April

April has gone by so fast... here is a little of what I have been up to:

The first week in April my middle son had a birthday... as I was making cupcakes for him my oven died. DIED. Completely. After an hour in the oven I had raw cupcakes. The light was warm enough to activate the baking powder, which allowed them to ooze over the edges of the pan and develop a very thin, light crust on top...

but they were completely raw. The oven has been dying since we arrived here in July - but, it was waiting for a special moment to die completely. So, I improvised and bought cupcakes and added sprinkles.

Nobody noticed the difference.

 I'm not sure how I feel about that.

The kids all skipped school and we went to crystal palace - an indoor amusement park. It was nice to spend some time just with our family. It's been fun having exchange students but I miss spending time together just as a family.

We have a family birthday tradition of whoever's birthday it is, they get to choose what to have for dinner.

They can choose anything.

My daughter always chooses a big greek feast with leg of lamb. I look forward to it all year.

This year, my son challenged me.

He chose hotdogs.

 Hotdogs.

I have never bought hotdogs in my life. I really don't like them. When they ask for them I will usually buy bison smokies...but hotdogs? Really? My poor deprived child was so excited when I served him real hotdogs.

It was the easiest meal I have ever made. I see the appeal. About ten minutes in the kitchen and dinner was served. But, I still am looking forward to that leg of lamb...

After the oven died - we had to special order a new one. Ours is natural gas and not many people here have natural gas - so, we had almost three weeks without an oven. The week our oven died there was a sale on BBQ's, so we bought a charcoal grill that neither my husband or I knew how to use. Lucky for us we knew a griling expert...

and my husband began his grill master training. He's still learning...but we are enjoying his attempts at perfection. 

We've been grilling a lot...pretending summer is coming...or at least spring... it snowed this week again.

Easter was pretty low key this year, but I had fun decorating eggs with the kids. 

We didn't get too fancy... just coloured them and then I bought some face stickers...

My six year old loved them and didn't want to eat his.

I've been busy with school and trying to practice everything I've learned. I think I'll need a few years of practice before I get really good at it but I am having fun.

The six year old was super excited this week when he lost his two front teeth at once. He looks older now.

This month I have been thinking about how quickly my kids are growing up. This is a strange year for me. This is the first year I have all my kids in school and it is the first time I am away from home going to school. I miss my family. I feel so blessed to have them. There really is no greater joy than being a mom.