Easter 2019

We lucked out with beautiful weather on Easter Sunday.  Hooray!  It was warm and sunny on Saturday too so we were able to get plenty of yard work done in between all the lacrosse games.  Parker was invited to his best friend's house for an Easter party and egg hunt and he was shocked and thrilled that it wasn't on a Sunday or during a lacrosse game so he could actually go.  When I dropped him off at the party I had to sneak a few pictures because their yard was so beautiful and huge and gave me motivation to work on our yard.....don't worry though, the motivation is completely gone now!

You can't tell how huge this water feature is but it's in the center of their yard with a bridge going across it.  It was amazing!

Meanwhile back in our yard I had to snap a picture of these boys in front of this beautiful bush.  The flowers are so heavy that it makes the branches droop.

We had to be at church at 9am for choir rehearsal which the boys weren't thrilled about so this picture was as good as it got.  Marcus would only cooperate if I let him hold the orange juice in the picture. Insert eye roll here.

Easter Dinner 2019

This year we had a couple families over for dinner that we wanted to get to know better, and then invited several other families to join us for dessert and the egg hunt.  I really liked this setup because it's so much easier feeding a small group, although both families had five kids so our group was still plenty big!

The teenagers "interacting" with each other

We hid more than 300 plastic eggs in the yard and enjoyed watching the teenagers struggle to find the golden money egg.  We finally caved and gave them a hint.  It was hiding in the roof of the paddle board shed.

Filling the eggs was no small task.  Randy and the boys got caught up on General Conference while they filled eggs and ate candy.

And Ethan's hover board arrived in the middle of all the chaos.  I fell off it and thought I broke my foot it hurt so bad.  They are harder than they look!

We had some pretty cool looking Easter eggs this year which made for very colorful deviled eggs at dinner

The only picture of the actual egg hunt.  Not pictured were the 30+ kids running through the yard

We found tiny baby birds while hunting for eggs.  Spring has sprung!

I'm Drowning and There's Nothing You Can Do About It

With the holidays over, no more daily radiation, and Henry not being a newborn baby, I began to feel like I was finally getting back to a normal life.  I felt like I was finally coming up for air and even the January blues weren't getting me down.  But yesterday I realized that I hadn't showered in three days {I'm embarrassed to even say that} and my positive outlook on life was a coping strategy and a denial of reality.  Life with five kids while doing the single parent thing a lot {because Randy is gone being an awesome provider/endodontist/business owner/scoutmaster} is just going to be busy and hard and exhausting and basically makes me feel like I'm constantly in survival mode.
I am making a conscious effort to get back to regular exercise and the reason I hadn't showered in 3 days was because I kept telling myself I could shower after I had exercised.  Yeah, that was a bad idea.  Daily exercise is a pretty lofty goal for now so I'm going to settle for exercise whenever I can and hope it's more often than not.  For now, I'm just taking things one day at a time and throwing any plans of mine out the window because any planning on my part will most definitely get interrupted by an unexpected need from one of my kids, or Randy, or fate. For example, I had planned to go grocery shopping last Friday because our cupboards were bare but then Henry had been awake all night with a fever and once he finally took a nap the next day I was not about to wake him.  So my shopping opportunity was gone.  That's why I found myself at the grocery store at 11pm on a Friday night.  It was actually quite lovely.  It was quiet, I didn't have any kids with me, and things were good for a few minutes.  Then I attempted to pay for my groceries and there wasn't enough money on the debit card and my only credit card was at the office so I had go back home and get Randy's credit card, drive back to the store, then purchase all my groceries.  By this time it was midnight and the novelty of my late-night grocery trip had completely worn off. {Don't worry, Dad.  We have money for food, we just needed to transfer funds.}
So I've got a lot of catching up to do on this blog but at least the craziness of daily life has made January pass by in a blur because who needs January anyway?  It's the worst month of the year!

Henry's first dip in the hot tub.  The boys were soooo excited about this.

Henry alwasy sits in the bumbo like this which totally reminds of the guy on Seinfeld.

 Don't let the sunshine fool you in this picture.  It was 37 degrees on January 1st for the annual polar bear swim at our friend's house.  When I took this picture there were about 20 kids sitting in the hot tub behind me trying to get warm after they took the plunge.  The coldest part of the swim is the long run back from the dock on the icy ground.

 Here is Parker celebrating his almost-graduation from speech therapy.  I'm pretty sure I've never mentioned he was diagnosed with a speech delay when he was 2 years old and we've had weekly speech for the past 3 years.  That's a long time!  In Rhode Island, the therapist came to our house but when we moved here I've had to drive him to an elementary school 20 minutes away {18 minutes if I'm driving!} Now he's mastered the art of talking so we are in the process of completing the paper work to have him be done forever!  I'm so excited about this I can't even begin to find the words to express my joy.

I've hardly taken any pics of Henry lately and I'm not ok with that.  Cuteness must be documented!

I made Marcus make bread sticks for dinner and this is what I got....a nasty teenager without a shirt wearing a crown.  Whatever.  The breadsticks were good though.

I drank this liter in one day in hopes of making it through the day after another sleepless night with Henry.  It's sooo good!  But I'm too cheap to buy it in mass quantities and I don't have time to run to the grocery store anyway so this good thing was over almost as soon as it began

5 Boys + their friends = a loud house and big messes.  I'm ok with it because we got new neighbors next door and they're Mormons with 6 kids!  It's so awesome because now I'm not the only crazy person with too many kids.  Plus, their kids play with my kids and it's heaven on earth.  Plus the mom is a runner!!  I'm so happy I could sing!  But I'm also not much of a runner these days but the future looks bright.

 I took the boys to Seattle on a Saturday while Randy was working so we could use our new family pass {Thanks, Dad and Kathy!} to check out the Pacific Science Center.  I realized my little boys haven't done things like this or they were too young to remember so it's time for some more adventures with the younger Ball boys.  Note:  Landon said museums were for nerds and didn't want to go.  I'm happy to report that after much scolding he had a good experience and changed his mind.

Henry sits up!  And he looks cute doing it, naturally.  He's 6 months old and I'm not happy about this milestone in my baby's life.

He's also sitting in a chair at the counter while eating solid foods.  You can see he's thrilled by this new adventure.  So far he hates peas.

Landon is playing basketball again.  He's the smallest kid on the team and the top scoring player.  It's so awesome!  Hmmm, maybe I should take a picture of Landon next time but this one of Henry at Landon's basketball game will have to do.

I strategically placed Henry in front of the window so he could watch the boys playing outside.  It bought me 20 minutes of peace.

He loves his new toy which our friends lent to us because their granddaughter didn't need it yet.  Yes, I'm so old that my friends don't have babies anymore so I borrow baby things from grandparents instead.

If you made it through that long update then I applaud you!  And if you're slightly worried about my mental state then don't be.  I've decided that people with large families who look like they have everything under control and have a clean house are just fooling you.  At least that's what I tell myself...

Too Many Boys

As if I didn't have enough boys in my life, I'm also a den leader in Cub Scouts.  We meet every Wednesday and the logistics involved in making this fit into a day that is already packed full is something of a wonder. 
On Wednesday, the elementary kids get out of school two hours early and Marcus gets out of school an hour later because he starts late on Wednesday morning.  Typically Wednesday afternoons are the one day of the week when the boys have scheduled play dates but since my Cub Scouts meet at 4pm, that throws a wrench in the works.  So today Landon is having 2 buddies over after school for a short play date, then on my way to scouts I'll drop them at home and pick up Marcus who has to walk to a friend's house where he'll be waiting until I can get to him.  Then it's off to Cubs where I get to entertain/teach a bunch of rowdy 8-year-olds while my four boys goof off in the gym.  Then we race home, dropping off scouts along the way, eat a quick dinner, then it's back to the church so Marcus and Ethan can go to scouts and Young Men's.  Sounds fun huh?  You wouldn't believe the steady stream of texting required from me and the other mothers of all these boys to make everything work.  Last week I got home from everything and realized I never remembered to pick up Landon from his play date and had to race back the way I'd just come and apologize to the other mom for being a half hour late.  Thankfully not every day is like this or I'd never survive.
Thankfully I get to work with two women who are awesome and amazing moms in Cub Scouts.  They each have four boys of their own and are just as frazzled on Wednesdays as I am.  We outdid ourselves last week and even took the boys on a little field trip to the family history center and the temple to fulfill one of their requirements.  The missionaries and volunteer had no idea what they were in for when we brought our group in but it sure was a cool place.  Each boy got their own tablet that they could dock at different stations and use the touch screens on the wall to navigate through their personal information.  Luckily we left before anything was broken.  We walked around the temple grounds, thankful for an unusually warm, sunny fall day, then ended the trip with ice cream.  Yep, my friends and I outdid ourselves on this one.

7 boys in the van watching Star Wars

Here we are telling the boys to be good or they are dead

Lining up to receive their tablets

Here's where my ancestors came from - England and Sweden

Ice Cream!

Survival Mode

I am losing my mind.  Most days I run around like a headless chicken, cleaning here and there, driving kids to friends or sports, running errands, taking the kids to do something fun,  etc.  Last week was especially busy and I knew I'd hit a new level of frazzled nerves when I realized that eating breakfast at noon was becoming normal.  That's not typical for me.  Especially since I get up early to exercise.  There's just never enough time!  I feel like I'm a day late and a dollar short in everything I do.  I'm bearing my soul here when I say that I am failing miserably at my life.  I can barely get Marcus and Ethan to their sports on time or even worse, I had the time wrong and raced across town to get Marcus to soccer only to arrive a half hour early because I messed up.  Ethan jokingly said he's lucky I've remembered to take him to football and Marcus to soccer and not the other way around.  We all laughed but really I wanted to cry.  Trying my hardest every day to get my kids where they need to be, keeping the house sorta kinda clean, and putting dinner on the table are not lofty goals but they seem very unattainable right now and I hate it. 
Yesterday was a doozy.  I got up to go running when I got a text from the contractor telling me he's on his way over to start the demo on Marcus's bathroom.  So I skipped my run/shower and raced to Home Depot for supplies I should've already purchased.  Luckily I remember to fill up on gas on my way home or things would've gone really bad and I got home before the construction guys so I even had time to start the laundry.  Then I talked to James/construction guy/newest member of the family about all the water damage in the master bathroom and decided we have to gut the whole thing and it's going to cost a lot of money and they'll get to it as soon as they get done repairing Marcus's bathroom.  Not great news.  Then it was time to take Marcus to the lake with friends and Ethan to his buddy's.  Got that done and was at Home Depot with Landon and Parker when I got a frantic call from my friend.  Her son was dropped off at my house but I wasn't there like I was supposed to be (she never got my last-minute text).  Her son was in tears and traumatized by the two construction guys at the house when he was expecting to see Marcus.  Got that crisis solved after lots of apologies and began my second trip at Home Depot.  The tile I needed was out of stock so I had to drive across town to the other Home Depot.  I found what I needed but it took forever.  All the while I was getting an absurd amount of texts and phone calls from other moms/friends/visiting teachers/sisters/James while pushing around a cart full of heavy tile (making me feel less guilt for missing my workout so that's  a win) and texting Randy pics of the progress on the construction going on at our house.  Finished the third Home Depot trip at two o'clock to eat lunch, tidy the kitchen, and do another load of laundry before picking up Marcus and friends.  I drove to the lake and parked in one of four empty handicap stalls because there was nowhere else to park, and ran down to the water to get Marcus and company.  They took way too long to gather their things which was unfortunate because when I got back to the van a police officer was giving me a ticket!  And it took forever so the kids were way late to their next thing which wasn't a big deal but meant I had to text moms explaining where we were.  I finally get the stupid ticket and drove away without even glancing at it because who has time for that?  Well, Marcus looked it over and delivered the bad news.  The fine was $450!  Highway robbery.  "Are you kidding me?!"  I yelled.  Then the van full of tween-agers got really quiet.  I couldn't believe it. Talk about getting kicked when you're down.  I'd just spent over $2,000 that day on stuff to repair Marcus's bathroom not to mention our unexpected master bathroom renovation.  But my day wasn't over yet.  After dropping off the kids I had a small window of opportunity to make dinner and do more laundry before I had to pick up Ethan from his friend's and drop him off at home to suit up for football practice while I picked up Marcus.  Then I drove back home, Marcus ran in to suit up for soccer and Ethan came sprinting out half-dressed in his football gear which I helped him get on while we sate at red lights. It's a two-man job and we are getting good at doing it while I drive.  Then I came home and got Marcus and drove him to soccer practice on the other side of town and we arrived a minute early!  Miracles never cease.  Then I raced home and ate dinner with Randy, Landon, and Parker before we tag-teamed to pick up the boys from sports and met at our friend's house for an outdoor movie for family night.  We got home at 11pm and the day was finally over.
Today I'm recovering from yesterday. I'm glad I finally found time to blog so that nagging voice in my head has one less thing to nag me about.  I've decided for my birthday this year I want to spend the day by myself (not possible) organizing my mess of a house.  Then maybe I'll feel like I accomplished something. School starts in two days and I can't wait!

To Barb Q, Grandma, family, and other anonymous readers: Thanks for reading me blog and letting me vent.  It was very therapeutic.  

Summer Survival

I've lowered my standards.
And that's how I'm coping with summer anxiety.  No one ever told me about the anxiety that comes every summer as I feel pressure to make the summer memorable, fun, relaxing, but not too relaxing, and structured, but not too structured. 
I signed Marcus and Ethan up for Brain Chases, an online summer program that requires them to spend a certain amount of time reading, doing math, and practicing typing.  I decided they needed a little more education this summer after seeing them struggle this past school year.  They hate it!  But it's been good for them.  But I have been known to cheat a little bit for them.  Anything to make the whining stop!
I originally told the boys we'd have breakfast/scritpure study every morning at 8am.  They resisted.  After a few days I caved.  We do breakfast whenever I'm good and ready and if my kids sleep in after a late night of playing on the lake then so be it.  My mom would be horrified at this but since she's not here the guilt I feel is minimal.
I had big dreams of my boys spending summer days reading book after book since TV/screen time is limited.  They resisted.  I got sick of monitoring all the screen time.  Now they get paid for reading a book {I choose the book} and the faster they read it the more money they earn.  You might call this bribery.  You would be right.  But my kids are reading like crazy and they need money to pay for school clothes so this works for me. 
So you see, I've lowered my standards. 
But we're having enough fun that they aren't asking when school starts and I'm not losing my mind completely.  Just a little bit each day...

How I feel every day.  Summer is exhausting.  But in a good way.  Most of the time.

It Takes a Village...

The end of the school year is pure chaos.  Only two days left to go.  Hooray!  It feels like we are frantically running from one thing to the next and half the time Randy and I have to tag team to make it all happen or enlist the help of our friends. 
Last week I had to be at cub scouts at the same time Landon needed to be at school for his kindergarten program.  Randy hoped to be home from work in time to drop Landon at the school before heading to the church with Marcus for their canoeing activity and had the stars aligned just right this would've been no big deal.  Long story short, one of our friends ended up driving Landon to the school and waited for me to arrive (late from cubs). 
Yesterday morning my phone was constantly buzzing with a steady stream of texts from other moms/friends confirming the various activities our kids had, who was driving, what to bring, etc.  There are so many last-minute things going on with each of my boys it seriously is a group effort making it all happen and I still manage to forget something here and there.  Luckily I've got a lot of awesome friends who have my back.  It's pretty great living in an area with so many other families that support us through the craziness of life.  I couldn't do it without them.

Stripes!

A couple weeks ago I hosted a little birthday lunch for Kathie, one of my go-to friends when I'm in a bind.  People were all arriving and leaving at different times as their schedules allowed but we had a great time enjoying good food and good conversation before the chaos of afternoon schedules got in our way.  I even convinced several friends to be spontaneous and try out the rope swing saying, "Moms can have fun too!"  It was fun, but mostly hilarious as these women held on for dear life hoping they wouldn't fall, injure themselves, or pee their pants.  We're not as young as we used to be!

And on a completely unrelated note, Marcus's face has healed up quite nicely.  Actually it's miraculous.  Our whole family has been praying for his face to heal quickly and it did!  He missed a week of school due to his oozing sores and his concussion but looks great now and likes his scars. 
Theses pictures were taken a week apart.

2 days after the crash.  His nose, lips, and eyes were swollen and he was oozing gunk everywhere.

Constant application of antibiotic cream, silver cream, and Vitamin E, along with lots of prayers made for a miracle.  His wrist still has some scabbing and he chipped several of his teeth so root canals are probably in his future.