Mr. Mommy - Day 2

Keira was up first this morning, folding and sorting laundry. She has been wearing Iria's sweater and spraying on her perfume to keep her in mind the best that she can.

Kassidy was another early riser, but not as helpful. She is usually a grump in the morning, so that wasn't too surprising.

Eggo waffles for breakfast- always a treat for the kids that Iria never buys. 

I mixed Iria's multigrain waffles in with them, so they will never know the difference :)

The kids started with math this morning. Lennon is doing work that is beyond my ability to help him, but at least I can still act smart around the others.

And what is in that box? Tuesday's mystery school project, which has been driving the kids crazy.

For today's project, we learned how to write a composition paper which presents an opinion.

I had Keira watch the Disney "Little House on the Prairie" movie and argue whether or not it was faithful to the books.

The boys watched "300", and then wrote about how faithful it was to the real history.

Here is Keira's report. 

I had her redo the introduction, but still, a great first effort!

Kassidy watched a documentary on baby koala's and wrote about those instead.

Katharine and I snuck in an orthodontist checkup while the kids were watching their movies.

Back home, with Ramen noodles for lunch. 

I lived on these things in college; and the kids would live on them as well if we let them.

We talked to Iria after lunch. She arrived safely and made friends with some baby goats at her sister's farm.

After lunch I dropped Keira and Katharine off at the gas station car pool meetup spot for dance. Funny thing is that there were a few other cars there also carpooling kids to other locations. The back of that gas station is quite the hot spot.

Lennon then had soccer practice with Coach Che. 

The team had a rough Spring season, with the coach saying that he will only invite around half the players back. 

Lennon is one of the lucky few, so that will be one less thing to worry about this Spring.

Keep on climbing, kid!

After that I picked up the girls at dance.

Chicken Masala and cheese sticks for dinner.

Keira always goes to bed first. 

Tonight she was still wearing Iria's sweater, and was also clutching a photo of her.

It was Kassidy's turn for our bed tonight.

Katharine played some Overwatch while the boys and I watched Episode 2 of "Lost in Space".

Once the boys were in bed, Katharine came down for a piece of pie and some John Oliver.

Finished up page 40 of 70.

Good night!

Mr. Mommy - Day 1

Iria embarked on a well deserved (and needed) trip back home to Germany today. She will stay for 9 days, and attend her niece's confirmation next Sunday. I will update the blog with any pics that she sends me.

In the meantime..

I took off work and will be home with the kids for all of that time. I'll be in charge of the feeding, cleaning, homeschooling, and car pooling- plus a bunch of other things that probably haven't occurred to me yet. In addition, I'm trying to sketch out a 70 page coloring book freelance job that I got, and will probably have to finish off another book.

And I'll also try and chronicle all of this as well :)

First off- we made sure that our gmail calendars were synced up before she left, and Iria gave me a "cheat seat" to  help me out with the planning.

We dropped Iria off at the airport at 1 PM.

And sent her a "Bon Voyage" text before she boarded. I don't know what the German equivalent of that saying is, but it probably doesn't sound as nice..

I took the kids to choir practice this afternoon.

Some of them enjoy it,

Some not so much.

I made a quick Costco run while they were in choir, purchasing a bunch of things that Iria usually does not bring home :)

For dinner, we had Papa Johns pizza. It was half off, because FC Dallas won last night and scored two goals. 

Woot!

Future Papa John's note: one extra large does not cut it, it will take two large pies to sufficiently feed all of these kids.

The kids helped clean up lafter dinner. I intend to put them to work a lot- there is so much free labor surrounding me.

The boys and I watched the new "Lost in Space" on Netflix after I put the girls to bed. It was really good, and we will make a routine of it this week and try to finish it off.

Keira is sleeping on Iria's side of the bed tonight. She already really misses her, and I think that Sherman does to.

And right before bed I finished up page 30 of 70. I got a nice head start this weekend, although I expect it to be tougher going as the week goes on.

Anything Goes

At last weekend's competition Katharine was awarded a platinum medal and an invitation to dance with select students from around the country at one of the national finals. 

Currently Reading..

Pippi Longstocking

Mo' Easter

I'm a little bit late on this, but here are pictures of the kids celebrating Easter at Grandma Donna's house last week. It is a sort of annual tradition that is always a lot of fun, with great food and tons of eggs to collect.

My favorite part is always watching them sort out and trade candy after the hunt, but Lennon and I were "Farewell to Fox"'ing so I missed that this year. I'll just have to wait until Halloween :)

Farewell to Fox

Lennon's best friend Fox moves back to Portland tomorrow, so we got in as much time as we could this weekend. 

It is fitting that it ended on a soccer field, much like it began.

But before I get to melodramatic- plans are already being made for some future trips, and in this day and age they will be back talking with each other and playing games on Xboxlive within a week.

Will miss Dereick as well- the ultimate Tesla driving soccer dad buddy.

Seeyas!

Easter Crafts

The girls were busy making cool stuff during the service today. 

I love the bunny ears on Heart! 

And Kassidy drew her own version of Pippi Longstocking (wth short hair of course). We have been reading that book before bed every night.

The Three Amigos

This might be the last time that these three will be together for quite some time, but I'll still be looking out for the photos when they come back here in 20 years to re-enact the poses.

I Heart Easter

Here is a pic of the kids after Easter service this morning.

Good Egg Hunting

Gearbox held its annual Easter Egg hunt last Friday.

Kassidy slept in her Easter dress, so that she would be ready to go 7 hours later when it started..

Like the socks!

The boys attended as well. 

They are a little bit past their Easter egg hunting prime, but were willing to snatch some up for Keira who was attending dance class.

Thursday Weather Report

There is still another hour left in the day for those who haven't checked the weather yet.

Courtesy of Kassidy.

Reclining Poses

Last Sunday Gearbox held another "friends and family" figure drawing session, where we bring in a clothed model and invite kids to draw.

The girls had fun, but the boys ended up laying down more than the model..