My Valentines Day

The day started great... David got up and I heard him downstairs with the girls. What made it better was that I could hear that he was feeding the cats, a chore I almost always do. I also knew the girls both signed up for school "hot lunches" today, so I was able to stay in bed a bit longer, not having to pack lunches.

I decided to start our holiday with some festive breakfast. I pulled out the kids' heart-shaped plates and gave them cinnamon toast in shape of hearts. I also pulled out chocolate cheerios and strawberry frosted mini-wheats. As we got started, Hannah came downstairs very sadly. She expected Cupid to have been here already and to start the day with surprises from him. Nothing Daddy and I said made a difference.

This winter we've gotten later and later getting the girls to school. Even when I get everyone headed to the car at 8:30, we still can't seem to make it before the "late car traffic." So once again, I'm approaching the school and see tons of cars. My preference is to make a U-turn to park right by the school. But there is a steady stream of cars exiting the parking lot headed my way, making it difficult. Stupid me, I thought I could do it anyway. Have you ever pulled ahead of a parallel parking spot in preparation of backing into it only to find the car behind you kept driving right up behind you so you can't back in? Well, this happens to me every few times I attempt this maneuver at Red Hawk. I even put on my turn signal as I pulled forward, but apparently this is only helpful from my perspective. Others don't seem to notice it. As I pulled ahead to try for a second spot, I managed success. Sort of. I was honked at by a car who went around me in frustration. I think it was even my neighbor! oops. So we all got out and walked the farther distance to school.

Because of parking a bit farther up the road, we all had to walk through a bit of mud. This is a challenge, since a 3 year old doesn't see mud as a problem. As she and I walked back to the car I started prepping her with instructions to keep her feet down in the car, to not get mud on my carseat. With her size, the back of the seat in front of her is usually her foot rest and I needed to be sure she understood that wasn't okay today. We arrived to the gym/library parking lot and as I went to help Erin out, I saw mud all over the seatback. Yup. You starting to get a feeling for what kind of day this is going to be?

We had a pretty uneventful Friday morning doing our usual routine - dropped Erin in the Rec Center's Kid Station so I could work out. Picked her up and had a snack in the Rec Center's lobby, then walked across the courtyard to the library for "Music & Movement" class, then library time. When I was getting hungry for lunch I had trouble getting Erin out of there. Small hiccup, but a pain nonetheless. This resistance lost her the chance to watch tv while I made lunch later. We finally got home and I parked in the driveway, planning to wash my car a bit later, since there's no sign of snow for the week ahead.

As I was about to help Erin out of the car, I discovered Hannah's wallet on the car floor with money she had intended to take to school for a contest/fundraiser that ended today. Change of plans - hooked Erin back in and off to Red Hawk we drove.

In the office I was starting to explain the situation when I saw Kelcie walking towards the office looking very sad. Lunch time had just started and she couldn't eat due to feeling nauseous. We took her into the nurse's office to sit for awhile and see how she felt. I took Erin to the cafeteria to tell Hannah we'd dropped off her money (which I don't think she even realized she'd forgotten). Back to the office, where it was decided we'd take Kelcie home. Signed her out, got her backpack and on our way. I found out later that Kelcie did indeed buy her school lunch and sat down with it before realizing she was sick. Bummer about the wasted lunch money spent.

As we pulled into the garage (this time given up on my hope for a clean car), a florist delivery was awaiting us. A vase of beautiful pink tulips arrived to cheer up my mediocre day. Thanks, Mom!!

Kelcie went up to her room to rest and I started lunch. Erin was messing with my delicate sheer curtains and of course asking her to leave them alone fell on deaf ears. I found all the curtain ties on the stairs. Erg. Erin spilled her glass of of water at lunch. Par for the course.

Miracle of the day - Erin actually napped. Considering that Kelcie was resting in her room, I had lost any hope of Erin napping! After a bit I checked on Kelcie, to discover poop smeared in various spots of the bathroom and having to change the stinky poopy trash. But at least there was a good-sized stool in the potty! Luckily Kelcie was better with a bit of rest and time. No vomiting. No fever. No need for a doctor appointment.

I was prepared for picking Hannah up from school to be another challenge, knowing that many parents attended the late-afternoon Valentine parties so many extra cars would fill the neighborhood. Miracle of the day #2 - I found a spot on the edge of the parking lot! I left Kelcie and Erin in the car to get Hannah. The perk to having two children at school is that if one is home sick, the other can bring their things home. Hannah came home with both Valentine boxes, goodies and flowers delivered from Daddy. Now to go home and trash the house in order to check out all their cards and loot. Sigh.

The day ended nicely with heart-shaped strawberry pink pancakes for dinner, Daddy coming to the rescue bringing treats from Cupid and time spent reading books together before watching some Olympics.

All in all, drama not unlike most days around here. But in the midst of it all, it sure feels pretty bad.

Keeping Your House Reasonably Clean Without Spending Hours at aTime

Setting up a cleaning schedule with no more than one task per day has made such a difference and helped me to feel much less busy and stressed. Maybe this is old news to most of you - and kudos if it is - but it was enlightening to me and improved my life so much!

Start by brainstorming what tasks need to be done at least once a month in your home. Mark each task by how often each must be done for you to feel your home is reasonably clean. I use the term "reasonably clean" loosely, because if this is going to work, you need to let go of sparkling clean. Be willing to have some cleaning tasks done less frequently, knowing everything important will be done this month at some point. Group your listed tasks by their frequency. Here's a sample list:

 

Daily:

Wipe kitchen counters

Wipe dining table
Sweep floor under dining table

 

Weekly:

Vacuum living room

Wipe down bathroom counters

 

Bi-weekly or Monthly:

Dust house

Vacuum bedrooms

Clean toilets

 

Now, even though you are creating a daily cleaning schedule, everyone needs a few days off. And you need to account for things coming up.

Here's my final list, as a starting place:

 

Valentine Garland

Here is a simple garland you can make with your preschooler.

Cut a set of small colored papers. Decorate them with whatever you have - glitter, stamps, stickers, etc.

Punch a hole in both top corners of each page.

String ribbon through them all and hang up.

Simple!

Wonton Meal Cups

There are so many things you can do with wonton wrappers beyond making wontons. You could fill them with all kinds of things from making raviolis to meatballs, seal the edges and bake. One of my newest favorites is making filled cups. While you can press refrigerated biscuits into muffin tins and do similar recipes, it can be tricky to be sure they don't come out doughy. Besides, sometimes you want a deep dish pizza and sometimes you want thin and crispy.....

Taco Cups

Lightly grease muffin tins.

Arrange your wonton wrappers across each muffin cup. If your filling is greasy or watery, you may want to use two layers of wonton wrappers.

Put about 1 tablespoon of seasoned taco meat in the middle of each wrapper and lightly push them down into the cup.

Cover with shredded cheddar cheese.

Bake @ 350 for about 10 minutes, or until lightly brown.

 

 

Sorry my pic doesn't show full muffin tins....I was in such a hurry to start gobbling these up, I almost forgot to take the picture!

Other ideas of what you could fill them with:

• Sloppy Joe mix
• Layer with lasagna ingredients

Please comment on this post if you have other ideas or have tried other Wonton meal cups - I'd appreciate it!

Wonton Art Turned Snack

There are so many things you can do with wonton wrappers beyond making wontons. You could fill them with all kinds of things from making raviolis to meatballs, seal the edges and bake.

Edible Crispy Snowflakes
This was a great activity for my kindergarteners when friends were over to play on a winter day. Square-shaped wraps work great for folding into a triangle once and maybe twice. Use scissors to cut into snowflake shapes however you wish. You can also forgo the folding and simply cut as you desire. Either way, cutting with food is fun for kids!

Spray lightly with cooking spray, then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Bake @ 350 for 8-10 minutes - but keep an eye on it, as it can go from lightly brown to burned fast!

 

 

Once finished, the kids get to eat their art! A crunchy, lightly sweet snack.