Daycare Birthdays

 

My minis have been spoiled. With their birthdays being in June, they have gotten full day birthday celebrations with their friends each and every year (thanks to daycare). This year was the same, minus the oldest mini, who spent his birthday working at the Des Moines Children's Museum summer camp. We didn't do many gifts this year because the minis chose to have extra spending money for their shopping spree day on July 5th.

 First up, we have Elizabeth's 11th birthday. She requested a waffle bar for breakfast, Oreo brownies for her birthday treat, a spa day (which was really just painting everyone's nails), Papa John's pizza for lunch, and Olive Garden for dinner. She ended the day telling me it was one of her best birthdays ever.

Next came Harrison's 13th birthday. He went with his usual cereal for breakfast, a surprise cake (that he and a friend made together) that involved brownies, cookie mix, frosting, and Oreos, ramen for lunch, Goldfish crackers for a snack, Asian food for dinner, and rounded out with a visit to the lake for an evening swim. He and his friends also got to have a gaming day during daycare. He said it was one of his favorite birthdays he's ever had. Yet. Harrison is still counting down to his 21st birthday.

Last was Max. At 15, he had very few requests for his day since he was gone most of it working, but the requests he did make were pricey! He ordered $90 worth of cookies from his favorite cookie place, Iowa Cookie Co., a $200 Lego set (he didn't get extra spending money for our shopping day), and Lachele's for dinner. When he got home from working, he played board games and slept. A true 15 year old, if you ask me!

MAY We enjoy Spring

 

May was good to us, beginning with celebrating Cinco de Mayo and ending with jet skiing in Clear Lake with some hiking and exploring in between.

The middle mini enjoyed a "sick day" (he woke up really tired and asked to stay home; at the end of the school year, I have zero fight left in me) lunch from Jenny Lee's Korean American Kitchen. The Korean corndog was so good! Admittedly, I'm just now getting into the Korean food scene, so the boys tell me what to order. They haven't steered me wrong yet!

The best part of coming home from a conference focused on children is all of the new activity ideas I put to use! I've done a goop sensory table before, but this time I put a new spin on it with land vs. water animals. We first identified every animal on the table, then put it in the correct bin, and then the kids played. The kitten attempted to play in it too....and then I found little kitten prints all over the house all day long.

For Cinco de Mayo at daycare, the kids got to do a pinata. Meanwhile, my mom took care of our nighttime festivities with homemade Mexican food and drinks (that I said I wouldn't have and then I had four of).

As if we didn't eat enough for Cinco de Mayo, we headed to Bondurant, Ia for our Saturday fun. We took a quick walk around the town, grabbed pies from Home Slice, and had lunch at Abbie's. Then we walked all of the food off on the bike trail (near our house).

We've had quite a few movie dates lately. The minis are onto "grown up movies" now, so it's a much more enjoyable experience for us parents!

Thank you notes for teacher appreciation week. The oldest made us fresh spinach and pepper omelets for the hard work.

Thor has been trying to get outside (he did successfully escape once), so we decided to put him on a leash and let him explore. The cat loves it and Zeus loves having a friend to explore with....even though that friend is incredibly critical of every move Zeus makes!

Dandelion play dough is always a favorite each spring.

Daycare Mother's Day gifts: hand print canvas bouquets and drinks. I had a little ask, as I set out the bin of drinks, what those were for. I said, "they're just mommy drinks, you kids get cookies later." The little replied, "oh, it's caffeine isn't it? That's mommy's drink."

Every night I put my children, my teen and tween age children and each night they come out for one last cuddle or chat. Some nights it is exhausting, but most nights I really look forward to what they have to say.

Mother's Day weekend was a busy one: we helped install a new exhibit in the Museum, caught the downtown farmer's market, hiked at Ledges State Park, got Whatcha Smokin' BBQ, replaced a window screen that kept getting ignored, and helped the middle mini with his rose garden. The weekend was not filled with gifts or being spoiled, so I took myself for a massage and treated myself to coffee.

Farmer's Market pupusas and cinnamon rolls are the best.

The water in the creek was higher than it normally is. Luckily we parked at the top and walked down, so we had fun running through the creek. The highlight for the two youngest minis was seeing "two frogs doing it" on the side of the road. Yes, that's where we are in life at the moment.

Fine Arts Night at school featured a drum playing youngest mini and her art work she made because she knew it would get laughs from us. 

I'm passionate about the importance of sensory activities for kids. On the first warm day, the littles were in swimming suits and at the water table for some bubbly fun. I also made a flower sensory bin for the Museum.

My baby had her middle school visit! She's as ready as she can get and I'm, well, dreading her middle school years.

Thursday night pizza was a thing. I was so busy every Thursday that I failed to eat dinner. Somehow, food was never left for me, so I wound up ordering Scooby Snacks from Northern Lights. Of course, everyone partook in the late night snack! It was a highlight of the month for these two.

We stopped by Annett Nature Center for a quick 3 mile hike. It was gorgeous!

A trip to Outside Scoop after our hike. 

Those nights running the minis all around wore me down by May, but the youngest was still ready to go with it all!

Yes, she eats peppers like apples. Then balances it out with donuts from Donut Hut.

One of the things I love about the people involved in the Children's Museum is that I can say, "hey, I want a super cool pirate ship," and then it gets built! I had to drop off an exhibit for an event the Museum was hired for. When I arrived to have my minivan unloaded, the people in charge of the event were amazed at my minivan packing skills.

A day off called for a mid-day break at Big Grove Brewery an my favorite coffee from Twisted Bean.

I've enjoyed this podcast journey. Oh yes, Jules and I started a Museum podcast this spring. We're fantastic with the fact that we record multiple episodes in one night because we realize we haven't recorded any in a bit. We started recording in a closet and moved onto sitting in Museum exhibits chatting away. Definitely check out Playfully Persistent Podcast on all platforms.

2023 Memorial Day was by far my favorite one in recent years. We started the weekend off with an event at the Museum, then a day in Clear Lake, Ia on Saturday. We rented jet skiis from Clear Lake Boats and had a blast! When we were done, a little shack and picnic tables caught my eye. We went over to check it out and, well, that's how we wound up spending some time at  PM Park. We enjoyed a drink, ate lunch, played in the water, took a walk, and enjoyed the peacefulness of a quiet, lakeside afternoon.  

We hit City Beach and the cookie shop before heading out to the Buddy Holly Crash site, followed by a quick hike at Pilot Knob State Park. We love the vibes in this little lake town.

With as much time as we've spent in Clear Lake, somehow Hubs had missed the Buddy Holly crash site up until this visit.

The sun and nonstop action of the day made for some sleepy kids. Luckily, we had a low key night and Sunday morning before going to see The Little Mermaid at Flix. Great movie, great theater, and great company!

Signs of a good time: beat up legs! Those are my legs all bruised from falling off of the jet ski after a speeding turn. All of those bruises were completely worth it!

Ending the weekend and our month with an afternoon at the pool and planning session. Two busy things happening: the last summer of daycare and June (just June in general is always crazy for us!).