Strawberry Shortcake

It's tradition.

When my parents got married many years ago they started a new tradition.

They both came from large families and my dad mentioned to my mom that now that they were married he wanted to have 2nds of dessert; something that didn't happen in his large family. My mom's family was very poor and rarely had dessert and certainly not enough for seconds.

So they took a dessert and subtracted a little of the sugar so they could eat as much as they wanted.

The problem with this is that you are usually almost full of the main meal before the dessert is served.

So the tradition of dessert for supper was started.

I grew up eating cookies and fruit salad, fruit crisps, strawberry shortcake, etc. for suppers.

When I started dating Jon he would eat supper with us when he was visiting for the weekend.

He certainly didn't mind our continuing this tradition in our own family.

 I don't think the kids are minding it either.

 

They each had three helpings.

Jumpville

There is a place called Jumpville that is very similar to Pump It Up that we had in New Bern.

I had taken Dominic to a party there last year, but never made it back.

We were all feeling a bit cagey when I thought of Jumpville.

We jumped in the car and headed over.

This place is three times the size of Pump It Up.

It started out as Wiggle Time - a place for kids 18 months and younger to come play.

Then the owner bought out a bounce house business and added all of the rest.

This picture only shows a portion of it.

The fencing is for the younger kids area.

Caitlin had no fear climbing to the top of this slide.

I was so proud of Dominic. Even when his little friends would rush by Caitlin on the ladder he would patiently wait and help her down the slide before running off to join his friends again.

Jumping and falling.

Half way up the rock wall.

The slide into one of the ball pits.

It was very inexpensive and wore the kids out.

Definitely something to do again.

Little Lambs

Dominic has really been enjoying Little Lambs.

This week they invited an EMT and he brought his ambulance.

Not sure what pose Dominic is trying to do here.

He gave a talk on safety.

Then everyone went out to sit in the ambulance.

Dominic asking questions in the ambulance.

Doing crafts and class work.

Ms. Kathy is a great teacher.

Hide & Seek

The kids wanted to play hide and seek today.

Our house is actually great for this. I stand in the hallway facing the door

and they have both sides of the house to hide in.

After about 5 games I called a break so I could finish something.

They decided to keep playing.

Caitlin hides her eyes with her hands and counts -

"One two, one two. 

Eddy o hat. Here come."

Then she ran to hide.

Problem was - Dominic was hiding as well.

After a few minutes they both came out of hiding to find out why they weren't being found.

Bathes and Bubbles

I received an email from Shutterfly offering me some free cards. But I didn't have a new enough picture of the kids. So I lined them up against the wall and tried to get a decent photo.

The kids did not match and were really, really dirty. But I planned to turn the picture into a black and white so I knew this wouldn't matter.

They were NOT being still or smiling.

Jon blew bubbles and that helped for a moment.

Then it was back to wiggles again.

With a bit of touching up, I think I have a good one.

The kids weren't the only dirty ones. The girls were pretty smelly.

Jon took both of them into the bathroom and Josie sat on his legs while he bathed Sarah.

We tried out a new Mexican restaurant today.

The kids loved the bright decor.

Caitlin eating her tomato with my scrunchie in her hair.

Another craft

Dominic loves watching tv. He would probably watch all day if I let him.

He is only allowed to watch while Caitlin is sleeping. Then I'll put her on the bed (he watches in my bedroom) so she can watch with Dominic if she wakes up in the middle of a show. Then he's required to turn it off once that show is finished. If she happens to wake up as a show is ending or I wake her up at 4pm then he has to turn the tv off right then.

But since Jon got the PS3 I've felt a little guilty for how much "tv" time he's been getting. Although watching him play the PS3 is hilarious. He can't sit still. If his man jumps on the screen so does Dominic.

So the past couple of days I've been coming up with baking projects or crafts to keep him occupied so he won't think of watching tv. I'm surprised because it's actually working.

Today we used some bird seed he'd been given in Sabbath school and made a bird feeder.

First we covered a paper towel roll in peanut butter.

He couldn't wait until the roll was covered in the peanut butter so he could lick the knife.

He found out accidentally that bird seed doesn't taste that great.

 

Then we rolled it in the bird seed.

We hung it outside on Dominic's favorite tree - the pear tree.

Valentines

I was reading a blog this morning and saw a craft that looked doable.

So after Caitlin went down for her nap, Dominic and I hauled out the supplies.

First we sorted crayons and found Valentine colors.

Then we took all of the paper off.

This was not Dominic's favorite part, but he suffered gladly knowing there was better stuff coming.

Then we shaved the crayons in the pencil sharpener.

Our pencil sharpener is not the best so I was using a knife to shave the stubs. 

I ended up slicing into my finger.

I now know that Dominic can be cool under pressure and that blood doesn't make him sick.

He was a very brave doctor as he rushed to get me a band aid and wipe up the blood.

Although I had to wonder if it was partly concern about the blood getting on his craft project. =)

We then put the shavings between wax paper and ironed it.

It was pretty cool watching the colors melt together.

 

Then we cut out hearts and strung them up.

Happy Early Valentine's Day!

Yucky!

I'm always trying to sneak vegies past my kids.

And once when I was in a super hurry I found an amazing way to get them to eat almost anything.

Today proved that the almost is certainly there.

I can make Ramen Noodles and put any kind of vegie in that I want.

Then I'll add tofu and olives and they will inhale several bowls.

I know that Ramen isn't the most nutritious food, but the vegies are about half of the bowl so I have convinced myself that this makes it worth it.

Today I decided to change things up a bit. I'd purchased a can of 

Cha'i-Pow-Yu (Braised Gluten).

The kids were NOT impressed.

Caitlin will try anything and as soon as she put it in her mouth she pulled it right back out and said 

"Yucky, mommy, vewy yucky. I don wike it."

Dominic won't try anything without force. So I told him that he had to try it before he got another bowl. He agonized and finally put a small piece in his mouth.

The face he made was priceless. The gagging was not.

Since the gagging wasn't fake I didn't make him eat any more.

Guess I'm back to tofu.

Limber

I love to exercise when the kids are still awake. They make me laugh.

And groan at how limber and bendy they are.

Caitlin is almost completely folded in half.

Caitlin can squish her cheeks with her feet. 

How many of you can do that?

 

Dominic wanted to have us take a picture of him, but was missing a few key elements of clothing. 

So it's a face shot.

What a day!!!

This is a typical stay-at-home day. It didn't happen today. After reading this you will understand why I blog at night after the kids are in bed. But every single one of these things DID happen.

And in the words of my mother (who was so sweet to point this out) -

"Wow! They are JUST like you when you were little!"

Thanks mom! Makes me feel so much better.

The morning starts out well enough. Dominic wakes up and we cuddle on the couch while we wait on Caitlin to get up. She usually wakes up and calls for me. But occasionally she will wake up screaming.

Occasionally happened this day.

As we are eating breakfast Caitlin dumps her breakfast on the floor. It is very cold outside so the dogs are in the house. They rush over to help "clean up". Dominic reaches down with his sticky fingers to pet them. Now they need another bath. 

Caitlin gets her hair in her food and swallows it. I have to pull it out of her mouth with the food still attached as she gags.

Both spill their milk and cover their clothes in breakfast.

Caitlin asks to go potty, but before I can get around the bar she pees her pants.

I am washing dishes when I hear a little voice -

"Uh Oh. Huwwy I poop, I poop!"

I hurried, but not fast enough.

It's cold. Weather.com says it's 19 degrees outside. So the dog's water bowls are inside.

Sarah dumps the water on the floor and it runs under the refrigerator.

I moved the refrigerator and mopped up all the water.

Caitlin spends this time eating dog food and emptying my cans out of the cabinets. 

Dominic spends this time emptying every toy in his toy boxes.

I am helping Dominic put his toys away.

Caitlin is putting panties on her head and arms and legs. 

She already had a pair on her bum.

While I am putting her panties back in the drawer I hear a scream from the bathroom. (Dominic tattling.)

I go into the bathroom to find Caitlin getting ready to flush the toilet.

Here is what she had done. 

She had taken a bowl from her kitchen and emptied the water from the toilet into the almost full trash can. 

She then dumped all of her bathroom toys into the toilet. 

This was what she was getting ready to flush when I ran in.

The rug is wet, the toys are gross and WHAT am I supposed to do with that trash can?!

It's now 9am. My day is just beginning!

I'll highlight a few other things that happened later.

Josie stuck her nose in the paint. Dominic backed up against it.

The toys that had been in the toilet were in the tub waiting for a chance to be cleaned. The kids climbed in with their clothes on and are now soaked with toilet bowl water.
I put them at the bar to color so I could play catch up. The bar is now covered in bright green marker, as are both kids.
I've found that dried play doh does NOT come out of carpet.
Caitlin put about 6 cups of kitty litter in the toilet and about half that in the shower. This litter dissolves when it touches liquid. So the toilet is clogged.
Caitlin spilled milk all over the couch.
The dogs peed on the floor because I forgot about them needing to go outside.
The carpet in the living room is wet and smelly because Sarah likes to take a mouth of dog food into the living room to eat it.
Caitlin stripped naked in her crib every time I left her bedroom and never ended up taking a nap.

It's the end of the day. The kids rooms are a disaster. The house is not remotely clean and we had left overs for supper because I didn't have time to cook.
A friend (who doesn't have children) told me that I would look back on this day and smile someday.
You know - She might be right.
But it will be a very long time in the future.
Because tomorrow is likely more of the same.

Just saying. . .

Caitlin

"Caitlin, it makes mommy sad when you disobey."

"Okay."

"Does it make Caitlin sad?"

"No, Mommy!"

Ah the honesty!

Yesterday I asked Caitlin if she was my sweet baby girl.

"No!"

"Well are you my bad baby girl?"

"No!"

"Well what are you then?"

"you weet big garw." (Your sweet big girl)

Pardon me!

So just now I asked her if she was my sweet big girl.

"No, I weet two garw." (No, I'm sweet two girl)

Can't make up her mind. =)

Dominic

My mom told Dominic she had to go out to the car to get something.

"Grandma, I hope it isn't a toy for me. I don't need anymore toys. I have enough already."

"No, Dominic."

"Okay, good."

Apparently my talk while weeding through his toys this week hit home.

My mom is here helping me paint my house. She had finished in the front hallway earlier that day and was working elsewhere.

Dominic had disobeyed and was sent to the hallway to put his face in the corner.

We heard a yelp.

"Mom, I can't put my nose in the corner. It will get all wet."

The things this boy will come up with while trying to avoid punishment.

Snow Day

We had more snow fall last night. This was added to what was already on the ground from Friday night and Saturday. So we had some wonderful sledding opportunities.

It's a shame that the best snow always comes when Jon has to work. His plant never closes for snow. If you can make it great. If not they'll see you when the roads are clear.

So Jon always feels obligated to go since he knows he can drive in snow.

I appreciated his work ethics, but I put a guilt trip on him this morning.

"Your kids are only young this once. You know that most of the people won't be able to make it off of the mountain. Why don't you go in a couple of hours late and we both take the kids sledding this morning."

He agreed. Isn't my man wonderful?! =)

So after breakfast we bundled the kids up and headed to a friend's house. 

We never made it. They live way out in the country and their roads weren't salted or grated.

So we turned around and on the way back found a great hill right beside Hwy 111.

I was a bit nervous sledding with the kids right next to a highway. But the hill that we found was slanted in such a way that we never even made it close to the road.

Dominic and Caitlin were a bit uncomfortable in their snow suits and car seats.

 

Caitlin was not afraid to go down the hill by herself at all. She laughed the whole way down.

Isn't this a great hill?

One of us would sled down and then catch the kids at the bottom.

Jon fell half way down.

The climb up was murder, but so worth it.

Jon and I are dead from carrying the four sleds and one kid up every time. 

The kids are fine. =)

 

Me - dead tired at the top.

At the top.

 

 

 

On the way back to the car.

 

 

At the end I put Caitlin on top of the four sleds and pulled her back to the car.

She fell off a couple of times.

Dominic making a snow angel.

Getting home.

Jon finally leaving for work. The roads are still covered.