Last week we spent catching up on school work (Hayden has tested at 5th grade reading level!!) and getting more in before our "Spring Break." I have been working constantly on preparing things for our cruise. Things like renting our convertible for the 4 days in LA before our cruise. Like cooking 14 meals and freezing them so mom and Linda simply thaw and heat. Like shopping for a new bathing suit and spring clothes (honestly, my spring wardrobe was quite lacking from last year, and it hit me last week that I'm still wearing winter clothes...won't need those in Mexico!). I wrote all the instructions for mom: not that mom can't do this without instructions, but I figured if I've already done things the hard way and figured out what works, I could at least share those with her. Whether or not she and Linda do things the way I do doesn't matter to me. But I really do want to leave them with as little to try to figure out as possible.
My final job is to clean the house today. That's my Monday job, but yesterday I was quite busy. I cooked, got my nails done for the cruise, cut the boys' hair, then I went to dinner with a friend who is moving. When I say "moving" I mean to KANSAS and while I'm on my cruise! This is the person God put in my life to be my back-up parent while Matt was in Iraq. She lives right across the street and I could count on her to watch my boys in an emergency or while I went out for a run. She and I swapped child care and food, ate pizza every Tuesday night for a year, and generally enjoyed watching each others' backs during deployment.
Before I could even consider working on the house or packing, I needed to make sure my SC cards were put on computer and CD. Fortunately I only had about 15 pictures that were not uploaded and burned. These were of Bailey's birthday party! I am so amazed that my youngest child is 5 years old. I look through the scrapbooks I've made and they take me right back to the moment he was born, the baby years, and I miss them. Bailey has been a blessing, though he has been our most challenging child! In the past year he has been diagnosed with SPD (originally by the neighbor I mentioned in previous paragraph, then by our doctor, and finally by Occupational Therapists). After diagnosis, he spent 6 months in OT and graduated the program in record time. Bear with me while I give you the stats: At the original testing he was 50 months old but tested at 28 months in fine motor skills. 6 months later he was 55 months old (not quite 56 months old) and he tested at 55 month level. Right on track for his age! Most kids take a year to get caught up, and he came from WAY behind! He's a great learner, just needed some help with his sensory issues. Last year in preschool he wouldn't TOUCH a crayon, much less scissors. This year his teacher has to drag him out of "art center" and encourage him to go to others to achieve a variety of preschool experiences! I'm floored by his transformation!
Birthdays this year have been very low-key. Those in NC know I love to make a big deal out of them, but this year with Matt coming back just 11 days before Carson's, we were in no state of mind to do anything major. We went to a movie in the afternoon, then had two families over for cake and ice cream. For Bailey, we went to Chuck E Cheese's and then had families over. But he had asked for the same families with an additional two. Well, let me tell you, this drained Matt. He had a good time visiting, but for two days after that he was in silent mode. We've decided (with Hayden's approval) to host his party outside of the home. Matt's still not accustomed to large crowds in tight spaces. (I will say something fun about Bailey's party: We had 5 families here, and in those families we had 11 kids here: 10 boys and 1 girl! Bless her heart!)
Well, I just spent an hour on the computer updating, uploading, and burning. I guess I need to get to the real work of the day! I'll post after the cruise! I still can't believe I'm going on a cruise! First of all because we've never been in a financial position to do so, but also because we're not beach people. BUT: We LIVE in the mountains so to see the beautiful beach will be nice! (Poor Matt...he said while in Iraq that he could live the rest of his life never seeing sand again! Hehe!! But don't let him fool you...he's really excited about this trip, too!)
(Hayden - I couldn't find a snowboarding pic right now so I stuck this sledding one of him for now!) and skiing lessons (Carson and Bailey)
We were so proud of all three of them for their courage and hard work in their classes. Specifically Bailey, who normally has such a hard time wearing new shoes. He actually skied from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm! 
Only in Colorado have I seen fire hydrants SUPER tall so they could be reached when the snow piles feet high!
Matt snow tubing!
Hayden snowboarding!