Everyday Stuff - Feb 2013 Edition

Jack and Eliza were playing with this cool race track Grammy gave Jack for Christmas, which came with cars that climb up inclines pretty well.  Eliza wondered if the cars would drive over her?  Then Jack tried it out, laying the track over his neck.

Cat has been playing tons of Uno lately, mostly with Dad.

They even came up with their own rules and specific method of playing,

then they devised a whole new game.  Jack and Eliza have been trying to learn too.

"Mommy, I got all the stickers.  That's a lot of stickers."

We had the bright idea to use our passes to go to a family fun center the afternoon of President's Day.

Unfortunately, it seems the rest of the pass holders in Utah and Salt Lake Counties had the same idea.

All of the free-for-pass-holders attractions had ridiculous lines, so we let our kids play in the (free) play area for a little while and enjoy the surrounding arcade games (which we also didn't pay for...).  15 minutes later we were on our way to their favorite place on earth, a McDonald's with a two-story play place, which was much less crowded and much less noisy.

One day in mid-February the temperature reached a balmy 36 degrees, so we celebrated by going outside to draw with sidewalk chalk.  Here is Eliza working on a self-portrait.

Jack drew a spider (right beside him) and a web.

Sunday quiet time.

I'm a little embarrassed about how proud I was that there was a day this month when I not only got myself and my children dressed... I also clothed every single baby doll in the playroom.  A new record!

I was outside with the kids one afternoon and burst out laughing when I looked up to see this.

Cat and I went to see the ballet of Sleeping Beauty at BYU, with Cat's friend from 1st grade and her mother.  I thought the ballet was very well done, though much longer than I expected.  Tchaikovsky's original score was beautifully performed by a full orchestra, and I was surprised that I recognized one whole song from the Disney movie (the theme for "Once Upon a Dream") and at least one other little bit that was in the movie.

The girls danced and twirled through intermission, then danced and twirled to the car when the ballet was over.  When I asked Cat, who hasn't expressed a bit of regret for quitting ballet after one recital last year, if she'd like to take ballet again, she smiled and said, with a twinkle in her eye, "Maybe."

Powdered sugar shaker dispenser.

Sometimes one of the most difficult things about having to walk Jack in and out of school

every day is that Jack doesn't want to leave.  Other times, Eliza is the one who wants to stay..

Another reason why Ben is so awesome.

Eliza likes Asiago cheese, apparently.

Cat found some old maps and left them out, so J & E had fun playing with them

one day.  "I found our house!" Jack said to Eliza while she looked at a Florida map

and he looked at an oversized Cars coloring page.

Jack is still establishing the habit of using a napkin.

Any guesses what we had for dinner? 

I've never been in a post office with a mounted TV playing "Popeye" to an empty bench, but I was eager for Jack and Eliza to take advantage of it when I saw the length of the line.

The kids had dentist appointments last week, and Eliza was a model patient.

She was obedient and still and easy for the hygienist to take care of.

Jack screamed and wailed and it took me holding him down so that the hygienist could spend 3 minutes on his teeth.  (There ended up being an insurance issue for Cat, so we'll have to take her back another day.)  They were all rewarded with a quarter-sized token, which Jack used on a pony ride outside the entrance.  He was kind enough to share the ride with Cat and Eliza.

On the day the librarian at the Orem library helped us find FOUR awesome picture books about construction, Jack had a hard time sitting through lunch.  Normally, I'd insist that he stay in his seat until he's finished, but I let it slide that day.

P.S.  I love librarians.  They are very special people.