The Back-Burner Blog

If I could go back and rename my blog, I'd take this! It was so nice to a week off for spring break. We really enjoyed a break in the schedule and activities. That said we also had to be out of the house because we were having a mold issue remediated. Here's a lesson to learn from us - don't cram so much under your sink that you can't tell if you have a drip. I realized in November the water on our kitchen floor was not from the kids getting water and spilling it. Thousands of dollars later our house, especially the air ducts, are mold and spore free (well not totally free because most homes have mold spores since they occur in nature, but toxic black mold free). Good times. We also learned a lot about asbestos. Seriously, fun times. Can't wait to add that cost into our renovation in a few years. All that said, we still love our neighborhood and home, we just had a quick learning curve to follow on old houses.

A few more random life happenings these past few months:

Our sweet last baby is officially a screaming toddler. She is very vocal with "yes" and "no" which is honestly helpful, but it was even better when she just went along with everything. She eats more than any other kid in our house and everyone comments on it. She starts dinner when I start cooking and is usually still eating her dinner while the bigger kids have dessert. With all that food she's still in the 25% for weight - as of her 15 month check up. She's also learned to conquer the stairs. I remember our ped telling us with our first that we should teach him to go down the stairs backwards. I tried with every single kid to teach them and they never got it. Never even tried to teach Katherine, she just started doing it around 15 months. So she has full reign of the house, which is probably not competely safe but it is nice not trying to figure out how to gate three different stairways.

Basketball season always takes over the winter season in our house. The boys played in a new league this year that we loved and N fell more in love with Caroline basketball. When they announced the Heels were coming to Charlotte, Chris scooped up tickets for the three of us within thirty minutes. I surprised N by picking him up from school early that Friday to head to the game. The Friday game was so much fun (a little nerve-wracking in the first half, but we've grown to expect that from Carolina basketball). Returning on Sunday was definitely not as much fun when they lost in a blowout, but we stayed and cheered on the Retrievers who had knocked UVA out that same weekend.

Over spring break we headed to Lake Tillery with our friends (the same ones we went to Disney with, who also have 4 kids). It worked out well since we had to be out of the house. Neither of us had ever been to the lake but we thought it sounded like a fun adventure. We picked up our little ones from preschool (the older kids were already out of school) and caravanned northeast. N made sure to pack all the essentials - his robotic BB8, his NFL standings board and helmets, every stuffed animal he could find, his pillow, alarm clock, and the blanket from the couch. I edited his bag before it made to the van.

The lake trip did not disappoint. The kids were in love with kayaking, paddleboarding, and canoeing. We planned a hike and a visit to Indian mounds, but eventually scrapped the Indian mound visit to allow them more time on the water. Even after all the cars were packed up on the day we left T had to go out "one last time."

While we were there only 3 of our 12 fell into the lake, and those 3 all share my last name (insert face palm).

T had a birthday coming up over the following week and our friends surprised him with a cake and gift. He had been asking for months for a "dook" cake and of course we refused but our friends made his dream come true. And presented him with a "dook" shirt he has proceeded to wear every other day. Thus ending said friendship.

From the lake we headed to my parents for Easter. My group Easter shot leaves a lot to be desired but it was a fun day of candy, hunts and coordinating outfits.

We celebrated T's birthday (8!) while at my parents and he had a few requests. His first was to visit the Children's Museum. It has the coolest climbing structure outside that he loves. And all my other kids love the inside too. It is definitely my favorite Children's Museum to visit.

We spent the rest of spring break at home, with soccer practice and games resuming. It was a nice way to ease back into our schedule. And with the weather warming up the kids have spent as many minutes as possible outside and it's put us all in a good mood.

That's pretty much the highlights (and lowlights - mold - yuck) of the past couple months. We're definitely looking forward to school getting out, KC's birthday, and days at the pool.