were removed in kindergarten as they felt they were still needed. Since then, her anxiety has ratcheted way up affecting her at school and at home. Even going so far as to cause her to be up at night with stomach pain (It's not a physical issue. It's an emotional issue that manifests physically). She worries about so many social situations in and out of school along with her school performance (she is doing just fine.) We are trying really hard to figure out the best way to help her learn how to cope and work through her anxiety about dealing with those things.

But back to her award, yes! The "Super Girl Work Award" is so appropriate for her! She has and continues to overcome so much, and bring excellence to everything she works on!

Ellie: The Giggle Monster Award

Everyone that Ellie has ever met has fallen in love with her laugh! I need to just give her a good tickle and record it for the blog. She is simply a RIOT! When her teacher called her name and her award, of course, the first thing she did was let out a loud giggle which set the entire room of parents into a fit of giggles too. Her teacher couldn't possibly have come up with a better award to give her. Our little social butterfly who loves being in the middle of everything...Ellie thrived in kindergarten! She's already excited to be a big 1st grader next year!

Caleb: The Book Worm Award

Caleb...ah, this boy. We have definitely had some struggles this year. Kindergarten is a big adjustment for a typically developing kid, but when that kid has autism, it's an extra struggle. Caleb had two very good teachers who worked with him (his main room teacher and his special education teacher), and truly made some excellent progress this year! Between goal sheets, incentives, little notes congratulating him on good days (he treasures those notes!), and patience, Caleb found a good routine by the end of the year. We did have some issues at the end with panic due to leaving kindergarten and facing the unknown world of 1st grade though. He had a bit of a meltdown during his kindergarten awards because he thought he was "never going to have fun ever again" with having to go to 1st grade. Poor guy.

Photo taken when his teacher called his name...right before the massive meltdown...you can see it coming...

And then I was called to school a day or two later and ended up on the floor of a staff bathroom with him sobbing into my shirt because he just couldn't figure out how to handle the transition. Transitions are so hard, but they are part of life, so it's another opportunity to learn. His special education teacher was so great and worked with the school administration to determine his 1st grade teacher before the year ended so that he could meet her (they don't typically post classroom assignments until the week before school starts!). We now have a photo of Caleb and his 1st grade teacher, and she gave him bubbles, so life is looking up a bit!

Award-wise, the Book Worm Award was just perfect for Caleb! He started reading a few words when he was 3, and entered kindergarten being able to read quite a few small words. He is now our best reader and loves being "in the know"about what is written on the paper in front of him. He has an incredibly memory, and can recall what most words say after having only been shown them once or twice. Sean and I both adore reading, and love that he has so quickly caught on to it!

Last Day of Kindergarten Photo...someone was not cooperating....

Caleb, Ellie, Abby, and Elijah

And then the neighbor arrived home...

(I'm obviously still at the "you take what you can get" phase)

Caleb, Ellie, Abby, and Elijah

So that's it...we are one week into our summer vacation, and one week away from starting summer school. Caleb qualified for continuing therapies this summer, and the routine is so good for all four of them, so everyone is going. They have a 2 week break between kindergarten and summer school, 6 weeks of summer school, and then 4 weeks off before we launch full speed into 1st grade. Considering they were all preemies and developmentally delayed, we are doing marvelously well as life continues to fly by so quickly.

Abby crawled into my lap tonight while we were at their grandpa's house for dinner. I whispered into her ear, "I need you to stop growing and stay little for me. Can you do that?" She whispered back, "I don't think I can..."

Time goes so fast.

Sitting on Great-Grandpa's Knee

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca @ A Beautiful Ruckus) — Sat, 20 May 2017 05:13:00 +0000

Last winter, Sean gave me the most amazing gift, when he suggested that we make the very long drive back to my hometown for Christmas. It had been 1.5 years since we had been down to visit my extended family, and I had been wishing that I could get the kids down to see their great-grandpa again. Except how do you say, "Hey, Babe...let's pack up 4 kids and take a really long drive so that you can spend Christmas in a hotel room?" Not exactly what most spouses want to hear. But I married the best guy who volunteered for it himself, even though he knew it would take him far away from his own family on Christmas.

I love him! *sigh*

The drive back to where I grew up in New Mexico takes 16 hours each way. It's a long road trip through some pretty empty states with literally no cell signal for hours at a time. (As a total side note, can I just add how weird it is to be unable to even make a call in this day and age?) When we go back, we have to take two days to drive each direction because the kids just can't do the full 16 hours in one stretch. So it ended up being a two day drive down, two days in New Mexico, and a 2 day drive back. Not going to lie. It was a bit grueling to spend four days driving for just 48 hours in town, but the kids were champs, and it was so amazing to get to spend Christmas there!

I bet you are wondering what the kids thought of all of that....well...they were totally confused and so over tacos by the time we left, it was almost comical. It was just too different from Christmas as they know it. haha!!

My kids know all of the traditional Midwestern Christmas stuff, you know, the stuff in Christmas movies. But in New Mexico, a traditional Christmas looks very different. It involves luminarias, Mexican food, and no snow. haha! I think my little family was in a bit of a culture shock, but to me, it was so perfect. It was just like going back in time 20 years and getting to do Christmas the way I remembered as a kid. Our extended family always celebrates on Christmas Eve with a giant get-together, and my grandpa always displays his collection of several hundred Nacimientos (nativity sets) for the public to enjoy as well. It was all exactly as I remembered, even down to the exact same Christmas Eve punch recipe that my aunt has been making every year for as long as I can remember and sitting on the floor eating dinner with my cousins because there aren't enough seats for all of us.

And I got to share ALL of that with my kids and show them what Christmas was like for me while growing up. They may not have appreciated the over-abundance of tacos in the moment, but I think they had fun anyway!

One of my big goals going back was to get some photos of my kids with their great-grandpa. It was so important to me to get those photos...but, unfortunately, I waited until we were saying good-bye to try to get them. It was already dark outside, we were in a dimly lit living room, and that combined with my not-so-stellar photography skills just wasn't working out the way I had hoped. All of my photos were blurry and my tired kids weren't fully on board with the idea of watching mom try to take the same photo over and over. Thankfully, one of my cousins took over with his own camera and captured the photos below. I have to give him a quick shout-out because Paul is an international award winning photojournalist, and I kind of scored big time by having him rescue me from my lack of skills.

I wasn't sure what he had been able to catch. I gave him the worst lighting ever, 4 very tired kids, and only about 10 minutes to work with. But oh my word! I just cried when I opened the link he emailed to me to download the pictures. My kids sitting on their Great-Grandpa's knee....so precious! They are exactly what I had dragged my camera all the way to New Mexico to try to get. Photos that I will cherish forever!

(Warning: I'm posting all of them below because I don't want to lose them! It's not really a warning though because I have cute kids and a cute grandpa. hehe!)

Great-Grandpa Taylor and Ellie

Elijah and Great-Grandpa Taylor

Abby and Great-Grandpa Taylor

Caleb and Great-Grandpa Taylor

Me and My Grandpa

The Crew: Elijah, Ellie, Great-Grandpa, Abby, and Caleb

Our Family....so worth the drive!

The Playroom at my Grandpa's house. I spent a lot of hours in here as a kid.

Brothers: I love this photo! It pretty much perfectly sums up their relationship. lol!

We have a ton of family in New Mexico who I think might enjoy these. Somebody show Grandpa for me! :)

Anyhow, thanks for enjoying these photos with me even though grandparent photos are maybe not that interesting to the general masses. Our trip to New Mexico was one of the sweetest gifts that Sean has given to me, and then the photos from Paul on top of it...well, I think I can safely say that time with family and the memories that go with them are everything. <3

This post may contain affiliate links. For more info, please see my disclaimer page.