Egg Dying, Resurrection rolls, & Spring Break Wrap Up

It's amazing how quickly a vacation can seem so distant.  We've only been back to school for 2 days and Spring Break feels so far away.  I think the memories are hiding behind my laundry pile.

I wanted to write a little about the kids return because life is happening so quickly and I'm already feeling very behind on memories that I want to record that I know if I don't do it now, it will be lost.

When the kids returned home they were so, so sweet.  They couldn't get enough cuddles or hugs.  They were sweet to each other and I wondered how on earth could I have ever in the past felt frustrated by these precious angels?  A few days passed, and I remembered.  :)

We have a fun surprise planned for the kids this weekend.  We're leaving on Sunday for Great Wolf Lodge with Shannon's family for an overnight trip.  The kids have no idea that we're going, and we're not telling them...we plan to just pack and put them in the car and go!  We're not going to tell them where we're going until we get there.  I'm really excited.  Kaitlin keeps asking to go swimming, so this will be great!

So back to our Easter festivities.  After our Easter Egg hunt we headed home to color easter eggs.  Here we all are looking quite serious and hard at work.







The kids love this.  I remember balancing toddlers on my lap as I tried to help and eggs were dropped into cups with a crack.  And now I have 3 independent kids working away.  Even wiping their hands on the paper towels instead of their shirts!



Our finished product.  Andrew and Dan are the only hard boiled egg eaters in the house. 



After the eggs we made resurrection rolls.  True to my nature, I remembered in the baking aisle that I needed large marshmallows.  But then got distracted and forgot to walk back and get them.  This theme permeates much of my life.  I remember something, I get distracted, and it's forgotten again.  Maintaining a train of thought is not a luxury of motherhood.  So we improvised with little marshmallows.  It still worked.



I love this project.  They are simply crescent rolls.  The marshmallows are dipped in butter and then rolled in cinnamon/sugar mixture.  The marshmallow represents the body of Jesus, the cinnamon/sugar are the spices/perfumes, and then the rolls (tomb) are wrapped around the marshmallow and the edges are sealed ~ like the rock being rolled into place.  So it's a great visual for the resurrection story.



This one wasn't quite sealed.  I helped.  Others were VERY sealed.  :)  They are baked and then when you bite into them, the tomb is empty!  We read the resurrection story from all 4 gospels to the kids on Easter morning and Kaitlin continues to make references to it.  I think this activity really helped her understand ~ I was really excited about that.

And next are just some random things....



We went to the Seder supper on thursday night of Holy Week and learned about this Jewish traditional meal...it made me glad I'm a Christian! :)  I'll trade this for a christmas cookie any day!  I'm kididing of course,  but seriously, it was really interesting to learn about the symbolism of the food and the meaning behind it and the customs that paired with the meal.  Pictured above are bitter herbs, salt water, horseradish, fruit, hardboiled egg and not pictured was unleavened bread.

The fact that I was working on Kaitlin's scrapbook inspired Matthew to get down his and Andrew's books.  He sat in his room for over an hour and read every page in his books.  Then he came and hugged me.



And it made all the hard work worthwhile.  After reading that, there will be no doubting in his little mind how much he is loved by his Mama.  And later there was hysterical laughing as I was walking by with my phone and snapped this....



They were laughing at a picture of Andrew on Easter with his cousins and he was crying in the photo.  They thought it was SO funny.  (It was). :)  And let me just draw your attention to Andrew's signature mismatched pajamas ~ paring a summer nautical on top with reindeer pants.  The sillier the better.  A family favorite is the long sleeve plaid flannel top with the summer short bottoms.  That's my boy! 

And a little more spring break fun.  We did a trip to the zoo on Friday.  It was freezing in the morning (we could see our breath!)



But it didn't stop us from having fun.  These are brothers that went to pre-school with each of my boys.  Their Mom, Reagen is just so sweet and I always enjoy my time with her. 



Kaitlin is such a girly girl, but she is so adaptable and can fit right in with boys.  The above picture is exactly why.  She lives in a boy world!  I think it gives her personality an nice balance.

This screech owl was hit by a car and was blind in one eye.  He was really cute and it was a fun experience to get to see him so close.



Here's a confession.  Dan and I have been known to try to block the view of the petting zoo as we walk by.  Isn't that terrible?  There was no getting around it this time.  My kids really wanted to go and they loved it. These goats were so sweet and docile.  They loved being brushed and were so unbelievably patient.  It was a really fun stop.



All in all, this was one of my favorite spring breaks.  I had time to myself, Dan and I had so much great time together,  I did fun things with the kids, we saw some friends, we were able to get outside...It was a wonderful spring break.  I was not ready for it to be over and start school again. 

Today was "Muffins with Mom" and was a special morning at pre-school with Kaitlin.  Tomorrow is Matthew's first little league game.  I am simultaneously counting down the days until summer vacation & stalking the weather channel watching for sunshine and warm temperatures.  Dan and I have a theory that they put a sunny day out on day 7 of the local forecast simply to keep the hope alive and the suicide rate lower.  Inevitably that sunny day turns to rain.  We're pretty certain there's some sort of weather forecasting conspiracy going on.  :)

Hopefully I'll find the time to get Easter pictures up soon.  It was a lovely day.

Get Ready, Get Set...

Let me preface this by saying, this is a really long post.  I haven't posted about much this week and have a lot to catch up on.  If you want to just scroll to the bottom and see photos, feel free. :)

It has been a whirlwind of a week.

Getting ready for school.

Sigh.

I am so NOT ready.  But trying desperately to change my attitude.

We've had "Meet the Teacher" for Katie, "Back to School Night" for Matthew and Andrew. Which I've come to dread when we have a Kindergartener. It means 50 parents (if 1 parent per child is there, so really probably 75 parents) + kids/siblings trying to drop off supplies and meet the teacher/ask questions in a crowded room. I did not bring a camera or take photos. I merely tried to survive.

Andrew has Matthew's Kindergarten teacher, SO happy about that.  He is already seated next to her desk which is wonderful.  It will save her the trouble of moving him in the future.  :)

Let's see.  Since last weekend,  Andrew tested for his Orange stripe belt and got it!  He lost a tooth and the tooth fairy came.  We had my friend Julie and her husband/ 6 kids over for dinner Saturday. We went to a friends' house for dinner on Tuesday. I had a couple girlfriends and (some) of their kids (6 of theirs plus my 3) on Wed. afternoon and then on for dinner. Andrew had his first soccer practice.  (He LOVED it & did GREAT!)  We had my brother/nephews over for dinner last night...Matthew had a playdate today and Andrew had tae kwon do in the afternoon...it's just been busy. Add in a back to school hair cut, grocery shopping, errands, laundry, labeling school supplies, and trying to get my desk finished (what a job!)....

Probably very similar to my other friends at this stage in life.

I am dreading the school year mainly because we've had such a busy summer and we're headed into a very busy schedule.  I think this will probably be one of my most challenging years simply because the kids aren't completely independent and I'm managing 3 different school schedules at 2 different schools.  Add in after school/church activities and I'm pretty much a taxi driver.  It will get MUCH better come the first of Nov. when activities drop off....

Anyway, I am behind on emails ~ so forgive me, if I owe you a reply.  This felt like the easiest way to check in and update everyone at once.

Now for the photos. Starting back with last weekend, here is Andrew testing for his Orange stripe belt. This is his individual part....



Standing at "attention." He answered questions like what my birthday and Dan's birthday are and his phone number. He had different moves to do and then the favorite....



Breaking his board. No problem!



No, the problem comes in the "sitting" part. Here are some typical shots of Andrew. Playing with is board.



Making silly faces at Mama.
And No, this isn't just for the camera. He is always looking back at us and doing things during class.



And eventually an instructor will come and sit next to him to help him focus. :)

That's my boy! :)



Dan presented him with his belt. He's taking off the yellow here.



And look at Andrew's face as he's putting on the Orange. I think his expression says it all.
So proud.

And I am really proud of him too.  He's doing so well!  I've really seen an improvement in him since we've started in terms of his focus and participation.  He's following directions better, and when he started soccer this week, Dan said he did great and was one of the best kids in terms of following directions and staying on task.  He's also one of the oldest, but this is really great for Andrew.  I am so, so proud of him.  He said he "LOVED soccer" and "loved playing goalie!" after practice.  I think Andrew especially needs these activities ~ they are good for his self esteem which he needs extra nurturing with, so as much as I loathe the time they take, I am happy to do it for him as I can see the difference in him as a result.

That same day we had my friend Julie over.  Lots of outside time, kids got wet, played happily (her kids are SO sweet!) and just a few pics from that time...



A little girl bath. Katie was washing baby Julianne. :) The boys, especially Andrew, loved Julianne. And she loved him too. Andrew cried when she left he was so sad! I think Andrew could have 10 kids when he grows up. He LOVES babies!



After lots of playing and bath for the little ones, the kid watched "How to Train Your Dragon." Love this photo of just hanging out...Dan was cleaning up in the kitchen. Nice guy that he is, and all.



Jonathan, Georgia and Matthew (who couldn't tear his eyes from the movie).  I lived close to Julie when they were babies and spent a lot of time with them.  Georgia just hugged and hugged and hugged me when she left and wouldn't let go!  She told her mom that they don't see me enough.  She is one of those one in a million super sweet, super easy amazing kids.  Jonathan and Matthew are playing together now, which is so fun to see.  They are a lot alike.



Jackson and Andrew, snacking...they have a lot of fun together too.

Here is Katie's "Meet the Teacher" day....





I took this photo to remember our afternoon out together. We left the boys home with Dan and went to meet her teacher, then we went and bought her school shoes. (Black Patent Mary Janes) and she might have gotten a sugar cookie with pink frosting, but don't tell the brothers. :)  (They get special treats when out with mommy too).  It was really fun.



Katie is in the "Gummy Bear" class with Gracie. They are "older 3s" which is new for us.  We've always been in the "young 3s" class.



Excuse Katie's little flash of the underwear here. :)

These 3 sat down on the circle time pillows so I snapped a photo. Katie was very comfortable in the class (probably because she goes to church there and has spent nearly 2 days a week there for most of her life). And she's also our most outgoing and social child, so she can't wait for school to start and keeps asking about it.



Her teacher, Miss Beth, is very nice and "Bootiful" as Katie says.

And for the record, we had to fill out the form with Kaitlin's name and "Name your child goes by." Since we have around four, that she answers to, we had to narrow it down....Dan and I literally sat at the kitchen table discussing it. Such a big decision, you know. :) We mostly call her Kitti at home, and while it's a sweet sentimental nickname to us, I felt silly having that on her name tag, etc. Katie/Kaitlin are the second most often used. When I talk about her to people I say "Kaitlin" when I'm talking to her, I'll say Kitti or "Katie" more often, so we have everyone completely confused as to what to call her. For the record, any of them are fine. Friends also call her "Kitti" which is great, but we've started her in school as "Katie." So that's what her name tag says, that's what her teacher will call her, etc.



This was the only picture I took when Rachel and Julie came over on Wed. The boys praying over their dinner outside. Andrew was at soccer at this point.  Julie home schools and Rachel is starting so I thought it would be nice for them to meet and Julie could be a resource for Rachel if needed.  It was also just fun to have them meet and I enjoyed the time with them very much.

And just a random photo from the week. The kids have "outside time" every day. Some days they like it more than others. They weren't loving it on this day....



They stood at the kitchen window where I was working wanting to come in! I kept saying, "Go play!!"

Turkeys. :)

Like I said, I didn't take any photos at Back to School night. But when we got home we realized that Matthew left his planner (that we're required to purchase each year and sign daily when the children bring it home with notes/news in it) somewhere in the school....We're hoping it'll find it's way to his classroom as it did have his name in it. But he felt badly about it and I found him outside on his swing with his bear and blankie.



So Matthew.  He always feels so badly when he feels like he did something really wrong.  And it really wasn't that big of a deal, but apparently I made him feel that way.

I fixed that.



Meanwhile, Katie ran around with her banana yelling, "Don't take my picture!!"
And squealing when I did.



I read on a blog where someone kept a prayer and gratitude journal on their kitchen table when their kids were growing up. I loved that idea and was so excited to see these at Michael's (for $1.50 in their newly price-has-gone-up "dollar" bins). They are there right now for anyone interested. I snatched these up and we started them tonight.  I think we'll do it during dinner each night.  And just to keep it real...

Katie's first prayer request was:  "Ponies."

To which, Matthew said that wasn't a real prayer request and that his prayer request is  "To scratch out Kaitlin's prayer request."

So we had to start the rule that no one is to make fun of or criticize someone else's prayer request.  :)

The point is, we're trying.

And it keeps us talking with the kids about God, talking to each other, thinking about what we're grateful for instead of what went wrong, or what is annoying, and helps the kids learn to turn to God when they have concerns, and to praise him for the blessings in our life too.

And of course, the comic relief as well.

If anyone is still reading, I'm impressed.
A fun day awaits tomorrow as I get to go have lunch/shopping with Shannon for her birthday (which was in MAY ~ that is how crazy our combined schedules have been this summer!) and we're going to see "The Help" which I am SO excited about.

Have a wonderful, safe, happy, Labor Day weekend!!!