Dinners for the exhausted

I have been surveying friends about their favorite go-to meals when they are almost too tired to cook (other than takeout, pizza, frozen pizza, etc.).  Dump recipes are my very favorites for this, as they are almost no effort to prep or to cook, but if your freezer is not already stocked, you need other options.  Last night, I made creamy goat cheese pasta with roasted veggies, and it was outstandingly delicious.  I did tweak the original recipe just a bit to use what I had on hand - I used a fiber-enriched pasta, I only had 4 oz of goat cheese, I used some of a tube of basil paste instead of fresh basil, I subbed baby kale mix for the fresh spinach, and I added cooked turkey (which I already had in the freezer).  The roasted mushrooms, which are doused in olive oil and balsamic vinegar before going in the oven, really made the flavors stand out, and I think next time I make it, I will roast more veggies - maybe some zucchini and carrots and cherry tomatoes.  The family enjoyed it, and the newly picky eater just picked out the mushrooms.

A note on the basil paste - those tubes are awesome.  I have not tried all the flavors, and I will not swear that the basil paste is better than or quite as good as fresh.  But it is much more vibrantly flavored than dried, and if you didn't think to freeze any of your own basil in advance, it is wonderful in the winter.  I particularly like the lemongrass paste - it is a thousand times easier than chopping and pulverizing my own lemongrass stalks, and really tasty.  I keep all of them in the freezer and then just squeeze out what I need - they last a long time that way, which makes the $3.99 price a little easier to bear.  (They do occasionally go on sale at King Soopers for $3.50 per tube.)

S, my 5 year old, has recently decided that there are a whole host of foods he doesn't like anymore, and the list changes from day to day or meal to meal.  Two nights ago, he gobbled down a reuben sandwich and yellow beet soup and said how much he loved it.  Today at lunch, he suddenly decided that while rye bread, pastrami and sauerkraut are all delicious, he couldn't stand baby swiss.  Also, today, the soup was not a hit.  Same soup he asked for third helpings of two nights ago, but now apparently less awesome.  It is frustrating and hard to not take it as a criticism.  At the same time, picking his own food and clothes are reasonable ways to assert his independence, and I am trying very hard to move to a more gentle and respectful mode of parenting.  I remind myself often to treat him like I would a guest, and I can't see myself shaming a guest into eating his swiss cheese.  I am tired of disciplining my little boy - I want to just love and enjoy him.  Plus, trying to correct his behavior frequently leads to clashes that spiral and take down the whole day.  So if I can just let it go, I am trying to do so.  I can see how much it means to S when that happens, so I am trying to make that the norm.  Parenting - it's all about trying.

Tonight, we are going to start having family night.  I remember really loving family home evenings when I was a kid (I grew up LDS or Mormon), and I want to foster those close, friendly, fun feelings for my family now. Tomorrow night, S wants to make dinner all by himself for the first time.  Hard to believe he is old enough for that, but I think he can do it with some very minimal help.  (I can pour the pasta water into the colander, for example.)  I am excited to see how it goes.

Malee Thai

Malee Thai opened this week, and I was eager to try it out.  We took the boys for dinner, which was a fun if slightly stressful experience.  The waitress was friendly, helpful and adorable, and Malcolm loved her.

I had the Tom Kha Gai soup with chicken, which was absolutely outstanding - truly delicious.  Malcolm gulped down two bowlfuls, and the small size is actually pretty huge.  They had three kids' meal options - pad thai, fried rice or chicken with peanut sauce for $4.95.  The pad thai and fried rice came with your choice of protein options (chicken, beef, shrimp, or tofu.  I think pork might have been an option too.).  They also offer to make many dishes vegan or vegetarian (they even have Quorn's chik'n as a protein choice) and have a lot of gluten free options.  They don't have milk or juice, so bring your own or just choose water - iced coffee and tea aren't very kid friendly options.  Spence chose the children's pad thai with tofu, which he liked.  I'm not a pad thai fan, so I can't comment.  John had a spicy curry that he liked.  We shared an order of rice balls, which were pleasant, and finished with sticky rice and custard.  The custard was very tasty.

They were very sweet about the kids, and never shot us any looks when M decided to vocalize his way through the meal.  (Not crying - just saying Mamamamamama at the top of his lungs over and over again while coloring.  I tried to distract him, but he was happy.  And noisy.)  The food came reasonably quickly, and they happily brought extra plastic dishes for the kids.  The waitress even brought my soup with a serving spoon so it would be easier for me to share with the kids.  The restaurant has been totally redecorated, including the bathrooms, which were sparkly clean.  There are no changing tables in the bathrooms, but if you are ok with a changing mat on the floor, they are definitely big enough to change a baby in.  We'll definitely be back.

Cajun 30 minute meal

I am trying to use up the contents of my freezer and cabinets.  I tend to buy supplies when I am stressed, particularly ethnic options, and so I have things like two bottles of mirin and 3 giant bags of mung beans to work through.  I get a real feeling of success when I can use up things; it feels so thrifty.  So yesterday, I tried this recipe for Overnight Panettone French Toast to use up the frozen Christmas Panettone.  It was pretty good; the kids liked it.  I wouldn't say it was outstanding, but it was definitely quick.  We had a fantastic meal at City Cafe the other day (they have dinner hours now!), and their amazing soup was a carrot ginger, with coconut milk.  So good!  So we tried this recipe for lunch, using the pressure cooker to make it quick.  M and I loved it, but S rejected it completely.  More for me.  Dinner was Catfish Meuniere with hazelnuts instead of pecans, my grandma's recipe for Nassau grits, sauteed collard greens, roasted sweet potato and yam batons, and bananas Foster.  The boys gobbled it all up, and S asked for second on collards and thirds and fourths on the sweet potatoes and yams.  So satisfying.

Even though this might look like a complicated meal, it was really pretty easy and quick to throw together - it's just a matter of timing to get it all done quickly.  And some things can sit pretty well without suffering - maybe even improving.  So to make dinner last night all come out together, with 5 recipes to get on the table, I started with the sweet potatoes and yams, which I thought might take the longest to get ready.  It took about two minutes for the prep - I preheated the oven to 350 and then I peeled a large sweet potato and a large yam.  (Yams are the sweet potatoes that look white - they have a delicious starchiness to them, and caramelize/roast really well.)  Then I sliced each one quickly into thin wedges - maybe 3/4" thick and about 4" long, give or take.  No need to be really precise about it, but try to be sure that they are all about the same size or they won't cook at the same time, yielding potatoes that are not cooked, or a batch where some are raw in the middle, some are perfect, and some are burnt.  Not ideal.  Anyway, toss them with a little olive oil in a bowl, pour them on a cookie sheet, and bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes.  Then I put the hot water kettle on to boil.

While those were going, I made the grits, which don't take much time, but can successfully sit (with the lid on) for awhile without any ill effects.  I cheated on my grandma Billye's recipe and used 1 can of mild Ro-tel.  I put that in a pan with 1 t. minced garlic.  Then I added 1/2 c. grits (not instant grits - instant and quick grits are the only kind that are sold around here.  Quick takes 5 minutes to cook.) and a bit of boiling water.  I stirred a little, till everything seemed coated and not too thick.  I lowered the heat, added a lid and cooked it for 5 minutes.  When that was over, I turned off the heat and tasted the grits.  They were just a tiny bit undercooked and a little thick, so I added about another tablespoon of hot water and 1 c. of shredded cheddar.  I stirred it all together and felt pleased with the texture.  I left the pan on the burner (with the heat off) and put the lid back on.  When everything else was ready, they were perfectly cooked and ready to go.

The fish and collards were also really quick.  You put a dash of Cajun seasoning on the catfish, dredge it in flour, and put in a hot pan with a little olive oil for 3 minutes per side.  Only 2 fillets can fit in the pan at a time, so I cooked the 4 pieces of fish in two batches.  Then you melt butter in the pan, add nuts and shallots and white wine and lemon juice and parsley, and serve.  So while the fish cooked, I cubed the butter, diced the shallots, and measured the wine (I used vodka, since that's what I had) and lemon juice together.  I minced the parsley and put it in the measuring cup with the liquids, since they would all go in together.  After all that prep, the first batch of fish was ready to come out of the pan.  While the second batch was cooking, I put another pan on to heat, and added some olive oil to it.  Then I stripped the collard greens from their ribs, rolled them into a big cigar shape, and sliced them very thin - like you'd slice basil, maybe.  Thin ribbons of greens are what you're aiming for because they will then cook really quickly.  I added another teaspoon of garlic to the hot olive oil (the heat should be medium high), added the collards, sauteed it all just enough to coat the greens with oil and garlic, and put a lid on it for 1 minute.  Then I stirred the greens again and cooked them for another 2 minutes.  And that's it!  By then the sauce was ready to go, and it was time to plate up the food.

Since I can't serve blazing hot food to toddlers, I had a few more minutes to prep dessert.  I had my 5-year-old put napkins, silverware and drinks on the table.  Meanwhile I melted butter in yet another pan, added brown sugar and spices and sauteed sliced banana.  Then I added the rum, and stirred it to cook off the booze.  While it simmered, I put food on plates, and before we sat down at the table, the sauce was just thick enough.  I took the container of ice cream out of the freezer and put it on the counter (out of sight of the kids) as I took the plates to the table.  We ate our dinner, S asked for multiple helpings of his veggies, my heart sang happily, and then I served up the bananas foster over ice cream in waffle bowls.    5 recipes, 30 minutes, a really nice meal.

I have been cooking for a long time, so timing a meal is pretty automatic for me, which is not to say that I always get it right.  While my father-in-law was visiting, I made a mini-Thanksgiving meal (roast chicken, gravy, sausage stuffing, salad, magic pumpkin pie cupcakes), and in spite of my careful planning and best efforts, the chicken took forever to cook.  When this happens, I tell my family that we are dining in courses tonight, and we just eat what's done.  In the end, it's only dinner, right?

trying harder

Sometimes things don't go well with parenting. Sometimes, in spite of our best efforts, we fail. Even though the mantras are going in our heads - "be kind," "remember the relationship," "act as if," "show your love," "be the adult," "be consistent," etc. - we still find ourselves acting badly. We yell. We make threats or promises that we did not plan to say and do not really mean to keep. And then we are guilt-ridden and frustrated and resentful and sad. We have failed.

One of my goals for the year is to stop having spanking be an item in my parental tool box. And then to remove the threat of the spanking. I was spanked when I was a child; it was common and normal then, although I think some of our spankings went above and beyond the norm. I never spank more than his years, and usually less (three swats is typical). I am always sorry. I don't feel that it is a particularly effective method of punishment, but sometimes, in spite of my best efforts, I find that I have worked myself into a corner where I feel that that is my only option. I know that that isn't the case, but... It is a work in progress.

This morning, I asked Spencer to wear one of the Valentine's shirts that I made for him, and he rebelled, even though the shirt in question was red with a big rocket ship and a planet. I tried to get his things for him, including the new underwear he was so excited about, and he was angry and unhappy and threw a big tantrum first thing in the morning, and I lost my temper, and it all went downhill from there. If I think about it, I was disappointed at his reaction, and I wanted to show off my handiwork, and I felt so clever putting the iron-on vintage Valentines on his shirts that he wears underneath things so that I can get maximum wear out of them and still have cute themed wear for the holiday, and I was no better than a little kid howling "look at me! Approve my art! Tell me how clever and wonderful I am!" I also managed to suck the joy out of his new underwear that he was so excited about (Oscar the Grouch! Cookie Monster! Elmo! WOW!). And he used up all my goodwill and energy for the day with his tantrum. I do see the irony in spanking him for naughtiness when he hit me, and I understand that I was mostly embarrassed and angry that he was being so difficult and that I had made such a request when my mother-in-law was visiting and now I felt that I had to stick to it. When he rebelled and didn't want to wear a coat in 22 degree weather and wouldn't put his school shoes in his backpack and wouldn't pack his water bottle and I got completely fed up and told him fine, then you aren't going to school - that was clearly a mistake. Because he was obviously going to school.

But when I drove him and his grandma and little brother to school and went in and volunteered and tried to be a happy part of his life - that was more like I was hoping to be. We can start the day over at any point. We can try to become the kind of parents - the kind of people - that we want to be. We can suck up all those embarrassing, childlike emotions that we are not proud to own and try to rise above and start over and remember all those mantras. "I love you," "I am so glad you are mine," "I am glad you are here." At the end of it all, he is my darling little boy, the one I hoped and planned for and then tried to give the best and most enriched life that I can. Of course he doesn't know how great he has it, how he has more time, activities, things, demonstrations of love of any kid I know. Thank goodness he doesn't know; I am glad his childhood is so different from mine. I do the best I can. Sometimes my best will not be good enough, but that is no excuse to not try.

things to do when the weather is bad, part 1

I've been thinking about my mom a lot lately, maybe because moms represent comfort and safety.  My mom liked health food when I was a kid.  I've been enjoying green juice because she used to put liquid chlorophyll in my orange juice (it was supposed to help my eczema).  And she enjoyed the health food store (as do I), so odd flours and interesting ingredients seem enticing and fun to me rather than exotic or unappealing.  I made these buckwheat babies with caramel syrup this morning for breakfast.  The pancake was nice, but I made a small batch of the caramel and accidentally overcooked it.  While I will eat bitter caramel, neither my husband nor Spencer liked it.  Spence gobbled up his pancake, though.  He loves buckwheat.  Last night, while John was having a night out, Spence and I ate grilled tofu and grilled Napa cabbage and brown rice and roasted golden beets and this sauce.  Unfortunately, I didn't realize I was out of miso until I was ready to serve up, so I made the sauce with tahini instead.  We didn't really enjoy it, but Spence loved the tofu and cabbage.  ("This tofu is delicious, Mommy!" he said, and my heart just melted.  He learned to say "delicious" appropriately in preschool - one of the many things that I love about his teacher.)  Beets make me think of my mom too, although she was more likely to open a can of sliced beets and serve them cold, right out of the can.  (I like them that way too.)  It is strange the things that remind us of happy times in childhood.
On days that don't support being outside, there are still a lot of things to do in town, depending on the age of your children and your budge/inclinations.  You could:

1. go to Discovery Days on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 9, 10:15, or 12:30.  Miss Stephanie does a different theme each week and offers four different craft tables, a themed sensory table, a playdoh/gak/slime table, themed pictures to paint at an easel (and paint shirts to keep your child's clothes nice), a puppet theater with lifelike animal puppets, a flannel board, a playhouse and more.  It's the best way to spend $4 in town.  They have a punch card that doesn't expire.  The Longmont Museum is also highly interactive, with things the kids can touch and explore in every exhibit.  There is a fantastic section on early Americans, a big train engine with an i-spy activity, a unique water table to demonstrate how the community shares water resources, a child-sized accordion that they can play, a wall to graffiti on, a real moon rock, and a ton of activities on the top floor, including dress up costumes and books.  The top floor also features one of the best views in Longmont, and if you ask before you go up, the front desk will loan your child a pair of binoculars (free of charge).  They have interesting music and social programs throughout the year, a concert series in the summer, and various summer camp options for older kids.  They also have the absolute best selection of Dover sticker and activity books that I have ever seen in their Museum store, and they do not mark them up over the cover price.  These are fantastic for restaurants or traveling - they take up no space, can occupy toddlers to much older children (depending on which book you choose), and are easy to clean up if your child stickers up the table.
2. Go to the Longmont Public Library for storytime on Tuesdays or Wednesdays at 10:15 and 11 and Wednesdays at 1:30 and Thursday nights at 7.  They also offer a bilingual storytime on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.  (This one is just a few times a month, or maybe once a month.  I have heard that the storyteller is outstanding.)  For the daytime storytimes, there is an infant/lapsit storytime, a toddler storytime (with parachute play), and a preschooler storytime.  Parents are not required to stay in the room for the preschool storytime, and it nearly always seems to involve a flannel board.  Not being required to stay means that you can go to the infant or toddler story with your youngest while your oldest enjoys some solo time - if you can trust them to stay in the room, listen to the teacher, not throw tantrums, etc.  And just as a note - if your child needs a bathroom at the library, they have special tiny toilets in the bathrooms in the children's section.  The library also features a train set to play with, a stand alone train setup that they can operate by pushing a button, a puppet theater, educational and fun computer games on computers with child-size headphones and a special mouse that is just right for tiny awkward little hands.  (Also tiny keyboards, but those aren't really needed much.)  They have plenty of special family programs throughout the month, and they keep their calendar updated on their website. 
3. Try out the slot car racing at Slot Car Speedway, which is the building attached to HobbyTown USA.  Spence went here with his dad starting at about 3, and we had a great time.  They often have cheap coupons/gift certificates on the BestofLongmont website, so that's something to watch.  (Our first time, I got an evening's worth of entertainment for $2.50 thanks to the Best of Longmont
4. The Longmont Recreation Center features a zero entry pool with a toddler slide, all kinds of fountains and splash features that are interactive, and two water slides (one of which you can ride down with your child).  They also have a lazy river, a water basketball area for better swimmers/bigger kids, and of course a hot tub and lane swimming.  They also have incredibly cheap babysitting, a rock climbing wall, and a lot of toddler classes.  Their hours are not amazing for the weekend, which is when it usually occurs to me that we should go swim as a family, but they are a wonderful daytime retreat and a nice place to go for a playdate, once you get over the awkwardness of seeing all your mommy friends in their swimwear.  The pool allows pretty much any kind of inflatable or reasonable toy that you care to bring, so pack a big bag and enjoy yourself.  They do have a small cafe, and I think it has pizza and other simple foods, so you could potentially eat lunch there.  They also have free coffee and tea by the front door.  If you are truly losing your mind, you can take the kids to the cheap babysitting and enjoy a workout, shower alone, sauna, book in the hot tub, etc.  (They will page you if your child is crying, so maybe don't depend on this option when they are weepy.)
5. There are the fast food options, which in Longmont means two McDonalds playplaces and a Chick-fil-a.  The McDonalds at Main and 19th (1900 N. Main St.) is our favorite.  It has a music theme and a special under 3 play area as well as a several story high playground for bigger kids.  There is a piano keyboard you play with your feet, a guitar you play by standing on it, several ways to play music from various countries, a climbing wall, and other fun things.  Your child can easily waste an afternoon here, and if you disdain McDonald's food, feel free to buy a carton of milk and then turn them loose.  The McDonalds at Main and Ken Pratt (245 S. Main) is also nice, and I wouldn't shun it if your child has their heart set on going there.  It is better for bigger kids and features a helicopter that they can jump in, lots of levels to climb and explore, and a car to sit in while your child looks down on you.  The under 3 toys tend to be worth having, but the over 3 toys are gender themed and often very related to the latest kid movie.  I have never had them tell me that I can't have the toddler toy, though, and those tend to be things like cars, submarines, buses, etc.  The Chick-fil-a (215 Ken Pratt Blvd) has healthier lunch options and their play place is very clean.  There are no tables in the playplace, but the play area is enclosed in glass so that you can recline at your table in comfort and watch your offspring race around the car, airplane, tunnels and slide.  There is also an under 3 area.  The whole thing is smaller than McDonalds but more accessible in some ways.  I think kids tend to outgrow the Chick-fil-a option sooner and then start misbehaving on the equipment, but it is easy to see what they are up to and intervene if necessary.  Their toys tend to be more worthwhile, and their under 3 toys are quality board books.  If your child doesn't open their toy/book, they can turn it back in to the counter for an ice cream cone with sprinkles.  If you don't want to let your child eat fast food, they have a great fruit cup that is reasonably priced, and they also have a grilled chicken option now.  (We haven't tried that yet.)  They will let you get the fruit cup instead of fries in the kids meals.  They also give out a lot of free food, once a week or so, if you sign up for their mailing list.  Periodically they have Princess Night or Sports Night for the kids, and if your child is a Disney princess fan, you should definitely take her.  Their staff members dress up like the princesses and do a pretty decent representation of them, and spend time dining with the kids, doing crafts with them, taking pictures, etc.
6. More suggestions might include going to the movies, Crackpots, the WOW museum, the REI playground, the new Boulder children's cafe, the (fairly sad) Longmont mall playground, go roller skating or ice skating indoors in Broomfield/Westminster, go to Bouncetown, Airborne open gym time, Itty Bitty City, or Gymboree drop-in classes.  If the weather isn't too awful, you can go ice skating at the Longmont Pavilion in the winter.  You can also hit the consignment stores, if your child is able to shop without sobbing, and can sometimes get some fantastic deals and unusual toys.  More details on all those next time.  Of course if you want to drive to neighboring towns or to Denver, your options grow and grow.  I will keep adding to the list as I think of things.

loving the snow

I have panic attacks when I drive in the snow.  I don't love shoveling the walks or scraping the cars, and I don't like the dingy slush all over my floors or the stench of wet dog every time our dog comes in from outside in snowy weather.

But I do really like the snow.  It is beautiful and special and fun, and I love to share it with the kids.  I love watching Spencer try to catch snowflakes on his tongue, and Malcolm's intense stare as the snowflakes shine in the sun.  It makes me feel cozy and happy, being at home in with all the warm comforts that home can offer.  Part of loving snow days, for me, is keeping a stash of things that are special to those days.  We play outside, and then take a long bath full of all the color changing hot wheels, and then have hot chocolate and soup and grilled cheese.  I put out a huge mixing bowl when the snowfall starts to collect fresh snow, and we use it to try out different recipes for snow ice cream.  We try fun art projects and make playdoh.  (I found the best recipe ever - make it in the stand mixer, and don't forget the 4 tsp. cream of tarter - it has a wonderful hand feel and isn't sticky and smells great.)  I add glitter to make it snow playdoh.  We bring in a bin of snow so that Spence can build tiny snowmen and let his little people sled down hills.  We make instant snow, which is fun.  I have made juice icicles for breakfast treats, which were fun.  We bake something fun and have an involved breakfast - some kind of great pancakes (like these buckwheat ones, which Spence loves, made with white whole wheat flour and buckwheat flour, or these fantastic buttermilk ones - the batter keeps well for a week in the fridge, or these apple crisp ones, which are awesome),  or muffins, or doughnuts, or oatmeal with special flavors.  We like to read books about snow - that list is a whole other post - but we are midway through Charlotte's Web, so that will probably be the book of choice for tomorrow.

I have plans for more snow fun, many of which are on my Pinterest boards - here and here.    I want to do pretty much everything snow-related that this mom has on her blog, though - she is amazing!

By coincidence, the library had pretty much every movie we ever wanted to watch with Spence on hold for us tonight, so we will probably have a movie night tomorrow.  I have a lot of de-hoarding and cleaning to do to prep for my in-laws visit this weekend, and poor Malcolm still isn't able to stay asleep during the day, so he is super grouchy - so in spite of my fun snow ideas, tomorrow may turn out to be that rare and much-loved day - a movie day.  Oh the bliss.

movie night - "Sleeping Beauty"

We've been seeing a fair number of princess movies lately, and it is interesting to see my son's response.  He is still young enough that he doesn't care if the movies are girly - he just wants them to be compelling - so I am enjoying sharing things with him that I loved when I was a kid.  We are reading "Charlotte's Web" and the American Girl Kaya and Kirsten series; he enjoyed watching "the Little Mermaid"; and last week, I took him to see "Beauty and the Beast" as his first 3-D movie.  He was enthralled, laughed out loud, and told me in a few places that he didn't like the movie (because the violence was scary).  He didn't notice the missing mother, but was really upset that Belle didn't get to say goodbye to her father.  He was also concerned about Gaston falling off the roof.  Disney is really fond of the bad guys stabbing the hero and then falling off of something.  Apparently there can't be a happy ending unless the evildoer dies. 
We use www.commonsensemedia.org for our recommendations on movies, books, etc., and now that he is 4, a whole new crop of movies are potentially appropriate.  We veer outside of their guidelines occasionally, but we are almost always sorry when we do.  Sometimes even their guidelines seem a little suspect; Spence was really concerned about much of "Sleeping Beauty."  Part of that, though, is that as a boy, he is steeped in firetruck lore and robots and space and dinosaurs, and has almost no background to explain magic, spells, fairies, true love, enchanted sleep, shapechanging evildoers, dragons, etc.  There was a lot of explaining to do, to the point where it got annoying to keep explaining over and over why Aurora and everyone around her had fallen asleep, why Maleficent had kidnapped the prince, why Philip and Aurora were supposed to get married, etc.  It was interesting to get his viewpoint, though, and in the end, he really loved the movie. 

In an effort to have a happier, friendlier relationship, I spent some time before the movie chatting with him about how I watched it when I was a little girl, etc.  He asked me, "What did you like about it, Mom?"  Trying to think back that long ago to remember what I liked about it, and sharing that with him, was nice.  He has become such a little person, with his own views and interests - and not just the ones that I share with him.  He spends a fair amount of time cuddling with his teddy bear in his bed and whispering to her, and he suddenly wants privacy all the time.  I am so grateful that I get to watch him be newly grown-up while I am snuggling his baby brother - it is something I thought we might not get to do, and it is a wonderful feeling.

I love the idea of theming up everything, and I will try to theme the menus for future movie nights.  I'll post details as I have them.

I also haven't posted the birthday party wrap-up.  Since a lot of my planning involved reading about other people's parties on the internet, I will repay the favor in a few days and post the details and where I got ideas from.  Today, we made thank you cards using his footprint and a sharpie to create firetruck art.  I think they came out well, and they were pretty fun to do.  Definitely product and not process oriented art, but sometimes that's how it goes.