Speaking of...

TV
Mommy and Daddy have been in mourning since the end of The Office. We loved it. And then it was over. Since then we've been searching for a new show to make us laugh. And finally something has emerged. Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Funny cop show. If The Office ever made you laugh then enjoy. If not, they ignore this tip.

Speaking of cops...

Amazing Race
Mommy and Daddy did a DeKalb County version of the Amazing Race when a friend turned 31 last weekend. It was so much fun! We had to RUN all around downtown Auburn, fold a dollar bill into an elephant, buy donuts and take them to the police station, twirl at the park, play Wii, do a puzzle, eat the hottest wing at Buffalo Wild Wings, etc. It was so well thought out from each team being assigned a color to each clue having something to do with the birthday boy...his wife did an amazing job and we can't wait to do it again! Pictures below for proof:

Speaking of fun...

Engaged!
Sarah's sister, Bridget, got engaged this week! Her boyfriend is a super nice guy who is in the process of converting this Easter. We cannot express how excited we are about ALL of that!! (Sorry, don't seem to have an updated picture of the lovebirds, but you can spot them here.)

Speaking of Sarah's siblings...

Uncle John
He turned 19 this week. Insane. 

Speaking of getting older...

Carseat Upgrade
Miriam moved up to a big girl booster seat. She is very, very excited about this. Everywhere we go, she lets it be known that she only has ONE buckle now. All the people at the grocery know, our friendly librarians know, everyone in Chick-fil-a, the employee in the children's department at Barnes and Noble, the post mistresses (pretty sure that's her official name) at the Post Office, any of the neighbors, family members, and fellow parishoners she's seen since Sunday have certainly been informed. And the fact that she can unbuckle herself and get out of the car without assistance is so very nice. It seems like that would be a nothing on the radar, but it somehow makes a huge difference.

Speaking of...

The Post Office
Uncle Michael sent a package from Bahrain last week. Inside were two little dresses for two spoiled little girls. 

Speaking of...

Uncle Michael
He bought a lake house and we got to check it out this week. It's a "project", if you will. So when he gets back for good next winter he's got himself a new hobby/Extreme Home Makeover. Everything in the home at closing is his to keep including these treasures:

ladybug/beetles

LOTS of toys!

A singing fish

VHS tapes

And SOOOOO much more! It's gonna be great! That's it. No more talking. Have a gooooood weekend. And HAPPY SPRING!

The Weather (as promised)

We've had maybe three days above 50 degrees in the last two weeks. And several others above 40. Pretty much fabulous. We're back outside and Spring will come, despite Miriam's dire predictions that it will stay winter FOOOORRRREVEEEEEEER. (The cabin fever gets a bit extreme. She gets it from her Mama.)

Pretty in paisley. (That's a thing, right?)

Felicity probably doesn't actually remember weather before the multiple polar vortexes that tried to eat our portion of the country. So these days out have been especially meaningful for her. 

 Attempting to walk out in the elements...

...in big girl shoes...

...navigating the harsh terrain...

...not always successfully.

But she seems pleased not to end up with a face full of snow when she crashes.

And she's got sisters to keep up with.

Keeps her plenty distracted from the dangers of roaming freely in the wild.

She did notice the grass last week and literally stared at it in wonder for a moment before trying to eat it.

When she's not curating grass, Felicity is the Queen of the Chalk Box. Don't even think about touching her treasures.

The thawing means water, water every where.

And puddles perfect for splashing - best time to be a kid.

Optimist About This

Even after posting for seven days straight, we're behind again and you're going to hear what we've been up to in shorthand-ish. Here we go...

G Week
The highlights: a search from green gems. Anytime we get to hide things around the house and find them, the girls love it! We also sang a little rhyme while we were searching and had to bow when we found one. Turns out they can think about more than one thing at a time!

Goldilocks and the Three Bears went over really well, too. We did size sorting and a hard/soft sorting activities.

They made "porridge" with oats and water. Great opportunity to talk about measurement, portion size, and size sorting. Miriam could not pull herself away from this.

Vivian drew this picture of Goldilocks and the bears. Mommy asked, "Is this when Goldilocks was scared of the bears and ran all the way home?" Hope you can make out Vivian's reply on the picture. That mind...

Felicity break: attacking a whole clementine.

Goofballs

G Week also meant gumdrops - sorting, graphing, construction. Who knew gumdrops were for more than eating?

H Week

Took far fewer pictures this week, but we did some painting with our hands. Vivian loves any opportunity to paint her body.

But Miriam is a big fan of staying clean...

Miriam did a great job of coming up with her own 4 color pattern when we talked about hearts and she's mastered drawing one! She's been trying for a while and was so proud of herself!

Science Central
We took the girls to the local children's museum this past weekend. It was their reward for a bribe good behavior incentive program. After vacationing with Sarah's family this summer, they came home a complete disaster for the whole bedtime routine and we wanted to get them back on track. Basically they got to put a puff ball in a jar each night they went to bed without being crazy and slept all night. Then they choose a BIG family outing together. Come to find out the local-ish indoor water park we promised is shuttered up. Plan B was the museum and we finally took them! Of course, it was all they dreamed it would be!

We have words to share about the weather, but it'll save for another day...Teaser: Felicity saw grass! And it amazed her.

THOSE People.

There is nothing quite like taking your kids to church. Can I get an Amen? (No alleluias, please. It's Lent.) So humbling when we're so proud. So quiet when we're so loud. So prayerful when we're so distracting. So still when we're so busy trying to (literally) jump over the pew. This weekend it became clear that we're THOSE people with all the little kids that we're barely able to contain in a 12-ish foot space. Each time we got one bad habit to pipe down, our backs were turned and another one sprung loose. Daylight savings time did us no favors. That lost hour of sleep made for some brutal moments. Between the children around us who cannot keep their eyes off the baby (don't blame them, she's pretty cute) and the trips to the cry room with a shrieking infant and furious preschooler...we just lived through this weekend. And probably this is what Lent is about. Becoming smaller and smaller, letting our egos die, so that God can be more and more in our lives. In that case, we should be saying, "Thank you, Lord, for that hour of Mass."

But let's re-hash anyways, shall we? Everyone pretty much knows what to do: when to sit, kneel, stand. And that's obvious, right? All are (mostly) doing the same motions. Yet Miriam feels the need to stand at the end of the pew during Communion and wave everyone past us like an air traffic controller. "Keep going," her little flowing hand says. "This is definitely not your circus pew yet." And you might be a little relieved that it's not. 

Vivian's a talker. She loves to talk all the live long day. More than once we've sushed her during Mass and she's replied, "I can't be quiet. I just have to talk." The real problem here is that she's not being sassy; she's being completely honest. She feels compelled to talk. Her mouth cannot stop. There's no filter (yet and there may never be) between her mind and mouth. It takes every morsel of self control in her sturdy little body to be silent for even five minutes. One hour of quietude is an eeeeeeeeeeterrrrrrrrrrrrrrnitttyyyyyyyyyyy to this three year old.

And Felicity...11 months old. Her baby noises are mostly happy. And we know she's the one who catches your eye most often. Or maybe she's catching your child's eye. She's trying to. She wants attention and fun in a place where our attention should be elsewhere. Oh yes, and she's just learned that noise where you yell as loud and long as you can while steadily, rhythmically tapping your mouth with your hand. She's perfecting her technique and you just never do know when she needs to test it out. "WAH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH."

So if you're near us during Mass. We're sorry for our antics and our noise. We're not sorry we have kids, but we are sorry if they're distracting you from prayer. Please give us a pass as we practice these lessons of self control on their part and patience on ours. We have to learn them over and over if we're going to get it right. And if you notice our children being extra great, or even doing one thing consistently well, during Mass, please tell them. It helps. A little.

On Our Plates: King's Cake (FAT TUESDAY!)

Christmas and Easter and Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July are all very wonderful holidays that we celebrate with our whole hearts! BUT. Fat Tuesday. It is the king of all holidays. Who doesn't want to celebrate Fat Tuesday? Even the people who don't know it exists want to celebrate it.

Our little ritual includes making a King's Cake. And eating it. Now it doesn't escape us that this is very time and labor intensive endeavor. Or that we should have shared this on Sunday so that you could make it with us. Sorry. Next year!! Here's the recipe so you'll be ready!

King's Cake

DOUGH
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
10 T. butter, cut up
1 pkg yeast
1/4 c. warm water
1/8 t. mace
1/8 t. cardamom
2 1/4 c. flour
2 eggs
Heat milk in sauce pan until it steams. Remove from heat. Add sugar, salt, and butter, stirring until butter is melted. Cool to lukewarm. Sprinkle yeast over warm water, stir to dissolve, and let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes. Combine milk and yeast mixtures. Combine mace, cardamom, and flour. Add eggs and flour mixture to milk mixture. Stir until dough is smooth. Knead on lightly floured surface about four minutes. Place in an oiled bowl. Loosely cover and rise until doubled, about one hour. Punch dough down, cover, and refrigerate overnight. 
FILLING
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1/3 c. butter, melted
Combine cinnamon and sugar. Roll dough into 6x24 inch rectangle. Spread butter over the dough and sprinkle with sugar mixture. Roll dough so that you have a 24 inch log and filling is inside, leaving seam side down. Form into a circle and pinch to seal. Place on baking sheet and let rise, loosely covered, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 30-35 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.
GLAZE
1 1/3 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. lemon extract
Combine powdered sugar and extracts. Drizzle in enough water to make a thin icing. Spoon over cake.

So tomorrow begins Lent. During dinner we discussed our family plans for Lent with the girls. Those plans included GIVING UP SWEETS. Miriam immediately broke down in tears! Wailing. "Noooooo-ooooo-ooooooo. We have to have treats!" She sobbed. "I don't like Lent! I have to eat sweets!"

Alrighty, looks like we also have a sugar addiction to break this Lent.

Day 7: Rest

We made it. Blogged for 7 days about nothing in particular. There can be no mystery left to our lives. Time for some rest? Doubtful. We'll probably think of something to say next week. Because Felicity is turning 11 months old on Thursday and you'll need to know what she's been up to this past month. Plus Lent is starting and we'll need to complain share about our penance. 

To wrap it up: Yesterday Daddy spent THE WHOLE DAY with his girls! And Mommy got to craft peacefully. Glorious. Daddy really enjoyed his time. Even did a little project with the girls AND tidied up the tupperware cupboard. What a man!

 Mommy got Vivian's Easter dress done and is half way through Felicity's! So much progress.

Perhaps they will all have something to wear for the holiday!

Day 6: 5 Years

What a difference five years can make. We celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary last Friday. By playing the train game with friends. Don't worry we had more "romantic" plans for a future date. But we'll get to that.

Five years ago today we were doing something like this:

 Looking at this:

 Hanging out with these guys or...

...these guys.

We'd happily do it again. But five years and three kids later we have some entirely differently priorities. While the honeymoon pictures take us back and make us want those days laying on the beach sleeping and drinking cocktails...to celebrate our anniversary this year we went to the Home and Garden Show. Because we're building a house and we still have no idea what we're getting into!

We fell in deep like with this front door! *SQUEAL!*

Then we had a relaxing, peaceful dinner for two at our favorite Chinese restaurant (how great does that sound!?!?!). Hurried home to help Nana get the girls all to bed. But it was nice to get to kiss them goodnight. If you would have said this is how we'd celebrate 5 years, we probably would have smiled and nodded to your face, then laughed later about how you don't know us at all! Maybe we just didn't know us.