february, fun

Putting "fun" up there there next to "February" is what you have to do in order to not put "deteriorating sanity" up there next to "February." We do have Valentine's Day and President's Day, but we don't have Mardi Gras up here in the cold north, and that makes February decidedly less fun. But we cope the best we can.

Ellis had a half day on Friday and yesterday off. I picked him up from school, and we went to the new Please Touch Museum, meeting our buddy Caleb there. This was our second time and we found nooks and crannies that we didn't find the first time. The boys loved the room where you could make flying contraptions out of foamy parts, crank them up a pulley, and then watch "fly" down (falling gracefully, more like it). Evryone played like crazy, including Marlowe It was a great way to burn of energy on a gloomy Friday.

Last year for Valentine's Day I felt downright inspired. I had a kid's party, with lots of crafts and cookies. And then I made a dinner that was the best approximation of our favorite food from our favorite Lebanese restaurant in New Orleans and we watched Paris, Je t'aime. This year, I was not so inspired. I thought, why change a good thing? So thanks to Trader Joe's, we had a simple, totally yummy meal of lamb and salad and Mediterranean dippy things with pita. The lamb was exquisite. It turned out perfectly. And then we were so tired that we went to bed. I think I actually fell asleep on the couch first.

Then in the morning I made heart pancakes, and we decided to turn a few errands into fun shopping, and even got popcorn at Target. We mostly just enjoyed being together as a family.

But it really is all about getting through February as gracefully as possible. It's a rough month for Ellis, too. He hits developmental angst at its worst in February. Must be so hard to be changing and growing so quickly. Not to mention the fact that he is a Boy and we have a tiny apartment and it's winter. Yesterday when he was home all day, we needed to diffuse some angst. It was above freezing, but still cool. I bundled us up and we went for a hike. I think the fresh air did us all good.