Owen's Party

Due to scheduling conflicts, we couldn't have Owen's friend party until mid-February! He agreed to a swimming party this year but almost called it off when we told him he could not trade Pokemon cards there (too late to cancel the venue, sorry!). Of course, he and his friends had a blast. 10 year olds are nutty! We had a really simple lunch of pizza, fruit, veggies, and chips and then served red and white cupcakes. Then the kids had 2 hours to swim, where they were scolded over and over by the lifeguards. The lifeguards were a little extreme but they kept everyone safe so I have no complaints!

Birthday boy!

I'm so glad that Owen's friends have siblings that are also Paige's friends!

Group shot!

Ready to swim!

Bowling Party!

Paige had a bowling party to go to a couple weeks ago and I stayed to hang out with my adult friends too! I wish I could tell you how she bowled but honestly, the score is not the point when you're there with fun friends and eating pizza and cake!

Pre-bowling picture

The dab is still in heavy rotation for elementary school kids.

We entertained ourselves by getting in on the picture action. And so we could send some to the birthday boy's mom, who was home with her other sick kid!

Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! I actually went to some extra effort this year and busted out the heart-shaped bowls that we've had for over 10 years but have used probably less than 5 times. I put some vanilla yogurt, strawberries and heart sprinkles out for breakfast and the kids got some candy and hand sanitizer in their mailboxes. Later in the day I got to help at Paige's class party. The room captain planned cupcake decorating and bingo for the kids and I was impressed with how neat the kids were. I thought there would be frosting and sprinkles everywhere! Pat was out of town for a few days but he came home in time for dinner so we feasted on spaghetti and meatballs. Jamie joined us too, her heat was out so she hung out and slept over! We were super excited for her visit even though we did feel bad about the heat!

Hair Everywhere!

When Paige first started performing in dance recitals I had to learn how to do a proper bun. It was stressful because we're very much a ponytail/comeasyouare family when it comes to hair and the idea that you could do the hairdo wrong was a bit much for me. Now Paige has progressed to dance company and the hair is infinitely more complicated. So complicated, in fact, that the studio offers a class to learn it. I missed the class and the makeup class but luckily a friend invited us to come learn the hair and makeup, along with a few other of Paige's dance friends. We started off with some lunch and chatting and then got to the tough part. It came out good that day while zero stress was involved so we'll see what happens when I need to recreate it before a competition!

Fundraiser for a Friend

We went to a fundraiser last weekend in support of Paige's friend, Jaina, and her younger sister. It was really well put together, totally kid friendly and a lot of fun despite the seriousness behind needing to have one at all.

A few friends and I went in on a basket together and this is what I ended up putting together- a cozy blanket, two candles, chocolate bars, champagne and glasses.

Paige and Jaina

Owen and his friend, Hannah

I got in on the picture action too!

And also here!

I won a basket!! Paige claimed the unicorn and both kids got some of the candy too:)

Junie B Jones!

Paige has been devouring the Junie B Jones books all year so she was super pumped to find out that one of her class field trips would be to see a Junie B Jones play! There weren't any chaperones so I didn't get to join her (bottom two pictures are from her teacher) but she said it was great and I caught her singing a song from it a week later!

Cake Cookies

Cookie Logic-I had a bag of heath baking bits that I kept munching on so I made cookies thinking that I would stop eating them. Now I'm just eating the cookies instead...but they're good! I like baking cookies so much that I don't often look for shortcuts but this recipe happens to use a cake mix. If you try to follow the recipe as is, it will not work. I made that mistake and got confused when it wouldn't mix so I checked the comments. Most people recommended adding a tablespoon of vanilla and 2 tablespoons of oil. I did one Tbsp oil and one Tbsp of water but I would do 2 Tbsp of water next time. Also, it took about 12 minutes for them to bake instead of 8-10.

I don't have time to make this picture look pretty. I have cookies to eat!

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SuperBowl!

Lisa and Alex invited us over to watch the Super Bowl and have a yummy feast (taco bar!). I mostly played with toddlers and watched the commercials. The game was pretty much a blowout while we were there anyway but after we left (sometime after halftime) it got a lot more interesting! Pat had bought two Super Bowl squares from work and ended up winning the 3rd quarter score. Lisa had won earlier in the game too from her own work! Then the Patriots came back to win the game after being way behind. Notice I don't have exact numbers here...I wasn't watching the score until the end!

Walk in the Park

We had unseasonably warm weather a week or two ago and we decided to take advantage of it by walking to the library. Also, Pat and I got fitness trackers so it's extra motivation to get more walking in! We took the long way through the park, picked up some books, checked out a Pokemon Go gym and even made a quick stop at the playground. We all hopped on the spinning globe thingie but I couldn't last as long as everyone else, apparently I get dizzy very fast! By the time we were on our way home, the weather was changing quickly and it was windy and cold!

Wonder-ful!

Paige and Aunt Jamie! Seems like the stores have updated the wonder woman pajamas a bit!

A Day at Dance

Ahh, the life of a 6 year old dancer. I don't know how Paige does it but she loves it! She's currently practicing mini line and tap and jazz numbers for an upcoming competition. She's also signed up for the Spring Ballet so she's been putting in a few extra hours! Some nights she's practicing for 3.5 hours! It seems crazy but she has fun and she's with her friends so it seems like a great time to her!

This is the pose her tap dance starts with. Paige is fourth from the right.

Time for a quick snack before...

Flamingo practice for the spring ballet!

Friends

This is a heartbreaking post to write. One of Paige's classmates died after her and her mom were hit by a drunk driver. It was a shock to everybody and really hard to explain to the kids. I had worked with Alia when I went in to volunteer and she was such a sweetheart. I don't even know how someone would begin to cope with this. Paige's teacher and the school were amazing. Her teacher called each parent to explain the news and the school had grief counselors on hand along with the school's regular (and awesome) counselor to help the kids deal with their emotions. The kids made a poster to display at the service too. We decided not to go to the funeral but I took Paige to the "Celebration of Life" afterwards as a way of honoring her memory and so we could express our sympathies to the mom.

Legos!

I told Paige about a Lego contest she could enter and I think initially she was a little intimidated by the prospect because she thought she had to go to Denmark. Then I explained that only the winner got to go to Denmark and she figured the chances of that were a little slimmer:) The contest was to come up with a new hangout spot for the Lego Friends characters. Paige and I brainstormed and she decided on a dance studio, complete with a separate ballet room and jazz room. I think she did a great job!

Hand Clapping

Just a little taste of what Paige and her friend do while their brothers play soccer! I keep watch and make sure they don't get hit by any soccer balls flying to the sidelines.

Snow Day!

The kids had an actual snow day because of actual snow about a week ago! It's hard to remember what we even did this day...We had pushed the couches together and left them that way because sitting on double the couches is more fun! We went outside for awhile and they helped me shovel the driveway too but I think a lot of the day was what you see in the second picture...Paige had dance that night too so we at least knew we would get out of the house later!

Not Chinese Food

I had come across a recipe for Lo Mein and then I found out the next day was Chinese New Year! I thought it was perfect! Then I found out that Lo Mein is not Chinese at all. Well...we had it anyway. I think it was our first time trying Udon noodles and I wasn't very impressed. Maybe we cooked them too long? Otherwise, the dinner was decent. And we all made attempts at chopsticks with varying degrees of success.

Also, let's talk briefly about Green Dragon Hot Sauce (below). I tried some on a sample of macaroni and cheese at Trader Joe's and decided I needed to bring some home. I'm not a huge condiment person but this hot sauce manages to be hot and flavorful. I hate when it's just a sensation of heat without flavor. So far, I've only tried it on this, more macaroni and cheese, and a taco but I'm sure I'll find a bunch more uses!

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Nacho Normal Dinner

Not everything at Trader Joe's is special and amazing but when I'm there I seem to think it is. I bought a Costco-sized bag of tortilla chips there one day and when I opened them up...they were stale. Ick. So I turned them into dinner! I followed a recipe for these nachos because I had no clue about quantities and oven temperatures and I'm just not willing to ruin dinner by guessing. They came out amazing! And funnily enough, the veggies I made tasted weird so we ditched them and had only this for dinner.

90s

The kids had a "decades day" at school for Spirit Week and I convinced Paige to dress in 90s fashion. Honestly, I think it was the only decade we could pull off with what we already owned but check out this outfit! Perfect!