Spr-inter

Part spring, part winter.  That's what we've got for the next few months.  A couple of weeks ago it was so warm it rained all night.  As we walked from the truck into the school in the morning Callie said, "it smells like camping, mom."  It was so fresh and spring-like, of course that was just until it froze again. 



The days have been rolling by lately. Each day being marked with regular life things... the girls activities, school work, playdates, movie nights and such. We've just been kinda waiting for the big exclamation mark at the end of the month.  Spring Break!

We've played in a few puddles, thrown a few snowballs,  emptied another can of whipping cream on top of gourmet hot chocolates, we've wrapped up another session of swimming lessons, we've signed up for the soccer season and tomorrow marks the end of the second term of school learning. 

Slowly but surely the season will shift right before our eyes.  And with a little fire pit glowing in the back yard, it really does smell like camping.

Old News

These pictures have been sitting here on a blank blog page for two weeks.  Patiently waiting for some words to accompany them.  But blog writing kept losing out to other things like cleaning up and grocery shopping and exercise class. But honestly blog writing most often loses out to sleep.  Some nights I lay down to tuck in the girls, read stories and snuggle, and my body begs my mind to ignore the to-do list that its reciting and give in to the comforts of dreamland.  And often the mind gives in to the body's pleas.

 

So some of this is old news, but old news is better than no news at all.

 

 

Big sister has a gap in her smile these days.  Weeks of flipping the tooth back and forth with her tongue and it finally fell out at school.  The tooth made it all the way home only to be lost somewhere in our immaculate, spic and span house before bedtime.  She was questioning the Toothfairy's existence, trying to figure out how it's possible for a fairy to have money and where did she get if from.  She decided to write a note to the Toothfairy, just in case, explaining that she couldn't find her tooth to put in a cup of water but could she still bring her some money anyway. 

 

Well the Toothfairy must have been very busy (or sleepy) because there was some fancy trickery going on in the morning to explain why there was no money under big sister's pillow and how she better go look again because it must have *cough *cough slipped behind the bed.  Some nights, the mom's mind should put up a bigger fight against the body begging it to go to sleep! Especially when a child's belief in the Toothfairy is depending on it!

 



Hopefully it won't be much longer and we'll see these scooters ripping around outside.  Mother Nature teased us with a couple of warm, spring-like days and now we've gone and got our hopes up. We just can't help ourselves.  Every year we wish spring would come just a little bit early.  And every year we just get what we get.  High hopes and more winter.  Oh well, scootering around the shop is still pretty fun!

Yep.  That is what you think it is.  We attempted some paper mâché.  Was it messy?  Yep! Will we do it again?  Hmm...let me get back to you on that one. 

We managed to finish the project we needed for school and the girls had lots of goopy fun creating a little something of their own.  Of course it was all fun and games until it was time to clean up and then somehow I was on my own.  Oh well, that was two weeks ago.  Its all cleaned up now!

Pulling the Plug



It was minus 23 with the wind chill today.  I don't know if that constitutes March coming in like a lion or not.  But I do know that it will definitely be going out like a hot, sweaty, sunshiny lamb!

Pancakes anyone?

 

I went a little berserk last week after the umpteenth lecture on attitude adjusting, getting jobs done, etc. etc.   and it ended with a TV, computer, and iPad ban for the children of the house.  With so much winter to endure, these time wasters were starting to take on a life of their own.  I originally said absolutely nothing for one week, and now that the week is up I'm considering extending it to two weeks.  Not because of questionable behavior but because the house has been so peaceful without it, things are getting done, and there has been a lot more good old fashioned play time.  Technology isn't the problem per se but the problem lies in what's not happening when everyone is plugged in. 

 

It was time to pull the plug for a while.

The sign clearly stated, "Don't even ask", but that didn't stop them from asking. every. day.  I think they were just checking to see if the answer was still no, not that they actually wanted to watch anything.  I said no technology only for the children of the house so the the grown-ups still had full access but I can honestly tell you that hardly a laptop was flipped open or television show was watched by us either. 

 

But the phones were fair game.  Because they are a necessity.  Ha. Ha.  We could live without them but we don't want to!  Besides, we had to Face time Nana and Papa!
Now I gotta go. I've used up my quota of technology time for the day;)

Favorite Hotel

So driving six hours to the city and staying at a hotel for three nights may sound a little extreme for an eighth birthday party.  The question that was thrown at me a couple of times was something like... "if this is what you do for number eight, what's going to happen for nine?"  Funny thing is, I never really think that far ahead.  Who knows what will happen for number nine, I'll think more about it 11 months from now.  And honestly, we hyped up that we were going to the city to our favorite hotel for Callie's birthday, but really, us grown ups were just looking for a reason to get away from the routine of winter for a couple of days.  Somehow, things just fell into place and our good friends and a total of eight kids were able to meet up six hours from our home in the name of an eight year old birthday party!

 



The weekend was pretty much all about the kids having fun.  Hours and hours in the hotel pool.  A mini shopping spree for the birthday girl which included a new minky outfit that she walked out of the store wearing and continued to wear for the rest of the weekend.  Gormet dining at Fuddruckers.  Our first experience at an arcade.  And the ever delightful Sponge Bob movie.  Despite all things kid related, weathering a snowstorm, and a dislocated shoulder on the waterslide, the parents of these eight children also had a wonderful time on this mid-winter getaway.

After a busy day of shopping, watersliding, supper and the noisy arcade, the eight kids were lounging on hotel beds all plugged into some type of technology.  The adults enjoyed each others company nearby with a cocktail or two.  We looked at the kids and the multiple iPads each playing a different movie and we had one of those "when we were kids"  conversations that make us sound like old people.  "What did we do in hotel rooms when we were kids, with no iPad movies watch or games to play?"  We tried to answer that question but none of us could even remember going to a hotel as a kid for no real reason.    Hotels visits were reserved for real purposes, like a wedding or an overnight stop on your way to your real destination.  We looked at the kids again and thought about how much fun they had had that day.  We had another drink and decided that it doesn't really matter that their childhoods will be different from ours. 

 

The only thing that really mattered was that awesome memories were made.

Eight

About a month ago, after packing Christmas away into the storage room, I asked Callie what kind of birthday party she wanted to have this year.  I was looking to get started on my next project.  Planning, cutting, pasting, and surfing Pinterest, I was ready to create whatever it was she asked for.

 

Her response was to me was , "you can just pick, mom". 

 

I thought about her response for a few minutes.  I didn't want to "just pick" something for her.  For as much as I love to decorate and plan the details, the real joy comes from trying to create whatever her mind can imagine.  I could have picked something.  I had lots of ideas that I'm sure she would have loved.  But instead of suggesting a magic show party or a Mexican party, I asked if there was something she wanted to do instead of having a party to celebrate her birthday.  And to that she responded, "like what, mom"?

 

"Maybe you want to go somewhere or do something special," I said.  I didn't really have anything in mind.  This wasn't the conversation I was expecting to have but it was taking an interesting turn.  Then she asked, "can we go to my favorite hotel for my birthday"? 

 

After several verifications and "you're sure you don't want a party" confirmations, she celebrated her 8th birthday with a low key family supper and a couple close friends. Ultimately, deciding to hold out for a trip to her favorite hotel as her "real" party. 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On being eight...

 



You have changed and grown so much in a year.  You have a new smile filled with grown up teeth.  You have added inches to your height and length to your curls.  Your nose is lightly sprinkled with freckles. 

Lately you can be found on You Tube searching videos of kid's singing, young gymnasts, anacondas, mermaids, Just Dance, One Direction,and iCarley.  Your recently viewed list on Netflix shows Dear Dumb Diary and Judy Moody and your TV show of choice these days is Kate plus Eight. 

When you're not tied up with technology, you're doing handstands and cartwheels every chance you get.  You're reading chapter books, writing stories, loving your Jenna and McKenna dolls, singing to the Kids Bops, calling Grandma on the phone, driving the skidoo, going to work with dad, making videos and rainbow loom bracelets.

 

 

You tell me your favorite color is blue and your favorite supper is Kraft Dinner and hot dogs.  You no longer order a Happy Meal at McDonalds and you always choose iced tea. 

 

Your style continues to be comfy pants and graphic tees and you have not waivered from your two pony tails hairstyle covered by a hat.

 

You  love gymnastics.  You like swimming and piano lessons but you don't like the practicing part so much.  You prefer the company of a few friends over large groups.  You are asking grown up questions and starting to see that the world isn't so black and white but instead multiple shades of grey.  You love Ozzy and would like to have a pet of your own.  You have a fascination with snakes and reptiles but I can guarantee we won't be having any kind of pet that involves mice as food!

 

 



 

 

You love your sister.  You show your love by taking her stuff, making her scream, and chasing her around the house.  You always want to take care of her and do stuff for her and teach her stuff but she doesn't always let you.  You love your mama.  We have secret snuggle time before little sister wakes up.  You make me coffee and ask me how to spell words.  You love your dad.  You like to play games with him and help him wash the truck.  You like to ride your scooter around the shop while he works.  You love all of us and we love you too... all the way to the moon.

 



Happy Eighth Birthday.