Ryan: TEN

Happy 10th Birthday Ryan James Nullmeyer!!

I can't believe you have been in our lives for an entire decade. I can so clearly remember the days of pacing the house with a screaming baby in my arms, wondering if you would ever go to sleep.

These days I'm not really able to pick you up when you cry, but I still finding myself wondering WHEN you're every going to go to sleep! Haha. You've turned into a teenager with your sleeping habits.

You are such a complicated mixture of personality traits. You are extremely sensitive, especially when you feel something isn't fair. You love to argue. You insert yourself into every situation going on around you, whether it has to do with you or not! You can be extremely goofy but also very serious and moody. You tend to be a very glass-half-empty kind of guy.

(The classic Ryan face)

You still call me Mommy on occasion, which I think is so sweet. You still ask me to lay down next to you at bedtime, and I happily oblige you most nights. It's the only chance we get to talk without little siblings interrupting.

You've always been very athletic, and your big moment this Spring was being drafted into the majors in little league. Unfortunately, baseball got put on hold so we never got to see you play in a game. We are hoping you get to play soccer again in the Fall!

Your eating habits are pretty much the same as they've been for a while now. You love pizza, burgers, tacos, and anything covered in nutella. You rarely eat breakfast, but will often eat 2 or 3 bowls of cereal before bed.

You started at a new school this year, and the transition was pretty smooth for you. You still do not like school, though. You always tell me it feels like a big waste of time.

Despite your seriousness and aloofness, you can still be such a little kid. Like last night when you flew through the kitchen on your 3-yr-old brother's car!

When I snapped these pictures of you, your weird faces immediately reminded me of some I took 7 years ago.

I mean....is that not THE cutest little boy you've ever seen!?

Random facts about you: You have a really nice singing voice!! Your nails grow frighteningly fast. You love eating salmon. You enjoy watching murder mysteries with me. You are really good at figuring out computer problems. You have no fear of animals.

Ryan James, I love you so much. You made me a mother, and I am honored to help guide you towards someday becoming a man. God has given me a very special boy to raise, and I can't wait to see what TEN is like for you!

Happy Birthday! We love you so much!

Coronatine Days 41-43

Day 41 Friday - Adam's work truck had a dead battery, and Andrew was super excited to watch everything unfold before 7am out front.

Our caterpillars grew a ton this week! They attached to the top of their containers, and we were all fascinated watching them. But oh man, don't they look gross?

 We did a little tent reading before starting our day.

Our charter school has deemed Fridays "catch-up" day, which I really appreciate. The boys are encouraged to finish anything leftover from the week, as well as spend time on art, music, spanish, etc. I asked Grandma Jan to lead them in an art lesson via skype, so that's just what we did!

 Friday afternoon was spent cleaning off pool toys in Grandpa's backyard.

 And we finished with another piano lesson. I need to work on her posture! (And mine)

 Day 42 Saturday - Clearly reading in our tent early in the morning is becoming a thing!

 Saturday morning was spent doing a ton of chores. Then I suggested Ryan prepare lunch for us!

 He made us bagel pizzas (I made a salad to go with mine)

 Saturday afternoon we swam in Grandpa's pool for the first time this year!

 Lucas jumped right in!

 I did NOT. It was freezing!

 This guy is going to be a handful (literally!) in the pool this summer....I can just feel it.

While we were sitting by the pool I suddenly saw a snake! It was long and black with white/yellow rings around its body. Then a little while later we found a baby bird. It was alive but obviously injured. We ended up moving it in to the shade, but both Ryan and Lucas really wanted to bring it home and nurse it back to health.

THEN the boys started chasing lizards and Ryan caught one! Eeeek. He didn't mind holding it at all, but we made him put it back in the bushes.

 Day 43 Sunday - After watching church on TV, the kids made a huge mess mixing together moon dough. (hair conditioner and corn starch)

 And Andrew just makes huge messes everywhere he goes.

 Sunday was a mostly low-key day. There was lawn-mowing, video-game-playing, and a nice dinner of shredded BBQ chicken sandwiches.

After dinner I was doing the dishes and Jenna was in the backyard on the plasma car. I heard her screaming, and discovered that she had cut herself in a very sensitive area. After consulting with a nurse over the phone, we were strongly advised to bring her to the ER. I really did NOT want to go near there, but they said it was necessary. Thankfully she checked out ok, and will just be sore/restricted in what she can do for a few days.

Not a great way to end the weekend (I told these kids not to have any accidents!!) but we are blessed, the sun is shining, and today is a new day. Happy Monday!

Coronatine Days 37-40

Day 37 Monday - The letter of the week was X, so Jenna made a Xylophone

 And then practiced her letters in the backyard with chalk paint. (Thanks Grandma Linda!)

While I was out picking up our free kid lunches from the local high school (anyone else have a million individual milk cartons in their fridge now?), I saw a big fire truck go by. Turns out it was going to the complex Grandma Jan lives in! A giant tree had fallen over right next to her building.

Thankfully it did not land on her unit, but it did land on the building right next to her, trapping a man inside.

 We rode bikes over to watch the clean-up process that afternoon.

 Apparently it was a really old tree....over 150 years.

 That evening I pulled out a couple books we own about trees and read them to the kids. Because obviously I'm a true homeschooling Mom now, and everything is a lesson.

 Day 38 Tuesday - I'm sure we did some schoolwork on this day, but we also played Monopoly.

 And watered plants with our sunglasses on, of course.

 Look! Those are sprouts coming up from my potatoes!

 Andrew loves helping me outside.

I got a free sample in the mail from Sonlight of their homeschooling curriculum. I've been doing a little research, and thinking and praying about next year. Absolutely no decisions have been made, but I'm exploring all our options for school.

Who else is in love with Disney+? We signed up for the free trial this week, and we've been enjoying watching the Disney Nature shows in the evenings. We've learned a ton about penguins, dolphins, Antarctica, and World War II sunken ships.

 See, told you I'm a true homeschooling Mom now. Even our TV shows are educational. Ha!

 Day 39 Thursday - I used my sourdough starter to make pancakes and they were really good!

We decided to break our schedule up a bit. Rather than try to power through school and then go outside mid-afternoon, we took a walk mid-morning. School took longer to complete, but we still had time for a bike ride that afternoon.

 Followed by trampoline-jumping with their shark pad sprinkler underneath!

 My view from our tent.

Day 40 Thursday - Lucas has to write a story about an insect for school. He decided to write about a praying mantis named flappy, who lives in a sock drawer. If you're an Usborne fan, he based it on one of the monsters from Billy and the Mini Monsters.

 I caught these two reading in the tent.

My Dad and I went on a bike ride with all 4 kids in the afternoon. We found a lost dog who didn't have a tag, so we ended up following him around for a good half an hour before his owner appeared. We were quite a ways from home, and then on our way back Lucas got hurt. While I was helping him, Andrew climbed out of the bike trailer and ran off across the baseball fields. We ended up being out over an hour, and Jenna's poor pale skin burned. Always an adventure with these kids!

Someone recently asked me what I've been making for dinners. Honestly....I seem to have lost my love of cooking. At least temporarily! Rather than planning out meals, I am finding myself standing in front of the fridge at 5pm wondering what to make. And hoping someone else will make it for me. This is SO unlike me! I think it really comes down to this: I can't do it all. Right now I am focusing so much time and brainpower on helping the kids with their schoolwork. I'm also having a lot of fun being a new Usborne consultant. What little time/energy I have left is spent picking up the house, playing with the kids in the afternoons, and then scrambling to put together meals. Anyone else really burned out on cooking?