Bro and Sis

When Daddy's away, this is how they sleep...

...in MY bed.  I actually really love it and I know they do too.

And I wanted to have on record their favorite activity to do together.  They call it Lego-Barbie.

It means Isaac plays Legos (his favorite) alongside Abby playing with her mini-princesses (her favorite).

They have the characters interact (princesses riding Lego tanks, Lego men sleeping in princess beds...)

The best thing about it is they generally get along while they play (which they don't generally do otherwise) and I hear the words "let's pretend" a lot when they play Lego-Barbie.

Abby chores

Continuing our work teaching the kids the value of money, we recently stumbled upon a perfect chore for them to do (even Abby).

Our newly planted trees need regular watering until their roots get stronger.  

At first, I had the kids do this chore simultaneously, but Abby soon caught on that Isaac was way faster than her and earned much more money.  Consequently, she would just cry after the first bucketful.  Now I have them each do it separately and limit each of them to 10 buckets (at 10 cents a bucket).

It actually helps me and they can do it without my supervision.  

Abby has historically been very slow on the money-related chores.  But I've finally found one that she can do well and feel proud of.  Yay Abby!

End of Kindergarten

To wrap up the school year, I want to record some of Isaac's best work from the last few weeks.

He wrote this for his sister a month or two ago:

"Candy, trees, and jelly beans.  Yum, yum, Abby!!!

Do you like Candy? YES!"

He made this book at school during choice time:

"A is for Astronaut."

And was particularly proud of this page:

"U is for underwear."

He wrote this at school a couple weeks ago:

"Dot is the only black dot.  He has a girl friend at school.  And I have one too."

At Sunday School, he was supposed to draw what he thought heaven would be like.

Here is a picture of "treasure in heaven."

 And here are the gates of heaven "always open."

And here's what he drew on the back of his heaven pictures:

A fighter jet and a man with a gun.

AND a man shooting a gun.

I just love the contrast between the heaven side and the "what's really in Isaac's brain" side. 

Recipe #14: Chicken Wraps

I can't believe I forgot about this one for so long.  It's not really a recipe, but it's a simple dinner we used to throw together and we haven't made it in years.  But it's great for a quick family meal and the kids will eat it so it's a winner here.

Everybody starts off with tortilla, chicken, cheese, spinach (or lettuce) and tomato.

Assemble as desired (mine with ranch, Adel's with buffalo sauce and ranch).

And wrap.

Our Scores:
Adel: 8/10 - good enough for regular basis, but clearly no competition for Chinese food.
Megan: 8/10 - not gourmet, but simple, quick, and tasty.
Isaac: 10/10 - likes all the parts and can make it his own way.
Abby: 10/10 - likes all the parts and can make it her own way.

Endeavor Launch

The kids got to watch the Endeavor Launch a few weeks ago.  It was the last shuttle mission for Endeavor and the second-to-last shuttle mission of any shuttle.

Isaac had some good memories of seeing Shuttle Discovery launch live last year.

Recipe #13: Sweet Potato Fries

I haven't posted a recipe in a long time and I have been making this one regularly for the last few months so I thought I'd add it to my online recipe registry.  My fabulous cousin Paul does a cooking show of sorts on his family blog.  And, by request, he did a segment on making sweet potato fries (or hash browns, as he calls them).  The link directly to his blog video is here: What's Mine is Yours.

I have tried many ways to make my own sweet potato fries and this is by far the best (I have never deep fried them since I'm going for the healthy veggie aspect here).  Here's the recipe straight from Paul's website.

Sweet Potato Hashbrowns

• Sweet Potatoes
• Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt
• Basil

- In the largest frying pan you have, heat enough oil over medium heat to almost cover the bottom.
- Cut the potatoes into a 1/2" dice, or smaller if you prefer.  If you do go smaller, you can probably boost the heat a bit too.
- Once the oil is hot, place the potatoes in the pan and spread out as much as possible so that they're not stacked on top of each other.  You may need to do this in 2 pans or 2 batches depending on how many potatoes you are using.
- Let the potatoes sit for about 5 minutes and flip.  Repeat this probably 2 more times until they are slightly crisp on the outside and soft of the inside.
- Sprinkle with kosher salt and add the basil.  
- **Alternate Method - If you've just got too many potatoes, cut them into 1" chunks, coat with oil and salt, put them on a sheet tray and roast in the oven at 400 F for about 30 minutes or until they are tender.  Throw on the basil when they come out of the oven and toss.  Enjoy!**

I use mine as a side for burgers, which, with wheat buns, tomatoes, and spinach, I feel qualifies for a healthy family dinner.

Our Scores:
Adel: 8/10 - good side for burgers.
Megan: 10/10 - crispy and salty perfection
Isaac: 7/10 - good, for a veggie
Abby: 7/10 - good, for a veggie

Sponge Bob (Bleh)

My kid are in pure bliss at this moment because they are doing something they know their mom hates.  Since the very beginning of my parenting, I have made it a point to outlaw Sponge Bob from my home, purely on the grounds that I think watching it makes you dumber (said the English Major who never watched it to the Rocket Scientist who watched it regularly growing up...it's ironic I know, and my opinion makes no sense whatsoever...but that shouldn't surprise you, if you know me...).

The fact is, I think Sponge Bob is a really stupid show and I can't stand it.  So, during all those weekly trips to the library, I never once let Isaac bring home a Sponge Bob book.  This philosophy, of course, made Isaac gravitate habitually to the Sponge Bob section of the bookshelves every time.  Isaac has asked me several times why I don't like Sponge Bob and my answer never gets any more convicting than, "He's so annoying."  But I have stood firm to my decision that there would be no Sponge Bob in my home.

Well, I stood firm until today.  Abby wanted to watch a show on Daddy's ipod.  And she happened upon a Sponge Bob show.  Her joy was so complete at the opportunity to watch the "forbidden show" that she enthusiastically shared it with her equally enthusiastic brother.   I decided it would be best to let them see it just so they would not idolize it their entire childhood as a forbidden treasure.  So, here they are gleefully watching a Sponge Bob episode where the main characters rip their pants (ugh).  I'm not even watching it and I feel dumber already.

Finally, The Tooth Fairy Can Come

Isaac's tooth has been loose for over a month and I've been saying for weeks that it would fall out any day now.

It's his first official loose tooth.

Actually, the baby tooth hung in there so long that the big tooth finally got tired of waiting and just started growing in behind it.

However, while eating oranges at school today, Isaac finally managed to lose the tooth. The school nurse gave him a little treasure box to store it in so he could bring it home safely.

Entering a new era...

Happy Mother's Day

We had a nice Mother's Day weekend with the family.  Mostly, I wanted to share my video Isaac made for me.  The link is in the bottom right margin of the blog but I'll also include it here:

Mother's Day Song 2011

Abby at Home

I have been saving up pictures over the last month or so of some of Abby's memorable and yet commonplace moments.  Just wanted to have a picture diary of what having these days of Abby at home have been like.

She had so much fun helping me set the table for an after school tea party with Isaac and our friend Calli.

Abby "helping" me fold the clean laundry.  Over her clothes, she put on her brothers shirt, a pair of Dora panties, her dad's underwear, and her dad's socks.

Abby "standing still" for a picture.

She is officially over naps, but on days after she's had a rough night's sleep, or when she's not feeling good, this occasionally happens:

Playing with flour while mom works in the kitchen.

Add a little water and see what happens.

Hamming it up for the camera.

She loves picking flowers and will often go in the backyard and bring in an arrangement from our crop of weed flowers.  (We have been growing weed flowers successfully for years...let me know if you want any tips on how we do this!  ;)

Bead time.

Lunch time.

She has adopted Isaac's love for crafts.

 She often tapes her masterpieces to decorate my family room wall.

And look at the craft project she took on today:

She colored on my desk!  Ack!  You may wonder where I was while she was doing this?  I was sitting at the desk.  I'm that good at not paying attention to what my kids are up to.  She was coloring it right under my nose, assuming that my lack of prevention was a clear sign that it was okay.  I didn't notice until she started coloring on the top.  Wish my brain worked better sometimes!

Learning how to "look sweet" for the camera.

Sappy, but I'm a sucker for it.

Abby was baking imaginary cookies this day.

Notice the interesting ingredients she has selected.

She was doing a cooking show.

Time for the cookie cutters.

And put the invisible cookies in the oven (no heat).