Another Staycation in the books!

Staycation is a word that my boys truly know the meaning of. 2016 2015 2014 2013 and even before then, we tried to make the most of our time off school. Maybe next year will be the year we finally put a "va" in front of that "cation". #probablynot

We spent Thursday at Main Event. #neveragain
They had a great Spring Break Deal where the kids could get unlimited bowling, laser tag, gravity ropes and pool they wanted for $12.95 if it was bought before 10:30. I found this deal at 9:45 am. I have never seen two little children get dressed so fast. We surely didn't have time to mess with their hair!

After waiting patiently (them - me not so much) in line for 25 minutes we finally were able to buy our tickets. The boys were able to play 3 or 4 games of laser tag. Both boys have had laser tag birthdays, so both of them were excited to be playing. Luke played so many time he made a new friend. This little boy almost joined us for lunch! 

One time while Luke went into the arena with his new friend, Evan wanted to do the gravity ropes. It's essentially a ropes course hung at the ceiling. Luke wanted no part of that.

We played some arcade games before grabbing some grub.

We grabbed some lunch and a pager for the bowling lanes. Since we missed our bowling opportunity on Tuesday, I was hoping this would make up for it! Thankfully about 3/4 the way through our meal, our lane was ready!

Evan got a strike on his very first bowl! You can see his excitement below.

And with a little teamwork, Luke was able to get a strike too. Funny, though, not sure who is more excited about Luke's strike!

We headed out around 2 when the wait times for laser tag were at the 2 hour mark. Pretty good idea since this was Luke about 10 minutes into the drive. Maybe this was National Napping Week!

Friday I had to go to work, but the boys joined me for four hours of sunshine playground goodness! They were so good I even rewarded them with lunch at their favorite spots (no, they aren't the same spot).

I was just so happy to have some sunshine and warmth I was ready to give them anything!

It was another good staycation! I hope these memories stay with them forever and always because it will always be some of my favorite times!

Kids Baking Championship

My boys have been obsessed with Cake Wars and Kids Baking Championship for the past month. It's all they want to watch. Luke is hysterical quoting ingredients and techniques. Hey - if it actually gets me a birthday cake this year, I'm all in!

I caught him on the counter admiring his cake more than once!

A fellow mom posted on Instagram an adorable picture of her two kids cakes from their home version of Kids Baking Championship! It got me thinking.... (remind me not to think next time).

So I stupidly suggested the weekend before that one of our days be a Kids Baking Championship. The boys were ALL about it, and not going to let it go, as much as I tried in the days leading up.

First, I was still grumpy at Mother Nature for giving us SNOW and temps in the 40's for Spring Break. I was grumpy because I hadn't planned to do anything on Wednesday. I wanted one day...just one day of nothing. I was grumpy for even suggesting it. I was grumpy that we were going to have TWO cakes in this house. I just wasn't in the best place to happily bake a cake, and it might have been obvious...especially when I said, "I don't even WANT to DO this cake thing anymore!!" I can't say it was my proudest moment.

I took a couple deep breaths, gave myself a time out, apologized to the kids, and forged ahead.

I told the boys they had to work together to plan the A cake because we don't need two seperate cakes in this house! They spent almost half an hour inventorying all the food items they had to work with, sketching their design, and really working together. I was really proud.

They decided on a Spring Cake, since it was 42 degrees Spring Break. 

They wanted a rainbow that ended in a pot of gold.

They worked so hard and got along so well that all that grumpiness from the morning was forgotten! Later that night, I asked them both separately these two question.

Do you have a good memory from today?

Do you have a bad memory from today?

I asked them that because I had been beating myself up all day over the way I acted. I was being selfish. I was mad at the weather and took it out on them. I was tired or cranky or hungry. Who knows! I just know how I reacted had been haunting ME all day. Now I was ready to see if it had them.

Their answer...both of them...was the same. Both question, both kids, same answer.

Both boys said their good memory from today was that they got to bake, design, and decorate their own cake.

Both boys said they didn't have a bad memory at all. 

PS. We still have cake left in this house!! Please, someone, come take it away!

Spring Break, Mommy Guilt, & Staycations

Spring Break = Mommy Guilt

No matter what we do, we always live with that mommy guilt, don't we? I talked to two different friends this week.
One stay at home mom said, "We are going to the beach. It's getting ridiculous. Every time we have a break we go somewhere. My kids are starting to think if we are out of school that means we leave on vacation."
The other said, "We stayed here. I hate I can't give my kids a vacation, but then if I don't do something fun all week, I feel like they didn't really get a Spring Break, especially as a working mom."

No matter what we do, we can't win as moms, but I guess that is just a part of this gig.

But something I learned this week. Our kids don't seem to mind either way.

The kids who stayed home and got haircuts and dental appointments were just excited to be able to sleep in and play some extra video games.

The kids who went out of town were excited to be on a new adventure!

It's us moms who are so hard on ourselves.

John didn't have any vacation days, so it was me and the boys all week long. I know my kids. I know myself. We gotta be headed out the door to our destination, where ever that may be, by 10:30 at the latest. Any later, and we are all about to claw each other's eyes out. I climb the wall, the boys start to fight or go zombie-eyed from too much screen time. It's just not a good situation.

Momma's idea of Spring Break fun. Haircuts and yogurt!

So I decided to be resourceful and use our own great city as a vacation...but wait. Don't let me mislead you. Just because I was 'off work' does NOT mean this was a vacation. This was hard work. But, just like marriage, it's work I am HAPPY to do.

(Sidenote: I would have been happier to do it if it was warmer...but that's another story. The March snow we started our week off was a great indicator of what was to come.)

Day 1 took us to Chick-fil-a where we met some friends. We then spent an hour jumping at Get Air. The boys had a friend come back to the house with them, which is AMAZING at this age. It's like they entertain each other. AND, bonus, all their toys they barely sniff at become new again when a friend is over!

We took the friend home and had just about 30 minutes before baseball practice. Little did I know that Monday was National Napping Day! These two curled up on the couch and were out within 5 minutes. Thankfully, I didn't have to wake them (don't poke the bear!!) and they woke up on their own with just 5 minutes left before we had to leave.

Just look at them!! I died when I realized they were asleep like that!

Day 2 was a little more exciting. We headed downtown to visit the Peabody Ducks. For my out of town friends, these little ducks have been a feature of the world famous Peabody Hotel since the 1930's. The waltz their way from their terrace on the roof to the fountain in the lobby at 11am every day and then back up at 5pm, and always to an admiring crowd.

My kids had never been to see the ducks! We got there about 9:30 to a huge crowd. Luckily, the duckmaster insists all kids sit along the carpet so they can all see! The ducks literally move so fast there is no such things as a good picture. I mean, if all those people were watching me walk a red carpet, I'd probably scoot along too!

We posed for some traditional Peabody lobby pictures before heading across the street to lunch.

We then headed to Bass Pro to do a little bowling. We meandered our way around the store before heading back to the bowling lanes. Sadly, there was an hour wait and we weren't willing to do that. So we took our time walking around the store. There was plenty of entertainment to fill our time!

We then paid to ventured up the big elevator to the top of the Pyramid. While it was a great view, it was freezing. And overpriced. But, heck, you gotta do it at least once.

And mommas gotta represent! #selfiegamestrong

On the way home, Luke decided he should celebrate National Napping Day again. Who can blame him??

The rest of the week's activities to come!

Rainforest Program

Third grade's big learning production is the Rainforest Program. It's their big performance of the year. When John texted me that he had a huge presentation for that morning, I was upset. I took a deep breath and while telling him I was upset, also knew we would be okay. There was a dress rehearsal for the school and he could attend that. What was even better was we got to sit with Luke!

You know those little 'God moments'? Those moments you aren't sure why they are happening, but will surely reveal its reason soon? This was one of those. I got to sit in the second row (with Luke's class) and give my full attention to Evan with my sweet little family.

The next day there was a family emergency with one of my co-workers and I had to run the light show for the program. I had only viewed the program once and I wasn't paying attention to specific light cues. I just knew the lighting was baller! The program started at 8:30. I found out I needed to run everything at 7:00 while standing in my bathroom with wet hair. Thankfully, God sent another angel from my team, who isn't at my campus but just happened to stop by that morning. Together with him running sound and me running lights, no one was the wiser about our lack of practice. That and the person who set up the show left impeccable details on his show.

So I was able to enjoy the show with my family because my husband had a huge presentation. Had he been able to attend the day of the show, I wouldn't have sat with my family nor been able to enjoy the show due to the stressful events of the morning. God's pretty cool like that.

The students spend weeks brushing up on their knowledge of the rainforest to present to the parents. They each got to choose which venue they wanted to share their knowledge. There was an art group, a technology group, a drama group, and a newscast group. Evan chose to be in the drama group. This came as no surprise since we all know he loves the limelight.

He played "The Man". The Man wanted to cut down the great kapok tree. After some chopping "Whack, Chop, Chop Whack" <---his lines, he sat down to rest and fell fast asleep.

Different animals of the rainforest came to visit The Man and tell him why he shouldn't cut down the tree.

When he awoke he grabbed his ax and.....walked away.

The kids sang some great songs and we all know Evan loves to dance. 

I love my little Man and his energy in front of people. I pray he is able to use it to change people's hearts for the good...just like in this Rainforest Program!!