Craft Party!!

My friend Kate had an awesome craft party on Saturday and Amy had the foresight to bring a camera so she could blog about it.  So, check it out here!

They were so good we had Pretzels for Dinner. Uh huh.

 I've been wanting to make soft pretzels for a long time.  I was waiting for a good chunk of time (and to remember to buy yeast at the grocery store since it's the one ingredient I never have on hand-I'm not a big baker, obviously).  So, this snow storm was the perfect time! 

Last year during one of the blizzards we made doughnuts so we're carrying on the tradition of "let's make things we love but usually buy and never make."  So, since I'm currently in love with the Pioneer Woman's recipes I decided to try her recipe.  A decent amount of work but the results were phenomenal, spectacular, ahhhhmazingly scrumptious.  Mmmmm.  We'll be making these again for sure.  Possibly even before it snows again :-)

1.The first steps are to combine the first few ingredients and then let the mound of dough rise for 30 minutes.  We let it go about twice that then dumped it out on a floured counter.

 2.Next, we used a pizza cutter to slice off chunks of dough and tried various methods to make them into ropes we could then shape into pretzels.

the "roll between your hands" method

the "put some muscle into rolling it" method

 

 

 

 

 3. Eventually you end up with a bunch of sort of pretzel shaped things :-)  The next step is one of those things that seems like it'd be a "secret" step that changes everything.  You boil some baking soda in water and then dip the raw pretzels into the water.  Weird but apparently important (I think it makes them crispy on the outside not just soft and doughy).

4. Now, let the bored child rest since she can't participate in the hot on the stove step and is cranky because you won't let her eat spoonfuls of cinnamon sugar you got out for a topping when the pretzels are done. Oy.

5. Bake them for 8-10 minutes and voila!!!  Now just dip 'em in melted butter and add your favorite toppings! (this involved kid-friendly jobs like sprinkling and was getting very close to eating so the child-helper was miraculously revived!)

We made some with butter and salt...

 Pepperoni...

 and Cinnamon-Sugar...

SO good! We asked Ella if they were like Auntie Anne's and she said "Yes.  Just hotter!" Seriously, seriously tasty.

Home. A. LOT. I mean, Snow Day!!!

Snow has finally come!  I am a snow lover as everyone knows but I must say it was hard to get excited about this storm because I've gotten my hopes up so often this year and then been sorely disappointed with an inch here and there and a day off of school for ice.  Boo.  So, I am enjoying the snow but the usual anticipation wasn't enjoyable because I was too worried the meteorologists were screwing with me again.

We've been filling our time with playing outside, cooking a ton (I've made shredded pork with homemade BBQ sauce, a new guacamole recipe, pink banana pancakes, and homemade soft pretzels which I'll blog about next-they were ahhhhhmaaaaaazing), doing games and puzzles, reading, and watching some TV.  It's been 2 full days of this though and there have been a lot of fun moments but I am also very aware that I need my space-physical space, space in the form of quiet to think, space to be, think, talk...and my particular 5 year old doesn't like space.  Any space.  So, it's been a good couple days but my nerves are getting a little raw at this point.  I think I'm starting to twitch a little bit...nothing I won't recover from :-) Good thing she's awfully cute and pretty hilarious :-)

Sadie update 5 1/2 months

It's been invaluable to look back and see what Ella was doing at different stages so I want to make sure I document the goings on with Sadie...

Sleeping and Eating
*We're trying to get into a nap schedule but are having a difficult time either having her at home in the window where she's ready to sleep or when we do, she's only been napping for about 45 minutes at a time.  I'm hoping she'll naturally lengthen these times and start napping longer around 10am, 2pm, and a cat nap around dinner time instead of 3-4 45 min naps.
*She's had a rough week with my stomach flu messing up her eating schedule (my milk production dropped bc I was sick so she was wanting to eat more often and during the night for a couple days and it got her into a bad pattern of waking up during the night).  The goal now is to get back to where we were-sleeping from 7pm-7am with a dream feed around 10 or 11pm.  Then we'll try to drop the late night feeding. Before this week she was eating every 3-4 hrs and we're shooting for every 4 hrs now-around 8, 12, 4, 8

Development
*She rolling over really well from her front to back but not at all from back to front yet
*She's "talking" a lot!  She's started saying "da da da" this week-her first real consonant sound!

I stole the chart below from a website and the blue things are the things Sadie is doing and oranges are no-gos :-)

1 month	Lifts head when lying on tummy Responds to sound Stares at faces	Follows objects briefly with eyes Vocalizes: oohs and aahs Can see black-and-white patterns	Smiles, laughs Holds head at 45-degree angle
2 months	Vocalizes: gurgles and coos Follows objects across field of vision Notices his hands Holds head up for short periods	Smiles, laughs Holds head at 45-degree angle Makes smoother movements	Holds head steady Can bear weight on legs Lifts head and shoulders when lying on tummy (mini-pushup)
3 months	Recognizes your face and scent Holds head steady Visually tracks moving objects	Squeals, gurgles, coos Blows bubbles Recognizes your voice Does mini-pushup	Rolls over, from tummy to back Turns toward loud sounds Can bring hands together, bats at toys
4 months	Smiles, laughs Can bear weight on legs Coos when you talk to him	Can grasp a toy Rolls over, from tummy to back	Imitates sounds: "baba," "dada" Cuts first tooth May be ready for solid foods
5 months	Distinguishes between bold colors Plays with his hands and feet	Recognizes own name Turns toward new sounds Rolls over in both directions	Sits momentarily without support Mouths objects Separation anxiety may begin

Like/Dislikes

At least on this day, Tuesday January 25th, I can say these are true.  Tomorrow some of these may change but thought it was worth noting what my kids are into these days :-)

Sadie likes...
1.Laying on her back and kicking around
2.Her pacifier
3.Having a soft blanket to hold/cuddle
4.Her swing
5.Sucking on her fingers (or anyones)
6.Having shirts pulled over her head. 
7.When I sing the Choo-Choo Soul version of the ABCs
8.Being upside down

Sadie does not like...
1.Burping (and other less lady-like bodily functions)
2.Toys that squeak
3. When Ella is "too" loving and nearly smothers her (this happens MANY times a day)


Ella likes...
1. Baths
2. Olives.  Copious amounts of olives. Black, Green, Kalamata.
3. Staying at preschool for lunch once a week "like a big kid"
4. "Soft pants" (leggings, yoga pants) she wears them EVERY. DAY.
5. Pink and Blue
6. Sadie
7. Art projects of any kind.  Especially really tedious ones (like putting together mosaics with 200 stickers the size of peas)

Ella does not like...
1. Baths.  What can I say, she's fickle.
2. Shopping
3. "Cracky pants" (jeans, khakis), dresses, skirts
4. Cleaning up
5. Being by herself. Ever. ("it's boooooring")

Hide it in your Heart

We tried something new last night...I remember from my former life as a campus minister as a fun way to memorize scripture.  Basically, you write a verse on a white board and say it through a few times and then start to erase one or two words at a time, saying the whole verse after each time you erase. You keep doing this until you have nothing on the white board and you've memorized the verse!  I thought this might be fun for Ella so I made some modifications and we tried it out last night.  Here's what we did...

1. Picked a verse that was pretty simple and had a relevant moral for Ella and also for Chris and me (Ephesians 4:29- "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths but only what is helpful...that it may benefit those who listen")

2.Wrote out the words on the white board.

3. Underlined each word. This is helpful because when you erase you still see the blank and know where you are in the verse and you can't miss a word that way.

4.Talked through each word/phrase with Ella to make sure we knew what they meant.  This was the most important teaching time of the whole exercise but she saw it as the precursor to getting to "play the game" so was excited to talk it through.  Much better than a lecture on how you should use kind words.

5.We picked certain notable words to draw a little picture next to as extra reminders. 

For example, in this verse we drew a tongue sticking out next to "unwholesome" to remind us it meant "yucky" (not sure that's how the Apostle Paul would have defined it but it worked well to explain it to Ella).  Chris drew a man crawling out of a hole for the phrase "out of" and we did a few others like an ear for "listen."

 6.We started the game! We read/said the verse outloud together and then started erasing words (but left the pictures).  In literally 10 minutes, Ella knew the verse!  And we reviewed it this morning and she said it almost perfectly when I told her the first word!  Love it!

Christmas 2010

We had one of the best Christmases ever!  Lots of fun, lots of family, lots of food, lots of sweet moments with our girls.  We spent Christmas Eve day and overnight at my Aunt and Uncle's house across the Bay Bridge with my family.  Then we drove to Chris' parents house Christmas morning (in the snow!  It was beautiful!) No drama, no last minute gifts forgotten, no food poisoning (can you tell these things have happened on other Christmases?) just a great celebration of Jesus' birthday!

Ella actually snapped this picture of me and Sadie on Christmas Eve

When making a Gingerbread house my Grandmother was as bad as Ella in sneaking candy that was supposed to go on the house!

That's a good present-reaction face :-)

Aunt Marissa and Ella relaxing post-present opening with one of Ella's new books

The beautiful tree at Nana and Grandpa's house

Not a picture of anyone in particular but a glimpse at the chaos that is 16 adults and 6 kids in one room.

Sadie was clueless about what was going on but cute nonetheless

Chris and his brothers are known for their acrobatic endeavors (like copying cirque du soleil videos) and apparently the next generation is on the bandwagon.  Christopher my nephew has some mad handstand skills that he showed off on Christmas so Ella had to get in some practice too!

A good pic of the rarely pictured dog, Raleigh :-)

I don't even know who took this but it was on my camera and made me smile :-) It was a wonderful Christmas!

Sweetest Gifts

So, this year we started what I hope will become a new tradition.  We've talked a bit about how Christmas is about giving: God giving us Jesus and to emulate that, us giving each other presents.  As a parent I think you always hope your kid understands deeper lessons like "We should give generously because God did" but worry they only hear "I have to smile through other people opening stuff until I get my hands on the presents for me."  So, one afternoon the week before Christmas my lovely Sister-in-law Stacy offered to take Ella and her cousins shopping for presents for their families.  This was wonderful on many levels:

1.An opportunity to live out giving to others! Plus, I have very fond memories of getting to shop "by myself" at a little kids' Christmas store they used to have at the Mall where the parents couldn't come in and I could actually buy them presents they'd be surprised about on Christmas Day.  It was REALLLY fun to get to see Ella have the same joy I remember.

2. They shopped at Five below which is awesome because she got 4 presents for $15.  Wish I could say that for myself.

3. Having your child whisked away for an entire afternoon a few days before Christmas provides invaluable time to get things done.  Score!!

Also, Stacy did an awesome job of having the kids make a list before they went to the store.  That way they could:

1. Pick the people they wanted to buy for ahead of time to avoid impulse buys for random people (Ella had already suggested buying a gift for one kid in her class at school (cause that wouldn't cause a riot among the other 16 four-year olds!) and one for her "new best friend from church" whose name she didn't know).

2. Think about what those people actually would like (not what the KID would like).

As far as I know, it went off without a hitch and Stacy even closed her eyes at one point to let them pick out a gift for her (white, sparkly sunglasses, of course!).  Stacy helped the kids secretly wrap everything before the family members saw anything and the joy and surprise on Christmas was both heart-warming and fun.  Ella couldn't wait to hand out her gifts. With a genuine smile she couldn't wipe off her face she remarked that "giving really is better than getting!!"  And that, my friends, is success. Praise the Lord for a little girl getting to live out a principal that she now really believes because she lived it!

Helping Sadie open her present (she couldn't wait any longer so we let her give this one on Christmas Eve morning!)

Sadie's new dog!

And Chris' present was....stick on mustaches "because Daddy is so silly!" HILARIOUS present!

I got gloves with a fold-back fingerless option "for when I need to do things for Sadie."  So SWEET and thoughtful.  I love this little girl!

Sadie is 5 months old!!

 I can't believe Sadie is 5 months old.  I still feel like it's going way too fast.  She has her fussy moments but for the most part she's a smiley, content, sweet baby.  She's been sick a lot over the last few months (various colds and one that turned into bronchiolitis) and is still fighting a cough but has been happy through all of it!  She's still getting one late night dream feed (11pm) and we're hoping to drop that feeding soon and she'll be a 11-12 hrs a night sleeper!  She's trying to sit up by herself and is becoming pretty good at rolling from front to back.  She's been fighting naps a bit which probably mirrors my ambivalence about getting into a set nap schedule (it's hard to think of staying home for longer morning and afternoon naps every day).  Anyway, here are some pics!  We are SO in love with Sadie our "baby lady." (you'll notice Ella wanted to get in on the photo shoot too!)

This is a dreadful expression on Sadie's face but it captures the comparison to Noah the monkey so well-Sadie's getting SO big, SO fast!