We went to visit Grandma today. Last time Ben brought Uno, so we played several games of that again. Then, since the weather was nice we took a short walk outside.
Tomorrow is Giraffe's Birthday, so we had half the party tonight. It involved a lot of balloon games and making Lego trees. Ben won the tree challenge.
This morning I went on a walk with a friend. We found a nice walking trail and the weather was beautiful. It was a bit windy at times, but didn't impede us too much.
We went to the Eagle Crest play this afternoon. It was actually pretty good...the sound was much better than in past years and I could understand most of it. Combined with a few funny characters and it was a good time.
At home we did Joshua's Lego challenge. He had some special pieces grouped up and we each got one set.
Isaac made a cool fighting mechanism that actually moved, but then he sat on it so I didn't get a picture.
I made a garden of Cheshire cats. I had a faces that I thought looked like Chershire cats and I couldn't unsee them, so I went with it. The garden includes lava flowers, sawblade flowers, flame flowers, a deadly water fountain, four cats and the leaves of death.
A friend dropped by this morning to bring some quilt tops over. She ended up staying for an hour while we chatted...usually we get together for lunch every week or two, but that hasn't happened recently. The visit was so much more than cleaning.
We also got some flowers for the summer. Isaac ended up getting a stick of bamboo, so I'm interested in seeing how well that grows. We also got a few different succulents for outside, so hopefully they all live.
Horizon sat on my boat this morning. We finished the game this evening and I won! I feel like it's been a while since I've won against Ben and Isaac. I'm not sure that's really true or if it is just how I feel. I had a good strategy this time and it worked.
Moving the bread to the other side of the cabinet was lovely. It made me happier than expected this morning.
Today was the last class of the semester. I really don't enjoy the first and last classes of the semester. For different reasons, but neither class really involves any teaching.
1. Ben, Isaac, and I are playing The Isle of Cats. It's a game during which you need to fill your boat with cats and treasure to win. Last night, Horizon was sitting on Isaac's boat to say he should win.
This morning, he was sitting on Ben's board.
2. Isaac took the labels off three bottles of tasty (i.e., water flavor squirty stuff). What was he thinking. They all look the same without the labels. He and Joshua worked well to figure out which was which and relabel them, but the process took several minutes and dinner was ready. It might have been funnier in different circumstances.
3. I switched the side of the cupboard on which the bread is stored and I think it's going to be a life changer. The old side required me to open two doors because one has the "don't see inside" bar on it.
So I'm in my karate class, working on my round-house kick. We're getting pretty technical with it, making sure it is being done exactly right and not just mostly correct.
The instructor tells me to make a line with my shoulders, hips, and knee. I look at him funny, because the hip to knee is also supposed to be parallel to the floor and then I can't see what I'm kicking. "A line?" I say. After finally understanding what he's trying to say and he understands what I'm thinking we realize that it is more a plane. The three points all need to be on the same plane. The instructor proceeded to laugh at me for my technicality, because no one else in the class would have been confused. (To be fair, I'm also about twenty-five years older than anyone else in the class.)
Today felt like a catch-up day. I'm not really sure what I was catching up from, perhaps Friday when I was gone on the field trip?
Anyway, I started trying to make apple chips. They're not very chip-y, but they are pretty good. The laundry got put away. The kitchen got cleaned. Phone calls (yuck) were made. Emails were sent. Some clutter was put away. It felt pretty productive today, but not amazing.
The best story I have today is actually from Joshua. He spilled his morning breakfast smoothie on his blanket. Since it isn't laundry day, I told him he'd have to wash it if he wanted it tonight. Of course, we both forgot after school. So at 7:14, while I was at karate, I have three texts from him. The first asking how to do laundry. The second pinging me: Mom? The third pinging me: Mom?? Honestly, I usually don't have my phone nearby during karate unless the kids are home alone. Isaac ended up helping Joshua out and it really made me feel like I won at parenting. (Yes, Ben was home. No, Joshua didn't ask Ben for help.)
