Is This Normal?
The chaos that is the KerbersArchive for spring
Pomp and circumstance, part II
Today was Ryan’s graduation in Sycamore.
I was looking forward to going up by myself to enjoy the day with the family. Not that I don’t love my kids, but there are times when it is nice to be by myself so I can relax and focus on what is going on around me besides tantrums, dirty diapers and the desire for juice. Even though I was totally looking forward to this day, I really had no idea how much I would enjoy it. Being up there by myself brought back so many memories of the time when I lived there and was totally a part of the Swartzy. Don’t get me wrong…I really do love my life now and I wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world. It’s just that hanging out with all of them was such a huge part of my life for so many years that it was really great to visit that time again. I don’t think I’ve talked to any of the boys as much as I did today in years.
But I digress. The day wasn’t about my enjoyment, but it was about family. We had such beautiful weather that we took a ton of pictures outside before the ceremony. 
I swear we thought of every combination of family we could to photograph. We took pictures of the boys alone…the whole Swartzy family…Ry with his grandparents…Ry with both sets of grandparents…the whole family with the grandparents…Ry with just his parents…and Ry with his mom and with his dad alone. 
Then the Johnsons came over and we did it all over again with Jenna and Ryan in a whole new set of pictures…all of the kids were complaining that their cheeks hurt from smiling so much! 
After pictures we were off to the high school for the ceremony. It was very nice, with the exception of a couple of stuffy speeches from the “suits” (the district superintendent and the president of the school board) that rambled on a little. The highlight for me was definitely the student speaker. SHS has a tradition of choosing the student speaker based on speeches submitted by interested candidates. The boy who was chosen to talk was poised, well-spoken, and wrote one heck of a speech. He had us all chuckling one minute and wiping tears the next. He spoke about some of their teachers specifically and about some of the things that every high school students faces. It was a really great speech. In fact, my dad actually searched out his parents to compliment them on his performance.
After graduation we all went for some dinner together. Again, I was taken back in time to my pre-married life when this was actually pretty customary. I had a really great day, and I’m so excited for Ryan to begin this new phase in his life. One of the first things I said to him after the ceremony was, “Ry, you’re an Illini now!” By far, my favorite picture of the day is this one.
Oskee-wow-wow, Ry!
Happy Memorial Day!
I’m a little sad today. Memorial Day is usually a day I love. I mean, really, what’s not to love: it’s the day off preceding the final run of school before summer break, the weather is almost always nice and it’s usually when we get all of our flowers planted outside, there’s often a family cookout, it’s a day to remember loved ones we’ve lost and to decorate the cemeteries in which they’re laid to rest, and it’s a day to remember and appreciate the many men and women who have given their lives to protect and serve our country. But today just didn’t turn out like that at all.
This morning Dave woke up feeling very sick. He was not himself at all, and never really felt any better all day. So, the family cookout that was going to be at our house got moved to his parents’ house and the kids and I had to go without him. The weather was crappy all day, and it’s so muddy under our landscaping rock that we could not get our flowers into the ground. Since he was sick and the weather sucked, we didn’t even consider going to the parade this morning, so there was no reflection or memorials at all. And even though I literally drove through Earlville yesterday, I didn’t visit the cemetery where both of my grandpas and all of my great grandparents are buried.
Overall, it was just kind of a sucky Memorial Day. At least there are only 6 official days of school left. June 2nd cannot come soon enough.
How do you explain graduation?
Today the kids and I went to a graduation party for my cousin’s son Brock. He graduated from 8th grade at good ol’ LGS and will soon become an LHS Panther. It was a really fun party, and the kids had a blast playing with all of the other kids there. With the exception of Ben completely freaking out over their puppy chasing him, it was a really fun afternoon. That poor kid is terrified of dogs, I tell ya. This was a little shitzu chasing him around and he was screaming like a pitbull had charged him! I hope that this doesn’t last, because I feel so badly for him…seeing a dog just paralyzes him with fear.
Anyway, both kids thought we were going to a birthday party, so on the way there I was trying to explain that it wasn’t a birthday party, it was a graduation party. Here is where we ran into a little problem. I couldn’t really get a handle on the best way to explain what graduation is to Ben. On the last day of preschool we never really used the term graduation, so that wasn’t a reference for him. And he doesn’t really know what grades in school are, so saying that Brock was leaving Jr. High and starting High School meant nothing, either. It was a tough one. And actually, I never did come up with a good explanation at all. Once we got to the party he saw the cake and the balloons, and it was just a birthday party to him. Luckily, Brock and his brother Brady both actually had birthdays last week, so we lit candles on a big cookie for Brady and a strawberry pie for Brock and sang to both of them and all was right with the world.
May Day?
Ok, it can’t seriously be May first, can it? Where did April go? Where have the first four months of 2009 gone? I know that we all constantly say that time is flying, but this spring has really been a whirlwind. I’m not sure if it’s because we’re constantly trying to keep up with our kids or if it’s just because we’re becoming old coots, but no matter what the reason…time is really flying this year.
I’m thrilled that it’s May for many reasons
- The weather is improving
- Emma’s birthday is right around the corner
- School is ending in just about one month
- We have some family events (Confirmation and Graduation) which mean fun parties
However, May is always a tough one to make it through, too
- There are some big time ”end of the year” things that have to take place in the IMC like inventory and textbook return before we’re actually done
- The nice weather makes the kids want to be outside all the time…including dinner and bedtime, which leads to several battles between the kids and the adults in our house
- My co-worker in the IMC is retiring this year, which means I have two retirement functions to plan, host, and attend and a “roast” to write and give at our last faculty meeting of the year
- With the thrill of Emma turning two comes planning, shopping for, and hosting her party, getting her 2 year-old pictures taken, and getting her to the doctor for her two year checkup all during this crazy last month of school
But then again, who am I to complain…as long as I make it through this month, I get 9½ weeks off! Yes, all you teacher bashers…it’s not three months off…I just counted!
Seriously…36°?
This morning when I got up it was 36° outside. Thirty-six degrees and it’s April 14th! I just can’t stand this anymore…I am in serious need of spring. We keep getting these nice days thrown in every now and then and then BAM, it’s back to winter again. Am I asking too much to get to wear some capri pants, already? A pair of sandals, maybe? I’m sick of winter clothes…I’m sick of winter coats…I’m sick of it being cold! Let’s go, Spring…get here, already!!
On a more serious note on the subject, Ben’s outgrowing his long-sleeved shirts, and I refuse to buy him any new winter clothes. So that warm weather better get here quick…he’s looking more and more dorky every day!
Ok, I feel better. Now if Mother Nature would just cooperate a little bit with me, we’ll all be okay.
Happy Easter!
It’s Easter night, and I sit here tired out from a really great day. We got up this morning and got ready for church before coming down to see if the Easter Bunny had visited us during the night. When we got downstairs, the first thing Ben said was, “There’s no eggs on the plate anymore!” He knew the bunny had hid them! 
Once they saw the baskets, though, the eggs had to wait. Both Ben and Emma were so excited to see all of their stuff. I have to say that the bunny was very generous this year. It seems that maybe there was more stuff than usual…maybe the bunny had some leftover toys from his Spring Break trip to Florida, or something. Anyway, the biggest hit in the baskets were a Mickey Mouse stuffed toy for Ems and batman underpants for Ben. The bunny hit the nail on the head with both of those items! In fact, Ben wanted to put on a pair of his underpants immediately. It was pretty funny.
After going through most of the basket items, it was time to find the eggs. 
Ben was absolutely running around the house yelling, “there’s another one!” every time he saw an egg. He’d carefully bring each one back to the egg plate on the kitchen table and then head out for more. Emma, on the other hand, was 
much more interested in her stickers. We got her to find a few eggs here and there, but really she would have been much more happy just continuing to stick stickers into her little notebook and ignoring the craziness with the eggs. She did find the last one, though, because it was in her high chair.
After church, we headed out to Grandma & Grandpa Kerber’s house. Aunt Theresa and Uncle Dan & Aunt Mary were already there, but we were still waiting for Salina and Bella to arrive before we could start our egg hunt. 
Once they got there, the kids were off hunting eggs. Ben was literally running around the farmyard yelling, laughing and screeching every time he saw another egg. He was so excited. Emma was de
finitely more into it this time, but she was just kind of methodically walking around picking up the eggs and putting them in her basket. I guess it didn’t help that the wind was blowing hard and it nearly knocked her off her feet at times. But she was having a lot of fun, too. When everything was collected from the yard, we opened up all the eggs and found out what treasures were inside. Ben was so excited that some of his eggs had Cheetos in them! Leave it to Aunt Theresa!
I have to say that after the egg hunt, somehow I miraculously got this awesome picture of the two kids.
We enjoyed a great dinner and then I brought Emma home to nap. There’s not really a place at the farm for her to get any real sleep, so this was the best solution. Ben and Dave had work to do around the farmyard; they were trimming trees and picking a lot of stuff up for Grandma & Grandpa. I’m not sure who loved that more…Ben or Daddy!
Emma and I went back out and we ended up staying until almost 7:00. Poor Ben was fighting sleep so badly on the trip home, but he just couldn’t win the battle. He was out cold when we got here. Needless to say, they’re both out now, and I’m on my way, as well. It was another great holiday, and again I feel lucky to have such a wonderful family.
The egg hunt
Today we went to an Easter egg hunt at Christ Lutheran Church. No, this isn’t our church, because of course we missed the egg hunt at our church. I mean, seriously, who holds an egg hunt in the Saturday before Palm Sunday? They’re supposed to be the day before Easter…duh! But anyway, I digress. Danielle graciously invited us to Christ Lutheran, their church, for their egg hunt. We felt a little bad going since we weren’t members, but she insisted that it would be no problem.
I have to say that this was a very impressive event. The kids were really excited that Grace and Anna, Danielle’s daughters were there. And it was awesome for us, too, because they were great helpers for our kids. 
There were three different stations that the kids rotated through…a windsock craft, coloring eggs, and making a snack. The snack station was really cool, because the ladies talked about how Jesus’s body was put in the tomb (represented by a marshmallow put inside a tube biscuit that had been smashed flat) and then treated with spices (represented by cinnamon in which the dough was rolled) after the body was put in the tomb. But then, as we all know, after three days, the body was gone. With our snack, after they were baked, the marshmallows were gone, too! It was pretty cool. Then we went to color some eggs, which made me very nervous with Emma.
We just modified it a little bit for her, and it went pretty well. Next was the craft project, and Ben made a really cute windsock celebrating Easter. Emma just colored, which was fine with her. Danielle (who was in charge of the event, I should mention) read a story to everyone, and then the snacks were out from the oven and ready to eat! Once everyone was finished with their snack, we were ready to start the hunting.
Even though there were a lot of kids, the egg hunting went well. The day was beautiful, even if it was a bit chilly out. The clear blue skies and bright sunshine made it so much more fun. They clearly announced how many eggs each child could find before we left the building, 
and I think that everyone pretty much stuck to their quota, which was nice. I guess that’s the benefit of going to a church related egg hunt instead of a park district one!
The morning was a lot of fun for our kids.
What? Snow???
You heard me people…it snowed last night! I couldn’t believe it when I woke up this morning. Ben was all excited that he got to wear his boots again, but I was not thrilled. I actually am one of the few people I know who is happy when we get a good snowfall, but come on, already! Its April for goodness sakes! Its spring! We are all ready for some consistent nice weather around here. These teaser days are just about enough to get us all very frustrated. And the kids…well they really need some serious ‘run around outside’ time. NOW.
Ok, that’s all. I’m done. Thank goodness it’s melting as I type. If its still there tomorrow, I may go postal on someone.
Coloring eggs
Today Ben and I colored Easter eggs. Poor Emma didn’t get to join in on the fun…I just had visions of her entire hand getting submerged in the purple dye, or the red cup being spilled all over all of us, or something to that effect happening. So basically I chickened out and did it with him during her nap.
It went pretty well, but the longer we worked the more hyped up he seemed to get. By the time we were done I have to say that I was happy we were done. But we did have a lot of fun.
I can’t wait for the days when we can really get elaborate with stripes and color mixing. That’s always been one of my favorite parts of coloring eggs. But for now, we had to settle for mostly solid colors. Even with the “boring” decor, I do think they turned out pretty great.
After Emma woke up, both of the kids put all kinds of stickers on the eggs. I figured that would be a nice way to include her a little bit, and the eggs would be cuter. Of course Ben completely covered his in stickers, so I’m not sure that it was a great idea, but at least she got to be a part of the fun a little bit.
Now we just can’t wait for the Easter Bunny to come and hide them next weekend!
Home again, home again, jiggity jig
Well, we made it home in one piece and again the trip was remarkably smooth. Although we drove through rain a lot of the way, it wasn’t too bad, and it was way better than driving through snow like I’ve done in previous years! The kids were again so cooperative and well-behaved on the trip it was unbelievable. I’m not sure how we got so fortunate, but we were sure thankful for it.
We took off about 6:30 eastern time. Just like the trip down, we had already stopped for a potty break (and ice) within the first hour. And again, just like the trip down, I thought, “Oh man…this is a bad sign.” But luckily I was wrong again. After watching a movie we were about halfway into the second one when both kids fell asleep. I think they were both so exhausted from the busy week that they barely woke up even when we stopped for gas! It was awesome. Dave and I had to switch driving a little more often than we did on the first trip, but overall it went well. I would have to say the only glitch was while we were going through Nashville. It was about 2:00 in the morning, and I was driving. It was absolutely pouring down rain and with all of the lights and traffic it was really difficult to see the lanes of the highway. Add to that the semis flying past us and the occasional hydroplane, and it was a bit hairy. I have to admit that I was more than happy and relieved to be leaving the city. My knuckles were white and my heart was pounding!
Other than that, though, the trip was pretty uneventful. We got home about 2:00 our time. The one thing we didn’t think of…even though we were exhausted and completely worn out, we still had to be in charge of the kids, who were absolutely hyper from being kept in the car for so long. How did we miss that tiny little detail? Let’s just say that it was a long afternoon and evening, but now, finally, all is quiet and Dave and I are looking forward to falling into our own bed.
Even after a wonderful trip, it’s always good to be home.
