So, this past week was our Spring Break.
Despite the fact that I wanted to relax and just unravel my mind from everything that has been happening around here in the past few weeks, (and get some laundry done), we were busy, busy, busy.
Because, let’s be honest…Spring Break is for the kids.
And so, I did my damnedest to make sure it was about the kids.
Real Man took Monday off and we went to the beach.
On Tuesday, we really yucked it up and the four big kids and I had dentist appointments.
They were wonderful at the dentist, but there were four of us, so the whole experience lasted almost three hours from start to finish.
Tiny was interested in the toys for about 5 minutes. The other 2 hours and 55 minutes? Not so much.
We spent the rest of the day playing outside and having fun, finishing up the night with A Dolphin Tale.
On Wednesday, we headed over to my parents house, first thing in the morning, as my Dad was heading out to Ohio that afternoon. The kids and my Dad played dominoes, did jigsaw puzzles and taught him how to play Words With Friends on his Facebook account. (I think we may have another addict on our hands)
I spent the morning chasing down Tiny who was loving exploring Grandma’s house.
We had lunch, I gave my Dad a haircut and then we headed out.
By that time, Tiny had snuck in a 10 minute nap, but, unfortunately, that meant he would not sleep again, so at that point, I had everyone go to the bathroom and we headed to our favorite park.
The place was packed but we had a blast. There was swinging and climbing and sliding and ice cream trucking and everything in between.
We got home in time for me to make dinner, and then we ate, and the monkeys relaxed by watching Mr. Popper’s Penguins in the basement, while Real Man and I watched The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The kids were in hysterics in the basement and Real Man and I were intrigued in the living room. I had read the book, previously, and think that this is a case of the book being better than the movie. I never read the second one, but I think I’m going to start that one tonight.
Thursday was a day of playing with friends. The boys had friends over from 11-2 and then we took an hour break and the kids had our old neighbor kids, and good friends, over from 3-5:30. I would have to say a good time was had by all.
I had to laugh, because my friend, Jen, had recently posted this on her blog. Ah, playdates.
Friday was a doctor appointment for Mama, then the monkeys and I picked up my friend, Jean, and her kids and headed to Pennsylvania to the Crayola Factory. Another perk of living where we do!
I had received a deal through Living Social for 4 people for $20, which is half off the regular price. It covered the older monkeys and I, and Tiny was free. So, the 8 of us only paid $5 each. Fantastic.
If you’ve never been, I will warn you it is tight and is probably not organized in the best manner possible. However, it’s a blast for the kids…particularly if you have Crafty Craftersons like Baby Monkey and Jean’s little girl. They could have spent hours in every single spot in the place.
A good time was had by all, and it was nice, for all of us, to spend a day with our friends.
Saturday was another great day.
We woke up and I made pancakes for the monkeys. They loved them. Tiny still needs to learn moderation, as he tried shoving an entire pancake in his mouth. Take it slow, little one…take it slow.
Then, Real Man suited up in his sweats, sweatshirt and comfy socks and headed into the office and closed the door behind him to update Quicken and do our taxes.
The monkeys and I suited up and headed to the center of town for the Easter Egg Hunt. So much fun and the kids all saw friends from school, which made it extra special.
I’m amazed at how much work must go into it, considering how many kids live in our town, but it was really well-run, I thought. (Except that it started late, but the Bunny shows up on a fire truck, and, apparently, there was a fire call a few minutes before he was supposed to arrive…I guess that takes precedence.)
Each child got a bag with a small chocolate bunny, jelly beans, 2 Blow Pops, 2 pieces of Laffy Taffy, and the most important things, a toothbrush and toothpaste. 🙂
Then, the green was divided into different sections…1-3 year olds, 4-6 year olds, and 7-10 year olds. My Mom came with us and went with Monkey in the Middle to the 7-10 year old section and I stayed with Baby in the 4-6 section. When they blew the whistle, Monkey Girl held Baby’s bag and he ran around and got the little foil covered chocolate eggs and dropped them in his bag.
When that was done, there was a raffle. Each gift bag also had a plastic egg. On the outside of each egg was a number. They must have called 50 numbers (I may be exaggerating, but it certainly felt like 50) and those kids got large chocolate bunnies. My monkeys were so hopeful, but no winners in our house.
When it was all over, we walked over to the library where we had some books to return. Everyone picked some new books, a few movies and then just browsed for awhile. Tiny crawled around, checking everything out. So far, he hasn’t discovered the fun of pulling all of the books off the shelf. I’m sure it’s just a matter of time, but so far, it’s just a nice space for him to crawl.
We went home, had some lunch and then, while Tiny napped, moved ourselves to the basement so as not to distract Real Man. The big kids bundled on the couch (it was a chilly egg hunt) and watched some On Demand shows and Baby Monkey and I sat at the craft table and colored with the coloring set he got at the Crayola Store on Friday.
We colored every superhero imaginable, and then he decided he wanted to try his watercolors. He wasn’t thrilled with them. I never was, either, as a child. The idea of painting never really lived up to the reality of painting. It was always my least favorite thing to do in art class, as well. Bob Ross, I ain’t.
Then, it was time for me. I went and got my hair cut. Ahhh..an hour and a half of sitting in a chair, having someone wash my hair, then sitting under the dryer while my roots lighten up, then having my hair blow dried, which is something I never do for myself. Heaven. Brought my iPad so I could read (currently reading The Girl Who Played with Fire) and just chilled. The woman I go to knows that I’m not a chatter, and so she generally leaves me alone. She has said that it’s relaxing for her, as well, not to have to consistently make up things to talk about. We work well together.
Came home, got the monkeys, ordered some pizza (I decided that I could take one night off during break…I deserve one night…right?), fooled around with Photo Booth with the big boys:
Ate dinner and then colored our eggs.
Today, we’ll be celebrating Easter with family and then probably just crashing.
Monday is our last day of the break, and I don’t have anything planned. I’ve snuck in the laundry throughout all this fun and so I don’t even have to spend my last day doing chores. I can just do whatever and go wherever the day takes us.
This was, probably, the best Spring Break I can remember since the aforementioned Spring Break of ’93 when Kim and I were snowed into Jersey and couldn’t get back to college. It was just fun and great time with the monkeys.
It’s made me start to dream about summer and imagine the fun we’ll have then. 3 more months to plan and dream!
