father's day...

this year, we were able to spend the actual day of father's day alone with just our little family of four.  (that's peter's favorite type of day... he's been crazy busy at work with two ginormous projects and hasn't been home much... hence why i haven't blogged.)

anyway, on pintrest i stumbled upon an idea for a fabulous card...

considering all weekend mornings with the little man start off with this wonderful device where elmo lives, i thought it would be a fun card to make.  i haven't taken a picture of mine yet, but it was way cute.  I decided to make it like a "scavenger hunt," and he could lift the flap of each app to find out what came next.

i gave him the pictures that the kids and i took for father's day...

 daddy's sweatshirt... not so happy though...

daddy's hat

 daddy's sweatband.... not daddy's legwarmers

peter's nickname for k is "cupcake..."

then, i grabbed him coffee and a boston creme donut (his favorite).  he took little man for a bike ride, and came back to a picnic in the park.  after playing playstation during nap time, we went up to bonner's farm, out to dinner at a new restaurant, and had ice cream at a new ice cream place.  

 yeah... she's sitting in a high chair :)

 guess who learned how to blow bubbles in his milk?!?

all in all, it was a simple, delightful father's day.  

and peter deserved every ounce of it.  

he is such a wonderful father. 

pancakes with bubbe

no, silly.

not real pancakes.

it's passover!

i'm not a fan of passover food.  honestly, who is?

but, i do have a few favorites.

i'm a sucker for kosher for passover jelly slices.

yellow in particular.

i also enjoy fried matzah and matzah pizza.

however, if i were to choose a favorite?

my mom's matzah pancakes.  they are the only food that she hasn't tried to make "healthier."  no substitutions of splenda, applesauce, or egg beaters.  they're made with real everything, and fried in oil.  (yes... i gasp too!)   the finished product is a fluffy, eggy pancake, that oozes oil when you bite into it (after you douse it with sugar and jelly, of course).  It truly is the only Passover food I look forward to, and my mom indulges me with it every year.  This year, it was the little man's turn.

thursday, i drove over to bubbe's house after work so jason could try his first matzah pancake.

first, we got to play at the park.

bubbe and grandpa's park is awesome.  it's old fashioned and wooden.

 there are tire swings, things to climb,

a long metal slide,

and swings!  

jason loves swings!

what about kayla, you ask?  well, she didn't enjoy the park.

it was still a bit chilly, and she was tired.

so she slept under a blanket.

but, she enjoyed her applesauce and rice cereal... and her jumper!

jason got to eat lox, eggs, n' onions (minus the lox), and enjoyed bubbe's pancakes!

i just LOVE how he's starting to participate in traditions...

i want him to grow up so he can participate more,

but then again i just want him to stop growing and stay this way forever and ever.

mah n'sh-tanah ha lilah hazeh?

(post title, english version:  why is this night different than all other nights?) 

(AKA:  the first two nights of passover)

 

 on all other nights, our dining room table is not in the living room.

on all other nights, we do not eat bitter herbs that look this phallic.

on all other nights, there are not very symbolic seders filled with mostly non-jews.

(we missed you, dio family!)

on all other nights, i don't safety pin matzah to sesame street stuffed animals.

on all other nights, jason and maddie don't have to think for their supper.

on all other nights, kayla doesn't get toys in her high chair.  

on all other nights, we're not dressed up and together.

on all other nights, we are not this angelic.  

on all other nights, we don't normally get to wear party dresses.

on all other nights, we're usually crabby by 6:00 in the evening.

on all other nights, story time is usually with our mommies and daddies. 

on all other nights, we're not this quiet.

seriously.  we're not. 

on all other nights, uncle brad doesn't deal with crying babies.

on all other nights, we don't get to play with cousins.

on all other nights, we don't play with cell phones.

(only on saturday and sunday mornings... when jason wakes up too early

and mama and daddy want to lay in bed just a bit longer.

awesome parenting.  i know.)

on all other nights, andy doesn't have matzah in his pants.

on all other nights, people don't tell you to grab stuff out of other people's pants.

 on all other nights, crackers aren't in sealed plastic bags.

on all other nights, you don't get to say things like:

BEHOLD!  THIS IS THE BREAD OF AFFLICTION!

on all other nights, you don't get a prize for finding a cracker.

on all other nights, you don't open the door for strangers.

especially invisible ones named elijah. 

this... yeah... 

this happens on all other nights. 

Happy Passover, y'all!