Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Caroline's Ballet Birthday Party!




 The first activity was a coloring page and a ballerina craft.


Next, we played freeze dance and a variation on musical chairs. As each girl went "out", she got to choose a tutu.

Next, Miss Audrey, a high school student from Caroline's ballet school, came to give a mini ballet lesson to all the tutu-ed ballerinas.


She even taught them a little "routine".
Here is a video of part of the lesson...video  video2
After all that dancing, it was time for tutu cupcakes and pink lemonade.

 Happy 6th Birthday sweet Caroline!

 There is no one in the world I would rather share a birthday with than you!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Valentine's Day!

A few of the things we did for Valentine's Day....
The kids decorated valentines and made heart-shaped krispie treats for their classmates and teachers...




We made "open me" hearts for cousins Kellan and Makenna, and Godsisters Sofia and Eva.
We baked and decorated heart sugar cookies for friends and neighbors...
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We had a "heart hunt" for red paper hearts. Each heart had a letter on it. After all the hearts were found, they had to work together to put the hearts in alphabetical order.
 We made "thumbody" loves you valentines with our thumbprints for Daddy, and grandparents.
 We decorated the house with colorful red paper hearts, and (of course) ate heart shaped food all day!
What a fun celebration of LOVE with and for the people we love!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Inside campfire

Caroline came up with this indoor game all on her own - a campfire made of lincoln logs, and roasting marshmallows (cotton balls) on skewers.  Love those creative juices!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Clayton's favorite short film

We randomly DVRed the latest Pixar short films and came across this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvCWPZfK8pI
It is Clayton's FAVORITE.  Can you guess why?

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Daddy-Daughter Dance

Caroline and Kevin just attended their first Daddy-Daughter dance. Caroline was SO excited! She tried on her new dress five times that week and told me "during quiet time, I quickly put it on and practiced dancing around."  They went to dinner with a handful of other daddies and daughters beforehand (for sushi too!) Kevin even gave her a corsage. She had a blast dancing with Kevin and her best friend, Sarah.  What a magical evening for both of them :)






Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Clayton turns 4-and-a-half!

We celebrated with cupcakes!


















At preschool, he made a "half birthday book" where they asked him questions. Here are his responses.
Favorite food = Apples, milk, and beef
Favorite color = Green
What you want to be when you grow up = an electric man (4-year-old-ease for electrical engineer)
What makes you happy = snuggling with Key Key (his monkey lovey)
What makes you sad = when I'm naughty and don't eat my dinner

I love you Clayton Matthew!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Dancing Raisins Experiment

We tried a science experiment and made "dancing raisins". 
You turn on your favorite music (for the effect), pour 7-up into a tall glass, then throw in a few raisins. Then watch them "dance". 
Here are more details and the science behind the experiment...


Puddle fun....

We have had an amazingly mild winter. On January 31st, it was 60 degrees! The kids got to go out in their rain boots and jump in all the puddles. They had a BLAST!



VIDEO of all the jumping!

Thursday, February 09, 2012

Superbowl!

We had a pretty low-key superbowl Sunday.  The kids did a few football worksheets. (They really liked this one - http://www.printactivities.com/Mazes/Math-Mazes/Football-CountingBy1s.shtml

We played "pin the football in the goalposts", a play on the classic pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game.
We ate football brownies. And, of course, we watched the football game - the most important part!


Saturday, February 04, 2012

French Toast Rollers

The Sneaky Chef tried this kid recipe with her children and they loved it.
I finally tried it on mine and they loved it too!
It's a fun twist on french toast - rolled up style!
Here is the recipe (with a few alterations)...

French Toast Rollers
3 large eggs
¼ cup milk
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla
6 slices bread

In a large shallow baking dish, whisk together the eggs, milk, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla.  Set aside. Using a rolling pin, roll out each slice of bread on a cutting board until flattened. If desired, spread 2 tbsp filling on each  flattened bread, keeping about ¼ inch away from edges. Roll up each slice of bread, pressing to seal the edges. Dip each log in the egg mixture until saturated on all sides, then cook in  a well greased skillet over moderate heat, turning to brown each side. Remove from heat and dust with powdered sugar.

Optional fillings –
- 1 tbsp peanut butter,
- 1 mashed banana, nutella,
- 1 tbsp cream cheese + 1 tbsp jam,
- granola (to make a crunchy rollup).

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Fancy Nancy Tea Party at the Library

Caroline had a "Fancy Nancy Tea Party" at the library. She got to wear her favorite dress up dress and bring her favorite doll.
Here she is with school friends Grace and Emma.

 They played games, had cookies and "tea", and made paper plate/bowl fancy hats.

Home improvements!

We don't do a lot of home improvements at our house. Not for lack of wanting to, but more due to lack of time,  lack of funds, lack of research, lack of spaces that aren't touched by little hands, etc.
I do, however,  have 2 new updates that I love! 
I finally have a desk! No longer do I have to sit in a dark, cold basement to go on the computer! I have a new desk in the living room. I LOVE it! Thank you Ballard Designs for having a secretary desk that doesn't look totally out of place in a living room!
 And the super cool feature of the desk...it closes up! Ta Da!

 I searched a local thrift/Antique shop and found a cool, antiquey (is that a word?) chair.
Two coats of cream paint, and voila! A matching desk chair!

The second update...I finally found time to sew Caroline some curtains for her room. The pink walls she has requested may have to wait until spring.