21 Feb 2010

This weekend was sort of the weekend of the child (other than the fact that they had to go to the Commissary with me which none of us enjoy). Saturday morning we took them to a place that had all sorts of bounce houses and slides and other inflatables for them to play on. They earned this trip by doing extra jobs around the house for marbles. Our deal was when their marble jar was full they would get to go somewhere of there choosing.  I think they really had fun. Of course, I forgot to take my camera. When we got home Nil got on the trampoline with the boys (Princess Little had gone next door). They thought it was great bouncing with Dad.

Sunday night we had family fun time. The kids chose to play Disney Scene It despite Nil's best efforts to convince them to play the Star Trek version. Beara's favourite part was trying to knock over the playing pieces.

Last Saturday

  Did you guess where we went?

Two Saturdays a month Lowe's has a building clinic for kids. So we spent last Saturday morning at Lowe's building jewelry holders.

Nil tried to spend some time helping each of the kids. He showed Super Tater how to hold the hammer. ST likes his way better. 

Beara is pretty independent at these things. I think he got the least help. Super Tater put each peg in its hole. I wish I could have captured the I-did-it dance that followed each peg, but I was laughing too hard.Princess Little tried hard and got hers mostly done, but Nil had to fix a few things for her in the end. 

 

The only bad thing about these clinics is the noise, noise, noise!

In the end though, you get to take home a really neat project and the kids have fun. 

PL was a little bit frustrated that hers didn't quite come together like she had wanted (Nil had to step in and help her fix a couple things). I thought this was a really sweet moment. You can tell how much her daddy loves her. (I asked her if I could share this.)

Next week the project is a "Lowebot."  I think Nil is as excited about it as the kiddos. Admittedly it does look pretty cool.

Photo of the Day: Days 19 and 20

Day 19

Can you guess where we spent our morning? I plan to write more about this. The pictures were too cute to pick just one. Beara was totally amused by the fact that the tubs here had nowhere for the water to come out.

Day 20
Today we had a Valentine's hunt (saw the idea over at How Does She).  I had treats for each child, but to find them they had to follow the clues.  Each clue centred around one of the children (there were two per child) and extolled one thing that we love about that child.  My rhymes were silly. I'm really not a poet, but we had fund doing this. I really hope it made them feel special.  The rhymes follow; each was written on a red heart-shaped doily.  The first rhyme I slipped under Princess Little's door when all three were in there. The last rhyme Nil had with the candy. (For those who don't know me, I actually do find turtles cute and my kiddos know how cool I think turtles are.)

Today is the day we celebrate love,
So of course it is you three we're thinking of.
Together we should all have some fun;
Come see Mommy for clue number one!

You're our big girl, so pretty, so smart,
But my favourite thing is your generous heart.
Now on a treasure hunt you all can embark;
Go and check in the pockets of your chore chart.

Questioning, reasoning, always  you think,
It is so amazing the things that you link.
Continue the hunt! From this task do not shrink!
Go look for a clue upstairs under your sink.

Some wake in the morning all groggy and crabby,
Not you, my sweet love, you always wake happy.
Go to the couch where Daddy gets comfy.
Look under the cushion; I hope it's not crumby!

Even at two with your blocks you were meticulous;
It is just one of the things that makes you so dear to us.
Now there is no need to search every crevice;
What you seek is in the closet that doesn't hold blouses.

Galant and brave and certainly fearless,
You greet life's adventures both mundane and perilous.
For this clue there's no need to get boisterous.
Go look downstairs near the phone that is cordless.

You're clever and helpful and cute as a turtle,
but most of all you give the very best snuggles!
Now find Dad; tell your siblings to follow.
There's treasure involved, make sure they don't dawdle!

Your treasure is here, but before you shout hooray,
There is just one thing that we want to say:
You are each so loved in your own unique way;
You're our greatest treasure this Valentine's Day!

MRE

When we first got to this post, one of the things that impressed me was the command's focus on family. There was even special time set aside each week to encourage soldiers to build stronger bonds with family members. I decided this year to try to use this time to really focus on relationships with the kids. One of my main goals was to provide memory making moments Nil and the kids could share. I am hoping these moments will serve as touchstones while he is away from us. I had a plan for our last family day, but then another opportunity presented itself.

Nil spent the morning at the range. Since he didn't get a chance to eat breakfast he was provided with an MRE (meal ready to eat). While I'm sure salsa chicken for breakfast is extra yummy, he had other options. (His wonderful wife knew he was going to the range and had fixed him a box of goodies to take along.)  So he brought the MRE home.  We spent the afternoon exploring the MRE with the kids.


Nil told Princess Little this was her dinner. She really wasn't sure whether to take him seriously or not.

We opened it up and Super Tater was very excited to see there were M&M's inside. He wanted to skip right to the dessert part.  In fact it was difficult to get this picture because curious little hands kept removing different components.

Princess Little helped mix up the tea. The kiddos liked both the drinks that were included, so much so that Nil and I barely tried them.

Before we even opened the MRE Nil kept saying, "We need a boot or something."  When we got the MRE open, I understood. He finds the  heater directions, complete with picture (click to enlarge), quite amusing.




Beara did not like the smell of the chemical reaction used to heat the food. He refused to even taste the chicken when it was done cooking. He enjoyed the veggie crackers and cheese though, and of course the sugar cookie and M&M's.

 

Super Tater really liked everything...especially the M&M's.  

It was a fun afternoon. Nil spent time telling us which of the MRE's he liked and which he didn't. He shared some of the history of rations. He told us stories about guys in basic training using the heaters as bed warmers when they were out in the field. He even told us that during basic he sold a bag of skittles from his MRE for $20! I might pay that for chocolate, but skittles?