This toy was not originally purchased for Ophie.  Colm actually bought it for himself with a gift card he got for Easter.  He had had his eye on this silly little toy  for a while and was so excited to finally be able to get one. Once we got it home though it was clear that the toy was going to be much more entertaining if we let Ophie play with it.
The boys’ school had a FANTASTIC ceremony today to celebrate the opening of the new track, soccer and baseball fields behind their school. The students were involved in the ceremony and everything leading up to it in one way or another…from the creation of the artwork that went on the invitations and the programs, to banners that were made, to the songs and the parade. As the students all stood around the field  during the final part of the parade, they all got to take a ceremonial first step onto the field.  The entire afternoon was very well done and only made me feel even better about the school choice we made for them here.
I have a new website dedicated to my love of children’s literature. I hope you can find books there that you can share with your own family. Some may be classics that have been read and re-read for generations while others may be new. Please share any great finds that you think other parents would also enjoy. You can check back in each day to find what book is featured for the day. I am looking forward to this journey in reading with you. Happy reading…
Colm purchased a packet of mints with his allowance this week. He is now pretty concerned with making sure his breath is minty. It says on the package that one mint will keep your breath fresh for three hours. In all of his wisdom, he decided he should eat eight of them all at once so that his breath would be fresh for the entire day. He also had one before he went to kindergarten today. He said he was breathing all over the other kids at his table to make sure his breath still smelled good. I am sure those other children appreciated all of the heavy breathing. I think he only has a few left in package…thank goodness! 🙂
Liam had his first day of soccer practice. He has a nice team of about nine kids and I really like his coach. They play indoor soccer in the spring here which is a good thing since it rains so much. 🙂
Since Liam is in Black Belt Club he gets to do some extra activities like learning how to use these sticks (I am sure they have a more formal name, but I don’t know what it is). He really likes it and it is pretty cool. He is in the beginning stages, but when you watch the kids who have been doing it a while do all of their “fancy footwork” you can see why an 8-year old boy would be drawn to it.
The boys and their very full baskets after the post-Mass Easter Egg Hunt.
We were very excited to learn that there is an IKEA here and since we are going to be moving into a new house in the next few weeks (Yes, we sold our other house but that is another post entirely.) we decided to head over there and see what they have to offer in the way of shelving, kitchen tables and sofa sleepers (for all of our guests). 🙂 One of the first things we noticed when we first walked in is there is a place to drop off your kids so you can shop. Awesome!!! We waited patiently for our turn, filled out the paperwork and made sure the boys met their height requirements. Ooops!!! Liam was too tall. God bless him, it took everything he had not to cry right there on the spot. He was SOOO wanting to go in and watch whatever cartoon it was they had playing. He had been watching it the entire time we were waiting in line. They did give him a coupon for a free ice cream cone in their cafe though, so it wasn’t a total loss. Colm didn’t care if his brother couldn’t go. He was still game and off he went to play while Liam, Sean and I went to go check things out. We found several sofas that we liked and also some shelving, but we couldn’t agree on a kitchen table. Grrr. We didn’t end up buying anything, but when it gets closer to our closing date we will definitely be heading back. It was almost time to go pick up Colm (they can only stay in childcare for an hour) so we went and got him, picked up some ice cream cones at the cafe and headed home.
I got to help Liam’s class with their art project as well. Liam’s class approached their project a little differently since they are a little bit older. It was so great to see how the second graders’ projects turned out compared to the kindys’.
Sunday-Breaded Chicken, Pasta Salad, Grapes
Monday-Chorizo and Butter Bean Stew, Grapes, Fresh Bread
Tuesday-Tacos, Melon
Wednesday-Roasted Whole Chicken, Butternut Risotto, Green Beans
Thursday-Jamie Oliver’s Classic Spaghetti (I am going to make the version of this dish with tuna…look at the bottom of the recipe where he lists several different ways to make this.)
Friday-Kitchen Closed
Yes, I have been making a lot of Jamie Oliver dishes lately. He is my new hero and I absolutely love his new show. I wish everyone could be as passionate about food as he is.