curly girly

I love this perfect curl.  I love that I can put Ava's hair in piggy tails, twist them around my fingers and end up with these perfect, big curls.

I love that cute little crooked smile too.  How is it that my baby is going to be 5 in a just a couple of weeks?  I'm soaking up these last few days of having a 4 year old.  Five just seems so big.

I can't believe that I was toting this girl around in a Baby Bjorn  when I started this blog!  As was Elle.  (You have to click that link!)  I don't know what made me think of that picture today but I love that Elle is wearing piggy tails in it too.  Ok, I need to go grab a Kleenex. 

menu plan

I told Katie that I'd post this week's menu plan here on the blog so here it is.....at the bottom of the post.  :) 

Menu planning is one of my favorite household tasks. The kids like helping me come up with ideas and are helping more and more in the kitchen. Elle made a batch of Snickerdoodle cookies almost completely on her own recently and Thomas is still big into making breakfast and is willing to help with dinner anytime I ask.

A couple of months ago we discovered the show Mad Hungry with Lucinda Scala Quinn.  It is my new favorite and now I know why I've always loved Martha's Everyday Food magazine.  Lucinda also contributes to it.  The kids like watching it with me.  I think because she has her sons helping her on several of the shows.  Thomas gave me her cookbook for my birthday last month and I've made several recipes from it and most have been 'make agains'.  We recently saw this episode and we've made the Ramen Noodle Upgrade a couple of times.  It's what is pictured above.  We've renamed it Peanut Butter Ramen.  I know it's not healthy but it is a fun change of pace from sandwiches and leftovers for lunch every now and then. 

Breakfasts
Oatmeal with Apples and Cinnamon
Eggs and Toast
Cereal and Milk
French Toast, Sausage Patties

Lunches
Leftovers
Salads
Sandwiches
Peanut Butter Ramen

Dinners
M - Homemade Pepperoni and Supreme Pizzas
T - Runzas, Salad
W - Runzas, Salad
T - Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Sauce, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus
F - Eggrolls, Asian Salad with Ginger Soy Vinaigrette
S - Baby Back Ribs, Baked Beans, Confetti Corn, Sweet Corn Muffins
S - Clean Out the Fridge, Popcorn

Desserts/Snacks
Orange Julius Shakes
Oatmeal Coconut Chewies

skiing with elle and ava

The sound is really annoying on this video but I thought it would be fun for you to see how well Ava has learned to ski this year.  Scott gets all of the credit for teaching her.  He was so patient with her and now she is flying down the hill and keeping up with Elle (on the easy trail!).  She will be wearing a helmet next year as she is pretty fearless!!

Update:  This video wasn't working for awhile.  I uploaded it again and it works for me.  Let me know if it's not for you.

sick

The window sill in my kitchen tells what has been going on in our house this week.  Sick kids.  All three of them.  Fevers, coughs, runny noses, and poor Elle also got an ear infection in both of her ears.  She is feeling much better after starting on antibiotics yesterday though. 

Lots of napping, reading and movie watching. 

 

Today they have felt well enough to do some schoolwork.  We will spend the weekend catching up on the week's work.  Also hoping that they feel better so we can one more day in at the ski hill as this is the last weekend it's open!  I'll be back with pictures if we do!

tweet tweet little birdie

A few weeks ago we were at a friend's house and they had the coolest birdhouses on their windows that suctioned to the glass.  It was so fun to watch the birds and get such a close look at them.  We purchased one for the window in the school area and have just started to get birds feeding at it. 

We keep the Birdfeeder Handbook nearby so we can identify which birds we've had at the feeder.  Thomas made a chart and is keeping track of it for us.  This morning we had several Pine Siskin's.  I love that the squirrels can't get to it!