Hailey Starts Ice Hockey

For the last several months, Hailey has been learning how to skate. This is because she really wants to be able to play hockey. So after about three 8-week classes of just skating, she finally deemed herself ready to start the Intro to Hockey classes. 

Of course she needed all the gear too which cost us (and her) about $1200! Yikes! I really hope she likes it because this is a very expensive sport! 

She attended her first class (which is on Friday nights which sucks for us) and was in a group of kids from ages about 6-12 so she's one of the older kids. There were three girls about her age in there too as it's coed. She's had about three classes now and she absolutely loves it. I can see how much faster she is progressing using her skates and getting comfortable stopping and starting as well as getting up after falling. She's working on her stick skills and knocking down all the big boys. Maybe she'll do this class for two or three sessions and then move to a recreational program and try that out. 

For now though, Hailey's favorite day of the week is definitely Fridays because she has hockey!

Going for the puck!

Mother's Day 2026

I kicked off Mother's Day the Wednesday before with my own mom. We do an annual spa day and lunch or brunch. We tried to remember how long we've been doing this tradition and I think it dates back to more than 15 years - maybe more than 20 even!

Austen had his last final on Friday and then due to his plans and ours, we agreed to move him out of his dorm on Mother's Day (very appropriate since I spent most of my years as a mom at his games and this is my first in a very long time without one).

However, on Saturday afternoon we found out that his Friday final (which was postponed due to a college platform hacking issue) was now on Monday at 8am so we couldn't move him out til Monday. So no plans with him for Mother's Day except a quick brunch before he returned to school on Sunday morning (he was home for a concert because he was supposed to be done with finals). 

So we went to brunch at my favorite restaurant - Buttermilk. I got flowers (from Austen) and cards. Austen left, and then Tom and I played a quick 9-hole round of golf before picking up the girls and heading to the pickleball courts for some family competition.

After pickleball, Tom grilled some chicken and we ate at home before I taught the girls and Tom how to play Mahjong. 

It was a great day with most of my favorite things (and favorite people). 

Too Many Doc/Dentist Appointments!

Teeth!

I'm swimming in doctor and dentist appointments! For the last month, Austen, Peyton and Hailey have me swamped with figuring out dental and health issues. And, at least for dental, I don't see the end until early June. 

It started when Austen joined us on spring break and I noticed he had a cut on his chin that seemed infected. By the time he got back to school it had developed into a rash. I was worried it was going to turn into impetigo so told him to go to the health center. He did and got some ointment but a few days later, a swab they took came back as a positive strep test too so they had to dose him with an antibiotic too. 

In between all this, Peyton has gotten her braces off but needed a veneer for a peg lateral and then a bridge for her missing lateral tooth. This consists of many prep appointments and last week we thought the end was in site but the fake tooth that was built to spec was a bit lighter than the dentist wanted so back it went. Hoping it comes back a bit darker next time and we are done with that process! We transitioned Austen and Peyton to our adult dentist due to all of these appointments so Peyton had her first cleaning there too where we had to make another appointment to redo a sealant and then she has deep crevices in her teeth so we need to get a cavity filled. 

Next up, Hailey. Took her to the ortho and they called me to the back.  Her lack of brushing caused her gum to grow over a whole tooth and its bracket! They referred us to a periodontist so she could get the gum tissue cut away. Tom took her to that consultation appointment since I was in Champaign with Austen but two weeks later, I had to take her to the real appointment that was more involved than they originally thought - she had a pocket of extra gum tissue hanging from the roof of her mouth and also needed a frenectomy (where they adjust that band of tissue tying the lip to the gum) plus her original procedure. She went home with three sets of stitches and another appointment to remove them plus a rescheduled ortho appointment. 

Austen was home that weekend too and was feeling a bit under the weather that day. Due to Hailey's surgery and a memorial service that I went to, I did not see Austen until early Saturday evening. His eye was pink and he sounded terrible -and felt it too. He went to bed early and the next morning when he woke up, I told him he was heading straight to the urgent care where he was diagnosed with pink eye and a viral infection. Off he went that evening back to school for a busy week with finals and projects and some eye drops and amoxicillin. 

I have my own dental appointment soon and really hope that after June, I don't need to see any doctors for myself or any of my kids for awhile! 

Another Funny Hailey Story!

Too embarrassed to show me her shirt!

Hailey is clueless. The other day she came home from school and while she is eating dinner, I'm looking at her and notice that her t-shirt is on inside out. Granted it's one of those dri fit shirts so not super noticeable but I know she didn't go out of the house like that in the morning. 

When I told her it was inside out she said, oh, I thought I put it on wrong after PE class!

Now, this was the same girl who literally had her jogger sweatpants on inside out a few weeks ago. The pockets were literally hanging down in front of her thighs and she did not notice. But good thing I did before she went to school that day. Let's just say fashion and an eye for detail is not Hailey's strong suit! 

Mom's Weekend @ Illinois

Austen's Fraternity House - Phi Psi

A few weekends ago, it was finally my time to hang out with Austen at Illinois! It was Mom's Weekend, and with a week to go Austen still wasn't sure of what we were going to do when I arrived. The fraternity had very loose plans that kept changing but we decided that I would head down on Friday, check into the hotel and then come over to the dorm about 4pm and then we'd do dinner. I was traveling with Austen's roommate's mom too so it was nice that we had some plans together. 

That drive is so easy (as long as it's not in a torrential downpour like it was freshman registration weekend). Before we knew it, we arrived at the hotel to a very warm welcome for Mom's weekend. There was food and balloon displays and non-alcoholic beverages. We checked in and then headed to the boys' dorm where we hung out for a bit and then decided we'd go back to the hotel for dinner (it was a highly rated dinner/lounge venue). We took some pictures at the balloon displays before dinner and then enjoyed some cocktails and a lot of appetizers (the boys thought it wouldn't be enough food but they ended up taking food home). The boys actually got served at this restaurant without an ID so I won't name it but they were happy and we were a bit shocked! Ha! 

Anyway, after dinner we hung out in our hotel rooms for a bit before heading back to the dorm to pre-party before heading to a bar called Red Lion. Now, I had heard a lot about these bars and how disgusting the floors were so I made sure not to wear a good pair of shoes and to make sure they were black! But the Red Lion wasn't that bad. We met up with some of his pledge brothers and met some other girls and their moms from his dorm floor. Also, ran into an old neighbor who has a daughter who is a freshman at Illinois so that was fun to catch up. She was telling me all the fun things the sorority had planned the next day for Mom's Weekend - permanent jewelry, brunch, flower arranging...boy how different it is having a girl! I can hardly wait for Peyton (and Hailey) to go. 

Berry Matcha

Red Lion was fun and I actually thought it was a pretty cool bar as we were able to be inside and outside -  and it was a really nice night, weather wise. We left the bar sometime after 12am and then headed to the infamous taco trucks then back to the boys' dorm for a bit before retiring to the hotel. 

The next morning, we let the boys sleep in for a bit before retrieving them for brunch (I found a great breakfast place during Family Weekend that has wait times of two plus hours but I got on the waitlist early). They have fabulous coffees, lattes, matches, mimosas, etc. plus really good food. 

After our bellies were full, Austen and I went to the fraternity for mimosas (orange juice, champagne and a plastic cup - make your own). This was their big plan for Mom's Weekend. Austen and one of his fraternity brother's kept apologizing and saying when they are in the house they will make a better plan. It was fine though - the most important thing was that we got to spend time with the boys. I did get a tour of the fraternity though. Quite different than the Indiana fraternities (and sororities) - everything is bigger at Indiana. 

From there we met up with his roommate and mom again as well as his future roommate in the fraternity (next year) and his mom to head to the craft fair in the Union where we bought a few things. The boys weren't thrilled to go but I said, hey, this is called "Mom's Weekend" so we get to do mom-type stuff!  We milled around for a bit before walking through the engineering campus and buildings.

The boys were slowly losing steam and were in desperate need of a nap so we decided to leave them late afternoon and start our trek home. 

It was just enough time at Illinois. Good to see Austen and meet his friends as well as see how Illinois rolls out the red carpet for us moms! 

Roommates - Present & Future

Rolling out the Red Carpet for Moms

At the Red Lion 

Easter 2026

After our crazy flight home from Palm Springs where we were diverted and abandoned at Rockford Airport, we had a few days to recover before Easter. We did laundry, grocery shopped and recovered some of our sleep from pulling an all-nighter at the airport. 

Hailey's Easter Basket from Gma Lou

We thought Austen was going to be home for Easter weekend but Illinois made it to the Final Four in basketball and he wanted to watch the game with his friends at Illinois on Saturday night so he decided to stay in Champaign. He did make a quick trip home to return the car and have an Easter bunch with family before heading back that evening. 

On Easter Sunday, we awoke early, went to church and then back home to bake the French toast casserole for brunch. Then we traveled to my brother's house to catch up on spring breaks with the family. We enjoyed a lot of food, some games and chit chat. Austen arrived a little later straight from Champaign but was happy to eat a lot of food. We stayed for a few hours and then home to do our kids' own Easter baskets which I had prepared before we left for spring break. They all got some chocolate. Austen got a Door Dash gift card (because the dorm food is really bad) and the girls got t-shirts from a favorite store called Garage. Tom had to do a last minute easter egg hunt for them which I'm not sure they enjoyed as he had them running from top to bottom level of the house to find their Easter baskets. 

We relaxed late afternoon before eating ham sandwiches for dinner and Austen left to go back to school. Very low key and not a lot of time for a lot of Easter festivities with kids leaving to head back to college so brunch is the perfect solution for this holiday! 

Easter Games!

Spring Break 2026 - PS I Love You

Palm Springs 2026 - Sunset

PS I love you and I loved that sign in downtown Palm Springs and at the airport. It's also Peyton's initial so she had fun posing by it for pictures. 

We started off our trip on a Thursday night after all the kids got home from school on a Thursday (including Austen who drove the two hours home so he could catch our flight and do a part of spring break with us). We drove to the airport and left our car in daily parking (so Austen had a way home when he got back on Sunday) and it was a quick and painless journey through TSA. Our flight was delayed by about 20 minutes due to storms in the area but our pilot made it up in the air and we still landed on time. 

Peyton and Palm Springs I Love You!

Palm Springs airport is so easy. Beautiful and mostly outside. Rental cars on property so we picked up our Ford Bronco (kids were very excited about renting a Bronco) and were on our way to our Air BnB - well that was before all the kids begged to go to In and Out. I don't understand the fascination with that place (they got shakes and burgers, I did not) it's not that good. 

Anyway, arrived to our house before 12am and checked it out including the amazing backyard with a pickleball court, putting green, pool, fire pits and life-size chess board. Games on the inside included a pool table, air hockey, skee ball, foosball and mini bowling so we had a lot of things to keep us busy!

The first morning, Tom and Austen got up early and walked to the golf course that we backed up to and played 18 holes while the girls and I got groceries and enjoyed some pool time. We had a great dinner at TacQuila in downtown Palm Springs that night after all enjoying games of basketball (in the pool) and pickleball. 

On Saturday, we woke up and drove to the aerial tramway. The ride up was amazing. All of a sudden the tram car started rotating so you could see every part of the valley. The ride up was steep and Peyton (who is afraid of heights) was more than a little scared when the tram would sway and rock. We got up to the top and did a brief hike (it was cold up there - big difference from down below but we were prepared with sweatshirts.) After the tour it was back to the house for more pickle and pool time. Dinner was in LaQuinta that night at Rd Rnnr and ice cream at some nitro infusion place. 

Hailey was happy we were in the Blackhawks terminal 

Woke up Sunday and took Austen to the airport so he could head back to class. On the way back, we stopped in Palm Springs for a little shopping and then back home for some more pickleball and pool time. Dinner that night was also in LaQuinta at Lavender Bistro. 

On Monday, we headed to Joshua Tree where we did an easy 3 mile hike of Skull Rock. It was a bit cloudy that day which was good as the temperatures were still in the 90s. Once we got back we cooled off in the pool and played more pickleball and then got ready for dinner at Enzo's Italian Bistro (this was probably one of my favorite dinners). 

On Tuesday, we took the girls and did a self-guided bike ride of downtown Palm Springs. We biked for almost 3 hours past the mid century homes and around the downtown. I was definitely tired and we were all very hungry afterward. We went home and made smoothies though (which we found a great mix at the store that we could add bananas and strawberries to that made really good smoothies). The houses were pretty cool though! We ended the day with dinner in Palm Desert at Pacifica Seafood restaurant and discovered a boulevard of shopping at every store you could imagine. 

Backyard View

Wednesday was a total day of pool and relaxation but first the girls wanted to do a little more shopping. We went back to Palm Desert and Palm Springs for both. The girls bought jewelry and t-shirts/sweatshirts (and we got one for Austen) before we went home for more smoothies, pool time and pickleball. We planned dinner that night in La Quinta at the famous PGA West Golf Course (Ernie's Bar and Grill). The grounds were amazing so we watched the last of the golfers come in after sunset. 

Thursday we woke up planning to board our 11am flight but when we got to the airport our flight was delayed due to storms in Chicago. We waited 6 hours and were finally able to board. That was good news since they didn't cancel our flight (although in retrospect they probably should have). We flew for the 3.5 hours and circled DesMoines, Iowa, for an hour to get clearance to land in the storms. We could not and needed to be diverted. They diverted us to Rockford (which isn't much of an airport and United does not fly out of there). We sat on the runway for another four hours until they could get us unloaded and get our bags and then United just left us there with no way home. It was 3am. Rental car center didn't open til 8am. You could not even get a ride to a hotel because at that hour in that location on a Friday morning there were not enough Lyft or Ubers for the hundreds of people stranded at Rockford Airport. I just kept refreshing my Uber and Lyft apps until at 5:30am, we lucked out and got a Lyft ride home for $250. I was never so happy to fall into bed at 7am!

Hailey Loves to Order Mocktails

Anyway, we loved Palm Springs. Played a lot of pickleball every day as well as many other games throughout the house. Had some nice dinners. The weather was fantastic and there was so much to do that we definitely weren't bored. I'm glad the flight issues were at the end of our trip and not the beginning (United did end up paying for our ride home and offered us all $75 e-certificates - thanks United!) but overall it was a great spring break and we were all glad that Austen got to join us for part of it!

Amazing Sunsets from Our Backyard

PGA West

Riding in the Bronco

Bike Ride (so much easier now that Hailey relearned how to ride a bike)

Skull Rock at Joshua Tree

Mocktail at Lavender Bistro

Pretty Girls

Basketball in the Pool

Us!