Orange Picking

Today we went to the "Spring Squeeze" at Heritage Park in LaVerne... I think I'm in love! It was the most quaint old orange farm tucked away in the green hills, and the perfect field trip on such a warm spring day.

The tour started off with a tractor ride through the shady orange grove. The smell of oranges was so powerful that you could even smell it over the tractor exhaust!


Of course, we were all in green for St. Patrick's Day! Here's the one and only picture of Sierra for the day:

After the ride, each kid got to pick out their own orange to squeeze.



After washing the orange, they were cut for the kids, then each kid squeezed his/her own orange and poured the juice in their cup.


I hear it was wonderfully sweet... (not that my girls wanted to share it with me!)

This was the cutest part... Next, they took the orange rind and planted a flower in it. Apparently, when the flower is planted in the ground, the rind will feed it, and it should last until fall. Can't wait to try it!

Last, but not least, we were set free to pick our own oranges. We even got to use a tall "picker." For some reason, Natalie was "done" by this point and whining to go home, so I pulled out a lollipop which quickly changed her mood. I'm always amazed by it.. she only takes a few licks, but it gives her an extra hour of contentment!

We spent the next 2 hours having a picnic and playing with friends at the park. If you live in the area, I highly recommend a visit. They have orange picking every Saturday from now until May, I believe. Check out their site here.

Glitter Glam

Last Saturday, the girls headed to Flipside church for their annual "glitter glam" party. 188 girls packed in to get their hair, nails, and make-up done. Allison and B were glitter princesses, while Natalie was a teeny wahine, and K a movie starlet. They also had crafts, dinner, and goody bags.... a little girls' dream!

We took advantage of this opportunity, and invited good friends to go out to dinner. We came back to watch our girls pose on stage. A double date with good friends... a mom and dads' dream!
The night was awesome, and the girls had a blast. They were quite tired when we picked them up, which allowed us a little sleep-in time the next morning! I think this may have to be an annual tradition!

Our first Easter Craft!

Since we pulled out all our spring/ Easter decor, it only seemed fitting to get started on some Easter crafts. This first one was quite simple. I cut out a bunch of paper eggs, and drew-on simple designs with a black pen. The girls used homemade watercolors, (water and food coloring!) to color them in.


Next, we took some twine and dipped it in glue. All bunched up, it made a lovely nest for our eggs!

Finally, the eggs were glued behind the nest. The bird was my first experiment using my new Cricut machine from Christmas. I think I am in love -- what a cool machine! Can't wait to play more!

Ketchup Water Bottles

Remember last summer when I made these squirt bottles for the girls? Well, I am sorry to report, they have died. Perhaps it was when they dumped sand in them... yes, I believe that was it! So, I found something new to use this year... old ketchup bottles! I can't wait to go to the craft store to find some more cute rub-ons for them! For now, I had to let the girls play with them plain... After all, it was another beautiful spring day! (They probably could care less what they look like, but I want an excuse to decorate them for my own fun!)

Spring is sprouting!

Today was a glorious day! Absolutely perfect outside. I LOVE spring! So, we decided to pull out the spring/ Easter decor.


I didn't even get a chance to bring the boxes from the garage to the house... the girls were too excited, and dove right in! Perhaps I'll start the decorating tonight... or, perhaps I'll veg in front of HGTV and do it tomorrow with the girls. Yes, that's what I'll do!

Chocolate and Coffee Whole Wheat Cookies

Ok, I cheated... I made cookies WITHOUT my girls, today! I am feeling a wee bit guilty. We started out making them together, but then we got distracted by lunch, and the next thing you know it was rest time! (And, let me tell ya... Mama needed a break!) So, I finished them myself. And, they actually didn't complain! It was just my maternal genes that made me feel guilty, I guess!Anyway, I decided to branch out and try something totally new. I found a recipe for "chocolate coffee whole wheat cookies." Interesting....
I learned not to judge a cookie by its title. They were SO yummy! I brought them to my MOPS leadership meeting tonight, and they were gone!

Alright... I will share the recipe! Even if I do have to type it by hand. :)

Chocolate and Coffee Whole Wheat Cookies
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup soft brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
scant 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp. bran
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups rolled oats
1 tbsp. strong coffee (I used Starbuck's decaf House Blend)
2/3 cup walnuts toasted and coarsely chopped

• preheat oven to 375. Grease 2 large cookie sheets. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and beat well.
  
• In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Then add the whole wheat flour and bran. Mix in the egg mixture. Then, stir in the chocolate chips, coffee, oats, and walnuts. Mix well.
• Put rounded tablespoons full on prepared cookie sheets. Bake 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack before serving.
  

Dr. Seuss Day

One week late...
...But worth the wait...
...it turned out GREAT!

The kids aren't quite back to their normal selves, but they're almost there and we didn't want to postpone our Dr. Seuss preschool day any longer... So...

We started the day by reading "The Cat in the Hat."

Naturally, we had to play the "Cat in the Hat" game, next...

Next came the rhyming bowl. What would a Dr. Seuss day be without rhymes? I adopted this idea from the Montessori rhyming basket. Each kid got to pick two items from the bowl, and then had to find which other items in the bowl rhymed with their items!

Continuing on with the rhyming theme, we headed into the kitchen for a rhyming matching worksheet.
Time for story number 2: "There's a Wocket in my Pocket."
Once Mrs. H read the story, the kids were instructed to color and cut-out their own wocket. It could be as silly as they could make it! Then, they sewed up their pockets, and stuck their wockets inside!
Snack time: Nilla wafer base, stawberry then whip cream layered. Supposedly a "Cat in the Hat" hat!

Next came story number 3: "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish!" Once we read that story, the kids practiced tracing the numbers 1 through 4.

Then they glued the appropriate number of fish next to the corresponding numbers.

Time for another game! How about the good ol' "Cat in the Hat" says!? (I'll let you guess what game that was adapted from!)

And, to end it we watched "Fox in Socks." Allison was happy to be holding the fox!

Until next year, Dr. Seuss!

Skewer fluke

Tonight I was all ready to try some orange beef skewers, but realized I was missing one key ingredient: oranges! So, I had to go to plan b -- make-up my own recipe. (I wasn't too disappointed, because the orange skewers called for hot sauce, which I knew my girls would not be fond of!)

I marinated the meat in some sesame oil, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ketchup, sesame seeds, garlic, and rice vinegar. I slightly overcooked them, but they were YUMMY! I love when "flukes" end up in my recipe file! I also added the picture of our garlic green beans. Did I ever tell you that we stir-fry almost all our vegetables with garlic, and they are AWESOME?!?!? Try it!

And now, totally off the subject, just to make you sad...

My Boots!

It's raining... again! But, it's ok because I have these:


I found them on clearance at the Gap outlet, and they were the only pair. Luckily they were my size. I'm in love. :)