Watching Spring Bloom

We couldn't have asked for more perfect Spring Break weather.  The kids & I spent most of the week outside and we saw spring in full bloom!   I am always amazed at how my kids live in the moment and notice so much around them - they talked about the birds singing, the flowers blooming, the little buds on the trees.  Even Graham was pointing out all the different colored flowers on the trees.  *Note to self : Don't forget to live in the moment.  Don't be too busy to notice the colors, smell the flowers & play in the creek.  Be more like your kids!

We spent one day at the OP Arboretum.  We had a picnic and then walked around and found the signs of spring EVERYWHERE! 

 Ava & Claire - a toothless pair.

 G's favorite spot.  Trucks 'n' Rocks!

Feeling the cold water in the creek


Tara & the boys joined us for a day at the zoo.  It was quite busy but we had a blast.  Everyone loved watching Nikita the polar bear, and the train ride was a BIG hit!

 Waiting in line to see Nikita the Polar Bear

 Andrew

 Tara & her boys on the train

 Can you tell they are excited??

 Andrew's shirt says "My aunt is awesome!"  Hmmm, I wonder where he got it?

We met Papa & Grammy for a picnic and playdate at Blue Springs Lake Park.  We took a little nature walk and played (and played, and played) on the playground.  So much fun.

How many grandkids can Papa carry at once??

Swinging cousins - Andrew, Danny, Soph, G

Almost asleep.  Sweet boy.

We had an amazing break.  Gorgeous weather, fun adventures and time with friends and family.  We climbed trees, played in the sand, and got REALLY dirty.  We spent St. Patrick's Day with great friends and ate corned beef, cabbage, potatoes . . . and the MOST AWESOME Guiness cupcakes with Irish Cream frosting. Yumm. 

It was just about perfect.

P.S.

Stay tuned.

Tomorrow I will post about our kindness project and what the girls came up with!

Random Acts of Kindness

(This was supposed to be published the 2nd week of March . . . OOPS!)

What an amazingly beautiful week to be on spring break!  We have been filling up our time together with all kinds of fun activities!  Last week, Ava & I went to see the Lorax in 3D.  It was awesome! 

What a great message!!

On Saturday, I ran in the Westport St. Patrick's Day 4 mile Run.  Actually, my friend and I arrived early and ran 3 miles before the race . . . for a grand total of 7 miles.

It was long.  I was tired.

We headed to Crown Center for some family time on Sunday!!

We ate lunch at Fritz's. Graham was utterly mesmerized by the trains!  He loved watching them deliver food and buzz back and forth.   I wish every restaurant had such entertainment . . . we might actually be able to take our crew out to eat!!

 G kept "calling" for more food.

We visited the Crown Center Animal Tales Exhibit . . . the kids loved it.  You could swing like monkey, jump like a kangaroo, climb into an extra large birds nest and much more.

 G-Roo

 Mama Bear & her bear cubs

 My babies in the nest

There's SO much to choose from at the candy store.

 Make a wish.

 The girls at the Westin waterfall.

 Finally, we rode the glass elevator to the top & checked out the views of the city.

Whew.  What a fun day!

We have plenty more in store for this week . . .  I am looking forward to spending time with my babies and seeking out fun adventures!

P.S.

We have been talking with the kids about kindness.  Being kind to eachother and to their friends and to strangers.  I challenged the girls to do 10 nice things for someone besides themselves this week.  I told them I would treat them to ice cream if they could complete the task together . . .  without fighting.  The first thing they came up with was to have an "I love you" party for me.  They made decorations, gave me a foot rub, made snacks for us all, and we danced.  I think I'm gonna like this challenge! 

If we all do one random act of kindness daily, we just might set the world in the right direction.

~Martin Kornfeld.

Twine wreath & Swine flu. Ok, not really.

It's been a LOOOOOOONG week over here as influenza has made it's way around our house. Sophia, Matt and Ava have all been down.  (Graham & I are taking Tamiflu and hoping to avoid it!)  Needless to say, taking care of sick people and cloroxing every square inch of the house has been my agenda this week! Spring Break starts at the end of the week and we are excited and ready!

We FINALLY got our new couch! YAY!

I think G likes it.  :)

Good-bye Big Red. 

I did manage to get one project completed this week!  I have been dying to make a twine wreath.  I saw something similar on pinterest and thought it looked like something I could handle.  I needed something to hang on the front door in between seasonal decor.

 I wrapped my "M" in twine (2 layers, to cover well) and used a little bit of wood glue to secure the twine in the tricky places.  Hot glue would probably work great, too, but my front door gets so hot from direct sun that hot glue always melts!!

 Here is the fully wrapped "M".

I wanted to embellish with some fabric flowers so I looked at some online tutorials and then played around until I got the look I wanted.

 First I cut my fabric into a strip . . . about 1 inch wide.  The longer you cut your strip, the bigger the flower. 

 I tied a knot for the center or "bud"

 I folded my strip in half length wise and started wrapping it around the center.

 Occassionally, I would twist the fabric.  I noticed it gave the flower more dimensions.

 When my flower was the right size, I glued the end of the fabric to the bottom of the flower and let it dry for a few hours.

 Once dry, I glued my flowers to the twine (once again I used Elmer's wood glue).  My fabric was stringy (it was suede-like), and I actually thought the frayed look was kind of cool.  If you wanted to avoid that look I suggest using fabric that doesn't fray quite as easily. Finally, I attached some ribbon to the back with a staple gun & hung it on my door!

*NOTE TO CRAFTER: Try not to drop your twine wrapped letter on the floor in the process of hanging.  It will proceed to break in half, causing you to start over.  Ugh!
I LOVE the finished product!!



P.S.
I make an effort to be joyful every day and to be thankful for my many blessings.   This week brought to light just how blessed I am.  I have decided that I should be thankful for EVERY moment.  Even the crappy ones.  Cause they are my life, too.  I see people around me struggling with issues much bigger than a house full of influenza.   
A wise man once told me that the road of life (and marriage) will have some bumps and curves in it.  He said that you should anticipate them and you can learn to negotiate them smoothly.  They also make the smooth spots sweeter.  He was right, as usual. 
Thanks, Dad. 

February Running Stats

My current progress . . .
JANUARY 2012: 31.6 miles
FEBRUARY 2012: 23.64
TOTAL MILES: 55.24
MILES TO GO: 444.76
(Because I had pneumonia & had to take a break, I am about 20 miles behind schedule. Still hoping to meet my goal!  There are still a lot of running days left in 2012!!)

Scramble Bread

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Ava lost another tooth.  We've been calling her toothless.  :)  P.S. Doesn't she have the greatest dimple!?!

My poor Sophia has been sick with an ear infection & influenza.  I think today she rounded the corner and seems to feel much better.  Luckily, Sophia's daddy is a great nurse!  He spoiled her rotten and had her set up in our room with her favorite movies, brought meals up on a tray . . .  and even had flowers by the bed! 

Just had to share this great new recipe from an old friend!  Graham helped me make it last night & it was a huge success!  Easy, delicious & versatile.

Scramble Bread

Take a ball of pizza dough (I used a just-add-water packet) cover with olive oil and let sit in the bottom of a bowl for a few minutes.

Cut dough into 1-2 inch pieces and mix with your favorite pizza toppings, shredded cheese, fresh chopped garlic and fresh chopped tomatoes.  We used pepperoni, black olives, green peppers, garlic, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.

Graham helped me dump in the ingredients and mix them up!

Transfer ingredients into casserole dish, stoneware dish or onto stone pizza pan.

I just kind of dumped it on there and spread it out a little bit.  Bake @ 350 for 20-30 minutes until dough is cooked and browning.

It was SO easy and SO yummy!  Next time I am going to try Hawaiian style (canadian bacon, pineapple, peppers) and I also think you could do half & half very easily!  I also heated up some pizza sauce for the kids and they enjoyed dipping the mouthfuls into the sauce!  Enjoy!