Spring has Sprung!

Ahhh, spring finally seems to be here...for keeps!  At least for the most part...it is Rochester, after all.  The forecast looks pretty good aside from a couple cooler days, but it looks like spring might actually, really be here!  It was a lovely week, aside from some crazy winds on Friday.  It was hard to enjoy, though, as I had a heck of a week at work thanks to our biggest day of the year, and all that really means is I get more of my co-workers' mental capacity back to help with the two big projects I've been trying to keep moving all along.

Anyway, we've been trying to get ourselves back into spring mode after an extra long winter inside.  It hasn't been easy!  After Carter had a fever last weekend, it was a slow start to the week since he was still a little more tired than usual.  I took advantage of his snuggly mood and snapped a couch selfie...

On Wednesday Jacob and Craig were at practice pretty late and Carter and I took advantage of a gorgeous day to go to the playground at Jacob's school around the corner.  Carter had a whole Star Wars theme going on (he's been really into it lately--from the movies to the Lego Star Wars app), so we were constantly on the run escaping attacks!

An escape route!

He knew I was taking his picture but he slid before I could get it!

Top of the slide!

On the walk back I captured this flower in the same spot where the frozen crocuses were a couple weeks earlier...

And back at home, my own little hyacinth was blooming.  Carter called the little shoot in the back the "kid" :)

On Friday we had some crazy winds.  It was nothing like we had last year or even a month or so ago, but gusts were up over 50mph and the way the winds were blowing it sounded awful outside and in the house.  I was nervous even sitting near the kitchen windows.  The Knighthawks' first round playoff game was that night, and while the kids didn't want to go, I was having some anxiety issues at the thought of listening to the wind howl all night, so I dragged the kids to the game since I knew the winds would be better by the time we got home.  And you know, once we were there the kids were pretty decent.  And the Knighthawks won!  Aside from a couple hiccups when we got home, it was a good night.  The good news is that the Knighthawks move on.  The bad news is that Craig will be leaving Friday for Atlanta and coming home on Mothers' Day.  And if they win that one, it will be at least a couple more weeks of him being busy.  Now, if there's a championship on the end of that, not a bad deal!

Saturday morning we were up bright and early to go to Jacob's lacrosse game.  The good news is that after last week's cold and torrential downpours during his games, this week it was glorious!  Not only was it sunny and warm-ish (it was actually pretty warm but there was a decent breeze that kept me under the blanket for a while), it was just a picture perfect day with spring coming out all over!  Just in the last week almost every tree started shooting out leaves, and both the tulips and flowering trees opened up.  Suddenly everything is green and colorful, and it's such a relief after our extended winter weather.

Now that flower season is here, this is what my sweet little boy does for me :)

These sadly didn't survive the trip home, but he replenished them today!

This week was also a nice change of pace from last week's lacrosse debacle.  Jacob and his team started out pretty rough again, but they seemed to improve as the game went on.  Jacob not only picked up a couple of assists, but played physical, which is something we haven't seen much from him.  It's a fine line in this league, but he did pretty well.  The team still lost, but I think they can hold their heads high with their effort.

After that game was over, Jacob ran over to the adjacent field and joined up with the 5/6 team!  They were shorthanded and our friends from church have a son on that team.  The dad's a coach and figured Jacob was the best option to give them at least another body...and he held his own!  They were really happy with his play.

Jacob's on the right, his friend Evan is on the left

The rest of Saturday was pretty good.  We grabbed fast food for lunch (except for Jacob--but he accepted a Frosty as the equalizer) and once that digested Jacob and I tried another mile run.  He crapped out after half a mile and I kept going for a couple more--albeit with a walk in the middle.  Craig was tired from his late work night and Carter was low-key so they pretty much stayed in and watched Star Wars before napping for a while.  I did some yard work and we all had a little outside time, but by dinner time Craig left because he was going to see Kevin Hart (the comedian) with his co-workers.  I could have gone, but seeing as we have given up on finding a babysitter who can deal with the kids, that wasn't happening.  Good thing, too, since Carter ended up with a fever for the second weekend in a row.  He had complained of head/face pain a couple times that evening, which had us concerned.  I ended up sleeping (well, not-sleeping) next to him until about 3am because his breathing was really worrying me.  Since last weekend's fever/virus, he's been very congested at night and yet still can't seem to breathe through his mouth.  He snorts through breaths through his nose and it ends up sounding like an epic case of sleep apnea.  At one point I was listening to his heart and it was beating so fast and all I could think was that his heart was trying to keep up the oxygen supply that his lungs could not.  It was really scaring me for some reason that night (hello, anxiety), until he woke up with foot pain (again--that is still worrying me a lot, particularly because he had a sore toe last night and even limped on it--we're keeping a close eye now) and I gave him Tylenol, at which point he seemed to relax a bit more and I finally tried to get some sleep in my own bed.  I realized during that time, though, that if he was on his left side he breathed more clearly, so that was the bulk of my purpose there--to keep shifting him back to that side as much as I could.  But eventually I was exhausted and he wouldn't stay in that position anyway, so when the Tylenol seemed to help a bit, I knew it was time to go.

The next morning, Jacob and Craig were out bright and early for a lacrosse tournament.  It was a small local one and Jacob only had a couple games, and since it was the week of my monthly mom group at church, I had planned on skipping it and taking Carter with me.  Well, with the fever the previous night, I decided we didn't need to expose Sunday School kids to whatever Carter had, and it was probably time to head to the doctor.  So off we went.  And would you believe it...it was strep!  It never seems like it's going to be strep, but there was a very faint positive.  So, off to Wegmans for antibiotics, and a very low-key day was in order.  Meanwhile, Jacob ended up playing goal for the first time at his tournament (nope, not really his position!) and he got recruited for the 5/6's two games, so he ended up having quite a day!

It was cloudy but pleasant out, and after a lazy afternoon and a well-planned dinner (yay for pulled pork in the crock pot), I set us up for a nice, all-American family evening.  Not only did we have a tasty dinner, but we had brownies (ala mode, if desired) waiting for us at home after we went for a family walk over to Jacob's school.  Carter got playground time with Daddy, and I hung out and shot some hoops with Jacob. 

This was his "pose".  I have no idea what player he's ever seen pose like that, but OK... :)

Soon it was getting cool and late, so it was time to walk home for brownies!  Carter called Daddy his "tauntaun" (it's a Star Wars thing) and opted to hitch a ride home.

It all felt like a very normal, functional family night.  We don't get a lot of those--between Craig's job and the kids' bickering and my less-than-optimal homemaker skills, but for once it all fell into place.  On the surface, anyway.  Now, it's onward to another week!