ballet boys

mason and maddux waiting for madelyn with their friend benjamin during ballet.  that is the farthest they are supposed to go towards the girls' dance room and benjamin loves to test the boundry (i.e. he runs down the hall for his mom to chase him).  today he sat down and mason and maddux joined him in support.  love.

what?! it's thrusday!?

i usually have the most scheduled activities on thursday.  it's not super crazy but i have to remember to be certain places at certain times more than usual.  today i got everyone off to school and then went to walk with a friend at the mall while mason was in school, then back to get mason and some jobs around the house.  i was focusing on how late matt was going to be and getting to book club after the kids were down  that i totally overlooked that it was thursday and madelyn needed to go to dance. 

we normally rush to dance class because it starts at 4 and madelyn gets off the bus at 3:40 which is also about the time manning wakes up from his nap and everyone wants to eat a snack.  to say it is a little crazy is an understatement.  so madelyn got home, manning was still sleeping so i thought i would jump in the shower to get cleaned up for book club just in case matt got home early enough for me to go (he had to stay later than normal at work and wouldn't be home until after the kids were in bed).  after i was out of the shower manning woke up and i grabbed my phone to check on some work emails while i nursed him.

the reminder was on my phone - "dance"!  it was 4:05!  i was in a robe, manning had a dirty diaper and the rest of the kids were finishing up the cartoon and snack they had while i was in the shower.  somehow we made it to dance by 4:20.  i don't know how, but we did.  whew.

after dinner and baths, madelyn read to the boys while i nursed manning down.  i thought it was funny that she sat maddux on her lap like matt and i do and had to take a picture.  she really gets into 'mom mode' when i am doing bedtime by myself.  she helps everyone get dressed and brush their teeth and everything.  it is so sweet to listen to from manning's room.

i was going to try and get to book club if matt got home by 9 but when he rolled in about 8:45, i just could get motivated to go.  oh well.  love.

another book lover

manning loves books - to eat!  he only crawls to get to books so that he can maul them.  we have had to put a moratorium on books being left on the ground after losing a few small ones to his slobbery attempts to consume them. 

but he sure is cute.

the video is an attempt at catching him being chatty.  he sort of froze up when i got the camera and doesn't vary his 'words' as much as he normally does but it does show how he loves to have his mouth open and noisy.  love.

look at the size of his hand!

boys' morning out with mommy

it seems like it has been a long time since i have taken time to just enjoy the boys.  with mason home today, i skipped the gym and we went to the museum.  we have not been since they opened the new science section and i was curious as to what they had added.

unfortunately, you can't use a flash in most of the museum, so the pictures aren't that great.  we did have a wonderful time and were there for almost three hours.

maddux was excited that they added an 'on/off' switch to the aerodynamic display where you can 'float' balls.

i think that this exhibit on currents is going to be a favorite too...

there was a new green screen.  maddux picked the background for us on the touch screen computer and mason and i would act it out.  here we are 'running' with the triceratops!

 the boys each gave me their best 'roar' from the dinosaur mouth - sorry that the pictures are so dark.

we took a bathroom break and mason was commenting on "how cute" the bench was inside the ladies restroom so we had to take a picture.

i decided to check out the clipboards on our way back in and saw that there was one with just pictures and names to find and check off.  mason was awesome at it!  he could find the words and didn't always rely on the pictures.  it was a fun way to explore and find things we have overlooked in the past.

 and we took one last look at the miniatures exhibit since it closes in march (i think).

our 'favorite' volunteer found us as we were leaving and asked if i would like to see a great photo opportunity.  we did have a few more minutes before we needed to get going for lunch and manning was asleep, so i took him up on it. (i say he is our 'favorite' because he is very friendly, informative and helpful, but it is difficult to get away once he gets started.)  and he was right it was very cute to have the boys peek through the windows and look like they were in the houses.  without the flash, the pictures were mostly blurry.  maddux could not hold still long enough for a clear shot, but here is a cute one of mason.

and best of all, he offered to take one of all four of us.  granted, i had not showered (again), but i am happy to have the picture with my boys.  love.

finger foods

all that cut up fruit came in handy for some first finger foods for manning.  he had no trouble with it at all and i realized that i haven't been doing a great job of new food introduction with him.  he is more than ready for something more solid than 'puffs'.  love.

mops brunch and playdate

last night and this morning i raced around like a crazy woman getting the house all in order so that i could host a mops brunch and playdate.  all of the members of the steering team have taken a month to plan an additional "out-and-about" for the group - my month was february.  we had already had a valentines family dinner, so i thought i would do something at the end of the month.  i am not really a go out at night kind of person, so i wanted to do something kid friendly.  and brunch at my house was born.

i baked up muffins, a few casseroles (baked caramel-banana french toast and oatmeal with berries and bananas) and cut up some watermelon and cantaloupe. we had more than enough food.  i had a craft for the kids too, but we never got around to it because they were just excited to get to play with someone else's toys! 

i am so glad that i was able to have them all over and thankful to have them in my life.  it was also a great reason for me to have to do some deep cleaning. 

here is the most requested recipe of the morning for your enjoyment - it is from all you magazine - may 2012:

baked caramel-banana french toast
8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 T dark rum, optional (i did not use but have before and it is better without imo)
2 medium ripe bananas, sliced
1 loaf challah or white bread (about 20 oz), cut or torn into 1/2-inch pieces
8 large eggs
2 cups half and half
1 T vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

1. melt butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat.  Add brown sugar and rum, if desired; stir unti smooth. remove from heat and stir in bananas.
2. scatter half of bread in a 9x13 baking dish. spoon caramel-banana mixture evenlyover bread. top with remaining bread. in a large bowl, whisk eggs until blended. whisk in half and half, vanilla and salt. pour over bread mixture, pressing down on bread to make sure it's all coated.  cover with foil and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
3. preheat oven to 350F. let baking dish stand at room temperature while the oven preheats. remove foil and bake until puffed and golden and a thin knife insterted in center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

love.

tuesday tip - surprise them

almost everything we do is a 'surprise' for the kids. this does two things - gives us flexibility to change our plans at the last minute and minimizes the opportunity for fits of disappointment. "tomorrow" can seem like forever to wait, and forget about a week or more! we usually wait until the morning of (or sometimes the hour of) to tell the kids that we are doing something special or that someone is coming over. let's say we were planning on going to the zoo and it is rainy or someone was up all night and in a really cranky mood or our friend that was coming over wakes up sick. the kids only think that we are doing something that is a "surprise" - our trip to the zoo can turn into a surprise trip to the library and everyone is still happy. we have "surprises" almost daily which can help make every day special and fun.

and our kids love guessing where we are going! sometimes i give clues but sometimes i just let their imaginations run wild. it is fun to hear what they consider to be a "special surprise" and it gives me more ideas for things that they might like to do.

do you keep your kids in the dark to make things easier?

love.

family walk

on the drive home from the airport i was thinking that it was such a shame that we had spent this warm (40s), sunny day inside.  so i called matt and told him that we were going for a walk when we got home.  and then i told the kids the game plan because we were going to have to be quick if we were going to get out and back before the sun went down.

happily, everyone hustled in for warmer coat, gloves and hats and then back out to get on their helmets and bike gear while i ran manning in for a clean diaper and to grab a blanket for the wagon.  and off we went!

we really can not wait for it to be warm enough to do this most days, but we enjoyed the time we had while we had it. 

when we got back home, the moon was a beautiful orange and very low in the sky.  i had to help the kids see it from the driveway between the trees.  madelyn and mason thought it was pretty neat but when i showed maddux he just said, "no".  he would not believe that the orange circle he was seeing was the moon.  that silly kid.

so thankful for some family fun outside.  love.

grandma's farewell dinner

poor grandma was not feeling so hot today and i felt bad that she was going to have to get on an airplane tonight.  she spent most of the day resting while i was baking away in the kitchen preparing for a mops playdate i am hosting tomorrow.

grandma insisted that we go out to dinner on our way to the airport.  even matt was able to get off a little early so that he could join us which was a real treat!  we knew grandma wasn't feeling well when she didn't order an appetizer.

after we ordered, we realized that we didn't take very many pictures so grandma hopped around the table to get a few pictures with the grandkids.

 and then she got one with matt and one with me in the parking lot.

we got grandma off to the airport just fine and she, thankfully, made it home before the worst of her illness hit.  it seems like she picked up the stomach bug somewhere - not from us this time!

we had a nice visit and grandma spoiled us, way too much, again.  love.

free babysitting

when the grandmas come to visit, matt and i try to get a night out because we don't get a whole lot of free babysitting. we had put off our valentine's day date for when grandma came to visit. we didn't have any grand plans. we actually opted for lunch after church instead of dinner because we were already dressed. just being alone together is romantic these days.

madelyn wearing a new outfit from grandma to church

and then we got to spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing and getting things done around the house while grandma had fun with the kids.

playing candyland (grandma was on the phone with big pop)

it was our last full day together and even though we hadn't done much, her visit flew by. love.

 

more firsts

last night when we were heading to dinner, manning started clapping!  we have been working on this one and i was pretty thankful that i was sitting in the back with the kids and was able to see it.  he had a more difficult time reenacting it for me in the high chair when i went to get video of his first time using a sippy cup.  enjoy!  love.

madelyn's celebration dinner

we still wanted to take madelyn out for a celebration dinner for her "character champion" award. her choice for dinner? mcdonalds. we tried to talk her into some of her other favorites, that she often asks to go to, but she could not be swayed. oh well. at least it was more affordable than what we had in mind.

there was a cute leprechaun cut-out that all of the kids had to try while daddy was ordering our dinner.

to make the evening feel a little more celebratory we took her over to friendly's for ice cream. the wait was crazy long, but it was worth it.

the kids talk about the 'conehead' sundae often even though we haven't been in a long while

mason went with a 'monster' this time

we were all stuffed and i am afraid we didn't do grandma any favors after all the work she has been doing to eat healthier. it was a great evening of celebrating madelyn's achievement. love.

 

sarah's party

madelyn's "best friend" sarah had her birthday party at a local pottery painting store. madelyn was pretty excited about it. she said it was the best party she had ever been to! love.

updated with the finished product...

grandma's here!

grandma arrived yesterday and it was pretty busy just with our normal everyday stuff. today i took grandma to the ymca with the littles and me while the bigs were at school to try the water arobics class i just started taking. she really enjoyed it and has some new ideas for exercises in her own pool at home. then we showered and headed out to pick mason up and go to have lunch with madelyn. we didn't so much have 'lunch' as we snacked a little while visiting her at school. i am happy to report that no one threw up this time.

here are some pictures of grandma and the kids making clay figures with the kit grandma brought with her.

this was madelyn's special creation

we plan on having a fairly quiet visit with grandma but we will see what happens. love.

 

extra snugly

maddux insisted on wearing fleece pants over his fleece footsie jammies. silly boy. love.

 

manning at 8 months

he rang in month number 8 with an ear infection. but not in the ear he has been rubbing that prompted us to take him in. even the doctor was a little surprised that he had one - no fever, no runny nose, no resistance to having her check, just all smiles. she said that it might have just been delayed from the cold he had a few weeks ago. this is his first one. he weighed 28lbs.

but really i just wanted to post a little about manning...

- he is super ticklish on his chest and neck. he cracks up when we pull his clothes off (not so much when we are getting him dressed).

- he is really getting mobile. most of it is belly to sitting kind of moving. he does hop a little on his knees but no real attempts at actual crawling. i always knew that madelyn did things early but it is amazing looking back as we have had the boys (madelyn - february 2008)

- manning looks a lot like madelyn but is build more like mason.

- he is a chatterbox (where did matt and i get all of these talkers?) - "ma-ma", "da-da", "ni", "ba-ba", "na", "ya-ya", "hi", "ha-ha", "yah"

- he thinks it is hysterical when his brothers cry.

- he and maddux seem to have a pretty special bond. maybe they understand each other.

- he is the only one of the kids at this age who goes down with no books, nursing or crying and wakes up happy most of the time.

manning is a very happy and easy going kid. we really ended with a great one! we can't wait for him to get moving. love.