Philadephia Freedom...

Saturday my 11-year old's art class went to the PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM of ART and my husband and I joined them! It has been a long time since we have done anything ALONE with our oldest. So we had a DATE DAY! It was a blast! Of course I got all GIDDY over all the art....makes my fingers itch...I imagine going home and digging out my canvasses and paints, donning my beret and slapping on some hues! Here's our day in a nutshell!

Running the steps, ROCKY STYLE! Not me, I was winded just from walking!

This painting was the very first cubist piece I had ever laid eyes on. It was the cover of my elementary school music text book. It is Picasso's The Three Musicians.

Ahhhhhh, Degas!

Renoir!

Seurat!

Rodin's Thinker and mine!

We didn't even look at the name of this one because we were laughing so hard (a TOTALLY un-cool thing to do in such a sophisticated place). We choose to refer to it as, "I SAID I DON'T WANNA HOLD THE CHICKEN!!!"

Cezanne!

Ahhhhhh Monet!

GASP! (*reaches for oxygen*) Van Gogh!

Picasso!

WOAH! Modigliani! A fave!!!

Jasper Johns! Love him!

A large exhibit which was depicting a war in 11 frames...lotsa scribbling going on here! Can you almost hear what Matthew is thinking, " Well, geez, I could do that!"

OHMYGOODNESSILOVESALVADORDALI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jackson Pollock!

Then the boys got their fill of guns, swords and armor...I, on the other hand, was hearing Charlie Brown's teacher...."Waa waa wa waa waa."

Shield from the MADONNA era...*smirks*

A helmet's not a helmet without a little spit-door on the side! WTH?!

I walked up to Matthew who was standing and staring at this part of the exhibit.

"Whatcha thinkin', bud?"

"Mom, they even had to make helmets for babies!" he said with a sad face.

I was shocked.

I looked at the description... and almost burst out laughing but I swallowed it!

I cleared my throat,"Honey, those are the Medeival equivalent to the athletic cup."

BWWWAAAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAAAA!

We had a blast and I would LIVE there if someone would let me.

*IDEA ALERT*

I just scribbled down some ideas for a book about getting stuck in a museum after closing.

We ROCKED THE VOTE!

Sing it with me!

(to the tune of Over the River and Through the Woods to Grandmother's House We Go)

.

.

"Over the river and past the fields...

...and through our little town...

My van knows the way to where I have the say...

...to how this election goes do-o-o-wn!"

WE ROCKED THE VOTE IN PENNSYLVANIA, DID YOU?!

School's out...are they bored, yet?

Alright, so I have this reputation with my friends and it makes me laugh! "If you ask Michelle to watch your kids, they will come home with some kind of art project or stories of their nature hike! It's disgusting!"

My entire life as a mom (please don't take this as bragging - because I am giggling outloud as I type this!) other moms say, "You make me look bad" or "Just stop being so crafty" or "You did WHAT? with your kids today?"

Now, I find this funny because some moms spend their days cleaning and organizing and/or working outside the home. To those moms I say, "You make me look bad!" AND "Just stop being so productive!" AND "You got WHAT? accomplished today?!"

You see, I am not a naturally organized person. I hate to clean (although I CRAVE a clean house!) and I would rather play and paint than do anything else in the world. This personality trait which I blame on being an artist DRIVES MY POOR HUSBAND BONKERS!

My husband is the epitome of organized. If I didn't think he would feel violated, I would post a picture of his side of our walk-in closet...it looks like a department store! My girlfriends sometimes (just to get his goat) will sneak up there and stick a plaid shirt in with the solids or transplant a white pinpoint in between his dress pants. Makes him crazy!

Our children, much to his shagrin, take after me. They hoard everything that ever meant anything to them. "I can't give that away, Daddy. The lady I met when Nana and I went shopping that day Pappy had to go to the doctors gave me that stuffed animal!" They are not very organized. "Mooooooom, can you grab my purple sock while you are upstairs? It is behind my nightstand, next to the plate from my snack, under my 2nd grade year book (she's going into 4th grade!)."

We (hubby and I) have agreed that at 9 & 10, our older kids are plenty capable of becoming more disciplined and having desired behaviors accomplished without having to ask. He sat us them down the other night after dinner and he talked about discipline and what that means. SOMETHING COMING SO NATURALLY THAT YOU DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT DOING IT - IT JUST GETS DONE.

So, he told them they each needed to pick 3 things that they could take responsibility for each and every day. These are not equivalent to chores, these are just common courtesy things that you don't get allowance for...like wiping/rinsing out their bathroom sink every day, keeping their shoes in the mudroom closet, etc. He also told them that it takes 21 days to form a habit and when 30 were up and those disciplines were completed each and every day, he would have a pretty hefty surprise for them. Although it would be the first priviledge taken away when those disciplines fall to the wayside!

All the books you read tell you that kids love boundaries and expectations. I have read it, I know it! But this week, I HAVE SEEN IT! They are feeling so good about themselves because they are being PRODUCTIVE! They are not bored!

Quite honestly, they are motivating me to be more productive, too. Tuesday we lost power from a horrible storm and we were without it for over 18 hours so needless to say, I have some fridge-dumping to do.

So, I figured, while I was emptying the fridge, what better time to rinse out all the drawers, take out shelves and gag at the dog hair stuck to spilled syrup wipe them clean and scoop out all the scattered ice cubes under the freezer drawer.

Even my little man got inside involved!

So, when I was done and the kids had leisurely started their day....(this is where those of you who get mad at me for stepping "outside the box" can click to another site)...

we had a delightful picnic outside...

(btw - this was sooo simple. 2 boxes of crackers, tub of cream cheese, pistachios, canned pineapple, raisins, organic bunny grahams, lemonade, 4 cups, forks and a knife for the cream cheese on a tray. Less prep time than even a grilled cheese! No plates to wash and no mess made!)

their "project o'the day" was to eliminate books that they have grown out of, didn't like or had finished and weren't planning to read again so we can donate them to the local library...

and now we are getting ready to start a naptime craft activity... MY FAVORITE THINGS! We have done this one before and they love it! Here's a look at my last attempt -

they want to out-do their last attempts so they didn't want me to post their "old ones." However I am sure I will have beautiful ones to post later!

So, in my next book I will be giving 365 things to do to make your kids happy, productive and crafty! LOL! Just kidding!

I will be back later to tell you all about my birthday!

The evil white particles fall to earth...

While my babes were out playing in the snow and I was thinking how warm my non-frozen butt was...see past SNOW post! I found a great recipe in my Kraft Foods magazine! If you don't get this magazine - you need to. The cover price is $4.95 but if you sign up online it is COMPLETELY FREE! The recipes are so good and the whole premise is that you can make great recipes from ready-to-eat, semi-prepared groceries. So, I found a great recipe that would be easy, quick to prepare while watching my 2-year old bounce off the walls and something that I could keep warm while the snow bunnies played without the fear over overcooking. It is called Shipwreck Dinner and this is what you do.... Brown 1 lb of lean ground beef and drain. Add a box of Mac n' Cheese dinner (unprepared) noodles and powdered sauce Add a can of stewed tomatoes (I used Italian diced tomatoes) with liquid Add 1 cup of frozen peas Add 1 cup of milk Bring to a boil then reduce heat and cover. Let cook for 12 minutes or until noodles are cooked. Sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella cheese on top and let melt. Everyone loved it! That's always a good thing! Check out that Kraft Foods Gig! I save every single issue with my cookbooks! It is a phenomenal resource!! *********************************** Will keep you updated on Julian as soon as I have today's news. Will shout from the mountain tops when that agent says..."sign on the dotted line!"

Let 'em know they deserve it...

Yesterday was an amazing day and my kids deserved it! After church we drove 2 hours to Pocono Raceway where my husband, my brother-in-law and my dad fought G-force speeds in their long-awaited ride in a Nascar! The three of them were like kids in a candy shop putting on their gear and posing for the cameras. You couldn't have scraped the smiles off their faces with a putty knife. My three little ones were watching in excitement not really grasping WHY Daddy, Uncle Frank and Pap were excited about going 165 mph - but they were being good sports. What they didn't know was my husband and I had a HUGE surprise for them after the race (which at 165 mph, 3 laps last about 4.5 minutes). The baby was going home with my parents for a night alone with Nana and Pap - otherwise known as King and Queen Spoil Machine! But my older two were headed to a JUMP 5 concert albeit another 2 hours away. We told them nothing. They were curious when the baby and all his "travel accessories" were re-located to Nana and Pap's car, in fact, I think for a minute they were a bit jealous. We fielded the questions with simple answers, "Just trying out a new place for dinner." They continued to ask but were also engrossed in a movie in the backseat. When we realized we were running out of time, as our friends who were meeting us at the concert had just arrived and called to say there was a line but they would wait out front with our tickets, we decided to hit the SONIC drive-thru for dinner - forgetting we had told them that dinner was the BIG surprise. "Uhhm, Mom, I don't want to sound disrespectful, but is this really where we are eating? We have already eaten at a SONIC before." "BUT, have you eaten at a SONIC in Brownstown before?" "Where's Brownstown?" "Here." "Oh. No." We got out to go to the bathroom while my husband hit the drive-thru. This is when they felt more comfortable showing their disappointment. Behind closed doors and without Daddy in earshot. I tried to convince them that the excitement was because we had never been IN a SONIC restroom, they weren't buying it and quite frankly they were a bit disturbed. I mean, truly disturbed, they were looking at me as if I had flipped my lid and was headed for the cuckoo's nest. They were nervously smiling and their gaze darted back and forth from me to each other...me...each other... Now for those of you who are not familiar with JUMP 5 - they are a Christian pop band whose music is all over the DISNEY CHANNEL and RADIO DISNEY. They sing the theme song for Lilo and Stitch as well as songs for Lizzie McGuire and many other kids' shows. This was our fourth concert and JUMP 5's last time in PA - forever. This was their FAREWELL TOUR. Our church hosted them in concert 2 years ago and our kids (my own and those of the friends we were meeting at the concert) were helping the band in their dressing rooms to cover widows with paper - my husband and I cooked for them - and the kids begged them to stay after the concert for a special ice cream social. We even went on their tour bus - so NEEDLESS TO SAY - this was going to be a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE surprise! We pulled into the parking lot and they started to put the pieces together when they spotted our waiting friends as they darted in front of the car at the entrance. My dear friend Anne-Marie handed them their tickets and then we all went momentarily deaf with the high-pitched shrieking from the back seat. The concert was a blast! They danced, sang and squealed ANYTIME any of the band members looked in their direction. It was a bittersweet night as they realized this was the last time they would ever see them in concert again. We waited in line for autographs and they melted when the members of JUMP 5 said they remembered having ice cream with them. We got tons of pictures and created memories to last a life time. As we left the building the kids were feeling a bit sad about the Farewell tour - but that was nothing a LIMOUSINE couldn't cure. Our friends had rented a limo for the night and since my husband had to leave earlier in the evening, we ALL headed out in style. "NO seat belts! We don't have to buckle up!" "Is that a DVD player" "Can we play my JUMP 5 CD?" "Look, I can almost stand up - we could dance in here." "I love these lights." "We can eat in here?" "Who has a movie?" "I'm hungry." Tony, our driver, must be a dad or at least have a heart for kids because in less than 2 minutes our kids were delivered in style to DUNKIN' DONUTS/BASKIN ROBBINS! It was 11:10 and they were chowing down on chocolate, scanning every digital camera for pictures of the band, giggling and laughing and, believe it or not, I got a few hugs and a "You are the BEST, Mom!" Sure, they were tired this morning and I probably could have left them stay home but then walking into school with their concert Ts and telling their friends about their midnight limo ride would have felt like old news. Matthew, Emily, Natalie-Anne and JT, you are good kids - you SOOOOOOO deserved this one! Love you guys!