Weekending it

Well sorry the blog has been so lame lately. There just isn't too much worth sharing and not a ton of time for writing. 

This past weekend Mandy went home to Colorado to go attend a show of my mom's artwork at a local university. I wasn't able to go because of the timing but I'm glad Mandy and Jess went and Mandy got a bit of a break. Here are a few photos she took.

Since Mandy was away I got to pretend to be a stay at home mom for a bit and had a solo day doing the school drop off/pick up routine and hanging with Ivy. We played Play doh for two hours straight! It made me miss those pre-pandemic days when I had Mondays off with Kip. Those were special bonding times with him and I never really had that with Ivy. Working mom guilt. Sigh.

On Saturday it was a torrential downpour all day. We managed to get out of the house for lunch but that was it. 

That night we did family movie night which was fun. We watched Big Foot Family on Netflix and had extra buttery popcorn which the kids thought was great. 

Sunday the sun returned but it was freezing cold. We did church and chores and prep for the week. Nothing special. But the "little trains" did make a reappearance for a day of play.

Mandy got home early Monday evening and we were all glad to have her back. The kids were especially eager to see what souvenirs she brought back.

And now life is business as usual. I've got a busy, busy week at work and Kip's spring break starts on Thursday afternoon. And then Easter on Sunday and Grandma arrives for a visit at the end of next week!

Spring is supposedly here but we're still waiting for the warmer temps and I'm beyond ready to drop kick my winter coat for the season. I hope it's sunny wherever you are. Happy nearly hump-day.

Life Lately

We're still here just pushing through day to day. Both kids had really bad colds last week and Kip was home from school for four days. He did so well this past fall with only one absence from school but he made-up for it with this illness. I really hate the whole absence policy in the district. I end up paying $40 for an urgent care visit just for the doctor to tell me what I already know (it's a virus, wait it out). So then I feel like I paid just to get a signed doctor's note excusing the absences.

Anyone else owe taxes this year? Dan and I have typically always gotten a small refund so we expected the same this year. So we bought a new living room couch preemptively anticipating that refund. "HAHAHAHA!" the Universe said. Murphy's Law in action again. No refund this year, in fact we got slapped with owing several thousand instead. How? We're still not sure, but we already bought the couch so we shifted things around. We'll be fine it's just. UGH. Seriously?

But then, get this! Couch delivery day was Saturday, we scheduled it that way so that we could take the old smelly couch to large item trash drop (only once a month in our town). Dan and I loaded up the old couch into the van and he dropped it at the dump right before the new couch was delivered. And then as the universe would have it, part of the new couch was missing an absolutely essential piece to assemble it. The bracket required to attach one section of the couch to the corner piece was missing. Like, just not there. So Dan had to drive back to the store and instead of them just giving him the brackets they gave him a whole new couch piece, this time with the brackets. 

So the couch is assembled and we love it but now we have a huge useless couch piece sitting in the garage for a whole month until the next large item trash day. Good times. 

Cute new couch and now the whole family fits!

Today, Dan took the car into the dealership for it's tune-up. We just paid the car off so I'll let your imagination decide what kind of expensive issues we can expect for that little visit. 

End rant.

Spring break is at the end of next week. The daffodils and crocus are blooming. Spring is coming and we are grateful. 

The other day my coworker and I were moaning to each other about life and then feeling bad about it. I told her, TWO opposite things can be true at the same time and both are valid. I can recognize and appreciate my privilege/provision/safety AND still be worn out/exhausted/disappointed. Those two things do not cancel each other out and not making space for both just piles on guilt which doesn't help anything. There is nothing you can do except pick yourself up and keep moving...and take the lessons you learn along the way. Like, don't spend a refund before you know you have it. 

Happy Tuesday.

Mother-Son Dance

On Friday night Kip and I went out for our second time at the Mother-Son dance. We had a fantastic time, just like last year.

This year's theme was Hollywood Red Carpet so a bit more formal than the glow party last year. I got a new dress and Kip got a new blue "worky shirt." Mandy made us a matching boutonniere and corsage and she did our hair too. We took photos before heading out.

Ivy was sad to see us go but she had a fun movie night with Mimi (including popcorn!). 

Ivy's scabby chin is the result of a scooter accident from earlier in the day.

Kip and I met-up with one of his friends from his class this year and his mom. It was their first time at the dance and we enjoyed hanging out with them.

The PTO didn't offer the professional photo package this year which was a bummer. I really loved our photos from last year. But they had a photo op right when we got inside which was at least something (wrinkles and all...lol). 

Kip and his bud.

 

 

As soon as we got to the dance floor Kip ditched me to literally run circles and catch balloons and be a maniac. Exactly what he did last year. But I didn't mind. I love watching him let it out and have fun with his friends. Unfortunately, that meant 90% of my photos from the night look like this:

Just a Kip-shaped blur.

After dinner Kip started dancing more instead of just running. He attempted to copy what he saw other boys doing and was essentially spinning and quasi-break dancing. It was hilarious, and not half bad. 

 

Kip and I did dance together some but most of the music was wild and sent all the boys into a feral frenzy running around. I talked to one mom who said the father-daughter dance is very mellow and this one is chaos. Girls vs. Boys. Ha!

Kip lasted the whole night and we did the photo booth too which was just a digital download instead of a printed strip. Each boy got to take home a mini Oscar statue. Kip loves some SWAG.

I'm excited for next year and every year he'll tolerate me as his date.

Take Care with Black Bolt and Rainbow

Well, I didn't mean to disappear for a week. We just had an uneventful weekend and I didn't have anything to share. Work is busy and it is hard to find time to post. 

But anyways, today, I gathered some pictures from the last couple of months to showcase a cute little game that Kip and Ivy have been playing regularly. It's call "Take Care" or "Black Bolt and Rainbow." 

Now, some back history. As kids, Mandy and I played dolls and house FOR YEARS. We played make believe for far longer than is typical. Like, we were still playing with our dolls in middle school. Anyways, we loved to set-up the playroom in our basement with our play kitchen and make a whole house. We were two sisters living together with two kids...no husbands in sight. We had a car  (really our dad's weight bench). We received telegrams (from the power light in the deep freezer). We cooked meals, we bathed the kids, we drove them to school. We had an upstairs (the top of the guest bed) and we accumulated as much play food and doll clothes that we possible could (but it was never much). We essentially role played what our life is like now (- Dan). And we loved it.

Now, at the end of January, Mandy and I took the kids to Build-a-Bear. They had been once before with Grandma and Aunt Judy but we headed back because Kip decided he needed a bear (his first visit he got a dog). Kip picked a brown bear that was supposed to be part of their Harry Potter line. He named it Black Bolt. Ivy got a rainbow cat she named Kitty Cat Purple Cat. They each picked a few clothes items to add to the accessories they had gotten before with Grandma and Aunt Judy. They immediately began playing with them the exact same way Mandy and I played house. And so naturally, Mandy and I invested! 

Ivy quickly abandoned Kitty Cat Purple Cat and switched to her Rainbow Wolf she got at the Build-a-Bear at Great Wolf Lodge this past summer. Its name is Rainbow. And the rest is history.

Every morning they bring their animals downstairs and make them breakfast. They get them dressed for the day and load them up in the strollers to commute to day care. They pack them lunches and take the "slow ferry." Me or Mandy play the role of the day care provider. And Ivy tends to them throughout the day.

Mandy made them little felt sleeping bags by request and I've dropped more than I'd like to say on clothes for these animals. 

But really we're just serving our inner child who was obsessed with doll clothes and accessories for playing house. Mandy even got them a little play washing machine. Totally unnecessary, but again, Mandy and I would have LOVED a toy washing machine as kids. It's super cute and makes authentic noises!

I think role play and pretend play like this is SO important for little kids. They get to pretend to be in charge and take care of something. They are learning super valuable life skills.

Now, of course, they fight and argue while playing. Often. But, they are playing together instead of next to each other and that has been really important for their bond as siblings.

It's also a really great creative outlet. Coming up with different things to use to make what they need and working together to get to daycare on time!

And now, since I've shared this all with you, they will probably abandon the game tomorrow. But, I hope not because I got Black Bolt a really dapper shirt and Rainbow a pretty dress for Easter.