It's On....Like Donkey Kong

Guess who I picked up from the airport yesterday?  Let the summer adventures begin!

Seven Things I've Learned This Week of VBS

1.

Never schedule anything else during VBS week.

2.

Marley needs a solid half hour of blankie time before expecting her to do anything else after lunch without crying.

3.

Never tell the kids you're not going to stay for the whole intro to VBS.  Crying jags ensue.

4.

After learning your lesson from number 3, quietly sneak out once you see all their buddies have shown up and they don't care if you're there anymore.

5.

Even if there's an 80% chance of rain that day, still put sunscreen on them.

6.

Saying that you're going to redo the kitchen and actually redoing the kitchen are two completely different things.

7.

Even though I've been feeding the gym illness, there is such a thing as burnout.  I've been trying to go twice a day...switching up classes and routines, and I'm beat.  There will be no gym for me tomorrow.  You might find me working on the kitchen.  

All the wallpaper is off!

Wordless Wednesday

Summer Slavin'

Things have been happening.  This week is no different.  VBS starts Monday.  This should be a good thing except Marley has had a fever since Thursday.  Technically, I shouldn't let her go tomorrow since she clocked in at 100.9 before bed.  Kids should be fever free for 24 hours is what I always heard.  BUT, she's acting perfectly fine and normal.  I also heard that you really only need worry if they're acting different or lethargic with the temp.  Then again, there are people with immune system problems, and I would be putting them at risk, but would said people be at VBS in the first place?  And therefore, she'll go...unless she wakes up with 103 like she did this morning.  

We have something after VBS EVERY.DAY.THIS.WEEK. except for Friday.  I would say I've just gotta get through this week, but ugh...I'm so sick of just getting through.  I need to enjoy things more.  I learned this on a Logan date this weekend.  We went to see The Lego Movie, and Logan chose to go with me.  I think he felt sorry for me because the girls chose to go with daddy.  Anyway, I am not the fun parent.  The kids know this.  So I'm going to try and get better at that.  I think I need to start in the moment.  Besides, who wouldn't want to spend some time with this?

Strawberries!

Seven Quick Takes Friday

1.

Logan finished his first chapter book ever.  Normally I read out loud to him, and I think Rory might have read a chapter or two to him, but he read this on his own.  He's so proud of himself.

2.

My summer schooling plan is going smoothly.  That's nice.  My summer at home plan is not going as smoothly.  I had all these great expectations...as usual.  

3.

T- Minus 1 week and one day until VBS.  I am NOT volunteering this year.  I am going to be at the gym for three hours straight every morning for a week.  Just kidding...it won't be that extreme, but I will be getting some sweet gym time.

4.

Kaelyn had her first trip away from home for a while by herself.  I've been keeping up with texting her every morning and evening to make sure she's alive. I think she's having a really good time.

5.

About the counting down...my seester will be here at the end of the month.  Let the fun begin!  She can't stay as long, so we'll have to cramp a lot in to a little time.  

6.

Sometime during their stay, I have a retreat.  It's a good thing and a bad.  It happens while they're here taking away one of our weekends, but it's a silent retreat for Carmel.  Oh my.  I wouldn't even know what to do with myself.  I will have my own room in a seminary with Mass, Adoration, talks from priests, and I don't have to talk to anyone.  Be still my introverted heart!

7.

While Kaelyn's been at the beach, Rory's been sleeping in her room.  Except for a few weary first nights, I think she's comfortable now right when Kaelyn's due back tomorrow.  Meanwhile in the old room, Marley's sleeping in Logan's bed and Logan's sleeping in Rory's.  This puts Marley on the top bunk and Logan on the loft.  I think tomorrow, we're going to try Rory in Marley's bed.  I think this might work since Rory gets up earlier than the other two and wakes them up on her way down.  Then we're going to try Logan on the bottom bunk because he's loud and thumps out of bed every morning.  Maybe if he didn't have so far to go, it would be quieter and he wouldn't wake everyone else.  Who knows?  For right now, they're all excited about the bed switching prospect.

Remember that movie Scream?  I look like that mask!

Wordless Wednesday

Summertime and the Livin' is Easy

Whew!  I have gotten through the last event before summer could officially start.  We had a fundraiser for our co-op Friday evening.  Remember?  I was on the decorating committee?  I started out that morning at the head decorator's house.  I was under the assumption that the idea for the centerpieces was already known, and we would just be assembling.  WRONG!  She had all these different elements on the table and asked what I could come up with.  

We ended up wrapping candles with bamboo and then wrapping a white ribbon with a gold ribbon around that.  We placed them in glass bowls and vases and put little clear glass balls (and those things that you soak in water and they fill up) in each.  We finished it off with some ribbon wrapped at the bottom of each bowl/vase.  

The room was U.G.L.Y. and it had no alibi.  We did the best we could wrapping the poles in tulle, but it was still ugly.  Then we hung more paper lanterns than I want to remember.  There were only two people tall enough to hang them from the ceiling standing on a chair.  We had no ladder.  It was painful, but it all came together better than any of us thought it would.

We were supposed to start with Mass at 6p, but apparently there were two accidents and a broken down tractor trailer blocking guests and the priest/speaker from arriving.  We started an hour late, but after that little kerfuffle, everything went off without a hitch.

Since the talk was about marriage, Fr. Leo decided to renew everyone's vows at the dinner.  For some reason, this had everyone in tears.  I don't know what was different about this one than the one they do every Valentine's Day at church, but there wasn't a dry eye in the joint (except for maybe the teenager wait staff).  It was powerful...obviously.

It was a great night filled with fun and conversation.  Kevin made a new friend who was as angry at Maryland's gun laws as Kevin.  They were fast friends.  And thus starts our summer vacation.  That was the last thing I had to get through before I could really take a breath.  Right now there's not anything looming, and that's feels great!  

The only pictures I got were how the room turned out.  Bummer!

Seven Quick Takes

So much going on...

1.

Kaelyn had court for her accident on Tuesday.  Did I tell you about the accident?  It was a while ago, and Kaelyn's car barely made it out alive.  Kevin has it running so far, but we still need to fix the body damage.  She can barely open and close her door, and it rains inside the car when it rains.  It's public knowledge that if the people of the accident don't show up, then the case is normally dismissed.  The cop at the accident told Kaelyn and the other people as much.  They both still showed.  :/  Kaelyn was so nervous, and I felt so bad for her.  The only reason for the other people involved to be there was to ensure Kaelyn did not get off from this ticket.  The judge called her up, told her she was not guilty, and said she was free to go.  She didn't have to say one word.  It was an amazing miracle that none of us were expecting.  Praise God!

2.

The next day was Marley's surgery to get all her teeth worked on, just like we did with Logan a couple years back.  I just went back in the blog and didn't see anything about Logan's surgery.  I thought I blogged it.  Maybe not.  Anyway, we were stuck in traffic and got there late.  Marley wanted nothing to do with me and was all about daddy.  They gave her a sedative, and she started to loosen up.  Once they were ready to take her back to the operating room, she wouldn't let go of Kevin.  He finally got her on the bed and they started to wheel her away.  I didn't even get to give her a kiss.  :(  We waited for about two and a half hours.  I was starting to freak a little, but right when I was about to break, the doc came out.  Marley did great.  She got seven crowns!  They have bad teeth and small mouths.  We brush and floss.  Don't judge.  She's hurting a bit today and hate the spacer they put in for the tooth they pulled a while back.  Hopefully she gets used to it all soon.  Until then, it's a routine of Tylenol, Motrin, Tylenol, Motrin.  Poor thing!
3.
We have officially started up school.  Everyone is reading and doing math.  I've decided Rory and Logan are going to learn their math facts this summer if it kills me, and Marley is going to learn how to read.  So far so good.  It's a light schedule, and we're normally done by noon.
4. 
I have started the kitchen project.  I've been wanting to redo the kitchen for a while now and actually got some things for my birthday last year for it.  I just haven't had time to start it.  I still don't know how it's going to turn out because I don't have a decorating bone in my body, but it should be interesting.  I know I want the colors blue and red.  I just don't know if I'm hip enough to pull it off without designer help.
5.
We have our co-op fundraiser tomorrow, and ironically enough, I'm on the decorating committee.  I signed up for it thinking that someone would just be telling me what to do, and I would do it.  I'm a good worker bee, and that's about all I bring to the decorating committee.  Tomorrow morning I am heading to a co-op mom's house to arrange center pieces for the tables.  I'm hoping I'll be able to pull it off.  Then it's to a playdate and out to decorate the hall for the dinner.  Please pray for my insanity.
6.
The countdown is on for the seester summer invasion.  They'll be here at the end of the month.  Yay!!!!  We have many ideas planned, and I think one of those will be a day at the beach again.  This time, I'm not going to tell the kids when we're going.  That way they won't be up at 4am excited to go.  
7.
I was pretty upset over Marley's surgery.  I had a bad feeling about it and thought maybe she wouldn't make it out of it.  Horrible thoughts consumed me while I cried to Kevin and my seester and my mom.  I don't know why, but it was almost a nervous breakdown.  My friend told me to pray to Momma Mary for peace.  I did and while I calmed down some, there was still anxiety.  While I was sitting in the waiting room, I smelled Kevin...his scent I guess you could say.  It was calming and reassuring.  I'm sure he'll be happy to hear this since he remembered deodorant that day.  We held hands and had that unspeakable connection of comforting...him comforting me at least.  This morning in Adoration I thanked God for that very thing...amongst all the other situations this week to be grateful for.  It's nice to be blogging about nice things happening to us.  Here's hoping for more to come.

Roll Call...

Before the sedative..

After the sedative...

before

after

I know it's little progress with just taking the border down, but that thing is 14 years old and is putting up a heck of a fight!

Father/Daughter Dance

The father/daughter dance happened a while ago, and I never posted about it.  I don't remember much except that they were home late!  They had a great time.  

Marley's bedtime is 7p.  This night they didn't get home until 1030p.  :O  They had a little auction, and the girls won two of the baskets but gave one of them to their friends.  I think this will start a new tradition for them.