It was a pretty mellow week so this will be a relatively short blog. We need weeks like this!
On Monday, our new afternoon nanny started. And tonight she sent me a text saying she needs to quit. I’m pretty unhappy about starting a search again but we’ll make it work.
I spied the kids chilling with Penni on Monday afternoon.
On Tuesday morning, Sammy and I went to the doctor for a check on his infected cut. He was very brave as she poked and prodded. It’s healing nicely and Sammy’s been a great patient all week with his antibiotics and 3x daily ointment. In fact, if I couldn’t do his midday ointment due to meetings, Sammy was able to take care of it on his own. If I didn’t want to check on how it’s healing each day, I think he could be entirely self sufficient. Big kid.
April 21, 2021 in Michigan. This is a big NOPE from me. Thanks to the weather, the boys’ first baseball practice was canceled on Tuesday night and Amaya’s practice was canceled on Wednesday night. Even right now it’s only 38 degrees out (but will be 84 on Tuesday)!
Steven loves jokes. Last weekend I printed him out a sheet of jokes that he’s been reading to friends and family. Penni sent me this picture of Steven on Wednesday and shared that he started a joke contest in gym class. 🙂
The kids and I had plans to wake up at 5:45am on Thursday morning to watch the Dragon Crew-2 launch. After the kids were in bed I realized the launch was scrubbed and rescheduled for Friday so I very quickly made 8 of these signs and put them all over the kids’ room and on my bedroom door. I was worried they’d wake up, see the time, worry they’d missed the launch and wake me. Fortunately they saw the signs, and even more fortunately, they could read them.
Amaya, posing in her new PJs. I know someday I’ll think seven was young but, right now, it’s hard for me to believe how big these kids are getting.
Pre-bedtime cuddles and story time. We’re reading “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” – a book I loved and read many, many times as a kid. It’s really cool reading this book to SSA.
I tried to read “Ramona and Beezus” to the kids but it felt very, very dated. Much more so than when I read it myself in the early 80’s. I checked the published date and was surprised to learn that it was written in the early 50’s! No wonder parts of it felt so outdated. And I can see how it would feel more relatable to a kid in the early 80s’ compared to 2021. I think I’ll give one of the later Ramona books a try and see how it feels.
Friday morning – 5:45am – we were up and ready to see Crew 2 launch! It was really cool. I love this stuff and was glad to be up for it – something I wouldn’t have done if I wasn’t sharing it with Steven, Sammy and Amaya.
It really blew our minds to think that one of the astronauts has a 7 year old child, just like I do. Steven was pretty clear that he doesn’t want me to go to space.
On Friday it was back to softball. Gabby’s background check wasn’t back yet so I joined her and the kids and worked in the car while she hung out with the boys. (But it’s back now so we’re good to go!)
Here’s Amaya at 3rd base.
We had a really nice lazy day at home on Saturday. I stayed in bed until 10am and Jason a bit longer. It is surreal to be able to stay in bed that long with kids who are self sufficient enough to get breakfast for themselves and entertain themselves while we relax. I keep thinking about to their baby years when I could see this in the distance but it felt so out of reach.
Jason and the kids – with extra effort from Steven – spent time organizing ball cards. Steven set up a ball card shop and was a very persuasive salesman.
He has a set of numbered 1992 rookies and there is no #6 in the set. “There is no 6. I don’t know why.”
Labeled, priced, and ready to sell!
Jason treated me to a box of the new Star Trek: Picard trading cards and, after opening and shorting them, I wanted a binder to store the unique cards. Steven quickly ran and grabbed me a binder he has that he isn’t using. It’s perfect.
It was a table game day, too! All 5 of us played a 2+ hour game of Ticket to Ride. Daddy was the overall winner, Amaya was the kid winner.
Contemplating her next move.
Steven came up with an intricate coding system connected to his squishies. For example, if he pressed the hamburger it meant he was making a move. The pumpkin meant he wanted a card from the pile.
Sammy requested a game of Carcassonne and he was our winner!
Amaya had some change she wanted to transfer over the Mommy Bank so we sorted and counted it together. She had $47.62 in coins! Some haul!
Today was another relatively lazy day. The kids had Hebrew school, outside in the cold, from 9:30- 10:30am but that was about it for the Clines.
Amaya wore a big bow that she made with Grandma Betsy.
Showing me some chalk art they made at Hebrew school.
Post Hebrew school hot chocolate! (Amaya left her jacket at softball practice so she’s wearing one of mine.)
Amaya’s store! It was a creative afternoon. Steven opened a science lab and hired Amaya to work in it. Both Amaya and Steven opened up shop again.
Amaya and Daddy, shopping together so Amaya could spend some of her Mommy Bank $s.
Finally, I can always count on Sammy to help when there’s raw meat to cook!
Have a great week!