A "Fancy" Anniversary

Just look at this man.  His face alone is reason enough for why I have been so attracted to him for all these years.  To be fair, I'm pretty sure I didn't look so great either.

Since our anniversary and Father's Day were both on the 21st, we celebrated our anniversary a day early.  We went all out and bought a small smorgasbord of desserts from a local bakery and had a game night at home.  I am embarrassed to say that Ben won every single game. 

Father's Day was awesome but I still feel guilty about it.  We made Ben a great breakfast and the kids had made some cute things for him (including the video), but he ended up making his own dinner because for special occasions he always requests dutch oven dinners.  My outdoor cooking skills are basically non-existent so that means that Ben has to do it himself.  Plus, I have a feeling that even if I did know how to cook dutch oven, Ben would still want to do it himself anyway.  So he went out back to our fire pit in the extreme heat and cooked away.

We have had a serious heat wave in NC this month.  Almost every day for the past few weeks the temperatures have been sitting around 100 give or take a few degrees.  We made a bucket list as soon as school was done and one of the things the kids wanted to do was go to the park.  Worried about my heart, I told them we had to go early in the morning.  We arrived around 9 AM and we only lasted about 30 minutes because it was 85 and huuuuuuumid.  

P.S. I should have made a video of Ella on this thing.  It was hilarious.  But this picture will have to suffice.

P.P.S.  Check out how she puts on her flip flops.  In this picture she did a decent job because only one of the flip-flops is put on weird.  Each day it's fun to see how she puts them on.

Ben

Today is both our 8th anniversary and Father's Day.  If I'm going to be honest, there is no one I'd rather double-celebrate more in the whole world than Ben.  I could go on and on about him, but I'll just tell a quick story that summarizes Ben really well.

Over the years we have come to learn that working from home is awesome and terrible.  Most of the time it's awesome, but there are the few times when it's really inconvenient for the rest of the family.  Have you ever tried to convince a toddler not to throw a loud tantrum in a room next to where your husband has an important presentation in a WebEx?  No?  I'll just tell you, it's not very fun.  I don't know how many times I've heard Ben through the door saying, "Sorry, that's just one of my kids."

But for the most part, I love having Ben around during the day.  I have my best friend at home and we get to talk all day long.  There are some nap times when I need to run a kid-free errand and I can.  It's as simple and awesome as that.

But the biggest perk is when I'm starting to struggle with my patience.  Most days are fun and the kids and I come up with great things to do, and other days are full of responsibility and the kids want extra attention and I can't deliver.  Some days things break, tempers flare, tantrums fire, and the world becomes a darker place.

One day a couple of weeks ago, I was having one of those bad days.  The kids had worn my patience thin and no matter how many times I talked with them, it seemed like they wouldn't listen and would then make the excuse that they "forgot" when they repeated the same mistakes over and over.  The kids and I had just arrived home from somewhere and I quickly made them lunch and then disappeared because I was at my breaking point.  I told Ben my code phrase: "I'm going to the bathroom."  Unless we're out in public, he knows that this means, "I need a break."  Oftentimes, Ben jokingly responds, "Okay, see ya in a half hour."  Most of the time that's a joke, but sometimes it's a reality, depending on the day.

That particular day, I think I really did spend 20-30 minutes locked up in the bathroom because that's how long it took to calm myself.  After feeling guilty about being in there so long, I came out -- not fully calmed down -- to find that no one was around.  It was quiet.  As I walked around the downstairs I heard a really quiet voice upstairs.  I heard Ben singing Popcorn Popping and Once There Was a Snowman to a giggling Ella.  Lily and Skyler were in their separate rooms for quiet time and Thad was just put down for his nap.  Ben was singing to Ella as a way to stall for me because, if you know Ella, you know that I'm the only one who's allowed to put on her naptime diapers, buckle her into her booster, say personal prayers with her, and tuck her in.  But there he was, just singing and keeping her happy, not even once coming to tell me that he was waiting.

That was a very Ben thing to do.  It's the norm, not the exception, and that's one of the reasons why I love him so much.  He makes up for what I so often lack.

In honor of Ben, a month and a half ago when he was at a camporee with his scouts, the kids and I made our first ever video together.  I asked the kids dozens of questions about Ben (everything from "What music does Daddy listen to in the car?" Their answer: Shake It Off -- to "What time does Daddy wake up in the morning?" Their answer: 2 AM).  With the dozens of answers, the kids were able to come up with a little screenplay of their own.  So please, sit back and enjoy "A Day in the Life of Daddy."

Beginning of Summer Break

Monday was the kids' last day of public school.  I cried about it because their school was amazing.  Their teachers and specialists were great.  Lily's speech therapist was incredible.  Fortunately Lily tested out of speech therapy at the perfect time.  It has all come together.  But let it be known that there are two things I will most definitely not miss: 1) the ridiculous curricula that teachers are forced to use, and 2) those few kids who are horrible to your kids.

As you can imagine, I've felt all kinds of different emotions, but I won't bore you with all that.  I'll just say that we're all in for a big adjustment and I am so excited to start homeschooling!  (I won't bore you with all the hours I've put into lesson planning.  The education major in me is really coming out and I feel like I have to hide my enthusiasm about all this because something as ridiculous as 2nd grade math excites me!)

But I am making sure that the kids are getting their well-earned summer break.

 

Thad has decided to become blonde.  So everyone who usually says, "He looks like Skyler," are now saying, "He really looks like Skyler."

This is what happened when I told him it was time to go upstairs for his nap.

On another note, I should mention that I make him promise me daily that he will stay little forever.

The other day I told the kids we were going to do yoga.  In typical "But Mooooooom" fashion, they weren't too thrilled.  But then I popped youtube up on the TV, Lily and Skyler were like, "Oh I love this!  We do this all the time at school!"  Skyler then told me as I was doing my poses that I was doing them wrong, but it was okay because it was only my first time.

And can I say how much I love being able to capture all 4 of them like this in the same picture without them posing for me?  This is what so much of my day looks like and I love it.  So often I forget that I need to invite the kids' friends over to play because they are truly each other's best friends.  I won't ever forget when I was tucking Ella in bed for her nap and she told me sadly that she just wanted to play with her friends.  I told her that she'd get to see them the next day in nursery.  She looked at me funny and said, "No, Mom.  Lily's my friend."

This past Friday night I went to a girls' night out with some friends.  We went to an awesome Asian restaurant.  I naturally ordered Thai but almost everyone else ordered sushi.  I've only tried sushi once and it was a terrible experience.  But one of my friends told me that that wasn't normal and she made me try some of hers.  It was amazing!  We then went to see Jurassic World (which was also amazing, coming from a Jurassic Park fan).  

I was so in love with the sushi that the next morning I woke up and convinced Ben we needed to go on a date at the same place.  My dad was kind enough to watch the kids while we went and tried it again.  We got 3 non-shellfish sushi rolls so that Ben wouldn't go into anaphylactic shock, but I was selfish and bought one roll for myself that had crab.  It was all so good!  I am so glad that I had friends who convinced me to give sushi another try.  Then we were finally able to see the Avengers.  Ben and I usually only go to the non-dollar-movie-theater once or twice a year, and I did it two days in a row.  Craziness.

I survived Yes Day 2015

Last year I tried an experiment with Skyler.  I had a "Yes Day" in which I decided that I would say yes to everything he wanted to do, eat, play, etc. (You can read about it HERE.)  I decided this would be a once a year thing and since Monday was the last day of school, I thought that Tuesday would be a perfect Yes Day.

I told the kids a day in advance so that they could get ideas of what they wanted to do... and boy did they deliver.  We didn't have time to do everything on their list *cough* cut down another tree *cough* but we hit almost everything!

Breakfast was at Dunkin Donuts.  There was a slight altercation over whether we should go to Krispey Kreme or Dunkin, but the rule was that they all had to agree on something together to get me to say yes.  Finally they all agreed.

(Them agreeing on one thing was another skill I was hoping would be learned during Yes Day)

Ella's still not aware that you're allowed to eat more than the sprinkles and icing.

One thing I knew they would request was going to the pool.  It was fun, but not as much fun as when Ben gets to join us.

Thaddeo does not like being held in the pool.  The day the pool opened I jokingly told him to kick and he's tried to be independent since then.  So if I end up in the hospital from a heart attack, you'll know it wasn't the secret nap time ice cream that killed me.

After the pool came lunch time.  Here we are getting ready to go to Chik-fil-a.

Lily and Skyler quietly requested not to have quiet time after lunch.  When the babies nap these two always go to different rooms upstairs to read, play, nap, etc.  This way we all end up with alone time and everyone is much happier at the end of the day.  But yesterday we had a water balloon fight -- just the 3 of us.

Then we washed the cars.  Clearly, when I say we washed the cars I actually mean that I washed the cars and Lily and Skyler sprayed each other with the hose.

What isn't pictured is that Lily, Skyler, and I went back to the pool until the babies' naps were done (Ben was working from home).  If only y'all could see my sunburned face and the sweet farmer's tan I got from my sunglasses.  Later that night I kept shivering and realized that I had a low-grade fever from my sunburn... nice....

The day ended with them eating waffles for dinner in front of the TV -- such a rare treat!  (Dinner in front of the TV is rare, not the waffles for dinner.... Ben could tell you all about it...)

Let me be honest, this Yes Day was not nearly as awesome as it was last year.  It's probably because I had to say yes to 4 kids instead of 1.  There were several times in my head where I thought to myself something to the effect of, "Kill me now."  But I'm proud to say that I persisted through it and took a breather when I needed to.  At the end of the day Ben told me he was surprised that I decided to do it the first day of vacation.  I had to be honest, last year it helped me get out of the automatic "no's" and made me realize that saying yes to things isn't a big deal.  Half the time when I say no it's because it's necessary, the other half is out of convenience for myself.  I want to be the mom who makes good memories for my kids, not the mom who brushes away opportunities because they're not appealing to me.

That said, I'm so happy it is no longer Yes Day and that it won't be for another year.  Now, I think I should make the kids have a Yes Day for me!!!  Wouldn't that be a trick?!  :)

Lily's Cake Decorating Party

Lily's b-day isn't until the 24th.  But long story short, we celebrated it 18 days early.  I gave her 4 options for party themes and she chose a cake decorating party.  Naturally, I went to the biggest party expert I know -- Pinterest -- and planned the entire thing.

I knew this party would include 2 of my least favorite things:

1.  Cake Decorating

2.  Sewing

I knew I would want each girl to have her own apron.  This way their clothes would be protected and it would be a cute party favor.  I went to go look at fabric, completely dreading the idea of sewing up 9 aprons, and as I was looking and budgeting a price in my head (I thought I could make each for about $8 plus a little of my sanity) the spirit told me to go home and look online again.  I had already shopped around and I didn't find any cute adult sized aprons that came even close to $8.  

But I listened and obeyed (because, hello, Heavenly Father knows how much I hate sewing and He loves me) and I found them.  In China.  $3 each with free international shipping.  I was a little nervous because it sounded too good to be true and there were limited reviews.  But $27 and 12 days later, our 9 aprons arrived at our doorstep.  I was thrilled!  In case you're curious as to where I bought them, you can find their website HERE.  I cannot even tell you what a blessing this was!  

I did all the baking and the frosting while Ben took charge of the fondant.  We used April's marshmallow fondant recipe and we definitely were rookies with it!  Let's just say that I learned how much Ben loves Lily with all the energy he put into his fondant that got really hard overnight.  The cake stands were candlesticks super glued to plates (all from the Dollar Tree) and spray painted.  

As I was talking to my Dad last night at 9:30 PM I remembered that, oh yeah, I still hadn't made the cupcakes that the kids would be eating.  If that's any kind of indication of what my week has looked like....

So cute! 

I helped the girls who wanted to airbrush their cakes, but they were all in charge of their piping and candy add ons.

Skyler's Jackson Pollock cake.  Maybe he'll make tons of money off of it by calling it an abstract expressionistic cake.

 This toddler is go, go, go all the time but he never seemed to wake up today.  At one point he was playing in the backyard and I saw him try to come up the stairs and give up, lie down, and try to fall asleep.

Ella, on the other hand, wanted to be the life of the party and was very depressed when she was put down for her nap halfway through the party.

Poor Skyler, Ella, and Thad didn't have room at the dining room table to eat with everyone else so they were forced to eat on the deck. 

Every birthday party is more work than I expect, but this one really did turn out cute.  The girls all had such a good time and each of their cakes were unique and beautiful.  I think it was all a dream come true for Lily.  It was totally up her alley.

Happy (almost) 7th birthday, Lily!

Thad and Ella's Newest Development

Let it be known that a few days ago I caught Ella and Thad watching Jake and the Neverland Pirates like this.  I then tiptoed to my camera to preserve evidence for all eternity that they were indeed within inches of each other -- and smiling.

Whaaaaaaat?

Then the next day I caught them doing it again.  And then they actually played together.

Y'all, I'm not exactly sure what has happened.  Have the stars aligned?  Have pigs started flying?  All I know is that Ella has killed her alter ego Grumpy Cat, and Thad has (partially) put aside his role as the stereotypical obnoxious little brother.  Today as I was prepping for Lily's birthday party, they were playing tag and giggling their hearts out and I couldn't bring myself to put them down for their naps.  Naptime --the most beautiful time of the day -- and I couldn't do it.

Oh, y'all.  Can I just give everyone a cyber squeeze right now?

Next goal on the list: teach Thad that you cannot breathe water and that, despite what he thinks, he cannot swim by himself even when he's wearing a puddle jumper and kicking his legs.  The kid isn't even 2 and he already has no value of his life!