April around here has been quite lovely I must say. The kids are back in school. The weather has been nice. The city is opening back up. And California has some of the lowest Covid numbers in the country? Go CA!
Heard around here lately:
"Dad, when we go to the funeral, should I wear my black dress or my hot pink dress?" - Winter
"Usually women cook, but in our house Dad does. He's a good mother-cooker." - Winter
"Mommy, I think I love trashmen more than policemen. Don't tell the policemen." - Angus
"Love you Mom! (Farts loudly) And excuse me." - Angus
Shoutout to Otter, (do people still do shoutouts?) the most patient dog in the world. I couldn't decide which pic I liked the most.
This was the post-Easter candy exchange. It was before 7 AM.
For Angus's mommy date, he wanted to get a donut and go to the little near-by airport and watch airplanes fly over. He wore his police costume for the occasion. And his safety vest.
A lucky bonus. He got to see a trash truck pick up a dumpster. And we waved at a few police cars patrolling the airport so it was pretty much the best day ever.
Otter is just sitting there in case someone feels like petting her. 💗
I took Mya and Winter on a trip to the beach. With them getting older and back in school I felt like it was a good time to have some conversations about things they may or may not know about. I'd prefer they heard it from me than kids at school. I'm a big believer in talking to your kids about anything and everything. Even if it makes me or them uncomfortable. I want them to talk to me about things later so I figure I should start that line of communication now while they are young. It takes an hour to get to the beach and an hour to get back. So basically they were mine for 2 hours. 😊
My big girls have demonstrated to me so perfectly that we all have our own gifts. Our own set of strengths and weaknesses. Mya has always been the nurturing one who handles the basic needs of her siblings. She helps them get dressed, does their hair, opens their snacks and helps them with homework. Winter has always been there to play everything and anything with them. She creates elaborate schools in the living room, plays paw patrol, cops and robbers and is really good at steering them away from arguments with redirection. I love that they are so different and both so helpful.
Mya's putting together a police car thingy for Angus.
Meanwhile, Winter is playing paw patrol with the littles.
Angus's first trip to Vons with me in a year. He was pretty mad that they got rid of his favorite fire truck, police and bus shopping carts that he used to sit in and steer. He cried for a few minutes. But he was happy to lug the groceries around. Yeah, his mask is upside down. That's the way he likes it.
Helping Dad put together that same police car thingy that Mya attempted.
Done. With extra pieces.
One of Dan's best buddies (not pictured) lost his dad so we all went to the service. I had to snap a pic of these stud pallbearers in their suits. These two have been besties since they were 12. 💙
Addie looked pretty cute too. Again, Christmas fancy is always her go-to.
The girls and I got to church last Sunday and someone commented that we were all matching. We hadn't noticed. It's probably my doing. I always encourage denim. It goes with everything.
For the last 10+ years, I've been cleaning up messes. Kids make more messes than you'd think. And when you combine all four of them, most of my days have been spent cleaning up spilled milk, granola bar crumbs, water on the floor by the fridge as a result of an attempt to get water all by oneself, etc. You get the idea. I love it that two of them just clean up without me even having to ask. This picture makes me happy.
I debated on whether or not to put this one in as some are easily offended BUT obviously it made the cut. He said it, not me...
"This is Rhino, no Horny, yeah Horny the Rhino. Hi I'm Horny!"
"Mom. Why are you laughing??"
Is it just me or are there way more dips on the shelves these days? Maybe I'm late to the party but I'm loving the selection. I often eat the kids' leftover chicken nuggets for dinner so this is fantastic.
My friend Mari recommended this dip and it's half gone. It's a 32 oz Costco tub. Dan had one bite. So yeah, alright. 😉 I eat it with those little packets of veggies the kids bring home with their free lunches from school. They're not going to eat them. Tortilla chips are good too. And I've found myself saying a few times, "You know what would be good with this? Street Corn dip." Mari said she mixes it with cut up chicken and makes a chicken salad type thing. So many possibilities.
And Dan brought this dressing home one day. Usually, we prefer homemade ranch but this is really good. Their regular ranch is good but I like this one a lot. It's not very spicy. But, then again, Dan says my tolerance is going up so maybe it is?
Are you sensing a theme in my recommendations?
I've never been one for food prep but I've been doing it lately. I know that this idea is not new. People have been doing it for decades. But I have to say that when I bring home my veggies and cut them up, they get eaten 100% of the time. There is NEVER any left. And when I don't, half of the time, they don't get eaten and go bad. And that's with Dan going through the fridge constantly and taking out everything that's about to expire and serving it with dinner.
So, I recommend setting aside like 20 minutes to wash and cut your veggies as soon as you bring them home. You won't regret it. I like to crank up some music, get out the biggest cutting board we have and make sure I have a bowl to throw all the trash in. Sometimes I do it on Sunday afternoons so everything is ready for the week. I even go as far as shredding the cheese. I hate shredding cheese. But the pre-shredded stuff isn't the same. And it has extra preservatives in it. When I do this, I love myself so much for it. I blow kisses at my past self for being so kind.
And if you don't eat veggies, well... carry on. And take some vitamins maybe? You can still prep other things.
Happy Sunday friends! Here's to an awesome week.
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