What a month April has been. Like always, it has flown by. I'll be honest, this was a hard month for a lot of reasons. I don't know if it was because we were cooped up or out of rhythm, but we struggled. Bad attitudes, moodiness, demanding and whining voices, day in and day out. As a family, we have not been the kindest or gentlest to one another. On top of that, I have some health issues (specifically debilitating sinus and eye muscle issues) that affect me almost daily. Oof, it's just been a lot.
Marriage is hard. Parenting is hard. Adulting is hard.
It's just been a difficult month with little to no breathers. So we are working on fixing that. But until then, the show must go on. I think the approaching summer will be the best medicine for all of us.
None of it is bad, just really hard right now. But we've had some fun things this month too!
Our weekly co-op, like always, was so fun! The first week of April, we took a field trip to the police station. We were able to tour the whole facility, including the temporary jail. The most exciting part was climbing in the police car and meeting the kind officers.
The second week of co-op was Fairytale Day at our house. We had stations that the kids were able to rotate through, including wand making, castle building, and potion concocting! Everyone dressed up and we read stories and had an interactive snack. The preschool teacher in me really showed up for this one ;)
Our third week had two days of co-op. The first was a playdate at the park, which we always love. I think more than anything organized, the kids just love to run and play with each other. It's so fun to see ages 0-9 play together, solve problems and conflicts, work as a team, and learn from one other.
The second day this week was a funny one. One of the moms needed her antique vacuum fixed. So one thing lead to another and she found a vacuum expert who was willing to give us all a little lesson on how vacuums work. It's one of those things that are used all the time in our homes, but the kids don't know exactly how it works. Apparently, there are vacuum experts out there and this guest did a great job showing the kids the ins and outs of tinkering with a vacuum.
I will never get over how special our co-op is. Each of the 13 moms brings something unique and special to our group. Things I would never consider doing or have any interest in are able to happen because of the other moms. Our kids will have such a wide and diverse education because of our little group.
Our last co-op day for April was spent at Comlara Park on a beautiful lake. The kids went on a nature scavenger hunt and painted with supplies they found in nature. The highlight of the day was finding a water snake. The kids spent over an hour watching the snake glide through the water. Nature is the greatest teacher. Patience and self-control were the biggest lessons that day.
We did a lot of school in between our co-op days, but not much book work. It mostly consisted of poetry tea time, art work, baking, reading (I personally read SEVEN books this month), trips to the library, trips to the bakery with our books, playing outside, and finally getting in to the garden for some early planting. This is how we do school.
AND we reached 200 hours outside for 2024, which is the most we've ever gotten at this point in the year. Only 800 more to go :)
We had a couple special days this month. I love surprising the kids with new, fun things. One day after naps I told the kids to get in the car because we were going somewhere fun. We ended up at the children's museum, which the kids consider the best place on earth. They played their hearts out and then we left for a special dinner of burgers and icecream at Carl's.
The next fun day was a trip to a zoo an hour away with our good friends. It's a big zoo with a train and a carousel. The kids had a BLAST and I am so grateful for good friends and fun trips.
This month, we had two birthdays to celebrate! One for Michael, which consisted of mint icecream cake and his favorite Monical's pizza. And one for the kids's cousin, Elouise. She turned 1 and it was a fun day to celebrate her.
In between our fights, whining, and bad days were all the good moments. I love looking back through our month like this because it reminds me our life is good and full. Our days include so much play, lots of food, hugs and smooches, and all the love.
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