In the past two weeks, the girls have been to 4 birthday parties--quite a few considering they've only had one other one since we moved here in August!
Venues have included Chuck E. Cheese (~1hr 45min drive from where we live), Leonardo’s Discover Warehouse, and Skatetown). We have long been fans of Chuck’s (and have even made the drive just for a day trip) and are members here at Leonardo’s.
Leonardo's pics (in this toasty winter weather we've been having...):
The Skatetown party provided a great opportunity to check out somewhere new—and we will surely be going back. I 100% did not think my 5 and 3 yr old daughters could hold their own at a roller rink, but, well-equipped with their Christmas skates and safety gear, they took to the floor like fearless adventurers. My 5 yr old was already trying jumps and backward moves, and both participated in the limbo and hokey pokey. Neither is a fan of falls…which are sort of inevitable when you are learning to skate. However, the difference between falling on scratchy concrete v. the smooth roller rink floor is amazing. Without a scratch or bleed to prove it, as far as they are concerned, the fall did not hurt. :OD
I even got out on the floor with them (on skates) and had such as good time that I am going back with the girls on my Biggest Loser team one of these weekends for a group workout. Hoping to get a little skating in by myself and then have Matt and the kiddos join us for the 2nd hour. Saturday mornings there is a beginner session (I am definitely a beginner!) from 10am-noon that features a free lesson for the young ones, and calmer skating in general. Very excited! :OD
The new year has also given me a better handle on Daisy Scout happenings and I am so loving Girl Scouts. I cannot think of a more well-rounded, community, peer, and family-oriented activity for girls to be involved with. A snapshot of our activities these next two months: field trip to the fire station (as part of our Gerri petal "Respect for Authority"), cooking cultural food while modeling traditional clothing from and teaching about Indonesia for Thinking Day (each Troop in the Council selects a country...we are going with Indonesia since one of our girls was adopted from there), crafting with residents at a local nursing home, participating in the service at our local church for Girl Scout Sunday, and of course some tasty cookie activities to boot!
I have been blessed with a great co-leader whose daughter my two adore. Here the girls are crafting/baking with [edible] Press Dough (homemade cookie dough they can shape using a ton of accessories they received for Christmas) while us adults plan out the next couple of meetings & outings.
Some great globs of dough colors to work with:
The finished products (post-baking). They held their shape super-well!
The girls enjoying their treats:
Since this is in theory a pilot training blog, I guess I should update a little on Matt's training. We've kind of been in a holding pattern due to his motion sickness, so there hasn't been much to report. After throwing up 4xs his first flight back after break, he had a successful flight, followed by a successful solo, and two days of double turns (back-to-back flights, including solos). Things were going great and he was one ride away for his final check ride of the unit...when he started throwing up again. I suppose I am partly to blame for this last bout of motion sickness. One habit Matt has taken up since pilot training started...and one which I may be partly to blame for modeling so wonderfully for him these past 9 years...is stress eating. Basically when he is nervous, anything (besides gluten) is fair game. After his last check ride, and after being the only one in his flight to hook a check ride (something he has been relentlessly hard on himself about, unfortunately, despite my efforts to assure him that no one in his class could mind and they all know he is giving it his best--seriously, despite his struggles with motion sickness and busy family life on top of training, he consistently takes time out to help and study with classmates struggling with academics--which is the area he is strongest in). Anyway, since he was flying early in the day, I planned a pre-flight snack of rice (following BRAT diet guidelines) and a post-meal lunch of rice--with shrimp an veggies in a peanut butter sauce. Well...guess who stress-ate the whole thing right before his flight? So guess what is his lunch for tomorrow (despite a very early check ride)? One tupperware of rice and fat free hot dogs (his go-to meal) and another containing a large salad with some steak on top. No one I know stress eats salad, lol, even though we'd all be a lot better off if we did! Here's to a great flight tomorrow!
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