Spring Break 2015 Pt 1

It takes a lot of energy (from my part) to take care of these rascals. I don't know what takes more energy... teaching second grade or taking care of these rascals. Going in to this Spring break, I already knew there wouldn't be much rest. Luckily, I strategically planned my days with them so that they will take nice, long naps. On Monday, we went to Happy Hollow and I had to sing "The Wheels on the Bus" all the way home so Char wouldn't fall asleep. Today we went to Rockin' Jump and we jumped to our hearts desire. Both days the kids took a nice, long nap. I took a power nap. 

Naps for Char != sleeping in her bed

Good thing I swiffered the floors last night!

Mommy and kid spring break selfie

Everyone and their moms were at HH on Monday. Luckily, it wasn't that crowded.

 Char was a bit disappointed her giraffe did not go up and down

 Surprisingly, homeboy is not scared of goats!

 They were scared of the jaguar charging towards them

 Hello!

 Future rock climbers?

I think it was the giant play structure which wore them out. It's so nice to just sit there and watch them from afar as they play to their heart's desire.

 Had to take a break: Mickey Mouse Road Rally!

If you're looking for a place to take two very active toddlers, Rockin' Jump is the place to be! Within 1.5 hours, they will be begging for you to take them home so they can nap. Both kids napped around three hour today. I also took a mini nap in that time span as well.

 Dirty Styrofoam ball pit

 Bounce all day, bounce all night

 The only still pic I had of them the entire time

 Char didn't get the "close your eyes" memo

 Of course she still stands out

It's Spring break AND it's wet outside. I decided to have a foolproof baking session with the kids. Both had a blast helping me mix the batter!

 Mix, mix, mix!

He inherited his Father's smile...

And that sums up part 1 of Spring break!

Easter Weekend

Before this weekend began, I was stoked to be on Spring break! Since it was Spring break, I was stoked to be hosting back-to-back Easter celebrations at our place since our house rarely gets any action on a normal school night. Right now, after cleaning our house twice after each celebration, I am ready to call it quits and hit the sack. The only thing keeping me up is 1) I need to shower an 2) my current addiction... Parenthood! Anyway, it looks like this Spring break will be anything but restful for me, but at least I'll get to create memories with my little monsters.

These two are ready for eggs!

Easter egg hunt at park with cousins

Kids looking through their loot

Shinn kids looking through their loot

Happy Char with her chocolate egg

Lucas trying real hard not to look happy

All that happened Saturday morning. We were hosting a family get together for dinner. I don't know why I always forget how much damage six children can do to your house...

The calm before the storm

Still semi calm and contained

Only part of the damage done to the house

When the kids are older (perhaps next year), I'll do a better attempt at explaining to them why we really celebrate Easter. I currently have a whole year to plan out my amazing toddler friendly Easter story! (Hah! That's some wishful thinking right there.)

The best Easter Sunday picture I got of them

Can you spot the Shinn kids?

 Happy Charlie and her pink frog

 Lu in action

It turns out that Charlotte is much more into collecting eggs than Lucas. Homegirl would not stop till all the eggs were gone. She may be tiny but she's a fast one. I have a feeling she's going to be the more athletic one out of the two. Lucas will probably be the brains of the family. 

I was so beat this (Sunday) afternoon that I passed out in Lucas's bed. Homeboy decided he didn't need a nap today. Usually when it's just me at home and I pass out, the kids play quietly and make a minimal mess. When I woke up today, I found dry erase marker marks on the wall, stuffing pulled out of the giant dog in Char's room, and eggs and toys everywhere. Did I do a lot of yelling? YES I DID! After some loud yelling at the both of them, these kids cleaned up their entire mess till the house was spotless again before I allowed them to play. Through this experience, I learned that 1) they take advantage of their father and 2) they are fully capable of cleaning their ENTIRE mess up. Let me repeat... I was MAD!

Calm after the storm

That's Char quietly having a picnic with herself AFTER the entire mess was cleaned up. Okay, now I'm ready to pass out. We'll see what adventures await us tomorrow. Oh I feel like a SAHM again, but with no SAHM friends.

Good Friday

Two weeks ago, I was stoked about having Good Friday off. I realized that Char's spring break coincided with mine so that meant I didn't really have a spring break. Two days before Friday, I randomly asked Lu's teacher if they had school on Friday and she said no. And that was the moment I realized my Spring break would consistent of kids non-stop. 

Since Charlotte had school on Friday, I told Lucas that we'll have some special time together. He's been saying "I never go to Happy Hollow" (meaning: we haven't gone in a while). So... guess where we went?

 Pre-outing selfie

 Stoked he got his beloved zebra

 Oh happy day

 Hello goat!

Lucas asked me if he could feed the goat. I asked him if he was being serious and he said yes. When he was 9 months old, he got bitten by a goat at HH. Luckily it didn't scar him for life because he didn't even remember it! I told him to cup his hand and let the goat come to him. I guess I'll have to bring more quarters with me next time. He had a blast!

 "I want to ride in the fire truck!"

Lucas happily ran around HH without a care in the world! He got to ride on all the rides he wanted to and you could tell that he was having such a great time! Towards the end, he did seem a little bored without Char there. Since these kids are so close in age, I don't think Lucas remembers what life was like without his little sister. I'll take that as a good thing!

 Gobbled down his entire lunch!

... and he still had room for ice cream!

I've always been skeptical about Lucas and the lunches I pack for him at school. He always claims he finishes everything. Now after seeing how much he can eat when he's super active, I believe him. My kids are eaters... the teenage years are going to be fun...

Sick Week

Our family was down for the count this weekend, so it was a bit tough. Luckily it was mainly us parents and not the kids who were going through coughs and all sorts of bad stuff. 

 

There was a lot of this going on this weekend...

 

 Pretending to sleep

 Bottoms up

 So tired he passed out holding a book

 

Since we've been trading off being sick, only one of us has been with the kids. This (Palm) Sunday was my day. The kids were surprisingly very good and it was actually fun hanging out with them! I think a main part of this is because Char's older and can actually communicate with us now.

Trying hard to not miss Sunday OOTDs

"Hold hands when you cross the street" - Mommy

 "Where do you want to eat for lunch (after church)?"

"Charlotte's 1st birthday place!" (aka Sonoma Chicken Coop)

There's only two days left till Spring Break! Spring means playing outside and having fun!

 

Such as riding scooters outside!

 

Two More Weeks

That's right! The countdown to Spring Break has officially begun! And after Spring Break, the REAL countdown will begin with end of the school year festivities! Wooo! 

Anyway, we accomplished a lot this weekend. We started Saturday off with two birthday parties. I forgot to take pictures. But we did go and party our butts off! Both kids were so zonked that they passed out at home right away. 

When they woke up, I let them paint outside since it was such a beautiful day.

Started off like this...

It got really quiet for around 30 minutes. So that means that they're up to no good...

What I saw when I went to check on them

They weren't painting our real house, so it's all good.

What I was doing while kids were outside and husband was cooking dinner

If you haven't watched Parenthood and you're a parent, WATCH IT! It's that good!

On Sunday, we took forever getting out of bed, which meant we were late going to church (again). I let the rascals choose one toy to bring in the car. They both must've heard "toys" cause they were scrambling around the house gathering a load of things like we were going on vacation or something.

 Toddlers' loot

 Bookstore after lunch

 Nobody napped Sunday afternoon

 Dinner at everyone (but Mommy)'s favorite: Sweet Tomatoes

Spidergirl!

And that was our weekend. Two more weeks till Spring Break!