Our Family Adventure

Last week I was a bit under the weather so Dave took the kids to Family Reading Night.  Apparently they ate a bunch of junk, did some crafts, and listened to some stories and all around had a great time.  I stayed home on the couch and watched TV.

On Saturday, I was still not feeling great so I bummed around and did next to nothing.  By extension the rest of the family also bummed around and did chores, but nothing too exciting.

On Sunday, we all got up early and headed to Ann Arbor for Shamrocks and Shenanigans it was 20 degrees out!!).   The kids ran the 1K and had a great time.  Ajax lined up with the 8-9 yrs old with me right behind him and Noomi and Dave were behind us in the next wave for younger kids.  Ajax ran the entire race!  I was shocked.  I was a bit behind him and matched his pace and thought for sure he’d putter out, but he didn’t and he did excellent!  Noomi was terribly shy and embarrassed by all the people lining the streets cheering, so she refused to run very much and kept hiding her face in Dave’s leg.

After the run we watched the 5K group line up and take off.  We all cheered and enjoyed watching the runners in all their green flare.  Afterwards we had brunch at a local diner (Fleetwood).  The diner had a ton of stickers on the wall and the server tasked the kids with finding Sponge Bob.  That kept them entertained while we waited for our food!  We then drifted around downtown for a bit and hit up a comic book shop.   We actually had to hang a bit longer since I inadvertently parked us on the run route and we ended up getting blocked in LOL!

Anyways, it was a great day and we can’t wait to run next year!  Ajax has committed to the 5K and hopefully Noomi will embrace the 1K!

First pinewood derby in the books for our troop!  Noomi and Dave spent hours one it (well Dave spent hours and then Noomi lost interest).  Noomi named it “Meatball Crusher” and picked out teal paint.  Because she lost interest we couldn’t get her to really decorate it.  Ajax offered multiple times to draw a bear on it, but Noomi declined.

For some reason we were all expecting a small little affair with a simple plastic track set up in the elementary school gym.  When we got there, however, we saw computers and timing equipment, trophies, the works.  I was worried Noomi would be too shy to participate, but she did just fine, if a little reserved.  The Meatball Crusher came in 21 out of 24 and Dave vows to do better next year.  Noomi received a participation medal and honestly she was beyond thrilled.  I had to bribe her to take it off before getting into the bathtub.

It seems we’re past the snow days here and heading into the unknown days of weird highs and rainy lows.  I guess that’s just Michigan.

We’ve been pretty busy, hence the neglected blog.  To play catch up here-  Girl Scouts are in full cookie mode.  Noomi sold over 100 boxes across the state meaning we had to divide up – Noomi and I headed east and Dave and Ajax headed west to deliver them all.  Although it was a crazy hectic day, it was nice visiting friends and family around Metro!  It also means cookie booths at the local grocery store, which has been quite an experience.  Noomi hasn’t particularly enjoyed that job and to be honest it’s quite hard for me not to buy even more cookies.

The kids are both still swimming swimming!  They both just advanced and we couldn’t be prouder.  Ajax has hinted that he wants to be done with it, but then when he’s at class and swimming he loves it.  We also did dinner out with a movie last weekend in town, a ridiculously cute family movie (with a little rabbit and talking pig _ based on Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit).  Everyone in the theater was cracking up but for some reason it scared Noomi who began crying.  We tried.

There was also the first Daddy-Daughter dance this past Friday and it was incredibly cute.  Dave picked up a corsage and Noomi picked out Dave’s outfit.   They had a great time with lots of dancing.  Ajax and I hung at home and watched a movie and played Settlers of Catan.  

Ajax was well enough to go to school today (he’d been fever free for 2 days and had an appetite again).  He was also starting to go a bit stir crazy in the house.  While being sick his main concern was that he wouldn’t be able to attend his class party today. Well crisis averted!  Noomi was also happy that Ajax was feeling better as she was concerned about him being home sick.

I drove the kids to school since both had morning parties.  Ajax’s party was first. I’ve been a bit busy so I cheated and bought frozen, fully cooked sausage.  I threw them in the crockpot this morning and then we were out the door.  Ajax’s party was very nice, the kids were all polite and ate a ton.  Afterwards, I went to Noomi’s party and her’s was also an adorable party.

After her party I did a bit of PTSA work and then was able to have lunch with both kids.  I was worried I would embarrass Ajax so I asked if it was ok if I had lunch with him, if he wanted me to stay. And he enthusiastically said yes he wanted me to stay and no he wasn’t embarrassed.   Noomi’s young enough where I wasn’t worried about embarrassing her.  As a matter of fact we had difficulty because all the kids wanted to sit next to me, so I ended up squatting behind Noomi’s chair so that I could talk to everyone.

I had some treats for the kids when they got home and then an easy spaghetti dinner (their favorite).  Dave was late getting home as he had to go pick up over 100 Girl Scout cookies.  Should be lots of fun distributing them!

Weekend roundup.

Last week, Ajax stayed the night over his friends house.  Noomi was a bit out of sorts without her brother, but she enjoyed staying up late with us and watching TV (she also had a friend’s birthday party the following day so that helped even things out).  Ajax did great at his friend’s and we picked him up in the morning before swim class.  Both kids did great at swim class.  Ajax is continuing to advance with his strokes, and Noomi advanced to the next class.

This past week the kids had 2 snow days.  Two.   We’re finally getting a real winter and it’s been a while.  The kids have enjoyed all the snow and sledding, though Noomi keeps losing her gloves.

Today, I took Noomi with her girl scout troop to the Breslin Center to see an MSU Women’s basketball game.  We weren’t quite sure what to expect, but we ended up having a great time.   When we got home, Ajax had a 104 temperature, so I took him to Urgent Care and the Doctor confirmed it was the flu. First time we’ve had the flu at our house!  So Dave bought him ice cream and red Gatorade, and it looks like he’s going to have a week home on the couch.  Ajax is quite bummed as he may miss his Valentine’s Day party this week.  We’ll see how he does poor little guy.

Well we’re just here in mid-Michigan in late January chillin’ in some 50 degree weather.

On Saturday, we took the kids to swim class.  Noomi is doing awesome with her backstroke and is almost able to swim.  Ajax is also doing great, he can swim and is working on his side-breath.  He is also learning the kicks for butterfly and breast stroke.  After class, we did a bit of running. We went to the mall and the kids got to play on those large trampolines attached to bungee cords.  They had a blast.

We also hit up the Oriental Market in E. Lansing.  I wanted some red bean dumplings and while we were there we also let the kid pick out a few things.  Ajax picked out a strawberry drink and Noomi chose a donut making/decorating kit.   Noomi was very proud of her homemade donuts, she ate one and Ajax tried one, but he said they were inedible.

On Sunday, our day was very quiet.  We kicked it around the house and had an early dinner.  We decided to go for a walk, since the weather was so nice.  When we got home, however, the door to our house was locked.  Apparently one of the kids on the way out hit the lock.  We had to call a locksmith and then hung out at the neighbors for a half hour.   We finally got into our house around 7 pm.  Argh.  $85 bucks later and many tears we’re still unsure which kid locked the door.

Another week in the books and another busy time in our home.

On Thursday, I stayed home with Ajax who was feeling a bit under the weather.  I called the school to inform them he wouldn’t be in and the secretary, Nancy, shared a story with me.  She said that on Wednesday Ajax had been in the office complaining about a sore throat. She offered to take his temperature because he seemed warm. Ajax said that – actually he runs warm because when his mom was pregnant she ate a lot of spicy food.  Nancy was cracking up and couldn’t wait to tell me about it.  It’s so funny because I always tell Ajax that he runs warm (because he does) and I have told him that it was because I ate a lot of spicy Thai food when I was pregnant!  Hilarious!

On Thursday night, Noomi asked me to paint her nails because on Friday she was attending her first performance at the Wharton Center.  She laid out a dress for the occasion and was so excited.  She saw “Dragons Love Tacos” and had a great time.   She couldn’t wait to tell us all about it!

 

This was a pretty quiet weekend.

The kids had a 1/2 day on Friday. Dave worked from home and it’s so nice that the kids are old enough to come home and chill quietly while Dave works.   On Saturday we took the kids to swim class as usual.  While we were waiting for class we watched as a swimmer leaned over and threw up in the pool.  Right now the flu is running rampant in the area and has taken quite a few people out.  The instructors informed us that the next class (our class) would continue just as soon as they skimmed and shocked the pool.  As we watched we became queasy and eventually just rescheduled the swim lesson.

The rest of our Saturday was quiet – the kids and I played outside. The snow was perfect for packing so we were able to make some awesome snowman and Ajax made a neat chair and footrest.  We explored through the woods and found some neat swag for our snowmen.

At dinner we also had an exciting game of Settlers of Catan.   I actually won, I never win, so that was cool.  Ajax was a close second and did great, for such a complex game, and Dave rounded out third.  Noomi was my helper/banker.

On Sunday, the kids had their makeup swim class.  We wrapped up some homework.   Ajax worked on math and Noomi worked on her biographical timeline.   We then met my folks and Emily and Adrian for dinner in Lansing.   Overall, a pleasant and calm weekend.

It seems like Michigan is finally getting a real winter.  It’s been cold and icy with plenty of snow.  I mean it is Michigan so we shouldn’t complain, but it’s been so cold that the kids can’t even be outside long in it, which means we’re all stuck inside.

Last week Friday the kids had a snow day.  Dave was working from home, so they had a day home with dad. I had to go into work and it took me over an hour to get into the office. Not much fun, but there you go.

Our weekend was pretty quiet and very relaxing.  I’ve been cooking more and more with my Instant Pot and loving it.  We went to swim class and did a few minor errands, but that was it.

On Monday, I had the day off as did the kids since it was MLK Day.  I took them to Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn and we walked around for about an hour and a half. It was pretty crowded so that was about all we could take.  Afterwards we picked up some pizzas and headed to my Aunt Lisa’s house for a visit. The kids played with my cousin Logan and my Aunt and I got to chat.  We hit the road at about 3 pm for home and it still took us about 2 hours.  When we got home Noomi and I worked out in the basement while Ajax played video games.  We did an easy dinner and then into bed!

Oh on Sunday the kids and I also looked around a furniture store in town and Noomi kept photo bombing me!

Well after our exciting Christmas, we rounded off the holiday with a fun New Year’s Eve with friends.  On New Year’s Eve we played games, the kids watched movies and generally ran around the house screaming.  Everyone made it to midnight, but no one liked the sparkling apple cider.  As soon as the ball dropped Noomi collapsed and fell asleep.  Ajax insisted he wasn’t tired and Dominic could barely keep his eyes open.

On New Year’s day (Monday) we bummed around the house in our pjs and did some cooking. I’m still trying to get the hang of my InstantPot but I must admit it’s pretty cool.  We went to see the new Star Wars movie and while everyone enjoyed it, at 2.5 hours it’s just too darn long.  Everyone was antsy in their chairs and ready for it to end.

Mid-week the kids headed to my parent’s house for 2 days as Dave and I had to work.  On Thursday I headed to Brooklyn to pick up the kids.  My mom, sister and I ended up taking them over to Cabellas which was pretty cool. The kids loved looking at all the animals and fish.

On Friday, we took the kids to District 5, a giant trampoline park in Lansing, which is a ton of fun.  Of course, every other parent had the same idea so the place was pretty busy.

On Saturday, we had swim class and a play date with friends.  We then dog sat Keiza and we all realized how much we want a dog.  Everyone was so excited to have Keiza for the weekend.  On Sunday, Emily picked her up and we were all sad to see her go.  Sunday was quiet as well got ready for school and work.  Lunches were made, laundry folded, and outfits laid out.

Monday was tough, but we survived. Here we come 2018!

(so I realize I’ve fallen down on the picture job, so here are some pics – Noomi with her desk that she loves, us making gingerbread houses – after xmas the kids put them out in the field for the birds – and Noomi and I walking in the Williamston light parade with the Girl Scouts).