We are SO done with winter

Hooray for the first day of swim lessons, you have saved us from this dreary weather!

Bring on the summer!!

Career Exploration for Preschoolers

Even after all the times we've been to the firestation and played in Daddy's fire truck, my boys still love it.  And it was especially fun this time, because we got to bring friends with us!  I have mentioned a little bit before about Cody's little mommy & me preschool - well, this time it was our turn, so we took everyone on a little field trip to the fire station.  What's more fun than real firetrucks for a bunch of rowdy little boys!  It was quite exciting, but it wasn't all fun and games. . .

Here's what we learned:

Doesn't matter how many times mom has told you something, when a firefighter says "don't play with matches", you listen closely.



You must practice "stop, drop, and roll" often.


Don't be afraid of firefighters even though they sound like Darth Vader.  If they come to your house to save you, run up and give them a big hug.


Hold on tight when you go down the fire pole.


Always drive carefully.

Try not to get in an accident, because you never know who your paramedics will be.

         Or what they were doing at the station before they came to help you . . .

 

Thanks mommies (and Russ) for a fun and educational excursion! (We missed you Sarah and Ollie!)

My husband is going on a date without me!

Don't worry, it's a man-date.  Remember this post where I was going to finish what I started years ago as Corbin and I read The Lightning Thief together?  Well, yeah, that lasted like one chapter.  It's really not my style and reading it again was something I just couldn't do.  But the good news is that Russ and Corbin started reading it together and they have both loved it!  So tomorrow, Russ and Corbin are going with Russ' friend and his son to see it at the theater.  I'm so excited and I'm not even going!  But I am so proud of both of them and I LOVE seeing Corbin get excited about something.  And Russ doesn't get to read for fun very often, so it has been good for both of them.  They have been reading some together and then some seperately.  Corbin loved calling Russ at work and telling him how far he had read and that dad was going to have to catch up with him.  Way to go boys!  Have fun!!

How do YOU do it?

Although I have several friend's who call it "Single Awareness Day" and are part of the V-Day Haters Club, I have to admit that I LOVE IT!  I'm sure someday my boys will be totally embarrassed by their mother's obsession with showing her love by making all things red, pink or hearts, but right now I love it and so do they - which makes for a very happy, love-filled Valentines indeed.  I kind of liked that it was on a Sunday this year, it was very relaxing and helped us focus on the whole family instead of just Russ and I.

So here's what goes on around here for el dia de amor:

Lots of treats.  These were mostly for neighbors and friends, but the boys got their fill too.  We also made these cute little fudgies to go with them.   And since I made way too much frosting, they were eating frosted graham cracker sandwiches for several days.  Nothing like a good sugar overdose to make a fun weekend. :)

The obligatory school Valentines. Since I highly prefer homemade Valentine's to the store-bought ones, Corbin (with ALOT of Mom's help) did these.  Although we did find some cool search & find / secret code valentine's that he had to give with them.  I guess that's allowable. 

(too bad I forgot to take a picture when the whole tray was full, they looked pretty cool.)

And lots of food.  On Valentine's morning, Russ and I had balloons and edible cards for the boys (they had animals with gummy eyes and lips the said "I only have eyes[or lips] for you").  They loved it.  We also had heart-shaped pumpkin pancakes, their favorite, but since we were running off to church, we had to shove them in a baggie and eat them on the way. :)

 Dinner was everything hearts.  The heart-shaped breadsticks turned out to be almost as big as the plate since they were homemade this year instead of out of the can.  But my meat-loaf turned out much prettier than last year and my kids devoured it!  Who would've guessed that would be their favorite part.  Not pictured are the heart-shaped jello jigglers, which I forgot, so we ate them the next night.  They were still good and a hit as always.

And in case you're wondering, I did celebrate Lover's Day with my husband.  On Saturday, our babysitter came at 3pm and we didn't get home until 10pm.  Yes, for us, that is a super date.  We went bowling, to dinner AND to a movie.  It was GREAT! 

So now I want to know, what do you do for Valentine's Day?  (And what do you do for date night?  We need some new ideas . . .)

Girls Night Out How To

our "How To" Lesson of the Week:  How to have the perfect girls night out

1.  Leave all children at home (unless they are extra miniature, still attached to mom, and will sleep the whole time).
2.  Eat out somewhere yummy.

3. After you have eaten too much dinner, go somewhere else for dessert.

(and no, I'm not going through Chemo, I am just pudgy and have no idea why I thought the head thing looked cute)

4. Get a cheap hotel room where you can laugh as loud as you want, talk and talk and talk, eat more treats, sneak away to the hot tub, and then stay up to the wee hours of the morning.

5.  Repeat again the next month . . .

1.  Leave husband and children as early in the day as possible (if you happen to have lunch with a friend and go shopping before girls night out, that's okay too).

2.  Eat Out (Why do we always choose Mexican?)

3.  Dessert (by me this time)

4.  Go to the hotel to eat, drink and be merry.  (Be sure to head home by 3am so husband won't notice when he leaves for work at 5)

 

** If followed correctly, you will feel happy, refreshed, renewed and very loved.

 

I love my girlfriends!  Thanks for listening, talking, sharing, making me laugh, and helping me be me. 

Cooking Confessions

• 
  
  Brownies are my absolute favorite dessert (as long as there are no nuts), but I am sad to admit that I just recently made brownies from scratch for the first time in my adult life. 
• I make a killer alfredo sauce, but cannot ever seem to get it right without sneaking in a little corn starch.

• I cook lots of things in the microwave. (love those Tupperware cookers)
• I would rather eat cookie dough than the actual cookie.
• When my husband is gone, which is quite often, I have been known to serve spaghettios or Easy Mac for dinner.
• I never really learned to cook, because my mom always kicked us out of the kitchen - and now I find myself doing the same thing to my kids.
• I am a recipe girl - almost everything I make, almost every time, to a T.
• I can't make a decent fried egg to save my life.
• I bake treats late at night just for myself.
• Sometimes I lick the spoon and put it back in the brownie batter.
• Writing this post is making me hungry.