flip flop memories

For spring break I planned one thing – a play date for Cole with a friend that is in school all day so they don’t get to play often. My girlfriend invited me and the rest of my troop along so we could all enjoy an afternoon, so I was looking forward to nice day as well.

So that was going to be it and I almost felt sad about how low key things were going to be. However, this year we have a new baby, yucky weather, and Tim is taking off time to spend with his dad, so it seemed like the wrong time to over plan things.

So far, our week has been anything but ordinary. Monday the kids got a  lot of time to just hang out and play. That’s good because they really wanted that and it was fun to see them all play so well together. Knowing the harmony wouldn’t last more than a day, I was thrilled when Dad called to see what we were doing Tuesday – he wanted to go to the museum for the afternoon.

When you go with four kids and your Dad, you don’t cover a lot of territory at the museum, but you get lots of time to watch your kids learn in action. The day was a great extension from school because we covered all the things that they are talking about in their classroom – We saw the butterflies (in school they are watching a tad pole turn into a frog), we saw the dinasours (this was the unit they just finished before the break), and we went to the planatarium (both Cole and Anna are working on making maps of the solar system). We also went into the European Village where I left Dad alone with the kids and went to change Grace’s diaper. When I came back everyone – especially Anna was wet. I heard a long story about a fountain and Papa – so we’ll chalk that up as bonding time papa style (if you know my dad you will understand water fights = boding, so it all makes sense). We finished the day with dinner at Sazes where my kids behaved like little gems and no one spilt their milk – so I considered it a huge success.

Yesterday, I dropped two kids off at their friends in the middle of a huge slush storm. I ran Truman and Grace up to my Mom’s and made it back to the south side of town to have lunch with my girlfriend. After a fun playdate and some mom time, we headed home to meet Tim and off we went to the Indian’s game. It was so much fun! We had great seats and the kids who were actually there for the sausage races watched and even enjoyed the game. Anna didn’t pick a team to cheer for until she was sure she knew who was going to win – and was so excited when the Angles proved her right. Cole, who decided that we ought to cheer for the home team was alright with the loss because he and dad clearly called the Italian Sausage and were happy enough with that win. It was a fun April night that seemed like an adventure with all the snow and slush.

Today we are going to gather the troops – including cousin Ella and hang out here for an sleep over. Some of my best memories are of staying over night with my cousins, so I love that my kids are starting this fun tradition. Friday night I am headed out for mom’s night out and Saturday is supposed to be sunny! Not to be too “polly anna” about the whole thing, but I have to say, for a week that I was afraid was going to be a total flop – it’s turing out to be pretty memorable even if in the future, I’m the only one who remembers it.