The Children's Museum

This year for Christmas my dad and Cathy gave our family a membership to the children's museum. We had so much fun on Sunday!

A Family Update

Jackson: I am living in a Star Wars room, it's so cool! My dad built a loft bed so that I sleep just under the ceiling and mom and dad painted and redecorated my room in full Star Wars get-up: giant wall decals, posters, and sheets.  I am trying to help more and more around the house and mom and dad have been talking about giving me an allowance.  I'd need to work to earn money.  I have been spending January learning a lot about freedom and civil rights, reading books about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln.  I'm five now and I'm trying to learn big words, I know words like predator and predictable.  I don't like writing much and I think coloring is boring but I do like connect the dots and playing Guess Who.

Addie:  I am often found running around in Dora underpants.  I'm working very hard at using the toilet for my potty but occasionally I have accidents on rugs, the floor, couches and chairs. I love helping mom and dad around the house and am happy to put toys away during clean up time.  I have a few strange eating habits, I don't really care for bread so I eat sandwiches and burgers deconstructed.  I still take a long nap in the afternoon and wake up still quite cranky from this nap and it takes me a bit to get adjusted again.  I am still hanging out with Grandma Jan while mom and dad are at work and Jackson goes to school during the week.  We have a lot of fun meeting up with friends at the library and going out for lunch.

Ron: I'm in between wood-working projects now that Jackson's bed is done but with the winter being such a warm one, I'll be back out in the garage soon working on something new.  I've been singing It's Tricky for 80hd about once a month and having a great time up on stage, the kids now know all of the lyrics to the song and happily sing along when I'm practicing at home.  I've taken on many new responsibilities at work and have been working a lot of extra hours to keep things on track.  I'm on vacation from sports but taking in the occasional racquetball game!

Sara: I've been having a lot of fun hanging out with my family more now that I'm done with school.  I've spent some time in my craft room and a lot more time in the kitchen, baking cakes and making meals.  I've taken back up my old hobby of reading fiction in my free time and love that I'm not strapped with heavy textbooks anymore.  I've started doing a little more photography and did a first photo shoot for a band performance which was a lot of fun. I'm working at my goals for 2012 and hoping for a fun year ahead.

The boy now helps!

It's been so fun to watch Jackson grow into a boy.  We've been working on including Jackson in the work that needs to get done around the house.  Every Wednesday he brings in the trash barrels. Some weeks he complains and others he just brings up the barrels, I think it has to do with the weather outside.

We've had very few opportunities to help when the show flies but last week he found opportunity to help shovel the end of the driveway.  It was fun to see what a good helper he was.

Wordless Wednesday

Designer Switchplates

And when I say designer, I mean me!  I saw this neat little trick on Pinterest and wanted to try it for Jackson's new Star Wars room.  All that was needed was a switchplate cover, scrapbook paper, mod podge and a foam brush. 

I was so happy with the result that I proceeded to cover all of the outlets in his room too.  And then I moved on to Addie's room:



Star Wars Birthday Party

R2D2 Cake!

Playing Star Wars Bingo

I am 5 today!

Jackson's Birthday Quiz

What's your name? Jackson

How old are you? 5

What's your favorite food? blueberries

What's your favorite color? blue

What's your favorite tv show? Anything with Superheroes

What's your favorite superhero? Batman

What time do you go to bed? 8:30

What's your favorite book? Gus the Firefly

What's your favorite movie? Ponyo

What size shoe do you wear? i don't know (10 1/2)

What's your favorite kind of cake? chocolate

What's your favorite thing to do outside? Play in the snow

What's your favorite thing to do with mom? Do crafts

What's your favorite thing to do with dad? Give him hugs

What's your favorite thing to do with addie? Give her kisses

What are you going to be when you grow up? An astronaut

Who is your best friend? Isaac

Who are you going to marry? Karen

What's favorite thing to do at school? Play with Isaac

Where do you like to go in the car? McDonalds

What's your favorite toy? My Playmobil pirate ship

What's your favorite flower? Daisies

If your name could be anything you wanted it to be, what would it be? J-Dog

Where do you like to shop? Menards, they have lots of candy

2012 Goals

Most years I come up with a few projects and goals around the start of the New Year. 2011 was the year of the degree. My goal was to complete my degree which meant that there wouldn’t be much time for anything else in 2011. I am so glad that’s done! In 2010, I decided to open my family up to more food options. Now we regularly eat brussel sprouts, parsnips, spinach, lima beans, whole wheat pasta, edamame among others.

Now that school is completed and Jackson and Addie are able to do more for themselves I have big aspirations for 2012.

Our 2012 Goals:

Sara’s personal growth goals

This year I plan to bake a cake a week. I have never loved baking and think of myself as more of a cook. This year I’d like to increase my knowledge in the kitchen and teach myself to be a good baker. I have stared a blog: 52 Cakes to chronicle the adventures of this particular goal.

I would also like to take better care of myself this year. Last year I didn’t make time for exercise, doctor appointments, haircuts or the like. This year I would like to start caring more about how I present myself to the outside world, knowing that it will help me to feel better too.

Goals for Jackson

Jackson loves to listen to stories read and rushes out of the house to not miss group story time at school. If I arrive to pick him up at school during story time he asks me to stay until the book is done. He can sound out three letter words but when it comes to sitting down with a book, he’d much rather have me read it than spend anytime trying to learn to read it himself. This year I would like to make a point to have him help me read every book we open.

I would like for Jackson to help more around the house. Right now he brings in the trash barrels after they’ve been emptied once a week. He will do things when I ask him to but I would like him to feel responsible for some chores around the house.

Goals for Addie

We’d like Addie to follow Jackson’s footsteps in his Spanish learning. I would like to incorporate more Spanish in our house for Addie to catch on. I hope to teach her the colors first.

Potty Training!!! We’ve been working at it for the last couple of months, but Addie is slow to catch on. She has some good days and some bad. This first half of the year I plan to work very hard to move into underpants fulltime.

Goals for our house

I’ve had this goal before and was not very successful in the past, so I will work at it once again. I’d like our family to produce less food waste. This will mean a lot of meal planning and sticking to the plan. I will keep less in the fridge so that things can’t make it to the back and get lost. This will also mean that I will have to shop more often.

I hope to make 2012 another very successful year! What are your goals for 2012?  Share them with me!

Answers from Kids

What's your name?

I asked Jackson - "Jackson"

I asked Addie - "Adeline Irene"

What do you like?

I asked Jackon - "when we make crafts, you know that, I told you that."

I asked Addie - "I like strawberries!"

What should we do today?

I asked Jackson - "have lots of fun"

I asked Addie - "play with bumpa and stuff"

Should we go to bed?

I asked Jackson -  "I want to play with something much funner than Strawberry Shortcake"

I asked Addie - "no, I don't want to go to bed"

Do you want to go to the moon?

I asked Jackson - " yep, when I'm big"

I asked Addie - "but I don't want to go to the moon"

Will you always be my baby?

I asked Jackson - "you can always pretend I'm a baby"

I asked Addie - "yeah"

Wordless Wednesday