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We were fortunate to receive tickets to tonight’s Crew game. The seats were field level, and pretty cool (cool as in awesome as well as temperature-wise).
Great view!
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Ah, Friday. Finally.
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Rainy days make for good movie days. Especially on Spring Break.
Today, I took the kids and we met up with friends to see the new Muppets movie. They have been talking about it for what seems like months; I’m sure we saw a preview for it a long time ago. Addie and Andrew were very excited to finally get a chance to watch it; Alex was excited for the popcorn.
I grew up watching the Muppet Show, so I will admit that I was happy to see the newest installment of the Muppet adventures. What I have a hard time getting past, though, is the different voices. Sure, I suppose things must change in 30 years, but it is still a little off-putting to hear a character speaking in a voice that just doesn’t seem quite right. Beyond that, it was fun to see characters that I’ve enjoyed for many years in a new story line.
The kids enjoyed the movie, but they also enjoy the experience of being at the movie theater. With the new reclining seats, you can’t really blame them. Add the bottomless bag of popcorn, and it’s a nice way to spend a couple of hours!
With the high cost of taking the whole family to a movie (typically, at least $60!), going to the theater is reserved for special treats (unless, of course, we can wait a couple extra months to see a film at the “cheap theater”…all of us can go there, and have treats from the snack bar, for under $25!). I am happy to see that several local theaters are offering showtimes with $5 tickets. That is way more reasonable! Maybe someone finally realized that lowering ticket prices means that families will frequent theaters more often.
We had a great afternoon, and thanks to the previews, the kids have several more movies on their “To See” lists.
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Tonight, I will use my blogging time to update my calendar and put all of the kids’ activities for the next two months on our schedule.
Yeah, just kidding. I’m having a glass of wine, and soon I’ll enjoy a handful of peanut M&Ms while I watch reruns of The Big Bang Theory.
I really should spend some time updating my calendar, though. I just had a minor freak out, remembering that Addie’s Girl Scout Sock Hop is coming up in a few weeks. Does her poodle skirt still fit? Does she have costume appropriate shoes? What will Mark wear? (It’s a Father/Daughter sock hop.) WAIT…does Mark have to work that night? Crap, what the hell am I going to do if he has to work?!?
Then I stopped, opened my schedule book and checked Mark’s schedule and determined that at least the timing works out. (Yes, I still use a book with calendars in it…partly because I don’t like putting everything in my phone/on Google and partly because I really don’t know how and I don’t have the time to spend learning it. Writing is faster.) The costume pieces will all come together, somehow. (But hey, if you’re in the area and have something Mark could wear, please let me know. Thanks!)
My kids are going to be finished with school in about seven weeks, which means that time will fly and we’ll be obnoxiously busy as Miracle League baseball, t-ball, and track practices/games will soon begin, and the kids will be wrapping up their dance studies for the year and preparing for the big recital in June.
Whoa. We’re so close to summer! Cue the next freak out.
Are the kids enrolled in enough day camps? Where did I put the forms for the camps they are already attending? Who will watch the kids while I work? Can I lose some weight to fit into my bathing suit so I don’t have to go through the agony of finding a new suit?
These are important issues, my friends. I think it’s time for another glass of wine while I figure all this out.
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Ugh, another “holiday”?? Who has the time? Not me.
I did actually think about playing a couple of pranks on the kids, but really did run out of time. I just didn’t plan well enough, and to be fair, some of the jokes that I liked were just too mean. My favorite? The air horn above the door stop, so when someone opened a door, the horn went off. I about peed my pants just thinking about that one. Maybe in a few years.
I saw something unrelated to April Fool’s Day, on Pinterest probably, but I decided to incorporate it into my last minute efforts of playing a joke on the kids. I saw online, somewhere, an idea for a new display on your smart phone: have your kid smash their face against a window and take a picture, then set it as the background on your phone. It should look like your kid is trapped in your phone. Funny and creepy, all at the same time. I tucked this little gem away for another time; little did I know, it would come in handy today.
After dinner, the kids were running around the backyard, and Mark was outside with them. I saw an opportunity. I called him over to the door, had him smash his face against the glass, then snapped his photo. He didn’t think much of it; I guess I do take a lot of pictures. He came inside and went upstairs, and the kids stayed outside for a bit. When they came in, I showed them this:
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Mondays. The beginning of the work/school week. Today held another new beginning for our family, as my husband began a new job. The kids also began their Spring Break.
I. Am. Tired.
I’ve been spoiled, because Mark has been home for the last couple of weeks while he waited to begin the new job. So, I’ve had help every morning, getting the kids up, ready, and out the door. Then today came along. Boom! I had to remember how to get everyone up and ready to go; somehow, I did it, and even managed to be on time for work. Score one for mom!
After work, I picked up the kids, took Al to his weekly occupational therapy appointment, fed the kids, did some more work, and now I’m finally ready to wind it down and go to sleep.
Mondays are tough. Today was even tougher. But, I’m thankful for this new chapter for our family, and I’m proud of Mark for leaving a company with which he was very familiar to seek a better opportunity for us.
Bring it, Tuesday.
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Basketball is a fun sport to watch. It seems like many of us become experts in college basketball every year, right around St Patrick’s Day. March Madness prompts us to determine the outcome of the tournament, whether we know anything about any of the teams or not.
Mark and I are no different. We filled out brackets this year, in a pool with our small group from church. Mark follows sports more closely than I do, but due to a great run of luck, my bracket is beating his. I, of course, am loving this; sometimes, you can’t help but gloat, right? I made some pretty crazy picks, but after today’s games, three of the four teams that I placed in the Final Four are actually there. Not bad for someone who pays little attention to sports!
The kids are getting into the games, too, which has been fun. It’s rare for us to find programming that we can all enjoy together, so the tournament has been great. They like to reenact the games in the living room, which is sometimes obnoxious, but chaos in this house is pretty common so we’re used to tuning it out.
Next Saturday’s games will be entertaining, too. We’ll definitely be watching! Here’s hoping my bracket is still in good shape next week.
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Being the weekend, I’ve decided to share a post that was written in Winter 2013:
Done. Absolutely, totally over winter. Do you hear me, Mother Nature? Enough already.
And it hasn’t even been that bad this year. Definitely more snow than last year, but I don’t think it has been so bad, temperature-wise. I’m still done, though.
I’m tired of the extra ten minutes it takes for the kids to put their coats on, then take them off again when we get into the car. I’m also tired of the extra ten minutes it takes for the kids to put their coats on AGAIN when we reach our destination. Seriously, who has time for that?
Don’t get me wrong; I’m also not a huge fan of summer. I don’t like the heat, the humidity, the sun, the sweating. I’m very fair, and I burn after about seven minutes in the sun…even when wearing my SPF 50+. Ridiculous. My theory that I am descended from vampires makes a lot more sense after you spend a summer day with me.
But spring…lovely spring. Blue skies, chirping birds (winter days seem so quiet!), flowers sprouting up from the ground. It’s like a redo on the year, a few months in. Let’s face it, New Year resolutions are probably long forgotten by now, but with the arrival of spring also comes a renewal of motivation that helps jump start whatever goals you were working on. (Note to self: dig running shoes out of closet…)
Spring is the time to get back outside, to enjoy the fresh air that we avoid in the winter for fear of freezing to death while breathing it in. It’s also a time to clean up; after all the snow melts, you can see all the crap that escapes your recycling bins on windy days, only to get buried in snow or blown down the street by icy winds. New plans for landscaping are made, barbeques are planned, and drinks are poured on patios (even though sometimes you sit, shivering, under blankets because spring in Ohio is still kind of chilly…but it’s SPRING, damn it, and we are not sitting inside!).
Of course, as I sit and write this, I’m already thinking how ironic it is that in just a few months I’ll probably be posting “The Anticipation of Fall” because I’ll already be over summer. Don’t judge; it’s tiring to chase three kids around the neighborhood with spray cans of sunscreen.
But until then, I will indeed look forward to leaving the house with everyone in light jackets that can easily be worn in a five-point-harness car seat. Right now, that sounds quite heavenly, as I see that there is more snow in our forecast…
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We have many different shoe options. Shoes can make an outfit, right? For some reason, today I thought that wearing heels would be a good idea. Tonight, my sore feet have other opinions.
It was finally above freezing today, and I was wearing pants that are a little long, so I pulled out a cute pair of open-toe heels. They made my pants look nicer, and I was able to show off a pedicure that I got weeks ago but have kept hidden under layers of socks (spring in Ohio is just lovely). I made it about 12 minutes before I wishing I would have worn flats.
Who convinced women that heels were necessary pieces of our wardrobes? Why did we listen? We willingly cram our feet into shoes that are very uncomfortable. Why? Fashion. That’s why. Sometimes, fashion is more important than being nice to our feet.
Someday, someone will invent a comfortable pair of heels. I’m waiting, not-so-patiently, for that day to arrive. If someone could get on that right away, that’d be super.
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I try to keep a nice house, meaning tidy and decorated, but let’s face it: it’s nearly impossible when you have children under the age of 10.
Just this evening, I was complaining at the dinner table because someone smeared spaghetti sauce all over one of the new placemats. My husband suggested that maybe we just shouldn’t have placemats.
My left eyebrow shot up; it really does have a mind of its own at this point.
“I have the placemats to cover up all the marker and ink and scratches on this table!”, I oh-so-helpfully explained to Mark. Then, my tirade continued with “These things wouldn’t happen if I didn’t live in a house full of flying monkeys!”
Mark, not missing a beat, responded with “Well, let’s just remember who was in charge of all the flying monkeys.”
Touché, dear. If he and the kids are the flying monkeys, I suppose that does make me the Wicked Witch.
I bet she had clean placemats, though.