Commercialization? Every holiday's trend..

I overheard a radio discussion on the thought of Valentine's day being another commercialized holiday and that the need for a specific day to validate the love we have for others isn't and shouldn't be necessary.

After listening to a few of the comments, I found myself agreeing with the thought. And in turn, I've always been happy to receive flowers, candy, jewelry, etc, on any given day! :)

On to my point - Having 4 children is no small feat. I love them all dearly but I'm one that struggles with limits.. gifts, toys, clothes.. you name it! A trend this year is a Valentine's cards that opens and has a song playing or a personally recorded message, how cute! I found myself shopping for cards for the kids and couldn't pass these cards by. (yes, I stood in the aisle and opened every single one, some twice!) I struggled selecting a card for each of the kids, then I struggled with the thought that if I get these cool cards for each of the kids, I'd have to hear the song blurb for a while because they wouldn't want to let go of them, then I struggled with the price, and decided to get one of the cool cards for my spoiled rotten daughter.. she is the only one that can read, so.. I then had to find cards for the boys, then Ben, then grandparents, friends, cousins, uncles, aunts.. Oh wait!!! That's going to cost hundreds of dollars and who actually keeps valentines, unless they're handmade??? Ah-ha! So, the kids will be making valentines for a few people.

Another con in the whole commercialization dilemma is that 4 kids require 4 sets of valentines for school. Okay, that's not so bad, right? Well, 4 kids in activities outside school means additional parties, gifts, etc. I get that we should all love each other, but honestly.. maybe we could just promote being more tolerant or something instead of the perpetual need to spend money on random, meaningless holidays for kids who really only want the candy and could care less about the sentimentality behind the holiday.

Monster Jam 2009

For the last 3 years, Alex has attended Monster Jam at the Fargo Dome. This tradition has quickly caught on and Isaac is eager to join them in this event. Much to his disappointment, he couldn't attend this year because he's only 2 and we (I) decided he wouldn't keep his ears covered and for this event, it has to be a must. He has been promised next year. :)

Serenity was away for the weekend visiting her cousins so it was just Ben and Alex. With our tickets this year, we received complimentary pit passes. Alex was pretty hesitant about going down in the pit with the monster trucks but once he was there, I think he had a great time!

One of the few warm winter days..

We've had very few warm winter days this year, thus making it very difficult to plan any sort of outdoor activity for the kids. Rumor had it that we would have a Saturday in the mid to upper 30s so the whole family decided it would be good to get out and do something.

Ben's parents were visiting for the weekend and it was the perfect time to go skiing. Ben, his dad, Serenity and Alex made a day trip down to Andes Tower Hills in Alexandria. Although they got a late start, it didn't effect the amount of fun that was had.

The little boys, Betty (Ben's mom) and I went shopping and had a fun time just hanging out together. We're all so glad that Ben's parents are able to travel and partake in our children's lives. Love you B&B.