Three Kings' Day

Some people celebrate Epiphany or Three Kings' Day on January 6. In some cultures the kids receive most of their Christmas gifts on January 6 rather than December 25. We celebrated the holiday in three ways. I made a Rosca de Reyes (Kings' Cake). The cake is really a bread that is braided in an oval shape to symbolize a crown. In some places they put a small plastic baby inside the cake to represent Baby Jesus. In other countries they put beans or coins in the cake. I wrapped three $1 coins in wax paper and hid them in the cake. I let the kids pick where on the cake they wanted me to cut their piece. Nadia and Oliver each had a coin in their cake. This means there's still one coin in there to be discovered tomorrow. I learned from past experience and cut the recipe in half. Since it was a Christmas related holiday, I read the kids a book about Saint Nicholas that I received in the mail recently from Voice of the Martyrs. The kids put their shoes out for gifts on St. Nicholas Day in December. In some cultures they put their shoes out for Three Kings' Day. I decided to buy the kids three gifts for Three Kings' Day - two puzzles and a Spot it game. 

Milo had three accidents so far today - all on the family room carpet. I can't wait until he is housebroken!!!! Tab picked the kids up around 1:30 and took them back to her house for a play date. I picked them up around 4:15 so that I could take Nadia to her Bible Bowl meeting. This meant Milo and I had the house to ourselves in the afternoon. He was very happy when the boys and I came home! Paul is going to pick Nadia up from church at 8pm on his way home from work, which means he won't be at work as late today as he was yesterday. He got home from work at 8:45pm last night, and when I woke up at 2:30am I discovered he was already up and getting ready to leave for work. That is a very long work day! It's going to be like that this whole week because they are short staffed at the moment.

One thing that I've hardly done at all over the last ten months is make plans for field trips, vacations, etc. If I made a list of ten of my most favorite activities, planning field trips and vacations would be one of the ten. Any plans I've made over the last ten months (which have been very few and far between), I've done with the attitude of "don't hold your breath - they might be cancelled." The first thing to be cancelled in 2021 was Nadia's weekend at Camp Susque. She had never participated in a winter camp there because it conflicted with Upward Basketball, but she was scheduled to participate in a weekend for middle schoolers later this month. They are going to offer the camp virtually, but she's not interested in a virtual camp. I can't blame her for that. We are accruing quite a credit at Camp Susque because I had registered Nadia for camp there last summer, all three kids for a Christmas around the world program that was to have taken place last month, and Nadia for Frost Camp - and all three events were cancelled. I look forward to the day when I'm able to resume planning field trips and vacations. I do have some ideas for a possible vacation this fall out west, but before I actually start planning the specific details, I'm waiting to see if COVID will be far less of a factor at that point. I'm thinking if we actually do go on the trip that we'll drive instead of flying. My current outline would last 3.5 weeks,  include spending time in 12 states where the kids have never been before, and include 30 national park sites plus some science museums and other sites. Thankfully many of my favorite things to do are still possible during a pandemic such as reading to my kids, purging/decluttering, and hugging my boys.