Cold Weather Food

Since I went outside today and it was SNOWING (just a bit) and that makes me just a little on the down side about our blustery northern weather, i think I need to share with you one thing I LOVE about cold weather: SOUP! Who doesn't love to come in from the cold, eat a nice hot bowl, then cuddle up next to the fire? I do!!

Add a beautiful twinkly Christmas tree, some rad (did I really just use the word "rad"? mad, awesome, totally stinking awesome...) Christmas music, a loaf of fresh baked bread and you've got yourself a perfect winter's night

Indian Summer

As a woman (who's blog I occasionally read), and whom is married to an Indian man once said, "Anyone who calls this Indian Summer has never spent a summer in India!" but I digress...We enjoyed our little slice of Indian Summer last weekend with weather in the upper 60's and lower 70's. We decided that we had to take advantage of it and take the kids to the zoo. It was PERFECT. Besides the weather, the zoo wasn't too crowded and they had these lovely volunteers (mostly older adults) at each large exhibit to chat with you about the animals, answer all your questions, and tell you all you ever wanted to know about them. It was so perfect. We only spent a couple of hours, but we and the kids REALLY enjoyed it!

Favorite Things Friday (But the oppposite)

I thought I'd share with you things I'm not crazy about Friday. I know, it's positive and up beat, right? But I felt like ranting a bit so hear we go. I hate this about winter:
Piles of sox....will they all have matches or will there be one lonesome single there left at the end? It's like a depressing Glamore Magazine article, right?

Bento Thursday

This is one meal my little ones got this week for lunch. Not every bento I make is ubber creative. But I do try to make it colorful and well...mostly healthy.


In the upper box you will see left over fish sticks with a little container of beloved ketchup. Also there is half a cheese stick and a little treat...two starburst left over from Halloween.

In the lower box is strawberries and grapes. In the container on the right is mashed potatoes and corn...also left over from a dinner that week. Yum!

Hoodini

Grace has begun de-clothing herself at night. Down to the buff. She was yelling the other night for someone to come and get her. Conrad went upstairs and saw her little bare naked self standing in the crib. She handed him her sippy cup, her bear, her diaper, and her bunched up pajamas with a "Here, Daddy." Then reached out so he could get her out of the crib. He asked, "Grace, why did you take off your clothes?" She said, "My diaper was wet." He brought her down to show me. She had this deer in the headlights look, like, "Uh oh. I'm in trouble now." By the time we brought out the camera, she figured she was in the clear and she was all smiles for having successfully gotten out of bed at 10pm at night.

Grace's Birthday Thank You's

We had birthday thank you cards made up from the below pictures to stay thanks to everyone who got Grace lovely gifts for her 2nd birthday. They turned out very cute mostly because....well, She is Just Soo Cute!

Dirty What?

I have been contemplating starting a segment called "Grace-isms" of the Day...since Grace is talking so much these days. Let me just start by saying that Grace repeats a lot of what we say...for the good and bad. Let me also add that Grace has just mastered the "s" sound but hasn't yet mastered "r" so, "Right,Mama?" Sound like, "Wight, Mama?"

That being said, yesterday I was changing Graces somewhat stinky diaper and I was just playing aroung with her and said, "Oh, Gracie, do you have dirty britches?" She replied, "Yes. I have dirty britches.(but remember she can't say her "r" sound yet...) My eyes got big as I realized what words were coming out of my sweet babies mouth...right before she jumped down and ran throug the house yelling, "Dirty Britches! Dirty Britches!(minus the "r" sound). Oh my.

Favorite Things Friday(Even tho it's Wednesday): Big Picture Bible

Even though I missed Friday by a few days, I would be remiss if I didn't mention one of my favorite childen's Bibles at some point. I had been wanting to get Isabelle a Bible that would be great for her to read. We have several Bibles for the kids already. One of my VERY favorite for Grace, and Isabelle at her age, is the Baby Story Bible (unfortuantely, I couldn't find it online!). They summarize bible stories in one short page. With five or six statements per story. After each statement, it's followed by an activity: "It rained for many days on Noah and the animals." followed by, "Wiggle your fingers like rain" Both girls really got into the stories and we read it nightly.

But today's post is about the Big Picture Bible. Isabelle got this book from my Uncle Mick and Beverly for Christmas last year it is amazing. Every time I read it, it brings the Truth and really...the Big Picture of the Word to life like nothing I've read before. It makes the parallel between Old Testement "kings" and God's "Forever King" we were waiting for in Jesus. The illustrations are great and it deals with difficult biblical subject with amazing clarity for small children and (what I love!) always brings the story back around to God's desire for us to be a blessing to the Nations. If you are looking for a Bible for your little ones...check ths one out!

Isabelle-ism of the Day

Conrad just started working with the toddler and preschool production at church called "Church Mouse Praise House" So now that he knows what they are talking about each week, he has begun asking Isabelle questions about the story. After reviewing the story about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being throwin in the fiery furnace for refusing to worship anyone but God, the following conversation ensued:

Daddy: So the king threw them into the hot hot fire. Did they burn up?
Isabelle: No!
Daddy: Well, then what happened?
Isabelle: ......
Daddy: Remember? They looked into the fire and they saw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and someone else?
Isabelle: Yes! A Fairy!
(Snicker snicker. We couldn't help but reflect on the joys of having girls..pink princessy..fairy girls!)
Daddy: No...an angel of God was in there with them!
Isabelle: Yes! An angel!

Halloween, In review

Halloween here in the midwest was fun and..err...COLD. Last year we traversed the neighborhood, this year, we made it up and down two streets before our little beggers were cold and tired. You can see from the pictures below that Isabelle was ecstatic about trick or treating and they were both excited that Oma could make it down to go Trick or Treating with them. Good times had by both the Lil' Cupcake and the Lil' Butterfly!

Magic Pumpkins Strike Again

Last year we started the "magic pumpkin" tradition. Isabelle flipped over it last year and this year didn't disappoint either. I bought two big ole' pumpkins and hit them till a convieniently sunny day the week before trick or treating. I took two cardamon seeds and let Isabelle "plant" them. She took a nap and got up to discover there were two full grown pumpkins waiting for her! WOW! Grace was excited too! I forgot to put the pumpkins out during nap time, but luckily remembered before she did...and I barely remembered to take the grocery store stickers off of them...ooops.

I figure we have another year...maybe two before Isabelle catches on and starts getting things like this. So we'll enjoy the magic while we can!