Eggs from the springy chicken

It's spring break for the kids this week. So far we have had an uneventful week, but the things we have done were necessary. For instance, today was a completely free day. The kids got to do whatever they wanted at home which worked out because it was too windy and cold to go out. I didn't plan on not enforcing any routine until Dave left for work at 10 AM. The kids were all playing well with each other which gave me some time to just chill out. I didn't feel like doing any housework or things on my to-do list, so I wasn't about to make the kids do them. We played games, read stories, watched a movie (Milo and Otis), colored big pictures on the kitchen floor, ate the kids favorites for lunch, ate ice cream for dinner, and enjoyed the day with nowhere to be. I even stayed in PJ's all day. It was fabulous!

Dave was kinda slow at work last week, but slammed this week. I half teased him that he should have switched those weeks so we could do more together as a family while the kids are home. We are slowly learning the small nuances that come with Dave owning his own practice where business has highs and lows. Sometimes it makes it harder than I would like to plan family outings. Really though, I can't complain when Dave only works 4 1/2 days a week, on average.

We were low key for Easter this year as far as the stuff you find in the stores goes. Now that I think about it, we usually are. Let me first say that I think worrying about filling Easter baskets with loads of candy and toys that will be broken or discarded in a week is ridiculous. No judging here if that's how others do things. I just don't think it's necessary to the holiday, and I certainly don't want to hear kids asking for stuff to put in their Easter basket. I'm not a complete prude, though. :) We set out a small basket for each chilly with a couple small treats and some muffins. Last year, I wanted to surprise the kids with a basket and needed to fill space in their basket of a few treats. I decided to make some muffins that they could eat Sunday morning without getting their clothes dirty. To my surprise, they loved getting those muffins in their baskets. I made muffins again this year and will probably do so from now on. It's funny how some traditions start in our home. This year little Syd devoured mini muffins two at a time and the kids thought it was nice for the Easter Bunny to leave them breakfast.

While we were getting ready for church J asks, "Is the Easter Bunny real? I think you and Dad just filled our baskets when we went to bed." ;) She took me by surprise because she didn't ask that about Santa this last Christmas. The only thing I could come up with was, "Sure. If you think he exists then he does." That was good enough for her.
Saturday was busy with preparations for church and family coming over for lunch and an Easter egg hunt for the kids. We dyed eggs and had a review of the real story of Easter using these eggs from FamilyLife.com. I had a handmade set from a church activity that got destroyed quickly once the boys got bigger. This set was at Walmart last year for $10 which was worth it to not have to make another one myself. It's a great idea that makes it easy for youngins to put together details about Jesus and his last week.

We busted out colored crayons and egg dye to create our masterpieces this year. We are a pretty crafty bunch when it comes to these sort of things. The kids all enjoyed making up different designs and Dave showed us all how it's done this year with his animal-inspired eggs. This was what we saw most of the afternoon- his nose stuck in creating his eggs.

Who's team are you on?

Happy Easter Sunday to all! It was a beautiful day in the California sun to gather with family and celebrate what Easter's all about. I am thankful for Jesus Christ and know that he lives. Spring, with the blooming flowers and new life, is such an appropriate time to celebrate Jesus' life and resurrection. I got to spend some time at church with the Primary (Sunday School) children which is always entertaining. They were showing pictures of the story of Easter and talking about what each one meant. The teacher, who happened to be Grandma Grace, asked the kids what it meant to be betrayed while talking about Judas in DaVinci's painting of the Last Supper. Toby raised his hand and said, "It's like when you switch teams." A perfect answer from a six year-old superhero fan.It's become tradition that we take a family picture after church at Christmas time and on Easter Sunday. The kids change so fast that it is fun to see the difference from year to year. These are a few of the pictures from this year. Speaking of superheroes, here is us fighting crime Easter Sunday style.

Friday Fun Quiz

Here's a fun quiz. If you are reading this consider yourself next in line to complete it! :)

1. Do you like bleu cheese?

Interesting. I adopted my Dad's habit as a kid of sneaking little bits of bleu cheese from the wax cube it came in. Half of my family is dairy-free, so I don't buy it or eat it but once or twice a year.

2. Have you ever smoked?
Nope. Gross.

3. Do you own a gun?
No, but one day I will.

4. What flavor of Kool Aid was your favorite?
None. Nasty aftertaste.

6. What do you think of hot dogs?
You can have 'em.

7. Favorite Christmas movie?
Lamb of God

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
water or orange juice

9. Can you do push ups?
If you count the girl ones.

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry?
The only one I never take off- my wedding ring!

11. Favorite hobby?

Photography

12. Do you have A. D. D.?
Hang on, I gotta go finish the dishes.

13. Do you wear glasses/contacts?

Both.

14. Middle name?
My maiden name

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment:
1).I wonder when Dave is going to be home.

2). I need to go practice the piano for Sunday.

3). The kids are really playing good together right now, hence me on the computer.

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink:
Water, Peppermint Tea, and Rice Milk

17. Current worry?

Playing the piano on Sunday, those Easter songs are complicated.

18. Current hate right now?
Politicians

19. Favorite place to be?
at home at night.

20. How did you bring in the new year?
Playing games at my brother's house with my side of the family while the kids slept through Kung Fu Panda.

21. Where would you like to go?
On a European vacation.

22. Name three people who will complete this:
Hopefully everyone who reads it! ;)

23. Do you own slippers?
Yes, but I prefer fuzzy socks.

24. What color shirt are you wearing?

Red


25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?

No way, those suckers don't breath. Give me brushed Egyptian Cotton!


26. Can you whistle?
Average

27. Where are you now?
Wrestling a wiggly baby who insists on being on my lap in the living room.

28. Would you be a pirate?
No. *eye roll*

29. What songs do you sing in the shower?
Whatever pops in my head.

30. Your Favorite Girls’ Name?

Jessie and Sydney (love you girls!)

31. Your Favorite Boy’s Name?

Besides my boys, Toby and Logan, I like Mason (and no I'm not having another)

really an unfair question since I have more than one of each.....

32. What is in your pocket right now?
My yoga pants don't have pockets in them.

33. Last thing that made you laugh?
Sydney dancing

34. What vehicle do you drive?
Honda Odyssey with roof racks (that last part is essential for Dave)

35. Worst injury you've ever had?
The motorcycle I was riding with a friend fell on me and burned my leg. I was laid up for the rest of the summer.

36. Do you love where you live?
I love the area and friends we have where we live. I don't love our 2 Bd. apartment. I pretend it's bigger a lot.

37. How many TVs do you have in your house?

Two. One big one in the living room and one little one with a VCR that we just acquired from a friend. It currently sits in the kids room which is a bad idea.

rainy day respite

I know I've complained about all the rain because it's hard to stay cooped up in the house with 4 kids. I am secretly loving this rainy day though. The crisp air felt so good this morning on my walk with the littles. Even though we had to run home half way through because the rain started earlier than I thought it would, it was a great start to the day. Mr. Cooper made progress on learning to start his bike on his own.

******

Oh yeah, Logan learned to ride his bike without training wheels last Monday. Daddy gave him a pep-talk about how he was going to be a big four-year-old boy now, took him out in the parking lot, steadied him and away he went. The only thing Logan had trouble with was starting and stopping. He was our fastest learner yet.

******

Syd is cutting more teeth and very clingy lately. I wasn't even neglecting Ms. leechy nut here she just walked up and went ballistic. Today I'm folding clothes and doing misc. things with the door open so I can hear and smell the rain. It's a great excuse to put off errands and chip away at my to-do list indoors. Good day.

I feel a renewed sense of purpose after watching our church's General Conference on Sunday. There were so many inspirational messages that I needed to hear and we had a great day together as a family. Dave and I slept in (heaven!), we fixed a big breakfast and watched conference in our pj's with the chillies, went on a long family walk, ate root beer floats while watching the last session of conference, ate dinner and played together until bedtime. It was a perfect Sunday together.President Monson's talk on Sunday morning was so great. My sweet Jessie would kill me if she knew I wrote down that she was even crying during part of his talk. One of the things he said at the very end of his talk has been running through my head ever since.

"Fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith."
President Thomas S. Monson

I love that; The future is as bright as your faith! I really needed to hear these words. Be positive. Have faith in God and His plan and the possibilities are endless. It's such a simple yet motivating message. I wrote that thought on our bathroom mirror right after conference and plan on making it a more permanent addition to our wall somewhere.

Slumping for a spare

It's Monday Night and that means Family Home Evening- except we didn't stay home. Our little clan had a fabulous (that's how Logan described it) night bowling and eating In & Out. Fun Family Night outings are the best!

J and T have Book Bucks from school that they get to spend at participating merchants around town. One of the things they wanted to spend them on was a free game of bowling at Cloverleaf. Since Dave had one patient to see here in town we decided to go bowling, wait for Dave while he went to the office, then go grab a quick dinner.Bowling was awesome! Toby was the one who really wanted to go, and he definitely had beginner's luck. He was throwing spares every couple rounds. Logan didn't want to bowl at all, but we coaxed him up there once and he loved throwing the ball. He would lug his ball up to the line, turn sideways and fling it down the lane. Then he would run back to the chairs doing his best Joker cackle and watch his ball crawl down the lane. *sigh*Jessie.....this girl is such a perfectionist. She slumped around the entire first part of our game because she had not got a spare when everyone else had. J went bowling about a year ago with the beginner's luck that Toby was feelin' and she expected the same tonight. It didn't help that Toby was just out there for fun and mopping up the pins with his ball. Dave tried to help J with her technique so she would do better, but it almost made her feel more pressure. It's a vicious cycle with that one. Thankfully, she got her spare or she would have been a grump the rest of the night. Little Sydney picked up the object of this game in record time. We sat down to put on shoes and she was already trying to pick up the balls and take them out ot the lane. J let her roll a ball down the lane on her turn, and Syd would have followed it all the way down if we hadn't stopped her. I'm bummed I didn't get a picture of the score board before it reset. All the kids got at least one spare, and Dave beat me by 4 pins. I totally would have beat him but choked on the last round. Aaarrrgghhh! We all shared a basket of fries towards the end to tide us over for dinner, and headed out so Dave could meet his patient on time. Syd is a fry monster- those cheeks are filled with them (below).

*Tangent* Dave has started seeing patients here in town since a couple weeks ago! He is renting a room from the dentist we trade with. It is a dental spa with a room set up for massages that was rarely used, so Dave is seeing patients there on Mondays and Saturdays by appointment. He's excited that local patients who can't make it down to him in Sunnyvale can now see him on this side of the bay.

So- the gal that was supposed to open the office for Dave was late which put us waiting for over an hour. I asked Dave on the way why he didn't have a key to the office because I thought the staff was going to get sick of being there for him on the day they were closed. He has a key now. ;)

Chillies did some schoolwork in the car, Logan made a spider web in between the "Oh S%$#" handles with our tie-downs for the roof rack, and Squidy loved exploring all the seats and treasures in between them. The chillies attention span is about 30 minutes to wait in the car. Mine is not much longer. We far exceeded that half hour and got out to run around just before Dave finished.

Since it was late and we were starving, we finished our adventure at In & Out for burgers and more fries. :) The kids had a great time, we entertained our half of the dining room, and we consumed enough junk food calories for the week in one night. yeah.

While Dave and Mr. Cooper were outside In & Out they saw a woman light up a cigarette. Coop turned to Dave and said, "Dad, why does that lady have a catastrophe?!"