Mystery Boxes…Do You Dare (Halloween Party 2013)

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Jennifer

We had our annual Halloween party this past weekend and it was a lot of fun.

As well as being quite tasty.

But….not too healthy (only some of the butter we used).

We may have cooked ourselves silly making sugar cookies, pumpkin whooopie pies, banana bread, oreo mummies, cupcakes, chocolate faces, pretzel witch fingers, pretzel eyeballs, marshmallow sticks, rice krispie treats, snickerdoodle cookies, and pumpkin muffins.

We also played a game which I think the kids enjoyed – Mystery Boxes

The idea of Mystery Boxes is to reach into the box and try and figure out what food is in there.

For example, I told the kids that I had witches hair. Once they felt it, they needed to decide what food my witches hair really was.

I took 4 boxes (Cheezits, Amazon, shoe boxes) and spray painted them or covered them in fabric with Modge Podge.

I then glued on a piece of cloth to the outside which covered a hole I had cut out in each box.

Each box on the inside was lined with tin foil. One had a cup and another had a bowl which held the food items.

Before starting the game, I handed out a piece of paper to each child and told them what was in the mystery boxes – witches hair, mummy intestines, troll eyes, and Frankenstein eyes. Then I had some parents hold the boxes for me, not letting the kids peek inside the boxes.

This picture of my son reaching into the box is my favorite one from the party.

Here’s a sample of the sheet with their guesses on it.

Here we all are talking about what each of their guesses is for the food items.

And the reveal….

In case you are wondering…

Witch Hair = Ramen Noodles

Frankenstein Eyes – Olives

Mummy Intestines = Lasagna Noodles

Troll Ears = Dried Apricots

___________________

Mystery Boxes = Silly & Slimey Fun 🙂

Jake

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Jennifer

Man o man.

This thing called life just knocks the wind out of you sometimes.

The first thing out of my middle schoolers mouth when I picked him up from school yesterday was, “Kids told me Mrs. Matheus’ son died. She got a call during 6th period that he died. He’s in the Air Force. We watched her walk out to her car and leave.”

First off. How Awful.

Nothing is worse than your child dying.

Second off. She had to find out that horrible news in front of a bunch of 11 and 12 year olds.

Fast forward two hours, back at our house, with me at the computer checking to see if soccer practice was still on.

I open an email from my boys’ swim coach.

It informs me that one of the summer swim coaches has died.

He was 21.

It was self-inflicted.

First off. Again. How awful.

Just being a parent makes my heart break with this news.

I only knew this kid from afar.

He was always smiling and laughing with the kids and the other coaches.

For three years my kids knew him and loved him.

Second off. How dare you? Why would you do such a thing?

I’m not really mad at him. I’m disappointed and sad for my kids.

And heartbroken for his family and friends.

I know I will never know what led him to that decision and I’m not sure I need to know.

But I do know that I will continue to tell my kids everyday that I will always love them, forever and ever, no matter what.

I chose not to share with my kids the manner in which Coach Jake died. That’s too much information for even an adult to comprehend, never mind an 8 year old. He died. His family is sad. We are sad.

The next day I again picked my son up from middle school and asked him if he had a substitute in Mrs. Matheus’ class.

“No. It was actually her dog that died not her son.”

We had a bit of a laugh, learned never to completely trust the word of middle schoolers sharing information in the hallways, and went on with our day.

And I may have told him thirty times that day, ” I will always love you, forever and ever, no matter what.”

*I never use real names in my blog except those of my children.

The Rabbits – Part 2 – It Gets Ugly

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Jennifer

Well folks.

It didn’t get all Hakuna Matata on us over her.

It went the way of the Circle of Life in a slightly more horrific way than I imagined.

If you recall, our backyard became a rabbit sanctuary for the past week ever since my 8 year old son discovered a nest of baby rabbits.

My sweet, sensitive eight year old who loves animals with all his heart.

Ugh. This story sucks.

Yesterday afternoon the kids were playing in the backyard when my son announced that the rabbits were gone. They were no where to be found. I immediately believed him because he has been checking on them with the religious fervor of a Texas baptist. Okay, maybe that went a little too far.

But he said they were gone.

So we let the dog out in the backyard.

And everyone played.

And then..everyone came in for bedtime.

And then…everyone woke up the next day to get ready for school.

And then…just as I was biting into my hot oatmeal breakfast my eight year old came running into the kitchen screaming, “Sophie killed the baby rabbit! She killed it! It’s laying on the floor!”

Tears. Tears. Hysterical tears.

I ran into the dining room to find the dog in her crate and an obviously dead baby bunny sprawled out on our dining room floor.

How did this happen? The dog hasn’t even gone outside yet today?

Tears. Tears. Hysterical tears.

Still I can’t seem to move. I just stare at this dead bunny on my dining room floor.

I don’t understand? How did, oh no, I know what happened!

Last night when I let the dog in she ran right to her crate without stopping to get water. Unusual but not completely out of the ordinary.

I locked her in her crate and went to my room.

As I read a little while later I turned to my husband and said, “What is Sophie doing in her crate? She’s moving around a lot.”

OH. MY. GOD.

SHE WAS PLAYING WITH A DEAD RABBIT IN HER CRATE.

Now I have 2 kids screaming.

I yell at the dog and lock her in her crate. I order my 11 year old to get a trash bag and I go to the garage and grab some rake contraption and a sheet. I tell my son to open up the trash bag as I try and scoop THE DEAD RABBIT onto the rake.

I miss the first time but manage to scoop him up the second time.

My son is so disgusted by holding the bag he drops it before managing to open it up enough for me to drop THE DEAD BUNNY and the sheet into the bag.

I tie the bag and rush it outside.

I order my son to wash his hands throughly three times while I do the same. I wash the dining room floor and wash my hands again many times. And I do a full body shiver.

I then talk with my 8 year old, the animal lover, and mumble something about animals, circle of life, Sophie thought it was a toy, and then agree to write a note to his teacher telling her what a tough morning he has had.

I’m not going to lie and say that I didn’t call my husband after this experience and possibly semi-curse at him for not being home during this event. I may have forbidden him to ever leave the house again for work.

I think it’s safe to say that this experience has affected us all.

Later in the day my four year old told the Old Navy saleswoman and the grocery store clerk that our dog killed a rabbit.

My 11 year old has definitely ruled out a career in waste management.

I’m considering plans to demolish our dining room.

And my 8 year old wants to know when we are going to the SPCA to get another dog.

Yes. He is.

Apparently he has short term memory problems.

I assured him under no uncertain circumstances that we would never get another pet of any kind.

After all, I can still see that DEAD BUNNY on my dining room floor.

It’s Here…

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Jennifer

It’s here…

as well as 12 pages of band rules…

required parent volunteer hours in the concession booth which requires a food safety class on a Saturday afternoon…

and the herd of dying elephants running through my house at 5 pm everyday.

London – Day 1

Posted on September 6, 2013 by Jennifer

My sister Kelly gave our Europe trip to my son as a gift so she could share her love of travel with him.

As an added bonus, she let me come too (score!).

Alex and I flew to New Jersey where we met up with my sister who flew in from Chicago. My sister and I didn’t sleep on the plane but Alex did manage to get in 3 hours – thank goodness. Together we all flew to London, arriving at 6:45 am. It was really 12:45 am to our bodies so we were in for a long day. Our plan was to go, go, go until we just couldn’t go any more.

After clearing customs where I was thoroughly questioned – I must look suspicious since the custom agent in Berlin was not impressed by me either – we dropped our bags off at our hotel concierge and went off exploring.

The Bus Tour – this was perfect for tired travelers since we were able to see a lot of sights without having to move too much. Plus, our tour guide was fabulous – funny and informative.

We arrived 5 days after Prince George was born so there were congratulation signs and messages all over the city. I was supposed to meet up with Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, but unfortunately we could never make our schedules coordinate 🙂

On the first day our mode of transportation was the bus since it was an on/off situation. The rest of our days in London we used the tube or the underground which I love. After the first few rides on the tube my sister and I never looked at the map. My 11 year old enjoyed the underground so much he lead us around everyday saying things like, “We have to take the Marble Arch line to Tottenham Court Road where we switch to the black line and get off on Charing Cross.” It was kind of nice to just trust him and follow.

More sites along the way.

This controversial blue hen statue sits on a corner of Trafalgar Square as part of a rotating sculpture display. The other three corners are permanent and boring (in my opinion) statues of important figures. I love this idea of rotating art and think this concept would be a wonderful addition to any city.

Typical London, love it.

Outside of St. James Palace, where my good buddies Charles and Camila live.

And also a picture of one of the 8,672 Japanese tour group that we met along the way.

The Parliament building and Big Ben.

Tower Bridge

The Tower of London – one of my favorite places to visit in London – fascinating – more on this later when we are well rested

City of London School where Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter, went to school.

We’re getting sleepy….

The London Eye – a giant ferris wheel standing 443 ft tall which sits on the River Thames.

Big Ben again!

Canada Gates in Green Park

Guard outside of Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace – where the Queen of England lives most of the year

Be kind people – at this point we were approaching 27 hours of being awake.

And naturally, almost naked men.

You know, that famous street in London, the “Running in Speedos Lane.”

Apparently this was a fundraiser as the men were collecting money for … pants?

Or maybe it was for children or animals, I don’ know, but I believe it was associated with the London Triathlon which was occurring the next day.

Once we were all knackered we headed back to the hotel where everyone showered and took a sleep advil at 6:00 pm, thus falling asleep immediately. Not until our alarm woke us at 8:00 am the next day did we move. I guess that’s what 30 straight hours of being awake can do to you.

Until next time, have a bloody wonderful day!

School is in!

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Jennifer

This year…

3 kids…

3 different schools…

3 different drop off times…

3 different pick up times…

Let the games begin!

Confession

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Jennifer

I have a confession.

For the past 10 days I have been in Europe with my 11 year old and my sister.

As you are reading this I am probably on a 10 hour flight, standing in line for the bathroom with 15 of my closest friends.

In a few days I hope to tell you about and show you our trip to London, Berlin, and Rome.

But for now, I’ll continue standing in line and pretending like I don’t hear the man in seat 32C snore, tell the people with the screaming baby, “no worries, we’ve all been there,”, and weigh the consequences of stealing the blanket from the little old lady in 35D 🙂

What My Boys are Cooking

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Jennifer

Each summer the boys are in charge of one dinner a week.

The only condition in choosing food is that it can’t be something they have already cooked this summer.

The boys enjoy cooking and have been pretty good about ensuring that there is either a fruit or salad with the meal. They have made sure to steer clear of any veggies on the menu.

Here’s what they have served:

Week 1:

Alex: Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, grapes

Andrew: Beef tacos and cantaloupe

Week 2:

Alex: Chicken patties on bun, fries, and strawberries

Andrew: Cheese sticks as an appetizer 🙂 , 3 types of pizza (including mac n’cheese pizza), and blackberries & blueberries

Week 3:

Alex: Cheese raviolis with homemade red sauce, cheese bread, and salad

Andrew: Homemade calzones with salad

Week 4:

Alex: Spaghetti, homemade red sauce, homemade meatballs, and salad

Andrew: Hot dogs, chips, fruit, and yogurt

Maybe not all are the healthiest options but I want to make sure it’s their meal and not mine.

I’m hoping all of this cooking by them pays off so in a few years they will be doing all the summer cooking (insert evil cackle).

The Most Expensive Ruler, Ever!

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Jennifer

Let me present to you the most expensive ruler ever. EVER!

The problem with enjoying crafts is that when see an item you think, “I can make that.”

When in reality, you should just by the item.

It would save you and your family a lot of pain in the long run.

At least my family wishes I would just buy it.

One afternoon I took the kids to a local craft market.

There are hundreds of vendors set up and I enjoy wondering the aisles looking at the many different projects set up.

After wondering for awhile, I saw a large beautiful white ruler. I thought it would be so much fun to write my kids heights onto it. Plus is would make a nice addition to our living room.

But I thought, $20! I can make that for cheaper.

So immediately after leaving the craft fair we headed to our local habitat restore where I found a board just the right size for $1. I had all the paints on hand so a $1 ruler it was going to be.

Not so.

After leaving the store and standing the board against the back of my car, I put Caroline in her car seat.

And that’s when I heard it.

A big crash.

“Umm, Mom, ” I heard my 11 year old say.

As I walked back to the rear of the car, I saw I had broken a tail light.

Not my tail light. SOMEONE ELSE’S TAILLIGHT!

I said, “Was that taillight already broken?”

“No Mom, the board fell and you broke the light.”

Sadly, my first instinct was to look around and hussle the boys into the car.

As I sat in the car, I realized this was the wrong thing to do and not quite the lesson I wanted to teach my kids. So I wrote my name and number on a piece of paper and left it on their windshield.

About an hour later I received a call from a gentleman wanting to know why I had put my name and number on his car window.

HE DIDN’T EVEN NOTICE.

After listening to my explanation he thanked me for letting him know and told me he would call with an estimate in a few days after he returned to his home in Tennessee.

I heard from him soon after and found out that his cousin works at a Chevrolet dealership and the new part would cost $150.

I sent him a check and remarkably a few days later his wife sent a thank you card.

So now his tail light is fixed and I have the world’s most expensive ruler

$1 + $150 = $151 ruler

6 Kids at the Pool

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Jennifer

So the other day I took 6 kids to the pool by myself.

I know, breath a moment, and take that in.

Now this wasn’t any ordinary pool either.

It was a 50 meter pool, with a separate shallow end, and a separate kids pool.

A bit stressful keeping tabs on everyone as they swam with their buddy.

3 were mine, 3 were friends

11 yr old, 11 yr old, 8 yr old, 7 yr old, 5 yr old, and a 4 yr old.

Putting sunscreen on 6 children – awful and long

Seeing friends go down the water slide with huge smiles – delightful

Having the lifeguard tell my daughter to stop climbing up the water slide – not surprising

Having my 4 year old go off the diving board – exciting

Treading water while holding the 4 year old and 5 year old in the deep end – hard

Watching boys race each other in the water – amusing

Losing two pair of NEW goggles – frustrating

Everyone getting out of the pool when I asked – miracle

Arrive home & eating a piece of cake before dinner while hiding in pantry – well deserved.

Big D & Me

Life with a Canook, a Belle, and a Pile of Kids

Category Archives: Alex