Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Spring Break and Such...



it's a curious science, the ebb and flo of emotion. some days are sunshine and daisies. some are lint balls and raisins. we've been undulating between the two.

but this week is spring break and, so help me, we are having fun. we are making memories. we are putting dull on the shelf.

sunday evening we popped popcorn and watched mary poppins. i was kind of surprised (and delighted) by how much the kids loved it. we've all been humming tunes from the movie ever since. my favorite is to watch lily twirl around and sing "chim-chiminee, chim-chiminee."

monday morning we went out for breakfast. the kids tried to walk out the emergency exit; the waitress gave us stern looks about it. our breakfast date steadily declined from there and by the time we left, i was more than ready to go home! but it was fun to shake up the morning routine. and henry loved his big-foot breakfast :) i invited several people for dinner monday night, but they all declined. it ended up working out nicely, though, because i found out one of my good friends was really sick, so we took dinner to their family. nate worked late (as he does most nights) so i let the kids get in bed with me. we read armfuls of stories. when my grandma moved here she gave us a big box of her old children's books. such a treasure! we are having fun discovering charming old classics. and while we read, i love to imagine my dad as a little boy, and my grandma a young mother, enjoying the same stories we're loving now. we made our way through a hefty stack of classics and then, keeping with the mary poppins theme, i sang the kids to sleep. they don't surrender quickly, so when my voice got tired I just hummed. i don't sound quite as good as julie andrews, but the children didn't seem to mind :) and watching them nod and drift off to sleep did good things to my heart.

yesterday morning gave us sunshine! the kids and i went for a hike with mimi & halley. hiking is maybe my favorite thing to do; it felt so good to be outside. the valley views were gorgeous. henry was a super trooper. lily didn't love being in the pack, but overall, it was a memorable outing. the happymeal bribe helped the children keep their spirits up on the long descent.

today's off to a good start - i woke up to cheerful chatter in the kids room; henry was reading to lily. totally precious. the kids helped me unload the dishwasher (cheerfully!) we had eggies and toast for breakfast. then the littles disappeared to the playroom...and here i am with a little pocket of quiet, wanting to scratch down some of the recent haps.

first, i would like to mention lily's latest hilarious doll-naming: Reelexa. sounds like a prescription drug, doesn't it? "side effects for reelexa may include dry mouth, headaches, dizziness, nausea, constipation..."
i wish you could hear lily say Reelexa. it's darling. and so funny.

the other day henry asked nate if he could guess which person in his class is obsessed with justin beiber. nate guessed marisol (the only girl in henry's class that nate knows by name).
nope! henry told him. it's someone else.
i don't know, nate told henry, i think i'm going to need a clue.
here dad, i'll give you three choices and you guess which one loves justin bieber. is it marisol, edith or douglas?

oh my goodness did we laugh about that. hmmmmm...edith or douglas (the most rough and tumble boy's boy in class)? hahahahaha!

nate and i have struggled to find a tolerable equilibrium in the craziness of tax season. he's been telling me for weeks now, "i'm out of town. you just have to pretend i'm out of town." that's hard to do. last night he wrapped up early (9:45 pm) and we spent a few hours together. it was rejuvenating. it will be nice to see more of him after april 15th. really nice.

i think we'll head to michael's today to get supplies for a few art projects we're going to do together. we've got playdates planned for this afternoon and tomorrow morning. we're excited for the BYU game tomorrow night - i'm sure we'll make a party of it. and who knows what the weekend will bring...i haven't thought that far ahead yet :) maybe a date with our accountant. he's pretty cute.

4 comments:

  1. I loved the little stories that made up this post! I need to "put dull on the shelf", as you said it, and do some fun things with the kids. Dave's been working longer hours at work too, although not as much as Nate...wow! I find myself being more ornery than usual and I need to take something from this post and try to make our lives more exciting. You are such a cute mom Em!

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  2. LOL! "Lint balls and raisins." One more reason why I love you to pieces Em.

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  3. Sunshine and daisies, and lint balls and raisins...ahh, I know that roller coaster all too well. Why is it so hard to just stay even sometimes? I'm thinking about you. I know it's hard to have your husband gone so much, harder than you know, until you've been through it! You can do it Em! Talk to you soon!

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  4. I am just so impressed that you hiked with that big pack on your back! That is impressive. I get tired from carrying around my little(ish) Ollie in his little pack.

    Wishing you more sunshine!

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