Paper Towel "Painting"

Simple. Easy. Fun.

The "paintings" were nice, but...

... I was most impressed by how well Natalie wrote her name! (We didn't even know she knew how to spell her last name!)

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

I am loving having zucchini in the garden, and I think this may be a garden staple I plant every year. It's so versatile: great as a side dish stir-fried or grilled, great in casseroles or hidden in spaghetti like last night, and used in baking, which of course, the kids prefer!!

We've spent the last 3 days at home with no plans, and it's been awesome! Lots of crafts, cooking, and baking! (I really want to take advantage of the next 2 weeks before official homeschooling begins!) Today was chocolate chip zucchini muffins.


My friend, Karen, gave me the brilliant idea to measure-out and freeze the extra zucchini for future baking. And, we will definitely be making these again. There's something about cinnamon and chocolate I can't resist!


The girls loved them, as well. "You can't even taste the zucchini," Allison noted. And, it's a good thing because that was the only vegetable they had all day. As I was stir-frying some garlic and romaine for dinner, the salt top came off and this is what happened...

Oops.
Anyway, here is the muffin recipe. (It may put you in "fall mode," as it has me!)

Chocolate chip zucchini muffins
Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 egg, lightly beaten
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 1/4 cup milk
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 cup shredded zucchini
* 1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
* 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Combine the egg, oil, milk, lemon juice and vanilla; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in zucchini, chocolate chips and walnuts. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done.

Work on it Wednesday

Here we are today. We decided to mop the garage floor for "Work on it Wednesday." We don't even mop our kitchen floor very often; what was I thinking? I'm not sure what motivated us, but it was actually a fun job for the girls. They got to wear their swimsuits, and play "Cinderella." Perhaps we'll try this on our kitchen floor next week!

Brad People

Today's craft was inspired by some robots I found on Crafty Crow. For our version, we decided to do brad people.

The girls had fun drawing the faces, poking the brads, decorating the dresses with stickers...

... and even curling their hair!

They each did a boy person, as well.

Here are the results:

And, here they are proudly displayed in the art museum:

Colorful Geckos

For today's craft, I drew a simple gecko out of pencil, and had the girls trace it with a black sharpie. (Natalie needed a little help with this!) I drew a few designs, but encouraged them to draw more...

Next, we made our corn syrup glitter paints. I know I've blogged about them many times before, but I so love these because of their vibrant color!


Allison decided to dip her paints in water, as well... that girl is going to be a scientist, I tell ya! ALWAYS experimenting....


And, here's Natalie's. They were quite proud! (And, so was I!)

Reason #4,897,623 Why I love my husband...

...While I was at a baby shower yesterday, Daniel had several hours to entertain the girls. I came home to find these cute pictures of them having a tea party for lunch; with real milk tea! (I only let the girls use water!) They had croissants, salad, cantaloupe, and p,b, and honey sandwiches. Too cute!
...The other morning, I was exhausted! I tried to let my husband sleep-in, but he soon came out, and I went back to bed. I woke up to a quiet house; even the dog was gone, and dinner simmering in the crockpot. It was oxtail soup; SO yummy! Later, he and Allison turned it into a science lesson, complete with looking up pictures in textbooks, and recreating the oxtail!

...He's never too busy to play with his girls. Seriously! He took a HUGE exam today and has been studying the last few days, but whenever they came to play with him, he was ready! (And, he even took more pictures!)

...Some mornings he walks in the house with a brown box. I LOVE brown boxes! (Pink and white are good, too!) This week it was my absolute favorite; a sea-salt coffee from 85 degrees, and a box of sweet breads. Sometimes it's JJ Sweet, sometimes it's boba, sometimes it's flowers, and most times it's just his sweet smile, despite a tiring night and long drive home... I'm telling you, I am SPOILED! And, I love my husband!

Who Am I?

Summer Evenings

Most summer evenings when Daniel is working, we spend a few hours out front playing in the Yehground, riding bikes, doing sidewalk chalk, making-up games, etc. I've especially enjoyed them this summer, as we've had cooler-than-normal temperatures, and the addition of our outdoor-loving baby, Sierra! It doesn't mater how tired she is, if we go outside Sierra is happy... (at least for a little while!)

I'll be ready for Fall when it comes! But for now, I'm enjoying our summer nights!

More Firsts...

We had our share of "firsts," yesterday... First, the big girls went to see their very first movie in a movie theater. We have been waiting all summer to do this! The movie was, "Kit Kittredge, American Girl," rated "G." (I love that this theater does free movies on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings in the summer!) Unfortunately, I had to stay home with Sierra, but Daniel did a super job taking pictures for me to blog... 24 to be exact! He even captured the outside of the theater! What a guy!

The girls absolutely can't wait to see "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." We are almost ready to start book 6 of the Narnia series!

I made sure they brought sweatshirts as I always am cold in theaters, and coloring to do before-hand. Apparently, it wasn't too crowded, so getting there 25 minutes early wasn't all that necessary!

The girls, and even Daniel loved the movie. I read the online review at Plugged-In from Focus on The Family first, and they had all positive things to say, as well. Natalie still had a little trouble sitting still, but we expected that. I think we found our next series of books to read!

We also had our first zucchini and green bean harvest. Once again, my husband took some great pictures!

Finally, Allison endorsed her first check, (a birthday present from Uncle Nate!) I'm just realizing that Daniel took these pictures, too. (He is really a blogger at heart, ya know!)

Meet MAC

Do you ever just get so tired of whining you can't handle it anymore? Lately we've had some less-than-appropriate attitudes going on, and I begged God to give me a creative idea to help with it! I then listened to Dobson's "Raising Well-behaved Children 1"... and 2... and 3, 4, and 5! I also pulled out my copy of Lisa Welchel's "Creative Correction." (Can you tell I was at my whit's end?) Poor girls are truly just tired from being woken up by the poor teething baby, which has mom needing a little attitude adjustment, as well!

Anyway, what I came-up with was this: our new "friend" Mac! He's an acronym for My Attitude Can. And, I made him a craft project for the girls...

First, I had the girls show me what half looks like, and had them paint 10 craft sticks light blue on one side, and black on the other...

After painting, we made the can. Allison chose the paper, and Natalie chose the ribbon, and both learned a lesson on measuring.

Once the girls went to bed, I tied ribbons around the sticks, just to make them cuter. The next morning, (today), I introduced the girls to MAC. Each time the girls did something positive, I stuck a blue stick in the can. Conversely, each time they did something negative, I stuck a black stick in the can. Once all 10 of the sticks were in, I just flipped them from black to blue or blue to black as needed. By the end of today, (with a little grace), they had all blue sticks, so they got to put a special sticker on their calendar. If they have 20 stickers by the end of the month, they get to choose a Hello Kitty purse from a collection my friend just gave me.

There were SO many positives to today. Allison gave Natalie her favorite Kitty to sleep with tonight when Natalie was sad, even though originally she was crying for it, too... (this was after the sticks had been put to bed, so it was from the heart!)

Some negative... the girls did ask a few times if I would put a blue stick in. I don't want them to ask! We'll work on it...

And, some funny: Tonight Natalie came up to me and said, "Mom, thank you SO much for dinner. You worked so hard, and it was so yummy." "Thanks, Natalie," I replied. "Did you really mean that, or are you just looking for a blue stick?" Natalie, with a big smile and some giggles, "I just want a blue stick!" At least she's honest :)

Teriyaki Chicken

One of my easy-peasy favorite meals I got from Family Fun Magazine a few years ago. It is a teriyaki chicken, and it is SO yummy! Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

MARINADE

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic

2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

2 teaspoons dark sesame oil

TERIYAKI CHICKEN

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 4 ounces each)

Sesame seeds, toasted in a skillet

Cooked rice

Scallion tops, cut into 2-inch-long strips (optional)
1. Place the chicken thighs in a gallon-size zip-lock bag and add the marinade ingredients. Press the air out of the bag and seal it. Turn the bag to thoroughly coat the chicken, then place it in a bowl and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight), turning the bag occasionally. Remove the meat from the refrigerator 20 minutes before grilling.

2. Prepare a charcoal fire or set a gas grill to medium-high, close the lid, and heat until hot -- about 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Remove the chicken from the bag and discard the marinade. Grill the thighs until they are no longer pink inside, about 5 minutes per side on a gas grill.

4. Transfer the thighs to a cutting board and let them rest for about 5 minutes, then slice each piece at a diagonal. Sprinkle on the toasted sesame seeds. Serve over rice, garnished, if you like, with scallion strips. Serves 6 to 8.

9 Months Old!

I crawl... I pull to a stand every chance I get... I hardly nap during the day, (much to mom's disapproval)... I have 4 teeth... I know how to clap, and do so on command... I know how to give 5... I like to go "bang, bang," on the drums, (and everything else)... I am super sweet and melt my daddy's heart... I cry when my daddy leaves the room... my sisters can always make me smile... I have sweet curls in the back of my head... I love to play with door stoppers... I now get into everything, including the craft supplies... I am trying to grow-up too fast... I am 9-month-old Sierra!

Sweet Auntie

I love coffee and I love trying new things... So, when Auntie brought us some coffee jello, I was quite excited. I could hardly wait for the girls to go down so I could try it... (isn't that when all mommies eat dessert?) It was interesting. I couldn't tell if I liked it or not at first, but finally decided no. :(

On the other hand, Auntie has also been on a bead-making kick, and we've been the blessed recipients! These are the third type of different roles she's brought us in a week. They were all incredible! I asked for the recipes, but I guess they're all in Chinese. So, for now, I just get to enjoy the benefit of all her hard work! Thank you, Auntie!