Interrupted Days

Megan spent most of last week at home with strep throat.  

This morning, after a busy weekend, after taking Craig to the airport, after making breakfast and lunches for four kids and getting them all out the door, I thought I deserved to have a couch day.  It's one of those cold, blustery days today and Downton Abbey on my DVR called to me more loudly than driving all the way to Plano for Institute.  So I snuggled up in my jammies with a blanket and slippers and happily planned to spend my day with just a remote control and a good book.  

And then Megan texted that she felt terrible and needed to come home.  

The day did not belong to me after that.  I forced myself to get up, get dressed and get in the car in 30 degree weather that felt like 19 degrees.  

Megan came home and slept and snuggled with me for a little while before the after school rush started.  Savannah came home at 2:30 and McKay at 3:00.  Emma texted at 3:15 that she did not have rehearsal today after school, so I picked her up.  At 3:55 when I thought the coast was clear to slip back into bed with that book I've been trying to read all day, Emma came in and said that she actually DID have rehearsal and would need a ride back to school.  I tried again a few more times to sneak back into my bed, but the colder weather meant that little boys were inside my house instead of outside of it, that missionaries were looking for warm refuge, and that children would be looking for a hot dinner.  

So, my plans for a quiet day with a book and a blanket didn't come to pass, but tonight when I tucked them all in early at 8:45 and finally got back into my warm bed that had been waiting for me all day, I didn't regret one bit the way that my day had unfolded.  

This is where I'm supposed to be.  It is not my JOB to be their mother.  It is my calling, my joy, my fulfillment.  And even though I think sometimes at 8:00am that the day would be better spent relaxing in some way, it's always better to spend it with them.  Sick or not sick.  Grateful or not grateful.  Happy or unhappy.  These children are the reason I'm home in the first place, and the days that they'll need me are numbered.  There will be plenty of days in the future that will belong to me…just not this week perhaps.  

Summer Days

Megan and I snuck out of the house today all by ourselves for a little time alone.  I love hanging out with my whole family but I really LOVE spending time with my kids one on one.  They're so open and chatty in a confined space...like a moving vehicle.  

I asked Megan where she would go if she could pick anywhere...she said Utah.  :( 
We settled on a more reasonable destination and ended up at her second favorite location...

 THE LIBRARY

We filled up the whole back of the Jeep with all the books (and a few movies) we couldn't resist.  I'm SO excited to start reading tonight!

After that, we realized it was Happy Hour so we popped over to SONIC for some drinks.

And then I took Megan exploring in the antique mall.  It turns out I've never taken her there before.  She's my vintage-y girl, so she absolutely loved it.   It's like going on a treasure hunt in your grandparents' attic.  

And then I asked her if she wanted to stop for a treat.  I was secretly thinking we would split something yummy like this...

or this...

but nope, she wanted these...

We drove around and had a lovely conversation about how she'd like to reinvent herself before 9th grade, what she likes about her friends, how her life is going, and what kind of food she would bring if stuck on an island indefinitely.  It was a good talk.  I learned a lot.  We finished our drinks and the fruit candy things, and then pulled back into the driveway as steathily as we left.  What a great way to spend the afternoon.

High Five for SUMMER!

Here's how we spent the last day of school/Emma's birthday.

1.  Talent Show at the Middle School.  Megan and Emma sang For Good from Wicked.  Megan was SO nervous before school that she couldn't even do her own hair.  Her hands were shaking.  She couldn't sit still.  She couldn't breathe.  But everything went SO great.  They were both happy with their performance, but I think Megan felt especially fulfilled to have made her singing debut on the very last day of 8th grade!  No one even knew she could sing...well, except her family.  She has an amazing voice, but she's always chosen to be in orchestra rather than choir.  Today when the choir director hunted her down after she sang and asked her where she had been his whole life, I think she felt pretty great.  And then when she continued to receive texts and compliments all day from her friends, that sealed her confidence.  It was a great thing to watch her live that vision she's had for two whole years!

2.  Annual Last Day of School Lunch.  Last year, when Savannah and Megan both had early release days on the last day of school, I took them and about 6 of their friends to In-N-Out for lunch.  This year, we added Emma and a friend to that group of older, early release kids and met my friend, Amy, and her two daughters at In-N-Out.  I brought cupcakes and we tried to get the whole restaurant to sing to Emma, but they were too busy eating.  :(

3.  Annual Water Gun Ambush.  Last year, the older girls found the water guns Craig had bought for Scout Camp and asked if they could spray all the kids with them as they came home from the elementary school.  He thought that was a great idea so he joined them.  This year we borrowed not just water guns, but SUPER SOAKERS from Megan's friend, and everyone who walked past our house ended up SUPER soaked!  They loved it, even in the overcast drizzly weather.  

4.  Otter Pops.  I decided that since we were planning the water gun ambush, we should also have something nice to give the kids on their way home.  OTTER POPS!  Those just scream SUMMER, don't they?  Well, guess what!  They don't even make Otter Pops in Texas.  Is that crazy or what?  In fact, none of the kids even knew what an Otter Pop was, so they all looked at me like I was crazy to call them that.  I made a valiant effort today to convert the kids on our street to calling them Otter Pops.  I don't even know what they're really called here, and neither did anyone else, so they happily adopted OTTER POPS as the official name for these yummy things.  I took a bowl of about 36 fake Otter Pops outside and came in an hour later with a pair of sticky scissors and a bowl full of wrappers.  

5.  Oh, yeah...Emma's Birthday.  After In-N-Out, I dropped Emma and her friend at a pool party.  And then picked them up two hours later and drove them to the friends' house where they are having a lateover/movie night.  I haven't even seen my birthday girl, except from a distance or in a crowd, for more than an hour today.  I guess this is what birthdays look like when you're a teenager and you have to share the day with The Last Day of School.  The pictures are staying up.  And we'll have an official present-opening/birthday dinner on Sunday when everyone is home from business trips and pool parties.  

It's been such a long end to such a long week.  I'm ready to sleep in, lay around by the pool, and start on that mountainous stack of books on my nightstand.  

Happy SUMMER!  Hope you have great things planned.  

shades and 'staches

Now that we have TWO eligible dance attendees in our house, there are even more opportunities for pre dance parties.  Megan started out inviting two friends from school to come to the dance, and by the end of the day, the two of us had turned it into a giant party with pizza and games and photo ops!  Because it's way more fun to go to a dance with a giant group, right?  

My friend, Amy contributed drinks, paper plates and photo props to our little get together and the kids had tons of fun posing for pictures!  And they went right along with the dance theme "shades and 'staches."  Super cute!

Of course, when Savannah heard that there was a pre-dance party, she totally needed to invite a couple of friends, too.  I think they had more fun than the younger kids with the photo props.

I LOVE these kids so much, and I'm so happy that we have the opportunity to hang out with them so often.  They are such a great group, and amazing influences for good on my girls.  Hooray for church dances...and silly mustaches!

McKay's Nest

This chair was one of the few things we rescued from my dad's house after he passed away in 2010.  It lives upstairs in the play room where the wii, the television, and my desk also live.    Because we're too picky about finding the perfect sectional, this is the only chair that currently lives upstairs.  And for some reason, McKay has claimed it as his new bed.  He's been sleeping here for weeks, and I have no idea why.  He won't admit to being scared.  He doesn't turn on the TV or play any games at night.  His room is right across the hall from this playroom and two sisters rooms, so it's not like he's any closer to them.  I have no idea why he would rather sleep in a recliner than in his own bed, but he does...

He's not the first of our kids to have odd sleeping habits.  When Megan was little, she preferred sleeping UNDER her bed instead of in it.  We got used to finding her in unusual places at night...in the closet, in the toy box, curled up on her bean bag.  I think there was something about the security of being tucked snuggly into a tiny little space that was appealing to her.  

My kids are goofy, aren't they?  

Well, at least they don't have to hear me tell them 500 times to make their beds in the mornings like some of the others do.  :)

Surprises

When Savannah and Megan were little (Emma was about 6 months old and McKay wasn't even a thought) we surprised them with a trip to Disney World in Orlando.  We lived in Atlanta at the time, and Craig's job required some travel to Florida, so we incorporated a Disney trip into a business trip.  The girls had NO IDEA we were taking them on the trip of their dreams, and they were thrilled when we finally got there.  

A couple of years ago we did something similar on a summer trip to San Antonio.  We had told the kids all month long that Sea World just wasn't going to happen and that we would have to wait until another time to visit Shamu.  And then we pulled into the Sea World parking lot!  Huge surprise!  Huge success!

Craig is a big fan of surprises.   I honestly am not, and would probably never think to surprise my kids with anything.  Besides, I'm terrible at keeping secrets.  

We have another HUGE surprise for them tonight.  They have NO IDEA.  Craig and I have kept this secret for almost 2 whole months, and not only are we about to burst, but we are also about as giddy as we were in November 2000 when we took two little girls to see Minnie Mouse.  I can't tell you where we're taking them because by some crazy twist of fate, today would be the day one of my kids decides to read my blog.  There are no theme parks involved this time.  We're not even traveling outside of Dallas.   But it will be a HUGE, delightful surprise that I'm pretty sure they'll be talking about for years.  

That's it...I can't give you anymore hints!

We'll be back late tonight.  I'll post pictures and details tomorrow morning.  And if you see my kids at school today and you've read this, DON'T TELL THEM!!

Connemara Eagle Project

This morning, the Scout Master took Megan and McKay to Connemara to help with an Eagle Project for one of the boys in our ward.  

McKay went because he loves hanging out with the older boys and his dad, and because he will jump at any chance to use a hatchet.  

Megan went because she LOVES Connemara and she might also love that boy who was working on his Eagle project.  (Not like LOVEY DOVEY kind of love, but like SUPER good friends kind of love, you know?)

Really, how can you NOT love this gorgeous little piece of nature right in the middle of all of our Allen civilization??

OK, here was the project.  (This makes me get a little weepy, it's such a great thing to do.)  So there were all these little stray trees on the property that were in the wrong locations...like those little saplings that just spring up in wrong places.  

photo courtesy of Chad King

photo courtesy of Chad King

photo courtesy of Chad King

So all the boys (and Megan) dug them up, cut them down, and dragged them over to big piles like these...

Eventually when the leaves die and wither away, the piles will look like these little huts...

There is a large population of coyotes in the area and at night the bunnies are pretty vulnerable prey for them, so these little "bunny huts" provide shelter.  They're large enough for bunnies to sneak into, but too small for coyotes.  And all the thorny branches are not very appealing for those coyotes either, so they keep moving, and the bunnies are safe for another night.  Isn't that awesome?? The boy scouts spent the day clearing debris AND saving bunnies from coyotes.  I love that!  And I'm sure the bunnies will, too.

via

There was a great turn out for this activity, lots of future Eagle scouts and a handful of leaders helping, so they finished the projected 3 hour job in less than 2 hours!  And now all he has left to do is the paperwork...hooray!  One more Eagle about to leave the nest.  Craig is so proud of all these boys.  (Can you see the glowing pride?)

What a great service project to be a part of.  I'm so proud of my little environmentalist Megan who couldn't keep herself away from an opportunity to work at Connemara.  I see lots of GREEN greatness in her future...

photo courtesy of Chad King