Questions of the Day

Briggs has an ear infection and got prescribed an antibiotic to take for the next 10 days.  Adelie is very jealous and has already asked if she can have some of it.  What is the appropriate answer when your child is asking how she can give herself an ear infection?  And how do I convince my child that her fear of missing out is getting out of hand when it involves wishing she had an ear infection just so she can taste the pink medicine?  

#ohthisgirl

#neveradullmoment

#fomo

Not Our Fault

There are a number of factors that contributed to the Bear's heart-breaking play-off loss today, but the blue and orange spirit of the members in this house, both human and doll, cannot be blamed.  We were at the top of our game!!

Adelie's shirt may be pink, but hidden behind Camille's rather large blue and orange bow is proof that Adelie is representing with her Bear's gear as well.

*You may not be able to see this, but Camille is holding up a little popsicle stick sign that says, "I love the Bears" and has a little sign around her neck that reads "Go Bears!" (With the G backwards, of course.)  Also hidden from the camera's view, most of the dolls have their hair done up with blue and orange bows or ponytail holders.  Willa even had to resort to wearing her navy blue leotard under a white soccer jersey as an outfit, but when it's play-off time, you do what you have to do.

Birthday Activity

With Staley's 8th birthday less than a week away, we celebrated this week-end with a birthday activity.  While some kids prefer big parties with lots of friends, Staley requested no party and just an activity with one or two friends.

Staley invited her two best friends:  her cousin Lila and her friend Lilian

Staley initially wanted to go ice skating.  I couldn't find a place with convenient open skate hours that would work with our schedule, so I asked if she had a second choice.

She decided that she'd like to try rock climbing instead.

All 3 girls had a blast.  They climbed for over 2 hours and each one got braver and climbed higher as the day went on.  Rock climbing was one of my very favorite activities as a college student and young adult, so I loved watching all the girls embrace the challenge.

They all worked up a big appetite after all that climbing.  They decided that lunch at Culver's would hit the spot.  I think they actually determined that ice cream at Culver's would hit the spot, but they conceded on eating lunch first.

After lunch, we then went to see 'Mary Poppins Returns' in the movie theater.  All 4 girls loved the movie with Staley declaring it her new favorite movie.

The girls then rounded out the fun with dinner and a few hours of American Girl doll play.  

The girls were having so much fun that everyone was disappointed when it was bedtime.   Of course, bedtime included getting each and every doll ready for bed as well.

But capping off a big day of birthday fun with a sleepover?  Nothing could be better.

When it was all said and done, the girls enjoyed over 24 hours together.  Staley declared it a perfect 10 out of 10 for birthday fun!!  What a great way to start off celebrating my baby turning 8.

Christmas Letter

Although most people who read this blog have already received our Christmas letter, this blog is just as much for our family as it is for others.  I always like to archive our letter on the blog, so here goes:

It’s a week until Christmas and I’m trying desperately to check things off my Christmas to-do list.  (Finish off yet another tub of peppermint ice cream after the kids are in bed.  Check!)  I’ve left “Write Christmas letter” on the list for the last few weeks, waiting for inspiration to strike.  As I initially sat down and stared at the blank screen, I thought, “Maybe I don’t need to write a Christmas letter this year.”  I still keep up our family blog on a regular basis, so for those who want to get a glimpse into our crazy life, you are always welcome to go to ezsanck.blogspot.com.  For the rest of you, I’ll try to give a brief recap of the past year in our household.

2018:  Our Year in Review

January:  Celebrated Staley’s 7^th birthday with a trip to the American Girl Store.  Also celebrated my 16^th work anniversary at the Children’s Hospital in Peoria.  Recognized I’ll need to keep working my 2 days/week as a pediatric occupational therapist in order to afford anything they sell at the American Girl Store.

February:  Stayed inside, became one with my cozy sweatshirts, and lamented endless Illinois winters.  Jake and Elwood celebrated their 16^th birthday.  No driving for them, but they definitely have a cat license to nap and shed.

March:  Adelie turned 5 and Briggs turned 3.  Adelie wanted a mermaid party.  Briggs wanted a train party.  I didn’t want to plan 2 parties.  The result: a mermaid train party.

April:  Zach hit a milestone birthday.  (Hint:  Rhymes with zorty.)  Took a quick spring break trip to Indianapolis.  It was fun, but winter coats and snow made me think that maybe spring breaking somewhere warm is a better idea.

May:  Crammed tons of end-of-the-school-year activities into a few short weeks as Staley finished up first grade and ended her spring acting class with Mulan, Jr. while Adelie “graduated” from pre-school. 

June:  Enjoyed lazy days punctuated with baseball and t-ball games, swimming lessons, trips to State Farm pool, play dates, library programs, acting class, and our week-long extended family trip to Pentwater, Michigan.

July:  See June minus Pentwater plus 4^th of July.

August:  Participated in another successful Eureka to Peoria St. Jude Run that Zach spends all year planning and organizing.  (Just wish he wouldn’t have planned for it to be so hot the day of the run.)  After years of waiting, Adelie got to join Staley on stage (Lion King, Jr.) and at school (big Kindergartener!!)  I realized how quiet and easy it is with only one child home during the day.  I also realized that I have a certain threshold for how long I can play train table before going a little insane.

September:  Briggs started 3 year old pre-school two mornings each week.  Zach and I celebrated 17 years of marriage.  Adelie realized that school actually means every day and includes homework, missing out on daytime outings with mom, and not getting to spend mom’s work days with grandparents. There were tears.

October:  Enjoyed a long week-end family trip to Madison, Wisconsin.  My kids haven’t met a zoo, children’s museum, or hotel pool they don’t like.  Filled up on favorite fall activities like pumpkin farms, football games, bike rides, and Halloween, as well as some not-so-favorite fall activities like raking and raking and raking some more.

November:  Zach accepted a promotion at his job at State Farm, started studying for his CPA exam, decided he’d like to train for a triathlon, and almost single-handedly cheered the Bears into the playoffs.  (He thinks sleep is over-rated.)  Expressed our thankfulness for our family, our friends, our jobs, our health, and that all our kids can dress themselves and take themselves to the bathroom.  Lamented the beginning of endless Illinois winters.

December:  Enjoyed festive celebrations, watched the girls in another play (Annie, Jr.), became best friends with Amazon and Etsy, and came to terms with the fact that our Christmas cards will be late this year.

As you can see, it’s been a full, fun, healthy, happy, crazy, busy, blessed year.  Wishing the same for you! 

A cute Christmas picture that I loved but never had a chance to post.

Merry Christmas to Me

Zach's Christmas present to me this year was an overnight get-away that he planned for the week-end after Christmas.  He booked a hotel, bought tickets to a show, secured child care, and promised me that I could sleep in as late as I wanted.  Just the sleeping in would have checked off an item at the top of my Christmas list, so the rest was just icing on the cake.

We headed down to St. Louis to enjoy some relaxing, quiet, child-free time together.  We kicked off our adult time away with some time at the St. Louis Art Museum.  We realized that we might not be considered overly cultured as we had just as much fun making fun of the art as we did appreciating it.

Although officially titled "Untitled", I aptly named this one "Black Square."

Zach and I couldn't decide whether to name this one "It's Just Trash" or "Needs to be Swept Up."

We actually asked a museum worker whether this one was a work of art or simply an empty display case.  Apparently it's art.  Who knew?  (Obviously not us.)

Once we had all the art viewing we could handle, we checked into our hotel before heading out to a new restaurant to find yet another masterpiece.

I call this one "Worth Every Calorie."

We then thoroughly enjoyed an evening at the Fox Theater to see 'Anastasia: The Musical."

While we were culturing it up in St. Louis, the girls had a very elf-y cousin sleepover with Uma and Papa while Briggs soaked up some quality time with Grammie and Grandpa.

We had a wonderful little get-away.

And don't worry.  We both slept in until after 10:00.

Merry Christmas to me!!

Question of the Day

Is it considered a sign of a successfully relaxing Christmas break that my children have not changed out of their pajamas (until bedtime when they put on new pajamas) for the past 3 days?

Or are we just lazy and need to get out of the house more?

Milestones

There may not be a spot to record this in the baby book, but Briggs can FINALLY blow his nose.  With runny nose season in full swing, this is a game changer.

First words and first steps are great and all, but nose blowing is a highly under-rated milestone.  I'm glad we've finally made it!!