Fun with Friends

Girl with dragon

When I decided to look for a new job I had a bunch of goals. Some I thought might be a little lofty and others were must haves.

Must Haves

1. I need to have the ability to spend more time with my family. Working 50-60+ hours a week was taking me away from the people who needed me most, and who I needed most. This realization set in when I packed work clothes and no pajamas as I (crazily) thought my house was going to fall down post tornado. 
2. I want to be able to be in the moment with my family. Even when I was with my family, I'd sometimes be thinking about work I had to get done.
3. I didn't want a job with a bunch of travel that kept me away from the people I love the most. See #s one and two. 

Like to Haves

1. I wanted a job that I felt like I was making a difference. Helping the business.  Helping the customers. Just feeling like what I did mattered.
2. I was hoping for a job that enabled me to use the skills and knowledge I had, while still gaining and building new skills. 

What I realized was the "must haves" were about my family and the "like to haves" were about the job itself. Fortunately, I believe I found a balance between the two.  

The last two months I've done more with my family than I did in probably a 6 month period before. I actually cook dinner most nights. Yes, it's typically with the slow cooker, but it's cooked. It's at home. We're all together at our dining room table - a table that Katherine sets each night. (proud mom)

Then I decided we should "do" some things. Katherine loves an art project and there are always reasons to break out the craft stuff and create something together. At Christmas time we all made ginger bread people, reindeer ornaments... we made shrinky-dinks. Good stuff.  

As I started to think about things to do I realized that if I didn't put them on the family calendar and plan for them, they likely wouldn't happen and then some of my "must haves" would be missed.  

Tonight was one of those pre-planned events. A few weeks ago I was looking at the calendar and saw it was the Lunar New Year. Hello party! Who doesn't love celebrating the new year?! =) We were gonna party like it was 4709!! 

I found a book online on the Lunar New Year and learned that it was the Year of the Dragon. Begin: Search for dragon craft project.  Success.  Begin: search for fun dessert. Success (with the help of our neighbor). Begin: plans for chinese food dinner (thanks be to Take-out!). 

Katherine and I were going to be solo for the event, and while that would be fun, I was thinking it would be even more fun with two of our best ladies. Our neighbor and her daughter. We started off by having some take-out chinese food, followed by making some Lunar New Year treats (also known as haystacks!) and then made some pretty snazzy dragons.  Oh, and lest I forget one of the traditions of my youth: banging on pots and pans on the porch to celebrate the new year.  

Making music on the steps! =) 

I know Katherine had a blast and I think our neighbors had some fun too. The planning paid off. Now to start thinking about our next activity... I think it'll have something to do with Valentine's Day. =) 

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Fun Things to Do

This week I've had a couple of moms ask about the things we find to do with Katherine. I'll admit to struggling and trying to come up with something interesting to do I have started researching things in advance of holidays, etc. so that I can start planning things to do. Nothing elaborate or expensive, just a little something to special to make an ordinary day a little special.  I thought I'd share some of the research I've done on upcoming holidays/things to do.


Cooking Class
This week Katherine and I went to a cooking class together. This is absolutely something that can be done at home. With just a little bit of planning you can have the same type of thing.  As I mentioned we made mini muffins and cheese quesadillas. In between making each thing we read a story and at the end read a story and sang a song. This kept all of the participants entertained and kept with the theme of the day. You can do this with one child or multiple, as long as you have some other Mommy/Daddy helpers. 


Chinese New Year
January 23rd is Chinese New Year.  The Year of the Dragon.  I thought it would be fun to have a little new years celebration. We've invited a friend over for some chinese food, a little story (that I bought on amazon) and we're going to make some kind of crafty thing.  I found two things online that have possibilities for the dragon.  

Paper Dragon

Felt Dragon

Valentine's Day

There are a couple of fun activities that I found.  One is a little mouse puppet made out of felt and another is a heart t-shirt. I was thinking even without the doily it could be fun to just do a t-shirt project.  There are pretty inexpensive fabric markers available at the big chain craft stores.  If you find a 40% or 50% off coupon you can get them at an even better price. I think I paid around $6 for mine. They've worked great for everything we've used them for so far. No washing issues and aren't that messy. 

Felt Mouse Puppet

Heart T-shirt

Here are also some ideas for Valentine's Day cards. Be warned... If your'e on Katherine's valentine list you might be receiving one of these!! :) 

Fun Valentine's Day card idea

Photo Lollypop Valentine

Lollypop Valentine

And if you're into baking here's a Valentine's Day cake. When I bake with Katherine I get everything prepped on the counter before calling her in. She then dumps everything into the bowl as I tell her and helps mix it. And yes... sometimes even eats the beater. 

Valentine's Day Cake Recipe

PiDay

This is celebrated on 3/14. I hope you get it. :) We either make a pie or have the bakery make one (depending on schedule and time) and have a little Pi fun after dinner. 

Mardi Gras (February 21, 2012) 

Mardi Gras is celebrated on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which kicks off Lent in many churches/religions. I'm thinking we might either make a King Cake or a friend has offered to ship one to us from Louisiana. (How cool is that?!) Part of the fun of the King Cake is finding the baby inside of the cake.  =) Here's a recipe for a King Cake. 

I think we'll also make some kind of creole dinner. Still looking for some yummy recipes there. I think I might look for something that can even go into the crockpot. =) 

I find it's helpful to put events on the calendar and set a reminder 4-5 days in advance so I can work on getting things together. And I rarely tell Katherine about the activity until the day of or just before we're about to do it. It saves a lot of "is todayyyyyy the day?!" 

Have fun!! 

xo

Darlene

Our First Cooking Class

Enjoying her dinner

"Katherine, when you're asked to dump something into the bowl what should you say?"

"YES SHEF!!" 

"Good job!!" 

Okay, so maybe I shouldn't take advice from Gordon Ramsey. And mayyyybeeee yelling "yes shef" in her first cooking class wasn't as amusing to the instructor as it was to me. And maybe she was so caught up in the moment she actually forgot to say it... =) *whew*

Tonight Katherine had her first cooking lesson at a place called Lil Chef. We signed up for 6 classes where she'll get to cook her own meal. Pretty cool. I know I was excited. And it wasn't just because I hope in a couple of years she'll be able to cook me dinner... What? Too soon? Okay. I'll give her till she's 8 but then seriously she needs to earn her keep. ;)

Tonight's menu was Pooh Bear Honey Banana Muffins and Tigger Quesadillas. Both were a hit.  

Katherine had the privilege of putting in an egg, a 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour, mashing bananas and stirring like a girl on a mission.

After we made the muffins it was onto story time while we waited for the muffins to bake. Next up was a cheese quesadilla. This is also referred to as "mexican grilled cheese" in the Aleksza family. =) 

Katherine did a great job shredding her own cheese and "making it rain" into her tortilla. After making her quesadilla she and her new friends were able to "cook" in the little kitchen in their area while they waited for them to bake. When she was able to finally sample her cooking, she enjoyed it so much that she ate the entire quesadilla and muffin. After she finished eating it was time for another story and a few songs before leaving till next time.

It was super fun and we can't wait for the next 5 classes.  I think we have a special Valentine's Day class coming up next!! =)

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2012 Christmas Celebration

Santa came!!! 

This year, as with each year since we've moved to Raleigh, we traveled to New Jersey for Christmas. We return to celebrate the holiday with our family and attend Christmas church services.

Last Christmas involved Katherine's first flight(s).  By this Christmas she's a traveling professional.  This trip marked her 7th and 8th flights on Southwest. It's the only airline she knows and continues to love her a co-pilot!

We started our journey on Christmas Eve (January 6th).  The flight left mid-morning.  The plan was to find our luggage, rental car and then some lunch - In that order.  We accomplished all three and even managed to squeeze in a visit to the Philadelphia Pretzel Factor.  (I was quite excited by this additional stop along the way.)  Lunch, given it was a day of fasting where no meat is permitted, involved finding a pizza place.  I used my trusted friend, Yelp.  Were it not for the volumes of 5 star reviews there is not a shot in the dark I'd have visited this place on my own. Not.a.shot. There were no seats, only counter service (where you stood to eat) and it was seemingly about the size of a hallway.  The pizza however was delicious!! And ginormous!! We had 3 large sicilian slices of pizza and (the worst) soda for $6. Gotta love Philly!!!

We then proceeded on to NJ.  The next plan was to visit with my cousin Cheryl for a bit before heading to the Christmas Eve dinner festivities.  It was a great visit.  We caught up on the wedding plans (that Katherine and I are members of the bridal party for) and other family news. I was grateful for the hour we were able to spend together.  Thanks Cheryl for leaving work early to join us for a bit!! xo

Onwards to Stephen's sister's house for Christmas Eve dinner with the family. Katherine wanted to bring a gingerbread house kit that we'd gotten to build with her cousins. We had a fantastic dinner prepared by Stephen's sister and niece. Thanks Tasha & MaryEllen!! Gingerbread house making followed dinner... Two words for the event: Fun. Messy.  I'm not sure the latter was all that appreciated (particularly the accidental application of icing on Justin's dress pants) but Katherine had a blast. I'll be honest. I did too. :) Tasha, Justin, Fatima, Katherine and I built a house fit for... well... A gingerbread person. We hope he/she enjoys the token candy that fell into the house versus remaining on the roof. Oopsie.

After dinner & construction we had present time.  Katherine had lots of fun opening presents and showing us her latest gadgets.  We were all excited about the cake pop machine. That'll be a fun weekend adventure! =)

We had a late night and an early morning approaching so we headed to the hotel for some rest. On Christmas morning Katherine awoke to some presents Santa had left for her at the hotel along with a note promising that he'd make a special trip to Raleigh after she got home.  He thought it would be a little much to bring all of her presents to the hotel and then have to fly home with them. This Mommy is pretty grateful for Santa's consideration and willingness to come all the way back out for our family! Wow!!!

We went to Church and Katherine was able to sit with Grandma.  We sat right up front so that after the services were over we had a great seat for the Christmas pageant. A fantastic event put on by the children of the church.  Katherine was (literally) on the edge of her seat for most of the pageant. She broke out a little bag of pretzels as her snack during the "show". (Sorry Father!!)

After church we went to breakfast with Grandma where Katherine had her share of pork roll... for the year!!! She ate my pork roll and her own.  Six slices in total. And she was looking for more.  I had to reel her in from her crazy quest for more. Eeeep!!!

After breakfast we went back to Stephen's sister's house for the family party.  Our cousins from MD traveled in for the day.  With Christmas on the weekend they were able to make the journey to NJ to celebrate with everyone.  We were pretty excited and grateful that they were able to come! Katherine had a great day partying with her cousins and causing a general ruckus around the house. By 7pm she was tired and ready for sleep after two very exciting days!

Sunday we had a slow morning getting our things all packed into suitcases and getting checked out of the hotel.  We got on the road at around 11am heading to the Philadelphia area. My sister and her boyfriend met us for some brunch in Philadelphia, not too far from the airport.  Lots of giggles and a couple of mimosas made for a great morning.  It was nice to spend some time with them as we didn't make it to FL this year for the 25th.

Sunday evening we arrived home and prepped for Santa's special visit.  Katherine left out the chocolate chip cake that Santa requested along with some carrots for the reindeer.  She was quite concerned that there was no snow and that Santa wouldn't come if there wasn't snow... Fortunately, Santa, always thinking, brought his own with him!! So cool!!!

Santa's footsteps that he left on the hearth

Katherine had a great visit from Santa and all of her wishes were fulfilled.  Baby doll, Barbie dolls and dress up stuff were among the treats left by Santa.

We were very fortunate this year to be able to visit with so many family members during our trip.  Thanks to all that made the holiday trip so special.

xoxo
Darlene, Stephen & Katherine

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The Rembrandt Exhibit

Today we went to the NC Museum of Art. F-I-N-E Art. Katherine's idea of art is the kind done with finger paints, or the masterpiece recently drawn on her bedroom wall, with marker. (I am a Mom eternally grateful for the invention of magic erasers.)

Off we go to see Rembrandt. Katherine and I chatted about what art was. Often it's combined with the word "crafts". In an effort to draw a comparison I resorted to comparing Rembrandt and a Pinkalicious book (Pinkie Promise) where Pinkalicious uses all of her friend's pink paint to paint a picture for their teacher. Enter:  Our basis for "art". Given my comparison, we thought it would be fun to look at the Rembrandts and see if we could find pink in them. Yeah yeah yeah... dark painter.  I know. Surprisingly though we found one piece with pink.  It was quite colorful too!!

To keep us occupied the rest of the time we played a matching game. As we walked in we received a little book with information on Rembrandt and some pictures of his work. We matched the pictures in the book to the paintings on the wall.  She found a match for every single painting! She did an AWESOME job. 

We also talked about the people in the paintings.  Lucretia, The Three Singers and of course, Jesus.  From the minute we walked in she saw a painting of a man and baby Jesus.  She yelled from across the room "Mommy! Look, there's baby Jesus!!" Not believing her at first we went over to check out the painting and... She was right.  It was Simeon with the Christ Child. Later we were looking for one of the pieces in the book and it too had an older Jesus.  She yelled as she found it from across the room "Mommy!!!! I FOUND JESUS!!!" Indeed baby. Indeed. =)

As we were leaving the exhibit a woman approached Katherine and I to tell us how wonderful she was in the exhibit.  She asked her what she learned today and Katherine responded telling her that Rembrandt was happy when he was young and cranky when he was older after he lost all of his dollars. :) Based on the "self portraits" we saw... I'd tend to agree. 

Younger (happier) Rembrandt

Older (Cranky) Rembrandt 

Maybe I didn't do too shabby in my art lesson today. ;) 

xo

Darlene

Orthodox Christmas

Last weekend we celebrated Orthodox Christmas. For the last 12 years I've celebrated Christmas, not on the 25th, as was the tradition in my youth, but rather on January 7th.

Over the years I've been asked many many questions about this.

• Why do you celebrate Christmas two weeks later than everyone else?
• Is it a different kind of Christmas? 
• What kind of traditions do you have for your Christmas? 

Most ask with genuine curiosity.  I thought I'd share a little bit about Orthodox Christmas. I'll start with the questions.

Why do you celebrate Christmas two weeks later than everyone else?

Fair question. :) The Orthodox Church uses the Julian Calendar.  It is reported that the Julian Calendar was created in 45BC as a reform of the Roman Calendar.  The Gregorian Calendar is the calendar utilized in most countries.

The reason the Gregorian Calendar came into existence was because the Julian Calendar assumes each year is 365.25 days with every 4th year being a leap year.  The Julian calendar assumes that the vernal equinoxes is 365.25 days with every 4th year being a leap year.  The vernal equinox however is approximately 11 minutes shorter than that.  This results in an accumulated value of 3 days every four centuries. Thus a new calendar was created to save us from the 3 day error every 400 years. :)

The Orthodox Church over the years have relaxed their opinion on this.  A few years ago the Metropolitan of our diocese (similar to a Roman Catholic Cardinal in my opinion) indicated that the churches could elect which calendar to follow.  Many of the churches in our diocese still follow the Julian Calendar.  There are a few that have adopted the "new calendar" but there are many Priests and parishioners that are happy to continue using the traditional calendar of the church.

There are several other countries that still celebrate Christmas on the 7th so we aren't all alone! =)

Is it a different kind of Christmas?
This one is easy. Nope. It's the same Christmas everyone else celebrates. There's a Santa. Presents. Family. Fun. Good stuff.

We do however have the perk of getting Christmas goods at a discount since everyone else is "finished" with the holiday. ;)

What kind of traditions do you have for your Christmas?
The same as you do. On Christmas Eve there are church services and family dinners.  Christmas Eve is a day of fasting so there is no meat allowed.  Our traditional dinner is pirohi, stuffed cabbage, mushroom soup, palacinke (crepes), macaroni and cheese and shrimp. There's usually some other dishes that make the menu each year that aren't on that list, but those are the traditional ones on the table each year.

Santa arrived in Raleigh

The Aleksza tradition is to open presents on Christmas Eve.  This started (as the story is told by my hubby) when they were little.  They'd come home after Christmas Eve services and open presents.  This was primarily because there wasn't time enough to do so the next morning before Christmas Day services. As a parent of a 3 year old... It makes for an early morning to do it on Christmas Day! =) In our family we do a little bit of both.  On Christmas Eve we open presents from the immediate family.  Christmas night Santa comes and brings Katherine her presents.  She opens them on Christmas morning before church.  Of course, since we spend Christmas Eve/Day in NJ she doesn't get very many presents on Christmas morning.  Just a token or two from Santa with a promise of more to come when she gets back to Raleigh. I, for one, am grateful for Santa's willingness to come a few days later because it could be rather difficult to get all of Katherine's things back home on the plane. ;)

Why I love it... 
There a simplicity about the holiday being celebrated two weeks later that is lost with the commercialism of the 25th. Everyone else is "over" the holidays, including New Years, and has moved on.  So much so that this year there were no lights still up and on in our neighborhood after the New Year.  While this makes me sad, particularly because of the reason for the holiday and the seemingly forgotten arrival of the Wise Men at the Crib, it gives us a chance to revel in our own holiday spirit.  And get good bargains. ;)

In the next blog I'll tell you all about our holidays this year! 

New Years Resolutions?

Nope. Not for this girl. I'm not a fan of them. It just seems like you're set up for failure.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for personal goals. I just don't think they need to come in the form of 'resolutions'. Goals can be shorter in duration and iterative. Resolutions give a whole year to try to figure out whether you're going to succeed or not. And then you find yourself in October saying oh crap... I haven't done that yet. Then, more than likely, you think - well, it's too late now - so you don't do it.

So I've decided to start the year with a small # of goals for the first quarter of 2012.

• I'd like to complete 200 miles of exercise. (biking and running)
• I'd like to lose 8 of the pounds that I found during 2011. 
• At least once a month I'd like to have a pajama party with my family.
• At least once during the quarter I'd like to have a date night with my guy.
• At least one weekend a month I'd like to target one day where we have nothing scheduled. Nothing except family fun time. =)

A couple of personal (health) goals mixed in with some family goals. Family & health will be my focus in 2012. 

If you choose to make some resolutions this year I wish you much luck in achieving them! 

Happy New Year! =)

Love,

Darlene