Easter at Our House

This morning I was awoken by an anxious three-year-old trying in vain to get her dress on. Of course, she had grabbed the wrong blue dress and hadn't had her bath yet, so I helped her out of the dress and into the tub. As I was bathing her, I talked to her about what Easter means. As I finished talking about Jesus rising from the dead she said, "And He's coming again!" I guess she has been listening to all the times we've spoken of it before!

The kids were all very eager to wear their new clothes so they dressed right away. Anna has a very pretty blue dress made by Grandma Litwiller, along with a matching purse, hat, doll dress, and doll diaper. She's was simply adorable in her ensemble and I even allowed her to take the doll to church since she had an Easter dress, too :) The boys had new shirts and ties. They flip-flopped their colors from last year and looked just as handsome. I realized this morning I had nothing new for Easter, so I just threw on something spring-ish.

Ben and Matthew tried to make breakfast this morning for all of us. Ben made the toast and did just fine, but Matthew had some serious trouble with the scrambled eggs. Namely, he didn't pour the eggs into the pan, but rather all over the stove. Rob hastily cleaned it up and helped Matthew start all over again. It turned out good anyway :)

I worked in the nursery this morning during Sunday school and Rob was at desk, so we missed the big Sunday school breakfast. As it turned out, the 3-year-old teacher and her crew brought in breakfast for the nursery workers! She said she was tired of not being an adult :) I made sure I was covered when I needed to leave for choir because we sang "Worthy is the Lamb" from The Messiah. I haven't sung that since college and I just love The Messiah!!

We had a big lunch when we came home (ham, escalloped potatoes--Rob's grandma's recipe, green beans, rolls, and fruit). After stuffing the kids with food, we had our egg hunt. The kids painted eggs the day before and we hid them around the living and dining rooms, along with the two chocolate bunnies Matthew won in the egg hunt yesterday, and a bunch of beach toys. We bought a big kit of them since I plan to take the kids to the beach a lot this summer. And, we also bought them the third Narnia movie, which we enjoyed this afternoon. I was a good mommy and let them rip right into the bunnies and devour them. After all, what's a holiday without a good candy gorge??

They have been happily playing inside and outside all afternoon and we'll head back to church this evening. That is, if I can wake up Rob. He's out like a log on the couch.

The Egg Hunt

This morning we got up bright and early for an Easter Egg Hunt at Pick 'n Save, our local grocery store. The hunt started at 7:30 to avoid the shoppers, I suppose, but there were plenty of people shopping already! The kids were so excited that they woke me up at 5:50am. I promptly sent them back to bed :) Rob decided to join us even though he doesn't get home from work until after midnight. He said he needed a shopping cart and free coffee to keep him upright, though.

I couldn't find their Easter baskets, so they went with an odd assortment of containers. Anna had a bunny purse my mom had sent her during a previous Easter, Ben used his Halloween pumpkin, and Matthew grabbed a plastic grocery sack. We headed over to the freezer section to wait for the hunt. Rob decided to do our grocery shopping and come over when it started.

The kids were divided into age groups and of course, mine were in three different sections. I deposited Anna in the 2-3 group and then helped the boys find their aisles. I pushed my way back to Anna to help her, but the parents were not allowed into the aisles with the kids. Unfortunately, most of the parents didn't get the hint to move aside and let the kids through! I used my big voice to part the way for the little kids behind us and helped shove them past the moms who couldn't take a hint. They had Hershey eggs scattered all over the floor along with a few plastic eggs.

Once it began, the kids went crazy grabbing eggs. I had a friend of mine who is six foot eight take a picture of Anna's group since I couldn't see past the wall of parents. I then hurried to take pics of Ben and Matthew's groups, who were already almost done! I got back to Anna's group and the wall of parents had moved forward. That group took the longest to pick up the eggs. They weren't in a hurry, I guess!

I went back and found the boys. Matthew and I had talked a little stratgey and I told him to quickly get past the big crowd and move toward the back. He found three of the plastic eggs, each of which earned him a big prize! He got a jump rope, two chocolate bunnies, and two big packages of Oreos. We now know for next year to go for the plastic eggs :)

And since they have so much chocolate I don't think Mom and Dad need to buy them any at all! Good thing, because it just occured to me last night that I hadn't bought any presents for them. I have their cards done, of course, but nothing else. We'll see what Rob and I come up with for tomorrow :)

Matthew at the Dentist

At Matthew's last dental visit we found out that he has three cavities. One of them is in a tooth that he's likely to lose pretty soon so the dentist wants to wait a while before filling that one. The other two are in the back and won't come out in the near future, so he needed them filled. At that appointment, the hygenist showed him the gas mask he would have to wear and explained what would happen.

Today he woke up a bit nervous and kept saying that he wished the appointment was in the morning. Poor guy...he knew it wouldn't be fun! We decided it would be best for Rob to take him since Rob could hold him down if necessary. I would have to pick Matthew up since the appt was very close to the time Rob had to go to work. (And the nice part about that is that the dental office is on the edge of town, so Rob had less traffic to deal with on his way to work.)

The other two and I decided to get a nice distracting present for Matthew since we thought he'd be all loopy and sore. We went to Family Video and found the latest Lego Wii game (based on Star Wars' The Clone Wars) and two of the free kids videos. We then headed to the dental office, but did not have to wait long. Rob came shooting out and left for work with Matthew close behind him. Apparently, Matthew did NOT want the gas and just did the two fillings with no shot and no gas! He said it didn't hurt at all, only stung a little at one point. I can't believe my child who hates doctors and needles was so brave. He's a little sore right now, so I gave him some Tylenol and he had some soft mac 'n cheese and a milk shake for supper.

I'm just so proud of him!

Stonefire Pizza

Rob had today off from Bass, so we decided to make good on a month-old promise to the kids and went to Stonefire Pizza for lunch. If you've been to Chuck E. Cheese and Dave 'n Busters, just put the two together and that's where we were! We took off around 9:45 and got there a little early, so we had to wait. Remember waiting for things to open when you were a kid?? I have to say waiting is much easier on this side of things :) The kids got to see a bit of the place from the waiting area, which only whet their appetite for more. We decided to take a walk around before lunch and found LOADS to do. The place was enormous. There was a large arcade with both video games and games that spit out tickets. In that area was a ride, bumper cars, and Ball City. Ball City is where the boys spent the majority of their time, and here's why: It's a three-story high structure filled with nerf-like balls and guns and cannons to shoot the balls from. We couldn't believe how amazing it was! And there was a slide from the third story down to the first. Watching the boys was like watching Rob and I in this thing. Matthew (mini-me) ran from thing to thing, trying each one and getting more and more excited as he went along. (I saw many happy dances as he discovered each new ball gun.) Ben (or mini-Rob) took his time and really explored each gun/cannon. It was so funny to watch him figure out the cannon. While Matthew loaded and pelted Ben with balls from the second story, Ben meticulously loaded the cannon, figured out how to aim it, and blasted Matthew with about 10 balls all at once. There were three dining rooms and we opted to eat in the one that Matthew described this way, "It's like eating inside the Children's museum!" Besides tables and chairs, there were a number of small playrooms, all visible from the eating area. Anna had her pick of a water play area, train table, face painting, play pizza parlor, and a McDonald's-style play structure. Of course the boys were young enough to play with all of it too, but Anna is the one who played there the longest. And then there was the food! Huge buffet filled with all types of food, including about 10 different types of pizza. We had plenty to eat as well as a sundae bar for dessert. Due to the expense of the place, we opted to pay for lunch (of course) and VIP braclets so the boys could do the three big activities in the game room. Today they had a $5 special for the bracelets and the boys made full use of them! We weren't sure if Anna would like the ball room or the one ride she's tall enough for, but I think she'll do it next time. Rob almost paid to join the boys in the ball room!! So we had a fabulous time exploring a new place. The boys are ready to go back tomorrow. I'm thinking maybe in July for MJ's birthday....maybe.... :) And I'm sorry my posts have been nothing but huge paragraphs...I can't figure out why they are posting this way.

Our Week with Job #2

Rob started his job at Bass this week which meant we had to start getting used to a whole new schedule. He works on weekdays from 10-2 and one day on the weekends. The weekdays will change, but at least we know the hours for them. This week he worked every day but Tuesday and then Sat 12-4. Next week he'll work on Sunday instead of Saturday and I'll see if I'm ready to brave sitting with all three of the kids by myself in church that night. Rob was running around like a madman at times, but the schedule really isn't so bad. Once his chiropractic appointments are over with (2 more weeks!) the mornings will be much calmer. This week he works Mon, Wed, and Thurs, so there are two days "off" from Bass as well as Saturday off. I have a workshop scheduled for Saturday, so I'm thankful that I don't have to hire a babysitter, especially since it would be short notice. The kids and I are adjusting to our Daddy-less days as well. When I redid our daily schedule, I put all of the schooling between 10-2 so that they would be more distracted during that time and with Rob when he's home. That's been working pretty well. I have noticed that all three of them have been crankier than usual this week, but I'm hoping that lightens up as they adjust. I've been crankier as well, but I think I'll get over it too :) I think the most interesting issue arose on Thursday. Back in February, before Rob was laid off, I scheduled a 31 party. (31 is a company that sells purses, totes, storage items, etc.) I love, love, LOVE their products and knew I needed a party so I did not spend our entire tax return on bags. When Rob got his evening job I lost my child-distractor for the evening. Rob normally takes the kids to McDonald's to play when I have events. I decided to see how the kids would do on their own. I have a monthly card night so they will have to entertain themselves. Yeah. This test run proved they need a bit more training. They did okay, but kept coming downstairs to tell me they were bored. Nine million different toys to play with and they are bored. And then they wanted snacks. And later Anna decided to spray water all over the bathroom. I let them come down toward the end and play with the baby and toddler that were there, but they got more and more wild as the evening progressed. The 31 consultant told me she let herself out so I could put them to bed. Thankfully she's a mom and completely understood my plight. And after all of that, when I was ready to shop, I realized I had packed up my catalog with her stuff. I just about cried. So, I need to strategize for Friday when I have my card class. I don't want to hire a teenager to stay up there with them b/c I can't afford babysitters all the time...I'd rather they learned how to behave. Suggestions are more than welcome! I'm hoping to have a better week simply because we will be more used to what's going on. If there's anything I have learned in 35 years of living it's that humans can get used to anything and we all crave normalcy in our lives. I know the Lord will help us slip into a new routine.

One Week Down

We have lived on Rob's new work schedule for one week now and it has been interesting, to say the least. We're all tired, but that is to be expected. Rob is enjoying the work, although it is hard work, but he's learning quite a bit. It sounds like they may be training him on more of the machining quicker than anticipated and he starts learning forklift driving next week. Can't wait to hear how that one goes! He will start at Bass this next week so we're really not done getting used to our new schedule. Oh, and we did find out he's making a dollar more per hour than originally quoted, which is a major praise. The kids and I have been adjusting to life without Daddy in the evenings. It has been especially hard on Matthew, who really misses having Daddy put him to bed. I decided not to do anything the same as Rob so I can just do my own thing with them in the evenings. We have been reading through the Moody family series (written by Sarah Maxwell) and are almost finished with the most recent book. It's about a homeschooling family and the kids just love it. I read a chapter each night and now I'm reading to them upstairs while they're in bed instead of downstairs. Then instead of a family prayer, I have them each say their own prayers. It's been sweet to hear the things that are on their little hearts. I have had a hard time going to bed w/o Rob here. I had been trying to get to sleep a little earlier each night, but last night I ended up watching a movie and not getting to bed until Rob came home at 12:30am. I blame him entirely for that because HE'S the one who checked the movie out from the library. :) I have been enjoying my extended stamp time in the evenings, but with Sale-a-bration coming to a close, I did more business things than stamp. I hit my highest sales month ever in March and will be able to make the van payment from my earnings. Woo-hoo! Our daily schedule had some changes, mainly that family devotions is after breakfast instead of before bed. Schooltime is now when Rob would be working at Bass. I will have to flip flop the boys. Right now, Ben has school before lunch and Matthew after. Matthew seesms to tired to focus well and Ben is too wired to sit still. I did them opposite on Thursday and that seemed to work much better. I'm sure I'll be tweaking more of the schedule as we go along. The only one who seems relatively unaffected by the changes is Anna. She's just the same, sweet, bouncy little girl she always is. She got some tiny princess dolls for her birthday and has been very busy changing their clothes, as well as diapering her babies with the diapers Grandma Litwiller made for her. The kids and I have had some fun in the evenings. I took them to the park both Wednesday and Thursday to enjoy the nicer weather. We even took a picnic supper with us on Thurs and bread to feed the ducks. All three of them are expert duck feeders and had a grand time. So we'll see what this new week brings with Rob's new schedule.