Storytime

 "Belle went into the Beast's castle and the Beast was mad at her."

"The Seawitch made Ariel sing and she took her voice" 

"Mother Gothel took Rapunzel when she was a baby."

Kindergarten

I toured The Franciscan School, the elementary school associated with our church, today. I can't say that I didn't cry (I can't say that because there were witnesses) before the tour and I can't say that I won't cry as I write this post (actually, I can...you can't see me). It was a wonderful tour and it answered a lot of questions that I had. I walked away feeling good about our decision to send Caroline there and about the level of education, faith, and the environment of this school. I should be thrilled that our sweet girl is growing and thriving, and that she is prepared for this next step of life, but the truth is that I am terribly saddened about it all going so quickly. 

When my sister in law went through this last year with sending our nephew to Kindergarten, she posted this poem and it certainly does fit.

How did it get so late so soon?
It’s night before it’s afternoon.
December is here before it’s June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.
How did it get so late so soon?
~Dr. Seuss

Puzzles

 Every child has their own interests and talents. One of Caroline's is doing puzzles. She has been putting 24 piece puzzles together since around the time she turned two. We were impressed!

She moved onto 100 piece puzzles around her third birthday. We were impressed.

Gigi bought her this puzzle for Christmas. It has 150 pieces and is quite small and intricate in pattern. Gigi helped her at Christmas work on it but they didn't quite finish.

Today, Caroline called me into her room to look at all of the puzzles she had done, and BOY WAS I IMPRESSED. Save for three pieces that have grown legs and hidden, she finished the 150 piecer (147 I guess) all by herself! 

you impressed?

Whoa, baby!

I like you and I want you to have this soup. It tastes a lot like Panara's Chicken and Wild Rice Soup (which I LOVE). It is also very easy and kid friendly. I'll give a day or so to try it and then I am bumping this into the recipe section of the blog. The thing about this soup is that it is more of a technique than a recipe, so bear with me. Here is what I did:

1. Cook a package of Uncle Ben's Wild Rice  (I used the 5 minute cooking package)

2. Meanwhile, dice up carrots, celery, onion, and mushrooms (I know, I don't really like mushrooms either. Just make them REALLY small because they add so much flavor to this healthy soup. Same with the onions, I grated mine on a cheese grater for really tiny pieces).

3. Saute in soup pot your veggies with about a tbsp of oil (olive or canola).

4. Dice up some chicken breasts.

5. Add your chicken to the pot.

6. After two or three minutes, add a carton of chicken stock (the big size, 4 cups maybe?).

7. Add your rice. Simmer on low for a while (30 minutes?)

8. When you are ready to get it to the table, grab a small pot and add a couple of tablespoons of real butter. Melt it. Add a couple tablespoons of flour. Mix it up and add two cups of milk. Get it thick and add to your soup. This feeds an army (or my family for 2 days). It is even better the second day, but you'll need to add more stock. 

If you think your kids won't like the veggies, still make it. After you sweat your veggies, add your broth (before the chicken joins the party) and whirl the whole mess with your hand blender). Then your chicken and rice and keep going. It is so yummy and healthy (unless you serve it with Texas Toast like we did).

Enjoy!

2010 Recap

some of my favorite pictures from this past year

 New Year's Day 2010

 Snow Day in January

Matthew was home sick on this day and we did crafts all morning long

 I love these "cuddle" shot because they are far and few between

 this never made the blog, but as I hunt for my favorites, I think this one is pretty cute. I remember Caroline was trying to keep her sister in place for the Valentine picture and was being so sweet to them.

 February snow

 park play day

 A trip to the aquarium with my Dad and grandparents...such a fun place!

 Spring was starting to warm up and the kids loved the novelty of having the door open and being able to come and go into the back yard at whim

 Turning 2!

 April photo shoot at the Arboretum 

 Bunny's birthday

pop quiz: How old did she turn here?

correct answer: 4

 playtime outside

 turning 4!

 I told you that I loved these

 a weekend at my parents

 all the toys at my parent's house and they spent an hour playing with the doggy door

 Gigi and Sam

 trying to get a good family picture and when I was editing, I saw this little gem...rehearsal dinner video?

sticky sweet faces

 2010 was the year of Sam putting anything and everything on his head (except for the ball cap that I bought him)

Gigi and Gramps came to stay a few days

Nonna came later in the summer

 August...M and Doc had the kids for an afternoon while they stayed with my parents 

 we were in Santa Barbara

 and Nonna and Papa brought them back

school started for all three

 we got to see a football game

 summer heat gave way to fall

Nicole Faby photographed us...Matthew's Christmas gift to me

looking forward to another great year!