Hidden Treasure

Making a few minor changes around the abode this past weekend, and still today.  In moving a piece of furniture drawers needed to be ridded of what turned out to hold a hidden treasure--evidence of a punishment, a reflection on poor behavior by our D, an 8th grader at the time.  Oh how I remember this phase.  I survived it by telling myself: this too shall pass.  It did.  This thumb print of history remains as a reminder. 

I will let page one of two of the treasure speak for itself. 

King Ralph and I would like to think of this as "parenting at it's finest." 

Sweet Memories.  Hidden. But found. Leaving lasting laughs.

Everything But the Easter Bonnet

What a perfect weekend--the exact kind of weekend I needed to revive my spirit!  I've got that end of the school year burnout and I am longing for the summer to begin.  I'm longing for slow starts to my morning, coffee (or tea) and a novel on the deck and the early morning sun kissing and bronzing my skin.  So Easter was just the awakening my soul was beckoning for.

On Maundy Thursday Alee and I went to church for a beautiful service celebrating the Last Supper.  Kevin drove to SEMO to attend a senior recital of a fellow music composition major classmate.  Demi sang several of his original pieces of music. 

On Good Friday we finished cleaning the house and then headed to the niece's house for a fish fry.

 King Ralph and my niece's spousal equivalent prepared and fried the cat fish and crappie.

  The platter heaped full of arty clogging yum. 

 

The girls sat on the deck gazing out at the niece's thirteen acres of land,

sipping wine in fancy wine tervis-like cups. 

 

 A wine, that was tasty, but chosen solely for the fact that the label bared a rabbit--an Easter Bunny

 (looks like I needed to charge my phone hehehe)

 

It isn't family fun till the cousins act silly. 

No one can blame it on the wine and beer because two of these crazies are under twenty-one -

 that's just their regular ole' selves. Let us not talk about the Duck Dynasty wanna-be cousin.  Someone please explain this beard craze that is over taking the country?! 

I DO NOT understand it...there is no beauty in it!  

 

Saturday was left to yard work.  No matter how many times we raked in the fall and winter we still managed to fill three bags of leaves and yard clippings.  Dam never-leaf-ending-pin-oak. 

 Watching the Blues game...sorry my Blackhawk friends. Another overtime win!  

And our handsome, officer, Air Force pilot nephew arrived for a steak dinner and a slumber party. 

 

Easter.

 

Beautiful. New life. Easter.

 

Baskets of Easter goodness for those home and away.

 

Next there was church. 

 

Then there was the traditional missing cousin picture. A sign baring that MIA cousin's name.

For years it was

Major C.  So imagine the joy he feels when it isn't his name on the sign.

(top: first cousins, bottom:second cousins)

 

Countered by an M photo--of I'm not missing, you all are missing 

(sadly baseball knows no holiday)

 

We ate and ate. There were Mai Thais with umbrellas (Lin you like that?)

 

Dessert.

 

 Lots and lots of yard games--washer, ladder golf and bocce ball.

 

 There was the bunny mask that makes an appearance every Easter

 

To end the day...

We had a mini family concert--Aunt Linda on the piano, Princess A dug out her flute, and D and Alyssa sang...this song

That my friends is how we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. 

 

How Did I Do It?

I had this crazy day at work on Friday.  Kids meeting their fate in the principal's office, one right after the other.  I was buried in manila folders.  It was a two martini kind of day.  Except I was baby sitting that night for an old co-worker, turned good friend's kids.  Oh how I miss those old co-workers.  They were the ones that made work feel like family and made it worth getting up and going to work.  Now I go because it's a paycheck.  I'm digressing.  Sorry. 

No Friday cocktails for me!

I am not scared by three kids.  It was my (still is) life. Their needs are just of a different type now.

On a beautiful spring evening I played "get out of math jail" with pre-school-boy-genius Kyle.  One must perform an addition or subtraction problem in their head in order to earn the right to slide down the slide.  That's right, five year old Kyle can spit out the answers to problems like: 9+7 and 20-10 and down the slide he came, problem after problem.  Allen saddle backed his big brother and whipped down that slide attached to him.  Little Addie Mae was happy and all smiles in her swing.  The dog, yes the dog, even got in the action--may end up being the blame for the Tommy John surgery I will be needing after hours of fetch the plastic golf ball. 

All was perfect till bedtime.  Addie: head down, cuddle blankie, eyes closed, zonked out.  Kyle: book time, head down, zonked out.  Allen: book time, head down, CRIES FOR "MOMMMM-ME".  How ever does Kyle share a room with his brother is all I could think!  I ignored the cry like any good mother (babysitter) would and let the little guy cry himself to sleep.  Then I took to the couch for a night time nap.   At 10:30pm I hear this screaming cry, "mommm-me, mommm-me, mommm-me" and out walks a half asleep Allen.  I sprung from the couch, scooped him up in my arms and reminded him of the magic powers he had--close your eyes, sleep and when you wake your mommy will appear.  He could have given two cents about magic powers!  

Like a phone-obsessed human I grabbed my phone and captured a Snap Chat to send to my girls

 
Still screams of "mommmm-me" carried on...till finally I tossed him in his mommy's bed.  Eventually he calmed and quieted.  Oh the joy of night terrors. NOT!  I wondered how I use to do that myself...and I didn't even work full time.  

Which brought me to my thoughts this morning.

This morning I was late to church for Palm Sunday service after I got lipstick on my shirt and had to change my clothes seconds before walking out the door.     

However did I manage to get three little girls ready for church all on my own, every Sunday morning and out the door at 9am?

How?!

King Ralph was either on day shift or was sleeping after a midnight shift; which left me to tend to our girlies single handedly.  I guess when it is your life and you are in the moment, you know no different.  I just rolled with it.  The girls always had slicked back ponies, pigtails or sponge rolled
hair, pressed dresses and shined shoes.  How did I do it? 

As I sit back and reflect on the motherhood I can imagine no greater pleasure than the joy of pure and utter exhaustion.  Would I do it again? Sure! Because in the end the pay off is greater than all the years of perpetual tiredness I experienced.

Break Time Flashback (or the blog I forgot to post)

Spring break is in full swing.  Our little castle has a revolving door. Just as one kid comes home for spring break, the other one leaves to return to school.  Sisters passing in the night.

We started M's break with a night out for Mexican...where we drank and laughed equally--while gorging on chips and salsa.

The next day it was D's sorority mom's day while M was home, all the Avery girls (you know it is the trifecta of the double sisterhood so why not have all the sisters together) loaded in the car.  I took to the back seat of my own car, let Princess A drive, M ride shot gun and I was Miss Daisy for the day, and headed to D's college town.

We went to the worst winery!  I couldn't refrain as I sampled the reds, from letting the word "horrid" whisper out of my mouth.  We settled on the only drinkable wine--a rather sweet white.  The more we drank the more we regretted paying $17 for something that was more of a $6 bottle.  Anytime someone tries to create a label by blending their cat's picture with Van Gough's Starry Night you know it's not gonna be good!

  As usual we made the best of it--sisters together

 

   After the winery we all went back to D's room where the silliness continued

While D has no plans except to lay on the couch, watch TV, have hourly feedings, and take a voice lesson.  M kept herself quite busy.  M was busy working on her practicum, and was lucky to return to the place that sparked her interest in both business and education: her Alma Mater.

It wasn't that long ago that M and her favorite teacher looked like this. Rocking twin day with there matching curly hair, breast cancer awareness shirts and animal print shoes.  Teacher and student.

Flash forward a few years and they look like this--mentor and wanna-be-teacher.  

They sport different hair styles and glasses, both with a shared passion for business education.

Then M took to the front of the classroom and taught the students about investing early.

When the two weeks were all said and done, we all return to school.  To which I say-- let the count down to the end begin!