Thanks Grandma!

I love my new headband. I feel like such a big girl wearing it. It fit really well and is extra pretty-and well made. I haven't broken it yet!

My mom likes it too but she says that I'm growing up too fast.

See you this summer,

Abbie

Spring Soccer

Spring soccer came to an end Monday night with the end of season party. The boys enjoy getting together twice a year to just play and hang out...no soccer allowed! They swam, ate, generally ran around and goofed off like 12 year old boys like to do. We've been with this team for a very, very long time now so thankfully, while the boys are having their fun the parents and siblings don't mind hanging out and chatting a bit.

The long-time assistant coach is leaving in July. He is being stationed somewhere else for a year so although we're lucky to keep his son on the team for at least one more year, sadly Coach Gil had to say "Goodbye". He was a great assistant coach. Inspiring and fun and as Hurley said to Ben the other night, "You were a great number two."

Soccer Tournaments & School Programs

This was a weekend full of soccer tournaments, school programs and studying for upcoming finals.

Kyle's team played two games Saturday, winning both. Sadly, we missed the first game as Abbie's school program was at the same time. Too many places to be, too little time. This is becoming the story of our lives...

The Eagles won a semi-finals game this morning then ended up in the championship game this afternoon, which they lost. The coach's wife is always kind enough to email Sunday afternoon to fill us in as we don't play sports on Sunday. The big end of season party is tomorrow night and I have lots of chopping to get to tomorrow morning to be ready in time!

I think I mentioned before that Abbie has the absolute most darling preschool teacher ever. Ms. Joy truly lives up to her name and loves each of those 8 kids in the morning class like they were her own. She put together a little program where the kids shared some songs and music with us then received their awards. Abbie was awarded most "Amiable" as she is friendly to everyone and kind and loving to everyone at preschool and willing to do what others would like. She is so lucky to have another year with Ms. Joy.

As for this big-haired baby...I finally figured out what is making her locks so gigantic of late. She has been scratching her head all over. I caught her doing it the other day and she has been at it every day since. She suffers from skin conditions and I think the new shampoo I've been using is bothering her scalp. Poor itchy-scalped big-haired girl. I immediately switched her shampoo back and we'll see if we can tame that fuzz back down.

New Snack Policy

I read about one family's snack policy recently and thought it might work for our house. I feel like I am constantly at odds with my kids over snacks. This is how our new policy works:
1. Anyone can have fruit, veggies & dip, a cheese stick, yogurt, or applesauce anytime they want (expect at night after the kitchen is closed).
2. If they want anything else, they have to take it out of their snack jar. Each child has their own jar with various snacks in it, filled by mom every Sunday night. Once the jar is empty, no other snacks except those listed in item 1 until Monday.

I am struggling with how many snacks to put in the jars but will do a little trial and error over the next few weeks until I come up with the right amount. Abbie only has two left. Kyle is getting low but not that low. Daisy has a ton. I'm sure there will be tears over the weekend or Friday when Abbie doesn't have any more snacks left but hopefully it will teach her moderation...a good lesson for us all.

It took me awhile to figure out how to label the jars. Poor Lindsay had to suffer through multiple texts while I worked through the process. This is an instance where I love texting. I'm sure she was really irritated with me and may not have been able to hide it over the phone but on the text messages she was just fine and I could feel bad without us really having to talk about it. Consider this a public apology.

Our menu for the week:
Wednesday: Grilled Salmon, Rice, Salad
Thursday: Chicken Tacos
Friday: Grilled Chicken, Rice & Salad
Saturday: Grilled Pork Chops (still deciding what to serve with this)
Sunday: Jambalaya
Monday: Easy Tomato Pasta
Tuesday: TBD

This One's For Nikki....

Daisy has had some huge hair lately. This photo doesn't do justice to the fro she was sporting. It is much like when the girls return from the Butler's house after Nikki has been running her fingers through their hair for several hours...huge, frizzy and unmanageable. Except that she hadn't seen Nikki that day. Or any of the other days recently that her hair has taken on a life of it's own.

Daisy is pretty funny. She has a lot to say (not as much as Abbie, but who does) and I'm often surprised at what she wants to talk to me about or tell me about. She is still a little guy in so many ways but she is trying to be a big girl. Hopefully it won't happen too quickly...

Speaking of conversations with children...Abbie asked me the other day if Aladdin passes the Sacrament. I didn't know what to say so I just told her that Aladdin doesn't go to our church and she says, "I know mom (with a "Duh" in her voice), I mean in Agraba, where he lives. Does he pass the Sacrament in his church there, like Kyle?" I told her I guess he does. I'm wondering now if the Genie blesses it?

Cafe und Kuchen

The Germans and Austrians have a delightful tradition of stopping what they are doing in the mid-late afternoon and sitting down for coffee/tea and cake or another yummy treat. Come 3ish every afternoon my darling German hostmom would produce a cake, torte or some other delicious treat along with coffee/tea or juice, etc. and we would sit down for a rest and a snack.

On Tuesday afternoon Abbie, Daisy and I sat down with milk and oreos for our own little Cafe und Kuchen. It was yummy and the girls drank a good portion of milk, which was nice (not having to shove it down their throats). Do I see this tradition starting in my home? Probably not. But I do like the idea of eating a large meal for lunch (your main meal), a treat in the afternoon then a small dinner in the evening with high fiber breads, meats, cheeses and some fruit. Washing it down with a cup of peppermint tea (like my hostdad did) doesn't sound bad either.

Here is our dinner schedule for the week:
Thursday: Noodles and Steamed Veggies
Friday: Taco Salad
Saturday: Chicken Nuggets, Fruit & Veggies/Dip
Sunday: Ribs, Mashed Potatoes, Veggies
Meatless Monday: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches & Tomato Soup (I have a new recipe to try!)
Tuesday: TBD

A Good Mother's Day Message

Check out the latest video about Stephanie Nielson (Nie Nie) here. If you want to find out more information about her, there is a fantastic 10 part article on the Arizona Republic's website. It's old (I read it perhaps a year ago?) but shouldn't be hard to find.

Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

Meatless Monday, Cinco de Mayo and the Rest of the Week...

I've been thinking a lot lately about going meatless one night a week. More than just the noodle dinner Abbie & Daisy often enjoy on Tuesday nights when Kyle is with his mom. I mean a planned meal every week that doesn't include meat. I've decided to institute Meatless Mondays at our house. However, I don't plan to tell the kids...at least for a few months. Then when I do tell them and they possibly complain, I'll pull out the menus from the last several months of Mondays and show them how they were following the plan all along and didn't even know it.

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, we're having fish tacos and refried beans tonight. Daisy LOVES beans and I've been searching around for a good easy recipe and finally found one. The maiden bean voyage is set for tonight...I hope it goes well. I love anything that sits in a crockpot and Prudence Pennywise has rarely lead me astray.

As for the rest of the week, here is what it looks like as of today:

Thursday - Grilled Chicken, Veggies & Polenta (we didn't get to it earlier this week)

Friday - TBD

Saturday - TBD

Sunday - Grilled Steak, Rosemary Potatoes, Salad

Monday - Pancakes, Eggs & Fruit

Tuesday - TBD

How to add one more thing into an already jam packed weekend...

We've all had them...those weekends where you don't think it is possible to jam pack in one more thing. We had one of those this weekend. It started Friday afternoon/evening with a four hour drive/appointment with Kyle on the other side of town. A huge "Thanks" to Lindsay and Wes who not only watched the girls but showed them the time of their lives...pizza dinner, park, general fun at their house. Four hours is a long playdate with four kids four and under but they were really gracious about it and even offered to do it again!

Saturday morning Abbie and I ran the 5k then met Tripp, Daisy and Paul's family at Kyle's soccer game. We played in the park for a little after the game then headed home for lunch, showers/baths and preparation for the next event. Our friend Hailey Bomsta was getting baptised Saturday evening so we picked up the Butler girls and headed over to the church for the 5 p.m. service. After the baptism, we came back home for dinner. Lulu and Ruby joined us for dinner (giving their dad - recovering from eye surgery and the worst allergies on record-a much deserved break) and a little play time. We all fell into bed that night.

Sunday morning started with church at 9 a.m. After church we added an unscheduled trip to the E.R. Daisy was standing on the side of her booster seat and crashed forehead first onto the kitchen floor. She had a black ball the size of an apricot on her forehead in less than 10 seconds and so we rushed out the door to make sure there wasn't also a fracture and/or bleeding. She wailed for hours. I'll do just fine if I never need to lie on my two-year-old daughter to hold her down while she gets a Cat Scan again. Ever. She ended up just having a concussion (thank heavens) and the bump even started turning flesh color and going down by the evening. The doctor told me it will probably get worse over the next couple of days and possibly result in a black eye as well. Let's hope not.

So, after an afternoon in the E.R. our family returned home and Tripp and Kyle got back on track with collecting Fast Offerings. We then had enough time to eat dinner and head out to the Bomsta's Farewell Open House. They are moving to New Jersey next week and will be missed. Luckily, Grace is going to spend the afternoon with us Wednesday so it's not completely "Goodbye", but we probably won't see Eric, Tyson, Hailey or Tommy again. Rats.

After a quick stay at the party it was off to Kyle's court of honor. He received his Life rank advancement and nine merit badges. He's been a busy scout. So many family members came out for him. Thanks everyone! We know Sunday night isn't the ideal time for an outing but it meant a lot to Kyle.

Tripp and I are GLAD this weekend is over...

I'm a Champion Mama!

That is what Abbie told me about .8 miles from the end of her first 5k. She said, "I'm a champion Mama...I'm not going to give up!"

We participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure 5k this morning. Our fun friend Kristen invited us to be on her team. The photo was kindly taken by Kristen before the race started. Abbie was all smiles.

She struggled a little. We did some running, lots of walking and a little carrying but she enjoyed the majority of the race. I'm really proud of her. 5k is a long way for her little 4 year old legs.

Thanks to everyone who donated to our team. As a whole, we raised $300 for the cure. Yay!