Highlights of the Summer So Far!

Midnight UPDATE! I can't believe I forgot this... the kids and I made this dance video and it was probably one of the most fun things we've done this summer! https://www.wevideo.com/hub/#media/ci/88517371


Noon's Post:

I'm not even sure where to begin with this post! I suppose I'll begin with a few pictures of parts of June...

The first weekend in June we had an impromptu barbeque/pool party at our wonderful neighbors' house... we all had a great time!

Slip and Slide Action: 

 

Jean Marie and me: 

 

Trent on the Swing Set: 

 

This kid is the best. He was driving around and as he passed by, saw I had my phone out to take a picture. He stopped the vehicle, smiled, waited until he saw a flash or two, then said "thank you!" and drove away. 

 

Water Balloon Fight! 

 

The look of ultimate fear: 

 

Zipline face! 

 

Alternate zipline exiting strategy: the Devin Dismount. 

 

"Melissa, take a picture like I'm dead, okay?" 

For our two-year anniversary, we spent a day away at the beach in Atlantic City. It was a great getaway and so lovely to just spend time together without having another worry in the world!

 

This is the view from the indoor pool at Bally's -- gorgeous!

 

What a loud shirt for such a quiet and peaceful nap in the sand...

 

 

 

Father's Day was fun, although I sometimes fear I am going to run out of creative ideas for gifts! The kids made some really fantastic works of art at school, plus we had been spending a few weekends putting together a Happy Days book, filled with pictures and descriptions of things they loved about their dad. Then we put together a "Hugs for Dad" shirt (thanks Esther and Dave for all of your help!) that Phil has yet to wear (I think he is afraid random people will think the shirt is a call to action and give him hugs) but liked very much.

Then the car ride back to Mom's after a long weekend... the boys passed out!

 

 

Followed by a trip to Seasons 52 to continue the celebration!

Last Friday night, Christopher went through his entire Easter basket (yes, we're still making out way through those plastic eggs) and handed out various colored candies to everyone based on their favorite -- Dad got all the blues, he put a separate egg aside of purples for Mom, and I got all of the green and pink ones. I can't bring myself to eat them because it was just so adorable/awesome!

 

 

 

We had a pretty fun weekend together in general. Saturday, Phil took Grace to go pick up his new glasses (hooray!) and had a dad-daughter date at Bruster's on the way home. I took the boys to Levi's 7th birthday party and it was a blast!

 



Feeling inspired after a day of fun and the kids being so great, I made a family-fun, deck-worthy dinner of sloppy joe's, broccoli and cheddar cheese sauce, with some strawberries and bananas in chocolate syrup. I explained to the boys that some people call these dinner sandwiches Manwiches, because it's a sandwich for a man, and I have never seen them gobble anything up faster!!!

Then this week, I learned to salsa with Esther and Erica, although it's a shame I didn't have a picture where I'm not blinking.

 

 

 



It's been quite a summer so far and there is much more still to come! Hopefully it won't be another three months before my next blog entry.

Happy pink-and-green-Easter-candy and happy days!

Colin's Birthday!

"OK, Colin... what do you want for your birthday party?"
"Um... green."
"Green?"
"Yeah. Green."
"...OK. What do you want to eat?"
"Green pizza!"
"Really...?"
"Yup, green pizza. And leprechaun cake."

And so my journey begins. The party is this Saturday and I think I've figured out how to make as much food as possible colored green (and still be somewhat appetizing, of course), with the exception of green potato chips, because yuk.

I'm so excited to start putting all of my ideas together and experimenting with some recipes that hopefully turn out to be mostly-successful. I'll be starting everything tomorrow and will update as I go! Thanks for reading :)

UPDATE: 3/15
Well, Colin's birthday is tomorrow and we've gotten a lot done so far! Take a look at all of the lovely green...

Yes... that is going to be green pizza sauce. Yum?
I'm so excited to set up tomorrow, make it look wonderful, and see Colin's face when we finally show him everything! Expect a lot more pictures later this weekend :)


Happy food-coloring and happy days!

Fighting the Tired, Figuring out Promises, and Finding the Park

The word of the day (also the word of the month, year, and decade) is 'stabilization'. It has been so wonderful to get into a more normal routine in every facet of life -- whether it is in regard to an everyday task or an extraordinary circumstance. This weekend was a fantastic representation of what I have been working on and what Phil and I have been working on together.

After picking up the kids from school on Friday, we had a car full of smiles, random questions, and general updates on life as a child. We visited Granddad and Mom-mom, Auntie Sonia, Uncle Rob, and Adrian, then came home with enough time to snuggle and go to bed. Saturday Phil had off again, so we filled the day with as much family time as possible! We went to Dave and Esther's to enjoy some delicious waffles (the leftovers of which will be consumed tomorrow morning) and play Just Dance 4. Sure the songs were great and dances were really cool... but the best part was being able to generate a video at the end to watch yourself dance/look like a fool:

http://justdancetv.ubi.com/en-GB/xbox/channels/video/key/Y29udGVudElkPTQ4NTA0
http://justdancetv.ubi.com/en-GB/xbox/channels/video/key/Y29udGVudElkPTQ4NTAy
http://justdancetv.ubi.com/en-GB/xbox/channels/video/key/Y29udGVudElkPTQ4NDk3

After that, we went off to Auntie Sonia's to visit and play tons of video games and Pokemon cards with Adrian. (Sidenote: if Adrian were to read this he would be insulted -- you don't PLAY Pokeman cards... you BATTLE them!) Once we watched the Flyers lose and explained to Grace the concept of a Power Play, we went home, ate dinner, made food for some various causes at Church, talked about Martin Luther King, Jr., relaxed, and all had a great night sleep.

...just kidding on that last part. Poor Colin had a fever and was up all night, and naturally Grace and Christopher joined the family all-nighter. 10mL of children's Motrin, 1000mL of Monster Rehab, and 2000mL of vomit later (for Colin, for the adults, and from Colin, respectively), Phil was off to work and the kids and I were ready to experience, as Grace put it, "the most boring day ever." Oh, how wrong she was. We played, painted race cars, cleaned the house, gave Grace's bedroom walls some Bieber-Fiever, traveled to Toys-R-Us, went to the park, made dinner, watched "The Emporer's New Groove" for family movie night, and, currently, all of the children are asleep. I actually type that loosely as I just heard some coughing. Uh-oh.

One of the highlights of the weekend, though, besides the ones shown below, were the boys having a brother conversation. They had to tell each other things they liked about each other, reasons they thought the other was "cool", and ways they could be a better brother. They promised each other they would be nicer to each other, and all day long held each other to their specific promise. I never thought such a simple yet crazy idea would work, but it really did! I was questioned how long they had to keep the promise and if they could take a time-out... so promises may have to be reinstated again in the morning.

After such an awesome weekend, there are naturally tons of pictures. Enjoy!

Holiday Face Ritual

As the holiday season continues, we still find ourselves stressed out about seeing family... which can ironically lead to breakouts, thus leading to more stress, thus continuing the vicious cycle! In the midst of your busy end-of-2012 schedule, find 20 minutes to pamper your face and find yourself breathing a little easier afterward. Not only will your skin look better, but it will feel smoother and have a wonderful glow.

To start, remove any make-up with your choice of make-up remover. Rinse your face with warm-to-hot water for about a minute to open your pores. Get some sugar from your kitchen (about 3 tbsp) and mix it with some warm water (about 2 tbsp), then mix until it forms a grainy paste. Use this sugar scrub to exfoliate your skin -- spend about two minutes rubbing the scrub on your skin in small circles. Avoid the sensitive area around your eyes, as the scrubbing motion can cause irritation (the sugar itself will not hurt it).

 



Now that your face is ready to soak in vitamins and nutrients, mix together the above ingredients in a small bowl (whisk the egg white until fluffy first!). It will look and smell wonderful, and should have a slightly runny consistency. Why mix together these ingredients?

Pumpkin

This seasonal produce is full of Vitamins A, which heals the skin; Vitamin C, a vital anti-oxidant; and Zinc. The pumpkin soothes the skin,working wonderfully with the other ingredients in the mask, which could be too powerful and irritating on their own. At the same time, it also helps the skin absorb the other ingredients and allow them to penetrate to deeper levels.

 

Egg White

It should not be surprising to see this on the list of ingredients... if you've ever made a homemade face mask before, I'm sure you've found yourself cracking an egg or two. The egg whites tighten your pores and also lift your skin. If you have oily skin, you can add another egg white, as this will help to cleanse your pores and absorb any excess oil.

 

Baking Soda

Are you surprised to see this on the list? Believe it or not, baking soda (or powder, if you don't have any baking soda on hand) acts as a mild exfoliant, cleanser, and mosturizer for the skin. Many skincare products contain sodium bicarbonate (the scientific name for this ingredient) because of its gentle ability to remove dead skin cells, dirt, and oil.

 

Cinnamon

This warm spice serves as an astringent in this mask. Combined with the pumpkin, this is the reason your skin will have a fresh glow when you wash off the mask. The cinnamon helps improve circulation and also plumps and pampers your skin cells.

 



After combining the whisked egg white and other ingredients, apply generously to your face. Find something to do, or, if you have time, soak in a hot tub, as the steam and heat from the water will help your face absorb all of the ingredients. Be careful, however... if you don't have time to relax in the bath, don't do anything that requires a lot of movement. Because the mask is runny, it will not fully dry on your face and you don't want globs of it falling off!

Leave it on for about twenty minutes, then rinse off with warm water and a washcloth, if needed. Afterwards, use your daily cleanser to wash your skin, then rinse well. Finish the rinsing with cold water, closing your pores, and pat your face dry, leaving it damp. Apply your favorite facial mosturizer. As a great everyday tip -- if you apply mosturizer while your face is still damp from washing it, your skin will absorb more of the nutrients and appear healthier.


Enjoy this holiday facial routine that will only cost you about $1.50 and a trip to the kitchen! Happy glowing and happy days!!!

Yummy Dinner and Fun in the Park

This weekend has been so much fun, and it didn't stop at lunch. After some serious play time around the house and some (serious torture, apparently) clean-up, we took off to the park.

It's been hard having Phil gone so much, but am really enjoying spending time together.

 

The only thing more fun than our time together, though, is our time together with the three munchkins!

 

 

I think all three of them peed their pants when they saw Daddy on the toddler motorcycle. Ride or die!

 

 

Plus we had an ultimate game of see-saw going on.

 

 

After we came home, I made dinner while the kids showered. In keeping with my ridiculous overly-ambitious idea of a family fun weekend, I created Mummy Mash.

 

I cooked up some hamburgers (made smaller ones for the smaller tummies!), made some mashed potatoes, and peas. How is that Mummy Mash? Oh, I will tell you.

 

 

Fill a piping bag with mashed potatoes and use a tip with a wide, straight opening. Then, pipe the potatoes on the burger and use peas for eyes.

 

 

Ta-da!

 

 

Clean plates and full bellies tonight :) Happy piping and happy days!

 

 

Haunted Pizza

To kick-off a wonderful weekend filled with yummy treats and crafty feats, I concocted a spooky dinner.

 

 

Kiddos and Dad all enjoyed this edible spook while we talked about our evening full of creations! This was really easy, only requires a few key ingredients, is completely customizable, and costs less than delivery!

A Great Lunch to Give us Energy to Decorate!

With the box of Pumpkin Delights sitting so close to our painting station, we weren't too hungry for lunch until about 1pm. In the meantime, though, this house gained some masterpieces.

We ate lunch while these dried, and I learned something today: the only thing better than gooey cheese and warm, toasty bread is the look on a kid's face when they see a sandwich in any shape other than sandwich.

So far, so good...

This is what our kitchen table looked like around 2pm:

Not only were we ready for fun, but ready to attack some Pumpkin Delights.



This is what our kitchen table looks like now:

 

...and I love it. Happy crafting and happy days!