Holiday Tourists

On Saturday we headed out to do some sight seeing with Grandma and Grandpa. We went to the U.S. Botanic Garden's "Windows to Wonderland".

This replica of the U.S. Capitol took over 600 hours to create. The basic structure is made with acrylic foam board and the distinctive architectural details are added with dried plant material. The columns are small branchs of the willow tree.
The big dome on the Jefferson Memorial is made from gourds and President Jefferson's vest is made from birch.
President Lincoln's beard and hair are made from lichen.
I thought the kids looked so cute in their brown sweaters but they didn't really cooperate for photos. Wesley loved the "rain". I put the kids on this wall in hopes that they would sit still for a photo.
The real reason we took the kids to the U.S. Botanic Gardens - to see the trains! The Three Little Pigs and their houses. The Big Bad Wolf is to the left of the straw house. Wesley and Lydia love this book. My mom saved my Disney books and I enjoy reading them to the kids, but some of them aren't as "mild" as the newer books are today. Another train.
All the details are very elaborate. The room is filled with the wonderful scent of cedar.
A cute little car. The Peanuts train.
The Old Lady's Shoe. We had a great time. Here are a couple of tips: If you go on the weekend, it will be crowded. If you go early, you will have a better chance of finding a parking space. We got there about 10:30 or so and there was plenty of parking a few blocks away but when we left around noon all the spaces were full and someone waited for us to load a stroller, two kids, and four adults into the van. This is a great place to visit and it is free!

Thanksgiving

We had a nice Thanksgiving yesterday. Of course we made too much food for four adults and two little kids, but I love to cook. We had a Paula Deen Thanksgivng.
Roasted Turkey with Maple Cranberry Glaze
Apple Cranberry Stuffing
The Lady's Cheesy Mac
Cheese Buscuits
Irish Cream Cake

We also had a traditional side dish from my childhood -my mom's Sweet Potato Dish which is delicious. Here is the recipe as she emailed it to me ten years ago.
3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 stick melted butter
1/2 tsp salt

Topping
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup coconut
1/3 cup plain flour
1/3 cup butter

Mix sweet potatoes and ingredients together. Put in baking dish. Mix topping ingredients together and pour over sweet potatoes. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

We missed my parents being here this year, but they are coming up in two weeks.

I know my napkin should be on the chair. Why did I put it on the table and then take photos???

Chris' parents drove up to our house on Wednesday. The kids are so excited to have Grandma and Grandpa here. Despite how it looks in this photo, Lydia enjoyed her Thanksgiving meal. She ate almost everything on her plate. She had already eaten her turkey when I took this picture. I should have spent today exercising. Instead my MIL and I went to the mall at 6 AM. This is my favorite Thanksgiving tradition! I know that is shallow but it is my favorite Thanksgiving activity. We were at the mall from a little after 6 until 11 AM. We found a lot of good deals and had fun together. When we left the mall was really getting crowded. After lunch, I put on PJs, got in bed and took a nap!

What I am thankful for:
God's love
Chris' selfless love for me and the kids
Wesley's energy and sweetness, his fun-loving personality, his love for Lydia, all the cute things that he says that shows a glimpse of how he sees the world
Lydia's sweetness and her imaginative play, her love for Wesley, her laughter, her talking
My parents who continue to help me in so many ways
My in-laws (Chris has a wonderful family)
XM 32 The Message and Family Life Today
Chris' job, my job, our church, our friends, MOPS, our memories, our future.

Being Thankful

One of my friends gave the kids Thanksgiving Trees. I wrote down what the kids said they were thankful for on the leaves and the kids stuck the leaves on the tree where I had placed the glue.

Here are their lists.

Lydia said:
Food
Joan (her babysitter)
Moonbounce
Hayride
Moonbounce
Hayride
Moonbounce
Hayride

This went on and on and on…. I wrote down "trian ride" but I don't think she said it.


Wesley said:
My tree
My leaves
My mom
My baby Lydia
My cousin Claire
Lucy
The bird at Claire’s house (Elwood)
Alaska
Camping
Big Basketball Player


It was so much fun to hear them say what they are thankful for. Lydia says the same thing every night at dinner and since going to Old Mine Ranch she wants us to thank God for the moonbounce, hayride, and goats when we pray for her at night.

Wesley started out naming the tree and the leaves by color and I had to encourage him to name something other than the leaves. He then named Lydia and me. Chris wasn’t home so he got left out.

Earlier that day Wesley carried a package I was mailing to my SIL Amanda for her birthday. I think that is what made him think of and name Claire and Lucy (Amanda's girls). He has always loved playing with Claire who is 6 years older than him. I was very surprised that he thought of the bird at their house but maybe I should not have been. I think one reason why Wesley loves birds is because of Elwood, who talks and makes funny noises.

I am so happy that Wesley remembers our trip to Alaska in May and his camping trips over the summer and in October. For his last leaf he said “the big basketball player.” I assume he just meant all the basketball players we saw at the Wizards game.

I think my friend helped start a Thanksgiving tradition. I loved hearing what the kids said. Maybe I will play a similar game at Thanksgiving with the adults at the table. I might just copy Nancy’s idea. Btw, I really hope she posts the answers from her large family. Hint, hint Nancy!

Engineering Skills Emerging?

Last week my SIL Amanda suggested that Wesley's behavior might be regressing because he is getting ready to make a developmental leap. Her comment alerted me to keep a look out for new developmental skills.

As I made yummy banana muffins this morning, Wesley played with his train track. Prior to the last couple of days he made very simple, flat, straight layouts. This weekend he started making the following kind of designs.
I will let you know if his behavior improves.

Under The Table

Thanks for the prayers. Things are going better or at least I feel encouraged and I think I am handling things better.

One morning last week I left the kids playing alone for a few minutes. When I returned I found them under the table eating a candy cane! Wesley had discovered our hidden stash of candy from last Christmas. He pushed a chair up to the counter, stood in the chair, and got a candy out of the baskets on top of the microwave.

No, this didn't upset me. I even let them finish it. I do wonder how he found it. Did he know it was there or did he just look hoping it was there?

Wesley did get in trouble the next day for lying about eating candy. I heard him messing with something so I asked if he was eating something and he said no. He was eating a Hershey Kiss. We have since removed all the old Christmas candy.

The Halloween candy is on top of the refrigerator and we told Wesley that he is not allowed to get any of it unless we get it for him. If he gets into that he will get a consequence.

When Life Hands You Challenges - Make Cookies

Lately, Wesley has been driving me crazy. I don't know what exactly it is but he has been disobeying a lot recently. It just doesn't make life fun for either of us. When Chris is home I noticed he is also frustrated by Wesley and his behavior.

I don't want to paint a bad picture of Wesley. He is incredibly sweet. The other day at Bible Club he said that he was thankful "for my baby Lydia." When it was Lydia's turn, she was too shy to say anything so Wesley answered for her, "she is thankful for me."

So, I am asking for you to pray for me. That I will have wisdom and patience with Wesley. Another blogger also did a wonderful post summing up her problem and my problem - selfishness. It is so hard for me not to be selfish even in regards to my children. Isn't that terrible?

Chris is also working more and more hours. I have learned not to call and bug him to come home. God has given me the wisdom and patience to wait for Chris and to ask, "So, how was your day?" instead of saying what I want to say, "You need to get home earlier." He doesn't need to come home an hour earlier. It would be wonderful but we can wait for him.

In attempt to do something fun with Wesley, I waited until after his nap to make cookies for the next MOPS event. He loves dumping the ingredients into the bowl. Here he is counting the cookies.
Here is his silly smile.

Ahh, the taste of the reward for eating a good dinner.

Why is he eating dinner in his PJs? While dinner was in the oven, he yelled, "Mommy I have to go pee pee" and ran to the bathroom. The sound coming from the bathroom seemed a little wierd and when I went to look, he had his pants down but the toilet was still closed and he was peeing all over the floor and baseboards. This honestly didn't bother me (praise God) because it truly was an accident and it had never happened before today. We did talk about not waiting to the last second to go to the bathroom and that he can always come back to play.

My Favorite Pasta

My favorite pasta dish always reminds me of one of my favorite days. It was the spring of 2004 and Chris and I were on a cruise in the Southern Caribbean.

The first two times we were in St. Thomas we booked a trip through the cruise line and we snorkeled at Buck Island via sailboat. Going out on a private sailboat in St. Thomas is a wonderful way to get away from the crowds because only six passengers can go on each boat per US Coast Guard regulations. Even though a lot of boats (including larger catamarans) go over to Buck Island, I would still recommend this trip because it is such a beautiful place to snorkel. We really enjoyed it both times, but we were looking for something more for our third trip to St. Thomas.

I found out about private daysails in St. Thomas from my favorite website about cruising. We decided to go with High Pockets and we LOVED it! The captain is Kathleen who learned to sail from her husband. He went with us because their friends, with whom they had sailed together in other places over the years, were going out with Kathleen. In addition to us there was another couple from NJ who were staying at resort on St. Thomas. So it felt like we were honored quests at a private party.
We went spent the day at St. John. We snorkeled, ate lunch, snorkeled some more, ate dessert, and then headed back to the dock. We saw beautiful fish and this sea turtle.
It was the BEST vacation day ever! I love the ocean and the water was so beautiful and the setting just gorgeous. Of course, the food was going to be good - anything would taste good on a sailboat in the beautiful location. We had a simple salad and pasta with chicken. It was so yummy that I had to get recipe.

They also had an open bar. In addition to beer and other mixed drinks, they served rum swizzles. I am not a big rum fan and I have since learned that I usually don’t like rum swizzles that much but their rum swizzle were delicious. They used key lime juice, simple syrup, rum, water, ice and fresh nutmeg. Every time I grate nutmeg, I crave the rum swizzles and remember the perfect day on the sail boat.

The other week our friends Susan and Jim came over for dinner. When I asked her about what I should make for dinner she suggested the High Pockets Pasta. They went on the daysail a few years ago based on our recommendation. That year they sent the recipe out with their Christmas cards!

It was such a blessing that Susan suggested this pasta. It is so easy to make that it took all the stress out of hosting dinner.

High Pockets Pasta
Whisk together 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic, 1/2 cup olive oil. Put the chicken in a gallon ziplock bag and add some of the dressing - just enough to cover the chicken and let it chill for a couple of hours. Cut in half a container of grape tomatoes and add them to the rest of the dressing. Cook the pasta and grill the chicken. Combine the pasta, tomatoes and dressing, chicken, basil, and parmesan cheese.

Kathleen served this with linguine but we use penne because it easier for the kids.

It is simple, easy, and healthy. When I see grape tomatoes on sale that is when I make it.

Fall Photo Session

We recently had family photos taken by a young lady named Kate. She is a recent college graduate who is planning to move to Africa to serve on the mission field as a photojournalist. Many missionaries have amazing stories but no way to tell them. Kate will be working for an organization that helps get those stories out by publishing a newsletter. One way Kate is raising money for her trip is by taking photos.

We went with Kate to Burke Lake on a beautiful autumn afternoon. She was so sweet and patient with the kids. She also made me feel very old because I kept thinking over and over, "I hope Lydia is as mature and sweet and responsible and committed to Christ when she is Kate's age." When did I stop thinking of young women as just being slightly younger than me (she is 12 years younger) and start thinking of them in terms of what my toddler will be one day?

These are the photos that we won't be putting on Christmas card. I love these photos but there are some that are even more wonderful that I think we will use for the card.



Kate framed this one for us and it is sitting on our mantel.

I love this. Sometimes they are just so silly. I can't always appreciate the silliness at the time though.

So Funny...

... when it isn't your child who is doing these things.

Little Limo - Wordless Wednesday

Wesley: Look Mommy! There is a little limo!

Me: Where?

Wesley: Right there! The yellow one is a little limo.

Worn Out

On Friday night, Lydia went to bed at 10:00 because we got home late from the basketball game. Wesley walked in the door and begged for dinner. I couldn't believe he was still hungry but since he wanted to eat again, I fed him. He went to bed at 10:30. Both kids were up by 7:30 which was good since they had swim lessons at 8:30. Right after the lessons we went with MOPS to one of my favorite kid places. I really like this family farm because for the reasonable price of $6 per person there are pony rides, a hay ride, a moonbounce, a couple of slides, and farm animals including goats and sheep to feed. It is fun to play outside and get dirty and worn out.

Here is Wesley on the horse.

Lydia couldn't wait for her turn.
Wesley found this Woody toy on the hay and really liked playing with it. The family who owns the farm has small children who leave their toys outside for other kids to enjoy.

Here is Lydia "driving" the tractor.

Here is a friend of mine and her little girl who Wesley just adores. Right after I took this picture one of the goats sneezed on Chris. The snot shot right from the goat to Chris who was a couple of feet away.

Wesley liked feeding these goats because the fence kept them a safe distance away.

At some point while the kids where in the moonbounce I noticed that is was 12:30. They did not get out until 1:00. I think they were in there at least 45 minutes.

Layton stayed in there just as long our kids did. His mom finally bribed him out with food. Here are Lydia and Sara Grace playing on a wagon.

I love this picture of Lydia.

Wesley and another friend playing on the "horses".

We left a little before 2:00. We fed the kids lunch in the car and even turned on a video (usually reserved for long car trips) in an attempt to keep them awake until we got home 30 minutes later. Lydia was so tired and sleepy that I turned around and started moving her arms and legs in an attempt to keep her awake. She barely stayed awake in the car. She fell sound asleep as I was getting her out of car seat and she slept through her diaper change. She slept for over two hours.

Wesley took a bath and then went to bed for his nap. I had to wake him up after two hours so he could eat dinner. (We had friends over for dinner and I will have to share you with the easy and delicious dinner we had in another post.) He told us repeatedly before dinner, "I want to go back to bed." When we reminded me that we had cake for dessert he said, "I am too tired for chocolate cake." Well, he rallied and ate his dinner and dessert before going back to bed.

Cotton Candy Ruined the Night

Tonight we took the kids to the Wizards game. The tickets were free to us and Chris suggested we take the kids. They were so excited despite the fact that they knew nothing about basketball. The seats were great. Thankfully basketball games are short (a little over two hours). The kids did get squirmy but there were a lot of things for them to watch. There is entertainment every time there is a big break in the game. The half time show was great – trampoline guys doing tricks.

I enjoyed the evening even though I didn’t get to watch as much of the game as I would have liked. It is a little distracting having kids climbing all over you.

The kids had a good time. They loved clapping and cheering along with the crowd.
We skipped dinner because we knew the kids would want food at the game. We had a pretzel, popcorn and nachos. At one point Chris got up to fill the kids’ cups with water and someone came by selling cotton candy. I thought, “Why not? It will keep them in their seats.” Wesley kept asking for more "cottoned ball."
When Chris got back he was not happy that the kids had cotton candy. He wasn’t concerned about the lack of nutritional value; he was worried about the kids touching him with their messy hands and ruining his clothes. This brings me to the second reason that Chris did not have a good time. He mentioned this morning that he might want me to bring him clothes to change into for the game (we met him at Pentagon City and took the Metro) but he didn't sound like it was certain. Since he didn’t mention it on the phone, I forgot all about it. He had on wool dress pants, a shirt, and a tie. He was very hot at the game and wished he was wearing shorts (it was in the 60s outside but warm in the arena). The fact that he was wearing his work clothes added to the fear of the kids ruining his clothes. Thankfully, they didn’t damage his clothes.

So, in the end the cotton candy didn't ruin the night but I inadvertently contributed to his lack of having a good evening. Hopefully for our next outing we will be more on the same page.