holidays

I told the kids I made them brownies for dessert tonight.  They were a little disappointed to discover the brown E’s I made for them. April Fools!

Countless “winter” afternoons were spent sporting flip flops, eating picnic lunches outside, soaking in the warmth of the sun’s rays. And I loved every minute of it, while also inwardly fearing a return of cold weather. I so hate that time of year when you have to keep both warm and cold weather clothes in your drawers because you never know what the weather will do. I love it when you can confidently box up last seasons clothes and fully embrace the new season.

Since it was the first day of spring this week, I decided it might be time to take down the Valentine’s wreath from my door and switch it for my Easter one. Today I thought I’d take it a step further and even pull out my spring/Easter/”leave up till I pull out the red/white/blue decorations for summer around Memorial day” decorations…as I did the girls were ooing and aahing over the little eggs, flowers, chicks and lambs…Then my 6 year old daughter saw the bunny my mother in law had given me a few years ago and said, _“Awh look at the bunny and it’s even holding a football.

When you start the day with a bowl of our traditional St Patty’s day breakfast of Lucky Charms, you know it’s going to be a good day. And today was just that. I was so excited to have St Patrick’s Day fall on a Saturday this year. After our magically delicious breakfast, Scott took the big 3 to my son’s baseball practice. I stayed home to make our lunch (shamrock shaped soft pretzels) while our youngest took a morning cat nap.

I had high hopes for Feb with plans in the works for Mardi Gras and Leap Year celebrations, but the stomach bug and a business trip and well the busyness of life, put those on the back burner… perhaps another next time… March is full of celebrations of its own, so no time to mourn the missed holidays of February… We started off with Dr Seuss’ Birthday on March 2. We had green eggs and

Can I make a little confession? I was going to skip Presidents Day… truthfully, it’s a holiday that I’ve only really given a nod to in the past, no real hoopla. And this year it falls right before Fat Tuesday and the end of Mardi Gras… Mardi Gras is another holiday I’ve skipped in the past but for some reason this year I decided to educate the kids on New Orleans food and culture as well as jazz music… (I think it’s b/c of these Family Fun magazine recipes)…

I love holidays… all holidays… as in Chinese New Year… Ground Hog Day… Mardi Gras…St Patty’s Day… Cinco De Mayo… give me a reason to make a themed meal and I’m in. I love celebrating life with my family. So, yes… I go a little crazy for Valentine’s Day… even if it is a holiday created by Hallmark…. I’ll still serve heart shaped food for every meal and dress my kids in red.

When I saw the sign on the side of highway advertising a Live Nativity, I was instantly interested. I’ve never seen one and thought it would be a great experience for the kids. When talking to a friend I found out more details and made plans to bring them. It was a simple production, put on by a small community church on a cold winter’s night on the side of a busy highway.

We decorated our gingerbread house this weekend…before Christmas this year—astonishing, I know. The big 3 had a fabulous time. Unfortunately, our youngest found the experience quite confusing and a tad frustrating. “Why, oh why, aren’t they letting me eat that candy?” I might have snuck the lil guy a few pieces of candy while they were busy working. The kids were quite proud of their work.

Christmas is without a doubt my favorite time of year. I’ve already shared in my last post how I love all the things about Christmas. And I do, even the shopping, baking, prepping for company… I love it all. In fact when Christmas actually gets here I am always a little sad, because truth be told I love the season, the anticipation, the preparation so much that I am sad to see it end when the actual day of Christmas arrives.