April & May

The beginning of April graced us with a bit of snow. Luckily it didn’t last too long but still, snow in April? Really? This year easter and April fools fell on the same day so I suppose maybe it’s not so surprising.

Easter baskets & Easter egg hunt

An easter basket hunt commenced inside at the grandparents. Riley found his first as it was in the kitchen pantry and he is always hungry, so naturally that was his first stop once inside. Liam found his next with Rori finding her basket shortly after. It was a bit cold outside but we did manage a quick and easy easter egg hunt out front too. All that candy, let’s just say they had plenty to share between them and their cousin.

Sausage, Potato & Spinach Soup

With the weather being so cold out in April nothing is better than soup on those cold days. This is a family favorite. This month I decided to have a bit of fun taking photos of  the process. The recipe can be found here.

 

Special Package from Grandparents in Colorado

The kids received a special package from their grandparents in Colorado. They had fun opening it up and finding salt water taffy. Yum! It’s always fun to get packages from them. That reminds me, I really need to send the package of stuff we have for them. I’m horrible at getting to the post office. Also, we are down to one car so that makes it a bit tricky as well.

April’s Date Night with Hubby

Josh picked Hell City Tattoo festival for our date night activity. We had fun walking around seeing all the different tattoo artists and venders. The Lucky Daredevil Thrillshow was going on when we arrived and was fun to watch. What’s really not to like about fire, knives, snakes, balloons & dinosaurs? I mean, really?! I did find the solar tattoos interesting. It’s kinda cool seeing the sun rays thru a crystal sphere create a burned design on someone’s body. I really want to get a sleeve of mandalas done but having that sort of burned tattoo is of interest too.

 

Mugmort’s Demo for the Locals

I really don’t have much to say on this one. The kids ended up having fun and that’s really what it’s about at this point. 🙂

 

Earth Day

 

Cleftlands Armored Tournament (April’s Dessert Revel)

We were a bit later to this one than usual. We only have one working vehicle, long story, so we went up to Cleveland after Josh got home from work. The kids had fun playing with the other children. We were able to watch some of the tournament and attend court.

 

Movie Night with Mommy

The kids and I had a movie night in April. Josh was out with friends so this was the perfect time to break out the popcorn popper and a movie. We ended up buying Peter Rabbit.This came about since the kids were arguing over the movie choice they had to each put in movies to draw from a hat. Yes, Peter Rabbit was the movie drawn out of a hat. Oh the irony is not lost on me. 🙂

 

Ashville Viking Festival

The last bit of fun we had in April was going to the Viking Festival. The kids mainly stayed on the playground except for the short time in the bouncy house. I mean what kid doesn’t want to jump in a bouncy house? 🙂 The older two did get some ice cream along with Josh while we were there. We also stopped by Mugmort’s tent and said hi/bye before we left. Short but good visit. That works for me.

 

May

 

Spring Coronation : Alric & Katherine

 

MARCON

Mugmort Melees

Gardening

 

Date Night with Hubby

 

Birthday Girl!

 

Bowling Birthday Party for the 10 yr. old

 

Last day of school for the kids

 

 

 

Advertisements

March was a busy month here

Cleveland ConCoction

Cleveland ConCoction was a success for me and the kids. As you can see the outfits turned out pretty well. On Friday I picked the kids up from school early and we headed up to Aurora. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive which is pretty typical for when we do SCA events up there so it wasn’t too bad of a drive. It was also the first actual trip in the Suburban so I was a bit nervous about it but it did well. Although the “Service Engine Soon” light did come on during the drive home, but since all the other gauges were reading normal and the engine & transmission sounded/ran fine I wasn’t too concerned. (read the code and it looks like the distributor cap will need replaced, no biggie)

The kids program was amazing again this year. The older two had fun playing games with the other kids and even got to have some fun with a green screen this year. Riley stayed with me the whole time. There wasn’t an inside pool this year to entertain him but we managed. However, we did have a mishap with the tv and had to change rooms. The second room actually worked out better due to the tv being up higher with doors that shut to keep him out. I should probably also mention that my middle child locked us out of our bathroom in the first room as well. I had to actually have maintenance come and take care of it. Luckily it didn’t happen with the second room but the lock was different and was one that could be easily unlocked if needed. It’s really the little things that make the difference with traveling with kids and special needs kids at that. Am I a bit insane to do so solo? Maybe, but we managed. I didn’t lose my mind and everyone had fun. The kids are already looking forward to next year.

Date Night with Hubby

Hubby and I did manage to fit in a date night this month. We’ve been trying to be better about that. This month we did a paint your own version of the chosen artwork for that class. We both had lots of fun painting. I’m not much of an artist. I struggle with stick figures, if that gives you any idea of how great I am at it. But Josh really loves art even if painting isn’t his go to. But he loved it and we will be going back in the future.

Spring Equinox

We are pagan here so I like to get out in nature whenever I can. I wasn’t able to really walk around in nature as much as I wanted to due to the weather but did manage a bit of time. I’ll take what I can because every little bit adds up.

Keep Calm and Ceilidh On (SCA event)

We were able to make it to an SCA event south of us. Lunch was delicious. The fighting was fun to watch. The older two got along well with some of the other kids that were in attendance. Riley did well sitting or staying with me even in the gym with all the noise from the fighting. It was well attended and had a few classes with some A&S stuff on display as well.

The kids and I  were also able to make it to this month’s Cleftlands Dessert Revel. They met a few new kids there and had fun with the kids they normally play with up there too. Hopefully we will be able to make it up to next months.

Happy Birthday, Gin Kitty!

Our kitty turned one this week. The kids were adamant about celebrating her birthday. So we bought her some special food (just wet cat food but she doesn’t usually get that) and a toy. Of course she loved the food and seems to like the toy. I’m pretty sure the kids are going to want to celebrate the day we got her as well. So we’ll have to see what they want to do for her then.

March was a busy month. Next month should be a bit slower and less packed with activities. More time to recover before May hits and with that Summer Break soon to follow.

January…

This month has been pretty hectic and it’s only January! The beginning of the year started off with us moving. The circumstances were unfortunate but thanks to family and friends we were able to move everything within a week. Let me tell you packing and moving during the school year was stressful. But we are moved and the kids have also switched schools successfully. All I have left to do is finish unpacking and a bit of cleaning that still needs to be done here.

Thankfully after the stress of moving I was able to spend a day at DeCONpression which is ultimately a convention to help you unwind from conventions or in my case a move. There are classes, panels, game rooms of all sorts, parties and lots of booze. So after an afternoon of relaxation, which meant for the most part sleep, I got to enjoy a party then got to sleep in a bit before heading back home. It was absolutely needed.

This past weekend all of us went to a ‘Not-So’ Regular Event in the Cleftlands. I had managed to put together a few more pieces of clothing for the kids and a dress for me just in time for the event. The older two have picked out time periods and names but my sewing skills need some improvement before I tackle what they are looking for. I’ve gone with pretty basic clothing options so far but have instead been trying to learn how to sew with the different materials. Some materials are easier than others, just like some patterns are easier than others as well. I would also like to have at least one set of outfits with coordinating colors. This is one of the main reasons why I made each kid something new for this event. That being said, I still intend to add things to the outfits but that will be a post for another time.

As always we enjoyed our time at a Cleftlands event. Rori had fun helping with the younger kids and whatever else was asked of her by the adults in charge. She is also in the process of making a circlet. Let me just say, jewelry is farther down on my list to learn and make but I’m glad she was able to find something she wants to learn about and do. Liam had fun hanging out in the kid area for most of the day. He did get to try some rapier fighting/exercises. Rori, however, was a bit sad she missed out but hopefully she will get a chance in the future. Riley walked around with me throughout the day. There were several open rooms on the main level that we visited when he became over stimulated as well as a few trips to sit in the car. But he did a good job the few times we went in the main room with the fighting. I got to enjoy watching some of the fighting and even was able to sit down for some of it. 🙂

Next up: Cleveland ConCoction

OMG! We made it out to some SCA Events, finally.

So we have been busy here making a few pieces of clothing for SCA events. It’s looking like it’s about time to make a  few more pieces of clothing for upcoming events plus we really do need to continuously make clothes if we plan on going to Pennsic this coming year, which we do. That being said we have made it out to 3 events so far with a mix of clothing we made and clothing that has been given to us.

Our first event was…

Cleftlands Standard Bearers XXVI

We had fun meeting lots of new people. The kids had fun meeting and playing with the other kids that were there. I was able to watch some of the fighting while Riley slept. Overall we felt welcome and would go to another event they hosted. The drive was about 2 1/2 hrs so not too bad.

The second event was…

Harvest Days

I ran around after Riley most of this event. I was able to watch about 10-15 mins worth of the fighting while I ate some lunch, which was awesome. Hopefully next year I will be able to watch a bit more of it. The hound course was neat and even Riley enjoyed watching the hounds run for awhile. Let’s see… the older two had fun watching court and playing with some older kids. Josh did a bit of volunteering. I’m sure we will go back next year but with a tent and a few more things to help with keeping the kids busy and hydrated. (2hr 15min drive)

The third event was…

Haunted Tower 3.5 : Purgatory

The kids had fun running around outside, yet again. Liam did tryout the throwing weapons area and wanted to go back. Unfortunately we weren’t able to do that but since he seems to like that I think thrown weapons might be the focus for him at this point. I do own throwing knives but he seemed to favor a different type of throwing weapon over knives so it looks like we might need to buy something different. That’s okay. 🙂 Neither of the kids have tried the heavy combat fighting yet but I’m sure that will happen at some point. Josh had fun spending the day talking to others and watching the fighting. Since the location was smaller than Harvest Days, I did manage to see part of The Hunt which was interesting. (45min drive)

The next event we plan on attending is Red Dragon. We still need to purchase some sort of shade but all of that just takes time. So for now we are going and enjoying what we can.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays! Hope everyone is enjoying time with their loved ones. It seems like the past few days we have been in full celebration mode. The kids were kept busy by visiting with extended family which turned into going from one house to the other than back home. It worked out rather well.  Maybe this will be a new thing.

With 2017 approaching it’s that time where most of us reflect on the past year. Wow, has it been a year. The first part was filled with hubby starting a new job which switched up some things for us. Things that we used to go to together are now just me attending while I also added some extra time during the week. It’s not the first time for this so I’m not sure if it’s a cycle or just how it will be from now on, only time will tell. He’s taken to online gaming more and hanging out with them. I’ve been able to get the kids out and about more to make more memories with the kids and capture it through photos even if they aren’t always the best quality. We managed the Renaissance Festival, Dublin Irish Festival and hoping to make it out to a SCA event at some point. (a little bit at a time)  Hubby and I are still getting our time, without kids, mixed in with all of this.

Let’s see…

I’ve also shut down a blog. Sometimes I miss that one but sometimes you just need to cut ties to certain things. I’ve tried to get back to one of my other blogs. I just have to remind myself to take baby steps and be okay with not being able to do what I used to with that blog including social media. I’ve started this one and have not posted as much as I have wanted but I’ve been happy with what I have done. There are still things I wish to blog about but they don’t fit into the blogs I currently have so another blog will be added.

I’ve learned to let go of things that are out of my control while focusing on what things I do have control of. I’m still adjusting to being ex-mormon and poly. You would think I would be adjusted by now but trying to let go of all of that baggage is hard. It doesn’t help that over the holiday I had to hear about my shirt because it only had one sleeve instead of two. Gasp! I showed my shoulder. This is the sort of shit I have to deal with and the internal shaming that I have to override from years of hearing it. That’s just the whole appearance of modesty side.

I’ve tried to read more. I’m still nowhere near what I used to do but since my youngest requires constant supervision that leaves when he goes to school for a few hours or bedtime. I’ve recently been catching up on some tv shows and started new ones such as West World and Shadowhunters. Still need to catch up on Stitchers and watch the new Gilmore Girls episodes. I’ve managed to get out to the movies more this year than last year and really enjoyed the ones I did see. While I haven’t made it to any conventions this year I’m hoping to do so in 2017.

This year has definitely been about finding balance. It’s not perfect but it’s getting better.

We’re all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh?

– The Doctor