Jogging and Drums

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . cheering Joy and her classmates on at their annual school jog-a-thon.

. . . playing with Anna and Daniel at a playground while Joy's team practiced baseball nearby and some dude played his drum set in the parking lot.

Painted Stars and Bread Kebabs

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . .  the slow but relentless increase of clutter in my life.

. . . finding out that Google is pulling the plug on its blog reader in July.  Grrr.

. . . discovering that Anna had pulled apart a quarter of a new loaf of bread, and stuck two pencils through it.  We won't be leaving the bread board on the kitchen table again for a while.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . helping Daniel practice writing his name.

. . . painting stars on Joy's T-shirt using freezer paper stencils.  The result was cute, and I may just revisit it for future holidays, or just for fun.

Peekaboo and the Pizza Challenge

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . making pizza that had great crust and disappointing toppings (which has always been my challenge with pizza).  I even bought quality sauce and mozzarella, but the results were still mediocre.  Perhaps I overcooked the cheese.  Sigh.  I see more pizza research in my future.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . Anna giving me hugs and playing peekaboo.

. . . the big kids running out the door to hug me goodbye as I left for a visiting teaching appointment.

Plantains and Pizza

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . .  frying plantains for the first time in my life, and having them turn out with the flavor and texture of potato chips.  Not exactly what I was going for.  I guess I bought one that wasn't quite ripe yet.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . taking a pizza-making class at a local restaurant.  The class was fun and the teacher/owner/chef was a delight.  You could tell he loves people and loves good food.  My favorite line of the night: "There is no such thing as a perfect pizza.  Don't try to make one.  Have fun!"

. . . eating the pizza I made.

. . . sharing a late dessert with my sweetheart after the kids were in bed.

Cinnamon Dunes and Ice Cream Mountains

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . .  getting out of bed this morning and discovering that Anna and gotten hold of the cinnamon-sugar shaker and emptied its contents all over the table and carpet.  At least it wasn't maple syrup, right Cathy?

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . attending an emergency preparedness fair and learning a lot of useful things.  I also got to sample such delicacies as Dutch oven wheat bread and brownies made with mashed beans instead of butter (laugh if you will; I went back for seconds).

. . . watching Michelle Obama demonstrate the jump rope workout routine she uses to stay fit when she's on long trips.  She has impressive rhythm, and it's hard to say which was more entertaining--watching our First Lady jump rope or watching Dr. Oz struggle to keep up with her.

. . . revisiting a recipe I haven't made in a while, and hearing Phillip reminisce to the kids that I made it a lot in the early days of our marriage, and it always reminds him of our time as newlyweds.  I think I'll make that dish more often.

. . . taking a family walk to an old-fashioned ice cream shop, where we shared an enormous banana split.  The dessert was delicious, and we had fun just being out together and trying something new.

The Garland and the Lone Girl

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . .  driving home from the pediatrician, then getting a call from the nurse saying we had left before Daniel got his shots.  There was no way we could go back and still get Joy to school on time, so I guess we'll be making a follow-up visit next week.  Sigh.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . taking Joy to her first baseball practice.  She's the only girl on the team and has virtually no experience, but she had fun and we're looking forward to the rest of the season.

. . . making a St. Patrick's Day garland, adapted from another that I found through Pinterest.  It was a bit of work, but it makes me happy every time I look at it.

Mysterious Tapioca

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . waking to the pleasant sound of rain.

. . . gratitude that I found a recipe for cheap homemade laundry detergent before I began potty training Daniel.

. . . looking through our family history to see where our different lines came from.  We've got a lot of Danes, Brits, and Norwegians, but there's also a German line, a Scottish line, and at least one person from Ireland.  It might be fun for our family to celebrate each country's national day and talk about the ancestors who came from it, but then again, that also might be way, way too much work.  I think I'll let the idea mull a bit.

And another thing . . .

. . after puzzling over Boba Fett's popularity last night, I actually read a little about him ('cuz I'm geeky like that). The writers of his Wikipedia article theorize that fans like him because he conveys an air of "danger and mystery," and the fact that he can just stand there exuding confidence and power without saying a single word.

I guess I can understand that, but he still doesn't do much for me personally. Han Solo has an equal measure of confidence, and he's a lot more fun. Plus, he's Harrison Ford. Hard to beat that.

Boba, on the other hand, is a term for a beverage with tapioca balls in it, and it means "female buffoon" in Spanish. So yeah, it's hard for me to take someone named Boba very seriously, even if he does hang out with Jabba and occasionally disintegrate people.