tease

So close . . . but not quite yet. The long weekend was wonderful, but I couldn't help but wish that my summer was already here! Only one more week . . . . I think I can make it.

We had a fantastic Memorial Weekend by spending it "up north" with family. We made our rounds and made it to both Argyle and East Grand Forks. Our activities included a graduation party, feeding, brushing, and riding the horses (for the two older girls), attending a Mass in honor of my grandmother and then having brunch with my grandpa, visiting the grave sites of all my departed loved ones, taking photos of my adorable cousin Eddie and his beautiful family, and a lot of hangin' with the fam!

I have quite a bit of editing to do, but I promise to get some pictures posted soon.

2 1/2 days left with students, 4 days left of work and then sweet, sweet summer!!

Mini Van Confessions

My first confession felt so good, that I have another one for you . . .


I confess:


That I don't like Barbies (I know both my sister-in-laws are gasping in disbelief . . . they "used" to be obsessed).

I don't know what's wrong with me. I have three daughters! I should look at Barbie as the 6th member of our family. But honestly, I never really played with Barbies as a kid either. Come to think of it, neither of my two sisters did either . . . I suppose that could be part of it.


I know I don't like Barbie, but Ella went through a big Barbie stage the summer Claire was born. So we had this routine every day when Claire would go down for her morning nap, Ella and I would go into her room and play Barbies. Did I mention that she has a BEAUTIFUL hand-made Barbie house which was lovingly built by her Grandpa Dwaine?! I would pour a very large cup of coffee and head into her room, knowing that I would have to pretend to like playing Barbies. I must have been a pretty convincing faker, because she would continue to ask me every day. All mothers have to make sacrifices, right?


I hate to go all feminist on you, but I think Barbie might be sending the wrong message to our daughters. What veterinarian do you know that looks like this . . .





Or what teacher do you know who looks like this . . .

Or Priest who looks like this???

Okay, maybe it's not that I think Barbie is morally wrong . . . I just don't like her. But, I am sure Claire will go through her Barbie stage, too. When that happens, you will find me with a very large coffee and a fake smile sitting next to that big beautiful Barbie House.

bloom

Quite frankly, this Spring season has been kind-of a let down . . . lots of rain . . . cool/down-right-cold-at-times temperatures, and even snow storms! Unfortunately, the rain continues - however, the rain is starting to bring pretty things! Observe:



my favorite Spring tree







some of my favorite blooms

beautful greens




Ella's favorite Spring bloom . . . really! . . . . and Carl's #1 Spring enemy
"Daddy, why would you want to kill something so beautiful?"

lilac - my favorite Spring sent

Yes, Spring blooms are in full effect! But, really all I can think about is SUMMER!

eye on the prize

This week is crazy. This is one of those weeks that you just put your head down and do your work. This is one of those weeks that everything crashes down on you in a rapid fire type of way. Here is why you haven't heard much from me lately . . .

Monday: Dance Night
Tuesday: Soccer Night
Wednesday: Mom and Jocie set up the ENORMOUS Pinewood Elementary field for my Field Days coming up
Thursday: 4th Grade Field Day (during school), Band concert in the evening
Friday: 5th Grade Field Day and Middle School Church activity in the evening
Saturday: Birthday party to go to and Photo Shoot
Sunday: Birthday party to go to

Thank goodness this list is peppered with a few things towards the end of the week that will be a lot of fun!

Things that have not gotten done thus far due to the crazy:
laundry
(good) meal making
cleaning
blogging

Yes, things are nuts. I need summer in a bad way. Oh, how sweet it will be! :)

say what?

Ella and I were reading our usual chapter from Junie B. Jones before going to bed the other night. There happened to be a new character named "Jose" who made his debut as a new classmate of Junie B. After I read his name for the first time, Ella piped up and said:

"Jose! Just like in that song!".
"What song?" I replied.
"You know, the one about our country" she said.
" . . . No I don't. Which one? Just sing me a little bit of it" I said.
" . . . Jose, can you see . . . by the don-zer-lee life . . . "

We may have to work on her lyrical understanding :)

Mini-Van Confessions

I have decided to start something new. It will be a series of posts that I will title "Mini-Van Confessions". I am sure most of you have seen "Taxi-Cab Confessions" . . . I promise the stories I share won't be as scandalous as the late-night series on HBO. I try to keep this blog as PG as possible, except for when the few-and-far-between "mild profanities" slip out - when the blog is temporarily bumped up to a PG-13 rating.



These "mom" confessions will be things that I simply need to get off my chest, and hopefully something that other moms can relate to . . .





I confess:





that I do not like Soccer . . . in fact, I may just hate it! Why on God's green earth did I ever think that signing up my 5-year-old for an organized sport was ever really necessary? I teach this age kids every day, and know their "capabilities". I honestly and truly believe that organized sports at this level is a waste of time, energy and money! Why, oh why, did I make this mistake?!

Sure, Ella looks adorable in her little Soccer uniform, complete with shin guards. It's cute to watch her practice . . . for about 10 minutes. Then I am over it. For the next 50 minutes, I sit there and wonder what the hell we are doing there. The kids are trying really hard to do a skill that is too hard for them at their age. They are also jam-packed on a very small field . . . so when you put a bunch a kids who have no ball control on a too-small field, all they can do is kick it twice, and then it goes outside the boundary every. single. time. Plus, since it is a Spring and Fall league, it's usually freezing cold, which makes it that much better.

(Claire thinks it's hard to be a spectator, too)



Then there is always the mom-who-makes-you-want-to-puke sitting right next to me who is lovingly cheering her daughter on, just gushing on how cute everything is. Please. She must drink her dinner. At least that's what I tell myself to make me feel better.

But I will do what any mother would do. Put on a smiley face and give Ella an enthusiastic thumbs-up every time she looks over at me. At least Ella is enjoying herself!





Oh, and did I mention? Their games are at 9:00 am on Saturday mornings. The ONE day I don't have to set my alarm . . . . frinkin' soccer.


I do own a mini van. I'm in my 30's. I have 3 kids. But a Soccer Mom, I am not.

cousin katy

Do you have one of those cousins that you were raised with more like a sibling than a cousin . . . one that you have so many great childhood memories with . . . one that was at every birthday party . . . one that you called every Christmas morning to see what they got from Santa? Well, I do, and I was so excited to be able to take pictures of she and her son, Elliot.

We had a ton of fun going to a regular park and then to a "car park".

Thanks Katy, for letting me capture you and your little guy (and also for letting me feed him a ton of smarties before dinner)! I can't wait till we can get together again!!

mother dearest(s)

Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas out there! But I would like to take this opportunity to send a shout-out to . . . the two most important mothers I can think of . . . my mom, Nancy and Carl's mom, Judy.

Mom - How do I love, the? Let me count the ways

1. I love how you have taught me to be a mother
2. I love how you still take care of me when you come to visit
3. I love our coffee chats (even though they are few and far between lately)
4. I love how you have taught me not to take life too seriously
5. I love the way my girls look at you . . . always with big smiles on their faces, ready to laugh and have fun!
6. I love(d) your huge "Sally-Jessie"-red-rimmed glasses . . . they MUST make a come back!
7. I love how you used to drop me off at school wearing your (hideous) bright blue bath robe - and then make sure to honk and wave or roll the window down and yell something embarrassing - I may not have liked it back in the day, but I love the memory of it now!
8. I love how you hit the high-note (opera style) at the end of "Happy Birthday"
9. I love how you make anything and everything "pretty"
10. Most of all, I love the way you love me.

Judy - How do we love, the? Let us count the ways:

1. We love how we can count on you for everything
2. We love how well you know each of the girls
3. We love your cooking . . . Carl's favorite's . . . your "red" hotdish and you "orange salad with the ham in it"
4. We love how you get down on the floor and play with the girls every chance you get
5. We love how you love to cook HUGE meals for us when we come to Argyle
6. The girls love your gifts . . . always WAY too much! :)
7. We love your laugh
8. I love how well you "get" Carl
9. We love how you have rocked and sung to all of our babies
10. Most of all, we love the way you are always taking care of us!

We love you mommies, and hope you have a fantastic day!!

six

My Ella,

Your age no longer fits on one hand. How did this happen? How do I push the slow-mo button on your fast and furious growing? Reality is, I can't. So I have to try keep up with it the best I can!

You have had quite a year - starting your school journey, first year of soccer and gaining so many new friends. This really has been a year to remember. I can't tell you how proud I am of the way you carry yourself in school. I get almost daily comments on "how great Ella is"! I would like to share what your teacher wrote on your report card:

"Ella is cooperative, respectful, empathetic and has great self control. Practice being self-assertive when necessary, Ella (she has no trouble with this at home!). You are growing into a wonderful student and friend to others.

(these comments are what REALLY matter to your dad and I . . . way more than your grades!)

Ella, I love the way you still call me "mama", I love the way your hair swings from side to side when you walk, I love how excited you get when you learn something new, I love how you think the "S" word stands for "stupid", I love what a good big sister you are, I love how you love to follow school rules, I love that you're a middle sister - just like me, I love the way you sing to yourself when you are trying to fall asleep, and I love how hard you try at everything.


A look at Ella through the years:



the first few hours of life








enjoying cake on her 1st birthday

2nd brithday party

posing for an "Easter" shot at Nanny's house

Happy 6th Birthday, Ella May! We hope you have a terrific "golden" birthday!! We love you more than words!

swagger

I took my students outside for class today, since the sun was FINALLY shining. There was a student who arrived late, and was unaware that we were outside. So, she tracked down another teacher to ask where we were. The (smart) teacher figured out that we were probably outside, since the weather was so nice and escorted her out toward the playing field. The teacher asked, "Do you think that is your class out there?". And the student replied, "Yep. I know that's Mrs. Adolphson out there because she walks like this . . . " - and proceeded to walk with her hips violently swinging in a side to side motion.

Huh. I always knew I had a little swing in my step, but I may need to tone it down a bit.

the event

After all the planning, the cleaning, the crafting, and the shopping - the day had finally arrived! I had gotten a pretty good jump on the day, because I had been keeping up with all the little details, but for some reason, I was still really busy getting everything in order before the party started.

When I woke up to pouring down rain, I felt the "oh, $hit" feeling roll over me. I had heard all week that it was supposed to be "stormy" all weekend, but I had been hoping like hell the weather man was wrong. I was elated when the rain stopped, and the clouds began to part about two hours before the event. We were so happy to hear that almost everyone could come to celebrate with us, however, many of the party-comers were kids . . . and almost all of the kids were "high-spirited" . . . and I didn't quite know what all of these lovey high-spirited children were going to do in my too-small (clean) house! It was still pretty windy outside and quite cold for the end of April (shocker), but it wasn't raining, so mama was happy!!


The day was filled with visiting, laughing, drinking, grilling, and eating for the adults - and playing, laughing, running, eating, and more PLAYING for the kids. There were a few times when I actually stopped and looked around at the friends and family who had come to celebrate my two littlest girls, and I felt very blessed. We are so lucky to have such wonderful family and friends to surround us in these happy times.

Here are a few snap shots of the celebration:

the main party room . . . or the garage :)




the centerpieces . . . made out of soup cans :)

the cupcake tower

make a wish!




mmmmmm . . . the cupcakes!




Can you imagine Ella's excitment when Grandma and Grandpa walked into the living room with a famous red bag . . .

Meet Elizabeth (she shares a name with a special Auntie). She is the newest "girl" (I mistakingly called her a "baby" and I was corrected!) in our house.

A big Thanks goes out to everyone who came to the party! And an even bigger THANKS goes out to those few friends/family who worked their little tails off to make this party run smoothly!! I couldn't have done it without you :)