New Best Friend

I have two new best friends.................

We were friends for a long time but sadly, I pushed them aside and got what I thought were newer and better friends. They sat quietly biding their time because they knew one day I would need them again. And then the day came. I wasn't getting what I needed from those "new" friends so I returned to my good old friends who have never once let me down. You ask what made me have a change of heart? Well, it was this.....

 

and this

because it seems that when you put them together they create a rather undesirable result. 

So thank you my old new best friends for coming to my rescue because the thought of wearing clothes with red and green crayon marks all over them makes me shudder. 

Our winner

Haley participated in her first sprint triathlon this morning and took first place for her age group. And to think she didn't even want to stay for the awards! It makes getting up at 6:30 on the last day of spring break well worth it.

Easter pictures

Easter Day was beautiful this year despite the thick layer of pollen that coated every possible outdoor surface. The kids woke up to find that their baskets had been filled with sweets.

Haley and her loot. She is always the child who takes her time looking through the basket and enjoying all of the things that she has gotten.

Harrison and his loot. He is the child who loves sweets, can't you tell? I asked him what was his favorite and he grabbed everything he could hold in his arms.

Holden and his loot. He is the child who counts his things (I think so he'll know if someone takes it) and organizes them into piles and then decides which item will be eaten first. 

Here are the kids dressed in their Easter outfits after church.

After lunch at the river with our family, the kids had their traditional egg hunt. The person who found the silver egg got the prize so that's the one all the kids looked for. This year we let each of them have a chance to win. Here is Harrison searching for the silver egg. The cousins take a break from the egg hunt to have their picture taken.

Square Dance

Holden has been studying pioneer times at school. The class read one of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books which just happened to be my favorite book series when I was growing up. I tried to get Haley to read the books when she was younger but she just never showed much interest in them. So I was thrilled that at least one of my children had read one of the books that I loved so dearly as a child even if it was a class assignment.

As the finale to the unit, the entire 4th grade participated in Prairie Day. The kids dressed in their interpretation of prairie clothing. They had a lot of fun activities such as making butter. For lunch, the entire fourth grade had a huge picnic and then each class did a little bit of square dancing.

Holden's class was short on girls so he ended up being partner's with his friend Cody. The kids all seemed a bit nervous until the music started and they started dancing and having a lot of fun.

 Waiting to square dance

Swing Your Partner

The Cutest Pioneer

Holden and his buddy Zion

A visit to the dentist

Harrison went to the dentist Thursday. It was a visit that I looked forward to about as much as having my eyelashes plucked out one by one. I hate taking my kids to the dentist almost as much as they hate going. I'm not terribly concerned about the slight discomfort they might feel while having some hygentist scrap the layers of plaque off their teeth. No, I am more concerned about the discomfort I feel when the hygentist looks at me and says "I see a bit of decay here on the XX molar" all the while smiling and most likely thinking to herself what a horrible mother I must be.

I wish I had the guts to act shocked and say "I don't believe it. We eat foods low in sugar and I make him brush his teeth after every meal and at night and in the morning and after snacks. And seriously we have stock in dental floss we use so much. I just can't believe that he would have a cavity." But in reality I know exactly why there is decay. It's from all the times he fell asleep without brushing his teeth. It's from the cotton candy and fruit punch he begs for at each baseball game. And the Skittles and Sourpatch Kids he got as a "treat" for being good. 

So instead when the comment is made, I sit and silently repeat to myself "I am a good mother" over and over. I mean in the whole scheme of things is a little decay such a horrible thing? And surely it doesn't make me a bad mother. Does it?

Tell me the boy isn't smart...

Saturday afternoon I promised to take the kids to the Outlet Mall to look for some spring clothes and shoes. As we were getting ready to go, one of Harrison's friends called and invited him to come over and play. Harrison decided that sounded like more fun than shopping but he made me promise to buy him some new shoes even if he wasn't with us.

On the way to the mall, we dropped Harrison off for his playdate. He and the little boy have been friends since the beginning of kindergarten but this was Harrison's first time going to their house. When I left, he was fine and hugged and kissed me three times before I got out the door.

It took us about twenty minutes to get across town to the mall. Right after we had walked into the first store, my phone rang. I picked it up and it was the little boy's mom telling me that Harrison was crying and wanting to come home. I talked to Harrison and tried to get him to stop being upset and stay but he didn't want to hear that. The more I talked, the harder he cried. So I promised him that we would finish up at the store and I would come and get him.

We got about halfway there and I got a text that Harrison was feeling better but at that point it wasn't worth turning around and going home so we went on and picked him up. When I got there he was playing but as soon as he saw me he turned his sad face on. The first thing he asked after I got out of the car was "did you get my shoes?" Seriously?

On the drive home I tried to talk to him about his fear and why he had so much anxiety. Then I explained that it had taken me twenty minutes to drive to the mall and twenty  minutes to drive back and that he had "wasted an hour of my time" because I had to turn straight around and come back without getting my shopping done. I asked him if he had anything to say about that, to which he replied "It wasn't an hour, it was just 40 minutes."

Haley

Haley turned fourteen on Saturday. I am amazed that the time has gone by so fast. It seems like only yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital. Somedays I wish I could turn back the hands of time and enjoy all of the little moments more. It makes me sad to think of the little blond haired pigtail wearing princess that she will never be again. But each day I get glimpses of the woman she is becoming. She is a kind, caring, amazing person. She makes me proud to be her mom. Even though she is no longer a little girl, in my heart she will always be my little girl.