The Overduin's

Spring break week 1 has already sprung past in a dizzingly whirl of days.

Day 1: up early to meet Nana Lynn who's moving her very wet horses to the farm by Gramps & Gramma. Leah spends next 2 hours tagging after Nana Lynn while the boys (somewhat cheerfully) help their dear Mother clean the new shop. After some sweeping and pick up we make a fire and roast marshmellows in the rainy, soggy fire pit. We are only slipping through 2 inch deep mud :) Leah stays to sleepover and everyone else comes home with mom. We get some work done and then go wish Mr. Van Brugge surprise birthday wishes at Uncle Brian and Auntie Leanne's.

Day 2: Leah's having a blast at Gramma's - rode horse with Nana Lynn for a good long while. Boys + Cara meanwhile go to bring some birthday greetings to Auntie Erin and get invited to stay and play awhile...dear Mother enjoys a cup of tea. Then we race on home, eat lunch, scrub our teeth and head off to the university dentist for two boys. Race home again, heat up soup, pour down 4 throats and get Leah off to vaulting. Dentist visiting boys are now sleeping over at Gramma's.

Day 3: Head out with "babies" ("WE'RE NOT BABIES, WE'RE TWINS!!!!") and Leah to Auntie Krista's to play with some cousins and make cards together. Instead of just the dear Mothers making cards we have 4 extra girlies cutting paper, gluing and discovering the delights of Auntie Leanne's Slice machine. We get to stay for lunch, head home, do a little bit of work. They we get a call from Gramma that Sam's got a weird rash thinks it's shingles, do a bit of research, get Sam home. Go to clinic #1 - find out we're 40 minutes early for opening time, walk over to ER find out what other clinic's might be open. We look at the clock and think the 15 minute drive over to clinic #2 is better than sitting 40 minutes in a parking lot. Get to said clinic only to be told the wait is 1.5 - 2 hours long. Head back to clinic #1 thinking the waste of gas drive killed 25ish minutes, we'll wait the last 15 at the door. OH NO! The line up at clinic #1 has grown those past 25 minutes. It's gone from looking deserted to having a line up from door to road.
We head back home a little stressed because of all that's still to happen yet tonight. Get home, Steve's made sandwiches for everyone to eat, tensely discuss situation over cucumbers and chocolate sprinkles (NOT together) head for the phone, discuss some more and Steve makes some decisions. He'll head back to the clinic #1 and wait out the line up with Sam and Cam, dear mother takes everyone else that has a 6:20 appointment at the university dentist, and then we can hopefuly reconvene before the special prayer service begins at church at 7:30!!! Well, I called Steve from the UFV dental clinic phone and told him I would meet him at church and exchange Leah for Cam. He could take her with him and I would take everyone else home. He may or may not have successfully dashed in the door on time.

Day 4: Spent the day sewing with a young friend. FUN! All the kids came along and played at her house, her and her dear mother babysat my children while I spent another hour waiting in the doctor's office to have a mole removed from my back (in less than 5 minutes - the equation usually seems so unbalanced!) and then same dear mother even invited our family to share supper with them while the sewing was more or less completed!

Day 5: We stayed home. The whole day. WOW!!!

But we spent the entire day baking.

Leah was the most confident. Can do much of the baking on her own and in doubling her recipe was only confused by 1 3/4. She drew it up on paper and had it figured out quickly. Her boterkoek looked very yummy if not a little dark.

Sam was the most intrigued. He read his friend Kerwin's recipe for Texas brownies out of his KG cookbook and enjoyed trying to figure it out on his own.

Cam was the most laid back. He has had a few more times to help in the last months and for the most part he took it all in stride. He was very quick to pick rootbeer cookies and very quick to try and convince me to do his eggs for him. Apparently he lost some eggshells in the pancake batter at Gramma's.

Cara was the most squeamish. At least when it came to doing eggs. She gently tapped until I told her if she didn't tap any harder she would still be tapping when Daddy came home. So she gave a nice solid tap, stuck her thumbs into it and promptly crushed her egg into pieces. She was so disgusted she dropped the entire business into the bowl and then inspected her hands as though they were going to wipe themselves all over her face.

Then she went looking for her eggs....and shells. No worries her applesauce muffins came out of the oven looking just grand.

Cody was the most entertaining...by far. But he sure likes it that way! :) After going to wash his hands he came back with sparkly eyes and asked, "okay Mom, are we ready for the 'gredients?"

"Ingredients," I let him know. And everytime after that he carefully added those first two letters. When I asked him what he thought the first ingredient should be, he joyfully crowed, "SUGAR!"

When Cam came past and saw Cody had cracked his first egg he cautioned him about the danger of careless cracking and ending up with shells in his blueberry muffins. "It's okay," reassured Cody, "Mom's already fishin' them out!" :) :)

Yup, it was a (mostly) fun day. Rest assured by the end of it dear Mother was a bit tense, quite cranky and thoroughly tired. I told Carolyn on the phone that the kitchen floor was so dirty I had to take my crocs off when leaving the kitchen because I couldn't bear to think what I was tracking all over the house by keeping them on. I will not tell you how quickly I shooed the kids out of our room when I found them playing on our bed still wearing the socks they had worn on said kitchen floor. I may or may not cry if I find egg shells or sugar between my sheets tonight!

And just in case you think my post from last week about me and preparing food was all lies and just an immature way to gain sympathy and sweet comments from loving readers like yourselves? :)

Well, this is the pile of applesauce muffin bottoms that dear mother had to cut off Cara's 2 dozen muffins. :):):) Yup, they LOOKED great from the top but the bottoms were a disaster! I blame my oven.

Thanks for sticking through to the end, dear friends. I feel better already for having typed it all out. There is something to be said about justification for exhaustion once seeing it all in black and white! :) And please forgive me if it reads as much of a whirl as it was lived!