Winter?

The kids were home today since it's Presidents' Day. Sometimes these types of holidays are long days with the kids, and other times, like today, they are great. We've enjoyed a couple of sunny days this weekend, with highs in the 60's! The kids think it's summer. They're in shorts and asking if we can turn on the sprinklers. I said no, but I did let them take a bowl of ice on the trampoline to cool off in this "sweltering" heat.

This morning I got to have an extra long quiet time in the morning to read my Bible and do my study, and got to stay on the elliptical for longer, too. The kids were begging to go outside at 8am, but out of consideration for our neighbors, I held them off until 9am. While they were waiting for the rest of the world to wake up, they made a to-do list. I got out the camera when I noticed what they were doing.

 

Several of the list items are games they have made up. I love it when kids act like kids in this way. I love it when they play well.

They were outside almost constantly from 9am until 3pm, even ate lunch outside. Now they're inside with a couple of neighbor friends (it's pretty windy this afternoon), making a gigantic mess upstairs, but at least they're still playing. I think they'll all sleep well tonight.

Meanwhile, I've been doing laundry, cleaning (not the floors--the kids keep tracking stuff in),  helping resolve kid conflicts, prepping dinner, patching up minor injuries, and getting ready for another week. I've got my own to-do list. :) Aubrey's birthday parties are this next weekend, so I've been planning and preparing for that, too. I put "play with kids" on my to-do list, and I even did that! It's been a good day.

Valentine's Day

Today is not Valentine's Day, but in the kids' minds, it is because today is when they have their parties at school. When I did the math, adding up the number of classmates each kid has, I was astounded to see that we would need 108 valentines this year! I just didn't have it in me to make 108 valentines with the kids, so we bought them this year (on sale, thankfully!).

I was also thankful we did them last weekend because we've had sick kids all week. Greg and I haven't been feeling all that great either, so no one had energy to be working on Valentines or boxes. Aubrey and I finished her box last weekend, too. It turned out pretty cute!

On Monday Grant and I made sugar cookies and the yarn hearts we usually make for the teachers' valentines. He was my string cutter and did a mighty fine job with it, too.

I made an effort to do Valentine's Day hair for Aubrey this morning. Fancy hairdos speak love to her, and after the week of sickness we've had, with her being the only fully-well member of the family, she needed some extra care and attention.

Kari went back to school Thursday, and Joel's fever finally went away yesterday, so he was able to go back to school today, just in time for the party. ;-) Hoping we're on the path to wellness for everyone now.

Baby books

I posted this accomplishment on Facebook but never wrote a post here. The week the kids went back to school after the Christmas break, I decided I wanted to finish their baby books. My baby is four, so it was time. Kari's was mostly done, and Joel's didn't need a lot more, but Aubrey's and Grant's needed a lot of work. I sorted through photos, looked up milestones (the blog came in handy for that!), and FINISHED writing in all four of them! I was quite proud of myself and said something about how I didn't think the kids would ever understand what a feat it was to get them all done. Well, when the kids got home from school that day, they all spent a long time looking through their books, which were still on the counter, having been just completed. They appreciated my effort at one point in time, at least!

"Proving" their "bakes"

Greg and I started watching a show on PBS called "The Great British Baking Show." The kids watched part of one episode with us and got hooked. Now, once a week, our whole family sits and watches British bakers compete to make the most impressive looking and tasting baked goods. We like the show but were surprised when it held the kids' attention, too. They've really been into it.

While the kids were playing with their beloved kinetic sand yesterday, we heard them talking about their "bakes" and saw them sliding their creations into the "proving drawer" (under the table) and then crouching down to watch and make sure it didn't burn, just like in the show. :) They've been making all kinds of "bakes," using my muffin tins and cake and bundt pans. They got it all out again today and continued with their British baking. It's great to see all fours kids playing together and entertaining themselves. This particular activity makes a bit of a mess (of mostly green sand--Grant's) we have to sweep up afterwards, but it's worth it.