January 31, 2014

Backwards Day, January 31. 

Besides the backward shirts, the kids got to eat treats before dinner- dinner of Chinese food since it's also Chinese New Year.  The year of the Horse is starting. 
The kids watched Mulan and Kung Fu Panda.  Jeremy and I made egg rolls, chow mein, fried rice, and orange chicken with white rice.  Like usual, we had fortune cookies at the end.  Yumm.  Everyone was going around reading their fortunes out loud and Jr. Jr. decided to do it, too.  He can't read, so he made up his own fortune.  "How do you fly over the water?  You fly in an airplane."  We've been doing some airplane flying in Wii Sports Resort lately.
I just loved seeing him "read" his fortune.

Today was also the 100th Day of School so Jr. got to show us a crown he made and he shared some of the goodies he got.  He's so sweet.
Jeremy noticed something interesting.  Today was Chinese New Year and the 100th Day of School.  Yesterday, Nichole's class celebrated the 100th day of school and today they celebrated Chinese New Year.  Yesterday, Jr.'s class celebrated Chinese New Year and today they celebrated the 100th day of school.  Kind of fun.
I just don't think they celebrated Backwards Day at school.  Oh well.

We Time

As you know, we do a lot of things as a family, but sometimes kids need more one on one time with their parents.  Sometimes it's a good chunk of one on one time with their parents like going on a hike or baking.  Just the child and Mom or Dad.
Nichole and I had the chance to spend some Mommy-Daughter time this afternoon.  We worked on a counted cross-stitch project she got for her birthday.  She got a really good start to it and it was good that she was able to get the attention she needed and wanted.

While Nichole and I were crafting, Jr. and Daddy were making plans for when they'd get the chance to have some Father-Son time.

Fill the Stock Pot to the Top Day 2014

It's that time of year again.  Time to make our gigantic pot of taco soup to eat and freeze.  And January 29 is a great day to do it since it's National Corn Chip Day.  We do like our taco soup with corn chips.

Jeremy mentioned how we often get pictures of the soup from the top, but we don't often get pictures that show the size of the stock pot.  So I'm putting a side picture on the blog this year so you can see what we're actually filling up.  Really filling up.

Jr. Jr. was a big helper throwing away the empty cans every time Jeremy dumped the contents into the pot.

Then while he was waiting, Jr. Jr. played with a puzzle since January 29 is also Puzzle Day.

Our annual Fill the Stock Pot to the Top Day is another great tradition.  And some day our kids won't even be as picky about eating taco soup.  This year, Nichole was at least willing to try some.  Woohoo.  I love traditions.

A Good Day

Today has been a good day.  Some things that made it enjoyable:

I got some cleaning in. 

Jr. Jr. and I had some bonding time. 

I was able to have the window open in the kitchen while I was working on things.  Ah, fresh air.


Jiffy muffin mixes can be made into pancake batter to help celebrate National Blueberry Pancake Day, January 28.

I found instructions online for making easy homemade kazoos for National Kazoo Day, also January 28.

Jeremy did a lot of shopping and got a whole bunch of stuff.  Some of it is to help us celebrate upcoming holidays- National Corn Chip Day on January 29, Chinese New Year on January 31, and Groundhog Day on February 2.

It was a good day.

Chocolate Bubble Wrap

January 27 is National Chocolate Cake Day.  Nichole brought home some leftover chocolate cake from a party she went to on Saturday so she, Jr., and Jr. Jr. all had pieces of chocolate cake today.

January 27 is also Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day.  This is where the real celebrating came in for us.  We have a roll of bubble wrap for mailing things and for the occasional popping (it's pretty irresistible, isn't it?).  We cut some pieces for the kids and let them go at it.  

After hearing the sounds the popping made, Nichole said, "Sounds like slap bands."  You know those bracelets that are flat then you hit them against your arm and they curl around your wrist.  That's what popping bubble wrap sounds like.
Jr. Jr. came up to me with his bubble wrap and said, "Should I pop bubbles so you can hear the sound it makes?"  I said he should.
Jr. wondered what it would be like to step on it with his boots.  He brought one of his boots over and pushed on the bubble wrap with it to pop the bubbles.
Jeremy shared this with us:
"I like bubbles.  I like 'em a lot.
Now you know how I feel about bubbles so my song is gonna stop."
That was his "Bubble Rap."
*Groan*

Bubble Wrap.  I appreciate it.

Chicken Soup for the Cold

A couple family members came down with colds again.  We didn't get around to making peanut brittle for National Peanut Brittle Day, January 26.  Jeremy did make some chicken noodle soup, though.  Much better comfort food for a cold than peanut brittle.

A Room of One's Own Day

A Room of One's Own Day, January 25, is a holiday that I'd like to celebrate every year.  To have a day to myself in my room doing what I want to do- reading, watching movies, doing crafts, resting, whatever I want.  It's a good excuse for Me Time since it is a holiday.  But having a room to myself doesn't always work out.
Last year I was able to take some time for myself in my room. 
I didn't blog about it, but the year before last I was able to celebrate the holiday with some relaxing time in my room.  I was reading The Secret Garden and was able to eat snacks and Jeremy even made me a lovely garden salad to fit the theme- a secret garden salad.  I do appreciate him.

This year the time in my room was spent taking care of Lucky.  

The rest of my time was spent catching up on some dishes and laundry and taking care of the kids.  Oh well.  My family's worth it.  Nichole and I had a nice talk this afternoon.  The boys and I had a nice dinner together while Nichole and Jeremy were out this evening. 
I'll try to take some Me Time soon even if it's not for a specific holiday.

Peanut Butter is So Great!

January 24 is National Peanut Butter Day.  January 24 is also National Compliment Day.  We were giving each other lots of compliments today.  And peanut butter is so easy to use any day.  We had peanut butter on tortillas.  The kids had apples with peanut butter for after school snack.  We also had snacks of peanut butter on spoons.  For dinner, we had pancakes and several of us had peanut butter on our pancakes.  I'll compliment peanut butter by saying "Peanut butter is so great!"
We watched the movie, Matilda, and talked about how some of the characters didn't compliment others much, but Miss Honey did compliment others quite a bit.

And since I didn't get any pictures of peanut butter or complimenting, I'll tell you about the handmade gifts I did for Christmas this year.  Rice warmers.

Nichole and Jr. asked me to make rice warmers for them after I did for a friend a while back.  It only took me about 2 1/2 years to finally getting around to making them.  They were happy to get them for Christmas and I made one for Jr. Jr. and one for Jeremy as well.  The kids' all were shaped like the one I made for the friend, but Jeremy's was long with all four segments stretched out. 

It's so he can wrap it around his neck or shoulders on cold mornings.  He was happy with it, too.
I never got pictures of the kids' rice warmers laid out on a flat surface, so I got pictures of them being used they way they are used.  Here you go:

Pie Day 2014

It used to be that we would celebrate by eating foods that went along with certain holidays. 
Lately, we've been celebrating by watching movies that go along with certain holidays (I mentioned I've been watching a lot of movies lately).

Now we're starting to celebrate with foods again.  Today, January 23, is Pie Day.  I made Impossible Chili Cheese Pie for dinner and for dessert, Jeremy brought home some snack pies.  Everyone had chocolate except for me.  Jeremy brought me my requested cherry pie.  Yumm.

Melt in Your Mouth Goodness

January 22 is National Blonde Brownie Day.

January 22 is also National Polka Dots Day.

Celebrate how you will.

Squeak Squeakers Squeaken

Silly me.  I forgot to mention that besides Penguin Awareness Day, yesterday was also Cheese Lover's Day.  That's why we had cheese on our fish stick sandwiches.
Today, January 21, is Squirrel Appreciation Day.  It is also National Hug Day.  There was plenty of hugging in our home.

To appreciate squirrels, Jeremy and I watched a couple of videos online about squirrels, including one about white squirrels in Olney, Illinois.  We also watched parts of two movies that either mentioned or showed squirrels in them.
The kids earned a movie again.  Jeremy and I were tempted to check out The Sword in the Stone from the library since it has squirrels hugging in it.  However we had been talking about watching The Emperor's New Groove for a while so that's what we checked out.  It has a squirrel in it and as a bonus, in one scene, the squirrel makes a balloon animal.  I appreciate that.
There is some hugging in the movie as well.
When I showed the kids the DVD case, Nichole said she remembered that movie.  It's the one where the emperor gets turned into a donkey.
It was fun to see the incredulous look on Jeremy's face.  He couldn't believe she didn't realize it was a llama.
Later, as we were watching the movie, Jr. mentioned how he was turned into a horse.  Sigh.
It's a good thing it's not Llama Appreciation Day.

Penguin Awareness Day 2014

Are you "aware" that today, January 20, is Penguin Awareness Day.
We made the kids "aware" of what movie they would earn if they cleaned the living room- Surf's Up.
Jr., who was concentrating on reading, missed what was going on when we explained to Nichole and Jr. Jr. about earning the movie.  I asked him if he was "aware" of what was going on.  I also asked him if he knew what "aware" meant.  I explained that "aware" basically means "know."  So if you're "aware" of something, you "know" about it.  You know, for all those other 6-year olds who read my blog.  Now you're "aware" of this new vocabulary word.
I made Jeremy "aware" that besides Surf's Up, Mary Poppins also has penguins in it.
Jeremy asked me if I was "aware" that there was a penguin beak in the trash can.  It was from a balloon penguin that was thrown away recently.
Jeremy also made the kids "aware" that some of the books we have are published by the Penguin Group.  Nichole made us "aware" that she was already "aware" that some of her books were Penguin Books.
I asked Jr. Jr. if he was "aware" of what penguins eat.  Jr. helped him become "aware" that penguins eat fish.  So for dinner, we had fish sticks (like we have every year for this holiday), but this time we made them into sandwiches.  Yumm.

I think this year we definitely spread "penguin awareness" in our home.

Mommy, Look

I'm stirring a witch's brew.

How appropriate that the kids helped make dinner since January 19 is Brew a Potion Day.

Winnie-the-Pooh Day 2014

Winnie-the-Pooh Day, January 18.  We love this holiday and some years this is a big celebration for us.  In the past we've had Winnie-the-Pooh themed food, played with Winnie-the-Pooh toys, and other fun activities.

This year, because it was one of those days, we ended up celebrating by doing as Christopher Robin in one of A. A. Milne's stories- Nothing:

"How do you do Nothing," asked Pooh after he had wondered for a long time.

"Well, it's when people call out at you just as you're going off to do it, 'What are you going to do, Christopher Robin?' and you say, 'Oh, Nothing,' and then you go and do it."

Yeah.  Maybe next year.  Plenty of other holidays to celebrate this year, though.

Kid Inventors' Day 2014

Our children had fun with Kid Inventors' Day, January 17, last year.  They like to tinker. 
To celebrate the holiday this year, Jeremy took Jr. Jr. to Thanksgiving Point.  At the Museum of Ancient Life there is a Tinkering Exhibit where kids can get hands on experience building and experimenting with different things.

Jr. Jr. loves it.

Later on, Nichole got to work with her Snap Circuits Jr. she got for Christmas.  She was able to put different circuits together to make it do different things like make different sounds.

And we all started watching Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events because the oldest child in that movie is an inventor.  It got too late, though, and the kids needed to get ready for bed so we didn't finish it.

At school, Nichole glued 4 paper fans together to invent one jumbo fan.

It's fun to let children tinker on Kid Inventors' Day.

Appreciate A Dragon Day

It's Appreciate a Dragon Day once again, January 16.  Some ideas of ways to celebrate:

Watch a movie or read a book with a dragon in it- How To Train Your Dragon, Pete's Dragon, Mulan, Enchanted, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, The Reluctant Dragon, DragonSpell, The Hobbit.

Go to the cinema and watch The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

Let a toy dragon help you with your daily tasks.

Build a dragon toy or puppet.

Play act like you're a dragon.

There are plenty of ways to celebrate this holiday.  Have fun.

Mommy, Look

Do you want to see my trick?  I can stand on one foot.

National Dress Up Your Pet Day 2014

January 14 is National Dress Up Your Pet Day.
You don't need an actual pet to celebrate this holiday.  Jeremy, Jr. Jr., and I watched The Shaggy D.A.  The main character, as a dog, wears clothes several times in the movie.

For Christmas, the kids got Webkinz stuffed animals.

They go along with a website where you can do different activities with your "pets."  One of the things is getting different outfits and accessories for them.  That's what the kids got to do this evening- play Webkinz.

And since today is also National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day, Jeremy, Jr. Jr., and I are enjoying a little before bedtime snack.

Happy Rubber Ducky Day!

It's National Rubber Ducky Day, January 13.

We had some fun watching Sesame Street's Ernie sing his Rubber Ducky song this morning.  And Jeremy told the kids to be sure to get the song stuck in their head all day.  I've been singing it quite a few times already.  I'm sure it will continue throughout the day.
Happy Day!

The KAT's Meow

Friend:  I want to be a lot of things when I grow up.  I want to be a mom, a missionary, a teacher, and a singer.
Jr. Jr.:  I want to be a marshmallow.

Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friend Day

To celebrate Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friend Day, January 11, I didn't want to spend time outside.  Who thought cold January would be a good time for splashing in puddles?  Maybe sometime I'll have to celebrate Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friend Day Observed in May or something.  You know, with the good mud puddles, but when it's not too cold.  Yeah.
Anyway, I was thinking of letting the kids play with toys splashing each other in a pan with water in it.  That didn't happen.
So you'll just have to be content with this picture of My Friends, Tigger and Pooh characters standing in some water in a pie plate.  That works, right?

And they did splash each other by falling over while I was trying to set them up for the picture.  A few times.  So it really does work.

Peculiar People Day 2014

Peculiar People Day is January 10.  This is a hard one to figure out how to celebrate since it seems like we celebrate it every day already.  Peculiar people.  That's us.  So we could pretty much do anything to celebrate, right?
So Nichole made some paper snowflakes to hang on our window.

And now I'm watching a movie about some peculiar people- Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Circus Tricks

To celebrate the anniversary of the first modern circus on January 9, the kids got to try some circus tricks in our living room.

Tightrope Walking

Tumbling

Dog Jumping Through The Hoop

The kids had fun.
And because of all the movie watching that has been going on lately, Jr. Jr. watched Bongo earlier (about a circus bear who goes into the wild to be free- he even rides a unicycle) and now I'm watching Batman Forever (there's a circus scene with the Flying Graysons).

Argyle Elvis

January 8 is Argyle Day.  January 8 is also Elvis' Birthday.  Jeremy and I were trying to figure out how to celebrate these two holidays.  I mentioned that I've been watching a lot of movies lately.  The closest thing we have to an Elvis movie is Lilo & Stitch.  Jr. Jr. watched that movie today while I took a nap.
For Argyle Day, I realized we don't have any Scottish movies.  We have several Irish movies, but not Scottish movies.  And the weather was not the kind of weather to run to the library to pick up Brigadoon or something today.
Jeremy did find a music video on youtube about argyle socks.  We watched that.
While Jr. was doing a homework project of decorating a snowman picture, I joked that he should give his snowman argyle socks.  It didn't happen.

And now as I finish this blog post, I'm listening to Weird Al's song, "Velvet Elvis."

Old Rock Day 2014

To celebrate Old Rock Day, January 7, Jeremy planned to take Jr. Jr. to the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point.  You know- fossils- old rocks.  However, they decided to go to Farm Country first to ride the ponies, then spent so much time there looking at the different animals and other things, they ran out of time for the museum.

However, Jeremy did take a picture of Jr. Jr. next to the turkeys because turkeys will swallow stones to help with their digestion, to grind up the food in their stomachs.  A lot of birds do.
A lot of prehistoric animals did it, too.  Jeremy told me specifically that Dimetrodon did it.
Speaking of Dimetrodon, while Jeremy and Jr. Jr. were at Thanksgiving Point, I watched Journey to the Center of the Earth which had Dimetrodons in it.  Since Dimetrodons lived so long ago, the rocks they swallowed to help with digestion were definitely old.

Happy Bird Day to You, Sherlock Holmes

Yesterday, January 5, was National Bird Day.  I spent some time looking through a book about birds of Utah.  It made me smile because quite a few of them I've seen around, but I learned some facts about them from the book.

Some of the birds in the book were these:

Crow

Redwing blackbird

Robin

Mallard

Goldfinch

Mourning dove

Some of these pictures are like a game- Can you spot the bird in this picture?

Today, January 6, is Sherlock Holmes' Birthday.  I know National Trivia Day is over, but I celebrated Sherlock Holmes' birthday by watching a Sherlock Holmes movie while thinking of some actors I know played Sherlock Holmes and other things I've seen them in. 
Here are some:
Basil Rathbone- He's in The Court Jester which I watched recently.
Jeremy Brett- He's in My Fair Lady which I watched recently.
Michael Caine- He's in The Muppet Christmas Carol which I watched recently.
Robert Downey Jr.- He's in The Avengers which I watched recently.
Benedict  Cumberbatch- He's in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey which I watched recently.
I've been watching a lot of movies lately.