Highs and Lows

This week was full of highs and lows. Lets start with the lows so we can end with the good stuff.

Low#1: An awful stomach bug being passed around our house. Lucy got it first and was sick for 4 straight days. So tired, hardly eating and drinking and nothing stayed in. She was very pathetic and had to be carried around everywhere and pushed in a stroller whenever we went out. But by Thursday she was back to her sassy self and able to walk to the park to enjoy the sunshine and she was later dressing up in some dancing clothes with her sister:

Ben wasn't feeling well Friday so I let him stay home thinking he might have got the bug too. He slept most of the day and ate very little. Dinner time came and Grams wanted to take the kids to McDonald's. I offered to stay home with Benny but he really wanted to go so I figured he could just sit at the table with us. Well, he insisted on eating and after his first bite he threw up all over the floor. I felt so bad for the person who had to clean up after him (he said he wasn't allowed to use a mop so he had to wipe all it up). And of course, I felt sorry for this little stink too.

On our way home from that fun, Steven was super worried about catching Ben's germs. Me, being the childish person I am, had Ben breathe on my hand and I threatened to touch Steven with it. Of course Karma came after me and that night I woke up horribly sick with the stomach bug. It was seriously one of the worst bugs I've had but thankfully I didn't get 4 days of it like the kids, by Saturday night I was feeling better.

Low #2: The brake pad and rotor going out on my rear wheel. Frustrating that we already have to replace something on the vehicle we just bought. Also frustrating to go without a car for a bit while I waited for Tyler to fix it. Technically it's still not fixed. The parts he ordered for cheap haven't come in yet so he just replaced the pad and is hoping it'll hold up until the parts get back in and he comes back home from being up North.

Low#3:

The weather is cooling back down up North so Tyler is leaving today to go up North and it is looking like he will also have to be away during the time we had booked our visit to The Great Wolf Lodge. I was so excited to go next week but we had to reschedule and we couldn't get the same rates until the end of April. Now I have to wait another two months for our fun vacation. Lame.

Onto the highs from this week:

High #1: Going to a fancy mall in Troy, Michigan where we first ate a super yummy lunch at my favorite Chick-Fil-A and then we went to the Lego Store. The boys were so jealous that Tyler and I got to visit one in Chicago so I looked up the closest one to us and since it was only 45 minutes away I figured we should go. It wasn't nearly as fancy as the one in Chicago but the kids still loved it and Grams properly spoiled the boys. They each got to make 3 mini figures of their own and then she bought them a LEGO set. Penny and Ben both had fun posing with the figures:

High #2: Wednesday after Penny's speech class the weather was so perfect that we decided to make a trip to the Detroit Zoo and finally use the pass my parents had gotten us. It was super crowded because of the great weather but it was worth the crowds. We got to check out the cool new Penguin exhibit and get up close and personal with one of the penguins. It was so funny because a little boy at the window had a stuffed animal in his hands and it kept trying to peck through the glass to get it.

The kids also loved the butterfly exhibit, although it was hard for Lucy since we couldn't take the stroller in and she was still feeling sick.

Our absolute favorite exhibit was the polar bears. They were so active and we got to see them up close a lot. Lucy was even willing to get out of her stroller to see them. Penny actually got a little scared with them being so close. Usually they are in the outside part of their exhibit and far away so it was so fun to get such good views this time.

High #3: I want to end with all THE BLESSINGS to my lows from this week. The blessing of me being sick not only while my mom is in town but on a Saturday while Tyler was off of work. I actually was able to stay in bed all day which I think really helped with my recovery. The blessing that Tyler is able to fix the car so that we don't have to pay for a shop to do it. So much money saved! And the blessing that we were able to reschedule our trip without losing any money and we got the same deal. This week was definitely not easy but I know throughout it all someone was looking out for me.

Chicago Getaway

The weekend after Valentines Day Grams was awesome and watched our kids so that Tyler and I could go on a little getaway to Chicago. With the weather being so unseasonably warm here, Tyler has been unable to go up North for work so he was able to take a half day Friday and we headed to Chicago around noon. With the one hour time difference, we were able to make it to Chicago around 4, which was our check in time. Not only was our timing good but we found an affordable parking lot within a short walking distance from our hotel (the parking at the hotel cost $61/night so definitely not paying that). 

When we walked by half of our hotel being demolished, I was pretty worried that I had made a bad choice in hotels but it ended up being ok. The demolishing was mostly in the afternoon so not waking us up and the room was clean so that was a bonus. It did get noisy at night (I think it was the room above us that we kept hearing) and there was the constant sound of a nearby train (it sounded like constant wind) but really nothing that we couldn't sleep through. So all in all it turned out ok.

That night we kept things simple and got a CTA pass and took the Red train to Macy's (which was 7 stories high) and ate dinner at the Walnut Room on the sixth floor. It was a fancy, yet old, place. It had a giant fountain and all the crown moldings and chandeliers and these fantastic views of the city but it definitely could have used a renovation. I got a chicken pot pie and it was seriously one of the tastiest chicken pot pies I had ever had. It was honestly a perfect start to our getaway.

Afterwards we hit a 2 floor CVS and got some cough syrup (Tyler has had this never ending cough) and we got some junk food and we vegged out in our hotel room.

Saturday morning we woke up and got breakfast and then walked to the Shedd Museum. The weather was so perfect that it made for a nice walk. When we got there I was so proud of myself for buying tickets ahead of time- the line was awful. 

I really love sea animals so I enjoyed pretty much the whole thing. My favorites- turtles, some huge puffer fishes, the beluga whale and the dolphins. I just love dolphins so the aquatic show with them doing fun jumps and flips and swimming on their backs was definitely a winner for me. We also had tickets for the 4D show which was not our favorite. It kept squirting us in the face and even in the back. I wonder who actually likes that? 

Anyways, it was pretty crowded but that didn't matter so much because we didn't have any kids to loose in the crowd. And we sent videos of the sea creatures for Grams to show the kids so then we felt less guilty about them missing out, ha ha! It was the best way to visit an Aquarium! 

After the Shedd Aquarium we regrouped at our hotel and then headed to the shopping district. There were like 5 billion stores and they were all like a million stories high, it was so intimidating that I had no idea where to even start looking. That is why we stuck with the "small" Lego store. I could totally handle that and it was a lot of fun for Tyler and I. We found some awesome Minecraft Lego minifigures for the boys and then we got to make our own minifigures for the girls. Here I am posing with my new friend and Tyler asked one of the workers to let him hold a squirrel:

After the Lego Store we headed to Lake Michigan. It was such a pretty view. Tyler found a lot of flat rocks that he had fun skipping on the lake. We thought about just walking from their all the way back to our hotel but my poor out of shape body decided pretty early on that that was just not going to happen--so achy-- so we found the closest red Train stop and took it back to the hotel. 

At the hotel we decided the perfect way to end our night was with a movie so we grabbed some Chick-Fil-A downtown (because, of course, how could we pass up that opportunity) and then we went to one of those fancy AMC's with reserved seats and reclining chairs and watched "The Great Wall." It wasn't the best movie, it seemed to care more about being visually impressive than it's plot making sense but that was ok, it was nice just to relax and rot our brains.

Sunday morning we went and got breakfast and then took the bus to the Museum of Science and Industry. Honestly my legs and feet were so achy from all the walking the previous day and I was just worn our from all our fun the previous day that I kind of wished we hadn't planned anything for Sunday. I would have rather sat on the beach and read books but this was Tyler's museum pick so I'm glad we did it. He really seemed to enjoy the Brick by Brick Lego exhibit and the cool weather exhibit and all the other geeky things there so that made it worth it. 

After the museum it was time to head back to reality which was super sad. Like I said, I could have used just one lazy day. But I know my mom was glad to have us come home since Lucy caught a stomach bug again and had been throwing up all of Saturday night and Sunday. Grandma is such a trooper to have dealt with all that. We are so grateful to her watching our kids so that we could enjoy some time together. We definitely need to do things like this more often!

Scouts & Valentines

A couple weeks ago we had our Ward's Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet. At the Banquet Steven was advanced to a Bear. This meant that I got to paint symbolic paint on Steven's face and his new Scout Leader got to give him his new neckerchief. 

After presenting awards and eating dinner, they had some fun relay races for the kids to do. In one of the races, the kids had to get dressed in fishing gear and then go catch a fish. Steven looked pretty fun all geared up:

They also did a potato sack race but with sleeping bags. It was so funny to watch as they all came out of their sleeping bags while running and ended up just dragging them behind them. 

A few days later it was Valentines Day. Usually I try to do fun stuff but I feel like all the fun Valentines stuff I wanted to do included treats and since we are trying to cut back on treats I ended up not doing anything fun for the kids. I was pretty lame for Valentines this year. The only extra special thing I did was to get them their usual "love gifts." The boys got Minecraft Activity Books, Penny got a Barbie, and Lucy got a Shopkins Game that she has really loved playing with her brothers. Lucy doesn't really love playing it with Penny because Penny struggles to follow the rules and Penny also tends to lay on the board *sigh*

The boys both exchanged Valentines at school. We had an emoji theme this year. Ben put his favorite emoji, the poop, nice and big on his Valentines Box. Steven glued Minecraft faces on his Emoji Valentine box. Unfortunately the letters in Steven's name kept falling off and by the time Valentines was over, he just had a "ST". They passed out emoji Valentines Cards and wristbands. 

Even though I was lame for Valentine's Day, a friend of mine was not. She hosted a party for the littles in our Ward. They decorated boxes- we covered our boxes with Little Mermaid Wrapping paper and then Lucy covered hers with Shopkin stickers and Penny covered hers with Barbie stickers. Then they exchanged Valentines. Lucy used leftovers from the boys- she cut them herself (super crooked) and she signed her name (all the right letters in all the wrong order). Penny gave out sticker Valentines (I got Steven to write From Penny on all of hers). 

After that they all decorated cupcakes and then gobbled them down The girls insisted on licking their cupcake wrappers clean- those two have such great etiquette

And that was our super exciting Valentines Day :) 

Steven's Birthday

Steven is smart, curious, chatty, quirky, funny, stubborn and super excellent at pushing my buttons, ha ha! I love this kid and don't know he got so old but yesterday he turned the big 9. To start off his special day, he requested Lucky Charms for breakfast. The girls got some Lucky Charms too and only ate the marshmallows. I'm surrounded by sugarholics (myself included). 

It's fast becoming a tradition for the kids to open their presents the morning of their birthday so Steven of course insisted on opening his as soon as he was awake. All he wanted for his birthday was a giant Minecraft Lego set and the spoiled boy got it (it was from me & Tyler & Grandma & Grandpa Brady). He got this giant set and a crystal growing kit from his Grandma and Grandpa Hatch and he was in heaven:

I had originally planned on taking Steven out to lunch for his birthday but I ended up subbing for Ben's class so the night before I let him pick out a fancy Lunchable. Honestly, I think he was more excited about his Lunchable than he had been about me taking him to lunch.

After school Steven had his best buddy, Max, over for pizza and cake. Tyler had made it back home from being up North in time to decorate a Creeper cake for Steven. It was one of the easiest cakes Tyler has made- green frosting and edible black paper for the face- and it was the perfect cake for a Minecraft obsessed boy. 

After stuffing their faces all the boys went and saw "Lego Batman." They loved it so I think it was a genuinely a perfect ninth birthday for Steven and honestly one of the least stressful birthdays we have had around here.

And ending with some funnies... We were listening to a song from Sophia the First and it said something about only eating on china. I hear Lucy ask from the back of the car, "Did he just say 'gina?" No, he did not just say vagina. Ugh.

When I subbed in Ben's class yesterday it was the 100th day of school and they celebrated by filling out posters about 100 things. Two funny spelling mistakes I saw:

What is something you learned in the last 100 days? How to spall.

If you could have 100 of something what would it be? Hellthee snacks.

Family Time

Miss Penny has been a pain lately. She got sick with a stomach bug (again) the Saturday before my family came and then she got a cough and for some reason all this equated into her never wanting to sleep again. We had two awful days and nights with Penny refusing to nap and go to bed, screaming "owie!owie!" and pointing to her throat. Tyler was gone and I was on edge so I took her to the doctor Wednesday morning. The doctor said her throat looked fine (tested her for strep and it came up negative) and her ears looked fine (just one was a little cloudy). But my doctor tends to over prescribe (which I honestly don't mind) and prescribed me antibiotics for the cloudy ear. Here we are a week later, done with the antibiotics and she is still refusing to sleep (she can climb out of her crib and bust down the baby gate so this complicates thing). She is just confirming my belief that I should NOT have any more babies.

Back to the rest of my week... Wednesday after the doctor's appointment, we picked up Mike, Oliver and Grams from the airport. I felt bad welcoming into the house of sickness but I was so happy to have them. Luckily for Oliver, we still had some snow on the ground and it was enough for him to play with. My kids didn't last very long outside with him, they are not nearly as in love with snow as he is, but they did have some fun moments shoveling with him. Oliver made a very good snow plow.

Thursday we had some super fun plans but that morning, Lucy and I woke up sick with a stomach bug. Totally foiled all our plans. We ended up dying on the couch while Grams took Mike and Oliver on a tour of Milford. So lame to miss out. 

By night time though, I was feeling much better so we left Lucy at home with Grams and took everyone else to our favorite indoor playground in Brighton. The kids had so much fun so I was glad we were able to do that: 

Everybody seemed to be feeling well Friday so we took a trip to the Outdoor Adventure Center in Detroit. Poor Grams had to stay at home because my car does not fit everyone but since it was a very kid oriented place I don't think she felt too bummed about missing it. I had a hard time there though, all my kids kept going in different directions and it stressed me out majorly. Despite my stressing, I think the kids had fun and that's really all that matters.

The OAC had a cave with a screen that had a bear that would wake up and roar and then go back to sleep. Penny and Lucy had so much fun screaming when the bear woke up and being just plain silly. Here is Lucy showing off her best bear pose:

Steven really enjoyed the fishing simulator. The line would tug when you caught a fish and then you would have to reel it in.

After the OAC we decided we should go on a ride on the people mover. We parked by the GM building and took the stop that was located in that building. Last time I did this, there were 3 adults and 3 kids. This time there were 2 adults and 5 kids. We were vastly out numbered and it was very challenging. We also looked super out of place in this business building and got several comments. One person asked if they were all ours (assuming Mike was my husband) and if they were, he told us we should have a TV show. Yes, we are that entertaining ;)

Poor Oliver came down with a croupy cough Friday night but he really wanted to go to the Henry Ford Museum and since he flew a bazillion miles to be here we decided we should definitely still go. The kids all had a super fun time. I love that this museum never seems to get old with my kids.

Steven worked hard to build a tower of Lego's that was taller than him. He was very proud of his result:

For dinner Saturday we went out to Culver's. It was a good hurrah before Mike & Oliver left us- especially because it included ice cream. While we were there Steven heard the song "Highway to Hell" and he decided since it used an inappropriate word that he would keep singing it with replacement words for "hell." Some of his replacements included: health, help, and fun.

That night Mike and I decided that we needed another hurrah before he left (ice cream just wasn't enough) so we went and saw "Arrival." I liked it, very entertaining and I felt like it had a good message. When we came home the house smelled funky to me and using my amazing sniffer I discovered that poor Oliver had thrown up on himself. Ugh, felt so bad for the little guy.

Sunday I woke up early in the morning to take Mike and Oliver back to the airport. It was definitely sad to see them go. I don't like goodbyes but I am grateful that at least Grams gets to stay with us longer.

This week thus far has been full of a still challenging Penny and Benny who has jumped on the sick wagon and had to miss some school. I am so glad Grams is here to help out. When Tyler was gone in January I thought I was handling things so good, that I really didn't even need Grandma in Feb- I could totally take care of things on my own. Ha! Heavenly Father has fed me a large piece of humble pie this week. With these sick, and challenging kids of mine, I am so glad I have Grandma here too help out. So So glad!

Lucky for Penny she is so stinking adorable. Especially when she takes off all her clothes but insists on keeping her shoes on: