Spring Break Came Early

We abandoned any semblance of order this week. Monday was a scheduled holiday (President's Day) so neither of the boys had school. This was much needed since Jesse was still recovering from the flu.  We did not anticipate school being cancelled the rest of the week, though. An inch of ice on Monday evening, followed by single digit temperatures each morning, was enough to close school all week. Here are the highlights from the week:

Sunday evening

After months of being terrified of bath time, Maddie finally joined her siblings in the bathtub. She still screamed when I drew the bath, but I insisted she stay nearby. I was adamant about keeping the kids separated from Jesse while he had the flu, so Maddie had to stay in the bathroom while I bathed James and Amelia. After she calmed down, she decided she wanted to play.

And then she joined them, tear free. This makes bath time so much less stressful!

Monday

We didn't do much of anything on Monday. Jesse resumed eating and drinking and slowly regained his strength. I dressed the kids in their new outfit, courtesy of my Secret Sister triplet mama. 

We lounged around the house most of the morning and early afternoon, reading and playing games.

I made a quick run to WalMart while the trio napped, before the snow and sleet began. 

Tuesday

We awoke to a white backyard. The accumulation was more ice than snow.

We layered the kids in fleece and let them spend a few minutes outside.

All was fun and games,

until they started slipping.

Amelia, much like her Daddy, wanted nothing to do with the ice.

Jackson and James were content to play with icicles.

The rest of the day was spent indoors. We had a delicious crock pot meal that cooked all day.

 Maddie was the last to leave the table since she ate every last grain of rice.

Wednesday

It was another morning with no agenda, so I made waffles. 

We braved the roads, which were not at all icy or even wet where we lived. All six of us went to the library.

We then had an impromptu lunch at a Mexican buffet. I can count on one hand the number of times we've gone out to eat as a family of six. It's never an especially easy or enjoyable experience, but the food was tasty and the kids ate for free.

Jackson found some Marvel Comic anthologies at the library. He insisted Jesse read to him as soon as we got home.

 Thursday

We were all a bit surprised that school was cancelled (for students) yet again. Jesse took Jackson to work with him for an hour, then came back home. A good friend of mine had a death in the family. We had arranged to keep her son for the day while she attended the funeral out-of-town. I took the boys to the museum. We ran into one of their mutual friends.

It was fun having a full dinner table. Throughout the day I had fleeting moments where I thought, "I would love having five kids." Then I would remember that the fifth child would be younger than the trio and we'd have to start from newborn stage. No thanks.

Friday

By this point in the week we were all used to sleeping in past 8 a.m. Jackson crawled into bed with us around 6 a.m. after a bad dream.

Jesse went in for a workday while I kept the kids, plus another one of Jackson's friends. His mom had an important doctor's appointment and his preschool was cancelled. I was happy to help and Jackson (and the trio) was happy to have the company.

While the trio napped, I continued to tackle our office closet. This will be a separate post once I'm finished, but here's a sneak peak at some of the chaos that was contained behind the closet doors.

Friday evening I broke up the stubborn ice that remained on our deck. It was still too cold for the kids to play outside, so they watched from the glass door.

Saturday

Today was supposed to be a make up (half) day from school cancellation earlier in the week. The make-up day was cancelled! I'm not sure how many days Jesse has remaining in Spring Break, but it's definitely dwindling. 

We ran errands and let the boys spend some of their Valentine's money from their Aunt Robin.

Jesse surprised me by planning a date night. He arranged childcare (via his mom) and made reservations for dinner and at a comedy theater. We ate, drank, laughed at an improv show, and spent over three hours kid-free. After a very stressful month, then spending so much time together this week, it was refreshing to get some time away just the two of us.

 That brings us up to date. Cheers to a full week of school ahead!