May Photo A Day - 5/1/13

"I Bought This"

 

 

For a family that loves Kalamata olives, this is a gold mine.

Baba Ghanouge and Hommos (Hummus)

More hummus

 

One of our local Mexican grocery stores that is very nearby also has a large Middle Eastern food section.  We love to make hummus platters and eat falafel, so this discovery was wonderful and also pretty surprising, considering the store is primarily a Mexican market that evens has its own tortilleria in it.  You can buy everything from a piñata for your next party to hummus imported from the Middle East at our local Valley Max.  It's so much fun finding local treasures, especially ones of the culinary kind.

Derailed by Life

Once again, and this happens to me a few times a year, my blogging has been completely derailed by "doing life".  Since whelping a litter of puppies and selling them, I sort of collapsed and had to take a little break.  Not to mention that the kids' school activities increase in number at this time of year, we have been running to and fro from softball games for our oldest for the past 2 months, and I finally put my nose to the grindstone and started training for real for my upcoming marathon at the beginning of June.  So, to kick start myself back into blogging more regularly again, I've decided to join in a "photo a day" challenge for the month of may.  I've done a few of these in the past and they are a lot of fun.  If I had a smartphone with instagram, it would be 10X easier, but it can still be done with a regular camera and a computer.  So, let the fun begin!  Here is the list of picture prompts for the month. 

My Baby Is 3!

She loves to smile for her Mommy.

My sweet Little D is 3 today!  We knew we wanted at least 4 children, but not long after having our fourth, I just felt like we were supposed to have one more child in our family.  God blessed us with this sweet, little bundle of joy and she has made our family complete.  It's hard to believe that my littlest one is turning three this spring, but such is life.  As my 4-year-old says, "Things just have to keep changing in life," which is very true.  So, I'm enjoying these days and years as my youngest children are still toddlers and preschoolers because I know this phase our lives will only last so long.  Happy Birthday Little D!  You are a blessing to our whole family and we love you!

Teasing Mommy.

Beautiful Baby.

Love her!

Irresistably Cute!

First Peak of Spring

First Grade Dance Performance

Happy smiles after a successful dance performance.

My daughters have had many wonderful teachers over the past few years, but one of our favorites is Arianna's first grade teacher this year (Selah had her last year).  She is a very organized, skilled, caring, and compassionate teacher, and she also incorporates art, music, and exercise into the class activities, too.  One of the activities she does with her class each year and several times during the school year is a dance and singing performance.  The kids put on a beautiful costumes purchased in Mexico with funds from the Parent Teacher Club and dance traditional Mexican dances.  It is quite amazing to see a while class full of 1st graders dancing these traditional dances with all the right steps and rhythm.  I'm so thankful that my daughters have this opportunity.

A gift from her Abuelo to buy a treat.

 

Beware of Your Shoes

It may seem like a cliché to say that puppies like chewing on shoes and shoe laces, but I can tell you it is not.  I really don't know what the fascination of shoes is for dogs, but I'm starting to think it has something to do with the fact that shoes get smelly very easily.  And, dogs love interesting smells.  Also, the laces are an excellent puppy chew toy for their tiny teeth.  Nonetheless, it is pretty fun and funny to watch.