We had a nice spring break week overall. We gave the kids $50 from the stimulus money to buy whatever they wanted. So far, Henry has saved his and doesn't quite know what he wants to buy. Caroline spent $5 on a Magic Ink book. And Josiah. Josiah has $8 left. And even that is burning a hole in his pocket. He bought a CD and two small Lego kits. He also had his heart set on a $5 table-top drum set so he could be Ringo Starr during his concerts. (They were sold out when we went back to buy it.) Caroline was more interested in the total amount of stimulus money we got.
Caroline - How much did you get?
Todd and I - You get $50 to spend on whatever you want.
Caroline - Yes, but how much did you get total.
T&E - You get $50. You can buy whatever you want!
Caroline, frustrated - But how much did you get.
We finally told her, but also told her that the new refrigerator and the week at the beach used almost all of it. Adulting.
On Monday we ventured out to Half-Price Books because Josiah was looking for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band CD. He was very excited that they had it and has been listening to it all week. In fact, our Beatles Concert Series Tour has been either practicing or putting on a show every day since then. Sometimes there are two shows in one day. You would think he would be exhausted, but the kid has stamina! Josiah used his Napoleon costume to look more like the Beatles on the album cover.
Jiu-Jitsu was fun this week because the kids learned how to flip each other. They had to lift their opponent up and pop them over their shoulder (using the strength from their hips, not shoulders). We went to the lunch classes both days. The first day, Henry and Caroline were the only two kids there. They got a lot of practice in and quite enjoyed flipping each other. They also learned two different chokes, which they again practiced a lot. They got in so many reps that Caroline's neck hurt by the end of class. She was not keen on going to the evening class and having her peers choke her, so we skipped the evening classes this week. After jiu-jitsu, we got milkshakes. That was on Caroline's spring break list. Check.
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| Caroline choking out Henry. |
Henry's spring break list included playing soccer in the backyard. All of us. Todd and I were not exactly gung-ho as we walked out back, but it ended up being a fun time. It was Todd and Henry against Josiah, Caroline, and me. At first, Henry's side was whooping up on us. But we made a comeback and even got the lead. Todd said once we got to 15 points we would stop. Josiah, Caroline, and I made it to 15 first, which Henry could not handle, so Henry quickly said we were playing to 20. He and Todd ramped it up and beat us 20-19.
Another food request for spring break was McDonald's. So for St. Patrick's Day we had a very Irish McDonald's lunch. The only thing that could have made it remotely St. Patrick's Day was to have a Shamrock shake, but they didn't have those this year. For dinner we had the traditional corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes. It is one of Josiah's favorites - corned beef.
Another day the kids spent a lot of time out front. Poor Benson sat by the garage door and just whined for them. For a really long time. Unbeknownst to me, they were cleaning the garage. Henry swept the whole garage and they made the far, unused side into the Cool Kids Clubhouse. They lined up their beach chairs, lined up their bikes and water guns. Everything was nice and orderly. They proudly showed it to me and then said they were really hot. It was not a hot day by any means, but they were determined to play with water. They donned their bathing suits and got the hose and water guns ready. They had fun, and then laid on their towels in the driveway to soak up the sun, dry off, and warm up.
Aunt Claire sent the kids a Christmas/birthday package which they were super excited to open. Josiah got watercolor paints and watercolor paper (super thick paper). After a quick pose as Bob Ross "and now I'm going to give it a friend" he got to painting his own Beatles-inspired pictures.
Henry showed off his new socks while eating Claire's pizzelles and looking at his new sketch book. These kids and their poses.
And, since Henry wanted to finish out spring break on a sour note, he suggested we play Monopoly Sunday afternoon. He set up the game on the dining room table. I told him I needed to finish folding some laundry before I would play. In between the time it took for the laundry to dry and get folded, the whole game got completely scrapped. Henry had everything set up: the game pieces were in place, he had counted the money out, and he had assigned everyone's seat. He was ready. Caroline and Josiah meandered into the dining room and sat down. Not in their assigned seats. And things quickly deteriorated after that. Henry was yelling at them to sit in the right place. They didn't budge. Then Josiah and Caroline were playing with the money. Henry was not amenable to that either. What set it over the edge was Caroline blowing the money which caused one $500 bill to fly to the floor where Benson picked it up and ripped it in half. Henry immediately kicked both siblings out of the game. Josiah protested that he had done nothing wrong. More fighting ensued and Henry shut down the game for everybody. I was just finishing up folding that one load of laundry and it had all gone up in flames. I'm not totally disappointed that I won't have a Monopoly game on our dining room table for the next month though.
Then Caroline sealed the deal of sourness. For dinner tonight, Caroline was given her plate of food. She brought it to the table and said, "This is an unfortunate dinner." What? "I mean it's an awkward dinner." No explanation. Nothing. I do not know if we're ready to start school again tomorrow. It might be a rough beginning.
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