French Toast

I am that mom... who fixed my children french toast for breakfast to celebrate the Eiffel Tower's 125th Anniversary on March 31st.

Catch of the Day

Father-Son Time

Jeremy and Jr. spent hours running around at a park this afternoon.  Apparently it was good bonding time because Jeremy told me that every few minutes Jr. told him how much fun he was having.  They finished their evening by going to watch Nichole's end of the season dance performance.  This year she was a princess.

Something on a Stick Day 2014

This weekend is kind of a busy weekend for us with Nichole's dance show and Lucky's baby blessing coming up, so we didn't have the time to make our traditional homemade corn dogs for Something on a Stick Day, March 28.

Instead, Jeremy and Nichole picked up some root beer float bars and orange dream bars on their way back from Nichole's rehearsal.
And no one complained.

Sometimes those holidays that you do a lot to celebrate some years can be celebrated more simply other years.

Do Me A Favor

Mommy:  Do me a favor today, o.k.?
Nichole and Jr.:  What?
Mommy:  While you're outside or going to and from school, do some singing and dancing in the rain for me... since today is the anniversary of when "Singing in the Rain" premiered.
Nichole and Jr.:  O.K.

And they did.  Jeremy and Jr. really got into it on the way to school.  Nichole informed me as soon as she came home that she had done some singing and dancing in the rain.

What great kids.

And of course we thought ahead and checked the movie out of the library this year so the kids could watch it.  Since we only had one small umbrella which Jr. used, Jeremy made a couple more out of balloons for Jr. Jr. and Nichole to dance with.  And they danced.  They all jumped up to dance during that particular dance sequence.

What great kids.

I'm so glad it rained today.

It's Calling To Me

We've had years when we've celebrated a bunch of different holidays on Make Up Your Own Holiday Day, March 26.  We've had years when we've only celebrated one.  This year it was sort of in between.  Jeremy, Nichole, and Jr. each decided on a holiday as we were discussing it at dinner last night.
Today we had a chance to celebrate them and came up with a few more.
Jr. suggested a few days ago that the holiday we make up should be Birthday Day and we should have birthday cake.  We forgot to buy a cake mix so I made a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting since I had those ingredients on hand and it sounded yummy.  

He also suggested we give each other presents- hugs and kisses, the chocolate kind.  If we didn't have the chocolate kind, we could give real hugs and kisses, so that's what we did.

Nichole decided on 5 Tiny Ballerinas Jumping on the Bed Day.  Jeremy and the kids played Just Dance Kids 2- the song "Five Little Monkeys."  As they danced they changed the words.  "Five tiny ballerinas jumping on the bed.  One fell off and did a grand jete.... Four tiny ballerinas jumping on the bed.  One fell off and did a pirouette."

Jeremy chose Mediate a Battle Day.  While Nichole and Jr. were at school, Jeremy volunteered to help with the 5th/6th graders' Battle of the Books at their school.  This evening, Jr. and Jr. Jr. played Battleship while Jeremy "mediated."

When Jeremy came home this morning from the school, he found me in a state.  Here are some words to describe my state (in no particular order)- energetic, effervescent, exuberant, excited, enthusiastic, exercising, euphoric, etc.  I was looking out the window at the clouds.  The window was open so I could feel the breeze.  "The weather, " I told Jeremy, "It's calling to me."  "It's calling to me!"  I really wanted to get out.  We decided to go to a park where we could walk around.  I mentioned about going to Highland Glen Park with the big duck pond.  Jr. Jr. let me know that that was his park and he would give me permission to go to his park.  He and I jumped up and down while we got excited about getting out.  So we celebrated The Weather: It's Calling to Me Day.
By the time we got to the park, it was pretty windy and getting cold.  I thought the weather had been calling to me.  Jeremy volunteered to stay in the van with Lucky while Jr. Jr. and I went for a walk.  As he and I were walking, we stopped at the bridge we played Pooh Sticks at a year ago.  We played Pooh Sticks again, just the two of us.  It was so fun.  After playing Pooh Sticks a few times, he and I continued around the pond.  I'm really glad that Jeremy and Lucky stayed in the van, because it was rainy and cold by the time we got back.  I explained to Jr. Jr. about the water being choppy because of the wind and what choppy meant.

I am glad we got out.  We needed it.
Around dinnertime, Jeremy and I came up with another holiday, but I can't remember what it was.  Something about food with vegetables in it.  Besides the carrot cake, we also had spinach quiche and zucchini bread.

Yeah, yummy.
It was another good Make Up Your Own Holiday Day.  I'm glad we're able to celebrate so many wonderful things together as a family.

For Colin

Our nephew was recently playing in a laundry basket "boat" and told his mom he needed a "waffle tosser" to paddle his boat.  My sister-in-law-in-law figured out he was asking for a pancake turner/spatula.  Since this sparked a facebook discussion, it was mentioned that if he got seasick, he could use his waffle tosser to toss his cookies.

So for International Waffle Day, March 25, we got this picture of Jr. Jr. for his cousin who is the same age.  He's in a laundry basket boat all ready to toss his cookies with a waffle tosser.

Escape Artists

Harry Houdini's Birthday, March 24.  I had Jeremy pick up "I, Houdini" from the library for me.  It's a book about an escape artist hamster who is named after you know who.  I read it when I was a kid.

Jr. had a tooth that decided to be an escape artist this evening, as well.  Jr. told us he had a tooth that was getting really loose and the next thing we knew, he was showing us the tooth in his hand.  I'm guessing later on tonight, the tooth will do a vanishing act and a gold dollar coin will appear in its place.
Jr. was very pleased about getting to use his tooth pillow for the first time.  The first time he lost a tooth I hadn't sewn his pillow yet.  Luckily he lost it at school and got a special tooth necklace to put it in.  This time I was prepared.

Mommy, Look

I'm King.

Frozen Water

For World Water Day, March 22, we decided to watch "Frozen" for the first time.  Yeah, we're those people who didn't see it in the theater.  I hadn't even heard the actual movie version of "Let It Go" before watching the movie on DVD today (heard plenty of other versions over the last few months).  To go with the frozen water theme, Jeremy made a balloon snowball arch to go around the TV.  He also bought Hostess sno balls for us to eat.  I haven't had those in a long time.

Fun family time.

Fragrance Day 2014

When I think of Fragrance Day, I think of flowers.  So today, I showed Jr. Jr. how to draw some flowers.

When the older kids got home from school, they joined in on the flower drawing.  Nichole even drew an arm and a hand holding a flower with a nose sniffing it.

Cute kids.

We Time- Spring

Jr. and I scheduled some Mommy-Son time for March 20.  Since it is the first day of Spring, Jr. suggested we play frisbee golf... on Wii Sports Resort. 

In order for it to be one on one time for the two of us, Jeremy took Jr. Jr. and Nichole out to a park.

And Lucky slept.  Thank you, Lucky.

That special one on one time is so important.  Sometimes it can be as simple as playing a game together.  Jr. was so excited when he came home from school because he knew we were going to have that Mommy-Son time.  I love it.

Hungarian Poultry

Poultry Day, March 19.  Jeremy fixed us some nice Hungarian food for dinner:

Paprikás csirke (chicken paprikas)

with nokedli (homemade noodles/dumplings),

uborkasalata (cucumber salad),

and kenyer (bread).

Yumm.

Catch of the Day

March 18 is Forgive Mom and Dad Day.  A great day to show love.

St. Patrick's Day 2014

St. Patrick's Day.  I was too tired yesterday to let the kids make leprechaun traps.  So this morning, the kids looked in the refrigerator and found green milk.  Whoops.

This afternoon, Jeremy made balloon snakes for the kids and told them the story of St. Patrick chasing snakes out of Ireland.  Then he chased them out of the living room, snakes and all.  They got a kick out of that.

 I didn't get very good pictures because it went so fast.

Now that the kids have gone to bed, Jeremy and I are watching Darby O'Gill and the Little People.

Catch of the Day

Our first time eating purple cauliflower

I Win

Let me tell you about some of the things I went through today.  In no particular order:

The boys sat in cardboard box "boats" while watching a movie.

Later, Jr. rode his boat down the stairs.  "I only bumped my head a couple times... and my nose."  They didn't get to play with the boats after that.  Later, Jr. Jr. kicked Jr. in the nose.  It didn't actually bleed, but it got close.

For the Ides of March we had caesar salad and got to eat two fruit-e again.

Every time the boys have raisins now they have to make it into a snowman whatever.

Jr. Jr. knocked his salad onto the floor and refused to clean it up.

For those of us who actually ate our salad, we later drank orange juliuses.

Nichole and Jr. decided to draw designs of leprechaun traps on notebooks.  Jr. Jr. decide to draw... on his bed... and hands... with a marker.

Luckily it was washable marker.  Nichole helped him wash his hands.  It came off quickly.  For his bedding, I put stain remover on it and ran it through the wash.  It came right off.  Thank goodness it wasn't paint.

While I was starting the laundry, Lucky fell asleep in the crib.  I was about to work on my Primary Sharing Time lesson, when I heard squirting sounds in his diaper.  As I was cleaning him up, he squirted some more.  A lot more.  Luckily it was only on the changing pad and not on me.  I put him down in the crib again so I could rinse the changing pad, then I had to pick him back up to finish changing his clothes.  I never did get to work on my lesson.

With all that happened today (what I wrote is only some of it), I did not lose my temper.  I definitely got frustrated a few times, but I did not lose it.  I kept thinking of what my friend, Serene, wrote on her blog recently about acting instead of reacting.  I also prayed a lot.  I didn't handle things the best way that I could in certain situations.  I really didn't know how, but I didn't handle them horribly, either.  And when I did make mistakes, I apologized to the kids and explained that I could have handled the situation better.  Then I reminded them that I didn't yell.
Hooray.  I win.

Because you know that my children are so precious to me.  And even though there is craziness from time to time, some frustrations, and a lot of apologizing, it's most important that there is love.  And that's why even though it was light's out time, I read a bedtime book to Jr. Jr.  And he went to bed soon after (which he has not been doing the last few nights).

Yeah.  We win.

Peach Pi

The kids have been into reading Roald Dahl books lately.  One of them is James and the Giant Peach.  Today the kids watched that movie.  Nichole suggested before they start that every time they showed the peach or peach juice/mush, they take a drink of water.  Way to suggest a way to stay hydrated, Nichole.

After the kids went to bed, Jeremy and I watched I.Q. to celebrate Albert Einstein's birthday and Pi Day, March 14.

National Open An Umbrella Indoors Day

One of these years we're going to celebrate National Open An Umbrella Indoors Day on Friday the 13th.
Hmmm, maybe next year?
That'll be fun.

Plant a Flower Day 2014

This year for Plant a Flower Day, March 12, I drew a picture of a flower for Jr. and one for Nichole.  I wrote an "I love you" note on the back of both of them.  Jr. Jr. then took them and planted them on each of the two kids' pillows.  He was so thrilled to actually have permission to climb up on Nichole's bunk.

I don't know what the kids reactions were to the flowers since I went to a Relief Society meeting this evening before they went to bed.  But at the activity, they gave us little packets of Forget-Me-Not seeds.  I thought that was appropriate for the holiday, too.