The boys and I had a blast dying Easter eggs with friends yesterday. And, best of all, we tried two new dying techniques that were much more fun than the traditional dipping method.
My friend Ashley (thanks again!) set us up with a tie-dying method (top photos) and a rice dying method (bottom photos). Check out her post for the full details (why duplicate efforts, right?).
I would definitely dye this way again next year!
If I were to write a parenting book, it would be entitled, Short Term Pain for Long Term Gain. I'm not writing one, for the record (because what do I know?), but I've realized over the last year or so that this is definitely my parenting strategy (although it took me about four years to realize). I don't make decisions regarding my kids + their behavior to make things easier for me. I don't give into them when they kick + scream + fight. This has been my strategy with nursing habits, toddler tantrums, eating habits, sleeping issues, etc. I deal with the challenge in the short term so that I don't have to deal with craziness for the long term. And, for the most part, it's worked for our kids (I know everyone's kids are different and everyone's situation is different so I'm not suggesting this should be everyone's parenting philosophy).
Today, I threw that philosophy out the window by taking the boys to, gasp, a "fun" dentist. This one. Normally, I would say that tricking kids with things like movies and prizes (and a slide in the waiting room!) isn't necessary and only leads to problems later on...but not today.
This pediatric dentist was able to get such a better look at my kiddos' mouths by distracting them with all the shiny lights that it was TOTALLY worth it. Even though there were the typical dentist-chair-challenges (the x-rays...sheesh!), both boys walked out as happy as can be arms full of random swag and cheap toys and they asked why they can't go to the dentist every day.
They might be onto something...and we'll definitely be back.
They're the best.
Remember when this duck came to visit? Well, it's been a bit over a week and we've seen her almost every day. It's been a dream come true. The problem? They seem to have claimed this area around the block from us as their "home".
I think it's a bad idea. They've mistakenly accepted this gross cigarette butt-ridden puddle as a pond and hang out there nearly all the time. I don't get it. Our backyard seems like it would be close enough to the water to meet their needs *and* they wouldn't have to deal with trucks parking in their "pond" all the time.
Can you tell I'm a little worked up about this?!? As upset as I am about giving up on my dream of a pet duck, I'm also worried about those little ducklings that are inevitably joining the world soon (the lady duck has already started molting!). What's going to happen when that "pond" dries up?
Why do I see the boys and I delivering buckets of water to the edge of that sidewalk in our future?
Are you curious what Chris and I have been spending our free time on for the last couple of weeks? Take a gander below. Our little superhero had the best party ever and it seemed like his superhero friends felt similarly. Thanks to my mom for help with the capes and all the last minute prep! Thanks to Chris's mom for cutting out all the superhero paper dolls. And thanks to all our other friends + family for pitching in in a million ways. It definitely takes a village.
These are the stations our little superheroes had to visit to complete their training.
Chris set up a pretty fantastic obstacle course in the backyard.
Build your super lair by stacking plastic cups.
Toss the ball in the bins and win a prize!
Pick out your favorite [temporary] tattoo and brave the *pain* to have it applied.
Design your own super suit. Thanks again Grandma Bibi for making all the cutouts!
We had so many new superheroes that completed all the training!
Thanks to my mom (again) and Danika for helping make this crazy project (19 capes!) a reality.
Thank goodness a friend tipped me off to the superhero toppers at Target. I couldn't find them anywhere!
Some of our super friends took flying lessons before lunch. Here's Chase.
And here's Robbe. Notice these are the same "buildings" from the cupcake display. Double duty!
And a special thank you to cousin Eli for letting us borrow his superhero action figures for display above the sink. It tied the whole party together.
It was a super sun-filled, activity-filled, cupcake-filled party for our big five year old. More details to come but enjoy a few photos in the meantime.
This guy. This funny, sweet, thoughtful sweet pea is five today. I've always thought of five as a turning point. All of a sudden my baby is old: he's a real kid. I've been joking with him the last few months that I decided he was going to stay four forever. He always gets appropriately outraged and I give in and *allow* him to turn five. There is some truth to this request, though. Four was a good age for Chase. He has made huge strides in his confidence + personality + social skills and is a total joy to be around. I'm going to miss four year old Chase, but boy am I excited to see what surprises five year old Chase has in store for us.
Without further ado...
Yep. That's 24 strawberry superheroes for Chase's 4K class. Man, what a time-suck but totally worth it when I got a see how excited Chase and Robbe were when they saw the big reveal.
Although I *try* to promote sugar free snacks and baked goods, I'm definitely not above splurging on sugar-filled deliciousness every so often. Case in point: this monkey bread. It brings me back to my childhood and is Just. So. Delicious. I would never consider eating an entire tube of biscuits but for some reason, eating that same tube of biscuits covered in brown sugar and butter seems totally possible. Ha!
Here's the recipe for those of you looking for a little indulgence in your life:
Ingredients:
1 7.5 oz tube of 10 small biscuits (that some times comes in a four-pack like this).
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp water
2 tbsp butter
Directions:
This guy is *almost* ready for competitive scooter-ing--that has to be a thing, right? He's got some mad skills. His resume of tricks (according to him) includes: the wheelie, the side wheelie, and the squat (pictured). Not to mention his ability to go fast. Really fast.
It's going to be a busy week around here. Lots to do and not much kid-free free time to make it happen. Here's a sneak peek at just a *glimpse* of what I've been working on. I've got a really good feeling about this party!
We did a lot today. It was a busy, but really lovely day. One of the highlights, though, happened before we even got in the car to start our adventures. We had a duck in our yard! I've been secretly dreaming of this day for some time (we live close to the river, after all). Today it happened!!
We even fed the little lady and she brought her male friend back with her. I hope we see them again really soon.
How are they getting so big?
This is the normal scene after a trip to the library. Two wee ones with their noses buried in books in a stroller. That's the life.
Perhaps you saw my latest recipe post on Mary Catherine's blog, but this granola was just too yummy not to double-post. Plus, I wanted to be able to search for it on my own site for the next round of baking.
As I said in the Simply Sugarless post, I was really skeptical of attempting a granola recipe. I'm very particular about the granola I like and I was convinced that a no-refined-sugar recipe would never satisfy my picky tastebuds. I'm so happy to report I was wrong. I've been eating this granola for breakfast with a bit of yogurt all week and, I'm going to say it, it's better than any store bought versions I've found - at least it is in terms of what I'm looking for in granola. I will definitely be making this as a staple around our house. Yippee!
Hands-on time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 25-30 minutes | Total time: 40 minutes
Yield: 6 cups
Ingredients:
4 cups old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325°. Grease a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
Mix oats, flour, shredded coconut, pecans, and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Stir in honey, coconut oil, and vanilla extract until evenly incorporated.
Spread oat mixture on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven until lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Stir gently. Continue baking, stirring every 5 minutes, until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
Let cool until crispy, about 15 minutes.
Store in airtight container.
A Couple of Notes:
I left my granola in the oven for an extra few minutes (past 25 minutes) because mine didn’t brown very much. Maybe it was the whole wheat flour, but it still turned out crunchy and delicious even though it stayed light in color.
Now that I’ve made this, I would consider mixing some freeze dried strawberries in at the end. I love a little fruit in my granola.
I would also increase the amount of pecans, to a half a cup. I don’t really even like pecans all that much, but I think a few extra would only be a good thing.
Probably an obvious comment, but you can add/substitute fruit, nuts, etc. as you fit, I would just warn against adding too many dry ingredients because you still need the wet ingredients to coat + bind it together.
This little peanut snagged his latest sticker chart reward (a toy camping set) and, once again, we couldn't be more impressed with + proud of his determination. The latest challenge? To stop sucking his thumb at night. That's a tough one since he was doing it semi-unconsciously.
With a helpful tip from uncle Brian to wear mittens when he sleeps, we now have a no-more-thumb-sucking (but mitten-wearing) three year old in our house.
For the record, this wasn't an easy transition for our sweet Robbe. It's been harder for him to fall asleep and his overall sleep quality has definitely been affected. I gave him the out several times over the last five days by offering to remove those mittens but he never took me up on it. That's one tough dude.
Next time you see him, please give him some praise. He deserves it!
I've been waiting months (months!) for the temperature to rise and the sun to shine so I could do some spray painting. The curtain rod project had to take precedence (since we currently don't have window coverings), but I snuck in a few coats onto our bathroom mirror frame as well. Yay for being productive!
Chase had such a blast during his first session of swimming lessons that we signed him up for another round for the spring. Best news ever? Robbe gets to join him this time! So many benefits to turning 3! You could not imagine two happier brothers saying goodbye to their mom. It. Was. Adorable.
The boys even jumped in by themselves (into the shallow pool). Chase exclaimed that he wishes he could have swim lessons every day and Robbe added an enthusiastic, "me too". Such a proud mom.
The weather is not quite as warm as we would like (hence the winter coats and mittens), but that's not keeping us away from our newest outdoor activity. The boys seem super excited about biking this year so it'll be fun to see where that goes! We even got Robbe his own mini training wheel bike today (sorry...not pictured) so he can keep up with his brother. Now he just needs to figure out that pesky pedaling concept.
Thanks to a tip from Karen, we scheduled a super fun trip to a lambing barn (yep, that's a thing) only 20 minutes from our house! The boys got to hold piglets, lambs, chicks (a ton of chicks), and kids (of the goat variety) and see a bunch of other animals, too. The rule is that if you can fit the animal in your arms, you can hold it. That's a good rule, right? The boys had a total blast!
Unfortunately, it was a bit too cold to explore the rest of the farm grounds and they didn't have much for extra activities so we went home and made the above sheep craft to commemorate the day.
small city | BIG DAYS
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