Independence Day & Weekend

Even though our Independence Day was soggy, we had fun and a good weekend!

We started with a block party on Wednesday night with some of our neighbors. We’re all new to the neighborhood, so it was fun to hang out with everyone. The weather was marvelous. It was cool and cloudy, which was a foreshadowing to the rest of the week and weekend. I made Salsa Fresca. I love that stuff so much.

It started raining Wednesday night…and didn’t quit until Saturday evening, except for a few breaks here and there. It was like a winter rain. Cool, not much thunder or lightning, and most of the time slow and drizzly. A few days like that would’ve been great, except that we were supposed to be celebrating Independence Day. And it’s hard to get in the spirit of cookouts, fireworks, and all things summer when it’s cool and rainy.

On Thursday, Caedmon and I had a movie date.

Yes, he’s wearing a sweatshirt. I think it was around 70 degrees and pouring rain. We would’ve frozen in the theater if we hadn’t worn long sleeves. I actually considered taking a blanket. We saw Despicable Me 2 and really enjoyed it.

It did quit raining long enough Thursday night for fireworks. But the getting there? It was torture. I thought Caedmon was going to go nuts before it got dark. So I broke out a few glow sticks for the kids to play with in the meantime.

Yes, Honor wore her pajamas all day. It was raining and we weren’t going anywhere. Why not?

It finally got dark enough, and we shot fireworks.

And when I say “we,” I mean Caedmon and Husband. Honor would have nothing to do with it. Nothing. She watched cartoons instead.

Friday, it was raining again. I took Caedmon for an eye exam. Since he’s starting school next month(!), I wanted to make sure he hasn’t inherited mine and Husband’s poor eyesight. Yet, anyway. He did great at the eye doctor and has 20/25 vision.

Since it was decently warm and there wasn’t any thunder, Husband took the kids out to play in the rain.

They both wanted umbrellas the entire time. I don’t think they fully understood the concept of playing in the rain. But they had fun while it lasted.

Saturday, we did a few guy/girl errands (the guys went their places while Honor and I went other places), and just hung out at home. It was nice. Then? Husband took us out for dinner and I didn’t have to cook. Which made the day even better.

Sunday was church, naps, laundry, and Big Brother. And sunshine! Hopefully we’ll see more of the sun this week! I can do without the humidity, but I am ready to see the sun.

{Late} Mother’s Day

My post is late. Don’t think my people were late with their celebration of Mother’s Day!

Saturday, a box arrived from FedEx. It was full of chocolate covered strawberries. I told Husband recently that I missed the chocolate covered strawberries we used to get this time of year when we lived in Austin. He remembered.

As soon as I opened the box of strawberries, Caedmon wanted to know if he could have one. When I gave him “the look,” he said, “Momma never shares her presents!” He wasn’t completely deprived – he got a bite or two. But there is no picture of said strawberries because, well, I would have to show you how many I’ve already eaten. By myself. And that might be just a little bit embarrassing. (I’m letting the kids have one this afternoon. Don’t judge.) Later, Caedmon asked me if he got a present on Mother’s Day. I think I disappointed him when I told him all he got for Mother’s Day was a Momma.

I also bought a piece of furniture on Saturday. We’ve been looking for the right piece to go in the living room under our TV. And y’all know me – I’m cheap. So I’ve been trolling Craig’s List for just the right piece. It just so happened that a new neighbor moving in down the street offered a perfect piece for sale at just the right price. So I walked down and snatched it up. Well, I walked down and paid for it. He delivered it later during the afternoon with his truck and trailer. Bless neighbors with trucks and trailers.

Then I got to spend Saturday afternoon/evening and Sunday after church working on refinishing it. And when I say “I got to,” I really mean I got to. Husband took care of the kids and let me spend time out in the garage by myself with paint and a jigsaw all sorts of things little hands shouldn’t touch. It was marvelous.

After church on Sunday, Husband took us to eat for Mother’s Day. We tried a local Mexican restaurant we’d heard good things about. It did not disappoint. The food was good, the guacamole was good, the service was good, and our server even taught Honor to say, “hola!” And? I even squeezed in a quick nap before I went out to the garage to paint.

I am thankful for my own Mom and the diligence with which she raised us. It would’ve been easy to just quit when she was so vastly outnumbered. But she didn’t. And she taught us valuable lessons that are still with us all today. She taught me how to be a Mom. I am the person I am and the Mom I am because of her influence.

I am thankful for my other Moms. You know, the ones who “Momed” me (and still do), even though I didn’t belong to them. They will always have a special place in my heart, and hopefully I can Mom someone else’s kid like that one day.

And I am thankful for my husband, who values me as a wife and Mom, and teaches our kids to do the same.

Last, but certainly not least, here’s the “card” Husband and the kids made for me. I love it!

Easter 2013

We had a nice, quiet weekend, and it was wonderful. Due to our schedule, this is the only weekend we have/will have nothing going on for…a while. So we enjoyed spending time at home, hanging out together.

Our church started having Easter services on Friday, so we decided that would be our time to go. It was much easier to get us all dressed and ready in the afternoon than trying to make it happen in the morning, that’s for sure!

As usual, it was freezing. And raining. So we didn’t get to dress for warm weather. But since Caedmon had new shorts he wanted to wear, he went ahead and wore them. That was not a battle worth fighting.

Oh, and flip flops. Yes, his toes are hanging off the end of his pair from last year. I’m about to fix that. Keep reading.

Honor’s dress is one I bought for her on clearance at the end of the summer last year. I can’t wait for her to get to wear it more!

Trying to get these two to take a picture together gets more challenging every day.

(Also notice the obligatory Oz photobomb.)

Easter baskets are always different around here. We don’t go crazy, but want them to be fun. This year, both kids were in need of new flip flops/shoes, so they got those in their Easter buckets. Some kids would be upset about that, but not mine. They love shoes.

I think my favorite thing this year was this Bible we got for Caedmon.

They were excited to see their stuff.

It took her a while to decide to dig in.

See? I told you he’d love the flip flops.

We had to hunt eggs in the house because it was rainy and yucky outside. But Caedmon and Honor didn’t seem to mind.

This was her first year to hunt eggs, and I think she enjoyed herself.

Caedmon was a pro.

As evidenced by the full bucket above and the candy haul below. (Don’t worry, I tested it. It’s safe.)

Once Honor figured out there was candy in the eggs, she was all about them.

And then, it was time to eat the candy. The fun part!

Easter candy is the best. Always has been, always will be.

I am grateful for our reason for celebrating Easter. Without Jesus’s sacrifice and the empty tomb, it would all be for nothing.

“But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.””

Matthew 28:5-6

Practice Patience and Pray the Dye Doesn’t Spill

Dyeing Easter Eggs is one of those nostalgic things. When you were a kid, you remember it being fun and magical and special. When in actuality, as an adult, you want it to be fun, but it’s an exercise in patience and constantly praying the dye doesn’t spill.

My poor, poor mother.

We dyed Easter Eggs this past weekend. Caedmon helped me prep the dye before naptime. I finally got smart and decided to let the tablets dissolve long before we were ready. Waiting for those things is torture.

I tried baking the eggs this time instead of boiling them. It worked well, but the eggs ended up with brown spots on them. They washed off after the eggs cooled a bit, and didn’t make any difference to the dye. Also? No cracks. I’ve never boiled eggs without at least one of them cracking.

It was an exercise in patience.

I constantly prayed the dye wouldn’t spill.

But I hope for the kids, it was fun.

And magical.

And special.

Just like this face Caedmon for me.

Afterwards, I let him mix the dye in the sink. I remember loving this. He didn’t quite use the same method I did.

And I think he was a bit disappointed that all mixing leads to brown.

Soon after, this egg became the first casualty.

I’m sure the others won’t be far behind. It’s a good thing we hide the plastic kind!

What kind of eggs do you hide? Husband grew up hiding real eggs, but we always hid (candy stuffed!) plastic eggs. They’re much less stinky when you miss one.

A Little Bit {or a lot} of Christmas 2012

I know I’m a bit behind, but I can’t skip Christmas! We had a great Christmas. And the days leading up to it were fun, too!

We decorated cookies.

Well, Caedmon and I decorated cookies. Honor pretty much just free based sprinkles. And dropped them on the floor for Oz. We were all on a sugar high by the time we finished.

One of Caedmon’s masterpieces.

Nana and Poppy came to visit for Christmas. It’s been a whole year since Honor saw Poppy, but she made herself right at home in his lap.

Oz even got a little special Christmas treatment –he got to lay on the couch and watch TV with Husband.

We opened presents from family members on Christmas Eve. These two were excited. Well, Caedmon was. Honor had no idea what was coming.

We were beyond blessed by the generosity of our family. The kids were ecstatic about their gifts, and we all had a great time.

Later, while Husband and Nana read to Honor,

Caedmon and Poppy played Connect 4.

We went to the Christmas Eve service at church, where Caedmon got to hold a real candle. A lit one. With real fire. That drips wax. I’ll let you go ahead and picture that in your head and understand why I don’t have any pictures, as I was on fire patrol.

We had our big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. It wasn’t originally planned that way, but a storm was going to cut Nana and Poppy’s visit short, and we didn’t want to miss all the eating!

After the kids went to bed and we were sure Caedmon was asleep, the Christmas gift assembly began.

We divided it up. Husband put together the trucks, I put together the buildings. I really did enjoy the assembly of the fire station. Brought back memories of when I got a LEGO police station for Christmas and spent the evening putting it together in Mimi’s bathroom. (She had a big bathroom. And the little kids could be locked out.)

Two hours later, it was all ready to go under the tree, complete with a book about the fire station.

And yes, I’m fully aware that we probably committed a huge faux pas by putting Caedmon’s LEGOS together for him. However, he’s not quite ready to put together something on that scale yet. And in order to get to, you know, play with it, it has to be put together. Who wants to get a gift under the tree that it will be 5 hours before you can play with it? Because though it took Husband and me 2 hours to put together, it would’ve taken at least 5 to put it together with “extra help”.

I put one of Honor’s babies in the stroller we got for her. She didn’t care, I promise. She loves that baby (Thanks, Jill & Brandon!).

Oz had some curiosity issues with all the stuff. He was a teensy bit obsessed with photo bombs during the Christmas holiday. It became comical at some point. But seriously Oz, move!

Christmas morning finally came, and Husband kept the kids upstairs while I positioned myself with the camera. I thought I had my shutter speed fast enough. Apparently, I did not.

Because the boy? He was excited.

Oh, and Honor? She saw that stroller and she was off!

She had no interest in other gifts. None. Caedmon ended up “helping” her open things, and if she could carry it, she took it and sat in the stroller with it.

We had to say goodbye to Nana and Poppy so they could get home before the snow storm hit (their house). We were glad to get to spend time with them, and sad they had to leave early.

At lunch, Husband read the Christmas story from Luke 2 and we had some Happy Birthday Jesus cake.

Still in our pajamas, of course.

I’m glad Jesus likes to share. These kiddos devoured that cake.

We spent the rest of the day playing with toys, enjoying each other’s company, and taking Christmas naps. There’s something special about holiday naps, you know?

The day after Christmas, it was time for the real tree to go. It was getting a little crispy. But it couldn’t go before Caedmon said his goodbyes. Yes, he hugged the tree.

Honor helped put things away. She loves to close things.

By the end of the day, all that was left were “hooks and some wire”.

But? We had snow. Real snow. That was the best day-after-Christmas present ever.

It didn’t accumulate, but it was nice to just watch it fall. After a winter with no real cold weather, much less snow, last year, I loved it.

We had a great Christmas. And now it’s 2013 and time to get back to our normal…whatever that is.