Cake - Take Two

This was definitely cake week, as we celebrated Noah's birthday with family on Tuesday and with friends over the weekend. We woke up to a cold rainy morning - not great for an outdoor party. Fortunately, the weather broke in time for the kids to enjoy ZoomAir, the aerial adventure course at the zoo and a ropes-course themed cake.

My Birthday Boy

Today's is Noah's sixth birthday, so naturally we're skipping school and heading to Disney. Having a summer birthday, I never had school on my birthday, and I remember that when I worked, going to work on my birthday always felt wrong.

Of course, Disney for us could be school, but today it will be all play - one of the parks with just us and our boy (Ava has a Disney date with Grandma), then dinner and "snow" in Celebration. Fresh from our chilly adventure up north, Noah requested a "snow" cake, so I tackled it last night and it's ready to go with us on our outing today!

Thanksgiving Field Trip - Days 6-8

Is it lame to lump the last three days together like this? I'd envisioned a post per day, but seeing that I'm home and unpacked already . . . well, let's just say that didn't happen. And while the final three days were loads of fun, they weren't exactly packed with educational opportunities.

On Thursday, we enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with about 50 of Jim's family members. They all meet at the same hotel each year to spend Thanksgiving together. A "no cook" Thanksgiving was nice, but I have to admit that after reading about all my friends' vegan Thanksgiving menus on Facebook, I kind of wished I was home and cooking for the holiday! After dinner, the kids went for a dip in the (indoor pool) while the grown-ups talked and played games.

Friday morning was the family breakfast, followed by - what else? - shopping! We hit the mall directly across from the hotel, more out of desire to get out and walk around than anything else. Every other year we make the trip north for Thanksgiving, and it's become a tradition to get a family ornament from the same little kiosk at the mall - so of course, we got one of those.

That evening was one last family dinner before everyone packed up and headed home on Saturday. The drive home was really nice (at least as far as long, boring drives go), and included a stop on the side of the road in West Virginia to throw some snowballs!

We arrived home very late on Saturday night and spent Sunday unpacking. Today, we reviewed some materials from the BEP and finished up our trip lapbook. More on that soon . . . very soon!

Thanksgiving Field Trip - Day 5

As we packed our bags and said our goodbyes, it was hard to believe our time in Virginia was already over. My aunt and uncle really made us feel at home, and we can't wait to return for another visit.

But for the time being, we were hitting the road again for a relatively short trip to Greensburg, PA to meet Jim's family for Thanksgiving. The day's drive took us through Maryland and into Pennsylvania, where we stopped at the welcome center to play in the fall leaves.

We rolled into the hotel late in the afternoon with time for a quick rest before heading out to dinner with family. Time to log the day's 225 miles in our "miles traveled" graph and start snapping pictures of family members!

Thanksgiving Field Trip - Day 4

Each year since Noah was one, we’ve visited the ICE show at the Gaylord Palms hotel. I had no idea they did the show in other places as well, but my aunt heard about it at the Gaylord National Conference Center in Maryland – so we all bundled up to check it out. The show was great, and it was so fun to see it in a new setting. My favorite part was seeing sculptures of the DC monuments (something we definitely don’t get in Orlando, and the kids loved zipping down the ice slides. After the show, we explored the hotel and enjoyed lunch before heading to DC for the afternoon.

So far, we’d crossed two of our three “must do” activities off the list – the BEP and a Smithsonian. Last on the list was the Washington Monument, so we were really excited to find a parking spot nearby. The crowds were minimal, so we were optimistic about making it to the top – until we learned that all the tickets had already been distributed for the day. Though we were all disappointed, Noah was excited just to touch the monument and spot the place where the marble changes colors (early vs. later construction). And, it gives us an excuse to come back soon.

I feel like we were able to get a taste of the city, get our bearings and have a better idea of what to do on our next trip. Pending more agreeable weather, I can see spending a day just walking around to see the monuments and get a closer look at the White House.

The best part of this trip to the city (for me) was listening to Noah point out the buildings – The Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, White House and Washington Monument were all landmarks he recognized from our studies. We also got to see several motorcades, as well as Marine One in action!

Thanksgiving Field Trip - Day 3

We were all excited to check out Washington DC on Monday morning, and as soon as we crossed the bridge, Noah started excitedly spotting the monuments. I was surprised at how well he remembered the different landmarks from our brief studies.

The chilly, windy, rainy day wasn’t ideal for sightseeing, but we made it work. Our first stop? The Bureau of Engraving & Printing to watch them make the money! We entered the building through two small holding areas, where we were able to check out some money memorabilia. Ever seen $1 million? If not, then check out the picture above – a stack of $10 bills totaling $1 million! We also learned about the original size of paper currency (larger, then sized down to save production costs) , read about some of the security features put in place each time currency has been redesigned and measured ourselves in money! Noah is $1.1 million tall (in $100 bills), and Ava is $885,000.

Before heading off on the tour, we watched a short movie about how the BEP works, which included information on how the plates are etched and money is printed. From there, we were off to see for ourselves. We saw the seemingly blank pages ready for printing, saw the different colors in the printing process and learned where the sheets are cut in half (32 images to 16 images). Next, we saw where the seals and serial numbers are added and the bills are cut (first down to 2 images, then finally to 1) and wrapped. After a series on inspections, the bundles are packed into bricks, palletized and sent to the Federal Reserve (pictured below) vault for monetization.

Leaving the BEP, it was a mad dash through the rain to find some lunch, and the first place we spotted food was through the window to the café at the National Museum of American History. After eating, we decided to explore the museum instead of heading back outside. We stumbled upon some great, interactive kids’ science exhibits, saw Julia Childs’ kitchen and visited the American on the Move transportation exhibit.

When the museum closed (or technically, about an hour after the museum closed when they finally started shooing people out), we trekked back through the rain to find our car and rustled up hot chocolate for all for the drive home.

Thanksgiving Field Trip - Day 2

We had plans to visit DC on Sunday but ended up enjoying a relaxing day at “home” instead. My aunt and uncle’s place is beautiful, set on 1 ½ acres in the country and much like someplace we imagine ourselves living one day.

After breakfast, we took a walk down the road, and the kids collected fall leaves for the lapbook (and for fun). My cousin and his wife joined us for brunch; their daughter is just a few months older than Noah, and Noah has been looking forward to seeing her for weeks!

That afternoon, we decided to skip the day’s field trip and just let the kids run and play in the backyard. Jim and Noah threw the football which Ava and Aunt Marilyn picked up pinecones and explored the yard. Of course, Uncle Tony and I took tons of pictures to document the day.

Thanksgiving Field Trip - Day 1

The first day of our journey was just that . . . the “journey” part, which ended up being about 15 hours in (and out of) the car. We took our time and stopped at every welcome center so the kids could run around and learn a little about the state we were passing through – from Florida into Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina before arriving in the day's destination . . . Virginia.

Noah fell asleep about two hours before we arrived and stayed asleep through the night. Ava, on the other hand, slept on an off during the evening part of the drive, but got her second (third and fourth) wind when we arrived at my aunt and uncle’s house and was up into the wee hours!

A visit with family, some late dinner, a glass of wine, and we were off to rest up for the next day!

Washington DC / Thanksgiving / Traveling Lapbook

We're down to about nine hours until we leave for our Thanksgiving trip. We'll be visiting my family in Virginia (with day trips to DC) until Wednesday, when we'll leave to spend the holiday in Pennsylvania with Jim's family.

We spent the morning working on some Enchanted Learning Curriculum on DC and its landmarks. In looking for a way to capture all the amazing experiences, I decided to put together a lapbook on our trip. Here's what it includes (along with a sneak peek at what it looks like so far):

• Map of our route
• Blank graph for charting the miles driven each day
• USA mini-book with info on Washington DC
• Graphic map of Washington DC
• Mini-book on the Washington Monument (to be completed after our tour)
• Mini-book on DC Monuments (to be completed after our tour)
• Mini-book on US currency (to be completed after visiting BEP)
• Place for two fall leaves fan books (one listing my family members; the other for Jim's)
• Pocket for photos of family members

Bye Bye Baby (Stuff)

Today, I tackled a chore I've been putting off for many years - "dealing with" all the kids' old clothes. I have never parted with anything they've ever worn; as the outgrow items, I boxed them up and added them to the pile. In part, we were saving them in case we had another child, and, of course, boxing them up was the quickest option. And finally, I don't think I've been ready to say goodbye to babyhood . . . until now.

I'm the first to admit . . . birthdays have always made me sad. And seeing how "big" my kids look when they're sleeping brings a tear to my eye. So it shouldn't surprise me at all that I've had a hard time parting with baby items in the past. I've made three attempts at sorting through clothes that have all ended the same way - with everything shoved back in the box and hauled to the garage.

But this time was different. First, I've been spurred on by a major decluttering kick lately. I single-handedly cleaned out the garage last month (and usually I reserve all garage-related tasks for Jim), emptying out 19 boxes of "stuff" to either donate or put to good use again. I've shelved holiday decorations, boxed and labeled all our old photos and mementos and trashed old office files we no longer need.

And then there were "the boxes". 12 of them, to be exact. 12 boxes containing the clothes that represented all my memories as a mother.

I'm happy to report that the 12 boxes have turned into 2. One is filled with favorite outfits we'll And to my surprise, the task was much easier than expected. There were no tears, no pangs of sadness. As I picked up each item, I knew instantly whether it was one we'd save or one I was ready to pass along. Somehow, I felt silly for hanging onto them for this long. But I think today was just the right day.

Things have been changing recently. Today, I looked up to see my "baby girl" sitting on the couch telling a story - clearly no longer a baby. But I wasn't sad. I was excited. My "baby boy" is about to start first grade, but again, I am thrilled - not teary. Seeing babyhood slip away doesn't scare me any more. I enjoyed it - loved it - but I am ready for the next chapter.

I guess that in the back of my mind, I always knew those clothes were more than just clothes. But even though I had no use for them, I wasn't ready to part with what they represented. For so long, being a "new mom" was how I defined myself . . . saying goodbye to babyhood left me trying to figure out "what now?" for myself.

But now that I've done away with the old, I'm ready for the new - all the wonderful, unknown exciting things that are yet to come - for me as a mom . . . and as more. After I wipe away the tears, that is.

Happy Birthday, Grandma

Today was my mom's birthday, and even though we're having a celebration on Sunday, we wanted to make sure we got to see her on her big day. So, we met for lunch after our hula hooping workshop to give her a gift and the cards the kids had made.

We're big card "makers" (as opposed to card "buyers"), and I've learned a fun little trick for this. Both kids love to create lots of wonderful art - and they can't bear to part with any of it. So, I've started pulling our their completed projects to make our cards - fold it in half, write a message inside and you're done!

The card-making process has definitely been simplified, and I know the kids' masterpieces will definitely be enjoyed so much more this way than they will at the bottom of the artwork stack. This also keeps "the stack" much smaller, which is always an added bonus!

Back from South Carolina

I guess I didn't actually mention that we were going anywhere, but I'm feeling the need to "check in" now that we're home. We had a great long weekend visiting family in South Carolina and wish we'd had longer to stay. During our trip, we got to briefly explore the towns of Anderson and Greenville and were surprised to find both packed with fun family activities.

On our first day, we visited downtown Greenville, which is full of charm, nice restaurants and cute shops - plus a plethora of coffee shops which always swings my vote. The best surprise, however, was Falls Park, a gorgeous park with - you guessed it - a waterfall running through the middle. We checked out the view from the suspension bridge, meandered down to feed the ducks and let the kids explore the amphitheater (currently staged for a production). Our limited time there made me wish we'd brought a picnic and a soccer ball to kick around - and some running shoes, since my new patent wedges didn't serve me well through all the climbing.

Something else I wish we'd had time for was a fun scavenger hunt through downtown. As a senior project, high school student Jimmy Ryan proposed the idea of placing nine bronze mice downtown for children to hunt. He raised funding and commissioned a local sculptor to make the mice. A bronzed sculpture of the book and one mouse are mounted on the fountain in front of the Hyatt Regency hotel, and the other eight mice are installed along a nine-block stretch of downtown. Recently, a children's book entitled Mice on Main was written about the project.

Preserving and Displaying Family Photos

We bought our first digital camera before the kids were born and purchased our first SLR after Noah started walking (I quickly grew tired of having pictures of the back of his head!) I love the instant gratification of seeing my pictures right away, as well as being able to snap a bunch of photos in hopes of getting "just the right one". However, for the longest time, my photos went from my camera to my computer to . . . nowhere.

Then, I stumbled upon a system that worked for me - and has been for the past four years. Here's what I do each month:

• Edit and print my favorite photos for the month, then hang them on the photo board in the kitchen (see picture).

• Take down the old photos, and put them in an envelope labeled with the month and year. In theory, this makes it easy to scrapbook, but since I've switched to digital scrapbooking, it doesn't really help in that area. But, I do make a separate folder for all my edited photos each month, so when I am ready to scrapbook, my favorites are easy to find. For example, in my "Family" folder, I have a sub-folder for "2009", a sub-folder for each month and (inside each of those) a sub-folder with my favorites.

• Write a quickie newsletter for our family each month with highlights of our activities, updates on each of the kids and, of course, our favorite photos.

• Mail the newsletters and my favorite six photos to each family member.

The monthly newsletters and photos to go into albums I make for our families each Christmas. The albums have 12 plastic inserts (8 1/2" x 11") for the newsletters and another 12 inserts for photos (each holds three 4" x 6" photos on each side).

Often Jim asks why I go through all the trouble, and I always tell him that while I love sharing it with our family, I really do it for myself. It's so nice at the end of the year to be able to look back at our favorite memories . . . which is especially nice since I'm three years behind on my scrapbooking!

Father's Day Gifts That Keep on Giving

When it comes to gifts, we're more "experience" people than "object" people - at least Jim and I are (the kids, of course, want it all). But while making a wonderful memory is our favorite way to spend a holiday, it's always nice to have a little something to remember it by.

Last year for Father's Day, I set out looking for ideas on really nice gifts the kids could make - something more than a rock paperweight. And I'm pretty happy with what I decided on.

For Noah, we decided to start an album to record pictures of him through the years. I dressed him in Jim's cycling uniform - from helmet to shoes - and stood him in front of Jim's bike. We took an identical picture today and will continue to do it every year. I can't wait to see how he grows into Jim's clothes over the years.

For Ava, I bought an 8x10 canvas, painted the background and let her paint the rest. Again, we'll do the same every year and once we get a few, we'll be able to display them as a collection.

Finally, I videotaped the kids wishing Jim a Happy Father's Day and telling him all the things they love about him. Each year, they'll record a new message and we'll be able to watch it from the beginning. Even with just the one year we have (two as of tomorrow), it's wonderful to watch.

Here are Noah's first two photos filling Daddy's shoes:

Father's Day 2008

















Father's Day 2009

Ava is Three

I could start off by saying that I simply cannot believe that my "baby" is already three, but if you're reading this, you're most likely a parent and you already know how the "birthday time warp" works. Since Ava is our second child and her older brother loves to be the center of attention, she doesn't have a lot of opportunities to have our undivided attention. So when she was born, we decided it was really important to us that we make her birthday all about Ava. We love it, and I can tell that she loves it, too.

We hopped in the car and headed for Disney, where we split from my mom and Noah, who took off to go to EPCOT for the day. Jim and I took Ava to the Magic Kingdom, where our first stop was the little roller coaster in Toon Town. She was thrilled to make the height requirement for the first time and absolutely loved the ride! Next, we went to "Pixie Hollow" to visit Tinkerbell and two of her fairy friends.

For lunch, we dined at the Royal Table in Cinderella's castle. After being greeted by Cinderella herself, we enjoyed visits from Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine and Belle while we ate. Ava received her own magic wand and was thrilled when the waiter sang "Happy Birthday" just for her. After lunch, we rode the carousel, Dumbo and the teacups before regrouping with my mom and Noah for our next stop . . . dinner!

Pata Sam and Miss Annie met us at Seasons 52, which the kids always seem to request for their birthday dinners. We ended the evening with the infamous chocolate raspberry cake, which had thankfully survived a blistering day in a cooler while we played at the parks. BTW, the cake is as good as it looks - better actually! It's the Chocolate Raspberry Blackout Cake from Vegan with a Vengeance. Best cake ever. Try it!

After dinner, we nixed our plans to return to the park for the fireworks. Instead, we drove home and immediately collapsed into bed. What a fun, exhausting, INCREDIBLE day!

Happy Birthday Pata Peter

It's been almost nine years since my dad passed away, and I simple cannot believe he's been gone that long. On the other hand, a lot has happened during that time, most notably the addition of Noah and Ava to our family. While it makes me sad that they never got to know him, we try hard for them to learn about him through our memories.

Today was his birthday; he would have been 70. For the past few years, we have celebrated his birthday with the kids - cooking a breakfast I remember making with him when I was little and releasing balloons with a note we've written him. We also document our celebration and include it with the note in an album.

Looking at past years' celebrations in the album is always a highlight of this day. Our first celebration took place when I was pregnant with Ava - about 42 hours before her birth to be exact. Looking back at the pictures brought back vivid memories of being at the park for the balloon release - 9 months pregnant in the June Florida heat.

Now, I'm taking a blogging break to call my Uncle Tony and wish him a Happy Birthday. He is my dad's twin brother - my only uncle, married to my only aunt and the father of my only cousin. Yes, my family is small - which is probably why at one point I wanted four kids! But as they say . . . size doesn't matter. I am truly blessed.

Ava's Luau Pool Party

Get ready . . . June is birthday month, so be prepared for numerous posts that have nothing to do with homeschooling. To start, we celebrated my "baby's" third birthday with a luau pool party this past Saturday. She swims like a fish, and would stay in the pool all day if we let her. Needless to say, she was thrilled with a pool party and even more thrilled to have her friends join her for her big day - and I was thrilled with the adorable hula girl bathing suit I found her!

As I've mentioned before, I'm trying to hard to make certain things just about Ava - and explaining to Noah why this is important (he likes to be in the middle of everything). So, we invited only her friends that she asked for, let her help with the invitations, got her favorite dish (vegan mac & cheese from Ethos) to eat and made the cupcake of her choice (peanut butter bomb cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World - YUM!)

After the party, Noah took her to Build A Bear (his gift to her) where she built a pink unicorn named Sparkle. Then, some good friends joined her for moral support as she got her ears pierced (her birthday gift from us). She was amazing and is quite thrilled with her new pink earrings. More festivities are planned for Wednesday (her actual birthday). Stay tuned!

An Amazing Mother's Day

After toying with the idea of doing Disney for Mother's Day, I suggested (and received) something a little more restful and relaxing. The rare chance to sleep in is always a winning idea, so I was thrilled when Jim got up with the kids as soon as they started stirring. After getting them fed and dressed, he woke me so we could head out for a bike ride on the trail followed by brunch at our favorite restaurant and pictures/playtime at the park.

That afternoon, I met my mom for a glass of wine and a long-overdue pedicure, then we both went back to our house for a wonderful meal cooked by Jim and the kids. It was so wonderful to have a day free from normal house and childcare responsibilities - to be with the kids and just enjoy them without all the work!