Wow... it's been a month!

So, I may have gotten a bit behind, and haven't posted here since before Spring Break.

Let's see, what all has happened.... well, Spring Break, obviously! This year, I decided that since Chris will be gone for part or most of the summer, I wanted to do something with the kids. We had limited options both money wise, and distance. Because funds were limited, I opted to do something close to home, so that travel time wouldn't take up a big chunk of what we did.

We ended up renting a hotel room in Grand Rapids for the night. I chose a hotel with an indoor pool, which fit into our budget. The day we arrived was gorgeous, so we went to the zoo. It was packed! It was a gorgeous day, and it was Spring Break just about everywhere. I was not the only parent with the idea to have some outdoor fun!

After the zoo, we went back to the hotel to swim- the room the pool was in is surrounded by windows, and was nice and warm- steamy from the sun, with warm water. The kids swam, but I hadn't thought I would want to just then, so I didn't wear my suit down- wish I would have, though!

Later that evening, we went to the public museum- one of my favorite places in Grand Rapids. I'm a total museum buff. I love looking at old things! Well, once more, thanks to Spring Break, plus a special night time event, the place was packed. I decided at the time to buy a membership, since it was only $20 more than we were already paying for admission, and I'm glad I did. It means we can go back anytime we want for a full year for free. And, I've already taken advantage of that twice since then!

Because the place was SO packed, we didn't get to see everything that night before closing time. We wound up heading back to the hotel, where the kids could swim again. Because of how nice it had been, I decided to swim- only now, it was dark, and the room was almost cold, and the water was freezing. I dipped a toe in, and opted to not swim at all.

We rented a movie to watch in the room, but the laptop I brought wouldn't play the movie, so we watched TV instead. I also couldn't get connected to the free wifi the hotel offered at all, which was kind of a bummer as well.

The next morning dawned cold, dark, and wet- just as I knew it would. We enjoyed a free breakfast at the hotel, then packed up, and headed out. We didn't get far- a huge hail storm hit, and forced me to pull off the road at Denny's. We tried to leave once when it quit, only to have it start up again, even worse. We finally decided to wait it out inside. We had all just eaten, but I let the kids pick out something to eat and get a fun soccer ball cup of soda to drink. The cups are neat- it has a divided middle, and is shaped like a soccer ball. You fill it with 2 drinks, and it has 2 bent straws that can be turned so they rest together, or turned away so each side can be drank apart.

I got online with my cell while we were there, and posted an update on the weather to the local news channel down there- which I found out later was featured on their noon news that day! How fun! They only post first names, but several family members noticed it and realized it was me because of where we were stranded.

When we finally got back on the road, we went back to the museum. I had hopped that due to the special night time events they were holding that week, that it would be less busy- I was wrong. It was MORE busy! We enjoyed visiting, though, and got to go through the entire museum again. The kids saw everything we missed, and they each got to revisit their favorite exhibits.

Later on, we stopped by my sister's apartment to see my niece, who turned 3 that day! Gillian and Raegan wound up staying in Grand Rapids for the rest of the week with family, so it was just me and Chris on the way home. We had a fun time for Spring break.

Ode to the Day Off

Due to conferences, there is no school today. There was no school last Friday. Next Friday, there's school. But, the next two after that? No school. I often wonder if my parents felt like school was closed at the drop of a hat like I do. I don't remember having quite so many days off.

The kids get a fall break, winter break (which was Christmas break when I was a kid), mid-winter break, and spring break. All on top of at least 1 Friday or Monday per month off, sometimes more. The kids start later in the school year, as well, since the state changed the opening date, making it required that school does not start before Labor Day anymore. The theory is that it helps tourism. School still lets out in the same week in June, though.

The one thing I love about no school days? Waking up late. I love sleep. I love to sleep in. I love naps. I hate mornings. Hate, hate, hate mornings.

What I dislike about no school days? Waking up to kids screaming at each other. It happens all too often. Actually, come to think of it, it happens on school days as well. Raegan gets up at 5:30am. Why? No clue, she doesn't leave for school until 7:20, and she does not use the time to shower, or go through an hour long makeup ritual.

She wakes Chris up at 6:15. Nick gets up for work at 6:30, and to make sure the kids are up, or to wake them if they aren't. They are all out of the house by 7:20. My alarm goes off at 7:15, and I turn it off and lay there willing myself not to fall back asleep. Then there are those mornings. The ones where Raegan's in a mood, and Chris won't get up, so she stands on the stairs screaming at him, and threatening to tell Mom & Dad, and to dump water on him.

The ones where Chris pitches a fit, and starts stomping on the floor screaming at the top of his lungs at Raegan. The ones where they scream at each other over breakfast. The ones where Raegan is constantly saying, "Just get your stuff, Chris, it's time to GO!" a good 10 minutes before it's time to go.

On the weekends, Nick and I sleep in. We are not "up with the crows". We sleep till 10, or sometimes later. We are night owls, and take advantage of the weekends. The kids, too, except they always beat us up in the mornings, and then? Then we wake up to fighting of a different nature.

Chris: "Gillian, knock it off! I want to listen to this!"
Gillian: "You're not the boss of me! I don't have to!"
Chris: "Gillian, turn that down, it's too loud!" (never mind that it is never actually loud, and never any louder than whatever Chris is playing/watching/listening to/doing)
Gillian: "I'm telling Mom and Dad!"
Chris: "No, Gillian! You're going to wake them up, and they'll be MAD!" (never mind that we're already laying there awake, groaning, and hoping they won't discover that tidbit)

Mornings are always... difficult. Chris has severe bossy issues. He -has- to be the boss. Example? Gilly comes down and I ask her to do something, such as take a toy up to her room. Before she's even all the way to said toy, Chris is saying, "Gilly, pick it up, mom said!" Before she gets 2 more steps, he's yelling at her to do it. Before she's got it in her hands, he's yelling again. Before she gets to the stairs to take it to her room, he's yelling again.

Meanwhile, I'm telling him, repeatedly, that it isn't any of his concern, and that he is not her boss, and that he needs to stop.

It's a compulsion with him, almost, because even AS we're telling him to stop, and he's telling us he'll stop, he's doing it again. I honestly don't think he realizes he does it. But it still drives us up a wall.

Our kids are loud. They fight- a lot. Hourly, in fact. And I wish I could tell you I was kidding, but I'm SO not kidding.

But, then they do something completely awesome that just makes us giggle. Like breaking out into full weirdo dancing at the circus.

Life... or something like it

I'm not new to this whole blogging thing. I run another little blog called My Frugal Family. It was started out as a blog to show what we are doing in life to the family and friends we don't regularly see.

It turned into a whole lot of something else, which I love, but I felt we still needed something for those family members and friends we don't see much.

So, here it is, my corner on the web- Minions x 3. Those of you who know me well, know that we often call the kids our minions. Or brats, or kiddos, or kidlets, or "Hey, you!". They even respond to numbers, which is both kind of funny, and kind of scary.

I have 3 children, which are both a blessing, and at their worst, penance for past sins, I'm sure.

Raegan is our oldest. She's 13 going on way too young to be acting so old. She'll be 14 soon, and starts her high school career this upcoming fall. It scares me to no end to realize how old she's getting. She loves to read, and (to our relief), would prefer an old t-shirt and ratty jeans to a mini skirt, hairspray, and makeup.

She's a great kid, but she is a teenager. You'll hear me venting about that at times, because it has reared it's ugly head more times than not. All in all, though, we often get compared to Lorelei and Rory Gilmore from The Gilmore Girls. We laugh, we hang out, and we have fun. You know, when that teenageryness (that's a technical term I just coined) is hiding, and she's being her sweet lovable self.

Next up is our only son, and biggest challenge, Christian, or Chris for short. Chris has sever ADHD. We've had him on 8 different types of medication for ADHD, plus 3 others not specifically for ADHD. We've tried no meds, we've tried vitamins, we've tried stimulant drinks (coffee first, but he wouldn't drink it, then small doses of no sugar or low sugar energy drinks). We struggle with him.

I'm not looking for judgement or advice- I have tried just about every "trick" out there, and the only thing that keeps him in a classroom all day is medication. He's in the 5th grade this year, and slowly but surely, it's getting easier every year.

He is an amazing kid, though. In 1st grade, before he was diagnosed, he wasn't reading at all. He was unable to focus on anything long enough to learn. Within a month of starting his first type of medication, he was reading at a 3rd grade level. The kid is a sponge, he picks it all up!

Last we have Gillian, our little Silly Gilly, the lil Gilly Bean. We were calling her Gilly Bean before she was even born. Well, kind of. We decided that since we had a girl and a boy, we would be surprised in the delivery room. We had names picked for both a boy or a girl, but I was really hoping for another girl.

Gilly (never Jill. It's why I went with a G instead of a J) is a bit of a challenge herself. She's 8 right now, and acts rather young for her age. We still have issues with her doing what she's asked to do, and she has some struggles socially with other children. She's also very similar to what Chris is like, though she has never been diagnosed with ADHD. She functions in the classroom right now without resorting to medications, so at this time, we're content to let Gilly be Gilly.

She has the most amazing natural sense of humor, though. Sometimes, she reverts back to that "it sounds funny to a child, but really isn't funny at all" kind of humor when she's trying to be funny. Other times, things just come out of her mouth that make everyone stop and have a good laugh. Or, make us pull over to a gas station on Christmas Eve because Mommy just spewed soda all over her clothing, the windshield, and the review mirror. Just sayin'.

All in all, my kids are not perfect. They fight, bicker, boss each other around, and tattle. They are real kids. I won't gloss them over- sometimes, I just go in my bedroom, close the door, and hide under the covers.