Yes, it was one of those days... Daniel was home, lots of fun in store, and yet 3 tired girls made it a challenge! First, we went to the MOPS end of summer bash with a giant waterslide. There were smiles going down, followed by complaints of wet and mud. So, despite this girl's smiley face...
We went home early because of this face:
Next came our family fun evening. It was inspired by this post from Frugal Family Fun. Daniel went to Home Depot to get a dowel, which he sawed into 4 smaller dowels and some eye hooks to make these giant bubble wands:
Just look how excited the girls were!
Until, alas... they didn't work; not at all!! Oh, it was so disappointing! We tried shortening the strings, moving out of the wind, moving into the wind... nothing!
Finally, I decided to make homemade bubble mix rather than the store-bought kind we had tried. I didn't have any glycerin, which would have been the best from what I read! But, I did have these things:
And...
It worked!!!
Hooray! In the end, we talked to the girls about what experimenting is, and how it doesn't always turn out as we expect it to. And, they were very happy that it finally worked, and we ended the day with smiles! (And, I will be honest... I was happy to put the girls to bed!)
Today we experimented with water glasses filled to different levels, and a mallet. It was Allison's idea, actually. She got out her music book and mallet and asked me to fill the glasses. I have a cute orange plastic pitcher from the dollar section at Target, so I made her fill them herself, and then experiment with different amounts of water. It was a great way for her to have fun, while I vacuumed and cleaned for "Work on it Wednesday!"
This summer is just flying by... the girls have come to the end of their ballet and jazz class, and finished it off with their very first recital, yesterday! Oh, how I LOVED it! It was exactly as it should be. Little girls bumping into each other - mine smiling and waving instead of dancing - cute little bows at the end! I am such a proud mama!
Just look at Natalie with her hands on her hips as everybody else spins. Priceless!
I even let the girls wear a bit of make-up. I should have taken a picture right away before it sort of wore off. They looked so much older! I had a glimpse into the future... and I was scared!
Daniel video taped the whole thing, and we came home and had a blast watching it! What a precious day!
Above you can see us working on graduation cards for Papa on Sunday. Today was his graduation ceremony from Paramedic school. We are SO proud of him! (And, to be perfectly honest, I am selfishly glad he is done, as it was a huge time commitment!) But, he did an excellent job carving out time for his family, and not studying too much from home. 
I brought snacks and coloring books to keep the girls "entertained," and was so glad I did... we arrived an hour early, it started 20 minutes late, and ran very long! What troopers they were...
Even sweet Seesers kept a smile!
Way to go, Honey!
And now for the milestones... as I mentioned the other day, Sierra now crawls and pulls herself to a standing position. She also claps, and understands when you ask her to clap. She got her 3rd and almost her 4th tooth up top, and just seems overall a LOT older than she did just 2 weeks ago. She is seeming almost more like a toddler, though she is still very baby-like, as well. I could spend all day just kissing those cheeks!
If blood makes you a little squeamish, you might want to skip this post! Ok, consider yourself warned....
So, I was all ready for bed, and so excited to go to bed before 10pm, when I realized I needed to play Tooth Fairy, once again. I can't believe my daughter has lost her second tooth! She just wiggles them, and wiggles them, and wiggles some more until VOILA!
I think it's so cute that she's missing her bottom 2 teeth, and those are the only 2 that Sierra has! I tried to get a picture of it, but you can't really see Allison's hole. I thought it was a cute picture, anyway...
And, here you can see it! (And the cute middle sister who didn't want to feel left out!)
When Daniel is not home for dinner, (which is about half the month because of his job), it is SO tempting to skip our family dinner. However, I have heard over and over the importance of family dinners, most recently while reading, "Bringing Up Girls." So, one of my main priorities as a mom is to make healthy dinners, even when Daniel is not home, and to sit down together as a family. For us, that means the table is set nicely, the tv is off, and there is a variety of food groups and colors offered on their plates.
Of course, it is not easy... and I sometimes (eh-hem, often) fail! But, I do have two minor tips that may help you if you struggle with this like me.
This "tip" sort of came to me by accident. Last time we were going to make Greek chicken, I mixed up the spices only to discover that my husband had already done it. So, instead of throwing them away, I actually put them in a baggie labeled, "Greek Chicken," and the recipe book and page number for future reference. Today all I had to do was throw the chicken and potatoes in a dish with the seasonings already prepared and add olive oil and lemon juice and bake.
We also made a Greek Salad to go with it since we have so many tomatoes and basil in our yard!
Another healthy simple dinner is a veggie bisque, which is a favorite with the girls. First, I sautee some garlic and onion in olive oil. Next, I add as many veggies as I have available... usually frozen corn, peas, and squash, plus as many fresh ones as we can fine. This time it was some green beans, a carrot, and some spinach. In the past I've used asparagus, beets, broccoli, zucchini... you name it! That's what I love about this "recipe:" you can't go wrong!
Once the veggies are sauteed a bit, I add 2 cans of chicken broth, (which we always have on hand because we buy it by the case from Costco), 1/2 tsp. rosemary, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1 tsp. salt. Next, you mix it all in a blender, then pour it back in the pot and add about 1/2 cup milk and let it simmer a little longer. Then, you can add whatever deli meat you hav, or just eat it plain. I usually add chopped up turkey or ham. That's it!
Seriously, it is a favorite! Just look at their faces! (Of course, we always do bread with soup, which is a big hit as well!)
Even Sierra loved it!
You may remember this post, just last month as we finished with our peas, radishes and carrots, and replaced them with zucchini and green beans. (Our tomatoes just seem to be a steady stream!) My, what a month can do to some small seeds! My friend Karen planted just one zucchini plant, and doesn't know what to do with all her zucchini. We planted 3, and can already count dozens of flowers... Yikes! I hope the neighbors like zucchini! (Or, zucchini cakes and muffins!) If you have any awesome recipes, let me know. We often grill or stir-fry our zucchini with dill and garlic salt. Luckily, it's a favorite with our girls!
For her birthday, Allison got a cute little art stamp set from our dear neighbor and friend, C. There is a special book that goes with it, so that Allison could copy pictures directly from the book.
Naturally, since it looked like so much fun, Natalie wanted to use it, as well. Of course, Allison didn't want to share it because it was so special...
Luckily, I had paintbrushes that "matched" the kind Allison was using, as well as old sponges that resembled the sponge stamps Allison was using. Natalie was content. (Phew!) But, here's my question...
Do you force your kids to share their new special toys with their siblings? I decided it was ok for Allison not to share in this case, and luckily Natalie was happy with our compromise. But, I wonder... is it ok to not share sometimes? What do you think?
We tried a little experiment today... rootbeer floatsicles! We simply put rootbeer and ice cream in the girls' popsicle molds, froze, and waited! Before freezing them I had to keep scraping the foam off and adding more rootbeer, but that wasn't too hard. (This might be a good experiment with flat rootbeer!) I was a little worried, as my girls don't drink soda or even like carbonation, but they loved them!
Since I didn't get a rootbeer floatsicle, I had my rootbeer float with my dinner... After all, you have to have soda with homemade pizza! (Can you guess which quarter of the pizza was for me?)
