Monday Funday

What to do when the kids are out of school and Mom has the day off, too? Especially when the weather looks like this?

Well, let's be honest, the weather today didn't start off exactly like that - it started off so windy that I opted to sleep in and hit the treadmill later. That's right - 50 some odd degrees, no rain, and I chose the dreadmill. I still haven't recovered from the mental beat down of the head winds in my last two marathons.

Lucky for me, I had my post-race massage scheduled this morning, so I started off *my* day with a little bit of indulgence. Didn't hurt that it was a Living Social deal so I got it 50% off.

So massage and workout done, too late for breakfast, and it's time to get home and figure out what we're going to do with the rest of the day. With my Lenten intent to spend more time with the kids, I came up with a three step plan:

1. Lunch at McDonalds
2. Caroline's treat for accomplishing her reading goal
3. Fun time at the library

Too bad it didn't occur to me to take pictures until we were at the library. But you get the picture: 6 piece McNugget Happy Meal results in random toys that make my kids think they've won the lottery. Extra bonus: our McD's has an indoor play place, and with nothing pressing on the agenda, the kids got to play to their heart's content. Add a friend from Caroline's 2nd grade class, and it's almost like a play date. Except I made no effort. Which makes it the best play date ever, actually.

McDonald's down, treat time next. This month, the kids are participating in the Book Hogs reading program at school. For added incentive, I told them that when they hit 500 minutes of reading, they could pick their treat. Naturally, Caroline is already at 600-something minutes, so today was the prefect day for the treat of her choice:

There is apparently a lot of peer pressure in the 2nd grade set around Dippin' Dots. She shared with me that she was the recipient of mild ridicule when she told her friends she'd never had it before. Problem solved.

Next up: Fayetteville Public Library, one of my absolute FAVORITE things about living in Northwest Arkansas. National award winning library, right here in my little town. Since we moved here, Caroline has read her way through the entire Junie B. Jones collection, and just last week finished book #48 in the Magic Tree House series, all courtesy of the FPL. John has recently been into anything Star Wars, and loves the Elephant and Piggie books. That's what he wanted today - and I realized, this is the perfect opportunity to teach my kids about call numbers!! (Get excited! Book nerds unite!!)

Author: Mo Willems. John finds the "W" shelf:

Just like that - two new Elephant and Piggie books. BOOM - I'm feeling like a pretty good mom today.

John found LOTS of books today - Berenstain Bears, Elephant and Piggie, a couple new Star Wars book, and other random titles that looked good to him:

Caroline, on the other hand, wasn't sure what to look for. I made a couple of suggestions, but she's just not-that-into Mommy's Ramona Quimby or Nancy Drew ideas at the moment.

Trying to be the paying-attention-Mom, I asked Caroline what she thought she might like to read, and immediately, she responded with a request to find some new American Girl Doll books. We head right to the computer to look them up, and voila! Caroline's turn to learn how to find books in a library. We hit the jackpot - the entire Rebecca series, two of the McKenna books, and one on Jess. I'm clueless, but Caroline apparently knows who each of these girls are, so she's super happy. Which in turn, of course, makes me super happy. Today's haul:

Pouring down rain outside and nothing pressing to do or places to be, so I tell the kids to settle in on one of the comfy chairs by the window, hang out, and read while Mommy goes up to the adult section for a couple of minutes to pick out a few new books of my own.

True confession: romance novels are my guilty pleasure. Sure, I'll read Pulitzer Prize winning books and if I ever get my Masters degree in British Literature I'll write my thesis on how Thomas Hardy used his writing to expose the oppression of women in 19th century London society, but in the meantime, I can tear through a 300 page Nora Roberts tome in about a day and a half.

I do enough heavy thinking at work, anyway. :)

Last up for the day - homemade oatmeal cookies. My mom used to make oatmeal cookies all the time, and my poor kids have never even had one. Before Christmas I got a wild hair to make some, so naturally, two months later, I finally did it!

Nothing is ever the same as your mom's, but I have to say, they were pretty good. The white chocolate chips and dried cranberries didn't hurt.

So that was our Monday Funday, also known as President's Day. I feel a little guilty that I didn't take the time at the library to do a little history lesson on Washington and Lincoln, but there's always next year.