Wordless Wednesday 2-29-12

Our Newest Additions

Blast from the Past

Miracle of miracles!  We've been looking for our camera cord to our old point-and-shoot camera ever since we moved last November and haven't been able to find it.  When my in-laws were over at the house a few days ago, my father-in-law, Juan, went in the garage looking for a rachet set.  Not only did he find what he was looking for, he also turned up with the the elusive camera cord that must have been thrown in a last minute box of items being cleared out of the old house right before we moved.  It was fun looking at pictures from the spring and summer of 2010 and remembering my girls when they were just a little smaller.  Here are a few of them.

#5 as a newborn.  Now she's almost 2.

#1 as a 1st grader having just lost her 2 front teeth.  :-)

#4 at the tail end of being a 1-year-old; now she's 3 1/2.

My man!

Little D.

#3, being her usual, crazy-fun self.

#2, Pretty and sweet; you can tell there is a lot going on in that brain behind those dark, bright eyes.

#1, #2, #3, and #4 - How they've all grown since then!

More Valentine Love

This was a darling book that my first-grader made for us in her class.  Her teacher is wonderful and has them work on really neat crafts throughout the year, not to mention keeping them challenged academically.

It says "Mom" but it is hard to see.

Her class just got ipod touches, so that is obviously a big hit.

A horse, and an ipod (I think).

The bottom item is 7-11 because she likes slushies.

Umbrellas on the beach.

Wordless Wednesday 2-15-12

Some February Fun

These are from my kindergartener.  She was very proud of her Valentine's cards and presented them with much love to each of us.  They are now prominently displayed around the house.

Food and Family

It's been a week since my last post and my mind has been disconnected a bit from blogging, taken up with reading good books, the constant multi-tasking of parenting, watching a few interesting shows (namely, Downton Abbey), and other household tasks like looking after my husband's baby grape vines that he just put into the ground. 

During this past week, though, the girls and I have had quite a few opportunities to cook together.  I have read in many different places that  a good way to get your kids interested in more interesting food is to have them help prepare the meal.  My young elementary-age children are now all at a point that they can help either prep food and/or cook it under supervision.  Even though my girls eat well and healthfully the majority of the time, I wouldn't say that they are terribly adventurous eaters.  But, regardless, I gave them assignments for helping me with the food preparation and it peaked their interest.  Isabella, #1, made a caramelized onion and apple sauce to put on the roasted pork loin.  Selah, #2, who says she doesn't prefer yams, nonetheless mashed the yams for me.  Then, she proceeded to prepare green beans which we sauteed with sliced garlic and topped with bacon pieces.  When it came to dinner time, everyone seemed much more interested in eating than usual and each of the girls was complementing each other on a job well done, even those that hadn't done any preparing.  Selah decided after a small bite of mashed yams that she actually liked them more than she thought and she declared her sauteed green beans to be "scrumptious".  Isabella was quite taken with her sauce for the pork and even cajoled her little sister Livia, #4, into trying it which lead to more request for caramelized onions and apples on the rest of her pork bites.  My girls have always been very interested in helping with cooking and baking, but this recent dinner has encouraged me to have the girls themselves prepare ingredients that they might not usually choose for themselves in order to develop their sense of adventure in cooking and eating. 

Wordless Wednesday 2-1-12