Spring Break Finale - My Man

The majority of today was spent at U of I with my man.  He had a fancy scholarship luncheon and I was a proud wife.  I'm pretty sure I was the only guest who was a spouse. Today was a reminder of how courageous he is, to go back to school ten years after he graduated college the first time.  Civil engineering is very difficult, and he is learning at a rigorous school that is ranked first nationally for civil engineering.  I'm impressed! Every day he goes to a huge, demanding school, where most students only have to think about themselves.  But after a long day he drives over an hour to get home.  He's either just in time to pray with the kids before bed, or they are asleep and he goes straight to his office to study late, anticipating an early morning of helping the boys get ready for the day. Props to my husband - he's a diligent worker, a wonderful dad, the fastest dish washer I've ever met (well, he might tie with my mom), and a reflective thinker, who listens to my freak-out moments and keeps me grounded.  I'm so glad he's my partner in this crazy life!

These are the best pictures I could get.  I think Micah might have died of embarrassment if I got out of my seat to get a picture!

I'm proud of you Micah!  Only a little more than a year to go until graduation!!!!

Spring Break on a Budget - Day 5

I just now (as in the few seconds before writing this) realized that my kids' love language is the same as mine - quality time.  I've been a mom for 6 years, and I'm just now making this connection.  We aren't doing anything spectacular this week, but we are spending time together.  I am often half watching them, half being productive for home or work.  Bad boundary...because there isn't one!  I want to be "all in" and really listen to them.  Today Silas showed me a vehicle he had made out of K'nex.  I could have said "cool" and moved on but I think God prompted me to ask questions about how it worked.  Silas' mind is so intriguing.  When he is building he is incredibly purposeful.  It was really enjoyable to take time to listen to his reasoning behind why he used certain pieces and what their functions were.  Feel free to keep me accountable in being tuned in to my children.  You have my permission to ask me the last time I played WITH them instead of watching them.  (I am definitely proud that they can play independently and I don't want to hover over them all the time, but I do want to be more intentional with them.)  Silas was so proud to answer my questions.  He even let me record him explaining some of what he built.

Anyway, here's what we did today...first we met friends at the Normal Public Library to play in the play area and do some crafts.

   

Then, unlike yesterday, we made it to Dairy Queen for lunch!  I forgot to take pics of them enjoying ice cream, but it definitely happened!

I love Sam's smile in this one!

We made this for my grandpa.  We were supposed to visit him in Quincy this week but he wasn't feeling well so we sent pictures instead.  Yes, I am trying to teach my son how to spell "love" and "you" correctly but he was so proud that I just let it go this time. :)

When Levi woke up from nap I got some pretty wonderful snuggles.

Then we got our K'nex tutorial from Silas.

We ended the day with dinner (their favorite, PB&J) and a movie - "Dolphin Tale."  
They were pretty excited about this simple treat!

The movie was really great, and the snuggles made it even better!

Spring Break on a Budget - Day 4

Today.  Oh, today!  Today did not go as planned.  We were going to use gift cards to go to Dairy Queen for lunch, and then go the the Bloomington Public Library for a Lego party. The boys were looking forward to it.  But when Silas woke up and saw that it had rained, he wanted to go collect worms.  I've let them do this before, but today I didn't want them getting messy before leaving the house.  So I told him that if he did disobey and go collect worms, we wouldn't go to the Lego party.
Everything was going well - Levi was in the living room playing with trains, and Silas was in his room creating art.  I happily took the opportunity to jump in the shower.  My heart was so proud that for two days in a row I could take a shower without putting them in front of the TV to keep them out of trouble.  Boy, was I wrong.

When I emerged into a too quiet living room, I looked out the window to see both my boys collecting worms, and putting them in a thermos bottle that up until today has been designated for drinking water.  I knocked on the glass door and just glared at them.  Levi said, "We finding worms.  I wearing slippers."  I just shook my head, thinking, yep, you sure are.  Of course they are soaked, and so are your socks and pants.  At least Silas thought ahead and wore his rain boots.

Sometimes I really hate following through!  But we've learned that we HAVE to be consistent and once I say something, I have to stick with it.  The boys put themselves in time-out (amazing, right?) and I came in and said, "What's going to happen since you went outside and collected worms?"  Silas replied, "No Lego party."  I was so bummed.  A few minutes later Silas said about picking up worms, "but it was fun."  And then it was easier to stick with my decision!

So what did we do today?  First we watched it rain.

Then I remembered that there were still worms in the thermos so I told Silas to dump them outside. He promptly dumped them on our mat.  When I said, "You dumped them on our mat?!?" he replied, "You didn't tell me where!"  Well I guess I didn't!

Ok...I was feeling a little flustered and wanted to get my hair out of my face so I went to the bathroom to grab my hair clip.  That's when I saw this...and promptly plucked it out. Friends, this is definitely not the first or last white hair that I've pulled out of my head!

That was enough.  Time for the kids to watch "Magic School Bus" episodes.  I went to the office to work on paperwork. Which led to this great fun...

The most exciting thing we did today was make black bean brownies.  They might just be the yummiest, most moist gluten free brownies I've ever had.  After today, they were exactly what I needed.  We did have a lot of fun making them.  And right now I think I'll go eat another one!

  

  
They are pretty cute, aren't they?

Spring Break on a Budget - Day 3

It was another fun day with my boys!  This morning we went to visit some friends, and got to meet their sweet newborn.  Three-way car races down the hallway proved to be fun!

Then this afternoon we made homemade play dough from this recipe.  If you want to try it, don't be like me, skim over the recipe, and assume that all dry ingredients should go in one bowl, and wet ingredients in the other.  I had to make a second batch because the first one was too crumbly.

    

   

This is the crumbly play dough that is created when you don't let the alum mix with boiling water!

  

Second try - Silas was excited that when you mix blue and green it makes 

a crayon color..."blue green"!  So funny... all these years I thought it was turquoise.

  

  

Levi started making tootsie rolls, so then Silas made a pan of tootsie rolls for dad, 

and gluten free donuts for me.  How thoughtful!

The day ended with breakfast for dinner.  My big helper cracked all six eggs by himself.  And we only had to fish out two small pieces of eggshell!

Today's cost: $4 for the alum to make play dough.  I think we will make it through the week for less than our $22 budget!

Spring Break on a Budget - Day 2

This morning, between my boys, two neighbors' kids, and their daycare children, we took 13 kids to the Children's Discovery Museum.  (No cost, because my side of the family gave us a membership for the boys' birthdays.)  Fun times, but there were not many free seconds to take pictures because we were busy keeping track of all the kids!  Silas looks robotic in the best picture I got, and Levi is trying to bolt...

This afternoon we had one of Levi's friends over for a playdate.  That's the first time he's had someone over.  Usually we have play dates with Silas' friends, but I guess Levi is growing up.  He often says, "I gettin' so big!"

Looking forward to tomorrow!

Spring Break on a Budget - Day 1

We had a wonderful day.  We drove with Micah to U of I, dropped him off and went to the public library during his first class.  Then we went back to campus and Micah gave us a tour of his buildings.  We also met three of his professors, and then ate a packed lunch on campus.  It was so great for the boys to see where their dad is when he's not with us...literally even one of the chairs he sits in to study.  Then we went to visit friends in Champaign while Micah had more class.  It was a treat for me and the kids, because I got to catch up with a good friend, and the kids got to play together.  Micah was able to come to their house in time for dinner, and the four adults got to talk while the kids had loud fun at the kid table.  Afterward the dads took the kids fishing in the pond behind our friends' house.  It happened to be raining but that didn't stop them!  So many smiles for so little cost.  Today was actually supposed to cost $0 but I was so intent on fitting all the food into our cooler for lunch that I forgot to make the boys' PB&J's.  So today we spent a total of $4.16 on PB&J Bagels from Einstein's.  Not bad for a giant day of fun!

Champaign Public Library

  

 

Silas took this picture!  Pretty good, huh?

Daddy's School!

He was able to get us in for a tour of the Hydro Systems Lab.

Levi is quietly eating so the nearby students can focus on their work.

Fun with Audrey, Titus, and Bennett Young

We attempted pictures next to the flowering tree but they didn't work out so great.

(This is how my boys say "cheese.")

So we took our own picture.  Love my friend Jen!

And I love my boys!