Dancing (With Myself)

Sometimes I need to bust a move. Usually when I'm cleaning. But sometimes in public.

Pi(e) Day!

This day almost passed by without me remembering to make pie! We went a little untraditional this year and made Tortilla Pie and Apple Crunch Pie Apple Cups. The Apple Cups were too much work for a mediocre result but the Tortilla Pie was fantastic, definitely making it again! Like the lasagna, it had veggies in it so I didn't have to make anything extra to go with it. It was easy for Paige to help too! She sprinkled the cheese on and stacked the tortillas while I spread the hot mixture from the stove.

(Changes to Tortilla Pie-cut back on the cheese, used ground turkey instead of beef, and didn't use red pepper flakes)

St. Patrick's Day!

The part of St. Patrick's Day that everyone looks most forward to is the appearance of the Lucky Charms box! Very Irish, yes. We celebrated in more ways too though, some a little more authentic than others. The leprechauns were a little lazier this year than they were last year but they still hid some gold coins under our couch cushions and turned our milk green!

Gold Coins! 

We made colcannon and Irish Soda Bread Biscuits. Both super yummy!  I think the colcannon is the first thing I've ever made with kale so I'm glad it turned out. (Changes to colcannon-halved butter, and used regular potatoes. 

Green!

Coloring a leprechaun page!

I can't get over it...look how well Paige is coloring that rainbow! She gets super upset when she goes out of the lines!

FoodI

I MADE macarons successfully! They are notoriously difficult and I've failed before so this was very exciting for me.

Apple Walnut Flax Seed Bread-I think I've made this before but there's no record of it on the blog. It's really really good and I'm trying to use flax seed in more recipes so I already have plans to make more.

Classic Light Bolognese Lasagna-This picture is on the bottom because it's not as pretty as the others but it was super good! I like that it had veggies in it so it felt like a more balanced meal. (Changes I made-I went lighter on the cheese, nixed the pancetta and red pepper, and substituted chicken broth for the white wine)

Teeth!

February was Dental Health Month but the kids had appointments scheduled for March. That was such poor planning on my part! Next year I'll do better (stop, I'm kidding). Owen and Paige really look forward to visiting the dentist. What age does that stop happening? Look at those smiles mid-checkup!

Children's Museum!

Yes, we've been to a lot of museums lately! This time it was just me, Paige and some friends. Don't feel bad for Owen, he went without Paige once (the proof is here). 

Look at this painting job on her dinosaur mask! I was very impressed.

Water table!

This is a bad picture but Paige really enjoyed this section of the museum so I needed to document it here. She gathered as many babies as she could find to take care of and was very gentle and nurturing. She rocked them and patted them gently on the back, changed their diapers and put them to bed. A few times. 

Climbing on the raindrops!

Another favorite spot-the grocery store!

They played in the sand. For a very long time. 

Art Museum!

After we finished up at the History Museum we went over to the Art Museum. This was Paige's first time and Owen's second time but considering how well-behaved they were I really think we need to go more often! There was a minor incident where Paige thought she had found a nice place to sit that turned out to be part of the art collection...but I think I acted pretty quickly before she got too comfortable. 

I made them pose for this picture so we would look like tourists.

It's all fun and games when you're looking at very expensive works of art.

Paige was too busy to smile for this picture.

I still like this painting. Remember?

They must have sat like this for...a couple minutes

I pointed this art out to Paige and said in mock seriousness "What happened?!" She looked around the room and said, "But everybody has their leg..." 

Checking out the map

Chocolate croissant! Yum!

I think some got in her mouth too.

History Museum

We love the history museum. The kids are always interested in something different every time we go and it's fun hearing what questions they have for us. 

In this part of the exhibit you are supposed to use your senses to explore Mayan plants (**Spoiler Alert-most of them smelled like the metallic case they were in)

I think you're supposed to use the magnifying glass to examine butterflies but Paige decided to see how fast she could make them go around instead. Very fast.

Dinosaurs!

Puzzling.

Paige was wishing this cupcake was real. It wasn't.

Princess Paige

When Owen dressed up as a Principal for school Paige wanted to dress up as a Princess. I think she thought they must have been pretty similar since the words started the same. I used that opportunity to put a skirt on her:) The pictures I have here though are from a day Owen had off of school and Paige is genuinely dressed up as a princess. For real. She was also a little sleepy and grumpy but Owen made this carriage for her out of a laundry basket and couch pillows and helped cheer her up!

Look at that face!

Paige thought it was hilarious that she was about to be dumped out. On another day this might have made her furious. 

Owen

This kid amazes me. You know that. He deserves a post. 

Owen's school told the kids to dress up as someone in a "helping" profession so he chose a principal.

Just a regular old picture...until Owen busts out some "I love you" sign language. Nice.

Dr. Seuss Day!

If I was clever I would come up with some rhymish rhymes but I'd rather just get this blog post up...

Here is how we celebrated the wonderful Dr. Seuss! 

We read Bartholomew and the Oobleck (Sarah's picture-thank you very much). 

We made oobleck and just like the book it was everywhere. And when I write everywhere I mean that it was splattered all around my children-especially Owen. Our friend Oliver is the neatest oobleck player I've ever seen.

Cat in the Hat pancakes-I made the red stripes by adding strawberry jelly  to some of the batter.

The Park!

It was actually nice enough to spend some time outside last week so we went to the park with some friends. I was pretty impressed with Paige's stamina that day-she had walked about 1.5 miles that morning and then at the park she walked the trails and went up and down about 140 steps. She also refused to leave until she had finished all of the children's puzzles available in the Nature Center!