Preparing for Our Move & Samantha's First Girl Scout Sleepover

Samantha: 96 Months, Week 2
Aedan: 61 Months, Week 5
Owen: 20 Months, Week 2

With it being a holiday weekend, Ben and I wanted to try and do some things with the kids, but with the cold and rainy weather, our Saturday plans were changed. Then, on Sunday we had church in the morning and small group in the evening. In the afternoon I did some work cleaning the screens for the windows so we could put them back in the windows before we move, and also cleaning out the car, which is something I have wanted to do for a long time. I took all the car seats and floor mats out so I could clean all the seats. I ended up taking the van to the high power vacuums near the car wash so I could reach everything better and get in all the cracks and crevices. Sometimes I feel like my vacuum doesn't do too well with those areas. It looked so nice on the inside. It's amazing how much dirt and crumbs accumulate in the car (especially with kids). I went through the car wash with the car in just enough time to get home right when small group was starting. Then, that evening after small group I cleaned out the inside of the car with wipes for the windows and the other surfaces. I was so happy with how the car looked when I was done. I had been wanting to clean the winter grossness out for awhile now, and it was a nice enough day that I could spend time outside taking care of that.

Monday was Memorial Day, so Samantha didn't have school. We decided to go out for breakfast, but the restaurant we wanted to go to, that we had a gift card for, was closed, so we ended up at McDonald's for breakfast. The seating area had just been reopened after the renovation, and the kids were just as excited to eat there and play for a little while. It was fun to watch them climbing around on the play-place together, and Owen loved the attention from Samantha and Aedan. They were really good with helping him climb up the steps that were too big for him and going down the slide with him. He would just squeal all the way down and pop out the bottom of the slide with a huge smile on his face.

The rest of our morning was spent with our neighbors coming over to play. The kids had a fun time together, and they even ended up staying over for lunch. It's fun having neighbors that are good friends, and the kids have really enjoyed having other kids to play with right next door.

Monday night was bath night, and here are Owen and Aedan pouring water out of their cups in the bath tub. Aedan will flood the bathroom floor if we're not careful, and with Owen's tubes in his ears, we have to be careful how much water he gets poured out on his head. Nevertheless, they were having a great time playing in the bathtub together.

With Aedan being done with school and our move coming up soon, our days have been a little different these days. Owen had a follow-up appointment with Dr. Wallace on Tuesday to check on the placement of his tubes and everything checked out great. They were placed well and looked clear, so now we just had to wait for his hearing test the following Monday to see how much the tubes have helped with his hearing.

Here are the boys playing outside that day with the water table. They both really like the water table, and it's fun to watch them play with each other. I love seeing them playing and interacting with each other more lately. It's really sweet to see them share some of the same moments that Aedan shared with Samantha when they were these ages.

Ben and I have been slowly going through our house, getting things organized for our move. We don't want to take anything that we don't really need, and there have been things we needed to just get rid of as well. Our basement has been the worst and has been a considerable amount of work. I don't think I realized how much we had been just putting things in closets and not getting rid of stuff as needed. This was how our basement looked that afternoon, but at least it was forcing us to go through literally everything in our house. Everything looks worse as you are going through it.

And here are the final results. We totally organized the storage closet with everything labeled properly.

This was our pile to throw away.

And this was our pile to give away. Pretty significant progress, if I say so myself.

After all the work we have been doing around the house, I was looking forward to getting out of the house for awhile on Wednesday night for my last Mom's night out. I didn't know whether or not I wanted to go at first because it was a style night at a local clothing store. I sent in my sizes and what style of clothes I generally wear, and they were going to pick out outfits for us to try on. However, even though I wasn't too excited about trying on new clothes in front of other women, I definitely need some new clothes added to my wardrobe and sometimes it's nice letting others choose clothes for me that I normally wouldn't choose for myself. Our time out was actually pretty fun. I ended up getting quite a few different outfits that included a dress, a skirt, some new shorts, jeans, new tops, and even a jean jacket to throw over things since a lot of the ladies thought it was amazing that I didn't own a jean jacket. It was fun to stand and chat with this group of women, and I was glad that I made myself go out.

With school winding down, Samantha had her end of the year Girl Scout's party. They were awarded the patches that they earned throughout the school year, and had a cupcake decorating contest. They served pizza and juice boxes to eat, and Samantha has a great time decorating (and, of course, eating) her cupcake.

Right after Samantha's Girl Scout party, we left to cross the border for swim lessons. Since Ben was going to be out of town on Sunday, it was his turn to go in the water with Owen. The kids always do well swimming, and I'm impressed with how much they learn in just half an hour lessons each week. We are certainly going to miss having this pool to take our kids to. It has been a great place for lessons and for fun play time during the cold winter months.

Friday was a full day for me as I was trying to get the house cleaned. I figured it desperately needed to be cleaned, and this would probably be the last time I cleaned before we packed up and moved out of this house. While I was trying to get stuff done around the house, Ben helped entertain the boys. I overheard Owen saying, "Noo" from the other room, so I snuck around the corner and was able to capture it on video. Owen is learning more and more words every day, and even though I'm not too excited that he is learning "No," it is pretty cute how he says it so emphatically.

Friday evening was a going away party for us at Project Playground with our old small group and a few others from church. We had a cook out and were able to just hang out and talk. It was fun to get together with everyone again, and it was cool to think about how we started that group and now that group has split into three groups. I love that we have gotten to know so many different people at Sault Wesleyan Church, and it was very thoughtful of the Perkins family to plan this get together for us. We were even able to go over to the softball team to watch part of a game before heading back home to get the kids to bed.

Saturday, June 1st was a big day for Samantha, as it was her Girl Scout sleepover trip to the U.P. Children's Museum in Marquette. I filled out the volunteer application so that I could come as a parent volunteer. I didn't know how Samantha would handle doing a trip like this, especially this far away, without one of us with her. Plus, I didn't really know the leaders all that well and felt a little uncomfortable with the idea of her being there on her own. I was glad that my dad was able to come up to our house for a few days so that he could help out with the boys on Sunday so that I could go with Samantha and Ben could still leave as planned on his trip out to Salt Lake City.

Samantha had been looking forward to this trip for a long time, and she was super excited all morning on Saturday. We got our stuff packed up, had lunch, and met in the Meijer parking lot around 1:15 to gather everyone together and make the caravan out to Marquette. It is a three hour drive to Marquette, and I had Samantha bring a few things in the car to occupy herself. We rode with Darcy and Emi, and it was fun to talk with Darcy on the car ride there. The girls had a word search to work on in order to unlock their first key for their Discovery patch, so that kept them busy for awhile. Samantha was really glad to be riding with her friend, Emi. On the way there, we stopped two times. One time to just have a bathroom break, and another time at a statue park called Lakenland where we ate our picnic dinners and had some time for the girls to run around and play. Here are all the Girl Scouts huddling up, doing a get to know you activity.

Here are all the Girl Scouts posing in front of the sign before heading out to the museum. Samantha is in the pink coat on the left side of the picture.

The girls were so excited to get out of the car at the museum. We had to wait a few minutes to get in, and then once getting all our stuff in, the museum workers did a quick tour of the space as well as an emergency demonstration of where the fire exits were and to show that they would be locked in and totally safe.

After that, the kids had free time to explore the museum. They also had a scavenger hunt for the kids to complete as well as a tortoise demonstration. Samantha wanted me to go around with her, and when they were told to pick partners for the scavenger hunt, she picked me. I was honored that she wanted to spend time with me, even though she was with all kinds of other girls she could have run off with instead. Samantha was the first one to complete the scavenger hunt, and I didn't really help her that much. She was just very motivated to stay focused and get it done, when most of the girls just went off playing. I love my little girl, and we very rarely have this much time to just spend with each other without having household duties to take care of or little brothers vying for our attention. I'm so glad I was able to come with her on this trip. We had a blast exploring the museum together.

Here is Samantha turning herself and another girl invisible in front of the green screen. She really had a fun time in this area and pretended to be a news reporter for quite awhile. It was fun to watch her.

Once it got to be about 8:00, the troop leaders gathered the girls around and talked with them about sleeping arrangements. They explained where they were allowed to sleep and that they could sleep in groups of three or four, as long as an adult with with them. Samantha fluttered around a bit, asking a couple girls if they wanted to sleep with her, but most girls said they had already found someone. I could tell that she felt a little sad and left out, and I felt bad for my little girl. However, she then decided that she just wanted to sleep with me anyways. We walked around a little bit with our stuff and settled on a sleeping spot in the radio room in the back corner, but in an area where she could still get to the bathroom. She was pretty happy with our little room and left a really cute message for Daddy explaining all about our room that had two doors and windows and up on the ceiling there were painted stars. It was relatively dark, but not too dark where she wouldn't be able to see to go to the bathroom. I got our air mattress and sleeping bags set up while she got ready for bed and found a good spot to watch the movie.

Miss Darcy brought a popcorn popper, and they had a whole spread of toppings to add into their popcorn, almost like making a trail mix. Here are all the girls ready and waiting for the movie to start. They watched a Tinker Bell movie called Secret of the Wings, and Samantha was one of the few girls who paid attention and watched the whole movie. I was glad to be able to sit and relax and watch the movie as well, as Owen had woken us up a couple times in the middle of the night the night before, so I was especially tired that night.

It was after 10:30 when Samantha and I finally crawled into bed. I could tell by how much she was wiggling around and sighing, that she was going to have a hard time falling asleep. It's hard for her to sleep in new places, and she wasn't used to sleeping in a sleeping bag and not having a fan to block out any background noises. So after talking for a little while together in bed, she rolled over to go to sleep and I scratched her back for quite awhile until I could tell her mind and body was starting to relax. Then, I left my hand resting gently on her shoulder as she drifted off to sleep. I was so glad she was able to rest enough to let herself fall asleep, and I enjoyed being there for her and with her as she fell asleep. I couldn't help but fall asleep with a smile of contentment on my face that night after a fun, full day with my little girl.

(Blog about May 26-June 1, 2019)

Samantha's End of the Year Concert, Aedan's Preschool Graduation and Last Day of Preschool

Samantha: 96 Months, Week 1

Aedan: 61 Months, Week 4

Owen: 20 Months, Week 1

After a rough day of being sick on Saturday, I had a better night going into Sunday. I didn't have to get up at all overnight, and I hoped I could start keeping liquids down so I could get some calories and energy back. I was definitely glad that it seemed like the virus moved on quickly. I never know how much to push myself in getting back to drinking and eating again after being sick like that. I started with sips of water every fifteen minutes that morning, and then moved on to Gatorade by lunch time. Ben took the kids to church that morning, so I just relaxed on the couch and took a bath, which pretty much wiped out all the energy I had. The rest of the day went by like normal with quiet time in the afternoon for the kids followed by small group. Ben took the kids by himself since I was still recuperating. I was even able to eat crackers and soup for dinner. I felt bad that he had to do everything by himself while I just sat around, but I was glad to have the chance to work on getting better because on the way back from small group, he texted me saying he would need my help because he was starting to not feel good. He started having diarrhea as well, so I knew he was coming down with the same thing Owen and I had. I decided to make up the bed in the extra room for Ben that night so he could get up as much as he needed without having to worry about waking me up. I knew that I would need as much sleep as I could get that night to help myself feel better come Monday morning since I will have to take over doing everything by myself, even though I wasn't 100% yet.

Monday was a decent day for me, and I was mostly able to do things like normal. Ben spent all day downstairs resting, trying to keep his germs to himself. I felt so bad that he caught it, too.

Sunday and Monday were exciting days for Samantha because she finally got to change her earrings after wearing her starter pair for 8 weeks. She did a really good job with letting me change them, and they didn't hurt her at all. The hardest part was that on Sunday night she decided to not wear any to bed, and I had some trouble getting them through the back of her ear on Monday morning, so I told her she needed to continue wearing earrings to bed for awhile. She really enjoyed picking out different earrings every day that matched her outfit, and she couldn't wait to show off her different earrings to her friends at school.

With me still not having too much energy, we didn't do too much that day, and I wanted to be around to help Ben if he needed anything throughout the day. I took the boys in the car to drop Aedan off at preschool, like I normally do, and Owen fell asleep in the car. Sometimes he is just so cute when he's sleeping, that I have to stop and take some pictures. He is so still and peaceful, and so cute with his little hands resting on his legs. I know there will be some day when he doesn't fall asleep so easily like this in the car, but I don't mind scooping him out of his car seat and having him nestle into my shoulder and fall right back to sleep. Oh my little baby, you are so precious.

Monday night was Samantha's big end of the year concert. She had been singing her songs for weeks, so much so that Aedan even knew most of the words to her songs. We ate a quick dinner at home before heading over to school. Even though Ben was still not feeling back to normal, he got himself dressed and came along with us because he didn't want to miss her concert.

Here is the program from her concert.

Samantha is in the purple polka-dotted dress in the right side.

The first song is "Happy" sung in Ojibway, which is why it is so hard to understand at parts. At the end of the second video, everyone is laughing and clapping because there are a few boys who were doing a caterpillar break dance. The song was pretty long, but you could tell the kids were having a lot of fun singing it.

Samantha was pretty excited about this next song, "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing," because she could play the kazoo. They did an excellent job singing the words loudly and clearly.

They had an interesting line-up of songs, like this one: "Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog." I love this video because you can hear Aedan singing. He really did know the songs very well. (Samantha got a little silly and fidgety in this video.)

The next song was "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." I liked how the kids got to use some props to help when singing the songs. Samantha especially liked this song and would sing it while riding in the car all the time.

After the second graders were done with their concert, we were able to pick Samantha up from her classroom, and then walk around the school to see her artwork, as well as her projects from the gifted and talented program.

This is a picture of the amusement park ride that her and Emi worked together to build. It was a boat ride that slid down the hill. It's always fun to see what Samantha has been working on at school.

By Tuesday, Ben was starting to feel more like himself, and he decided to go to campus to get some work done that afternoon. The boys and I had our last Bible study meeting, and it was really good to meet with these women, share prayer requests, and finish the last video on this great study on parenting. It ended up being a smaller group towards the end, but it was better that way. It allowed for more conversation and more time share prayer requests. I hope that I can find another women's small group to be a part of when we move.

We also had gotten back our inspection report, so I spent some time going over that during the afternoon. The report came back with very minimal things that needed to be done, like securing an attic light, fixing an exposed wire, replacing a GFCI outlet, and eventually cleaning and staining the deck and porch. The biggest concern was the radon test that came back higher than it should have, so we asked the sellers to fix the first three things I mentioned above, as well as have a radon mitigation system professionally installed, followed by a retesting of the radon levels. It's an easy fix, just something that is important to do to ensure our health and safety. I was glad that the report came back with little concerns and that the sellers were more than willing to accommodate the changes we asked for. Everything with this house has been so easy and smooth, which is so nice.

That afternoon I also did more looking into the kids' new school. I emailed a couple people about registering the kids and also about the gifted and talented program. Now that we are about a month away from moving, I am trying to get my head more in the game. I'm nervous and a little overwhelmed, but I'm excited about being in an area where there will be more stuff to do and where there are actually seasons. With all the sickness we've had, I haven't gotten as much done around the house as I would like to in preparation for moving, so I guess I'm starting to feel a little stressed out. However, I'm really glad we hired movers and that I'm not frantically packing up the house right now.

The weather was great that afternoon, so as soon as Samantha got home from school, the kids went out to play before dinner. Aedan was pushing Owen in the swing, but accidentally got kicked in the mouth while he was pushing it. However, he handled it pretty well, and Samantha was so sweet to come over and check on him to make sure he was okay. Sometimes they are so very sweet to each other, and I captured it all on video. :)

Tuesday night was a big night for Aedan because it was his preschool graduation. Here  is the cute little invitation they sent home for it.

Aedan was a little nervous about being in front of everyone for graduation and about remembering his songs. However, he was really excited as we arrived at the high school. They even had these adorable caps and gowns to wear. Here is Aedan before graduation.

Samantha wanted to get a picture with her little brother as well. She was so excited to watch him graduate.

They actually played the graduation song over the speakers, and it was so cute to see all the little kids walking on to the stage with their caps and gowns. Aedan was cute as he saw us in the audience and waved to us for quite awhile, and then there was a little confusion with where he was supposed to sit, but he got it figured out after awhile.

I love this picture of Aedan sitting in his chair, with his feet dangling, his hands folded gently in his lap, and the huge smile on his face. I can't believe this little boy of mine is going to kindergarten next year. He has grown so much in the last year, and he has come out of his shell quite a bit, but sometimes I wish we could go back to a day where I was always his favorite, where he would follow me around the house and play in whatever room I was in, and when he would fall asleep cuddling in my lap every day. Kids grow up so fast, and I know once they get to be school age, it goes even faster, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that with this little boy.

Here is Aedan sitting and waiting so very patiently for the ceremony to start.

Here is his first song, to the tune of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Aedan was a little unsure about some of the words, but you can tell he was having fun singing and doing the motions, while he looked right at us.

The next song was to the tune of "Zipadee-doo-da," and it's pretty difficult to understand that words that they are saying because there wasn't really anyone directing them clearly, except for off on the side of stage, so the kids couldn't see them well, and kids were each singing at their own pace. It made for a great laugh for all the parents in the audience though. :) I love that I could hear Aedan's voice all the way where we were sitting, and I'm pretty sure he is just looking at Samantha for most of this video. Isn't he just the cutest? Man, that little boy just melts my heart.

After their songs it was time to pass out their certificates. Here is Aedan eagerly, but patiently, waiting for his name to be called.

Aedan's friend Dominic was called two people before him, and it was so cute that he said his favorite part was playing Legos with Aedan. They were definitely best buds, and Aedan was always so excited when Dominic was at preschool to play with him. Aedan was so serious marching up to get his diploma, and it made me smile. 

And here we are all cheering for the graduates. Samantha shouts, "Go, Aedan!"

Here are the rest of us being silly in the audience while waiting for Aedan's graduation.

After his graduation was over, he actually insisted that I take his picture, and any time he asks me to take his picture, I happily oblige. It was hard for me to choose just one because they were all so cute of him smiling a real smile. I just love these pictures so much. Here is my little guy, all ready for moving on to kindergarten!

Of course we also had to get a picture of him with his teacher, Miss Bonnie. She was great with the kids, so encouraging, and would often tell us something special about Aedan almost every day we picked him up. Aedan was so lucky to have her as his main preschool teacher this year.

After getting pictures taken, the kids were able to have some special treats in the cafeteria before making our way back home for bedtime.

Wednesday, May 22 was Aedan's last day of preschool at his preschool building. They had a trip planned for the next day to Project Playground, but this was his last official day. That morning when the boys and I went grocery shopping, he picked out special presents for his teachers, Miss Bonnie and Miss Kaitlin. He chose little flowering plants, Meijer gift cards, and a thank you card that he wrote his name inside of. He was super excited to give them to his teachers that afternoon when we arrived, so much so that he almost threw the flowers into Miss Bonnie's hands. He was sad that it was his last day of preschool, but he was glad he got to play with his friends Dominic, Henry, and Thomas. Here are some pictures his school posted on the Facebook page from that afternoon.

After picking Aedan up from school that afternoon, I had him stand in front of the Sault Cooperative Preschool sign. It was a great year, and Aedan really enjoyed coming here every day, even though sometimes he would say he didn't want to go. He started the year clinging to my side and sitting right on the couch by the door looking at books when I dropped him off, to hardly giving me a hug and running right in to play with his friends. That was our main goal for him for this year. Academically, he is doing great. He can write his name and most of the letters of the alphabet, he knows all his letter names and sounds, he's really good at shapes, colors, and numbers. I'm so glad he had the opportunity to get out of the house, meet some new friends, and do fun activities in the afternoons while Owen napped.

Thankfully, the weather cooperated for Aedan's last day of school trip to Project Playground. I was able to take him while Ben hung out with Owen at home. It was so fun to be able to spend some special one-on-one time with Aedan at the playground. At first he only wanted to play with me, and I was happy to push him on the tire swing and go around the playground with him. Then, after more of his friends arrived, he got more adventurous and chose to run around with his friends and play. It was fun to see him playing and having fun, and it was a great way to spend his last day with his preschool friends. Although, as we were walking home, he said that he was sad that this would be the last time he would see his friends, and he was sad that his friend Dominic didn't come to the playground, so he didn't get to play with his best friend. Nevertheless, it was a fun last day to wrap up a good year of preschool for Aedan.

Ben and I have been going through our house, organizing and sorting things in to piles to give away, donate, or throw away so that we are not moving anything that we really don't want to bring with us. We did the extra bedroom downstairs that had a lot of baby stuff in it from when it was Owen's room, and then we started on our bedroom on Thursday night. We went through all our clothes and got rid of quite a bit of stuff. Ben found this sweatshirt and hat that he used to wear all the time in college. It brought back so many memories, that I told him to try it on so I could take a picture of him. He definitely looks younger wearing these things, but I like the casual look, and I enjoy it when he has a sporty look like this.

On Friday morning I asked Ben to hang out with the boys so that I could go work on my blog for a couple of uninterrupted hours. With everything going on with moving and then sickness going through our family, I keep getting further and further behind. My goal is to at least be caught before we move so I can stay more up to date. I love writing about my week and documenting things, but it's hard to do when I am a couple weeks behind. It's hard to remember everything that happened that I would want to write about, so I appreciated that he gave me some time away to work on it without any distractions.

Here are Aedan and Owen watching a show together and playing outside together that morning. Aedan has definitely grown a lot in his role as big brother. He is enjoying Owen a lot more, and they have been finding more ways to play together, like running around with capes like super heroes or even playing with cars or Legos. It will only get better as Owen gets older, too, and when he can communicate more and they realize how much they enjoy doing similar activities. It's been fun to watch their relationship grow together over the last few months.

I decided to surprise Samantha by stopping by her school to have lunch with her on Friday. She was definitely surprised when I came into the lunchroom, and it was fun to spend this time with her, to see her interacting with her friends, and to see her silly personality come out. I love this little girl of mine, and it was fun to spend time with her without her brothers being around. We don't get to do that very often, so I was glad to take the chance.

On Friday afternoon I took Izzy to her yearly check-up and to get her updated on her shots. I also was able to get her records printed out for when we are traveling and for moving. She was definitely nervous going into the vet, and she didn't bark at anyone, so you could tell she could sense that we were doing something different. She did really well as they checked her out, and I was surprised when she weighed in at 27 pounds because I really had no idea how much she weighed anymore. Everything checked out well, which is always a good thing.

When Aedan plays in his room, this is what his floor looks like every single day. Every day he dumps Legos out all over this floor, and when I ask him to pick them up, he just cries and throws a fit, acting like it's the worst thing we've ever asked him to do, saying that there's no way he can clean it all up by himself. I'm not sure what to do about this, because it's exhausting having to get on him about cleaning up every day and deal with this battle every day, but he can't just leave his room looking like this. I am going to have to brainstorm new strategies to help with this and get some advice from other moms because it is definitely frustrating having to go through this all the time.

We have been waiting so long for good weather in the U.P., that we spend as much time as we possibly can outside on these nice days. Friday evening before dinner, we spent some time outside playing. Samantha loves to climb trees, and she especially likes this tree in our backyard where two trees are growing very close together. She got up so high in the tree that I told her to stop so I could take her picture. She is a really brave tree climber, especially for someone who says she doesn't like heights.

Owen really enjoys playing with balls, and when I got out the tee for him to hit balls off of with the bat, he was really excited. He was doing this over and over again for a very long time, and every time he would hit the ball, he would clap his hands together and look to us so we would clap for him as well. We think he is pretty good at hitting the ball off the tee with a clean hit and pretty good form as well. I really do think he will be more interested in sports than either Samantha or Aedan was/are.

On Saturday our day turned out different than what we had planned. We were going to go to Mackinac Island for the day because when we first looked at the weather, it looked like it was going to be a nice day. However, the weather changed and it ended up being cold and rainy instead. We hoped that as we drove down to St. Ignace, the weather would clear up, but it didn't, so we decided to just stop at a fudge shop and then turn around and come home. We had free tickets for the boat from one of Ben's students, and we didn't want to waste them on a day where no one would have any fun because of being wet and cold.

Instead, Ben took Samantha and Aedan to see Aladdin at the movie theater in Canada for a Daddy-Big Kid date. He hadn't done anything with just them in awhile, and they were excited to go to a movie. Ben even let them get popcorn to share between them, which was super exciting. Ben said that Aedan cuddled up to him during the scarier part when Jafar was being mean, but they both did well and really enjoyed watching the movie. It's nice that they are both old enough to watch a movie and enjoy it, so they can enjoy things like this together. So even though the day was different than we had planned, it turned out to still be a fun day for the kids. We will just make sure we go to Mackinac Island another time before we move.

(Blog about May 19-25, 2019)