Schaffer Schenanigans: June 2012

When I look up the definition of "busy" I find the following:

Doing a great deal; having a lot of things to do in the space of a time given
Engaged in or full of activity
Having a lot going on; complicated or intricate
Being in use

My parents often call to ask how things are going, and most of the time I respond simply as "busy". I don't intend for this to be an excuse or cop-out, but it seems to help sum up the state of affairs in the Schaffer home. I am not a great journal writer, nor am I a photographer or scrapbooker, and the last time I actually printed out and put photos in an album was just after we were married. I feel this constant, nagging guilt to try to keep this blog going as the longest account or summary of what my children look like right now in this moment in time, and also highlight some of the really great moments we share.

So, as an attempt to explain to my future self why I always seem to be four or five months behind, but also help motivate me to keep checking in with and updating this thing I will attempt to sum up what exactly has been keeping us so busy the last few months.

Aron - I can't believe he turns 1 year old next month! As any parent with a newborn,-especially with a newborn and older siblings- can attest, our day is a blur of sleep, change diapers, eat, play, repeat... all the while still attending to the basic needs of the older sibs. Aron now is taking a step or two at a time, crawls up and down the stairs, climbs up on couches, is an expert at unloading the dishwasher, cupboards, drawers, or contents of a shelf. He loves to follow big brother and sister around, but is also very good at making mischief all on his own. Some precautionary steps we are constantly having to implement are hiding or moving trash cans up high, making sure to put down toilet seats, and unplug or remove anything with a cord.
MBA - Jim began his Executive MBA program through the Wharton School of Business at University of Pennsylvania. He will commute to their San Fransisco campus every other Friday/Saturday for the next 2 years! Jim has already been pretty busy with work at PRECOA, so to add a challenging MBA program on top of that will certainly keep him busy!
Church Callings - I have been our ward's Primary President for about a year and a half. Jim is currently a Gospel Doctrine Teacher. I love my calling in Primary - I feel like I constantly am learning from the great leaders and teachers in our ward, and I love all 150 of our Primary/Nursery kids! We have some great friends and great families around us that are huge examples to me. Jim puts together some pretty awesome power point presentations when it is his week to teach. I always miss his lessons, but hear great things from the people who are there.
Preschool Co-op - I did a preschool co-op with Bridger this year with a fun group of 8 kids. I can't believe he will be in kindergarten next year! It is scary to think I will have no control over how he acts, who he meets, how they treat him and what happens to him in the few hours he will spend at school (good thing we start with half day kindergarten here). Next year, I will do a co-op with Kacy, which I am already starting to coordinate and write up a schedule and outline for to begin in September.
Playgroups - During the school year I had a a number of playgroups the kids were involved in. So we would take a day to host at our house, then next week it would be at someone else's house. These proved to be a blessing for the days that were "off" to catch up on chores, errands or naps when the older kids where off at a friends house.
Playdates - My kids love having their friends over. Oftentimes the thinking seems to be when we have one friend, we might as well have 8 at the same time, right? This also keeps us busy.
Crossfit - Jim and I joined Crossfit in November. If you are not familiar with Crossfit, it probably seems like crazy talk to purposefully subject yourself to physical torture, but if you have ever gone to a Crossfit gym and tried it then you quickly see the appeal of this type of exercise: the group support, the personal challenge, the accomplishment of doing something hard, and those rare moments when you realize "Hey - I am actually getting better/stronger/faster at this!" - are really what keep me coming back.
T-ball - Bridger participated in t-ball this spring. We just had our last game last week. Before the season started all the parents on our team received an email saying our team was in need of a coach and was anyone willing to do that. Well, I responded that I was willing to help whenever I could, but really don't know a lick about t-ball. That willingness was apparently enough to qualify me because the next thing I knew I was being invited to a coaches meeting and received gear and a roster! It turned out to be a great experience - we had some great dads that were willing to step in whenever they were at practice to help run plays and be the pitcher during games, and moms who were so supportive and understanding.
Library Storytimes - This is something I am NOT in charge of, but in our weekly routine we hardly ever miss a weekly trip to the library. The kids love stories and picking out a movie. Lately I have been re-reading some of the series that may have been broken up by release dates, so since January I have re-read Twilight, Hunger Games and am on #6 of the Harry Potter. This may seem so boring (Jim hates watching a movie twice, and rarely reads a book twice), but I have rather enjoyed picking up on finer points or characters in the stories. It will be nice to get back to new material after I am done with HP, but for now I have half a brain at Hogwarts.
House Projects - When my mom was here in April, we painted my downstairs bathrooms and bedroom. Then I converted our guest/game/storage/craft room into the new office/creative room for our family. This turned out to be a timely venture because now Jim has a place to study that is not our bedroom. I still have some decorating to do, and some pictures to hang, but it is a lot more useful space now. Next, we are hoping to upgrade our flooring, but I might need some prodding as that will be a huge project.
Mini-Van - We bought a minivan in January - a Chrysler Town & Country! I know I should be slightly embarrassed by enthusiastically announcing this, but I really do love the convenience of our new ride and all the bells and whistles, too.
Vacations, Visitors, Trips, Adventures... Well that leaves me more to talk and post about on our blog, but we do love doing stuff!

Now, if you read this far, WOW, thank you for reading! Drop me a note - I would love to hear from you! Sorry there has been no pictures and it is just me yakking away. I better end here for today since I need to get dinner going and anFamily Home Evening lesson planned for tonight!

In February, we had the pleasure of hosting Jim's sister, Jess, and her husband Chris. We had such a great time with this fun-loving couple - our kids are just crazy about their Aunt Jess and Uncle Chris!

The visit did get started off to a rocky start, because just as these Vermont-ers were flying across the country to see us, Jim and I caught a terrible-yucky-extreme-flu-type-virus that put us in a position where neither was able to leave the bed or bathroom long enough to go pick them up from the airport. So, we told them to get to a hotel and we would see them in the morning. The next day, we did manage to get them home, but they took over child and household duties while Jim and I laid in bed and recovered! Thanks for flying across the country, so we could have a sick day, guy! Talk about life-savers!