Spring Break So Far

Hello friends! How has your week been? Our has been pretty swell so far, I love a good Spring Break! Which to be fair, has mostly consisted of a whole lotta nothing. Reason number 634 that I would be a terrible home schooler.

The big happening on Monday was that we went to the grocery store. BIG mistake on my part. The kids were fine but there were SO MANY people out and about. I usually do my shopping right after school drop off so like 8:30. Both my grocery stores and Target are practically empty at that point. So imagine my shock when it was wall to wall people in the afternoon. Oh well. We also got to play outside for a good long time because it was so nice out!

Yesterday nothing really happened that was interesting, we played outside but that's about it actually. So today I decided to really pack in the fun! We played Candyland while sitting on the Candyland towel. You haven't lived until you play Candyland with a bossy 2-year-old and a really really excited 4-year-old. C won and M just wanted to draw purples.

Then later, the kids helped me make their lunch. It was PB&J so I am not completely crazy. C did the peanut butter and M did the jelly. Everyone got to count out the blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. So that was fun. After rest we played Play-Doh for a long time and then, and I am not even sure how I got talked into this, we made Ninja Turtle cookies. C got a box of Ninja Turtle cookie mix for Christmas from my FIL and his wife.

The mix turns green when you stir. Magical. And after you roll out the balls and smush them down you get to put the edible masks/mouths on them. Super fun. The kids LOVED them. The whole experience was exciting. But they are pretty much tasteless and I can't get past the fact that they're green. 

But there is. Our Spring Break up until now. And you know what? I am loving it! 

A Perfect PBS Day!

Another year has passed. Want to know how I know? Because last March I had a St. Patrick's Day post directly followed by an Imagination Station post. Well friends, it's time for this year's Imagination Station post.

Our local PBS Station has this totally free event in March. And it was yesterday! They do ticket the event so that only 200 people can come in for both the morning and afternoon session. I didn't get our tickets until late so we did the afternoon session, from noon to 2:00. It was slightly more chill than last year, so that was good! It helps that I knew what to expect and had studied the map so I knew where to go.

This year we split our group up. C does not like costumed characters and he is quite clear and adamant about that fact. We had scoped out all the rooms and activities that wouldn't have characters and made sure to go to those. So I hung out with C.

We went to the Wild Kratz room first where they had a guy from our local nature center talk about box turtles, fox snakes, American kestrels and great-horned owls. He brought out each animals and spoke about them. It was very cool and my animal lover really enjoyed it. C went to Splash and Bubbles to make a stained glass fish and get a temporary tattoo. Then we went on to Sid the Science Kid and did some science experiments. (They were not as cool as I was maybe expecting but that's okay, C liked it.) We snuck into the Curious George room and nabbed the craft to take home. George was in there so we just got out of there real quick.

In the Martha Speaks room there were therapy dogs. We went in but it was REALLY hot in the room for some reason and since we had just spent a week with dogs it wasn't a exciting to him. So we went to Super Why and colored a mask and played the word bucket throw before he was scheduled to appear. We got a crown from the Princess Presto room. Then we went to Peg + Cat for some of the activities.

M had a very different experience at the Imagination Station. She was on a mission to meet all the characters and they met them all except the Jet, Set, Go! guy. (And we don't even watch that show so I don't know his name.) The first priority was to meet Daniel Tiger. After that she met Clifford and got Clifford ears, which was one of the only activities she did! She also got a crown, a temporary fish tattoo and did some of the Peg + Cat activities. She stopped off to sing a song about bubbles with Mr. Steve.  She met Whyatt, Princess Presto, George, Daniel, Clifford, Nature Cat, Peg and we waved to Cat in the hallway, so not a true meet and greet but pretty close.

All in all it was a great family event and was so much fun to spend time with our family. Afterwords we went out for a late lunch/early dinner at Outback Steakhouse. Outback is one of my favorites and it did not disappoint. It was a perfect day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here's the scoop. It's St. Patrick's Day. I know, I am just as surprised as you that we are halfway through March. Today is the first day of C's spring break already! Spring break!

Yesterday M wore her new Lularoe outfit. It is definitely still big but I was really worried she'd just outgrow a size 2 right away. (She's in 3T shirts and 2T pants these days.) She really liked it!

It was Gable the dog's birthday yesterday, he turned 12. Which is pretty old in the dog world I think. Google tells me quick that the average lifespan for a yellow lab is 10-14 years so yeah, he is right in there. We got a text message from his mom and dad that he usually gets a Dairy Queen cone for his birthday and we were happy to celebrate with him! 

Dog sitting has been swell but we are all ready to head home tonight! (Which truthfully is cheating a little bit because the humans don't come back until tomorrow, but we are bringing the kids home and splitting up for the night.) 

The Leprechaun visited C's classroom yesterday! It was so much fun he wanted the leprechaun to visit us again... quick trip to Walgreen's saved the day with a bag of chocolate coins and a Tsum Tsum for each kid. It made the morning extra fun besides just the Lucky Charms.

C got to accompany M and I to art class today and he thought that was pretty good. We made some ADORABLE crafts that I am not showing you because they are in the car and I just don't want to bring them in for a picture. I did however take a picture of our thematic lunch. Lucky you! 

Shamrock pancakes, green applesauce and key lime pie yogurt. (That I did not dye green but it has green packaging so that's something right?!) 

I hope however you are celebrating the day, it is enjoyable and full of fun! Happy weekend!! 

Happy Pi Day!

Hello Friends!

Just checking in with you on this bright (and pretty darn cold considering it was in the 70s not that long ago) Tuesday. Because it is always cold the day after a snow.

So it did snow. And we did not have a 2 hour late start or a snow day which to be honest surprised me just a little bit. Every other single snow we've had this season has been on a weekend or non-school day. Seriously. And we really just haven't had much snow this year at all. (Not complaining about that mind you.) So to have a big snow on the day after daylight savings, right during rush hour on a day you are statistically more likely to be in a car accident anyway, well I was expecting a 2 hour delay. Think of the children! (And also the elementary kids start school at zero dark hour and no one has shoveled by that point. I sure hadn't!)

But whatever. Husband shoveled at the dog's house. C went to school. I shoveled at our house. And, honest to blog, I did the most "good enough" shovel of my life. Is my sidewalk shoveled enough so that the city can't get mad and pedestrians are safe? Yep? Good enough! Considering it is going to be in the 40s and rainy Thursday and in the 50s the whole weekend, I just couldn't summon the effort to do a great job!

I let the dogs and the kids play in the snow yesterday. Get one more use out of the snow pants and boots for the season. They had fun romping together.

In case you are at all curious how the "should we get a dog" thing is playing out, it's exactly as I would have guessed. C would LOVE a dog and he has been about as helpful as a 4-year-old can get. Making sure they have water and food and playing with them etc. But... I just am a cat person. Dogs are swell for the short term but they're SO needy. And Husband is allergic to cats so... we will remain a pet free house and occasionally dog sit. 

We made a super fancy, frozen and ready-to-bake, from the school pie sale blueberry pie for pi day. It will be dessert tonight for people who eat their dinner. Which means there's a good chance Husband and I will be the only ones eating this pie. Somebody tell me it's totally normal for kids to just not eat some days! 

Anyway, Happy Pi Day! I hope you get a slice of the pie of your choice! 

QT: The Fastest

1. I am coughing a lot less today! I may actually get well sooner than later.

2. I have to use a quick take to remind you all that:

1. It is Spring Forward this weekend. 
2. And that sucks. 

3. It is supposed to S.N.O.W. on Monday and I am just going to be over here in a serious case of denial because I am just unwilling to have to shovel two driveways. 

4. We are watching a house and some dogs for the next week. It's going well but we've only been in charge for about 12 hours. This is me seeing if getting a dog would be a dumb idea. I'm going to go ahead right now and say yes, but only because I just kinda only tolerate dogs. Like, they're fine in theory, but in practice, I just don't really want one. 

5. The love of my life had a business trip in Chicago last night. (Thankfully just one night!) And he brought me back a Portillo's chocolate cake. Happy weekend to me. Yes, I shared! But goodness it is delicious. I am SO glad we didn't give up chocolate this Lent. 

6. I don't know how you feel about Tangled but we LOVE it! So we are pretty excited about Tangled Ever After! We only watched half of it because it started at 7:00. M put herself to bed and C got so tired that at 7:30 he asked if he could watch the rest tomorrow. :) We are excited for the show! 

7. And... that's about what I know! 

Thursday!

It's Thursday. That totally boggles my mind.

I am finally coming out of the grossness I succumbed to last Friday afternoon. I don't know if was actual flu or just the heaviest cold (in my queenly terms) I have ever experienced but it was not fun. It still isn't. I am at the hacking up a lung stage where since it is productive I shouldn't try and stop it but it really hurts!

Let's see here, I don't have too much to report.

On Monday I went out for dinner with my friend to celebrate her birthday. It was pretty good though it was VERY windy. Which then later (after I was home) turned into a severe thunderstorm/tornado warning. It was terribly dreadful to wake my kids up at 10:30 to sit in the basement. But, no damage and then everyone slept really well.

On Tuesday we had friends who would be driving through, and they stopped in and brought us dinner. What a wonderful night that was. It was so thoughtful of them to bring us dinner and nice to visit. I recently read an article that parents need to demonstrate adult friendships for their children to set a good example and so it was excellent to have an opportunity present itself so easily.

My friend who lives in Italy (oh that sounds so glamorous even though it's really kinda not because... the Air Force.) had an Usborne party, and we like books so I ordered a few. One of the things we got was the Animal Doodle Cards.

They are these great wipe clean cards and they are actually pretty fun, even for me! They have Travel Doodles and then a 100 Things to Do cards as well. I got this idea from the consultant of the party but I am a big fan. I just took a hole punch and got some binder rings so now they are even better for travel, because any parent knows that box would have been worthless in a few weeks. 

I made two rings because this isn't my first parenting rodeo. 

And that's about the excitement going on here. So... not much. :) 

March: The first three days.

Well March is here and man has it come in like a lion. Weather wise, Tuesday into Wednesday we had some severe thunderstorms and hail. (Pea to dime sized and no damage.)

The angry weather brought the cold back in, which honestly is to be expected because we were getting a little too lucky to be back in spring coats already. I got myself up for the 6:30 Mass because if I didn't go then, it wasn't going to happen. I know it's not a Holy day of obligation (which is why I flew solo) but I needed to start my Lent out right.

I don't think my ashes fit on this guide very well... but they were dark. And after much googling the night before, they didn't last long. I didn't wake up to take a shower before Mass but apparently it isn't a problem to wash them off earlier than before you go to sleep so there you go. 

The highlight of Wednesday for my guy was going to his friend Carter's birthday party at Monkey Joe's. It was so precious to watch him play with his friends and interact with the group. The sweetest sweet hearts! 

Yesterday was a normal day for us, which was nice. It was still cold but that's okay, there's a thaw on the horizon! 

But today is another story, C woke up with a fever. And he was upset that he wasn't feeling well but also just as upset that he was going to miss the 100 Day party at school today! Poor dude, it was really heartbreaking as a parent. 

M has been waking up at 5:00 every day for the past few weeks and then running amok which is terrible. She was supposed to have art class today but obviously we couldn't go. We spent the first bit of the morning watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in our room. 

I hope we can kick the virus or whatever is ailing him, we don't have any major plans this weekend but it would sure be better to be healthy! 

So that is what the first few lion-y days of March have looked like. Have an excellent weekend friends!