Adventures...

When I met my dear husband, we were two 19 year old kids attending college. As I fell in love with him, I gained an appreciation for all the gifts that made him the person he was. He's kind, patient, generous, honest. All things you would want in a husband. And so I hoped one day he might be my husband. What I did not truly realize as a young woman was that these gifts would not only make him a good husband but they would allow him to be a wonderful father. I think I only focused on one piece of the puzzle at a time. I knew he would be a good husband to me. Check. I thought we would make great parents, since we shared the same values. Check. But, I have to say it is a blessing to watch him be a father.

On Friday, Andrew and Jay separately asked for some quality time with just Daddy this weekend. And they also asked if they could have an adventure with Daddy. Now, I like to think we have good adventures during the week as I dream up different ways to spend our days together but, they pale in comparison to Daddy's adventures (or so I've been told).

For their adventure yesterday, they took a ride on the Metro train (an adventure in its own right) and got off at the Arlington Cemetery stop. Part of the adventure was to collect clues of all the places they would visit. So, they collected a Metro map before making their way to the information center at Arlington Cemetery. They collected a brochure about Arlington Cemetery. Mark made up a clue for them that they needed to find a man sitting on a chair. And so, they headed to their next destination which was The Lincoln Memorial. Here they are walking towards the Arlington Memorial Bridge to get to Lincoln. (Which was a big hit for Andrew who just learned a whole bunch about Abraham Lincoln at preschool last month.) You can see the Lincoln Memorial way off int he distance.



They made their way all the way back to the Arlington Cemetery metro stop. They had one more destination in mind before heading home. National Airport. How cool that they can hop off the train and see an airport, with planes taking off and landing. (This is an "adventure" they have done before.) They had an early dinner and picked up some more "clues". Then they headed home to tell Mom all about it. I just sat and smiled while Andrew plucked clue after clue from his backpack and thought how lucky these two boys are to have this man for their daddy.

Since the days when Andrew was a baby, Mark would take him for an afternoon on a Saturday or Sunday so that I could recoup some energy and relax. They would go run errands or spend long hours at the playground, go for walks, etc. This did not change with the addition of Jay. Mark would gladly take both boys to afford me some quiet time. I've always appreciated that Mark would do this for me and I've always felt that I was the primary beneficiary. But, I've come to realize Andrew and Jay are the ones who are truly benefiting from "adventures with Daddy". They will carry memories of these "adventures" with them in their hearts forever. In fact, I can just picture them taking their children for adventures. And more importantly, they are learning those wonderful gifts of kindness, patience, and generosity. I can't think of anyone better from whom to learn about those values, than my dear husband.

Cake Class #4

My fourth and final cake decorating class required me to bring a fully iced cake with me.

Ta-da:


At class, we learned how to write letters in print and cursive, as well as, how to make a ribbon rose. Then, we turned our attention to the cake we had brought with us and decorated them.

Ta-da:





Time to update my resume:



I am so glad Mark gave me this class for a gift. It was fun to learn this skill. I don't know that I will make many cakes with flowers on them given I live with all guys! But, I am glad for the tips I learned to make good-looking cakes. Thanks, dear husband!

Cake Class #3 - Flowers

Last night's class was devoted to making flowers. Using several different tips we learned how to create: leaves, star flowers, swirled flowers, rosettes, a pompom flower and a shaggy mum. I also learned how to pipe a shell border.

My blank canvases for Class #3 were yellow cupcakes:



Some of my finished products:



The pompom flower:




I couldn't resist turning my "shaggy mum" into a cookie monster for Jay.

Fastnachts?

I love living in Virginia (most of the time). I love being near Washington DC and all of its history. I love that Spring arrives so early each year. I love our hot summers and long autumns. I love having our pick of so many great restaurants in Alexandria. But, every once in a while I miss certain aspects of other places I have lived. I miss being near the beaches of Cape Cod, MA. I miss Margherita's Pizza Shop and Capriotti's Sandwich Shop in Newark, DE. And every year at this time (Shrove Tuesday), I miss my childhood home in Berks County, Pennsylvania. I miss walking into my mother's kitchen and being greeted by a white bag full of fastnachts and a jar of Turkey Table Syrup. Fastnachts were a special treat we had growing up. The idea being that you would enjoy them the day before Ash Wednesday, since that would be a day of fasting. Their story is interesting. They were born out of a need to rid your pantry of lard, sugar, flour and eggs (items typically restricted during Lent). We did not follow that rule completely, but we always had fastnachts on Shrove Tuesday.

Here in Alexandria, we have so many ethnic cuisines available to us. Surely, there must be a German bakery that would make fastnachts, right? There might be, but I have not found it yet. So, I did some more research this year and found that there is a large German population in Frederick, MD and that I might find fastnachts there. But, Frederick, MD is at least an hour and a half drive from my home. Next clue I was able to dig up was that there is a Polish version of my beloved fastnacht called the paczki. And these little babies are sold in most grocery stores in Virginia.

This turned out to be true as I was able to pick up a box of paczki at my local Giant yesterday.



I kept my expectations low, since nothing could compare to a fastnacht of my childhood memory. And well, these are not nearly as tasty. They were very dry, not to mention they are not made of a potato dough like fastnachts. These were powdered and filled with custard. So, I was disappointed by the doughnut itself but thrilled to at least be making some connection with my childhood on this cold February morning.

Class #2 - update

Class 2 was just mastering frosting technique. This is something I am glad to learn...possibly even more so than how to make a pretty flower to put on a cake. I will need to keep practicing but, I have learned some good tips. But, seriously...how many cakes can we eat, just so I can master frosting a cake? My dear husband doesn't even really like cake and my eldest son seems to only eat the frosting. So, I guess the grunt work will fall to my youngest and me. Oh, well!

Here's the finished product from class. I was going to decorate it yesterday but, did not feel like cleaning up the mess in the kitchen that would have made.






Next lesson will be flowers. We'll practice those techniques on cupcakes. So, I will need to make some cupcakes this weekend. Life is good.

Prep for Class #2

Tonight's class will be focused on frosting/ decorating a cake. (Guess that's pretty obvious, since it is a cake decorating class.) I've made my chocolate cake and buttercream frosting for class. I'm sure you will be eager to check back here tomorrow for the finished product. So, hopefully I will remember to take a picture of it this time!

My Little Apprentice

AP has a Valentine's Day Party at preschool tomorrow, complete with a valentine exchange. His teacher told me on Friday that they have been working on decorating their individual bags for collecting valentines. It made me smile to remember doing the same thing when I was in kindergarten.

I suggested picking out valentines at the store but, he really wanted to make his. So, I taught him how to stencil today. I'm so glad we made these.

Check out my little apprentice:

New skill....

Last night, I attended my first of four cake decorating classes. This was a gift from my dear husband for my birthday. I've often considered taking the classes offered at our local craft store to improve my decorating/icing skills. So, I was thrilled to be gifted this opportunity. Not to mention, how very sweet it is of my dear husband, to gift me some time to myself. He's so good to me.

I've been proud of the cakes I've made for the boys' birthdays but, clearly I could use some improvement and let's be honest some instruction.

I'll try to keep an update on my progress here. These are the cookies I made yesterday to use as my "blank canvas" for class one.



I learned two tips already that will drastically improve my cakes. So, in my opinion, this class has already paid for itself. And the main part of our lesson last night, was learning how to make stars, using the number 18 tip. Being the scatterbrain that I am, however, I forgot to take pictures of my finished product. Here is the best I can offer, which is Jay's half eaten cookie:



I'll try to post some more pictures as I practice. And I will certainly update here after each class.

What fun!

It doesn't take much...

...which is good because, we did not get much! The boys reveled in our first "snowfall" of 2012. It was only a dusting but, they sure made the most of it by playing outside yesterday evening while it fell and again this morning just after breakfast.

Jay came to us this morning in a panic. "No more (s)now outside." He and Andrew had gone to bed last night with high hopes that it would continue to snow during the night so that they might wake up to a true winter wonderland. Instead, they woke to find most of yesterday's snow had already melted. Still, they had fun playing in it this morning.


Happy boy


Two happy boys


Remnant of a snow angel made the day before


Snowball maker


Used his shovel to build a snow castle


Snow castle (walls for protection, the sticks in the front are trumpets, and the rest is decoration)


Adding the castle gate...

Letters to Santa

This was the first year the boys sent letters to Santa Clause. I just had to share them because they were so sweet.



Dear Santa, I love you. I was a good boy. Please come see our Christmas tree. Please can you bring me a present? Thank you. Merry Christmas! Love, Jay



Dear Santa, I have been a good boy lately. This is the boy that has been good, Andrew. This is my Christmas wish list. Thank you. I will leave you a yummy snack on the table by the brown couch. Hope you like it. Merry Christmas! Love, Andrew




We dropped them off at Santa's Post Office at Macy's. What fun!

Happy Halloween!

Spooooooky......

Happy 5th Birthday, Andrew!

Dear Andrew,

Happy Birthday! Today you are 5 years old! And I swear it seems like you turned into a 5-year-old overnight except, it wasn’t last night. It was the day Jay turned 3. It was a Sunday morning, and you walked your brother up to the front of our church for the children’s message. This was something you never wanted to do on your own. But, now that Jay was 3 and was going to start going to the Sunday school portion of Sunday service, you assumed the role of big brother and decided to show Jay what to do. It’s as if Jay turning 3, was a huge milestone for you.

October 2010

January 2011

The next day you started pre-school. And you are doing awesome! All of a sudden you have this life outside of the one you and I have shared for the past 5 years. Sure it’s just three mornings a week but it’s a big step toward your independence. Jay and I love to hear all about your morning when we pick you up. Jay always asks you what you had for snack. You seem to revel in this attention from Jay and me. Add in your toothless grin and well, you truly look the part of a 5-year-old!

September 2011

Yes, you lost two teeth, one in August and one in September. You love to show off your toothless grin. And you were very excited for your first visit from the tooth fairy. As with most things, you were full of questions about what would happen. The funniest was asking if the tooth fairy would be able to open the little bag that your tooth was in. You were really concerned that it would be too big for her little fairy hands and that she wouldn't be able to manage it. Turns out she got it open and was able to leave some shiny quarters for you. Oh, how excited you were about this!

September 2011

This past year also saw a huge spurt in your appetite and growth, mostly over the summer months. You started to seem like a teenage boy sitting at the lunch table unable to be sated. You outgrew just about every item of clothing and all of your shoes!

August 2011

This summer also saw you improving your water skills. By mid-summer you gained free reign over the 3-4 foot area. Learning how to doggy-paddle and even swim under water to make progress when it got deeper. You would also jump off the wall and plunge under all by yourself. I think your favorite accomplishment was learning how to dive down to the bottom to pick something up in the 3 foot area. And I might add that you taught yourself all of this. You had a little help from me but, most of it you learned by practicing or watching older kids at the pool. It was really neat to watch you improve and to see how proud you were of yourself.

Your hand-eye coordination is really improving as well. You’ve become quite good at baseball in the front yard. And I couldn’t have been happier when you asked me if we could play basketball at the pool. Well, actually, I was happier still when you sank 8 out of 10 shots! To see you strut was a new experience for me. And I loved that first chance to teach you basketball. Oh, how I would love to teach you more.

May 2011

Not only has your physical development seen a big jump this year but, your mental development as well. Just recently, I’ve noticed that you: can add small numbers without counting on your fingers, pick out words on signs and in books, have great story comprehension, draw awesome pictures and are getting really close to writing your name. As great as all of these new skills are, Daddy and I have a favorite. It’s listening to you read to Jay. We like when you read to us too but, it’s so cute to watch Jay intently follow along as you weave an exciting story for him.

August 2011

August 2011

This is an exciting time for our family. We just bought a house and will be moving in just a few days. I have been very proud of how well you have been handling this transition. You have been very helpful getting your things packed. I had been so concerned you would take some time to adjust to pre-school and then have to handle moving to a new home. Instead, you have totally amazed me by not only taking it all in stride but, truly flourishing.

I am going to enjoy this last year together before you start kindergarten next September. I am so excited for all that is in store for us as we venture into those school-age years but for now, I want to soak up every bit of these remaining pre-school days.

I love you, AP. Happy Birthday!

Love,
Mommy