Catching Up - Soccer, Father's Day, and Daddy's Week Alone

Okay, I've been away ALL WEEK at YW Girl's Camp, so I'm a little behind. I didn't even post about last week's events much because I was so busy getting ready for camp. Wow - even as I type this, my fingers aren't working on the keyboard because #1 - I'm tired beyond belief, and #2 - I haven't used my fingers for anything besides cooking and cleaning this week. When I got into my Honda to drive home today, I felt disoriented because I haven't driven a car in 5 days! That felt weird.

I've gone off track. Let me digress. Last week was the British Soccer Camp Challenger Sports puts on. They have soccer coaches from Great Britain come and teach the kids soccer skills for a week. We put Joey in it for something to do. Andrew would have gone too, but he had Cub Scout camp. This was Joey's first time playing a sport, and he did really well physically. But do you ever get those moments when you see how well (or badly) you've been parenting? When you learn what you have been lacking in teaching your kids? Well, we'll be working on paying attention and following directions with Joey. He's the middle child, and sometimes gets a little lost at our house. As I reflected on my bad parenting skills while sitting watching him interact with his coaches, I realized that I probably too often give him something to do and never follow up. He just wanted to play the games his own way, and didn't pay attention to the rules too much. But he's Joey, so the coaches loved him to bits, and he has several new fans.

Here are his two soccer coaches, Jack and Kat. They were awesome. They were perfect for this age group. British people are quite funny in their own way. The parents enjoyed their dry humor, I think. Here's Joey trying to be patient and listen. At least he tried, right?

On the last day, they told the kids that they could bring anything they wanted and the coaches would wear it. This is Jack dressed up in all the beautiful things the kids brought:

Joey brought a Spider-man mask, but he decided it would look better on his own head.

We had a great Father's Day, too. We started with breakfast in bed for dad. We got up early (Ben's usually the first one up, so I had to beg him to stay in bed until we were ready) and made cinnamon rolls. We made daddy a great card. I asked the kids (those who can talk) questions like: What is daddy's favorite thing to do? What is daddy's favorite food, tv show, movie, place to go, etc. What does daddy do for a job? Things like that. My favorite one was when I asked Andrew what was daddy's job. He said, "He helps people." I said, "Helps people with what?" Andrew said, "A pen." Cute! Daddy does usually have a pen, so that makes sense.

We did the same thing for grandpa Jerry, and Grace said that Grandpa's favorite tv show was ice skating! He laughed at that.


So as I mentioned before, I went to Girl's Camp this week, which I will blog about when I find Haley's camera to offload the pictures. But I'll tell you about what happened around here while I was gone.

Grandma Jane stayed with the kids during the day. She's off for the summer, so that was great. The trampoline is our favorite toy, followed by the basketball hoop. I bought the hoop, but the trampoline, a new Wii game, and a new bike for Andrew are courtesy Grandma Jane. Thanks Grandma!

Daddy had the kids at night, and did safe things with them like having them stand over a pot of boiling water.

This will probably ban this behavior in the future. I'm going to have nightmares tonight.

As we pulled in to the church parking lot to let off the other girls I brought home (we laughed the whole way - they were a funny group!), Haley sent a text to Ben to let him know we were near. So as I rounded the corner by our house, the boys were on the there waiting for me. I decided to race them home. (We tied.)


This is Matt and the other boys waiting outside for me. My baby doesn't crawl anymore! Too sad for me.

I'm just glad they remembered me (although I did get a text yesterday at camp that said, "Can you please try to call tonight? Joey just said he doesn't remember his mommy." I almost cried a little).

I'm so glad to be home. Really, really tired, but glad to be home. And glad to be cooking for only 7 people, not 130 for each meal (more on that later......)

Big Mistake

If any of you are wondering, the idea of taking all five kids at naptime to the movies was not one of my brighter ones. I bought the kids two $5 medium sodas, sat down to watch the previews, and saw exactly fifteen minutes of the movie before the baby decided to start screaming. We went out in the hall where he continued to scream for an hour. I decided to rush back into the theater to get my keys and tell Haley I'd wait for them in the car. Then Grace wanted me so Haley had to bring her out. Then she had to pee, so I decided to drive home (we live just around the corner, basically) and let her pee. Then I went back for another five minutes, and the kids were out. Not fun. But at least I got a lot done while the baby slept for a couple hours!

The Summer So Far...

I've fallen pretty far behind this week. I spent the beginning of the week at Cub Scout Camp with Andrew and nine other boys. When I wasn't battling the lightning, downpours, and the ticks I was battling the two boys in our group who were from another planet. I didn't know children could act like that. It was a long two days...

We have only been to one baseball game this summer. We've just got to make more time for that. Haley, Joey and I went to a Legion Baseball game between the Scarlets and the Royals (both Billings teams). It rained on and off, and Joey had three bloody noses during the first three innings, but we had fun anyway. It was baseball!


Here's one of the only pictures I managed to get at Scout camp. This was one of Andrew's favorite stations: bb guns. He did really well shooting. He also liked archery. But it almost gave me a heart attack having to keep track of 10 boys with guns and bows and arrows in their hands.

Oh ya, and Monday was my birthday. I'm not telling you which one. But we decided to go out to dinner that night because I was gone all day and didn't have time to cook. We went to Dos Machos, and Ben, of course, somehow notified the waiter that it was my birthday. That explains the following picture. I can't believe I'm publishing this.

The kids got me some great Red Sox gear. Please excuse the way I look. I had been at camp all day long. Gross.

Later that night, Joey decided to grace us with this outfit. This is what he came up with for pajamas. He could not for the life of him figure out what was so funny.

Joey's been attending a British Challenger Soccer camp all week. He's really enjoyed playing soccer for the first time, and he really likes his coaches, Jack and Kat.

Joey also decided it was okay to take the training wheels off his bike. So we did that, but then noticed that his knees were touching his handle bars, so he graduated to Andrew's bike, and Grace got his. Now we need to figure out what to do with Andrew!

I went over to help Joey on the bike, but then Ben informed me that it was his job to do that. I didn't argue! Here he is keeping Joey safe -- along with the elbow, knee, and wrist pads that Joey insisted on.

With all the camps, sports, and playing outside, the boys have really tired themselves out. They were playing on Andrew's bed, and apparently fell asleep there. This is the first thing I saw in the morning -- Joey's little foot sticking out.

Here they are passed out on the top bunk. I panicked when I didn't see Joey in his bed, I figured it out pretty quick.

We're about to attempt to go to a movie. I've kept the baby up in hopes that he'll sleep during it. He'll either sleep or scream, we'll see which. Grace will probably have to potty every thirty minutes or so. Wish me luck!

Heart and Sole Race

Today we decided to try something new. Well, actually we thought of it several weeks ago when we entered, but nevertheless -- today we did something new. All seven of us did a 2 mile race for St. Vincent Hospital. We took the double Trek stroller for the wee ones and an umbrella stroller for Joey. Good thing, too, because all he did from the moment we got there was complain about wanting to go home. I'm not sure what his deal was, because usually he's up for an adventure. I think it was the clowns, but I'm not sure.

Here's dad pinning on his number while he's crying about the scary clowns walking around.

And here he is complaining to go home:

Grace was also scared of the clowns. But she looked cute in her hat.

Before the race Andrew had the idea to write "Team Kazmierski" on the stroller's flag. We wrote it on both sides, and flew it proud.

After the race, (Grace did not have to pee the whole time! I was worried about that) the kids got to have a donut (Joey had a popsicle) and sit in one of the hospital's helicopters. I think that was the highlight of their day. That and getting a free shirt and water bottle.

I think next year, if their memory is clear, I will be doing the race myself. Although, in the car afterwards I asked them to raise their hand if they liked being in the race. Everybody raised their hands. Could have fooled me! But I'm glad they think they had a great time.

Sleeping Boys

I just can't resist sneaking in and snapping a few pictures of the babies when they're sleeping. The boys always remind me of each other. Their butt up in the air, ankles crossed. Here's Matthew the other day:

I remember both the other boys sleeping in that same position. I also remember some other funny positions they slept in. Joey is most famous for wrecking the high chair by banging his back against it until he fell asleep. (Or maybe he just passed out from all the head trauma.) He would fall asleep eating, sitting, playing... whatever, as long as he was banging. He couldn't get to sleep unless I was hitting his butt. Not patting his butt -- banging it. He would cry and fuss unless it was hard -- the harder I hit, the happier he was. Here he is passed out:

He also used to sleep with either his arm or leg out of the crib. Here he is once grabbing onto the side of the crib. He is a little over a year old here:

And Andrew did the same thing. Here he is at age 1 with his arm sticking out. I always worried about that. But they never got stuck.

Here's Andrew on his belly. I just love these moments:

The boys just remind me so much of each other. I love their little chubby feet the most. Their little bodies, their hair, their hands -- all that was the same for each boy. But they all have such different personalities, even from day 1. Ahhh, the memories!

Bedtime and Camps

I'll start with bedtime. This is usually what happens when I send the kids to bed. We tell them that they can do what they want, as long as it is in their room. They fall asleep when they're tired. But this is what happens first: imagination. Tonight it was a race into outer space. They were shooting down aliens and everything! At least they were prepared with protective gear.

Grace wanted to try on the helmet, too. (Backwards, of course.)

In the end, they tied, and shared the trophy.

Now on to camps. We have 5 camps in the first 3 weeks of summer. But I'm the log head who signed them all up. I didn't want them to be bored for the summer, now. But I'm feeling a little over-scheduled, mostly because I have to accompany Andrew to Cub Scout camp for two days, and I'm a cook at Girl's Camp for 5 days. I'm having a little anxiety about leaving my babies for so long. Although I know the anticipation of leaving them is worse than actually doing it. It'll probably be good for me. Let's hope.

One of Andrew's camps is the First Tee program. That actually goes for several months. He's really excited about it - almost as excited as Grandpa Fred. Grandpa has already bought him his first set of golf clubs, taught him some drills, and taken him golfing. Andrew is ecstatic to have Grandpa as his mentor, as am I because I have no idea how to coach him along. Here he is waiting at the front window for Grandpa to pick him up for a few holes.

The proud new owner of his own set of golf clubs. It's pretty exciting in this house just to have something that's your own.

We've also been shuttling kids to basketball camp. Here's Andrew during a scrimmage. He really loves basketball. This is his second camp this year at the college.

I'll try to be better at posting more frequently. Ben and I are working really hard on a project that I'll tell you all more about soon, and it's taking a lot of my time. But I really want to document everything in my kids' lives, because I am already in mourning at the thought of them growing up. I know someday soon the little toys will be gone, their toothbrushes will be normal instead of having a spider man clinging to the side, there will be no more little shoes clogging up the front entrance... I miss it already!

Just a Little Saturday Project

We have this completely unusable deck on the side of our house. It is always blazing hot because it's on the southwest side of the house. We've truly never used it except to store the barbecue. So Ben decided he'd hire his brother, who thankfully is a builder, to come down today and build a nice, shingled roof. They've been working since 7 a.m. this morning, and it's almost finished! I can't believe I almost forgot to take some pictures. I'm sure the neighbors hate us by now for all the pounding and power tools being used non-stop today, but hopefully they'll get over it.

I'm so excited to use our now-usable deck. Thanks Sam! We couldn't have done it without you.

Here's Sam shingling the roof. Makes me a little nervous. He didn't seem to be, though. I think he's used to it.

Here's Ben with his rain-soaked hair going to get more supplies. It was a cool 45 degrees today with off and on again rain. That beats doing it in 100 degrees, right?

Here's a view from the inside. Our dining room will be a lot cooler now that the sun's not scorching it. We'll be able to leave the blinds open. Yay!

Another view from inside. I'm so excited! We'll have to have a deck-warming party.

P.S. Grace is potty training today. It is day 1, so I'll keep you posted. This is our second try. All the kids seem to have a false start before the real thing. Grace is the first kid we've had who actually cried for an hour because she didn't want to give up her diapers. She loves her diapers. I think it's just sheer laziness, but after her fit this morning, things are going pretty well. No accidents. Yet. I'm bribing with Starburst. That seems to be working. Also, there is a new Winnie the Pooh laptop sitting on the counter as a promised present for going three whole days without an accident. I'll keep you posted on that also. And I know, I know -- I shouldn't be bribing. I prefer to use the term "motivation". And a little motivation is good when you've had at least two kids in diapers for 4 1/2 years, and 6 years of single kids in diapers. The earth is groaning as I write that, and so is my bank account.

Enrichment Night

Ben said I'm not allowed to selectively blog, that I have to blog about myself too. So he took some pictures of my preparation for enrichment yesterday. I'm the enrichment leader in our ward, which is very small. But it seems like no matter how many people you have, you still have to get SO MUCH stuff ready!

Yesterday we made fruit bouquets, and I underestimated the amount of time it would take to prepare. I worked all day long, and thankfully Ben was able to come home and help. The worst part was making all the homemade play dough. I had to make dozens of play dough balls, because that's what you put in the bottom of your vase to stick the spears into. So each person needed one, and they're cheaper than floral foam, so there I stood, kneading the dough all day. My hand is still killing me. I had to multiply the recipe by 16, and something went horribly wrong. It was way too mushy, so I just kept adding flour and salt and oil until it worked. Frustrating.

But we got it all prepared and over to the church. We set up and got everything ready (that took 2 1/2 hours), had taco bell for dinner, and waited for people to show up.

Here are some pictures of the ladies having fun. First we did a veggie-dish cook off, and awarded three prizes to the top finishers. Then we made our fruit bouquets, which was a lot of fun. We called it a "Fruits and Veggies Night". We had a lot of fruit left, because some people who signed up didn't make it. But for those who did, we had a fabulous time!

Even the kids had fun!

I'm glad it's over.

Hair Cut

I can't believe she actually did it. Haley wanted a hair cut, just a trim. Her hair was to the bottom of her back, long and curly. I think it was just getting too hot for the summer. And of course, the stylist took off way more than she had asked. But she likes it anyway. I think it looks great - although she looks older. That I'm not liking so much.