Memorial Day Cake 2012

This is the cake I made for memorial day weekend  It was sooo easy!  I think I may have to revisit this recipe for Halloween or Christmas, but in different colors.  And what did my favorite critics think of it?   Yummmm!   :)

Chef Gabby

Gabby loves to help me cook and bake!  And she loves to copy me.  We both put on our aprons (thank you to Aunt Sophie for Gabby's...she looks so cute in it!), and made blueberry crock pot cake.  It only has 4 ingredients and is sooo very easy.  It's a good one for her to help me with.  This first picture is Gabby's "crinkle nose" smile.  She was licking the blueberry pie filling off the spatula and was very pleased with herself.  She has taken on the job of 'quality control'.  She makes sure that everything tastes good!  :)

Butterfly grapes

All this week, and all next week...its my turn to provide snack for Cameron's class...all 21 students. I'm serving healthy things. I just finished the butterfly grapes. They were easy and quick to prepare. I will serve them with a handful of goldfish. Day 1 down, 9 more to go!

Making a Memory

On Saturday, I took Hannah shopping for some fabric.  There are only 2 weeks left of school, and it's turning into fun-central.  The children are allowed to choose 2 activities they'd like to learn, such as piano playing, sewing, cooking, mystery solving, rugby, etc.  The school has given this a fancy title of Project Based Learning.  Hannah chose sewing as one of hers.  A list came home of the supplies we would need to buy for her to sew a dress.  It's not often I get one-on-one time with each of the children.  When i mention taking one out for some reason, invariably another speaks up and wants to join.  But this past Saturday, Hannah and i were able to sneak out to shop for materials for her special dress.  She felt very important and special because it was just the two of us.  After she chose gorgeous materials, I told her I needed to stop by Sears to pick up Evie's pictures.  Guess what was set up in the parking lot of the mall?  A fair...carnival rides!  Hannah was so excited and really wanted to go on just one ride.  I hadn't planned to do this, and truthfully, I needed to get us back home for dinner.  But children's years pass by so fast.  And my time with them is so often spent in the daily grind.  Here was a chance to pull my head up and out of the ordinary and....create a memory.  An unexpected sliver of fun that hopefully we will each remember as a stolen moment of companionship.  Hannah's heart cried out for the ferris wheel, that huge wheel of fun so high up it looked like it was in the clouds.  It was $4 per person to ride it.  And $8 later we had a priceless memory.  The operator was kind...he let me on for free.  So I used my tickets to let Hannah ride one more, and she chose the carousel.  We had fun, just the two of us up there with the clouds so close.  After our clandestine carnival play, key to our survival was keeping mum about this to the other children.  One slipped word and my head would be on a platter!  But Hannah was as good as gold...she never breathed a word.  She likes to smile a secret smile, and cryptically hint at a priceless treasure only she and I know about.  As for me...I can't wait to fall into some unplanned adventure again   :)

Butterfly wings

Gabby can open the gate around our stairs by herself now.  Which means when I'm busy doing dishes, folding laundry, etc, she will disappear for awhile.  This makes me cringe, because she has been known to get into things she shouldn't....like my bottle of lavender oil on my nightstand, and her sister's little girl make-up.  Though I must admit that when she comes downstairs with sparkles on her eye lids, she's pretty darn cute.  On Monday, she returned from a trip upstairs with these butterfly wings.  She asked me to put them on her and I was happy to oblige.  Then the transformation happened....Gabby became a butterfly.  She twirled and fluttered around the house, so happy with her wings!   At least this trip upstairs made me smile, not cringe    :)

Smores

Last night our family all enjoyed dessert on our patio....after many changed in pj's, we built a fire in the fire pit and toasted marshmallows for s'mores. It was a fun and relaxing time for all!

Days with Gabby & Evie - March 2012

Here are just a few pics of Gabby and Evie. Evie is 9 mos old and Gabby is 2 1/2 yrs. I love the little drummer baby shot. There's something so sweet in a from-behind picture. It's as though you've stolen a glimpse into their world, without them knowing. The girls love to go for neighborhood walks on nice mornings, and Evie is no longer confined to her saucer for toy time. Here, she's practicing her vocal skills while spending time with me in my habitat....the kitchen.