Catching Up

I have been taking a picture everyday--I am just not going to post all of them. Here are a few from the last week or two.

When we got Jessica, I looked everywhere for a picture with Jesus and a black girl. Black boy, yes, but I couldn't find one with a girl anywhere. I stopped looking. Then, we went to Costco. Greg Olson was there with tons of his prints. I walked past it and did my shopping. Then as I was going to the checkout, this print caught my attention.
So, the joke holds true--you can't go into Costco without finding something not on your list that you just have to have.

Christian lost his first tooth. We tried keeping it in for as long as possible, but it needed to come out. We were at my mom and dad's last Sunday and it was just dangling there. I pulled it out--this kid is so tough--he didn't cry. He was so excited to use the pillow Bev made him. The tooth fairy always brings our kids a gold $1 coin.

He is only four, but when he was two, Freddy ran into him in the backyard and knocked his front top two teeth up into his gums. The dentist thought he would lose them back then, so we were happy he kept them as long as he has.
Christian is taking after his sister--he makes stuff everyday. He begged for a composition notebook--just like Bev's. He is filling it with writing and drawing. When he showed me this cat, I thought it was the cutest cat I had ever seen (and I don't like cats.)

I had some strawberries that were not going to be eaten, so I called up my pal Suzie and asked her for her jam recipe. It is freezer jam--actually let me clarify--it is freezer syrup. It tastes great, it is just a little thin. The problem is that the package on the pectin called for 2 cups strawberries and 4 cups sugar. No way! So I cut the sugar in half and it didn't work out so great. Mike says it's really good on pancakes, so we will be using it more as a topping.

The problem is that my OCD kicks in and I will be trying it until I get it right. I learned on the rice pudding fiasco to make smaller batches--just in case it doesn't work out. So, I will be buying some more strawberries and the low-sugar pectin this week.

We had a very nice Valentine's Day. Mike and I go out on a different day and then we have a dinner with the rascals. This year we kept it easy--we got a heart-shaped pizza. It has become tradition to cover the table in paper so they can draw on it. I get the boys a Valentine and Mike gets the girls something.

Last year I got the boys movies for Valentine's. I got Andrew Gremlins. Apparently I didn't remember what Gremlins was. I had it confused with a movie where the creatures were kind and cuddly and cute. We all sat down to watch the movie, and yikes! It was totally scary. The kids were screaming and scared. Mike just looked at me and said, "Nice job on the Valentines." They all teased me this year, asking if they were going to get another scary movie.