2017 Week 14

Sunday, April 2

Elaina engaged in some early morning crafting today: she made herself a wolf hat and accompanying tail. We had a busy afternoon outside, which included relocating two apple trees and planting six new purple raspberries. The girls each got to plant three, and then they decorated them with various dandelions, forsythia flowers, and grass. It was a busy, successful day!

Monday, April 3
Today was supposed to be soccer practice day, but after it rained almost all day and turned quite cold, it was cancelled. The rainy, cold afternoon was not a loss, however. Josh's new amplifier came in the mail, and the girls entertained themselves by playing in the boxes. So funny to me, since it seems like something much younger children would do. I love that they're not totally big girls just yet.

Tuesday, April 4
Tonight Josh and I spent some time messing around with the new flash for our camera. Yuna proved herself to be a worthy portrait subject.

Wednesday, April 5

 The weather this week has been decidedly unfriendly--cold, windy, and wet. When the skies finally dried for a bit, I noticed how pretty all the new green was against the grey. It cheered me to see spring really settling in--even if it didn't feel like it, it looked the part.

Thursday, April 6
Today the girls had make up soccer practice, and while the sun was finally shining, the temperatures had not yet rebounded (not to mention ridiculous wind). I wore a 3/4 length t-shirt, my Bears hoodie, a fleece, and my coat, and I was still cold. The girls seemed to pay little mind to it. Rita braved the cold for awhile to watch practice, and the girls were pretty excited to see another friendly face on the field.

Friday, April 6
Today the weather finally warmed and we were able to spend time together outside after dinner. The girls entertained themselves by doing summersaults down the ditch and collecting flowers (Elaina even discovered a rainbow!), while Josh and I walked around admiring the blooms on the peach trees (growintonicebigpeachespleaseandthankyou) and the other life coming back into our yard. When we came back inside, he put on a "rock show" for the girls with his new amp. They loved it. Yuna did not.

Saturday, April 8
Today was a busy, fun day. The girls had their first soccer games, which was a lot of fun. They participated well, and Elaina was complimented for her hustle. The weather was also much nicer, meaning we didn't turn into human icicles while we watched. Afterwards, we came home for lunch and some relaxation, and then Rita came and picked the girls up for a sleepover. Josh and I took advantage of our adult-only time by grocery shopping alone, and then running several errands and having a nice dinner out on the town. With sunny skies and highs close to 70, it was a pretty perfect day!

2017 Week 13

Sunday, March 26

Today started off on a very cute note, with the girls enjoying some cartoons while snuggled under a blanket. The rest of the day was something of a whirlwind, which included stops to get the girls shin guards and socks for soccer and bulk supplies from Costco. (Unfortunately, it also included a very rough parenting moment for Elaina, which is why she wasn't in the picture modeling her new shin guards, too.) We finished the weekend with a viewing of 101 Dalmatians, and thankfully, that seemed to even things out for everyone.

Monday, March 27
Today was a day of lasts and firsts. My dear friend Susan had her retirement party this afternoon at work. She was my first cube mate and my walking buddy. I'll miss her, but I'm so happy for the fun she's got to look forward to! After work, the girls got ready for their first soccer practice. I admit I was a little skeptical when they chose soccer as their sport this spring, but they really, really enjoyed their practice, despite the cold, mud, and drizzle. And you can't deny how cute they looked dressed up for it :) Here's to a successful first season!

Tuesday, March 28
Work and workout schedules have been hectic lately. I went to the gym right after work, and Josh, who had to work late, went after dinner. The girls and I enjoyed an episode of Cake Wars while he was gone. They were also kind enough to embellish the arrangement of daffodils I'd added to the kitchen table a few days earlier. (I love that they see dandelions as beautiful flowers--even weeds should get some love every now and then.)

Wednesday, March 29
After work, Josh and I gathered the girls up to meet my folks in Galesburg. The girls were on Spring Break, so we thought it'd be a nice opportunity for them to get some quality Gramma and Pampah time in. Before we left, we let Elaina have the book she ordered. She was so, so excited to take it with her and read it for the 10,00th time :) I would have loved to have gotten a picture of the girls and their grandparents at dinner, but it turned out to be a series of unfortunate events which, while I won't spend the time to chronicle here, means that we will never be darkening the door of the Galesburg Steak 'n Shake again.

Thursday, March 30
Since we decided to take Friday as a vacation day, today was our Friday. What this meant was hitting up the gym, making a meal we knew the girls wouldn't have liked (they were safely being spoiled by their grandparents--turns out we didn't like the meal we made, either--ha!), and vegging just long enough to decide to watch a movie. I had my obligatory bowl of popcorn and M&Ms while we watched Monty Python's Life of Brian. I thought it was meh, and despite the fondness for it he remembered having in high school, so did Josh. Still, though, when you know you don't have to go to work the next day, all sorts of things become more bearable.

Friday, March 31
Our much-anticipated day off got off to a great start, which included sleeping in to the unheard of hour of almost 8:30. We had planned to spend the day working in the yard, but the rain and cold forced us to reconsider. Turns out it wasn't such a bad thing to have to do :) We relaxed in the morning, had an early lunch of gross leftovers, and then headed to Peoria to run a couple of errands. We came home, had an afternoon coffee and some Maury (day off guilty pleasure), and then headed back out for our evening. First stop was at RedBox to get Silence, then we were off to Peoria. We went to 8Bit, which is a beercade--pay for a drink, and play all the old, fun arcade games you want. We went a few rounds with Street Fighter, Mortal Combat, and Centipede, to name a few, before walking to Kelleher's for dinner. Josh got a 50/50 burger (half ground beef, half ground bacon) and I had a crab cake sandwich, which was delightful. We came home and watched Silence, which we both agreed was a solid but unsuccessful attempt at portraying a novel that really must be read instead of seen. All in all, it was a great day.

Saturday, April 1
We met Mom and Dad in Canton for a quick lunch and to retrieve the girls, who had had a wonderful time but who had missed us almost as much as we had missed them. The late nights at Gramma and Pampah's caught up with Ellie, who napped hard on Daddy's lap after we had spent some time outside when we got home. After dinner, Elaina helped me pull some tree saplings out of our tomato box, which she then fashioned into a jump rope. Gotta love creativity and pleasure in simple things :)

2017 Week 12

Sunday March 19
Today seemed to be one spent almost entirely in the kitchen. In the morning, I made the Guinness brownies I've been eyeballing for at least seven years (they were completely worth the wait), and I made lemon buttercream to go with the rainbow cupcakes. After the baking extravaganza, we introduced the girls to Mary Poppins, which they very much enjoyed. Then we headed to Josh's folks for feasting on cabbage rolls, my sundry desserts, and an obligatory viewing of Darby O'Gill and the Little People. With that, St. Patrick's Day was complete!

Elaina opted for a brownie, a decision she did not regret!

Monday, March 20
Well, the first day of Spring quite literally came in with a bang, when a strong storm came through around 2:45am. I woke with a start, and eventually the hail woke the girls and they found their way to our room. Elaina was content to sleep in Ellie's bed, so when I stumbled my way back to our room, I looked out the window to watch the storm and saw the grass was covered with hail. By the time I left for work, the hail in the middle of the yard was gone, but it was still covering our flower beds. 4.5 inches of snow last week...hail this week...maybe next week will be 80 degrees and sunny!

Tuesday, March 21
Tonight was the girls' spring program at school. The theme was "The Box"--all about imagination. Mom and Dad came up for it, and thankfully, because we got to the school early, we scored some pretty good seats. The performances were adorable as expected, and the hard work really paid off.

Wednesday, March 22

Perhaps inspired by her performance the night before, Ellie sat down at the piano after dinner and pounded out some tunes. I came and sat with her and used by incredibly lacking skills to tap out a few songs she requested, plus a few that were in the piano books in the bench. We took a stab at playing "Heart and Soul" together, and I'm optimistic that, if given a few more practices, we could be quite a duo. Meanwhile, Elaina counted out money for a book she checked out from the library and loved. We told her if she had saved enough of her allowance, she could buy it. A happier child never existed as when she found out she indeed had enough to make her coveted purchase.

Thursday, March 23
Today the girls requested nail treatments (one pedicure and one manicure, respectively), so I happily obliged them while we watched some NCAA Tournament basketball.

Friday, March 24
Today was beautiful. Work has been stressful lately--really, really stressful. But today the load lightened a bit. Josh and I got to go out for lunch. And when the day was over, the weather was warm enough for flip flops and shorts. The girls bounded off the bus in great moods and instantly wanted to change into summer wear. We played in the yard and then, after dinner, did the only reasonable thing we could do--hopped in the car for a trip to Dairy Queen and the park. I am definitely ready for more spring days like this!

Saturday, March 25
Our beautiful weather left us in a hurry, and we woke up to a glum, rainy day. Thankfully, Josh had planned an event for us that made the day much less dreary. We took the girls to see Disney on Ice as an appetite whetter for Disney World later this year. They had a great time and really enjoyed the show. They also got to experience the willpower of their mother and father who, when confronted with $12 snocones in Mickey cups, gently reminded them that the experience was worth far more than any trinket they could bring home.  Thankfully, by the end of it, they agreed.