The Great Pennsylvania Post.

We spent our spring break in Pennsylvania, where we got to sit around and enjoy quality time with our family. The kids had the best time, and were not pleased when it was time to go, although Fisher was easily consoled with the idea of getting on another airplane. Seeing aunts and uncles and Grandma and celebrating Fisher's birthday were all of the reasons we went, but if I had to give the real reason, Baby Keila would be the answer, hands down. The kids were smitten.Two days after we arrived was Fisher's fourth birthday and with the great weather we headed to the park for some before-lunch birthday fun.

This one's my favorite. Fisher makes any number of goofy faces, but this one shows his fun, goofy, happy spirit, too.
Fisher got to celebrate along with Aunt Renee (also a March birthday) and big sister Alla, since all the family won't be here next month for her special day.
For his gift to Alla, Uncle Will threw Alla in the fish pond.
Just kidding. Aunt Renee would never let him do that to her Alla.
The next day we took the kids to Hershey's Chocolate World, which they loved for the ride, and I loved for the gorgeous forsythia as a backdrop.
Here are the Killins siblings - Renee, Ronna, and Ron - with Alla, Baby Keila, and Fisher.
We rounded out the trip with a visit to Great Grandma where Alla indulged in chicken fingers and rolls.
And, just to prove that I went on the trip, too! Me and my niece and mother-in-law, who put up with all of us for six sleeps! These are some lucky kids to have her for a grandma. Baths around here are practically punishment after the bubbles and jets in Grandma's tub!

Ten on Tuesday.

1. My, oh my, I have a four-year-old.

2. We surprised Alla at school today by joining her for lunch. She smiles all through lunch when we do that.

3. It is blowing something crazy out there. I despise wind.

4. We spent last week in Pennsylvania visiting Grandma, aunts, uncles, and a new cousin. Photos to come!

5. When we got back, we celebrated Fisher's second "burt-day" with Nana and Pappi. We are pretty sure that he actually considered it an official second birthday.

6. We made what he requested: vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting. Vanilla frosting to die for, thank you Pinterest!

7. Another Pinterest score: Quinoa Mac n Cheese last night for dinner.

8. I think Pinterest may take over the world.

9. When we left for Pennsylvania, all of Minnesota was brown. When we returned six sleeps later, the grass was green and the lilacs budding, most of the trees branches lined in pale green. All beautiful, and all contributing to a very early start to allergy season for me.

10. 100 more pages left of Katherine Boo's book, and then I'm hoping another Katherine's book will arrive shortly thereafter!

Birthday Boy.

Lately I've been going through videos from the past few years, labeling, marveling, and now I find that what I am most surprised about this fourth birthday is not how he isn't a baby anymore. (That feels obvious, but I'll be bringing up baby pictures and mourning those days again in future birthday years.) What really strikes me is how he's not this little toddler, with garbled words and cute pronunciations. Of course he isn't a baby, but when I'm looking back at videos, I guess I thought those toddling days would stretch out further. No, he is definitely a preschooler, and in the middle of even that, if I can wrap my head around it. What he truly is, at four years old, is so incredibly kind. Sincere, emotional, sensitive. Loud. Boisterous. Creative. Smart.

He has the warmest kisses.

He has a vast knowledge of emergency vehicles, particularly fire ones, battleships, construction vehicles, and aircraft.

His favorite colors are red and goldenrod.

He loves his sister.

He is loved, very very much.

Happy Birthday, Buddy!

Twelve on the 12th: March.

Monday morning rain
oil pastels that you love
little finger that you love
taking pictures with Mommy's camera that you love

What you see outside through my lens
self-timer: Us and Lovey
I knew you'd fall asleep, silly time change
you and Udai, buddies

Grumpy face, but you weren't grumpy
treasures multiplying on our doorstep, safe
Daddy headed for a rainy run
End of the day: bath.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. We are too busy enjoying the mid-60s to be inside blogging.

2. Harbingers of spring: geese flying in a v-formation, robins, and, today, Dusty the Street Sweeper. That last one, Fisher has declared, must be the first sign of spring.

3. Today my son made his first birthday wish (this is big, people, because he only wishes for things that are never attainable) - he wants one of those (nerf) bow and arrows that our across the street friend has. Those arrows flew down the street!

4. Had Alla home with a yucky cold today. March 1st is that date (for me) when the nice weather mingles with the bad, however, we must wait til at least May 1st for most of the colds to be gone.

5. But it's nice to get outside in the sunshine, and sit wrapped up in a blanket on a lawn chair in the driveway, even if you are home sick.

6. Tomorrow we're sharing a "treat" with Fisher's school friends - smokejumpers. Some of you may think of those green army guys as paratroopers, but my son would correct you.

7. The kids started a new (to them) swim class this weekend at the University of Minnesota, which Fisher likes to call "The Use."

8. All that nice warm sunshine, and the resulting running around caused our children to be asleep moments after closing their door.

9. There once was a time when my daughter knew hundreds of signs, but now that both of my children speak in words, only a few signs remain in daily use: pay attention, I'm Sorry, Thank You, Please, and I Love You.

10. Our favorite little boy turns four on Monday, and lucky for him, we will get to celebrate with Grandma, aunts and uncles and a special little baby cousin. And then have another celebration a few days later!

Ten on Tuesday.

1. What an amazing day today! Over 50 degrees, blue skies! Here is why I love March - you can actually feel the sun. I ran in short sleeves!

2. Yesterday Fisher and I hit up the mall for new shoes (for him - he picked the same ones in the next size up), and I was reminded that I despise the mall. Is it absolutely necessary for every store to have its own scent and waft it at you as you walk by? I'm talking especially to you, Abercrombie. Ugh.

3. We also stopped by Alla's school to have lunch with her.

4. When we came home I had big plans to eat the last Cadbury egg I'd saved. Unfortunately I must have forgotten having already eaten it, because it was not to be found. I was very sad.

5. My husband rescued me and brought a few for me this evening.

6. I have embarked on the world's longest project, which is labeling all of our home movies. They are all officially on my computer now (instead of the Flip) but I have to watch each and every one in order to label it. Three years of cute little clips.

7. I registered Alla for a watercolor class on a Friday in June at our local awesome nature center. The girl is over the moon.

8. One exciting thing Fisher is getting for his birthday - a rope.

9. We are really (just about) done with 90210. It's just horrible.

10. But New Girl - awesome!

Play sink.

I love Friday. I love Saturdays and Sundays because it's the weekend and everyone is home and things are looser, but often because of the empty hours, they get filled up and suddenly what looked on Friday to be 48 hours of lovely nothingness has turned into errands, groceries, projects and then it's Monday morning all over again.

So maybe I like Friday best. From the moment I wake up on Friday, I feel more relaxed. I have to get kids ready for school, so there's a little bit of hustle, but I know that once the last kid gets picked up at 4:00, the only thing I have to do is make pizza for Fisher. No lunch to pack on Friday. Bedtime is still bedtime, but somehow it doesn't feel as hurried. We linger at the table longer, eating slice after slice and usually have time to play a game of Yahtzee when we're all done. The kids can keep their nightlight on longer to read.

For all these reasons, I feel nicer on Fridays; it seems to be the day I'm most likely to say yes. So, when Fisher finished his yogurt and granola lunch and then asked if he could play in the sink, I said yes. Instead of thinking of all the things on my to-do list that could happen after I hurried him into nap, I just said yes.I read a great article awhile back (and sadly can't remember where I read it, so I apologize for not giving credit here!), about a mom designating one day where she makes a conscious effort to say yes. She doesn't tell the kids what day it is, she just makes a point of saying yes as often as she can that day.The other days of the week can zap me (and Friday can, too, now and then), so I'm glad when Friday comes to remind me that to recharge, to relax, and to say yes.How could you not say yes to those little lips anyway?

Ten on Tuesday-Wednesday.

1. Got my camera back from Canon and now it won't communicate with my computer. Thank goodness for my iPhone!

2. Fisher is super into drawing suddenly. Mostly submarines and fireboats and destroyers, and lots of letter Bs.

3. It's Leap Day, and since I'm a sucker for all things memory-keeping, we're compiling a family time capsule, which we'll seal til the next Leap Day. Goodness our life has grown in the last four years, and I can't even imagine the changes by 2016.

4. Fisher (all of us, really) greatly enjoys his Ice Cream Sundays.5. I finished Henrietta Lacks and am onto Dead End in Norvelt and then Why We Broke Up.

6. Since it's the last day of February, that means tomorrow is the first of March, which means birthday season is right around the corner for our family. We'll be at Grandma's for Fisher's birthday, and I'm hoping to steer Alla away from a big party for a change. Fingers crossed.

7. The kids' favorite art supplies of late are oil pastels and watercolors. Fisher especially loves his goldenrod-colored oil pastel.

8. I adore Pinterest for all the ideas. Lately I'm collecting great ideas for long summer days with kiddos home.

9. Still really feel lucky to have Nana and Pappi so close to us, so they can just pop over for lunch.10. We finally got some snow last night (along with rain and sleet, so it's mostly a lot of slop), and Fisher got a snow day! Unfortunately Alla didn't, but I think she's probably glad for that since it was fake moustache day!

Ten on Tuesday.

1. This was the first President's Day Monday that Ron had off that we can remember. Part of it was spent doing Alla's science project. (Two hours were also spent looking for the variables that went missing as soon as the data was collected.)
2. I took the kids out for a walk in the open space, on a "secret path," and we imagined riding bikes back there in the summertime. Imagined Fisher being big enough to keep up on his bike instead of in the trailer! Maybe a little of both.3. Then last night the snow came and knocked out the power right as we were heading to bed, and of course two hours later the whole house is blazing lights, lamps, and bird-chirping sound spa. Really, a little snow, and there's no power?

4. This morning, a beautiful puffy thick white, and all-day dripping. So it will be gone soon.

5. One of the best things to look forward to in the morning, besides another day, besides hot coffee, is steel cut oats on the stove, cooked overnight and ready to warm you up. Oaties, Fisher says.

6. That little guy, Friday night after movie night at Daddy's work, all tuckered out.7. Saturday Alla lost her second top tooth! She's got the cutest little lisp now. 8. Lentil soup for dinner in the crockpot with homemade biscuits. So yum. I love my crockpot more than any other appliance.

9. Last ice skating lesson this weekend. Alla has loved every single Saturday, and that's saying a lot.

10. Next week is March...March is when we start imagining warm days, and how to fill them.

Friday Five.

1. Went for a run this morning after dropping Fisher at preschool, and as I had my phone on me in case the nurse at his school has to get in touch with me, I was able to snap this shot of part of the path that we run. We are so lucky to have this! 2. Yesterday running an errand, Fisher bought a one cent pink gumball for himself, and a blue one to give to his sister when we picked her up later that afternoon.3. I don't know what kind of (delicious) cheese the local Mexican joints are using in their quesadillas, but we have tried at two different establishments, and both were unsatisfactory to Alla. We have to come up with a winner next time, or we'll lose her forever to chicken strips and french fries. Flautas? Tacos?

4. Fisher yesterday was super excited that we still had one "cute little banana" left for him.

5. Bedtime prayers might be my favorite time of day. Last night Fisher gave thanks "for this pray," "for words that rhyme with jello" (no clue - the kid hasn't even tried jello), and then turned to Big Elmo, sat him up, took his hands, and said bedtime prayers together.

Twelve on the 12th: February.

woke up at Nana's/snuggled with Mama/posed with Nana/went in search of a blueberry scone

footies/the "real" battleship/won with lots of "hits and sunks"/journal

me/Daddy doing jammies at bedtime tonight/Brownie Groundhog/reading hour

Happy Hearts.

Valentine's is for the kids, it's all about the passing out and the anticipation. Alla is home resting today after being picked up sick yesterday, and she's a little bummed about missing the Valentine fun there (though she's settled into being at home quite comfortably), but she's also greatly looking forward to seeing her Valentine box tomorrow when she goes back to school.
Fisher's Valentine celebration is tomorrow on his regular school day, and he cannot wait to give his teachers these little hands he made.

I can't wait til Daddy gets home so we can give them both the Valentine (books) we have for each of them! It's a day about the kids, but all around it's a great excuse to tell the people in your life just how much you love them.

Friday Five.

1. My camera is being serviced, so my iPhone is all I've got. Thank goodness for Instagram!

2. Caught this little quiet-timer vacuuming for me a couple days ago. What a sweetheart.
3. Started reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks last night, which has been on my nightstand for close to a year. Looking forward to Reading Hour tonight, Ronald! Oh, wait, it's the "weekends," do we do Reading Hour on the weekends?

4. Have had to wake the kids every morning this week at 8. So then our mornings are slightly more harried than I mentioned previously, and slightly more harried than I prefer.

5. It is darn cold here today, wind chills likely hovering around zero or below. And now I have to leave the warm house and go pick up Alla. I think I can I think I can I think I can!

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Why can't I ever remember to separate the chicken breasts before I freeze them?

2. Doing so would have made today's Tortilla Soup a lot easier.

3. I rely on Dr. Praegger's veggie patties for lunch quite often - they go with everything!

4. Took Fisher to Pump It Up for a nice surprise this morning, since swimming was cancelled again. He walked out saying, That was sure fun!

5. Both Pinterest and the Houzz app are great time-wasters.

6. Granola in the crockpot smells delightful.

7. We are lucky to have found two new books at the library that Fisher just adores, which is saying a lot considering that he is the world's pickiest book chooser. It generally has to have some sort of real-life photographs of construction vehicles, battleships, firetrucks, airplanes, or boats in order to worthy of his time. But alas, we stumbled on The Woods and have been reading that every day.

8. We've also twice checked out local author Kevin Kling's Big Little Brother, which both kids think is funny, and as an added bonus is illustrated by local author Chris Monroe of Monkey With a Toolbelt fame.

9. Yesterday Fisher and I went for a run and a stop at the park, since it was beautiful and in the mid-40s. Still no snow in the forecast. It's very odd for February in Minnesota.

10. Two kids, fast asleep together, determined to make a twin bed work for them.

Quiet time.

Quiet time is sacred in this house. I've told both kids that there will be quiet time til they're at least twelve. That may or may not be true, since as their mother, I reserve the right to evaluate this on a year by year basis, but I definitely don't see this ending any year soon. And while it is mostly restorative for me, the time often ends up being used rather creatively by a little boy who isn't really tired on any given day. So, when I happen to go in his room, I am never surprised by what I see, even if that is a little boy sitting there reading in his bed, which he had engulfed in ropes. Not at all surprised.

Art day.

Last week, pre-snaggletooth Alla had a four-day weekend, so we had two long days with nowhere to be, kind of like summer but with cooler temperatures. The three of us spent much of those days in our pajamas, watching movies, playing games, Alla telling her stories, reading lots of books. At some point she reminded me of some blissful day (last year? Spring Break?) where I got lots of random art stuff out and they just went to town creating, and could we please do that again? It's what I hope for as a mom, the warm memories implanted in their brains, of long lazy mornings in pajamas with a messy table covered in colorful possibilities.I wonder if that period ends, or if it has to.
I hope it doesn't. I hope they know that I'll always be willing to get out all the random art stuff so they can go to town creating their little hearts out.

Typical breakfast.

Thanks to a 9:15 start time for both kids' schools, mornings are not harried around here. The kids stroll out of bed whenever their bodies get them up, or when the other sibling is too loud. If they are up by eight, they will have plenty of time to make their beds, get dressed, eat, brush hair and teeth.

Breakfast itself is probably the most prolonged part of the morning. Alla as a baby was never the type to squirm, wanting out of her high chair. She'd sit there eating happily but slowly, and then continue to sit while I cleaned up, or while Ron and I ate dinner. So it really is no surprise that she continues to languish at the table, no matter the meal, actually.

Today's breakfast was sunbutter on waffles with sliced apples. And a side of Junie B. First Grader for Alla.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. An adorable girl with an adorable new smile, after losing her first top tooth Sunday morning.(Thanks to her lovely father, who gladly knocked it out - kidding! Kind of.) 2. So that it may be noted for the posterity, this is how the Ice Cream Sundaes on Sunday tradition began. Fisher "bought" a coupon with his Halloween candy, entitling the entire family to ice cream sundaes, and he hounded me for months to get to it, already. So one Sunday Alla came with me to Target to get all the right sundae stuff and that night we dug into our first Sunday sundaes, and because they were so delicious, we decided every Sunday would be a good day for sundaes.

3. It is so warm today, Fisher and I went for a run and stopped at the park (to firefight) before lunch.

4. Since it's the last day of the month I am feeling very pressed to finish the book I'm reading. In other book-related news, Ron is going to be taking an Air Force class via correspondence, and has therefore declared the first hour after kid bedtime "reading hour," so he can dedicate himself to completing the class well before the allotted time. I am giddy just thinking of all the extra books I will get to read because of my studious husband.

5. Two days away from February 2nd, and I am realizing that I was too late requesting Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox, but this book is so delightful that we will read it anyway, just as soon as our name comes up.

6. I imagine Alla is having a delightful day at school today because it was "Lily Day," which her teacher would better explain as bring a stuffed animal, healthy snack, and good book to read-Day.

7. Tonight I'm looking forward to making and eating Sausage and Spinach Risotto, thanks to Amy! I'm thinking some variation on breakfast egg muffins for the leftover sausage.

8. The kids will be happy to hear that we have coconut oil again, so we can make popcorn. They were not a fan of popcorn made with "plain" oil.

9. Usually at this point, I have a full fall/wardrobe stockpiled for each kid for next year. I'm not too worried about Alla, she's finally reached the point where she can wear things for a couple years. But Fisher is already growing out of his 4T shirts, and would look better in 5T now, so what size does that make him next fall?

10. Sadly, a new hole has appeared in a pair of jeans that I've already had mended once. The hole has worn through directly above the stitched patch the tailor put in. So I'm going to have to be on the lookout for a major GAP coupon to replace them.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Yesterday morning the kids and I listened to a live webcast of the Caldecott, Newberry, and 16 other book awards. Then I requested all the ones we hadn't read from the library. I am giddy.

2. Saturday we had a date night in, and went with Trader Joe's fondue - microwaveable! The fondue, lots of dippers, and then their chocolate lava cakes for dessert - awesome, easy dinner date.

3. We also watched Ides of March, which we both enjoyed.

4. We actually got a few inches of snow yesterday morning, and both Fisher and I were delighted to go out and shovel and play in it.

5. Have I yet mentioned Fisher's love (obsession?) of Battleship? He gets to watch one show everyday, but since he fell in love with Battleship (on the iPad), he's traded that show for two games of Battleship. Every single day.

6. The kid also loves him some Chobani, now that he can eat dairy. Halleluiah!

7. One more love of Fisher's - he has many - steel cut oats for lunch. (Me, too.)

8. At the beginning of the year, the kids in Alla's class were all given a reading sheet to track the books and individual chapters of longer books that they read over the course of the school year. They were asked to set a monthly goal for themselves, by looking at the sheet to see how far they wanted to get (how many prizes they wanted to earn!). Alla wanted to get almost to the end, about 550 books/chapters, to the Teacher for a Day prize. As of yesterday she surpassed that goal, completed the sheet, and today RAN out of school at the end of the day, so excited to tell me she got a NEW sheet to start on, with new prizes!

9. The downside of her reading is that while she can set seemingly impossible goals for herself, and reach them, she cannot seem to grasp the concept of limits, which means that we will sometimes find her wide awake, reading at ten o'clock, two-plus hours after bedtime. And then she is exhausted the next day.

10. Fisher has made it through the letter S in the preschool book I made him in September. When Alla was in her first year of preschool they did a letter each week, which is the only way I knew he was capable of doing that, too. He looks so much littler to me than she did, but I don't want to be guilty of not challenging him, too, just because he's my baby. I'm so glad we started working on letters because I am so amazed at how just a little exposure each day, just a little practice, has led to noticeable improvement in his pencil grip and letter formation.

11. Bonus! It's a short week for us, since Alla has school tomorrow and then a four-day weekend. Oh how we love long weekends around here!

Books of 2011.

I love to read. I read a lot more than I used to think I had time for. I read everyday, or the day feels off. I'm always looking forward to the next book I'm going to read, because I almost always know what I'm going to read next. So I thought I'd share what I read last year, and highlight the best reads of the bunch. In no particular order:

Sarah's Key
Turtle in Paradis
In Zanesville
Bigger Than a Breadbox
*Okay For Now
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
Bossy Pants
Secret Daughter
*Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
One Day
One Crazy Summer
Maine
Junonia
The Wednesday Wars
The Girl Who Fell From the Sky
15 Minutes Outside
*These Is My words
*My Father's Dragon (trilogy)
*The Penderwicks at Point Mouette
*Cutting for Stone
*Moon Over Manifest
You Know When The Men Are Gone
Let's Take The Long Way Home
Vice
The Art of Racing In The Rain
Belong to Me
*Penny Dreadful
Organized Simplicity
Love Walked In
Zeitoun
NurtureShock
*The Passage
Left Neglected

And, of those titles, these nine stood out (also starred above). Here's to a great year of reading!