Easter…Spring Break Day 3

Here are the eggs we worked on so hard for no more than 29 minutes on Spring Break day one…. it is amazing how fast these soak up color and how quickly little hands can work.

You can see evidence that some egg “dyers” were more gentle than others….

The Easter Bunny came and hid 6 candy filled eggs for each child around the living room, dining room and kitchen. He left some small trinket toys, and books in the girls baskets and Solomon got an all in one tool, everyone was really happy. It is so fun to see children bubbling over with excitement and zest for life!

Each holiday I try to capture all of the kids in a fairly coordinated picture, feel free to view the Christmas Card photo outtakes post from last year. The outfits today were a little more casual (sidenote: Solomon added the velvet blazer and top hat on his own…since he could dress himself he has loved blazers and being fancy) since we were having brunch at my aunt’s house, nothing fancy since she always has some painting crafts for them:

Loud and Proud:

Bunny Ears in your face:

And one with Farley:

After brunch at home Solomon, Jon and I played a game of scrabble and we all just lazed around, it was perfect, the kids played and giggled and Jon and I laid down, digested brunch and listened to our happy family.

Jon and I tucked the kids in and finished our taxes…whew!!! That is a relief to check off the list, especially owing a business, seems to take a lot more number crunching.

That big lug of a dog turns 3 tomorrow, think we should cook him something special?? Anyone have any good doggy reicpes??

Spring Break …2013…Day Two

Posted by Patchwork Reality

All three girls (yes they are feeling better, must have been a 24 hour bug, thank goodness!) have dance this morning so Jon is taking them, they are missing out on the neighborhood Easter Egg hunt in the park which they participated in last year and had a lot of fun.

However, the weather is dreary and their dance recital is in 5 weeks so I think they need the practice…I am sure they bunny will bring eggs filled with candy tomorrow so even though they are bummed, I have zero momma guilt!

Speaking of dreary weather, I am scheduled for an 11 mile training run today, how crazy does that sound, 11 miles of practice! It was warmed up here and I was realllllly hoping to take it outside, but windy rain does not sound like awesome running weather , just for practice.

Change in plans, I did an hour kettlebell work out instead, since Jon keeps telling me how much nicer tomorrow is going to be, and to be honest I have been training so hard, it is nice to have a break when we are all home together.

Jon and the kids went outside to clear the downspout for the sump pump after lunch, all of a sudden I hear ” oh my gosh!!!” “ewwwwww” “no way that just came out of there” so of course I grabbed my camera and here is what came out…..

Warning it is a little icky.

We think this is the vole that was running a muck through our garden last year, not sure how he lost his head….poor guy, but of course the kids were fascinated. Ahhh nature, never a dull moment.

On a lighter note, we ventured out early in the evening with my Aunt and saw the movie “The Croods”,:

I have to say I was hesitant, after watching a trailer for this movie. Jon and I do not go on movie dates, at home or to the theater so most of my recently watched movies ARE kid movies and The Croods was better than I expected, we all enjoyed it, this movie gives a clear and important message to live life and not hide in fear. Instead of fearing the unknown explore life, travel, try new things and LIVE….what better message is there than that. And on a side note, lets say I was a young animated girl, this “Guy” would be my heart-throb:

I know that is not weird at all…thank you. And tonight I am considering movie popcorn and the fresh strawberries I smuggled in (yes, I am that mom….shhhh please don’t tell, they sell nothing that comes from nature at the theater) a well-rounded dinner.

Everyone went to bed REALLY excited to see what the bunny has for them in the morning!

Spring Break….Day one

Posted by Patchwork Reality

5:43 AM….I hear a whimpering, Jon goes in to check on Santanna, she has thrown up all over 😦

6:03 Jon left for work Tanna is tucked in and has a “bowl”

6:40 I hear someone crying, I go into Avalon’s room…she is also throwing up.

Ahhh yeah, Spring break, Bring. It. On.!!!

The older kids had a blast the rest of the morning setting up a sick hospital upstairs, complete with patient cards with their diagnosis. I just love seeing them care for each other when they are not feeling well.

We still managed to dye eggs, most of us anyway.

Yes at our house we use our hands 🙂

Both hands.

And sometimes skewers?!

The 2 big kids and I went to the gym and the played while I ran 3 miles and bikes 10. Still going strong on my training plans for my 1/2 Marathon in May and my Dualathon in April.

Then we went to the Public Library and stocked up for the rest of vacation. We listen to LOTS of books on cassette tape, I mean to the point that is Jim Dale came and ate supper at our house, the kids might not even notice, his voice is just like the paint on the walls.

This is just a small sample of the 36 library books/stories we checked out. The rest are already being poured over in other spaces.

We has spaghetti for supper that was lip smacking delish!!

Every Friday night we have a “Friday night movie” Original name I know. Jon and I are not strict about many things but screen time, or audio-visual time as we call it, is one thing that we really limit. They get one hour a day and most days it just doesn’t fit into the schedule. So each Friday night we kick off the weekend with a big bowl of hot buttery popcorn and a movie of one persons choosing. We rotate through all 4 kids, we get a lot of repeat Pocahontas, Homeward Bound and Disney’s Hercules.

Tonight was Solomon’s choice and he chose Goonies….Love this choice!!!!

I did forget that there are some “scary” moments, dead guy in the freezer with ice cream??!! and a few bleep words, mostly the S— word but overall what a fun adventure movie for kids to watch!

HEEEEYYY YOU GUUUUUUUUYYYS!! Have a Happy Spring Break everyone!!

Happy Spring???

Posted by Patchwork Reality

Dear Spring-

I know we had fun when we were together, I am sorry I left you behind for summer, but she was fun. She made my skin glow; she didn’t mind if I only wore a swim suit all day under shorts and a tank, she warmed me up when your showers ended.

Summer, she left on a whimsy, then it got cold, winter came he was dark and cold, had that bad boy feel, I am known to like, I chased that bad boy down some hills, but he is still dark and stormy, and refuses to leave.

Please can we give it another chance? Winter doesn’t bring me flowers like you do, doesn’t make me feel hopeful.

I need that spring.

Please come back.

I am buried in snow with more in sight?!?!?

All my love

Sarah

Avalon get the news that preschool is cancelled AGAIN:

All out angst at the idea of not going to activities again…get it all out girl!

Mind you this time last year it was in the 80’s….!!

Littlest Girls Room

Posted by Patchwork Reality

At one point we had all 3 girls sharing this room, it was a fun idea, the sisterly love was there, but this room just does not provide enough space for 3.
It was a sage green color that we loved, but like all the walls in our house it needed a fresh coat over the builder flat paint that we insisted they not use…flat paint is just not a good idea.
Before:

We painted it a very light gray, I put together a duvet cover for her bed, she’s really into polka dots, and made the ladder style bedside table.

Pinterest inspired embroidery hoop fabric pieced wall decor:

We hung 3 mirrors on her wall to make the space feel, bigger, they hang on the wall across from her window which lets in fantastic day light. The pink Bilbo toy serves as a step stool for our little shorty to reach her light and fan switch.

100+ year old metal bed from our family farm, it was bronze but has been painted a number of items, we painted it white over a previous blue, so it has an amazing patina.

Antique toolbox at the end of her bed holds all the books that will not fit on the bedside table, if we have too many of anything at our house it is books, but I think that’s a great thing;)

One wall that houses her closet, we have a plan for some of the closet pace in our house, we might take 1/2 of this closet and give it to the adjoining room. Than take the closet from that room and add it into our MB closet space…stay tuned.

Putting Modesty Aside.

Posted by Patchwork Reality

This may not be going where you think:)
I want to take just a moment and share some parental pride in this post regarding our son, Solomon.
I know that as parents we are all ridiculously proud of all our children, and revel in their accomplishments big and small. This is not meant to be boastful, just a momma sharing her pride.
Solomon participates in the highly gifted education opportunities that are provided through our neighborhood public school, he tests into these with an aloof ease that I wish I had more of as a student. He is also extremely fortunate to have a fantastic, well articulated, very organized and enthusiastic teacher, who expects from her gifted students what they are capable of.
That being said, she encouraged her students to participate in Letters about Literature

What LAL Does:

LAL is a reading promotion program of The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, presented in cooperation with participating affiliate state centers for the book across the country. LAL invites readers in grades 4 through 10 to enter our annual writing competition.

To enter, readers write a personal letter to an author, living or dead, from any genre–fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, contemporary or classic–explaining how that author’s work changed the student’s way of thinking about the world or themselves.

There are three competition levels:

Level I for children in grades 4 through 6;
Level II for grades 7 – 8,
Level III, grades 9 – 10.

Solomon chose the book The Evolution of Calpurnia Virginia Tate, which I reviewed here, so his letter was written to Ms. Jacqueline Kelley, we edited it and he carried it off to school in his backpack. As his mom , I of course, was proud and thought he had done a great job.

Last night my husband got an email from Solomon’s teacher that his letter has been advanced to State Level for judging at Level 1, in Minnesota there were 1,265 entires, so this is quite an honor.

The state level results will be back the first week of April, so keep your fingers crossed for him, and I will update when we find out.

Still lightening the load.

Posted by Patchwork Reality

Sunday Raiven and I tackled her room.

It took most of the day, she was more helpful than I had anticipated, and I think she now feels very proud of her room…again…until the next time 🙂

It is amazing the amount of school papers, treats, notes , gifts and other random that kids acquire from school and friends and activities. Also if it was up to Raiven, she would keep it ALL, every card that someone took the time to put her name on. I love this about her, her sweet nature, however, I think I might have hurt my ankle trying to walk around the bed to tuck her in last Friday, so I played the “we need to clean your room” mom card.

I know I still need to post photos of her room redo, but first we needed it clean.

WE unloaded a pile of clothes to her sister, one to my eBay sell pile, 3 bags of garbage (Styrofoam from product boxes, some broken toys etc. she is not a true hoarder), 2 bags to donate, and a small pile that I am adding to the Fab Five February count, I promised her to give these items a chance for sale locally, brining our total to 28…yikes, we are behind!:

Brandy Pecan Pie

Posted by Patchwork Reality

Ahh February 14th….the day of love, chocolate, roses, jewelery….is it an important holiday? One that should have men doting on women, reminding the woman in their life just how much they love them, or is it really a marketing ploy to sell those million rose buds and pounds of chocolate??

Well, regardless of your persuasion on the holiday, all of us over here are fans of sweet treats, and days that inspire small kindnesses, so we have a no expectations February 14th just cute little cards written to teachers and friends and yummy food.

This recipe is for a pecan pie that is Jon’s favorite, it is what he has for a birthday “cake” every year, it is my adaptation of a recipe I found in a cookbook and is from Bravo, Chef!

You will need:

Brandy Pecan Pie

1- 9 inch pie crust

1/2 dark corn syrup

3 eggs

1 Cup white sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 C. Brandy (you will have some left in the bottle; another reason Jon loves this pie)

1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream (more if you want to whip some up to go on top of the pie)

2 TBS melted butter

1 1/4 C chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375.

Place your pie crust in your pan (or find a willing helper):

I gave her a fork and let her make a fancy edge!

One more because I love her eyes!

Ok back to pie:

Mix eggs, sugar, melted butter, corn syrup, and heavy cream in a bowl.

Should look like this.

Stir in pecans, brandy and vanilla, then pour into your pie crust.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until set, it should not wiggle much.

Viola!! now you can eat this all by itself, ala mode, or with some freshly whipped cream.

Happy Valentines day!!!!!

Life

Posted by Patchwork Reality

Today, broken down mostly by kid’s activities*:
Sent son off to Polar Camp right after Breakfast
Creative Dance Class
Tap Class
Ballet Class
Jazz Class
Pump gas
Pick up Polar Camper
Scarf a lunch
Run a 5K (Raivens First!!!)
Drop son off at a bowling party
Off to the Post 5K celebration with friends, and supporting Ana’s fight again cancer
Screech home to meet bowling party drop off
Shower; throw on acceptable “going out” outfits on everyone (read matching shoes, pants in winter, etc) I even had 2 seconds for eye make-up.
Arrive one hour late to a surprise 40th birthday party…surprise we are here
Scarf dinner to take home oldest who is getting a migraine.
Get everyone in bed
Lie down for a second, greet husband through the slits in my eyes, all I could muster.
Dream of me at a rock concert….not quite a beach but I ‘ll take the mental escape.

*This post brought to you by caffeine, patience and will power.

Conquering One Daughters Closet

Posted by Patchwork Reality

Last day Of January and I am still rolling on the organization of this house that breathes life and excitement. When I wake up every morning I really want to take the house room by room, or at least one room at a day, unfortunately real life does not allow for that, so I am settling for small victories, as often as I can make them happen.
I decided to tackle Santanna’s closet, she is the lucky recipient of ALL her older sisters hand me downs , plus loads from a close neighbor friend who has 3 girls. Lets just say this closet is bursting on most days of all seasons.

Notice anything repetitive?? Yep those are the same plastic woven bins I used on my pantry reorganization. Each bin holds a certain grouping, for example there is one for socks/tights, one for jammies, one for leggings. I think I am going to figure out a picture label for her, since she is just learning to read, also I want to ask hubby to build a shelf to go on the side with the bins, to utilize more of the space, and have some shoe shelves, or maybe find some at a store.

As with the pantry I have a bag of garbage, a bag to sell on the garage sale and a bag of donation. Ahhhh, small accomplishments on large amounts of coffee and child compliance, life is pretty good….wonder how long this closet will stay this way????