And there went May...

April, with all its rain, dragged. May, in constrast, was gone in seconds. With significantly nicer weather to enjoy, we have been busy having fun, fun, fun around here. Here's the family update:

Will: He's currently in his last week of school. Next week is finals, and then he's done until August. Hooray. He's busy now, but I keep telling him: one more week. One more week until he can mess up the house full time, ignore all the organizational projects I have for him, and attempt to cover all surfaces of our home with Tribunes and Times. Just kidding...well, not really, but we're still excited to have him around full time.

Me: I had my first session of Structural Integration (rolfing) early in the month. It was...different, to say the least. The guy doing it is a little too into the emotional component he feels is behind my pain, but all the physical stuff he's doing (and will do in subsequent sessions) makes a lot of sense. I'm not cured after one session, but I could see how it will help me feel better. I really hope it works! The good news is my mood has been improved by the nice weather we've been having. Lots of picnics and walking to pick up Ethan from school. It's been fabulous.

Ethan: The kid really is a trip. He is constantly talking to himself, making submarines (or cars) out of our treadmill, painting his house with water, pretending to camp out under a blanket, making forts, and torturing his sister. He does really well at school, and his teacher recently told me that there are a few boys who fight over who gets to sit with him at snack time. Too funny. Yesterday, he wore some Adidas running shoes we got as hand-me-downs. He was SO excited about them that he wanted to go outside immediately to run. Then he said to me, "I'm never walking again." When he fell and scraped his knees later on, he changed his mind. He's done with school June 10th and then starts summer camp on the 13th. Not much of a break, but I know he's going to love his camp because his best bud is in it with him. He asks every day, "Is today the day Derek comes to school with me?" He can't wait.

Eleanor: She had a major milestone in May - her first steps. On May 4th, my grandma's birthday, she finally took a couple of steps. Since then, she's been gaining confidence and has built up to around 10 steps or so. Hopefully, within a few weeks, she'll be walking full time. She's ruining her pants and shoes by crawling around on the sidewalk and driveway. And, with the weather nice, we're at parks all the time, and woodchips and crawling don't mesh well. Friday, she has her 15 month appointment, and I'm looking forward to seeing how she's grown. I think she's had a growth spurt and might not be such a peanut anymore. We'll see. She's not talking too much, but she says "Uh oh" about 50 times a day and will say "woof" every time she sees a dog. She can also say "mama," "dadda," and "Hi." She's a great eater, like her brother, and her favorite things include avocados, any fruit, and hot dogs. The girl can take down a hot dog. In the past month or so, she's also developed an attitude. You do not want to take her away from something if she's having fun - that's for sure. The other day, when she let out a big scream during dinner when I took something away from her, I said to Will, "I'm seeing the future here, and I'm scared."

A rare moment of the kids playing well together.

Ethan playing the "piano." He LOVES to sing. Another nice play moment. Cousins Ethan and Jake playing together on Mother's Day.Love this pic of cousins Emme and Eleanor. Tried to get a pic of me with both my kids on Mother's Day, but Ethan couldn't be bothered. My climber.My cutie.

Took the kids to the Morton Arboretum last week - great day!

She even took some steps in the woodchips.

Ethan loves the pumps.

I love that Ethan is all of a sudden ham for the camera.

Spidey

His favorite is the rope bridge section.

Ethan with his best bud, eating popsicles.

Had a sneak in a picture of my porch. I put up the window boxes again this year (took last year off), and they make me happy.

Spring (and a little pity party)

It's arrived. At last. Spring is here. Of course, spring also comes with lots of rain, but I'll take it. Last week was cold rain; this week, at least it's warm rain. And spring means a few really good things:

-more outside time!

-fewer instances of seasonal depression (and, trust me, this is a REAL thing)

-gardening season (though this one stresses me out a bit)

-fun times with the kids on the block playing outside with many more light hours in the day
-the count down to summer can begin!

And, really, these good things can't come soon enough. I've been in a bit of a funk this winter and recently, too. Much of this has to do with the weather and feeling stuck in the house, but there are other factors. One is that I really do miss teaching. I have never regretted my decision to stay home, really and truly, but I do lament that I only had 5 years of teaching under my belt before taking this extended leave from my career. After next year, I will have been out of the classroom as long as I was in. By the time I return, I will have been out longer than I was in a classroom, and this terrifies me more than I'd care to admit. I know I did not have long enough to get close to calling myself good, and I will just have to start over. I know I will deal with it when that day comes, but, if I had the option, I would love to teach part time - maybe just two classes a day. I think it would be doable, but, unfortunately, it's not going to happen at LT. I did let my friend, who is now the assistant chair of the division, know that if they happen to have a part time position left after scheduling, to let me know. It's very unlikely, but wouldn't that be fun - and challenging!

The other funk-inducing factor is that my tailbone issues are just as bad as ever, and I am beyond frustrated. I've been seeing my old, women's health PT again, who I saw up until getting pregnant with Eleanor. She has hit the point where she is not sure what to do. When she did my initial evaluation, she saw many issues that would be contributing to my low back and tailbone pain. Since then, she's worked with me to correct these issues. Now, she sees so much improvement in all these areas...yet, my symptoms persist. Last week, she said we'll go one more week before she has me go back to see my ortho again. It makes no sense, and I could not be more frustrated. And, right now, I have plantar fasciitis so bad that I am not running. My PT thinks that the foot issue is related to the back/coccyx (tailbone) issue, too. It's amazing how everything connects in the body. So...I'm not running, she doesn't want me biking either, and I have been feeling a bit down about how out of shape I feel (and look). I have never been the "I'm so fat" girl, but I'm just not at all happy with how untoned I am right now, and having a husband who - honest to God - weighs less than me doesn't help either. Argh. Thank goodness for clothing.

Speaking of tailbone issues, I really can't sit any longer. Enjoy some recent photos.

Our latest curbside find. Not easy getting this baby in the van by myself, but it was worth it. Ethan in Susie's backyard (amazing!) tree fort awesomeness. Ethan LOVES it.Eleanor in Susie's backyard swing.

Swing date Oh yeah, she's a climber. She won't walk, but she loves to climb. Can I tell you how much I love that my kids will grow up with their cousins - on both sides. They play so well together!

In case you don't believe spring is here - daffodils! And the tulips are about to bloom, too.

Eleanor's new ride

This is Ethan and Jake at Gram and Pop Pop's egg hunt. It was Ethan's second of four this year.

A teary Besty after we gave her a framed picture of the family from Sanibel. That's a good lookin' bunch. Happy Birthday, Gram.

Yes, we spoil our kids. Will went a little overboard, but it's pretty fun.

Easter was at Laura and Chris's with a large amount of Chris's extended family, who are all so nice. Lots of fun.

It's all fun and games until Daddy takes your Twix bar away.

This little guy was awesome. He pushed Eleanor around for a half hour, allowing me some time to relax.

Happy Easter!

Thank You!

Dear Betsy/Bill, Mom/Dad, Gram/PopPop,

We wanted to take a moment to thank you for an incredible spring break vacation. Sanibel was amazing! What a fun-filled week that absolutely filled a giant longing for a change of scenery (at least for one tired mom). We are so blessed with your generosity in giving us the opportunity to get out of town for a full week!

And we're happy to report that our "expect the worst and hope for the best" mentality for vacationing with young children was not even necessary. Both kids did really well, and we were genuinely impressed with the relative ease of this trip compared to others. There were so many great moments, but here are just a few of our highlights:

- Watching both kids, and especially Ethan, experience the ocean for the first time. Ethan loved jumping in the waves, and Eleanor was a big fan of seeing the water wash up over her feet, too.

- Seeing all four Meuer cousins playing together so well. Eleanor and Emily eating toys together on a beach blanket and Ethan and Jake building sand castles, chasing each other down the beach, and collecting shells to show Pop Pop.

- Pool time. Pretty incredible to see how much Ethan grew as a swimmer in one short week. He'll be swimming in Wautoma this summer no doubt!

- Sounds like...parades. Charades was oh so hilarious. Enough said.

- Temperatures over 40 degrees were oh so fantastic and a perfect bridge between winter and spring in Illinois.

- The photo shoot was actually a lot of fun, and the shots she got are a perfect memento of a great trip. We felt like celebrities on the beach, which Will sort of was, given the shout out he got from an old student.

- Dinners after the kids were in bed were great, too. It was nice to be able to sit down and only have ourselves to feed. Something simple, but lovely.

Really, there are too many individual memories to mention here. Thankfully, our camera captured so many! Thank you again and again for an incredible trip. We love you!

Love,

Will, Michelle, Ethan, and Eleanor

P.S. My pictures are far too numerous to catalogue here. I'll post a few of my absolute faves, but here is a link to my Shutterfly album for the trip if you have the desire to look at all 300+ pictures:

http://ethansantics.shutterfly.com/2295