The Lion Sleeps Tonight

March is definitely ending liony. We are expected to get some severe, strong storms today. Everything is closing early. School. Work. Etc. 

The kids are out of uniform today because the Hawkeye Girls are in the Final Four. 

March was pretty insane actually, based on where we started and where we are ending. So I am okay kissing it goodbye and welcoming April in tomorrow! 

Things That Make Me Happy

On this Wednesday here are a few things that make me happy. Pink Salt Riot bracelets for me and my best gal. 

$5 Tulip plants that bloom in my kitchen. I love tulips and they really do make me so happy. 

And new adventures also, generally, make me happy. During this month of craziness, Husband accepted a new position. Today is his first day! Here is his first day of "school" picture. 

While we are happy and truly we feel as though this is where we have been led, there is some bittersweet aspects of him leaving his old position. His thoughtful team got him (us) this cookie bouquet. 

And we all enjoyed it. 

It's a very weird mix of emotions. New beginnings are good. But leaving people behind isn't that much fun either. 

On this Wednesday however, we are going to decide to be happy! And just find the joy!

March, What the Heck?

 Oh, March. What a month it has been. 

Saturday morning, we woke up to a surprise 6 inches of HEAVY wet snow. Well... actually, if I am being fair, I woke up because all of a sudden my room got very quiet. Because we had lost power. 

Because of the heavy wet snow. 

Then there was a loud crash. 

Because now the tree limbs were crashing down. 

And it was still snowing. 

And by the time we went to bed... it was green grass again. And the power had come back on. Except to our garage because the limb knocked the line out and we haven't yet gotten that taken care of. 

So that's the fun we had on Saturday. 

Livin' In a Lonely World

 

Last night, it was finally Christmas! Husband gifted me tickets to see Toto and Journey and last night was the day! 

What we hadn't accounted for was my fancy new accessory: 

The walking boot. Which coincidentally, makes it possible for me to walk, not necessarily easy for me to walk. (Just a pretty darn good sprain and the boot will come off next week.) 

So his original plan with dinner reservations and then walking to the arena wouldn't play out as he had hoped. So instead, before the sitter even came, he brought home a take-out dinner and we ate together as a family. Then headed out to get a parking spot in the main lot before it was full. 

Here's the thing: we had a nice time. But I much preferred Toto to Journey. And I wasn't necessarily expecting that to be the case. 

We had fun and I really enjoyed our date. It's funny, we haven't not done things together recently, but often it isn't just purely recreational like this was and so I am glad we got that opportunity. We need to find fun things to do together more often. Not just couples groups and such. 

They in fact did bless the rains down in Africa. And they were funny, because they know their audience obviously. And they were like, "So, wanna hear that song?" And then went right into it. Turns out, yes, we all did want to hear that song. 

After a short break here came Journey. And I took no pictures of them specifically... just a video. And then this picture of these two women who were in front of us. I will call them Heather and Shari.* 

They did not sit here during Toto. They showed up with their two beers each during Journey's first song after the lights were down. And they were MAD our section wasn't up dancing. So they waved their arms and got all boppy in their seats. 

Admittedly, with my boot, I was quite glad we were in a section that permitted me to sit and still take in the concert. Shari almost head-butted my knee several times. After they had finished their beers, they scoped out some empty chairs in the lower bowl where everyone was up and dancing. I did not miss Heather and Shari. 

*They are more than likely not actually called Heather and Shari. 

After Journey had sang Faithfully lots of people started leaving. (Which was after Open Arms and Don't Stop Believing had been played as well. My top 3 songs.) I leaned over to Husband to ask when he thought they'd sing Any Way You Want It. Then realized that someone somewhere has posted their set list on the internet. So I checked and that was the finale of the Encore. 

We had talked before we came that I would prefer to leave early. Going down steps isn't really all that easy for me and I didn't want to hold up a whole bunch of people. It was a sold-out concert and there are a lot of steps! We decided to skip out then and beat the crowd. I have only minimal regrets. I would have liked to hear that song but not enough to walk down all the stairs like a toddler in a large crowd.

As it happens, walking down the stairs like a toddler was still a big enough pain because there was a grown adult man sitting at the bottom of the steps by the handrail. So I had to let go of the handrail and circle around him walking down one step at a time.  It was precarious and I didn't care for it. PSA: Don't sit in public stairwells at crowded events. Especially blocking handrails. 

And that was my experience at Toto and Journey. A fun night!

Pavlova

We had the most lackluster Spring Break ever. Don't get me wrong. It was exactly what I needed and wanted. Especially since I was working from home the whole time. (And going in for a few hours daily) But from my kid's perspective, I am sure it wasn't that great. 

But we did make a Pavlova yesterday. Because they love that Bluey episode. We also made sure to eat Edamame Beans with dinner before the showcase dessert. 

Here's the thing, it was surprisingly easy and delicious. I would make it again! 

So whether or not the kids have anything to report about their Spring Break, they can at least say they made a Pavlova! 

March Kept Marching

Well Hello. 

It's been a while, hasn't it? I am sorry about that. I'm not looking for loads of comments about missing me. We all know that my little blog about my pretty normal-ish life isn't that fascinating or important. But I do like keeping track of what's going on. 

The past two weeks have been an absolute rollercoaster. And yet... there isn't actually all that much to tell. 

I never mentioned, I don't think, that Husband was directing the school musical. Well, the last two weeks were the storm that was getting that to production and then the aftermath.

It happened. We went. It is over. Only there were a lot of other things going on last week that made it one for the record books. Every family has those weeks right? The extreme hustle and bustle that seems like something right out of a sitcom? 

That was our last week. 

And even though it's the THURSDAY of Spring Break already, I still don't feel rested or caught up. 

So anyway, that's where I've been. Hopefully, I will have something of interest to share with you again soon. 

Surprise!

 Remember when my C was trained to serve at Mass? And we scheduled him for an easy daily Mass during spring break for his first go around? 

Well... that didn't happen. His class was leading school Mass yesterday. And he and one other gal were the only two kids in class who are fully trained. 

That is a whole other saga. The man at our parish who has trained servers for as long as anyone can remember passed away in June from a brief illness. So while there was some warning it wasn't enough to actually train someone new or find a replacement. 

At our parish, you have to be in 4th grade to serve. I don't know why. Seems arbitrary to me. But whatever. So they found someone to train the servers and he likes to do it in pairs, 2 kids at a time. And he didn't get started until November. You probably remember there are a lot of holidays between November and now. He's not very far into the list of 4th graders who have signed up to be trained is what I am saying. 

Anyway...Tuesday night we got the Mass kit out and did a practice session going through all the steps. Our friend who is in 5th grade was going to be the cross bearer and I suggested he perhaps do the candle lighting since that is something C isn't great at yet. (And I thought we had weeks more to practice.) 

Yesterday Husband and I attended a funeral for our friend's dad about an hour away and then drove like the wind in order to be back in time for school Mass. 

I am so thankful we did. He was so cute! He did SUCH a good job. And I only teared up at the beginning. 

We had a lot of people praying for us that we would make it back in time to see C serve. Because what if he becomes a priest and in his very first homily he talked about how his mom missed his first time serving on the altar?! 

Luckily that didn't happen. 

So it was a fun surprise to have him serve yesterday and we were all so thankful to be there.