Out of Hand: March 2018

Detroit Historical Museum

Saturday, March 31, 2018

This is a great place to take kids who love to touch things! It is not too crowded either!

Super happy to not be an 1800's housekeeper (party because of the dental care!).

Streets of Old Detroit. Super cool section! :)

Friday, March 30, 2018

Glad to see some bright spots lately! Sometimes, we get overwhelmed with what life requires of us. Other times, we remember to stop and notice all the beautiful things going on around us. Today, we choose to remember those.

Thursday, March 29, 2018

I don't really like posting a lot of pictures of myself; but I would rather not be missing pictures of me parenting these little people when we're all older. These photos are a snapshot of some of my favorite moments parenting. A lot of it is stressful and overwhelming -- not to be confused with not-worth-it -- but in the end, we have these beautiful people, complete with their own personalities and missions. I absolutely love them and can't wait to see what they turn out to be as adults! This one we still call "the baby" even though he is well into toddler-hood. He has a mostly-chill demeanor and a stable confidence. He seems to know that everyone loves him -- and that that love will never be shaken.

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

We needed to get out of the house on Wednesday. So, we visited the National Shrine Basilica, saw the new dome, and found a new patron quote.

(Note: the patron is spelled incorrectly. Gone are my days of assuming things are correct because they are in gold-leaf!)

I find tremendous hope in this sequence:

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Pop Pop and Grandma's home and our home with tables and cherries on them. Earlier he asked, "Do you know what my favowite fing in school is, Mom? Wunch!" Can't say I blame him.

This is mom, the Eldest, a tulip, and an angel above the Eldest's head. There is a pink heart to show how much mom loves him and a blue heart to show how much he loves mom.

Serious Things

"Mom, something SERIOUS happened."

[Pregnant pause.]

"The baby's balloon came off his string." -The Eldest

Friday, March 23, 2018

We've completed painting all the rooms of our home since we moved in four years ago. The previous owners had done a sloppy job applying a high-gloss tan-ish color scantily everywhere. It turned out looking dirty, which we didn't notice when we toured during the February hail storm. We still would have bought the home because it's lovely and well-located and was a good value overall. And, as the Firstborn sighed on his way home from the bus on Monday, "I love our porch!"

2014 room with wallpaper and mini-blinds.

We are slowly replacing the mini-blinds as well. Eventually, all of the pieces in this room will match. Regardless, I feel happy every time I'm in my room because this is such a cheerful color. DH suggested purple and let me run with the shade. He's such a flexible one. I love him!

2018 room with 2" blinds, removed wallpaper and lavender, eggshell-finish paint.

Thursday, March 22, 2018

This day was really about how Mr. Serious makes everyone smile. He spotted a dinosaur in the fish tank and let out a tremendous growl, which sent the receptionist into uproarious laughter.

She is peaking over the half-wall at him:

Then, when we dropped the Eldest at school, Mr. Serious made one of the receptionists smile. The one who never smiles. The one whose job title (I'm pretty sure) is: Intimidator. He was very seriously checking out all the students through the glass wall like a security guard -- in a fleece sleeper. A smile spread from ear to ear and she said, "He's really cute!" I've never been able to make her smile. Mr. Serious is just super special. <3

Unrelated to smiling: I've recently felt him growing heavier. He feels heavier than Sweet Pea because he has "dead weight." She will help me lift her by jumping into my arms. Lifting him is like lifting a kettle bell. I have to stop, check my form, then lift. Sure enough, he is already 23 pounds, a lot for the 5th percentile in height. By comparison, Sweet Pea is 27 pounds. He is very hard to hold in place while changing diapers. He's just super strong. I'm 95% certain he has a calling to wrestling!

Standing Up to Bullies

One of my biggest concerns about sending a June birthday child to school on time is the potential for being bullied more easily. However, several weeks ago, we were at a playground and two brothers decided to gang up on the Engineer. We've talked with him before about how to handle bullies. One of the brothers kept chasing him and pushing him down. He kept standing back up and saying, "Do not push me!" The brothers were relentless and were removed by playground personnel relatively quickly. Still, he was pushed down about 5 times.

Playing with Big Brother.

He came out when he was just about to cry; and I told him that I was very proud of him for standing up for himself and using his voice to tell the bullies to stop. He's made such tremendous progress in the last 3 years. We think he will be ready for kindergarten. I'm also glad the management handled the situation, because I would have severely overreacted on those boys.

Mastering all the play equipment independently. (See him at the top.)

Another thing the Engineer has going for him is stubbornness. He does not let people tell him what to do most of the time. So my prayer (And I'm optimistic about this!) is that he'll do well handling peer pressure in school.

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Four things:

1. I love the first, filter-free picture! Everything looks brighter under this white blanket. The last time it snowed this much during spring, I was in Wisconsin. ❤❄