Beauty of brotherhood

J wanted to sleep with Leo last night, I mean, with him on the floor (I'm so glad that I vacuumed yesterday). Leo usually sleeps in J's room, but this was his first time actually sleeping with his brother on the floor. I bet it was very warm for both of them.

My super hero

J wanted to be Batman. After some on-line research and pondering for material sources, I made batman (well, sort of) mask out of black craft form and rubber bands. Here is a picture of Bat-kids. Two of my kids and their friend.
But, of course, the mask itself didn't satisfy his heart. So he wanted to have a whole outfit. I challenged him to think about how he can do it, and here is what we came up with. J had all the ideas, and my husband and I did assembling part. The spiky gloves were tricky, I thought, but J already had idea in his mind and walked me through it.
Oh, after this picture, he corrected me to put the bat logo on his chest, not on the belt.
Now he is ready to protect us!

my contribution to make it possible

A good friend of mine is part of development group for a local children's museum. There will be a fund raising event in April, and this is my contribution to make that dream possible - making jewelry for silent auction. She and I went to a craft store one day and picked colors. I had so much fun making them. I hope someone will find these jewels worth something and help dream of the children's museum come true! (Too bad that I'm not a photographer....)

PAY IT FORWARD!

THE RULES:
1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to Leave A Comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me. (it will be a surprise but I promise to make it something fun)
(See instructions below as to how to "Leave A Comment"

2. Winners, you must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will "Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first THREE bloggers who Leave A Comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your Three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Counts!

.....................................................................................
My comment: I usually don't sign-up for this kind of things, but I liked the idea of spreading good deeds - spreading sunshine, smiles, and happiness! So, sign-up!!

He's got my genes

J had a rubber band taped up on the tip of a pencil. He tried to explained to me that he wants to make a thing like Ashitaka uses in Princess Mononoke. He used every gesture imaginable to explain what he wanted. "Ah! I know exactly what you want!" I exclaimed. He wanted a bow and arrows! I remember when I was a kid, I wanted to play "knitting." No way knowing how to knit, I made my own pretend-knitting tit - 2 pencils taped up with a piece of fabric. Hmmm, it sounds familiar? He's got my genes! So, I got out a few more rubber bands, scotch tape, a couple of disposable chopsticks, toilet paper roll, card stock paper, and a ribbon...and Voila! Scotch tape makes anything possible! J loved his own bow and arrow set. And I loved being a kid again making it. It was fun to see J's eye just glowing as he saw what those random items becoming to be.

Believe or not, this arrow really flies!

J was happily pretending to be Ashitaka

As I write this, J said "I want to be like Batman using this" handing me a handkerchief. Oh, boy. Okay, I'm coming!

Life is good

As I was about to spread a freshly laundered linen table cloth on our dining table, my husband walked in. Daddy came home! Kids screamed "Daaaadddddyyyy!!!!" I couldn't help smiling. What a happy family I am in. How blessed I am. Life is good.

Massage Therapy

I went to get a massage today. It sounds luxurious, but it is more therapeutic than anything else. My massage therapist has become a good friend to me in the past several years. After an hour-long massage and some good therapeutic talk with her, I feel so much better. She really helps me understand and appreciate who I am as a woman, a wife, and a mother. I was feeling stressed and frazzled lately, but I feel calmer and more "put together" now. It's like oil change. You need it every so often for a good maintenance. My oil was getting bad, but now I'm good for another 3000 miles! Thanks, Pat!

Bedtime snack

We came home from Grandma and Papa's (my in-laws) around 9 pm tonight. M fell sleep in the car on the way home, so she went strait to bed. J, on the other hand, was still awake being hungry. So were Mommy and Daddy. We had consensus of having oatmeal for our bedtime snack tonight. I cooked it on the stove. Three of us sat at dining table and each had a bowl of oatmeal. It was very nice. I think J enjoyed it - special time with his Mommy and Daddy, their attention all to himself. No fight for attention. We do spend time alone with him time to time, but usually only one of us at a time, not both of us with him alone. That was probably the best bedtime snack we had in a while. I don't know if it's oatmeal or the time together, or even both, but I feel so calm and peace. I think I can sleep good tonight.

A day trip to a children's museum

We went to a children's museum about 1.5 hour drive from here. We played all day - bubbles, Legos, magnets, all kind of noises, mirrors, play bank drive-through, play restaurant, etc. Kids had a good time. Hubby and I had a good time. There were many crying kids at the end, including ours, who did not want to go home. It was fun. J showed us his new skill (no pic) - a flipping a pancake on a flying pan without using spatula, just like a chef. Wow, where did he learn that? Maybe he watched Curious George and Man-in-a-yellow-hat doing it one time. But it sure was pretty impressive.

Creation of the day

The fanciest dinner of the week - pancakes. Letter-shape ones, to be specific. There were many snake-shape ones from tempted "S"s and "J"s and some unknown shape ones. But kids loved what they had on their plates (above). Thanks to my friend Cari for the idea. I used an old ketchup bottle instead. It worked great. J ate all the "failed" letters and wanted to keep the good shape ones for later. Pancakes have been not so popular for kids lately, but I think this technique brought them back to kids' favorite food list.

Theme "Creation" update

Creation of the day - A memory.
J was drawing some pictures this morning. I was very happy to see arms and legs coming out of his little doodle guy. I sent the picture to my hubby at work for him to enjoy. He thought it would be nice to have some drawings of J's posted in his office. So, we decided to take some drawings to his office and have a lunch with him. I packed a loaf of banana bread, sandwiches, and chicken noodle soup for our lunch, and we headed out to Daddy's work. It was a beautiful sunny day for a drive. I believe it is important for kids to see how and where their Daddy works. And it's good to have a memory that they had a special lunch with Daddy at his work place.

Theme "Creation" updates

Update from yesterday, "Creation of the day" - Burrito dinner, from scratch. Tortilla, beans, Spanish rice, and the meat. I will post recipe on my recipe blog site soon. If you would like to be a contributor, let me know.

Today's "Creation of the day" - a clean kitchen. It sounds lame, sort of, but it "created" a calm and peace in the kitchen. That's still a creation, right? Starting with normal washing dishes routine and around the sink, counter top, then onto to stove top, to over the stop vent, and fridge wall. No, I didn't mop, but it was good enough creation for the day. Oh, I baked another batch of french bread. That counts too.

I've got a mail!

From my hubby. Titled: "PSSSSSSSSSssssssttttttt..."

The contents: "Love you."

How sweet! I love you, my love!

Creation

I am having a theme this week - creation.
"...Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty.....Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter..." is quoted by Dieter F. Uchtdorf.
It's true. When I make something and see the progress or result, I get a sense of satisfaction. And because, somehow, almost every year, this almost-end-of-winter-but-not-quite-yet-in-Michigan weather in March is so hard for me. I needed something to perk me up.

So, that's the theme. Creation. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, but I'm going to try to create something this week.

Yesterday, I created a memory with my daughter, making pizza from scratch - dough and 2 kind of sauces. No pic, sorry. I'll post another time. M "helped" me rolling the dough and poking with folk. Mostly, she was next to me playing with water in the sink, but it's a start of creating memory in the kitchen with mom, just like I remember with my mom in her kitchen. By the way, I believe I just made the most delicious home-made pizza - I got thumbs up from J and "Mmmmm!!!" from my hubby.

Today, I baked a french bread, the pic below. They were so beautiful, and tasted yummy. And J and I baked cupcakes. I measured, and J poured them in a mixer. We created yummy cupcakes and green frosting together - a good memory of being in the kitchen together. I hope kids will remember these things coming out of Mommy's kitchen, not from a box at some store.

I just checked out a book, Just Like Mama Used to Make. It's a recipe book, but also talks about traditions and things in this Italian family. She talks how her mom is the kitchen all the time - cooking, canning, baking, etc. I thought "that sounds like me!" I really love being in the kitchen making things. One point in my life, I had thought myself as less of a mom because I don't sit down with kids to play much, or bring painting stuff out for kids to make a mess. But that was silly of me. I do enough with kids in my kitchen. That's our playground - with flour and sugar and water and all kind of unorganized matter. We put them into our hands and mold it into something of beauty. What a beauty.

Good ol' technology

I remember when I was in 1st grade, there was a homework - a drawing of future. I was supposed to draw what I would picture as "future." I don't remember if I came up with anything, but oh boy, did I ever dream that I would be talking to my parents through computer 20 some years later (ahem), from here to Japan, with 14 hour time differences?? Wow! I'm amazed! (yeah, I know we are little behind in some technology....) Kids enjoyed "meeting" with my parents. My dad had never seen M in person, so he was thrilled! Thanks to Skype. We had a good time.

Did I mention I love my husband?

We went out for a date last night. Thanks to Papa (my father-in-law) for baby-sitting. It was nothing extravagant We went out for a dinner (thanks to my dh's co-worker for a gift certificate), rented some movies, and went to Tim Hortons. Oh, it was great! We talked and ate and talked and laughed and talked and giggled and talked and laughed. I laughed so hard I even got some ab work-out! He is such a funny guy. So much fun to be with. And I love him dearly. It was a fun date night. Thanks, honey. You make me laugh and, of course, happy, very much.

Facebook

I feel like an old lady, you know, not keeping up with latest things such as iPod and facebook and what not. And I was okay with that, but I was invited to join a group by my boss and I finally signed up today. And I already found so many families and friends. It's nice to be connected. It's fun.

Spring is coming soon....please!?

It's still cold here, but we see more and more sun shine. I have a hope! Spring is coming soon!
We went to post office to pick up a care-package from my parents in Japan yesterday. It was so nice! It was only like 15 degree F, but it was SUNNY! Still too cold to play at park, but it was a perfect weather for a drive. So we decided to drive a little further than post office - we went to see Daddy at work. It was a good surprising visit for Daddy, but he loves to show off his family :)
And thanks to my parents for the care-package. They send us ones quite frequently. We have Christmas so often!