The Many May Things

May is such a busy season with so many activities coming to a close but our mantra for May is embrace it rather than buck it and sometimes it means a late dinner or a meltdown or taking off from work but surely we will look back and know that our energy, time and efforts were worthy.

May kicked off bright and early with 

E prepping for FL by swimming at Jordan Lake early early the first day of May

The water was cold enough for a wetsuit so Amazon find to the rescue

It was foggy so the race was delayed 15 minutes. The pointe where the race took place was really pretty

We found her at the finish

And the infamous Kindergarten bug project commenced. 

I think the girls did butterflies and ladybugs but of course A mixed it up and went for a

ROACH! 

So we looked at pictures of roaches and made sure this roach had hairy legs (curiosity of the evergreen needles - from this project) 

Here's to crafting with boys and turning in the project a few days early

The tractor was back in the field and so we HAD to go check it out. I love that we live 3 houses down from the field and so do they

Preschool was closed for two days so we took advantage of a completely free lunch schedule and had lunch with the big school kids. Lady C introduced herself to her teacher and made herself comfortable in her future stomping ground. 

The weeknight soccer games sprinkled the first few weeks of May

Which usually meant later bedtimes and good night sleeps

H has never been the best of nappers because she's still coming to work with me so some afternoons C would play with H during rest time and you never know what big sister might have in store

Quiet afternoons at home were few and far between but they did happen sometimes

Bath time is so much easier when the baby tub is not required!

Mother's Day breakfast at preschool with a fancy dress and purple tennis shoes - of course!

The singers enjoyed the fruits of their efforts after their choir competition in Williamsburg with a trip to Busch Gardens

We rode some rides. I rode Apollo's Chariot just to prove to E and R roller coasters aren't scary - my eyes were closed basically the entire time. Fortunately we hung out with friends who were much more seasoned coaster riders (and better prepared for the chilly weather!) and watched H while R and E and me rode InvadR. 

E decided she liked roller coaster about 15 minutes before we left - after riding Lochness Monster four times in a row and twice without me - which is a terrible time to decide to be adventurous on a day where the ride line were basically none. 

After InvadR, R stuck to the swings 

And H mostly stuck to the stroller except when we rode the SkyRide. 

Lee manned the non singers soccer games and I would send him pics of what he was missing out. R did enjoy listening to the screams of people on Griffon as they hung over the edge for a few seconds before this MASSIVE drop. No Kibbes patronized Griffon : ) 

There were more soccer games

A birthday!

What one is supposed to do with a birthday bow!

Just a little trip down to FL to swim in a lake

C wrapped up her time at preschool with the program

I've found my new favorite seat for preschool programs - second section, first row. 

And all her buddies

And her BFF!

Its off to all day PreK at the big kids school next year 

Then there was the final day class celebration 

Which was the same day as SnoCones at the big kids school

We survived that week!

Friday night was the choir concert. Grammy gave the girls a rose - because well - I don't think of that kind of stuff. I am glad I called in for sitter reinforcements to manage things because Lady C had her last soccer practice and the girls had to get ready. We went out for a late skillet cookie dessert to celebrate!

Saturday was soccer games all around - end the end of the season for A and C - which we are still patiently waiting to wrap up for E and R&M

H is loving all the food these days. Her latest love is sweet potatoes

AHG and TL wrapped up and I could have sworn I had a group pic but I clearly failed in that department. E is happily aging into the Pioneer group. 

The weather was rainier that usual which meant some earlier evening home for Papa. One afternoon I went to do the swim pick up and heard something in the van as I was leaving the neighborhood. Skittles decided to come for a ride. He has since come along to the dump - I knew it that time - but I think he prefers his paws on firm ground. 

My boys plus the girl sandwiched between them live for the outdoors. J was in their 'puddling pool' which had collected rain water before I even got out of the van! Between the puddling pools and the 'crown thorns' they like to play in in the background they are forever filthy. 

I do relish in the moments of doing things with the little ones - like swinging on the swings (during bigs choir rehearsal). Having a wide family and I can get lost in the repetitiveness of the little years and just trying to maintain sanity but swinging giggles and shouts for MORE and HIGHER remind me to live in the happy moments. 

J and C walking around the lake during swim practice brought me back to A and C walking around the lake during swim practice in May of 2020 as the world was learning how to emerge from covid. I don't miss that time but I do wonder if our kids will look back on those weeks in the similar way that I can reflect on it. 

Summertime HAIRCUT!!! I think Grammy asked A if he liked he haircut and he insisted it wasn't short enough!

I promised J a haircut before he goes to the beach but I can't bear to have his toddler mop trimmed. 

The pool opened in the nick of time for heatwave we had over Memorial Day weekend. Popsicles all around!

The last week of school kicked of with rescheduled Field Day which is not a bad way to end the school year

June started with an end of school party, soccer games and a naughty little boy stealing cookies from the dessert table 

Happy Summer Y'all

Just Because - kids and cups

Raise your hand if you love plastic cups. 

Raise your hand if you love all the dishwasher space they take up.

Raise your hand if your kid(s) ask/want/need a new plastic cup for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack and outside 

We finally kicked the can on all the plastic cups a while back. I couldn’t stand it. Everyone needed a cup every meal and some people - Lady C looking at you - would take them outside and they’d get buried in the sandbox and put in the dishwasher 25 days later and there’d be dirt and sand in the dishwasher. People would lobby for pink or green or orange and they took up gobs of dishwasher space and cabinet space.

I asked for 10 oz Yeti tumblers for MY bday because I was totally fed up with the cup situation. 

It was one of the most practical gifts I’ve asked for in my 30+ years of gift receiving.

I had someone cut out each kid’s initial in their favorite color. Each kid has one cup and one lid. It is glorious. I wished I had done it years ago. Cups are rinsed or washed after each meal depending on the contents and there’s no fighting and if you can’t find you cup - you better go remember where you left it.

Now we only use the plastic cups for friends or to get ice to pour into water bottles for school or sports.

If you have frequent plastic cup users and it bugs the mess out of you like it did me and Lee - save your pennies, get each kid a Yeti, put their name on it and BAM. Once less annoying thing in your life : )

Linking up with Rosie... just because

Thoughts on 2020

45 days into 2021 here goes on how I think 2020 shook out.

Wow. 

Who would have thunk this time last year we would have had the year we did. Yeah definitely didn’t see that coming.

I think 2020 forced me and Lee to dig deeper and be more flexible and more present for each other and our kids.

We tag teamed parented from mid- March until May that looked like us working six days and working from home and facilitating school work while keeping A, C and J at bay. It was no small feat but I’m quite sure other families had it way more difficult than us.

A and C probably had the best, dirtiest, free-est time of their lives 

Lee master planned and executed a garden - which seemed small considering the one we had at our old house. I think it’s going to be an herb garden this year and we FINALLY may have convinced him to till a few rows in the way back so we can have a proper garden - I’m looking at you broccoli and okra.

Pascha weekend we finally saw family for more than a honk and a wave. All the uncertainty - I have come to loathe that word - and distancing was just so weird. We also had some outdoor dinners with neighbors. Our kids who are used to being busy with swim, school, soccer and scouts were definitely going through withdrawal since all those things ended in an instant. We definitely leaned into our neighbors for socializing and our kids were even caught exercising together too.

Summer came along and our sitter came back - PRAISE. They didn’t have the summer that imagined but there was lots of crafting and activity and visiting the pool. We survived a full day at the pool just to prove to ourselves we could hack a whole day there - that was fun and hopefully a tradition. There was swim team - kinda. A and C took lessons. C went from chatting her way out of doing anything because she was scared to belly flopping in the shallow end - success!

The Y swim team also started back in June - PRAISE!!!! It was smack dab in the middle of rest but I knew we needed to make it work. So we did. A and C and J and me spent may afternoons at the parks within walking distance of the Y. At first they didn’t love it but they we discovered the pond and the heron and the secret museum playground - the one that’s further away. We got our exercise in daily and patronized the hot roped off playgrounds. A usually could be found with his shirt off running ahead to check out any wildlife. Sometimes we’d hit Nash Rec after Y practice and other times we’d just come home and anxiously wait for Papa who couldn’t have been busier. It is a blessing for him to be busy, no doubt, but it is definitely something our whole family feels the weight of.

My tan-legged boy

Speaking of work, we sent E to work with Papa a few Saturdays to clean pools. I think she just enjoyed the lunches but she did manage to make a few dollars. She took a dip in one pool by accident... ehem - a little dog was out. Lee built a pool close to our house so that was great because I got to take him to visit on more than several occasions. A brought his own digger just for good measure.

E and R got to go to sleep away camp twice. It was a shortened version but I think they were ready to do just about anything. They had a great time and are hoping to go back this year. 

We trekked to the beach with my family for a few days and got really sandy and tired and lots of sun and good food and great memories - including Grammy and J having bonding time at 2 am on the porch because the kid would not go to sleep and with a house full of sleepers a screaming J just wasn’t an option.

Summer came to a slow close - sometimes it’s more like a screeching halt. School and preschool started back - PRAISE. Obviously it was way different from year past but at this point everyone was thrilled to go back. Since school has started there have been 2 of 6 kids who have had to quarantine because of exposures but at this point we will take them for the sense of normalcy that is gained.

There was a shortened fall soccer season that we let the big girls do concurrently with swim. Not something we typically do but it was worth it. A and C had a blast. It will go down as one of my more interesting coaching seasons. Coaching a team that only wins a few games is tough. Also, forever known as the season we didn’t lose a game but weren’t winners - with M and Rs team. Par the course 2020, par the course.

As for some personal reflection maybe my single biggest (I jest) accomplishment would be camping with the big girls. I can now check camping off my list of things I haven’t done. I can say it wasn’t bad and I’d probably be caught doing it again.

Also a ran two half marathons in 2020. One before covid changed everything and one virtually. The pre covid run was a great race and it would be one I’d do again. The virtual run was awesome. A friend and I decided to form the mom- running-once-a-week club and we ‘trained’ for our half marathon by only running once a week. Not because that’s something we wanted to tout but because we really only had one day a week to give. We only almost got hit by a few cars running on the country roads and jumped over a few dead animals. It was the best running plan ever and I’d totally do it again and the $50 entry fee may have gotten us a hoodie but really kept us honest - especially on the 10+ mile runs.

Pretty prerace sun rise pic

Post race beverages. It was neat our girls cheered us on a few times 

Not going to church on a regular basis had been bizarre. Especially  since growing up we went to Mass every single week rain or shine. Covid started right in the middle of Lent so that meant no presanctified liturgies - which might be one of my favorite things. We did do stations of the cross in our chapel. I think I have grown increasing grateful that we have a dedicated prayer space in our house. It probably could and should be patronized more often but when we have done church at home on more occasions than we’d all like - it is great.

Looking to this year or the eleven months that are left of it, I’d like to be hopeful that things will go back to some sort of normal. I’d like to hope that I don’t completely lose it when A starts Kindergarten in the fall. There are so many things that were different about 2020 but so many more things we all learned about each other. I imagine we will continue to learn and cling to hope knowing that God has got our backs.