An Easter Craft

Friday morning everyone slept in a bit! High fives all around! Actually, I should rewind to 5:30am...when Jonathan was in the bathroom getting ready for work, and Jay was sounding waaay too perky in his crib. He was crying, but when I went in to him to lay him back down, he started getting happy like it was morning. Oh, 5:30 is NOT morning, I told him!

I laid him down but he popped up, with enthusiasm. Yikes. So I decided to try bringing him to bed with me to lay on Jonathan's side. It took a little while (I think I fell back asleep before he did) but eventually he fell back asleep and didn't wake up until 8:30. Niiice.

Calla and Kelsey came in about then (maybe they woke us up...it's a bit foggy). The kids read books in my room while I showered and got ready. Our goal has to been to stay out of the back room, where Caleb is snoozing, until 9:30 at the earliest. I realize that 9:30am must seem early for a college student. ha!

But Caleb woke up, and decided to shower and then head to Wheaton College to pick up Brie and bring her back to our place for some breakfast. My kids had eaten some cereal at 8:30, but I figured they would be up for a second breakfast. I made scrambled eggs, toast and bacon.

below: Calla thrilled, absolutely thrilled, with her breakfast company:

We had to leave for church by 11, which seems pretty late in the morning but we had been moving slowly. The kids and I headed out, and Brie and Caleb took care of the breakfast dishes. Shout out to their fabulous houseguest manners.

The event at church was geared for families (a lot of dads had off work on Good Friday) and actually began at 10:30am, but we skipped that part because that portion consisted of a drama reenacting the story of Jesus' suffering and crucifixion. The church provided childcare for small children because they warned parents that it could be disturbing, and so I think I may wait a couple years to have Calla come with me. She has already told me she feels like she could cry when she thinks about Jesus dying on the cross, so I think she has enough of a mental picture for 5-years old.

So anyway, we skipped the serious part and went right to the gym for the shallow part - the craft. ha. The craft was to make a special Easter tray. We were there by 11:15 and I kid you not, the staff were taking down tables and chairs and asking if they could collect our glue sticks when we finally left at 12:45. The girls really took their time with it! That's an understatement.

below: first off, we painted the tray. There was an option to stain it, but I went with the "washable" option.

 below: Jay assisted. He was an eager assistant.

 below: Is Jay blowing me a kiss while he paints? Not sure

After the painting, which was the shortest part, we decided to pause for a substantial donut break. In case you are counting, this was the kids' "third breakfast" of the day.

The next portion took a very long time indeed. There were countless pieces of paper and ribbon and buttons and what not to decorate the "interior" of the tray with. Calla and Kelsey only went through the line once, but once they got back to the table they took a very long time to put it all together. They both stayed on task.

My task was to keep Jay occupied. Fortunately, there were grapes on hand so he spent a while eating them. Then smushing them. Then throwing them on the floor. Grapes double as toys you know.

below: The girls carefully decorating. I thought they might disagree about how they wanted the tray to look but for the most part they seemed like they were on the same page. ha

Towards the end of the time, Caleb and Brie showed up (the girls were beaming). It's a good thing he did, because I needed Caleb to screw in the back of the tray and the handles.

below: It turns out Caleb knows how to use a screwdriver. Somehow I missed that family "life lesson."

below: Well tilt your head! This is the tray! I used a wood carver to write "He Is Risen" at the top. Wood carving is hard. Next time I will skip that part.

The girls were so pleased with their tray. We came home and I put Jay to bed while the girls sat and admired it. THen they pretended to bring each other things on it.

below: Literally this is what the kids did when I asked if they were ready for a rest-time. "Maybe if we don't make eye contact, mom will forget she asked."

After I put Jay to sleep, I had the girls lay down with me. Kelsey and I fell asleep but Calla did not. In fact, instead she did some texting. Her text to Pops was cute:

Her text with Daddy was not as cute. (She sent him a very unflattering pic of her mother asleep! Ha! Daddy probably thinks Mommy always sleeps the afternoons away. All in a day's work for a stay at home mom.)

Kelsey and Jay slept until 4 (I did not). At about that time, Jonathan got home early from work! Yay! I didn't expect him home early so it was a nice surprise. I rewarded him by asking him to give the kids a bath.

We served the kids an early dinner, at 5, so we could be out of the door at 5:35 or so to be at church on time for the Good Friday service. We saw Caleb and Brie in passing. They caught the tail end of our dinner...they had longer to eat because they weren't attending a Good Friday service until 7pm.

For the Good Friday service, childcare was offered for ages 4 and under. So Kelsey and Jay went to their classes, but Calla stayed with us. We don't usually keep her in church with us but it was a treat to have her during the worship part. She was belting out all the songs...at one point, after a particularly loud rendition of "How Wonderful, How Marvelous" I asked her if she knew that hymn from Bible class. She whispered back, "No I never heard it before. I am just reading the words." (-:

The service was an hour. A Good Friday service is one of my favorite services of the year. It is a favorite in a somber serious way but I think faith needs to be like that sometimes.

We picked up Kelsey and Jay and drove home. Daddy and I ate a late dinner, and then we got everyone in pajamas and did devotions and got them in bed. It is something else to see how quiet children will get at bedtime when you remind them that they have to hurry and go to sleep since we were heading out to an Easter egg hunt in the morning.

Jayism~

~ Jay was in a good mood this afternoon bc Daddy kept giving him words to say and he'd say them. Usually, he does not perform on demand!

Uncle Caleb Comes

Wednesday we spent our day getting ready for Uncle Caleb! He spent his day driving to get here, and although he didn't arrive until we were all in bed, we were so excited all day about his visit. And, of course, praying that he wouldn't get in a car accident this time!

Wednesday morning the kids played and I did a lot of cleaning. I'm trying to think if we left the house and I don't think we did. Ha! After lunch, Jaybird took a nap and the girls played "dance" and I did some more cleaning. I don't think cleaning has to take all day, but it definitely can if you have all day to do it. For instance, I would go to grab a drink for the kids from the frig which would remind me that I really should clean out the frig, so then I'd clean it out and before I knew it 45 minutes had passed and I couldn't remember who I was getting a drink for...

We invited our friends Brian and Emily and their kiddos over for dinner Wednesday night. I kept it pretty simple. I served lasagna and garlic bread and Em brought a salad and cookies. They came over at six, which was just about when Jonathan got home. It was especially nice to catch up with them because I was anxious to hear about Brian's sister's wedding (which was a couple weekends ago). I've definitely gotten wedding fever ever since Aunt Corinne got engaged! Family weddings are so much fun.

The kids played together...well, poor Grant did his best to occupy himself with the little boy toys we have while Calla, Kelsey and Ashlyn (their oldest) worked on crafts. Jaybird was being such a crank most of the time they were here which is really not like him. We gave him some Tylenol before he went to bed in case his molars are bugging him...I feel like every time I look at him, another tooth has cut through.

After we said goodbye to our friends, we put the kids right to bed. I told them when they woke up that Uncle Caleb would be here!

Thursday morning, Calla and Kelsey came to my bed to "wake me up" and I was just glad to see that they hadn't done the same to Uncle Caleb! I asked the kids to play in Jay's room so Uncle Caleb could sleep in a bit. Then I showered and got ready while they kept busy reading books, playing with my makeup, and trying to get into the Easter candy (well, Jay). 

Uncle Caleb was up by 9 or so. He came to the front room to say good morning and the girls were beside themselves! Jay was a little more hesitant - it must have thrown him off to have a grown man walk to the front of the house all the sudden! ha. He doesn't take long to warm up...within a few minutes, he was showing Uncle Caleb a piece of his Lucky Charms cereal.

The kids and I had plans to meet Jenny and her kiddos at Monkey Bizness, and Caleb had plans to meet up with Brie for breakfast. So after we visited for awhile, we headed our separate ways. I'm pretty Caleb's "get-ready" time was doubled because of all the company he had. ha. The girls had questions for him about everything!

Jenny's oldest kids are in Arizona with her parents for Easter, so it was just her and Dane (2) and Britta (3 wks) at Monkey Bizness with us. Calla said something on the drive over about playing with Dane but she seemed to forget that one we got to Monkey Bizness because I'm not even sure if she greeted him. haha. Jaybird was much more welcoming...he even learned how to say "Dane." 

Jenny and I got a chance to sit and chat while the kids played. Monkey Bizness is a big indoor playland, encompassed by a little wall, so the kids are pretty much imprisoned. There's seating for adults everywhere so we just sat and talked and kept our eye on Dane and Jay.

below: Jay and Britta. They are betrothed. 

Calla and Kelsey disappeared into the craft room. The craft room is so fun...there's crayons and colored pencils and stamps and paints and tracing supplies and a chalkboard and it really is a taste of heaven for the two of them. They went right in there at 10:30 when we got there and only appeared once or twice (I'm not kidding). They were there for the better part of 3 hours. (We left at 1:20.)

below: Cal & Kels.

Jay and I visited them once. Our time was cut short because he soon realized that painting looked so much more fun than coloring with crayons.

 below; Jay hanging out in a climbing-thing (I have no idea what that type of stuff is called)

 

 below: writing his name. (jk)

Other than a break to eat our packed lunches, the kids were busy playing. It was nice to go on a day when we had no time constraints, because I felt like we really got our money out of it! ha

At 1 or so, we started gathering the girls' crafts. We ended up carefully carrying seven (seven!) large paintings (still dripping wet) to the car. In all that time, I'm surprised they didn't make seventy. (I was relieved that each one must have taken a lot of time.) We slowly made our way to the car and then headed home.

I had a hard time getting Jay to go down for a nap since he fell asleep for a little of the drive home. I am not sure how a ten-minute snooze can have him wake up super refreshed, but it was a bit of a battle getting him to go back to sleep. (It ended with Jay winning...well, he fell asleep but it was with Mommy scratching his head. Oh brother.)

The girls had a snack and watched a show once we got home. Then we made carmelitas together...I have my mom's recipe so I wanted to make them for Caleb to have while he was here.

When Jay woke up, we all went outside to play. It was around 50 degrees, which isn't my idea of "outdoors weather" but the girls have been begging to play on our new-old swingset.

Kels and Jay:

 below: a selfie

The kids got inspired to break out all their riding toys, so we ended up staying outside for it least an hour. I tried to get some exercise in by giving them wagon rides. ha.

I had put chicken chili in the crockpot that morning, so dinner prep was pretty minimal. My girls aren't a fan of chili, so I reheated some lasagna for them and they ate at 5:30. Jonathan wasn't getting home until 6:45 so we didn't want to wait for him!

In fact, Jonathan got home shortly before Brie and Uncle Caleb stopped by for a visit. They had been gone most of the day getting to know Brie's friends...she said they gave Caleb a thumb's up!

Brie and Caleb ate at Wheaton College's cafeteria (which Caleb gave a thumb's up), but Caleb didn't refuse a carmelita for dessert.

The kids LOVED hanging out with Brie and Caleb. They stayed for over an hour, and to say the girls were hyper is putting it mildly. (Sadly.) ha

below: literally climbing all over Uncle Caleb

 below: hanging out!

below: some fun (-:

We got to catch up with Caleb and Brie. They make such a cute couple. Calla and Kelsey are pretty committed to Brie. Hopefully she is here for the long-term. Ha!

Once they said goodbye, Jonathan and I put the kids to bed. I saw Caleb and Brie again later in the evening when they came back to watch a movie. I thought about sitting between them, just to keep an eye on them. Just kidding! Mom used to send Corinne down to the basement to check on Jonathan and I every time we watched a movie. Hahaha.

Callaism~

~ "Now you look like a boy," Calla said as she cupped Caleb's face in her hands, admiring his haircut.

Kelseyism~

~ Calla does most of the talking with Brie and Caleb, but Kelsey does most of the touching! She was either on Brie or Caleb's laps the entire time they visited.

Back on Tuesday....

Tuesday I almost forgot what we did! It is hard to keep track of days when there isn't any regularity to them. ha. 

Tuesday morning we didn't have gymnastics class for Calla...you know, in the name of spring break. The kids meandered around in their pajamas. I offered to make pancakes and everyone voted for cereal instead. Okay, well that's easier anyway.

Finally, at about mid-morning, the kids picked up their toys and we got dressed and headed out the door for a little shopping. We started out at Serenade, a little gift shop in Wheaton that I absolutely love. They have the cutest assortment of gift-y stuff, like jewelry and pillows and fancy soaps and photo frames. I always take way too long to pick out a gift because I sincerely do love everything. And policing Calla, Kelsey and Jay while I do the picking out actually makes it take much longer. (You think having them along would give me a sense of urgency, but instead we slowly paddle through the store, as I repeatably take things out of Jay's hands and put them back where they belong.)

After Serenade, we drove over to Target. I needed to get some Easter candy for the girls' baskets and I also had along their $1 bills from Grandma. She gave them each a crisp dollar bill for Easter when she visited and the girls have been looking forward to picking something out from the "dollar section" at Target. I was able to eek some good behavior out of them while I quickly picked up some other items by making the dollar section our last stop in the store. (The anticipation had them glued to their seats.)

The girls' personalities in the dollar section are so different. Kelsey Mae hops down from the cart and without hesitation, picks up one of the first things she lays eyes on. She shows it to me, claims it as her own, and gets back in the cart. No looking back ha. Calla, on the other hand, slowly scours the shelves, picking up almost every item...usually pausing to turn it around in her hand. She is absolutely quiet...I am sure she is just weighing the pros and cons. ha. 

And almost inevitably, even with all that consideration, she suffers some buyer's remorse at the checkout lane. Tuesday Kelsey picked up a bunny-ears headband (so practical) and declared her love. $1 well spent. Calla got to the bunny headband and thought about it but then continued her walk through the aisle (picture me working in overdrive trying to keep Jay from destroying everything in his reach). She finally narrowed it down to two items, which is what she always does. (That's also when she says, "I can't decide between these two. Can't I just have two?" ha!)

The decision was between a pair of bunny ears like Kelsey's, or a pink Barbie yo-yo. She absolutely could not decide. Almost as soon as she went to put the bunny ears back, she'd wrinkle her nose at the yo-yo and determine she'd prefer the bunny ears. She went back and forth for quite awhile, until my stomach was literally growling. I told her it was lunch and Jay had it least eight items in his possession that needed to go back and we just had to leave.

So Calla ended up with the bunny ears, and the whole way home lamented her choice. She should have picked the yo-yo! Oh my goodness I know this is going to be a pattern in her life! Hopefully she won't still be weighing options and feeling the torment (and remorse!) when she is picking a husband or anything. ha.

Once we got home from the store, it was past noon and we were hungry for lunch. I fed the kids some leftovers and then put Jay down for his nap. Our plan for post-nap was to go to the sports center pool, so the girls helped me to that end by tidying up their room and cleaning up after Jay a bit. He can be a bit of a mess..in fact, I feel like I spend all his sleeping hours (naptime/bedtime) cleaning up the mess he made while he was awake. 

Jenny and I made plans to meet at the sports center pool at 4:30. We decided to pack food and do "dinner" after the pool since Luke was gone for the evening and Jonathan wasn't going to be home until 7 anyway.

I ended up waking Jay up at 4, since that's as late as I like him to nap (he won't go to bed by 8 if he sleep past 4). He had gotten in a solid three-hour snooze at that point anyway. I woke him up and took him right to the car, because the girls and I had packed the food and our extra clothes and swim supplies while he was sleeping. 

We got to the gym a half hour earlier than I planned to meet Jenny so I could run on the track. I took the kids to childcare, ran, and came back to pick them up. Calla had put together a wreath made out of construction paper eggs. We carefully put it in our locker with our other stuff and then changed into our swimsuits and dove in!

Well, just kidding about the diving part. We are definitely the ease-down-the-steps-slowly type of family....

 below: Bird waiting for his mother (well not really. but he did stop and say "cheese" when I told him to smile.)

Jenny arrived with her four. She couldn't get in since she just had a baby 3 weeks ago. So she and Britta hung out (well, Britta slept in her carseat) and I was on pool duty. Well, I didn't really need to be with her kids...Norah and Eriksen can swim and Dane wears a lifevest. (It's good he does...he just jumps in wherever like it's no big deal. He definitely has no fear! ha)

I had to be in the pool to be on Jay-duty. Jay kept watching Dane, and every so often would repeat his antics (like "jump" from the step). I of course always was on hand to catch him but i was tempted to let him crash in there alone so he'd remember that he can't swim. (Obviously, I would be within arm's reach.)

The kids had so much fun in the pool. Calla feels comfortable swimming where she can reach, but she doesn't feel confident at all swimming in the deep end (where Norah was thrashing about with ease). I noticed that she'd put her swimmies on to join Norah in the deep end...apparently, she didn't feel any sense of fame for using them at five years old. In retrospect, I know I couldn't swim (at all) at five years old but all of Calla's peers can swim so you have to factor in some peer pressure. Which, obviously, she wasn't factoring in at all.

Kelsey can not swim a lick, so for the most part she wore her swimmies. When she didn't have them on, I felt like I had to watch her like a hawk. At one point, she was standing at the edge in the deep end and I told her to come back to me and she said, "Norah's going to catch me!" Well that is obviously a recipe for disaster, especially because I don't think Norah was even in earshot of Kelsey's declaration.

Kelsey is pretty agreeable when I tell her to put her swimmies on, so after that I insisted she not take them off. I am definitely going to have to get a life preserver of some sort for Jay...he is too tiny to fit in the girls' but he certainly needs one. I think he'd feel comfortable swimming around by himself. As cuddley as he is, every so often he'd get annoyed that I was holding him 24/7.

After an hour or so, we decided to get out (Dane and Jay kept getting out of the pool, and Jenny and I were certainly not at the pool to watch the kids play alongside of it). Jenny took her brood into a locker room and I took mine into one and we showered all the kids and put them in their pajamas. Then we met in a lounge area to eat some dinner, which consisted of lunch food. I don't think the kids noticed. They all got pretty hyper at this point...you know, when someone says something that makes no sense and all the kids start hysterically laughing (loudly).

We lingered long enough for Jenny to feed Britta and then we all headed home. Jonathan had beaten us home, so hopefully he soaked in the rare moments of silence before we bounded in the door.

The kids got to play with Daddy for a bit, and then we did their devotions and put them to bed. I think Kelsey fell asleep before I even turned the lights off. That swimming will have that affect! It made me remember how much I love summer.

Callaism~

~ Eriksen's Sunday school teacher was at the pool. He taught Calla's class last year and I caught Calla staring a number of times at him. I guess it is sort of shocking to see your Sunday school teacher in his swimsuit.

Jayism~

~ new word of the day: Dane (somehow that is an easy name for him to say!)

Spring Break Starts (And Feels Like Winter)

Monday was the start of Spring Break around here. It definitely doesn't feel like spring around here (temps. in the 30s - bleh) but it will feel like a break this week regardless because everything is cancelled. Storytime at the library, gymnastics, Bible studies, Awana, etc., etc. This town just shuts down, per the school district ha. 

Jenny and I decided to meet up at Chick-fil-A for lunch, so we had that on the agenda. Plus, I wanted to do some grocery shopping. So after everyone woke up and we ate breakfast and got ready, we headed out the door to some shopping. 

It turns out that early morning is the time to be out at the stores. The kids split a donut which kept them seated. And there was barely anyone there, so it didn't take longer than it had to. The highlight of the trip for Jay was a group of geese (group? flock?) in the parking lot. He kept pointing at them and saying "quack! quack!" I didn't have the heart to correct him.

After our shopping, we drove to Chick-fil-A to meet up with our friends. Jenny and her crew (Norah + Erik + Dane + Britta) and my other friend Jenny and her crew (Kenzie + Kaia...her son wasn't with her) and I all took over a couple booths. It was chaotic as usual. I should take a video sometime. It just gets crazy hectic. At any given minute, someone is crying because they are hurt (from being trampled going down the slide in the playland ha), someone is asking for an ice cream cone even before they ate a bunch of lunch, someone is spilling a large lemonade all over the floor, someone is attempting to get down and run to the bathroom for a mint (JAY). I just wonder if I will remember the craziness someday or if it will just be a fog. hahaha.

below: Erik, Norah and Calla hijacked my phone at lunch and took a self-portrait at their table hahaha.

Jenny, Jenny and I did work in some conversation. But we knew our visit was due to end when all of the kids had lost interest in the playland and were instead wandering the aisles of the restaurant. We all said goodbye. I took Norah home with me for a playdate.

Calla, Kelsey and Norah had a busy afternoon together. I put Jay down for a nap and the girls got busy undressing. What is wrong with normal clothes I do not know, but they were soon in dress-ups and summer sundresses and random hats and wigs. After awhile, they wanted to put on a concert but I convinced them to wait until Jay woke up. (Their singing is usually pretty voluminous.)

They FaceTimed Jonathan for a minute and then decided to send him a pic:
(Calla thought they should do a "sad face" ha)

I was bringing a friend a meal (she just had a baby boy) and so I worked on that while the girls played. They helped me make cookies so we ate those for snack. At some point, Jay woke up so I gave the girls the thumb's up for the concert. I didn't realize I was going to be the focal point of the concert until Norah rattled off three or four song requests for me to play on the piano.

Well, there's no day like today for practicing right? hehe. Thankfully, any song you've ever wanted has sheet music available on the iPad so I looked up all her requests and we banged away. (Jay likes to contribute on the keys.) The girls danced around and sang at the top of their lungs, and it was a good way to end the last half hour of the playdate. At the very least, it tired everyone out!

The girls got changed back into their clothes and we headed out the door at 4:45 to drop off the meal on our way to drop off Norah. It is such a tease to drop a meal off for someone who has a baby, because I always have the kids waiting in the car so I can never ask to hold the baby...Laura held her little newborn right under my nose and I just had to say "hi" and "goodbye."

When I got back to the minivan, Norah thought it'd be fun to convince the girls to hide in the trunk with her. They were giggling so hard they could barely move (so essentially, they weren't very "hidden") and Jay was just sitting in his seat wondering what in the world was so funny. Oh my I put them back in their seats and we dropped Norah off at her house.

Once we got home, we had about an hour to wait until Daddy was due home. So the kids sat and read books while I put Jay's laundry away and changed his crib sheets. (Easier said than done.)

below: Calla reading some books. I'm not sure if Jay realizes he doesn't have a good seat.

I lost track of time, so I was just starting a stir-fry when Daddy showed up. Jonathan greeted everyone (a pretty long, drawn-out process with all the hugs and reports-of-the-day) and then took over making dinner. Jaybird pulled up a chair to help.

After dinner, I did the supper dishes. I overheard Daddy rehearsing Jay's relatives' names. He took him through instagram and practiced names.

below: "Say Clark!!"

 below: Caught Jay mid-cough! ha

below: name rehearsals

The rest of our evening was so typical you could write a guest-post about it. ha. We put everyone in pjs and read books and then I put Jay to bed and Jonathan tucked the girls in. I wish I could say later on Jonathan and I went to bed and we never heard a peep. But somehow Jaybird woke up at 12:30am and took quite a few attempts to go back to sleep (attempt = lay him back down) and for another unknown reason Calla and Kelsey showed up in my room at 4:30am and told me they were scared. I am not sure of what, except that I probably would be scared too if I was walking around in the dark. Another reason to STAY IN BED. Ahem. (I think Kelsey wakes Calla up and they decide to come over together.)

I am hoping the night wakings are at a minimum tonight. Especially for the 3-5 year old set.

Jayism~

~ new word of the day: Jonathan says Jay said "Clark" (although it sounded more like "Cark") but I couldn't get it on camera. BOO, JAY. Learn to perform!! It is easy for Jay to say "Pops" but he has a hard time with "Mimi." Which makes no sense, because he loves to say "me!" when he wants something. Just say "me" twice, Jay.

Palm Sunday

Sunday was Palm Sunday at church of course. The girls were pretty giddy about it as soon as they woke up and remembered what day it was. Daddy got everyone ready and we headed to church at 8:15. 

The children waved the palms during the second service at church. I help in Kelsey's class once a month, but her teachers asked if I'd be willing to help out during Palm Sunday as well. It turned out to be a fun week to help. (Ha - although I overheard a Sunday school teacher saying, "Palm Sunday - every teacher's most tiring week at church!" haha) 

It did get a little chaotic setting the kids up. It definitely gave me the giggles.

below: Kelsey Mae practicing her palm-waving with some buddies from her class. Let it be noted that Kelsey poked herself in the eye with her palm at this point. HA! It's good we practiced. (She wasn't hurt.)

 below: See Mom? Like my form?

 below: I also found Calla standing with her 5-year old class! Here she is with her friend, Emery (in pink).

 below: buddies. These girls are two-peas-in-a-pod in their class...they are both very reserved but attentive. (-:

 below: ha! Hailey and Kelsey. Two little goofballs!

 below: Getting ready to walk into the sanctuary

 below: the chaos (-:

Well I escorted the kiddos down the aisle (with all the other Sunday school teachers, of course). Daddy got a blurred-pic of both girls as they walked past him. Ha! Calla is waving!

As soon as we walked out of the sanctuary, Kelsey asked me "Can we do that again?" I told her next year! I overheard a little boy in her class saying, "Welp, I didn't see Jesus but I DID see my dad!" That really got my funny bone.

During the Bible story in Kelsey's class, we had the kids reenact waving the Palms again (while two little boys pretended to be "Jesus" and the "Donkey"). I think it's safe to say Kelsey has a firm grasp on the meaning of Palm Sunday.

Once we got home, we got a pic of all the kiddos. Click here to see the pics from Palm Sunday last year! (It was SO warm last year and so cold this year!)

below: Jay's thumb's up was not posed...

 below: my favorite pic

below: KISSES!

Once we got home, I gave Jay a little lunch and then put him right to bed! He was so tired, and the poor little chap got a big scratch over his eye in his class. Oops! Sorry, Jay! (The teacher wasn't sure how it happened. I've helped in his class before so I know what she means..it's impossible to have your eyes on fifteen babies at once!)

We spent the rest of our Sunday at home. The girls did a lot of playing...most of their playing these days alternates between "house" (usually involving taking a "trip") and lots and lots of dancing/gymnastics in their leotards.

Jonathan made a penne pasta dish for dinner and we ate at 5:30. It was early for us but it seemed late enough after being home all afternoon. After dinner, I did the dishes while Jonathan gave the kids a bath.

Jaybird had taken a pretty lame nap and so he was past ready to go to bed by 7. I read him some books and put him to bed as soon as his bath was done. Little Birdie is such a love at bedtime...we always sit and sing in the dark in his room after I am done reading his books and he ALWAYS gets sad when I put him in his crib (as if it's the first time I've ever put him in there). Then I sing "Trust and Obey" one more time while he's laying there and he calms down. I think Little Bird would prefer if someone held him while he slept, like he's a newborn. (-:

The girls and I did their "Resurrection Eggs" before bed. This is always easily the highlight of their day. Then Jonathan tucked them in.

Kelseyism~

~ Kelsey asked me on the drive home from church if her name could be "Carly" when she grows up and is a mommy. HA!

Jayism~

~ word of the day: squirrel. He first learned "squirrel" with Grandpa because Grandpa held him at the window to watch the squirrels. Today Jay asked me to hold him at the window and he said "squirrel" and kept looking for one but we couldn't find one, so then he kept putting his hand up like "where'd it go?!"

Hangin with the Brust Side

Saturday was so boring for the first three-fourths that I think you should read this before bed so you fall asleep. haha. I gave myself a pass from going to the gym since my friend wasn't teaching her class. I thought it'd be fun to make a big breakfast for the kids, but instead the kids wanted cereal. ha! 

I woke up feeling pretty sleepy because Jay had a bad night. I wonder if that kid is getting his molars in because his sleep lately has just been odd. Then again, I wonder if he has that whole head-cold thing I had going on because that disrupted my sleep a lot last week so maybe he is going through the same thing. Jonathan woke up feeling under the weather. He was looking pretty bleak at lunchtime but after taking some meds and taking a long nap, he had recovered by late afternoon. (-:

We stayed at home most of the day yesterday. I had a few loads of laundry I wanted to get done. Jaybird was feeling clingy, so we hung out with him quite a bit. The girls played in their pajamas all morning. I am not sure what is so appealing about staying in pajamas, but you'd think I'm handing them a literal gift when I tell them they can stay in their pjs. haha. 

I put Jay down for an early nap, and it turned into one of those unfortunate situations when Jonathan walks by his room and notices he is sitting up in his crib, twenty-five minutes after he went down for his snooze. I know he fell asleep, so I wasn't sure why he would be up so early. Well I decided to take it as an omen that mother needed a nap as well and brought him into my bed and we took an hour-nap together. Jay doesn't usually like to sleep with his mother but if he wakes up super cranky from a nap, he is usually game. haha. 

When Jay and I woke up, we found Daddy in the back room with the girls. He was just about to put on our wedding video for them. I remember showing Calla parts of it a couple years ago when she was three, but she hasn't seen it first. It turns out it's the girls' new favorite video. They LOVED it! They loved seeing their aunts and uncles looking so young and they loved seeing mommy "dressed up in a wedding gown." Jonathan would occasionally fast-forward parts of the ceremony and they'd cry out in protest - "no we don't want to miss anything!"

Jay ate a couple pretzels while he watched the wedding video with us. He had barely eaten anything all day. I seriously think he ate the following on Saturday: 1. bite of cereal for breakfast; 2. a mandarin orange for lunch (a slice of an orange, not a whole one); 3. three pretzels for snack; 4. exactly four halves of mostaccioli noodles for dinner (so, two whole noodles). I guess maybe his teeth are bothering him? Well he's not a great eater even if he's feeling 100% so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he eats a total of one tablespoon of food on days he isn't feeling great. 

Jonathan gave the kids a bath and then we got dressed and ready to go to Mema and Opa's. Mema invited the whole family to her house for dinner since she and the rest of the Brusts who were in Kansas City (to watch Ben play) flew back into town Saturday morning.

Before we left for Mema and Opa's, Calla and Kelsey worked on some special pieces of artwork to "help cheer Ben up."

below: the artwork

 below: Calla's note to Uncle Ben (on the back of the butterfly and flower paper)

We drove to Mema and Opa's. The kids snacked on some more pretzels on the drive up (except for Jay...he threw his snack container on the floor in favor of his pacifier). Kelsey slept for the last ten minutes. Her lack of nap usually catches up with her if we have anywhere to go in the car!

We got to Mema and Opa's at 5 and Aunt Court and Uncle Kurt, Uncle Ben, Aunt Alicia and Uncle Stephen and the boys were there at about the same time. Calla, Kelsey and Braxton played together before dinner. We got to admire cousin Braylen's crawling. I think he's a pretty early crawler! (He looked so little to be crawling, and it reminded me that I didn't know how old Jay was when he started crawling. I looked it up on the blog and he was 8 months...a little older than Braylen.) 

The kids really enjoy following Maverick around. That poor little dog is getting older now and I doubt he appreciates the exercise regimen. The only time he seemed especially interested in the kids was when they were eating dessert and he took a bite out of Kelsey's cupcake. HA! (She shrieked in horror.)

Speaking of eating, here are the kiddos at the kids table. Excuse Kelsey's disheveled look. ha

 below: coloring on the table while they wait. It may be winter-feeling here, but Kelsey has a very strong opinion about wearing short sleeves lately.

After dinner, the kids went downstairs in the basement to play (it's hilarious to watch them attempt to play ping-pong, since Calla ...the tallest...can barely even see over the table). Jonathan and I took turns down there with them. At one point, Calla and Kelsey and I started singing songs from BSF and we were encouraging Braxton to sing along (he goes to BSF too). Brax was looking at us like we had two heads (we were doing the motions pretty enthusiastically). He kept saying, "I'm trying to play with my cars!" haha! (He was working on his car-ramp.)  It was really cute.

We didn't want to stay too late since Jay had barely napped. He looked like he was in a coma after dinner. Uncle Kurt played with him for a bit. He was also super cuddley with aunt Courtney. We are going to be in trouble in the next few years when Kurt & Courtney started a family because right now we are spoiled by their attention!

We decided to take some pics of the kiddos after we got them into their pajamas and realized that all five of them were in footsie pajamas.

below: the photographers. (I should have taken a video! It gets my funny bone how adults will break their back to get a good pic!)

 below: the rainbow of footsie pajamas. Jaybird needs "smiling lessons" from Braxton and Braylen.

below: A pic with Uncle Ben! It was good to see him!

 below: Uncle Stephen thought to end the night with a few rounds of "airplane." Here he is with a triple dose:

 below: Kelsey and Braxton. They are buds

We put our pajama-clad kids in the car and said goodbye. Jay was asleep before we even drove out of Opa's housing development ha. The girls took much longer, but by the time we got home everyone was snoring and we carried them to their beds.

below: don't think this will work...try it (-: Jonathan taped the girls saying their bedtime prayers

Callaism~

~ Calla went over the particulars of Palm Sunday for Kelsey on Saturday. You could tell she takes it very seriously. (-: That palm-waving is an art form. This will be Kelsey's first Sunday in the palm waving crowd. ha.

Kelseyism~

~ Kelsey is a very complimentary gal. I barely have to exude any effort (you know, change out of my sweats into real clothes) and Kelsey is all, "Mom you look beautiful." What a sweetheart.

Catching Up on Thursday & Friday

Thursday I usually defy all odds and arrive at BSF early. I am not sure how that happens, but without fail Jaybird and I always have a few minutes to kill and can spend some time at his most beloved spot, the fish tank.

below: Jay saying "cheese" in front of the tank

Jay and I always drop the girls off at their classes first. Then we make a stop at the fish tank and then I take him to his class. It's cute to watch him get excited to go in there. After BSF (shout out to Aunt Katelyn for talking me into taking it...I thought it might be "too much" on top of the other Bible study I do but in turns out that "too much Bible" is impossible), I picked up the kiddos. Kelsey Mae got to introduce us to Ava, her favorite friend at BIble class. Kelsey talks about Ava all week long so I was hoping to sometime meet her mom and arrange a playdate for sometime, but it turns out her grandma brings her to BSF so I guess Kelsey and Ava will have to continue their friendship within BSF. ha. Hopefully Ava will be around next year too!

We headed home for lunch and, true to form, Jaybird barely ate any lunch. He was too tired, it seems. I tried to force down what I could (well "force" as in "hold up the fork and make a suggestive motion towards his mouth") and after giving up I put him down for an early nap. He cashed out for three hours. Must be nice! ha

I have been feeling under the weather with this cold thing, so after Jay went to bed I set the girls up with coloring in the front room and then I took a 20-minute nap. Does that seem safe? well, the girls knew to come get me if they needed anything. (As well as all the other safety concerns..you know, don't answer the door if someone rings the bell, etc.) When my alarm went off 20-minutes later, I walked out of my room and the girls hadn't even moved a muscle.

The rest of the afternoon I spent cleaning the house. It was in a pretty dire need of a cleaning. Jay woke up at 4, and played with his sisters until we left the house at 4:45. Jonathan wasn't going to get home until 7, so when my girlfriend Ashley asked if I wanted to meet up with her for an early bird dinner at Portillo's, I thought it was a great idea. (Her husband was working late too.)

Robbie, Ellie and Maddie already had a booth saved for us. We piled the kids into one booth and they stayed put for most of the meal. Well, "stayed put" meaning they continually rotated seats within the same booth. ha. By the time Ashley and I were done with our food, the kids had spread out and we were suddenly taking up four tables. ha!

below: Robbie and Calla. It's hard to believe they will both be in kindergarten next year. BOO HISS. Why does time have to go so fast?!

Ashley and I didn't linger too long after we were done eating. Things were getting "silly" fast. haha. We headed out of there at 6, which gave me enough time to get the kids into their pajamas and stories read by the time Daddy walked in the door at 7. He helped me put Kelsey and Jay to sleep. Calla was allowed to stay up a little bit to hang out with Stefani, who was coming to baby-sit while Jonathan and I went to small group.

I should have really paused to take some medicine or something, because at this point in the day I was nursing a horrible headache. But I thought perhaps it would go away once I left the house. I was able to get an hour and a half into small group before we had to leave early. My headache was just getting worse, so Jonathan drove me home and I went straight to bed (at 9:15..you know, three hours earlier than usual!). I didn't even say hi to Stef! Jonathan paid her and then I have no clue what time he went to bed. I think i fell asleep thirty seconds after my head hit the pillow.

Friday morning we didn't have anything on the schedule until 11am, when Kelsey takes gymnastics. I suggested that I make pancakes for the kids but that was received with a big thumbs down. They wanted cereal instead. Well, that's easy!

I let the three of them play in their pajamas until the last minute, when we really had to get ready to go. They had a fabulous time building blocks and playing "people"...the front room look like a tornado had gone through by 10am. Calla dutifully cleaned it up. Every time I threaten Kelsey with something like "help Calla clean it up or go lay in your bed" she ALWAYS picks "lay in your bed." So off she goes to her room where she lays in a bed like a big LAZY bum. Ha! We gotta work that laziness out of that girl sometime.

We headed out to gymnastics...I am not sure who enjoys it more, Calla or Kelsey. Kelsey Mae went running in to her little buddies. Calla, in the meantime, got started on her "schoolwork." She packed a schoolbag with activities and assignments for herself. Self-taught, you know. haha.

Jaybird hung out with the other little sibs in attendance. Kaia, Ben and Bridget are his little partners-in-crime. Jay and Kaia are a month apart and Ben and Bridget are a month apart (they were born in a "second wave" about three months after Jay) and it's just cute as can be to watch them toddle around together. I think 18-months is just a charming little age. Well, up until they want a sixth lollipop or something. Then it can get ugly.

Once gymnastics was over, we hurried out of there as fast as could be because Uncle Ben's game was beginning like five minutes ago. I had it taped, and so I quickly prepared lunch for everyone and set up a picnic before pushing "play."

below: picnic lunch! The kids thought this was a fabulous idea.

I took a break at halftime to put Jay down for a nap, but otherwise we were pretty much glued to the TV. It turned out it was Wisconsin's last game of the season. Boo. Jonathan and I really thought they had the potential to go really far in this year's NCAA tournament so it was a surprise they lost. We really enjoyed watching Uncle Ben play this year. It's weird to think next year is his last.

We tried to brighten our spirits after the loss. Well, the kids were unaffected but I thought it was pretty much a bummer. OH I forgot to mention that Friday when we woke up the house was unusually cold. like 65 degrees. Yikes! Jonathan arranged for a guy to come take a look at it, which he did while we were gone at gymnastics. He discovered we needed a part replaced, so he was due to return at dinnertime to fix it.

In the meantime, the temperature in the house went down to 60 which is just FRIGID. Kelsey and Calla read books under blankets on the couch for most of the afternoon. Jaybird must have embraced the chill because he took a three-hour nap in it.

I should have done some exercise or something to get warm, but instead I had another up of coffee. Oh well. Lost opportunities. By 4, my nose was seriously bright red and my hands felt icy. So as soon as Jay woke up, we headed to the sports center.

I had a hair-trim appointment set anyway, and it was just perfect timing. The kids could thaw out in the childcare while I sat in the spa. I realized pretty alarmingly that the last two times I've been to the sports center have been for spa purposes only, which sadly does not count for exercise. Do you think it helped that I ran down the hall to the spa because I was a little late for my hair cut? 15 calories lost.

Jonathan and I discussed our dinner plans via text during my hair appointment. The heat guy was going to be at the house, but it was still 60 degrees so I told him it would be nice not to eat there. ha. He suggested we go out to Red Robin as a family to surprise Stefani, our babysitter who works there. I thought that was a great plan.

My haircut was done by 5, so I picked up all the kids and headed home to pick up Daddy, who was just getting home from work. Then we drove to Red Robin for some dinner. The girls squealed with excitement when we pulled into the parking lot. There just isn't a more satisfying combination than Red Robin's delicious mac and cheese and a squeeze and hug from baby-sitter Stefani!

below: Daddy and the crew in the booth

 below: I found this later on my phone...it seems Kelsey has caught onto the whole "artistic-pics-of-my-food" trend. Nicely done girl

 below: Kelsey took this one of her sis. haha

below: Bird and Stefani! He watched his sisters go squealing and running into her arms and followed suit. Stef was so pleased (-:

 Nice tongue

 below: Cheering up Daddy after the sad Wisconsin loss.

 below: We think Bird is absolutely the best. All he has to do is stand there and smile and we swoon. ha

 Well it wasn't even 7pm when we finished up dinner. Bedtime for Bird was slated to be at 8 since he had taken such a marathon nap. So Daddy thought we'd stop at Chick-fil-A to split a milkshake. We were hoping the longer we were gone from home, the better the chance it'd be a decent temperature by the time we returned (it ended up being 65 when we got in..)

below: Jay being a comedian

 below: A totally unflattering shot of Mommy. Making a mental note not to let anyone watch me suck a milkshake. But look at Birdie Bird. He loves his shake. (And nice rooster hair in the back there Jay)

We got home by 7:45 or so and then started getting everyone to bed. We did "Resurrection Eggs" before bed. The kids read a story from Holy Week and open an egg that has a symbol from the story (for instance a little "donkey" is in the egg that corresponds with Palm Sunday). Mimi got us a kit last year but there are easy make-your-own ideas on Pinterest. (-:  We try to exclude Jaybird from "Resurrection Eggs" because he clearly just begs to play with the eggs. 

Here are some videos from Friday...

below: well, watch at your own risk because you may get motion-sickness. But I will give $5 to the person who can decipher what Kelsey says in this (we are watching Ben's game):

below: Early Friday morning, Calla woke up with a song in her heart. Worship songs do not discriminate against morning breath.