Saturday, May 28, 2011

Fresh and Simple


We're on our way to a friend's house for a pre-Memorial Day barbecue, so I thought I'd use some of our homegrown basil to make a side dish to share. I thought of this recipe that a friend recently gave me. It was my first time making it. The salad turned out so good, that the girls (who had just finished a big lunch) were begging for more. Victoria couldn't get enough of the tomatoes, and Isabella was loving the fresh basil and "acorns" (corn).


EZ Corn-Tomato Salad


Ingredients:

1 pkg. frozen corn (thawed) - I used a can of corn because that's what we had in the pantry.

1 container cherry tomatoes (halved)

bunch of basil (finely chopped)

1-2 t. olive oil

salt and pepper

Optional: 1 can of black beans, drained

Throw all ingredients in a bowl and stir.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Our Daily Bread

I inherited a bread maker from Madre, Mark's mom, that had just been collecting dust, so I've been anxious to try some different recipes. This one caught my eye because we already had all the ingredients in our pantry. I love knowing what the girls are putting in their mouth, and I can pronounce all the ingredients! This takes about five minutes to throw together, and then you can wake up to fresh bread in the morning. Yum!



CRANBERRY OAT BREAD

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water
2 Tbsp honey or brown sugar (whichever you have)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 c rolled oats
1 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups white flour
1 3/4 tsp dry yeast
1/3 c dried cranberries (raisins or coarsely chopped dried apricots are also tasty)

Directions:
Add all ingredients to the bread machine in the order listed. Bake as a basic loaf.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Morning at the Museum

We decided to spend our official first day of summer at the Austin Children's Museum. Monday mornings are reserved for children under three. So the girls had a marvelous time exploring without fearing that they would be bulldozed by any big kids. They had fun listening to dinosaur books during Story Time, pretending to be cooks, being animal doctors and making doggies feel better, singing and playing with instruments and parachutes during Music Time and more! They were sad that it was time to go, but rumbling tummies helped speed up the process. Then we headed to Auditorium Shores to enjoy a picnic with good friends Sierra and her mommy, Jen.

Almost there! Can you see it behind us? We're so excited!


Playing songs with PVC pipes! Fun!


Let me try! I can play "Happy Birthday" all by myself!


Whoa! These stairs are curvy! I think I'll go up and down at least 20 more times!


Serving Mommy some watermelon. Daddy would have loved some!


Help! Get me out of this crowded house!


Looking out from my princess tower.


Big sister is having fun with a parachute. Little sister is getting tired.


Let's build something!


Pooped out!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Graduation

Isabella graduated from her tw0-year old Mother's Day Out class, and can now look forward to next year's three-year old class. Her school had a graduation ceremony, complete with a certificate ceremony, songs, and a cookie reception; however, my hands were full with a very squirmy Victoria, so I wasn't able to capture the memories with our camera. As soon as Victoria got busy devouring a cookie at the reception, I was finally able to snap a few shots.

Isabella, Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you! You had a wonderful year and have grown so much this past year! Some of your favorite things to do at school were: eating snacks, playing with shovels and buckets outside at the playground, making Pinkalicious cupcakes, listening to stories, pizza days, water day, sitting on a pony, painting, playing at the bean table, music time, going to chapel, and playing with friends.


Finally...cookies got them to sit still.

Enjoying some yummy munchies with other classmates and their siblings.

Showing off her princess panties outside of her classroom.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The Best Day

Today was the best day. I felt so loved by my hubby, Mark. He was so attentive, thoughtful, and so willing to serve all day.

Here's how my Mother's Day went: It started with a gradual wake-up and then I got ready for church at my own pace as Mark cooked a hearty breakfast of eggs, sausage, fruit, toast, and coffee. Then he woke the girls up, did the whole potty/diaper thing and then brought them downstairs. Isabella ran into my room to hand deliver her card and yell "Happy Mudder's Day!". Shortly afterward, Victoria waddled into the room as well to give me a morning smile. After church, Mark prepared lunch while I got to sit with the girls to watch some hynotizing Baby Einstein. Then we had some family time in the playroom, and then I took a 2 hour nap along with the girls!! I can't remember the last time I took a nap longer than 45 minutes. It felt amazing!! After naptime, we spent some time swimming at our neighborhood pool, and then we headed to Santa Rita for some fajitas. We even got front door "Moms Only" parking...perfect! We came home and the girls rode their tricycles around the cul-de-sac, and then we marched them upstairs for their bedtime routine. Mark had secretly booked a babysitter, so after the girls were down, we slipped out to meet some friends for some frozen yogurt. I felt like we did so much today, but I felt so loved and taken care of.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to spend time with my own momma, but thanks to iChat, we were able to wish her a Happy Mother's Day face-to-face. I look forward to her next trip so we can spend some time together. Until then, this song reminds me of her. I love you Mom.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Prayers of Thanksgiving

Some recent prayers of thanksgiving before bedtime from our sweet toddler girls:

Conversation with Victoria:
- "Victoria who do you want to thank God for?"
- "Daddy, Bella, Mimi, Nana, (pause) Mommy (when prompted..ha!)....and me"

Conversation with Isabella:
- "Isabella who do you want to thank God for?"
- "Thank you for Grandma, Grandpa, Mimi, Nana, Grandpa Rami, and Baby Noah."
- "Isabella what do you want to thank God for?"
- "For shampoo, flowers, colors like hot pink, books, and yogurt."
- "Is there anyone you want to pray for?"
- "Hook 'em horns" (while holding up her horns with her hand)
- "You're right. We do need to start praying for the 'horns," Said her daddy.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Dinner with Mimi

We spent our evening with Mimi, Mark's mom, celebrating Mother's Day. The girls had a great time with her being silly in the backyard. You can tell they had missed their Mimi who they hadn't seen in weeks. They cherish every minute they get with her.

Victoria's sharing ...(that's rare)...her strawberry shortcake with Mimi.

Getting as much Mimi as she can get.

Happy Mother's Day Mimi!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Mother's Day Tea


What a sweet morning it was, spent at Isabella's school. Only mommies were invited to this Mother's Day Tea, so I felt extra special. The theme was "Happy Days", so that will explain the scarves and sunglasses. The teachers did a great job of decorating and focusing on even the littlest details. Songs were sung even though Isabella spent most of her time looking around. Thankfully she stayed in her assigned spot without a problem and wore a huge smile on her face the whole time. As soon as the last song ended, Isabella was the first one to bolt from her spot right into her mommy's arms. I was so proud of our Sweet Pea.

Showing no stage fright on her way to her designed spot.

She's showing some participation.

Isabella and her teacher, Ms. Jennifer.

Trying to suck her muffin through a straw. Kept her busy for 15 minutes.

Ahhh...my gift for Mother's Day.