Hayes Family Happenings

Here's a snippet of what we've been up to:

• The two BEST updates are that David's busy season is OVER! and . . . Spring has finally arrived in Indiana!!  Woohoo!   Both of those things have drastically improved my mood.  It's pretty darn nice having David leave in the morning at 7:30 and come home at 5:30!  We get to eat dinner as a family, HE gives the kids baths, he has time to actually play with both kids/be part of bedtime, and I'm able to get the house picked up before bed.  So much nicer!  Winter hung on by the threads this year, but thank heavens it's finally outta here!   (Except it did snow today, April 15th!)  We are soaking up some beautiful days, spending fun times at the park, taking neighborhood walks, and enjoying playing in the yard.  Eli never really wanted to go out at all in the winter because it was always so terribly freezing, but as soon as the more Spring-like weather came, he was always heading outside to do who-knows-what.  

On a Saturday walk with Dad

Bummed he couldn't go in the water like previously, because he wasn't wearing his boots.

First time I put Clara in the front stroller, not in her carseat (just last week!).  She's pretty happy about the freedom and being able to see so much. 

• Back in February my sister and I went to see Frozen together.  I hadn't gone to the movies since Les Mis, and it was so fun getting to see that with her!  Then just a week later she came up to stay with our sleeping kids while David and I went to see The Lego Movie.  (We had movie gift cards, and even though we hadn't been anticipating seeing that movie, an opportunity to go came, so we went.)  It wasn't my kind of movie, but it was still fun going out together and sneaking snacks into the theater (which was completely empty!)  : )
• Since I'm now starting to feel more on top of things around the house with David being home more, I knew it was time to get exercising again.  (Not to mention I feel/look pudgier now than even a few months after Clara was born.)  I haven't really exercised since Clara's birth, and have definitely been feeling it lately.  Rounder mid-section, less energy, more grumpy.  I'm getting into a good rhythm of aerobics at home, and even after just a few sessions I feel much better.   
• We host or visit each of our parents at least once a month.  David and I feel pretty spoiled at how good of grandparents our kids have.  They're all so loving and spend such quality time with the kids.  We are so fortunate that they are an active part of our lives.  

Clara sure loves her Grandpa Hayes!

• When the winter weather was terrible for weeks (and months) we spent many of our days at home.  The one constant activity that kept us going was our Music Makers class.  All three of us have LOVED it, so so much.  It has been such a blessing to be a part of, and I hope we'll be able to continue it next year.  Other outings we frequent are Barnes & Noble (for the train table), Petsmart (one visit we spent quite a while just watching a forklift move around bags of dog food!), the Nature Center, and Church Playgroup.  Before this year we were weekly attenders of our library's storytime, but our library's been under renovation all winter.  It took me a long time to realize we could visit a different library, ha!  We checked out Noblesville's, but it was on the sparse side.  Last week we visited Carmel's library for the first time and couldn't believe our eyes!  So huge, and so full of fun and educational activities for kids.  Great books set out and tons of spots for reading together, what a blast!  David even surprised us by joining us at the library during his lunch break!  Pretty neat to spend special time as a family during the weekday.  : )
• We have some cracks/leaks in our living room and kitchen ceiling.  A man from Allstate came to inspect the damage and give us a cost estimation.  Unfortunately the repairs don't quite meet our deductible, so I guess we won't be having them done (at least not yet).  Luckily he did at least say we didn't have any roof damage!
• Ants have arrived again.  We had a problem with them last Spring, and even after we did a bunch of caulking and spraying, they decided they'd like to pay us their respects once again.  They started by there just being a few on the kitchen floor.  Then one morning we woke up to a swarm of them because I left a dirty muffin pan out over night.  It was a MESS.  David sprayed really well in the kitchen, and we haven't seen anymore there since.  But instead a little swarm came into Eli's room (he doesn't eat in there).  Now, about a week later, a big group has found their way to our room, too.  GRRR.  It just makes you feel so dirty when you have an infestation of ants.  And I keep things pretty clean!  So ready for them to be gone for good!  Eli, not-so-much.  He was pretty excited that his "friends" returned, and hoped they could "stay a long time."  He even fed them a fake strawberry to keep them happy.  Ha!
• With Clara being older, and a bit less needy and on a predictable schedule, I've been able to watch friends' kids more often again.  I've babysat for four different church friends in the past month while the moms have had appointments.  It's definitely good for Eli to learn how to play/work with other kids, and it helps me see if I could really handle more kids of my own!  : )
• I'm reading two books that I'm enjoying and getting a lot out of: The 5 Love Languages and Parenting with Love & Logic.  Both have been quite helpful.  It's taken me forever to get through them because I don't read as often as I should, or would like.  It seems time in the evening is so limited, and David and I usually just hang out on the couch together, talking, watching a show, surfing the internet.  I love reading in bed before I fall asleep, but now we go to bed at the same time, and by then David says it's too late to have a light on!  I keep meaning to just set an early time to get into bed so I can read, but it's hard to get into the habit.  
• David's still really enjoying photography, and reads up on tips and tricks often to work on becoming a better photographer.  If he's not looking up photography info, he spends his free time checking out eyeglasses (how many try-on kits have you ordered no, Dave??), going for a run/bike ride, or watching The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.
• I try to play piano when I can, usually during the day if Eli's up for it (it can make him very mad).  Usually after a few minutes of playing he'll sit up on the bench and "play" with me.  We play and I sing from the Primary songbook.  I enjoy having piano music fill our house.  Clara LOVES it.  She beams brightly and crawls over to eat my feet while I push on the pedals.  : )  
• I've also been trying to make more new meals for dinner, and luckily they've all turned out good!  The latest one was Pesto Ravioli, with chicken, zucchini, and red peppers.  I usually only cook a nice meal a couple times a week.  I make a big batch so it lasts 3-4 days.  (That probably sounds CRAZY.)  Obviously when our kids are older I'm sure dinners won't last more than a couple nights so I'll cook more.  David prefers eating this way though.  Saves money.  I'm finding that I sort of enjoy/don't mind cooking, but I'm still glad I don't have to cook a new dinner (and do the clean-up) every night!

We are all healthy, happy, and very much blessed!  Trying harder to remember to feel grateful.  : )