He's Six!

And close on the heels of his brother's big day, this young man turned six! If he could live outside, he would. He's my full-of-energy, never-stop-moving, bundle of blessing.

He began his day with a special breakfast of French Toast.  Benefit #3,271 of homeschooling. One can enjoy such things without the stress of having to get up insanely early or rushing through it to get out the door to be to school on time. His special dinner of choice was Chicken Veggie Alfredo--another one of Mommy's Sunday dinners. I think my boys like Sunday dinners.

He enjoyed opening some of his gifts after lunch once Daddy got home from work ... after looking through Matthew's pictures and realizing how few gifts I caught on camera, I tried to be a bit more thorough for Peter. ;)

Airplanes are always a sure win. Thanks, G&G!

Hmmm, Grandma must be having trouble with losing puzzle pieces ...

At least this one had all the pieces ...

Can I tell you how much fun it is to decorate a cake when you get such an over-the-top, excited response upon presenting it? :)

If his love for soccer continues, those candles will circle the ball some day!

So glad that Kate and her family--friends of all of us--could join us!

A few more gifts ... thanks for the Legos, G&G!

And yes, he's VERY excited about the extra $$ for the BIG Lego kit he's saving for ...

But it was also very nice to have a kit to put together the very next morning. :)

We rejoice to see you growing and learning each day! We love you, Buddy!

He's Three!

For the benefit and blessing of family who couldn't be with us to join in our birthday celebrations, I share some of the highlights from Matthew's special day. ♥

 

Matthew's dinner of choice was strawberries, watermelon, and grapes. After a bit of encouragement, he also chose a main meal of carrots and chicken. We interpreted that to mean Mommy's Sunday meal of Creamy Chicken and Carrots. :)

And he chose cheesecake for dessert. I had never. made. cheesecake. Ever. After receiving an overwhelming response to my Facebook post requesting recipe suggestions, I chose a 3-step White Chocolate-Raspberry (turned Strawberry) Swirl Cheesecake. Three-steps seemed about right for my first attempt. :)

Eating cheesecake covered with strawberries is very serious business. :)

His new Duplos from G&G were a definite hit! :)

As was his jumbo-sized, Toddler-friendly John Deere Tractor. :)

But this gift was a puzzle ... literally. Where's the rest of the pieces, Grandma?

Thanks for joining us, Miss Joy! ♥

And thanks for the glow-sticks! They made an excellent collar for Matthew's new Spot puppy!

Happy 3, Monkey! We love you! ♥



365 Project | Week 30

Whoosh! What a week! :) We've been filling our days with fun activities--indoors and out--as summer vacation draws to a close.

Day 204. Peter particularly enjoys the fun faces I often make with their food for lunch, and since his request for a photo was the first and only time I remembered to bring my camera out, his Sunday evening snack steals the show for the day. :)

Day 205. Hannah and Peter put their KNex coaster together all by themselves! :) I was so proud of them, and they were pretty pleased with themselves, too! Later in the week they took it apart and Hannah built the second version for this kit, and they have since taken it apart again and now Peter is building this version again.

Day 206. Tuesday's fun trip to a huge, really cool playground ended somewhat abruptly. Mommy got stung--twice--by a yellow jacket. OUCH. Made the drive home rather interesting, but thankfully it was my left hand and leg that were suffering, rather than my right ones. Ouch. :(

Day 207. Matthew loves "twains," with "Homas da Twain" being a particular favorite. ;) While the big kids have been building coasters with KNex, Matthew's been playing with Lego trains. He sometimes puts the tracks together on his own, but most of the time, Mommy designs the track and he runs the trains.

Day 208. We enjoyed a hot, but very fun trip to the zoo with our friends on Thursday! Everybody was glad for the sprinkler tents set up throughout. On an interesting side note, Peter thought it would be cool if we could all sleep on one leg standing up like flamingos do. ;)

I enjoyed watching Hannah-bug spin on this thing--if I tried, I would fall off after just a couple loops around, but she went around a couple dozen times and wasn't even dizzy when she got off!

Matthew was inspired by the zoo animals and spent most of the afternoon playing in his own cage. ;)

Day 209. While Daddy enjoyed fellowshipping at his work picnic, Hannah, Peter, and Matthew enjoyed exercising their swimming skills in the pool! :) Hannah's jumping and swimming in the deep end ...

Peter's jumping and swimming with just arm floaties ...

And Matthew is proudly making his way around in his swim-tube. "I swhim! I swhim! Hiss way, Mommy, hiss way!"

Day 210. Mommy finally got to contribute to our bathroom project--paint went on the walls this Saturday! :) Woo-hoo! The end is in sight! :) Very much looking forward to having a bathroom upstairs again. ;)

I must say it's hard to believe that August begins this week. It's been a fun summer. :) I have so enjoyed the freedom of being able to enjoy it with the kids. :)



Cool kitchen fun with my munchkins!

What do you think of our Penguin Pops? :)

I LOVE it when ideas work!

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Hannah's been choosing our Friday evening meals. (Pretty much) anything she'd like from my Simple and Delicious or Taste of Home magazines--including both main meal and dessert. For dessert this week she chose these cute little critters:

Cute, but they require circus peanut candies, Nutter Butter cookies, and green candy melts. As a general rule, we try to avoid significant amounts of food coloring, and I don't overly care for either circus peanut candies or Nutter Butters. So we compromised with Mommy's idea for Penguin Pops, which could be made entirely with ingredients I already had on hand (minus the Oreos, which I'm never loof to purchase.)

We had a lot of fun, and the project is just right for the 5-7 age range (plus or minus a few years). :) Two year olds can "help" Mommy. ;)

Step 1 Ingredients:

• Cool Mint Oreos (any round sandwich cookie would work ... I just happen to be very fond of Cool Mint Oreos.) ;)
• Vanilla almond bark (approximately 1/2 block per cookie pop)
• Lollipop sticks

1. Melt the almond bark in a large mug. (Microwave for 30 seconds, stir; repeat until smooth.)
2. Twist apart the cookie. Dip the lollipop stick in almond bark, place on cookie half, and replace cookie top. Refrigerate for about ten minutes until set.

 3. Dip cookie pops in white chocolate.

4. Place cookie pops in foam blocks and refrigerate for about an hour until firm.

Couple notes about the foam blocks:

• Punch the holes BEFORE you're trying to stick a just-dipped cookie pop into the block. It just works better that way.
• Cookie pops are top-heavy. Foam is not heavy. Secure foam prior to carrying top-heavy cookie pops to fridge. (Not that I speak from experience or anything ... eh-hem...)

Step 2 Ingredients:

• Sweet helpers! :)
• Cookie pops from step 1
• Butterscotch chips
• Chocolate chips
• Chocolate almond bark, melted (approximately 1/3 block per cookie pop)
• Small amount of remaining vanilla almond bark, remelted

5. Dip chocolate and butterscotch chips in vanilla almond bark and arrange on cookie pops to form the penguin's eyes and nose.

6. Dip the sides and back of cookie pop into chocolate almond bark to create the penguins wings. Matthew "helped" Mommy with this part ... ;)

7. Enjoy your cute creations (and your cute helpers!)

365 Project | Week 23

It was hard to choose photos for this week! So many "special" things to remember that there was hardly room for the "everyday" things which are just as special. :) But maybe (hopefully) some of those extra pictures will make it into another blogpost ... some day. :)

Day 156. Drumroll, please! :) After over three years, we are blessed to be able to touch a button and regulate the temperature of our home. What a wonderful blessing, and one which I will not take for granted. Thanks, honey! :) You've done a great job! :)

Day 157. We are blessed with the most awesome swim teacher ever! :) Thanks, Miss Emily! :) (We started counting down the hours to our first lesson from the moment we rolled out of bed in the morning ... which made for 11 hours of counting since the lesson started at 7 p.m.!) Both kids are doing great and having fun, although the water's been a wee bit chilly. :)

Day 158. Every afternoon about 2 p.m. we have quiet time. Matthew naps, but for Hannah and Peter, it's is as long as the Patch the Pirate CD they choose to listen to. The first 20–30 minutes is "book time" when they may read or lay with head on pillow. Afterwards, they can play quietly in their bedroom. We are all glad for quiet time in the afternoons.

Day 159. For the first time since our new schedule began, Chris and I enjoyed the treat of "breakfast for two" since the kids were still sleeping. (On a side note, Peter, who had been waking up at 6:45 like clockwork has suddenly begun sleeping till 8:00ish since I began blowdrying my hair in the kitchen instead of the bathroom. Funny how stuff like that works.)

Day 160. We thoroughly enjoyed learning about Jewish culture this week, and we ended the week with a traditional "Sabbath" meal. It was fun, educational, and special! :) (It all started because I picked up a couple boxes of Jewish food mixes from the discount shelves while Hannah was reading All of a Kind Family.)

Day 161. Who wants to cook after having a yard sale? With a second loaf of Challah and a new soup recipe, we were so glad to be able to enjoy an evening of fellowship with our friends after their busy day.

So much more filled our week ... it is GOOD to be home.