Spring! Maybe?

Well, it's officially spring, at least according to the calendar!

Every time I decide to put away the winter coats and boots, I think better of it!

There are mounds of snow still lingering around. Who am I fooling?

I think our 80 degree March temperatures from last year were a tease, and we are experiencing just a "normal" winter/spring season. Yea for all those farmers out there! But I'm ready. My sweaters don't hold any more appeal. They are tired too and ready to snuggle on the shelf until next fall. My toes are ready to ditch the socks and show their faces again, with a fun new coat of polish! My daughter noticed the daffodil buds struggling to push through the cold ground and strut their bright color! The robins are all back and the birds are singing or maybe they are shivering so loudly it sounds like singing! There are signs of spring, I think we are just having to look a bit harder this year to find them.

My son has his first outdoor soccer game this week. I'll be sending him in a jacket, hat and mittens! Better run extra fast to keep warm!

But isn't that the beauty of weather in Wisconsin? We get winter one minute and summer the next? I guess it helps us appreciate each and every season while we have it. I think I could have stood to appreciate winter a bit less this year! So while my shorts haven't quite made their appearance, my sweaters have earned their break and are resting comfortably until fall.

Birthdays!

In our household April is birthday month.

Tomorrow it is my husband's birthday and I dare not disclose his age!

Every year is important, but this particular birthday isn't a "big" one. It occurs midweek, so dinner, cake and ice cream should complete our agenda. A special dinner has been requested, tortellini with meat sauce and a big salad. Sounds like a celebration to me!

One week later our son celebrates his eighth birthday! A VERY big deal to him and his little sisters. We have been discussing the details of his special day since Christmas ended. I'm not sure if it's the idea of a special party or turning one year older that excites him most. He has picked the venue, Shenanigan's it is. The invites are out and we are making plans for the party.

At what age do you stop having the kid parties? I think I was around nine or ten and birthdays were more about just one or two friends, maybe a sleepover, and dinner out. I know it's different in every family. It's so fun to get caught up in the enthusiasm of turning one year older, until you don't want to and dread the coming of your birthday! So we are getting caught up in the excitement and rocking out those birthdays, complete with two cakes, a pile of gifts and lots of laughter.

Creating our dreams

Time for a blog follow-up.

We are slowly moving forward trying to fulfill our house dream. Our plans are officially complete, as are all the upgrades to our new subdivision!

Now comes the biggest, and perhaps the most frightening part of this process, the talk with the bank.

A few years ago this would have been a walk in the park, but we all remember how that walk ended! We are all still dealing with those repercussions, though hopefully the worst is behind us! The banks hands are tied. So we roll up our blue prints, laying all our hopes on a few sheets of paper, gather our numbers and hand them over hoping the story the bank tells us is favorable.

I've already started picking out colors, tile, matching towels! Of course all of this is in my head, for now. But I'm crossing all fingers and toes that someday it will become a reality and we can move into the place we created--the place we will call home for a long time to come!

We've done all we can, now we need to see what will happen.

Hopefully we have our answer soon, those matching towels just went on sale!

ME. In a nutshell.

I wake up, it's 6:15 am, I am in this moment, a wife. We say our good mornings a quick smooch, he jumps in the shower. It's 6:32, I am me, alone for a few quiet moments of solitude.

It is 6:34, my youngest child, accompanied by her ever faithful, furry, four-legged brother, climbs/jumps into bed. I am a mother, listening to the tales of my 3-year-old's dreams, snuggling up to her warm, pj-clad body.

Out to the kitchen, rousing the other two children, on full force mommy duty.

Husband emerges, we grab sips of coffee in between rushing kids out the door to school, he to work. Roles merge, I am chaos director, wife, mom, short-order cook, dog walker.

Kids arrive at school, all but one still home with me.

Time is 8:12, off to the gym. Drop remaining child in child watch.

8:18: Alone, I am gym-rat extraordinaire. Work up sweat, chat with a few fellow friends, enjoy a bit of me time. I am me. Alone for awhile.

10:20: Pick up child, resume mommy duty.

Head to grocery store - grab necessities, plan dinner in my head, buy food.

11:10: Pickup child number two, head home. Prepare lunch for kids two and three. Mommy in full force. Play with girls, dog, clean up lunch, laundry.

1:12: Nap number three, bit of TV for number two.

1:32: Jump in shower - ahhh- me time for a few blissful minutes.

3:02: Rouse youngest from nap, load up car with girls and dog, pickup child number one. Listen to son tell about his day, return home, make snack. Check email, referee kids, homework, laundry.

4:46: Prepare dinner, chef hat officially on!

5:36: Set table, gather kids.

5:42: Greet husband- roles merge again. I am wife/mother/cook.

6:45: Prepare for bedtime routine- full mommy mode--baths given, books red, bed.

7:22: First tucked in. Only two trips back to get her settled.

7:34: Second child in bed. First trip a success.

7:46: Sit down with husband and kid number one, I am mommy/wife.

8:08: Last child down for the night.

8:12: Ahhh--wife mode--chat with husband, make tea and watch a bit of television.

9:36: Let fur-baby out (mommy mode still on!).

9:48 Head to bedroom--grab book of the moment--ahh a bit of me time!

10:27: Husband snuggles in--out for the night.

10:34: Kick dog off the bed, NOW, out for the night, ALL ME TIME!