February Fondness

Jefferson and I had the best date a few Saturdays ago.  We went to eat out first.  As we were waiting for our food, we played the question game that we usually reserve for dinner as a conversation starter: the love jar.  I have printed and cut out about 100 questions and then placed them in a jar.  During dinner time, usually on Fridays, we pull one question out and then have everybody share their thoughts with each other.  I decided to take the love jar with us, and I'm glad I did.  The question Jefferson picked was "What qualities would you like in your future spouse?"  He thought for a bit, and then answered: "I would like her to 1. love being a mother, 2. love to read, 3. be close to the Spirit, 4. love me very much, and 5. be fun, happy, pretty and a good cook.  I told him that I thought those were great qualities for any person to have, and then I added that if he wanted a wife such as this, he needed to work on being those things himself.  The funny thing was that when we got home later on, at the dinner table we shared our experience and what Jefferson had said, and then Gillian jumped in and said:"You are out of luck, Jefferson.  Dad has already claimed mom."  We all laughed at that, but later I made a mental note to not judge Jefferson's future wife too harsh.  That's a high bar for anyone to aspire to.  Although, I guess it's doable since they think I'm it :)

Here is Jefferson finishing his lunch by enjoying his cinnamon roll.

After our luncheon, Jefferson and I attended a well-produced Broadway show of Singing in the Rain.  We both loved it, but Jefferson was a bit disappointed that the actor who played the main character Don Lockwood didn't look or acted at all like Gene Kelly.  Then again, who can come close to the immortal and divine Gene Kelly. The musical lasted three hours, and Jefferson enjoyed every second of it.  My favorite part of this production was the ending when all of the actors donned yellow raincoats with red umbrellas and sang and danced together the theme song, Singing in the Rain. We finished our date with a trip to the frozen yogurt parlor.

Gillian has had a good February too.  She won first prize in her school for her science project.  Gillian and Elijah worked together throughout the project, and I helped type her findings.  It was wonderful seeing the excitement and the respect in Gillian's eyes as she noticed how seriously her father took into helping her. After reading and searching various science projects, they decided on a project that Elijah's brother, Jeremy, had performed when he was her age, Can I Make a Nail Rustproof?  Elijah and Gillian went to the store together, they printed labels for the jars, they painted the nails with various products, and every night Elijah would remind Gillian to record her project's progress.  The end result was not only a prize, but a deeper bond between father and daughter.

At school Gillian received several awards in excellence in reading and math.  Elijah got her flowers to congratulate her.  Her confidence was shining.  At home, also during February, Gillian helped out with various cooking projects.  My boys are the doers in my house; they love to cook, clean, play, and help out with anything else.  Gillian, however, would rather read.  I'm very happy that she loves to read, but knowing from personal experience that reading won't feed a family, I wanted her to learn a few practical skills as well.  Plus, I also want her to feel good about herself by knowing that she can do a lot of different things.  The cooking experience was a success, with Gillian helping out with breakfasts, lunches, and a few dinners.  I came out from that week of teaching Gillian how to cook with the impression that I need to do that on a regular basis.  Now, each child takes a week to help in whatever is needed to cook.  Maybe in the summer I'll train them to be completely in charge of dinner meals. Then, I can read all day.

James couldn't hide his excitement and joy when he told us he had been chosen as the student of the month in his class, with three awards under his belt (best reading, best math, and rocket math).  He wanted me to go and see him when he got his awards.  My sweet angel was so happy and overjoyed.  He had asked me to get him a balloon, but I hadn't had the time, so I told a white lie to him that I had left it in the house so he didn't have to bother with it at school.  As soon as the award ceremony was over, I dropped everything else and went to get him a balloon.  As luck would have it, the first three stores I went had run out of helium.  I was getting nervous, and I said a prayer and promised never to lie to my children even a white little one.  On my fourth attempt I found a store with helium but with only balloons left from Valentine's day.  I compromised and got one that said "I love you."  Whew!  That was a close one!  James kept that balloon up by his chair for two weeks.  My darling boy!

Charlton had a wonderful time celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday with his friends.  For preschool that week, we read several Dr. Seuss books, played Cat in the Hat board games, and worked on projects with Dr. Seuss theme.

Charlton has truly enjoyed his friendships with his preschool mates.  I've enjoyed seeing him "reading"to his friends, sharing his knowledge on the rules of the game with them, wanting to help me while I cook, catching rides with his big brother, Jefferson, having alone time looking at books, listening to books-on-tape while painting, sculpting, or playing, and reading with dad.  He is a joy to have as my constant buddy.

The kids have really had a wonderful time these past weeks.  They have tried very hard to not complain while washing bathrooms, mopping floors, folding laundry, and they have loved cooking with mom, watching the stars with dad (Elijah got a new app that helps identify the stars in the sky), building with Legos, reading, and playing with each other.  The month of love was filled with fond feelings, ardent appreciation and thoughtful kindness for each other.