Day off school

We had a random day off school on the fifth of March.  Random because, it's not a holiday-well, it was my brothers 30th birthday, but I haven't heard him refer to his birthday as a holiday before.  And I don't know of any other reason but to just call it a day.  It turned out well for a day off, there was all sorts of snow.  So first thing, I sent the kids out to build snowmen.  Jack built some in honor of Calvin and Hobbes.  Bella and I built a mouse with Sophie.  I am glad I took pictures, because the neighborhood snowman slayer came and knocked them all over while we were having lunch.

 Then the kids and I went to the new local bowling alley.  A new bowling alley is a nice thing.  When I was little, my brother and I bowled league in a bowling alley that was a bit smelly and old.  This new bowling alley, aptly named Jack and Jill's, has new balls, new shoes, new chairs.  It's all lovely and bright.  The kids had a blast.  It was the first time Bella has bowled without the thing you roll the ball down.  She was pretty beat by our second game. 

After bowling we went on a wild goose chase for a new chair.  I am looking for something to go in the family room to use as a desk chair, but I don't really want wheels.  The kids were very patient, I was not.  By the end of the day I would have bought anything, but nothing was quite what I was looking for. 

Basketball-Season 1

Jack has really wanted to play basketball for a while.  Usually after Christmas I am ready for a break and am reluctant to sign them up for any sports until spring.  However, he finally wore me down and he got to play basketball.  It turned out good.  The practices were right before games, which I love.  The games were on Saturday mornings, barely making a dent in the schedule.  And he had a lot of fun.  There were a few kids from his class on his team, which hardly ever happens.  He is a great rebounder, and a great passer.  This officially marks us as year round for sports. 

New Carpet

When we moved in, almost five years ago, the carpet was pretty worn out.  Nate really liked it that way.  He said it was good not having to be careful about the carpet.  I did not concur on this point, but getting new carpet wasn't on the top of the list for a while.  Well, it slowly worked its way up and finally at the end of February, it was at the top and ready to be installed.  The end result has been so worth it.  I must say, we still haven't put the whole house back together yet.  I think I really don't want to.  I am liking the minimal stuff, lack of toys, and overall space. 

We did stay in a hotel the night before the installation.  The kids thought that was the greatest thing ever.  We went swimming, went out to eat, and enjoyed the large Belgian waffle breakfast. 

I am short, nonetheless, it was fun

A few weeks ago Nate and I went to a Jack's Mannequin concert downtown.   I took the pictures, and as you can see we aren't far from the stage-which is fun.  But of all the concerts we have been to, this one seemed to have more tall people than any other.  I was standing on my tippy toes with my arm as high as I could raise it.                








They played with a band called .fun.  The whole night was a great date!  What's the next concert on the list Nate?

Bear in the House

 

We are so proud of you Jack!  

Jack got his Bear Patch at the Blue and Gold Banquet last week!  He loves scouts and puts in a lot of hard work and effort.  We did a lot of work over Christmas break, I don't like being in a rush at the end, so even though he isn't old enough to be a Webelo yet, we have a few months of smooth sailing. 

Project Linus Quilts

We did some quilts for Project  Linus for Disney's Give a Day, Get a Day program they have up and running right now.  Each family member over the age of 6 needed to make a quilt.  So I taught Nate and the kids to sew a straight line.  Harder than you would think.  Jack likened sewing to driving a car.  Having to keep you eye on the fabric and keep track of pedal speed.  Bella loves to sew and would do it all the time.  Nate did great until he got toward the end, then he would panic a bit.  It was fun for me to watch and share some sewing with them. 

Storage-pros and cons

So, I spent most of the morning underneath the house in the crawl space.  I have been trying to get it organized so we can find what we need and of course, put more stuff down there.  While down there I started opening bins and making piles, stuff to keep, stuff to get rid of, stuff that goes somewhere else.  After hauling up several bags of stuff to get rid of, I wanted to just clear every thing out.  I mean, there is stuff that has been sitting in the same spot since we moved in almost five years ago.  And why have things around that we clearly don't use, and I didn't even realize we owned anymore.  What would we keep if we had no crawl space?

On the other hand, I love my crawl space for storing all the stuff we do use.  I try really hard to keep Bella's clothes sorted and ready to pull out when Sophie grows into each size.  I am really happy when I pull out a ready made wardrobe for the kid.  I do try and get rid of all stained or well worn stuff before I store, so pretty much everything is in really great condition.  I discovered today that when Bella wore a size 9 1/2 in shoes I bought her like fifteen pairs-either she was in that size for a long time, or I was indulging in my love of shoes more often than any other size she's been in.  Hopefully Sophie will be in the right season when she hits that size.  Either that or she will wear Mary Janes and boots all summer.  Along with a pair of barely used tap shoes. 

And I do love being able to have a nice food storage area, camping gear area, and general I don't know where else to put this area.  I just want to be better about not keeping around stuff that we never use.  Today, all the bins are labeled and contents checked.  I thought I might get around to installing the door, but that will have to wait for another day.  I think the main thing I need is the organization of it all, and we are edging closer to that.