Dream

 Today we take the time to reflect not only on Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream for our country but on those we hold deep in our hearts as well.  It was something special to stand with my 6yo on the spot where Dr. King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech and to think of how far we have come as a country.  I pray we will continue to mature in our behaviors towards one another.  May my sons know a different, more peaceful world.

 

 

Letters to Santa

 

Our afternoon project ~ letters to Santa.  After the boys decorated their envelopes, we dropped off their letters to Santa at Macy's.  Macy's has a cute red mailbox in all of their stores to collect letters for Santa.  They will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish for each letter received.  I love this idea.

Happy Birthday, Andrew!

Dear Andrew,

Happy Birthday!  Today you are 6 years old.  

What a difference a year can make.  One year ago, just before you turned 5, you started preschool.  I was so hopeful for you and nervous at the same time.  I had hoped you would find confidence and independence.  I was nervous you would be unhappy to be away from me and home and our routines of the previous 4 years.  Now I can just smile as I think back to those days, knowing how everything turned out. 

You absolutely flourished at preschool.  You learned how to write your name.  You developed academic interests.  You started on the path of learning to read.  And you had fun!  You made new friends all on your own.  Through all of these activities and achievements, you found the independence and confidence I hoped you would find.  And I have to say, you have never looked back.

In the spring, you played tee-ball.  This was your first try at organized team sports.  You were great!  Dad and I were so proud to watch you paying attention to the coach, learning the rules of the game, being a good sport and hitting a lot of “homeruns”.  I just loved watching you run the bases.  

In July, you participated in Mini-Hawks at the pool and learned how to swim.  By the end of the summer, you were swimming freestyle all around the pool and spending lots of time jumping off the diving board.

This fall, you started playing soccer.   You are a natural.  Your coordination and athleticism really started to come together over this past year.  I love how enthusiastic you are about soccer, how you play defense (especially since your father and I both played defense back in our youth,) and how quickly your skills are developing.  I know Dad is really enjoying being your coach.  I imagine this is just the first of many of your soccer teams he will coach.   

This fall, you also started Kindergarten.  You were so excited to start school.  On your first day, you said good-bye and turned to walk into the school.  You were swallowed up by a throng of students.  No anxiety, no fear, and no looking back.  You are off to a great start in Kindergarten.  

You are growing in so many ways.  Physically, you are quite a bit taller.  You have a voracious appetite.  You lost 8(!) teeth this year and are growing adult teeth which look enormous to me.  Mentally, your brain is ever expanding.  You love to write and tell stories.  You are doing math in your head.  You’re able to add and subtract without always using your fingers.  You keep track of the full moons.  You grew tomatoes this summer.  You are starting to read.  Your sense of humor is maturing which I just love.  (Although fart and poop jokes are still your standard go-to.)   Emotionally, you have gained so much self-control this past year.  You are good at making friends and are kind to your existing friends.  You are thoughtful.  Motor skills, you buckle and unbuckle your self in the car.  You can make yourself a sandwich.  You help with chores.  It is honestly very nice to have your help around the house.

All of these attributes show what a big kid you are turning into.  Your brother, Jay, loves to be with you.  He is always asking where you are if you’re not together.  He wants to do what you are doing, eat what you are eating.  He loves wearing your old t-shirts when you outgrow them.  He wants to be just like you.  This is a testament to the boy you are becoming.  

The boy you are becoming is a confident, smart, athletic, funny, sweet young boy.  I couldn’t be prouder of you.  Happy Birthday, Andrew.

Love,
Mom

Happy Birthday, Super Guy!

Dear Jay,

Happy Birthday!  You are now 4 years old.

If I were to sum up this past year in one word, it would be "Superhero".  You  love all things superheroes...nothing more than being one yourself.  This year we've become acquainted with your secret identity, Super Guy.  And you are just that...SUPER!

You continue to be very independent.  You dress yourself, get yourself drinks of water from the refrigerator, put your shoes on, buckle up in the car.  Your awareness of other people's feelings is really impressive.  You will apologize on your own and you try really hard to always be kind.  You unfortunately have decided you don't like kisses.  But, I'm able to sneak some in every day.  I think this all part of you becoming a kid, leaving your toddler days behind you.  You will quickly correct me if I call you "my baby".  I promise I mean it only as an endearment.  I am keenly aware that you are no longer my baby.

 

 It's always amazing to me how much you change in a year.  Earlier this year, you would ask "Who's hum?", when you wanted to identify a car or action figure.  You would say your cars were shuffin' and broomin' to indicate the sounds an engine makes.  But, now, you speak wonderfully long sentences utilizing your ever growing vocabulary.  My jaw drops sometimes when I hear the words you use.

  

 

I love that you still enjoy Mommy - Jay time.  With Andrew at school all day, every day, you and I still get to have our Mommy-Jay time together.  Knowing that this is the last year we can have this special one-on-one time, it means that much more to me that you love the thought of spending time with me.  Even if it is to run boring errands and the occasional visit to Dunkin' Donuts.




The day before you turned 4, you started preschool.  Already you are enjoying it so much.  I just smile watching you walk around with your backpack on.  And I love how excited you are to show me your artwork each day when I pick you up.  On your first day, when I asked you "how was school?", you replied, "it was happy".  I know you are going to flourish.



Another highlight of this year has been your adaptation to video games.  You amaze me that you can pick up games like Angry Birds or Fruit Ninja, intuitively.  Just three weeks ago, I showed you how to use the mouse and my laptop.  Within two days, you were navigating games online like a pro!

 You have a wonderful sense of humor.  You are kind.  You are sweet.  Your father and I are so very proud of you and the boy you are becoming.  Happy Birthday, Jay!

Love,
Mom

Pie!

What would Summer be without Peach Pie?  I shudder to think.  Thanks to a reminder from a friend, I did not have to find out.  I too was able to check this off my Summer checklist, with just days to spare.  So good...

Snapshot of our Summer

It has been a wonderfully busy summer at times, as well as blissfully relaxing at other times.  I was washing breakfast dishes this morning, thinking about the winding down of summer,  when I realized I had inadvertently collected a little snapshot of our summer on my kitchen windowsill.  There are shells from vacations, baseball ticket stub, a craft from vacation bible school, tomatoes ripening from our tomato plants and you can even see pool towels drying on the deck.  Ah, Summer!

Heaven

A blanket in the shade of a tree on a warm spring day with a fresh pile of library books.



Simply heaven!

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!