The Saturday 7

1. Since we went to Florida in January, we didn't have anything planned for Spring Break this year. We still had some fun, though. Monday was scavenger hunt day. I must have made ten scavenger hunts for the girls that day. It's a great activity because I get to sit on the couch while they run around looking for random things. Haha. Tuesday we went to the "playplace McDonald's."

Thursday we had a chaotic playdate with our small group friends. Between us 5 moms, we have 13 kids under 7. I love it, though. They're great kids! On Friday, Justin took the girls to a movie (while I went thrift shopping with Levi and my sister-in-law!).

2. It was nice having Lucy home all week. I never felt like, "Ugh. When is she going to go back to school?" She and Lena have so much fun playing together (although they also spend lots of time fighting and crying - don't let me fool you into thinking it's all sunshine and rainbows between them!). And it was so nice not to get up early every morning and drag all 3 kids out the door in the cold. If I didn't have to actually be responsible for educating her, I might seriously consider homeschooling! Haha.

3. We did spend some of Spring Break tackling my girls' horrendous eating habits. They seriously eat 5 things and I've so had it. If I make them eat what I make for dinner they just don't eat. For months they'll just eat breakfast and lunch. They learn to fill up on those and can survive without dinner. So I finally decided to bite the bullet and be mean. Starting Monday, if they didn't eat what I made for dinner, they had it again for breakfast . . . and then lunch . . . and then dinner again if need be. They had to eat 5 bites of my meal before they could eat anything else. Monday night I made homemade mac n' cheese. They weren't happy about it, but they ate their 5 bites that night. Tuesday I made chicken and rice casserole. It has a whole bag of shredded cheese in it and is topped with crescent roll dough. Seriously, there is nothing not to like about it. But they thought I was serving them poison. It was extremely traumatic.

Neither of them ate it for dinner or breakfast the next day. Lena caved by about 11:00 in the morning, but Lucy has a stronger will (and a weaker gag reflex). She didn't finally swallow her 5 bites until 4:00 in the afternoon - over 24 hours since her afternoon snack the day before.

So I wish I could say they learned their lesson and are great eaters now. But I made meals they liked the rest of the week and we haven't had the chance to try it again since Tuesday. I'm not sure how it will work with Lucy going to school again next week. Am I really supposed to pack it in her lunch if she doesn't eat it the night before? Ugh. I have failed so much in this area. Hopefully I've learned my lesson and will do better with Levi.

4. On Friday after the movie, Justin and the girls were driving home when he heard a snap and his car started going crazy. Long story short, the frame literally rusted off and broke. Lol. We drive quality vehicles!! So now we get to play the fun game of "Should we put more money into this old, decrepit car that's technically too small for our family? Or should we go into debt to buy a newer one?" I hate this game. And we seriously just paid off our student loans and are debt free for the first time in our marriage.

5. In less depressing news, I can finally share that I'm going to be a great-aunt! My nephew Tristan and his girlfriend Brandy are having a baby. It is the weirdest thing to think I'm going to be a great-aunt. My great-aunts were always old ladies. Haha. Although this baby will probably think I'm an old lady. I am getting up there in years. The baby is due 3 days before my birthday so I'm hoping for a birthday buddy! Either way, I hope he/she will be a buddy for Levi. At least one of my kids will have a cousin close in age!

6. Earlier this week, the girls got an idea to play ice cream parlor. We have tons of ice cream in our freezer for some reason, so I told them we could play with real ice cream. They totally ran with that idea. My sister-in-law Esther came over on Monday and they commissioned her to make menus.