Toto, where are you?

Our not very spring-like Spring Break was last week.  This is only our second year with a child in school so I feel pretty out of the loop on these break vacations.  We didn't take vacations over spring break when I was growing up so I felt some pressure when the other parents and kids were talking about their vacation plans in kindergarten last year.

Mom needed to step it up.  Mom also needs a break.

So we compromised.  We decided to make a quick trip to Kansas City.  It's a three hour drive for us (three and a half with stops) and it meant we could scratch off another state, Kansas, from our scratch off map of the United States.  Win-win for everyone involved.

This is probably obvious from the pictures in previous blog posts but...I am not a photographer.  I love photography and would like to be better but the truth is that there are a hundred or more things I would rather spend time learning to do.  What that means is that you have the pleasure of seeing some very mediocre photos from our family vacation that do not fairly represent the places or the fun we had on our trip.

I normally run a very tight ship of leaving super early in the morning but we left at a lazy 8:30 this time around.  We all had breakfast, packed snacks for the trip, played with the dogs and hit the road.  Since our hotel wouldn't be ready until later in the afternoon, we drove straight to Fritz's Railroad Restaurant.  Our kids absolutely loved this place.

You place your order using a telephone at the table and a train delivers your food in a large plastic box.  It's built in entertainment so Brett and I were actually able to have a full conversation while the kids watched the trains whizzing by, wondering out loud where each of them would stop.

After Fritz's, we walked around the Crown Center for a little while to get the lay of the land.  I really don't know how to describe it because it's not exactly a mall (someone said many years ago it isn't a real mall if there isn't a Gap or Banana Republic and they have neither) but it kind of is a mall.  Regardless, it was a good place to pleasantly waste a couple of hours.

We headed to the hotel to check in.  Quick plug here for which I can assure you that I am not paid because no one knows this blog exists except you...Embassy Suites are a fantastic hotel chain for families with small children.  My other mommy friends who are nicer and more patient do not seem to mind sharing one room with their entire family for days at a time but I do.

We really enjoyed having a small living room with a sink and refrigerator in addition to the separate bedroom and bathroom.  The biggest plus?  You can put the kids to bed and go to the other room to watch a little TV or just chat.  We traveled with friends so it was also really nice because we could visit without that awkward stance where people don't want to sit on your bed and you wish you had put away your dirty clothes.  Anyway, it was a convenient and family friendly place to stay and the morning breakfast buffet was awesome.

That night we ventured to the Kansas side of Kansas City and dined at the T-Rex Cafe.  This was another ridiculously successful dining experience with the kiddos.  I am an only child and do not like being in large crowds or noisy areas.  The one downside here was that the entire place is sensory overload...exploding volcanoes, projector lights, roaring dinosaurs.  Would not recommend for children with any type of sensitivity to light or noise.  Wednesday is apparently family night where kids eat for $2.99 - cha-ching!  After dinner, the kids dug in the paleo area for over an hour and were sad when we told them we were leaving.

Our big activity day was the following day.  We probably overdid it but it was a short trip so we really tried to make the most of it.

We started with a huge breakfast at the hotel and then went to the LEGO Discovery Center.  When we drove by, I saw a massive line and immediately started dreading it.  Thankfully, it was a school visit so we were very quickly whisked inside to get our tickets.  Everyone agreed that the LEGO adventure was the best part of the trip which is ironic because I hadn't planned to go.

It is KANSAS City so they had a very large miniatures display of the Wizard of Oz.  The lights went off and on in the room so it was hard to get very good pictures but these are two of the Emerald City.  The upper photo is when the room lights went out and the miniature building lights turned on.  The lower photo shows the detail of the actual characters and the yellow brick road.  They also had miniatures of the Kansas City skyline and famous KC landmarks.

They aren't just for kids, y'all.

Madeleine posing with LEGO girl.  I have no idea how long it takes to make these creations but I know I would not have the patience to do it.

Side note but I started taking piano lessons again last year.  I absolutely adore my teacher but the scales are freaking killing me.  I saw this in the Master Builder's office and honest to goodness the first thing that popped into my mind is, wow, that's me still trying to master the scales with Courtney standing over me to make sure my fingering is correct!

We had a not great lunch after LEGO and then headed over to Union Station.  It's a beautiful Beaux-Arts railway station and if I'm not mistaken, the second largest in the country.  Here's a photo of the gorgeous ceiling.

We visited Science City in Union Station but were exhausted so I didn't take many photos from our excursion.  It was fun but not one of my favorite things we did while there.

After naps for everyone but Dad, we drove to Waldo Pizza which I cannot stop thinking about.  It's a local pizza place but they have a TWO page gluten free menu.  I had breadsticks for the first time in three years and they were awesome.  I teared up...not even kidding. They had gluten free pizzas and gluten free sandwiches.  I decided I couldn't decide so ended up with the pizza sandwich which is really an open face sandwich with pizza toppings.  Cannot tell you how thrilled I would be if Waldo Pizza decided to open in northwest Arkansas!  No photos because I was too busy eating but look them up and definitely go if you're in Kansas City.

The kids swam in the indoor pool before bed while I packed everything to leave for home the next day.  Fair trade for B to watch the munchkins while I packed, right?

After another hearty breakfast, we headed south.  We took a very short detour (~2 miles off the interstate) to visit the birthplace of President Harry Truman.  It was...modest.  The kids were contentedly watching a movie so was paused the movie, took a photo, pointed out the outhouse and well house and drove on.

Sorry for the long post but hopefully you have some ideas for a family trip to Kansas City!

Kitchen Sink Rice Cakes

Last night I made butter chicken with rice and roasted asparagus and cauliflower (definitely making again!).  I made too much rice so we had quite a bit leftover.

Our beautiful weather turned to rain then hail then snow.  A warm and comforting lunch was just what was needed.

These are not the most inventive meal but they were delicious and everyone had seconds!  They are very versatile so you can pretty much use whatever you have leftover as the extra fillers.  I had half a grilled chicken breast and an onion so those both went in.

I am not a food photographer or really any kind of a photographer.  Don't judge.

Kitchen Sink Rice Cakes

2 cups leftover rice

1/3 - 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (what I had on hand)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Minced onion (I had half a white onion)

Diced chicken breast (what I had on hand)

1 T parsley (seemed like a good pairing for the chicken and parm)

Olive oil for pan frying

Mix together everything but olive oil and refrigerate for about an hour.  Form into patties and place in oiled pan with medium high heat.  Pan fry a few minutes on each side until browned.  

We ate ours with leftover butter chicken on top but I've also made them with veggies on the side.  Because we are culinary delinquents, we also like to eat them with ketchup.

Some other ideas...ham and cheddar with basil or bacon with cheddar and chives.  You could also go with no meat and add green peas or leftover veggies (broccoli would be awesome).

Enjoy!

Sunflowers Make Me Smile

A few months ago I bought an embarrassing number of Williams-Sonoma Gluten Free Cupcake mixes.  They are normally $16 and were on sale for $2.  And doesn't everyone need 10 cupcake mixes?

Even I was getting bored of cupcakes so I decided to make a one layer cake instead.  Max was napping and I came across a photo of a sunflower cake on Pinterest.  Quick trip to the Dollar Store for Peeps and chocolate chips and Madeleine and I were ready for our Saturday project.

This was incredibly easy and Madeleine absolutely loved putting all of the "seeds" on the cake.  Sunflowers always make us happy!

Spring Forward

Last weekend was daylight savings time. I'm not a fan of the time change but the extra daylight in the evening is welcome anytime!

Today it is around 60 degrees F, blue skies and lots of sun.  You know, pretty much heaven on earth minus the pollen.  Last week, however, we missed Monday and Tuesday due to snow and ice.  The joke here is that if you don't like the weather, wait a day.

Anyway, around the time of all this ice nonsense, I decided I really wanted a new wreath for the door that said SPRING!  Wreaths are such an easy and fun way to make an impactful welcome to your home.  I find wonderful ideas on Pinterest all the time but as a working mom, I have to be very selective about what projects I undertake so I'm not cutting into my family time when not working.  I also don't like clutter so I'm not a great crafter.  :-/

Here's a time saver tip...have your custom wreath made at Hobby Lobby!  You pick out the materials and design and labor is a percentage of the materials cost.  If you find half priced ribbon or other items, the labor is based on the sale price(s).

For this wreath, I chose an inexpensive grapevine wreath ($4.99), one roll of chevron burlap ribbon (I think it was around $8?) and a wooden letter for the monogram ($1.99).  The wonderful ladies in the wreath section found a matching paint to the color on the ribbon and did the polka dots.  I thought the white would be too stark of a contrast.  The grand total was just under $20 and I love it!

We are (read: Aimee is) huge tulip lovers.  We planted (read: Brett and kids planted) approximately 200 bulbs last fall.  Here's a photo of some of the tulips and blue hyacinths beginning to push up!  We can't wait to see them fully bloomed.

Hard Lessons

When Madeleine was little I came across a saying that motherhood is living with your heart outside of your body.  At the time I loved that idea…my heart was so happy and so full and was toddling around our living room cute as a bug.

First grade has been a challenging year.  She is doing great academically, has a nice teacher and goes to a good school.  The challenge is that we’re living the adage that kids can be really mean to each other.

My kid is not perfect.  She will never be perfect.  This isn’t about perfect kids.  It’s about being kind.

It’s about hurting hearts.  Trying to explain to your six year old why someone who was her friend yesterday doesn’t want to be her friend today.  Attempting to not let your anger show when she comes home yet again saying that her ‘friends’ didn’t want to play with her at recess.

Now I see the not-so-fuzzy side to living with your heart outside of your body.  The side where your fragile heart is hurt and trembling, walking slowly through the door, home from another tough day.

Brett has a very manly view of all of this.  “It’s just the beginning.”

Because that helps.  Not.

I’m not a helicopter parent.  Independence is a great life lesson and life is an effective teacher.  Some lessons just seem awfully early for this stage of childhood.