Is This Normal?
The chaos that is the KerbersArchive for kids
A textbook Sunday
There’s Indian Summer, and then there’s 70° in November. Today, it was sunny and 70° outside. No, I’m not kidding…it really was that warm! Grandma Judy, Grandpa Scott, Brett, and Kelli came down to spend the day with us, and it was a really great day. The kids played with Brett & Kelli so much, and they had a blast. They played downstairs, out in the front yard, downstairs again, out in the back yard, and back downstairs some more. Let me tell you that basement was trashed! I swear they had gotten out every single toy we have down there and none of them seemed to find their way home. But it didn’t matter. Just by looking at it I could tell that it was awesome. I think my favorite thing they had done was to set up our blocks to make a sort of wall in the corner. Ben told me that he was a puppy, and that was his cage. His sleeping bag was in there, and an empty bucket was, too. He said that was his blanket and his food. It cracked me up.
“Were Kelli and Brett your owners?” I asked him.
“Yes, he said, “They took care of me!” He had a huge smile on his face.
I love that he is starting to interact with kids more and he’s joining in with imaginative play. He’s getting so grown up, and I seem to notice more and more changes in him daily. What a mixed feeling that is.
I’m calling this a textbook Sunday because we literally got to do everything I hold near and dear about Sundays. We went to church as a family, we came home and went straight outside to ride bikes, more family arrived and we ate dinner together, we played outside with our neighborhood friends, and we generally had an awesome time just being together. It really reminded me of my childhood Sundays, and I have to say I absolutely loved it. For the first time in a very long time, I dread going to bed tonight!
Ahhhh…
Today was seriously one of the laziest, most relaxing days we’ve had in a very long time, and I enjoyed it very much. Since we set the clocks back an hour last night, the kids were of course up super early, but we all laid around in bed watching cartoons for about 45 minutes before technically starting our day by getting up and ready for church.
After church, we came home and did very little the rest of the day. Both of the kids had a lot of fun working in their new Halloween coloring books from Aunt Theresa, and Ben worked especially hard on some sticker puzzles she gave him. Emma had a three-hour nap, which was desperately needed, and Daddy got a short nap in for himself, too. I enjoyed watching the Bears game without interruption for once. It was great, and they even looked good and won! We had a couple of battles over wanting more candy, but Ben didn’t beg for it too much, so I was happy with that.
It was one of those days where Dave and I look at each other, smile and say, “This is the good stuff, Honey.” The kids were in good moods and had fun playing with each other. The crying was at an all-time low, I think. Ok, sure, Emma did fall off the back of the couch downstairs, got a big lump on her head and cried really hard for a few minutes, but hey, no day is completely perfect, right? Overall, there wasn’t a ton of chaos in the house, and we all spent some really enjoyable time just chillin’ out together.
To Sycamore they go
Tomorrow Danielle is not babysitting, so the kids are off to Grandma Judy & Grandpa Scott’s for a long weekend. It’s been awhile since they’ve been up north, so I think that everyone involved is very excited. It’s been fun preparing for the trip this time, because Ben understands the days of the week more. So each day he’s asked, “What day are we going to Grandma Judy’s?” “Thursday,” I would say. Then we’d have to go through the days of the week song to figure out how many days away Thursday was. It was fun building the anticipation with him.
As always when the kids or we are away, I do feel a bit guilty for being so excited. But I do know that the kids will have so fun, and that Grandma & Grandpa absolutely love having them there, so why not enjoy my own little break, right?
Right? :s
Our campfire
Tonight was the annual fall weinie roast out at Grandma & Grandpa Kerber’s farm. Ben was pretty excited, even though he didn’t really know what a weinie roast was. 
It has been three years since we had the last one, so he was way too little to remember it at all. This time, though, he was all about the experience. He went out to the farm early with Dave to help get everything ready. 
When Emma and I got out there later, Ben was all excited that we were having a “real campfire” and that it was already lit. Daddy had even brought his tent out and set it up for the kids to play in.
It was a beautiful night, and it was great that most of the family could be there together. Aside from about a billion little gnats swarming around, everything was great. We feasted on dogs cooked over the fire, which always makes them taste way better. 
And then it was time for marshmallows and s’mores. Mmm…mmm! Emma, Bella and Ben all had a great time running around and playing together. They were in and out of the tent about a million times each.
I think, though, that Grandma may 
have had the most fun of anyone. I know it means a lot for her to have the whole family together, and when it’s done around a campfire, it just makes it all the much better.
Go Iron!
Tonight was the first home game for the Normal Community HS Ironmen, so the whole family piled in the van and headed to Mommy’s school. Ben was relatively excited, although he was nervous that people he didn’t know would want to talk to him…heaven forbid. Emma, as usual, had no idea what was going on, but was generally happy to go bye-bye. She kept saying, “We go to the badketball game?” (And that’s not a typo…that’s really how she says basketball) I’d say, “No, Sweetie, it’s a football game.” We parked and started walking out to the field. Ems pointed to the stadium and said, “Dere’s the badketball!” So close.
The highlights of the evening included meeting up with Danielle and Gracie & Anna there, walking down near the cheerleaders to give the Iron Man (our mascot) a high five, and getting to play Nick’s drum while the band was still in the bleachers. Ben absolutely loves the Iron Man. His face lit up every time that silly costumed cheerleader would come into his view. Both kids got a little impatient as the game moved pretty slowly, and at times Emma was a real handful. Bleachers are just way too much temptation for her. The way she loves to climb + us being almost at the top=a lot of wrangling and distracting to keep her on one level. NCHS was up 28-0 by halftime, so we knew we’d leave as soon as the band was finished. I’m so glad we stayed, though, because both of the kids were completely enthralled with the band. Emma was clapping along and swaying, and Ben was marching and directing like crazy. They loved it, and I loved watching them.
After halftime it was definitely time for us to go, which made Ben very sad. We finally convinced him that the game was over and it was time for everyone to go. I’m pretty sure at some point I said, “Some people just leave slower than we do!” Pathetic, I know, but the poor kid was heartbroken that we were leaving.
We all had so much fun at the game…I can’t wait to go to another one!!
Movie night
We’ve been having family movie nights on Friday nights for awhile now. The kids both look so forward to it, and by Friday night Dave and I are beat from the work week, so it’s a great way for us to veg out and relax a little while still having some good quality time with the kids. We hop in the bathtub right after dinner, pop some popcorn, and head downstairs. Tonight’s feature was “Lightning McQueen” (Cars for all of you movie purists), a classic.
What I love about movie nights is that there are already routines and traditions that we must follow. We always sit in the same place on the couch…Dave on the left, then Emma, Ben, and me on the right. Emma holds the bowl of popcorn on her lap so we all have easy access. We must dim the lights the perfect amount, and then we start the show. The funniest thing is that as soon as the popcorn is gone, both kids are off the couch and playing with toys. Then Dave and I sit and watch a cartoon we’ve seen a million times before.
There was a time when Friday nights were the start of a fun, partying-filled weekend. Now, they are the end of a busy week and they’re filled with Pixar and popcorn. My, my how things have changed…for the better, of course!
Home again
Ben and Emma are home again…yay! I went up to Mendota to meet the fam at Grandma Jane’s. Grandma Judy, Aunt Nanny, Ryan, Curtis and Brett all came, and we had fun visiting Gram. She doesn’t really seem to know where she is most of the time, but she always knows who we are. They all got there before me, and Gram was a little confuse at who the little kids were, but as soon as I got there she put it all together and it made sense in her head. It’s amazing to see how her mind works these days.
Anyway, it’s so good to have the kids home again. The house is just more alive with them in it. Tomorrow we’ll all be back in our old school year routine and I’m afraid it will kind of be like the summer came and went with the blink of an eye. Let’s hope not!!
Back to Grandma & Grandpa’s house
Tonight Dave took the kids and met my mom and dad halfway between our houses. We usually meet at a McDonald’s, have dinner there, switch vehicles, and then head home…us without the kids and Grandma and Grandpa with two houseguests. It’s always with mixed emotions that we do this. In this case, it’s so much nicer for the kids and easier for Dave to have them go up there since I’m working until almost 8:00 p.m. all week. I know that the kids and the grandparents have such a great time when they’re there, but we miss them a lot!
I’m so thankful that my parents love having them. I know the kids are making memories that they’ll always cherish.
Back to school
This morning high school registration began. That is truly like the first day of school for me. We check out all of the students’ textbooks at registration, so it’s four full days of slugging and scanning books around. Thankfully, we have a LOT of really great help from our student council kids and from other staff members. It’s a lot of work, but it’s also a nice way to ease back into the routine of school.
The really bad part of registration is the schedule. It runs from 9-11 and then again from 4-7:30, which means that I barely get to see the kids at all. Thankfully Dave brought them out to the school to see me tonight. They loved running around in the IMC, but hated when they had to leave without me coming along. It’s a difficult week for all of us. Thankfully they are going to Grandma Judy & Grandpa Scott’s this week so they can have some fun.
I can’t believe summer is almost over…
Pool day
The temperature finally hit summer today, reaching a high of 94°. We decided that it was the perfect day to head to State Farm pool. We were right…it was absolutely perfect there. The pool opens at 10 a.m. and I think we got there about 10:02. There were already people there, though, so we knew it was going to be a busy one for the pool. We had been there a very short time when we saw our great neighborhood friends Maxon and Elijah come in (with their mom Leslie, of course!) We were all very excited to see each other.
We played and swam all morning. We even rode the lazy river for the first time. Of course, Emma, who was riding with Dave, only wanted to know where I was the entire time. That girl…it seems if I’m out of sight all she wants is me. But regardless, we had a lot of fun. We grabbed a quick lunch at the snack bar, and since the kids were so good at lunch, we decided to stay a bit longer and swim some more.
By the time we left at about 12:45, the place was packed. There were cars driving around the parking lot looking for spots, and the overflow lot was filling up fast. Both of our kids were so tired that we had to work pretty hard to keep them awake on the way home. But it was an awesome day. I hope we can get in some more pool days before it closes on Labor Day!
