I Love Second Chances

I mentioned in August that I didn't have time on National Lighthouse Day to make the mini lighthouse from FamilyFun Magazine.  Well, lucky me, September 14th is the anniversary of when the first lighthouse in America was lit in Boston in 1716.  Hurray.  We had enough time for planning this time.
This project was also in the August 2011 issue of FamilyFun Magazine.

We made 2 1/2 lighthouses.  The 1/2 is because halfway through making his, Jr. Jr. decided he was tired and wanted to go to sleep.  So we paused and as soon as I got him down from the table, he started running around with the other kids.
I put on Pete's Dragon (because a lighthouse has a big part in it) and the kids sat down to watch.  Pretty soon, Jr. Jr. leaned over and fell asleep on the couch.

We paused the movie and the older kids finished their lighthouses (with some help from Mom).

They did a great job.

I love finding reasons to celebrate.

Combining Holidays Again

Last year on September 13th, we celebrated National Peanut Day and International Chocolate Day by making our own version of peanut buster parfaits.  This year, Nichole remembered and let me know she wanted ice cream like last time.  I let her know there's no room in the freezer right now for ice cream.  So the kids had to settle for Peanut M&Ms.  They whined and complained and screamed and cried, but finally they ate that candy.  Actually, they helped make dinner,

did a good job eating dinner, then happily ate that candy.  Jr. Jr. had non-peanut M&Ms.

Once again, simple celebrating, but it was nice.

National Video Games Day 2012

September 12th is National Video Games Day.  And how did we celebrate?  Jeremy and I played a video game while the kids were at school.

And they didn't get to when they got home.  Bwah ha ha ha hah ah ah ha.


Actually, Nichole started dance class again, so we didn't have time to do video games after school.

I won the game we played and Jr. Jr. had fun pretending like he was playing. 

I wonder if a lot of other people played video games on this day especially for the holiday.

Make Your Bed Day 2012

September 11 is Make Your Bed Day.  It's not very often the kids make their beds because usually they just have a blanket on top of their fitted sheet.  Not a lot to "make."  So, I though maybe this morning, the kids could actually make their bed.  Nichole likes to straighten out her blanket (when she gets around to it) and make it look pretty with some of her toys with it.  So she could do it and have fun with it.  However, I wasn't around this morning when the kids got up and when Jeremy took them to school.  Jeremy was thinking about having them make their beds, but forgot.  So, they didn't.  I also thought, maybe I could wash all the bedding and make everyone's bed for them... for service, but I didn't get around to it.
So, when Jeremy was taking out some boxes to get rid of, Jr. claimed one of them to crawl in with a pillow and made his own bed.  Creative way to celebrate.

Jr. Jr. wanted to be involved, too, so he climbed in the box with Jr. to lie down in his "bed."

 

I always love to see the things my kids come up with.  Love that creativity.

Family Home Evening Treat

First of all, what is with Skittles?  You get this decent sized box and this tiny bag inside.  They don't seem to fit together, do they?

Anyway, Nichole was in charge of Family Home Evening Treat this evening.  She thought it would be fun if we did a blind taste test.  So we gathered some similarly shaped candies and tried it out.  Some of them were more similarly shaped than others.  We had M&Ms, Reese's Pieces, and Skittles, and Sprees and SweeTarts, and we threw in some Junior Mints because Jeremy and I couldn't agree on what size we remembered them being.  Turns out they are larger than either of us remember.  And Sprees and SweeTarts are smaller than they used to be.

We still had fun.  Everyone did a good job guessing what the flavors were.  The most fun were Reese's Pieces and M&Ms because they're similar enough until you bite down on them and actually think about if it's just the chocolate taste or the peanut butter and chocolate taste you're experiencing.

I have to say my favorite part of the blind taste test was when Jeremy handed over cherry tomatoes to the blindfolded kids who put them in their mouth and got a bit of a surprise.

It was a good family treat.

Sometimes It's Too Easy

I've mentioned before about combining celebrations, when two holidays or reasons to celebrate fall on the same day.  Sometimes it's a stretch like reading subtitles on a Star Trek movie (Jeremy and I watched the 4th movie, in case you were wondering) to celebrate the anniversary of when the original show aired and to celebrate International Literacy Day.  And sometimes holidays seemed to be made for each other- National Peanut Day and International Chocolate Day are both on September 13.
And sometimes certain holidays don't always fall on the same day, but when they do, you have to celebrate them together.  Like today.

September 9 is always Wonderful Weirdos Day.  This year, September 9 is also Grandparent's Day.  Oh yeah.  I cannot pass up this opportunity.
So, let me tell you a little bit about the wonderful weirdos grandparents in our family.

This summer we had the opportunity to visit our last living grandparent/our children's great grandparent.  Jr. Jr. and she became instant friends.  Plenty of fist bumps between the two.

We also got to visit both sets of our children's grandparents.  That was fun. 

You know, grandparents are-

-Always there with a knee to sit on, a hand to hold, or just as someone to lean on 

-Willing to help out, even if it means holding popsicle sticks or shoes while you play

 
-Ready to feed you when you come to visit

and will teach your mom how to bake a pie to feed you when you get home

 
-Willing to give service, whether it is decorating a cake for your birthday, 

helping light the candles outside in the breeze,

or sewing something for your dad (thanks to both grandmas for this, even though I only have a picture of one).

-Ready to give Mom and Dad a break and push the stroller, 

 even if at times it's a little inconvenient.

 -Willing to teach you new tricks

 
-Ready to play with and entertain you.

-Happy to teach you the value of hard work

-The ones who taught your parents everything they know.

So thanks, Grandparents.  You're the most wonderful weirdos there are.

Decisions Decisions

Today, September 8, is the anniversary of when the original Star Trek series first aired on TV in 1966.  To celebrate, which of the original movies do I choose to watch?

I don't have time to have a marathon today.  And I'll be honest.  I'm not in the mood to sit through all of the first movie.  So which of the others should I watch?  Hmmm.  Decisions.  Decisions.

And if any of you out there are not Star Trek fans, September 8 is also International Literacy Day.  So especially if you missed Read a Book Day on Thursday, here's another chance.  Read a book together, help someone learn their alphabet.
And if you want to combine celebrations, watch Star Trek with the subtitles on.