Week Fifteen

Life is exhausting and amazing all at once right now.  I am super stressed and my mind turns in circles constantly.  Too many commitments, responsibilities, ideas, and projects, and too little time. At the same time, everything is absolutely perfect.  The kids are all in activities that they love and we are being kept busy with lots of fun and uplifting things.

On Monday, the kids had the day off of school.  We all went to take Zaya to gymnastics and then we went home and hung out for awhile.  Later in the day, we all went and watched Brooklen play hockey.  I think he is really enjoying hockey, and he is doing amazing!

On Tuesday, Zaya had preschool at Jack's house, and then we spent the rest of the day cleaning up and recovering from Spring Break.  There was a lot of laundry to be done and plenty of messes to be cleaned up.

Zaya had Jack come over and play on Wednesday.  They are so cute together and they really play so well together.  I am excited that they are going to be going to Chippewa Preschool together next year. After school, I taught piano lessons and Rob left work to take Hurley to gymnastics.  She has switched classes again and she is now in Lori's Little Leapers class.  This is her fourth class switch this year, but we have had a terrible time finding a good fit for her.  Lori and Michelle knew that she really needed to be in this class and they recommended that we just switch her over.  Surprisingly, she cried during the whole class.  She knows Lori really well because she coached her for over a year, but I think that she is just really emotional and I also think it has been hard for her to switch coaches and classmates so much this year.  Luckily, we know that this class is the right fit for her and she should be able to stay with this group from this point on.

On Thursday, Brooklen had baseball practice and on Friday, we had nothing schedule, so we were finally able to watch Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone.  Mr. Rajewski read it to Hurley's kindergarten class this year, so I decided to buckle down and read it to Brooklen.  I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the book.  I was also surprised how closely the movie followed the book.

On Saturday, Brooklen had baseball and then hockey.  Hurley went to Addison Jones' birthday party in the afternoon and the kids also played outside with the Nymans and the Whites.

Today, we had our Easter program at church.  The choir performed two beautiful numbers that I was really excited for and proud of.  Rob taught Sunday School today, so I had Kaiton for the second hour.  He spotted Zaya in primary and kept waving at her AND he was saying, "zay zay, zay zay." He is starting to experiment with words.  He says, "mom, dad, good job (when he claps his hands)" and "ruf ruf (when he sees a dog; he LOVES dogs)."  He is obsessed with sports and just loves watching Jake and Brooklen play hockey.  Today, as we were taking a walk, he got really excited.  I looked over, only to realize that he had seen a basketball hoop in someone's driveway.  The weather was gorgeous today (70 degrees).  We played outside and we even grilled for the first time this year!

I wasn't very good about taking pictures this week :(  But, I did snap a few pictures of Kaiton in his favorite chair

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Week Fourteen

This week was Spring Break.  Although it is difficult to get any of my "mom duties" done while all of the kids are home from school, I love having them here.

On Monday afternoon we went to the pool at Delta College.  We were supposed to meet several friends there, but only one other family showed up.  The pool was surprisingly really clean and it wasn't too stressful to swim with all four of them by myself.  Both Brooklen and Hurley jumped off the diving board (with life jackets) and Brooklen had a blast on the water slide.  Kaiton really enjoyed the water and they had plenty of small fountains and other things for him to play in.  After swimming, we headed to Larkin Park for Brooklen's baseball practice.

On Tuesday we spent the morning at the library.  Brooklen and Hurley don't get to go to the public library much during the school year, so we spent a couple of hours checking out books, playing with toys, coloring,  and making up puppet shows.  When we got home, we had lunch, and then we colored easter eggs.  Since we are not eating food dye in our house anymore, I decided to use natural dyes.  We used yellow onion skins (orange), turmeric (yellow), spinach (light green/brown), and cabbage (blue).  We also bought some really ugly ties from goodwill and made some silk eggs.  They were beautiful!  Next year, I will definitely blow out some eggs and make some of these for decoration.

Tuesday was a nice day outside.  In the afternoon, we also whipped up some chalk paint and the kids painted on the driveway.

Wednesday was April Fools Day.  In the morning, I mixed up some mac n cheese powder with some water and gave it to the kids.  They were excited that I was giving them orange juice, but they were all super disgusted by the joke.  To make up for it, I gave them a glass of milk.  I had added plain gelatin, sweetened condensed milk, nonfat milk, and vanilla so it was like jello.  They all thought it was funny and they were glad that it was tasty!  I also froze Zaya's bowl of cereal.  She was so funny.  She didn't understand that it was a joke; instead she thought it was some sort of cool new breakfast. I think she thoroughly enjoyed chipping away at the cereal and eating it.

At dinnertime, I made a spaghetti pie.  Although it was a fairly gluttonous dish, the kids all liked it.  I also used some pound cake to make "french fries" and chicken nuggets (pound cake covered in frosting and a mixture of toasted coconut and cornflakes). Brooklen had gone to the dollar store with Rob and gotten some bugs to scare me with and he also had Rob give him some money so that he could buy an April Fools joke for everyone else (that Rob wouldn't know about).  He told me about this joke because he was so excited.  He bought a gumball machine and also a box of lemon heads. He told everyone that he had dessert for them and then he let them get a gumball; everyone was surprised when it was a lemonhead!  I love that kid and his enthusiasm.

We also had a chance to go bowling on Wednesday morning.  The three older kids played while I cheered them on and watched Kaiton.  Brooklen won the first game and Zaya won the second game.

Thursday, we finally had time to go to Chuck E Cheese.  My kids just can't get enough of that place.  Brooklen and Hurley were focused on getting the most tickets that they could.  I think all kids go through that phase.  They didn't really care what games they were playing, as long as they could win several tickets at once.  Of course, they also learned the lesson that the tickets at Chuck E Cheese buy crappy toys.  They each had a toy break that afternoon.  I tried to reinforce the lesson that we go to Chuck E Cheese because it is fun, not because you can win great toys.  Zaya cared mostly about riding all of the rides at Chuck E Cheese.  This worked out perfectly because Kaiton is at a perfect age for these too.  He laughed and smiled constantly and got super excited every time I would put him on another ride.  In the end, I think we spent almost three hours at Chuck E Cheese.  I love that my kids can have so much fun there and I love that it isn't a really expensive activity.

On Friday we just hung around the house.  The Nymans were home too, so the kids played over at their house and also at ours.

On Saturday, we went to Home Depot for a kids workshop in the morning.  The kids made a chalkboard flowerpot holder and planted a gladiola bulb.  Then, we came home and watched conference.

Today was Easter Sunday and also General Conference.  I wish every Easter was on General Conference Sunday.  We had such a nice, fun, relaxing day.  We woke up and looked through Easter baskets, hunted for eggs, watched a church video, and ate resurrection rolls.  We all stayed in our pajamas all day.  I tried to convey the spiritual message of Easter to my children.  I'm not sure how successful I was in conveying that message,  but I hope that they felt the spirit and understand how much the Savior loves them.

Week Thirteen

On Monday, Zaya had her last gymnastics class of the session. Rob came to watch her and I was so glad that he did. Zaya has done so well in gymnastics this year. I am so glad that I went with my gut and decided to sign her up at such a young age. First, she has made enormous progress as a listener. Her coach, Michelle is amazing and has been patient with her. She is so attentive and has learned to listen really well through the experience. Zaya and her friend Nev are the only ones in the class and they are both similarly athletic and coordinated. They are learning things that Hurley hasn't even started learning yet. Zaya really loves this class and I really love when I get to go back and watch everything she has learned.

On Tuesday, we had preschool at our house. The kids in the preschool group are really low key. They mostly just like to play together, so I try to do one simple activity and then I let them play the rest of the time. This week we talked about the letter Y. On Thursday, I cut out some card stock letter y's and had them thread yard through holes. On Wednesday, Zaya had a dentist appointment in Saginaw to work on her grey tooth. I was feeling pretty sad on the drive there. The grey tooth has become a part of Zaya and that little smile is actually something I find unique about her. But, she still said she wanted it to be made white. I always go back with Zaya for her checkups, but when we got there, they told me she needed to go back by herself. I texted Rob and sat there quite upset and worried. Halfway through, I asked the front desk lady to check on her and give me an update. She came back and reported that she was doing great. A few minutes later, the dentist came out with Zaya. Her tooth looks so great. She was happy and didn't seem to be bothered by the procedure or the fact that she had to go back by herself. I am so proud of her! She has made such great strides this year.

Brooklen started baseball practice this week. Between baseball, hockey, gymnastics, softball, piano lessons, and photography, our lives are going to be REALLY busy the next couple of months. On Friday, our neighbor, Charlotte, came by with her two kids after school. The kids all played together until dinner. At dinnertime, Tiffany Quast brought her two boys over. We have joined a date night trade group. The kids played really well together. I was grateful that Rob played with the kids downstairs while I cleaned up our dinner of homemade pizza.

On Saturday morning, we left early to attend the temple. We met the McFarlanes down there. They went to the 9:00 session and we did sealings afterwards. After the temple, we went down to Canton to check on the house, which goes up for sale this week, and then we ate at 5 Guys. Our kids are becoming such big eaters. We bought 3 double cheeseburgers and Brooklen and Hurley each ate one by themselves. We also stopped at Trader Joes and at Gamestop (to get a Wii game for Brooklen). Closer to home, we stopped at Birch Run. We got Brooklen some shirts and new shoes at Under Armour, bought Zaya a shirt at J. Crew, and then we stopped at Sonic on our drive home. It was a busy day (we didn't get home until 8pm), but we had a lot of fun!

Week Twelve

This week was pretty warm again.  It is so nice to be able to send the kids outside to play with friends.  Brooklen is having a blast working on his hockey, baseball, kickball, and basketball skills with Jake and the girls are enjoying the swingset and coloring with sidewalk chalk.

Brooklen just started a hockey basic skills class.  On Wednesday, Rob took him to get his equipment. He is able to borrow equipment throughout the basic skills course.  We are grateful for that, since we aren't sure that he is going to want to play on a team in the fall.  On Saturday morning, he had his first session on the ice.  I think he enjoyed it, but his helmet was kind of bothering him, so he probably didn't enjoy it as much as he could have.  After the session, Rob took him to get a new helmet. Hopefully when he gets on the ice tomorrow, he will feel better.

Rob is such a good Dad.  He's noticed that Brooklen has been really in to sports lately, so for FHE, he had us all fill out March Madness brackets.  Brooklen has been SOOOO in to it.  He has been following every game and we have heard him say "Your bracket is going to be busted" and "I'm going for the upset" quite a bit this last week.  I love watching him get so in to the game; it makes him so happy!  Currently, Hurley is winning with her bracket.  Brooklen is in 2nd place, followed by Rob, Me, and then Zaya.

Hurley had her first gymnastics meet yesterday.  She did really well; I love watching her play sports because she is so talented and skilled.  Her cartwheels have gotten so good these past few months and she loves showing off for us and for our neighbors.   I was a little sad that she wasn't in the best of moods for the meet.  I think she would have had more fun if she was in better spirits.  But, she really loved the medal that she won.  She kept asking me how "much percent of gold" it was.  Man, I love that little girl!

If you ask Zaya what she wants to be when she grows up, she will tell you that she wants to be an artist.  She loves doing the things that her siblings do and she has learned to love art from them.  Yesterday, we were playing outside and Rob told her to draw a picture of them fishing.  She went right to work and came up with this:

Afterwards, he asked her to draw a picture of the time that she hit Brooklen in the eye with a baseball.  She didn't miss a beat and came up with an awesome drawing!

Kaiton has been a little sick this week, so he has had a couple of rough days.  I have noticed, however, that he is walking a lot more!  He also loves to kick balls and like to "flip," which is essentially the beginnings of a somesault.

 I also took a few shots of him in the bath this week.  He is so funny.  He LOVES taking baths, but he HATES taking showers!

Week Eleven

On Monday, we went to Cabarfae for our last ski day. It was sunny and like 45 degrees; such an amazing day to be skiing.  The added bonus for me was that the temperature made the snow pretty slushy, so the runs were slower than the last time we had gone.  This was a big confidence builder for me.  I have to say, I think skiing is soooo fun.  I am slow and very, very cautious, but I really enjoy it.  It doesn't really bother me that I'm not that good at it.  I really hope that I can get a bit better and more confident every year.  The Nymans actually ended up coming up to ski the same day and they brought us a harness to use with Zaya.  Rob used it for a couple of runs and then I let someone else borrow it.  While they were borrowing it, Zaya wanted to go out again, so Rob took her up the chairlift and told her she had to learn to ski on her own.  She was AMAZING.  I'm not even sure that she fell at all.  She was so confident and even learned to turn and slow down on her own.  She didn't want to stop skiing.  Brooklen had fun skiing with friends and I was confident enough to spend some time skiing by myself and with my kids.  Hurley was having a pretty emotionally rough day, so she didn't have as much fun as last time, but that's okay.At the end of the day, I was actually sad thinking about the fact that winter is pretty much over.

For the entire week, Midland temperatures made it feel like spring.  The kids played outside a little, the snow on our grass melted, and I took a couple walks during the days with the little kids.  We also shopped for seeds and Rob and Brooklen started our tomato plants in the basement.  I am excited to spend more time outside, but a little sad that I can't be such a "hermit" anymore!

Zaya had a couple of playdates this week.  Jack came over on Tuesday after school and then Zaya went over to the Larsens to play with Kate and Amelia after school on Thursday.  The kids also got to pick out books at the book fair on Thursday.  On Tuesday, I was able to volunteer in Hurley's classroom.  I haven't gotten in there very much this year and it is really quite a bummer.  I love watching her interact and it makes me very happy to be in there and see that she is definitely one of the brightest and most well-behaved kids in the class.

On Friday after school, Charlotte Nicholas came over with her kids, Kyra and Evan.  Kyra is in Brooklen's class and Evan is in Hurley's class.  The kids played for a while and Charlotte and I had a great time having some adult conversation.

On Saturday, Rob had to go down to Detroit to put up some more lights in our house.  We plan to officially put it on the market on April 1st.  The kids and I headed out at about 10am.  First, we went to the Library to check out more books.  Of course, we always spend way more time that we intend to when we go there.  Next, we headed to Dow Gardens to see the Butterfly House.  It was a cloudy day, so unfortunately, most of the butterflies were hanging out near the ceiling.  The girls did catch two butterflies and we had fun, but we will probably go again on a sunny day so we can have a better chance at holding more of them.

After we left Dow Gardens, we ran home to pick up the stroller and I quickly made some peanut butter sandwiches.  Then, we went downtown for a Pi Day celebration.  15 of the merchants were giving out pie samples and then the public could vote on their favorites.  The kids loved it, although I didn't think about how much sugar they were going to be consuming!  I didn't try most of them, but I did sample a pasty pie.  I've been wanting to try one of these UP treasures, and I'm glad I finally did.  The kids loved it, and when I came home, I googled some recipes and put it on my menu for the week.

Afterwards, we headed to the mall.  Younkers is apparently trying to inquire new customers and they had sent me $100 in coupon cash.  $100 of $100 in purchases!  So fun!  I bought Brooklen a Nike shirt and a Puma shirt.  He is getting into wearing athletic apparel and it is so cute to have him want to be involved in choosing his clothes.  Afterwards, we walked through the mall and Brooklen saw a baseball card booth.  He has really been in to reading biographies lately and he recently read the biography of Jackie Robinson.  He found a Jackie Robinson card and bought it for a quarter.  He was so proud of his purchase.  When we got home, he asked to google it.  He was super stoked to find out that people were selling the exact same card on ebay for $1.99!  I just love how much joy he has.  I hope he never changes; he is such a happy kid.  His teacher emailed me this week the following message:

Good Afternoon,
I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy having Brooklen in my class.  He is having a fantastic year.  He is doing a great job in all areas.  If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to let me know .

Thanks,

Mr. Staley

My heart just bursts with pride for my little family!