A Rainy Morning

We woke up this morning to rain.   Now, I kind of like a good rainy day in the summer to stay at home and do nothing but I was a little concerned how things would play out with the kids.  They don't do well when we're all cooped up inside for too long.  And running any errands or going to the gym to get out of the house were kind of out of the question for today.  Going anywhere that requires Grace to wear shoes right now is a bit out of the question.  You see, yesterday afternoon while they were playing in the kiddie pool in the backyard {best 16 bucks I've ever spent in my life, by the way} she tripped and stubbed her toe REALLY badly and we were worried for a bit there that her entire toenail had gotten ripped off.  {I've said it before, but I'll say it again -- I am really not good in any kind of emergency situation.  Anytime there's blood or injury involved I just don't know what to do.  There's no way I could have ever been a doctor or a nurse!}  I put some ointment on her toe and wrapped it in a TON of gauze and let her lounge around for the rest of the day.

When I was getting the kids in bed last night I unwrapped it to take another look and we were both happy to see that the toenail IS still in place but it is most definitely banged up and hurting.  I wrapped the toe back up and taped around a few of them to keep the gauze from slipping off and she's pretty much incapacitated for the next little while for doing things like the kiddie pool or chores or wearing any of her shoes.

I digress.  This morning got off to a rocky start -- a certain number one son didn't seem to think it fair that he has to do chores today and Grace is off the hook, but I managed to redirect his attention by suggesting he could get started on making a new bookmark with the yarn we got at Wal-mart yesterday.  Color me surprised!  He set up camp in the family room and began winding yarn into a ball and before I knew it, it was a family affair. 

 See that bandaged toe in the background?

There were several entertaining factors playing out in the ensuing scene.  First off, Grace was humming to herself as she sat there oblivious to the surrounding world and wound yarn ball after yarn ball.

 

{Does anyone else remember this stuff from childhood??  This plastic sheeting with a grid on it sort of like cross-stitching fabric?  I remember making bookmarks from it when I was a kid and when I saw it at Wal-mart last week I grabbed some thinking that it would be perfect to use this summer with the kids.  It was very prescient of me.  Hahahaha.  I ended up pulling it out on Sunday to teach the kids how to do it in an effort to keep them from driving me and themselves CRAZY.  They all really got into it, and I promised them we'd pick out some more colors of yarn next time we went to the store.  Luckily we managed a Wal-mart trip yesterday morning before Toe Gate 2012 happened.}

 She wants to make a bookmark for her friend's birthday, so I configured out the letters on a piece of graph paper for her to copy on her plastic grid.

Second off, lover boy really wanted in on the action and kept trying to grab the yarn.  This got Ethan so frustrated that he started freaking out and yelling at the baby for tangling everything up.  And then when Jane joined in the action he started screaming things like "You're DEAD!!!" and eventually quit his yarn efforts altogether and went over to the computer to YouTube videos on how to make an origami heart.

Trying to pull himself up to standing to get at that yarn!

 Moments before Ethan grabbed all the yarn from him and started yelling.

Third entertaining factor -- Jane and her creepy baby doll.  Hahahahaha.  I got this baby doll for her a couple of Christmases ago and have never really seen her play with it.  All of a sudden, though, she wants to bring it everywhere with her.  I don't know how long that will last, but it's pretty funny for now.  She was carrying it around all morning and when I got the camera out for the yarn festivities she wanted me to take pictures of her baby, too.   

And lastly, Grace must have REALLY enjoyed winding up the yarn because she volunteered on her own to teach Sophie how to do it and then sat and wound up two more balls for her (humming the whole time.)  Perhaps this isn't such a funny sight to anyone else, but it really tickled my fancy.

And that was that.  The kids have now moved on to watching TV and the baby is napping, but hopefully the rest of the day will be filled with moments of harmony and happiness like this morning.  A girl can always dream, right??  Hahahahaha.

Scrub a Dub Dub

Our little swiffer sweeper tends to get REALLY dirty these days.  Between his army crawling across our filthy floors and his propensity for super messy eating he is in need of regular cleaning!  I plopped him in the kitchen sink the other day to hose him down and the kids thought it was the funniest/weirdest thing they'd ever seen.  Hahahaha. 

Fun Run?

It's Memorial Day!  And for the second year in a row we crashed the Chesterfield ward's 5K and Fun Runs for the kids.  Last year as I was huffing and puffing along with my hugely pregnant self to finish up walking the 1 mile Run/Walk I vowed to myself that next year I would RUN THAT 5K!!!  And run it I did.  {Woo hoo!!!  GO ME!!!  Hahahahaha.}

 I just love all the kids' expressions here.  Classic.

For the last 3 months or so, I've been "training" to run this race and just last week I finally worked my way up to running 3.1 miles at the gym without stopping.  This was HUGE!  It has literally been almost 4 years since I've been able to run that long of a distance.  To be precise, the last time I've run for longer than like a mile was on Thanksgiving Day of 2008 when I ran my Turkey Trot 10K.  Shortly after that I got pregnant with Jane and never ran again.  Hahaha.  Okay, perhaps that's a bit melodramatic, but that's kind of what it feels like.  You see while I was training for that 10K and starting to run more, I totally got bit by the running bug.  I might not have necessarily LOVED every second of every mile I ever ran, but I woke up each day ready to tackle a new run.  It was really awesome.  I loved the way I felt after I ran.  And even though I am not really an athlete, I felt like one when I was running -- I felt fit and strong and powerful.  

After having Jane, I was never able to get back into running like that again.  I'd try again and again to work my way up to running longer distances, but something always seemed to come up to hamper my progress.  First it was shin splints, then my back went out on me, then we got caught up in the whirlwind of moving, then there were more shin splints, and then I got pregnant with Alex.  So, it was with great trepidation that I started back up on this journey a few months ago.  The goal of running this Memorial Day 5K has been tiptoeing around the back of my mind since last year, but when push came to shove I was really scared I wouldn't be able to do it.  I was worried my grand plans would come crashing down due to more shin splints or other injuries or even just by the sheer fact that I haven't gotten a GOOD night's sleep in several years now!

However, this time around as I started running consistently and working my running mileage up SLOWLY, I came to realize something once again -- I can DO this.  I can do hard things.  I still can't say that I love every single step of every single mile that I run, but I love that my body is able to do this once again.  It is a blessing.

That's a bit better.  Hahaha.

With that being said, this run today was REALLY hard.  Between the heat and the hills, I pretty much felt like I was going to throw-up the whole last mile of the way.  It really had me questioning my sanity in wanting to run a 10K later this summer and a half-marathon in the fall.  I really wanted to run the whole distance without stopping, but the combination of those two factors -- the heat and the hills -- encroached on my will power and physical strength and I ended up walking for a couple of the last uphill battles of the race.  But I did finish it off at a run and was happy to see that my time overall {35:10}was good enough for me! 

Pardon the extreme unflattery of this shot.

Ethan was initially planning on running the 5K with me -- it is one of his dreams for the year after all -- but when he grew tired of training and his interest completely petered out, he decided he'd rather just run the Mile anyway.  Grace and Sophie both signed up for the Half-Mile, Jane signed up for the swing, and Alex resigned himself to parting with his beloved mother for the 30+ minutes it would take for her to finish the race. 

She insisted on taking her baby with her to the park.

Ethan did great with the mile.  He ended up taking second place by one second in his age group, {although I have no idea what his or the girls' official times ended up being} and was able to commiserate with me when I finished my race and said I felt like I was going to be sick.  He felt the same way, he so sagely told me.  Hahahaha. 

Grace "shot out like a cannon" (according to Ethan) for her Half-Mile race and did AWESOME.  This girl was on a mission to vindicate herself after last year's non-placement in the Primary run.  She came in second overall and first in her age group.  She was SOOOO excited and happy.  

Sophie did a great job, too.  This child has a knack like none other for making friends EVERYWHERE we go.  I kid you not.  Parks, libraries, schools, fast food play places -- you name it, she ALWAYS ends up playing with some little kid who she's never seen before.  This morning was no exception.  Even though we don't go to this ward and she only knew one little girl beforehand, she made 2 new BFFs before the day was over.  When Scott went to go help Sophie finish up her run, she kept slowing down and walking because she was waiting for Rachel and Callie.  "I'm waiting for my friends -- we're all going to win," she said.  She did manage to pick up the pace at the end and crossed the finish line at a run and then it was so cute as she stood on the sidelines cheering for her friends to cross the finish line after her. 

Sophie with her new friend, Rachel.

Not so cute?  The meltdown Sophie had when she realized she didn't place at all.  Even though she finished in front of her friends they were all in the 4 and under category and Sophie was in the 5 and up.  So basically she was competing with Grace and other big kids like her.  It was quite the flip-flop from last year.  During last year's awards ceremony it was Grace who was melting down for missing out and Sophie and Ethan who were proudly displaying their ribbons. 

 It's like they sub-consciously knew how they would finish and color-coordinated their outfits today accordingly.  Hahahaha.

Luckily by the time we got home Sophie had chilled out a bit and everyone was worn out enough that we didn't have to deal with too many problems.  Scott and Ethan took off for a few hours to go and help some friends with a move and then later this afternoon/evening we all went to the pool to kick-off the summer season.  When we got back it was dinner time and then bedtime for the 2 littlest ones and CHORE TIME for the older ones.  Because as I told them last week before school was out -- they could have their "freebie days" on Thursday and Friday, but come Monday evening we are BACK ON SCHEDULE!!!  Hahahaha.  They weren't too excited about this prospect, but eventually they all got their chores done and after a brief fit from Sophie who was upset once again about not winning the race they all went right to sleep.  So I guess the secret to getting them to go to bed and stay in bed every night is to wear them COMPLETELY out.  {Scratch that -- it is now 10:20 and Sophie just came down the stairs and is obviously not asleep yet.  ?!?!!?!}

I appeased Sophie by making her a Race Ribbon of her own.  It did the trick.

And there you have it -- a successful Memorial Day.  One more week until Summer School starts!

Measure Once, Cut Twice

Or more.  My poor little hutch.  So much tender loving care went into revamping this beauty only to discover when trying to put it all back together that the shelves I had cut DON'T FIT.  Boo.  Apparently there really is a lot of wisdom in the old carpenter adage to measure twice and cut once.

Now I need to track down a table saw and trim these shelves down to size before everything's up to snuff.  I guess all my junk will have to take up space on the Dining Room floor for just a little bit longer.  Until then here is my progress.

Before...

 

...and After.

Here is the inside (minus those blasted shelves, of course).  I covered the plywood insert with this fabric (which I love) from Joel Dewberry's "Heirloom" line.  Even though I love this fabric I'm a bit on the fence for how it works in the hutch.  However,  so many staples went into the back of this board that I don't really want to change the fabric out any time soon.  Maybe once the shelves are in it will work for me a little bit better.  And just to highlight my incompetency some more, this piece of plywood is not quite cut to size either.  But at least I can get it in!

Flashback Friday -- Date Night

This week's flashback is triggered by the fact that tonight is Date Night.  For Christmas this past year I gave Scott "The 12 Dates of Christmas" as my gift.  The last Friday of each month for this whole year I have already booked the baby-sitter (always the hardest part) and planned an activity.  On the agenda for tonight?  Scott is going to teach me how to drive a stick shift.  Super exciting, huh?  Hahahaha.  I figure  since Scott's "new" car  is a stick I should probably be able to drive it in an emergency.  We will probably also get dinner and dessert while we're out, but while I was checking earlier today to see what I had planned for tonight I was totally reminded of a Youth Fireside back in the day where we were all given a list of "Creative Dating Ideas."  I've saved it all these years because even back then I recognized what a GOLDMINE for ridicule the list was.  Some of these "ideas" are so ludicrous they border on insane.  I have no idea where our youth leaders got this list or what made them think that impressionable Young Men and Young Women should be tricked into thinking that this is what dating was supposed to be like, but here for your entertainment are some of my favorites of the 233 items comprising the list. Hahahaha.

{All italicized bits are my own emphasis or commentary.}

6.  Go rabbit hunting.
9.  Picket you own house.
16.  Paint a barn or a house...or a car.  {The dot dot dot here is something I find particularly funny.}
20.  Go bug collecting.
26.  Play hopscotch in a parking lot.
29.  Rent Hondas
47.  Spend the afternoon photographing your date in parks, climbing trees, wading streams, smelling flowers, running in fields of clover.
61.  Go panning for gold, looking for precious stones.
67.  Clean out an attic, back porch, garage or basement, and have a garage sale.  Then give the money to your date and let her treat you to an evening out.
69.  Make a pair of sandals.
77.  Plaster of paris and an idea usually make a creative project.
89.  Build an old-fashioned loom and make Indian rugs to decorate your apartment.
97.  Go shopping for groceries late at night and waltz down the aisles to the piped-in music.
113.  Shop for diamonds at jewelry stores.    {Seriously?}
114.  See what kind of good deed you can do for a quarter.
119.  Organize your own rodeo. Have bull-riding and bronco busting and include a greased pig chase for everyone.
135.  Put together a puppet show; sew up your own puppets, write out a script, and entertain your friends.  Or better yet, take your show on the road and go to children's homes and hospitals in your area.
143.  Weave baskets.
144.  Kidnap your date.
146.  Have a long talk about goals in life.
167.  Go to a potato chip factory and watch these crunchy morsels being made.  Then sample a few.
190.  Cook your date spaghetti for dinner and use everything but a fork to eat it with.
194.  Build a treehouse.
198.  Make your date a bookshelf for her apartment.
214.  Start a pet club, raise turtles, birds, etc.
220.  Dress up in costumes and go trick-or-treating.
221.  Brush her hair.
222.  Visit a friend who has a color TV.   {Clearly this list was created a WHILE ago.}
233.  Learn to meditate.

And then, in ANOTHER episode of unintentional comedy, the packet is finished off with a paragraph that begins by saying, "A list like this can be useful, but we need to remember the purpose and function of our dating, and not get carried away with just being novel."  Hahahahahahahaha.  Thanks buddy.  Good to know.

So there you have it -- a blast from the past. And just for the record, as crazy as all these ideas are, I really do think that with the right people anything can be fun if you MAKE it fun.  So the next time Scott and I decide to make a pair of sandals you're all invited to join us.  Hahahahahahahahahaha.

The End and The Beginning

As one chapter ends a new one begins -- schools out for summer!  Before the big last day of school happened, we enjoyed an end of the year violin concert from Ethan and the rest of the third grade.  You'll thank me for sparing you the video footage.  Hahahahaha.  Just imagine the shrieking, squeaking sounds of dozens of violins eking out the strains of "Hot Cross Buns" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" over and over again.  It was quite a concert!  In all honesty, though, I do love that the school district provides violin classes for all third graders to give them a taste of the finer things in life.  Ethan has opted to continue with the violin next year in Orchestra and I think that will be a great experience for him.

No Yo Ma

Aside from Flip Day (where they meet next year's teachers) and Field Day there weren't too many other last minute activities to attend.  And sadly enough I didn't even make it over to the school for either of those this year.  The very last day of school, however, was spent in celebration.  After going to 3 different stores, I finally managed to track down the red and purple snow cone syrup that I signed up to bring for Sophie's class party.  I felt like I had to sign up for SOMETHING considering they were having this kind of party specifically for Sophie's allergies -- the other two preschool sections had ice cream parties instead.  I finally tracked some down at Target and after I made one last stop at Costco to try and find some big boxes of freezie pops for our summer festivities we wound up late for preschool on the very last day.  Quite apropos, really.  After dropping her off I headed home with the little ones for them to take a nap and for me to take a shower and get dressed in "real clothes" -- because as Sophie informed me earlier that day she didn't want me wearing those "junky clothes" to her party.  Nice.  We made it on time to her party and managed to snap some pictures with her preschool friends and teachers.  She has loved this year so much and is so excited for Kindergarten.  It's been nice that her preschool is at the same school as the big kids and I'm hoping that Kindergarten won't be too big a transition -- especially since she'll be doing summer school there as well in just a couple of weeks.

 Sophie's friend, Jack.

I love how Jane made herself right at home on the playground with Sophie's friends.

Her new favorite go-to pose.

Chilling in the stroller.

Sophie with Miss Christine and Miss Deb.

When Sophie's party was over we went to collect Ethan and Grace and got their obligatory shots with their teachers.  They have really lucked out with having such awesome teachers here at their school.  It's been a really great year for both of them.

Ethan and Ms. Sugrue

Grace and one of her best friends, Anna.

Grace and Ms. Lemonds

And that was a wrap!  After school --  in a RARE moment of flexibility -- Ethan agreed to let me take them all to Wal-Mart to try and track down those freezie pops and a plastic kiddie pool.  I was beginning to think that those hard plastic kind aren't being made anymore, but we hit the jackpot with our outing.  A slip 'n slide was purchased along with 3 boxes of freezie pops, some lunchables for dinner, the makings for s'mores, and movie candy to enjoy for a first night of summer vacation treat.  The only downfall was that even though we FOUND a kiddie pool at the Wal-Mart, there was no way to fit it in the car with all the kids and I had to go back once Scott was home to cart it home at last. 

In an effort to be a "fun" and "cool" mom I promised the kids that today and tomorrow could be "Freebie" days to celebrate the start of summer vacation.  So what exactly does this entail?  Well, basically I told them they can do whatever they want so long as it doesn't cost money and I don't have to drive them anywhere.  And it can't cause harm to anyone else.  And they don't have to do chores.  Believe me when I say they have been planning what they're going to do for their Freebie days for weeks now.  Hahahaha.  

As a last minute idea I decided it would be really fun to kick off the first day of summer with a little party.  Hence the kiddie pool, slip 'n slide, and freezie pops.  A general invite was sent to everyone from church along with a couple of friends from other wards.   The festivities were started this afternoon and lasted for a few hours with a total of about 7 other families making their way over to celebrate with us.  All in all I'd say Day 1 of Summer Vacation was a rip-roaring success!  Let's just hope the rest of the break goes this well, too.

 Playing in the pool before everyone got there.

 One of the water games Ethan organized -- there were 2 teams racing to fill up the buckets with water squeezed from sponges.  I think it went over really well with everyone!  He's quite the party planner.  Hahahaha.

 Alex discovered watermelon today.  It was a hit.  And it's good to know that every part of the watermelon is edible.  

Enjoying a freezie pop.

Fun in the sun.

To close I'll leave you with my favorite pictures of the day.  THIS is what Grace and Sophie changed into after everyone left this evening.  And this was their self-imposed pose.

Hahahahahahahaha.

Happy Summer!