Up in San Mateo!

We're up in San Mateo, so I get to use grandma's camera... yay! Unfortunately, it's raining and will continue to do so until Friday! Good thing grandma's a good entertainer! Here they are doing some crafts...a painted jewelry box, and some glitter flowers! Stay tuned for some more crafts, games, Easter egg dying, baking, and hopefully trips to the park if the rain lets up!

Disney on Ice

We leave for San Mateo for 9 days, tomorrow! Today is suppose to be my day to do laundry, pack, and clean the house! At least, that was my plan until my friend called with 10 free tickets and free VIP parking to Playhouse Disney on Ice! What a blessing! We had an awesome time! THANK YOU, Rebecca!

Felt baby shoes

Can you tell I have baby on the brain? Tonight Allison came over and kissed my belly and said, "I love you, little grape," and sang him/her a lullaby! Too sweet!
Anyway, these felt shoes are from... who else? Martha, of course! She gives the pattern to make them yourself. Not sure if we'll have much time for this one... especially since Target sells all sorts of adorable shoes these days! But, I thought they were fun! You can check out the pattern here.

Craving...

With both Natalie and Allison, I didn't crave a whole lot of sweets my first trimester of pregnancy. (All that changed drastically by second trimester!) The same is true with this one. However, after our s'mores at preschool yesterday, I have been craving one ever since. So, tonight I turned on our stove, roasted my marshmallows, and I just finished my s'more. Let me tell you, it was incredible!

The Great Outdoors!

It is so hard to get motivated to blog without personal pictures.  All day long I was longing or my camera... but, I will blog anyway and I dedicate this blog to the 3 sisters who have so kindly commented and who are looking for home preschool ideas.

Today we went with the "Great Outdoors" theme.  We started off by learning to pitch a tent.  (I have a pretty simple tent, so it was easy for the little ones to help!)  We then read "Going on a Bear Hunt," inside the tent.  We then came out and made a fire... (Again, I have a gas pit, which made it pretty simple!)  We read some Easter stories, then went out front to search for eggs.  We then came back to our fire, and made s'mores.  

Next, we came inside and made mini-tents out of stick pretzels for poles, marshmallows for corners, and a fruit roll-up to drape on top. I had the idea one night when I couldn't sleep, and was happy they actually turned out pretty cute!  We also colored pictures of Diego the Animal Rescuer with some of his wild animals.  

Finally, it was off to the Bass Pro shop to see more wild animals, and drive the boats.  I think the kids would have gladly skipped lunch and naps to play there all day.  But, us Mama's needed to eat!  It's nice to live across the street!

Again, I wish I had pictures... 

Home and camera-less

We're back from San Diego... again!
So, where are the pictures of the beautiful flower fields we saw?
How about the girls on the gondola ride?
Or, my favorite... the video of Allison feeding the squirrels on the beach?

Well, I am very sad to report that our camera was stolen from our stroller at Sea World. It was first thing in the morning, so I was kind of hoping my pregnancy brain had set it down in the bathroom or something and somebody would turn it in by the end of the day. But, alas... no camera! What a bummer, huh? So, I'm not sure when I'll have fun pics on my blog again. It may be kind of boring for a while. Sorry!?!??!?

We love My Gym!

Today was our little neighbor's 3rd birthday party, and it was held at My Gym. Allison, too, celebrated her 3rd birthday at My Gym, and absolutely loved it! Unfortunately, she was quite tired and fussy tonight, but both her and Natalie still seemed to have a great time. The director of the center, Ashley, happens to be one of my former students. It's amazing to see what an awesome young lady she's turned out to be! Here's a little video of one of their fun games:

We're going zone!

I've heard it said that going from 2 kids to 3 is like switching from man-to-man defense to zone defense... We're going zone! Check out our newest widget for the approximate age/ date!

The rare sharing picture!

While the Yehground continues to be a hit with the girls, they are now at the age where they both usually want the same swing. So, I decided to put them both on at the same time, and it actually worked... they got along great and enjoyed pretending they were on a carousel. I love it when they have fun together!

Popovers

Last night we grilled some salmon and asparagus, and I couldn't decide what to make as a side dish. Then it occurred to me... One of my favorite things my mom used to make as a kid was popovers. I always thought they were such a special treat and such a big deal! Now as an adult, I realize they are actually quite simple:

POPOVERS
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Mix and bake in a greased muffin pan at 400 until golden brown on top.

Personally, I still really enjoyed them. And, now my girls love them, too!

Paint with Water

Today we went to Target, which inevitably means we came home with some things that were not on our list. The first was a book about the real reason we celebrate Easter... something we don't yet have, but I think is very important! Of course, that pulled us into the kids book section and I found some fun paint-with-water books. We haven't done that in a while, so I decided it was time. Anyway, do you remember the dots being so dark and obvious when we were little? Somehow, I have the memory of faint dots and trying to guess what color would come up?!? It could just be my memory... probably is! Anyway, it made for a fun, simple afternoon activity.

Facebook Conclusion

Ok, my friends... I have given in and joined Facebook! There are some fun things about it. For instance, I did get to reconnect with some friends from my elementary years. (How they found me, I still don't know!) But, it is a bit overwhelming. I think, at least for now, I will still be more of a blogger. Thanks so much for all your comments about FB!

Simple... Sweet... Fun!

Today was a glorious rainy day. It didn't start out so glorious... our kitchen was still a mess from the night before, and I attempted to make pancakes and kept reading the directions wrong! But, it sparked something in me to spend the whole day listening to worship music and cleaning! Now I get to go to bed early in a clean house. Aaaah....
Oh, so what is that picture on the right? Last weekend we went to Claremont's Spring Fair, and it was so awesome. It was in the Packing House, which is an old converted building full of character, which I just love. First, the girls got to paint a cup in front of the museum. Then, we went to the kids craft studio, where they made these lovely spring plates. You just decoupage some tissue paper to a plate, add foamies, then punch holes for some pipe cleaner and you're done! The girls loved it! The final stop was Young Chef's Academy, where they decorated a cookie on a stick, and got to wrap it to take home. All this for FREE! Oh, and we went after naptime, which meant we were practically the only ones there. And, we got to sit on the Easter bunny's lap! Sadly, I forgot my camera :(

Backyard Flowers

Happy Spring.... still!

Happy First Day of Spring!

Happy First Day of spring! I had my MOPS meeting this morning, where we made yummy calzones to take home and cook for dinner! That meant instead of having to rush back inside to make dinner this afternoon, I was able to relax and watch the girls paint away! The recipe is pretty simple and I believe I posted it before, but here it is again: equal parts water and corn starch, then add food coloring!
Anyway, these pictures are incomplete without the dialogue that went on:
Allison: "Look Mom, I'm making the tomb they put Jesus in! Here is the heavy rock to roll in front!"
Natalie: "Look, I making tomb, too!"
Mom: "Don't you just love painting outside?"
Allison: "Yes, and I love tombs!"

I also let the girls try some root beer with their special dinner. Natalie didn't even want to try it... Allison loved it! Personally, I am a bit of a root beer snob. Once I tasted Henry Weinhard's, it was all over for me. No other root beer will do!
I don't know what was better... the delicous aroma of a cooking calzone, the yummy first bite, or the fact that I didn't have to spend my afternoon cooking!

Some Friday Humor (or Cruelty!)

Disney Day

We spent a fun half-day at Disneyland, today. The best part? The new Toy Story ride at California Adventure. I didn't know anything about it, so I won't ruin your surprise... but it's a blast!

St. Patrick's Day Preschool

Happy St. Patrick's Day, friends! I hope you didn't get pinched! My friend K did a super job leading our preschool, today. We started the morning outside with a shamrock hunt, and a game of leprauchan tag.
We read a St. Patrick's Day book, and learned the real reason we celebrate... the shamrock represents the trinity!
We painted little pots 3 different shades of green, where we later planted some shamrock seeds... can't wait to watch those grow! We also used bell peppers to stamp a shamrock on paper!

We counted gold coins, and searched for them when the leprauchan hid them!

We learned about patterns, and glued in the correct order.

And, of course, we ate a green lunch with both green jello and green shamrock cookies for dessert!
Most of all, we had lots of fun! Thanks, K!

St. Paddy's Day Art

I have lots to write about, but we've been busy... and tired! So, here's just a quick peak at our St. Patrick's Day art... we just used our leftover Valentine's heart stamp to make a shamrock! I'm sure we'll be doing lots more green crafts tomorrow at preschool... I'll let you know!

To Facebook or not to Facebook....

... That is the question! I have had so many people try to get me to do Facebook. In fact, I think I even signed-up a few years ago, but I have never done it! So, my question to you is... will joining facebook consume all my "free time," which I don't really possess right now, anyway?!?!? And, if so is it worth it? Facebook users, please comment. :)