Baseball Games, Recitals, Work Stuff, Oh My!--The Busiest Time Of Year

Last week Tim and I took a deep breath and said "we can do this" while looking at each other with frightened eyes. We were preparing for one of the hardest times of year....the last two months of school. Otherwise known as the busiest, craziest time of year where everyone has an event, a party, a game, a play, a recital, a dinner thing, work events, fundraisers, practices, final exams, track meets, softball games, baseball and baseball and more baseball. Ahhhhhh!

It's a fun time of year but holy shit so busy. Trying to be everywhere and get four kids where they need to be is a challenge. Are we up for it? Not sure. Will we do our best? You better believe it.

JT's baseball season kicked off with a few (ahem, five!) scrimmages over the weekend. I saw part of one (because I was running Lucy to softball and working on work stuff that had deadlines and you know, all the stuff!) and he looked so happy.  

That's the thing, it may be hectic but I feel so grateful that my kids are active and healthy and happy. They just may be a little late to a few practices, games and events because well, there are so many! 

We can do this! And then it's summer and I cannot wait. Woot! Woot!

I took a few pics with my fancy-ish camera at the part of the scrimmage I was able to make it to. Check it out:

The younger sibs hanging in the dug out. 

Spring & What I Know For Sure

Spring is coming and we're psyched. We are ready for flowers and green grass and blue skies and birds chirping and Easter-y stuff and hope and change and good stuff.

After making it through the hell that is Daylight Savings Time, we are enjoying it being light outside later. Now we just need it to be a little bit warmer and greener and we'll be all good.

Bring it spring, I know for sure right now that we are ready for you.

Here's what else I know for sure right now:

• I want to start a revolution at a PTA meeting. Or anywhere. I was watching Field of Dreams the other day and I love the scene where Annie gets fired up for freedom of speech and the Constitution at a PTA meeting. Remember the scene? Well, with the way things are going in the world and politics, I may be doing this somewhere soon. Lol. "Who's for the Bill of Rights?!"

(click here to watch the video)

• I love Detroit so much and am so proud to be bringing Listen To Your Mother (a storytelling show) back to Detroit on May 1. Click here to buy tickets.

• This is one of the best responses to Donald Trump I've read, it's from the guy behind Humans of New York. Click here to read it.

• I love Nora Ephron and will be watching this documentary on HBO.

Everything is Copy Promo

(Click here to watch the video.)

• Refinary 29 is an empowering and fun web site. I am a total fan of this site and I love them on Facebook. Click here to check them out.

• Parenting is a lot of work, but like the wise words of Kelly Corrigan "this is it, this is the grand adventure." I've posted this video before and I probably will again, because I LOVE IT SO MUCH. Watch it and go hug your kid or your friend or anyone.

  (click here to watch the video)

What do YOU know for sure this week?

Spring Break Has Sprung

Spring break has sprung here and well, that means we are...not doing much.  We aren't going anywhere and I have to admit that I'm pretty bummed out about it.  I wish we were heading someplace warm or going on a road trip to someplace new and different.  But nope, we are all just getting over our never ending colds, hoping the weather doesn't include more snow and hanging out at home. 

I'm trying to not be so womp. womp. about it all and generate some excitement about spring break.  I hung up streamers and Wade and I painted a poster.   

Don't they look thrilled? Lol. They really were sort of into the streamers and Wade couldn't quit the noisemaker. 

Then we sat down and made a list of things (that don't cost a lot) that we wanted to do on spring break.

So here we go Spring Break 2015, full of hopefully fun free stuff and a whole lot of relaxing at home and trying not to be jealous of all the beach pictures on Facebook.

And of course this past weekend was full of Easter fun.

Happy One Month Closer To Summer

Spring has sprung, sort of.  Last Friday, the sun was shining but it was only around 45 degrees.  But so what, we live in Michigan, I put on my winter coat and got my bike out.

It was so great to get old Tallulah out again.

I love spring because it leads to the season I love the most, summer.  But change is hard, even good change.  I struggle with change because I want control.  I'm really struggling right now because I have no control over anything!!!!!  Kids, bills, body fat, hormones, stress, dogs, money, wrinkles, jobs, no jobs, time, weather, ahhhhh.  

But there's no time to overanalyze because our weekends are insanely busy.  

Here's a video recap of our weekend in one minute and 30 seconds.

One Weekend from Jumping With My Fingers Crossed on Vimeo.

Our whole life feels insanely busy. Practices and homework and work and meetings and lessons and bedtimes and routines.  If I did take a minute to analyze it just a little bit, I would say one of the reasons that I love summer (besides the warm weather and swimming and sunshine and no coats, hats or gloves)is because there is no homework, fewer early mornings and I get to sort of control more of our lives.  

So, happy spring to all of us.  Or should I say, happy one month closer to summer.

Spring Break & News

The kids are officially on spring break.  The first couple days of their break weren't very spring-like.  But yesterday, the sun came out and the temp got up to maybe 50 degrees and folks, that's spring break, get outside, maybe even wear shorts, life is good weather to us. 

Sure the sign said frozen, but that didn't bother us.  The cold never bothered us anyway (sorry it had to be said).

Lucy looks sort of rock n'roll to me here--riding her brother's old red trick bike.

The weather made everyone happy, look how smiley Tim is.

Don't worry, even thought some of us might have worn shorts yesterday, we totally know it's too cold for the pool.
We just never put it away from last summer because we are classy like that.

It's strange to see your youngest child ride on your oldest child's shoulders.  After I took this picture, I followed closely behind them spotting them like they were gymnasts.

We have no real plans or super high expectations.  We hope for more sunny, 50-degree days and maybe a trip (or two) to Dairy Queen.  

VEDA 6 shows a little of our weekend adventures.  Are you following my VEDA (Vlog Every Day April) videos?  I missed one day and almost gave up, but don't worry.  I'm back, here's yesterday's:



Go ahead and subscribe to my YouTube channel to make sure you don't miss a vlog. Click here: https://www.youtube.com/user/jumpingwithmyfingers

In other news, like real news, like legit newspaper-y news, I was in the Detroit Free Press.  I mean the show I'm co-producing Listen To Your Mother Metro Detroit was featured.  A very nice preview of the show was in THE Sunday paper.  Woot.  Woot.  Click here to read it.

SuperHeros & What I Know For Sure

Wade got a new raincoat this week.  Well it was a hand-me-down from a friend, but it looks brand new.  The new/old raincoat pretty much made Wade's day, week, month....year?  He was incredibly happy.  Because you see, this new/old raincoat was a superhero raincoat and it had a cape.

But guess what? The raincoat didn't only make Wade happy, it made everyone that walked by him happy.  

Grumpy old men at the grocery store smiled when they saw him.  Women at the gym told him how cute he looked as they lovingly watched him zoom by them.  Person after person everywhere we went this week looked happier when they saw Wade in his superhero coat.  Even the too-good-for-us tweens getting off the bus after school one day.  This coat really did have superhero powers.

It's like the coat reminded everyone how much fun make-believe can be and believing in super powers and flying and capes and fighting the bad guys and righting the world.  Maybe it also reminded everyone how it's really pretty simple to be four years old and how sweet it is to be in love with a new/old raincoat.  I know for sure this week, that's what it did for me.

Wade's only problem this week was running to make his cape go higher and trying to look behind him to see it at the same time.  Yup.

Here's what else I know for sure this week:

• Spring is here? Okay, I know for sure the calendar says so, but the weather is still pretty meh.  But daffodils on my table and sunlight through my window did make it a little spring-y.  

Sunshine and daffodils make everything better--even my crappy broken blinds.  I hate blinds.

• I have been watching too much Scandal.  Even though I haven't watched last night's episode yet, I know I'm watching too much because I totally believed that B316 had something to do with the disappearance of the Malaysian plane.

• I miss Tina Fey and 30 Rock on Thursday nights.  Every now and then when I'm feeling down or grumpy, I re-read parts of BossyPants or watch YouTube clips of Tina like the one below.  I always laugh.

• Wade is definitely the baby of a big family.  After a sweet afternoon of painting, I asked him what he had painted and he proudly said "a battle scene from The Lord of the Rings."  Yes, he's seen that movie. 

• When I hear the song Happy on the radio it makes me grumpy. I know, I'm ridiculous, it's just on too much.  But, seeing Meryl Streep shimmy while Pharrell sang it at the Oscars? Yeah that made me happy.  And watching this children's choir from Detroit sing it made me smile too.

• Some families go to Disney World for a good time, we take our kids to Home Depot.  The great thing is my kids seem to have a blast, so it's all good.  

• I am very excited about Mad Men starting on April 13th.  The countdown is on.

What do you know for sure (this week)?  C'mon, we're friends, share what you know. 

Leave a comment here or on my Facebook page or on Twitter.

I love getting to know everyone through pictures.  Please come play with me on Instagram @jumpingwithmyfingerscrossed.

The Great Thaw & #iPPP

I've written a lot about how much we've enjoyed our very snowy winter. It has been fun.  But something happened this week, something that changed well, everything.  We had two days where the sun came out, the temperature reached a balmy 47 degrees and the snow started to melt.  

It changed us.  We are officially over winter.  

Wade couldn't stop being amazed. "Grass! Mommy, loooooook I see grass!," he squealed.  "My shadow! Sidewalk! Moooommmmy! It's going to be spring!!!"

The rather ironic, some might say evil, thing is, that while I type this our area is under a winter storm warning.  But it's too late winter, we got a taste of spring and we can't go back.  

Our spring fever has been sprung.

Super Lucy's take on spring fever--a poetic study of the senses.  I think it's perfect.  I love my little writer girl.

The first spring-ish day in Michigan after the snowiest, coldest winter in 133 years looks a bit...apocalyptic.  Debris hidden beneath a foot of snow is revealed.  The once fluffy snow becomes black melting slush.  Potholes (and the wreckage they caused) from months of salt and subzero temperatures take over the streets.  Sidewalks are cracked.  

Ice patches where kids played hockey become murky, muddy puddles/ponds.  

People walk outside of their homes looking confused, squinting in the sunlight and greeting neighbors happily for the first time in months.  

Everyone, adults and children, have a somewhat crazed look in their eyes.  Like animals that have been freed from their cages.  

Children ride scooters and bikes on patches of slush-free sidewalk and tell their parents they don't need coats ("Mooom, I'm hot," they say because 47 degrees really does feel sort of hot compared to minus 20.)  

You people in warmer climates might think I am exaggerating. But you people that live here, you know I speak the truth.

We played on the front porch for the first time in forever and it made me so happy.  I can't wait to live on my front porch again.

It may not sound like the prettiest transition with the debris, the murky puddles, the dirty snow...but it is beautiful.  It's beautiful because it means that trees with leaves, green grass, flowers and no need for coats and hats and gloves and boots and mittens and scarves is coming and we are ready.  

It's been fun winter, but we're over you.  Bring on the great thaw of 2014 (yeah, right after the projected eight inches of snow we are supposed to get tonight).

All the pictures in this post were taken on my phone.  Come play with me on Instagram.

Now Link Up for the #iPPP
Greta, Angela (my LTYM co-producer & iPPP co-host-er) and I want to see your funny, your yummy, your heartfelt, your favorite phone photos of the week.  Of course, it doesn't have to be from an iPhone.  All you need is a blog post containing at least one photo from any phone camera.  Link up below and don't forget to visit some of the others!

<img src=”http://mamamash.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/ippp-polaroid-125-x-125.jpg” alt=”GFunkified” style=”border:none;” />

Playground Season, What I Know For Sure & #iPPP

Spring has sprung.  That means no freezing at baseball games, no more winter coats.  That means that is officially playground season.

And we couldn't be happier.

If there is a playground, we will find it and we will have the time of our lives, I know that for sure (this week).

Here's what else I know (this week):

• We like chalk too.  Wade said we should draw the "hopper thing." AKA hopscotch.

• My kids drive me crazy, sometimes.  In this week's vlog, I talk about that and do a Rodney Dangerfield impression. Here it is if you missed it:

• Little moments of meaning are everywhere--be ready to appreciate them.  I walked by the stairs at a family party last weekend and caught a glimpse of a moment between JT and his grandfather, "Bubba." I stopped and watched for a minute and soaked up the sweetness of this moment.

• Let love rule.  This is from a couple months ago (ancient in online terms) but so good.  It's from SoulPancake, it's about love and I love it.

• Music matters.  I love this print from my pal, thelittleillustrator's etsy shop.

• I'm not aware of too many things, I know what I know if you know what I mean.  Speaking of music, this song was in my head all week for some reason--Edie Brickell & New Bohemians' What I Am.  This song is about 25 years old.  I know! Can you believe it?  Such a great song.

• I can't stop thinking about my volunteer opportunity last weekend in Detroit.  It was life-changing,-affirming.  Here's  short video about our day at Cass Community Services. Read about it here.

St. Paul's Trip to Cass Community Social Services from Jumping With My Fingers Crossed on Vimeo.

What do you know for sure (this week)? C'mon, we're friends, share what you know.  Leave a comment here or on the Facebook page.

  Come play with me on Instagram @jumpingwithmyfingerscrossed.

I'm linking up today with my good buddy Greta from  Gfunkified.com and Sarah at SundaySpill.com for the #iPPP link up.  They host a link up where they encourage people to share "your funny, your yummy, your heartfelt, your favorite photos of the week" from our phones.  Check them out.

Oh yeah, and come follow me on Twitter @AngelaYBlood and subscribe to my MomPulse YouTube channel here.