Easter Weekend

We are privileged enough to have a cabin in Branden's family that is available for our use. Down in Newkirk, OK sits a little two-bedroom cabin that Nana and Poppy James Langley keep fully stocked, clean and ready for whoever wants to get away for the weekend. Traditionally, we spend Easter weekend at this cabin with everyone. This year was no exception.

In my sister-in-law, Lydia, I have found a kindred spirit. We're planners. We're caretakers (both of young and old). We're bossy. We're efficient. And when you get five families together for a holiday weekend, planning and efficiency are required. Long ago, the family learned to let us do what we do best.

For this year's holiday weekend, we (and by we, I do mean myself and Lydia) decided to go to church on Saturday evening instead of rushing around Sunday morning. This was a FANTASTIC idea! We went to church, had a late supper and put the kids to bed at a reasonable hour. Then, Sunday morning, we were able to have an Easter basket scavenger hunt since we weren't running off to church. Here is a small sampling of the fun that ensued.

The first clue from the Easter Bunny. Adysan has taken the time to get dressed and fix her hair. My girls couldn't be bothered.

The next clue is discovered out by the Outhouse. The working outhouse. You'd think that the Easter Bunny would have better taste than that.

Headed to the big red barn.

Read it, read it!

You can see that Daddy/Uncle Blake and Daddy/Uncle Branden chose not to get dressed either. Seems Adysan is the only one that's got it together.

Next clue!

Whoo hoo! Found it in Poppy James's garden.

I really hope nothing was unintentionally unearthed in their excitement. The Easter Bunny (Mommy) might be in some real trouble.

Whew! This is a tough hunt. I need a ride!

The Loot!

The idea of the Scavenger Hunt was originally met with skepticism. However, based on the fun these guys had, I think this is a new tradition! 

Misnomers

It has recently come to my attention that parents often re-name, or rather don't bother to correct a mis-name of, common things. For example, on the rare occasion I find myself in a Target, I get a Starbucks. If my children are with me (and able to consume cow's milk), I purchase them a kid-sized steamer. This is merely a dressed up hot chocolate. McKenna has forever believed that this is coffee. I've never had the energy to argue with her. She will walk through the aisles of Target, sipping her small-person-sized-logan-plastered cup and say, "Mommy, I just LOVE coffee!" Oh, the looks of reproach I get. But they'll get over it.

A good friend of mine was sharing a misnomer with me today. She allows her daughter to have the Halls Defense drops that are basically hard candy-ish vitamins. She's never corrected her daughter's assumption that these were cough drops. When her daughter opened a grab bag from a birthday party to find strawberry hard candies, she yelled, "Oh goody! I got cough drops!" It's the little things, people.

When my girls were younger and ate like birds, (OK, Madelynn still does) I would supplement their diets with a Pediasure at bedtime. This way, I didn't have to worry about them getting the right nutrition. Turns out, it was a vicious circle. Since they woke up full in the morning, they weren't hungry enough to eat all day. ~sigh~ But I digress. The Pediasures were disgusting! So, I told the girls that they were "milkshakes" and the first few times, I'd put chocolate syrup in. Worked like a charm. Except for the first time we were out of town visiting relatives. They were all ready for bed when they came in the kitchen, "Mom, can we have our milkshakes now?" Hmmmm

But the mis-titled item that haunts me the most is their melatonin. Each of the girls have bad, life-like nightmares, so the pediatrician recommending giving them a melatonin tablet before bed and another if they woke up in the night. Now, I don't love medicating the kids, but I've gotten over my inital fears after years of allergies, asthma and colds. At this point, if I get the nod from the doc, it's all good. So we started giving them melatonin at bedtime. People, it's like a miracle drug! Except, it's not a drug, it's a supplement. That's right, all natural. And it's fan-freakin-tastic! My girls don't have time to cover themselves up after they lay down, because they're already asleep! Love it! But here's the hang up. I think McKenna's hooked. We've started breaking the tablets in halves and fourths on days that they didn't get a lot of rest. Then one particularly tiring day, we skipped the melatonin altogether. McKenna was not pleased. She begged for her "sleeping pill" for a good 30 minutes. I finally told her that when I was finished washing dishes, I would come check on her and if she wasn't asleep yet, I'd give her a melatonin. That little bugger kept herself awake by sheer mental doggedness. Every five minutes, "Mommy, are you done with the dishes? I need my pill!" We should probably work on that terminology before someone submits a complaint.

Love,
A

A Shout-Out to Moms

On Monday mornings, after I drop Madelynn off at school, McKenna and Marek and I go the the grocery store. It doesn't seem like it would make such a big difference to shop with two rather than three, but it does. I think it's an exponential thing.

On this particular Monday morning, I woke up with a croupy cough and no voice. I contemplated skipping school, but Madelynn would have been way too sad to miss the Bike Rally. So I sucked it up, doped it up and away we went! If we're out, might as well get groceries.

After getting Madelynn settled, we headed off to Wal-Mart.

It's odd to me how Madelynn's absence changes McKenna. Without the presence of her older sister, McKenna really steps up to be the helper of Mommy and protector of Marek. I will have to think of ways to nurture that through the summer....

We were wrapping up our shopping in the condiments aisle. I stood there, staring dumbly at the ridiculous number of BBQ sauces available. I mean, really. Two women were standing in the aisle, talking and I was trying to just pick a stupid bottle. One woman approached me and this is how I remember the conversation...

"Excuse me, are these your children?" she asked.
Suspiciously, I answered, "Yes".
"We also have small children and we noticed you have two small children."
"Well, my oldest is in  school right now." I admit.
Turning to her friend, "See, she has THREE kids!" Turning back to me, "My friend is having a hard day today and we noticed how happy your children are, they're dressed and well behaved."
I turn around to make sure that they were, in fact, behaving. It is at this point that I have a coughing fit.
"I also notice you have a cough. Are you not feeling well?" she inquired.
"Well, I think allergies are hitting me hard today." I shrug.
To her friend, "See, she is not feeling well and here she is getting groceries with TWO kids!"
At this point I speak to the friend, "Everyone has hard days, me included. In fact, this is a rare occasion that no one is whining or crying!"
"You see, you're not alone, dear."
So I decide to impart the best advice I have, "Whenever you have a rough day, just grab a Starbucks and put on as many movies as it takes to get to resting time!"
They both laughed and I made a graceful exit, before either of my kids embarrassed me!

That conversation gave me a warm feeling inside and I just thought, it's nice when someone recognizes you're hard work. So I've decided that I'm going to do a better job of telling the moms I know, what a good job they're doing.

But, just to make sure that I'm not gettting a big head, God helps me stay humble. I'm going to share a story with you that I'm pretty embarrassed about (my mother, however, thinks it's hilarious!). Maybe this will help your day by giving you a smile or a little perspective!

I was using our new stroller for the first time at an outing with a good friend at HyVee. When I took Marek out of his car seat, he was asleep. I wrapped him up and laid him down in the stroller. No buckling necessary. As we walked around the store visiting, Marek slept away. We stopped in the baby aisle to talk about the newest, greatest finger foods, Marek started fussing. I gently rocked the stroller to soothe him back to sleep and continued visiting. He started fussing a little more, so I decided it was time to start walking again. I pushed forward on the stroller and hit resistance. I assumed I was dragging a jacket, so I just pushed harder. Nothing. As I leaned around to look, I realized MAREK WAS LYING ON THE FLOOR! He had slid out of the stroller onto the floor and I was running into him with the stroller! AAAHHH!!

I could have run out of the store, bawling my head off. What kind of mother doesn't notice when her baby falls out of the stroller? And then runs into him?!?!? TWICE?

Fortunately, I was with a good friend that knew exactly what I needed. She laughed. And hugged me. And then Marek. And then she made me laugh.

So in preparation for Mother's Day, I just want to tell all of you moms out there that I love and admire, you're doing a great job!

A

Helpful Tools

In my many (ok, five) years as a mother, I have learned that there are several everyday items that make my life easier. Things that you might not even think about picking up at your local "We-have-everything-under-the-sun Mart". Surprisingly, duct tape is not on my list. I don't think we even have any at our house. Don't tell my mother.

Suction Cups

These bad boys are excellent for use in bathrooms with no storage. I'm not talking some storage. I'm talking NO storage. Our bathroom is so small, there is room only for the bathtub (granted, we put in a jacuzzi tub), pedestal sink and toilet. There is no medicine cabinet, there is not a vanity. Everything that we use is out in plain sight. Unless...

...you stick EVERYTHING to the wall of your shower with suction cups!

Clorox Wipes

These are useful for the obvious reasons. They can clean up sticky spills and keep your bathroom nice and shiny. However, I've also discovered that for my 3 year-old who does not care if she's in time out or getting a spanking, they are cruel and unusual punishment. When she has pushed me past my limit, I give her a Clorox wipe and make her clean whatever menial thing I can think of. The legs of our dining room chair and table are an excellent example!

  

This would be such a day.

Detangler

 Need I say more?

Super Glue

There are many things that I've been able to repair with super glue. For example, Madelynn created a dinosaur out of modeling dough at preschool. McKenna made short work of destroying it. I was able to glue it all back together (mostly). There were still a few pieces left over, but I couldn't figure out where they would have gone. Surely it wasn't an anatomically correct brontosaurus.

One of the drawbacks of super glue is that I can't repair anything without also glueing my fingers together. This is the only thing I've discovered that will remove the glue from my skin.

 That's right. A bubble bath, good book and a dessert or glass of wine. Jacuzzi jets optional.

Rubbermaid containers

These shoebox sized rubbermaid containers are fantastic for creating Treasure boxes. These are the catch-all places that all of the girls' "treasures" are placed. This would be the little, teeny, tiny items that cannot under any circumstances be thrown in the trash.

Speaking of trash, I've also discovered (the hard way, of course) that clear trash bags are not a good idea. They must be completely opaque. In addition, if you've thrown away such a treasure or random school paper, DO NOT give the former owners other trash to throw away. You will be forced to keep the trashed item at least two weeks longer. Trust me.

Wedding Vows

When Branden and I got married, it was kind of a blur. But our wedding vows were fairly traditional (I think). They might have gone something like this.

"I Branden, take you, Amy to be my wife.
To have and to hold,
in sickness and in health,
for richer or for poorer,
til death do us part"

In retrospect, these vows are incredibly idealistic. Romantic? Yes. Realistic? No.

If I ever figure out the time travel issue, or if Branden and I ever decide to renew our vows, they'll probably be more along these lines.

I, Branden, want to include you, Amy in my daily life.
I promise to love you in times of relaxation and times of stress.
I promise never to question your hair cut decisions and to support any outfit selections you may make.
I promise to take care of you for at least two weeks after the birth of each of our children.
I promise to bathe said children every night, regardless of the hour.
I promise to be your provider and a shoulder to lean on in tough times and times that are just kinda crappy.
I, Branden love you, Amy with all my heart and I will never, ever contemplate leaving.

My vows might sound something like this:

I, Amy, want to include you, Branden in my daily life.
I promise to love you when you're feeling good and when you've contracted the Man Cold.
I promise to support your decision to have facial hair for the rest of your life.
I promise to work on not rolling my eyes when you discuss anything from a previous century.
I promise to learn how to use firearms and support your passion in acquiring as many as you can.
I promise to cook at least four dinners each week and pack your lunch every night.
I, Amy love you, Branden with all my heart and I will never, ever contemplate leaving.

Even though an opportunity was missed six years ago, what's important is that we are still as in love today as that day we nervously stood in front of a judge, holding hands.

Love you honey!

Cubbie Grand Prix

Wednesday was the annual Grand Prix race at Madelynn's Awana Cubbies. As always, the leadership of this particular club did an outstanding job of preparing, executing and making this race special for each and every clubber. I can't tell them enough times how big of an impact their weekly service makes in my daughter's life. Thank you! 

 This was the set up with the track. There was a video camera pointed at the track so the Cubbies could watch their cars race on the big screen.

 This would be Madelynn, waiting patiently for her turn to race.

 OK, maybe not so patiently!

 Here is our race car that we painstakingly designed, sanded and painted. In her selection, Madelynn informed everyone that "My Nana said that blue is a fast color!"

 The car has been placed on the track...

 ...and it has raced well. It went so fast, it flipped over and finished the race on it's hood. According to Madelynn, there was smoke involved.

 It was a proud evening!

 Every clubber received a gold trophy and a race ribbon. And every single Cubbie was convinced they won first place! And no parent argued :)



And let's not forget our beloved Miss Sherri. Thank you for everything you do!



Daddy's Coffee

One fine Saturday morning, Branden went to the bank and was kind enough to bring back a coffee from a local coffee shop. Fortunately, he knows me well and ordered my favorite concoction of espresso, caramel and milk (to which I add a little more sugar!). He purchased a plain, black coffee for himself. (In our many years of marriage, I've learned to look past this detail.)

After one accidental swig of my marvelously sweet libation, he labeled his cup.

Now, I ask you. Who did he think was going to a) read this cup and b) then make the decision not to take a drink?

A