Baking Bread

At Christmas my Mom-Mom commented on how grown up McKenna is becoming.  Although I still see her mostly as a little girl there are definitely times that even I can't deny that she is growing and changing.   I find it difficult sometimes to walk the line between treating her like a 10 year old and, well, treating her like a 10 year old.  I feel a little unprepared to parent her during this stage - much the same feeling as parenting your first two year old.   It's a delicate balance where we are both testing the waters.  She doesn't really push limits at all.  She's a good girl.   She doesn't ask for much and has always been such a helper.  But it's becoming clear that I need to start allowing her to become a little more independent.   

During our latest snow day I decided that McKenna needed a new challenge.  Having just finished all 634 pages of Little Women, she was bored.   She had been asking me to make banana bread and to be honest I just didn't have the time in between refereeing Kinley and Cooper.  So I decided to have her make the bread herself.    She was a little caught off guard at first but I assured her that I would be close by if she had questions.  That was all she needed to hear.   Off she went.  

One hour and one semi disastrous kitchen later and we had 4 mini loaves of delicious bread and one proud little baker.   

It was fun to watch McKenna take on this new challenge.   Already I can see the benefits as her confidence in all things cooking has increased.  She's already talking about baking cookies next and I have no doubt they will be as yummy as the bread. I can definitely see the benefits of her new found skills!

Good job, McKenna!  

Lessons

I've recently been at battle with eight pounds that I would still like to shed from my body.   It's not much but it's not going anywhere.   At all.   Earl has been reminding me that when I'm working out I can't quit when I get tired because that's when the really good stuff happens.     He reminds me that when I want to give up is when it's really important that I keep pushing on.   I've decided that advice extends to just about all areas of my life.    This week, this summer, this season of raising small kids.   When I want to give up,  give in, raise the white flag -I just have to keep moving forward.  That's where the good stuff is.
If anyone were to ask what the theme of our week was we would all answer by saying, "CAMP".   We had not just one, but two camps this week - golf and field hockey.  Luckily (or perhaps not) one was first thing in the morning and the other over the supper hour.  Our days went something like this : breakfast, golf, lunch, field hockey, supper, bed.   Throw in there a birthday party, an unplanned trip to the doctor, a trip to Geisinger,  packing for the beach and the fact that every single one of our babysitters is away this week and I'm just about toast.    Keep moving forward, I remind myself.


This week was Cooper's last round of golf school.   The kids had the chance to go over to the course and try our their skills on one hole.   Here's Cooper reading the green!   We weren't even off campus before he was asking when the next lessons started.  Ummm...next summer?   Wrong answer apparently.   Later that day I found myself playing "golf school" in the backyard a number of times.   It was hot, I was tired and playing caddy wasn't on my to do list.   But over and over I dug bright yellow balls out of the thick brush beside our house and watched Cooper beam.  He was so proud and so was I.   Keep moving forward.  This is where the good stuff happens.
Wednesday evening McKenna was in her gear and ready for field hockey mini camp.   Cooper was even invited to participate this year.   Keep in mind,  mens field hockey is a big deal in Europe.   Earl and I didn't mind him participating if it meant he would burn off some energy and not sit for an hour and play ipad while we waited for McKenna. 

 

It was fun to watch them out on the field together.  I think I'll cherish this picture because it's probably the only time I'll ever see them both on the turf at the same time.  But what was really neat was watching the way McKenna took her little brother under her wing.   She had him all dressed and ready to go a half our before we left for camp.    I worried a little that as soon as we got to the field she would join her friends and let him fend for himself.   How wrong I was.   She stayed with him virtually the whole time.   She was his partner for drills and even stopped at one point to help him tie his shoe.    Cooper did his part and listened to the coaches instructions and participated in every single drill.   They both did this mama proud!

 

And Kinley, well God bless her, she was a trooper as she was shuttled from one activity to the next where her only directive was to wait patiently on the other kids.   The poor girl spent more time in the car this week in the name of her brother and sister than I care to think about.   If she was bothered by it you could never tell.  Keep moving forward - this is good stuff.    I think she would agree.

And in keeping with the camp theme,  I'm thinking maybe I should just start my own day camp since this is what my house tends to look like on days that we are home for more than an hour at a time.

Legos on the porch.  Crafts in the yard.   Neighborhood kids everywhere.   Laundry that needs done for the beach trip.  Dishes that are piled in the sink.   Dinner that has yet to be made.

Sand and water side by side.   I'll take it!

I read an article today that talked about being "in the sweet spot".  The author referred to the period of raising kids where life doesn't revolve around bottle feedings and changing diapers.   Where the kids can play together with a little less supervision and leaving the house doesn't require three years worth of planning.   I'm starting to realize that I'm almost there.   Almost at the sweet spot and I want to enjoy it.   So even though I'm bone tired and sometimes want to quit - I'm going to do what Earl says.  I'm going to keep pushing through the hard part because I can see the pay off is so worth it.

A Special Surprise and A Snow Day!

Each year, our Elf Rudy, visits during the month of December.   He checks up on us and reports back to Santa if we are being naughty or nice.   Let's just say that Rudy had his share of naughty this year, pulling a few pranks and going through more than one bag of marshmallows.   But regardless, he's a treasured friends and the kids are always sad to see him go back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve.  So, imagine their delight when they woke up Christmas morning and found Rudy still in the house.  He had written a small note telling us to check our email.   There we found a letter explaining that for his own Christmas gift, Rudy had asked Santa to lift his magic for one day.   During Christmas Day the kids were free to hold Rudy (which is usually a no-no), hug him and say their goodbyes.   This made for two very happy kiddos!

 

 McKenna was a little leery at first.   She was definitely afraid that touching Rudy would cause him to lose his magic.  But we finally convinced her that it would be fine.   So, she had her time saying her goodbyes and thank you's until next year.

 As an added surprise we got snow this week!    What more could a kid ask for than two snow storms the week of Christmas break!   As soon as the grass was covered on Wednesday they headed out with their friends!

 It's still not clear if it was the kids or the dog who was more excited about the fluffy white stuff.  Tucker has always loved the snow.   Even his old age doesn't stop his excitement.

 And Kinley continue to earn the award for best sport ever.   This cutie braved the cold temperatures on Wednesday evening and again on Friday.  I'm not sure she could move to protest but the fact that I literally had to drag her inside kicking and screaming is a good indication that she was more than enjoying herself.

 I had half a heart attack when Earl began sending her down our small hill by herself.  But I was in the minority as she laughed the entire way down.   When Earl would walk away and I would try to bring Kinley in she would emphatically say, "No.  Daddy.  Down."  Okay, got it. 

And so they made a few more trips and we all had a few more laughs.

What a wonderful week we have had.  We have certainly made a ton of precious memories.  

She Was...An American Girl

As most everyone (and I do mean, everyone) knows, this was a big weekend for McKenna.   Instead of celebrating her birthday with a big party in December,  she decided she would rather spend a day in New York City going to the American Girl Doll store.  So, we loaded onto the bus early Saturday morning on our adventure into the city. 

 

 

 As soon as we arrived McKenna wanted to head to the store.   She was kind enough to pause for a few pictures outside.    We had to laugh because all this time she had been picturing a small store like the type at the mall.  Not the 3 stories of pure little girl bliss that we were about to experience.

 

 Lucky for us, the doll that McKenna had picked out was literally right inside the door.   And, it's her namesake, McKenna.    I  love this picture and this smile.  What a happy girl!

 The actual store was amazing.   Of course, there were dolls and books and accessories everywhere.  The was even a doll hair salon, a place to pick a pet for your doll, a studio to make a t-shirt for your doll and a bakery.   But the nice part was that there were also window displays with each doll.   McKenna especially enjoyed the historical displays.

 Poor Daddy.   He was such a trooper!   He gets a gold star for spending hours in a doll store browsing tiny dresses and holding our bags, all while silently calculating how much he would have to work to pay for it all!  Ha!

 But in all seriousness, Daddy did an awesome job leading us around the city.  We went to Time Square where we were able to see where Good Morning American is filmed each day.   We visited the giant Toys R Us store and rode the ferris wheel there.  

 We had a pretzel while we studied the building where the ball drops on New Year's Eve.

 And we managed one picture of the three of us together.

 One of McKenna's favorite things about American Girls is the books.   She has read SO many of them so it was a very special treat when she was able to meet two of the authors and get them to sign her books.

 With a little time to spare before lunch, we headed over to Rockefeller Center and watched some brave people ice skate.

 Lunch was quite an experience.   They take quite good care of the girls and the dolls at the American Girl Cafe.  McKenna (the doll) had her own special seat at the table.

 And we nearly fell off of our chairs laughing when the waitress brought a plate and drink for the doll.   I'm telling you, they think of everything!    We enjoyed lunch and dessert and a little more shopping afterward.   Really, this store is a bad, bad place to be if you find it hard to say "no" to your child. 

We had some time left before we had to be back on the bus to head home so we stopped by the Lego store.   It was AMAZING.   McKenna (and McKenna) loved looking at all the scenes that were built out of Legos.  This one is a replica of Rockefeller Center and the ice skating rink.    We picked a fun surprise for Cooper and McKenna built some mini figures to bring for him, too.

I don't have any pictures, but we also went through St. Patrick's Cathedral.  It was beautiful.   We weren't able to stay long because Mass was beginning.  McKenna really seemed to appreciate it and had lots of questions about cathedrals and catholics.  I hope I did a good job in answering both!

By the time we got back on the bus we were all completely exhausted.  We had such an amazing time together.    This was the first time we have done a little trip just as a threesome.  And while we missed Cooper and Kinley and talked about them often, we really, really enjoyed our time alone with McKenna.  I'm sorry to say that we have not made special trips alone with each kiddo more of a priority.   After Saturday, we will definitely make a better effort.    

We love you, McKenna, and Daddy and I had the best time ever!  I hope you will always remember the day we spent in NYC for your 9th birthday!