easter, 2013

 It was cold!  Really cold out.   But it was a really nice day too.

 We headed to church for the pancake breakfast, a fund-raiser for church camp.

 The Easter Egg Hunt was very nasty and quite brief.

 Inside was better.

 This was before the church service.

 Later the sun came out.

 And of this whole day, the pictures are a jumble.  It feels obnoxious, turning up everywhere with a camera in people's faces, you know?  And yet a jumble is kind of annoying too.

 The pinata was done fast too, in a stiff wind.   They used the aluminum bat and didn't do blindfolds, speeded that whole story right up.

 Here's Pam playing Rock Em Sock Em Robots with l.c.   He's using his feet.

 And there were gifts, and cake, and fighting, screaming, and a bit of mayhem.   And laughing too.  It was a nice day, delicious food and good company.

 Thanks to Pam and Paul for having us every year for this wonderful party.

Happy Easter.   love you all so,  Val, Grandma, Mom

We did the eggs this morning--gotta do these things where there's time.     Alicia agreed to come have lunch and join us in this endeavor.

The little girl, p.j. loves her cousin b.g. so much.   I went to the grocery store this morning for the eggs and vinegar, and when I came back and the door opened and she saw it was just me, she frowned, "Unh. b.g."   (Yah, Grandma, go 'way.)

Anyway, here she is watching videos sprawled on Tim's unmade bed in a big mess.   It's okay.  It's Friday.

 And Maria and Heather were working on sewing these crazy aprons.  Or Maria was and Heather was keeping her company.

 The eggs were hot so we put them on pot holders to minimize touching.  It worked really well, actually. They didn't roll around.  There was less breakage.

 b.g. had no interest in the eggs, actually took one look and seemed to develop a swift aversion.   He hung out in Tim's room where he likes it a lot.    Alicia says he is not into crafts of any kind.  I understand--they're not really my thing either.

 Oh my goodness, those blue eyes and perfect little lips.

And now it's Friday afternoon, and the sun is shining.    love you all so, Mom, aka Grandma

a goofy day

 These guys came with their mother for lunch, and my mother was here also, so she and Dannell are both witnesses to the mayhem, the screaming and running and wrestling.   There's a lot of energy in these people waiting for spring.

Heidi took charge and cleaned those book cases a couple weeks ago.   Big boxes went to donation.
It always feels good to lighten the place, move things along.

Ahem.

Except there was that ONE time when a kid was little by little donating clothes to Goodwill, bringing me little bags now and then, which is fine.  It doesn't fit or you don't wear it, that's good.

However, one Sunday morning when they were getting dressed for church it became evident that most all their good clothes were missing.

Gone--apparently donated.

"We didn't wear them that much." 

"Of course you didn't!  They were clothes to wear to church or to special occasions."

Pretty much about all that was left were the old faded t shirts and leggings they liked to wear.

I was so aghast and so appalled and  ranted:  why do I work so damned much and don't know the half of what's going on right in my own house, and clothes are expensive and time consuming to shop for and, and, and, and

and I was doing that half-yelling half-crying thing, and the kids were not sure what to do.

But we made it through that morning, pulled together some outfits and persevered, and now the whole thing makes me laugh.

And it's true I love these insane little squirrels all so much.

 He's crawling now and standing up and he's as tasty and sweet as he looks.

 Look Man, no teeth!

Anyway, we're keeping on, going to get some projects done this weekend.   This house is old and there's a fine long list that we never get to the end of.

Plus it's only three more days until the EASTER BUNNY.     Oh, yes.    love, Val

come on spring

We went shopping for Easter dresses and as we were leaving the mall I noticed the little shop where they sell glittery, fun girl stuff, and also pierce ears.  I asked them if they wanted their ears pierced? They've been talking about it for months because of all the earrings Jody has given them.

I think it was dealt with better without a bunch of pre-planning.

Then in the evening, we watched this little girl and a couple of her cute cousins while their parents went out for dinner.

The babies were happy to see each other. Here she is putting on his shoes.

Oh, at lunch time on Friday we were near Heidi's work, so I called her to see if she wanted to meet us at McDonald's for lunch.

She did. Lunch was great.

Then it was time to leave, and p.j. realized her mom was going one way and the rest of us another, and she threw the most unholy fit I've ever seen. There was screaming and arching of the back, flowing tears and snot, and kicking.   Heidi said, "I'm making this worse, so I'm getting out of here."

This was a wise retreat, I think.

But the child continued to wail and even opened up the car door and attempted to exit the vehicle.

Kari climbed in the backseat and Tim to the front and she was able to coax p.j. into her lap for some calming.   In a few minutes she was able to be placed in the carseat without hysteria and the afternoon continued on.

Okay, epic fail.  It seemed innocent enough, but I told Heidi we are never meeting for lunch again.  It's far too traumatic for a little kid who doesn't understand.

Anyway, back to Friday evening and the little cousin-fest.

Cars movie and popcorn:

 Here are the Easter dresses.   Julia specifically loved this dress because it's stretchy knit.

"Because I'll need a stretchy dress for jumping on the trampoline at Pam's!"

(excited hyperventilating) They love going to Pam's SO MUCH.  They act like they won a free trip to Disney whenever we go over there.

Heidi and Kirsten and I laughed about the stretchy dress.   Maybe we should chose our dresses for stretchiness and ease of trampoline jumping.  It sure adds a different spin to the criteria.

And for the party at Pam and Paul's on Sunday, I bought a pinata just like this one below and we filled it with candy.

And then late today it became known to me that people were eating candy they found on the dining room table.   Okay, that's not right.  If it's rolled up in a bag, and not put out for your consumption, stay the hell out of it.

And THEN the subject of the pinata came up and there was enough foot-shuffling and shifty glances that I became worried about how much candy may have been pilfered from the pinata.   It had been tossed in an out of sight location in the stairway to the office, not hidden, but not like it was placed in a tempting spot.

I brought it to the kitchen and tried to see inside, but it was pretty clear the candy level was down.  I scolded a little because it gets tiresome having to go back to the store to do over things that were already done--like buying more candy.    Only Tim admitted to taking any candy out, and he said it was only two pieces.

"I couldn't get near it after that because of MARIA. She was like an armed guard."

(Thank you, Maria.)

So it's refilled and then I decided the best hiding place of all for it is IN THE TRUNK OF MY CAR.

That's where it is now.    If  anyone takes the keys and attempts to enter the trunk, I will hear the beeping and little sounds the car makes.  Plus it's hard to sneakily close a trunk.   And if I'm not home, no worries.

Well, maybe worries. They could drive to where I am and open the trunk and nobody would be around to hear.  But that's a long shot.  Maria's sure not going to drive them, and I don't see Little Jay doing it either.

This little dog went home tonight, and tomorrow is Monday.    love always, Mom

this pretty picture

Kirsten's photography from early this morning.

Sigh.

We had a good day today at the mall shopping for all sorts of things, and the girls had their EARS PIERCED, (insert giddy excitedness.)

Onward.  It was a great Friday.  love, Val

cracking up in march

This week we have been cracking up, so today we rounded up some craft kits to help.  We also shopped for Easter dresses and went to Applebee's for lunch.  We went all-out. This winter is NOT going to hold us hostage no more.

I bought the kids flip flops and Tim a bathing suit, and p.j. a t-shirt and skirt with tulle. Yes, we are moving on.

Lydia is working on coloring diagrams in a fancy book.  These two are making crystals from a kit.

Tim thought Dad would find it fun.   Dad got to the part in the size 2 font directions where it said to measure 68 ml of water and heat it to boiling and decided this was more of  a mom type deal.

 We have a little cup that actually measures in milliliters, so we were okay.

There they are, ready to grow crystals. We'll see if they do or not. I hope it's not a huge disappointment.

 

And then, still feeling in a project sort of mood, they found this old baking soda and vinegar rocket. I thought we had no vinegar, but I was wrong. They dug in the pantry cupboard by the back door and found some.

They are wearing swimming goggles because they experienced vinegar in the eyes one other time. (Didn't like it.)

 

And tomorrow is Friday, best day of the week.   A couple guys are coming here to be watched while their parents enjoy dinner at a restaurant without them, and that fine little dog who just turned two is coming to stay at Grandma and Grandpa's for the weekend.

love you all so, Mom