Freezing!

I am not one to complain about cold.  Our house is always set to 64 degrees, I almost never wear a jacket, and we do a lot more complaining about heat and sweating than we ever do about cold.  However, these last couple weeks have been terrible!  It's the first time in many years that I've uttered the words, "It's too cold to go outside!" So this has been the month of museums for us.  Ann Arbor Hands-On museum, Detroit History Museum, Michigan Science Center, Henry Ford Museum, and the Detroit Institute of Arts have been our main hangouts.  We've also been to multiple libraries, the Heritage Park Nature Center, and gone roller skating.  Basically anything that gets us out of the house, but not technically out of a house.  We've had a great time.  My kids love museums and the amazing thing is that every single one we went to was free or at least free on the day I went, thanks to a membership.  In some I took tons of pictures and in some I took none.  No idea why. Here's a sampling.

Detroit History Museum:

Old Fashioned Drug Store/Soda Shop:

Horse-drawn fire engine.  Not sure this was for climbing on, but no one was around to tell us otherwise.

Huge display of toy trains that could be controlled by the kids.  So fun!

I love this one - Benjamin mixing Motown music complete with hoodie on.

Henry Ford Museum:
Being a hot dog next to the Oscar Meyer Wiener mobile.

Christian loves nothing more than to pretend to drive cars.  The Henry Ford museum is hard for him because there are sooooo many cars there, but only about 2 they'll let you get in.  He managed to find this one and wouldn't be dragged away for 20 minutes.  The guide working this area and I became BFFs as I tried to pass the time sitting in the back seat being chauffeured by my cute driver.  I ended up learning a ton about early cars and their design.  So interesting.  Thanks Christian, because I would have likely simply walked on by.

Benjamin has been taking a class through the Nature Center at Heritage Park.  When we come to pick him up, we all hang out a while and play.  The kids' favorite part is this play campsite.  Countless tea parties have been had in that tent already and bears attack on a regular basis.  (See the black bear on the ground?  Clifford took him out that time.)

Christian has a toddler playgroup each week which he loves.  Last week it was at our place and I set up this little spider web for the kids to play on.  They were supposed to walk along the web, step over the books (spiders) and pick up the legos (save the flies).  The toddlers did it once and moved on, but my older kids played it for two days, timing each other, making more and more rules to make it harder, etc.  At least it got some good use.

Benjamin decided he wanted to play with bubbles but it was too cold outside, so indoors works even better!
Although, we did go outside one time to test the theory that the bubble would freeze.  That was cool!  It didn't look any different when it floated, but when it popped, rather than popping and disappearing, it shattered and bubble shards fell to the ground.  We were too cold to do it for long, though. ;)

Benjamin wanted to pretend camp, so we had our tent sent up for a couple days and he slept in it for 2 or 3 nights.  During the day they were king and queen of the tent kingdom and I was the court jester who had to perform puppet shows and other antics or be sent to the dungeon.

When the weather warmed up a bit one day, we headed out immediately.  Benjamin decided it would be a good idea to climb on the roof of the day care center at the end of our street when I wasn't looking, to see what he could see from there.  Then he was unable to get back down.  He ended up jumping into my arms for lack of a better idea and no one got seriously injured, thank goodness, except for a sprained pinky finger on my right hand that is still a bit stiff two weeks later.  Better than a broken leg, though.

Don't know why I took this picture other than that I think he's just the cutest little 2 year old on the planet.  He loves his "babies" as well.  "Bear" and "Elephanty" come everywhere with him, especially bed, where they each get to pick a good night song and where I can often hear him telling them his own goodnight stories long after I've left the room.  He is soooo cute!

His imagination is also really taking off.  A couple days ago we had this conversation:

Christian:  I have to tell you a secret.
Me: What?
Christian:  I whisper it in your ear.
I lean in to let him whisper and he lowers his voice conspiritorily.
C: I have a monster in my pocket
Me: Is it dangerous?
C: No, it just a little monster.  See?
He pretends to reach into his non-existant pocket and pull out his monster. He holds his hand out open to me, showing me his empty palm.
Me: Oh, I see, it is just a little one.  What's his name?
C: Mon. Ster.
He emphasizes each syllable distinctly.
Me:  Is he nice or will he hurt me?
C: He not hurt me, but he hurt you.
He proceeds to lunge at my ear with the "monster" in his hand and make a munching sound.
C: He eat your ear!
Me: AUGGHH!  Help me!
C: I help you!  I get ear out of monster's tummy.
He digs in his empty hand with the other hand making grinding noises and pulls out my "ear" which he then rubs around on the side of my head.
C: There.  It okay now.  You feel better?

This continued for quite a while and Mon Ster came back many times over the next few days.  It was a riot.  Other things have turned up in his pocket as well - pennies, animals.  Monsters have also terrorized our basement and bathroom.  He routinely tells me, "I hold your hand so you not be scared.  We go downstairs together."  or "Watch out! Monster in there!  Not go there!" as I'm about to use the bathroom.  Then he'll run ahead, make a bunch of noise and come back out, "It okay.  Monster gone.  I scare him away for you."  Honestly, how do I deserve this cutie?  Love him!

Happy New Year

I can't remember a holiday season passing as quickly as this one did.  I guess that means I'm getting old - time seems to be going by faster and faster.  We had a great Christmas.

Traditionally we set up our tree on Christmas eve (the same one we've had for 11 years since our days as poor college students), read the bible story, act out the nativity and generally try to keep that evening as Christ centered as possible since we know Christmas morning is all about the toys.  Benjamin wanted to make the star this year so he secretly went downstairs and spent a long time constructing and painting it before returning with his contribution to the evening.  He then sweetly let Christian place it.   My favorite part of Christmas eve is acting out the nativity with the kids.  This year I expected them to use a doll as baby Jesus, but Christian wanted that role again.  They were so cute and all did a really great job.  Of course, we ended up doing it at least 4 times.

Christmas morning was a blast too.  Kelly and I slept in the living room so we wouldn't miss the kids coming in.  The kids loved their presents and I loved seeing their faces light up.  We had our traditional breakfast (ham and egg croissant sandwiches) and spent most of the day playing with all the toys.

Then we had to get out and play in the snow that fell on Christmas eve.  Kelly hooked up ropes to the sled like a harness and he and I took turns running the kids around the yard.  It was a blast as long as no one tipped and face planted in the snow (read: Bella...poor thing)

The kids also wanted to snow paint.  I filled some squirt bottles with colored water and they had a blast.  This picture was taken before my fingers went numb from filling water bottles in sub-freezing temps, so it looks plain but it got quite colorful out there.

I decided trying to do home school lessons during Christmas time was a wasted effort so we declared it science project week and we did fun science projects every day.   This one involves lighting a tea bag on fire and watching it shoot up in the air as the hot air inside drives it up.  I love this picture because Bella actually really loved this experiment and wanted to do it again and again, but nothing can push her to stop sucking her thumb, not even fire flying through the air.

I realize I actually didn't take too many science project pics.  Sadly, I think I was too busy running them.  This one was fun, too, though.  It involved putting tiny, tiny gel balls in water and seeing how they expand as they absorb the water. We also did a similar one with sodium polyacrylate.  That stuff is a lot of fun and cool for science projects too.  We tested how adding sodium chloride disrupts its ability to bind water and why.

January 2 was Benjamin's 6 and 1/2 birthday.  Half birthdays are big around here.  He got to have a cake, decide the entire day's menu (oatmeal for breakfast, grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, spinach soup and hot dogs for dinner), and have some friends over to play.  No real party, but a fun play date.  He also kept reminding us all day whenever he didn't get his way, "You should do what I want, it's my half birthday."

Then this Sunday, Christian was so excited because he was going into a new nursery class and Bella was so excited to start CTR 4 class and no longer be in the youngest class in primary.  They felt like such big kids and kept asking, "So this will be my class for the whole rest of the year!?!"  They both really love their teachers this year too, which is great.

Now everything is getting back into its normal routine.  Piano, swim lessons, school, etc.  It all went so fast, but we had a wonderful holiday season.  Just wish we could have had a bit more family around with whom to celebrate it.