Still figuring it out...

Our rhythm in June, that is. Today we had music classes, at a different time and day than we've been doing for the past year or two. Had to switch for June to accommodate the swim lesson schedule. Yesterday, you see, Noah and Asher had their first swim lessons of the summer. It was a long day. For all that they both enjoyed themselves and the lessons themselves are going fine, something is definitely going to need to be done about my sanity on those days. You see, we're not morning people around here.

(Okay, more specifically, Nathan and Noah are not morning people to such an extent that it's affected our entire family and our entire schedule. Once upon a time, Asher and I were morning people. Then Asher started realizing that it just wasn't as much fun without Noah awake also (both at bedtime and in the morning), so he switched. And thus began our odd schedule that keeps our boys up till midnight and doesn't have much activity happening before noon.)

I digress. Because we're not morning people, the early swim lesson schedule (and most kid activities for that matter...why must everything be scheduled in the morning, by the way?) doesn't work so well for us. The boys opted instead for the twice weekly afternoon sessions...which apparently fill up very fast. Hence (and there's a longer story here that I'll spare you) we ended up with Asher in a class from 5:35-6:05 pm and Noah in a class from 6:55-7:40 pm.

Now, when you factor in changing one boy out of wet trunks and all and getting another ready for class, there's not really enough time to actually go anywhere between classes and I wouldn't feed them dinner right before Noah's lesson. It's 20-some minutes from home so that's not an option, and there really aren't any parks within walking distance. So. I need to find a way to entertain Noah and Micah during Asher's lesson and to entertain Asher and Micah during Noah's lesson and to entertain all three in between. The facility really just has the pool and the bleachers area (which is, um, hot and muggy...it's an indoor pool, did I mention?). Now, really, Noah and Asher aren't so much a problem as we can tackle school work there or just read.

But. I ended up lugging a bag of books, a bag for dry clothes and a bag for wet clothes around...down to the pool deck to deliver Ash to class...up to the bleachers...down again to collect him and take him through the locker room to get him dried off and dressed...out and about while we waited for Noah's class...to the pool deck to deliver Noah...up to the bleachers again...down again to get Noah and then through the locker room again. All the while, I had the two other boys in tow, holding Micah's hand as he refused to obey the "do not run" rule on the pool deck and needed steadying on the stairs. And, have you ever tried to convince a 2 year old to just sit with you for three hours? Yesterday we tried having the other two (and me) read to Micah and had his ever-present doodle board with him. I brought an "extra" school book for him to "work" on while his brothers did. We all went for a walk around the block. Still, Micah ended up entertaining himself in the drinking fountain by the end and went home soaked because I didn't think to bring dry clothes for the one boy who didn't have swim lessons. Silly me. ;)  

Sigh. At least swim lessons are only twice a week and, for us this year anyhow, only for a month. And I know it'll get better as soon as we get a routine down. I know it's not really enough (the number of swim lessons), but that's all I have the endurance for right now, lol. :)

For a little comic relief, now that I've bored you to tears with my swim lesson story (sorry!!), here's a direct quote from Micah recently..."me belly's all very huge" (translation: "I'm full")...said with great drama as he stretches to display his belly and pat it in admiration. Such a character... 

Bleh...and whew. :)

May is over. Not sure how that happened but honestly glad it is. ;) Let's just say May was a very full month, shall we? By way of a month in review:

- our caterpillars emerged and we released them in the front yard

- we visited the Butterfly Pavilion for the second time this year

- Nathan's mom visited for a week (which was awesome!)

- Noah finished his first year of religious education classes 

- we played with bubbles, a lot

- Asher forced a visit to the doctor's office but ended up without stitches (he cut the back of his head open at the park (slipped on a step) but is totally fine) 

- Micah became even more obsessed with Diego than he was a couple months ago with Jo Jo

- we made volcanoes with our homeschool group and "erupted" them numerous times at home also

- we had seven scheduled soccer practices, six soccer games and a soccer tournament (actually, the soccer tournament just finished this morning...Noah had four games over the past three days)...along with one soccer party and another later today...which also means I handled the leg-work for two coaches gifts, team photos for 17 boys (took 'em and had them printed for both boys' teams), and trophies for 9  (and I can't help myself and took extra pictures of all the boys in action throughout the season and ended up printing roughly 10 "candid" photos for each boy on both teams)

- we broke out our sprinkler for the summer

- the boys and Nathan launched bottle rockets a couple different times

- we attended a local water festival about water conservation and water in general (fun sciencey stuff)

- we learned first-hand about tornadoes (and continue to pray for our nearby community that was hit...going to a benefit exhibition soccer game this evening that Noah's soccer coach is playing in...all benefits will go to those in Windsor affected by the tornado)

- I completed about 27 pieces (cards and layouts) for various assignments for CK, Prism and my local scrapbook store

- all three boys had weekly music class as usual, with Noah switching to a different song book, which has made all the difference in the world to his attitude about practicing

- we braved the inconsistent Colorado weather and switched out the boys' wardrobes for summer attire (after having had snow at the start of the month (more than once!), then rain, then heat, then tornadoes, then finally summer weather)...had to shop a wee bit for Noah, as the kid just keeps growing

- I survived my first Memorial Day without my dad and am itching to do some more memorial projects as soon as I find the time

- we saw 36 Herbies one day (yeah, we're weird like that and keep count...had to switch to counting collectively as the boys were getting too competitive about it, as boys are apt to do) 

- I signed boys up for summer swim lessons (which was quite the ordeal, let me tell you...to *try* to coordinate both Noah and Asher and get the right lessons at the same time...didn't end up happening, by the way, so we'll be spending three hours or so at the pool twice a week for the month of June...long story) and summer soccer camps (one week each for each boy, just in the mornings)

- I scheduled our twice monthly summer co-ops for our homeschool group (in coordination with our local Natural Areas program and volunteers who are awesome) and finally finished our homeschool group's newsletter (the summer edition, so at least I'll have a wee break now) which I'm in charge of 

- we saw considerably less of Nathan than we'd have liked as he and his development team raced to complete big deadlines (he got home after midnight or not at all 15 days in May, of those five were nights he slept at the office)

- I read all three of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books for the first time (and the second) in about four days...fun! Anxiously awaiting the release of book four in August! 

- we tackled all the other day to day life stuff like teaching boys and keeping a slightly better than disaster area home and paying bills

- and, of course, we followed American Idol to its finale last week...this was the first season we've ever watched and the boys were quite happy with the outcome:

 

Like I said, "whew!" I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out but wanted to try to relate why I've been absent here on my blog. Let's hope June goes a bit smoother, eh? :) 

Album in a Year column

Just a quick note. The Creating Keepsakes website is currently under a bit of transition and is experiencing some wee technical difficulties with archived issues. Due to that, past Album in a Year columns aren't showing up there. CK is aware of the problem and tackling it as I type. But, in the meantime, I've gone ahead and placed all of the files you'd need here on my blog. Please just click the "CK Album in a Year files" link to the left. (The "CK Album in a Year links" will take you to links to the CK website...some of which are not currently working.)

Thanks! (And thank you to those of you who have taken the time to email me individually about this!! I really do appreciate it!)

A prayer of thanks.

Some of you may have heard that there were tornadoes in northern Colorado earlier today (Thursday). The worst of the damage was in Windsor, about 10 miles southeast of where we live. The storm activity moved in a northwest direction up the state, running just past us. So, while we did have considerable storm activity and precipitation, we were fortunate to have escaped the tornadoes. Still. The boys and I spent a somewhat tense day watching the updates and making a few trips to the basement when the winds picked up. (Used the time as a learning opportunity to read about weather and tornadoes, among other things.) Things like this aren't supposed to happen here, though I suppose I will simply be thankful for the reminder of what's truly important.

After watching the news footage during the day with the boys, our hearts go out to each and every family affected. (The Emergency Operations Center was activated and the Governor declared a state of emergency.) We'll be watching the news to see how best we can help in the days to come. If you wouldn't mind, would you please say a quick prayer for this nearby community? So many tonight are without homes.

Overdue, eh?

Wow. Time really flies, doesn't it? Sorry about that. :) Whew. May's been, well, busy. Want a run-down? Settle in...

Let's see...we started with Nathan's mom coming to visit for a week. We had soccer games, released our butterflies (the six we'd watched metamorphose from caterpillars), played with bubbles (this time adding water play at the end), had soccer practice & music class, had Noah's last religious ed class for the year, had two more soccer practices and had some more soccer games. Overall, we had a fabulous (if packed) time and finished it off with another visit to the Butterfly Pavilion on Mother's Day. This time we were able to stay for one of the twice daily butterfly releases and were granted a special treat when one landed (and stayed for quite awhile) on Noah:

 

After that, another week of three soccer practices and music classes. Then, our homeschool co-op last week was all about volcanoes. The boys were delighted to "build" volcanoes and "erupt" them...both at the co-op and numerous more times at home (trying out a new color each time):

 

Did I mention soccer? Yeah. Lots of soccer. The season officially ended (finally) this past weekend. Asher had his team party and received his trophy on Sunday:

 

Noah's team will be participating in a tournament at the end of the month and will do their party after that. Somehow I ended up in charge of team and individual photos for both boys' teams, along with trophies for Noah's team and the coach gift for both. Oy. Life was simpler before soccer. ;) But, then again, soccer seems to have always been a part of my life, as all four of my younger brothers and sisters played for at least a time...two of them fairly seriously. (Cas, you're still not off the hook about coming to visit and do a little soccer camp for your nephews!)

Over the weekend, we also broke out the sprinkler (after what felt like the longest spring ever, with snow more than once earlier in the month) and took the obligatory first sprinkler play of the season pictures:

 

 

Micah's still uncertain about it all, but was willing to venture into the spray to "rescue" the bubble wands that the other boys were trying to "wash". He did, though, very much enjoy his new Diego swim trunks...which he'd wear everyday if he could. (Yup, also took the risk and swapped out the boys' winter and summer wardrobes. Watch. It'll snow next week. I know. It'll be my own fault.)

The boys and I attended a Water Festival at the local university Tuesday...all about water conservation and treatment and quality. The mad scientist at the end was definitely a highlight (though Asher was a bit freaked out by the dry ice in a bucket):

 

Let's see. In other news. I've been keeping busy with layouts and assignments that I unfortunately can't share yet (roughly 22 so far this month). Trying to get things in order household-wise also (a never-ending task, isn't it?). Nathan's been crazy busy with deadlines, which is probably the thing that's contributed most to my being absent here...just not enough time in the day and we've barely seen him these past few months. It's been crazy.

But. Now...finally...religious ed classes are over, soccer is mostly over, and the deadlines are almost manageable again. Big sigh. Hopefully, life will start calming down again (amid those swim lessons and soccer camps and music classes the boys will still have in June and the homeschool activities that continue through the summer). ;) I may even manage to finish up a few non-assignment projects this weekend to share! So, stay tuned!