Just a quick recap to bridge a few of the holes in the narrative for my imagined grandkids someday- the only ones who will likely find this interesting or compelling.

January: Abby sneezed milk out of her nose, and her brothers had never been so impressed with her skills in her life. This was greatly disappointing to her, considering the amount of time she spends on honing her scientific skills and reading textbooks. Somehow, dimensional soil analysis and atmospheric stratification are just not as funny as milk spewing. At least to her brothers. We also enjoyed— ehem— a protracted Christmas break well into January, as Virginia schools closed with so much as a forecast of snow. Six days, yes six, was the extent of the January in-school calendar.

February: We rejoiced because we love us some Olympics. Jeffrey got all choked up during the opening ceremonies (me too, shhhhh!) and said “Mom, why don’t we do this instead of fight war?” Indeed, my child….indeed. Naive and silly or not, the Olympics always make me believe we can be just a little bit better. The hearts of the world unzipped themselves and poured out a waterfall of love on my boy, when Bean was forgotten in his classroom Valentine Party. It still chokes me up to think about the literal love that was sent.

March: The Valentines still poured in from all over the world. Truly unbelievable. We went bird-house building at the hardware store, and listened to the ice crack on our eves as the spring melt finally began. We went outdoor ice skating downtown, and all three kids were successful to varying degrees, but the big surprise was Bean. Jeff and Abby clung to the sides of the rink, while Bean let go and banzaai’d all flailing and crazy (but upright) down the center of the ice. The first crocuses poked their brave purple heads through the thawing ground, and we fell in love with the new Cosmos science show. Abby won a lottery and attended a NASA reception where she met astronaut Karen Nyberg. My girl was so brave, and even stood and asked some science-y questions and got mentioned on Twitter.

April: Abby asked for a centrifuge. Thankfully, I happen to have some awesome scientist friends and within hours, I had a date set at James Madison University with a professor who volunteered her centrifuges. There will actually be a post on that adventure-  we all tested our own DNA, and there’s no doubt they’re mine. Abby turned 8, and we celebrated with cake, ice cream and science. She’s been making electronic circuit boards and reading about coding ever since, with a small foray into Black Beauty, which she says is the “best book ever, after Jeffrey spoiled Charlotte’s Web”. All three of the monkeys made honor role for the first time ever, and we celebrated at The Cheesecake Factory, where Bean was sorely disappointed that Penny wasn’t our waitress. Take Your Kids to Work Day is in April, but it kind of sucks when mom works from home. Enter- superhero friends! Abby got to go spend the day at the State Department, and the boys got to spend the day at Homeland. Everyone was happy! April was busy.

May: Practicing for the end of the year Band Concert is great fun, when your son plays the baritone tuba. Between the tuba, the bagpipes, and the bugle, our neighbors must really love us. I’m hiring out the job of teaching Abby to ride her bike, as we both end up in tears every time we try. It’s better for both of our mental health if someone else does it. Someone decidedly not me. We try kite-flying instead, and are much more successful, with the kite only snagging in two trees and losing one spool of line. That should tell you how awesome the bike riding went. Mother’s Day is lovely- I marvel at how much I genuinely enjoy and adore my kids, now that the baby-years are in the rearview. I like having kids who don’t need me to be a human napkin or need me to constantly keep them from killing themselves. Wait… where’s Bean??!