Dance Recital!

Paige had a dance recital over the weekend! Preparation was intense. I'm not joking. We were given packets of information and checklists and instructions on outfits and makeup. But it all went off without a hitch. Just kidding, the recital involved 3 and 4 year olds so there were a lot of hitches! Paige and I got there early, got her outfit and makeup(!) on and then I left her in a room with the other preschool dancers to go find family. The kids had been promised a showing of Frozen while they waited to perform their number but Paige told us later that she also got to watch some Finding Nemo. We waited through many performances and right when it was her turn to come on stage...nothing happened. And then one of the mom's got called back to calm her kids and the show continued on. We had to wait through a few more performances before Paige's class came on but they got some of the loudest cheers of the night! Afterwards we tried grilling Paige for information but she fell asleep and didn't even wake up when we brought her inside or told her the pizza had arrived! 

A little pre-show posing

Paige's arabesques are my favorite! She always does them with some extra gusto!

All the dancers

Paige with her teacher, Miss Mo.

All tired out

Playgroup BBQ

We had a pretty busy Memorial Day weekend and it all started with a playgroup reunion! I got to hang out with these awesome ladies (see wonderfully posed pictures below) while the guys sat around a fire and kept an eye on the kids who were running around like crazy. 

Field Day!

Owen's school planned a field day last week where the kids had to walk about a half mile to the location, spend almost the entire day there being active and walk back. I had my doubts about how well the kids would be able to handle this much activity but everything I saw was great! There were a lot of tired kids but no meltdowns and the weather was perfect! Paige and I joined the class after they had lunch and watched until it was time to leave. Paige and I headed home after but Owen and his classmates went back to school and had popsicles! 

Found

I was browsing through the photos in the camera roll and came across a photo series Owen had done. This is how I learned he can wink. I tested him in real life and found out he can even do it on both sides!

Breakfast and Barley

Lemon-Poppy Seed Muffins - Next time I'll make a double batch of these because the recipe only made 12 and they were all eaten by about 10 am. I subbed in wheat flour and I would nix the glaze next time.

Broccoli and Cheddar Barley Risotto - This picture makes it look like a savory Rice Krispie treat but I promise you it wasn't! But who thinks that's a super good idea? Right?? I used water instead of broth but kept everything else the same. The longest part was caramelizing the onion so I think next time I'll just saute them.

Baseball Time!

Baseball season has begun! Owen has graduated from t-ball to machine pitch! It might be because he's older but I think he has an easier time hitting now with the machine than he did with the tee. Owen's team ended up winning after he started off a hitting spree (see video below). The team name this year is the Phillies and Owen has been celebrating Phillies pride by adding the professional team to the list of teams he checks for in the newspaper every morning. 

So Excited!

There was a lot of excitement here last night and it was all due to the NBA draft. We got the kids to bed but when Pat found out the Cavs were going to have one of the first three picks Owen wandered out of his room to see what was going on and to ask Pat to be a little quieter:) we ended up letting him stay up and when Pat found out we got the number one pick I captured his reaction! We'll see if he gets this excited next month when he sees what they actually do with the first pick...

Getting Ready to Garden

We took the wagon to the store today to pick up some plants for the vegetable garden. Paige was so cute that I had to take some pictures. We spent a lot of time picking just the right plants and even brought home a bright pink Gerbera daisy. I was a little disappointed to find out that the watermelon I had planted a week or two ago had recently been eaten by some animal but we're going to rally and try our luck with some other plants and maybe put up some sort of fencing. 

French Silk Pie

For dessert on Mother's Day I made this French Silk Pie. I thought it was fantastic and I think everyone agreed (or they were just being their normal polite selves). It had a super creamy texture and a pretzel crust and I liked that it was "no-bake." I made it the day before and didn't have to worry about anything the next day!

Mother's Day!

Ahh, Mother's Day! We had breakfast and then the kids were eager to give me their gifts so I obliged. I'll get some pictures of the gifts for another post but you should know that there was laughing and crying during the opening. Also, I'm going to have to step it up a notch this Father's Day... Later in the day we went to Owen's soccer game and had family over for dinner and dessert (that's another post too!). The weather actually cooperated too so it turned out to be a wonderful day!

I was reading a sheet Owen filled in about me. 

I think Owen was amused here because I had started crying?

Paige and I at Owen's soccer game. He scored a goal and I like to think it was partially because I shouted, "Score a goal for Mother's Day!"

Pat and his Mom!

Jamie, Mom and me!

Me and the kids.

Reading!

Remember all of those pictures I used to post of the kids plopping down in the middle of stores to read books? (examples-here and here) Well, we usually do errands while Owen is in school so that doesn't happen so much anymore, maybe it will happen again naturally over the summer? Anyway, I was looking for a book and when I checked in on the kids they were sitting like this and it reminded me of those times. 

Paige's Picture

The kids don't mind coloring but they don't draw their own pictures a lot. That's why I was super excited when Paige drew this for me! I love it!

Ballerina

Paige has a recital soon and she's been working hard at dance class! This recital is a little more "serious" than the last one-there are costumes! There was a parent observation day a week ago where we got to go into the room with the kids and it was fun to see things up close. I don't know the names of the positions Paige is doing in the pictures but she might!

Something Fishy

Owen made the fish on the left in art class at school and Paige was so smitten with it that she insisted on making her own. It took us a few days to get around to it (during which I heard a lot of, "Don't remember, I want to make a fish!") but I think it turned out great. We used construction paper and Pat helped with the basic lines, then Paige added the color with markers and we painted over it with water so the color would bleed a little bit. 

The Derby!

This post is actually less about the Kentucky Derby and more about how some friends came to visit over the weekend! The kids jumped right into playing together and allowed us plenty of time to catch up. The Kentucky Derby happened to be on so we all picked our favorites and Owen's won! He was soooo excited! Paige and Julianna actually picked "all the horses" to win so I guess they won too:)

More! Much More!

Since my last blog post I've made three more recipes from that same magazine issue and they all turned out fantastic.

Chicken Bacon Mac n Cheese-I hit a couple snags when I was making this but it turned out alright in the end! I left out the bacon (on purpose), left out the turmeric (hadn't noticed it in the ingredient list and didn't have any), and didn't have a broiler safe pan to finish off the recipe in the broiler. I was a little disappointed by that last one because one of the best parts of homemade mac n cheese is the nice, brown, crispy top but this still had great flavor and texture! Next time I would add more broccoli.

Chicken, Tortellini, and Spinach Soup with Pesto-I wasn't sure how well this one would go over with everyone because the kids aren't big fans of soup but I think the tortellini was enough to lure them in. The pesto and tomato were toppings so everyone was able to customize a little bit too. 

Crispy Vegetable Quesadillas-This is another one I was excited about but wasn't sure if the kids would like. Their normal quesadillas consist of chicken, cheese, spinach and salsa but these were vegetarian with more spinach and lots of beans (I left out the hot/spicy ingredients). We didn't have any leftovers but everyone liked them so much that I made them again the next night anyway.