Memorial Day weekend came and went in a blink of an eye!
We went out to Oak Run Lake with the boys. It was very relaxing. Hanging out on the deck, watching the boys play in the backyard, snakes, s'mores, build a tent and camp in the backyard, go down to the beach, etc...
Because I know all you really read out of that
paragraph was "snakes"... Here's the picture of it.
Apparently these "nice" snakes still coil
when you try to touch them. Cody* tried to touch it,
of course. 😂😂
Playing together at the lake. 💓💖💗
As I sat on the beach with their grandpa watching them play; Jake* came up to us and sat on the towel next to us. We were talking about how "pale" everybody was at the beginning of summer.
Jake said, "That's why we are here! We're gettin' UN-PALE!" 😂😂😂
It really was a nice weekend to get away and relax a few days. 😀
What a super fun - and beautiful - day at the Kids' Triathlon at the Canton YMCA!
Chris* getting body marked. His was special.
8-years old; PLUS 16 minutes as the older twin!
It was an indoor pool swim and then an outdoor bike/run.
Swim starts.
Conversation with the twins prior to the swim:
"Do you two want life jackets?"
Chris*: Nope, I'm good.
Matt*: Yes!
So I bring over the life vest thingies. "Here you go Matt. Chris, are you SURE you don't want one?"
Chris*: "Yep! I'm sure."
The twins take off on the swim and they are doing awesome. Chris* is an excellent kicker. But then about ¾ of the way back to the finish, Chris starts swimming toward the lane line.O.M.G. Is he OK????
And he says, "I. Need. A. Life. Jacket." with deep breaths after each word.
Phil and I just look at him and shout, "Keep going! Keep going!"...
Then Phil managed to say, "Just use the lane line to come back to the wall." - Finally something more intelligent and coaching. 😂😂
(video at the bottom of the blog)
Chris* made it to the end of the swim and everybody ended up having a really great day.
I saw the twins finish, but it's unfortunate that my
camera app on my phone wouldn't start fast enough.
After the triathlon; grandma Nancy and grandpa Tom, Phil and the boys, and me (and Lotti) went to the Shake Shack in Canton. They all got huge shakes as an award for their awesome triathlon races.
Lotti at the Shake Shack.
Twins swim finish - you can see Chris* swim to the
lane line and me just encouraging him to keep swimming.
The four youngest boys have a triathlon tomorrow morning. We spent most of this evening making sure they were ready to go.
Bike maintenance - yes.
Helmet fit - yes.
Bike test ride - yes.
I think one of the twins even got a test run done.
Ok. Training done! 😂😂
Then... Because apparently they've been watching me... They said, "Pizza or spaghetti for dinner. We just want carbs. Jennifer eats carbs the night before her races."
That is a true statement.
SO... PIZZA!!
For the record, this is 4 Medium pizzas... Usually we have 3 Large pizzas. 😳😳
If you know the my stepsons mom at all, you know she loves flamingos. Everything flamingos. The boys all have stuffed animal flamingos... So when I saw this at PetSmart, I had to buy it.
When I got home last night (we had the boys), I made a big production out of it. I called all the boys into the living room to make the unveil.
I said, "I know how much your mom loves them. I know how much you love them. So now it's time for Lotti to join the group."
I pulled the Flamingo out of the bag and they were all surprised! "A FLAMINGO!!!" 😂😂
Then I gave the squeaky flamingo to Lotti to play with and the boys all said, "Wait! We have to name her!"
(So apparently the flamingo is female...)
We went through a series of names for this flamingo... and we FINALLY ended up with Strawberry. A flamingo named Strawberry. 😂😂 It's cute.
Me and the twins picked up sticks around the backyard.
The boys think of it as our "new backyard". 😂😂 Garden, fire pit, clean patio, cleaned off the outside table, etc... We had dinner outside this evening and s'mores!
I would love to say that I am the most awesome stepmom ever... but honestly, this isn't anything new. Simply Google for it and it comes up everywhere. Two words:
CHORE CHART!!
Seriously though... Phil and I have been together almost two years now, married for a little over a year and I'm just finding this??
Come on guys... help a sista' out!!
Made in MS Excel.
Comments from around the house echoed:
"Finally! Something to do around here!" 😂😂 This boy is getting more added to his chore list!
"Jennifer, I know what kind of rewards we can get!" (this is a "points" based system for rewards)
"I've already done one of my chores!"
"Can I put the check mark up there now??"
Phil showed our oldest how to start the laundry.
I showed my middle stepson how to do the bathroom trash.
And no, this doesn't cancel out our cleaning lady. She's still needed for my sanity. 😂😂
Oh guys... If I ever feel like I cheated the system... Today is the day. I have five new little work-horses around the house. (Keeping child-labor laws in check, no worries there.)
This step-mama is exhausted from the weekend. You know, being a step-mama is not all glam and glory. I may look like Super Woman every now and then... but ladies and gentlemen... I am human! 😂😂
Word of this weekend: WILLPOWER
I can't even begin to explain what went down this weekend. More wine than I anticipated, that's for sure. But... when you have five kids. Five boys. And they all want attention.... You know one boy is going to try to out do the others.
