The Rest of March

 We had a pretty full March even without our traveling to England.  Which is probably why that trip snuck up on us a bit.  First, Molly said she would like to play soccer.  So we had three kids in sports for the first time.  Luckily, it isn't too crazy.  Even if Molly woke us up at 6 AM the morning of her first game completely ready to go.

It helps quite a bit that Dom and Will get to play on the same team and practice is 5 minutes from our house.  I love watching the kids play soccer.  Molly ended the season not nearly as excited as she started, but she didn't have a bad attitude.  Just not her cup of tea.  Dom and Will had really great seasons and both grew quite a bit despite some lopsided games.  I was always proud of their energy levels on the field and their resilience.

Molly continues to impress me with her style.  Thanks, Thred Up!

Speaking of style...

Molly earned several badges for the spring ceremony.  I have been very happy with her participation in American Heritage Girls.  She has loved going to the meetings and spending time with a lot of girls her age.  She has requested I volunteer as a leader next year.  As they say in Bavaria: Schaumamoi! Though, I am touched that she would like me to spend more time with her.

Molly's schoolwork continues to be done at odd hours.  Whereas the boys work from 9 (or later if I'm distracted) to 3 or so (which would be less if they would just get the work done!!!), Molly is the most productive before 8 in the morning and after 6 at night.  She prefers someone to sit right next to her.  And, though I enjoy listening to her thorough explanations on mathematical procedures, I just need to her to get the work done.  She seems pretty proficient...masterful even.  I will give her a diagnostic test in the next week or so to make sure we haven't skipped anything that would inhibit her success in 2nd grade, but I'm pretty sure she is just fine. 

As I mentioned in a previous post, John did not leave my side for about 24 hours after our return from England.  And since all I did was sit on a couch and watch basketball, it worked out well. Pretty sweet little guy.

Luckily, by the next day, he was back to wanting to be around his siblings. Not that I got anymore work done. 

Also luckily, it did not take any time getting Dom and Will back to the old routine of doing dishes.  Grandma did everything for them while we were away, and fortunately, they are old enough to be aware that this was a temporary reprieve, not a permanent one.  Molly has not internalized that, yet...granted, she has been resisting her chore responsibility for as long as it has been implemented, so Grandma gets a pass on that one!

Molly drew us a lovely picture summarizing what took place while we were gone.  Ok, ok, ok,...I'm very concerned about her spelling.  Though, she has started to use the dictionary more. 

I have a love hate relationship with the NCAA Tournament.  I love the excitement...and hate watching my Jayhawks in close games.  They played Duke in the Elite Eight.  I had to take a walk at the start of the second half (something I did a lot this season).  It was a great game.  One that just a casual fan would love.  And in the end, a diehard Jayhawk fan loved, too.  Plus, Eric captured this fantastic picture of our super fans! 

Molly has always been our problem solver.  A candy wrapper is hard to open? Get scissors...don't bother to ask a parent.  She has also figured out the best way to convince me to do something is to take on the heavy lifting.  So our tea parties are totally put together by her.  She even got John to put on a tie.  I recently even got her to wash the dishes...or maybe she got Eric to do it.  Either way, I didn't have to: Winning!

The boys watching Molly's game.

Molly did get one goal this season.  And she was always up for throw-ins. 

This quarter, Eric has Wednesdays off.  Which means we get a lot of family time which  has been awesome and exactly why we all packed up and moved to Alabama for the year.  One of these Wednesdays we went to the zoo.  And during the necessary time spent at the park, Molly ran right in front of a kid on a swing.  SMACK!!  I didn't realize the damage to her chin until a couple of days later, because she didn't make a big fuss about it.  Impressive!

Dom and John, John was so excited to basically dress up like Dom.  Actually any time anyone wears a baseball cap...they are dressed up like Dom. 

As opposed to bunny ears made by your sister...then you are the Easter Bunny!  (He isn't sad, that is just his impression of a bunny face) Speaking of which, the Easter Post will be coming shortly.