Can't Stop Us Now

We have a standing date with the Groden family each year to participate in their "Passover for (mostly) non Jewish families" and we were not going to let a global pandemic stop us this year! We just had to make a few minor adjustments. For starters, we didn't have to go anywhere and we carried out the Seder on Zoom. Secondly, I had to cook a lot more than I typically do, but who cares? It was fun and what else to do when stuck at home on a Saturday but cook? I had my assistants here to help. Chris made the Charoset...

Jonathan helped make the matzo balls for the soup...

In place of the lamb shank, I roasted some beets (for the first time ever)...

And of course I made the potato kugel which is the dish I usually bring to Danna's house...

Due to the nature of things at grocery stores, I was unable to find horseradish but aside from that, our Seder plate was complete! We also made it a vegan Seder plate and meal from start to finish!

It was a very fun evening, different because we couldn't actually hug our friends but it was as great a substitution as possible!

It was fun to dress up too! Mostly we've all been hanging out each day in comfy clothes and it felt great to dress up for a few hours. Jonathan even wore buttons... by choice!

Who me?

Me? Steal food while you're not looking? How could you even begin to think of me like that? When have I ever stolen anything? When have I waited until you weren't looking to snag food off the counter? When have I ever jumped up on the bench and swiped your child's peanut butter and jelly sandwich right out of their hands? When have I waited for the doorbell to ring before getting up from under the table while you ran to answer it and hopped up to the counter to eat the whole block of tofu you were planning on cooking for dinner? I am just an innocent pup, wrongful accused of misdeeds. I implore you! Observe how I sit so patiently, waiting for you to summon me into the playroom so you can eat in peace. I am such a good hound dog. I would never do anything to cause a loss of food in this household. Never...

Our Backyard

As many of you know, we are planning to move back to New York in the summer to be with our family and friends. Today in Kansas, the weather was absolutely gorgeous and I just sat out back soaking in everything. Here is a little video so I remember the peacefulness of our backyard. Of course, there is a kid with no shirt and two dogs barking but it was as good as it gets!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy7kH_x5YKs&feature=youtu.be

Crazy Doggies

After dinner it was so nice out so we all went out and watched some backyard entertainment...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSi2vGRUMMM&feature=youtu.be

Spring

In the fall, I tried planting tulip bulbs for the first time and they came into full bloom today! Very exciting. Also, Jonathan had to build a house for his pet "Athena" today. He made it out of fort magic and Holly was wondering if she could come in too!

We also measured our iris sprouts and they are up to 6 inches...

Also, this is what social distancing is starting to look like...

Stuff

Here are some things we've been up to recently...

We've been fortunate with the weather but even in the rain, we need to take a walk. It actually wasn't too bad out and when we were out, the sun came out. Today it is chilly though! There were mini icicles on our fountain this morning.

Jonathan had several fun activities this week. He had a couple of his specials including Spanish with Señora Meli! It was a lot of fun and I think he enjoyed class from his beanbag chair...

Mommy learned a thing or two also! We also did a Zoom with some friends from class and his teachers. The parents are taking turns hosting a "story time" and yesterday was our turn to read! Jonathan chose The Day the Crayons Quit. It was fun!

One of the things his teacher asked the kids to do was create a page for an alphabet book. They posted a video of the teachers reading an ABC book and each child was assigned a letter. Here is Jonathan's page. He made jelly, a jug and Jonathan holding a jar...

Chris has also been doing his dance classes via Zoom. Thank God for that! Here is the only picture I was allowed to get...

He usually emerges from the playroom sweaty, rosy cheeked and happy so we'll take that as a win! Jonathan wanted to show off his moves too. This was supposed to be a slow motion video but for some reason it didn't upload as one. Nevertheless, it is funny!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3hMu9im5pQ&feature=youtu.be

This morning we picked up breakfast at Eggtc in an attempt to support one of our favorite local restaurants and now the boys are watching Looney Toons (J) and customizing cars online (C). Yes, the older of our children is a "car guy." We hung out watching Jay Leno's Garage on CNBC last night and I'm pretty sure Chris knows almost as much as Jay about the cars he talks about!

This Week in School

We've had some absolutely beautiful weather this week and we've been outside quite a bit. There was some tape left after our chalk walk last week so fit in one last driveway mural yesterday...

Jonathan's class has a a Facebook page where he posts (or I post, really) different activities that we do throughout the day. Yesterday, his teachers posted a video where they read a story to the class and they asked the kids to draw a picture and "write" about their favorite character in the book. Here is Jonathan's entry where he chose "cupcake" as his favorite character...

Jonathan was also continuing his recycling project at home and made a representation of Athena out of recycling things from our house...

Today, J's art teacher asked the children to create a picture of their pet or favorite stuffed animal. In keeping with the Athena theme, he used colored pencils and markers to show his favorite pup...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33cEmXjZSnI&feature=youtu.be