Children’s Museum

Yesterday my friend April, with her three boys, and I, with my three kidlets, headed out to the Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett.  It was pretty crowded and crazy and both adults felt exhausted at the end, but the kids had a blast and that’s what it was all for :)

Elsa had so much fun. It was her first time being old enough to do anything and she kept me running all day.

They had a cool room with black lights and glowing things. This was by far Elly’s favorite room. If she escaped from my view, this was where I’d always find her!

 

Elsa, Grady and Gibson in the water room. Always a huge hit and even I have to admit its pretty darn cool.

 

April (Garrison on the back) and Grady working the water wheel

 

Ethan and Elsa… She tried to climb in a few times!

Little (or not so little any more!) Garrison.

There is a small padded play area for kids 5 and under. Elsa was by far the youngest in there but she held her ground very well. When this little girl gave her a push, Elly yelled, “Hey!” and the little girl said sorry. Being the youngest, Elsa is no stranger to being pushed around or standing up for herself!

Ethan’s meal for me, from the kitchen area.

Gwen was too shy to come out to the stage in the theatre area, so Elly just came out and stood there in front of everyone. Then she tried to copy a big kid and walk off the edge. That ended with a face plant, but she wasn’t hurt :)

Grady, Gibson and Elsa watching the coins go down

Gwen was running around everywhere but I managed to catch a picture of her!

On the bus

Being goofy on the train

How can you not love this little face? Gwen is going to marry him one day, or so she says :)

 

April may not appreciate me posting a picture of her boys fighting over a block, but I did because I saw Ethan all finger-wagging about how they should share! The irony here is that not 5 minutes later I had to pull Ethan away from the blocks because he got mad at Elly for knocking his stuff down and pushed her over. Practice what you preach Ethan! :)

Gwen was proud of how tall she built this tower. Elly-zilla took care of it pretty fast after this picture was snapped.

Once we got home, all the kids took outrageously long naps which was nice and allowed me to catch up on a bunch of stuff.

Today I’m taking the kids over to my parents house to spend the night! J and I will be going out to dinner and then tomorrow wrapping up all the presents that have been stashed in the hiding place and getting things ready for Christmas. Good times.

Ahhh…

Today I have been highly effective. Yep, I can say that at 1:37pm with half the day still to come. That’s because even if I do nothing, not a stitch more, it’ll still have been a good day as far as housework goes.

Housework is the bane of my existence. I really don’t like it at all, and get little satisfaction from a clean house vs. a dirty one. My Mother is probably gasping at such a statement because I know she gets very much satisfaction from a clean house and tried to raise us that way. Sorry Mom!

A few weeks ago I decided that instead of ignoring things until they really just couldn’t be ignored any more I would start doing them consistently. I’m starting the third week of this novel concept and I have to say that cleaning a bathroom that is only 1 week dirty vs. one that is 3 weeks or more dirty is a big difference! Putting away 1-2 loads of laundry vs. every single item that we’ve worn in the past 3 months is much easier. Now I’m sure I’ve jinxed myself by saying how good I’ve been with keeping up. But yeah I need to brag a little because I’ve been working hard at this and its paying off. Oh, I still don’t get much satisfaction from it nor do I like doing the chores any more than before, but everything goes quicker and I know it makes Jason happier to come home to a picked up and fairly tidy house.

'Tis the season

Jason commented to me today on how long it had been since I last blogged. I was doing good there with the short ones every day or so, but life got in the way once again :) We've been in a flurry of activity and I've been trying to stay off the computer and get more done around the house.

Gwen had her school performance on Thursday and it was darling, as these things always are. I put the photos up on Facebook and you can view them here. As soon as J compresses the video I'll have that as well.

A few nights ago I made some chocolate mousse (SO delicious and easy) and unwisely left Elsa alone with it for a few minutes. Major mess ensued... My girl does love chocolate!


Gwen and I attended the Olympic Ballet's Nutcracker up in Arlington last Sunday. We had a good time and the performance was very family friendly (tons of kids, shortened from the original) but Gwen still started to fall asleep at the end. It was fun to go, just her and I. When we came out at intermission, the snow was coming down so thick I was a little worried about getting home. By the time we left, the snow had stopped but the parking lot was a sheet of ice. I steeled my nerves and slid all the way down the exit and breathed when I reached Hwy 9 and clear roads. Unfortunately, it was all gone once we reached Lake Stevens and we haven't seen a flake yet. Shoot, this time last year we were positively buried in snow, remember that? Half as much of that would be nice, just to set the mood :)

After a convicting MOPS meeting where we were challenged to be like Gumby and be flexible with our children, the kids and I made some gingerbread people and decorated them. I kind of have a hangup with baking. While not a perfectionist in any other realm, I like to do baking my way and have the results come out as good as possible. Of course when you make things with children, there are complications with that. However, I was like Gumby and let the children take the lead and make a memory :) Pictures are here.

I'm pushing hard to feel some Christmas spirit but have yet to find any. I keep getting bogged down with the consumerist side. One year I want to try something dramatically different like no presents, or only one or something like that. A video I saw a few weeks back is part of that conviction...