Busy morning in the Burch household.
Month: January 2023
Today Wade turns 44. We did most of our celebrating yesterday because today Kaitlyn gymnastics and both big boys (and Wade) and have handbell practice. We did manage to sit down together for dinner – chicken noodle soup and banana pudding – both at Wade’s request.
Then Ben hopped into the box he has been decorating and asked for a push. I was more than a little surprised when Alex immediately started being the motor for the boat. (It turns out Pepper was the shark.) When Alex got tired, Teague jumped in to take over. Ben was in heaven.
We celebrated Wade’s birthday with banana pudding.
Ben has just started to figure out that the other kids get daily iPad time. The biggest problem is that he can’t plug his up every night and often his has no battery life when he wants to play. Then he has to be plugged in during play and he hates that.
Due to prior commitments tomorrow, we decided to do most of our celebrating for Wade’s birthday today. Wade’s chosen birthday activity was candlepin bowling with the family. We had a great time and Ben somehow continued to amaze us with his skills. He rarely hits the side rails and tied for second place. (He quit using the wooden guide after the second frame.)
Then we picked up pizza and headed home for pizza and presents.
Candlepin bowling.
Candlepin bowling.
Candlepin bowling.
Candlepin bowling.
It was a crazy day at our house. We got ready for church, just like every other Sunday, but Ben decided to add some unusual accessories and took his shield with him. I let it go because the entire congregation seems to get a kick out of him and he is rarely disruptive with the things he brings to church.
I started a big painting project this weekend so I was rather hands off in the parenting department. Kaitlyn entertained herself with her aqua beads and the other kids were probably in front of a screen most of the day…
Sunday roundup.
Here is the difference between my two youngest and how they watch Saturday morning cartoons.
Wade and I had a date tonight so these guys had dinner and then got electronics time together until bedtime for the youngest two.
Ben and I were in the kitchen when he suddenly runs to get a marker and paper. Then he tells me, “Mom, we have been drawing a heart all wrong.” He gets busy drawing and this is what he draws.
Obviously he is learning quite a bit at preschool.
Alex hasn’t been a big fan of my dinners later so I offered to let him cook dinner. He immediately agreed and is now cooking Sheet Pan Nachos.
Teague’s current favorite treat is hot chocolate.
I found this list on the back of Kaitlyn’s door. I have no idea how long it has been there or if she actually checks it, but it’s pretty accurate and the spelling is adorable.
Today was a building day.
Monkey rarely leaves Teague’s room these days. I was rather surprised to walk into the living room and find Monkey all tucked in on the living room chair.
Don’t let him fool you. That is definitely not his homework face.
Only chocolate chip pumpkin bread will convince Alex to have breakfast on a school morning.
Teague and Kaitlyn were so excited to begin ski lessons today. The weather was mild, the slopes had snow, and there were kids everywhere!
Morning routine. This is the last thing Alex does before he walks out the door.
Ski lessons begin.
Pretend cooking at its best.
Ben begins a round of routine doctor checkups for all three of the boys. Ben has a birthday in November so his checkup was first and happened to fall today. We took a logic notebook and Ben was flying through it – which was great while I was trying to talk to the nurse.
Normally the boys alternate which day they unload the dishwasher, but we had a little mixup the other day and Teague owed Alex an unloading this morning.
He still hates this chore, but there is a lot less complaining than there used to be.
Today everybody loves magnets.
Tuesday after nap – a slow wake up.
This boy knows how to present cookie dough.
Teague is working on research for an article he has to write. Thankfully he got to pick the topic – airplanes.
I got the kids changed and packed up for swim classes tonight. Then I thought to call and see if they were actually having swim tonight (there have been some renovations on the pool the last few weeks). Turns out no swim classes. We turned right around and went back inside.
If my kids are hanging out together, they are most likely on the couch. Some days they are playing a game involving stuffed animals, some days a game involving play food, some days a game involving building blocks, but most often they just wrestling and using their imagination. Today it was pure silliness and wrestling.
Sunday roundup.
Winter means more nights on the couch. Sometimes we all watch a movie together, but that is getting harder and harder. It’s pretty rare to find a movie that interests both a 13 year old and a 5 year old (in truth it’s the 13 and 8 year old who rarely agree). Most nights we either have two rooms with two movies going or we let everyone choose iPad or computer time. Tonight was different. We convinced Kaitlyn to overcome some of her fears and we watched National Treasure. At the end, she agreed it was good, but she has no interest in watching the second one!
Alex had cooking club at school today – they made 4 types of salsas and guacamole.
Friday afternoon.
Friday afternoon.
Friday evening.
Tonight did not go as expected. Kaitlyn requested pancakes for dinner and Teague wanted to cook dinner. The two things meshed nicely and Teague began cooking pancakes. In the middle of mixing, the power unexpectedly went out. Wade provided additional lighting and we were thankful that our dinner was one that was completely cooked on the gas stove. As an added benefit, everyone congregated in the kitchen while the cooking was taking place.
Thankfully we were in the middle of pancakes, which only needed gas to cook, when the power went out. We had no trouble finishing dinner and the power came back on as were finishing up eating.
We had a power outage during dinner tonight so everything go a little more interesting.
This year we decided to do things a little differently. We found that there is a local store that rents skis for the season – a much better deal if you go skiing more than twice. This definitely works out well for the kids and hopefully for me too! I rented Ben skis before I found out I couldn’t get him into lessons (they sell out crazy fast). Alex was adamant about not skiing so no skis for him, but I keep hoping I can get him back on skis at some point.
Alex has always spent a lot of time in his room, but now he has gotten very particular about keeping his door shut too.
Transitioning back to our normal routine has been a little rough for everybody except Teague.
Transitioning back to our normal routine has been a little rough.
Transitioning back to our normal routine has been a little rough.
I have fun doing these series every year. This year it was with fun glasses.
Alex has used his Christmas break to practice some of his drawing skills.