Spur of the Moment

Yesterday I decided to take the kids into Philly to experience the downtown area rich with history. I have a true desire to instill within my children a sense of patriotism. We've been studying the Revolutionary War period of American History for the last year or so. It's been exciting to me to feel like going on field trips again. During the pregnancy last year, I'll I did was mope around the house and feel miserable. I didn't know if I would ever return to being motivated to go anywhere ever again. Ahhhh....live has returned to normal. And I got a sweet little baby to going with the deal.

Ok...so yesterday we went into Philly. I didn't know that there was a Junior Ranger program associated with Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. It's a free program run through the Parks Dept. Just go to the desk in the building across from the Liberty Bell. They'll give you the booklet on the program and send you on your way. Once the activities in the booklet are completed, go back to the Ranger desk, they'll check the booklet and then swear in the children to be a Junior Ranger. The kids all get a badge and everyone is happy.

Our Ranger guide through Independence Hall was awful. He was a quirky little man and did not have a voice that carried very well. He knew a lot of information but the spirit of the history did not particularly manifest itself through him. He seemed more interested in the trivial bits than the stories behind the bits. What I did like was that the kids seemed interested as they worked on the questions in their junior ranger booklets. Even Joey was asking the Ranger guide questions on his own. I was proud of him.

I think that they were genuinely interested in the set up of the room in Independence Hall. They saw the "Rising Sun" chair in which George Washington and other leaders sat. It was fun to remind them of scenes from the movie "National Treasure" where they used these great buildings to solve the mysteries.

At the Liberty Bell, they learned who Pass and Stow were.

It was a lovely day, weather-wise. I'm glad we went. I enjoyed it myself. I had gone once before when Sam and I were first engaged. Then a second time with my parents, but Lucy was just newly potty-trained and had to go to the bathroom. There are no public restrooms on the Square so I missed the tour with my family. So, this was my first time back in 14 years. Hmmm...we need to go more often.

My favorite part this time: the ink well that was used when signing the famous documents. Somehow I could feel the spirit of the history by looking at that ink well and imagining who used it.

Whenever I visit these places, I have such a desire to read and learn more. I just need a few extra hours in the day to do all that I want. :)

New Blog

I started a new blog. It's a work in progress. I'm doing an experiment on gratitude.

You can check it out at gratitudeproject.blogspot.com

Another Milestone

November 5th was Lili's official "sit up" day. She really seems to have the sit up under control. Still needs a little work, but practice makes perfect.

Two Things

1. Liliana officially rolled over from front to back today. 11/4/10 I went in to get her from her crib and found her on her back. She seemed a little stunned that she was laying on her back. Kinda funny.

2. This is for me to know where to find it when I need it.

Holiday Mail For Heroes is back for a fourth year! The American Red Cross will collect holiday cards from regular citizens all across the country and distribute them to service members, veterans, and their families. Many active service members must spend the holidays apart from their family. Give back this holiday season by sending a card to thank those who have given a great deal to their country.

Send cards to the address below,

Holiday Mail for Heroes
PO Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD
20791-5456

All cards must be postmarked no later than Friday, December 10th. Cards postmarked after this date will unfortunately be returned to the sender. This deadline ensures enough time to sort and distribute cards before the holidays.

Lili Rolled

Just a quick note to myself to remember that Liliana rolled over from back to front on October 2, 2010.

An Experiment with Dinner

I get my best ideas in the shower. HA!

Today I had the idea to give the kids a set amount of money each and they have to put together dinner. Everyone got $2, except Robbie who got $3 because he had the main course. So for just about $10. This was our dinner.

Robbie--main course--made chicken noodle soup. He used way too many noodles so it turned into a type of chicken n dumplings (flat dumplings). He did have to pay extra for a jar of my home canned chicken. He went over his allotment by $1.50. It was a tasty little dish. Not bad at all.

Lucy--salad--Macaroni Salad. Hmmmm....I tried to talk her into a green garden salad, but she said that was boring. Well. We definitely had enough pasta in this meal to make an Italian proud. It was ok. She didn't really have the spices very good, but it was her first time.

Joey--side dishes--can of creamed corn and orange jello. Well, we didn't get home in time to make the Jello. Scratch. The can of creamed corn was opened by Joey using the super complicated Pampered Chef can opener and poured into a saucepan. Robbie supervised the heating of the creamed corn. The creamed corn was served AFTER the soup and macaroni salad AND chocolate pudding.

Leah--dessert--instant chocolate pudding. I actually thought this was a good choice for Leah. Two large boxes of Jello pudding were $2 exactly. There was a bit of a tiff when making the pudding. But, it all came together in the end.

Here's what I'll do differently next time we do this.

#1--only one person will be in charge of the dinner

#2--I'll give a ceiling of $10 for the whole of dinner, including salad and dessert.

#3--I'll make sure to supervise the creation of the dinner and help time it so that it's not being eaten piecemeal.

What did I learn?

I'm awesome! Everyone woman/mother that I know that can put a full meal on the table for under $10 is awesome! It's truly not an easy job to do all of that, make it taste good and have everyone leave the table satisfied.

It was a great experience. I'm glad for the idea. It'll help with the training of the children as they grow up and start facing the fact that they have to provide food for themselves and eventually their children.

Hormones

Dang hormones! I'm 10 weeks postpartum and still the emotions flare up at inopportune moments. When really is an opportune moment for an emotional breakdown?

So, to solve the problem, Sam will be stopping by the Bonefish restaurant to bring me home a macadamia nut brownie. I'll take it tonight. Actually, I can't remember a time when I refused it.

I'm eating out of depression tonight. Not like full blown depression, just some sadness. I had a rough weekend emotionally. I'll feel better. Nothing that a brownie and ice cream can't cure...at least temporarily...until I go to bed.

It's kinda funny actually...really I'm postpartum AND pre-menapausal. No wonder I'm not right.

The heat doesn't help much either. Sam put an AC unit in my bedroom window to help keep the house cool. I'll tell you what...the baby LOVES it in there. She slept 12.5 hours last night. I wrapped her up tight and even put a little hat on her head. She slept so soundly.

Ok...that's all the rambling. Just thought I'd vent a minute. I'm alright.