Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match

Spring Break came and went in the blink of an eye.  We didn't really do much.  I set up a tent in the backyard and the kids had a couple sleepovers.  Ellie and her friend made it through the entire night, but Jack and his cousin chickened out after about an hour.

Even though Ellie made it the whole night, she did start getting scared and sent me an SOS.  I comforted her as only a mother knows how.

Kali puts up with so much from the kids!

One day we took the kids to lunch and a movie (Zootopia).  The regular showing was sold out so we had to watch it in 3D.  Sam would not keep his glasses on but luckily we were in a fancy theater with recliners and a sectioned off area so he couldn't really bother the people around us.

The highlight of out break was out friends' wedding.  Alex has been showcased on this blog plenty of times.  he and Tom have been best friends since they were 5 and Tom even lived with Alex before we got married.  I met Amanda when I started teaching.  We became good friends and the more I got to know her, the more I realized she was the female version of Alex.  I ended up introducing them at Ellie's birthday party two years ago (because what is more romantic than an 8 year old's Harry Potter party?).  They liked each other so I set up a game night.  After that, our services were no longer needed.  Tom was a groomsman, I was a bridesmaid, and Ellie was the flower girl.  The wedding was beautiful and it was fun catching up with friends.  Ellie and the ring bearer hit it off and even danced together a few times.  I had to give the toast and I was so nervous about it, but I think it went really well.

This weekend is Easter and we have a 3 day weekend!  Tom's older sister will be in town with her husband and three boys so I am celebrating Ellie and Sam's birthdays with both our extended families on Sunday (along with Easter). I am supposed to be cooking two hams.  Ask me how many times I have cooked a ham?  Zero. But how hard can it be? I mean, they are already cooked, right? I am also watching Dianna's kids for Thursday and Friday.  And the kids have softball and t-ball practice morning and afternoon on Saturday.  Tom has track meets today, tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday so he will basically be M.I.A..  Who schedules 4 days straight of meets on a holiday weekend? Tom, that's who. Wish me luck.

Random randomness

I am finishing week 5 of a 12 week Get Fit challenge that I have been doing.  You do it in teams, so I thought that would work better for me because, although I have no problem letting myself down, no way am I going to let my team down.  The 1st week I lost 2 pounds, the 2nd week I lost 1.  Then I gained it back over the next 2 weeks.  Not cool.  So, this past week I decided I needed to take desperate measures so I don't have another disappointing weigh-in and bring down the team.  Which brings me to the cabbage soup diet.  A couple of my friends have done in and recommended it as a jumping off point to get you back on track.  I lost 5 pounds when I did the weigh-in this morning, but I still have a few more days left of the diet.  It isn't fun, but I need something to kick my butt in gear.  I weigh 80 pounds more than when I got married.  That is practically a whole person more!

Jack was tested for the Gifted and Talented program a couple months ago.  Because I am terrible about checking my kids' backpacks, I missed the paperwork that came home saying he qualified for GT and that I needed to sign the form by a certain date in order for him to start receivig services.  The school called both Tom and I trying to get that form signed and returned.  We had to back-date it since we missed the deadline. So typical.

Ellie recently had her Destination Imagination competition.  They competed with teams from schools all over the region.  Her team built a vehicle that was run by a screwdriver.  It was pretty cool.  They had a skit that went with it.  All of it had to be done by themselves without any adult help (aside for taking them shopping when buying the materials and teaching them how to use power tools).  They didn't win, but they did really well.  It was a great experience for Ellie, but I am so glad not to have to take her to D.I. practice 1-2 times a week!

In which I am a little too proud of myself

Saturday schedule

I am just getting around to documenting last weekend.  All I can write about, apparently, is weekends.  But...I have a lot to document from last weekend alone (how many times have I used the word "weekend" so far?).

Anyway, Friday I had a bachelorette party so I was out late.  But I had to wake up at 5:00 a.m. on Saturday to get Jack and Ellie to their parade floats at 6:30am for baseball/softball Opening Day.  Naturally, Tom was at a track meet so it was me hauling the 3 kids all over the place.

Ellie and Jack made it to their floats on time and then Sam and I walked to the parade route so we could watch.  I let Sam eat like 5 million suckers during the parade to keep him in his stroller and out of the candy-filled street.  Seriously, they threw SO MUCH CANDY.  I rounded up enough to fill up all the Easter eggs for our big family Easter egg hunt.

After the parade and the Opening Day ceremonies, the kids and I hauled butt to get to the Zoo.  We had free tickets from our Realtor group, but we had to get there by 12:00.  We arrived at 11:45, but there was not parking left so I had to drive to some remote lot, pay $6, and take a bus to the Zoo.  let me tell you, that was really fun with 3 kids, a diaper bag, and a stroller.  The bus dropped us off across the street and around the corner so we had to RUN for the zoo.  We got there right at 12:00 and were able to get our free tickets.  Then, they told as that if we ran we might be able to get to the pavilion and get the free lunch before they put it away.  So, once again I was pushing a stroller and running with the kids, but we got there just in time to grab a couple hamburgers and hot dogs.

Then, the kids and I had a couple of hours to explore the Zoo.  Y'all, I felt so happy just hanging out at the zoo with my kids!  Normally I would have felt stressed about Sam missing his nap or about taking a bus or driving in downtown, but none of it got to me.  I was ridiculously proud of myself.

We left the Zoo with just enough time to drive across town and get to my nephew's birthday party at a bowling alley.  I had been outside pushing a stroller since 7:00 am so you can imagine what a hot, sweaty mess I was when I showed up at that party, but, still, I didn't care.  The kids had fun bowling, but no one loved it as much as Sam.  He was in heaven and he pretty much hogged a whole lane and insisted on taking everyone's turns.  I need to plan a family bowling day soon because the cuteness was through the roof.

I did so many things out of my comfort zone this weekend...going to a bachelorette party where the only one I knew was the bride, taking three kids downtown by myself, taking a bus with said kids, and disrupting my kids' schedule.  Now, for most people that would be nothing, but I am still proud of myself. :)

Saturday fun: parade, zoo, and bowling

#sundaybest

Get yer boots on!

It is one of my favorite times of the year in Texas...rodeo time!  This means Go Texan day at school, chili-cook-offs, carnival fun, rodeo, and concerts!  Here are the kids all dressed up for Go Texan day.

 For the past couple of years, Dianna and I have taken our daughters to the rodeo and a concert.  We continued on the tradition this year and got tickets for The Band Perry.  I coordinated my outfit with Ellie and, without talking to me, Dianna coordinated her outfit with Kinleigh.  Great minds think alike.

We did the carnival first and I let Ellie go on one too many of those spinning rides.  She got extremely motion sick and was miserable throughout most of the evening. She seemed to bounce back for the rodeo portion.  There was some drama during the chuck wagon races when a driver fell out and never got up again.  The driver-less horses ended up slamming into the wall.  The driver never regained consciousness and was carried out on a stretcher.  According to the news the next day, the took him to the hospital and he was awake and alert.  As the rodeo portion was ending and the concert was getting ready to start, Ellie started feeling really ill again.  She ended up falling asleep on my shoulder.  We got home about midnight and at 2am, she came into my room to tell me that she had thrown up all over her bed.  I really hope that one day that child learns to vomit in a toilet.  Or a garbage can. Or anywhere that clean-up is not so difficult.