monday's fun lunch....on wednesday :)

This past weekend got pretty busy so I forgot all about choosing a "fun lunch" for Monday. The girls had homeschool co-op classes yesterday, so that brought us to today! This week's creation was a brownie pizza. A deep dish pizza since that was the only round pan we had to bake with. (hmm...I think I see a trend in the pizza world with our food creations...!) It was very easy and the girls had a blast making - and eating - it! You can put whatever toppings on it that you like although we decided to go for "realistic" ones - red icing for tomato sauce, red m&ms for pepperoni, green apple sour straws for green pepper slices, raisins for sausage, marshmallows for feta cheese, and grated white chocolate for cheese. Yes, it was a bit of sugar overload but the fun we had making it was worth it! :)

the best toys

Somehow boxes just end up being the best toys. They allow you to use your imagination to go where ever you wish to go and be whoever you wish to be. We have had several different box creations over the past several years and so here is our latest.

This box was being used both for a choo choo train and a boat, so the next day we chose one...

A young Captain Sparrow in his Black Pearl. He has his treasure, his "arrr! dog", and...

a sword (made by daddy, who can make anything!) ! :) The pirate hat is compliments of the dollar section at Target - and we have definitely gotten much more than a dollar's worth out of it!

*FYI sometimes I do not understand this blog thing! It is not letting me make all the font the same size today for some weird reason......

so big!

Shannon sent me these pictures on my cell phone yesterday and I couldn't believe how BIG Jonathan looks in them!! He also got his hair cut the other day and the lady cut all of his cute curls off! :( Oh well, he's still pretty darn cute! :)

pizza of the sea

incriminating evidence

I would like to share with you my story of the week. And first I must add that I know I don't usually write the names of my children, but for this one post, it is just necessary to share one name with you for the full effect. :}
Earlier this week my girls had been asking to play up in their room, which we usually do for a few minutes in the mornings after we get dressed and make our beds, etc. But then school needs to be started so we head back downstairs and tend to get involved in stuff down here for the rest of the day.
Anyways, I made a special point to take them back upstairs after the baby's nap one day this week and let them play. They were having a blast playing with their My Little Ponies and Webkinz animals while I sat on a bed and watched and "ate" the yummy "food" the baby brought me from their little play kitchen. :)
At one point, my middle child started making some comments that caught my ear, such as, "Who did that?? Did you do that? I didn't do that!!" I looked over at where there were playing by the window seat and asked what was going on. My middle child said, "Someone drew on the seat right here with a pen!!" At which point my oldest piped up and said, "I didn't do it, Kiki!" Now, I must stop here and share with you that we tend to joke that my oldest can't tell a lie to save her life, although my middle child, unfortunately, is pretty good at it sometimes. So when the oldest says she did or did not do something, we tend to believe her. Besides the fact that when something like this occurs, it's just like my middle child to do it - or the baby nowadays.... So at this point I think, oh well, whatever, I'm sure it was the middle child but I'll worry about it later, besides, I am in the middle of a lovely cup of pretend tea!
After a while Wendy came home and happened to sit down on the window seat. We chatted for a minute when she noticed the drawing on the seat. She immediately looked up and said,"Tess! Why did you do that?!" She instantly got an "Uhoh! I'm in trouble!" look on her face and glanced over to see my reaction. I was surprised that Wendy would so quickly blame Tess for the drawing and asked how she knew with such certainty who the culprit was. Wendy asked if I had "seen what it says" and I confessed that no, I had been told about it but hadn't gone over to inspect the damage yet. Then I said wait, it SAYS something?? That right there pointed away from the middle child who doesn't quite know how to sound words out yet. I asked what it said and Wendy said I would just have to come see for myself. Which is what you will have to do too...scroll down.......



















Notice that it is complete with a checkmark in the box! Ha! This is one of those times when you know you shouldn't let the child see or hear you laugh but it was just too hard to hold it in and we both totally cracked up! :}

i two!

Today is my baby's 2nd birthday. I can't believe he's already two years old! Why do babies have to grow so fast?? :) He is so much fun right now. Although, I think I tend to say that at every different stage. :) His vocabulary is expanding quite rapidly and some of his favorite words are "no sir!", "cool!", "oh, twouble!" (He puts a "backpack" over his head and looks for an "animal in trouble" to help, just like Diego.), "so funny!", and many more. His favorite activities are playing with the Thomas train set he got for Christmas, running in circles, doing whatever his sisters are doing, making us laugh, and anything to do with music - singing, dancing, and listening. He is most definitely all boy, but he is also sweet and still cuddly, which I love. I know he won't be small for long, so I try hard to treasure the sweet hugs and kisses he gives, the way he runs his fingers through my hair when he's sleepy, and the times when he just wants to sit with me and snuggle. I pray that he will grow to love and serve God with all his heart, so for now we'll keep singing Jesus Loves Me and I'll keep reminding him Who created him so wonderfully - and I'll keep kissing those little chubby cheeks while I can! :)

Here are some of the other pictures from our Portrait Innovations session last week....

eating an octopus

I have decided to try some fun lunch ideas on Mondays, since last week's pita pizzas went so well. So here is another idea from one of Shannon's books....the kind that makes you go, "Well, DUH! why didn't I think of that?!" :)

I should have taken a close-up, but I forgot. Oops. I made Pasta Roni - the (sea)shell noodles with white cheddar cheese - and then stirred in a can of peas and carrots. The hotdogs I simply sliced about 3/4 of the way up into 8 legs. I had found regular goldfish at the store and just as I was picking it up, I saw a new kind (same brand) right next to it that has goldfish AND starfish! Add two dots of mustard for the eyes and you have a seafood lunch of seashells, goldfish, starfish, and an octopus! :) The girls thought it was entirely fabulous. The baby.....

...was a little weirded out by the octopus sitting on top of his food at first! Then I showed him how fun it was to pull the legs off and eat them. He thought it was great after that! :)