Amaya specifically asked if I could name this week’s blog “New York and Michigan” and that’s an easy yes. For the two of us, at least, it sums up our week!

On Monday, Sophia shared this post-school photo of Amaya. It looks like she had a styling class from Cindy Lou Who. 🙂

I was in OH so Amaya joined Sophia and the boys at swim and brought her laptop with her for some reading time.

After swim, Steven told Sophia, “I feel so good right now, and I’m so happy!” And Sammy said, “I feel so good right now, too.” I looooove that these boys are loving swim. I know I say this all the time, but they’ve come so far.

After swim, Sophia took the kids to 7-11 to redeem free slurpie coupons that they earned at school. These may be their first ever slurpees!

On Tuesday, Amaya officially graduated from AquaTots program! Perfect timing, too, because Tuesday was her last day in swim for a while so she can try an extra class of gymnastics each week. I’m also so proud of Amaya. She’s loved swim for a long time and set her mind to becoming a great swimmer. I’m hoping we can find somewhere she can keep up lessons (if she wants to, of course).

On Thursday afternoon I was driving home from work after a board meeting and, right as I was about to pass Thornton Creek, got a call from the school saying Sammy had a cough, headache and fever. Fastest pick-up ever!

I’ll cut to the chase – both rapid and PCR tests came back negative for COVID, flu and RSV so it looks like he had just one of those viruses you get… but nothing to worry about in particular.

It was a wild afternoon. Sophia took Sammy for his tests while I took Steven to school for my volunteer shift at the school book fair. Meanwhile, Amaya was at gymnastcis and was able to arrange for her friend’s mom to drop her at school afterward since no one would be home. So many moving parts and pieces in our lives these days. It’s chaotic and wonderful.

Bobes, getting ready to check out the books.

Amaya, post-gymnastics, was ready to shop!

We got home to find Sammy tucked in bed wtih Jason (still in his mask from when we weren’t sure quite what he had).

Sleepy Bubba

Knowing that Sammy just had a run-of-the-mill virus, on Friday morning Amaya and I set off for a girls weekend in New York! It was a semi-last minute trip. We just booked it a few weeks ago and centered it on an opportunity to see Charlie compete in gymnastics.

Turns out April 29th is our date.

Somehow this was the first time we realized we could play Super Mario Kart on the plane. Definitely a great way to pass time together.

We got back to Aunt Sara & Uncle Dave’s house while Charlie was still in school so Amaya got in some trampoline time and had lunc with Nana and Savta before picking Charlie up at school

Cousins!!

The girls spent the whole afternoon working on gymnastics. Charlie is an amazing teacher.

First up was backbend practice

Then Charlie taught Amaya a beam routine! So impressed with them both.

Amaya’s got her splits down

Back in NY, Sammy had a quiet day at home with Sophia while he recuperated. That meant lots of TV time and a bunch of iPod time.

Bobes and Sophia, with one of Steven’s new book fair books.

Even Sally is interested in Among Us

On Saturday morning, Sammy wasn’t felling up to baseball while Steven hit 2/12 fair balls. First game is Tuesday!

Saturday was full of Charlie’s sporting events starting with a volleyball game in the morning. Amaya wore her “Charlie” shirt in support. ❤️

It was a beautiful day out so we spent hours outside. Amaya and Charlie rode bikes, there was more gymnastics, and Nana, Papa, Savta and Auntie all came to spend time with us.

Nana on the balance beam

We wrapped up the day with Charlie’s gymastics competition. It was amazing to get to see her compete.

My wonderful men and first girl, back at home.

Morning goodbyes are also super sad for Amaya but she powered through.

First first class upgrade since this girl was an infant. She was in heaven.

We had a quiet afternoon at home. Tomorrow, work starts to replace our carpet with hardwood so we had to prep the house. Then we had some great outdoors time.

I’m going to wrap up this blog with some totoally new to me photos from Auntie. These are pictures that Savta and Saba brought to Israel when they visited her in 1977. She was a new aunt who couldn’t bear to be away from her niece. I know that feeling well.

These pictures are such a gift.

Have a great week!

On Monday, I turned 46 and had a lovely birthday. I woke to texts and cuddles from Steven. Amaya made me some handmade gifts. Jason got me a much needed and appreciated gift certificate for massages. Sammy, Steven and Amaya threw me a wonderful on Steven’s Animal Crossing island. They all came to the party with wrapped gifts and Steven had a plan with poppers and glow sticks. It was so cute.

Sophia even made me a kosher for Passover cake! It was really good! (And not just “good for Passover”.)

Since January, Steven has been texting Jason pictures of Sally to print so he could make me a Sally picture book. So sweet. <3

This was on schoolwork that Amaya brought home. She had to write a sentence that uses at least two contractions. “I’m a triplet not a twin so don’t call me a twin.” She’s so funny! And it’s really interesting to step back sometimes and think about the kids’ experience as multiples from their perspective.

Animal Crossing fun times

My first two loves!

Amaya has one checkmark left in her Level 8 progress chart and then she’ll be an AquaTots graduate. I’m not 100% sure she’ll reach that milestone, though, because next Tuesday is her last day at swim for a while. In May, she’s going to do two days/week of gymnastics. Since she’s so close to completion, when or if Amaya does start swim again we’ll take lessons somewhere else where she can continue to progress.

The kids have been very into their chromebooks lately. They read books on Epic, work on powerpoint biography presentations (truth!) and play games on “Math Playground”. They like to tell me that Math Playground is “exercise for our brains” but it just looks like mindless games to me. But the site’s tagline is “Give Your Brain a Workout” so maybe they know more than I do.

Thursday morning I had the great pleasure of going to a breakfast event at the kids’ school. The students were broken into two days by last name and Thursday we were up! It was my first big school event in more than two years!

The school served donuts which we weren’t eating during Passover so we brought out own Passover treats to eat instead. You can see Sammy sneaking his bites from under the table. The kids were supportive of not eating the donuts, and excited to eat their Passover goodies from Nana, but at first also a little uncomfortable (I think) eating something different than the rest of the kids. Which I totally understand.

I loooooved being there.

The got past it quickly, though. Steven and Sammy saw their friends Jack and Subaru and very quickly headed over to their table to finish eating with no cares in the world.

Amaya met up with her friend Sara.

This funny kid kept trying to jump into his sister’s picture.

While we were in NY, Sophia made laminated check lists to use for the kids each afternoon. Steven loves adding his own items to the list.

You can see “Maybury Park” on Steven’s list. The boys were supposed to have their first baseball practice but it was canceled due to poor field condition. They were disappointed so instead, while Amaya was at gymnastics, Sophia took the boys to a baseball field to practice on their own. (Maybury Park didn’t work out so they went over by Novi High School.)

Spring is here!

Before bed, Sammy took this picture of me with Sally and his new stuffed cat, currently called “No Name”.

Earlier, I mentioned Powerpoint Biographies. The boys are working on biographies in their class and have ppt presentations to go with them. I think both boys are writing about Miguel Cabrera. Steven is also writing about Aaron Judge and Elon Musk.

Amaya was really interested in this idea so she’s doing her own bio on Ruby Bridges, just for fun. She’s reading about Ruby, taking notes, and then making her presentation. She’s loving it and, in Amaya fashion, is extraordinarily focused.

In the morning, I found Amaya in bed working on her presentation.

On Friday, Amaya’s friend Harper took the bus home with her. They played outside, played foosball, had dinner, and made Carrot/Banana smoothies.

I was working in the basement when they came down to play. I offered to leave them alone but Amaya said it was fine if I stayed down there. I’ll cherish these moments where Amaya is fine with me being around her friends lol.

We had a busy morning on Saturday. I took Amaya to a gymnastics make-up class while Jason took the boys to their first baseball practice. This year is machine pitch which is a big step up for them from coach pitch. I’m excited to see how it goes!

Sammy at bat, Steven in the field.

After lunch, Amaya gathered the family in the sitting room for a birthday party she planned for me. She had invitations, homemade gifts and a wonderful birthday crown for me. The highlight of the part was assigning each of us a room to visit where we had to find something we love. Then we shared the item with the rest of the family and explained why it was important to us.

Jason got an assortment of sashimi sushi and it came with some kind of tentacled fish. Sammy was the only person in the house willing to try it. He is our brave, adventurous eater.

This day! It was beautiful!! I’m so happy the warm weather is arriving. We sat on the deck, Steven (and later Sammy) practiced batting, Amaya & Sammy rode bikes.

Steven started on the tee. Later, the boys transitioned to Jason pitching.

Amaya and Sammy are ready to ditch those training wheels. Amaya already took them off but needs help to get the hang of riding. Sammy will be right with her.

Sammy has unlocked his love of reading with a Legend of Korra graphic novel. I am so happy he’s found joy in reading.

Saturday night, Jason fell asleep on the couch and Sally stood watch over her Papa.

Big milestone for the Cline kids! No more backs on their boosters in my car. They all loved it. Feels like just yesterday we were trying to figure out how to get three infant bucket seats across in a row in this car.

Hebrew school is winding down for the year. I’m not sure we’ll make it next weekend so today might be their last day until 3rd grade. (I can’t believe I just said “3rd grade”.)

Before I drove to OH for work, I got to enjoy some absolutely gorgeous weather with Jason and the kids.

Steven made a path for the scooter kids to ride through. Amaya and Sammy were thick as thieves this afternoon, with their scooter and biking adventures.

Amaya was absolutely determined to learn to ride a two-wheeler and when that girl has the will, she finds the way (with her Daddy’s help)! So proud of her!

Jason said she got even better after this video – riding it perfectly and for sustained time periods. Hooray!

And that’s all for us for this week! Have a great one.

It’s been a wonderful week.

It started off with an opportunity for me to help out at Amaya’s Girl Scout meeting. Our troop leader is my friend Laura and my hat’s off to her for the effort and energy she puts in for these girls.

It’s SO nice to be able to get inside of Thornton Creek again. I definitely feel the loss of the all the time that wasn’t possible and I’m going to try to make the most of opportunities when I can, now that restrictions are lifted.

The meeting was from 3:45- 5pm and it included snacks, learning about being fair, a vote on whether or not to play a game outside or do a craft (the game won) and some girl scout friendship circle type stuff. It’s a really nice group of girls and I loved seeing them all together.

Sara and Amaya – relaxing after a hard day at school.

This girl will do the splits anywhere she can.

A wonderful group of girls.

All of the kids had a great week at swim. The boys are moving through level 5 really nicely. It seems like it’s all starting to click for them. And Amaya is probably one, maybe two, weeks away from graduating from the final level (8) at Aquatots. I found somewhere she can transition to but they’re so full that they’re not even taking new names for the waitlist so we’ll call regularly to try to get on the list and maybe look for alternatives in the meantime. I think I’ve mentioned that Amaya loves to swim, but doesn’t want to compete, so it’s just about finding her somewhere that she can keep developing her skills.

Ready for school! Amaya was “on the phone” during this picture lol.

The checklists are still working really well for the kids – especially Steven. I just love how he edits them and, even more, I love how they motivate him.

On Thursday morning, Steven, Sammy, Amaya and I headed to the airport for a Passover trip to NY! Sun in their eyes and smiles on their faces. <3

After all these years flying together, it is so easy to fly with these three. I just love it and I’m so happy that they do, too.

When I told Amaya we were on a smaller plane for the flight to NY she said, “Uh oh. Those usually don’t have TVs.” Girl knows her Delta planes.

Hello New York!

We landed around noon and got a wonderful welcome at JFK from Aunt Sara and Charlie.

We spent the afternoon at the Goldbergs’. It was a gorgeous day and we got a ton of sunshine. Such a nice day.

Savta and her Sammy

Of course Chelsy made the trip to NY. She now has a chair of her own – a gift from Sophia from her own American Girl doll days.

IHOP for dinner. (Kids still think it’s funny to call it “ear jump”.)

We’re staying at a hotel this trip and everyone was ALL SMILES this morning on the way to pick up Charlie, Chase and Aunt Sara before heading to Nana and Papa’s house.

Always need lego time.

We all picked up some McDonald’s for lunch and ate at Savta’s house.

They match!

It was another beautiful day. We got so lucky with the weather.

We had a wonderful, wonderful first Passover Seder.

Lots of family photos to kick things off…

The photo above was a recreation of this one from 2018.

I think this is my favorite. ❤️

Fun with Savta

A “reclining” Seder

Charlie did an amazing job reading Hebrew and Amaya was excited to read the Four Questions in English.

Four Questions + Splits

Chelsy loves matzah

Friday night was not just a sleepover at Nana and Papa’s but a literal sleepover IN Nana’s room with her.

A little Survivor to wind down before bed…

Four kids, asleep on Nana’s floor. Love this so much.

By 7am, the kids and Nana were set up downstairs and watching this past week’s survivor. They’re doing the best to keep me spoiler free because I haven’t watched it yet.

Eye color twins! We never noticed this before!

We had another lovely Seder with participation from almost everyone! This time Steven did the English rendition of the four questions. Notice Jason in the background? He arrived on Friday night. ❤️

Amaya and Steven, handing out the parsley and salt water.

Forever, the kids will talk about the Afikoman fire on the 2nd night of Passover, 2022. Uncle Dave hid the afikoman, and a $1 bill, in a light fixture. Unaware, someone turned on the light fixture. Ooops!

We had a wonderful afternoon back at Aunt Sara and Uncle Dave’s house. Antie joined us as well as the rest of the Zargaris (Harts, Menageds) – Joe, Nicole, Eli, Dalie, Mike, Rachel, Jake and Naomi. Dave’s parents – Allen and Syvia came, too. The kids had an amazing time playing together. Plus, I got a birthday cake. 🙂

Amaya’s crutches game was strong all weekend. She even convineced Mike that she really needed them.

Jason, the kids and I stayed at a hotel by LGA and headed back to MI early this morning so we could have a relaxing afternoon – which we did!

And that’s all for us this week! We’re ready for a week of Passover and doing our best to avoid bread, pasta, etc. We can do it!

Have a great week!

*Blog title by Steven

This is my typical morning view as these three kids get on the school bus. Their long time, wonderful bus driver, Mr. Ed, has been out for a few weeks. We’re not sure if he’s coming back but this week’s bus driver won the kids’ affection by giving them raisins and granola bars. He was also clear that he had to give the food to a parent so I got to meet him when I trusted the kids and went to the bus stop because “the new bus driver is brining raisins for us and you have to get them from him. He might come to our door if you’re not at the bus stop.”

The boys had swim on Tuesday afternoon and Sophia said that Steven is so happy with his current coach. He volunteers to try things first and said he loves swim. He even volunteers to got to extra make-up classes. I’m really proud of how far he’s come.

This week’s after school art class was mask making. The kids did a draft of these designs and then put them on the masks. Really cool and creepy.

Steven

Sammy

Amaya

Sophia started making check lists for the kids for each day’s responsibility. Steven really loves them and even adds his own items to the list. The check lists motivate him to get everything done and also seem to spark a little competition in his brother and sister. I hope they keep working this well. It feels like a game changer, to be honest.

Two bags of stuff from his playroom cubbies that he’s will to retire to the basement for now.

For the first time in two years I was able to volunteer in school during the school day! Hooray!! I was the parent volunteer for the boys’ library class. It’s right after Amaya’s class so I got to see all of the kids. Amaya was excited to see me which made my mom heart very happy. I was excited to get to see her, too. <3

The boys wanted far less to do with me lol. Steven said it was fun and weird to have me there because he’s not used to it. I totally get that.

The Book with No Pictures! These kids still laugh and laugh and laugh when I read it.

We had a fun Friday evening. We went to their friend Clarie & Elly’s house for a pizza dinner which started with lots of fun in the girls’ basement. After pizza, both families went to the Novi Civic center for a youth performance of High School Musical Jr. All of the kids loved it. Amaya even said she’d like to try out for one of the performances next year but she also says she has stage fright and can’t sing in front of people so we’ll see how she feels when audition time comes around.

Chelsy has had a very busy week. She got a new outfit. Every girl needs some cute PJs, right?

She helped Sophia with cooking & tidying and kept me company while I worked.

Chelsy and Daddy got some bonding time while the kids and I were at the musical.

Amaya got this beginner crochet kit which is significantly more difficult than either or us anticipated. There was frustration and some tears but we (think we) finally figured it out.

On Saturday all of the kids had birthday parties. The boys had Nolan’s bowling birthday party and Amaya had Hannah’s birthday party at Hannah’s house. We refreshed Amaya’s hair color to celebrate.

Milan and Amaya

Daddy and the boys went to Menards while I was taking Amaya to the party. Steven loves these stores (and wood). 🙂

It was a quite Sunday. Hebrew school for the kids in the am and then, after reading some books on epic, watched High School Musical the movie for the very first time. I think they liked it even more than the youth musical version they saw on Friday night. Not surprising. It was the first time I saw it, too. And probably not surprising.

That’s it for us! Have a great week!

Another week where Monday feels like a lifetime ago. Nana came to visit on Sunday and stayed through Tuesday evening so her Saturday morning Starbucks tradition moved to Monday morning instead. <3

Amaya got some new face paint so Amaya and Sophia got busy with this wonderful face art.

Sophia and the kids helped Nana with Passover prep by making tahini cookies. It was a 2-day process to bake and cook the cookies, which made it home safely with Nana.

The kids got in lots of puzzle time and even started watching Survivor with Nana. We’re definitely hooked.

Sometimes, when you come upstairs during a work break, you find a Sammy in a box.

In preparation for Spring, Sophia went through some new(ish) clothes from Charlie. This “Love” sweatshirt was in the mix and it’s a hit.

I honestly can’t believe how old Amaya looks in these pictures. I feel like I can see her as a 20 year old.

On Wednesday, Sophia took the kids roller skating. It was their very first time. Thank goodness for these little roller walker things. They had fun, though. We’ll have to go more often so they can get good and ditch the walkers.

Oh, April Fool’s Day. These kids got up early to “fool” me into eating breakfast treats like chocolate covered peas. Their laughter and squeals while they yelled “PRANK!” was worth the nonsense I ate.

Building a Mochi home

Chelsea’s new do.

On Friday, Steven wore a patch for the very last time! He did so well with the patches and Jason and I are really proud of him. We’re so glad he can put patches in the rearview mirror.

Baseball practice starts for the boys in mid-April so Sammy spent some time outside trying out his new cleats. He’s sure they help him run faster!

Friday night sleep with parent night! Still a favorite. <3

It is amazing to see Amaya reading Ramona books. I don’t think they hold up as well as some other kids’ books from my childhood but I love that she loves them.

On Saturday morning we celebrated Chelsy’s birthday! She’s three.

Amaya made invitations, which were required for entry, and a party schedule.

1. Sing Happy Birthday
2. Open presents
3. Art tutorial
4. Pizza

The birthday girl and her mama, who wore a Happy Birthday shirt for the occasion.

Amaya’s art tutorial where she taught us to draw Chelsy and Chelsy’s dog, Charlie, step by step. Jason, Steven, Amaya and I participated.

The finished works. (Chelsy broke her leg and is in a wheelchair which is why she’s sitting in the pictures.)

Matching unicorn hair was Chelsy’s gift from Nana Joanna and Papa D.

We had pizza for Chelsy’s part as part of lunch. Sammy’s friend Nolan joined us. (He’s friends with both boys but closer with Sammy.)

While the boys played, Amaya whooped her Daddy at Othello.

My Sally girl is so happy on my lap.

Most of us had a wonderfully lazy Sunday. Early in the day, while Jason was a the office, Amaya, Steven and I watched and loved Turning Red.

Amaya asked to see a picture of the Ukranian flag and then made this. Sweet girl.

Last day of Spring Break and we finally sat down for the student-led confernces. The kids walked us through samples of their work. It was wonderful!

Two kitchen helpers making a delicious dinner.

Finally, when I nap my sweet Sally watches ove me.

Have a great week!

Monday morning was another slow one in the Cline household so, for a 2nd Monday in a row, I drove these kids to school. If I don’t have an 8:30am meeting, I can get home in time to finish getting ready in time for a 9am start and the slower morning for the kids is definitely a welcome treat.

Amaya made this art at school. “I am pretty. I am kind. I am flexible. I am caring. I am loving.” All true!

The after school art program needed a parent volunteer so Sophia stepped up on Tuesday. Sammy had forgotten his freezer pack in his classroom so Sammy and Sophia went back to get it, which gave him a chance to show her his class’ mealworms.

Art class. 🙂

Steven’s art

Sammy’s art

Amaya’s art

This week the kids have student-led conferences. They bring home work from school and walk us through the materials. We will get to the bulk of it this coming week during spring break but Steven and Sammy got a start playing a math game and reading some of their favorite poems.

Really love this boy with his top knot. <3

Wednesday wrapped up the final zoom storytime for Thornton Creek’s March is Reading month. It’s such a fun way to engage the kids.

Amaya’s class was featured on TC’s twitter this week. Mealworms, butterflies… lots of fun opportunities to engage with nature in their classes.

The kids had half days of school on Thursday and Friday so the boy’s friend Brady rode home on the bus with them for an afternoon playdate. They had so much fun and Brady is a sweet, kind boy. They had pizza, played in the basement, played video games and wrestled outside.

Amaya and Sophia painted faces while the boy were busy.

Gymnastics time! The boys have just one more class before they take their baseball break. I haven’t heard about a start date for baseball yet so think they could have signed up for April, too, but I’ll be happy to have them home at the house while Sophia takes Amaya to gymnastics.

Tired girl after a busy day.

Friday was PJ day for the kids’ half day at school – with Encanto and popcorn on the agenda! This pictures sums up the three kids perfectly, in their approach to group photos lol.

Sammy earned a Be More Buck at school. Apparently he did something kind that earned him the buck (doesn’t remember what) and then his name was pulled from a drawing which earned him an extra certificate, his name on the announcements and possibly something else – but he doesn’t know. 🙂

A mom on our block volunteers at the library for Amaya’s class each week. Amaya borrowed a cupcake cookbook from the school library and, while she was taking it out, Mrs. Boomer suggested she bake cupcakes for Mrs. Festa and Nico. So that’s what she did and then hand delivered them to the family.

Jason and I got cupcakes, too, complete with glasses of milk.

Saturday was a nice calm day. Jason played chess with the boys in the morning – and won both games.

Steven and Amaya had make-up swim lessons. Amaya is almost through with level 8 at which point she said she might take a break from swim lessons. She loves to swim but is emphatic about not competing. There’s a swim “club” not to far away but it sounds like she’s ready for just some recreational summer swimming. And Steven is doing so well in level 5.

Sammy held down the fort at home with Jason, and got in some 1:1 time with Sally.

Sammy and Steven had remote control alligators tht they wanted to try in the water which, somehow, ended up with all 3 kids in the bathing suits in our master bathtub. It’s been ages since they piled in the tub together.

A levitating Barbie. Hard to see here, but she was floating vertically and the boys thought it was really cool.

Today Nana came for a visit! Before we headed the the airport we all relaxed at home, which included time for Amaya to finish a project – a wheelchair for her baby Chelsea who has a broken leg.

We picked up Nana at the airport and then, after lunch, Amaya, Steven, Nana and I wen to the Apple store to get Steven’s new iPod which he needed becuase someone (hi! me!) washed it with a load of laundry yesterday. Sadness for my wallet, but I was really proud of how well Steven handled it.

This afternoon, Sammy was a great helper in the kitchen. He really loves working with raw meat – which I appreciate because I don’t love it quite the same way

Nana, Steven, (and Sally) worked on the Sunday NYT crossword puzzle together.

We spent a little bit of time looking through a photo album that Sara made me for my 30th birthday. The kids couln’t get over the photos of Nana, Papa and Savta when they were younger.

I’ll wrap up this week’s blog with a photo of the day Sally and I became family. <3

That’s it for us! The kids are on Spring Break this week and Nana is staying through Tuesday. Hooray!

*Blog title by Amaya

Monday, Monday, Monday. It was a rough entry into daylight savings time for most of us. Sammy slept so late that, I looked at my meeting schedule, and decided I could take the kids to school which gives them an extra 25 min to get ready. It was a good call for all of us.

I promised the boys I’d take them to swim on Monday, while Sophia stayed home to pick up Amaya at Girl Scouts. Steven and Sammy don’t think it’s fair that I regularly take Amaya to her (6:50pm) swim class so I try to take them to their 5:10pm class on days it works out.

Our Bubba remains creative in his reading logs. Now we have “30ish” and “20ish” minutes. 🙂

After swim, I dropped the boys at home and went out for a dinner with work colleagues. As I was wrapping up I got this text from Steven. No question, I hightailed it out of there to get home to these kids. Who wouldn’t, if they could, after a text like this?

Amaya got two more badges at her Monday meeting – the snow adventure badge she earned from her snowshoe scavenger hunt and a cookie badge for this year’s cookie sales.

After school art is still going strong. I love seeing how the kids interpret the same project in their own ways.

Steven

Sammy

Amaya

A little bit of sweet Sal on Wednesday afternoon.

Post-swim Amaya, wrapping up her wet hair and excited to be one of the last kids at the place.

Wednesday was a weird one! Sammy said he wasn’t feeling well before school – his stomach hurt. He ate some breakfast, took some tylenol and got on the bus with my promise that I’d come and get him if he didn’t start to feel better. Sure enough, around 10am I got a call that Sammy was in the office and he felt sick, but didn’t have a fever. As promised, I left the office and picked him up.

This did not look like the face of a sick guy! In fact, after about an hour at home, he started getting bored and asked to go back to school. Sounded good to me! The school called again at 3pm because he was back in the office – still no fever but didn’t feel well. We spoke on the phone and he said he’d just wait until 3:45pm and come home on the bus.

Well, he came home on the bus, went to sleep and, by late evening, did have a fever!

Sick, sleepy Sammy with a fast-passing viral fever. (And a precautionary puke bucket handy in the bed.)

Meanwhile, Amaya and Steven got busy making leprechaun traps for St. Patrick’s Day. I don’t know when this became a thing but it’s definitely big now.

Amaya invited “Lepy” the Leprechaun to visit and tried to think of all sorts of foods he’d like. She sorted them in health order from green to red, the same way her Daddy organized the pantry.

Steven, on the other hand, built a legit trap for the poor green guy.

Sophia: What are you trying to do with your trap?

Steven: Kill a Leprechaun.

Sophia: What do you want to find in the trap in the morning?

Steven: A dead Leprechaun. (Duh.)

Sammy was home on Thursday, but these two were ready in green for school. (But sad that they didn’t have any live Leprechauns – or dead – caught in their traps.)

Amaya left this note, hoping Lepy would return.

Sammy’s fever was down by morning and this kid lived his best sick day life. He stayed in bed all day watching videos on his iPod along with 3 or 4 Star Wars movies throughout the day.

March is Reading Month has unlocked our readers! The goal of reading at least 20 minutes really pushed the kids into picking up books and, now, they don’t want to put them down – especially Steven.

Friday was “wear a shirt/hat with words” day at school. Steven made a word of his own with his Cheerios. ❤️

A couple of pictures from school this week.

We also got the kids’ class pictures. It just hit me that their alpha order is backwards birth order – which doesn’t matter but it’s the opposite way I always take their pictures. 🤷‍♀️

I’m realizing that they talk about most of the boys in their class. It seems like a really nice group of kids. Steven and Alex had some conflict at the beginning of the year but it sounds like that’s totally resolved itself.

Milan Pierce is Amaya’s BFF but she’s also close with Sara and really likes Maia, Hannah and Stella.

With dinner on Friday, Sophia served kumquats. I’ve never had one and it was quite the adventure for the kids. Sammy thought they were too sour. Steven flat out didn’t like them. Amaya liked showing how she could eat them with 0 reaction.

After dinner, Sophia took the kids to a playground. I love, love, love that it’s playground weather again.

Can you even handle this cat’s cuteness? She sure loves her people.

On Saturday, Grandma Sunshine and Aunt Annette came to visit. There was a re-watch of the Sparty ground one tournament game, board games, and Kiwi Co kit and lots of reading books on Epic. Lots and lots of reading books. (In fact, Amaya and Sammy both read for 2+ hours and Steven read for over 3 hours on Saturday.)

Five dollars for everyone, from Grandma. 🙂

Steven took a picture with Grandma in front of her door and wanted to recreate it in front of our door.

Sammy, cleaning up, and coming in for the bubble attack on his poor defenseless Mama.

The kids even passed up on bedtime shows on Saturday night to keep reading their books on Epic. And wanted to read at breakfast this morning! There’s a gamification element to it which is doing a great job triggering the reward centers of their brains. 🙂

Today, after Hebrew school, the kids geared up for a visit from May May, Taco and Eden. Those girls are getting so big! Five years old and three next week! Time is just flying by.

Steven and Sammy had some epic battles while they waited for Megan to arrive.

Enjoying the gorgeous day

Sammy and Taco in a bubble battle

Turtle Taco and Turtle Steven

Eded was a fierce air hockey competitor

Steven, Sammy and Amaya didn’t want to let May May go!

And that’s it for us! We had a taco dinner, got in more reading time, and watched a bunch of baseketball.

Have a great week!

It’s after 2:30pm on Sunday and I’m just getting this started which is really poor planning on my party. After all these years, I trust my routine and my routine does not love getting to the blog on Sunday afternoons. My routine likes as little to do as possible on Sunday afternoons. 🙂

This was week two of “March is Reading Month” at Thornton Creek. The kids had to turn in reading logs and also a completed form showing 4 books read. Sammy impressed me with his ability to complete the assignment while doing the absolutely minimum work possible.

“4x Gerald and Piggie books” with lines to the rest of the rows.

On Monday morning, Jason took Steven to an eye doctor appointment. She was really happy with his progress patching. He had consistent 20/25 corrected and a few letters at 20/20. He has to continue patching through the month and then he is D-O-N-E.

While the boys were at swimming on Monday afternoon and I finished up a call, Amaya got busy painting her face and then did her reading. Sally got comfy too.

Steven and Sammy read in the car on the way to and from swim. Car reading still isn’t something I can do.

Bedtimes story book with Mr. Connolly.

March 8th was a teacher professional development day so Amaya convinced me that the kids should build forts on Monday night. It was a pretty easy “yes”.

Lego and outside time on Tuesday!

Amaya was even able to play outside in her PJs.

The kids love when they get the whole day with Sophia

On Tuesday evening I flew to NY and was able to stay at Nana and Papa’s. I can’t think of the last time I did that without kids! It was an awesome mid-week treat.

Back at home, the kids played fire fighters rescuing animals. So glad it’s getting warmer!

Meanwhile, I had fried chicken with the grownups at Sara and Dave’s.

Auntie & Dod Shuki <3

Gotta say goodnight to my loves. Savta, too.

March is the boys’ last month in gymnastics for a while because baseball starts sometime in April. This has been really great for them this winter. Fantastic strength, coordination and balance training. There’s an actual Ninja gym not to far away that I’d love to get them into for fall. Classes book fast.

On Thursday the boys’ teacher, Mrs. Bates, read the bedtime story book.

Friday morning I was back at it, watching the kids traipse through the snow to the bus stop.

At school, it was “bring a blanket” day and the kids made forts for reading time.

Friday night “Make Your Own Pizza” night! Steven uses mayo instead of sauce. Digest that in your own way.

Sammy and Amaya worked on their balancing, while Steven took role of photographer.

Saturday morning, Jason and Amaya went shopping for ingredients for a cup cake recipe in a library book she borrowed. She did a great job following the directions with limited support.

Penni came by to pick up Girl Scout cookies. We definitely need to find opportunities to get together more often.

The kids had play dates in the afternoon – Jack for the boys and Sara for Amaya. It was a wonderfully loud few hours at the house.

Sammy couldn’t wait for Jack to arrive.

On Sunday morning, the kids had a rescheduled birthday party at an art studio. It was for Jack’s younger sister Nora, who’s in 1st grade and was on the boys’ baseball team last year.

Amaya’s art

Steven’s art

Sammy’s art

After Nora’s party, I dropped Amaya and Steven at home and took Sammy to another party at his friend Ben’s house. Ben invited 5 boys over for a small birthday party that included a video truck rental. He’s just getting accustomed to “drop off” parties (remember, they missed almost a year and a half of this stuff) but had a great time. I had to drag him away.

Steven, relaxing with Sally

Now Amaya and I are watching a baking show while the Cline men watch the Selection Show. That’s it for us! Have a great week!

*Blog title by Amaya

This was a pretty quiet week. Tuesday kicked off “March is Reading Month” at school which is both a lot of fun for the kids and a bit of added stress with the extra activities and responsibilities. If it’s taught me anything in our first week, though, it’s that the kids are interested in reading independently if the time is set aside. I think I’ve mentioned before that they’re all very good readers, it’s just not an activity they choose with all of the other options around them. So that will be something to think about when the month ends.

I’m not quite sure why Amaya made this but it’s super sweet. “D: I love you sooooooo much, Daddy.” “M: Thank you for signing me up for girl scouts.” (Maybe more independent reading will help with spelling. 🙂 )

Amaya had a rough day on Monday. In the end, she decided it would be better to stay home from swim and take it easy and, like that, her day turned. Instead of swim, she took her chromebook and did math exercises online. This child loves math.

Deep discussions for Steven, Daddy and Sally

Something I love about March Reading Month at Thornton Creek are the zoom bedtime stories with teachers. I think they started this last year when so many kids were virtual but kept it up this year, as well. Each night, a different teacher joins the zoom to read two story books. The kids absolutely love it. They’re also really independent getting it set up. They know where to go in Schoology and how to access the zoom.

Steven left his jacket on the school playground on Wednesday. Since it was a warmer day, Sophia took the kids to play after dinner so they could get it. Lots of energy to burn off and a nice sign of warmer weather to come.

It wasn’t until the kids were getting on the bus in the morning that I noticed Sammy was in shorts. I made him put pants in his backpack “just in case” but he wore these shorts all day – with his snow boots. ❤

Stills from slowmo videos of the kids jumping over puddles. Eight truly is great.

Amaya was scared at bedtime on Wednesday so she slept in our master. Sally was right there to say hello and keep her company. It’s still amazing to think about her family-loving transformation.

Friday was another awesome weather day so, after school, Sophia took the kids to one of their favorite playgrounds over by Maybury Farm. These pictures make me so, so happy.

Here are some pictures of the boys at school this week.

Sally, curled up on Jason on Friday evening. Best cat.

She had an annual vet appointment on Friday. We need to sedate her ahead of time but it’s made a huge difference getting her into her carrier and allowing the vet to do their exam, take blood, etc. She’s a feisty girl. She seems fine neurologically and doesn’t seem to be in any pain, which was a concern because her balance isn’t what it used to be, but it sounds like that’s likely just a symptom of aging. She’s dropped from 7lb 11oz to 6lb 1oz and has a heart murmur so they’re sending out some blood work to see if she has a thyroid issue – which is treatable with medicine. (Though good luck getting medicine in this cat.) I should have the results next week. If it’s not her thyroid, they might want her to come back in to be sure it’s not anything else.

On Saturday, Amaya had a 2.5 hour girl scout event at Northville High School put on by the NHS Robotics club.

This is how it was promoted: “Girl Scout STEM Workshop: Calling all Daisy and Brownie Girl Scouts for the 2022 Girl Scout STEM Workshop hosted by the Northville High School robotics team, Robostangs Team 548.  Girl Scouts will work through the 3 robotics badges along with different crafts and activities. They will be learning how to build, program, and showcase a robot.”

Most of Amaya’s troop signed up for the event.

Before I headed out, I got a pic of the girl scouts and Robostangs. It was pretty cool to see all of these high school students ready to spend their day with K- 3 age kids. They were really engaged.

When I arrived to pick her up, Amaya was glued to the side of her “mentor” for the day. Girl had a crush and she let it be known. She’s still talking about him, 24 hours later.

Some of Amaya’s troop, after the event.

“My robot holds and gives you the stuff you need for gymnastics.”

If you ask Amaya her name, she’ll often say, “Amaya in cursive with a heart”. 🙂

Badges for designing, programming and showcasing a robot. (She’s also waiting on her badge for the snowshoe trail event and for her cookie sales.)

Showing off her new badges. She did a big reveal for Steven.

The boys had fun of their own yesterday. Steven made a mochi farm. Mochis are, it seems, the big trend in the boys’ class right now. They’re little squishy toys, not the Japanese food.

It was gorgeous outside so we sent the boys out around 1:30pm. They grumbled until they realized how nice it was and then pretty much stayed outside until we went for dinner at 5pm. Amaya joined them as soon as she got home at 4pm. (Steven was bummed we aren’t tracking outdoor time this year, after wracking up that many hours.)

Sally and Daddy held down the fort inside. That’s one comfortable cat.

Jason didn’t feel great but Sammy really wanted breakfast for dinner so the kids and I hit up a diner that delivered.

Amaya, talking about her crush.

Steven ordered fried shrimp and asked me to take pictures of these conjoined shrimp that looked like octopus.

We didn’t get in our reading on Friday and the kids wanted to try to double up last night so they read in bed for a while before going to sleep. I loved it, loved it, loved it. They need flashlights so they can read in the morning if they want to, before their siblings are awake.

At Hebrew School today, the kids got canvases with their Hebrew names and were able to paint them. Amaya’s is spelled wrong which is my fault going back to an email to Jason in July of 2014. I’m going to wait a while to tell Amaya. 🙂 The boys haven’t finished painting yet so they don’t want me to share theirs with anyone yet.

The boys had a make-up swim lesson today. Amaya joined us because Jason was at the office.

A fun part of Level 5 are piggy back rides on the instructor’s back at the end of the lesson.

Occupied by Minecraft.

The kids and I played a game of Sorry this afternoon. It takes me right back to playing with Poppy Steven when I was a kid.

Steven and I made some R2-D2 treats from a school cookbook. Four ingredient simple – white chocolate chips, kit kat bars, crushed peanuts and bananas.

Steven got his reading time in this afternoon.

Jason went out to watch the Sparty game so, while dinner was cooking, Steven, Sammy and Amaya played a “who can stay in the library the longest” game. It ended in a tie but Amaya and Sammy got their reading in and Steven did some work on a lego set.

Sally filled Jason’s vacant seat. 🙂

Finally – look who’s back! Season two of Star Trek: Picard premiered this week. I’m a happy lady.

That’s all for us! Have a great week!

Monday was midwinter break which, here, is a day and a half off for a long weekend but SSA made the most of it with a wonderfully lazy day.

Steven, who is always racing his Hot Wheels cars to find the ultimate winner, made an olympic podium for the champions.

Amaya’s baby doll, Cotton Candy, got healthy with some green beans for dinner. (Side note: It’s not uncommon for “Uncle Sammy” to babysit her dolls. He’ll sweetly ask about their bedtime routine and Amaya sometimes writes out specific instructions for care. It’s super sweet.)

Sammy had grand plans to make his Master Chef Junior cupcakes with Sophia. Missions accomplished, and they were fantastic.

My Bubba

Before swim, the kids started a monopoly game that stretched well into the week. Amaya was out by Wednesday, I think, but it was still live by the time Steven and I headed to NY on Friday morning.

Amaya’s girl scout troop has a cookie sales booth at a local Kroger on Sunday so she’s doing the worksheet needed to earn her cookie sales badge. Girl’s got focus.

Tuesday was TWOSDAY, 2/22/22 – and 2/3 of our kids were ready to celebrate at school.

Twos and Tutus.

Monopoly continues… it’s really great that they can play independently now, each with their own strategy.

Tuesday night was swim for Amaya. She is quickly progressing through level 8. We’ll have to talk about what comes next for her. She’s said she wants to learn to swim for fun and not compete so hopefully the Aquatots swim club is a good option. A lot of the other programs for kids at her level are focused on competition and swim practice multiple days/week.

“Duck down so it looks like I’m taller than you.”

While we were out, Puppy and Sally had a nice cuddle.

Our girl, positioned like the queen she is.

On Wednesday night, this sweet girl needed a little mommy support to fall asleep. She’s too big for me to carry up to bed these days so we’ve transitioned to “dream walks”. I’m not sure she even remembers them in the morning.

And, Thursday night, it was Daddy’s support she needed. <3

Some pictures from school for the week. Did I mention that our school board, following “optional” guidance from our MI Department of Health and our county, vote to make masks optional in school starting Tuesday, 2/22? Cases are low and SSA are vaccinated so goodbye masks! (With the exception of the bus where it’s still federally mandated.) It sounds like the kids’ teachers did a great job reminding the kids that it’s no one’s business why a classmate decides to wear or not wear a mask – everyone is making the choice that feels right for their family. I’ve got to admit I love seeing these faces in the weekly pictures from Mrs. Bates and the kids are really liking it, too. So happy for them to reach this point.

On Friday morning, Steven and I headed to DTW for a weekend trip to NY. YAY!! We even got to talk the “light tunnel” to the B gates. Simple travel pleasures.

I have so many photos over the years of Steven sitting and watching planes taxi, take off and land.

Mommy and Bobes! 💖💖💖

Here we are!

My Mommy!!!

I worked Friday afternoon from the Goldberg’s house but the timing was great because they were off for a full week mid-winter break. Steven went bowling with Nana, Papa, Aunt Sara, Charlie, Chase and one of Chase’s friends. He loves bowling so it was perfect way to spend the afternoon.

As always, when we visit there was a lot of Super Mario Party time.

Dinner with Savta!

LOVE

Saturday morning Steven spent a while watching Chase play video games with his friends. He does the same on YouTube kids so why not in person with his cousin, right?

Saturday afternoon, while Charlie was a gymnastics, Nana, Papa, Steven and I went to the Cradle of Aviation Museum, just 10 minutes away from the Goldberg’s house. It was really cool. Long Island was tremendously influential in the early days of flight. So while the museum covered all flight from the Wright Bros to Hubble and space flight, there was a lot to learn about how the area we were standing on was instrumental in those early days – and through to Grumman building the Lunar Modules. We spent about 2.5 hours there and couldn’t have spent more if we didn’t want to get back to see everyone.

Steven Universe (Get it?)

Steven’s favorite part of the museum was how many cockpits he got to sit in. There were so many more than I took photos of. He was totally enthralled.

El Al airplane cockpit

Nana and her Bobes

Planetarium show on the Birth of Earth

My sweet boy

I think he’d have moved into this cockpit if I’d let him.

Lunar Module originally built for Apollo 19 (Which never happened. The program was cut after 17).

The draw of seeing Auntie (“I haven’t seen her in so long!”) brought Steven out of the museum and back to Aunt Sara’s house. It was a really nice evening with everyone.

Working on a word puzzle on Nana’s phone

Around 7pm we headed out to the Hampton Inn over by LGA. We had an early morning flight and it makes it so much easier to already be by the airport rather than stay the extra night just to sleep and wake up eaaaaarly. Steven asked for a picture in this exact spot because he has one just like it in printed picture book.

Settled into the Hampton Inn – Steven’s favorite hotel.

Back in MI, Daddy, Sammy and Amaya had a pizza diner and then watched Revenge of the Sith together.

For the 2nd night in a row, Amaya and Sammy slept in homemade forts.

Steven and I loved the ease of our hotel this morning from the breakfast to the 5 min shuttle ride to our terminal.

By lunchtime we were home!

Good timing, too, because I got to see Amaya and members of her troop knock it out of the park selling girl scout cookies at a local Kroger. They were awesome with the customers. Barely needed us!

That’s it for us! Have a great week!