Asking the important questions

Jeff showing off Dr. King's favorite meal

So, we've got the day off of school today. I'm rather impressed that both kids actually know WHY we have the day off (and it's not just for additional Wii time). They know that we are honoring Dr. King's birthday today. That he was a great man who preached peace and justice.  That intolerance was not to be withstood. On the way home from rehearsal last night Jeff asked the really important question...

"What was Martin Luther King's favorite meal? We should cook his favorite meal to celebrate his birthday tomorrow."

We hemmed and hawed. Dad joked that maybe it was chili, since chili was on the plan for dinner anyway. J didn't buy it. We tossed around the idea that it was probably traditional southern food (after we remembered that he was born and raised in Atlanta). J insisted we make sure by Google-ing it - because that's the only way to find any right answers. So the Google proved mom and dad right, his favorite foods were fried chicken, mac & cheese, greens etc...and pecan pie for dessert.

I told J that we'd make a special lunch out of Dr. King's favorite foods. Since I'm not really up on cooking southern food we stopped by our local small-town grocery store that sells some good fried chicken, mac & cheese in the back. No greens available so we grabbed green beans as a replacement. They didn't have mini pecan pies (and we eat pecan pie at the major holidays since it's my favorite) so we tried something labeled "Southern Coconut pie". It received a "meh" rating at the house as it was pretty sweet. I'm sure Dr. King had the real stuff.

I don't know if the kids remember our visit to the National Civil Right's Museum in Memphis. It's housed in the Lorraine Motel where King was shot. They were both pretty young (2 and 4 maybe) when we visited. I do remember the museum having some great displays for kids (though not as young as E and J). It's a pretty moving place. There's a burned out bus from the riots, and of course you can visit the balcony where King was shot.  Maybe they don't remember but it will always stick with me.

So we honor you today Dr. King.  We eat the humble and homey southern food. And we remember to "dream". Thanks Jeff for asking the important question and knowing why there's no school today.

Visiting Memphis in March 2008

Unplugged

Admittedly we all spend too much time plugged in. The kids both have iPods and DSs. They play on the computer and the Wii. And we feed the monster. Both kids received several Wii games for Christmas (I refuse to buy and more DS games since it takes them about a week to lose a $40 game). The weather this week has been extremely cold as we missed 2 days of school so there was quite a bit of extra electronics time around the house. At one point recently, when told it was time to unplug, I was informed that there was nothing to do in the house and that E was going to "bored herself to death." Amazingly she survived the next 2 hours.

So on Saturday the kids had a friend over.They headed straight for the Wii and plugged in, playing some Disney Infinity and mini Golf. And then I took the TV over.I wanted to watch a little figure skating combined with football (that's the way I roll).So the kids took to the toys.

Then next several hours encompassed some of the best imaginative play I've seen in a long, long time. An old toddler castle toy was broken out with all it's knights and dragons along with an army of Star Wars figures and Lego men.When they tired of that game the kids created a make-your-own angry birds style launching game. Little Dixie cups were turned into walls and towers and super balls were catapulted at them.

The fun of the evening continued to amaze me.  A huge indoor blanket tent was erected in the living room.The boys broke out the chess board.They dug out Battleship -- just plain old Battleship when electronic Battleship was sitting on the top of the pile.

 

What a blessing it was to watch them all play together. To explore their imaginations. To make their own little worlds. To pull out games that required some thinking. To abandon the electronics and just enjoy each other. To build. To simply play.

I'm not saying that we're going to become one of those unplugged families. We enjoy our video games, our apps, our music. But some days it's great to leave it all behind and break out those creative juices. Let's see what happens the next time. Thanks for coming to play C!  

Christmas Fun

Christmas was spent with Noni, Grandpa Donuts, Oma and Uncle Jonathan this year. It was great to get to spend several days together as we see each other often but it's rarely for more than a day or 2 at a time. We chose to chill together and take a few little excursions (one without the kids as they were in grumpy mode that day).

We continued our unintentional tradition of homemade pizza on Christmas Eve. I believe that for the last 3 or 4 years we've had homemade pizzas on Christmas Eve. We settled in at Noni's, unpacked our landslide of presents (and hung our stockings). Everyone managed to settle into bed by 10:30 or so.

Erin woke everyone up Christmas morning about 7:30. Our tradition is stockings followed by breakfast then presents under the tree. We take our time with presents and open one at a time. With 8 people in the house it took close to 2 1/2 hours to open presents but every second was worth it.

Lots of much desired gifts were received. A illuminating Hermione wand and sewing machine were the highlights for Erin. Jeff received Disney Infinity from his Noni and a new board game from Santa (as well as a collection of books from mom and dad). Tom continued his trend of consumable liquids (liquors and cooking oils) and I found a new Blueray player and Keurig machine under the tree.

Thursday was meant to be a family day at the museums but the kids woke up grumpy so we left them behind. Tom, my mom and I headed into the American History museum to check out this exhibit. There's a small section in the back of the exhibit that I had a hand in accessioning into the museum when I interned there in 1998. Definitely provided a sense of validation.  After the museum the three of us continued to walk the Mall and popped into a few other museums. It was a great adult day.

Friday the kids begged to go ice skating so we hit up a nearby outdoor rink.  Noni decided she wanted to try and skate for the first time. It was an absolute blast as everyone (except Uncle Jon) was together being silly. It was a small rink, and a little crowded but Noni made some great progress, and Erin and Jeff glided around the ice like little pros.

The rest of the time as Noni's was spent simply spending time together. Lots of games (Wii and table) were played. Baby dolls were enjoyed. A long time was also spent with Erin's new sewing machine. She and Noni made a beautiful blanket AND a skirt for Rebecca (Erin's doll). We can't wait to make more things here at home.

By Saturday afternoon we were gathering the presents and loading things into a car. Unfortunately as the saying goes "All good things must come to an end."