Summer in February

I guess winter's over! Highs were in the 70's and 80's this weekend and we took full advantage of it. Saturday morning Aurora had a Daisy troop meeting at the lake. The girls were learning how to be compassionate and caring, and they made dog toys out of old clothes to give to dogs who don't have homes. We played at the park, ate outside and played checkers, blew bubbles and colored with sidewalk chalk, and this afternoon we went to another park with our new canopy and watched the boats go by. I can only imagine how hot summer is really going to be - and I imagine we still have a rainy season to come - but this was pretty darn perfect.

Kid's Stuff

It seems like just about everything I do outside of work has to do with kids. I go to birthday parties, play at parks, watch kid's TV and read children's books. This week I've felt like such a grown up. I had Monday off while the kids were at school and it was glorious. I jogged around Town Lake, got a pedicure, and had a lovely lunch with my parents to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary!

That night, mom and dad watched the kids while Chuck and I went out. We've decided that this year we're going to make monthly date nights a priority, and we kicked it off with a concert at the Moody Theater. We saw a band called Neutral Milk Hotel and it was pretty awesome.

Today we met with our financial advisors, I went to the chiropractor, Chuck set a date for jury duty, and lately I've been setting tons of appointments for things I need to take care of during spring break. You know, getting our taxes done, an oil change, and Clark's well baby visit. Okay, so in some cases the kid's stuff is way more fun than the grown up stuff, but I sure did enjoy everything about Monday... so much that I already have tickets for next month's date night. I can't wait!

Super

This weekend was filled with great weather and super fun activities. We started out with a birthday party at Peter Pan Mini-Golf. My mini golfers were adorable and got lots of holes-in-one. Of course, Clark just held tight to the club and dropped the ball into the holes...

Afterwards we met up with Grandma & Grandpa and headed out to Zilker park, which was as crowded as I've ever seen it. We played, took a ride on the Zilker Zephyr, had snow cones, then headed to Chuy's for a super delicious dinner.

Today was a super hero birthday party for our friend Melody. Aurora dressed as "Love Hero." Her super power was that if anybody needed love, she'd give it to them! Fun times at the Thinkery.

Tomorrow is President's Day, which was supposed to be a school holiday - but, thanks to the wintery weather, it's a make-up day and both school and daycare will be open as usual. Interestingly, my work will be closed soooo... super mama gets a day off! What!? 

Open Hearts

This week we had another first in the world of kinder-parenting. Valley View hosted an Open House, which was... well, it was almost exactly like our first meet the teacher, but the Booster Club was selling baked goods and Aurora was prepped on how to take me on a tour of her classroom! The main things she was supposed to point out were some sweet pictures related to Valentine's Day.

She loves her Grammy and Grampy, Mrs. Parolini, Hello Kitty, Mommy, Daddy, her friends Olivia and Mia, and Clark (of course). She also loves butterflies, watermelon, and her stuffed animal Uniqua. Today she came home with an awesome box full of Valentines. Kindergarten is the best!

Daycare is pretty sweet, too. Clarkie painted a Hershey's Kiss for "the best parents ever," which is adorable. It was wrapped in foil with a bunch of other goodies. Such a handsome boy!

We had heart shaped pizza and delicious desserts at work, and, well... that's about it. Chuck and I will be celebrating Valentine's Day on Monday night, and we have a few other fun activities planned for the weekend. Happy Heart Day to all of my loyal readers!

Games

This week the Olympic Games began, and now that we have DVR we waited to watch the opening ceremony with the kids. You'd think Aurora would've been excited, but getting her to watch with us was like getting her to eat green vegetables. I think all these unplanned late starts and snowless snow days had her feeling cooped up and out of whack. Luckily, it was warm and sunny today and we had a special outing planned - her first real gymnastic class!

She's been asking for gymnastics for quite awhile now so I've been looking into options for spring break and/or summer camp. This trial class certainly was fun, and she did a great job. Maybe if we were watching the summer Olympics she would've been more enthusiastic?

My parents came over for dinner tonight and we all had fun dancing, playing, and reading. One especially fun game included a balloon, which popped. Ohhh the drama. You'd have thought she was being forced to watch the Olympics while eating green vegetables! She could've gotten a gold medal for sadness. Her brother on the other hand, he could probably get a gold medal for cuteness.

I just needed an excuse to post that picture. Anyway, I'm hoping our wintery weather has passed and we can return to our normal work and school schedule. I do have to say that I enjoy watching the winter games. Ice skating, snowboarding, and ski jumping? Awesome! I'll just have to save my viewing until after the kids are asleep...

Haircuts

This weekend it was time to get Aurora's haircut, and it wasn't a hard decision to bring Clarkie along for his first cut, too. It was so cute long and a lot of people (my mom included) would've liked us to let it keep growing, but it was in his eyes all the time. Here's how the day went:

It's a real, short, boy cut. He kept saying he was "all done," wanting us to take off the smock, but he didn't mind sitting in the little car and having his hair cut. I can't figure out if he looks older or younger. I mean, this is what his hair looked like just over 6 months ago! Regardless, he's adorable.

That last picture shows my short-haired kids watching the beginning of the Superbowl. We had a fun night watching the first half with friends. Go Seahawks!

Soaring

Today was a big day for our little girl. Aurora got her first Soaring Cardinal Award at Valley View!

She got the "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" Award, which was pretty exciting. The Principal stood on stage with Aurora and read the award word for word. So, you get it word for word too:

"Aurora, I can't tell you that you're going to be great one day, because you already are! You are a great reader, a fantastic artist, a wonderful writer, and a helpful friend to your peers.

With your inquisitive spirit, you have found the joy in learning and you know that reading can take you anywhere you want to go, including the deep sea, the country of Indonesia, and even outer space. You SOAR each and every day at Valley View and I love your enthusiasm and smile.

You have a wealth of knowledge and confidences that will take you far in life so don't ever give up and always reach for your highest dreams!

We are proud of you, Aurora and I'm so glad you're a Parolini Penguin!"

We certainly are proud of her too, and so glad she's a WADEY! We're also pleased that her award includes a free meal at All Star Burger and a free icee at Speedy Stop.

Fun

As predicted, Aurora spent just about all day Friday having fun with our neighbors, Vivi & Lizzy. Being that it was a snow day, we watched Ice Age and had hot cocoa.

Saturday morning I asked Aurora what she wanted to do, and she answered without hesitation - go to the Thinkery! We picked up Grandma & Grandpa and headed out. The weather was perfect so we walked around the pond next to the children's museum and Clark waved and said hello to every person, dog, and duck he saw. He didn't really want to pose for a picture, but he's such a sweet boy.

We had so much fun, and yes - our loving girl is just as sweet as her little brother. Of course, it's not all fun all the time with these two. I like having fun so I try to pack as much fun as possible into our days - but we do have our share of meltdowns. Aurora can be very sensitive and Clark knows how to throw a tantrum when he doesn't get his way. That said, I'm enjoying my time with them more than ever, even when they totally wear me out. I get so excited thinking about all the fun things we can do together during spring break, talking about potential birthday party themes, and even looking ahead to summer vacation. Being a kid is fun, but being a mom is probably the best thing ever.

Snow!

Today we woke up to a dusting of snow, lots of ice, news of 15-car pileups on multiple freeways, and school closures all over central Texas. We've definitely had more impressive snow and ice storms over the years, but hey - if we can all stay safe and warm at home together, I'll take it.

We actually had a special morning planned at Valley View which has been pushed to next Friday (yes, I'm leaving you in suspense!). Instead I foresee a day filled with neighbors, movies, laughing, crying, and perhaps a bit of working from home. Hooray for one day of winter in Austin!!! (this weekend temps will be back in the 70's).

3 Day Weekend

You already know how we spent most of our 3 day weekend - celebrating my mom's birthday! You probably won't be surprised to hear that we did a whole bunch more than that. Aurora had a Daisy troop meeting at this cool historic school house in Bee Caves, across from a pond and a new sculpture park that I had no idea even existed! There were tons of cool sculptures, but this was our favorite.

Actually, she told me that spending time with ME was her favorite! I'm pretty sure doing crafts with Presley was actually her favorite part of the morning. On Monday we took my folks to the aquarium. Clark is definitely a fan of the fish.

Then I took the kids to the Nature & Science Center to dig some dino bones. Aurora had a great time. Clark liked digging because Aurora was digging, but he doesn't really like getting dirty (huh?). He was happy to wipe the sand away and move on to some indoor activities.

Several of my friends have told me recently that they've never been to the Nature & Science Center, and it's one of our go-to fun, free activities. It makes me wonder what fun places our friends go that we haven't been; what other cool parks are out there that we don't even know exist! I'm hoping to find a few new places to explore during spring break and over the summer. Yes, I'm already planning that far ahead. Hey, we have to maximize our time off when it comes! If only every weekend was a 3 day weekend...

Happy Day

Today we had a great time getting ready for my mom's birthday. The whole family went food shopping, picked out a bouquet of flowers, I got her favorite soup going in the crock pot, Aurora and I baked and frosted a delicious cake, and we found some awesome party favors. Then Aurora and Clark made a great big birthday cake in the driveway that says "Happy Birthday Grandma" with sidewalk chalk. The angle may have been a little silly for picture taking, but I think she liked it.

We took a walk, we sang, we ate until we couldn't eat anymore, then we acted silly until bedtime. Aurora wanted to play truth or dare, which was an interesting idea for a party game. She dared my mom to have the best birthday party ever, and it sounds like she did! Tomorrow's a day off and we have a few more fun plans in the works. I hope it's just as happy as today was.

Happy Birthday Mom and Maren!

Family Meals

I just admitted it on Facebook, so now the world knows... after 14 years of being a vegetarian, I've started eating meat. Have I said that here on the blog? When I was breastfeeding Clark, I realized that I needed more protein - and it was right around the same time my folks moved to town and started having family dinners with us - so, I started adding meat the rotation. I don't eat meat at every meal or even everyday, but it's been interesting to have so many new options. I also have a new oven, microwave AND a toaster (thanks Santa!), so now that we're back to our hectic work and school schedules, I've decided that it's time to get serious about meal planning again.

For the first time in quite awhile I went shopping over the weekend for an entire week's worth of dinners with variations for the kids and leftovers for lunches:

Sunday - green apple, basil and mozzerella pizza with white bean and tomato soup
Monday - spaghetti with garlic and basil, garlic bread and asparagus
Tuesday - chicken fajitas with onion, peppers, spinach, tortillas and cheese
Wednesday - baked potatoes with chili, cheese, and onions
Thursday - mac & cheese with chili for the grown ups

These kids are picky eaters. They like quesadillas, chicken nuggets, grilled cheese, all kinds of fruit, and a few other things - but they're hungry right when we get home so prep has to be fast. For awhile, Clark was hating his high chair so mealtimes were a struggle regardless of what I served. I just got him a hook-on high chair which puts him right at the table, and it's been working out pretty well!

I really want to do better meal planning and prep every week so that mealtimes can be fast, easy, and delicious in 2014. If you have any tips, tricks, or recipes that have worked for you - let me know! What are your favorite go-to kid-friendly meals?