This was not my favorite week.

Sunday:

All my guys

Future so bright, you better wear shades

When Linc says pants are a shirt, he refuses to back down

Monday:

NOT HELPING

That’s the eclipse, I swear

Doesn’t know how to cart correctly

Tuesday:

I don’t know what this show is but I never want to see it again

I miss lake life already

Progress!

Wednesday:

Rocking the Seaport

Getting in some daddy cuddles

Such a big kid

Thursday:

Stupid submarine

Eating our feelings. They taste like frosting.

Goofball

Friday:

Bunny Caroline

Alien attack

Evan on the grown up rides

Saturday:

Before the mud at the Mud Run

NEW BATHROOM

More new bathroom! I love my new bathroom!

I’ve been having a bit of a battle with the school slash school bus company and today I won. I’m so relieved. As much as we really like being busy and on the go, I don’t like being late, breaking rules, or writing bitchy emails. Ok, I SORT of like writing bitchy emails, but not over and over. But starting next week we should just go back to regular busy – now with 100% more karate for Evan!

I keep saying I’m almost caught up and then I fall farther behind. Now that we have a real schedule – a crazy schedule, but a schedule – I know where my writing time fits in and I’m hoping to get back to it. Partially because I like having a blog and partially because I want to document this time for E. So I’ll say it again…I’m a few weeks behind but I’m going to catch up on these recaps.

Sunday:

This slide is huge

Finding rocks

I can’t remember why I took this picture

Monday:

It was a very Monday Monday

Tuesday:

He’s not sure I should let babies drive

Biggest coffee possible after 4 kids at the dentist

Wednesday:

Every time he sees a camera

Thursday:

He decided driving was OK after all

Party planning

Friday:

Filthy urchin

Saturday:

Watching for party guests

I super love how everything came together

He had an excellent day

And just like that, Finnegan is awake so I can’t do another week. He’s supposed to be sleeping for another hour, but he’s got molars coming in. Let’s hope they break through quickly because both of us are happier when he sleeps.

Previously: 2016, 2015, 2015 (part 2), 2014,  2013

I can’t remember when I started calling this the best weekend of the year, but now that’s the official name in our family and we celebrate as if it’s a holiday. Four kids out of the house all weekend isn’t easy but we had a great time as usual and the food makes up for the stress.

Greek Food Festival:

Ledyard Fair (with friends!):

Taste of Italy:

Mystic Eats:

After we went to the food festival in Mystic, we hung out at the Seaport, then went straight to a birthday party, then straight to cheer practice. Operation Keep Them Busy is going along just swimmingly, although if Finnegan keeps waking up at 2 am I’m not going to be able to keep it up every weekend.

Hopefully he let’s me get enough sleep to make it to The Big E next Saturday, because that’s like the whole Best Weekend of the Year rolled into one day.

Previously: first day 2014, first day 2015, first day 2016

Three of my four children started school this week. The big kids were thrilled, as usual, because they love school. Caroline has the same teacher she had for kindergarten, who Evan also had for both kindergarten and second grade, so she’s pretty familiar with us Davises. Evan has a teacher we haven’t met before but both kids know her a little – one of the advantages of a small school – and she seems super nice. I am not worried about the big kids in the least.

Lincoln is going to preschool 5 days a week in the afternoons. He qualifies for early preschool because of his speech delay – he aged out of Birth to Three at-home sessions. That means he has an IEP and gets to meet with the school speech therapist every week, while also getting a head start on school. I mean, he’s not learning to read or anything, but he’s started to show interest in art and letters and counting, so I’m happy he has somewhere to focus on that.

Unfortunately, Lincoln does not like leaving me. It’s pretty much my own fault. He is not a shy kid. He is rarely scared. More often than not I have to keep him from killing himself because he has no sense of danger. He runs away in public and I have to chase him down. But he does all that stuff because he trusts me and knows I’m not far away. I almost never leave him anywhere, especially not with new adults he’s only met once or twice. And right now I’m his only parent, so he’s especially worried when I’m out of sight. The first two days of bus pick-up have been rough. When he comes home again he’s fine, so at least he isn’t spending 2.5 hours sobbing in a corner. I just need the pick-up part to get better next week.

The very best part of the year in Connecticut has just started. The weather is gorgeous. There are so many fun things to do we can’t possibly do them all. We’re just two weekends away from The Best Weekend Of The Year. We can be out of the house 12 hours a day easily, so when we get home all the children are exhausted and go right to bed.

On the one hand, this is perfect. The United States Navy called in their claim on my husband, and we won’t be seeing him for a while. Operation Keep Them Busy is my only hope to avoid sad, crying children every day. It’s lucky that this drastic family change happened during a time of year full of activity and changes. It’s easier to adjust when you’re already adjusting to new classes, new teachers, new schools, new routines and plenty of fun.

On the other hand, participating in all that fun without a second set of adult hands is taxing mentally and physically. There’s no one to go with the kids on rides the babies can’t ride. There’s no one to watch the stroller while I run to the bathroom. There’s no one to help carry plates at a food festival. There’s no one to wear an exhausted toddler when I’m wearing a nursing baby. There’s no one else to drive when I’m super tired. There’s just no one else. We’re going to miss some of the annual events we “always” go to because my sanity is more important than doing everything.

To kick off the best part of the year, we went to the Brooklyn Fair and it was wildly successful. I basically said yes to everything, including throwing a ton of money at stupid carnival games because my kids love those cheap, gross, horrible, trash stuffed animals so much. We were there for almost 5 hours and I think I only threatened to abandon them once. Maybe twice for Lincoln. But they had a super good time and said I was the best mommy and I got to eat the cotton candy they forgot we bought so it was a good day.