Saturday, April 10, 2010

This Boy



This boy has my heart like no other. I love his crazy expressions, his talkative ways, and his blossoming imagination. Sometimes I can't believe how big he is getting and I get so proud of the new things he learns. Luke is turning 3 on the 13th and we had a Batman party to celebrate! He has been waiting for his special Batman "peelona" (pinata) for a looooong time- probably since cousin Colin had a Thomas the Train pinata at his birthday party.


Against my better judgment, I made Luke's birthday cake. It turned out alright for homemade, but I think I like the look and taste of a bakery cake myself! I found a Batman template online and filled it in with chocolate frosting. Then I pushed chocolate chips into that shape to make it a little bit darker. I didn't really want to mess with black food coloring paste- I thought that could get pretty messy! I made a lasagna recipe from The Pioneer Woman's blog and it was really easy and really yummy! I've not made any of her recipes before but I loved the step by step picture directions- very helpful! We learned that Charlotte loves cake and especially ice cream... she begged a lot off of Nana's plate! She definitely likes her sweets- she must get that from me! haha






For his birthday he got some new Imaginext toys (very cool Fisher Price play sets for boys 3-9 yrs- highly recommend for the little guys!) including some Batman vehicles, a Space ship and space station, a talking Iron Man toy (Charlotte seems to like him too! She just thinks its a doll for her!), a cozy Batman blanket, Spiderman toothbrush, Spiderman chair and tent, and a camouflage "hunting bag", and some new clothes. I think he was pretty excited about the new stuff to play with- Soooo excited that he didn't want to go to bed at night! lol

Luke was a happy little guy and that makes mommy happy too. It's so fun seeing him grow older and learn new things all of the time. He constantly talks to us and if you don't repeat or expand on what he has just said then you hear, "Mommy, talk at me!" lol I can't imagine my life without him and am so proud to call him my son. :)
Right now, Luke and Daddy went out on the rowboat to try to catch a fish and Charlotte is laying down to take a nap... geez it's quiet around here! I'm hoping to enjoy some of the spring weather and take a walk around the lake soon. Hope you all are having a great spring weekend too!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Easter


We had a good Easter weekend for the kids. On Good Friday, I was off of work so I took Luke to a free Easter Crafts session at the library. This seemed like a fun thing that a stay-at-home mom would get to do and since I could get my own mom to watch Charlotte then Luke and I could go try it out! When we got to the library, Luke was all about playing in the little toy/reading nook. He discovered puppets and in particular liked a medieval knight puppet. There were also these older girls running around and being loud... oddly enough I remember them from the park last year and they are REALLY annoying. Last year when Charlotte was a baby they were trying to tell me that they were going to get her out of the swing... ummm I think not. They were bossing Luke around.... momma didn't care for that. They also randomly would put their hands on me and I'm not a touchy feely person anyways so I didn't really enjoy these kids that were strangers trying to hang on me! So, sure enough, the girls were at the library and one of them did put their arms on my shoulders... bleh! I have been telling Luke he has to be quiet in the library so I kept pulling him to the side and whispering, "We don't run around and be loud in the library. We aren't playing with these girls." He listened but all the action was hard to resist! Luckily, it was craft time soon. A very tall lady came and said "C'mon little boy, it's time for crafts!" Well, he's pretty shy to new people so he ran the other direction when he saw her! He was more interested in playing- I picked him up and waited for him to scream but he held it together. It was really nice, we first got to dye two hard boiled eggs (score for Mommy who hadn't colored eggs yet at home!). Then we made a basket out of paper- this put some pressure on me since the woman in charge seemed to want it done EXACTLY like the model. I was trying to get Luke to use the glue stick or help fold but he was like, "nahh you do it mommy." lol We seemed to be slower than the rest of the bunch haha I'm REALLY not that crafty apparently. Then they gave him some grass, candy, and his two dyed eggs to put in the basket! It was really cute! Then we made an Easter Bunny visor... he liked cranking the die cut machine for the pattern.... and that was about it. I hurried along trying to assemble all the pieces the nice ladies had already pre-cut and Luke whispered to me, "Mommy, I'm sick of it." Not in a mean way, but in a bored/sad way..lol I'm thinking Mommy had enough craft time as well haha but I told him to hang in there we were almost done and could go get some books then. That perked him up. He helped me glue on the last pieces and even let them take his picture! Maybe Charlotte will be more for crafts... I'll have to try with her in a couple years!


On Sunday we had an Easter egg hunt and dinner at my sister's house. That was pretty nice. The kids all had fun playing. Charlotte had a very pretty dress that her Uncle Chad picked out for her. We thought she looked like a little "Dutch Girl"! Of course, Monday Luke came down with a fever and then puked in our living room. I'm thinking he probably caught something at the library... it was probably from one of our little annoying friends!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Sadness

Today was my first day home with the kids for the start of my Spring Break. Finally!!! That's all I can say about that! However, it was a very bittersweet start to vacation time as on Thursday we lost one precious little 9 year old boy who was a student in an elementary school where I work. His mother also works at the school and on Wednesday he was accidentally hit by a pick-up truck while he checked the mail. His mother and little brother were right there as well...soooooo incredibly tragic and heart-wrenching. I can't imagine the pain they are going through and as a parent I don't know how you cope. It shakes me to near paranoia with how do I keep my kids safe! The sad fact is though that I can't, nothing is a guarantee in life ...accidents happen, illnesses happen, and it only takes a second for life to be forever changed. I read parent blogs, news stories, even the files of some of my students, and my heart breaks into a million pieces. I pray every night that children would never get killed, get cancer, experience abuse or trauma and yet I know it is not a prayer that is likely to happen. I don't know why these things happen and would like to be able to make sense of it all, but it never will. At least not to me. I
This morning I was watching The Early Show on CBS (I actually got a moment to watch something besides cartoons) and a boy named Justin was talking about his diagnosis of a inoperable brain tumor. His goal is to shoot 40,000 baskets which represents the number of people who are diagnosed with brain tumors in the United States each year! He is also raising money for the National Brain Tumor Society in the hopes of funding more research and a cure for others. I was really impressed with the poise and ability this 13 year old showed in describing his goal. Here's a link to the segment and his website if you want to check it out. What an inspiration.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

www.justinsquest.com

I was very thankful to have this Good Friday holiday to be with my kids and enjoy some quality time together. I will definitely be holding them tighter this week and counting my blessings.
 

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