April started off with Easter, and listening to General Conference. We dyed Easter eggs, and I found this volcano kit at Walmart. The kids got a kick out of the vinegar/baking soda reaction.
Another day the girls got these cupcakes from pre-school. (April is the month of the military child, so it was in celebration of that.) The purple frosting was wild. And I really wished I could eat a cupcake myself. I don't know why they just seemed so appealing, but for the most part I stuck with my keto diet the whole month of April.
And this was a different day, different treat.
I took the kids to Walmart after Easter, and we found some cool stuff on clearance. This Easter "gingerbread house" kit was only a few dollars, and entertained my kids for an afternoon. The faces Siena is making just kill me.
Another note about that trip to Walmart... the real reason we went was to get Tiago's passport picture taken. (His previous passport only has 6 months left on it, and we're traveling this summer.) I assumed that passport pictures would be the correct size, but after getting the pictures, going to the post office for the application appointment, and waiting a few weeks, we got a letter back in the mail saying his face wasn't the right size. Seriously?! So I went back to Walmart (with my own ruler) and told them they needed to take another picture for free. They took a picture, and when I measured it, I told them it was 1mm too big and I needed another one. FINALLY we got a picture we could use. Then I mailed it in the same day and stressed out for another two weeks that it would delay the whole process and we wouldn't have it back in time. (It takes 4-6 weeks, and I had originally applied with about 7 weeks before we moved. I didn't know if that photo glitch would push it longer than the original time frame.) Luckily, it showed up a few days ago, so it wasn't worth stressing about. But really Walmart... I've never had to measure my own pictures before (6+ passports), but now I know.
The pediatrician told us to take the girls in for an eye appointment, so we did. (Turns out it wasn't necessary, but that particular pediatrician is always referring people.) They dilated the girls' eyes, which made them SO SO SO mad. Then we had to wait 30 minutes for the appointment. The saving grace was that at the end they got these cheapo sunglasses and Tiago was loving it. (No eye problems.)
I dropped the kids off one afternoon for day care. I got a call an hour later that I needed to come pick up Mila because she had diarrhea. She was SO happy about life, though, and I think she felt special getting to come with me for an hour before we went back to pick up Siena and Tiago. Mila and Siena spent quite a bit of the month sick with digestive problems. I'm sure their diet doesn't help... (goldfish, chocolate, bread, bananas). I took this picture of her because they put on Tiago's spare pair of pants that were in the backpack, and I thought she looked so cute.
Red Robbin sent me a free coupon for a meal for my birthday, so I braved a restaurant with the kids by myself. I ordered them a kids meal (meatballs, with breadsticks that looked like pretzels) and the only thing they wanted to eat was the breadsticks. It was a bit ridiculous to feed 3 kids on one meal, and still have leftovers. I completely enjoyed my keto-complient burger. And Siena's face:
These frenemies have given me a run for my money. Usually at bedtime Siena is tired and lays down to sleep, and Mila ends up trying to lay on top of her for the next 30 minutes, leading to screaming and crying on both parts. This night, I went to check on them and found them so peaceful next to each other I had to take a picture. Totally worth the risk I ran of waking them up.
We've been going to the library almost weekly. Also, my kids like to wear their rainboots everywhere, including to church. Shoes have been such a fight lately (with the girls) that I get to a point where I don't care what is on their feet as long as we can leave the house.
I made a keto cheesecake. It was awesome. Not much to look at, but so delicious.
My kids asked to go to Focus on the Family Visitors Center. We drove 30 minutes up there, only to be told they were closing early. (?!) So instead, we spent a few hours walking through a shopping area. (That part of town has all the good stores!) The kids were good sports. We drove back the next morning when the visitors center was actually open.
The girls have been enjoying preschool. They come home with fun art.
My mom came to visit. My dad was supposed to fly out with her, but booked his ticket for the following weekend, so we got visitors two weekends in a row. I took this picture of Siena while we waited for my mom's plane to land. They were so thrilled to see her! I couldn't believe it, but it snowed on the whole drive to the airport, in mid-April. After we picked her up, she dropped me off at the temple and took the kids to Chikfilet. Great trade-off.
We didn't have much luck with things being open. We tried to go to a Space Discovery Museum, but it was closed randomly for a week, so we visited the nearby Garden of the Gods Visitors Center, which we'd never been to. It was mildly entertaining, but had a fun movie (expensive..) that we got to see.
Lately I feel like all my phone pictures were looking like this-- cute but blurry. That prompted me to recently buy a new phone because who wants a years worth of blurry pictures! Luckily the next one from my mom's phone turned out (slightly) better.
Bowling was more fun with a second adult around to help.
And we went back a different day for the Space museum. We also went to the indoor swimming pool another day. So much fun when visitors come!
My dad's visit was really quick (arrived Saturday afternoon and was gone before we were awake on Monday morning.) But we enjoyed him on Sunday! Plus, he watched my kids for me while I ran to a baptism Saturday evening. (We had 3 baptisms within about 9 days for kids in my primary class. It was fun to bring my kids to the other two. They hadn't seen a baptism before.)
In Primary the kids went to the front to practice the Mothers Day song. It was so adorable. Tiago actually sang, and knew the words quite well. I think he's overcome his fear. (I remember once last year when the primary kids went to the front to sing. He didn't move his mouth the entire time. And that was progress from him not wanting to go up at all.) The girls on the other hand have always been dying to participate in that kind of thing.
We walked to the park after church. Tiago got lazy and didn't want to ride his bike home. I was NOT happy. But Grandpa was a bit more compassionate and put his belt to good use. Only made more complicated by the fact that the girls wanted to help pull. I swore we would never make it home.
Tiago's school had a picnic day for families to come visit. The weather was nice, and the kids like Tiago's school better than their own. I'm happy to say all Tiago's behavioral issues from last fall have gone away, and he's done great at pre-school.
Tiago is a great big brother. At the gym there is a huge play area for kids. The girls have always been just too short to climb up by themselves, so he volunteers to lift them up each level.
We spent several hours one Saturday enjoying America the Beautiful park. It was warm, but cloudy, which was a winning combo. Plus, an older girl thought my kids were cute and played with them for over an hour. They were in heaven with all the attention. I got to sit and listen to my parenting audio book. (I need all the help I can get.)
This was ridiculous: one night at bedtime Tiago said he was hungry. (Per usual, because he never eats dinner.) I told him he could go eat a piece of bread. Instead, he showed up with a piece of chocolate in each hand. (Uncle Matt's chocolates, which he brought on his last visit.) I told him he could eat them and then go brush his teeth. He went into his room, and things got very quiet. I went in and found the chocolate melted ALL over him, with most of it still in his hand. So, so messy but also so hilarious. And he didn't even wake up while I cleaned the whole mess up.
The middle school is right by our house and the kids always point out this eagle. They got so excited one afternoon when we walked to it.
And a last note about the Keto diet. I didn't do any before/after pictures, but I snapped this picture one Sunday of me because a family picture with the same dress has been hanging on our wall for 2 years. I wanted to see the difference-- and I was happy to see a noticeable change. It's been a long journey, but I'm happy where I am.
One highlight of April was that a friend offered to watch my girls so I could go to the temple. I told her I'd never say no to that offer! So I quickly found someone to get Tiago off the bus after school and enjoyed a temple trip with another sister from the branch. My friend acted like it was no big deal, but it was one of the nicest gestures! I hoped she'd get the same temple blessings for having watched our kids that we got for being there.
Another friend moved recently, so a big group of sisters from the branch went out for dinner. That was a blast, mostly because I had a babysitter and got to relax for a few hours in the company of other adults! What a rarity.
And I turned 32 (!) in April. I knew I wouldn't have much going on, so I invited people over for lunch. The best part was that the kids that came all played together nicely for about two hours.
Mom thrills: getting breaks from the kids. haha! I feel the same way.
ReplyDeleteAnd let me know if you ever find any great parenting books! I like Brene Brown's stuff b/c she's nice and I don't feel guilty reading her stuff. ;)
ReplyDelete