Ten on Wednesday

1.  I'm trying to shop local a little more for my Christmas gifts.  My family has this local Spice Shop and I know how vital this season is for them and for other small businesses.  It is harder though to shop this way with three small kids.  Also, lots of the cool "local" places are just not that "local" to my house. I drove to the Plaza today and it took forever to get there and back and I bought maybe three things and spent lots of time kid herding.

2.  Last year, I discovered Fried Okra on Etsy.  Santa brought E a small elephant and we got a small animal for Maia too.  I really wanted this small bunny for me.  Really.  But I am 35 years old and it seemed like too much money for a stuffed animal for myself in my 30s.  Today, I bought it.  Finally.  It was at the local store I was in (I got a tip from Tracie).  I love it. I truly do even if it makes no sense.  I spent a year waiting to buy myself a small $20 rabbit.  Clearly, I really did want it after all.  E keeps asking to "soft" it (aka pet it), which is also beyond adorable.

3. I was finally well enough to see Grandpa today.  I went early before work because it was important. I brought cards from the kids and I, a photo, and stories.  It was mostly me talking for an hour, but good. It felt good to be there.  So glad I got to visit.

4. Last night, I went and helped out at the spice shop.  We made gift sets, filled hot chocolate pouches, took down the fall decorations and did a little Christmas decorating, filled cinnamon stick and chip bags, added spice to tasters, back stocked, etc.... for four hours.  It was good.  We were berry workers and I'm glad I got to help and spend time with my mom.

5.  M & Z were playing on Tuesday and Z accidentally hit her in the face with a croquet mallet.  She has a big bruise and it hurts.  Today, I had to pick her up from school because she wouldn't quit crying for random reasons.  She told me it was something to do with the elevator.  She told Brent later when he came home that she didn't want people to talk about it or ask her about it anymore and it was bothering her.  I have no idea what is up with her, but do feel sad that she is having a rough week.

6.  I do have a mildly clever new shopping with a 2-year old strategy.  When we go out to run errands or do these attempts at local shopping, I basically make sure he has one or more small figures in his hands.  Currently, Luigi is the preferred "guy" but batman or a small car in the other.  This seems to be helping us make it safely through stores without breaking things, taking things off the shelf, or wandering too far away.  Also, it is totally adorable, as is he.

7.  I bought OU Women's Gymnastics season tickets.  I have two and while M will come sometimes others are welcome to come anytime too.  (I should note that adult season tickets are $15 for the season so really not that big of a buy.)  Let me know if you are interested in coming to a meet or two with us!

8.  I really need to try and pull it together in a list or something all the things I need to do and bring for each kids' school to make it to the 19th.  There is something every single day, basically.  Sending food, or wearing special clothes, or sending money, or donations, or stuff for Christmas projects...It is crazy town.

9.  The kids are both in the Christmas Program at church.  Our family is full of musicians and music teachers.  We believe in lots of practice and lots of rehearsal.  The Pre-K class at least has practiced very little and has several small songs.  I am very dubious about how this is going to turn out.  B's class has only one song (I think) and that seems to be going well.  I will be fascinated to see how this all turns out.

10.  Saturday is going to be a huge day.  First, M has wanted to do St. Lucia's day forever so we're trying that early in the am. (Yes, I tried moving this to a different day, but she KNOWS it is on the 13th and insists it must happen then).  Then, we're trying to see Santa.  Hopefully, we'll fit in lunch sometime before the ladies go to see the Nutcracker at 2pm.  It is all going to be lovely and festive, but definitely a swirl.  

Ten on Wednesday

1.  Hello from DC!  Yesterday was my big commute here, a bit of work, dinner with a friend, and then a run through one of my favorite cities. I love seeing the White House, Washington Monument, Corcoran, and 1/2 a dozen other amazing sights while only running 3 miles.  It is amazing and I miss it sometimes when jogging in circles in my neighborhood...

2.  Week in the life is coming up soon! I think it begins Oct. 26th.  In the meantime, I'm trying to remind myself to document daily ordinary moments more and this is one.  Note the mess, puzzls, costumes, jackets, etc.... This quickly devolved when E became pretty destructive with M's puzzling attempts, but cute for a moment.

3.  I love, love this image and this guy. I was watching the gymnastics world championships coverage on TV on Sunday.  He was (ostensibly) reading about Jellyfish.  One or more of those things made him very sleep. 

4.  This guy continues to have adventures while his siblings are in Sunday School.  He is growing more adventurous with the church grounds and explored/rock climbed in the "forest" just off the terrace where Brent and I have coffee.  He had quite a wonderful time!

5.  My "Project Home" appears to be returning.  I "may" finally rehang the gallery wall in the entry.  This weekend I took inventory of the frames I need, repainted 7 of them to work with the new wall color, and began locating updated pictures.  I plan to use quite a few updated images from Able & Kari's wedding when they are available, but may go ahead and hang up the frames while I have some momentum. I also (finally) think we may have a fix for our missing mailbox door.  I'll let you know if it works.

6.  Recently there have been several rainy days, but when it isn't raining M&E are enjoying short neighborhood walks and hiding in our neighbor's willow tree.

7.  B had his final game of the season last night (which I missed, sad).  Luckily, the Korenaks, Grandma, Grammie & Granddaddy, Daddy, M, & E were there for the fun. I hear he even got to briefly play third base.  Baseball was definitely a successful adventure and he is looking forward to trying it again in the spring.

8. We also had B's parent-teacher conference this week.  As expected, he is doing amazingly well and has handwriting problems.  So it goes.  Grammie & Granddaddy also visited him at school this week for Grandparents Book Lunch and bought MANY books for all the kids so everyone is feeling very happy and full of new adventures just now.

9.  M continues to do well with her on/off school cycle. I think the French is progressing and I hear her speaking it more and responding to things I ask more easily.  Yesterday, she spent the day with Aunt Audra, Zane, and Ro having Science Museum, craft, and other fun adventure.  I hear it was a grand success and there may have been some confusion about if M & Zane are twins :)

10.  Mr. E had kind of a rough week in spots.  He was a little sick going in to last weekend and we were forced to snuggle for hours :)  He is feeling better and having a few more little fits of late.  These mostly revolve around his desire to have a costume on at all times and my occasionally taking them off for things like school, church, playing in sand, dinner, etc... I know, I'm so mean.  I think I'm vaguely better at taking these in stride than I was when B was at this age, btu know there is more to come.


I'm excited for a great few more days in DC and then home for ballet, birthdays, pumpkin fun, and lots more Halloween celebrations.  Thanks again to all the many hands, hearts, and helpers who assist our family while I am gone.  We love you and appreciate you so much!

Ten on Tuesday

1.  You may recall Ms. M has had a very hard time settling on what sort of extra curricular activity she wanted to try for the fall.  One day this weekend she said she wanted french lessons and we immediately emailed her best buddy Kyle's mom and set them up.  She was so excited this morning that she could barely stand the wait.  She colored this picture for Ms. Elke for her first day of class.  It was just the two of them (which I would never have done if Elke wasn't a friend of ours).  I am told it went well and they worked on colors.  The result is that everyone is learning more french.  When I know a phrase in both languages I say it in both (well, often at least).  I ask them how they are in French in the morning and M and I identify what color things are in French too.  That said, she sometimes disagrees with me and we have to resort to google.  Oh, and mom, remember how they keep making us learn the word for shark in duolingo... that came up today.  Crazy. 

 2.  I did get to have dinner with Able and Kari during the soft opening of the new Tuckers near my house.  It was SO good.  I love the burgers, but it is really the shakes that are just essentially phenomenal.  Having it nearby is going to be way too tempting.

3.  Our Labor Day weekend plan was, as it is most years, to go to Dallas to visit Brent's sister and her family.  This year was to be special as we were going to meet Grayson, our newest nephew.  Sadly, Jamie was too sick for it to be a good idea for us to visit.  So we reworked our weekend and had lots of fun, but really missed this guy.  Brent went to the football game Saturday evening with his Dad so he did get a bit of family time as well as some OU time :)

 4.  Then the Palfreymans invited us to a small end of summer fun afternoon.  We played at the splash pad, watched Lady and the Tramp, had dinner together, and then celebrated/mourned as they announced they are moving to Florida.... I am not good at change, but you knew that.

 5.  We're trying to experiment more with Lady M's hair this week. We haven't tried anything crazy, but are trying to have more fun with it than just her usual headbands.  This braid was very fun and she added lots of bows so it would be extra fancy.  She then informed me that my attire was not fancy enough for the farmer's market so I put on a dress too and braided my hair.  She provided a bow for my braid as well that was happily a bit more subtle than hers.

 6.  Lady M has been in crafting mode. I love how she dives right in to whatever supplies are around and makes something beautiful and happy. We had a great time crafting together and I love to see what she creates.

7.  Able & Kari gave us the treat of a date night while they watched our kids. Friday evening's adventure was the OU Women's Gymnastics 2014 National Championship Banquet.  There was good food and lots of fun things for a gymnastics nerd like me. I think Brent has slightly less fun, but was an excellent sport and asked good questions.  He was maybe a little surprised at the random stuff I knew.  We sat just next to Jake and Kyla Dalton which was kinda neat.  (Yes, for those keeping track Brent went to Norman three days in a row, and again twice today.  He is a bit tired of that drive). 

8.  We needed a small, but necessary project for a very lazy Monday.  The easiest on the list was switching E in to a "bigger boy" bed by taking off the front of the crib.  There is actually a small rail along most of the side, but this photo was mid construction.  I was pretty sad to let go this last baby phase, but E loves it.  Recently, he has been attempting to climb out when we're playing so it seemed like it was time before our little tumbler hurt himself.  Have I mentioned he spends large portions of the day doing somersaults and being upside down on the couch?  I have? OK, but seriously, it is a big portion of his life right now. 

9.  Not quite as much about B this week, it seems.  He got 100% on his first spelling test. (Yes, I've already scrapbooked it).  He is still loving baseball and practicing most days.  He is nervous about the team's first game on Thursday, which is apparently against a talented opponent (team got maybe 2nd in the spring season?)  We got the season schedule today and it is going to be crazy.  There are games two nights a week most weeks and often not starting until 7 or later.  The better news is that the season ends by Oct. 14.  Overall, there are about the same number of games as in soccer season, just crammed in to a shorter span. All this is good and bad and we'll just see.  I'll be gone for a few of the games, which is sad.  We are all excited for it to just start! (He has been practicing 3+ hours with his team a week for a couple weeks).

10.  Exercising still happens every day.  Most days I still don't want to.  I'm not really sure it makes much of a difference, but sometimes I think it does.  It is nice that even though I'm running less I'm usually able to run more easily due to all the cross-training (or so I'm telling myself).  I continue to mix up the rotation a lot to keep things interesting.  Most weeks include 2 yoga sessions, 2 runs, 2 strength days ( abs, arms, and feet work).  The seventh day varies.  Today it was a zumba video, but sometimes it is Tae Bo, stationary bike or something else.  If I miss a running day I add another cardio day, etc.  I try to keep the cardio days around 3 per week.  I am still shooting for 10K steps a day too and most days I make it, but wasn't quite as successful over the holiday weekend.


The coming week includes: B's first baseball game, M's 2nd French lesson, Baseball practice, Sunday School & Church, Zach's Birthday party at our house, a visit from Grandma, school, and probably lots of other fun stuff!

Ten on Tuesday (ish)

 1.  A big highlight last week for M&E was picking out their birthday gifts using money from Great-Granddaddy.  We still put a portion of it in college savings funds, but they like getting to pick things out and ride the Toys R Us rides.  M selected a baby doll (just like one Kyle has) and an extra outfit for it.  E carried around the tiger and bear he has in this picture for the entire time and then at the last minute picked a large elephant instead?

 2.  Ms. Allison's last day was on Thursday.  We gave her gifts and a sticker filled card from M.  We had a great summer with her.  It is so nice to have someone you know will show up and do a good job everyday. The kids love her and I think we "may" be lucky enough to have her join us again next summer.

 3.  We're, again, taking morning walks/outside time before my work.  Frequently this means trips to the pond to feed the ducks, throw rocks. or play in M's "House" (Find her deep in the willows in the back of the second picture).

 4.  The final day with Ms. Allison featured M in her fairy costume, complete with Tinkerbell hair, and a very fun fort, where B eventually ended up napping --- He and I had a rough day that day and he was not permitted electronics.  Napping was probably the best outcome anyway.

 5.  Four days last week B had short one-on-one baseball lessons.  He at least knows the basis, but has so much more to learn and needs a zillion repetitions so there is muscle memory.  So far, you can still see him mentally checking off boxes as he throws or bats.  We do now have a "pitch back" and base ball tee so he can practice more at home.

6.  LEGO building is happily returning as a favored past time.  E loves to watch and help build almost as much as the big kids.

7.  On Saturday, B had sculpture class at the OK Museum of Art, which was very exciting.  While he was in class, the littles and I played at the Myriad Gardens, including the Thunder Fountain.  Sadly, M got scrapped up pretty badly when she fell, but she persevered.

 8. M, E, and I had a big painting day over the weekend.  I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but painting with kids stresses me out.  I want it to be fun, free, and creative.  Most often it is a hot mess.  See how M's hair is wet? In the first 2 minutes she had green paint all through it.  We worked it out and I even got to paint a few backgrounds for my scrapbooking.

 9.  More scenes from morning walks - The van was in the shop for a day having the battery replaced and some recall checks done.  I walked to Sonic with the kids in the morning.  E is "almost" ready to place his order.  He rides in the wagon for most or all of these walks.  In the second photo you may be able to see that "big Mario" usually joins him on adventures of late.

10.  This morning we went to the farmer's market.  M chose this rocking, sassy outfit.  Love it.  She and I spend an intense amount of time in stubborn -offs this week and she has some bad attitude/interrupting/rudness issues too.  It isn't good, but rest assured I am winning this battle however long that takes.... When we're not arguing though she is tons of fun and totally beautiful!

Ten on Tuesday - Summer Plans and more.

Spring is weird, I spend a lot of time preparing for summer so I'm starting this list with musing about our summer plans--- partially so I have them in one place and also to give you a list of camps/things you all might be interested in too.

1.  Today, I signed the big kids up for 2 sessions of swimming lessons.  Each session is two weeks long (4 days per week).  Right now this all seems like a good idea. I suspect getting us all out the door by 8:20 in swimming gear 16 days this summer may not seem so brilliant later.  These are their first out door lessons and are at Pelican Bay in Edmond.  You can read more here: http://edmondok.com/index.aspx?NID=405

2.  B is going to science camp at the Oklahoma Science Museum for the first time this summer.  They are one week, all day camps for students entering grades 1-6.  You can read more about them here: http://www.sciencemuseumok.org/summer_camps.html

3.  B & M are going to only one week of Zoo Camp this year.  They have gone to many more than this in the past, but as we'll have a babysitter here most of the summer it is less necessary to have camp as childcare (and also a bit less money to spend on camps!) They are going to one of the later camps in the summer entitled "How to Train Your Dragon" --- so that should be helpful, right? http://www.okczooed.com/camps1

4.  M is also going to two days of dance camp.  I showed her the cool list of summer dance camps from Dance Unlimited (Thanks to Janna for the recommendation!).  She chose to attend Frozen (obviously) and Princess Sophia camps. There are several other options as well.  I cannot fathom why she did not choose the Fairytale Tea Party class and am half tempted to register her anyway.... http://www.danceunlimitedpac.com/du-class-schedule-summer-2013/

5. Myriad Garden -- Ladybug release day-- June 12.  Last year, M and I went to the ladybug release event and had a fabulous time.  She even got her picture in the paper!  The sad part was that we could only stay a little while because I had to go to work.  This year, it is on E's birthday AND I took the day off work so we can all enjoy to our hearts' content! http://oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/events/bug-out-lady-bug-release-and-insect-adventure/

6.  The Myriad Gardens is also doing a Secret Garden set up in the Children's Garden in May and some accompanying events like an English Tea (which M and I are attending with my mom and maybe others??).  The Secret Garden event is free to members and I am VERY excited.  Want to join us? http://oklahomacitybotanicalgardens.com/events/the-secret-garden-2014-05-17/

7. We are also, of course, doing Farm Camp at the farm in May.  I have even taken off work so E and I can participate for the first time together.  It should be awesome? If you have a little one that would like to join in a bit of Farm Camp let us know.  The current dates are May 28-30th!

8. Other ideas - B also wants to go to soccer camp and art camp.  So far, I haven't found ones that match our schedules without being overwhelming, but we shall see.  I would LOVE to get him in art camp and develop that interest a bit more.  M is too young for some art camps, but would love to go too.  B thinks he wants to play baseball.... I am stalling.

9.  At Home: We plan to relax at home, watch movies, play video games, make crafts and art, exercise, go to the farm, zoo, science museum, myriad gardens, and swimming as much as makes sense.  We want to work on riding bikes and doing a bit of home school as the kids and I both bizarrely love it.  Brent has IRSP for June so it will be imperative to work on preserving my sanity during this time, but the babysitter should help.

10.  Of course we are also teaching a class at Savory Spice Shop on May 25th at 4pm on cooking with kids.  Want to come? Call the shop at 405-525-9119 to reserve your spot.  Beyond that, I want to cook more with the kids, work on being patient, and teach them more about the joy that is being creative and enjoying healthy food as a family!

What does your summer look like? What should we add?

I feel like I need to do a quick few points about the last week as well so I don't forget:

1) We had Easter with the Rouses. It was fun, easy, and relaxing.  The kids loved playing together in the huge back yard.

2). B had two soccer games (Friday & Saturday).  The Dragonflies played well and seem to be improving, but were still outmatched.

3) E is talking in more complete sentences.  His favorite is: "Look at this." Which he says as he examines something and tries to figure out how it works.

4) Lady M is making big progress on reading, thanks to work at MDO these days.  We're hoping to work on it more over the summer.

5) I made this Bee Sting Cake by Smitten Kitchen--- there were quite a few steps, but it was delicious so I hope to make it again this week.  http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2013/04/bee-sting-cake/

6) Everyone in our family loves "tuna cookies." These are really tuna patties---I think E thinks they are actually cookies.  Our recipe is: 1 large can of tuna (or three regular size ones), 3 eggs, 1 c. oatmeal, 3/4 tsp medium yellow curry powder, 1/2 tsp. toasted white onion powder, 1/2 tsp granulated garlic, 1 T. lemon juice, 1/2 tsp kosher salt.  Mix, form into small patties, and cook in hot oil.  Flip after a couple minutes and cook on the other side.  Simple, and strangely popular.

7. Brent is busy getting ready for the end of the year and the summer research program.  It is his busiest and highest stress portion of the year.  Meanwhile, I leave for DC in less than a month.  Just to make this all more complicated.

8. I am less and less sure that we're going to get a tree planted this year.  I am thinking of a prairie fire crabapple, but questioning if we really have the money to spend on this (see large amounts of camp/lessons expenses above.....)

9.  It snowed yesterday! And was 84 degrees the day before, with tornado warnings, and earthquakes.  It is a wild windy place here.

10. M & E are strangely in to playing with Mr. Potato Heads these days.  Fun, but random.  I'm going with it. 

Ten on Tuesday

1.  Today was day two of snow days this week.  I have no idea how many we've had this year.  More than 7? Less than 12?  Anyway.  Yesterday, we began a bit of a "school" routine for school days that we will likely continue in to summer breaks.  The first day we only had two subjects.  Today, B expanded to 5 and M participated in a random amount of those as age appropriate.  E colored and then painted with water colors--- mostly just black water, truth be told.   The five subjects were: Math, Penmanship, Reading (his actual reading homework from school), art (x3), and in the afternoon we had a science block too.

2.  I feel strongly about the "psychology" of math. For example, when I believed I was good at math and had fun doing it, I was good at math.  At one point something happened to change all that and the whole thing fell off the rockers. (Don't get me wrong, I was still fine at math, but it was no longer fun and not part of my future career).  So, one of our goals with our kids is not just for them to be good at math, but for them to enjoy it.  I messed up on day one of home school math with M and gave her too advanced problems without a solid enough/fun foundation.  We fixed that today and she flourished.  With B, I had been giving him problems that match what I see him coming home with from school.  He answered every single one (roughly 250 in two days) correctly, which tells me they are too easy :) So, I bought him a few new math aps and left him to his own devices while I worked for a bit to see if they would pique his interest.  They definitely did and it appears that Brent and I will be explaining multiplication this week :) Pro tip: the way to teach B anything is to have an ap/game involved.  This is how he learned to read.  Seriously.

3.  Art projects:  Now, I know these were totally "day 1" projects from a pinterest perspective, but they are fun and were enjoyed by all. I think it helped that they were familiar and made it possible to do multiple projects with multiple kids involved. First, we made watercolor paintings.  I encouraged them to make as many as they wanted, but at least one about winter and one of a topic of their choosing. Then one child made loom bracelets while the other worked on cereal bracelets (this doubled as snack time).  The loom bracelets are good for concentration, patterns, dexterity, and FUN! E loved the snack bracelets, but lacks the dexterity to really make them, so we worked together.  He insisted on only cereal in bracelet form the remainder of the day.

4. Science:  I feel like we often repeat the same science projects, but as it has been awhile, we made music with water in glasses and listed to arrange them from highest pitch to lowest.  Then we made our music rainbow colored by mixing colors in the glasses to create a rainbow.  Then we had to reorganize as some had changed slightly.  Then lots of playing and talking about sound and light.  The other project was a general goo making project involving Borax that didn't go perfectly well, but was still interesting.  We also check in on our ongoing bulb forcing project and talked about plants. I did by a human body ap too as B is studying the body at school, but so far he isn't sure what the point is so we'll have to work on that tomorrow.

5.  E is feeling better.  He probably wasn't 100% today, but much more active and able to hang with his siblings without needing to touch me at every moment.  He did sit in my lap for an extended time while Janna was putting foils in my hair and we waited for Brent to arrive.  Totally random experience and only possible with a member of my family doing my hair! Thanks Janna!

6.  My birthday was this weekend.  Brent and the kids surprised me with Birthday pancakes and Kari was here to sing along for the birthday fun.  Then Kari and I went running in the drizzle, which was lovely and my first time running outside since October and first time ever with Kari.  Then I scrapbooked a bit before a big lunch with 20 or so people at Cow Calf-Hay including lots of fun presents.  Most of the rest of the day I just hang out with Tracie and M while the big boys went to a different birthday party and E slept.  It was a pretty chill day, but lovely. (Save that part where it ended with E getting sick...)

7. I am signed up to run the 5K at the OKC Memorial Marathon Race on April 27th.  I had hoped to do a longer distance this year, but injuries made that unrealistic.  I'd love to have you join me in running, walking, volunteering, cheering, or whatever.  Let me know if you are interested and here's a link to sign up. http://register.bazumedia.com/reg/external-link-ref?la=ff6c37d75a7f6ecaeae8535c1d064c68808518b4

8.  This weekend is our nephew Matthew's birthday party and probably Grammie's celebration too.  I'm very excited to have everyone together again!

9.  This seems obvious now, but for future reference, it was in the 70s on Friday and the single digits by some periods of Saturday and Sunday.  Sunday included thunder snow, thunder sleet, earthquakes, regular snow, swirling winds and all kinds of crazy. We stayed indoors :)

10. Also, I got new glasses, my kids are not big fans of me wearing glasses and E, in particular, tries to pull them off of my face.  That said, I kind of like these.  They are a bit different in shape and the prescription makes me a bit woozy at first after wearing contacts so much, but it is convenient at times.



Ps.  This is the sleeping on Brent's chest that I mentioned in yesterday's post.  Yes, I blogged two days in a row.  Shocking, right ?

Ten on Tuesday.

1.  The big news of the day was B's school program.  I'm uploading some videos and hoping that at least some of them work. Just in case, I'm also adding a collage below.  The program was awesome.  He did a great job with his part, sang the whole time, and the whole 150 1st graders were very organized and prepared.  It was great fun.  I went to both the morning and afternoon shows and the afternoon show ended with a surprise rendition of "What did the fox say?"  Very cute. Thanks to Audra, Zane, Rowan, Grandma, Able, Granddaddy, Grammy, M, E, & Brent for joining me in the fun!

2.  This weekend was cousin Rowan's 1st Birthday party.  Everett and I attended and had a blast playing all afternoon!

3.  Meanwhile, Brent, B, M, and Granddaddy headed south to cousin John's 6th birthday at LEGO Discoveryland in Dallas. We are, as you know, LEGO fanatics so this was a fabulous trip. 

4. On Sunday, E & I had brunch at Waffle Champion with the Korenaks, Grandma, Able & Kari.  It was delicious as always.  Then Able, Kari, E & I had coffee at Elemental Coffee and went to Mass together.  E was tired and very busy during Mass. Able & Kari were a huge help and it was all more or less under control until he (inevitably) crashed in to the marble floor and got a big goose egg on his head.  After some crying outside, we came back in and made it through fairly happily with chants of "goldfish."  (He is obsessed with goldfish crackers, I should record that as he says it very intensely.

5.  Friday night I hosted the Oklahoma Alumni Network's George Washington's Birthday Bash.  There weren't very many people there, but it was great conversation and fun.  

6.  Today, after the program, we had ice cream at Braum's with Grandma and Granddaddy.  It was just like old times with post-program ice cream with my grandparents.  Loved it!

7.  This weekend is my birthday.  So far, we're planning lunch at Cow Calf-Hay with anyone that wants to join us.  Let me know if you do!

8.  Today, I set up babysitting for the kids here at the house four days a week all summer.  You may recall that we went through MANY baby sitter issues last summer.  Here's hoping this one is a bit smoother.  I still have to figure out camps and what to do about Fridays, but it is only February, right?

9. We've been doing a lot of cooking with our Raddish Kids kits.  They kids have enjoyed it so much and I'm trying to step back and let them do everything (and not freak out when it is a horrendous mess).  We've tried some new recipes like Panzanella salad that I probably wouldn't have made on my own, but it was delicious.  I totally get that I could develop these recipes, information tidbits, and related crafts on my own.  That said I wasn't doing it on my own and do want to have these learning moments with them in the lead rather than just watching me cook.  It is like someone giving you a well-developed lesson plan versus having to make a course from scratch.

10.  I have been running at least twice a week.  My feet are fine and I've babied them carefully.  My gym routine is about 35 minutes C25K run training + 15 minutes weights + 15 minutes stretching, stretching and more stretching.  So far, I feel good. I really need to find that third day to actually make any progress, but I'm just doing what I can now and not pushing it lest I get hurt.

Ten on Tuesday

1.  The BIG news I've been keeping quiet about for what feels like weeks is that my brother and Kari are engaged! I could not be more excited.  They are a wonderful couple and I love them both so much!  We had a little welcome home/engagement party for them on Thursday.  Everyone had a great time rejoicing together.

2.  We had book club at my house on Saturday.  It was loads of fun and included the Robledo sisters who were visiting from their new homes.  We had a wonderful time and a late night :)

3.  The new Edmond Y is an exercise in frustration.  It is beautiful and amazing.  Everyone thinks so.  Therefore, it is always too full.  The childcare was over full on Saturday and then by the time we left the leisure pool on Saturday it was at capacity as well.  I suspect crowds will drop off, but it is annoying for something we are so excited about.

4. I missed the backyard Olympics while at the Doctor, but you can read all about it on my mom's blog here.  It sounds awesome.

5.  Today, we had the Kitchen Olympics using our Raddish Kids box.  It included a craft project making medals, five different olympic kitchen events, and three recipes (we've made one so far).  It was awesome and everyone loved it.  Not unlike the real olympics, apparently, M got sick following the more athletic events so we're holding off on the other recipes for a bit, but the greek turkey burgers, made entirely by B, were awesome.

6. We had a fun afternoon at the Myriad Gardens Children's Garden and then Big Truck Tacos yesterday with Audra to celebrate President's Day.  It is the perfect place to just hang out and play.

7. B has a speaking part in the first grade program and has it memorized easily.  We now need to work a bit on delivery.  He seems to rush through it. Where does he get that :)

8.  Sunday was Brent's dad's birthday and we celebrated with Pizza and the LEGO Movie. (Grammie celebrated by hanging out with E).  The movie and company was "awesome."

9.  For Valentine's Day, Brent bought me flowers and we had a date night out seeing the show Beauty & the Beast.  Strangely, Brent had never seen the Disney movie so it was new to him.  We had a fabulous time and thank his parents so much for watching the kids!  We also got watercolors for the kids that they loved.

10.  This week includes two of our nephew's birthdays and we're actually splitting up to make both parties.  Happy first birthday to Rowan and sixth birthday to John!  We love you!

Days 22- 24

Hello all,
  Ready for a few more days of December Daily? I've been catching up and have six total ready to share.  I am missing Christmas Day itself as I don't have the right photo paper to print the pictures, but it should be here soon.

Day 22: Left page

Day 22: Right Page

Meanwhile, let's see what happened before Christmas.

 When we last left off we had enjoyed one day of Richards family festivities.  Day 22 was spent with the larger Rouse clan enjoying lots of fun, more presents, and delicious food in a big family setting.  Lots of fun!

Day 23 - 

Day 23: Left Page

Day 24: Right Page

The next day was mostly quietly preparing at home.  I chose to chronicle the presents Brent and I finally started to wrap under the tree and the month-long enjoyment of the LEGO advent calendars. 

Day 24 - 

Day 24: Left Page

Day 24: Right page --- itching to add some twine to that little metal tag....

On Christmas Eve, we baked whole wheat chocolate chip cookies for Santa and readied cinnamon roll dough for our Christmas morning breakfast.   We went to afternoon Christmas Mass (which was a little crazy as the kids still had lots of energy.) The family photo before Mass was actually taken by E --- you can see the little remote in his hand.  Then we had delicious Christmas Eve dinner of steak, baked potatoes, and garlic bread with Grandma before slipping into PJs.  Of course we had to set out Sant's snack, open the fire place doors, and set the stockings out just so before anyone could begin to dream of sugar plums.

It was a nice gradual build up to Christmas.  Each day had a bit of fun, but none of them felt too overwhelming.