Spring Break

After spending a weekend away at stamp camp with my BFF Jill, I am back home and enjoying spring break with the kids. The sun is out but it is COLD until mid afternoon and then it is only warm IF the winds doesn't blow up a gale.

We went to Wenatchee and saw How To Train Your Dragon on Monday in 3D. It is a fun time and the kids LOVED the movie. It is a loud movie with some scary dragon fight scenes that I would not recommend for kids under 4 or 5 years old but the 3D is great and neither of my kids (5 & 7) complained of being scared. It is 1 hour and 38 minutes long and the first 20 minutes is a little slow in getting started but think Lilo & Stitch relationship only a Viking Boy and a Dragon. After we saw the movie, we went to Wok About Grill (a favorite when we go to Wenatchee).

Yesterday the kids and I spent a couple of hours at the park until it got too cold to be there. We took our picnic lunch and Rylee came along. We met up the the Dames, Yorgasons, and Schoenwalds and the kids had fun. Adults wouldn't have complained about the cold if we were moving about like the kids were.

Today . . . began with making German Pancakes (thanks Jill for recipe) with homemade Buttermilk Syrup (YUM). Kids were thrilled that breakfast was not cereal! Had to share the recipe as it turned out well and the syrup is definitley worth the time and effort.

German Pancakes

6 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup flour

1/2 stick butter

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place half stick butter in 9 X 13 pan and place in oven until butter is melted. Mix eggs, flour, salt and milk in blender until well blended. Remove pan from oven and pour egg mixture in pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm with warm syrup.

Buttermilk Syrup

1 1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup buttermilk (or 1 Tbsp vinegar + enough milk to make 3/4 cup)

1/2 cup butter

2 Tbsp corn syrup

1 tsp baking soda

Combine in saucepan (make sure it is a bigger pan and this grows while it boils) and bring to boil of med low heat. Boil for 7 minutes. Remove from heat and add 2 tsp vanilla. Stir and serve on pancakes, waffles, french toast . . . The mixture is foamy and cloudly while on stove and once vanilla is added and it cools slightly, it will turn a translucent carmelly color.

Busy, busy, busy week

Just when I think things are going to slow down, another week is upon me and the calendar is again FULL! We had a nice Easter and got to see Megan & Josh and their families for a while that afternoon. The kids and I were dressed up for church even though the temperature was quite cool.

Monday this week was to be my only "slow" day in that I just had to get Chase to and from school. This morning started with a bang as I dropped of Mackenzie to Daddy at 7:45 am so that Chast and I could make it to school for his kindergarten screening by 8 am. That lasted till 9 am at which time I thought I would run home quickly before dropping Chase off but alas, they have closed the road early today up to our house which necessitates a detour of twice the distance to get back to town and there was no time for that so off to Starbucks for coffee and muffin we went. Dropped Chase off to school, bought tickets for his play Friday night and headed to work for the day. After work today, I am to meet the kids and Dave at the school for our first T-ball practice. Dave was to be the asst coach but they had three teams and only 2 coaches so he got volunteered. The kids are excited about T-ball. Technically Kenzie is not playing but I am sure she will "help" since Dave and I will both be there with Chase and his team. Chase is very excited and both of them went home with Daddy this afternoon for naps so they are rested.

Tomorrow starts with Kenzie at school and I am in her class tomorrow so Daddy will take Chase to school. After school for Kenzie and I we will go visit Jill and Rylee for a bit and then home to get ready for brother's play. He is in the CVIS spring musical called "Honk Jr". He has practice tomorrow morning then PlayEd tomorrow afternoon. Have to pick him up at 4, get him home, fed and dressed and back to theater by 6:15 for the play - in which he is a froglet. Play starts at 7 so likely we won't be home till 9ish.

Thursday starts off early with speech therapy for Chase at 8:25 then he is off to school while Kenzie goes to the dentist again for another filling. Then a quick run home to change for dance class. Pick up brother at noon. Go home and NAP! T-ball practice at 5 pm again. Then home for dinner and bed!

Friday Kenzie to school, Chase to school, Mommy to work - all by 10 am! Daddy to pick up Kenzie at 11:30. Mommy to pick up Chase at 4 pm to go home eat, change clothes and head for Wenatchee to be to the PAC by 6:15 pm for the play down there. Megan and her family will meet us there to see him. Home late that night.

Mommy works on Saturday and Daddy is alone as the babysitter is out of town for the first weekend of Spring Break. We are home till mid-week - I have my last follow-up regarding my neck on the 1st - then we plan to go see my mother-in-law and take in the tulips in Mt Vernon for a few days while the kids are out of school, have no T-ball and no dance.

I did notify my boss today that I will no longer be able to work regular 2-3 days a week after April as the kids are so busy and I do not like to miss their activities. She was very nice about it and understands totally so I will return to very part time work and be a full time Mom again! :)

Don't know if posts will fit in the schedule this week so if not - catch up again next week hopefully!

The "Isms" of Childhood

Both of the kids have their little peculiar words and phrases but every once in a while one of them pops up with a new one that I love.

Today Chase was tattling on his sister (nothing new) and in the story he was meaning to tell me that she did not put her dishes in the dishwasher after breakfast but what he said was "Sissy did not put her stuff in the washdish." So that is the Chaseism for the day.

Kenzie, never to be outdone by anyone let alone her brother, came up with hers at Walmart. We were shopping for a few groceries and decided to get some Halloween decorations and decorate the house while Daddy was at work and Chase was at school. She found this collapsible spider that was about 20+ inches tall and three dimensional that she wanted to get to hang in the house. I told her no that Mamma wouldn't like that when she comes to visit, to which Mackenzie replied "But Mommy, doesn't Mamma know that they are just pretend." So we had a Mackenzieism today too! How do you respond to that logic when we have spent a lot of time at home and at Disneyland reminding her that scary stuff is just pretend so she doesn't need to be scared, then she turns your own logic around on you.

Last night we babysat Rylee for a few hours so Jill and Keith could go watch Adam's football game in Winthrop and enjoy the evening alone on their 19th wedding anniversary. The kids had so much fun with her. Chase was so careful and helped her play and watched out for her. Kenzie and I got their Halloween costumes in Wenatchee yesterday so of course they had to try them on and Rylee was feeling a little left out so I ran downstairs and was able to Chase's Mickey Mouse costume from 3 years ago and it fit her so they had a lot of fun (as you can see in the pictures). Rylee got started eating my dried apples and LOVED them but they did not love her so we had a rough half hour while she dealt with a tummy ache - thank goodness for Mylicon drops!!