Lights

Yesterday you heard all about my kids' Valentine's Day.

Now you want the husband update - right?

This is a great story!

First, let's establish the fact that he and I give each other gifts for our birthdays, Christmas, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day, and our anniversary.  To be honest, I am trying to remember if he gave me a Mother's Day gift or if I gave him something for Father's Day.   

This is a mutual agreement of not exchanging gifts.

However, I always have a card for him and he usually has a card for me.  I always have a card for him because one time {{and only one time}} he had a card for me and I did not have one for him.  I felt horrible.  In the future, I will ALWAYS have a card for him.  For the record, I don't mind if he doesn't have a card for me.  Why?  Because his presence is my present.  I don't want him to buy me anything... I want him to be present with me... and with the kids... creating the types of memories that last a lifetime.  I'm NOT kidding folks. 

In fact, I think that I am going to tell him... "From now on... your presence is your present.  Mkay?"

Well, this past Valentine's Day I got him a card.  And he didn't get me anything... but I was all like... "honey, where's my gift? hahahahaha."  And, he got the biggest grin on his face... like he was hiding the best gift ever... and he said... "Well, I was going to bring home these Christmas lights I found today.  They are in the house {{that he is rehabbing}} and... THEY ALL WORK!"

He was so excited and he went so far as to run to the computer and pull up this picture of the basement in the aforementioned house.

It was like he found a real treasure.  He was so proud of himself. 

"They all work honey.  They all work!"

To be honest, we spent the evening opening Valentines with the little ones and he even volunteered to pick up Lulu from cheer practice for me.  Really - what more could I want????  Nothing more.

What is the craziest Valentine gift you ever received? 

Valentine Recap

Even though I am in the height of busy at work... we still celebrated the latest holiday.

I started off with a trip to the movies with my teen to see The Vow (a new romantic comedy).  I can see that going to the movies with her is going to be one of our mother-daughter things since none of the men in our lives care to see the movies we like.  Yes, I know that she will ditch me for some young and handsome Mr. Wonderful someday, but for now, I really enjoy her company!

I also thoroughly enjoyed her help with addressing Valentines for the little ones' classmates.

Oh... yes... that is yet another terrarium in the background.

We made some cookies with a certain Fairy Grandmother.  That is, she made the cookies and set out all of the icing and decorations and we decorated the cookies covered her kitchen with icing and sprinkles and then went home. 

While Lulu went to cheer practice on Valentine's Day, the kids and I opened all of their Valentines.

Here are their respective loads of candy and Valentines:  Bri on the left and Bro on the right. 

Bro's teacher addressed his Valentine, "To Iron Man."  Really?  How sweet!  {{He almost always insists that we call him Iron Man.}}



Bri... such a stinker... would NOT... as usual... smile for the camera.  She deliberately does NOT smile for the camera.  She is such a stink pot. 

She showed me her messy hands though.  {{Oh wow Bri - you are ALL HEART - NOT.}}

However... when I pulled my face away from the camera... {{No - I am definitely NOT trying to take your picture.}}  I caught some of this...

... and this...

... and this!

We'll talk more about Valentines tomorrow.

Mkay?

That's Amore

Gee - where to begin?

Have you heard about the 5 Languages of Love?

You can read all about the languages here, but the general premise is:

"Of the countless ways we can show love to one another, five key categories, or five love languages, proved to be universal and comprehensive—everyone has a love language, and we all identify primarily with one of the five love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch."

It is no secret, to those of you who know me well, that the love language I most identify with is "Acts of Service."  It might be the least romantic of the group, but is the one that works best for me... that is, it is the one I most like to receive.

For example, I remember a time when Dear Husband and I were dating... he worked 90 minutes from my house.  One day I was feeling particularly overwhelmed at work and was not looking forward to adding a trip to the grocery store to my already-too-long day.  After reviewing the types of items I needed (peanut butter, bread, and stuff) with pre-Dear Husband we got off of the phone.  When I arrived home that evening, a grocery bag of my exact grocery items was waiting for me at my door step.  He left work, drove all the way to my town, bought the groceries, and left them on my door step.  {{Ladies - back up - this man is ALL mine.}} 

Fast forward past the wedding and, now, three kids... and onto a recent Valentine's Day.  We were both talking on the phone on the way home and the conversation went something like this.

{{me - rushing to get the kids home and get dinner started}}  So, where are you now?


I'm turning into the Target parking lot?


What are you getting at Target?  {{Thinking... are you kidding me - we have so much to get done at home and you will miss dinner.}}


Something special.  I meant to leave work early but I got tied up.  I want to get you a card and your favorite conversation heart candies.


Nope.  Forget the card and the candies.  Come home.


But you will be mad.


No I will not be mad.


Yes, you will.  I want to get something special for you.


Seriously - if you turn that car around right now and meet me at the house then I will be happy.  I promise.  No card.  No candy.  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE just come home.  {{And he did... and I was totally happy.}}


Today, I took the love language quiz online, to see what it says.

Here is how I answered some key questions:

Hahaha... so the last one isn't really "service" related, but I'm fairly argumentative and it totally fits me.
 
Want to know my final score?

In short, I scored twice as high for "Acts of Service" than any other category in the list.  Also, "receiving gifts" is my least favorite way to be loved.  {{This is great because we don't have any money anyway.}}

What does Dr. Chapman have to say about Acts of Service?

Acts of Service

Can vacuuming the floors really be an expression of love? Absolutely! Anything you do to ease the burden of responsibilities weighing on an “Acts of Service” person will speak volumes. The words he or she most want to hear: “Let me do that for you.” Laziness, broken commitments, and making more work for them tell speakers of this language their feelings don’t matter.

Let's repeat that again... ahem... "Anything you do to ease the burden of responsibilities weighing on an 'Acts of Service' person will speak volumes."

This is great for my husband and me because he is a natural-born helper.  Really - he would be a helper no matter who he married - it just so happens that he married moi and I totally give him big points for all of his helpfulness!  Yay! 

This might also explain why I flew off the handle when he didn't come home in time for me to go to a parent meeting at my kids' school the other night.  {{I do mean flew off the handle.}}  His "broken commitment" to come home on time and help with the kids made me feel like I don't matter.  Bingo!  {{For gosh sakes... I can't expect the man to be perfect... can I?}}

Seriously - I read the 5 Love Languages for Married Couples, and now I'm on the 5 Love Languages for Teens which was recommended by my moms group.   I'll talk more about loving my teen on another day.

So... this is your homework. 

{{Yep... I'm giving out homework now.}}  

Take the 5 love languages assessment and

come back and tell me which one fits you.

Joy Moments: A mom reflects on birthdays past and present

Once upon a time, a long time ago, I only had one kid {{okay, okay... it wasn't that long ago, I know}}. 


I started the tradition of making her birthday cake.  Every year she asked for another special cake from Mommy.  {{Well, except for this year she designed her own cake and a professional made it for her.  I was ditched.  I know.}}


Then Mommy got a job... a husband... a house to take care of... and two more kids. 


Mommy realized that all of this is a bit overwhelming... and Mommy decided to "say No" to homemade and time-consuming birthday cakes.  {{Silly tradition.}}


Making the type of homemade cakes that I make {{with my little skill}} requires baking the cake two nights before the party and then dedicating an entire evening to decorating the cake on the night before the party.


Making the birthday cake has turned into a joy buster... a total project... that I do NOT have time for... until NOW!


This year, for the first time ever, making the cake was not about doing something crafty or fulfilling an obligation... it was a labor of love.  {{Thank you Moms Club for this insight.}}  As I piped every little dot and squiggle {{squiggle = technical term... hahahaha}}, I thought about loving him and all of the little things he does that make me laugh and smile.  It was like four years of DVD replays were turning through my head... the whole time.


Wow!  I didn't know that was going to happen!

 
So, my project turned into a therapy session.  hahahaha!

What moment of joy surprised you this week?

It's another birthday

This is the first year that Bro is inviting his friends, not just family, to his birthday party.

He is uber-excited about his Home Depot party.

I NEVER... in ONE MILLION years... thought I would be hosting Home Depot party, but I am.

This is the best party for my helper man.  {{Oh the things we do for our kids.}}

Happy Happy Happy 4th to you my little man!
{{No, that is not a typo - the extra "happy" words are there for emphasis.}}

Yes.  I did a photo shoot IN Home Depot.
Yes.  I am making these little photos for each of the kids' birthdays... as a memory.
Yes.  I know that first word is unreadable (I'm hiding his name for goodness sakes).



If you are thinking about a Home Depot party for the builder in your life, you need to know that only some of the Home Depot stores offer parties and scouting activities.  This is on a case-by-case basis and at the discretion of the manager.

Since I live in the city... we have plenty of Home Depot stores to choose from.  I was confident that we would find one that would let us have a party.

If your local Home Depot does not offer birthday parties, they most likely hold a kids workshop each month and these workshops are equally as hands on and equally as fun.

What is the craziest thing you ever did for one of your kids?

Your spouse?

buzz... buzz... buzz...

Just the other day I was out shopping for the extras for Bro's Home Depot birthday party.

I buzzed in and out of Michael's craft store;
... in and out of Bath and Body Works (with a HUGE 75% off sale);
... in and out of Party City; and
... in an out of Franklin Toys.

Guess what?  I didn't even buy one thing!  Shouldn't I get some sort of award for that?  I was so proud of myself. 

I did run into this little gem in the toy store (see below).

Check out the new WOW toys toy line.  Have you seen them before?  I have not.  They are just darling!

Look at this pizzeria guy on a motorcycle.  Don't ya just want to take him home?  I do!

Here's another motorbike set.  Look closely. 

Do you see what I see?

The lady is wearing a baby carrier!

Ha!  I love it!

Now... I know what you are thinking... I agree with you... moms don't really ride motorcycles with their babies... I know... but you have to give this company credit for such a cute mom and baby!

What do you think?

Mom with baby in carrier - cute or not cute?

Angels???

Here are some outtakes from the family Nativity play this past year.

To set the stage, all of the kids in the whole extended family select costumes and we re-enact Jesus' birth.    Mkay?

So I had to crack up when Bro selected an angel costume...

... and Bri did too... kinda...

... and they posed for some pictures.

I'm being serious here - this IS the best picture of the two of them together.  No lie!

Eventually they had to find some rest before the start of the show.

Bri found refuge in her sister's arms...

... and Bro found a nice cold drink.

SHEW-EE!  Life as an angel is a tough job.

Dinosaur terrarium

Dinosaur terrarium... also known as... the best time ever!

Ok... maybe not the best time EVER... but pretty darn fun for a Saturday in January.

We gathered our supplies...

... including the main cast of characters.

Big boy added one layer of rocks.

Here's the preserved sheet moss right out of the bag.

This is the preserved sheet moss after it was cut into a circle to fit inside the jar.

The sheet moss goes on top of the charcoal to keep the next layer (potting soil) from falling through into the charcoal and stones.

Big boy is placing the sheet moss on top of the charcoal...

... and adding the potting soil.

Finally, the first dinosaur was in his new home.

OH... here we have a certain boy declining to put the other two dinosaurs into the container now that Mommy told him he will not be able to play with them.  WHAT?

Luckily, big boy gladly placed the last two dinosaurs in the terrarium since Mommy reminded him that we have one trillion more dinosaurs in the house.

Home sweet home.

Now we have the top on the terrarium and it is sitting on our shelf in the living room.  More pics to follow.  I just hope it lives.  No one seems nearly as interested in it as I am.

Can you believe that I finally did it?

I Spy with My Little Eye

This post was created especially for my grandmother.

She is loves those "I spy" books and the Gardens of Time game on facebook.

Ahem... you did NOT misread that last statement.  Yes, I do have the hippest grandma on the planet and, yes, she is on facebook.

So... everyone, I hope, has that place in the house that collects stuff. Right???  Stuff stacks up on the counter, on the dining room table, on the foyer table... somewhere.  You HAVE a junk spot - I know you do!

I do to.

Here it is.

And this is where we play the I Spy game.

I'll go first.  I spy with my little eye:

a recipe binder
a cell phone
a bag of white flour
a bag of wheat flour
a half-full pasta box
a package from Amazon.com (for a certain birthday boy)
birthday wrapping paper
leftover terrarium plants
a croissant in a ziploc bag
a Christmas tray
... and so much more!

Holy hot mess Batman - yes I did just share this on the internet!

What's cluttering up your counter?

All New Low

I hit an all-time low.

In my attempt to find something quick, easy, creative, and yummy for dinner...

I did this.

Yes.  That is a corn dog hot dog in a corn muffin and baked in a flower mold.

Bro asked, "So mom?  This is a hot dog in a muffin?"

Why, yes Bro, it is.

What?  Did I hear you say that you want the recipe?

Well, sure I will share! {{Just don't tell anyone that I did this.}}

Recipe

Make corn muffin mix according to box directions. {{Yes, the mix was from a box.}}

Add cut hot dogs.

Cook according to box directions.

Enjoy!

Tip:  Do not let hot dogs stick way out of the muffin tin or they will burn... like this.

Okay, so I know you didn't really want the recipe.  The kids and husband loved the meal... just sayin'.

Corn dog muffins - gross or not gross?