Happy Valentine's Day!

We usually don't get too crazy with Valentine's day in our house, but this year was a little different.  The kids didn't have school today, and I took the day off work to get some things done around the house.  The kids and I decided early in the week we were going to make a special meal to celebrate.  On the menu (decided by the kids): steak, garlic mashed potatoes, corn, chocolate covered strawberries and cupcakes. 

 

We made the cupcakes this morning, using just a box cake mix.  We made them extra yummy with homemade chocolate frosting and pink and red sprinkles.  The steak I got on sale at Fareway (flat iron) and we broiled that in the oven on low.  Potatoes: boiled and then added garlic salt, butter, sour cream, cream cheese, salt and pepper.  Easy and delish!  The corn was from the freezer from last summer. 

The older kids thought it would be fun to dress up for our special dinner.  They also had the table decorated "all fancy" as they called it.  They made up individual cards for each of us as well.  Eryn put on a dress and I curled her hair. Nolan got all spiffed up in a dress shirt and jeans (cologne included).  It's fun to watch them with their creativity!  We had a fabulous Valentine's Day supper!

 

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Super Sunday

It continues to be downright cold and snowy here, and the groundhog says 6 more weeks of winter. Sigh.  Not much you can do about it, but think warm, happy thoughts for spring.  I've already started planning my garden and made my list for spring house cleaning.

I had big plans this weekend, but thanks to good ol' Mother Nature I had to alter them and stay around home.  It was a good chance to get things in order around the house, and do some planning ahead for the weeks to come. 

The kids are getting used to this cold weather and bundling up and going out in it anyways....4 times yesterday I think.  They are working on a big fort in the back of the house thanks to a huge snowpile.

We worked on some yummy food to watch during the Super Bowl.  Nothing extravagant, but fun to plan at any rate.  On the menu: Hot chicken sandwiches, sour cream and onion chips (kids' favorite) and scotcharoos.  I'm still in search of the BEST recipe for scotcharoos, as mine again turned out rather hard and chewy.  So, if you've got a good recipe, send it my way!

Today we were off to Nolan's last wrestling tourney of the season.  Practices ended this week and the little man was quite sad.  He has really taken a liking to the sport, and we are grateful for that.  Today was a true test of his sportsmanship.  He had some difficult matches, and momma's emotions were running from yelling and cheering on the sidelines to having tears in my eyes when the matches were over.

First round Nolan had his first experience wrestling a girl.  I told him girls can be tough and not to underestimate them.  He lost that first match, but fought hard to a girl that ended up in 1st place at the end of the day.  Second match, he again wrestled another girl.  This time, it was game on and he was ready to go.

 I have to give kudos to the other SW dad's that help coach the kids.  They are a great example of sportsmanship and respect, there to cheer all the boys on and give them pointers during their matches.  He won that second match.  Third and final round he wrestled a boy from Waukon.  It was his toughest match all year in my opinion, and it was a nail-biter to the end.  He ended up scoring 3-4 points in the last seconds to win second place overall.

We are very proud of him, and proud of the skills he has learned and will continue to learn in the sport.  We are looking forward to next season!