A Royal Celebration

We celebrated Margaret's 5th birthday by having our traditional "Princess Party". This celebration was an even bigger treat for me because I had all of the help of my three older daughters. Last summer, Anna stumbled across a book called, Fancy Nancy's Tea Party. Then and there she decided that she would use the ideas in that book when Margaret's birthday party came around. Anna followed through with her plans and worked hard. She made lollipop centerpieces, butterfly placemats, and lovely place settings. Miriam put all of her creative energy to work and made 18 pair of jingle socks (an idea from my dear friend, Trudy in Chicago). She also made 18 pink beanbags and we did the traditional "Bean Bag Song" by Hap Palmer. Gracie made princess crowns out of plastic tubing from Home Depot, glitter pipe cleaner, and silk flowers (another great idea of my dear friend, Trudy). Thanks to my friend, Sooyeun, we added face painting to the celebration this time.

Children's Day 2011

We have a tradition of visiting Suwon Folk Villiage to celebrate Children's Day. This living museum is one of my favorite places in Korea.

A Working Dog

Kipboom got big fast. Before we knew it, we had a big, strong dog on our hands. What now? We've tried all sorts of things to manage our dog. A concerned neighbor gave us a series of DVDs called, "The Dog Whisper". We watched those, and then bought a backpack to strap to him so that it would give him more weight to carry and a sense of a job to do. Another concerned neighbor generously gave us a leash called, "The Gentle Leader". This has been very helpful. It keeps him from pulling. Walking the dog can be stressful because he barks and pulls fiercely when he sees another dog.
Another dilemma we encountered is his barking. He barked all day long. Eventually, we had many neighbors complaining.What to do? He kept barking. The police came to our home three times. I finally called the breeder and told him we were going to have to bring him back. The breeder suggested we use a bark collar. As a desperate measure we tried the bark collar and it worked.
Honestly, I didn't know if I should be relieved or disappointed.
Remember, rule #1: Never get a dog. Even if you do love your daughter.

Hunting Easter Eggs

One of my favorite springtime traditions.

Strawberry Picking

The day before Easter we went strawberry picking out in the country.
The strawberry farm also had a few animals to pet and feed. There was a donkey, turkey, goose, and a few rabbits. After we were finished picking the strawberries we made strawberry jam using long wooden spoons and large cast iron pots.

My Favorite M&M

I love peanut M&Ms. Last summer in New York City I visited the M&M store in Times Square. They had every color of M&M imaginable.

I love to put peanut M&Ms in the freezer and eat a handful while they are still frozen. Peanut M&Ms are the best, with the exception of this M&M (Margaret and Miriam).

Enjoying a Springtime Sunday Afternoon