Our New Parental Anthem: "We're Not Gonna Take It"

No, we're not gonna take it. We're not gonna take it anymore!!!

That song conveniently came on the radio tonight just as we were ending a disastrous family outing to Trader Joes. Yes, Trader Joes the grocery store -- we live dangerously these days. First, keep in mind that Mazy and Bo were home all week with me and Violet. For the most part, we had a delightful time together and did many fun activities. But the last few days, the talking back, the refusal to do things, the tantrums, the fighting -- have all been on the increase.

Anyway, let me fast forward to tonight. Shawn arrived home from work at about 5:30. We were all ready to go and after he changed his clothes, we piled into the van without too many delays for bad behavior. Shawn wanted to stop at a thrift shop before heading to the suburban mecca of Jordan Creek. I waited in the van with the children. Sweet, sweet Violet was sleeping peacefully. Her brothers were arguing over who drew the best plants in their pictures of Plants Vs. Zombies. That's when my headache started.

Next stop, Trader Joes. Now Jordan Creek and Trader Joes are probably 15 to 20 miles from our house. It is not an area we go to often for that very reason. So when you go, you tend to want to pack a lot of fun into the evening. We had planned on buying some fun treats at Trader Joes for the weekend, then going somewhere for dinner together and then ending the evening with a stroll around the manmade pond near the big Jordan Creek Mall. And because of the nice summery weather, I'm sure I would have talked Shawn into frozen yogurt for the gang.

Well, we didn't even make it out of Trader Joes... Long story short: tonight we as parents decided that we were not gonna take it anymore. Fits and tantrums were met with swift punishment -- immediate removal to the van, a stern lecture that made Mazy cry and Bo sulk, and then straight home with nothing fun at all. Nothing!

On the way home, as we were contemplating the black market rate for a 7-year-old and a nearly 4-year-old, we thought, "Why should their behavior ruin our evening?" It was just 6:45. Our favorite Thai/Chinese restaurant was right on the way home. So Shawn went in and ordered us a fabulous dinner to go. But not one single egg roll for those ornery boys. We then went home and fed the boys sandwiches and water, and then sent them to bed. Shawn went back for our food, and then Shawn and I enjoyed our first quiet dinner together since Violet was born. It was wonderful. We each even drank a Leinie's Lemon Shandy. And that sweet Violet sat in her bouncy seat staring up at us and the ceiling fan as happy as could be. After we ate, I went upstairs to hug and kiss the boys and tell them that tomorrow would be another day and another chance for them to be happy and well behaved.

And it will be. That's the great thing about children. You're stuck with them so you might as well start each day with a clean slate.

Our Day Trip to Pella, Iowa

Today was a great day and one I will fondly remember for many years. I invited my aunt Sherie to go to Pella, Iowa, with me and all three kids. We had a super fantastic day, as Bo would say! We left our house bright and early, around 9 a.m. and returned at about 4:30 p.m. Bo and I were exhausted, but Mazy had energy to burn, which was good since he had swim clinic at 5:45.

Sweet little Violet slept all day and all afternoon. She was up a lot yesterday so I was expecting that. I'm seeing a pattern with her Mondays -- I don't know if it's the food I eat on weekends (maybe more dairy that affects her when I nurse??) or the busier schedule or what, but Sunday nights and Mondays are her roughest times. Then she sleeps it off on Tuesdays and gets back to her routine the rest of the week.

Anyway, the weather was beautiful and there were not many people in town so we often had the museums and parks all to ourselves. If you need a fun day trip, definitely consider going to Pella. The boys really enjoyed the working windmill and historical village/museum (we spent about 2 hours touring it). There's a playground just a few blocks from downtown that's fairly shady and is ideal for picnics and some running around time. The town square can't be beat -- so many fun shops and interesting things to look at. The boys particularly liked the canal they built a few years ago. And of course, there are two stellar bakeries and a butcher shop that sell wonderful Dutch treats! Mazy will review Jaarsma Bakery tomorrow on his blog. I bought two rings of Pella bologna. We'll eat one tomorrow night in our jambalaya and I'll probably freeze the other for future jambalayas.

Here's a look back at our day in pictures:

 Can't you just imagine what these two were thinking.....   :)

Cottonwoods and Swim Lessons

Today was the first day of "vacation" for Mazy and Bo this week. They are both home with me and Violet all week and I am determined to make it a fun time for them without spending too much money!

The adventure today was a picnic lunch at a great shady playground over by Valley Junction. It was so beautiful out. The cottonwood trees were all blooming and little tufts of cotton floated all around us while we were there. It was so serene and picturesque, spoiled only by the occasional tantrum by the chubby little eastern European boy who insisted on riding his big wheels onto the playground equipment where he inevitably ran over a little red-headed girl. His mother never learned to just take the trike away and put it in the car. I don't know what language she was scolding him in but it was not very effective.

My boys, on the other hand, were delightfully well-behaved! Which is always a nice surprise. :) Violet and I hung out on a blanket under a big tree until they were ready to eat. I made roast beef roll-ups for me and Mazy and a pepperoni roll-up for Bo. I also bought a variety bag of snack-sized chips and let each of them choose a bag, and then had mandarin oranges and bottles of water. Very cheap lunch. But they loved it!

After the park we decided to celebrate our week of vacation by getting ice cream at Sonic. They both got sundaes, which Bo promptly spilled all over himself and I got a Diet Coke float, which was delicious. We capped off the afternoon with the inaugural sprinkler session in the backyard. Mazy loves to get drenched, Bo loves to NOT get drenched.

I started supper at 5 and when Shawn got home at 5:30, I took Mazy to a swim clinic over at North High School. It's kind of an introduction to their all ages swim team. I also signed him up for summer swim lessons at the end of June. He'll go this week for three 45 minute sessions with a bunch of other kids. I doubt he learns much but he loved being in the pool and practicing his kicking and some basic swim moves.

And tomorrow we are going on a road trip to Pella, Iowa! I'm excited to take the boys -- it's a cool downtown with lots of green space in the town square for them to explore. I already made our sandwiches for tomorrow's picnic lunch. My aunt Sherie is going with us. I thought another adult might be helpful on a road trip. If all goes well, we'll make a stop at the famous Jaarsma Bakery to buy treats for the ride home! And maybe a few baked yummies for Shawn as well. Have a great day!

Happy Mother's Day 2012!

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there reading this! Hope you have a wonderful day planned with your families. Violet and I started our day quite early -- 3 a.m. :)  She wanted me all to herself for awhile. So we hung out until about 7 when I woke up Shawn so he could get in on some of the Violet-bonding time. :)  He let me catch up on sleep from 8 to 10. Then we made brunch together while the boys played on the front porch (I am SO glad we have that cleaned up so they can be out there!). Violet is sleeping. And soon I'm about to head to Menard's Garden Center for tomato, pepper and whatever other plants I find for my garden.

Yesterday was our annual southern fish fry at the farm. It is always a ton of fun and lots of great food! This year Grandma Katy requested that Mazy do a review on her meal so you can read that over on his new blog, Food Adventures.

A few photos of the moms in our family from yesterday:

Whatever your plans today, enjoy your children and appreciate all the mamas in your life! Happy Mother's Day!

More Mother's Day Memories

While sorting through the voluminous crates, boxes and bags of junk in our house, I came across two Mother's Day cards the boys made me in 2005, and then a Mother's Day card I made my mom way back in the early 80s!

 Inside of the card I made my mom -- looks like something we would have done at school, probably in 2nd grade or so. 

 The cover of the card I made -- look at that fancy two-colored flower! :)

 The covers of the boys Mother's Day cards featured outlines of their hands -- I am a sucker for little traced hands!

 Here's Mazy's card -- you can't see the picture of him so well but he was so cute!

And here is Bobo's card -- what a little sweetie!

Tonight I made peanut butter pretzel chocolate brownies -- the second dessert for the annual Mother's Day Fish Fry at the farm tomorrow night. In the morning I will frost the white chocolate raspberry bundt cake and we will be ready to go!

Quick updates:

• Yesterday Shawn, Violet and I attended Mazy's culminating event at school. He was a piranha in a shadow puppet play that his class put on. He also had a large role as one of the emcees of the presentation. After the play, Shawn headed back to Nevada and Mazy, Violet and I grabbed Taco John's (Mazy's choice, he wanted to try their new fish tacos) and we had a little picnic under the shade trees at Terrace Hill (the Iowa Governor's Mansion). It was a lovely day and we had a great time. I have photos that I need to download. 
• Today I continued to sort, clean and throw out stuff. I also mopped the dining room floor for the first time in I don't know how long... Violet slept most of the morning and all of the afternoon. She also only woke up one time Thursday night!

Waldo and Mother's Day Moment

So today was the day Mazy dressed up as Waldo from the popular "Where's Waldo?" book series. He was so freaking cute!!! I left the camera in the van, and it had much better photos of him dressed as Waldo, but this one will suffice for now. Is he hilarious or what?!

Shawn is the mastermind behind this costume. He made the entire thing for about $7, and most of that was the cost of the red and white duct tapes! He found the shirt, hat and glasses at thrift shops. Mazy was very proud of this outfit actually, and wore it all day at school!


Hint to any parent thinking of making a duct tape outfit. Have your child wear the clothing you are duct taping and stuff it with some other articles of clothing to expand the fabric before you tape it. Shawn taped the shirt and then literally squeezed poor Mazy into it. I didn't think we were going to be able to get it off! It was so tight around his arms that it gave him hickeys on the inside of his elbows! Poor kid! I thought one of his ears was going to rip off. But Shawn solved the problem by removing the tape from the back of the shirt and sleeves. It's really only the front we needed to be striped so it worked just fine and gave the fabric some stretch to make it comfortable to wear and remove. It was a hit!


Mother's Day Is Coming!
I'm sure I don't have to remind any of you that Mother's Day is this Sunday. I have all the presents bought and will finish a few on Saturday before the annual Mother's Day Catfish Fry at the farm Saturday night. It is always a delicious meal. I'm doing desserts this year. Tonight I made a white chocolate raspberry bundt cake that needs to be frozen for a few days before serving. I will frost it Saturday morning and serve it cold, as the recipe calls for. It looks beautiful and the batter was delicious! We might also, if time and energy allows, make some cake pops on Friday night. After all, we received a cake pop maker for a Christmas gift this year and haven't used it yet. They would be the perfect small-sized treat for all the children at our party!

Shawn, if you haven't bought me a Mother's Day gift yet, and I know you haven't, here are some ideas: have the boys clean out the van and get it washed and vacuumed for me; buy me a "Violet" pendant for my necklace; get me a grilling pan for the stove; or get me a gift certificate to a garden center so I can buy my vegetable plants and then help me plant them on Sunday.  Just a few ideas if you need them, which I know you do. Making breakfast is always a nice gesture as well. :)

Tuesday with Violet

Today was a fun day. Vy and I woke up early, I showered, got her and the boys dressed, and we took them to school and daycare. Then Violet and I went to the grocery store for cake supplies for Mother's Day. She napped while I made pork/sweet pepper/zucchini stuffed manicotti for supper. Then at 1:30 we took our huge van load of toy donations to Bo's daycare and picked up Bo. Then while Violet napped and Bo watched Curious George, I made super delicious chocolate cupcakes with cream filling! They were so good! And from a box mix, so they took very little time.

Shawn picked up Mazy and then mowed. We enjoyed a nice supper with the boys while Violet slept (seeing a pattern here. That's what happens when she didn't sleep at all yesterday). Then bath time for everyone and Violet was in a good mood so I took some photos of her with things people have made for her and given her that I've been wanting to show you:

 Violet and the beautiful quilt her Aunt Denise made her.

 Violet with her awesome owl pillow that Aunt Heidi and cousin Theron made her.

 Violet with a very cool Jane Austen board book that Aunt Heidi bought. She also has Jane Eyre! We read them together when we're up each night at 4:30. I tell Violet she needs to find a Mr. Darcy to marry. :) 

And my sweet Violet. 

I tried sneaking a photo of Bo after his bath but he hid from me!

Mazy and Shawn just finished his costume for Book Character Day tomorrow. Oh my god, it is as hilarious and cute as I imagined! I might put a photo on Facebook tonight because I love it so much! I will definitely have photos of him on my blog tomorrow. See you!