little triathletes

The little dude participated in his first triathlon today. It was a fundraiser for some local schools, and he had a blast. He told me the last few steps to cross the finish line were the best steps of his life. What a great way to describe the rush of adrenaline you get when you push hard to accomplish a goal. My little guy inspired me today. ♥ 

friday

I decided Friday was a Take Pictures All Day kind of day. 

Watering the yard and breakfast first thing, then we got ready to take the girl to robotics class. 

After we dropped her off, the boy and I picked two buckets of blueberries and headed to the park for a picnic. 

A quick stop at the grocery store for some last minute supplies, 

then we boxed up an overseas care package while waiting for Sweetpea to get out of class. 

Chill time.

Eat blueberries time.

Little photoshoot with a crazy pepper from the garden and some blueberries.

Girl time.

Dirty Jobs time.

Dinner time.

And the reprise of the after dinner summertime walks.

I missed those! 

My favorite time of day:

Bedtime!

impromptu art day

We didn't plan to have an arts and crafts day. But we had no structured plans, and Sweetpea's American Girl magazine came with this huge poster to color. She asked if I wanted to color it with her. How could I turn that down? There's something so relaxing about just sitting and coloring. Watching the black and white poster come alive in color was pretty fun, too.

Little Mister, who has never been one to craft without guided instruction and strong encouragement, pulled up a chair and decided to make a Perler bead model of his Lego vehicle. He used to be afraid of anything artistic—wouldn't color for fun and threw a fit when asked to draw something because he didn't know how. Nine months of kindergarten and a book of drawing instruction were the magic ingredients to transform this kid into an artist. The change is quite remarkable.

An impromptu art day with no whining or complaining. Shh. . . don't tell anyone, but I'm starting to like summer vacation.

april fool's day

This morning I held a foil-covered baking dish and asked my kids if they wanted some “brown Es” with breakfast. They cheered and jumped up and said that, of course, they would love some brown Es with breakfast. I don't know why they were getting so excited. They must have thought I said “brownies”. Silly kids. Don't they know it's April Fool's Day?

Ha! They do, actually. Ever since I pulled the jello juice prank (like this), Sweetpea asks me to do something good for April Fool's Day. Oh, the pressure of topping the jello juice. That was a really good trick.

I came close this year. The brown Es were ok, but the disappointment of not having brownies to eat took it down a few notches. No, my real prank was sneaking into the kids' rooms after they were asleep and painting their toe nails green. (Green was the only quick-drying color we had.) They were awake for almost an hour before they noticed. It was awesome.

I also changed the language on Hub's phone to German. I'm confident he would have appreciated it more if he hadn't been late for work. I appreciated the hell out of it. It was hilarious! That is, of course, until he came home and made me change it back. Finding the appropriate language menus in German was not as easy as finding them in English.

The apple cinnamon pancakes I made for breakfast (partially to make up for the brownie trick) were no joke, though. They were delicious!

Are you pulling any pranks today? What's your favorite?

construction play

It's been three years since we first discovered the joy of using raisins, Goldfish crackers, cereal, cornmeal, salt, and other small edibles with construction vehicle toys. It started when he was a toddler, and we could combine play time and snack time (no, he doesn't snack on cornmeal and salt) for nearly an hour of peace and quiet fun. 

But he still loves it! And now, he can even get the supplies himself. Score.

silver lining

I have some friends that are plagued by dark clouds right now. Like Eeyore, the rain clouds seem to follow them wherever they go. I can provide an umbrella and a warm hug, but I can't make the clouds go away. Oh, how I wish I could make the clouds go away.

*          *          *          *

I'm a good mom.

It's hard for me to say that, because I'm humble and polite and it's not nice to brag. 

But my kids are happy, and people—even strangers—tell me all the time how great my kids are. It's the best kind of performance review a parent can get.

So many mothers are hard on themselves. They feel like they don't do enough or throw the right parties or cook the right dinners or read the right books. We hear constantly, “Enjoy them when they're young. It goes so fast!” We feel guilty because, yes, it does go fast, but it's also hard to enjoy kids when you're in the middle of raising them. 

“Oh honey, I love when you puke on me and bounce your basketball on the windows.”

It's only when you step away and gain some perspective that you can enjoy them. It's the reason I feel overwhelming love for my children mostly when they're asleep or away. I realized yesterday that having babies was pretty easy compared to having school-age kids. Sure, I was sleep-deprived and stinky and pawed over all day long, but the day was mine and I could do whatever I wanted, as long as I lugged the baby along. Now we have schedules and activities and homework and hormones and bickering. I'm a drill sergeant in the mornings, barking the same orders every day so we get to school on time. (And I hate it.) But having school-aged kids is pretty easy compared to having babies, because you can say, “Go brush your teeth, please,” and they do. Remember this:

Kids don't have an easy stage. Parenting doesn't get easier. The challenges simply change over time.

Some day, my kids aren't going to want me around. At least not the same way they do now. So I'm ok with the house being a mess and the dishes sitting in the sink and my craft supplies sitting unused and quitting Pinterest (best decision ever for me). And I'm so incredibly thankful that my husband and I have built a lifestyle that does not require me to work. I am able to spend unlimited amounts of time with my kids, have an active role in shaping their education, and nurture myself so I have more mental and physical energy for them. The kids are both old enough now that there are several activities we all enjoy doing together (board games, word games, crafting, hiking, cooking), and we do them every day. I have enough perspective now that I know I want my kids to have good memories of me. I want us to build good memories together, because at the end, that's all we'll have. (That, and pictures. Lots of pictures.)

I want them to say, “Man. We had a good mom.”

valentine decorations

I watched her meticulously cut out each individual heart of this little garland. I told her that when she was done, I'd show her a faster way. I know part of her growth is finding her own way, and it's hard for me to watch her struggle with something when I could make it easier. But how will she learn to be independent if I come to her rescue every time? Ah, the joys of parenting.

Once I folded her scrap paper, accordion style, and showed her how to cut the heart so they'd stay attached, she went on to make garland after garland.

 And then she invited her little brother to help her tape them up around the house.

Such a sweet girl.

happy friday!

1. I'm so glad it's Friday. Influenza is going around my kids' school like gangbusters, and many kids are severely sick. A quarter of the student body was out yesterday. I almost kept my kids home today just to keep them away from the germs. But it's a three day weekend, and we've been eating oranges daily for the last few weeks (go vitamin C!), so I'm hopeful we'll avoid illness. We're washing hands and hydrating and I bought more oranges today.
2. I've been working on my family Blurb books every waking moment this week. I do one for each year to document all our favorite pictures and events. I finished 2010! Woo! Only 2011 and 2012 to go, and I'm hoping I can get started on 2013 before the year is over.
3. I haven't picked my camera up in several days. The break has been really nice, but I need to pick it up soon before I forget everything I've learned.
4. I made this crock pot cheesecake. My 6" springform pan has a large base and wouldn't fit in my crock pot, so I used a glass baking dish, and set it into the water bath. I followed all the other directions, but the cheesecake was still underdone after the cooking/cooling process. I finished it in the oven. It was delicious! I subbed vanilla for the almond extract and topped it with sour cherries. Yum.
5. Hubs gave me a few pairs of Darn Tough socks for Christmas. Full cushion, baby! They keep my feet so warm. I love them. I need some more. My feet are constantly cold from late fall to early spring, but these socks + slippers inside and these socks + my favorite boots outside make the chill manageable. (The boots are a few years old, so not readily available. But the wool lining is the key. So warm!)

Off to do more Blurbing before the kids come home. Have a great weekend!

349/366 hope

As I read the news coverage this afternoon of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary, I tried to imagine what it was like for those children and staff members. My heart ached for the terror and confusion the children must have felt. My stomach twisted for the teachers and staff, who bravely protected their students, yet feared for their own lives at the same time. And when I imagined my own children, ages 8 and 5, in those classrooms, I put my head in my hands and sobbed, overcome with grief. I grieved for the families in Newtown, for children everywhere, and for the state of our society.

I wanted to run to our school, gather my babies, and keep them home with me forever. I pictured us cuddled up close, in our safe, cozy home, blocking out the horrifying dangers of this world. But I know that's not the answer.

So I waited for the bell to ring. I hugged my children and brought them home and declared the rest of the day Family Time. We worked together to build a Lego sleigh. We flew paper airplanes. We celebrated my brother's homecoming. We went out for burgers and I taught them a little about basketball while the Rockets played the Celtics on the big screen. We came home and snuggled under a quilt reading library books, laughing together at A is for Musk Ox, which is the most hilarious book we've read in a long time.

And I hope that by listening to my children, laughing with them, and loving them, our love and peace will grow. I hope that we will encourage each other to help those who need it. I hope that by the time my children are grown, the world will be better.

320/366 enter at your own risk

I've been asked to volunteer at the school's Skate Night for the past three years. I always said no, because I had a skater or two that wasn't quite confident enough to skate alone. I enjoyed teaching them to skate, and they loved learning! They'd be sad when the hour was up.

This year, they're both fully capable of skating independently, so I help collect money and put away skates. Suddenly I've got one that whines about going and another that gets tired halfway through the hour. 

I guess it's less fun when Mama's not watching.

Ooh, wait. Maybe I like that. . . 

318/366 bedtime snack

8-8:30am Volunteered at school
8:30-10am Walked five miles
10am Thought about today's picture
10:15am Showered
11am Made and ate lunch
12pm Planned to get pumpkin muffins in the oven and then go outside and take some macros of raindrops on the spruce
1pm Realized that those two brown bananas were getting really brown and I might as well bake something* with them while I had all the baking ingredients out
1:30pm Worked on a project for Sweetpea's teacher; planned PTO agenda and sent PTO emails
2:30pm Almost time to pick up the kids! Gathered muffins and a few games and magazines to keep them occupied during my meeting after school
2:45pm Got in the car, looked at the spruce tree, realized I forgot to take a picture
3:15-4:50pm School Improvement Planning meeting (ran late)
5pm Drove home; heated leftover chili for quick dinner
5:15pm Had new idea to take picture of the lit sign at school
5:25pm Grabbed camera and folders and got everyone back in the car to head back to school
5:30-6pm PTO board meeting
6-7pm PTO general meeting
7:20pm Exhaustedly drove home
7:22pm Walked inside and realized I forgot to take a picture of the school sign
7:25pm Took lame picture of kids eating a snack before bed

Tomorrow should be less hectic. Tomorrow's picture will be better.

*The web address for the banana oat squares recipe doesn't seem to be working. I found another copy here. I added chocolate chips this time! So good.

308/366 uno and yogurt cookie dough

Lazy day. Pajamas all day. (Cute piggie ones.) 

Voting, oil changing, take-and-baking, story reading, UNO playing. 

While the boys were out working on the car, I whipped up some yogurt cookie dough, which is my new “healthy” dessert. It's not really healthy, but it's healthier than when I make it with butter. I usually don't measure and I usually just improvise the ingredients, because I can't find the one I used to use. It's kind of like Bakerella's, but with melted butter instead of softened and only brown sugar. (I posted it on the MakeHappy Facebook page months ago, but haven't had the desire to go through months of posts to try to find it.)

Anyway, I substitute the butter with plain yogurt to make it healthier. It's not as tasty, but it's close enough and I don't feel the slightest bit guilty. Us girls shared some while we played UNO. And laughed. Good quality girl time. ♥

302/366 reading log

His teacher gave him a stack of books and a Reading Log to keep track of what he reads. I make him write the titles, because he still needs lots of practice writing. I love watching him write, and I love watching him try to figure out how words are spelled. His willingness to write—and even color!—has increased tremendously since he started kindergarten. That makes me happy. ♥

298/366 after school snack

He wanted to play games on the computer. I convinced him to spend twenty minutes with me instead, chatting while peeling (opening? releasing?) pomegranates. Score one for Mom!