Busy, busy, dreadfully busy!

Oh, life gets busy! Other than a brief Adam's 11th birthday entry, I haven't updated my blog since February, so if you want the March, April, May, and/or June dinner calendars, please shoot me an email.

All is hectic, but all is well.  Not much to say (thankfully) because life is status quo right now.  And that's the way - uh-huh, uh-huh - I like it.


July Dinner Calendar

Adam's 11th birthday interview

::Favorites on His 11th Birthday::.

What's your favorite color? Turquoise

Who's your best friend? Phoenix
What's your favorite food? Noodles & Stuffed artichokes
Where is your favorite place? Seven Peaks or Cowabunga Bay.  I cannot decide.
What is your favorite holiday? My birthday
What is your favorite thing to do? Play video games
What is your favorite song? Not a Love Song by Disney for Austin and Allie

.::His future according to his 9 year old self::.

What do you want to be when you grow up? A video game designer, and if that doesn't work out, a marine biologist.

If you could be anything, what would you be? A person on Minecraft.

How old do you want to be when you get married? I don't know.  25?

Do you want to be a dad? Uh-huh

What kind of dad do you think you will be? A loving dad.

If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Luigi
What makes you most happy? My family.

Love is in the air (plus the February dinner calendar)

As a kid, I used to wander the Valentine's aisle at Hallmark, coveting the velveteen hearts, hoping as only a child could that my mom would buy me the box of chocolate that was half my size.  I would run my fingers over the ribbon roses that adorned those heart shaped boxes, coo over the kittens that gazed at me with Puss-n-Boots eyes, and imagine who I would give each precious box to if I only could afford to buy each and every chocolate-filled box.

As a teenager, I had a love/hate relationship with Valentine's Day.  I'm sure most teenagers do.  Would I get a fundraiser carnation delivered to me with a note from a loving friend?  Would I ever have a real boyfriend?  I was envious of those girls in love - the ones that would get walked to classes, who would certainly have a date that weekend - the ones whose boyfriends gave them roses (!) at school.

As a newlywed, I liked Valentine's Day.  I liked the excuse to be extra romantic and girly.

As a mom, I've gone back to that tolerate/hate relationship with Valentine's Day.  It's hard to get a sitter.  Every good restaurant is packed.  Meal prices are inflated.  Flower prices are ridiculously inflated, and I still want them anyway, yet hate to part with the money (even though my husband purchases them).  Valentine's Day means that since my sweet husband stops to pick up flowers, his homecoming gets delayed by anywhere from 1/2 hour to 45 minutes.  And while that might seem whiny, 1/2 hour extra at the end of the day feels like 1/2 day extra. 

Plus, having been married for 20+ years, I don't need a special day to declare my love for my husband. We end almost every phone conversation with, "I love you."  We have date nights one-two times each month.  We have 21 years of relationship to honor our love.  We also have a shared bank account, which neither of us wants to blow for one holiday, especially shortly after Christmas.

My friend, Amy, inspired me to start a new Valentine's Day tradition.  Reading here about her love for this day, I found myself with a renewed desire to not just tolerate, but CELEBRATE this particular holiday... with my husband AND our children.

To that end, I am now the owner of 6 beautiful glittery melamine heart shaped plates (with matching glasses), and I'm actually looking forward to surprising my kids with their Valentine's treats.  In years past, we've given each child a small $1 box of 3-4 assorted chocolates and called it good.  This year, we're starting a new tradition.

Fancy dinner by candlelight with children.
Small boxes of chocolate.
Valentine's bingo.
And most importantly, love letters written to each child.

Inspired by this blog post, Michael and I will begin writing love letters to my children.  We'll share funny moments with them, tell them about their accomplishments, personalities, funny moments, and poignant moments.  We'll focus on what we love most about them...which will hopefully get us through moments like this and this:

A mother's love knows no boundaries...and many baths.

And, tonight (and for the rest of the nights in February), mademoiselle for your dining pleasure here is ze February dinner menu:

As always, feel free to message me for recipes.  Wishing you much love and joy.

Until next time...

December and January menus

The holiday season was beyond insane this year - full of work, full of blessings.  Here is my (very late) December dinner calendar and my (slightly early) January dinner calendar.  Christmas pics to be posted soon but I wanted to at least get these posted.

Happy New Year everyone!

November Dinner Calendar

Better late than never, right?

I created this calendar early last week but haven't had time to post it.  Enjoy, and please let me know if there are any questions!

October Dinner Calendar

Happy October!  Don't have time to post a family update today, but here's the October dinner calendar.  Our family is moving toward eating whole foods and drastically reducing our meat intake, and this calendar reflects those changes.  Also, we have chosen to reduce gluten and dairy in our diets because so much research shows that both cause inflammatory responses in the body.  We're not giving it up entirely (yet) - right now we're still eating wheat.  The wheat we're eating though, is fresh and pure - no more bleached wheat for us!  (Maybe on birthdays).

As always, feel free to email me for recipes!

Click on calendar to make it bigger!

September Dinner Calendar

School's underway and we couldn't be happier.  Summer's been lovely, but I'm ready for routine and crisp fall weather.  I love autumn - it's my favorite season of all.  It's cozy sweaters, hot cider, crunchy leaves, painted trees, and back to school.

In a couple of weeks, Michael and I will celebrate our 20th anniversary.  I wouldn't say that it's just flown by, but I would say that it's been the most incredible journey.  So much happens between ages 20 to 40.  Who you really are, your core values and beliefs, all become sharpened, better defined.  And I could not have a better traveling companion.  Life brings many ups and downs, but it's well worth the ride.

I'll post more about our 20th as we get closer to the day, and I'll give an update on how our family's doing and what our family is doing as well.  In the interim, please enjoy our September dinner calendar.  If you have any questions, or want any recipes, you know how to find me.

Until next time...

Click on image to make it bigger.

August dinner calendar

The August dinner calender is below.  August has turned into a busy month and this summer has just flown!  I can't believe we don't even have time for a camping trip.  Since August is such a busy month, we're a little heavier on the eating out side of things.  It's so hard to find places where you can feed your family wholesome healthy food that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. 

Hope it helps you other busy moms (and dads) out there, and as always, if you're looking for recipes, message me on Facebook. 

Click on the calendar to make it legible and mangia bene!

Look, up in the sky...it's a bird...it's a plane...it's SUPERDRAMA!

10:00 this morning.  Thomas comes running down the hall, Superman cape trailing in the breeze, arms straight out.

Thomas:  Why won't this fly?

1:00 this afternoon.  Thomas and Max are at a duck pond with our babysitter, Sarah.  Sarah is showing Max the ducks and has her back to Thomas for 15 seconds.  When she turns back around, Thomas is chasing the geese.

Sarah:  Thomas, stop that.  That's not nice.
Thomas:  (BIG SIGH) I never get to live my life.

Creature Comforts

I was grooming my dog this morning, and he was getting a little anxious.  Thomas tried to comfort him.

"Don't worry, Scooter.  Mommy knows everything."

I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

It's my party and I'll invite who I want to, invite who I want to, invite who I want to...

Me:  Thomas, who do you want to invite to your fourth birthday party?

Thomas:  All my friends can come.  It's Santa, Miss Jenny (his preschool teacher), Teddy ( a boy at his preschool)...

Me:  Don't you also want to invite Brock from your preschool?

Thomas:  Well, Brock isn't nice to Teddy.

Me:   How is he not nice to Teddy?

Thomas:  Because he can obey like crazy

Me:  Okay, who else?

Thomas:  Adam, Wenana, Miss Jenny, Nancy, and Brock.

Me:  I thought you didn't want to invite Brock.

Thomas:  He is nice now.

Me:  Why do you want to invite Santa to your birthday?

Thomas:  I want to invite Santa for a birthday party because crazy is crazy.

What's for dinner?

It's been forever and a day since I posted my monthly dinner calendars.  I've been creating them, but not publishing.  I know they were helpful to some of you, so I've decided to start posting them again.  If you'd like any of the recipes, just message me on Facebook or via e-mail.  Click on it to make it bigger.

Enjoy!

Le'go my Legos...

Adam just had a birthday and as a result, he has enough Legos to carpet his room with them.  And he has.  And every day we have to tell him to clean his Legos up off his floor.

Every.
Single.
Day.

And today, I reached my Lego limit.  I gave him an hour to clean up his floor - a job that should have taken 20 minutes.  And when it wasn't done in an hour, I told him his time was up - he had taken too long, and any Legos left on his floor were now long-lost.

He cried.

A lot.

He really, really loves his Legos.

And so, trying hard to follow the example of the Lord, I gave Adam a chance to recover his Legos before I vacuumed them up FOREVER.

9:17 pm -

"Adam," I said, "Was this a hard lesson to learn?"
"Yes."  He sniffed sadly and looked at me through red-rimmed eyes.
"I'm sorry you had to learn it this way.  Is this how you want to learn your lessons?"
"No."
"You have until 9:30 to show me that you really did learn.  Get those Legos picked up."
Sobbing, he immediately turned and ran up the stairs.  "THANK YOU!  I'M SO HAPPY I COULD CRY!!!"
And, watching him go through my tear-filled eyes, all I could think was, "Me too, son.  Me too."

Ice, Ice, Baby

Adam is home sick with tonsillitis.   I had to run an errand and asked Adam if he wanted me to get him a shaved ice from our little shaved ice shack and he said, "Yes, please."  

Thomas immediately piped up and said “Wait! I have a tummy ache too!”

 A little suspicious, I asked, “Are you just saying that because you want a shaved ice too?”

"Yeah."

At least he's honest.

Have you met.... Matt?

This is Matt.

Thomas likes Matt.   How do we know? 

Because last night we were sitting at Five Guys waiting for our dinner when Thomas got up, ran out the front door, ran right up to Matt (whom we've never met before), gave him a BIG hug, and said, "I'm SO glad you're here!"

Remember how we used to pay people to babysit for Thomas?  I don't think we're going to have to do that anymore.  All you single ladies, we want you to know that Thomas is available to rent.  He's handsome, charming, and he'll help you meet cute guys.  True story.

P.S.

6/7/1012 7:59 am.

Thomas, tired from having woken up early after going to bed late, was whimpering at the top of our small two-step landing.

Me:  Thomas, come here.  Would you like breakfast?
Thomas:  I can't walk the stairs.  I can't even jump.

Thomaxisms....

The things Thomas and Max say.  I tell myself I'll remember, but I won't.  And now I will.

Every day -

Thomas:  I want to watch Fireman The Sam (his favorite show, Fireman Sam).  We don't know why he calls it that.  He just does.  It's just his Thomas brain.

 May 11, 2012 -

Thomas:  I'm just saying- if Adam doesn't watch what I want to watch he is going to his room. Forever." - words of a three year old to his nine year-old brother.

But Adam made up for it later...

May 23, 2012 -

Thomas:  Guess what? Adam maked my tummy doesn't hurt again.


May 28, 2012 10:30 pm

To our surprise, an awake Thomas comes down the stairs and declares:

Thomas:  Daddy, I don't have anything to do in my bed.
Michael:  Uh, GO TO SLEEP.
Thomas:  But, I don't know how to sleep.

And the next night, he comes downstairs again and the conversation goes like this:

Thomas:  I don't know how to sleep.
Michael:  Yes you do.  We just went over this last night.
Thomas:  But I forgot.

June 1, 2012 -

Frankie wasn't putting the TV show on that Thomas wanted to watch (Why, Fireman the Sam of course).  He wasn't happy.  His response to his 18 year-old sister (yelled emphatically),  "Frankie, you are driving me CRAZY!" 

Thomas is very attached to Fireman The Sam.

June 2, 2012 -

Max: C'mere! C'mere! C'MERE!
Michael: Who are you talking to?
Max (looking up at our two-story entry way to the ceiling): My balloon!

This was followed by Michael and Max jumping off a two-stair landing attempting to catch said balloon.  Daddy managed to grasp it.  Max exclaimed, "Hoo-way!"  Then he took the balloon from daddy and promptly let it go.

And, as of late... when you ask Thomas if he's done something wrong (and he knows he has) he simply shrugs his shoulders.


For example:


Today, Thomas and Max were supposed to be napping.  I went upstairs and found that Thomas had pulled every single folded blanket and sheet off of the shelves of his closet and took all of Max's clothes off the hangers and put them on the floor.  He also took all the books out of the book basket and spread them all over the floor, along with the blankets off of his bed and Max's bed as well, as Max's sheet (all while Max was still in his crib because he (thankfully) doesn't yet know how to climb out).  


Me:  Thomas, this was very naughty.  Did you do this?
Thomas:  It wasn't MY fault.
Me:  Thomas, You did this.  Max is in his crib.  Did you do this?
Thomas - lower lip jutted out, palms pointed up... shrugs his shoulders.

But here's the best part:

Me:  Thomas you know you did this.  It is very naughty.
Thomas:  I'm sorry.

Sometimes, the sun peeks through the clouds and you KNOW that they do learn.  Tender mercies.

May I have this dance?

As beautiful as Frankie looks, it is seeing how beautiful she feels and seeing a twinkle in her eyes that truly makes this day so special.

This free digital scrapbooking design generated with Smilebox

Dude, where's my car... (keys)

We're finally starting to have nice weather and Thomas got to go outside and play.  One of his very favorite outside toys is a Little Tikes car that he hasn't really been able to use this winter because the ground's been muddy and/or snowy.

We sent Thomas outside and a few minutes later, he came back in looking dejected.

Thomas:  "I can't find the keys to my car!"


Me:  "Well, would you like to use my pretend key?"

Thomas:  (enthusiastically) "Yes!"

Mimi:   (family friend who is staying with us)  "Did you look on the dashboard?"

Thomas:  "Yes."

Kristin:  "And they're not there?"

Thomas: (sadly)  "No."

A few minutes later...

Thomas:  (SIGH) "I lost my pretend key to my car."

Hey Adam, what's for lunch?

Adam is required to pack lunch the night before.  Tonight, he decided that he wanted to make tomorrow's lunch extra special.  So he packed his lunch, and wrote himself a special note.

"Eat all yer spageti for a supri (too hard to finish on this part so I'll write it one line below) surprise!"

The surprise?  Frigo String Cheese.  Man, I love this kid.