Welcome to 2020

At the beginning of the week, we went to the movies.  Caroline and I saw Frozen 2, while the boys saw the new Star Wars movie.  Poor Henry.  When I asked him which movie he would rather go see he replied, Neither.  He said he'd rather play outside or watch a sport's game (like in a stadium).  Todd said Henry moved in his seat nearly the entire 2 1/2 hours.  At one point he said it looked like Henry was curled up facing the back of the chair.  I had a similar situation with the girl.  I don't think Caroline stopped moving the entire movie as well.  She somehow managed to lay on her belly facing the screen for parts of it.  (These are big recliner style seats.)  I don't think she actually understood all of the movie, which made it not as interesting for her to watch.  They had a lot of flashbacks which can be hard to follow for a little kid.  That night at dinner, Josiah was trying to tell me the whole life's story of Kylo Ren from Star Wars. He was doing a full chronological telling of their life's story.  I was fairly lost towards the beginning because I have no interest in Star Wars so the names all mix together and I don't know who's good or who's bad (and I really don't care).  I was listening to Josiah like a good mother, but the part that cracked me up was when Todd chimed in to give me a clarification on a point that Josiah was saying.  I just chuckled to myself that he actually thought I was following along.  Smile and nod.  Smile and nod.

Josiah dressed in all black, like Kylo Ren.

New Year's Eve around here is a crazy time of fireworks.  Anyone and everyone seems to buy them and shoot them off from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.  I love firework shows in part because there is a rhythm to them.  There is a rhythm to how they are shot off and it's easy to listen to (and watch).  Around here we have three neighbors directly next to our house that shoot them off for hours, but it's all jagged in their timings, so it's more headache inducing (at least for me).  The kids, however, had a blast this year.  They were up til 10:30 p.m. watching from several windows.  At one point they were all on Caroline's bed, lights out, Christmas lights on, blinds wide open.  They were screaming with glee at the big ones.  We only knew they had fallen asleep when they finally quieted down.  At least they enjoyed the show.  They all ended up falling asleep on Caroline's bed.

"Slopy Joe" was good.

With the New Year I like to come up with resolutions for our family.  Last year they had to make their beds daily which didn't quite last, but they're still better at it than the previous year.  Last year we also banned the phrase, It's not fair.  This year my resolutions for the kids are for them to comb/brush their hair every day (really, really necessary).  Their second one is that they have to make dinner once a month.  Not a group effort, but they EACH get a night to cook.  They have to come up with the meal and all the parts (sides/veggies).  I can help cook, but I don't want to have to come up with anything for them.  I had already come up with this idea, but then a few nights before the new year, Josiah said this at dinner, "Is the chicken supposed to be tender?"  Oh my son.  And in my defense, it actually was really tender that night.  We were having Chicken a la King which is one of my childhood favorites.  That comment solidified my stance to have them cook once a month.
When I brought it up to them about cooking one night a month they immediately picked dates.  Henry wanted the 1st of each month so he could get it over with.  Josiah picked his birthday date and Caroline the same.  So, Henry was first up.  He picked Sloppy Joe's.  When I asked him what he wanted as his sides and veggies, he said, "What's a side?"  He ended up making: Sloppy Joe's, chips, salad, and smoothie.  At first he just picked salad, but he later amended it to add a smoothie since I was now willing to use the blender since we have a dishwasher that will wash it for me.  :)  Not too shabby for a first go.  Tonight Todd had his meal night (oh yeah, he's part of the resolution).  He picked breakfast tacos and they were delicious.  I can't wait to see what he comes up with next month.  ;)

The remainder of our last week of break was spent outside playing with friends.  The kids have befriended two more kids in the neighborhood.  They have ridden bikes, played football, played FBI/SWAT, played Legos, had light saber battles and Nerf gun wars, played Star Wars with their tie fighter bikes, freeze tag, on and on.  It's been great to get them outside for hours at a time.  They've come home sweaty, stinky, and exhausted.  One of their new friends is so nice, too.  He's a great mix because he likes Star Wars like Josiah, as well as Minecraft like Henry.  He's nice to Caroline, he's respectful - it's a dream to Todd and I.

You know it's time to start school again when your kids sit on the bench behind the library and say, Hey, it's Albert Einstein.  No. That would be Mark Twain as seen from the "Huckleberry Finn" book he's reading.  School starts in the morning. I for one will be glad to get back into a routine.