My Love/Hate Relationship with Spring

So, I LOVE spring because it brings summer and coat-less days and firsts.  Like, first family bike ride of the season, and this...Cole and my first outside picnic after biking to nearby garage sales:

But I hate spring now.  I suffered from seasonal allergies when I was younger and barely do anymore.  However, the memories of itchy eyes and a nonstop nose are vivid.  It makes you irritable, unable to focus and just plain mad.  To have 70-degree days that are the epitome of spring weather and my son not able to enjoy it is heartbreaking to me. 

Will is miserable.  I keep waiting for it to subside (pollen counts to decrease, etc.), but it's not happening fast enough.  Meanwhile, we are experimenting with what medications are most effective for him.  Then, today, he wakes up with one eye almost swollen shut.  I thought maybe he had been rubbing it and that it would decrease.  He took his Zyrtec and (now prescription) eye drops and went to school. 

Off the bus he came whimpering about the eye and now it was wet and definitely infected looking.  So, now we're onto antibiotic drops for him.  Never mind the entire box of tissues that gets emptied each night as he attempts to clear his sinuses.  I pray for this to get better soon.

*I hope to be reading this next year at this time thinking, "Oh, wow! Remember how bad he was?  So glad we're not going through that this year."

Planting Day

Usually we reserve planting the garden for a weekend when the whole family can take part, but if you read the containers on those vegetables and look at the agenda for the next couple weekends, you start to feel under the gun.  So...Cole and I decided to do the labor today.  We planted everything except for the carrots seeds - knowing that it is Will's favorite job.

Getting the soil ready.  This was a brief break in telling me what to do and how to do it.

Heat started getting to him, so he chose to be overseer from a sitting-down position.

The (slightly flooded from my over-zealous waterer) garden!  Tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, basil, broccoli and carrots! 


Let the fresh vegetable picking begin!

Mother's Day Weekend

It was a perfect mix of everything we wanted to do this weekend.  There were kid birthday parties, cheer competition, visits with parents, new patio furniture assembled, and just plain good hanging out times.

First place and grand champions! 

Grandma & Grandpa Kelly's - great day to hang in the yard.

Being put to work :)

Great climbing tree





At grandma and grandpa C's.  Digging in dirt.  This is why they got chore boots from them for valentine's day.  And why I'm going to remember them next time.  On a similar note, if anyone is wanting to start a small garden, I have enough black dirt in my utility sink to get you started.

So, to reflect on this Mother's day, I realize how much my appreciation for this day has changed over the years:

Each year I'm a mom, I am that much more thankful for my mom.  Most recently, while attempting to prepare dinner, each of the kids were jumping, spinning, opening cabinets, jumping on counters at varying times.  It makes for a chaotic food prep environment.  But I could vividly think back to doing this same thing throughout the years and while I didn't see anything wrong with it then, I get it now.

Now that my kids are getting older, they understand more the importance of honoring people on their day.  While they were very aware it was a special day for me and showered me with wonderful handmade gifts, they still couldn't pull it together for the one wish I would really want...no bickering, no whining, proving that they are still indeed, kids!

I continue to have greater and greater appreciation for all matriarchs and the situation these holidays find them in...my 92 year-old grandmother, mothers that have lost their children, children that have had to say goodbye to their parents earlier than expected, etc.  For so many, it is a joyously painful day.  But, like I've heard before, having children allows you to feel extremes of every emotion you possess.  You feel fear, pain, anxiety like you've never felt.  And thankfully, happiness.

Will

This update comes at a tough time for Will, as he is currently recovering from what has been the worst stomach bug I can remember him having.  In addition, he has horrible seasonal allergies, affecting mainly his eyes.  Lastly, he has a front upper tooth that needs to come out, but because the permanent tooth coming in is impatient, it is pushing it forward, instead of out.

Therefore, tonight while saying goodnight to him, he pointed out that he has a bruise on his forehead.  Sadly, it is likely from heaving into a bucket most of the day prior.  He also has a large bloodshot eye, also likely from heaving as well as rubbing from the allergies.  And then the tooth.  It kind of looks like Nanny McPhee:

But it hasn't all been bad.  Will is doing awesome in school and loves it very much.  He has developed some great buds and in fact a neighborhood pal has been stalking our house on his bike, just waiting for Will to get better and come out and play.  Also, Will came home the other day proud to say that he offered to stay inside during recess with one of his friends who had broken his foot and couldn't participate.  He has a big heart for sure.

Baseball season has started and while he is struggling with his skills, he loves it and hopefully can get some good practice time once he is feeling better and the weather cooperates.

Catching

Paige

Since I receive an "F" for keeping up with blog posts lately, I'm updating kid by kid.  I've gone over the now 5 year-old, who was out practicing for his first t-ball team tonight.  Looking good!

But onto Paige.  Paige has been a ball of positive energy lately and so much fun to be around.  This month marked her first Daddy/Daughter dance and they had a blast with dinner (at Olive Garden) beforehand.

We tend to go through phases in TV watching around here.  We have been in a Full House phase for a while, but recently have started working Chopped into the mix.  Paige LOVES cooking shows the most and had become quite obsessed.  So we decided to give her a Chopped challenge.  It was the dessert round.  Her items were:

Mini Sub Buns, Grape Jelly, D'Anjou Pear, and Semisweet morsels.



Judge Cole: Said he wasn't quite sure of the bread at the bottom of this trifle-like dish, yet finished the whole thing off.



"I have prepared for you today..."

Lastly, the kids all received "Staff" shirts from Grandma and Grandpa Cumpata for Valentine's Day this year for their jobs working Farm Days.  As they have gotten older, they have gotten more and more interested in this and cousin Riley, Will and Paige worked the entire 5 hour event.  Paige even took over taking orders / taking money / making change in the Country Kitchen.  It was a great learning experience for her and she did great!

Birthday Recap

Yes, I'm referring to the birthday that took place April 19th.  Cole never did get his post of pictures for his birthday.  Poor thing.  He's practically 6 now.  Actually, the other evening, he came running from the swing set where he and Rich were and asked me to please tell Dad he was 6.  I asked why I would do that.  He said, "Because dad keeps saying I'm 5, but I just turned 6!"  I reminded him that no, he did indeed just turn 5.  He gave his trademark, "Wait, what..." response, eyes looking up as if replaying those fast 5 years in his head.  THEN he had the epiphany and conceded.  It was hilarious.

So, here we are, celebrating FIVE years of Cole Everett!

SILLY STRING FIGHT!

Super fun gifts!

Cousin Renee was sick and couldn't come to the family party.  But she's virtually here...if you look close.

Proof: Five candles...not six.

Kid "party": 3 friends after preschool for lunch and play.  They. Had. A. Blast.

Ganging up on the mom.

Like always, it seems my kids take a leap in "bigness" right around their birthday.  Cole mastered a two-wheeler and handled his Kindergarten shots like a pro!  So proud of our 5 year old!

The Weekend

This weekend brought baseball practice (finally) after the area has begun to recover after the flood.  The weekend also brought the ever anticipated family meeting of Baby Olivia.  It has been so long since the kids have been around a baby.  It is so interesting to see the different reactions.  Here is the breakdown:

PAIGE:  Wants to take on the "mom" role.  She wants to change her, carry her while walking, etc.
WILL:  Just wants to hold her and inspect her every crevice.  His exact words, "I need her."
COLE: Loved holding herand thinks kissing her more rapidly is the answer to a fussing baby. Olivia is currently sleeping in a bassinet, so Cole curiously asked when she would sleep in her crate. (Like I said, it's been a long itme since we've been around babies.)



I'll just let the pictures do the talking from here...

Practicing for cousin slumber parties

Getting attached...

Finally!  (Getting to meet her was written in her school planner)

It's a good thing babies don't feel self conscious.

Excited to have a new baby around!  Excited to not have to wake in the night for her! :)

Cole...with the kisses.

We had our celebration for Cole’s 5th birthday this past Saturday! Pictures will come later after his kid mini-party. He so greatly anticipated this and thoroughly enjoyed himself. Too bad cousin Renee had the flu and only Riley could make it from the family, and Aunt Jamie couldn’t make it due to pre-labor pains, which brings us to…

A new family member! We gained a beautiful new niece on Monday morning and the kids are fanatical about their new cousin. Olivia Mae is already fully loved and adored by us all! Congrats to Jamie and Steve!

Will and Paige qualified to test for the Academically Talented program at school. They went through a series of tests and Will was accepted, while Paige missed the cut off by 3 points. We are very proud of both of them! So tell me, why then when I remind Will to hang up his towel in the bathroom and he says, “okay,” does he leave the bathroom without doing so? It’s baffling.

Cole is starting to learn to ride a two-wheeler! Today was our first day practicing and he was definitely starting to feel it!

*side note* Today, Cole and I were at a shoe store and, checking out a pair on his feet, I said, “those are sharp!”. He proceeded to sit down and check out the soles of the shoes. Then looked up and said, “Where are they sharp?”

Tonight, we got a fantastic presentation by Paige (complete with comment cards and slide show with a pointer) about her bedtime. She had well-thought-out arguments and communicated them clearly and concisely. We came to new agreement.

Baseball has sadly been rained out for the first 2 practices. So excited to get this season started!

Anniversary Dinner

Three years ago, you may remember the 5 grandkids on my side of the family put on a dinner for my parents’ anniversary in our basement, mocked up as a restaurant.  We had decided to do this again this year.  After all…this April marks 40 years of marital bliss!  Check out the difference a few years makes…

2010

2013

They served a 6 course meal complete with hand massages / cleaning, magic entertainment, piano music, and origami skills.  They had a great time serving them and we had a fun time planning it.

The kicker this time around was that unbeknownst to the kids, they served my parents a “bill” at the end that was actually a poem explaining that for their 40th anniversary, we are all going to Disney World together later in the year.  It’s something we simply never did and now we can all experience it together. 

It was an emotional, exciting surprise.  But if I have learned anything, it is to celebrate the good stuff. Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad.

Unscheduled Hiatus

You may have noticed that I took an unscheduled hiatus from blogging.  I just felt that I haven’t had time to keep up with what we’re doing, let alone reflect on what we’ve done!

But…we’ve done a lot!  There has been Easter, Spring Break, 5th birthday planning, lost teeth, home projects, picture day, baby chick raising, movie nights, and heart-to-heart talks.  The days have been full!

Cole and I have still had some good ‘ole play time though.  In fact, he got a new dirt-bike trailer lego set for Easter that has been nonstop fun.  One day we had pretended the carpet was “quick sand” for the dirt bikes.  The next day, wanting to continue the story, Cole said, “Let’s pretend the carpet is…what is that again?  Fast mud?”

Yes.  That’s some funny stuff.

Here are some pictures of what you’ve missed:

On our way to a grown-up looking mouth!  This one got help at recess this day, but the one next to it will be soon, we think!

Baby chicks! 



Trip to the city - the planetarium - on Spring break.  Can you spot the kids?



Millenium park on an actual nice day!

Rainforest Cafe.  I love this restaurant, but it is no mistake that the area you wait for your table is filled with millions of things your kids will ask you for.  We told them they can have food.  That's what we came for.

Egg Decorating!

Will's version of a grandpa (not any one in particular)

Paige's take on egg monsters

I don't really know why Cole's shirt is unbottoned and Will looks like he just woke up...but Happy Easter!

The Lego dirt bike hauler...in fast mud.