Library Story Time with Dad

Sometimes Dan can convince Ivy to leave her little homebody routine and go to the Library Story Time at the library in the neighboring town on Thursday mornings. It's a cute little program with songs, stories, bubbles, and coloring.

Ivy is our little pandemic baby and very shy. She needs more social exposure (without Kip for her support) and so we're doing what we can to pull her out of her comfort zone in preparation for starting school in the fall. 

Between story time, ninja gym, and Sunday School Ivy will at least be comfortable enough to walk into a classroom solo in the fall, listen and follow instructions, and be comfortable around other kids. She may not strike up a conversation or make a friend immediately but she will be able to get herself in the door. And coming from my own experience of being a painfully shy kid myself, I know just getting in the door is the often hardest part.

Life Lately

I've fallen behind yet again. Floundering over here at the moment. 

Currently the house is turned upside down as we are getting several windows replaced. Later this week the HOA is replacing the driveways. You can thank the weather for these two major project colliding in the same week. Home improvement projects, while satisfying to see completed, are never pretty or convenient in the process. 

Kip was sick over the weekend. Sweet little bub. He is back at school today.

We did some spring yard work over the weekend but we are still waiting for consistently warm temperatures to get going on flowers and such.

I had a four hour dentist appointment last Thursday wherein the crooks decided I needed to get my root canal from two years ago redone. Livid is an understatement. AND THEN, last night the temporary crown they placed fell out while I was eating dinner. So yeah, now I had to rearrange my work schedule again to get in to see the dentist tomorrow. And then I get the joy of going back two more times in May to have the root canal fixed. Does anyone else want the password to our bank account? At this rate I'd like to just get that tooth pulled but they tell me that would cost twice as much because I'd need an implant. Oh and they say reduce stress and "stop clinching your teeth." Right.

This little series of photos of Ivy perfectly represent my moods right now. 

I would like to title this "Spent."

Spent in emotions. Spent in cash. Might as well shove your face.

Happy Monday...or Tuesday...or whatever day I manage to post this.

Other Fun Over Spring Break

Just some random things to wrap-up Spring Break recap.

Mandy took the kids to a local museum.

I took off a day to hang out with the kids and Mandy and it poured rain all day. Nevertheless we took the kids shopping, as we do. We planned to try a restaurant we've been wanting to try since we moved here but it was always so busy. We figured a week day would be perfect. Naturally, the place closed for renovations the day before. UGH. WHY! We moped a bit and then ended up finding a different place to try that had epic milkshakes and great breakfast food.

And the HOA started a massive project to redo the street and driveways. Several days we had front row seats to the concrete work replacing our sidewalks. Super entertaining. 

It inspired some building play.

And now the buds are popping everywhere and we are more than ready for sunny skies and warmer temperatures.

Spring Break with Grandma

Phew! I'm trying my best to catch-up here but it's tough! We are rolling back into our regular routine following Easter and Spring Break. Grandma arrived for the second half of last week and we had a blast with her for a few days.

Due to all the rain (or for no reason at all) Grandma's initial flight to NJ got canceled and we worried she might miss the trip. BUT, never fear we were able to re-book her trip via another airline and arriving at a different airport and she arrived only hours after when she was supposed to originally! Dan picked her up from LGA in NYC and they got home just in time for the kids swim lessons so she got to see their progress. 

On Friday we had our main adventure and headed to the American Dream Mall to check-out the indoor Nickelodeon Theme Park! Mandy got us all tickets via the family she is a nanny for so it was a real thrill to get in for free! It was primarily kiddie rides and huge scary roller coasters. We hit up several kiddie rides and then took a break for lunch and then came back for more rides. 

Ivy was super brave trying new rides and realized she LOVED the thrill.

It wasn't too crowded and the wait times were not awful. We only encountered a few rides where loading and unloading or half capacity slowed things down. Overall a great experience!

We didn't explore the mall outside of the park but there was a Toys R Us right there. It wasn't like the OG Toys R Us from the 1990s but it was still a legit toy store and we found some good things to bring home. We got back home early evening so we truly spent the whole day at the mall. And in case you were wondering, we did NOT feel or experience the earthquake that happened in our area on Friday. Shockingly, we were in the car both for the real thing and the aftershocks. Something about the suspension of the moving vehicle so none of us noticed a thing and didn't even know what happened until our neighbor called us and people from work started texting me. We totally missed it.

On Saturday and Sunday we hung around the house mostly. The weather was chilly and we didn't really have plans except to play and spend time together. One of the things the kids LOVE about when Grandma visits is her magical suitcase filled with presents that she delivers throughout her visit. We got lots of new card games which Kip is really into, whoopee cushions which every body loves, stickers, fidget toys, sidewalk poppers, new clothes, and more! It's really a thrill to see Grandma coming down the stairs hiding something in her shirt. I know it's a core memory for the kids and I hope to one day be just as generous of a Grandma too. 

On Sunday the sun came out for a bit and we went to the park and playground and then flew kites. That seems to be a bit of a tradition now when Grandma comes. It's so simple yet so satisfying to go fly kites. 

Monday Kip headed back to school but only for a half day since they had early release for the eclipse. I was too worried about letting the kids see it but then Kip was sent home with a pair of legit glasses so we all went outside one by one to look at it. It was pretty cool even though we didn't have totality and it was cloudy right around peak. Anyways, we caught the "once in a lifetime experience" and if you missed it, don't worry, it looked exactly like ALL the photos everyone is sharing on social media. So there, you saw it.

Grandma left Tuesday morning but it was a wonderful and mellow visit. We all miss her already but we will see her again soon. Love you Grandma!