Blood orange magic

Last week blood oranges were on sale so I bought a lot. I don't think either kid has ever seen a blood orange before. I decided to capitalize on the moment and tell the kids that I was going to do a magic trick and change the color of the orange. With great fanfare I cast a pretend spell on the orange, waved my arms around, and ceremoniously peeled the orange. Spencer didn't buy the charade for a moment but when Ella saw the deep purple color she looked at me with a new respect in her eyes. I love this age, when everything is so new to them. I tried to explain to her that it was all pretend but I'm not sure she quite believes me. We just ate the last blood orange a few minutes ago and she was again impressed by my "magic" - even thought I didn't perform any this time. It will be interesting next week when we have regular oranges again to see how she reacts. I just might lose my biggest fan :)

Valentine's Traditions

Yay! Valentine's Day is almost here. One thing we do to celebrate with the kids is we have what we call "The Jar of Loooove!" (Imagine me saying this in a groovy 1970's gameshow announcer voice so as to mortify Spencer and delight Ella). The week before Valentine's Day we place the empty jar in the middle of our table. Whenever somebody does an act of service or something loving for another member of the family, they get to put a marble in. If we get all the marbles in by Valentine's Day then we all go to Coldstone for some ice cream. Yay!! Coldstone is always a huge motivator over here. Some years we start this on Valentine's and do it the week after instead of before - basically whenever I remember to get the marbles down.

I had to take a picture outside today because I was losing light quickly in the house. If you look behind the marbles, you can see Spencer and his friend having a light saber fight in the woods. This is moments before an accidental bloody lip.

The other main tradition we do is a "Curtain of Hearts" for each kid. I hang dozens of hearts in their doorway that they have to walk through the morning of Valentine's Day. This is so easy and they love it so much. I don't have a picture of it completed so I'll try and describe it well. You just cut up a ton of hearts out of construction paper in all different sizes and colors and write love notes on some of them. Then you attach them to long pieces of curling ribbon (see picture below). Each piece of ribbon should be the length of the door. Then, hang about 10 of these strands in the doorway so it is full of hearts. I do this at night when they are asleep so it is something fun to wake up to.

I try to make the messages on the hearts pertain to each child. Ella's will probably have easy words and some pictures so she can read them herself. On Spencer's I usually put some Spanish phrases on for him to try and translate.



On a totally unrelated note, I didn't kill myself working out today - but I did walk 2.2 miles. Something I had to talk my tired, sore self into. Spencer's school is exactly 1.1 miles from our house. I have really been feeling lately that he needs some one on one time so I decided to surprise him and walk him home. I am so sore now but I am hoping it will get better soon!

DC minus 2.5 million

Here we are waiting for the inauguration to start.



Can you believe the awesome seats we got?

Nothing can beat sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial overlooking the mall.









Notice anything missing? How about 2+ million people? Okay so we weren't actually there today, these pictures are from our last visit to the Lincoln memorial just over a month ago when my sister was visiting.

Living in northern VA means that we often get to visit the monuments whenever we have company. But no matter how many times I've been to the Lincoln memorial, it never fails to inspire me. I don't think it is possible to be there without feeling such a strong sense of reverence and awe for such a remarkable man and an enormous sense of hope and pride for our country.



Spencer read every word of this . . .



and this . . .



. . . much to Ella's chagrin.


I couldn't get over how beautiful the sky was that cold day. It is amazing how many things have happened on those very steps.

We visited other monuments but I'll save those pictures for another time maybe.




One last look at the Washington monument before heading home:

New Year's Eve Traditions

I'm still here - I just caught a horrible case of bronchitis. I hope to be able to update my blog more regularly again by next week but I wanted to quickly share some of our New Year's Eve traditions, it's one of my kids favorite nights of the year.

New Years Eve for us is a family night. We stay up until midnight playing all the different games the kids (and adults) got for Christmas. My parents did this when I was a kid and I remember loving that we had their complete attention for a good 5 hours. We start the night with pizza and soda - this year I making double stuffed crust pizza at the request of Spencer. I try to have pictures out at the table of the past year and we talk about our year and the year ahead. We try and make at least one family resolution for the new year. Then we break out the games!

Some other things we do to make the night more special -

- We set all the alarm clocks in the house to go off at midnight.

- We each eat 12 grapes as the clock strikes midnight to bring 12 months of good luck.

- We watch the countdown together and then go bang pots and pans. I think this year we are going to have everyone leap off the couch and chairs (i.e. leaping into the New Year).

- I try to make (or buy) different fun snack food that the kids don't usually have.

There have been years where we have done nothing but play games and eat pizza, and years where I have gone all out with extra stuff - but what the kids remember most is the time spent with them.

This year if I feel up to it, we are heading down to Old Town in the evening to participate in some of the First Night Family Activities but we will be home in plenty of time for family game night.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We have so enjoyed the family time this past week (even with bronchitis and all). I would love to hear your New Year's Eve plans. What do you do to ring in the New Year?

Christmas Kickoff

We took the kids tonight to see the annual tree lighting at Fairfax Corner. It is such a fun community celebration with free horse and carriage rides, Santa, hot chocolate and cookies, carolers, and entertainment. This soldier on stilts definitely stole the show. Any question he asked, Ella took very very seriously. I think she believes he works for Santa. The little boy bundled up in the back of the picture is my nephew Logan (visiting from Arizona). It was a great way to begin the Christmas season.

the METHOD:



the ANTICIPATION:




the MOMENT:

The kids ganged up on us a couple of weeks ago and begged for a trip to the bowling alley. I'm so glad they did because we had such a good time. The funniest part was watching Ella during the long wait for her ball to make it down to the pins. She had so many dance moves that she treated the whole alley to. She is a born performer. Spencer, Ella, and I were neck to neck for most of the game (Lance sat out with a shoulder strain). Spencer ended up pulling a strike out of nowhere on the last frame and winning the game. We were happy to see that starting next month our bowling alley is offering $1 games on Monday nights. We will be back there again soon.

One last memory. Ella and her pink ball. There were far lighter balls for her to choose from but once she saw pink there was no going back. She fell to the floor right after this picture was taken because of the weight but she perservered and used the ball all night. Once Ella makes up her mind, there is no going back.!

Best Laid Plans

Two years. For two years Spencer has been talking about this election. He has been reading about the candidates. Learning about the process. Deciding on the issues. Coming to his own conclusions about who he wants to be president. Learning about the voting process. Asking to come to the booth with me. Anticipating the day.

Spencer woke up yesterday morning with a fever. Not even a mild fever. The kind of fever that knocks you on your back and makes you wish you were never born. In fact, I think that was one of the things he moaned yesterday in the throes of his illness. He kept asking "why me?" and I kept thinking "why today?"

Once we got the fever under control (after a round of ibuprofen and Tylenol), we modified our election plans. I headed to the library and picked up a few more books for Spencer (Wackiest Pets of the White House, Don't Know Much About the Presidents). Between his naps, we read the books I had planned (see yesterday's post). The kids definite favorite was So You Want to be President - it had both of them laughing out loud.

Oprah had an election day special yesterday so the kids and I watched it together. She focused on first time voters and the importance of the vote. It was neat for Spencer to hear the stories from immigrants who never had the chance to participate in democracy before.



We started watching the election coverage right at 7PM. I printed up blank maps for the kids to color in red and blue as different states were decided. They both were really excited whenever a state was called. Ella colored an extra map all red for Spencer since she knew how much he wanted "McCains" to win. Her candidate was Obama. Since Spencer had been too sick during the day to get on the computer and play the different trivia games, I printed up a bunch of trivia for us to quiz each other during the coverage - but mostly we just watched.

I will never forget the moment the election was called. I was not prepared for the surge of emotions that run through me. He wasn't even the guy we were hoping for (in truth, I wasn't too pleased with either choice). Yet I couldn't stop crying. What an amazing day for America. I still cannot wrap my mind around the historical significance of yesterday. I am still processing my feelings. Last night the cynical apathetic side of me was blown away.

I am so glad that Spencer was able to stay awake for the entire thing. He was disapointed that McCain lost but ready to support our new president. How great was McCain's speech? What a wonderful thing for Spencer to hear and see someone who was gracious in his moment of defeat. Setting aside all politics, Obama's speech was inspiring. He has a huge job ahead of him and I am looking forward to seeing what he can accomplish.

Although Spencer was unable to go to the booths and we had to rearrange some plans (election dinner), he was able to stay up and see such an incredible night. I hope it is a day he will remember.

Election day with kids

Can you believe the election is today? Spencer has really gotten involved in the whole process (think Alex P. Keaton) so we are having a day full of election fun. Here is a list of some fun things you can do with the kids to include them in the day.

Books:

Duck For President by Doreen Cronin is the perfect book in my opinion. It is written by the same team that did "Click Clack Moo." It is fun enough to keep my 4-year-old interested, educational enough for my son, and entertaining enough for me to want read several times without going bananas. The story follows the life of Duck who is disatisfied with life on the farm and all his chores. He decides to hold an election to replace Farmer Brown. He wins and realizes that he now has more work to do so he moves on to running for governor which lands him in even more trouble. The book shows the political process in such a fun way and with enough satire to keep adults interested. We will be reading this book again at breakfast tomorrow.

Vote by Eileen Christelow is another good book that explains the election process in a little more detail. The pictures are great so it is something fun for little kids to look through. I will have this out tomorrow for Spencer to read and Ella to look at.






Our lunch plans for tomorrow include So You Want to be President by Judith St.George. This book is filled fun trivia about past presidents that appeal to kids. As it goes over different character and physical traits of past presidents it shows the kids that anyone can grow up to be president. Here is part of a review from Publisher's Weekly "This lighthearted, often humorous roundup of anecdotes and trivia is cast as a handbook of helpful hints to aspiring presidential candidates. St. George (Sacagawea; Crazy Horse) points out that it might boost your odds of being elected if your name is James (the moniker of six former presidents) or if your place of birth was a humble dwelling ("You probably weren't born in a log cabin. That's too bad. People are crazy about log-cabin Presidents. They elected eight")."

Web Sites:

Brain Pop has a ton of information and fun movies about the election process for kids. There are short little cartoons about many topics (for example political parties, presidential power, etc.). The cartoons look like they will entertain Ella as well as Spencer. Guess we will find out tomorrow. They also have a pop quiz section which looks like fun.

The Democracy Project from PBS Kids looks great for older children. They have a section showing what a difference one vote has made at different points in our history, another section details what is great about the 2008 election. They also have a place where kids can make their own election stickers.

Time for Kids - Spencer gets this magazine in his classroom and loves looking through it. The website has a bunch of election information presented to kids in an easy format for them to understand.

Food:

I am still working out the kinks on this but we are going to vote on different parts of our meal tomorrow night. I think the kids will get a kick out of it.

This site tells you what places will give you free food after you vote (i.e. Krispy Kreme, Starbucks, Ben and Jerry's, etc.)

I am looking forward to watching the election unfold tomorrow night with Spencer. He really is so excited - it's cute! It has also made me brush up on the whole political process. I think we might also print up a map of the United States tomorrow for him to guess which states are voting which way based on predictions. It might be fun for kids to make predictions of their own and then see what happens.

Happy voting everyone!

Are we overscheduling our kids?

I went to Spencer's parent teacher conference today. While we were talking, it came up that she leaves her classroom open during lunchtime for kids to work on homework and projects. She eats lunch in there and helps the kids that need help. She mentioned that she does this because parents these days micromanage every aspect of their kids lives which doesn't often leave room for the kid to even choose to do the work they are assigned. The kid can have the best of intentions but by the time they get home from school (4 PM or later) if they have extracurricular activities they don't have time for homework. She says that a large majority of the kids eat lunch in the room and work on homework. Spencer often eats in there, not to do homework, but to help another kid with payroll for their class. He LOVES doing the math.

I am happy that she makes this option available but sad that in 5th grade kids are skipping lunch to get homework done. I remember doing that in high school, not elementary.

We live in a highly competitive area. It is not unusual to have your kids involved in something every day of the week. We have tried to limit Spencer's extracurricular activities to 3. He does a sport, Odyssey of the Mind, and scouts. We usually have been able to fit homework in but there are mornings where he is doing it before school. Thank goodness Spencer is an insanely early riser and has a good three hours before school even starts. Spencer has not even had a very heavy workload when it comes to homework. I don't know what we would do if he did.

So I realize that not everyone lives in uber-competitive Fairfax county. I'm curious, is this a problem where you live?

FHE and Faith

Halloween pics are going to have to wait until tomorrow. The kids begged for FHE tonight after church (our meeting time is 2-5 pm) so we quickly had dinner and an improptu FHE. Ella conducted which always makes for a long but fun evening. If you ever need a time filler, Ella's your gal. She can make up a 5 minute song on the spot complete with dance moves and plenty of angst much to Spencer's chagrin. It was a typical FHE: lots of teaching moments, some fun, some spiritual moments, and at least one person crying before its over (I really wish I was kidding).

I heard a quote last month about faith that I have been thinking about a lot today. I'm not sure why it's on my mind, whether it applies to a situation we are currently going through (adoption) or the grace that I have seen demonstrated by several family members and friends who have recently had some pretty big trials. But I think this quote very succinctly explains faith.

HOPE is the anticipation that the outcome will be good

WORRY is the anticipation that the outcome will be bad

FAITH is the anticipation that whatever the outcome, it will be for our
good.

Don't you just love that?

Halloween: A retrospective

4 Years ago:

3 Years ago:

2 Years ago:



1 Year ago:

Last Night:

This little exercise reinforced something that Spencer said when looking at our pics from Disney World this summer: "We are just not picture taking people mom." I have great pictures of both kiddos apart but trying to find a picture of them together was painful. I agree Spencer, I wholeheartedly agree.

Halloween week was awesome. I say "week" because we had activities every single day. Is it just me or is Halloween slowly creeping up to becoming a bigger holiday? It was fun but boy am I tired. I will post more pictures of the kids, costumes, candy, pumpkins tomorrow. Tonight Lance and I are busy eating away at the pillowcases full of candy they brought home.

Now that October is over, do you know what month it is??? It's NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). The challenge is to write a post every single day for the month of November. I wanted to try it last year but got caught up in the craziness of something I can't remember now. So this month I'm promising a new post daily. Who knows, maybe I'll even get around to posting the aforementioned Disney pics. Should be fun!

Speaking of traditions . . .

Every family vacation we go on, we buy a cookie cutter as our main souvenir. It is a lot of fun to hunt with the kids for the perfect cookie cutter to represent the trip (plus it keeps the kids from buying a lot of junk - you know the stuff that seems cool when you're on the vacation but just becomes clutter once you get home). The best part about the cookie cutters though, are the memories they inspire whenever we make cookies. The kids love pulling out each one and talking about different parts of our trip. So easy and fun!

More Cox Farms Pics

Climbing up to get to the rope swings:

Can you spot Ella?

The "BIG slide." You go down this one on a potato sack:

One of several other slides:

Ella jumping down the haystack:

WFMW - Fall Traditions

"Wholesome family recreation is important in building successful families"

I watched a show this past Sunday that focused on the value that traditions have to our families. Professor William Doherty (director of marriage and family therapy at the University of Minnesota) shared four reasons why our traditions are so important:


1. Family traditions help make family life predictable. In a world where life is often unpredictable having a family ritual helps make life more secure for both parents and children.

2. Creating new family traditions gives families a chance to reconnect and share their lives. Traditions cultivate connections between immediate family members and between generations.


3. A family identity is formed through rituals. By establishing family traditions & rituals we give children an identity, a group to belong to, and a sense of who they are.

4. Family rituals teach children values. Children learn what their parents value by the rituals that are observed such as attending church, giving service, and visiting elderly relatives. Rituals give children a set of values that they can take into adulthood and use in their own families.




Family traditions are the "we always" of family life. For example, "we always go out to lunch on the last day of school," "We always go to Cox Farms every fall." Traditions are meaningful time spent together as a family.

The show focused not only on yearly traditions, but weekly ones as well (attending church together, etc.). An idea I am going to try and incorporate is taking a family walk on Sundays. It is the one day of the week I know we all will be together - cheap, fun, easy - LOVE IT!

OUR FALL TRADITIONS:

The pictures above are from our yearly Cox Farms trip. We surprised the kids by taking them yesterday. In addition to Cox farms we have a couple of fall traditions - Friday Night Fright Flicks, Trunk or Treat at the church and trick or treating, baking Halloween cookies and pumpkin bread, and of course Halloween parties.

I would LOVE to hear your family's fall traditions. Please share!

Cox Farms - October 2008

Creating meaningful family traditions is what is working for me this week. For more fun tips, visit Works for me Wednesday hosted by Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer.