Sharing Hash Browns

One of my vices has been an indulgence in Dunkin Donut’s hash browns.  Now I know that doesn’t sound all that bad, but if you’ve tried it, you’ll know what I mean.  Each order comes with six mini-hash browns all laden in grease (but boy do they taste yummy!).  Eating them makes me feel so unhealthy that I don’t allow myself to get it more than once a week, if even that.  When I do indulge, it is usually on the way to work with baby M in the car, so unfortunately, he’s taken a liking for this breakfast food as much as I have.  Since a) I don’t need his arteries clogged at such a young age, b) he normally would’ve eaten at home already, and c) he also has breakfast waiting for him in school (yes, this kid doesn’t stop eating), I’d limit him to two of the six pieces.

This morning, I stopped by Dunkin Donuts, got my usual medium decaf and (at baby M's request) an order of the hash browns.  After finishing his second piece, he asked if there were more in the bag.  I told him yes, that there was one more.  He asked if he could have it, and I told him no, he had two already.  Then he asked if I was going to eat the last one, and I said yes.  He replied, “How about you cut it in half, you take half, and I take half, so that we can both have some?”  I couldn't help but laugh.  This boy is forever the negotiator, always trying to talk his way through everything (not that it works all the time).  I love how he thinks outside the box and is constantly surprising me with what comes out of his mouth next.

Spring Break in Philly

M and I took the week off for big sister K's spring break.  We decided to stay somewhat local.  For the beginning of the week, we spent a few days in Philadelphia.  Our first stop was the U.S. Mint on Monday afternoon... finally fulfilling M's dream of visiting one of the places where our nation's coins are made.  After that, we drove all the way to Nottingham, PA, where the kids got to enjoy a tour of Herr's Snack Factory. We had an early dinner at the Nottingham Inn, then made the hour plus drive back to Philadelphia and checked in to the Doubletree hotel in City Center.

Yummy... CHIPS!!!

After breakfast on Tuesday morning, we walked to the Philadelphia visitor's center and traded in the CityPass vouchers I had purchased in advance for a booklet that allowed us admission to the Franklin Institute, One Liberty Observation Deck, our choice of the Philadelphia Zoo or Adventure Aquarium, and an all-day pass to the Big Bus tour.  We made it just in time to catch the guided tour bus that brought us to the entrance of the Franklin Institute, where we spent the majority of the day.  Big sister K had been there the year before on a summer camp trip, so she was very excited to revisit some of her favorite spots.

We made a trip to One Liberty Observation Deck after the Franklin Institute, where we got to see a view of the city from the tallest building in Philadelphia (soon to be the second tallest, outdone by its sister building right next door).  At the top of the tower was a statue of Ben Franklin's head... and naturally, at the bottom of the building you will find his feet:

We started off Wednesday with breakfast at IHOP, then checked out of the Doubletree hotel and made our way to the Liberty Bell.  There was quite a long line to get inside; with the kids acting up, the 40-minute wait felt more like 40 hours.  Even after being separated (big sister K and baby M had to stand on opposite ends with M and I in the middle), they still managed to get back together and start fighting or causing trouble. At one point, all I kept hearing was, "how did the bell get its crack??"  The question first came from big sister K, but baby M likes to copy his sister at times, so soon he was asking the same thing, both of them seemingly dissatisfied with our answer of, "you'll find out when you get inside."

After the Liberty Bell, we tried going to Independence Hall, but to our dismay, saw that they had ran out of tickets for the day already (I belatedly remembered reading about getting tickets in advance).  We ended up just walking around the area before heading off to Reading Terminal Market for some grub.

Mmmm... what's better than ice cream??  Enjoying some dessert at Bassetts Ice Cream Company, America's oldest ice cream company (created in 1861!).

After devouring two huge cups of ice cream and feeling sick to our stomachs, we had to walk everything off.  We took a long stroll around Chinatown before heading home... thus, ending our brief tour of Philly.  This was by no means my first time going to Philadelphia, but it never hit me (or maybe I never appreciated) how much of our country's history originated from this city. There are still some sites we haven't hit, so we will be back!

When we got home, I asked the kids what their favorite part of the trip was.  Big sister K said the Franklin Institute, which I wasn't surprised about.  Baby M, however, said his favorite part was the hotel. When asked why, he said because the entrance had an automated revolving door (he loved going through it).  Sigh... typical that this would be the response from my son.

Thursday was pretty low-key... we enjoyed a nice lunch at Olive Garden (one of big sister K's favorites), followed by a movie at the mall.  Yesterday, we had given the kids a choice between a movie, Chuck E. Cheese, or bowling.  Our only requirement was that they both had to agree on it.  I was convinced that baby M would've chosen Chuck E. Cheese, but he surprised me by selecting the movie option instead (and of course baby sister K consented).  So we enjoyed a nice afternoon watching Zootopia.  I've now been spoiled with stadium seating that I don't think I'd be able to watch a movie any other way.

Tomorrow, we will be off to Adventure Aquarium!

Staring at the Wall

I was busy at work today and picked baby M up at close to closing time.  When we were in the car, he asked the usual question for food:

Baby M: Can I have a snack when we get home?

Me: No, it's going to be dinner time soon.

Baby M: But daddy's not even home yet.

Me: Daddy is home.  I picked you up late today.  [Daylight savings... so deceiving...]

Baby M: Why did you pick me up late?

Me: I was busy at work.

Baby M: Why?  What did you have to do?

Me: I got called into a meeting because people had questions on something and I had to put together some files... data stuff.

Baby M: Why don't you let someone else do it?

Me: Like who?

Baby M: Let the person staring at the wall do it.

I told this to M when we got home and he cracked up laughing.  To provide some context, M always uses the phrase, "staring at the wall" to describe someone (mostly the kids) wasting time and not doing something that they were asked to do (i.e., stop staring at the wall and go brush your teeth).  Yep... our words do sink in, just maybe not in the way we intended them to.

Girl Scouts Cookie Booth

Big sister K and her troop had a great time selling Girl Scouts cookies on Friday night, despite the cold weather.  This was the first year they had a cookie booth, so we weren't sure what to expect.  It was off to a slow start, but the girls' enthusiasm and excitement never faltered.  They had so much fun that the two hours they were outside went by in a blur.  In the end, the girls did pretty well, raising a few hundred dollars for their troop.

Some of the girls holding up signs that they created, while trying to get passerbiers to support them:

Still full of energy after we packed everything up:

Acts of Kindness

This morning, I received a very sweet email from big sister K's BFF's mom.  In it, she told me that last Friday, big sister K saved an Oreo snack for N (her BFF) in after-school care because she knew it was her favorite.  Big sister K hadn't told me about it, so it was a nice surprise.  Then in the afternoon, N's mom sent me another email to tell me that N buys lunch at school maybe once or twice a week.  Sometimes on days when she is not buying lunch and they are serving apple sauce, big sister K would get an apple sauce and give it to N because she knows that N likes it. N's mom wrote, "She is definitely a daughter who makes their parents proud.  I do sincerely hope she rubs off a few of these acts of kindness on N too.."

Such a great email to read on a Monday!  I think big sister K can rub off on all of us... after all, this world needs more random acts of kindness.

Breathe

In the "busyness" of life, I love how God continues to humble me through my children. After picking big sister K up from school today, I was mentally going through all the things she had to do and wondering to myself how we were going to juggle everything.  My anxiety, stress, and impatience were fairly evident.  As the kids were taking off their coats at home, I was already rushing them onto the next task to wash their hands for snack. All of a sudden, big sister K says, "Wait mom!  I didn't give you a hug yet!" She drops everything, comes over, and puts her arms around me. My love for her overflowed so much that my heart ached.  For that brief moment, the world held still for me.  God was telling me to breathe.  So I did exactly that.

New Years Resolution

I am not one to make New Years resolutions, as I am a believer that if you want to set a goal for yourself, it can be done at any time, not just at the start of a new year.  This year however, I did make a resolution for myself.

During the holidays, we had all gotten into a lazy habit of waking up late.  One morning, we had barely gotten out of bed when we heard the recycling truck come down the street.  Having forgotten to put our recycling out the night before, I ran outside to the back of the house and took everything to the front of the driveway.  By my second trip of dragging out recycling bin #2, I was totally out of breath.  It could've been the adrenaline rush, but at that moment, it dawned on me how out of shape I was.  I always knew I should exercise more (and I often used my kids as an excuse on why I don't have time), but I didn't realize the dire need for it.  With it being New Year's, I decided to make a resolution to get in better shape.

Today is January 9, 2016, and I am off to an okay start.  Not great, not even good, but it's better than nothing.  Earlier in the week, I started cleaning out our office (which has been an accumulation of junk over the past nine years) to make our elliptical machine more usable.  I took away all the trinkets hanging from the handle bars, moved all the paperwork on the floor away from the pedals, dusted the whole thing off, and away I went.  That lasted all of five minutes.  I had intentions of going on it every day, but needless to say, that didn't happen.  Five minutes was spent on the machine on Monday, six minutes on Wednesday, and this morning, a whopping 10 minutes (I even broke out into a sweat!).  Here's to hoping I can go up to 30 minutes at least four times a week by May and maintain it.

A Gift For Jesus

I love the conversations I have with my son in the car.  Here’s one from the ride home tonight that was particularly memorable:

Baby M: Mommy, what are we getting Jesus for Christmas?

Me: I don’t know… what do you want to get him?

Baby M: How about a bush?

Me: A bush??? What is Jesus going to do with a bush?

Baby M: Play with it?

Me: Umm… I don’t think Jesus needs a bush.

Baby M: How about grass?
Me: [Silence… as I let him think it over…]

Baby M: Does Jesus have grass already?

Me: Yes, Jesus probably has grass already.

Baby M: Okay.  How about a phone?  A REAL phone.  Mommy, let's get Jesus a real phone!

Me: Why do you want to get Jesus a real phone?

Baby M: So he can talk to the angel.

On another note, big sister K was talking about her writing in class, and she chose “Christmas” as the topic.  We asked what she was writing about, and she started talking about presents, Santa Claus, and how Santa Claus is really St. Nicholas… then she goes on to say that that is not really what Christmas is all about, that Christmas is about Jesus and His birth, but then she said that it was inappropriate to write about that in class.  At first, we thought this direction came from her teacher (without us really knowing the context of the writing assignment), but after a bit more probing, we came to learn that one of her friends (who happens to be Jewish) in class told her it was inappropriate.  Big sister K said not everyone goes to church and believes in Jesus, so she shouldn’t write about it.  This started a whole new discussion about not letting her friends (who could be wrong) influence her.  People can write freely about Chanukah, Diwali, and other beliefs without worry of being chastised… why should one’s Christian faith be any different?  I told big sister K that unless the teacher (or some other authoritative figure) tells her it is inappropriate, she can write about anything she wants.  Hopefully she will take this to heart and show some gumption next time!