Easter Saturday With The Bakers. . .

 

 

Tradition. . .

Every year for as long as I can remember, we have decorated eggs for Easter.  The kids usually start bugging me about it a few weeks before Easter and I put them off until a few days before because it always makes such a huge mess.  This year I didn't hear anything from the kids about this little tradition at all.  I started to think maybe they were just getting too old for it.  I decided that might be just fine since, you know, it always makes such a huge mess.  But I bought a bunch of extra eggs anyway.  And a couple of boxes of egg decorating supplies.  And I waited.  Still nothing from the kids. 

Gloria had planned to have a friend stay the night on Friday night which I realized would be our only decorating night so I decided to have her friend join in the fun.  Unless it would be too silly and little-kiddish.  As soon as I mentioned the Egg Decorating Party, the kids realized they had forgotten all about it but quickly made up for their lack of enthusiasm.  And it turns out that her friend had never experienced the fun and mess that comes with decorating Easter Eggs so that was just a bonus!!

The eggs turned out just beautiful, of course. . .

I'll let you decide who each of these belong to. . .

When all was said and done, it turns out I'm the one who is getting too old to decorate eggs.  I went to bed before they were finished but woke up in the morning to a completely clean kitchen!!  I call that win-win!!

Updates. . .

I've been pretty unenthusiastic about the blog so far this year.  Not really sure why but it's definitely reflected in the pictures I take.  I find myself half-heartedly taking pictures with my phone and then waiting days and days and days before I even download them into my computer.  And I'm totally ok with that.  However, I like the idea that I have a history of our lives here and someday I'd like to print it out into a book to show my grandkids (wow-that sounds weird).  So, I'm filling in the pieces from the forgotton pictures of the last few months but not really adding much commentary.  I'll add links and pictures here as I go since I'm posting them on the dates they were taken rather than as the most recent . . .

Gloria and Moss Camp

Rob's birthday with the Hiners

Rob's birthday with the Bakers

Tony's Nascar Birthday

Pictures from the Winter Carnival on the business blog

THE QUIZ MEET!!

My Sees-tor. . .

My sister is my best friend.  Seriously.  We talk or text almost every day and we help each other out when the need arises.  I know that I can tell her anything and she won't judge or try to fix it.  She just listens.  And gives wise advice.  The ring tone on her phone for my incoming call is a recording of Ethan saying, "It's your sees-tor" in his best Taco Bell Chihuahua voice.  You'd have to hear it to find the humor but every time Shelly calls me, I can hear those words in my head when I see her name on the caller ID even without the special ringtone on my phone.  I love my sees-tor.

We celebrated Shelly's birthday during Spring Break by going to the new bowling alley, Pinz.  I was impressed with the place and the prices weren't too bad.  My parents and Gale and Tracie joined us and we had a great time celebrating with family!!

Happy birthday to my favorite sees-tor!!  I think that even if I had 20 sisters, you would still be my favorite!!!

And So It Begins. . .

It snuck up on me again!  I always think I'm going to have all winter to catch up on things.  Things like sleep and housework and paperwork and life.  And then, WHAM, it's the season for outdoor concerts.  Each winter that goes by leaves me just a little bit less-ready for the reality of our busy season. 

We had our first outdoor event of the season yesterday (I don't count the Winter Carnival as part of our "season"!!).  Nothing too difficult, just a stage and a small-ish sound system. . .

Piece of cake, really. . .

This event was nothing compared to some of our summer festivals so I really hope that the way I felt after the event was over isn't an indicator of how I'll be feeling all summer. . .

But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?? Right. . . . . .

Hail, No!!

The last couple of weeks have brought all kinds of weather our way.  Nothing new for Spring in Idaho but it seems a little more wild, intense and unpredictable this time.  Two weekends ago we had balmy 70 degree weather.  The first day of spring we had snow.  Rainy days have been mixed in with sunny days and it seems like the poor weatherman can't make a correct prediction to save his life! And today??

Hail. . .

And just the other day, Zach and I spotted a full double rainbow!!

Who knew that the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is actually Sizzler???

Yep. . .

Makin' It Count. . .

So it's no secret that we are busy.  Mostly because I complain about it here all the time.  In all of the busy-ness I DO manage to see my kids and get them where they need to go and hug them as we pass in the hallway but I DON'T always live in the moment.  Gloria told me not too long ago that I always give her a few pats on the back when I'm ready to move on from a hug.  Quick squeeze, pat, pat, pat, move on.  She wants me to hug her like I mean it.  I think about that now when I hug her and try to just enjoy the moment instead of rushing to get on to the next thing.  The next thing can wait.  It won't be long before the hugs and moments spent in her company will be few and far between. 

This week I had a few chances to "practice what I preach". 

A few weeks ago Gloria signed me up for a field trip and looked at me with those eyes when she asked me to sign the form that said I would be willing to accompany her entire class on a full-day field trip.  I'm sure I rolled my eyes a few times before signing and then I began to silently dread it.  As the date grew closer I did a lot of self talk, "It's my turn. . . It's important to Gloria. . . It won't be so bad. . . It's just one day out of my life. . . It will be an adventure. . . yada, yada, yada. . . "  Part of my problem, honestly, is that I'm not a big fan of small talk.  If I'm around people that I know and am comfortable with, I can talk about all kinds of stuff.  But if you put me in a room full of strangers, there is only so much I can come up with about the weather. 
But the biggest thing was, I didn't think I could miss work.  And actually I think I got to the heart of it when I told Rob the night before that I just didn't want to spend the day thinking about work instead of being fully present on the field trip.  I'm a multi-tasker and I'm not good at being in the moment.  There is always something else to do, something else to think about, somewhere else to be.  And believe me, I know that things will not fall apart if I don't show up at work.  But I made Rob a big list just to make sure. . .  (I have a problem, I know. . . ).
Friday morning, bright and early, Gloria's class, her teacher and 3 other parents besides myself, walked to the bus stop and waited for the City Bus.  We had a 45 minute bus ride that would take us down town. . .
Once we arrived downtown, we walked from 8th and Main to The Discovery Center on 2nd and Myrtle:
(You can see it on the map right here)

After the Discovery Center, we walked through Julia Davis Park to BSU for a tour of the chemistry lab.  We looked at cancer cells through a microscope and heard about the research that is being done to cure it. . .

And then we took the long walk back down Capital and along 9th Street to the bus stop at 8th and Main. . .

And another 45 minute bus ride. . .

By the time we arrived back at the school it was time to head back out to Meridian and The Boys and Girls Club so Zach could put in his service project hours (he is really enjoying it, by the way).

This brings me to the next chance I had to enjoy the moment.  A couple of weeks ago, the Hutchings had invited us out to their house to roast dogs and marshmallows but the weather had not been very cooperative.  We made plans to make it happen Friday night and, in spite of my tired, dragging feet, we headed out to Columbia Village and had a great time with Hutchings and Hickersons!!

Gloria had a chance to love all over Eva while the rest of us sat around the fire and talked about everything.  No agenda, no plan and pretty much nothing was off limits.  Seriously.  It was lovely!

And THEN, if that wasn't enough living-in-the-moment, I had also made plans with Steph to go to Corri's play at Capital High School on Saturday night.  My mind has a tendency to find excuses to not make plans because it seems like I always disappoint people when I can't make it but this time I was determined to make a plan and stick with it.  So glad that I did.  We went to the play, Corri did a great job AND it was fun hanging out with Steph!

And THEN, when I got home, Zach texted and asked if I wanted to play a game.  That's something that I rarely turn down.  He has so little time to play Catan anymore with his busy school schedule that, even though we didn't start the game until 11 p.m., I agreed.  We played until after 1 a.m. . .

And now, I'm sitting in my office on a Sunday afternoon attempting to do my taxes but mostly just enjoying the silence.  Making it count is exhausting.  But worth it. . .

Cluttered. . .

I overheard someone say the other day that her mind was cluttered.  I immediately decided that "cluttered" is the perfect description for my state of mind lately.  I don't know that I am necessarily busier than usual or that I have more on my plate but I feel like I'm in a constant state of I'll-Never-Catch-Up. . .

We have a lot going on.  Several big projects at work, the new "retail" space, the upcoming festival season, taxes.  And that's just the business.  The kids are busy, too, which means I'm busy trying to keep up with them and earn that ever elusive Mother-of-the-Year Award. 

No matter how hard I try, the house is never clean enough (for me), the paperwork is never detailed enough (for me) and the hours that I sleep are never long enough.

All of that to say, well, nothing really.  Just that my mind is cluttered these days but I'm sure it's only temporary.  Right?

However, a couple of things made me smile today.  Silly things, really. 

Like the Self-Serve copy machine at Kinkos.  Did you know that you can put a flash drive right into the USB port on the copy machine and custom print a document and pay for it all right there without needing help from anyone????  I didn't before today but now I do.  And it makes me happy.  I couldn't push the door open when we left the store but I totally conquered the copier!!

And. . . Playing the guitar.  I started playing in January as one of my New Year's Resolutions.  Well, my ONLY resolution because I've always said SOMEDAY I'm going to learn to play the guitar.  Someday came in January of 2012.  For me and the guitar, at least.  I've taught myself.  And I'm not good.  But I can play good enough for now and it makes things better.  Things in general feel better when I play.  You know, a little less cluttered. . .