Fun visit and Haircut

I had an entire blog post written about the awesome visit we had with GiGi and Paw Paw.  I filled in every detail about our trips to Bass Pro Shops and the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD.  I told all about how GiGi and Paw Paw went to choir with Ella and the choir did a special performance just for them.  I shared details about my cousins wedding that we were able to attend and how much fun we had with that.  The list goes on…I shared and typed, and shared some more and typed some more.

Then…I deleted.

I can’t blame it on the computer, because the computer didn’t do anything wrong.  It was all me.  Our internet started acting up so I needed to shut down the computer.  Without thinking I clicked “turn off computer” and started closing any and all documents that were open…including my lengthy and detailed blog post.  Only after the computer was turned off and the screen was dark, did it finally dawn on me what I had done.  All that work…gone.

And so instead, this is what you get.  Just know that GiGi and Paw Paw came into town for a week and we had a great time and did a lot of fun stuff.

I will leave you with some pretty cute pictures of AJ getting his first haircut.  We went to a place in the mall that specializes in kids haircuts.  The second AJ sat in the chair (and I strapped him down) the barber handed him a train toy and put Mickey Mouse on the TV.  That was all it took.  He did awesome and sat in the chair without a problem.  No tears.  No whining.  No trying to be Evil Knievel and jump off the chair.  He moved a little, but he is only 16 months afterall.  And his hair looks great!  We will definitely go back for his next haircut.

He looks so handsome and very grown up with his new haircut.  Where did my little boy go?

Spring Break 2015

Some people spend Spring Break at the beach.  Others head to Disney World.  And others head off to visit family, or even send their kids off with the grandparents for the week and spend the week alone.  Not here…we spend the week at home.  I don’t even feel like this week deserves to be called a Staycation because we haven’t even done anything exciting.

Monday we stayed home.  Joe took the car to work and the kids and I stayed in the basement and played all day.  Poor kids.  Ella did start reading a book about Louis Armstrong, so she and I had a good conversation about jazz music.  GiGi told her all about Ella Fitzgerald, so we ended up watching several videos of both singers.  I told Ella all about scat singing.  She has been trying to scat ever since.

Tuesday we went to the store.  I had grand plans to take them to this awesome park nearby and have a picnic, but we had an escaped convict on the loose, so I wasn’t going to take 2 kids out of my little comfort zone that is our neighborhood.

Wednesday was probably the most exciting day.  We headed to Capitol Hill and had a special lunch with daddy in the cafeteria.  Ella was very excited about this!  The idea of going to a place that has so many food choices that you can eat pretty much whatever you want was thrilling.  I even promised her dessert.  She ended up getting pretzel crusted fish and macaroni and cheese, with red velvet cake for dessert.  After lunch we got to go on a tour of the capitol.  I thought Ella would really enjoy the tour and seeing all of the fancy things inside the capitol.  She was very engaged the entire tour and would raise her hand if she had a question.

Today we’re going to the mall.  I figure I can take the kids shoe shopping with me, and let them ride some kiddie rides while we’re there.  Maybe grab a soft pretzel as a treat, and even let Ella head to Bath and Body Works and Claire’s (2 of her favorite stores).  Tonight is the Maundy Thursday service at church, so we will definitely be heading over there later.

I guess the most exciting thing we’ve done this week is cook.  Last Friday I told Ella that we could spend this week cooking anything she wanted to, so I pulled out all of her cookbooks and we went through each recipe and marked the ones she wanted to try.  Monday we had “real” macaroni and cheese (not from a box) with broccoli and chicken, with chocolate fudge cookies for dessert.  Tuesday we had Stone Soup, and peach turnovers for dessert.  Last night we had Rotini pasta with fresh, homemade Pesto, and S’More Nachos for dessert.  I can’t remember what’s on the agenda for tonight, but I assure you it will be delicious.

I also promised Ella that if she read 4 chapter books this week I would take her to Sweet Frog (frozen yogurt) and she could get anything she wanted.  So far she’s read 2 books and is half way through her 3^rd.  She’s a good reader and loves books that capture her attention.  She especially loves the Magic Tree House series, but she’s quickly passing that reading level.  I’ve tried to steer her toward other books, but she always comes back to the MTH.

That’s it on our end.  Daddy has tomorrow off, so it will be a fun family day spending time together.