When Life Gets Too Hectic…

Nothing is more relaxing than a night where you make the choice to go NOWHERE and you make the other choice to put on your pjs and slippers WAY before bedtime!


Lately, Kayli and I have been feeling like we’re on a “runaway train”… and we’re wishing for that mandatory reason to have to stay home and do “nothing”, like you get with a blizzard during the winter, and you feel obliged to stay in your pjs and drink hot chocolate… but since it’s Spring… well…here’s what we did. One night, right after dinner, I said to Kayli “I’ve got a great idea! Let’s put on our pjs, gather up a bunch of books, our laptop, magazines, etc., and we’ll bring them all into my big bed, and we’ll read and play online games and we’ll have some time for me to look at magazines and you to listen to stories on the computer, and we’ll play ‘Go Fish’ and it we'll call it a pj party!” So, we did, and later that night, as we were lying there in the dark, drifting off to sleep, surrounded by ALL the stuffed animals that Kayli had brought to “our party”, she said “Mom, you know, this was the best 'snuggle party' I ever had! Let’s do it again tomorrow!” …And, I thought to myself… sorry, Kayli, tomorrow we have to “get back on that train!”

Some Big Help

I would be remiss if I didn't mention how appreciative I am that Linsey and Lily came over last weekend to help me and Kayli sort and organize toys and other items that were impeding my progress of moving forward with the "house selling project". I was essentially "overwhelmed to the point of paralysis" as there was so much to do and no clear place to start! I couldn't imagine a potential home buyer being able to envision the spacious basement with all this stuff in sight. On the other hand, if you took a look at the amount of things that are in the basement, you would certainly think "Wow, this is a big basement to hold all this STUFF!" Anyway, while Lily entertained Kayli, Linsey helped me begin the arduous task of sorting, stacking, sending away, or packing piece by piece. The girls "allowed" us a couple of good hours to get a substantial amount accomplished! Thank-you, Linsey and Lily!
During our "snack break", Kayli and Lily climbed up into a chair in the sunroom to get a closer look at the birds that were feeding from our birdfeeder. Kayli was trying to tell us the names of the birds they were spotting, like the "Wood-headed Woodpecker", she said with such "authority" that you could almost believe this was a real name!



Now we're on to another issue that is impeding my ability to "work efficiently" and that is Kayli's new fear of insects. This all started with the wasp in Eileen and Gary's bathroom, that happened to be in there, buzzing around, when Kayli went to use the potty. She began to inquire about mosquitos, flies, and bees. She decided that the whole group of insects were a deadly bunch, out to get us! They apparently talked about mosquitos at school, and how they bite you, and who knows what else she "learned" about them. So we had to talk about it too. We had a fly in the house, and she clung to me, cried real tears, and quivered with fear, as I tried everything I could think of to talk her out of this fear. We went to the libray to get some books on insects, to hopefully "empower" her with knowledge. The librarian directed us to a section on insects and pulled out a book exclaiming "Here's a BIG mosquito, EEWWW!" (Hellooo? We didn't really need that added comment) We watched "A Bug's Life". She didn't see the comparison. The teachers at daycare and I both talked about how "if you leave them alone, they will leave you alone" (even though we all know that's not really true!) Kayli seemed hyperfocused on the "buzzing sound" that the fly made, so we talked about where this sound came from. I tried "empowering" her by giving her the fly swatter. Bottom line, though, is that she is "stuck to me like glue" every minute we are at home! She won't let me out of her sight! She's sooo close that I keep running into her, every time I turn around. So, here we are, every day, she tries to say something "brave" and at least attempt to act like she can handle this, when last night she barely began her bath when suddenly she yells "I'm done Mom!" and she jumps out of the tub, dripping wet, with a look of shear panick on her face. I look for signs of a fly, but NO, instead I catch a glimpse of something "swimming" in the tub. It's a 2 inch giant silverfish!!! OMG! Those things totally freak me out, and now I have to act nonchalant as I find something to scoop it up with and dump it in the nearby toilet, while it's kicking those millions of legs and swimming the whole time! Where the heck did that darn thing come from? Shoot. Bless Kayli's little heart, she was trying not to make a big deal, trying to act brave like I've asked her to, and now I'm having to act like it's no big deal and I'm telling her that it's just a little guy that comes in houses for a drink of water sometimes, and, well, we'd prefer that he just get his drink outside. Oh, Lord, sometimes it's hard having to be so BRAVE! Here's a picture to give you the same feeling I had!

Here's Kayli with her props of the day AND her fly swatter!

Why oh why does Spring and Summer have to come with all these pesty bugs???

First Time with Skates Outside!

I have been working round the clock at home, cleaning, purging, and packing, in order to get my house ready to sell. Kayli has not been thrilled with what she sees as my new "all work-no play" plan. So, she WAS thrilled when our weekly babysitter showed up one night, just to play with Kayli while I got some serious work done! I had to stop and get the camera, though, when I saw that Becca had taken Kayli out to the driveway to try out her rollerskates. Up til now, Kayli has only roller skated in the house, on the carpet!
Kayli says "Ok, I've got my helmet, pads, skates. I'm ready to go!"

Whoa, slowly, slowly...this is tricky...
Oops, a little scrape on the hands...
"Now, Becca, here's the new plan..."
Better tighten up the skates...
Oh, yeah, I think this is gonna work great...
Here I go again...

After skating, I heard Becca trying to explain to Kayli how to play kick ball. She pointed out various spots that she called "base" and then rolled the ball towards Kayli to kick. Kayli kicked the ball, Becca yelled "run" and Kayli proceeded to run straight down the driveway, out into the street, turned at the corner and continued to run down the sidewalk, pumping her arms wildly, and shrieking with excitement, as Becca chased her! Soon they were back in the driveway, and Becca was saying "Now, Kayli, there are bases in this game that you run to..." Oh I feel your pain, Becca, and I'm laughing because this is life with a preschooler!

Soooo Many Opportunities for Easter Fun!

In the weeks leading up to Easter, we had many discussions about the spiritual meaning of this special day, and just like Christmas, I tried to "connect some of the dots" for Kayli in the simplest ways I could. There are lots of good suggestions out there for helping children make symbolic connections to the things we do at Easter with coloring eggs, waiting for the easter bunny to come and bring candy, etc. etc. Kayli learns alot at her preschool during the children's bible stories and discussions they have. Throughout Lent, she would ask me questions and want to discuss what they talked about at school. She would often shake her head in pitiful, disbelief and say "Mom, I just can't believe what they did to Baby J*esus!" As we got closer to Easter, she began talking about what she called "the happy part of the story." She'd say "Mom, that was SO mean what they did to baby J*esus, but here's the happy part of the story, he came back to life! Isn't that great?" "Easter. It's a good story after all!" And, the discussion would go on from there, usually leading to a conversation about Heaven, which then leads to Kayli reminding me that someday "we can all go there together", and this leads Kayli to remind me that it's just like she has plans for me to come to college with her someday, since she knows she will need me "to snuggle with"! (Yeah, I'll have to remind her of this someday) So, without further ado, I present to you the multitude of Easter activities we immersed ourselves in this year:

There was the "indoor easter egg hunt with Kayli's cousin:

Then, there was the VERY CHILLY outdoor easter egg hunt:



Complete with this very "authentic looking" bunny...NOT!!!


Then, there was this beautiful sunny easter egg hunt and church sponsored party, complete with inflatable slides, crafts, and prizes, where we met up with Kayli's friend, Abby:









We colored eggs with all the cousins, including a "special guest" cousin, James, who flew here from Milwaukee, where he's attending his first year of college at Marquette:






Then, there was the "BIG DAY", when Kayli woke up and yelled "Mom, today's the day!" and she could hardly wait for me to get the camera turned on (because of course I had the camera at my bedside, just waiting to be "fired up"!) as we went to see what the Easter bunny brought!
The first thing we noticed was the white footprints on the rug by the door. The second thing we noticed was a piece of the poor bunny's cottontail that got left behind when he apparently left in a hurry, squeezing through our door!!! Oh MY GOSH!

The bunny brought a nice array of sweets and treats! This weekend, during one of the group conversations about favorite candy, James and I were talking about how much we liked Hot Tamales. Well, Kayli remembered this, and couldn't believe that the bunny didn't bring some for me. As she was apparently pondering the reason for this throughout breakfast, she suddenly announced "Mom, you forgot to leave out carrots for the bunny. No wonder he didn't bring you any Hot Tamales!"


All dressed up and ready for church!




The Motley Easter Egg Hunting Crew prepares for take-off...

READY, SET, GO...





"Watch this, Mom"...



AND, last but not least, some candid family shots: