Snow, snow, and more snow

So...in February, it snowed.

Grand Rapids received 28.8 inches of snow in February...and though I don't have the statistics, I think we received significantly more than that in Byron Center, here in the southwest corner of Kent County; probably at least 36 inches. It kept us busy keeping the driveway, sidewalks, and mailbox clear.

We took advantage of one of the very few sunny days in February to drive up to Manistee. Aidan and his classmate Jason are doing a project about the Manistee North Pierhead Light - they have to build a model of the lighthouse and grounds, write a report, and construct a working light circuit. Aidan says they're done - I can't wait to see it! We took some very good pictures while we were up there, for him to use with his project.

It was too cold to stay outside much at the waterfront, but we did snag a couple of quick pics of Esme in front of the Coast Guard station. She wants to join the Coast Guard when she grows up (among many other things).

Jim and Esme really really loved the Daddy-Daughter Dinner at our church. It was an opportunity for Esme to really feel special, and feel special she did. She got a beautiful new dress, with a sweater, shoes, tights, purse, coat and gloves to match, and Jim gave her a pretty wrist corsage as well. We made sure he had a boutonnière to match! We did her hair really pretty, and they had a wonderful and formal time at the dinner together. Aidan and I had dinner at Boston Market and went WebKinz shopping while they were out.

I filed our federal, Michigan and North Carolina taxes and already have our refunds back. I was also privileged to be the tax accountant for my mother-in-law and brother-in-law this year, and their taxes are also duly filed. As always, it was nice to have the intellectual challenge of taxes.

Partly due to a sizeable tax refund, in addition to paying off credit cards, we were able to make some significant purchases last month. One morning I got up and realized half of my clothing was older than my children - and when I stepped on the scale, I had finally reached that elusive 10-pounds-lost mark. So I stuffed a large black trash bag full of clothes that I didn’t like, that were too big, that were too small, or that I just didn’t wear anymore, dropped it off at Goodwill and went to the mall. It felt so good to buy so many new and attractive clothes! I went to Old Navy, Christopher & Banks, J. Jill, and Victoria’s Secret. I’m loving the new stuff.

Last week while we were out picking up some of Jim’s shaving paraphernalia, we decided to buy a Wii system. We have been talking about it for a very long time, but had decided against it, then re-thought, then delayed, then re-delayed...we finally just got one. The deciding factor was the Wii Fit stuff. Now that we’re both really committed to exercise, the treadmill is wearing us down - we needed something new and different to stay interested! My sister uses Wii Fit on a daily basis and loves it. So we took the plunge. Of course, we also got the Mario Kart and Super Mario Bros. games, and it came with Wii Sports. We were careful to explain thoroughly to the children that this is our family game system, and we are not going to buy games that only one person wants to play; that is what their Nintendo DSis are for.

So over the weekend we all tried things out. Predictably, Aidan is the only one that is any good at Mario Kart, Jim and Aidan are the only one with any skill to play Super Mario Bros., and Wii Sports made us all very, very sore, but it was fun! I KO’d both Aidan and Jim my first time boxing. :) My Wii Fit kit arrives tomorrow; I’m anxious to try it out. :)

I've continued my adventures in cooking, and we've had some really terrific meals lately. The kids are starting to get really cautious about what they put in their mouths, but usually they end up liking it! Here is Fruit Cream (a recipe from my Indian cookbook, mostly just fruit and, predictably, cream), and Risotto with Vegetables. Super yummy. I could eat that fruit all day.

When I finally found and purchased a madeleine pan, I gave the Lemon-Almond Madeleines from my French desserts cookbook a try. They are super good, and even Aidan The Dessert-Hater loved them.

Twenty-Four Hour Salad - made famous in the family by my Grandma Hollopeter, this version uses less Miracle Whip, and therefore isn't as tasty. Back to full-strength next time!

Cranberry-Sauced Pork Chops. We all like pork chops (as long as nobody says it too loud, for fear of scaring Pork Chop, Esme's Webkinz pig), but this was even better. We had Stove Top stuffing with this, too.

Split-Pea Soup, which I expected the children to hate. They gobbled it right up. Which just goes to prove that ham makes everything better. :)

Mediterranean Orzo, a recipe from a Family Circle magazine I found laying around at Mom and Dad's house. Delicious. We've had this lots of times, and I always make a lot so that we have lots of leftovers. Unlike most dishes, my kids will happily eat this at every meal for a week.

I tried the Apple Galette from the French desserts cookbook. It's not pretty, but it tasted okay. Next time I will just stick to plain old American apple pie.

We went to the Member Preview of the Big BIG Bugs! exhibit at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. It was cool! It was also crowded and there were a million little misbehaving kids there. I was very proud to be escorting the three best-behaved children in the building (Aidan's friend Mason came along, as Jim was out of town). I liked the planetarium show best - they actually taught us about constellations, like they used to at Cranbrook in the "old days". Here's Esme being a spider on the great big web. The boys wanted to try but no matter how long they waited in "line," kids kept taking cuts, so no dice.

I didn't make these! :) This is a picture from Marge's - I saw those turtle cookies and just had to share this pic with my family from Churubusco. I'm sure Marge has never heard of Turtle Town, USA, but she makes a great Oscar!

Now this one is really good! It is a Basque Cake - a lovely light and fluffy cake with cherry preserves in the middle. Again, I got my dessert-hater to like this one, too. :)

Mixed-grain casserole. Loaded with fiber. :)

Aidan had his braces tightened and the bands changed in late February - he exchanged his blue and yellow Michigan bands for blue and orange Tigers bands. This time there was very little pain and we can already see the difference in the straight-ness of his front teeth.

This is Upma. I have no idea what that means in English, but it's made of semolina and spices - very flavorful. I thought it was kind of like spicy grits, Jim thought it was more like stuffing. Either way, it was great...except Esme hated it. :(

Waldorf Salad - yum! And in the little bowl are kodbole, little spicy rice rings. Too spicy for the kids, and I wasn't particularly fond of them. I didn't make them, though, so no harm done! We bought them at Spice of India.

Plain old yellow cake with plain old butter frosting - Esme's half birthday is about now (hard to say the exact day, really, as February has no 31st!) so she took these to school today for a treat.

In the last month I have finished reading The Fourth Part of the World (excellent book, I'm going to lend it to my folks), The Number Devil (I'm now almost finished reading it to the children, who laugh under their breath at how excited I get about math), and Live and Let Die (which was kinda grisly, but I did enjoy it). Now I'm reading The Music Room by William Fiennes.

It's March, folks! Looks like it came in like a lamb, so who knows what we're in for later this month!