It's Amazing

For Earth Day last week, C's teacher drove to all the houses and left each student a surprise. They each got a cup, a baggie of dirt, and some sunflower seeds. We planted them just about an hour after he got them.

Yesterday, I took this picture to show my parents the progress his little seeds had made. I was super impressed!

4 out of 5 seeds had sprouted! One was even pretty big. They had a class zoom call yesterday afternoon and for the first time, everyone was there! How wonderfully exciting for first graders. 

But then this morning, God has shown me in a literal way how every day brings new choices, miracles, and wonder. 

That little sprout in the middle had barely skimmed the surface of the dirt 24 hours ago. And look at it now!

Sadly, today is cold and dreary. I actually don't mind a rainy day, I just wish it was warm rain. But, the promise remains true: tomorrow is another day. Plus it makes it the perfect day to make a lasagna for dinner, which as it happens is exactly what we were planning to have! 

We also did some of the Disney Animator drawing videos today for art. 

They really enjoyed it. I don't know that the resulting artwork looks a thing like Lightning McQueen, Mickey or Rapunzel but who cares? Not us!!

Have a wonderful day. And if you just can't summon up the energy to do that, remember that tomorrow will come.

Wins from the Weekend!

In an amazing twist of fate, both kids got a new clothing item on the same day. C got this "Samantha?" shirt. (From Frozen 2, and if you don't know what I am talking about you don't have a little boy at home who's seen that movie.) M got some new athletic shorts. She put on her Olaf shirt to match her brother.

Saturday was the perfect date as you may already know: 

And that remained true. I got new tires in December. My driver's side rear tire had an unrepairable leak by the air valve and it was time Well about a month ago, at the very early stages of staying home, my low tire pressure light came on. And no big deal I went and got them filled up. 

But the man told me that my driver's side rear tire was significantly lower than the other tires. And if it happened again I should bring it in to have it looked at. Well on Thursday the light came on. Boo. We have barely driven obviously so that must be a slow leak of some sort. 

Oddly, my Explorer also had issues with the rear driver's side tire. Apparently, it's just that tire that causes me great stress no matter which set of tires. 

Luckily it was able to be repaired under warranty on Saturday and I got to walk around Costco while they got it fixed. I went in for croissants and laundry detergent and walked out with a lot more. But I feel like I actually showed a lot of self-restraint. Everything I picked out is stuff we will actually use! 

Yesterday brought glorious weather. So lots of time was spent playing outside.  And that is good for the soul. 

Friday Already?

I cannot believe it's Friday.

This week has been impossibly long but surprisingly not a whole lot happened. Such is the life of staying home right?

I became unbelievably invested in the house sparrows that live in my neighbors eve. That's Henrietta. Her bird husband's name is Clarence. I love them. We can see them from my kitchen table so I just spend my days watching them build their nest.

We've played a lot of Catan Junior. I love Catan and this is the best substitute. Our kids aren't quite strategic enough to play adult Catan and you need three players so Junior will have to do. Spending some one on one time with each kid for the 2 player version is good. So is playing as a family. 

Tuesday was the Queen's birthday so I threw a little tea party. But instead of tea, we had hot chocolate. And my tea party food was sourced from my pantry and not at all authentic. But they liked it anyway. 

Wednesday we went to a birthday parade for M's friend who turned 5! It was so wonderful. I am 99% sure the moms loved seeing all the kids and moms as well. (We got to go around a cul-de-sac so we really could wave to our grown-up friends and still social distance.) My heart was so so full.

Then we came home and M made her own birthday parade with her Barbies. They even decorated the cars/tractor/scooter/train/carriage. (The Barbie birthday girl is sitting by the table leg.)

I found this meme and yep. This is my life. My kids are SO loud. Even when they're happy. 

Yesterday was Husband's birthday. I threw him an obscure theme party that was easy and staying home friendly. And because I had loads of time to online shop he probably got more presents than normal. That's fine with me. I enjoy celebrating him!!

This morning M had another class zoom. I loved every second and I even took notes of the cute things they said.

This afternoon we will be saying goodbye to our friends. They will come over and we will stand social distancing length apart in the yard. We learned they were moving to Texas at the end of February, or right before the world shut down. They had always planned to stick out the school year while their dad went ahead for work at the beginning of April. But now there's no reason to stay. 

My heart is so heavy that they're leaving in the midst of a pandemic where I can't hug them goodbye and we weren't able to do "one last" anything. But thems the breaks. It's a heartbreaking ending to our chapter with them as local friends.  

And that's that. I hope you're all well! 

A Dessert Worth Waiting For

Once upon a time, in January, I went to see Kinky Boots with Husband at our local dinner theatre. Typically when I go to shows there, I get the chocolate cheesecake for dessert. It’s delicious and a fun treat. But the “dessert of the show” was red velvet cake. Which I also enjoy. So I ordered that instead. It was disappointing. The frosting tasted like an old fridge and it didn't have a very red velvety flavor at all. I spent the entire second act wishing I had just gotten the chocolate cheesecake.

I spent months lusting after chocolate cheesecake. Never actually doing anything about it. Though we did price out buying those exact cheesecakes from Husband's work. (A restaurant food supplier.) They are expensive as heck!

Enter staying home and having nothing else to do. Two weeks ago I made my first basic cheesecake since I had never made a cheesecake before. It turned out okay.

Yesterday I took the lessons I learned from that experience and I made a chocolate cheesecake. After its sleepover in the refrigerator to set or do whatever magic takes place in the fridge, we got to enjoy it today. (In full disclosure, I may have had cheesecake for breakfast. But I have been waiting since January and these are weird times.) Months of longing for a dessert did not disappoint.

And because we have nothing else to do, we also made whipped cream and took a fancy picture of said dessert. On my grandmother's cake stand because these days call for pretty cake stands. I think it's a rule actually.

I am very happy with how it turned out. No pictures of the top because my ganache didn't look as pretty as I wanted it to. But the good news is that I have learned even more lessons this time around and so the next time I really want to have chocolate cheesecake I can make it happen.

We even took a piece to a friend, leaving a slice on her front porch. Because why not spread the joy?

The What's Up With Us Post

Late to the blog today.

We officially will not be returning to school this year. I have a lot of grief about that. This year has been such a redeeming year for C. I will be forever grateful to his teacher and I only wish she could guide him in-person for longer. But we were so lucky to have her.

Today would have been M's spring program. I am sad she doesn't get a triumphant end to her preschool years. 

BUT, we will prevail. It's all going to be okay. It really really is.

I have a chocolate cheesecake in the oven as I type, which means tomorrow there will be dessert.

Here's a smile maker for you:

And a little homeschool update for you as well:

M had her first class zoom. Preschool zoom is as hilarious as you would expect. I loved every single second.

One of the three musketeers moved to a new house this week. (Still in town.) And today we got a text message of her room. Then one kid starting singing the "Sewing my socks" song. They made it up together the three of them. So M made it part of her work today. 

That's the three of them sewing their socks. And singing too obviously. 

Last night I had my own zoom with my small group friends. They were my last friend outing in public and my cup was just as filled by talking to them on zoom. 

In other good news, it's Friday. So it's Family Movie Night and I am excited about that. Life is good. Different. But good.

Wacky Wednesday

Oh, Spring. How you like to goof around.

It's just a little and it will be melted by today. But still. That's a solid April snow. Which, if you recall we had a pretty significant October snow and we did trick-or-treating in it. So, that's 7 consecutive months with measurable snow. 

Summer is going to be a nice little respite! 

Another fun wacky part of our day was C's teacher came for a social distancing book exchange. He had to leave his books outside on the step and then she showed him books through the window for him to borrow. 

It was VERY exciting! Plus now he has some new books to read. Our governor is going to decide about the rest of the school year sometime in the next two days. I am praying for her and all decision-makers. It cannot be an easy job, it's certainly a thankless one, and I am very thankful that I am not in a position to be the one to decide. 

Have a wonderful Wacky Wednesday!

Easter 2020

I think it's safe to say the Easter 2020 is going to be memorable for most of us right? Because of how simple it was. Because of how different it was. But it also somehow meant more too.

It was a little like the first Easter. Everyone was on their own. But they still believed.

Holy Thursday Mass was nice. The kids loved ringing the bells during the Gloria. I did cry.

Anyway, Good Friday we were screen-free as a sacrifice to Jesus. Besides Mass of course. I had always wanted to make hot cross buns for Good Friday and it's never happened.

But this year felt different, a good time to start a new tradition. Husband is the bread man in our house. I love baking, but bread stresses me out. But when I went to look at his dough I noticed it was definitely NOT rising properly. Friday was cold and our house wasn't warm enough to get the job done.

So I started the dough over. We are blessed to have plenty of flour and yeast at our house. The second batch turned out great. And I figured out how to create a proofing drawer in our house. You just boil a pot of water and put in your oven on the lowest rack. The heat from the water and the moisture from the steam creates the perfect environment for a good rise!

Saturday morning, we had Husband's Grandma's 88th birthday party on zoom. 

She was delighted that 51 people could come to her birthday! 

Saturday, we also made our traditional bunny butt cookies and dyed eggs. I usually use refrigerated sugar cookie dough because it is easy. But this year I had to make my own slice and bake dough. It was super easy. Husband liked them even more than the store-bought. (I don't love them as much but they aren't bad.) 

After a belated family movie night watching Trolls World Tour (WE LOVED IT) and with a tray of cookies and a carrot for the Easter Bunny set out, the kids went to sleep. Husband and I did Easter Vigil as best we could. 

Look at our great fire. LOL. We did light our own candles when it was time. Tea lights because that's what we had. I wasn't able to get beeswax. I don't think it matters when you're at your house anyway.

Easter morning was a success. The bunny sent the kids on a scavenger hunt for their baskets. It was well received! 

We did get dressed up. Mostly because I wanted us to. Thanks to a ladder, our dinosaur cellphone holder and believe it or not, a fallen piece of tree bark we got a semi-decent picture, while our neighbor sat in his yard and watched us. 

A few weeks ago we got a food network magazine with a spread about pound cakes. C decided that we should make the chocolate one and so we did for our Easter dessert. He really enjoyed helping make it, and licking the beater too obvious. 

He was very happy that it looked "just like the picture in the magazine." It was pretty good. I probably should have taken it out just a few minutes earlier. The kids didn't mind. 

Husband used my new proofing drawer technique for the dinner rolls and he was VERY happy with how they turned out. They are very yummy. 

So all in all. Successful. Normal traditions. Some new ones. A good weekend we will remember fondly, even without leaving our house. Happy Easter! He is Risen!!