How I Spent My Birthday Weekend

Wow!  A mid-April birthday is not always that pleasant. 

In fact, here is the weather analysis for my location over the past 15 years.

Temperature


The temperature typically varies from 51°F to 64°F and is rarely below 43°F or above 77°F.

The coolest hours of the day are from 2am to 9am with the coldest at 7am, at which time the temperature is below 56°F three days out of four.

The warmest hours of the day are from 1pm to 7pm with the hottest at 4pm, at which time the temperature is above 56°F three days out of four.

The day has gained half its heat by 11am and lost it again by 11pm.

Source:  weatherspark.com

Emphasis on "Rarely above 77 degrees."  To be honest, we had an ice emergency on my birthday one year.  It was so cold and dark and dreary and it was sleeting.  Awful!  April showers really do bring May flowers... which is a bummer for those of us with April birthdays.

This weekend, however, was gorgeous!!!!!  Sing it with me now... gorgeous!

Here are the highlights:

Bri got her first haircut.

I wasn't so sure she would sit still... or sit at all (and she is standing in this picture) but she was begging to get back into her car by the time we were finished.  Bribing with lollipops really helps.  :-)

Saturday morning we took Nugget home to be with her family.  It was great to see all of the chicks together again and to share experiences with the other families.  Nugget is not pictured in the picture below, but this is the environment where she will live out the rest of her life.  Picturesque, isn't it?  Seriously - I want to move to this farm.

No sooner did we pull out of the driveway but the kids were asking, "Mom can we got to Chick-fil-a and get some lunch?"  Really?  Who can even think about chicken at a time like this? 

Later, I napped while Dear Husband started working on my birthday present (a little free library).  Yay!

Saturday night Lulu and I went to see the Hunger Games movie.  AMAZING?  Yes.  The movie really captured the spirit of the book.  After reading the book book a second time, I started to get worried about how some parts would come across on screen.  Mainly, her feelings about some of the most important relationships in her life are in her head.  Thus, unless she is constantly thinking out loud, how would you know how she really feels about Gale, Peeta, and Rhue.  The film did a great job of covering these areas.  Really - I couldn't have asked for anything more and it was worth the wait. 

Sunday, it was my turn in the volunteer rotation to volunteer in a Sunday School classroom.  To volunteer, you show up on your assigned date and time and see where they need help.  Often, they need help in the infant room.  I've had more than enough experience holding babies over the past few years.  The infant room is my least favorite place to volunteer.  The ratio is one volunteer for every 2-3 babies.  Ever wonder what it's like to parent twins or triplets?  Not fun.  Luckily, I was assigned a space in the 2nd-3rd grade room.  Oh hello!!!!  Hold me back!  I loved these kids.  I loved their ideas, the activities, the program in general.  I can totally see myself volunteering in this position - totally. 

However, I have one hesitation about teaching Sunday School.  Timing.  The great thing about this church is that Sunday School happens at the same time as adult worship.  So all of the kids go to Sunday School while I go to church.  If I taught Sunday School, then I would either (1) miss worship so I could teach or (2) teach during one service and then attend worship during the second service, which means that my kids would also be in Sunday School during both services.  For a variety of reasons, I am not open to staying at church for half of the day.  I know that spending time at church is rewarding, but my family also has other needs and I don't know that spending that much time at church is the correct balance for us at this time. So, I need to give the Sunday School thing some more thought. sigh.

After church we had lunch at a local restaurant and Bro tried clams for the first time.  He's been asking to eat clams for quite some time now. 

The great thing about clams is that they are a hand-on food experience which he really enjoyed.

And the great thing about having lunch at a crab house is that you can get as messy as you want to and no one cares. Just sayin'.

Finally, as promised, I took Lulu to the Verizon store so she could pick out the new phone that she wants for her birthday.  We couldn't pass up some down time at the local coffee shop. 

AH, it was the best of times!

What's the weather like on your birthday?

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?

Sunday Activity

Some of you may know that I made the decision to start going to church again over the summer.  This post is a little update on the church that we are going to, how it is working out for us, and other little tidbits about our new... ahem... Sunday activity.

History:  Many of you {{being strangers and all}} do not know that I was raised in a Christian home.  No one forced me to be Christian any more than they forced me to eat spaghetti and like it.  Christianity was just part of what we did.  I went to a religious-based school and I was raised by my grandmother who was the church organist, and treasurer, as well as a Sunday School teacher.  "Church" was just part of every day life.  

Somewhere along the way I went to college, got married, and had kids {{not necessarily in that order}}... and stopped going to church because I was too busy.

Sometime during the late summer of 2011 the Spirit moved me {{well... more like hit me over the head with a club}} to start going to church and this is probably the single best parenting decision I have made EVER.

Although I was raised and baptised Lutheran, we allowed our teen-aged daughter to find a church for our family.  We felt like one of the main requirements was that she needed a place with peers whom she felt comfortable with and so we let her have a big say in where we went to church.

She found this Baptist church right down the street from our house and it has been the great fit that we have needed.

Here are some things that I like about our church, in no particular order.

1.  The songs are great.  They use real words that we all know.  They are catchy.  They are thought provoking and inspirational.

2.  The sermons, albeit 30-45 minutes long, are inspirational as well.  The pastor is a great speaker and I walk away with good information every single Sunday.  My apologies to my past pastors - I am sorry for the glazed over look I had during your sermons; you started off great but always lost me mid-way through - sorry.

3.  The kids can go to Sunday School WHILE I go to church.  This might be the single best thing about this church and the main thing that keeps me going back.  I don't have to work to keep my kids quiet during the service.  They have their own Sunday School lesson while I get my lesson and we all leave recharged and re-energized at the end of the service.  SCORE!

4.  My kids -- all of them -- enjoy going to church on Sundays.  Let's face it, it's no fun dragging your whole family out of bed bright and early for a bummer activity.

5.  Our church offers tons of activities during the week to share with other Christians.  We have traditional Bible study as well as a runner's group, a knitter's group, and so on.  My kids and I all participate in the Wednesday evening activities.  They have youth group and kids club while I... wait for it... go to a Mom's Group.  The purpose of the mom's group is to encourage and equip moms to be the best moms that we can be.  We have guest speakers, good food, and plenty fo tiem to chat.  I feel like such a rejuvenated and re-energized mom when I leave my mom's group.  Think about it?  How do you feel on a mid-week night at the end of the night?  Worn out?  Exhausted?  Tired?  Like giving up?  I used to feel that way but now I am totally re-energized for the rest of my week.

6.  Over all, I feel a different vibe and a different energy in my home.  There is a greater sense of calm and unity and fun that is just a tad bit different than it was before. We are spending more time together as a family... laughing and playing... it's just great.  I don't know if all of this wonderfulness is a result of going to church but I'd like to think so.

So, now you know a little bit more about my church and how going to church is impacting my family.

Does Dear Husband go to church with us?  No.  He does not.  He was raised in a very strict Catholic church; although he does not want to go to a Catholic church, he says that this contemporary church feels more like a cult than a church.  Ouch!  He says that he would compromise and go to a Lutheran church.  I still pray that he will attend church with us every so often.

Any advise on how to coerce my husband

into going to church with us is greatly appreciated.

Halloween 2012

Halloween was such a hit!  Everyone had a blast and it wasn't too cold outside.

Lulu - She was an amazing shufflebot.  She was uber proud of her costume which also included audio of the songs that the shufflebot dances to.  While all of the adults thought she was a robot; the kids new exactly who she was!  Score!

Bro - What can I say about Bro?  He is the perfect age for trick-or-treating.  Here are the highlights of his night: 

~ He talked in a deep Spiderman voice all night long. 

~ He greeted everyone with "Happy Hallo-sneakers!" and would look at his candy and exclaim "for gosh sakes" each time he got candy.

~ If the home owner was not positioned outside with the candy then Bro would walk up to the door, stare at the home, and shout "NEXT!"  It was hilarious!

Bri - Well, we packed a stroller for Baby Bee, but she didn't need it.  She waddled around in her tutu, going from house to house, all night long.  She was extremely cute and definitely got tons of compliments on her cute costume.

I'm loving that I am blogging every day this month. I would like to thank you all for confidence that I can start to lose some weight.  The Halloween candy in the house is NOT helping my efforts though.

What do you do with your leftover Halloween candy?

Wings!

It's the start of football season.  You know what that means?  We will be eating lots of yummy football food!!!

First stop is wings!

Both Bro and Bri loved the wings!

See!

Okay.  Well, Bri didn't really eat wings.  She slurped the ranch dressing off of a celery stick.

Bro ate the wings.  He loved them.  He says they are "man food."

If you are looking for wings for your family to enjoy.  These honey bbq wings from the Greene Turtle are delicious. 

What is your go-to football food? 

Sandbox

My folks (a.k.a. Fairy Grandmother and Luvs2Boat) gave Bri a sandbox for her birthday.  Prior to this, Bro had been using an unused flower bed as his sandbox.  Pathetic -- I know.

So, Bri got a sandbox for her birthday and we told Bro, "This is Bri's sandbox and she will share with you."

The sandbox sat in the yard, unused, for a few days.  We were still deciding where to put it before we dumped all of the sand into it.

Finally, Bro came up to me one day and said,

Bro:  Mom -- I am going to share with my baby Bri all day today.

Mom:  Okay - you are such a sweet brother.

Bro:  Yes. Mommy -- do you want to set up Bri's sandbox now?

So, we did.

You'll have to excuse me while I continue to be amazed by the relationship between borthers and sisters (I am an only child). 

Baby Bee is such a copycat and Bro is happy to lead the way.

Bro throws the dirt so...

... Bri throws the dirt...

... which means that someone is gonne get dirt in their eyes.

Lulu chilled on the hammock {{a Father's Day gift for Dear Husband that he never gets to use}}...

... and posed for some pictures. 

Bri and Bro wrestled in the sandbox, one of their favorite pastimes. He is so rough with her (but not TOO rough) and she is almost equally as rough with him, but they have so much fun.

Their wrestling makes me nervous.  I don't want anyone to get hurt. 

How old will they be when they finally stop? 

Did someone say Easter?

We colored eggs, as usual.  Bro used the traditional dipping method...

... and Lulu tie-dyed hers.  Tie-dyeing eggs involves wrapping the egg in a damp, white cloth and putting it in a plastic holder that has holes in it.  Then, you apply the colors with a small syringe thingy. 

When you unwrap your egg, you get something that looks like this.  Cool, huh?

She tried it with paper towels, instead of the white cloth, and that was cool too.

Baby Bee sat in her chair with some extremely healthy snacks cheetos... and was totally content the whole time we were outside. 

Did you see my nice Easter grass growing on the table?  It was a gorgeous day so I sat them outside for some sun and fresh air.  {{ahem.. the grass is real... the flowers are fake -- just sayin'}}  Need a better look?  {{We'll talk about the Easter grass later.}}

Later, the Easter bunny dropped off some baskets at the house.

Note:  I am not at all offended if you skip the descriptions of these baskets.  My grandma wants to hear all about them though -- don't you Grandma?. 

From left to right: 

Lulu's basket:  complete with Justin Bieber stickers and a triangle bunny hop game.

Bee's basket:  including "My First Easter" bib and a set of bubbles for three people to use (in yellow container).

Bro's basket:  with gardening tools and Cars-theme gardening gloves. 

Traditions:  Dear Husband insists that everyone gets a chocolate bunny and I insist that each basket has Peeps and jelly beans. Also, somewhere along the line, I got the idea that an Easter basket includes small gifts as well.  Maybe this is because I was an only child and so I got gifts in my basket.  Judging from some of the baskets that were posted on facebook Saturday night (what a busy little bunny) gifts are not necessary.  I am hoping to discontinue Easter bunny gifts in the near future. 

In case you are wondering, the Easter bunny did not leave Easter grass for the kids, but Dear Husband thought it would look cute in the picture.  I think that Easter grass will be a tradition -- it's so festive, easy, and fun.

The next morning, the bunny hid those eggs all over our yard.  I'm glad it was a nice morning... what would we have done if it was raining?  Maybe the bunny waits and comes back another day.  I'm sure that's what happens.

 I'm wondering...
does your Easter bunny hide real eggs or plastic ones?



No Excuses

My KinderGARDEN post is here.  Whoops!  I linked to the wrong post in the linky tool.  I'll get better -- I promise!





I'm not going to make any excuses for my absence.  Just busy - aren't we all?

Just to catch you all up to speed... most recently... we discovered that Lulu has 86 pictures of Justin Bieber in her room.  All four walls have pictures as well as the ceiling.

I grew some wheat grass for Easter.  This was a practice run to make sure that it would work.  Now that Easter is really almost here... we are doing it again!

I made Bri's Easter dress.  It is reversible. 

Bri started pushing the "mail cart."  A history of the mail cart in our family can be seen here and here.

We Dear Husband tilled the garden.

We tilled the garden this past weekend.  Then, Bro spent the past two days reminding us to plant vegetables.  I promised him that we will are going to buy the vegetable plants in a few days and plant them with him.  Precious little fella!

See?  You hardly missed a thing!

I found some garden planning software online.  You can use it for 30 days for free.  It's so super easy to use and totally maps out your garden for you.

Here is what I put together for our family.  Look... the program already maps out how much space everything will need.

Obviously we want tomato plants.  Lulu wants peas.  Bro wants carrots because he is reading The Carrot Seed every night before bed.  I'm not sure how the edamames will work out.  Watermelon is something the kids will like for sure!  I have heard that even kids will eat fresh brussel sprouts... maybe???  Of course I have to have basil.  I don't know what I am going to do with the lavender, but I want some.  :-)

Based on the harvest schedule for these fruits and veggies... August, September, and October will be fun, busy, healthy months for us!

 

Are there any experienced gardeners reading? 

Give suggestions.  Help! 

Happy Valentine's Day

I special ordered Valentine's Day cards for the little ones this year.  I like pre-reader Valentine cards to include a picture of the giver so the receiver knows who gave it to them.  {{That's just me.}}

Not having any spare time this year, I ordered these little cards for the kids.

This one is for baby bee.  See?  It has a little bee on it!

And Bro will be giving out these cards this year.  I proofed the cards ahead of time.  If I had to do it all over again, I would have asked the creator to start Bro's name with an upper-case letter.  He knows almost all of his letters and he knows what the "B" for "Brody" looks like.  Um... I just should have asked for an upper-case letter.  It didn't cross my mind at the time.

Either way, isn't he super cute?  I think he will be so proud of his Valentines. 

Lulu doesn't give out Valentine cards... and her friends can read, so they don't need a picture, but I created this little gem on my own anyways. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Where to find:  The top Valentine's were purchased from Delight Design on etsy.  The shop owner's name is Char.  She was a delight to work with.  She was speedy, friendly, and rushed out my special order for a tractor Valentine.  The process?  Seamless.  The product?  Adorable! 

Great Backyard Bird Count

Monster, Monster, Monster Mash

We took Bro to Monster Jam for his birthday.

I have to admit that I was very nervous about how loud it was going to be.

Thus, Dear Husband ventured out before the show to get ear plugs for us. You can see them sticking out of Bro's ears here.

And one other thing... that little lady up there ^ ... yes... that thing on her head... yes... it is a tiara.  Yes, she wore it during the whole show... in case you were wondering.

The show was a big hit.  We got to see huge trucks and motorcyclists performing trick jumps.

I think Bro liked the motorcycles.

I think Daddy liked them too.

This Monster Truck is named Crustacean and is shaped like a lobster.

The show was pretty boring with the ear plugs in.  Eventually we just took them out and Bro covered up his ears at the loud parts.

Sometimes royal princesses can share with those beneath them.  Apparently, this was one of those times.

Monster Truck Conclusion:

Monster Truck shows are very family friendly. 

Bring ear plugs if you want to.  You might find that you don't need them. 

Most of the people did not have ear plugs in.

Great Backyard Bird Count