2022 :: week 19

May 8

We had a pretty low-key Mother's Day 2022. I pulled the "it's Mother's Day card," when Miles came into our room around 7am and then proceeded to sleep until after 8:30am, it was glorious! The kids accommodated me with a quick pre-church photo shoot. Church was fine. I am not someone who struggles with Mother's Day, but because so many do I wish that other than the primary kids singing there was little to no mention of it. I feel like just as my kids are growing up and into themselves, I too am growing up and into my role as their mother. I am much more comfortable with being my own brand of mother than I was ten year ago. I am so grateful for my four wonderful children, who regularly try my patience but also make me laugh. They have made me a better person, and I hope I am raising them to be confident in themselves. I am also grateful for my own mother, who continues to nurture and help me be the best version of myself. 

May 9

Just Elliott making a great play at first base during his game Monday night. Elliott is getting pretty good at catching. He also learned the hard way that you have to run through first base. He slowed down approaching first, and got thrown out himself later in the game for the first time this season.

May 10

Shopping with Miles is always a treat. He has strong opinions about what we should buy and loudly states what member of our family likes whatever it is we decide to purchase. "Will likes that," when we buy Nutella. "Dad likes those," when we go past the soda aisle. Another recent Miles-im is using the word anything when he means nothing. When he is feeling grumpy and I ask him what he wants to do, he often replies "anything!" in a very dissatisfied tone. Or when I walk into a room and he looks suspicious, if I ask him what he is doing he will say, "anything." Toddler malaprops make me laugh!

May 11

Lauren got to attend a soccer clinic at SMS Wednesday evening. The high school soccer players ran the clinic, running drills and scrimmages. Lauren had a great time!

May 12

We are down to the final weeks of school, and as such the school days are mostly full of fun. After a two year hiatus Field Day is back, just in time for Will's 6th grade class to help run the show! Monday through Wednesday they led groups of kids and facilitated activities for the younger grades. Elliott had field day Monday, while Lauren had field day Wednesday. On Thursday the 6th graders from the entire SMS area gathered at Indian Woods for the Olympic Festival, which was more outdoor group activities. Will had a lot of fun, but got a bit of a sunburn. At the end of each day they got bomb pops and sprayed with the hose. We had close to record high temps--in the 90s Monday through Thursday--so the refreshment was very welcome. Lauren's class has a countdown where they do something out of the ordinary each day--wear tie-dye/silly socks, eat lunch outside on the picnic tables, airplane races, watching a movie, etc. Elliott's class has started a countdown as well.
 

May 13

Life can get a little hectic when you have three kids playing spring sports. This spring the boys are each playing baseball and Lauren is playing softball and soccer. Despite being beholden to four practice and game schedules, it is very rare to have all three kids with an event at the same time. Friday Lauren and Will each had a game at the exact same time, luckily at adjacent fields. Elliott's game started an hour later and was across town, so Tony and I split up. We've had so much rain this season this was actually Lauren's first softball game. Her team started off a little rusty, but show great signs of promise. Lauren has been playing catch and throwing the ball against the wall like her brothers ever since.

May 14

Elliott has been begging to play Monopoly Junior for weeks. Saturday afternoon we made his dreams come true. My dislike for the game was reinforced--so much of the game is pure luck! A funny moment was when we all wanted the game to end and Will was down to only a few dollars. We started to cheer, "bankrupt the billy goat!" Unfortunately, luck was in Will's favor and he went on a streak of making serious dough. I finally set a timer to end the game. I enjoy playing games with my kids, and I have had fun playing regular Monopoly in the past, but Monopoly Junior might be my least favorite game.