Easter Blessings

This Easter the Lily Pad hosted our first holiday.  Jim and I have been married for twelve years and we have had the pleasure of being a guest at our parents' for holiday meals ever since, however this year we decided it was our turn.  We decorated the house and got baking and preparing several days ahead.  Aunt Tammy brought the hams, Nanny Lil brought the potatoes, Aunt Kathy brought the salad, so we did the honey glazed carrots, lemon green beans, a couple of quiches, rolls, and two broccoli and cauliflower casseroles.  For dessert I made egg shaped cake pops, sugar cookies, cupcakes, and carrot-cake with cream cheese frosting. Nanny brought a butter cake and Nanny Lil made a chocolate pie.  We feasted and enjoyed the beautiful day. The kids loved staying in their own home for a change and had fun with all their relatives.  They eventually came down from their sugar highs from all those chocolate bunnies in their Easter baskets and the three Easter Egg hunts we attended earlier that weekend.  I love the traditions of these hunts, the one around our house and our neighborhood   I love how our bunny carefully labels each basket and hides the baskets filled with goodies, books and a couple special toys in a perfectly chosen hiding spot.  This year it was Cameron's basket which was the hardest to find, but luckily we all helped him look and it was found just before breakfast.  It was a blessed day filled with sunshine, family and yummy treats.

In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb

The beginning of March felt far from spring like around here but we certainly made the most of all the snow.  The kids loved sledding, snowman sculpting,  igloo constructing and hot cocoa slurping.  Cameron made some serious money shoveling neighbors driveways which he quickly spent at the 7/11 in town. We definitely had some blizzards to remember and enough school snow days to make any child happy and drive any mother to the brink of insanity.   One highlight of all that snow, was a trip up north with Nanny and Ampa and the rest of the Lil family.  The girls got on skiis for the first time, and aside from the cold, seemed to enjoy the thrill of the wind in their face as they zoomed down the bunny slope ( a very small incline). Poor Avery had bilateral pneumonia for the trip, but rallied and was feeling much better by the last day. It was so much fun catching up with all the Lils and spending some quality time all together. Having so much family around was also ideal as it allowed us a lot of time to go off skiing with Jameson and Cameron who have mastered all the trails and especially like the challenge of black or double black diamonds.  What a great family sport skiing is- three generations, outside, enjoying the beauty of the mountains, the fresh air, the thrill of the descent and the company of loved ones.

April is starting to feel a tad more spring like.  The sky is clear, the daylight hours are long and the first daffodils are peeking out of the ground.  We have dusted off the bikes, broken out the chalk, and set out to start enjoying the warmer weather.  A yard cleanup is in order, but I for one am looking forward to getting outside and enjoying our new deck and welcoming spring!

Wordless Wednesday!

First day of spring and I'm done with the Snow Clean-up! It's not the shoveling snow that's the problem- it's the indoor clean-up, keeping the kids entertained on all these snow days!!!

Mermaid Activities

As a prize for earning enough stars on their chore chart, the girls were going to be allowed to watch The Little Mermaid movie for the very first time. Tracking down a copy of the movie was no easy task, thanks to the Disney vault, but luckily Amazon came through, and the movie arrived just in time for family movie night, which at our house, occurs most Friday nights. In honor of the movie premiere at the Lily Pad we had an entire afternoon devoted to an "Under the Sea" theme.  We kicked off the festivities with an indoor beach party in the basement playroom. I cranked the heat and my bikini clad mermaids splashed in the kiddie pool which I hauled in from the shed and with Jim's help, filled with a couple inches of warm water. We also filled some containers and buckets with a little more depth so the girls could experiment with objects that float and sink.  After the pool party, we set out to make  a Little Mermaid craft. The girls painted two paper-plates then glued on seashells and sequins. I then stapled the plates together to make Ariel's clam-shell house.  We printed images of Arielle off the computer and glued her in along with some green seaweed.  We folded Arielle and the seaweed so they would pop up when the clam-shell was opened. For dinner I served fish, more because it was a Friday during Lent, not really thinking about the theme.  In hindsight, serving Flounder for dinner before watching the Little Mermaid wasn't the best idea but I think it went over the Littles' heads. We snacked on Goldfish and Swedish fish as we watched the movie and although there were a few scary parts where the girls had to hide there eyes and one part where Ella shouted, "Oh My God!" with nervousness that the prince wasn't actually going to kiss Arielle and break the spell, all in all it was a great family movie and the boys even enjoyed it!

Happy Birthday to the "Bestess" Dad Around!

We celebrated Jim's birthday over the weekend, a two day celebration for a very loved dad and husband.  Jim and I enjoyed a fabulous dinner out in town on Saturday night at a brand new steakhouse- a trendy spot for a trendy guy. If you know Jim, you know he's not the kind of guy to splurge on himself, so it's our job to spoil him.  Sunday, Jim got to sleep in while the kids and I made a yummy bacon, cheese, tomato and mushroom strata.  Jameson made a tasty fruit salad to go along with it as the girls set the table.  After cards, presents and brunch, I was hoping to have a nice relaxing family day, but between church, two kid birthday parties, four tennis lessons, a hockey game and a basketball game- it just wasn't in the cards.  We did finish the day off with a nice little birthday party, some Chinese take-out, and homemade chocolate cake. And of course no birthday party would be complete with out a big game of duck-duck-goose around the dining room table. Happy Birthday to the most amazing man in our lives. I hope this 34th year is the best so far!

Addie Updates

Addie is as sweet as sweet can be.
She runs the roost and she's not even three.

She started preschool in the fall;
friends and projects- she's having a ball.

She attends classes in gymnastics and in ballet
Practices her somersaults everyday.

She runs real fast everywhere she goes,
Has so much energy, surely keeps me on my toes.

She loves her sisters, but often is the odd man out,
it breaks my heart to see her pout.

Her brothers get such a kick out of her.
She is just so funny, always causing a stir.

Lovable and affectionate is she ever
always getting into things- Boy is she clever!

My baby girl is getting so big and so long, 

she's independent and very headstrong.

She is all potty trained, and talks non-stop.
I love her "lithp" and her joyous hop.

She smiles so bright all day long,
although when she tempers its hard to be strong.

After she recently fell out of her crib and onto her head,
she was happy to move into a big girl bed.

Naps are tricky as she doesn't want to rest,
but we both need a break to be our best.

She is such great company one-on-one,
quite the conversationalist  and so much fun.

She is able to play quietly by herself or with her imaginary friend.
Sometimes I hope these days will never end.

I love her imagination, she's always so busy.
I love her curiosity though it makes me dizzy.

Although she is the littlest one, she's often the loudest
When she asks, "Are you happy at me?" it makes me the proudest.

She certainly is a piece of work,
 but how do I love her beautiful smirk!

Her strong little hugs simply are the best
especially after putting me to the test.

She is my princess, outgoing and kind.
Another Addie you'll never find....    

You Know You're Tired When...

You Know You're Tired When...

1) You park in the preschool parking lot, help get two children out the right sliding door of your minivan, shut the door, walk around the car to get the youngest out of her car seat and realize that in that time you have somehow managed to lock the keys and your child in the car.  Thanks to the fast work of the local police department, the car is unlocked, the child is freed, and no damage done to either the car  or the child...for now, emotional damage in the works.
2) You escape to the grocery store childless and after briefly relishing in the quiet of the check-out line without being harassed by your offspring for a pack of gum, you reach in your purse for your car keys and realize they have gone missing. You empty all the contents of your purse, check your pockets and pronounce them "lost". The manager of the store helps you retrace your steps, an announcement is made over the loud speaker and finally you decide to check the parking lot.  You return to your car, where you do find your keys, in the ignition of the car which you left running.
3) You drive to the next town desperate for some caffeine and wishing to take advantage of the drive-thru Starbucks and not have to unbuckle the three kids in the back seat.  You make it home only to discover that after paying for your coffee, you left without it.
4) You finally get a minute to enjoy your coffee which is now cold and you stick it in the cabinet instead of the microwave to reheat.

In conclusion, I think I need some more sleep since the coffee thing just isn't working!