March was a very eventful month for the Maes crew.
The first three weeks of the month were spent preparing for, going on and recovering from our road trip to Kansas. I was honestly dreading the traveling portion but it went so much better than we expected. Lucy spoiled us. She was so easy for an 18-month-old.
After the first long leg of our journey we were able to hang out with the Christensen family. Maggie is a dear friend and former mission companion. We haven't been able to chat like that for years so we had a lot to catch up on!
The next morning the kids got to play a little in the snow (Atticus was the only one who enjoyed it, I'm afraid) and play with all of the cool toys.
They even had an amazing tractor train for the kids. Unfortunately, Lucy and I fell so it ended in some tears but her nose and lip healed up just fine after a couple days.
We left in the late morning and drove the rest of the way to Kansas.
Oh, how we loved it once we were there. I had been longing to be with my sisters! Every minute was precious. My mom came, as well as my sister Laurel and all of the nieces and nephews were there.
Lucy was really overwhelmed at first but as she caught up on sleep she warmed up to everyone.
My beautiful best friend McKay lives only an hour away from Trace and she bravely made the trip to see us. It was too short but so very good to see her and her cute kids.
Hinckley had everyone wrapped around his little finger, getting all the cousins to call him by various names (as we left on the last night Noah cried out, "Bye Noah! Bye Hinckley! Bye Bruce! Bye Moses!") and go on countless missions around the house.
Atticus had so much fun that he lost his voice by the end. I think they drank more soda and ate more treats than they have in the last six months over the course of four days. They were happy as clams.
As always, it went by too quickly. The last night poor Atticus was sobbing in the car as we headed back to our AirBnB. Between sobs he asked us why we all had to live so far apart. I wish I could have given him a better answer. I was having similar thoughts and feelings.
Before we knew it we were in the van again. The boys and Lucy were such troopers that day. We drove 19 hours, arriving home at 11:30 PM. Dane is one heck of a driver.
Even though it was 11:30 Atticus still went to see if a Leprechaun had come to the house in our absence. He checked the toilet and slammed the lid after seeing crystal clear water. "He didn't come!" he yelled disgustedly before trudging up the stairs to his room.
I guess our Leprechaun only comes if you set a trap because the next evening the boys set out a very simple trap and, sure enough, O'Malley came. He even left the boys a treasure hunt that had them sing an Irish song and read a book about St. Patrick. He really made them work for it. And yes, as the photo above indicates, they were running around the house in their undies. That's how we usually roll in the early morning.
Shortly after our belated St. Patrick's Day festivities we headed to the boys' first soccer games. I don't have great photos yet of the boys but I couldn't resist taking this of their #1 fan. She set these chairs up like this herself. Our little lady appreciates comfort.
A couple days after that I taught Joy School. Our first day we learned about teachers and the next day we learned about entertainers (they've been studying Community Helpers this month.) The kids were so stinking cute when they took turns "teaching" their classmates. We had two math lessons, two lessons about shapes, one about the ABCs, one about how to blow a bubble with bubble gum and one about how to draw Batman and the Joker. I'm sure you can guess who taught the last lesson.
The kids made microphones after talking about entertainers and they sang some of their favorite songs on a "stage" with their friends. Some of them really got into it!
As cute as all of this was, I think the cutest thing was watching Lucy. For almost the entire school year she has napped during Joy School when it has been at our house but this week she was a part of it all. When I brought out the cushions we have them sit on for circle time she got so excited and ran to sit down on one. Then she kept watching the front door, waiting for our friends to come.
She sat and participated in all the activities. She played with the play dough (not once did she put it even close to her mouth!) She drew on her whiteboard to take "notes." She danced with us and sat at circle time. This girl is in such a big hurry to grow up! So, so adorable.
It does feel like she's getting big. She turned 18 months at the beginning of the month and sometimes it feels like a switch went off. She is very interested in going potty, and will tell us that she wants to "boop" or "bee bee." She hasn't successfully done any of the above yet in a toilet but she loves to sit on the potty and grunt like she's heard her brothers do. Then she'll drop some toilet paper in, flush the potty and wash her hands.
Goodness, does she still make messes. She has moved on from the dog dishes and our Tupperware and now tries to beat us to the fridge so she can dispense ice in large quantities. Thank heaven for locks on appliances.
She has also gotten very possessive about Momma. This last week whenever Hinckley is sitting on my lap she has gotten very disgruntled, rushing over to hit/push him off of my lap. We are trying to get her to share and sit on one leg the way the boys did but so far she is not having it.
Still, we wouldn't trade our little Lula for anything. She brings all of us so much joy.
Listen to Lucy:
- "Dat-ooh!" (Thank you)
- "Momma" (she could say it in the past but she rarely would. This month she finally started talking about me and to me all the time.)
- "luh-el-luh-el..." (Water- she sticks her tongue out and vibrates it from side to side. Hilarious.)
- "Hee-haw" (See saw)
- "Yuck!"
- "Bye Dad!" (I swear she's said this a few times now and it even sounded like she said a form of "Love you!" right afterward.)
Hinckley still has us shaking our heads in disbelief with his imagination. One day while we were in Kansas he told us he was Moses. He had found a big stick and was trying without success to part the waters of the pond. He took it very seriously I'm afraid. He kept saying, "Let my people go!" to anyone who would listen. The older cousins weren't cruel but who could help laughing at the passionate little guy?
He is hard, oh my gosh, he can be so mean. He has told me he hates me several times in these last couple weeks and I'm sure it will just happen more and more. He gets so angry with me sometimes that he starts to shake and spit flies out of his mouth. The trick is to get him to his bed. Almost every time he will calm down (he's usually wrapped up in his blanket, stroking his face.)
At the same time, he can also be so darn sweet. When I'm struggling with Atticus, Lucy or even Dane he is so sensitive and will tell me that he loves me. Or my favorite is when he'll hold his arms open and say, "Guess what I'm doing right now?" And I'll guess, "Giving me a hug?" He'll answer, "Yep!" and hug me as hard as he can. He gives such great hugs!
He also makes a LOT of artwork- he is constantly drawing and he recently made a "robot" for each of us. Lucy even had a cute pink one show up in her room.
He carries his paper robot (he's named him "Minnow") and will have it "Boop" every so often while they play and do chores about the house.
As I mentioned earlier, Hinckley started soccer this month and is doing awesome. He has played in two games and in both he played the entire game without any tantrums or rests. He loves his coach so much that he has been going around with a stamp and putting "tattoos" on himself and anyone else who'll let him (so he can look like his coach.)
Hinckley Speaks:
"Dad, I think you're going to turn in to Santa soon."
"I'm sad. I don't want to leave my family." (Our last night in Kansas.)
("Where would I go?") "How about Delaware?!" (After hearing me ask Dane if he wanted a night off to get a break from the kids.)
Atticus is having an interesting soccer season. He is playing against players who are a year older and doing very well. He is struggling, however, because his coaches are having them do a lot of running at practice and they take practices pretty seriously, which is a first. He admits that he likes being pushed but it isn't easy or comfortable. I don't want him to lose his love of the game but I do love watching him grow. We'll take it a practice at a time.
Speaking of sports, I thought I would share a little about Atticus's experiences with our P.E. group. I love this group, by the way. It is with the Eagles, a Christian homeschool group with such great parents and they have introduced the kids to a wonderful variety of sports. This month they spent a few weeks playing flag football and now they are playing volleyball.
Atticus didn't really like football, saying the boys were tackling him and he didn't quite understand the rules. Still, he must have liked it a little because volleyball had him saying he didn't want to go. He enjoyed it the second time around a little more so I'm hoping that each week he'll warm up to it a little more. It's good for him to be out of his comfort zone. I'm hoping he'll have more empathy for kids who struggle when they play soccer.
Homeschool Update:
Our homeschool was interrupted a fair amount by our trip and teaching Joy School but we still managed to have some fun. Sadly, our tomato and cilantro sprouts died while we were away but our cute dogsitter replaced them with starts and they seem to be doing quite well.
We studied Westward Expansion, Native Americans and the early 1800s, Saudi Arabia and the spread of Islam, as well as Birds.
While it wasn't built in the 1800s the Airbnb we stayed in was over 100 years old and had so many fun antiques to look at and learn from both the 19th and 20th Centuries. There was a record player so the boys were able to listen to a few old songs and try it out, as well. We read the first three books of the Little House on the Prairie series (Little House in the Big Woods, Farmer Boy, and Little House on the Prairie) and the whole family has loved it. Even Dane had to admit that he enjoyed it as we listened to Farmer Boy on the way to and from Kansas.
We've enjoyed learning about the Arabian Nights, especially the children-friendly versions of Ali Baba and Aladdin. We tried some Arabian spices on meat and potatoes and LOVED it. I will definitely be using them again.
This last week, as requested by Atticus, we used ground bison for bison burgers and a Native American "harvest bowl." Both were delicious. The boys made tepees, as well.
As busy as it has been, we've been blessed with good health and so much besides.
Until next month!
