Early Spring

It's so sad we only saw a little snow this Winter.

We got a handful and that's it.  I am going to move on and embrace the warmer days to come.

We had 70+ degree weather yesterday and I wanted the two younger one's to run around outside.  I decided to bring them to Brookside Gardens.  It's just a fun place to do that sort of stuff and enjoy the gardens.  My mom used to take me there as a child all the time.

One of my kids favorite things to do there is the Labyrinth.

My kids call it a maze and Eddie is so into them right now. I didn't even bother trying to tell them it's supposed to be meditative and that there is no challenge to it. 

Nonetheless, it still had it's calming effects.

Though it felt like Spring, the flowers hadn't bloomed yet, the buds on the trees were emerging, the bulbs still under the dirt and the water fountains not turned on yet.  Couldn't find a single goose to chase or a turtle to marvel at.

Eddie, where are the flowers, turtles and geese?

"I don't know, can we go home now?"  Yikes, we just got here.  This is supposed to be fun!

We did go to the greenhouse and found some flowers and some little bridges they liked to run across a billion times.

These reminded me of rosary beads hanging off a plant or little skinny bunches of grapes. 

Almost towards the end of our visit.  We decided to take the path that led us towards a little lake and some benches to sit on.

This is Bernadette's new haircut!  I've never given bangs to my girls before, but she seems to do well with it.  It certainly served it's purpose as maintenance free.  Her hair is always in place now! 

Bernadette would not cooperate with me when I tried to get pictures of her.  She was purposely ignoring me!  So, I snapped when I could.

Once at the lake, Eddie started throwing wood chips into the lake.  Bernadette copied her big brother and started throwing wood chips, too.  They could do this for hours.

I was watching Eddie throw these wood chips into the water.  Each time he would try to throw them further and further away.  He tried so hard that the wood chip flew backwards and he was wondering where it went!  He was throwing the wood chips like a softball pitch.  He released too late.

Now, when I said it was time to go home - they didn't want to leave.  I had to leave some wood chips on the trail before they filled up the lake.

Awww...it looks so picture perfect.  As Bernadette is developing a mind of her own these days and hasn't learned the repercussions of not listening to me when I say, "It's time to leave, let's go!" for the third time!  I had Eddie grab her hand and start walking towards the car while I was patiently waiting for this picture.  Eddie had to use some force to get her to follow.  On the other side of her head could be a big pouty face.

Afterwards, we stopped by Micky D's to get some lunch and then went home.  Daddy came home early that day and he picked the other three kids up from school and we met at the park for some more outside fun.

Crafty Valentines

I know it's not Valentine's Day, but as my husband and I always say, "Everyday is Valentine's Day".

Last year, Anne & I did some homemade valentine cards and they seemed rather simple, but it turned out to be a bit time consuming with all the cutting!  This year, I brought her over to the computer so she could get some simpler ideas on what she would like to do for cards.  She ended up wanting to use her own creativity and make her own.  Hm...I should be encouraging this!  But, once I starting watching what she was doing, I started to make all these comments that just discouraged her.  I was getting hung up on all the cutting, how complicated each card was, how things weren't a certain way...After seeing her looking so sad, I couldn't believe what I was saying!  Who is this Mommy?  What's wrong with me?  Why couldn't I just say, "Good job, it's beautiful?"  I apologized and eventually told her I would shut my mouth and let her continue her cards in peace.  I just reminded her that she had to make 22 of them!  I didn't take a picture of her cards, but they turned out beautifully.  I learned a lesson.

I decided the boys would use store bought cards, but the week escaped me and had a small window of time to get their cards at the store.  I didn't like the selection at all!  I decided to make it a simple homemade card with cardstock, pixie sticks and Pixar Cars stickers.  Each had a Valentine greeting on it thanks to mailing labels - you could just stick it on!  The boys and I sat down and started assembling the cards.  It took us perhaps an hour to assemble and finish - Mommy helped a bit.  Again, I didn't take any pictures!

Anyway, I volunteered in Tommy's class for their Valentine's Day party.  I noticed a lot of the cards were homemade and rather simple, but cute.  I don't think I'll ever buy cards again.  I recognized a lot of the homemade cards from Pinterest!  I thought it was funny.  When the kids come home from school, I ask them if I can read all their cards.  I love doing that...they are so cute.

I know, I always wanted to be one of those parents who had a little Valentines gift for my kids in the mornings and I have done that in the past, but as the kids start school they bring home so much candy after being filled with sugar from their school parties that I really didn't want to add to that anymore.  And I know from years past that the candy collects in our candy box to the point where I have to throw it away because no one eats it.  So, we've stuck to making sugar cookie hearts with lots of sprinkles every year.  I know those will be eaten, if not by the kids, by Mommy.  Oh yeah...

So, after making the cookies, I whipped out some strawberries and melted some chocolate to make these.

I had some help making them.

The kids aren't really into chocolate covered strawberries, but were wondering who they were for.  I said it was dessert for Mommy & Daddy. 

Joe & I love lobster and we find it cheaper to buy it from the grocery and bring it home and have a nice dinner instead of finding a babysitter and paying for an expensive meal.  So, maybe once a month or on special days, like Valentines Day, we'll serve the kids dinner and then eat after they go to sleep.  The kids call it our "secret dinner". 

After our secret dinner, we had those yummy chocolate strawberries.


 
Bernadette playing peek a boo behind our curtains.  Looks like I might have given her some chocolate, too.  Before I had kids, I noticed little kids with messy faces out and about.  I always wondered how their parents would let them walk around like that.  Well, I always notice in the mornings after breakfast when I'm rushing out the door to get my kids to school that Bernadette's face (sometimes her siblings, too) has food all around it.  I am one of those moms.

Houston, We Have Landed...

It is that time of year where Joe & I choose a place to attend a football clinic.  Joe attends the clinic and furthers his knowledge of the game while I tag a long and get some "me" time.  Thankfully, I have the most wonderful in-laws to take care of my kids.  The kids are happy to see us go because they look forward to their grandparents so much.

This year, we chose Houston, TX!  We have never been there before and we have friends that live there - bonus!  As I was researching Houston, I wasn't too excited about anything around the area.  It made me wonder, what is it you look for when you visit a city?  I found myself relating to my kids because I was interested in seeing the Zoo or the Space Center.  I even got a little excited about the Children's Museum and Aquarium, but I couldn't possibly go there without my kids!  So what was left? 

Once we landed, we quickly got our rental car and we were off to our hotel which was about 30 minutes away.  Joe was pretty excited about our premium car rental, a Lincoln Town car.

 
I was hoping for something a bit more exciting, but it was fine.  It was big, wide, spacious and drove well.  I mainly appreciate that new car smell over my regular minivan-that-seats-my-five-kids smell.  I don't know what I was expecting when I got to Houston - yes, I do...desert and a city.  The first thing I noticed were the highways.

They had roads going everywhere and in every direction.  They would elevate and criss-cross like a roller coaster.  They had roads that were so wide, I stopped counting the number of lanes after seven (that is going one way) and assumed the other side was just as wide.  I thought DC had some intimidating roads.

The first day in Houston, I slept in.  Ahhhh....Then I went and visited the gym and jogged for an hour on a treadmill while listening to my iPod and watching ESPN sports (don't regularly follow sports, but it was something to stare at).  I met Joe for a lunch and then afterwards I decided to get into the big Lincoln Town car and tootle around towards the mall to look for a jacket.  It was cold in Houston, unfortunately. 

That evening, after Joe was done with his clinics, we were able to visit with our friends, go out to dinner and then dessert.  It has been a long time since I've had an evening out with adult friends.  It was fun catching up!  It's fun seeing Houston with people who live there and know where to take you!  At the end of the night, we went back to our car to find out it had been towed away.  Thankfully, we were able to get our car back.

The next day, we slept in again, and went jogging at Bear Creek Park.  Then, we headed off to downtown Houston to have some lunch.

We skipped breakfast so we had a pretty large lunch.  I never eat ribs, so that was a treat.  They also had fried okra - I love that stuff, mmmmm.

After lunch, we headed off to Hermann Park to walk around and see the sights.

 

I read about Hermann Park and thought it was a good place to walk around and hangout for the afternoon and our friends also recommended it.

On the way to the other side of the Reflection Pool we saw some cute ducks that gave me some laughs.

I really couldn't resist taking this shot.  There were so many different kinds of birds all over the place.  I was taking shots of all of them, but none really turned out well.  Here's a type of duck I found really pretty.  I have no idea what type it is.

Joe & I went by the Garden Center, but didn't really find many of the flowers in bloom.  In the rose garden, I found just a few blooms.

We headed over to the Japanese Garden which was my favorite part of the park.  It was very peaceful.  We found a couple who wanted their picture taken and in turn took a picture of us.  I don't think Joe & I get enough pictures together.

All over the park were live oak trees that were really old.  They were lined up next to the trail that made it so inviting to walk along.  I may have mentioned before how I would love a driveway with beautiful trees lined up on both sides.

Not sure what it was, perhaps the winding trail, but I wanted to take a picture. 

After Hermann Park we had planned to go to the vigil Mass at Holy Rosary Catholic Church.  We got their early enough to pray and say the rosary.  The Mass was lovely. 

We went to dinner afterwards at the Steamboat House, supposedly the tenth best steakhouse in the country according to...I don't know who.  It was a nice restaurant that gave tribute to Sam Houston and Texas Heroes.  It was decorated with different pieces of history and art.

I always have to take a picture of my food.  We had an appetizer that I've never heard of before.  It was called Salmon Tar Tare (I've had steak tar tare before).  It was raw salmon mixed with avocado and some jalapenos.  It was very good, however tasted much better with lemon on top of each bite.  Joe had the bison burger while I had a 10 oz ribeye, yummy!

Right near our restaurant was our next destination, the Sam Houston Race Track.  I was researching Houston and thought it would be fun to do together.  I've never been to a car, dog or horse race before.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but knew I would be betting on horses.  When we got there, I noticed the seating wasn't like a football stadium - all the way around, but just on one side.  They had 10 races an evening.  Before each race they had an area where you could see them.  I was amazed at the Jockeys.  They were all so short and skinny.  It makes sense for racing, but when and how do you decide you will become a Jockey?  If you are short and skinny, does it cross your mind? 

Then there was a program with all the races listed and the horses' stats in them so you could make your bets accordingly.  Once I saw the program with all those tiny numbers, I just decided against that and decided to bet on the horse with the name I liked best.  I don't like numbers.  Well, I looked at the horses, too and maybe a few of the numbers in the program, but to have to take into account the horses' parents, the jockey, it's age, etc...too much.

We went inside and went to one of these computer thingys and placed our bets then went outside to the track to watch the race.  Joe was explaining all the numbers on the board.  I think we watched about 5 races and I lost every single one.  Some of my horses started strong but all lost their endurance at the end of their race.  Joe won one race.  I didn't take many pictures because it was dark and all my pics were getting blurry.

We watched some races on ground level, but eventually went inside to join everyone else.  Even though the race only lasted a minute or two, it got very exciting for a lot of people who were making money!  It was a fun night, but I got so tired.  I'm not used to being out that late.  I fell asleep on the way back to the hotel.

Overall, I liked Houston (the little of it I saw).  I would like to explore more of Texas because I'm sure there is a lot more to see.  Till next time...

Recreation

This time of year is supposed to be cold, but the weather is telling us something different.  The other week we had some really nice weather where I let my kids go outside without their jackets and enjoy the early evening.  It's really a nice time of day when the sun is going down and the light is just so golden!  Gives me a warm fuzzy just thinking about it. 

Let me just say, that I still feel I need to be outside when my kids are playing because I get nervous with all the strangers and the cars, etc...Even though, I know my kids know better.  I see other kids walking around the block by themselves, riding their bikes in the streets (I did that!) and I am having issues with my kids playing in the front yard without me.  So, I go outside with them and take pictures while they play.

My daughter never took interest in dolls, so we have none in our house.  However, in Art class in school she had made this little doll.  She was very proud of it, trying to think of a name for her and also trying to get Bernadette to like her doll, too.  She was carrying it around as if she had played with dolls all her life.  Last night, I even found her doll in bed with her as she slept.  Awwww....I'm just not used to seeing that sort of stuff with Anne.  With all the boy toys in our house (Cars, trains, legos, etc...) and the lack of the girl toys, it's sweet.

Anne was sharing her doll with Bernadette, but she was really just running all around the place happy to be out of the house!

I just recently cut Bernadette's hair.  I was never in favor for bangs, but I was sort of tired of always putting her hair up.  Her hair is very thin compared to Anne's and it's just harder to do.  So, I watched a few youtube videos and had my game plan on how to cut her hair.  Hmph...it didn't go so smoothly and it was very traumatic for Bernadette.  I'll post a picture later.

With her new haircut, she looks a lot like I did when I was her age.  I hate talking about it without a photo!  Her profile already looks a lot like me as a child.  It's that nose!

I have a little model in the family who likes it when the camera is in his face.  I was practicing my tack sharp photos.  Something so basic, but I never get it quite right. 

Hello Eddie.

Another one?  Ok... Eyes not in focus, mouth is...whoops.

Oh yeah...I like this one.

Had to stick a silly one in there.  He may not be able say everything that is on his mind, but his facial expressions do.

There goes Patrick whizzing by as fast as he can.

So, when it is too cold to go outside and play we play board games.  We have had a lot of fun with Junior Monopoly, but the kids seem to be ready for regular Monopoly.  I always found that game confusing as a child so I never played it.  As an adult, I still find it a little confusing with all the complex rules, strategies to building, mortgaging, going to jail, taxes, etc... Never found that stuff interesting as a kid (and as an adult), give me Candyland or Chutes and Ladders! 

My Anne loves it.  It was fun playing with my kids.  Watching them count their money, build their monopolies and beat me as I lost all my money landing on my daughter's hotel on Boardwalk. 

Anne beat us all in Monopoly!  We've played a few board games recently - Monopoly, Scattagories, Poker (not a board game) and Clue.  I never played Clue before - it was fun, I won :-)  Any other family favorites out there?

Turning Two

Bernadette turned two on January 28th!

We had a small party with her grandparents.  I still don't know what her favorite food is.  She is following the trend of the picky eater.  Tacos are always the safe way to go with the kids.  They all eat it or parts of it.

I made cupcakes!  I love them, I can eat a whole bunch of them.  However, when I make them for my kids' birthday - no one eats them.  They don't like cake too much.  They'll opt for "just ice cream".  Hmph.  What's wrong with the kids today?  I gotta think of cake alternatives.  Ice cream cakes, donut cakes, rice krispie cakes, ice cream sundaes with a candle on top?

I just joined pinterest.  I'm still trying to figure that whole thing out.  To me, it seemed like a bulletin board where you could find ideas and store them on this virtual board.  It also seems as though you can post your own creative stuff, too.  Hmph.  Won't be posting much there.  I did find a few things with my first quick orientation that I pinned or liked or whatever!  I am going to try to post on here.

<div style='padding-bottom: 2px; line-height: 0px'><a href='http://pinterest.com/pin/91409067406591296/' target='_blank'><img src='http://media-cdn.pinterest.com/upload/284289795197312966_LFXaA9zU_c.jpg' border='0' width='250' height ='250'/></a></div><div style='float: left; padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px;'><p style='font-size: 10px; color: #76838b;'>Source: <a style='text-decoration: underline; font-size: 10px; color: #76838b;' href='http://foodgawker.com/popular/favorites/page/20/'>foodgawker.com</a> via <a style='text-decoration: underline; font-size: 10px; color: #76838b;' href='http://pinterest.com/janapa0720/' target='_blank'>Jana</a> on <a style='text-decoration: underline; color: #76838b;' href='http://pinterest.com' target='_blank'>Pinterest</a></p></div>

Ok, I tried to post the picture from pinterest onto my blog and it didn't work.  Hmph?  I'll figure it out.
This is a treat that all my kids would like and it's so cute, simple and yummy-looking.  Perhaps, I can stick a candle on one and make it a birthday dessert?  Ha!

Anyway, my little baby is growing up and she is just full of life.  What a good little girl.  Here's praying for a blessed third year!

Family Time

Things have been rolling along in the Patterson house!  The kids are still smiling from the joy of the Christmas season.  The Christmas tree is down, the decorations and the many nativity scenes have been put away and all the pine needles swept, however I still get a few every time I sweep the floor.  I think we are going to go fake next year!

An update on my mom, she's doing much better!  I was able to visit during the Christmas holiday and spend time with her.  She was given a tracheotomy and  put on a ventilator.  With the trache and nourishment, she had improved enough to travel to Florida - Yeh!  She was put on an air ambulance and arrived safely to a health care facility near my sister's house.  She has improved so much since arriving that she is now off the ventilator, breathing and eating on her own.  She is now able to voluntarily move her foot - giving us hope that she will regain more voluntary movement.  So now, the plan is for her to move into my sister's home and begin the alternative treatment for her cancer.  Hopefully, deo volente, she will continue to progress.

The New Year has gotten off to a great start, I think!  January seems to have some long weekends built into it because of holidays and teacher's "Professional Development" days.  But what has been really great is that my husband has been home and available to hang with us. 

What a difference it makes to have him home.  There are always responsibilities of a coach and a teacher (grading, recruiting, meetings...) that fill up time, however this year there seems to be some more time available.  The dynamics in the house are so much calmer.  There is more laughing, more help, more smiles all around!  Yeh!

The weather, I always seem to talk about the weather, has been so up and down.  It really reminds me of a yo-yo.  It's unseasonably warm one day and then we are having snow flurries the next.  What is going on?  One day, I wasn't expecting it, but it started snowing outside.  I knew it wasn't going to accumulate but it was the big fluffy kind and it was so pretty!  The kids went outside and enjoyed it while it lasted.

Like I said on Facebook, if it's going to be this cold we should be having some snow.  Please say this isn't going to be the only snow we see this Winter!  Let it snow, let it snow already.

Since we had a long weekend we thought we would plan a small day trip to this city and see it's zoo.  Can you guess which city this is?

Philadelphia!  It was so cold!  However, the small crowds were definitely nice.  I made sure to layer the kids very well and then bring the necessary additional layers just in case!

The Philly zoo had a lot of neat animals that our zoo doesn't have.  My kids love animals and know so much about them that we had to visit. 

This was very exciting for Patrick!  He loves the American Alligator and we got to see it being fed.  Unfortunately, the African animals were not around for us to see.  We were looking forward to some hippos and giraffes.

We took a pretzel break between the mammal house and the gorilla house.

They had these peacocks every where, but none were showing us their pretty feathers.

We were at the zoo longer than we thought.  We were also planning on going to the Children's museum in town, but after a long, cold afternoon outside we were pretty tired.  I think we were the last family out of the zoo. 

After the zoo, we headed off to Museum of Art, not to see the art, but to have the kids run up the steps that Rocky ran up.  We got it on video.  I had to hum the Rocky song up the steps.  Even though the kids had no idea who Rocky was, it was still fun!

I never knew there was a statue of Rocky at the Museum of Art. 

The kids have smiles frozen onto their faces.  They just wanted to get back into the car and watch their movie on the way home.  We also had the Liberty Bell on the schedule, but just drove by it instead since everyone was so tired and cold.  However, we did stop by one place before we left for home - Geno's Steaks, for the best Philly Cheese steak in Philly. 

Picture not taken by me.  I was the funny tourist with a video camera.  I felt really stupid in line and everyone seemed to order as if they were regulars.  I was looking at the menu for more choices, but you could get just one size, with just onions and a choice of whiz, American or provolone.  So, ended up buying two cheese steaks with provolone.  To tell you the truth?  It wasn't all that great.  I prefer a Jerry's steak and cheese over Geno's, but nonetheless, I'm glad I tried one.  Thanks, Geno.

With the Martin Luther King holiday, we planned on doing something rather simple, but fun, locally.  Another cold day, but more windy.  We went to Gravely Point Park in Alexandria, VA - my old stomping grounds back in the day.  I don't know what I was thinking, but I didn't dress as warmly as I did going to Philly.  I didn't dress the kids that way either, but should have because it was miserably cold.  I think I can handle any weather as long as I'm dressed for it, and I wasn't prepared.

This place is great!  The planes are landing at Washington Regan Airport and we are sitting right under them as they land!  It's just amazing.  The kids loved it and were able to run around while waiting for the next plane to land or take off.  The best part of it was the Potomac River being right next to it so they could throw rocks and sticks into it.  Not to mention the beautiful view of the city.  We were also thinking of seeing the new MLK memorial, but there was a line just to see if you could park and we thought we would pass on that.  We can always come back another day and visit.

It's been a nice start to the year! 

C'mon, bring on the snow already!