What an April!

Aside from celebrating our girls, April has brought some warmer temperatures.  So we've been outside a little more.

This was after pajama day at school, so they did not wear these to bed, for those concerned. = )

Emily and I spent a very cold Thursday, during spring break, cleaning out leaves & sticks and burning all the things!

The weekend following was so lovely that Billy grilled out Sunday afternoon, and I was actually able to read barefoot on the deck!  A sure sign of spring right?

Billy and I went to a fundraising Gala.  We sat at the best table!  It was a fun evening with very good food. = )

For April Fool's day, I flipped the kids' monitor displays.  It didn't seem to phase William.  He's a problem solver!  For dinner we had BBQ sandwiches, and I grated up some apple and doused it with BBQ sauce.  Billy thought it was just 'cold' so he heated it up, and it was still grated apple.  Poor Billy.

My mom found me a replacement 4 top waffle maker!  Going from a 4 count to a 2 count when my old one broke made the process painfully long.  So, I'm happy to be back in the homemade waffle making business again. ; )

The Red Raider basketball team had an amazing season!  They went all the way to the final championship (we lost in overtime = ( ) and beat both Michigan teams along the way!  The MSU Spartans are the local team and we faced off with them in the final 4.  It was a very scary (lol) time to be a Tech fan in Michigan, but William and I ere determined to support our raiders no matter what!

At the beginning of spring break, my mom convinced me to go to the "kids go free" movie day.  We saw "Little Foot" on the very front row.  It was a fun time, the kids did really well, but I was still recovering from my bought of flu (an entire week later!) and it tuckered me out.

Speaking of the flu, Billy was the one who brought me and Emily in.  When he came home from work he took my temperature and it read high (as the thermometer always does.)  I was surprised when the urgent care doctor's office corroborated the temperature closing in on 104F and diagnosed me with Flu A, despite having received the flu vaccine in October. = (  Emily was not diagnosed, but we were both given a regimen of Tamiflu.  Billy went in the next day to get a prescription as well, so that he didn't have to endure what we did.

Emily missed 3/4 days of school the week before break, and my mom stepped in as me for the week, getting them ready for school, taking them and picking them up so that I could rest.  I can't remember the last time I was that ill.

A couple of days before the twins turned 5, Emily lost another tooth!  She wanted to hide her smile for some reason.  Juliet cannot wait to start loosing her teeth.  I'm okay with it taking a while longer.

The twins received a Doc Mcstuffins' dress up outfit and fancy medical kit from the Stepp family for their birthday, and we have all been getting frequent checkups!

Their birthday celebration continued all the way through yesterday afternoon, when they opened their new fancy headphones from the Helterbrands!

After our trip to the zoo, we went up to the school to watch William in his debut Musical performance. He was so excited to have Avia and the twins in attendance (as well as me, I think.) = )

And this morning, April 11th, it snowed again.  Ew.

I am so ready for summer & consistently warm temperatures. I'm tired of coats and snow and layers and the cold!!!!!!!!!!

later days

Day in and day out

In the mornings, we are in rush mode to get the twins out the door to wait for the bus.  Most mornings, you'll see them eating breakfast, regardless of what it is, out on the driveway.

Some mornings the big kids join us.  And sometimes we even get to wait with daddy!

For spirit week, Emily dressed up each day, but the only ones I remembered to grab shots of were mis-matched day and college day.

Most mornings we do the kiss and go line, but since I've been substituting up at their school, I'll park and walk up with them.

My very first day of subbing, the final few minutes of the day, I was bitten by a student. (thankfully, not in any of my children's classes.)

We took a family trip up to an arcade that had bowling and bumper cars and laser tag.  It was a good time.  The twins were too short to ride the bumper cars, so they pouted and pined over them for the remainder of the day.  So, we will have to go back, when they are a little taller. = )

On Fridays the twins have homework, and they are so excited to do it (like the big kids!)  = )

I bought a Belgian waffle maker, and they are way better than eggo. = )

It's been flickering cooler weather for a month or two now, so tea has become a favorite around here. Today was the first day of really miserable cold.  Winter has begun. = (

Grace and her hello kitty  bunny were sleepy.

William noticed that the light on the floor was just like 'seven' (Aunt Rocky's dog.)

Over the weekend we played a ton of games!  The scooby doo game, battle ship, monopoly jr, candyland, several card games, and even a few rounds of blood rage. = )

And, after almost two months, and two mechanic shops, I got my car back! It feels so nice to drive it again.

So, the very first thing he did was replace the spark plugs and one of the piston heads (?)  that didn't solve the misfire issue, so he went further into the engine.  I had a broken tooth on my timing belt, so he replaced that, but it still was not the issue.  My sensors were not picking up on whatever the issue was, so he kept running mechanical diagnostics on it.  He consulted colleagues, the internet, all with no revelations. Finally, I asked him to bring it into a dealership, and see if they could diagnose it.  Within a couple of days we learned that my car does not care for the brand of spark plug he'd put in it all those weeks ago.  ugh.  Once he replaced them it was good to go.

Upon picking up my car (just in time for our grand rapids trip) I dropped off the van, since it had some issues.  He's replaced the water pump, serpentinite belt, and tie rods.  Since we just dropped 3K on the expedition, we did the bare minimum on the van for now.

And, a check engine light came in on my car.  He read the code.  Apparently my catalytic converter is (possibly) on it's way out, or at least the efficiency is reading as low.  The performance of my car is not currently affected, but it is now on the list of things to do. But I'm not willing to let go of my car again just yet.

With the cold approaching, footed pajamas have become the favorite around here.  Mostly among the older kids.  William loves them, but it makes shot nights a little tougher. = /

The day before my mom left, I accidentally poured my ground beef grease into a sink without a catch. = 0  Despite the low quantity, it was enough to completely block my drain (I'm guessing there were other things, and that this was just the last straw.)  My mom brought over chemicals, but even allowing it to sit over night it was not draining.

The next day I went to lows to get plungers and stronger chemicals, but was still unable to get it unclogged.  As these things go, Sarah was also having trouble with her drain, so we couldn't even bring dishes over to her house to run them through the dishwasher.

She took half a day off work to fight her drain and won! So, next she came over to our house with her tools and victory and unclogged my drain as well! = )

So, the other day when I made bacon, 4 layers went under the can...I'm not taking any chances. = )

On their breaks, I require the kids to read for 20 minutes each day before they turn on their electronics.  They get double time if they read to the twins.  Now that William has some sight words under his belt, he was reading to the twins. = )  He's a good reader, and an awesome big brother.

Having this week off for fall break has been nice.  It's been a little stay home and a little go go go.  But, my mom flew in yesterday, and we are so glad she's back. = )

Just like the rest of the year, October is flying by, so hopefully we can soak up a little more fall fun this weekend!

later days