What was that movie the Val Kilmer, the one where Elizabeth Shue figured out cold fusion on some post it notes? Oh yes, The Saint. Remember how he had many disguises? Well I’d like submit my nomination for my little guy as his apprentice. Some scenes from the week:
Lest I give the impression I eat only kale and quinoa, this is what I had for dinner last night. Times 2.5. Well, 2.5 pieces of pizza. I only had one glass of wine – it was a school night after all. And, yes, I dine with batman next to my plate. Jealous?
mmmm, grimaldis….
Such a telling snapshot of my life right now – young adult fiction, a book on being a better parent and a very funny autobiography
Obligatory Texas Bluebonnet Photo
Bagger Vance
Yipeee!!! Trader Joes IS coming to San Antonio!! Anyone know where in town yet? And Austin bloggers (like Lindsay and Kelly), maybe this will bring you to SA for a visit!
Word.
Cowboy Days at schools – thankfully they were on different days, as we only have one bandana and one hat. Clearly we are not very active cowboys.
I spend 10 minutes taking pictures of food and turn around to see this:
Not sure why taking off the couch cushions is so entertaining, but he does it almost daily. Reason #324 I’m glad we don’t have fancy furniture.
Reading a (very good) book about fermentation while drinking a home-fermented beverage. I think I’ll read a book about wine tonight and drink, well, wine. Or maybe I’ll skip the book….
That’s my Rainbow Smoothie post in the bottom left corner. Squeal!
Best.President’s.Day.Ever. (for this 6 year old)
‘Snowman’
Dalmatian Ears
Dandelions
The girl’s 100th day of school project. When is the last time YOU counted out 100 pieces of popcorn and then painstakingly glued them onto hot-pink poster board?
Why yes, he is carrying two sticks on our walk. In case he ‘needs to fight pirates, Goliath or maybe some ninja bad guys.’ We live in a pretty rough neighborhood, obviously. I hope your neighborhood is free of bad ninjas.
Sure hope a ninja or pirate doesn’t walk by and pop her balloon.
The little guy and I headed to the park one day for lunch (while the girl was in school), we shared a lunch of chickpeas, grapes, ranch crackers and a spinach, hummus and roasted pepper pita. I read Fed Up With Lunch, a book about the many issues with the school lunch program,
while the little guy jumped. Boing!
What do I love more about Jason’s Deli?
The salad bar?
Or the free soft serve afterwards? Don’t make me choose.
Things I love about this picture:
My thought blossoms jewelry brackelet that was a very thoughtful gift from my mother in law.
Drinking green jasmine tea in my Disney World mug. Can you tell my daughter picked it out – hint – it’s pink.
Reading a page-turner mystery.
All good things.
These Discovery Toys bugs that I bought years ago at a garage sale have proven to be the toy of the week. We sort them, make patterns, create bug party scenes, try to guess which one you’re holding with your eyes closed and, my favorite game, have my daughter guess which one I’m holding while I give clues like “there is a T in the middle of the name.” Go bugs.
Happy Friday Everyone!
I haven’t done too much interesting cooking in the last few days, so no food photos to share today. I’ve been pretty occupied being a mama to two kids who are coming down off the sugar and present high of Christmas. Some of the shenanigans from the week:
Children’s Musuem
‘Weaving’
Like last week’s gingerbread house photo, this is another good display of their personality differences.
colors everywhere!
diligently working on a pat-er-run
Playing with the American Girl-like doll. ‘Alana’ has come everywhere with us this week.
Sorting through Disney pictures and this one is just too cute not to share:
Back to food and normal posting soon!!
This is my daughter’s rendition of our Elf (of Elf on the Shelf fame) leaving our house each night to report back to Santa. I love that our house looks like a haunted castle. What? You don’t have turrets on your home?
We finally assembled a gingerbread this house. I tried to be all ‘real’ and bake it using real gingerbread. Next year I’m going the easier route and using graham crackers. Real is over-rated.
Each child did one side of the roof. I love how it shows their personality.
My girl likes symmetry, order, patterns and a set design:
My boy? He likes action, excess and lots of flair:
The lights in our haunted castle neighborhood:
JK – it’s Disney World.
I’m signing off for a few days. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! I wish you laughter, smiles, good food and time with those you love. And maybe some Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bars…..
We are just getting back
from
(that would be Cinderella’s castle at Walt Disney World)
(and yes, everyone is in ponchos. Disney magic happens, even in the pouring rain)
The trip was equal parts wonderful and exhausting. However, please don’t utter the word ‘magic,’ ‘dreams’ or ‘believe’ in my presence today or make me stand in another line or I just might snap.
Be back soon with recaps!
And by Big D, I don’t mean Dallas or Divorce. I mean Disney. That magical place where you believe in your dreams and celebrate and make memories and follow your heart and be true to yourself and let the magic happen and all the other Disney-speak phrases that you hear over and over. To infinity and beyond!!
ps – in that picture of my girl at the airport, we are mixing all kinds of Disney metaphors. She is in a Tinkerbell tracksuit, carrying a Minnie Mouse toy set and wearing a Buzz Litghtyear backpack. Clearly I’m not the mom who keeps her kids away from commercial characters….
I love many things about December and the whole Christmas season. Today, I thought I’d share some of my favorite foods that are only available during the holiday season.
1. Joy Tea (Tazo Brand) from Starbucks. It is a blend of black, oolong and green tea and I love it! I literally squealed (quietly, of course) when I saw it gracing the Starbucks shelf in November. I’m not the biggest fan of Tazo teas, but this one, my friends, is fantastic. Plus, there is something special about drinking a cup that is labeled ‘Joy.’
That’s a real smile on my face. :) And real crows-feet wrinkles too. :(
Now onto the rest of the goods that all have something in common….
2. So Delicious Mint Chocolate Coconut Milk. Great in green smoothies, great by itself. My kids like it warmed up a-la hot cocoa.
3. Chocolate Peppermint Stick Luna Bar. Luna Bars have soy, which I tend to avoid. Still, if you are going to have some soy, have it in a Chocolate Peppermint Bar! I let myself have one or two a week during this month.
4. Starbucks Peppermint Mochas. I’m not a coffee fan, but, put some mint and chocolate in it and I can actually finish a whole cup. I get mine with whole cow milk (because I don’t like the flavor of the vanilla soy milk they use) and half the regular amount of both chocolate and peppermint. It makes it just sweet enough and just-un coffee enough that I really enjoy the drink. If you use your registered Starbucks card, the peppermint shot is free, making the drink the cost of a regular mocha. Plus, you can bring your own up and get another $0.10 off. (Can you tell I’m cheap?)
Love my sister!! Picture from Black Friday.
5. My favorite thing on the list: Ghiradelli Peppermint Bark with Dark Chocolate. This is the way to my heart. Seriously. In the spirit of the season, I gift myself with a square a day.
As a gift to anyone who is still reading…
I’m going to give away a few of these things to one of you! Leave a comment for a chance to win
I wish I could send all of you something, but I still haven’t gotten a paycheck from my kids. I’ll draw a winner on Wednesday, 12/14.
This post isn’t sponsored by anyone. These are all products I bought on my own and happen to love.
So, my little guy can be entertained for at least 10 minutes (which is forever in 3-year old time) if I give him a sheet of stickers to peel off and place on paper. Lately he has been using these hole-punch reinforcement stickers. On Wednesday the kids decided that putting them on their eyes turned them into zombies and voila! a new game was born.
We saw Santa at Bass Pro Shop. Which led to the funniest moment of the week:
The camping area of Bass Pro had a big camping display. There was a whole camping scene set up: tent complete with kid-sized mannequins, fake greenery, wood chips on the ground, taxidermied animals placed around the scene and the like. My little girl asked why the animals looked so real and I tried to explain the basics of taxidermy. Which went something like this: ’well, they were real, but someone killed them. And then they took out the blood and organs and stuffed them with something else and now they are just decorations.’ (I have a way with words, no?). My little guy took in the explanation, turned to me with huge eyes and a horrified expression and asked “were those people real once too?”
Buddy boy got a new shirt, simply because I wanted my child in a shirt with a Delorean.
Trip to the libraries are good for the soul.
I'm Michelle, a stay at home mama to two very active kids and wife to one very patient man. I'm a vegetarian raising mostly vegetarian kids. In my pre-housewife days I was a corporate food scientist and I still love to create food. Glad you stopped by!
Talk To Me