i love sundays

Sunday is, by far, my favorite day of the week. There is something almost tangible about the feeling I get on a Sunday. It's an entire day devoted to savoring the fun that was had on Friday and Saturday. Sunday brings a wonderful feeling of being on cloud nine because the day before had been filled with birthday parties, productivity and maybe even a yummy dinner at a restaurant.

The best part is that on Sunday, you have permission to relax. Actually, you have been commanded to relax but that's for another post. Sunday afternoons are just made for taking naps, reading and lounging.

At our house, a typical Sunday involves getting everyone fed and out the door for church then home for a boxed mac & cheese lunch (I'm relaxing, remember?) then down for naps and "room time." Room time is an idea borrowed from my sister-in-law. She used it with her kids when they were younger as a way to institute some quiet time once the kids had outgrown their naps. At first, I thought it cruel to send Avery to her room for 2 hours every Sunday afternoon. Like a punishment even. But, we made it clear to her that it was not a punishment. I think its even good for her to have some down time to herself. So, while I am downstairs napping, Avery plays quietly in her room and every once in a while even she herself takes a little snooze. That evening, we have dinner and prepare for the week ahead.

This past Sunday was our annual Sunday School class egg hunt. We always have it at a local park and families bring picnic lunches and the kids all run around together. Somehow, the past 3 years the weather has been absolutely miserable! There were 40 mph gusts of wind combined with a high temp of about 58 degrees. Ahh! The kids could not have picked up those eggs fast enough!


This was Ethan's first egg hunt. Jeff was by his side, and he caught on pretty quickly. I haven't gotten around to getting him an Easter basket yet, so he hunted with his Frankenstein trick-or-treat bag. Ha! Afterwards, he loved shaking the eggs and then opening then so that the jellybeans inside spilled all over the ground. Funny boy!


The girls always enjoy any activity involving candy. Yesterday, I had their Easter baskets out on the kitchen counter and had been rationing out small portions throughout the day. Hannah and Ethan got some after their lunch and Avery had some after she came home from school. While I was busy with chores, my sneaky girls decided to take candy rationing matters into their own hands. I heard the two of them giggling in the powder bathroom, which is a big red flag for me. So I knocked on the door and asked what they were doing in there. Avery hollered out that they both just had to go really, really bad and they were taking turns. Hmmm. I sat down in our computer chair just outside the door and waited for them to come out. About 5 seconds later, Hannah popped out of the bathroom and said, "We've been eating lots and lots of candy!" Avery was completely dismayed that Hannah had given away their secret plot so quickly while I immediately proceeded to take the remainder of their candy and throw it in the trash. Sneaks!

isn't she lovely?

When you are the mom of a little girl, there are certain milestones in her life that you look forward to. Her first Barbie doll, getting her ears pierced, shopping for a prom dress, and shopping for a wedding dress are a few that come to mind.

I have always told myself, and Avery, that she could get her ears pierced when she was old enough to ask. Well, she's been asking and so yesterday was the big day. We went to Sweet and Sassy, a place recommended by a friend. And it was really exciting! We picked out her earrings and then Avery sat in a big, velvet chair while the girl cleaned her ear lobes, drew the dots with a marker and applied some numbing cream. When it came time to pierce her ears, Avery hardly flinched. I was really proud of her!

To be totally honest, Jeff and I did not expect Avery to go thru with the ear piercing. This is the same child that I had to restrain at the doctor's office last summer when they needed to prick her finger. She is also the same child who practically refuses to learn to swim because she claims to be afraid of the jets in the pool. So, we thought that there was no way she would willingly sit in a chair and let some stranger poke holes in her ears. But, she did it! I guess that she was really ready...

blankie brigade

If my kids ever had to choose one possession to save in the event of a fire or other disaster, it would, without a doubt, be their blankies. My children all have completely unique personalities, but the one thing they have in common is a love for their blankies.

Avery started out with a pretty yellow sweater blanket that gradually became unraveled. Aboout 3 years ago, I tried to replace it with a new one. That didn't work and so now she has 2. Even at almost 7 years old with requests for earrings and lip gloss, there is no way I could convince that child to go to sleep without either one of her blankies.

Hannah's blankie came from a Sunday School friend of mine who gave it to me at a shower before she was born. It is made from an incredibly soft lavender fabric that matched her crib bedding. So, when she was about a year old, I started sticking it in her crib for her to snuggle with. That blankie's fate was sealed the night we rushed her to the emergency room with a febrile seizure. I grabbed the blankie from her crib on our way out the door thinking it might be comforting for her to have at the hospital. She has not been without it ever since.

"Mr. Elephant" aka Ethan's blankie, came from a bag of hand-me-downs a friend gave me. Ethan's nursery is decorated with an elephant theme and there at the bottom of the hand-me-down bag was the softest, most perfect, little elephant blankie. It has an elehant head at the top, a blanket body, and feet and a tail at the bottom. Ethan likes to hold onto the elephant's trunk and suck his thumb with one hand and stroke the elephant's floppy ear with his other.

As much trouble as it can be to keep track of them and to remember to always make sure that they make their way into the suitcase, those blankies are symbols of their childhoods, and I love them!

open house night

Tonight was Open House at Avery's elementary school and you had better believe that you could feel the excitement in the air! There were kids running everywhere, dragging their parents off to see this or that, making shy introductions to their friends and teachers and most of all, so very proud of themselves.

It seems that everything in an elementary school is brightly colored. There is so much to look at and take in. The walls are practically covered with murals, student artwork and motivational messages. A parent cannot help but smile as she moves slowly down the hall, making her way from one display to the next.

Avery's school structured the open house around a "student led" conference. The students were supposed to take their parents through their work and show their progress, there was even an agenda for them to follow! It was neat to watch Avery flip through her notebook and try to explain some of the things she had learned. Jeff and I had to take turns with Avery while the other parent kept an eye on the little kids who could also feel the excitement in the air and were excited to explore a new place.

We are both incredibly proud of Avery and how hard she works and how much she is learning. She has a great teacher who really understands the type of student Avery is and helps us to get the best out of her.

Open House was fun, I just can't believe that I am the parent now....

making french fries

The parents of one of the little boys in Hannah's class own a burger restaurant, a very good burger restaurant. They invited all of the kids in the class to the restaurant for lunch, a tour and a chance to make some french fries. Yesterday was the big day, so off we went. It was a really fun morning and Hannah really loved getting to be around some of her school friends outside of school.