Zoo and Things

For Valentine's Day I got Tyler Princess Bride Opoly. Sunday night we finally had a chance to play it. We played it with the boys and it was a lot of fun. I am really enjoying this new stage of life we have entered with our kids, where they are now able to play games with us. I just wish they were better at not being sore losers. Ben got pretty upset when he went bankrupt.

Also Sunday we found out they changed our Ward boundaries. The other Ward meeting in our building had gotten small so they took a lot of people from our regular sized Ward to bulk theirs up. It was pretty depressing. We lost a lot of good people and were not given any new people to replace them with. Also depressing is all the Primary documents I JUST did now how to be redone (Class Lists, Scripture & Talk Schedule, Birthday List, etc). I'd say I'm not bitter but I am :(

Monday and Tuesday were mid winter break so the kids had no school. I feel like with snow days and dentist appt's they haven't had much school lately anyways but it was actually pretty nice to have them off this time. We were able to do some fun things. On Monday we picked up a couple friends and took them to one of our favorite places, The Commons. We also met a few more friends there and I found out what a small world it is. There is this nice lady that I talk to sometimes when I am waiting for Lucy to get out of school who was also at The Commons. It turned out she was meeting a friend and that friend she met was friends with my friend. I know that's a complicated connection but it was a fun connection to discover none the less. 

One of the friends there had an older son that Penny absolutely loves playing with. I had to capture a pic of the two playing together. He kept playing dead and she would tickle him back to life. He is so sweet to play with her.

Tuesday morning was rainy but extra warm temperature wise. Our zoo pass expires the end of this month and I really wanted to use it before it expires so I decided we would deal with the rain and just go. It was barely sprinkling when we left and so I thought we would be fine with 2 umbrellas we'd only be walking short distances between animal houses. However, as we drove the rain came down harder so I made a quick pit stop at Walmart and bought a couple more umbrellas- I am glad I did. I was the only one umbrella-less so I got pretty damp but the kids stayed dry- Steven even offered to wear my backpack so that stayed dry as well. We ended up having a pretty good time. We went to the penguin house, the butterfly and bird house, the reptile house and the frog house. My favorite was definitely the penguin house. A friendly penguin that we were informed was named Thor hung out by the kids for quite awhile. 

My kids still continue to be posers, especially Lucy and Benny, they were constantly standing in random places and asking me to take their pictures. I love that they want to be well documented :)

Tuesday night we all went out to dinner at Chili's. I wish it wasn't so expensive because I really love going out to eat. It's so nice to not worry about making a meal or cleaning one up. I enjoy dinner time so much more. We also had some fun switching Ben's Sprite with some water while he was away- Tyler thought he was pretty funny.

The rest of my week was not super exciting. Wednesday I watched a friend's kid and Lucy had her last day of Karate. I saw her progress  at the punches and kicks but she doesn't seem excited enough about it to continue doing it, same with the boys who had their last day Thursday night. Thursday my ears were killing me- one felt like it was full of fluid and the feeling wouldn't go away- so I went to a Minute Clinic. Turns out I have Swimmer's ear so I got some fun drops to put in my ear. Thankfully the drops helped so I was ok to sub Friday afternoon. That class was so rowdy I think I would have died if I hadn't got my ears fixed. And that was our exciting week :)

Valentines Day and a Lost Tooth

This week started off with what felt like another unnecessary snow day. It hadn't snowed big since Friday but apparently the back roads were still not plowed so no school for the kids. We spent a good part of the afternoon at the library. I like that my kids are all library nerds and love to hang out there.

Tuesday Penny and I had a fun day. I was nervous about running a couple errands with her because of some previous less than fun experiences but she ended up being a lot of fun- maybe because I promised her playtime at the mall when we were done. First we went to Salvation Army. We happened by the Christmas section and she saw a Nutcracker that she just had to have. I figured I could swing 85 cents so I bought it. I'm pretty sure she loved it more than any toy she could've gotten plus we can now add it to our Nutcracker collection that I decided we are starting (this one makes 2 so obviously we have a lot more collecting to do, ha ha!).

After Salvation Army we went to one more place and then we headed to the mall. Once there we indulged in some amazing pretzels and she had fun on the newly remodeled play area. Her favorite part was climbing the frog tongue and sliding down the frog's back. She made all sorts of silly faces going down it, it was adorable! I really enjoyed spending some fun one on one time with her. I wish we could do that more frequently!

That night we decorated some heart cookies. Steven made some poor choices with time management so he didn't have time to decorate them before he left to Scouts but the other 3 had fun. I was pretty astonished that both Ben and Lucy were able to finish their big cookie. They are sugar monsters just like me unfortunately.

Wednesday was Valentine's Day so I tried to be the fun mom. I dyed the pancake batter pink and made heart shaped pancakes for the kids. The boys appreciated this gesture but the girls did not. They were disgusted by the pink pancakes. So much for being the fun mom. 

I also gave the kids their Love gifts that morning and started a new tradition. Everyone had to go around and say one thing they loved about each person at the table before they could open their gifts. It was really fun to hear their sweet responses. Their love gifts were as follows: Steven got a book, Penny got a Barbie Coloring Book, and Benny and Lucy's books hadn't arrived yet (I had ordered them from Scholastic) so they got to open the family gift- a game, Hedbanz. They are so in to games right now so I figured I would add to the collection.

Later that morning I got to help out at Lucy's Valentine's Party. I was put in charge of the station where they balanced candy hearts on a tongue depressor. It was super fun when the principal came in and took a close up video of my shaky hand putting hearts on the tongue depressor. They even added that video to a Jr Kinder Advertisement so now my hands are famous, ha ha! So embarrassing! But really I had a great time being at Lucy's class and not being in charge. I love just being able to hang out with her!

The girls got to share a treat at the end of the party. I love these sisters!

That afternoon I went to my friend Corinne's house for a Valentine's lunch (heart noodles). Penny was weary of the red heart shaped noodles (once again the color turned her off) but she ate all the normal color ones. 

Thursday I had a friend over in the morning and then I spent the afternoon vacuuming. I cleaned out the couch- it is amazing what can get lost inside a couch in just a few month. I also vacuumed out the car and now I feel slightly less disgusted to be driving that thing. Tyler tells me we can now take it in to get detailed without being embarrassed.

Thursday night Lucy's tooth was really hurting her so I took her in for an emergency dental appointment Friday morning. I figured one of her cavities was probably just in desperate need of getting fixed. Unfortunately, it was beyond being fixed and they had to pull it. I almost cried when they said they were going to pull it, I knew it was not going to be fun. The laughing gas did seem to work at first- she got so silly and was waving her hands around in rhythm to music and just blabbing away about how her face felt smooth like soap and how daddy was going to have to lick soap if he said a bad word again (that word being butt). She was so funny! But then they got in there and started working on getting the tooth out and she got super upset. It was so hard to listen to her cry and have to just sit there and hold her legs and hands down. Broke my heart. Thankfully a trip to the dollar store for a prize and ice cream helped calm her down afterwards. It just boggles my mind that within a week that tooth went from savable to needing to be pulled. 

On a positive note she did get her first visit from the tooth fairy. She left the tooth fairy a fun picture of our house. It had her sleeping in her bed with her dolls under it and it had me downstairs on the phone talking to a friend. She draws the best detailed pictures lately.  

Saturday she already seemed better so I am glad she is not in pain. The only problem is that they put a spacer where the tooth was and there are now a lot of things she can't eat (like carrots, the only vegetable she likes!) so she is constantly asking me if she can eat stuff. It's good she checks in but she literally asks about EVERYTHING. Hopefully we'll all get the hang of what she can and can't eat soon. And hopefully I will find a vegetable that she can and will eat soon. Ugh.

Snow Galore and Steven Turns 10

So Friday stayed true to it's predictions, so much snow! If you look at the table on our deck in the pictures below you can get an idea of just how much we got. And it just keeps coming down. Today is Sunday and we are still getting more snow. Church was cancelled because of it. While it was kind of fun Friday to get so much snow, I am ready for it to stop already so we can move on with life and stop having so many snow days! 

Thankfully due to his job, Tyler is an expert snow driver and had no problem getting us to Splash Universe on Saturday for Steven's birthday (even if he freaked me out a lot- he has no fear of sliding but I do!) So Steven was able to still have a great 10th birthday. He really seemed happy all day and in his prayers he said thank you many times for having such a great birthday. Sure made all the planning and money spent worth it.

He started off his birthday opening gifts, as per tradition. I think he remembered how cranky we were with all his bad reactions to gifts at Christmas because he was especially excited about all his birthday gifts, ha ha! We got him Minecraft bedding, a Perplexus maze ball, and Dog Man books. His Hatch Grandparents got him a Lego Set and his Brady Grandparents sent him cold hard cash. Spoiled as always!

Later that morning we picked up his best buddy Max and we all went to Splash Universe. I feel like the kids had even more fun there than the last time they went. The first time they each focused on one part of the water park but this time I feel like they tried everything out. It could be because it felt a bit warmer inside than the last time we went so they weren't freezing as they walked around the place. 

The only real pictures I could get was when they stopped to eat some pizza and re-hydrate.

We spent a few hours at the Splash Universe and then we headed back to our house. At our house he got open Max's present to him. Max totally spoiled him with a Minecraft Lego set and Minecraft game. He also laminated a bunch of fun Terraria pictures for him. They have been friends for a few years now and I think it's going to be really sad when Steven starts up at a new school next year and he won't be with his best buddy everyday.

After presents we did cake and ice cream (we do everything backwards here ;)). Steven requested an Eye of Cthulhu cake (it's from the video game Terraria). So ugly but he loved it, even if he smeared the frosting with his shirt sleeve before we could get pictures.

It makes me sad to think that after this year this boy will no longer be able to use his fingers to show me his age :(. I tell everyone he is already a teenager in heart. Man the attitude of this kid, he tries my patience everyday but I know he is also making me into a better person. He makes me want to be a better mom- to be more patient, to be better at teaching him the truths of the Gospel. I am grateful for that. I am grateful for his quirky and curious personality. He is constantly wanting to learn more about things and can ask a million questions in a short period of time. It's a good trait to have and I am excited to see someday how he'll turn this curiosity into an amazing profession. He really is a good kid and I love him to pieces- here's to surviving another year ;) 

Snow Blues & Dental Blues

We started off our week with an unexpected snow day. I am still not entirely convinced it was a necessary snow day- there was only like 3 inches of snow and the roads were totally drive-able- but at least the kids got along pretty well so it was a pretty mellow day. I even managed to get the house cleaned AND do my taxes. I learned that day that I would rather do taxes then sew on scout patches- I am super procrastinating sewing those on.

On Tuesday I subbed in the morning and then I picked up Penny and met Tyler for lunch. It made me miss living in Milford. Tyler typically came home for lunch then but now we're not nearly close enough to do that. I know I was spoiled but I guess I didn't appreciate it nearly enough.

Wednesday I met a friend at Arby's for lunch, it was her birthday. This friend and I live super close to each other after we both had our moves so there's one positive part of leaving Milford. It's nice to have someone only a few minutes away to hang out with. It's also nice to have someone who loves Arby's as much as I do, ha ha! 

Thursday was such a busy day and I was dreading it but somehow everything went smoothly and I didn't feel like I was rushing from place to place- it was definitely a tender mercy. That morning all 4 kids had a dentist appointment. This did not bring good news. Steven has a cavity under a filling and needs to go to an orthodontist as well. Lucy has 6 cavities- how does that even happen over 6 months!? We brush and floss daily and have even cut back on sugar- it's so frustrating. And Penny is almost as bad. She has one filling that cracked, her 2 front teeth which have crowns on the front of them now have cavities on the back of the teeth (don't understand that at all) and then she has another random cavity. They are going to have to give her some sleepy medicine and strap her down to do the work. It's going to be completely awful- again. It is also going to be completely expensive. I was so excited to have a tax refund to squirrel away for house things and maybe even to use for some furniture I wanted for the new house but instead of new furniture I will be paying dental fees. Ugh, I hate our bad teeth.

After the dentist Thursday, I had a visiting teaching appointment and then I subbed for the afternoon. After that the boys had karate and then I had to pick up our groceries. So lots going on but like I said before, it really went smoothly and wasn't as crazy of a day as I thought. And I am also feeling grateful that I picked up groceries yesterday (I had debated doing pick up last night or today) because today is another snow day. This time it feels like a legit snow day. It has been snowing since night time and we are expected to get up to 10 inches by the end of the day. So no school and no groceries to pick up means we can stay home and stay out of the yuck. However, tomorrow is Steven's birthday and we are planning on taking him to Splash Universe so I am really hoping the roads are ok to drive tomorrow morning!

Hard Week

This week has pretty much been defined by my kids driving me crazy. I don't know if it's the super moon we had this week but each one has been wearing down my patience. There has been a lack of listening and a lot of whining in the Hatch household which has led to lots of lectures and raised voices from us parental units. I hate weeks like this.

When I last wrote Tyler was stuck in Northern Michigan due to a closed bridge. Thankfully the bridge opened up Saturday morning and he made it back to us by lunch time. This was good because we both had car appointments that afternoon- he got new tires for his truck and I got a tire that had a nail in it fixed. I hope his ancient truck doesn't decided to poop out now that it has brand new tires, that always seems to be our luck.

Saturday night Lucy started complaining about her ear hurting (why is it always when all the Dr's offices are closed?). so Sunday morning me and Lucy played hooky from church and I took her to a Minute Clinic. It was good I did because she did in fact have an ear infection. They also decided to test her for the flu since she had had a fever Thursday and Friday and there were kids in her class who had tested positive for the flu. It was kind of a flaky test. First the results were negative and then they were positive. Considering her fever had ended Saturday morning, I was surprised it was positive. My unmedical guess is that maybe she had it but since she was on the recovering end that's why the result was flaky. But what do I know?

Because she tested positive on Sunday for the flu, I kept her home from school Monday. Besides not eating (I think the Amoxicillin was bugging her tummy)she was totally fine- she was running around the house playing and even fighting with Penny. So on Tuesday I sent her back to school. She had a tough time going back (she basically had a 5 day weekend with all her sick days). I had to really push the excitement of her sticker chart and reward again. It worked thankfully. She was very excited at the prospect of getting ice cream on Friday if she went to school nicely.

With Lucy back to school Tuesday I decided I could finally go run a couple errands. I figured it would be easy with only Penny coming along- it usually is. I was so wrong. She was such a nightmare. Every store we went into was a fight. One had a soda machine and she kept whining about how thirsty she was and how she needed soda (of course water couldn't possibly solve her thirst). At another store we happened to walk by candy and she kept insisting that she needed a treat. I attribute her crazy to her lack of napping. She did this last winter where she cut off her naps completely and now she is doing it again. She hasn't napped in weeks and I think that is part of the reason why she is so challenging.  

Wednesday I subbed and Kellie, the Primary President, watched Penny. Kellie totally spoiled Penny and I am pretty sure Penny would much rather hang out with Kellie than me. She took Penny to McDonald's, made cookies with her, let her keep one of her kid's old toys and added bonus she has a small dog that licked Penny's hand. It seems Penny has finally come to term with dogs- at least little ones. I really am so lucky to have such great people who help watch Penny while I work.

Thursday I got Steven a new Scout uniform and was grossed out by how expensive it was (I didn't even get the hat or the neckerchief tie). I remember it being expensive but holy poop, it is so painful. At least I got it super big so hopefully it will last many years. This new uniform also means I must brave sewing on patches again but this time I don't have my mom. I am not looking forward to this project.

Friday I had to sub in the afternoon and I had a big to-do list but I decided to procrastinate all responsibilities and had a friend over instead. It was worth it- it was so nice to converse with a grown up and it did me good to decompress some.

This morning we paid our old neighbors a visit. They have moved into a new home so we brought them a house warming gift. The husband's father also passed away this week so we brought them some cookies too because I am not sure what to bring for that. I am so glad we went over, I think she needed the visit. I feel so sad for them. I can't imagine not having the Gospel when someone passes away, for them it is the end. 

Tonight we have the Cub Scout Blue & Gold Banquet. There is a magic theme (I think?) so Steven was practicing a magic trick that he will be performing. It'll be interesting to see how his presentation skills change when he is in front of everyone, ha ha.

Funny Steven story- this past Sunday was a warmer day and so the boys were out playing soccer. Steven came inside to get a drink and told me "Mom I am so hardcore at soccer!" It was super funny and now Tyler and I keep saying were at hardcore at things too :)

Also I gave the kids this game (Go Nuts for Donuts) Monday night and they are pretty obsessed with it. It was fun at first but it has a lot to do with predicting what the other players will do and now that I know everyone else's strategy it is less fun for me. It also has been a real learning experience for Steven on losing- you can't always win kid. Oh how he struggles with NOT being a sore loser.

This Week in January

This week Tyler is up North, hopefully it should be his only week up North. He is up there training his replacement and should be coming back today, hopefully! The bridge back is closed currently due to falling ice which does not make me happy. It has been a pretty long week with him away and I just want him back!

Monday was a very long day of organizing and cleaning. Now that we have an upstairs that consists of all our bedroom the kids seem to feel more obligated to lug all their toys up to their rooms- it drives me crazy. So Monday I was trying to lug everything back down and reorganize. They are also constantly mucking up all the craft/art supplies in the guest room. I love them being able to access everything when they want to use it, I just wish they would put things away properly when they were done *sigh* 

I did take a break from all the cleaning and organizing to take a walk with Penny since it was an extra warm winter day. She had a ton of fun splashing in all the melted snow puddles. We also did some swinging in the backyard- I am really loving having swings in our yard!

Monday night both Penny and Benny woke up crying because they were scared. Apparently when dad leaves the house it becomes very scary. Benny had the hardest time being calmed down, I think he might have had a bad dream. It was a rough night.

Tuesday I had a sub job in the afternoon. It was the class I sub for a lot and it was a super easy afternoon. Those are always nice. Then after dinner and hw it was off to the church to drop Steven off at Scouts. He finished his doorstop this past weekend (for the Baloo the Builder Requirement) so he is finally ready to be a Weeblo, just in time for his birthday! I can't believe that kid will be turning double digits in just a couple weeks. Where does time go? He sure has the attitude of a teenager already though, his biggest complaint these days is that he is so tired because his sisters always wake him up. The earliest they ever get up is 7am so I am pretty sure this kid is in trouble for when early morning seminary begins.

Wednesday I subbed again for the same teacher. This time it was not so easy of a day. There were a couple kids that just couldn't get along that day and others who just seemed hyper. I was pooped by the time the day was through but after picking Penny up we had to rush Lucy to karate. She is so timid about everything but I know she is enjoying it because as soon as it was done she was already counting down the days until she goes again. We might just have to keep going there after this 6 week class, especially since Tyler bought her the $35 karate uniform. I can't believe how much that thing cost! He got in trouble so the boys didn't get one and won't unless we decide to stick with it.

Thursday and Friday I was supposed to help babysit for friends- which I like to do because then I feel less guilty about always asking people to watch my kids while I am subbing. Unfortunately Lucy came down with a fever early Thursday morning so no babysitting for me. She has had a fever on and off since then. It turns out that basically here whole class is passing around this virus, only 5 people came to her class yesterday! Luckily she seems ok besides the fever and being tired (and being a little bit dramatic "my feet hurt, I can't walk"). She is still eating and keeping down liquids so that's good. I just hope this fever breaks soon and that it doesn't spread to the rest of my kidlings because I've got another busy week next week. Here are some fun pics of me snuggling with sick Lucy.

The boys had Karate Thursday night and since Tyler was out of town I had to tote sick Lucy there with us (go me for spreading the virus further). The boys got to use nunchucks which was a little terrifying. I was pretty sure they were going to whack themselves (or someone else) in the face but somehow everyone remained unscathed. However, they didn't quite master the skills of twirling them. Really though, what is the point of numchucks with kids?

Also this week when I was preoccupied with taking care of a sick Lucy, Penny entertained herself with a box of band aides. I don't know if you can see in the picture but apparently all her babies had owies that needed band aides. It was pretty cute (and just a tid bit wasteful). Also please note that she was crying before the first pic and then she chucked her banana and that apparently made her really happy. She has been some serious bipolar this week.

Karate Starts

So I love our new house, I do, but I would really appreciate if it would stop causing problems. First we had the roof leak which Tyler seems to have fixed (it didn't leak after the last big melt so that's positive). After that we had a "leak" in the basement which turned out to be a hose that just needed to be tied down in the basement sink so it didn't squirt everywhere. Tyler realized that was the problem after buying a new sump pump *sigh*. And now we have plugged pipes upstairs that are rendering the shower useless. Tyler hasn't had time to fix that one yet but is hoping that his small snake will be enough that we don't have to call a rooter. These things are annoying but I am grateful that so far we hadn't had any super expensive problems. I hope that if we must keep having problems that they will at least stay small.

This week was not super exciting- just busy. Monday was MLK Day and we spent the morning running errands and getting the girl's hair cut. That afternoon I took Steven with me to watch "The Greatest Showman." He is a good sport to come with me so I don't have to go alone. About halfway through he started complaining that he was tired so I am pretty sure the movie was not his cup of tea but I really loved it. The music, the dancing, the good moral message- it was a hit in my books! The only things I really didn't love Steven seeing- the previews before (one about a boy coming out and another a love story with a skinny dipping clip), the massive amount of cleavage from the bearded lady, some kissing (Steven hates kissing) and a lady who kisses a married man- besides those things it was a pretty kid friendly movie. I am now constantly listening to the soundtrack- it's good stuff.

Tuesday I cleaned house and also had a Primary Meeting. I really love the people in the presidency so I guess my calling isn't the worst. I just get tired/lazy of having to redo the same things each year (new birthday gifts, new spotlights, doing the baptism preview, reminders, newsletters...)Yeah, mostly just lazy.

Tuesday night we had an exciting Michigan event, a meteor zoomed overhead. Ben saw the flash of it when he was walking into Lucy's room and told me that he just saw lightening. I totally didn't believe him because it's winter, you don't get lightening on a cold, non rainy, winter day. Moments later we heard a rumble but I was still skeptical, I thought maybe it was a really loud truck or someone putting away their garbage bin. Then a bit later I was on FB and it was all over that a meteor had landed in Taylor, Michigan and there had been sightings all over the place. Lucky Ben was the only one in our family who got to see it's awesome flash! 

Wednesday I subbed for Ben's class. I had subbed for them before and really enjoyed it but I did not enjoy it this time. They were super hyper and it was an exhausting day, my voice was tired. Afterwards I had to rush Lucy to Karate. 5pm is not the greatest time for it, especially when I have to pick up Penny and Lucy after subbing, but we made it right on time. Unfortunately everyone else seemed to make it there early and were all rearing to go and in uniforms no less, it felt awkward. It turns out they join their regular class with us newcomers who signed up the Walled Lake Rec. That explained why most of these kids looked like pros. Lucy is definitely in need of lots more lessons but she sure was cute doing it and she had lots of fun!

I had Bunco that night and had the best laugh when I rolled the die with some crazy flair and still got a Bunco. I may not have actually won any prizes that night but it was such a blast.

Thursday the boys had karate. I did not go because I was watching a friend's daughter but Tyler said they are about as coordinated as Lucy (and me). I really am happy about the prospect of them getting more coordinated and confident. If the next 5 weeks go well, I might consider doing karate long term- we'll see.

Friday I had another sub day. This one is for a teacher who uses me lots- she keeps me employed seeing how she is absent almost once a week, ha ha! I typically love that class but was worried with my luck they would have gone evil, but they didn't. It was actually a really good day. I don't know if maybe it just seemed so good because the last one was so hard but I'll take it.

And that was our week in a nutshell, and I'll end with a cute pic of Benny and his best friend, Andrea, at school: