DAY at the Museum!

After watching "Night at the Museum 2" Caleb proclaimed "I want to go to the dinosaur museum!" This movie is set at several museums at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. It had been on my mind to take the kids to D.C. for the first time and this was just the nudge I needed!


To avoid craziness and high parking fees we decided to park at Greenbelt and take the Subway into the city. Caleb and Blake are on their first Subway ride above. Caleb thought it was just like riding a train!

We got off at the Smithsonian stop which dumped us right off in the Mall. Here we are in front of the National Monument.

Our first stop was the Museum of Natural History. I wanted to make sure that if nothing else Caleb saw his beloved dinosaurs! He got a little too excited jumping from one fossil to the other stating it's dinosaur name. I could barely keep up! I was also shocked when he corrected me... "Mommy, that is NOT a triceratops! It's a stegosaurus!" The elementary school teacher with a master's degree got schooled by her 4 year old!

Blake spent his day in the stroller. I don't think it will be a significant day in his life or memory, but any time he's out and about is good for him! He did such a nice job, I was so proud of him. He didn't get fussy until the way home!

We told Caleb about the "magical" Hope Diamond and its story on the way to Greenbelt this morning. This may have been a bad idea. As soon as he saw rocks and minerals he immediately ran from rock to rock whispering "the magic diamond, if you touch it you'll (screaming the last word only) DIE!" There were a lot of rocks/minerals to look at before we made it to the Hope Diamond and we kind of got tired of saying, "No Caleb, not yet."

At the Insect Zoo Caleb got to touch some type of caterpillar. Initially he was scared of it, but once he saw another kid touch, he joined in!

After the Museum of Natural History we headed to the Air and Space Museum. Our stay was short lived here as it was way too crowded. Security was also a lot tighter here than the other museums. I am curious as to why.

We did go into their hands on exhibit about forces. Caleb enjoyed blowing the beach ball from side to side in the air. My second graders learn about forces each year, I'd give anything to take them to this exhibit!

Next we headed over the Museum of American History. Above is the dress that Michelle Obama wore to the Inaugural Ball(s). I won't get into politics, but I do like Michelle Obama. This dress was even more beautiful in person than it was in all of the pictures and video clips that we saw just over a year ago.

Above are the slippers that Judy Garland wore in "The Wizard of Oz!" One of my personal favorites from the day (even if the day was primarily about Caleb). She must have had super tiny feet!

After visiting the museum district we hopped back on the subway and stopped at Chinatown for an authentic Chinese dinner. Above are my favorite boys and the arch to Chinatown.

We went to the first Chinese restaurant we encountered in Chinatown on the right with a large red awning (I am sorry that I didn't get the name). Jason and I had been here before a concert and loved it. It was delicious and not terribly unhealthy!

I highly recommend that you give DC a whirl for a day trip if you live in the Baltimore area like I do. You couldn't ask for a cheaper trip! Tickets for the subway were $8.30 for an all day pass. I recommend that you get an all day pass so that you can feel free to go and stop wherever you want. Children 4 and under are free! All of the Smithsonian museums are completely free to enter! Food, drinks, etc. are ridiculously expensive in the Mall area. I brought a picnic lunch and several bottles of water, juice boxes, and snacks to avoid this expense. Had we not gone out to dinner the entire thing would have been less than $30! You can't even take your kid to the movies for that any more! :) Visit the Smithsonian website for more information:

http://www.si.edu/

Homemade Rainbow and Homemade Cracker Pudding

We just finished up what has been a wonderful weekend! I can't stand the idea of going back to work and reality tomorrow!

This afternoon I spent in the kitchen experimenting with some Amish recipes from my new "Amish Heritage Cookbook" by Beverly Lewis. I tried macaroni/cheese and cracker pudding. It was hard work! I spent over two hours making just these two things! My Mom said that the Amish don't have anything else to do so they cook all day. I believe it! Both recipes turned out to be delicious. I did have some technical difficulties with the macaroni and cheese because I tried to multitask and the milk for the cheese mixture got scalded. Jason ran around the corner for more milk and saved the day! The cracker pudding recipe and picture are below!

After dinner we experimented with colors. I got this fun idea from my friend Shawna's blog, Nuts to You (http://shawnahenry.blogspot.com).
We started with red, blue, and yellow water. I just mixed water and McCormick food coloring.

We made purple, green, and orange water by mixing different combinations of red, blue, and yellow!

The end rainbow of colors!

Cracker Pudding (Do not let looks deceive you, it was delish!)

From Beverly Lewis' "Amish Heritage Cookbook"

2 eggs, separated

1/2 c. plus 3 tbsp. sugar, divided

4 c. whole milk

1 c. finely ground cracker crumbs (I used Keebler "Club" crackers)

1/2 c. shredded coconut

Pinch of salt

1 tsp. vanilla

Beat egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar; set aside. Scald milk in top of double boiler, stirring slowly. Gradually add egg yolk mixture to scalded milk, stirring continually. Cook for one full minute; then add cracker crumbs, coconut, and salt. Keep stirring! Once cracker crumbs are soft and the entire mixture is thick, remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour the mixture into a buttered 9x13 baking dish.

Create meringue by beating 3 tbsp. sugar into stiffly beaten egg whites; spread over top of cracker pudding. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until meringue is golden brown. Makes 6-8 servings.

*I decided to remove the cracker pudding from the baking dish once it had been cooked and placed it in a bowl to chill in the refrigerator.

The Greatest Show on Earth!

When I heard the circus was coming to town I wanted to take Caleb so badly! The last time we took him he had just turned 2 and he fell asleep about halfway through. I knew this year would be the perfect age to take him! However, when I saw the ticket prices I accepted that we were not going to be able to afford it! The ticketmaster fees were almost the same as the cost of the ticket!

Things always have a way of working out like they should (I believe God steps in, even in silly situations like this). My Mom was given 4 passes for $10 tickets at the door! My friend Stacey from church and her daughter joined us for a fun day out!

Caleb was a wild man this morning, getting up at the break of dawn. He almost got punished from going to the circus when he got into my make up and got WATERPROOF mascara all over his face a few minutes before we left. I took this picture to show his father! Scrubbing it off proved to be quite a task.

When we arrived at the circus we were thrilled that parking was only $10 (usually it's $20) and the tickets were only $10 a piece (there were no ticketmaster charges at all). Maddie and Caleb were adorable together as we waited in line to buy the tickets!

Before the circus they have an hour long event where everyone can come down on the floor to get up close with the performers. Caleb tried on a circus jacket!

My favorite part of the circus was the elephants, strange enough. I was amazed when they all stood on their front two legs! If an elephant can do that, why can't I?

The circle of death was directly in front of our seats.

Caleb and his lovely $18 light up toy! Mom Mom Ament treated him to this! (Thank you Mom Mom Ament!) My favorite moment was when during the intermission Caleb was upset and asked me, "Did they really blow those people up?" Apparently he was so distracted by the fireworks when they shot 2 people out of a cannon that he failed to see them land! How traumatizing!

The theme of the show was "Zing, Zang, Zoom!" It was neat because magic tricks were interwoven through the show. It's very different than the 3 ring circus that I remember going with my godfather to each year as a child, but still awesome! I highly recommend checking it out!

The ride home was almost as entertaining as the circus itself! It took us nearly an hour to get out of the parking garage. During that time we rocked out to Veggietales. Caleb and Maddie argued like my brother and I used to. The best argument was probably the fact that Caleb thought tigers were friendly and Maddie through they were wild. Stacey settled the argument when she said that tigers in the wild were wild, but the tigers at the circus were well trained and somewhat friendly. Both of them "won!"

On a side note today I bought the last book in my "Seasons of Grace" trilogy by Beverly Lewis. I am dying to dive into the last book of my Amish drama. In addition to this book they had an Amish cookbook on sale by Beverly Lewis to celebrate the new book release! All of the things we love to eat while we are in Lancaster are in it! I am going to dive in head first and make cracker pudding tomorrow. It involves "scalding milk" in a "double boiler." I don't know what this means, but I'll find out! (Thank goodness for google!) I will post it tomorrow if it goes well!

Sick Day

Poor Blakey has been battling spring allergies and losing for the last week! His coughing is waking him up several times a night and my normally pleasant little one has turned into Oscar the grouch's twin! I decided enough was enough and I took off today to take him to the doctor's (our medical insurance provider Kaiser P has changed things and there are no late hours and if we need urgent care we have to drive to Woodlawn, yuck!).

I am SO glad that I did took him! I honestly had guilt issues about taking off work the week after spring break. It turns out that he not only has spring allergy issues but a baby version of a sinus infection! It's a little different for babies since their sinuses are not fully developed yet. He has been put on amoxicillin (sp?). In addition to the sinus infection he also has bad spring allergies and is allowed to take the liquid form of Zyrtec. This was a huge development as a few years ago we were told that babies don't get spring allergies! Pfft!

Despite the fact that it was a sick day, I managed to sneak in some fun! If life gives you lemons make lemonade afterall!

For bath time I whipped out body soap paints by Avon! Caleb enjoyed turning his hair green and drawing smiley faces on himself.

Caleb also put it in Blake's hair!

Caleb also pulled out his play doh spaghetti maker. Play doh is not my favorite toy since little pieces get all over the floor, but Jason has to clean the floor tomorrow any way! Why not?!

I'm not sure if it's the medication or exhaustion but Blakey is ending the day with a big smile on his face!

Tomorrow Caleb and I are off to the circus with our friends Stacey and Maddie (his girlfriend... maybe his future wife? JOKING). I am secretly just as excited about this as Caleb!

Things that Go Bump in the Night...

At 12:30 a.m. on Saturday night I was suddenly awoken by loud banging on my bedroom window! This was shocking because our bedroom is on the second floor! It startled me so bad that my heart was racing!

I immediately sent Jason (he gets to take care of all loud evening noises that scare me to death) to the window. He said "It's a cat!" I then got out of bed to discover that it was OUR cat Princess! (He thought it was a stray!)

Princess is in INDOOR cat. She does not have front claws. We do not let her out! Our only thought is that she must have snuck out the downstairs screen door as we put trash out several hours before. It's a miracle that she was smart enough to jump on top of the shed and then pound herself on the window right by where we were sleeping.

The insane part is that she does not have front claws and yet she managed to completely destroy the screen to that window (the window itself was closed at the time). She was really hysterical at the time and I guess she tore it to shreds with her teeth. I am glad that she didn't run away! I would have been devastated on Easter morning if she was missing!

The screen that she destroyed!

The wild thing inspecting the damage!

She only weighs 6-7 pounds!

We will be carefully monitoring the downstairs screen when it is open!

Dinner Playdate

Caleb had his "girlfriend" Maddie over for an Easter themed dinner date tonight!

They had an Easter egg hunt in the front yard (the backyard is too muddy... still!).

We dyed eggs with a special Sesame Street kit.

We (even the adults) iced and decorated little Easter bunny cakes! I found the cutest little Easter bunny cake mold pan at AC Moore made by Wilton Cakes. I also found adorable Easter sprinkles that came in pink, purple, and eggs!

We have to do this again soon, it was too much fun!!!