Spring Break Wrap Up

So as I was saying, Thursday we didn't do a whole lot early in the day. Around lunch time, we met SAM and her peeps at Peabody park for a picnic lunch and some play time before heading off for haircuts. Both boys' hair had gotten really long and shaggy. Joshua kept complaining about his being in his eyes, so I had actually trimmed it up a bit and done a fairly decent job, but I wanted it cleaned up a little. Calvin, on the other hand, has grown quite vain of his thick, longish, Zach-and-Cody-esque blond hair and made whimpering sounds whenever I mentioned getting it cut. I promised him repeatedly that we were just going to trim it a little, and he reluctantly agreed. Last summer, I bobbed Somerset's long, tangly, ash-blond hair, and we all decided it looks much better cut above the shoulders. But it had grown out over the winter, along with her bangs, so I wanted to get it bobbed for the upcoming warm weather. I had also bobbed Genevieve's hair when she was only about eight months old, because she was born with a lot of hair that never fell out, and it was hanging in little rat tails down her neck. Genevieve and Joshua both inherited my mother's extremely fine, thin, silky-straight hair, although G's is an astonishing gold with highlights that no amount of money can buy. Hers had grown to shoulder-length since that first haircut, and I missed the adorable bob, so I was hopeful that she would allow her hair to be cut, and she did! She practically wrestled Somerset for the chair once Calvin got out, and she sat on the booster seat with the giant cape spread in a complete circle around her and the chair so she looked like a little floating baby head in a magician's trick.

Later that night, Aunt E and Uncle T came over for our weekly family Thursday Night Dinner. The kids engaged in their usual antics and showed off their newly stylish locks while I made a quick run to get Easter basket stuff, since I wasn't likely to get another chance before Saturday night. It promised to be a busy weekend. SAM hosted our weekly cocktail hour so her folks could hang out with her friends (whether or not that was a wise decision remains to be seen...), and we had a great time. The kids and I left fairly early when Genevieve started begging to go "night night night night night night!" except for Somerset, who stayed to prolong an abnormally good run of play with Miss M by sleeping over, and Big Daddy, who stayed to watch a stupid basketball game, because aliens have taken over his body.

Saturday I used the free tickets SAM had generously passed on to me to take the kids to the Botanic Gardens egg hunt. We met up with Stacey and the rest of her family and set about hunting for the elusive prize eggs hidden at random all over the grounds. I found one almost right away and tried to let Calvin claim credit for it, but the prize was a $50 gift card to Sachi, an upscale teen girls' boutique, so it's my prize after all. I think I can find a pair of jeans, a skirt, or some jewelry if nothing else. The rest of the eggs proved to be hidden extremely well, as none of us could find any more. The kids did get to participate in hunts for their age groups though, which yielded multiple McDonald's coupons and Putt-Putt Golf passes.

Saturday night, we had a sitter! This is an extremely rare occurance, as paying a sitter to keep four kids gets expensive rather quickly. We needed a night out, though, and we headed downtown to enjoy a nice dinner at Lolo's Table and then a $9 Mojito at Sauces. 1:00 a.m. found me straightening up the wrecked living room, assembling Easter baskets, and hiding eggs.

Sunday the older kids got up and rifled though their baskets and found eggs without bothering to roust us out of bed. We lay there half asleep, listening to the hunt and receiving periodic updates on the one egg still unaccounted for, until Genevieve woke up. She promptly dumped a lot of small, beady candy into our bed and demanded bites of her chocolate bunny on a stick. Once we got up and moving and fed, I took the kids to the playground while BD went for a run. We'd hoped to check out the new Cooper-Yound neighborhood playground behind Peabody Elementary, but the yellow caution tape strung all around sent us to our usual park. The new playground looks great, though! We can't wait to help break it in. When we got home, I started making the lasagna that I was taking to share with SAM and her family for Easter dinner. We had a lovely meal (sorry about the tablecloth SAM!) and Calvin enjoyed his now customary nap on his new favorite napping spot, SAM's couch.

Monday was the last day of Spring Break, and we didn't do much of anything that I can recall. Stayed in our jammies for a good chunk of the day, played outside for a while in the fabulous back yard of my old friend Kimberly, and just generally hung out. I couldn't decide if I was sorry to see the break end or not. On one hand, it was nice not to have to follow the routine, and to spend time with the kids doing whatever we wanted. On the other hand, the week really drove home for me the extent to which I have not one minute to myself when we're out of school. At least on school days I have my 45-minute window between leaving work and picking up the kids. I use that time to go to the gym or grocery shop or run errands, and it disappears when I don't work. I'm a little apprehensive about summer now. I'd love for all four kids to go to the more relaxed version of G's Montessori school a couple of days a week, but it's not worth paying that much for childcare that isn't essential. I think I'll try to get a sitter to come in once a week, maybe. I won't have any time at home alone, but at least I can do some running around without four kids in tow.