food

Jolly Holiday Surprise Adventure | First Magic Moments LO

I am so thankful that I started writing some of my memories down about this trip on the blog, because I think there is a lot I could have missed! I’m so thankful to not forget these stories! I didn’t write everything down, so from now on this album might not be as detailed, but I hope to get my families’ memories down too! I am happy that I made a trip planner and that I can use it, my photos, and all the memories my family can remember to get the journaling down. This trip was so magical that I just am so excited to be finally scrapping it! It’s so important to write down your memories and I am happy that I am starting to scrapbook again and hopefully get many pages done so that my family legacy can be remembered! I feel bad that I am so behind on all my albums, but I have to start where I am now!

I used the Project Mouse Collection by Britt-ish Designs & Sahlin Studio

I’m so excited to share my family’s magical Christmas adventure of 2014 with you!
To see all the postings in this series go HERE

Family History TuesdayZ | Food Indulgence

Journal Prompt: What Food is a true indulgence to you?

My Journaling:
This one is easy for me. Chocolate. I’m kind of funny in that I don’t particularly like expensive chocolates. If you want to indulge me – just buy me a Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bar with Almonds. Mmmmm….chocolate.

Each Tuesday, I am going to be offering prompts or ideas. If you don’t write in your journal regularly – I am going to encourage you to write just ONCE A WEEK and answer the question/idea that I give on Tuesdays. These ideas hopefully will spark a memory and you will be able to capture that in what you write/record so that it can be left for your children/grandchildren/family/friends. Give as much detail as you can when answering.

Will you do this for me? Will you do this for your families? You can write it down in a journal, you can type it up on a computer or journaling software, you can take a recorder and talk, you can videotape your answers, you can even scrap a page with the journaling. It doesn’t matter how you do this – it’s just important that you do it. The memories, the dates, the information is the only real thing we can leave to our families when we are gone.

Life 2012 | Dr. Seuss Day

I have been seeing all sorts of fun ideas to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday (which was on Friday, March 2nd). I would see it, pin it, bookmark them, and then say “oh well, maybe next year.” But on Thursday night (March 1st), I realized that if I didn’t do anything, I would regret it. My kids love it when I make a big deal about things. I’ve been pretty lax this year with this kind of thing. I have just been in a funk and I’ve not really been that much fun to be around.

So Thursday night, I said, “Okay, I’m going to just do this and make this fun for the kids.” So last minute, I came up with a plan, got a few groceries on Friday afternoon and I made it happen. And I’m so glad I did, because I think these are the moments that my kids are going to remember. It wasn’t that hard to plan a special dinner and I had some fun discussions with the kids and you know – I just love Dr. Seuss and I love that my kids like his books too. The kids were so excited about the dinner and it just went well.

So our Dr. Seuss day actually started with the kids having a great time at school. I came up with a fun EASY hairdo for Beth – actually it came together accidentally, but it worked great and she was excited about it:

They both came home telling me about all the fun reading times, games, treats, and just fun activities that they had at school. Beth got to take her Sasha to school with her and she almost finished her book so she was thrilled. JJ got special treats and had people come read to them and they both just had a great time. So they were already excited about the day when they got home from school.

I met them with a fun after school snack – Cat in the Hat Kabobs! And yes, I saw it somewhere online and it was perfect because it was just strawberries and bananas on a stick! And the kids were delighted – Beth loves Strawberries, so she got more of them. JJ doesn’t like Strawberries, so he actually got more bananas and gave his strawberries to Beth. It’s actually kind of funny, because JJ loves the flavor of Strawberries, but he just can’t stand the texture or feel of them raw. Put them in a smoothie, a cheesecake, candy, etc. and he loves it – so its just a weird texture issue.

While they were eating their snack, we had our normal conversation about school and what was going on in their lives. They watched some tv, played on the DS, played with legos, etc.

Then for dinner, I made Green Eggs and Ham & Bacon (I just made scrambled eggs with bits of ham and bacon cooked right in – colored with food coloring) and I made a fun “Oh the Places You’ll Go” Pancake Mountain for each of them. And of course it was all drizzled in maple syrup. The kids got a huge kick out of the Pancake mountain, especially eating the teeny pancakes. Oh and we had Chocolate Milk too!

Then of course we had to watch HORTON HEARS A WHO and have our dessert – Cat in the Hat Jello Snacks! Mine didn’t turn out perfect, but they tasted good!

So, I could have done a lot more. So many fun ideas out there, but at least I did something and my kids went to bed happy! All in All – a successful night!

Life 2012 | J.J. turns Ten!

JJ turned 10 on January 26th. I can’t believe my little boy is 10 already. He has gone through a lot in is young life as we struggled with his developmental delays and the eventual diagnosis of Autism. But I’m so proud of him for all he has accomplished and the person he is becoming.

I wanted to share 10 things about who JJ is at this time in his life:

1. He is so excited about everything. He always seems to have a inner delight about even the little things in life.

2. He has an amazing memory and can remember even the littlest things about life or things people say, even if you don’t think he is listening or noticing what is going on around him, HE IS.

3. He loves video games. Getting a DS for his birthday was a huge event in his life. The first thing he talks or asks about every day is that DS and the games. “Can I play the DS as soon as I get home?” He also loves to play on the Wii and computer games. He has a bit of trouble with the coordination of it sometimes, but he keeps trying and enjoys it even if he loses. He also LOVES to just watch other people play, especially his Dad.

4. He loves going to Cub Scouts. Its hard for him sometimes with the requirements and the things he has to do – but he still loves to go. I’m so grateful for the leaders and the other boys who are patient with him and make him feel like he belongs.

5. Everyday when JJ gets home from school, I read little notes from his teachers and they always say how happy he is and how helpful he is with everyone. It’s so good to hear. Sometimes we struggle at home with him getting overwhelmed and overstimulated and it causes fights and grumpiness with his sister and us (his parents), but its so nice to know that he is so happy with everyone else. He’s happy at home too (most of the time), but its good to know he gets along so well with the teachers and the other students in his Life Skills Class.

6. He loves FOOD. It seems like we can never fill that skinny little tummy of his. He will eat twice as much as I do and still be hungry. He rarely has things he doesn’t like and its nice to just put something in front of him and have him eat it. Not sure what we are going to do when he is a teenager as he is already eating us out of house and home!

7. JJ ADORES the show Phineas and Ferb. His favorite character is Agent P/Perry. He just loves everything about it. He’s always pretending to be Agent P and playing with his Phineas and Ferb toys. He loves talking about the show and reading about the show and playing the show. It’s pretty much all we hear about from him.

8. JJ is very helpful. He hardly ever complains when I ask him to do chores and little things to help me around the house.

9. JJ has a movie bug just like his parents. He loves watching movies and tv shows. Even though you would think it would be an overstimulator (and it can be sometimes) – most of the time, it is something that actually calms him when he needs a little down time.

10. JJ loves to travel. While I can’t wait to take him on a plane someday, cause I know he’ll love it, but for now he loves to travel in the car and he loves taking the school bus everyday. And he loves riding on trains and the TRAX. He is very content to gaze out the window and see where we are going. I’m never sure what is running through his head, but I’m sure its inspiring and its fun to watch his delighted eyes as he gazes out that window!

I love you JJ and I’m so happy to be your mom.

JJ was so excited about his birthday and he had a great day! I just thought I would share some of the fun he had that day.

He was so excited that his birthday fell on a Thursday – which is pizza day at his school. Pizza is his favorite. Even better, it was parent teacher conferences this week and they invited parents to come to lunch with their kids. So I got to go have a picnic with JJ in his school’s gym on his birthday! I also brought donuts for him to share with his class and he was so excited about that.

While JJ was at school, I spent the morning/afternoon (after going to lunch with him), creating a Agent P cake for him. I first made 4 mini cookie cakes. (I just made my red velvet cookies and put some cream cheese frosting in between each layer). I think I did about 5 cookies on each little cake. Then I frosted the cakes with chocolate cream cheese frosting. Then, I used fondant for the first time to create the Agent P, that I put in the middle. It didn’t turn out exactly as I had planned, but it was pretty good. I used green sprinkles on top of the cakes to look like Agent P was peeking out of the grass/ground to head out on a spy adventure. I admit that cake decorating is not my forte, but JJ loved it and that’s all that mattered.

After school, JJ got to watch some movies and play. For dinner, of course, we had Pizza and JJ was so happy to have it twice in one day!

Then the moment he was waiting for…his presents. I wasn’t quite able to capture how truly happy he was when he opened his Nintendo DS. It was really like a dream come true for him. The rest of his presents were games and additional stuff to go with the DS. (Oh and of course he wore his Perry Shirt on his birthday).

And then of course we had to blow out candles and eat cake and ice cream before going to bed! And JJ got overly excited about the blowing out candles too as you can see in the photos! I’m so glad JJ had such a fabulous 10th birthday!