Let's Go Fly A Kite!

Have I mentioned how much I love this weather?

Burning Energy

Spring was in the air today and we couldn't drink in enough of it. After a bit of school work and lunch, we headed to a local park with a fantastic paved trail. I brought the kids' bikes so they could ride along with me.

Somewhere during our second mile my knee let me know that in no uncertain terms would I continue running. It used hurtful words and was rather ruthless. I am grateful I was able to walk my way out of the park, load up the bikes and get home before my knee grew to the baseball size mass it is currently. It isn't comfortable but I am still thrilled we got out and about today. I am starting to question the wisdom of running rather than the walking that I have always enjoyed. Greg demanded an explanation for the determination I have shown toward running the last few months. "Because I want to run a 5K while I am 40" earned me a well deserved eye roll.

Kate humored me with a few photos. Her brother is suddenly more self conscience when I pull out the camera which breaks my heart a bit. He is growing so quickly, I want to preserve every moment I can.

And finally, if you are a parent with a child in sports, this is a must read.

Oh Makenna!

I  picked up my daughter from a sleep over with her friend today. Jilly's parents have adopted her cousin, Matt who is just three years younger. When Makenna spends the night, Matt's friend Gabe does too. Matt and Gabe have become honorary little brothers to Makenna. Makenna explained that her friend's mom took all four of them to Five Guys for burgers last night and then went to Target. She let the kids wander while she shopped. Makenna and Matt spent the entire period of time they were there riding in carts brandishing plastic guns playing war. They were all over the store, having a blast. How on earth I wasn't called to pick up my child is beyond me. At one point in the story telling, Makenna declared she had announced herself as "Five Feet of Terror". I couldn't keep a straight face. Seriously? She's five feet of something but I don't know that terror would be the correct adjective.

She went on to tell me that she stood up to a boy who lied and was mean to a friend this week. Yesterday she walked up to the boy's lunch table to say hello and all the boys there cowered. They are afraid of Little Miss Five Feet of Terror. Heaven help me.

We spent the afternoon setting up our Christmas present from Santa. The new trampoline won't fit in the landscaped area created for it so we have more work to do but we are well on our way to energy burning fun!

 Let me introduce our work crew......

And our shift supervisor. 

We aren't quite finished but allowed some supervised jump time anyway.

Isn't she terrifying?

Irony

Looking for a quiet activity to pass some time with little fingers? Q-tip painting! They loved it.

I decided to join an online group in a 40 Days of Gratefulness challenge for Lent this year. Essentially, we are all being asked to give up complaining. Given my general attitude toward the weather and being cooped up in the house all winter has been anything but grateful, I knew it was a challenge the Lord himself would appreciate me participating in. After all, I am also a parent tired of the endless whining of my children. For the record, that wasn't a complaint. It is just simply a fact. A fact God uses regularly to teach me patience, grace and the power of time out. To be honest, my time outs involve tea and a book but not the bible these days which has even more to do with my negative spirit than the weather. But I digress. Wednesday was the kick off and I woke to a small flare of some sort. My hands were swollen, I was achy all over and felt beyond tired. It has been a long time since I woke up in that condition. I am grateful I did not face a full fledged flare; however, getting to the bottom of this one took some investigative work. I discovered the champagne mustard I used in a pork tenderloin glaze Tuesday evening contained wheat flour. Ugh. I am not going to lie. My reaction to that fact did not in anyway reflect a grateful heart. I was annoyed. So now that I have had time to regroup, seek the real time out with the Lord I needed, and decided champagne mustard is the least of which I have given up, I am counting it a blessing that I am simply a little under the weather and the weekend promises a fresh start.

In other news, we are watching Brutus carefully. The old boy went to the vet for his annual appointment two and a half weeks ago where we discovered he's lost ten pounds in the last year. Given his age and the fact he was a on a weight gain trend for a few years, it is somewhat concerning. We have taken it upon ourselves to increase his food in the evenings when he is convinced he is starving anyway. We go back in another week and a half to check his weight again. At this point, we are comfortable waiting on him to show us what's next. All outward signs indicate he is healthy, even puppy-like in the snow or during moments of playtime with Greg or the kids. He is still inhaling the table scraps little Maverick insists on throwing him and enjoying car rides with Lauren that involve a small fry from McDonald's. We are concerned about the weight loss and sadly, he appears to be losing more. The vet offered blood work but was honest with us about the likelihood being cancer. Praise God Greg and I are on the same page with this. We wouldn't put an animal through Chemo treatments because we consider it inhumane on top of impossible in our family budget. Ignorance is bliss. We'd rather not know and enjoy what time we have left. We hope it is still a good long while but pray he makes it clear when we need to help him say good bye. I am not much of an animal lover myself but Brutus is family and a huge part of our life. He's pretty special overall.

Now to lighten the mood....a few Ty quotes from this week. He is so funny.

1. Out of the blue the other day Ty informed me he wasn't having much fun being four. 
2. Yesterday he told me he will be a grown up when he is five. 
3. He wants a pirate themed birthday party this year. I asked him who he wanted to invite and he listed three neighbor kids and Paige. (Lauren's best friend from down the road).
4. Last night at bedtime he decided he wants to change rooms again. This time he wants to sleep in our room in between me and Greg. Sorry little man. That is not happening. 
   
   

He takes advantage of any snuggle time he can get prior to bedtime. It isn't every night but fairly often. Putting him into the top bunk isn't exactly an easy process but he wakes enough to help.

Greg left for work early again last night and the kids complained they didn't get Daddy time and wanted to make up for it by sleeping in his side of the bed. By my calculations, the kids assume Daddy's side makes up for about 90% of the bed. We should have considered the King size mattress a few weeks ago.

The Weekend Review

Mom and Dad were here so briefly we are all missing them already. They arrived Saturday and had to leave ahead of the ice storm early this morning. We hoped they'd get iced in with us but until they retire in a few months, we have to accept weekend visitation only. We had tea parties, took a walk, played with trains, ate junk food and grilled dinner before Mom and I slipped away for a painting class last evening. We both enjoyed it and decided my sister would be really good at it so we aren't inviting her along anytime soon. She'd make us look bad.

I stayed in touch with my creative side throughout the day, working on neglected scrapbooks. My teens are easy to manage given how reluctant they are to be photographed. However, Ty has grown significantly in the last two years which was how much updating his album required. I felt relieved to get caught up again; however, finishing Erin's senior year was bittersweet. I am no longer the keeper of her album, the baton has been passed.

We are iced in and anticipate being stuck inside tomorrow so the baking desire needed to be fed. Muffins for breakfast was Kate's request and Erin's creating a new brownie recipe. Quality sister time in the kitchen creating memories while I mentally prepare for the week ahead.

We're snuggling in for the night.

Newport Aquarium

We took advantage of the "buy one adult admission, get two kids free" deal at Newport Aquarium today. I invited Jennifer and Shelby to join our little outing and am grateful they came along. Having another adult was crucial to navigating potty breaks, crowds and traffic jams. It was a great day.

some of us were fearless.....

buttons were pushed

slimy creatures were touched

I learned a lot and enjoyed it as much as the kids.

new discoveries were made

sharks were touched!

And in the end, we were wiped out. Miss Devyn slept for most of the three hours it took us to get home.

The beginning of the week

Monday came on strong, looking for a fight but we conquered it.

 Don't let Greg fool you, he's not taking this for long.

 Someone always loses their foam sword to Dad. Run Kate! Run!

 The look of victory!

Over the course of the last two days, I have discovered why board games don't get much attention around here during the summer. We invest so many of our winter hours with them.

And to be frank, we're tired of them. Desperate times equal desperate measures. Corn meal, rocks and barley created a great construction tray. This was a messy success.

After reviewing these shots I have drawn two conclusions about my house. First, there is a very good reason we go through so much disinfectant. Second, I believe chairs must be obsolete given the amount of time spent sitting on tables and counters; creating the need for said disinfectant. 

 See what I mean? Who needs chairs?

Change, Change, Change

Several nights of this....

Lead to Kate begging for this.....

Which ultimately lead to this.

 

Which meant this would no longer work.

And that lead to this...

Eventually the daughter who refuses to have her photo taken will have to fill these frames. Lauren is the only child with her own room so she will be giving up her bed for guests. She thinks she made a great deal. And the good news? My parents are coming to check it out next weekend!

I am not going to lie. This was tough on me. Once I wrapped my head around the logistics of the room change itself, bringing myself to paint over Ty's nursery walls was an emotional experience. But in the end, a beautiful room was created for Lauren and she is pleased with the results. Whereas the wall color in Kate and Ty's space isn't what I would have chosen for them, it will work for awhile with the primary color accents.

Ty has stepped into a big boy role in his new room; able to reach his clothes in the smaller dresser and even making his own bed for the first time. He and Kate giggled for an hour and a half the first night in the bunk beds. I enjoyed it as much as they did. Sweet memories are being made and their bond is stronger. I am certain we are only days away from the meltdown called "too much time together" but they will learn to work through it just like their siblings before them did.