time to let go!

I've come to realize I am no longer the sole influence in my daughter's lives anymore. I used to be able to control what they say or what they hear and what they wear and what they eat..... with both the girls in school, I'm no longer in total control and I will admit its a bit scary and overwhelming!
 Ellie now stays at school all day. She eats there now and I can't control what she eats or doesn't eat. Ellie is kind of a picky eater so I'm not sure what she all eats while she is in school. I ask her when I pick her up and most of the time she says she ate the oranges or occasionally she will eat the main dish, but honestly I'm not sure she eats much. But i have to learn to let her try new things or go hungry. I can't make her eat when she is in school, I only hope her teachers watch and make sure she eats at least something.
I also can't control the things she hears at school or the things she says at school ( hopefully its never anything bad). Today she came home from school and kept saying come on, come on. I was a bit annoyed cause I know its not something we say a lot of and I know it wasn't bad, but it was annoying and unnecessary.
As a mom, there are so many times where I want to protect my kids and keep them from the outside world, but they are growing and want to learn new things. They take big steps without me and look back only to say "look what I can do." They will get hurt some times, but I have to learn to kiss the boo boos and tell them it will be ok and try to let them learn from their mistakes or learn from their accomplishments. Its hard to know that they are growing and soon they will be wanting less of my attention and more of my money, but thats life and I as a mom have to let them live and pray that God watches over them and keeps them safe. I also have to hope and pray that they have listened to what we have taught them and that they grow in faith and love. I pray my tender hearted girls will be strong and brave in this scary and cold world!

butterflies everywhere!

If you like butterflies, I've got the perfect place for you to go. The Sertoma butterfly house in Sioux falls. It has tons of butterflies that will actually land on you. It is so crazy. On Saturday morning, I met a friend at the butterfly house. We have never been there so I thought it would be fun to take the kids there. We had to see the fish in the tanks first which is pretty cool too ( in 6 months or so they are going to have sting rays that you can actually touch). After the fish viewing we went in to see the butterflies. At first, the butterflies weren't really landing on us, but they were still flying around and kind of crazy. After you take their food away, they start to fly around more and land on you. There are some pretty cool looking butterflies and some that are just huge. There was one that had big black spots on it that looked like eyes and that one reminded us of a bat the way it swooped down and around. The kids had a blast running around and trying to get butterflies to sit on their finger. I was with Lisa Kats, and her daughter, Abby, was taking off her sweatshirt cause its like 80 degrees in there, when a butterfly landed on her and it kind of freaked her out so she swatted it..... lets just say the butterfly didn't look too good after that, but it was still kind of funny.
We had a great time just sitting there watching the butterflies!

On Friday after Ellie's half day of school, we headed to Sioux Falls for Sioux falls Christian's homecoming festivities. There was a parade that we watched with floats and cars and horses. Each class had a float or walked in the parade. Then it was craziness with inflatable slides and such and games in the gyms for the kids to play. We went to watch the boys soccer game and then later the football game. When I was in high school we didn't have football and sorry to say it shows now( they lost!). But as the school grows I'm sure they will improve.
Its kind of sad to go back to homecoming and have it not be basketball like it used to be when I was in high school. Times change and so does the school.
It was a good weekend and the girls had fun! This coming weekend is Mark's birthday(friday) and then its hunting season, and my parents 30yr anniversary, so once again we are going to sioux falls. At least that way I have something to do while Mark is gone in the woods tracking bambi!
Here are a few pics from the butterfly house!

update

So there isn't much going on at the Bosma house these days. Just getting into a routine with school and ballet and coffee break is starting up.
Mark has been doing more with archery stuff since he is now the President of the Iowa Traditional Bowhunters Society. He has been going to some events and just practicing around the house and getting arrows and such ready for hunting season. He has only gotten one deer since he started bow hunting, but that hasn't stopped him. Shooting a traditional bow is way harder then shooting a compound bow so it takes more practice and patience to actually shoot something. Hopefully he will get a deer this year!
I have just been just trying to get into the routine of life. The girls aren't easy to get up in the mornings and its a whole new deal with a baby. Hopefully things will get easier with the girls as they get used to school and such. Once I drop the girls off at school then I come home and do about a 30 min workout to my best friend, Jillian Michaels! HA! Hopefully this will get me to my goal of 20lbs by November but as of now i"m just trying to get back to pre-baby weight.
Nolan is growing like crazy. He is starting to giggle now and when you lay him on the floor on his back he cocks his neck back like he wants to roll over, but we aren't there yet and thats ok with me. He will be 4 months old on Friday. I can't believe he is that old already. The other day at my in-laws he was sitting in the exersaucer and had a major blowout.. only when he is bouncing or sitting in something does he blow out.. oh well.
The girls are doing well in school. They had school pictures today. It was Chloe's first time having pictures at school and she was excited. Hopefully they turn out ok. I'm always a bit worried about how the girls will smile and how their hair will look since I"m not there to fix it before the camera snaps the picture. We will see once we get them back I guess and if nothing else I know a few people who take pictures.
So this is long and boring and I will end it now. Its a gorgeous day and I really want to enjoy it tonight after ballet!

Ballet!

The girls finally started ballet classes and for Ellie tap is added in. So, after picking up Ellie from school we rushed home to change into tights and leotards. We only have about 15 mins from the time school is out and the time we have to leave for Sioux Center. The girls were so excited, almost too excited to even get dressed correctly. We loaded the new shoes in a bag and loaded poor Nolan in the car ( he will either hate this or just sleep the entire time we do the ballet runs). Ellie's class was first, much to Chloe's dismay, so she had her bag with ballet slippers and tap shoes. I couldn't see what she was doing but it sounds like she had a great time. Chloe and I and Nolan went to the park while Ellie was in class, then at 5 went pack to pick up Ellie. We rushed to get some supper, which we won't be doing again cause there just isn't enough time. Then it was Chloe's turn. She was so excited and shy at the same time, but she went right into the room and came back out at the end of class with a big smile on her face. In the car she was telling me everything they did and wouldn't stop talking for at least 5 mins straight. I'm glad they are enjoying this. I know when I was in ballet I didn't exactly like it. My mom thought ballet would help me with my coordination issues... some might say it didn't help at all and others would ask what issues. Well, when I was young I would fall and run into things at whim. There was no rhyme or reason for my accidents, just bad coordination. So ballet was the answer to those issues I guess much to my dismay. I still like to fall on the floor but its usually when I'm in a sport such as volleyball. My girls seem to fall and run into things like I did so my mom and I thought ballet might help them out. Time will tell. For now they just get to have fun and look adorable in their little leotards!!

its starting to look like Fall

I love the cooler weather and the cooler nights. I love summer, but this time of year is wonderful too.
Today the girls and I were outside at our neighbors house trying to catch butterflies. There are tons of them just flying around and landing on trees. We had a catch and release thing going, I would catch while the girls would then look at it and release it. It was really cool to watch the Monarchs fly over your head in bunches. I finally got to go for a walk tonight too. I've been busy with rummage sale stuff and just life, so I've been failing in my plan for 20lbs gone by November.. I have 2 months... yikes...
I still have 1 rummage sale left to deal with. My sister in law, Bethany, is letting me put stuff on her sale in sioux center. Usually SC rummages are pretty good, so I'm hoping to sell double what I did in Hull. Once these sales are over then I have until the spring to rest.
I have a feeling life is going to start getting a bit crazy. Next week the girls start ballet on Monday nights, I usually have volleyball on monday nights as well once that starts, so Monday's will be very busy. Hopefully I can keep my head on straight and we will all be fine.
Enjoy the beautiful weather and the Monarch migration!

where does the time go?

I haven't blogged for awhile because all week I've been setting up for our garage sale over at my sister in laws house. I am getting rid of all my girl clothes! some say I may be jinxing myself by doing this but I figure if something happens and we do end up prego again and have a girl, she would have at least 2 cousins who would be older and could pass things down and who doesn't like new clothes? Its been kind of a crazy week trying to set up and then get in to a routine with the girls at school. We have managed to do quite well and the girls liked being at Aunt Kathy's during the day while I set things up.

Tomorrow, Mark and the girls are heading to Fremont Nebraska for an archery shoot. This time they are taking the good care so hopefully they will make it this time and not have any problems... although that leaves me carless since Mark's Honda is a stick shift and no one takes the time to teach me to drive it. It will be nice not having to worry about keeping the girls occupied while I sit at a rummage sale tomorrow and then clean things up as well. I hope they all have fun and are good. Mark has a friend that will be at the shoot and he is letting the girls and Mark stay in their camper with them. The girls are excited and I will get some much needed relaxation and peace.

School has been going well for both girls. They have banned me from walking them into the school building in the morning, but run to me at the end of their school day. Chloe loves pre-school and is having fun each day she goes. Ellie loves kindergarten and even had her first memory verse due today... I hope she did well! Its crazy to think they are that old already!

Nolan is growing like a weed. He loves to sit up and talk and has started to giggle although its more like gasps for air with some noise behind it.. its cute and I'll take it. He is 3 months old and just a joy!!

We have no real big plans for this holiday weekend but what is already going on. Hope you enjoy the 3 day weekend if you get it and are safe!