Cake and a Bed

There's a scene in Gilmore Girls where Richard has made "Johnny Machete" which is described as a "vile concoction made with cream of mushroom soup." Richard's gran used to make it for him when he was a boy and it makes him sentimental. Emily has no time for such a recipe and says: "I'm sorry, I'm happy you're happy and to prove it I will take exactly three bites out of this before I throw it away."

Well truth talk: that's how I felt about our chocolate cake for National Chocolate Cake Day. Husband got all sentimental about this cake his mom used to make and so that's the kind of cake we made.

In all honesty, I don't love chocolate cake. I like chocolate a lot but chocolate cake has never been my favorite much to the chagrin of my father. I always have white cake for my birthday because it's what I prefer.

So Husband set out to recreate a cake his mom made, it had chocolate chips in it. Then the frosting was a whipped frosting. It was a box of instant chocolate pudding, 1 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of milk whisked together, then a tub a Cool Whip was folded in. Then he added marshmallows to it.

Eh. I should also mention that I am not a fan of whipped icing. Give me buttercream or give me death. I mean not quite as dramatically as all that but I just don't love it. So we named it our Johnny Machete cake. He and the kids loved it. I took my three polite bites. It does look good though right? Looks like a chocolate cake.

In news from this weekend, M officially got her big, big girl bed.

She likes it. It's a twin bed. And she likes to snuggle in so much. The crib/toddler bed is gone. And I am surprisingly less emotional about that than I would have expected. I think because she's been in the toddler bed setting for so long it just hasn't felt like the crib I put my brand new babies in for a while. I don't know.

Husband went to to Slumberland because they are having a big moving sale and he thought maybe he could get a decently priced mattress. We had looked online and saw one that looked okay. But they guy wanted $350 for it when it was $190 online. He was like um... no. The man was also trying to convince him that the mattress would only be good for a year. Also... no. She weighs 32 pounds for goodness sake.

He left. He went to a different local place where they sell factory direct mattresses. And bing bang boom, we had a bed!

So there you have it. The tales of our weekend.

Cheers to the Weekend

This week has been a long one. But it's been our first full week of school since the middle of December so in reality it has actually been long. I am feeling every bit of this five days in a row thing. I am sure next week will be better since we'll be used to it again.

Today is kind of a big deal in this house because it's January 26. Which obviously means that it's the premiere of "Llama Llama" on Netflix.

Oh you mean this hasn't been on your calendar for your five-year-old to remind you of periodically? We try to limit screen time on school days to just an episode of "Super Why" but we were just so excited that we are watching the first episode before school and I will probably let them watch another later. So far it's super cute, Jennifer Garner is the voice of Mama Llama. And I think that Anna Dewdney would 100% approve of the show.

Our plans for this weekend are pretty low-key. It's Catholic Schools Week next week and so we have the book fair after Mass on Sunday. My kids are out of this world excited about it. Our school is under construction so there isn't the normal open house that we would typically have.

Tomorrow is National Chocolate Cake day so we are going to have some.

And the weather is supposed to be pretty terrific all weekend so I anticipate plenty of outdoors time! Which is excellent because fresh air helps everyone.

All in all everyone, have a wonderful weekend!!

Things I'm Thinking About

If you have a fan of Minnie Mouse in your house, then you probably already know she got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame yesterday. My house greatly enjoyed the video!!

This week Paw Patrol live is touring here and I know many many people who are super excited about it. I think we've watched that show once. I think there's a dog named Rubble? The roly poly one? Eh, I mean I am sure it's a cute show and all that but I just cannot commit to another fan base right now. From what I know of the merchandise is there's a big car or boat called a Paw Patroller and then lots of individual dogs on cars or something that go inside and you collect them all. So that's just a hard pass from my perspective. Thank you not having cable for letting me control what my kids know or not.

For whatever reason Star Wars is starting to infiltrate C's class and I also don't know anything about that. I *ahem* have never seen them. Not even the original trilogy which is really the middle part I think. My knowledge of Star Wars is a little more in depth than Paw Patrol but not by much. My brothers were properly horrified at Christmas when they went to see the new one which is like number 12 or something. We played a Star Wars trivia game and I guessed C every single time. I got a few right!

There's a discussion on Facebook of someone giving up Amazon for Lent.

While I can see the merit of that idea I genuinely don't understand the logistics. Do you keep your subscribe and save? I mean, only March's order would be affected but things like Pull-Ups (for night) and paper towels would still need to be purchased and does a Target run negate the whole thing anyway especially if it costs more?

What about Amazon music or video? Are those off limits? I mean, can you not talk to Alexa for the full 40 days?! Can you still use your Kindle? Obviously I assume you can't buy books but if you get a library book you still have to go to the Amazon website to check it out which I think would feel a little like cheating.

Clearly this is not a Lenten Sacrifice I could take on. Though it is probably time to start thinking about the plan should actually be. It is coming up so fast! I actually bought a Lenten devotional for the first time so maybe that will be my thing, just to actually focus on God and prayer? That may do more for my spiritual life than a sacrifice where I just get grouchy anyway? I will have to think on this some more.

Okay and last but not least, Chicago West. You have of course heard that is what Kim and Kanye named their baby? I was properly horrified at first too but there is a good point to be made that people are named London, Brooklyn, Savannah, Austin, Paris, Madison, Phoenix... so while I will always mourn the fact that they could have named a baby Wild, or Seattle Grace Mercy, I actually don't think it's as weird as it could be.

Have a lovely Tuesday!

Always Next Year

When I was a little girl, my dad would ask me, "Madeline, what do the Vikings do?" And I would make the choking sign. It is quite unfortunate that remains true. But it should at least end the conspiracy theorists going on and on about last week right?

Ah well. Cheers to another boring* Super Bowl. This one is just a repeat of 2004. I don't even care for Justin Timberlake. (Who is the halftime performer.) We will still have our football helmet fruit bowl that day! So that's something to look forward to.

What we will try to create. 

*I am sure that if you like the Patriots or the Eagles you will not think it's boring. But since it's a bit of a foregone conclusion the Patriots will again win, eh, it takes a bit of the fun out of it.

**Ultimately I am glad we won't have to lose to the Patriots in two weeks because that would be way worse than this!!

7QT

1. I am so glad it's Friday!! It's got me all like:

2. So the super duper high from Sunday's game lasted until about Wednesday and now I am just really stressed out about this Sunday. It's 100% irrational to feel stress based on a team you do not play on or control in any way, but man. If you are not an Eagles fan, the Vikings would love your support this weekend! It would be kind of fun for there to be a hometown Super Bowl am I right?

3. Have you seen the news about the Viking's fans give to Thomas Morestead's foundation? He really was such a wonderful example of sportsmanship. I actually read about this idea on Reddit which is kind of cool that I wasn't the last to know about it. I donated when the total was still around $53,000 on Wednesday and by the time Husband came home it was $90,000. I was just refreshing and watching the total go up. It has slowed down a bit, not gaining $1000 every few minutes any more but still, it's a lot of money. Very cool.

4. Weather and football. That's all I can talk about these days I guess. We played in the snow yesterday. There isn't a ton but it's going to melt this weekend since it will be in the 40s for a few days. It's been a weird winter. We've actually had plenty of snow, but it's either a wind chill warning or melting. There hasn't really been an in between.

5. We I promised the kids we could paint tomorrow. I am not an anti-craft mom, I enjoy them. But paint gets me all nervous. I am sure it will be fun though, right? Right? 

6. What do you serve your kids for lunch? I feel like we have the same thing every day and I want to mix it up. We trypically have PBJ, a string cheese and some fruit. Maybe some veggie straws. And that's swell. We are good with the PBJ. They don't want to give that up for a second. What are good lunch sides that are a little different? 

7. Okay... 

My Gosh.

You Guys. Holy heck.

First of all, Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Secondly, M is doing so well with the potty training! So so well! We went to dinner at Husband's aunt and uncles house on Saturday night, no accidents. We went to Mass yesterday morning, no accidents. Her Minnie Mouse House does not disappoint!

I am delighted by this kid. It's crazy that after this mini-break of a five day weekend we have to get back to reality tomorrow. Boo.

Thirdly, could I just let yesterday go? No. No I can't.

You guys. Nothing about yesterday's football games went the way I would have bet money on. Like for real. I would have bet all my money on the Steelers. (Sorry Billie Jo! I was actually really hoping for a Vikes/Steelers Super Bowl!) Okay, if we're being honest the only game I was not surprised by this weekend was the Patriots.

I watched every. single. painful. second of the Vikings game. Yes, painful. Because I have been a Vikings fan for my entire life. So I know. I know how we choke at the last minute. And I was upset. And sad. Because it's hard to be a Vikings fan.

And then my heart dropped out of my chest. Husband was scream and yipping. And it truly took me about 15 seconds to process that in fact, that really happened. And then all of us were jumping and screaming and yelling. I have no voice today. And I probably need a cardiologist!!

I don't pretend to know what is going to happen in Philly this weekend, but oh man. I am so glad we get a chance to play them. It feels a little bit like Matt Saracen and the Dillon Panthers.

So we are going to hang out on this last vacation day. Teacher C is going to read the class some stories in his appropriate pajamas. It snowed last night (less than 3 inches) and I already got the shoveling done, which is good.

Today is a good day. 

Undies Day!

Hey. It's Friday. 

It is also the second day of... undies day! 

What, pray tell, is undies day? Well, it is the day(s) you tell your stubborn 3-year-old that there are no more Pull-Ups and in fact she will be wearing undies from here on out. Luckily for us, C has a 5 day weekend so it seemed like a good time to just force the issue. 

So I have spent the past 36 hours on the second floor of our house. Because we only have one bathroom and why on earth would we stray far from the toilet at a time like this? We went and got the Minnie Mouse house on Monday. (Visualizing the reward.) Then bought special snacks and juice on Tuesday. And there has been quite a bit of build up over the past two weeks leading up to yesterday. 

And yeah. I think we will be able to venture downstairs tomorrow. And hopefully by Tuesday we will be ready to venture out into the world a bit since, that's when I need to venture out into the world. Honestly though, she is doing really really well. She was 100% ready and just needed to be kicked out of the nest. 

She hasn't quite earned her Minnie Mouse House yet but she's close! 

There is no patron saint of potty training which seems odd to me. Since that's kind of a thing for the human population barring any physical or neurological setback. So if you need me, I'll be the one in Iowa not going anywhere drinking water and eating licorice. 

I hope your weekend has 100% less potty training than mine but it wonderful all the same. 

Reading Reading Reading

In 2017 I set a goal to read 24 books. I know I wrote about that quite a bit. And I was doing great and demolished my goal early. But then I got a Kindle Voyage from my parents for my birthday early and then I started reading a ton. 

I did in fact stay up until 2:00 AM on December 31 to be sure to finish my last book of 2017 and I ended the year with a solid 95 books. 

For 2018 I set a goal to read 75 books. Which is less than I read in 2017 for sure. And I have in fact started out strong. 

But... I am running out of books that I want to read. I mean, 4 of these books I've read so far in 2018 are just women's fiction with little literary value. And I don't care. I am not one who always reads for gaining knowledge, reading is definitely a form of entertainment for me so reading the chick flicks of books doesn't bother me. 

I like to mix it up though and read all sorts of things. I also don't want to go broke doing this. I do have Kindle gift cards from Christmas but I really want to spend those wisely! My library system, which I rocked for 2017 has been picked through pretty severely by me. One of my book club picks all the books for the year ahead of time but I've read all but one of those already. 

I think for me, reading comes in waves. I get books I am interested in reading all piled up and then I dive in. When I am done with those I need a break to find more books I want to read. 

I am reading a book right now that I am going to lose. The library is going to steal it back. (And I know I can turn the Kindle to airplane mode and keep it longer but if I do that I can't get any other books in the meantime.) And it's a book with a lot of hype. But I hate it. I cannot get into it. 

Yes, that Tom Hanks. And he can write. He actually is a good writer. But I like books. These short stories are doing nothing for me. Right as I get invested and interested they stop. And the only continuity is that each story features a typewriter in it. 

Even just writing about it I made up my mind to return it to my library. It is going on the never-finished-pile. 2018 may be the year I do not force myself to finish a book I can't get in to. Life is too short to spend time on things you don't like!!

Have you read anything AMAZING lately? 

What's Up With Us

It's Spring!!! 

Well... no. No it isn't obviously. But it is 37 degrees today which is ABOVE FREEZING. It got above freezing yesterday too, which was less fun because hello freezing rain. But still... it broke our below freezing streak. We were at 15 days below freezing. 

So today as we ran errands it was practically balmy. I had to turn the heat in the car down and I wasn't even wearing my mittens. 

But let me tell you about our wonderful weekend shall I?

Friday night Husband and I went on date. And oh my goodness it was wonderful. It was just wonderful. We had dinner. And we talked. It was a good dinner. Then we went to Target. Which yes, meant we were doing errands. But we did errands together. And without our kids. And we walked around Target and did more talking. And laughing. And it was good for our marriage. Not that our marriage has any real problems. But man, it is good to reconnect and remember why we love each other. 

I took no pictures. But it happened. 

Saturday was mostly lovely. We had some quality family time. With Christmas Play-Doh and Zingo. 

Zingo was maybe my favorite of the kid's Christmas presents. It's wonderful. We love games. I love teaching my kids to be good sports. But it's hard to find one we can all play. If you have littles, you should have Zingo. 

Yesterday we had a lovely morning at Mass and then we came home and Husband hung up my new light fixture!! 

I am delighted by it! Sure a lot more interesting than the old light fixture that was there. It was a Christmas present from my mom. She has one almost exactly the same. M came down the stairs after her nap and said "That light is just like Grandma's washing machine room. Did we steal-ed it from her?" It was precious. 

Anyway, I wish you all a wonderful Monday!

Back To Reality

Today is our first day back from Christmas break.

And to say I am not looking forward to it is the understatement of the century.

The part that is funny is that we are already two days later than previously scheduled. Right before Christmas break started, they decided that the planned break construction was going to need an extra day, so they took January 2 off the calendar.

As it happens it was SO COLD that day that our public district was closed anyway and we follow their policy so we wouldn't have gone anyway. But then, because it was so cold and the school was/is under construction, some of the pipes froze and since you can't have school with only one working girl's bathroom... we didn't have school yesterday either.

Today it is really cold again. Admittedly not as cold as Tuesday. So we are a go for heading back today. I mean today has just a windchill advisory, not a windchill warning.

I am so over the cold and the winterness of it all. I would say I'm moving to the south but it's apparently cold everywhere right now. It's hovering right at freezing at Disney World currently. 

Also, as it happens, C is super excited to go back to school. It is me who is dragging my feet. 

But alas. Happy Thursday friends!

Our Trip

Saturday (Christmas Eve Eve) we drove to Minnesota and were able to watch the Vikings/Packers game on TV. I took my brother to Dairy Queen because they apparently don't have them in Washington DC and he loves Cookie Dough Blizzards. A Vikings win with DQ? Hello perfect night! 

Sunday was Christmas Eve! In my family Christmas Eve has always been our big celebration day! And we open all the family presents. My grandpa and uncle joined us and it was a lovely meal!

Husband knowing the true way to my heart introduced me to my new best friend. I was so happy I took a selfie and texted it to my bestie. 

Christmas Day arrived and Santa came! It was a super low key day and was spent enjoying new things and each other. 

Tuesday was much the same. We always play games at night when we are at my parent's house and we played Disney Monopoly. I have never won Monopoly before but I totally did. I first bankrupted Husband. Then one of my brothers. Then my dad. Then my other brother quit. Because I was just too good. All those properties and castles are mine. 

On Wednesday we went as our little family to The Crayola Experience at the Mall of America. C is so into art that we thought he would love it. He was the exact right age for all of the things. M enjoyed it too but if she was just a little young for some of it. We loved the play area.

My favorite activity was making the melted crayon spin art! C smiled for me but he preferred Wrap It Up! where you can design a crayon wrapper and put it on a crayon to take home. Everyone gets a token with their admission to do it once. We bought extra tokens to do this many more times because he loved it so much! (Translates to 50 cents a crayon.) 

You can draw on a computer and then your art is projected on the wall. Here is C with his walrus art. 

And M with her scribbly rocket.

Of course just the coloring station was fun for the group. 

M and I liked the glow marker board. It was really fun. And the closest thing to graffiti I've ever done.

There were so many other fun things to do. We spent a full 4 hours there and we didn't do everything. The annual pass wasn't too expensive and we really considered it since we visit my parents enough that even going twice would pay for itself. 

Thursday was the "warm" day of the trip since it got up to about 12 degrees. And so the kids got to go sledding. Which C was really anticipating. I am so happy they were able to go out to the backyard and do that. 

 

Friday we went to an Escape room. It has kind of become our thing and it was really fun! We escaped and saved Christmas but just only barely! Like with a minute left. C came with us for the first time and he wasn't super helpful but he did really like it. 

Saturday our whole big group went to see Ferdinand. C loves that book so so much and when we went to see Despicable Me in August we saw one of those cardboard ads in the lobby and he got so excited. It was so nice to go as a big group and we all actually enjoyed it a lot. Reclining seats are the best! 

Sunday we drove three hours to my FIL's house. We had a little Christmas lunch, opened some more presents and played with his Christmas gift for himself the bubble hockey table. 

Then we drove another three hours and we made our way home. It was the first leg of our trip where we the kids got to play their Kindles. They were troopers and it was a nice end to our more than a week away. Then M fell asleep anyway. We were so ready to be home!

And while were gone Santa came to our house too. 

We were so excited to be home with a few more things. The greatest gift of all was just being home though. I  was so glad I left our house spotless even if everyone thought I was crazy vacuuming the steps while we were loading the car last weekend.

It was the perfect blend of everything. Down time and fun activities. But still, I am happy to be home!! 

Happy New Year!

Well friends, Happy New Year!!

We got home yesterday evening from our 8 night/9 day trip. Santa came to our house while we were gone so we opened our last presents and watched Pete the Cat and the Groovy New Year Party, combining holidays a little.

I will write more about our week and the fun we had but right now we are in the midst of snuggling and unpacking. It is so good to be home! Happy 2018! (Can you even believe it?!)