Thankful Thursday

1. I forgot to mention that during our trip to Alaska, I spotted two of the four license plates I was hoping to find. I saw one from Nevada and South Dakota. Usually it's harder to get North Dakota, but for some unknown reason I've seen MANY license plates from North Dakota this year and only one from South Dakota. The two I am still looking for are Hawaii and New Mexico. I haven't found all 50 in one year since 2021. I certainly saw FAR more Alaska license plates than usual this year! 

2. Last Saturday we spent the day in Lititz. Our first stop was the Johannes Mueller House. We had a guided tour that included a lot of interesting information about the Moravians. Then we met 10 out of 11 Towfighis at the high school to see a production of Tuck Everlasting by a group called Servant Stage. I've read the book and seen the movie but never seen that musical before. Their shows and concessions are all "pay what you wish". We had pizza at Nino's before driving back home to Milo. We've certainly seen the Towfighis more often this year than we usually have in the past! 

3. Everything went smoothly with the boys' orthodontist and dentist appointments on Monday. Ian now has braces on his bottom jaw for the first time. Oliver pulled one tooth out at church on Sunday morning, and the dentist pulled two more (at the request of the orthodontist) on Monday afternoon. 

4. Nadia started taking two Bible classes online through Liberty University this week. We're thankful she can earn some credits toward college while she's in high school.

5. They have chosen the Wizard of Oz for the spring musical, which was the one Nadia voted for! All three kids plan to participate.

6. Yesterday the kids enjoyed roller skating with friends (for free) at a homeschool roller skating party from 10-12. The party was *supposed* to be from 12-2. We wouldn't have been able to go if it was held then. I'm thankful Carolyn made a mistake, and that the owner of the rink was able to scramble at the last minute to open up the rink two hours earlier than planned! 

7. Nadia is glad that some of her friends want to go to the homeschool prom with her. She didn't go the last two years, but she's planning to go in May. This means we need to buy her a dress!

8. On Tuesday I took seven kids to PSU. Ben and his sisters followed behind me. I had organized a field trip to the nuclear reactor at PSU. The 2.5-hour program was outstanding. The kids enjoyed eating some M&M's as they learned about half-lives, and they also enjoyed eating some marshmallows after they finished building some atom models. About 20 homeschoolers showed up for the program plus a few moms. We were parked in a parking garage right next to the Creamery, so I decided to treat the ten kids to ice cream after we ate our packed lunches. It was delicious! 

9. When we attended the homeschool potluck on September 6, I tried a new recipe - campfire cookies. They were so delicious that there weren't any left to bring home. I already made them a second time since then. Yum!!

January

We don't have any field trips scheduled for the month of January although we had planned to go skiing on January 4th, but that trip was postponed due to the weather being too warm that day for skiing. This doesn't mean we're staying home all the time. The kids' 10-week session of ice-skating lessons began on January 5th, Nadia and Ian participated in a Bible quizzing competition last weekend, and the homeschool co-op classes began last Monday. We didn't participate in the co-op last semester, but I signed Nadia and Ian up for a 60-minute art class that will continue through May 8, and Nadia has a 75-minute drama class following the art class. On May 18-19, they will be performing Mary Poppins. The auditions are tomorrow. I learned about another youth choir that Nadia and Ian could join this semester that meets on Tuesday evenings, but I decided that we have enough weekly commitments, and I didn't want to add another one to our calendar. My Bible study group resumed our study of John last Wednesday night after being on hiatus since November 9. For the past six weeks our family has enjoyed watching The Chosen on Sunday nights. Episodes #4-5 were my favorite ones so far of the third season. We have to wait until February 5th and 7th to watch the last two episodes of this season. 

Last year I set a goal to invite twelve families (not counting our relatives) over to our home for a meal. So far, we have had one family over for dinner this month, and another family is scheduled to come over this Saturday. I can only think of three families that live in Pennsylvania and are not relatives who have invited us over to their home for a meal over the last 14+ years, Dave & Marla (Dave is an employee of Paul), Kay & Allen (they have been friends of mine for 27 years), and Carol & Denis (Carol has been my friend for 29 years). Those three families all live at least 90 minutes away from our home. Earlier this month we had dinner at a local family's home, which was a first for us since we moved here in September 2008.  They had come over to our home for a meal once last summer. 

I didn't try that many new recipes last year. Of the ones that I did try, the favorite was Creamy Garlic Chicken Penne. I'm hoping to try at least twelve new recipes this year. I've tried three new recipes so far this month. The first one, Amish Breakfast Casserole, was a hit and will be added to our meal rotation, which is also what happened with the creamy garlic chicken penne. Nadia is determined to make a wider variety of desserts this year. It had been years since I had made snickerdoodle cookies. Nadia made them this month, and it turns out that they are a hit with everyone in our family except for Paul, who won't eat anything that has cinnamon in it. At the moment, Nadia's favorite dessert is apple crisp. In the last five weeks we also made peanut butter blossoms and peanut butter cup cookies, which were both well received and ones we hadn't made for several years. 

I haven't been doing a good job of taking pictures lately. Hopefully I will get back in gear with that in the near future. The first picture in this post is from when we visited the National September 11 Museum last month. I have been doing a good job of walking 4-6 miles a day almost every day. The exception would be on really rainy days. I usually listen to audiobooks while I'm walking, and I've also been reading books (paperback or via the Kindle). I've finished eight books so far this year, and I'm currently in the middle of three others. The books have been from different genres - historical fiction (Refugee by Alan Gratz), autobiography (I am Malala and Hiding in the Light), dystopian (Shadow Children series), nonfiction (Essentialism by Greg McKeown), contemporary fiction (A Life Intercepted by Charles Martin), and suspense (Edge of Dusk by Colleen Coble). Next up will be two more nonfiction books - Effortless by Greg McKeown and Find Your People by Jennie Allen. Nadia is currently reading Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Rose, and that is one I also want to read sometime this year. In addition to The Chosen, I've also been watching episodes of the third season of All Creatures Great and Small via the PBS app. I often go months without watching any tv shows or movies, so it's been a treat to watch the third seasons of The Chosen and All Creatures Great and Small. 

Because of the gigantic medical bill that we had to pay last year, I opted not to spend money on house projects last year. I am NOT implying that we were planning to spend $20K on the house. The most we ever spent on the house was $10K when we replaced our roof, and most years we spend less than $2K. Earlier this month a salesman gave us an estimate on replacing some of our windows plus our sliding glass door. We were very impressed with the product he was selling, but the price was way out of our league. I also had a contractor come in to give us an estimate on modifying our countertop/cabinet so that we can have a new oven installed because no one makes ovens that are as small as our existing one. My oven is 24 years old, and one of the two larger burners can no longer be used. I have a long list of potential house projects, but the vast majority will likely never happen (ex. having crown molding installed, waterproofing the basement, finishing the basement, replacing the windows, and finishing putting drywall in the garage). A priority to Paul is replacing the shed, which is literally falling to pieces. I'm not exactly sure which projects will be tackled this year aside from replacing the oven, but likely candidates would including replacing one broken window (above the kitchen sink), replacing the sliding glass door, replacing the shed, and replacing the 24-year-old carpet that is on the stairway, upstairs hallway, and Oliver's bedroom. We'll start with the oven and depending on how much that costs possibly move on to something else on the list. I wish I had a choice in which oven we purchased, but it wasn't worth it to me to get new countertops and/or cabinets just so I could have a choice in which oven we got. 

Towards the end of 2022 we finally got in the habit of having a weekly "family fun night." I was thinking that we would usually do it on a Saturday night, but Sunday has been working on better many times for various reasons such as Paul got home from work too late last night and the previous Saturday, we had company. Today it was Nadia's turn to choose what we did, and she picked that we played Miles Borne. 

Thankful Thursday

1. Paul and I enjoyed some pie during our Sunday School class this past Sunday. There were three pieces left of the lemon meringue pie when I brought it back home. Nadia and I enjoyed eating them over the last few days. 

2. Nadia has been doing a little more cooking/baking than usual lately of her own initiative. This week she made hamantaschen cookies, which happened to be perfect timing as yesterday was Purim. She loves those cookies but not too many of the rest of us do so I think next time she wants to make those I'll have her cut the recipe down. 

3. Ian has been enjoying Python coding so much that he has begun writing his own programs in addition to completing the exercises in the book. 

4. Paul's dad came up again on Monday. I enjoyed chatting with Tab during the kids' gym class, and then Pop Pop took the kids to Bonanza for lunch before coming back to play with the kids for a few hours. He did Snap Circuits with Oliver and worked on building and programming a different Lego robot with Ian. 

5. We had snow and cold weather on Saturday and Sunday, but then we've had gorgeous (much warmer) weather the last few days. I took a short walk on Monday with Milo and again with Oliver and Milo yesterday. 

6. I don't think that time necessarily "heals all wounds," but for me personally time definitely has helped ease the grief over losing my mom, brother, and mother-in-law over the last several years. Maurice passed away in early March three years ago, and my mom's birthday was March 20. I sent four sympathy cards out this week - one to a woman who delivered a stillborn baby boy during the 2nd trimester, a woman in our church whose dad passed away last week, a couple in our church whose twenty-five-year-old son passed away, and to a woman in our church whose mom passed away last week. Earlier this month a fifth-grade boy in our school district was killed in a car accident caused by a drunk driver. I'm praying for each of these families as they grieve. Although I still miss all three of our loved ones who passed away in the last 5+ years, I'm grateful that I know I will be able to see them again one day. 

7. I had a 25-minute massage on my right foot and calf on Tuesday. I wish I had done so a lot sooner, but better late than never! What a difference!! The progress I've felt the last couple of days gives me some hope that I might be able to stand and walk a lot more in two months without excessive pain. My next massage appointment is scheduled for Monday while the kids are in gym class.

8. I've had a goal for a while to begin introducing the kids to Shakespeare, and finally this week we have begun studying A Midsummer's Night Dream. The kids aren't too enthralled yet, but hopefully their appreciation will grow with time. Also, speaking of books although we still liked A Place to Hang the Moon better, we also enjoyed The Last Cuentista, which was the book that won the most recent Newberry Award. 

9. Prices are pretty frightening in general these days. I paid $75 for gas on Monday morning. Ouch. I intended to buy some yogurt yesterday evening, but the price for the generic brand had jumped more than 60% in one week. I didn't buy any. I placed a small order at Sam's Club to pick up on the way home from Nadia's drama class on Tuesday. Some of the prices at Sam's are good, and some are not, but I was very pleased to find out that their price for romaine hearts is much better than what I usually pay. Nadia was thrilled because I came home with more romaine than I usually do. I try to rotate through the recipes and not repeat them more than 3 times a year, but I might need to make an exception for chicken wraps. Everyone in the family really enjoys them. I make mine a salad without a tortilla. I love it when I find something that is healthy, easy to make, and everyone likes it! 

Thankful Tuesday

Yellowstone - photo credit Nadia

1. On Saturday morning I made some pumpkin muffins for breakfast. I had half of a can of pumpkin leftover from when I made pumpkin waffles the previous week. I can go years without making muffins for breakfast, but Oliver, Nadia, and I enjoyed it so I think I'm not going to let that much time pass before I do that again. I put some raisins in half of them and some chocolate chips in the other half. They were delicious! I really enjoy eating pumpkin foods each fall. I think pumpkin yogurt and pumpkin ice cream sound repulsive, but I love pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin bread, etc. 

2. Oliver wanted to do something special on Friday afternoon while his siblings were traveling to Ohio. He asked if we could make cookies; we ended up making sugar cookies. He would have liked to do cut out cookies with sprinkles. I said we'd wait a few weeks until it was closer to Christmas to do that. Even the toes (on my right foot) were swollen by the time we finished making the cookies and the mashed potatoes for dinner, but I was happy to do something with my youngest!

3. Nadia and Ian had a good experience with quizzing in Ohio this past weekend. They need to put a LOT more time into studying over the next 7 months.

4. Paul took Oliver on a field trip on Friday night. They attended a program about owls at Montour Preserve, which is about 20 minutes from our house. Oliver is studying birds and insects this semester so it was perfect timing. I was thankful the program was from 7-8:30pm, which made it possible for Paul to take him. 

5. I placed an order with Lands End that included some things for the kids but mostly was for me. It was the first time in 2021 that I bought myself new clothes. It felt nice to wear a new outfit.

6. On Sunday I resumed making my bed. The bed has been VERY messy for the last 5 weeks because we haven't been tucking anything in to the end of the bed because it was painful if anything was on top of my foot. Things ended up on the floor or in quite a big jumble on top of the bed. I really love seeing my bed looking neat again. 

7. Paul mowed the lawn on Sunday. Since October 3 Nadia mowed once, a neighbor mowed for us once, and Paul mowed twice. We shouldn't need to mow again until the spring, and I plan to resume that chore at that time. I have also appreciated that Paul has been taking out the garbage, going to the library, and buying groceries, which are three other things that I usually do. 

8. Oliver has really been putting a lot of time into practicing the piano. He's off to a great start!

9. All three kids finished their schoolwork by 1:45pm today. That's much earlier than usual for Ian. 

10. Usually the "fall back" time change has been a struggle for the boys. They have gotten up a bit earlier than usual the last few days, but since their wake-up time had shifted later, waking up a bit earlier doesn't translate to way too early. We shall see how long it takes them to fully adjust to the time change, but I will say time changes go much more smoothly when your kids are older.

11. I've had more time to read lately, which makes me even more grateful for libraries. I recently read Nicholas Sparks' and John Grisham's newest releases as well as Set the Stars Alight by Amanda Dykes. I'm currently reading The Lazy Genius Way. 

12. In the last week my Aunt Janet called me, I chatted with Yvonne via FaceTime, and my friend Kay (who is in her 80's) called me. I can go months (or years in Kay's case) without talking to them so it was a blessing especially during this time when I've only left the house once over the past 5 weeks. 

13. Paul, Ian, and Oliver have had a cold for several days. I'm very thankful that Nadia and I have escaped it so far because I'll have to postpone my appointment that's currently scheduled for the 17th if I come down with a cold due to COVID regulations. None of them have had a fever. 

Sunset at Yellowstone- photo credit Nadia

Thankful Tuesday

 

1. Our school year is done! Oliver has one word he needs to master (mopped) before he gets a break from spelling, and Ian has eighteen words left to learn. Oliver also needs to finish learning his multiplication facts, but the kids are taking a break from most subjects right now. They will continue to read and listen to audiobooks every day. Nadia has been doing Sudoku puzzles lately when we've been listening to audiobooks.

2. When the kids were younger, we attended Knoebels for free on WVIA day, but we haven't made it there for several reasons over the past several years including: the park was closed last year in May due to COVID, the weather was awful more than once, and we were on vacation in another state the day the event was held. They used to have WVIA day on a Saturday, but they moved it to Sunday a few years ago. Two days ago we attended Knoebels on WVIA Day, and the weather was perfect! The park was more crowded than usual. We received six free handstamps. I used to love riding rides, but that hasn't been the case for me the last few years. So I told Nadia and Oliver they could each invite a friend to join us. Nadia invited Evanna (age 15), and Oliver invited Karyss (age 9). I didn't use a handstamp but rather was in charge of Milo, taking pictures, and carrying various and sundry items (ex. tubs of cotton candy). More rides were closed than usual. I'm not sure if that is because of COVID or some other reason, but the five kids had a great time. There are always a lot of dogs at Knoebels. Milo had never seen so many dogs before in one day! I carried a backpack primarily so I could give Milo water as needed. I never pictured myself walking around an amusement park with a dog leash in my hand, but Milo isn't ready to be alone at home in his crate for that many hours yet. I didn't take as many pictures as usual because it's just not the same when everyone is wearing a mask. 

3. Evanna spent the night on May 1 so that she could go to church with us on Sunday morning and also join us at Knoebels. It had been quite a few months since Nadia had a friend over for a sleepover.

4. Pop Pop was at our house for a couple of hours on Saturday evening! The kids and I hadn't seen him in more than 5 months. Unfortunately Milo was barking at him a lot. We had dinner together, I gave him a haircut (since Grandma is usually his barber), he saw some of the kids' Lego constructions, and he played chess with Ian and a Mario game on the Switch with both boys. 

5. We were not fans of the Egyptian Palace Bread. Almost the entire amount went straight to the trash can, but Nadia and I enjoyed the panna cotta (Italian custard). The kids and Paul thought the Cornish pasties were fine; it was actually a relief to me that they didn't think they were really wonderful because they were rather time consuming to make. I've made 149 new recipes over the past eight months. I had picked out about 180 new recipes to try, but I will admit I've lost steam. I think I'll just try one more new recipe and be satisfied with 150 new recipes. Back on December 18 I set a goal to see how long I could go without repeating a main dish, and aside from when I made rigatoni and meatballs on Easter Sunday, I haven't repeated any for about 4 1/2 months. I think May 8 will be when I start the meal rotation over again.

6. Milo turned seven months old on Friday! We are very thankful for our puppy. 

7. Paul and I watched News of the World starring Tom Hanks together. Nowadays it takes us a couple of nights to watch one movie. That wasn't the case when we were dating in 1997! We enjoyed it.

Rain doesn't stop this boy from playing outside!

8. The kids started taking tennis lessons yesterday. The boys really enjoyed it. There are only four kids in the class. I walked Milo around the park during their two hour lesson. If the weather cooperates, they will have four lessons this week, which means I'll be driving more often this week than I have been over the last fourteen months. Oliver loves the fact that the tennis courts are adjacent to a skate park.

9. Today is Rachel's 12th birthday! I am very thankful that she and Nadia have a close friendship. It's not uncommon for them to spend 1hr and 45 minutes a day chatting on Zoom while playing Minecraft. They usually chat once in the afternoon and another time in the evening. Nadia usually uses all of her screen time for the day to play Minecraft with Rachel. Nadia bought Rachel a birthday gift with her own money. 

10. Camp Good News posted last week that they WILL be having day camps this summer. At the location where the kids used to attend a day camp (M-F 9-3) they are offering a mini camp, and at the location where they used to offer an overnight camp, they are offering an extended day camp. I am planning to sign the kids up for one week of their extended day camp. Although this summer is certainly not normal, it is reassuring to see evidences that it will be closer to normal than last summer.

11. Ian finished learning the countries and capitals of Africa last week. Ian and Nadia are now able to identify all of the countries of the world on a map as well as the provinces of Canada and almost all of the capitals of the world. Settera.com was a big help in accomplishing this goal.

Thankful Tuesday

1. I've spoken with Paul's mom twice so far this week after not talking with her at all since March 24! She was in one nursing home for two days, back in the hospital, and then transferred to a different nursing home. She has also taken a few steps this week!! 

2. I had a nice long conversation with my friend, Joyce, on Sunday.

3. Milo's castration recovery seems to be going smoothly. He is very happy that we aren't requiring him to wear the "cone" or the pool noodle collar. Today was the first time since April 7 that he took a decent walk (2 miles round trip) with me. 

4. Spring has sprung! The trees are blossoming. I mowed the lawn and used the weed whacker for the first time this year. Many flowers are blooming! 

5. The kids and I enjoyed the Charlotte's Web performance at MCS. on April 16. 

6. Although in general we weren't impressed with the Maker Faire this year, the four of us enjoyed watching an outdoor performance of competitive Irish dancing on Saturday.

7. Ian really enjoyed Micah's birthday party on Saturday! 

8. Although I know things won't be completely normal this summer, it seems that it will be closer to normal compared to last summer. For example, this week I signed Nadia up for four days of diving lessons during the week the boys will be at overnight camp.

9. I made strawberries Romanoff yesterday for the first time (minus the brandy), and Oliver absolutely loved it. He has already asked me to make it for his birthday in August. The funny thing is, he doesn't like whipped cream and that's one of the ingredients!

10. We often go weeks without watching anything together as a family, but last week we watched three Left Behind movies together plus two new episodes of The Chosen. Paul really liked the second episode of season two, which was about Nathanael being called to be a disciple. We also played Rummikub together on Sunday. Nadia liked the movies so much that she's reading the books. She read the first book so quickly (despite it having almost 500 pages) that I checked books #2-4 of the series out for her from the library on Monday. I remember devouring those books in the 1990's.

Birthdays

I knew growing up that my Grandma Lillian's birthday was near mine, but I didn't really keep track of the date. As a child, I memorized the birthdates of my siblings and parents and that was about it aside from my Aunt Janet. It was very easy to remember hers because her birthday is one day (plus one year) before my dad's. I didn't memorize the birthdates of my cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. As an adult I naturally have a longer list of birthdays to keep track of each year - nieces, nephews, brother-in-laws, mother-in-law, father-in-law, a few friends, etc. I still remember my mom and brother's birthdays each year even though I can't buy them a gift or give them a call on their birthday. Grandma Lillian passed away more than twenty years ago. I think of her from time to time as we have some of her artwork hanging on our walls, and I have a picture of her on a dresser in my bedroom. When I make couscous I always think of her because she was the one to introduce me to that food. I wasn't in the habit of remembering her birthday after she passed away, but the last few years I have made it a point to remember because it means a lot to my Aunt Tina. Her birthday was April 17. I decided to remember her by playing two games in her honor this weekend. Of all my extended family members, she was the one I developed the closest relationship with when I was a teenager and in my twenties. I traveled out to visit her on Long Island by myself, with my friend Joyce, and with Paul. When I was out there, she taught me how to play Rummikub. I also played Scrabble with her frequently. One of her talents was doing crossword puzzles so she had an excellent vocabulary. Last night Paul and I played a game of Scrabble together. I cannot recall the last time the two of us played a game without the kids. I think it has been years. Paul resigned when I had a 100+ point lead over him. Today all five of us played Rummikub. Ian and Oliver were on a team together because it's a game for only four people. Paul won!

Tomorrow is my friend Joyce's birthday. We've been friends for 25 years, but we haven't been able to see each other very often over the past 21 years. In honor of her birthday, I called her on the phone this evening, and we talked for two hours. I treasure meaningful conversations with close friends. Even though she and I don't usually communicate on a very frequent basis, we pick up right where we've left off whenever we reconnect. Earlier today I had a much shorter call that meant a lot to me as I heard Paul's mom's voice for the first time since March 24. That was music to my ears!!!

On Saturday we attended the Maker Faire in Bloomsburg. We had really enjoyed it in the past. I didn't feel up to going on the day it was held in 2019, and of course it was cancelled last year. This year the event seemed larger than the last time we attended, but it was very different. We preferred it the way it was in the past. The one thing we appreciated that they added was an outdoor area for performances. Because Ian attended a birthday party, we missed the Japanese taiko drumming performance, but the kids really enjoyed a 30 minute performance of competitive Irish dancing. I doubt we'll return in the future. 

Ian listening to a ham radio

Yesterday we tried another new recipe - Indian Tandoori chicken. I had to buy some new spices in order to make it. We all ate it, but only one person enjoyed it - Ian! Who would guess that the child who didn't like to eat absolutely anything when he was a toddler would enjoy really spicy food at the age of 11? I don't ever plan to make it again. I also don't plan to make Derbyshire oatcakes again - they are a British kind of pancake that has yeast and oatmeal in it. However, the kids dislike rice so much that they opted to eat leftover oatcakes with their chicken instead of the basmati rice I had prepared, ha ha! 

The robotic dog was cool, but the kids prefer Milo!

In the grand scheme of thing this is a trivial concern, but we haven't been able to turn Ian's expander over the last week. I turned it Monday morning, and we were at the orthodontist on Monday afternoon. I wish I had asked him to turn it once then! He said to turn it seven more times. We haven't turned it once since then albeit Ian, Paul, and I have tried many times. We have two more weeks to accomplish seven turns. The orthodontist only comes to the Williamsport office on Mondays, and he won't be in tomorrow. If we can't succeed soon, I'm going to ask the kids' dentist (who sings in the choir with me at our church) if he might be able to help us. I've turned it 37 times so far. I'm praying we can succeed with the last 7 times without an extra trip to Williamsport if at all possible. We already had one extra trip another time we couldn't turn it. I don't aspire to be an orthodontist that is for certain!

Thankful Tuesday

1. Grandma is being transferred back to the nursing home today from the hospital. Hopefully this time she can stay there longer than two days! She will be in quarantine for fourteen days at the nursing home.

2. Milo's surgery was uneventful. The vet said to keep him in the crate with an Elizabethan collar for two weeks aside from when we took him for walks on a leash. We by no means have followed those instructions. I'm sure Milo is very grateful we haven't. We use a pool noodle collar when he's in the crate overnight but otherwise we just watch him like a hawk. He finished his pain medication today, and the swelling is going down at his surgical site. So far he hasn't marked the territory inside the house, and he hasn't been wearing a belly band. 

These two boys have so much fun with empty boxes!

3. The kids really enjoyed watching two of the Left Behind movies together this weekend. Nadia has started reading the first book (the adult not the kids' version), which the first movie was based off of. 

4. I only have to turn the key in Ian's expander for one more week. The expander could have been removed next Monday, but the orthodontist won't be in that day, and he didn't have any available appointments for the following Monday either. So the plan is for the expander to be removed and braces to be put on Ian's teeth on May 3.

Nadia's painting

5. The boys really liked the phyllo meat pie that I made on Sunday. Ian said to me, "you definitely have to make this again." It's a recipe that is commonly served in Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Armenia, Tunisia, Bulgaria, etc. Tonight I made cheese enchiladas for the first time. I made the sauce for the first time, and let me tell you I'll be using this sauce recipe again the next time I make any type of enchilada. Usually I make chicken enchiladas, but these enchiladas that I made tonight were the tastiest I've ever made. YUM! Thankfully all three kids also liked them! Paul hasn't had dinner yet so the verdict is still out on whether he'll like them or not. 

6. My dentist appointment on Friday was uneventful. Nadia was grateful to earn a little babysitting money. 

Nadia and I have been remodeling the Death Star.

7. The kids and I enjoyed having dinner at Red Robin on Saturday. Nadia was grateful for the shoes and clothes that I bought her at a thrift store that day. She almost wears the same size shoes as me! 

8. Nadia and Ian have been having a grand time building with Legos in Ian's room lately.

Nadia and Ian have been working on this 6 story Lego structure.

9. Some of the trees have blossoms! 

10. Ian has really been enjoying reading the book Scary Stories for Young Foxes. 

6 Months Old!

Photo credit- Nadia

Milo turned 6 months old yesterday! It was in the 60's so I walked him for a little over 4 miles. He's been in our family for 3.5 months, and his behavior has improved a lot over that time span. He's lost quite a few baby teeth. Ian has found five of them. Occasionally he still chews the wrong thing (ex. the kitchen chair or this morning he chewed our Fire stick remote), but in general the chewing problem is much, much less of an issue than it was in the beginning. One upside to having a puppy is that the main floor of the house has even less clutter than usual. The kids' toys that used to be on this floor of the house have been relocated to the basement or one of their bedrooms. The three things he gets in trouble the most for putting in his mouth are facial tissues , guinea pig bedding, and shoes. He honestly likes tissues more than dog treats! Yuck! As for the shoes, we had been keeping them higher on the shoe rack in the entryway, but he had learned how to stand on his back paws and shake the rack with his front paws to make some shoes fall off the rack. So we moved the shoe rack to the garage so Milo wouldn't eat the kids' shoes, but it turns out I actually like it better there aesthetically speaking. 

Thanks to his belly band, we haven't had to clean any accidents for a few weeks aside from the one time he had an accident in the crate when we were gone for 4 hours. He's having bloodwork done this Friday in preparation for being neutered next week. Hopefully this will curb his desire to mark the territory inside the house. We also don't have to take him outside nearly as often as we did at first. The schedule now includes only taking him out six times a day (twice per child although sometimes I take one or more of their turns when I take Milo for a long walk). He's basically going about 3 hour stretches without needing to go outside. It's been several weeks since he scratched at the door to let us know he wanted to go out so we've been taking him out based on the clock not his behavior. 

He still has a long way to go with being compliant when we're grooming him, but Nadia and I are improving our skills in caring for a dog in terms of bathing and shampooing him, trimming his fur, brushing or combing him, plucking ear hairs, cleaning his ears, trimming his nails, etc. He also tries to jump up to get on the counter when there is meat of some kind up there. I hope he can learn that is not permitted in this house. Thankfully he hasn't actually succeeded although he's gotten very close.

I am still his most favorite person. If I put on my shoes, he sticks to me as closely as possible as he's hoping against hope I will be taking him with me. He cries sometimes even when I just do something like go to the bathroom! Ian was also like that when he was young.  

He barks a lot more now than when we first got him. That's definitely not something I like about dogs.

He had been waking up at 6:45 until the time changed, and then for more than a week he got up at 7:30. He's now getting up at 7:00. He still sleeps in Ian's room. I asked Nadia if she wanted to move the guinea pigs downstairs as I *think* Milo won't hurt them as long as they are in their cage, but she said she likes having them in her room. Personally I'd never sleep in the same room as their cage. Even though we change their bedding once a week, it stinks! Milo goes absolutely nuts if he sees a guinea pig out of the cage so they pretty much are confined to Nadia's bedroom all the time. Because his behavior is much better, he doesn't spend much time in the crate aside from overnight and when we leave the house. He absolutely hates it when we leave him in the crate by himself. He cries very loudly which tugs on our heart strings. Usually he's only left home alone once per week - Sunday morning when we're all at church. The last two weeks we did leave him alone at home in his crate one additional time per week for about 4-5 hours each time, which is longer than we're gone on Sunday mornings. 

We feed him dry dog food, but we also give him little bits of our food. I don't have to rinse the dishes any more before putting them in the dishwasher as Milo loves to lick them clean. We never let him have any chocolate, and the only food he avoids like the plague is applesauce. He generally is good about not begging, but sometimes he reverts to begging. He weighed four pounds when we first got him. His rate of growth has slowed down over the last month as he weighs about 7 1/2 pounds now.

Yesterday we also celebrated Holi (one day late). We had two Indian dishes - chicken tikka masala and chapati bread. I can assure you I won't ever be making either of those again. I think Ian and Oliver will eat more of the chicken so at least I won't need to throw it out. The kids enjoyed throwing colored powder and squirting each other with colored water. Milo was NOT a fan of this activity. It took me awhile to make the colored powder and it was quite an ordeal to clean up afterward including baths or showers for the kids and Milo. All that to say hopefully a fun memory was made, but I don't plan on ever doing this again. We only have one holiday left to celebrate this school year - King's Day (Netherlands) on April 28. We also need to read about Shavuot, which is celebrated in May.

Thankful Tuesday

1. It's SPRING! Winter is my least favorite season. It not only officially became spring on March 20, but the weather turned nicer that day. Milo and I have logged a little more than 21 miles total over the past four days! Yesterday I took one walk with Oliver after I got home from Ian's orthodontist appointment, and then I took a walk with Nadia after dinner. Today Oliver rode his bike while Milo and I walked to the playground in our town that is the farthest from our house. We'll probably take the day off tomorrow because it's supposed to be cooler and rainy, but it's supposed to get up to 72 degrees on Thursday!! Getting exercise and fresh air on a pretty day is a balm to my soul.

2. Millie's knee replacement surgery went well on Friday. 

3. I tried a new recipe today - Swedish Apple Oatmeal Pie. If you like apple crisp, I suggest you give this recipe a try! Nadia and I thought it was delicious. 

4. Paul and I were able to watch a recorded Zoom performance of Nancy Blue, Girl Detective this weekend. Nadia was one of the members of the cast.

5. We've finally gotten into a good habit of playing games together as a family at least once each weekend - usually Saturday afternoon.

6. We enjoyed watching Sight and Sound's production of Samson. The kids and I finished it this morning. Yesterday we tried waiting until Paul got home so that he could continue watching it with us, but considering he got home a little after 9pm and Oliver usually goes to bed at 8:30, we couldn't wait for him. We aren't going to see any productions at Sight and Sound this year, but they are going to do a new show in 2022 and will be revealing what it will be on April 2. We are curious, and we're hoping to attend the new show in 2022! 

7. Although our absence greatly distressed Milo, we enjoyed a play date at a friend's house on Friday afternoon.

8. The earliest Milo has gotten up since the time change was 7:15 (today). Every other day he woke up at 7:30, and prior to the time change he had been getting up at 6:45 almost every day. 

That doesn't look very comfortable, Milo! What a goofball!

9. I'm thankful I was able to play a flute solo at FBC on March 14.  I miss playing my flute and appreciated the invitation.

10. We enjoyed our virtual Chick-Fil-A tour on March 18 and learned about the history of the company.

11. The kids were thankful to be able to participate in an egg hunt for the first time in two years at the Alliance Church on March 20. Most egg hunts have been cancelled for the second year in a row so we aren't taking it for granted.

That looks a lot more comfortable, Milo!

12. In January 2020 I purchased a membership to Six Flags thinking we'd visit five different Six Flags parks. Two of the ones I thought we'd visit never opened in 2020 due to COVID, and we couldn't cross the border into Canada for La Ronde. We did make it to two Six Flags parks a few times last year (MD and NJ). I saw recently that three parks that didn't open at all in 2020 are opening in May 2021! Although we stopped paying for our membership a few months ago, we were given extra months this year due to the closures last year. So I'm hoping that in May- July we'll visit the one in Maryland again (just because my sister's family lives near there and they also have a season pass) and also visit up to three Six Flags parks that we've never been to before  - two in New York (one near Buffalo and the other near Lake George) and one in Massachusetts.  Now if more National Parks would open up - not just out west but even in New York. I recently pushed our plans to see the Blue Angels to 2022 because of COVID so it's nice to contemplate making some new plans to visit some amusement parks for the first time in light of cancelling so many other plans over the last year. 

13. Oliver is finally reading chapter books independently! He probably could have started sooner than he did, but I really enjoyed having him read aloud while sitting on my lap. He's currently reading books from the Dragon Masters series. Speaking of books, the kids have all been enjoying the Frog Princess series by E. D. Baker. We're almost done with the third book in that series. 

Spring Forward

 Although in general I'm not a fan of the clocks changing twice a year, I actually prefer to "spring ahead" even though we lose an hour. The kids and Milo got up later than usual on Sunday according to what the clock said, which meant we didn't actually lose an hour of sleep. Nadia got up at her usual time the past two mornings, but Ian and Milo have been getting up at 7:30, whereas they had been getting up at 6:45 prior to the time change. It *felt* like spring last week. It doesn't feel like spring this week even though spring technically arrives this Saturday, on what would have been my Mom's 76th birthday. It snowed here this morning. I walk a lot longer outside when the weather is warmer, but I did walk for at least a little bit the last three days even though it was colder outside (about 1 mile a day instead of 3-4 miles a day). Something is better than nothing, right?

I have started taking a videography course. I have learned that clips should be 5-10 seconds long. I have been taking some short videos with my DSLR as I am planning to make some cinematic home videos - ex. the first one I plan to do about Milo and the second will probably be about Nadia. Today I didn't follow any of the guidance I've been given when I used our camcorder to record Ian practicing the piano. One of the pieces he's been working on lately is an arrangement of Pachelbel's Canon. The piece is four pages long. I recorded the first two pages and the second two pages as two different videos, but even so the video below is 5 minutes long. It's from Alfred Level 6. If I had to list three of my favorite moments each day with Ian they would be: his hugs, listening to him play the piano, and snuggling while I read to Ian and Oliver. I'm really hoping that this summer Ian and I will play more piano duets together. That would be heavenly! Oliver wants me to teach him how to play the recorder.

Today I tried a new recipe - Egyptian sweet cookies. We think it's a bit of a misnomer. The recipe called for four cups of flour and only 1/2 cup of sugar. Most cookies that I make use more sugar than that. I can assure you I won't ever be making them again. The question is - will anyone eat them or will they just end up being tossed in the garbage? Nadia has really been enjoying the Szarlotka that I made on Sunday. I was going to make Irish barmbrack and beef stew for St. Patrick's Day, but the barmbrack recipe looked too similar to the panettone I made a few months ago. The kids aren't fans of dried fruit (aside from raisins) so I decided to go with Irish soda bread instead. We've tried 133 new foods over the past 6 months. We have about 45 more recipes on my list left to try.