The Kolariks: March 2017

We spent much of February the same way we have for the past six years. Sick. And then better. And then sick, again. We took turns with the flu, or colds, or both. Except Bruce, he's been a healthy ray of sunshine all month. The kids were champs though, and when I couldn't get off the couch because every ounce of my being hurt - they entertained themselves so well and played nicely together, and only requested that I throw food at them every now and then. And when it was Abbs' turn with the flu, she politely requested a bowl whenever she needed to throw up, and mostly slept it off - which made it so easy on this mama!

Our health wasn't the only thing ping-ponging around this month. The weather couldn't make up its mind either! We did take advantage of the nice early Spring weather though when it came around!

Bruce showing a neighbor friend his "secret flower garden"

Nicely enough, the worst of our sick days came on our "off" week of school this month, so we didn't really miss a beat with our lessons! We focused on the letters Vv, Ww, and Xx and had themes of valentines, weather, and x-rays. One of our home school family friends put together a really fun valentine's day scavenger hunt, so we had an epic field trip taking us first to a bakery, then a chocolate factory, then to the famous fried pie place, and finally a florist. We had so much fun seeing behind the scenes of all the iconic parts of Valentine's Day!

watching sugar cookies being stamped out

we've been here before, but this time the factory was operating!

We had a picnic lunch at a playground outside of the chocolate factory and the kids all exchanged valentines! Bruce and Abby loved all the different treats and cards! Bruce spent days making valentines and giving them to friends, neighbors, the librarians, pets - everyone! But both kiddos enjoyed picking out a set of valentines from the store, too! I'm happy that even though they're not in public school, they didn't miss out on the tradition of trading cheesey puns on tiny cards.

Abby hiding at the fried pie place

learning the basics of an arrangement

we also were invited to decorate valentine cookies at a friend's house!

We toured the National Weather Center (which was mostly a bust) for Ww week, and the observation room was so cool!

and our nurse-neighbor set up a tour of the radiology department for us so we could see how real x-rays are made!

We visited the Museum of Osteology, and I got to hug a hippo!

who then ate my children

so many skeletons!

not quite x-rays, but learning how to "read" a skull was pretty fascinating

When he wasn't making "valentine craft kits" Bruce was working on building his donut stand. He's quite proud of it. And will sell you a donut for $10 if you're interested. His spatial reasoning skills and detailed drawings are impressive (I just wish there weren't so many of them) and it's always exciting to see what idea will pop out of his head next. Charlie and Bruce spent a lot of time reading Shel Silverstein poems before bed this month, and now Bruce frequently comes up with his own poems. I must say, although they rarely rhyme, they're pretty clever. I'm so happy Charlie introduced him to silly poetry. I'm not so thrilled that Charlie also introduced Wet Willies this month too... If Bruce ever asks you to bend nearer to him - DON'T!

he made a bazillion of these donut sacks

after all his hard work, we just had to fry up some donuts!

these have been tucked away in a closet for a while, but we got them out for a few days for fun!

they were allowed to pretty much do anything if it meant I could rest on the couch...

And these girls continue to be some of Bruce's favorite people! If it were up to him, Bruce would spend all day, every day with Anna.

Abby continues to test limits and push boundaries, but does it with a charming smile. Some of the biggest news for her is that she has almost completely potty-trained herself. She still likes to wear a diaper in public "just in case" but even with it, still prefers to use the toilet. She has been so different in this regard to Bruce, because she wants to do every bit of it herself - and doesn't even want me in the room with her. That girl. Her conversational skills are improving by leaps and bounds, and it seems like maybe, just maybe, we've turned a corner with the bullying business. The past week or so she has been so kind to her friends! No shoulder checks, no toy stealing/hoarding - and a generally good disposition when we have friends over to the house. Hoping she'll keep it up! And she has a song to sing about everything, narrating her day!

reading to the therapy dog that visits the library

Charlie has been working on building some furniture for his parents' new house. He finished the master bed recently, so we brought it up to Ponca City and stayed for the weekend!

the weather was gorgeous so we explored the walking trails across the street from the house!

as always, reading lots of books and giving Katy-dog lots of attention. Also, it was a great excuse to play on the stairs without really playing on the stairs.

I got well again just in time for my birthday! The big 3-5! We waited until the weekend to celebrate, and had a blast!

I got to take Bruce to his Lego club meeting, and his bestie Anna got to come this time so it was extra fun!

after killing some time at the Science Museum, we took the kids to see the Lego Batman movie at the theater!

It was their first time at a theater, and aside from a few minor mishaps, they did great!

February went out with a bang! Charlie was in California on a business trip, and then had to be in Kansas City for an office meeting, so we drove up to join him! Some great friends of ours live just outside of Kansas City, so we spent the weekend with them! With five kids ranging from 1 to nearly 12, entertainment looks a little differently than it did 15 years ago, but it was just as enjoyable! We stayed up too late talking, hardly slept at all, and ended the trip settling a petty argument by buying a real human finger bone on the internet. Because, yes, you can. I guess some things don't change. We also spent the day having fun at Science City!