March 2016

David spent his birthday, March 1st, in Japan. He has spent it in a lot of different places, but that was definitely the farthest away he's ever been. He really didn't have much time for getting out and taking pictures, but here are a few. He was only on the ground there like a day and a half and had to work most of that time, but it took him twice that long to get there and back.

He probably should have just stayed there, because he had to be in South Korea on March 6th. But, he came home on the 4th, just for Grace's 13th birthday party. I'm so glad he didn't miss her first teenage birthday. And, I can't believe we now have an official teenager in the house!

This is the first year Grace did not want a decorated cake. I was half sad and half relieved! I love decorating cakes for my kids and seeing what they want on them every year and how that changes. But, it is very time consuming and stressful too. So, when she asked for a simple Mexican chocolate cake that only takes me an hour to make, I knew bday week would be a much easier one this year. Growing up is so bittersweet. It certainly has been for Grace. She has been such an old soul all of her life anyway, being so smart and mature in ways, but she also has the heart of a preschooler and loves all the things a little kid loves. She has mourned leaving those things behind, and still refuses to leave some of them behind. 

Her party guests consisted of mainly boys, once again. So glad she is friends with boys who are so sweet and there doesn't seem to be a lot of "crushing" going on yet. She still just plays with them like she always has.

And, she really does love her little sister. Neither one wants to admit how much they depend on each other, but they do.

Time to blow out 13 candles.

 

Grace chose to take her friends to the archery range for a little archery tag game! She wanted to go laser tagging, but there are zero places to do it in Albuquerque. (Ok-there is one, but you can only sign up for 10 minute sessions... lame.) The kids were all pretty excited about the archery tag though. They've just started including archery in PE at school (even at the elementary level for Harriet), so they have all had some training on how to shoot a bow and arrow and know which eye is their dominant eye, etc. So, they were pretty good at hitting each other. 

haha- even David played with them...

Grace, Harriet, and BFF Kayla - they'll shoot your eye out!

The party was the night of March 4th, and David had to leave at like 4am on March 5th. Grace was afraid she wouldn't get to see him on her actual birthday. We ended up staying up so late on the 4th, that we made it to the 5th anyway. So, I got a pic of them heading to bed in the wee hours of her birthday. They are definitely March birthday buddies.

So, with David on a flight to Korea, the three of us decided to do whatever Grace wanted to do all day. She chose to take Stryder to the dog park and go to the guitar store and play the guitars all afternoon. What a funny kid. She's also loving her new Van Halen t-shirt that Melissa and Randy sent to her. Party on Garth!

That night, we invited David's parents and Christine to go to Chik-fil-a with us for a simple dinner. I started feeling a little off while we were eating, but I brushed it off as just being way too tired from the night before. Then, later, at bedtime, I started wheezing and feeling like I was having an allergic reaction - I could not draw a deep breath. Thinking I must have eaten something weird at chik-fil-a and developed some crazy food allergy... it got worse and worse and I was starting to really wonder if I should go to the ER. But, 11pm at night on Saturday night. David still on a flight to Korea, so I couldn't even call him. 2 kids home by themselves... I called Emily and asked her what to do since she is an ER nurse. She gave me the instructions for taking benadryl and waking myself up every couple of hours to take more, so I headed to bed hoping that I could get it under control. The next day I didn't feel quite as terrible and could breathe a lot better, but felt totally wiped out - again, another sleepless night with about 10 doses of benadryl, so I figured that was it. I even took the kids to church and went to primary (can't believe I went to primary!) I had no idea what I was in for. The minute I got home, I just tanked. I have never been so sick, even when I had mono. I couldn't imagine what it could be, I had gotten a flu shot, so it couldn't be the flu... I wasn't congested. I was just flat in bed as sick as a dog. Monday, I woke up convinced that it really did have to be the flu, so I managed to get the kids out the door to the buses, and dragged myself to a minute clinic for a flu test. Unreal - I had actual influenza A! I could not believe it! So much for the flu shot. GRRR. At least I caught it in time that I could still take tamiflu.  It wasn't a miracle drug, but it did take the edge off so that I didn't feel quite as deathly and I think I got over it a little quicker than I would have. David was in Korea for the entire week. I had zero help, and didn't want anyone to come near me anyway - obviously, it wasn't covered by the flu shot! The girls tried to be helpful and got themselves ready in the mornings and tried to dig up food to eat so I didn't have to touch what they were eating. David's mom did bring us dinner one night, which was so nice of her and so welcomed by the kids to have real food. My friend Lori texted me mid-week to ask if I needed anything from Costco. I didn't want to put her out and we were surviving, but the kitty box was in dire need of changing and I was out of kitty litter as I had planned to get some that week. She graciously brought me not one, but TWO bags of cat litter and dropped it on my porch along with a  roasted chicken. I am telling you, I have never been so grateful for a bag of cat litter and a roasted chicken and a friend who does exactly what you need. Man, it was a rough week. The kids kind of came apart one day after school. Grace went out to meet Harriet at the bus. I was in my bed upstairs where the window faces the front yard. I could hear them screaming at each other all the way down the street and then louder as they came in the house. I can't even remember what they started fighting about, but they went into the bathroom and started hitting each other. Harriet hit Grace's phone out of her hand and it dropped on the tile floor and chipped the screen. Grace was SO mad, she went to slap her upside the head, but missed and hit Harriet's glasses. The glasses hit and bruised Harriet's nose pretty bad. I took a picture of the phone and the nose and texted David and said "get home and take care of your kids!" I did not have one ounce of energy to get after them. We all look back on that week as a pretty bad one and now I always remember that I got the flu on Grace's birthday. So does she. Sorry Grace!

Later in the month... I spent so much time in Harriet's class this year. (Definitely- the reason I got the flu!) I was subbing for Mrs. Blaisure on spelling bee day. Harriet's good little friend and class-mate, Erin, won the spelling bee! Their class was such an adorable class full of good friends. I caught them in this pic, all hugging Erin in the middle. They were so excited for her!

Then, her class won a slushee party that week too. I could not adore these kids more.

And, later in the month, Harriet's cheer teem took the Grand Champion prize at the St. Pius cheer competition! What a great day that was and it was so fun to get this cute picture of all of them outside on the gorgeous St. Pius campus.

SO MUCH TIME AT THE SCHOOL. Harriet's gifted class read The One and Only Ivan and did a unit about animal cruelty. Their unit project was to create a t-shirt against animal cruelty and auction it off to raise money for a local animal shelter. 

 Of course, the kids all wanted their own t-shirts back, so pretty much, the parents all went and bid on their kid's shirt. But, in doing so, they raised $900 for Animal Humane of NM! They were pretty proud of it.

 

 They invited Animal Humane to come to their class to present their "check" (and envelope full of cash!) and do a presentation on what the money would be used for. The kids got a chance to wear and show their t-shirts to the presenters. It was a very cool experience for all of them.

Then to finish off the projects this month, all of the 4th grade classes combined to create a market after reading Lemonade War. They divided in to teams and each team had to create a business by selecting a product to sell, getting loans from parents to buy inventory and supplies, managing their money, selling their product, and then paying back their loans before calculating profit. Some teams did a better job at choosing a product that would sell and that they could price to make a profit. Harriet's team chose to sell jelly bracelets.  They didn't do very well at first, but in the end, they did make a profit and were able to pay back all of their parent loans and keep some of their earnings! It was a very real-life lesson in money and business.  I think it was this experience that helped Harriet make money selling her cookies last year. She figured out how hard she would have to work and how much supplies would cost and what she would have to charge to make a profit. 

I don't know why, but I love setting the table for a nice dinner. I think this was the table I set for an early Easter/late birthday dinner for Grace and David. Daffodils are my favorite in the spring and I love putting them in these blue vases. I know - I'm weird. I always take pictures of my tables. 

Usually, Harriet has to share her birthday month with Easter, but this year, Easter was in March! We decided to head to Denver to spend Easter with some cousins. March in Colorado or Utah can be very tricky. Sometimes it's spring, and sometimes it's still winter. This time, it was still winter. BRR!!! But, the kids and Stryder were pretty happy for the snow!

 We took the kids to the Denver science museum. They had a blast in the robotics exhibit.

 And, they liked the chocolate exhibit too ;) YUM!

 Janie and Harriet (and Jane and I) went for manicures.

 And, the Easter Bunny made his way through the snow to find these yahoos. There was a treasure hunt to find the Easter bags.

Then, we got them dressed up for church. Despite the snow, they all looked very springy!

 This might be my favorite picture of the 4 of them. They all look so happy and they are all dressed so well! (the smiles and dressing well is hard to come by at the same time with this crew who like to scowl, hide, and dress like homeless people.)

 When we came home from church, we discovered that the Easter bunny had left more eggs for a hunt!

And, there were some confetti eggs. Evan, I couldn't love you more, kid!

 I love it when the cousins all hole up in Evan's room and hang out together. Sneakers gets a little jealous that they are taking her time from her boy, but she's learned to share.

 On our way home from Easter in Denver, David had to stop for a day's work in Colorado Springs (what else is new?) So, we took advantage of the chance to see the Olympic Training Center. It was very cool and inspiring, and the kids were so excited because the Olympic Games would happen in just a few months that summer.

 I always wanted to ride my horse in the Olympics. Sigh. I was just short a few million dollars and giving up the rest of my life to do so. Harriet would love to be an Olympic gymnast too. But, we really don't step back and fully realize what people give up to be the best in their sport. Still, it is inspiring to watch someone who is so good at something that you love doing!

Haha... Stryder... we boarded him in Colorado Springs since we had taken him to Jane's house, but couldn't keep him with us at the hotel. This boarding place had live cameras so you could watch your dog play. We spent a while watching him hang with his doggie friends. He loves playing with other dogs! 

And that's a wrap, March!