A Week of Menu Ideas

We had so much fun this weekend!
My cousin is getting married this summer and my mom and her sisters threw a shower for my cousin's fiance!!

The weather was beautiful and the little girls had tons of fun!

I made cake pops for the little girls and cake "balls" for the big girls. (I'm so happy with the cake pop maker that I got last Christmas...if you can't tell!)

It's hard to believe that after that beautiful day, it actually started pouring rain the next morning. We went for lunch and it was cold and windy and then we came out and it was raining and so windy my umbrella got turned inside out. So, you know that means we had soup for dinner, right? Hahahaha (...me and my soups!)

Here's what I have planned for dinners this week:

Monday
Quinoa Stuffed Tomatoes (1)
Bean Salad (2)
Toasted Pita Triangles

Tuesday
Veggie Fried Rice
Fruit
Seaweed Salad (3)

Wednesday
Cuban Beans (4)
Brown Rice
Steamed Broccoli
Bread

Thursday
Garden Burgers
Leftover Bonanza

Friday
Tomato Soup
Grilled Cheeze Dippers
Romaine Lettuce Salads with Tomato and Cucumber

Saturday
Dinner out

Sunday
Pasta Dinner with Salad

Notes:
1. Quinoa Stuffed Tomatoes: Preheat oven to 400F. Cook Quinoa according to package directions (for 4 servings). Mix in 1/4 tsp each: mint, basil, italian parsley. Cut tops off of tomatoes, core out center (seeds and pulp), leaving a "shell". Dice tomato tops that were previously cut off and add into quinoa mix. Season with salt and pepper and stuff quinoa mix into tomatoes. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes (don't let the tomatoes collapse, but you want them to be soft).
2. Bean Salad: My bean salad is like soup....it changes all the time based on what I have on hand. This is forgiving - you can add in, take out, substitute - it all comes out good...Mix two types of beans (1/4 - 1/2 cup each depending on what your family likes - I usually use garbanzo beans and kidney beans and just mix in equal amounts). Season with 1/2 clove of minced garlic, a little bit on minced red onion, salt and pepper, and some italian seasoning. Pour over a couple of teaspoons of light olive oil, 1 - 2 tsp. of red wine vinegar, and stir to mix. Serve as is or over lettuce greens
3. Seaweed Salad: My seaweed salad comes out of package (I buy it at a health food store, but they also sell it at Costco, Sprouts, and at Whole Foods). It goes great with Asian dishes and it comes in the package ready to serve - you don't even have to heat it up - and it's so good for you!
4. Cuban Beans: In a stock pot, over medium heat, add 1-2 Tbsp of light olive oil and let heat up. Add 1/2 of a diced onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 red bell pepper julienned, and let cook for a minute or two, stirring. Add in 1 tsp each of cumin and dried basil, 1/2 tsp of coriander, and let cook for 5 - 10 minutes, stirring, so that the seasonings are spread out over the onion mix. Add in 1/8 cup of white wine vinegar and stir for 1 minute. Add in 2 diced tomatoes, 1/4 cup of vegetable broth, and 2 cans of drained beans (either a mix of two kinds or all one kind). Bring to a slight boil, cover reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes. You want the beans to be soft, but not falling apart. Serve over brown rice.
{{Quinoa Stuffed Tomatoes and Cuban Beans recipe adapted from the 400 Calorie Fix Cookbook}}

What was the most fun thing that you did this weekend?
More later!! (:

A Week of Menus

What are you eating this week?

It rained here all Sunday morning....even when the sun came out - - it was COLD!! But, we did get to break out our scarves (a rare occurrence here) and Miss No-No got to wear her new boots!

We have also been working on cleaning out the things in our house that we don't really need....sigh!...it's a lot of work, and for some unknown reason, we have been hanging on to allllll these things that we NEVER use!!

We found all these books

They went to the "Friends of the Library" bookstore by our house - - the revenue from the store helps fund the city library in our town.

We also found all these glasses in a box in our garage

With all these wine glasses, margarita glasses, and beer glasses, you would think that we either have huge parties all the time, or were planning on it.... but, these were actually a box that was a combo of glasses that Mr. No-No and I each had at our respective apartments before we moved in together...when we decided that we weren't actually going to keep them in the kitchen, they went into a box. And then SAT THERE for about 7 years!!! lol. So our local Goodwill has lots of awesome glasses for sale now.  :)

This is what I have planned for dinner this week:

Monday
Bean Soup with Cornbread and Carrots

Tuesday
Tofu Steaks with Sauteed Collard Greens and Mashed Cauliflower

Wednesday
BBQ Tempeh with Salad

Thursday
Garden Burgers with Jicama "Fries" and Salad

Friday
Leftover Bonanza

1. Soup: You guys know I love my soups! For this one, since it's during a weekday, I will probably just: dice up some (equal parts) onion, celery, and carrots (about 1/2 cup each) and then let them saute for about 5 minutes in a large sauce pan. Add in one clove of chopped garlic, 1/2 tsp of thyme, 1/4 tsp of salt, and 1/4 tsp of pepper, stir to mix, and let cook for another minute. Add in a can of tomatoes, a can of white navy beans (I precooked dried beans over the weekend and put them in the fridge) and will then add vegetable broth to cover everything by an inch or so. Let that mixture boil and then turn the heat to low and let simmer for about 15 minutes to blend the flavors. I might stir in some cooked rice just to add texture.
2. Mashed Cauliflower is so easy and you can make it taste like mashed potatoes! Dice up cauliflower and steam until almost falling apart (about 7 - 12 minutes). Mash with a ricer or potato masher and then add in Earth Balance (a vegan butter substitute) and some soy milk, granulated garlic, salt, pepper, and mix to incorporate. Top with diced green onions or diced flat leaf parsley.
Disclaimer: I don't generally advise "tricking" kids into eating veggies - - I want my little Miss No-No to learn to love veggies and not other foods that I have disguised as something good - - that being said, these "potatoes" DO have her asking for seconds and they are delicious....without the guilt!! So dig in!
3. Tempeh is a soybean based food. To cook: Dice and then steam in water to cover for 10 minutes (tempeh has a funny taste when you eat it "raw" and steaming it seems to get rid of that taste). Put diced, steamed tempeh into a skillet with a little bit of oil, heat on medium high and let cook, when the pan looks dry, add in 1/4 cup of water, cook until water has evaporated, add in 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce and another 1/4 cup of water, and cook, stirring and flipping constantly. When the sauce has mostly dried up, this is ready to serve. I love to cook tempeh like this - - it's chewy and "heavy" and perfect for cold weather because it's really filling.
4. I found jicama in the grocery store the other day. This will be the first time that I have EVER done anything with one. But, I do remember eating them when I was living at home - they are crunchy and light. I am just going to chop these up like french fries, add a little bit of cumin, paprika, and parsley (just a pinch or two each until I get to where I like the taste), mix them up and serve them on the side of the garden burgers. I'm hoping they turn out good, but we will find out!!! <~ I will let you know!! :)

What are your plans for meals this week?
What do you think of "hiding" veggies in your kids' food?

More later!! :)

Guest Post for Cookie's Chronicles

When Sue of Cookie's Chronicles asked me to write a guest post, I was flattered and excited! (Thanks Sue!!) Let me start by introducing myself (for those of you who don't know me that well yet): My blog is really a mish-mash of what my every day life is like - so I end up writing about something fun we did the day before, or the week before, I write about crafts and sewing, and I write about my little Miss No-No - but mostly I write about the food!! I love good food and I know that you don't need to "break the bank" or bust your budget to have it. I believe that you can eat well on a budget and you can feed your family well (and healthy!) without resorting to processed foods or being in the kitchen all day long. We don't have time to make a meal that takes 3 hours (who has 3 HOURS to cook??? I don't and I'm guessing that you don't either). But, I don't think that your family's taste buds or health should suffer because of that. For those reasons, I write about awesome, healthy food that can be made, in about 30 minutes or less! Doing this for your family makes your life richer and your family's life better - and, really, what could be more awesome?

Since it's September and that means the start of school for most of us mommas, let's talk about lunches.

My pre-K toddler has a program at her school where they provide lunch, for an extra fee. I'm in the "business" of running my house, our finances, and taking care of everyone - that $4 lunch doesn't work so well in my business plan. And while corn dogs, small kids' sized pizzas, and chicken nuggets for lunch everyday would be her dream come true (I think!), it really doesn't seem like the most healthy of diets...and since I am actually doing some grocery shopping every week, and have food in my house, it seems like it's only a small stretch for me to make her lunch for her.

There are many benefits to me making her lunch, including:

• it costs less for me to take something from my fridge (that I have already bought) than for me to send her to school with $4 every day for someone else to make her something
• I know WHAT exactly is going into her lunch
• I have the assurance that (even if she doesn't eat the vegetables) there are vegetables in her lunch
• and, I get to send a little surprise for her every day!

Making a to-go lunch for a little one every day can take some planning, but it's really easy when you get down to it. Even when I start from scratch, I can get her lunch together in no more than 10 minutes (I've timed it!). Even though I feel like I have a lot of things to do every day, I can squeeze out another quick 10 minutes, even if it's just barely! ;)

So here are some quick and easy tips to help you with your toddler or school-age kids' lunches. I use these ideas weekly and I know once you start using them, you will keep up with them. Not just because of the good feeling that you will have sending your little ones off with the nutrition that they need to fuel them for the day, not because it will take about as much time to make lunch as it does for you to hunt through your bag for another $4 or $5 to give them each morning, but you will be able to stick with this because it works!

Plan ahead. Sounds easy, right? I've read this everywhere: plan ahead, be prepared, make lunches daily, and on and on.... But, we have all been there.....It's not THAT easy to plan ahead these fabulous lunches each and every day. My little one, honestly, is happy with a PB and jelly sandwich daily. And, really, PB and jelly is healthy, full of protein and good carbs that will keep her full until her afternoon snack. So my first real tip is this:

1. Find something that your kids LOVE. For mine it's those PB and jelly sandwiches. So, I pre-make them for her! I will make 3 or 4 instead of just making one, pop the extras in Tupperware, and put them in the freezer. On those days that I just can.not.find.the.time to make her lunch, I have a back-up. I can put one of the frozen sandwiches in her lunch in the morning and by lunch time, it's defrosted and ready to go. And I do that with a lot of things - if I cut up carrots or red peppers for dinner, I will grab an extra one or two and cut those up as well, divide them into good portion sizes in Tupperware and save them in the refrigerator for lunches. When I need a veggie for lunch, they are there and ready to go. I also do this with fruit, applesauce, rice or any other grain, beans, whole wheat pasta, and especially leftovers. Once you have a little arsenal of Tupperware containers in your fridge, you grab a couple (one from each food group) and have a complete lunch ready to go.
2. Make it fun. If I send my little one with a sandwich, I use a cookie cutter to make it into something special. It might be a heart, a flower, or something seasonal. She never knows what she is going to get, and it's different each day. It's nothing elaborate, and it only takes another couple of seconds, but it sets her lunch apart from the other kids' lunches.
3. Give them something to pick at. I send edamame, beans, raisins, and other small pieces of fruit in her lunch. Kids love to pick and munch, talk for awhile, and then come back to their lunch. A little one with a burrito might not eat a lot of it, but a little one with carrot sticks or cucumber "chips" can grab some and talk and eat at the same time, they can share with friends, and then can eat what they want or how much they want without being overwhelmed by having to eat a BIG piece of something. So, basically, cut everything up!! :)
4. Add an element of surprise. I think this makes my little one look forward to what could possibly be in her lunch each day (I put the thought that she may be sneaking a peek into her lunch bag early completely out of my mind!!). Anything, really, is appropriate - it's just a little "I'm thinking of you" surprise. Sometimes, I use silly bands or bracelets, stickers, a handwritten note that says "I love you", or I will just draw her a silly picture. It doesn't have to be elaborate - and that's the beauty of it - you can do something simple, but it will have a big impact on your kids.

I believe these are the basic "building blocks" of a healthy lunch. And I think as long as you get something from each food group into that bag, kids will eat! They might not eat as many veggies as you would like, but in the end they are getting good food, healthy food, and you are saving money (and now time) making lunch for them...it's an easier way for you to help your kids live a richer, fuller life. So go ahead and pack those lunch bags, mommas - there's nothing to worry about, you've got the tools to get it under control!!

Here are some example pictures of lunches I have made for my little one (just so you can see the creative cookie cutting I do!!)

A word of warning: If you have older kids, like teenagers, all bets may be off here!!! 

Have questions or comments? Come on by my blog, my FB page, or even Twitter and ask away!!! If you need help packing lunches, I'm here for you.

More later!
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Neighborly Vibes

I spent some time this evening outside with my little Miss No-No while she played with our neighbor's son. The two of them are really close and they get along very well. I am sure they would get along no matter what - - both of them are very easy going and they both have great, friendly dispositions. However, they are only two months apart...so his momma and I were both pregnant with our (only) babies at the same time. We are able to share a lot about development, being good parents, and just funny stories, while each thing we have to say is relevant to the other's life. It's very cool and very awesome.

ANYWAYS....the little ones were out playing today and our neighbor's son was out with his Dad. We talked the whole time we were outside and then we were walking back to our houses (and the dad walks us to our door since it's usually dark by the time we are done and our house is on the way to his). Mr. No-No was waiting outside for us to come back. We stopped to say good night and he said to us, "I am so thankful for our children who are so beautiful and great to have. And, I feel blessed that they bring us out of our shells a little bit so we get to know each other better"!

Ah! That gave me such a great feeling inside - - and that's how I feel, too!

It's so awesome to have my little Miss No-No and I love all the things that she brings into my life, but those two sentences explain all that feeling in just a few words!!! Amazing how saying something soooo soooo simple can encompass sooooo sooo many things in my heart.

Now go hug your babies!

Or, wait, maybe you should wait until they are out of bed! Hahahhaha! :)

More later! :)

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What's for Dinner This Week - A Week of Menus

Judging by the size of the lettuce heads that I have been getting in my CSA shares, lettuce is definitely in season right now! Because of that, we will be having more salads than usual this week - - however, I am planning on mixing it up a little bit one night - I'm going to grill heads of romaine!!

How else can you use lettuce? Besides salads and maybe (maybe!) shakes / smoothies? If you give me some ideas, you can help me use up all this surplus!!! :)

Monday
Pre-made chili over baked sweet potatoes
Make your own salad

Tuesday
Stir-Fried Rice with Tofu and mushrooms
Chinese "chicken" salad

Wednesday
Black Bean Tacos with Brown Rice
Grilled Mexican Style Salad

Thursday
Left overs

Friday
Garden Burgers or Veggie Hot Dogs

And here's my notes:

1. For "baking" sweet potatoes, I generally don't have the time to actually bake them in the oven ahead of time {sigh!}. Generally, I scrub them, microwave them until they are still somewhat firm, and then put them in the toaster oven until the rest of dinner is ready. The extra time in the oven makes them seem like they are truly baked, but shaves off TONS of time. And, the make your own salad is my little treat for my little one - I cut everything up, put it on the cutting board and she gets to decide what goes in her salad (so she "makes her own") - it's the only way I can get her to have a salad with dinner.

2. The chili I make myself, but could easily come from a can (Hormel-brand Vegetarian chili is the best canned chili I have ever used). To make the chili: saute one half of an onion until translucent, five to ten minutes, add in a clove of diced garlic, saute for another 30 seconds. Add in some ground "meat" (I use the Lean Ground brand) and saute for a few more minutes. Add in seasonings (you could use a pre-made seasoning mix, but I just make my own: throw in a bit of everything: oregano, chili powder, salt, pepper, parsley, and a little bit of flour), saute for another minute to get everything incorporated and then add in one can of diced tomatoes and one can of either pinto or chili beans. Stir to mix, cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes.

3. My Chinese "chicken" salad is a Racheal Ray recipe where I just use Boca burger chicken patties instead of meat.

4. My stir fried rice is small diced veggies sauteed for a few minutes, add in some "scrambled" tofu, cook another minute, add in brown rice, a little bit of soy sauce and stir to mix.

5. Mexican style salad just means that I add black beans, corn, tomatoes, and either cilantro or green onions to. :)

6. See my desciption of left overs and what I do with them here.

7. Friday is my "break" and I cook something easy.

8. Saturday we usually go out or are out to eat at someone else's house (not just ANYONE's house...usually my mom's or my aunt's).

9. Sunday we do a pasta dinner.

I plan my meals because it means that I can come home and get dinner on the table in less than 1/2 an hour. It also means that I don't resort to frozen, pre-made, high sodium, packaged dinners or something less than stellar for my family's nutrition.

You have the power to decide (mostly) what your family eats by virtue of being the "chef". What you put on the table is what goes into their mouths. I want my family to have well balanced meals, so that's what I work to put on to our table.

So, seriously, I need help with my lettuce surplus.

Do you have any creative ways to use up lettuce?

Thanks to all the comments from last week.

Annabean is a woman after my own heart - she is also using meal planning as a time saving tool! She says that she is not ordering out as much as a result (yayayayyay!). Leslie from the Mommy Therapy is also eating a lot of veggie meals because she has also joined a CSA! Good for you, Leslie - and good for your family, too!!! I love to get new, unusual stuff in my basket that I can't buy at the grocery store. A CSA is such an awesome opportunity to get new foods in your family's rotation, but it's also a great way to help out the environment and the local economy...but that could be a whole other post!!! Lindy, I hope your enchiladas come out good!!

Happy eating!
More later  :)

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Miss No-No's 4th Tea

Miss No-No turned FOUR earlier this month. Every year, to celebrate, we take her out for "high tea". It's something special for her to look forward to and something special that I can do with her to celebrate each annual milestone. I like having a tradition where we always do the same things every year just for her.

This year, we went to the Vintage Tea Leaf in Long Beach, CA. It was very nice and very up-scale. They even happily accommodated my vegan sandwich requests!

Miss No-No had PB&J with Pooh Bear Honey Hot Chocolate. The coolest thing was that when we walked in, they let us pick out our own tea cups!

Miss No-No had a great time and me and my mom enjoyed ourselves as well.

If you are looking for a place in the Long Beach area to celebrate something special, I suggest you run in and check this place out. The service is awesome, the food is good, and the decor is outstanding. Since this has been our 4th high tea, I can tell you, it's one of the best places that we have been to so far!

What are some special traditions that you have in your family?

Please stop by and visit the giveaway post to read about the review and giveaway where we are co-hosting a giveaway with Sarah from Shaklee. We will have two winners and the giveaway ends June 1st.

More later! :)

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Boston Trip 2011

In April, my whole family went to Boston, MA, to hang out and see what was there (we had never been there before). This was our Family Trip 2011! We go somewhere every year and that was the spot that was picked this year. We had a lot of fun and got to see a lot of things.

We spent the first day just walking around and kind of getting oriented. We had lunch at the Quincy Market. Even though it was very cold, there was a lot going on - - street performers, singers, and lots of people to sit and watch as they rushed by. I think that this spot is more for tourists than anything for locals (seems like the local spots were surrounding this place), but it was still fun to browse around and look.

That evening, we snuck into the little Italy section for dinner and dessert! The following day, we headed up to Salem to walk around, eat candy, and let the kids just run without worrying about them. It's nice that Salem is so close to downtown Boston. In downtown, we worried about the kids, but in Salem, it's so relaxed and kick back, we were able to just let them go!

We also stopped by the Make Way for Ducklings statues in the park - - more than once - - we even went one time in the rain! My mom reads the story to the kids all the time, so they just couldn't get enough of it.

And we saw this cool, little lighthouse. Mr. No-No proposed to me at the base of a lighthouse so if we go somewhere and see one, I usually try to get a good picture of it!

We also ate tons of awesome food, walked around at Fenway Park, went to the Sam Adams brewery (where we actually saw the two brewers featured in the Sam Adams commercials! and then drank FREE beer!), walked through the financial district, walked through Chinatown (the third largest in the US), and went to Cheers - twice. One night, we did "happy hour" in our hotel - cocktails and desserts from a bakery in Little Italy while the little ones ran their energy out and we all just talked and laughed about stuff. Overall, it was a cool trip. Downtown Boston is actually small enough that we were able to walk around most of the time and still get to see everything that we wanted to.

Can't wait for next year's trip!!

What's the best trip you have taken so far this year?
Do you have an upcoming vacation that you are looking forward to?

More later! :)

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The Weekend of Firsts

It rained again (!) most of this past weekend!! We spent a lot of time inside, but I also got a lot of cooking done!

I made a potato and leek soup, a raw "tuna" salad for lunches during the week, a big salad, and vegetable broth (with my vegetable scraps from the past month or so). This broth is so easy, fast, and cheap(!) compared to any dried bullion that you would buy at the grocery store. It's flavorful and has no preservatives, no coloring, no animal products, and no extreme amount of salt. To get ready to make the broth, I take all the vegetable peelings and cuttings (except for broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower) and put them in a large Ziploc bag and freeze. Every night, I just add more peelings to the bag - which is nice because I am completely using alllll parts of the veggies that I use, which is just more value for my grocery dollar - and when the bag is full, it's time to make broth!

Vegetable Broth

Scraps from vegetable peelings and cuttings

Enough hot water to fill a 6 quart stockpot (with veggies already in the pot)

3 or 4 whole garlic cloves

1 tsp. kosher salt

3 dried bay leaves

20 peppercorns

1 tsp. each dried parsley, oregano, and thyme

Bring the water and veggie peelings to a rapid boil. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer the broth for about one hour. Turn the heat off, take the lid off and let cool for approximately 1/2 to 1 hour. Strain broth into containers (and ice cube trays) and freeze for later use.

Miss No-No also got to wear her new Rapunzel hair clip that I mentioned a few posts ago.

I also taught Miss No-No how to make "Ants on a Log". Which was funny because she's only had them once before!! But, she never MADE them herself before and she really enjoyed it. She likes to do things in the kitchen, which, of course, makes me happy. Creating brings me a lot of joy, and I hope that she can find joy in some creative endeavors as well!

 

 

Who would have known that almond butter, celery, and raisins could be soooo much fun?? :)

We also went for sushi (vegan!) on Friday night and frozen yogurt on Sunday ~ she had never had either of those either! So it was a weekend of firsts for her.

Thanks for your comments on my last post about the Indian-Inspired soup. I really enjoyed making - and eating - that one!

When it's cold outside, if you stay inside, what kinds of things do you do? What keeps you busy?
Are you letting your little ones cook / make treats for themselves yet? What do you trust them to do?

More later! :)

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White Christmas

..in NY for Christmas.... The snow is falling, its about 25 degrees everyday, and my little one is having so much fun playing with the cousins she rarely sees! There are cookies and candy and lots (and lots!) of presents! Ahhhhh... I love Christmas, but I must say that I love a white Christmas even more. We have been sledding and playing in the snow everyday - it's so much fun.

And, of course, I brought my camera with me...but I forgot the cord to connect it to my computer! So I have all these great pics, but I will have to share them and add them once I get back home!

More later! :)

Christmas to-do list

Ohhhhhh - the joy!!!
I am DONE with my Christmas cards! I just finished them up right now.  :) Yay!

I still have to make cookies.....hmmmm....don't know how many of THOSE will actually get done this year....Thank goodness for my mom - she made LOTS of cookies this year...I will be passing those along. Which actually works out good since my mom is a much better baker than me! And...since it was almost 90 degrees today, it's hard to get in the mood to bake when my kitchen is warm before I even get started... (excuses? excuses? hahahaha)

I also have all my shopping done and everything that needs to be mailed out is gone! It feels good to have almost everything done so early!!!

I can spend this next week (mostly) just relaxing, kicking back and getting back to my usual schedule.

How are your Christmas plans coming? Still have lots on your to-do list?

See my bloghop list on the lower right sidebar....That's where I am hopping on Monday morning. Thanks for following!!

More later! :)

Yay! I'm Ba-a-a-a-ack!!!!

I had some personal things to take care of and had to take some time "off" from blogging to get things handled here at home. But, now I am back - - and I am soooo happy about it!!!

Here's what we have been doing since I have been away:

We made a cool bento for Miss No-No the day before Thanksgiving:

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we went up to see my cousins who have RVs and rented campsites to hang out at all week. It was so much fun to just relax and have a nice time. Miss No-No got to play with my cousin's daughter (who is about a year older than her) and they were inseparable the whole time! It worked out so well, and I had so much fun, we have already rented a space there for next year. I am renting an RV for us tomorrow so that we can reserve it for that weekend. Which means.....1 - we will be there with my cousins next year, 2 - Miss No-No will get to spend some more quality time with her cousin Ava, 3 - Miss No-No and Mr. No-No will get to have fun camping in an RV for the first time, and 4 - we will be having Thanksgiving dinner at a campsite!!! hahahahaha! That will be a fun change!!!

We went to a birthday party for one of Miss No-No's friends. This place was crazy!!! It's this big warehouse that's divided into a couple of rooms. And in each of the rooms they have these HUGE bounce houses!! In the first room, there was a small obstacle course, and then a very big obstacle course. There was also a covered "house" that was like a little basketball court inside (complete with hoops and balls). The second room had another, bigger obstacle course, a small boxing ring with huge boxing gloves and headgear, and then this unbelievable slide - you had to climb up on to this small trampoline and then up through this lattice style maze (straight up) probably about 30 feet and then go down this huge slide (Miss No-No didn't even try to go through that last one!). She had so much fun. I went in some of the houses with her, but I think that a couple of the dads there had more fun than the kids - because some of those guys were into EVERYTHING - hahahhaa!! Afterwards, all the kids went into another room where they had pizza, fruit, and cake. ...and then the present-opening-event began!!! :)

She loved it! She told us that next time she has a birthday, she wants to have it there!!! And I can totally understand why! :)

And, we just spent some time relaxing, being a family together, and being VERY thankful for the love and goodness that is so awesome in our lives!!!

More later! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful (relaxing!) Thanksgiving Day!! It's a day for gratitude and appreciation - - not a day for toooo much hard work! We already do that everyday anyways!!! (lol)
With that in mind, I have some things that I am thankful for:

• My helpful, happy husband who I love so much
• My interesting, inquisitive, intelligent daughter who makes me laugh and smile everyday
• My good family and friends that stand beside me no matter what
• My good job that helps me pay all the extra bills in our house  and
• My daughter's great school that makes her smart and interested in learning

I hope everyone can think of a TON of everyday things that they are thankful for too!

Relax and enjoy!!

More later!!! :)

The Getty Museum

Took Miss M to the Getty Museum the week before last. She was learning about Monet in school and she told me that she wanted to go to an "art show" so that she could see a real Monet in person!!! And since I don't know where art shows are ....lol.... I figured we could do the next best thing - a museum that has Monets.... So it was off to the Getty we went.

The Getty is nice and big and very kid friendly! And, it's FREE!! You just pay for parking, and you are good to go. If you live anywhere in the LA area and need an all day (educational) activity, you can not go wrong making a trip to the Getty.

After you park your car, you take a tram up to the top of the hill so that you can get to the entrance. On our way up on the tram, I think that she got confused about the museum and the Monets - once she could see the museum, she shouted out - I SEE THE MONET!!! Hahahaa! Once we got off the tram, someone came right up to Miss M and gave her a "card" so that she could be a "detective". There were pictures on the cards and she had to go around part of the museum and find everything on the cards. She had a lot of fun with that whole activity. They also have a beautiful garden and outdoor sculpture area.

Oh - and the fooooooddd!!! Everything is soooo good - - it's a little bit on the pricey side, but so delicious. :)

Overall, a good day - - and they had three Monets on display! I think that she forgot what a Monet looked like (since they weren't the same ones that she had studied at school), but once we talked about the first one, she was able to pick out the other two on her own. Yay!

We will definitely be going back!!

More later!! :)

 

Santa Barbara Weekend

We spent Saturday in Santa Barbara - it was a Girls' Weekend!! :) Me, my mom, Miss No-No, a few of my aunts and all of my girl cousins were up there for the day.

We went for lunch, a long walk, and shopping. We saw a concert in front of the Borders (wow! they should do that at MY Borders!!!), we looked at flowers, watched a wedding procession file out of a church, and ran in the rain. But, the highlight of the day, for the little ones at least, was this crazy park that has a castle structure with catwalks, hidden stairways, and secret hiding spots. We could have gone up there, gone to the park, played until Miss No-No couldn't take it anymore, and then driven all the way home and she would have loved it just the same - lol!!!

More later!!! :)

Halloween Night

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Halloween!!! We had so much fun!! This is the first year that I took Miss No-No trick or treating!! There was a street by our house where all the businesses handed out candy and that's where we went. It was nice and fun to see everyone in costumes (even a lot of the parents dressed up - but, obviously, I didn't). But, free candy = crowded streets - lol. Everyone was out. You would have thought you could only get candy for free and only on Halloween the way some people were lined up...but, it was during the day and safe, so it was easy on everyone.

As we were walking to the street with the businesses, I saw one house that already had a basket of candy out so I told Miss No-No to go up and see what was in the basket. She walked right up there, looked in, saw that there was candy, looked back at me, and reached in and just took ONE. She got back to the street, and kept checking in her pumpkin basket. Then, she looked up at me and she said, "Mom, if you see another one of those baskets, you let me know, okay?"

I was worried that she would be intimidated by the crowds, or by the people that she didn't know, or by the scary costumes, because she is only THREE, but she seemed fine!! There was even one guy that was really tall with a costume that was a little bit scary - I was trying to steer her around the guy, but she caught a glimpse of him and wouldn't stop staring.... She ended up walking right up to the guy and telling him that she liked his costume!!

After we hit like the third business, and she had four of five pieces of candy, we were walking towards the next one, she told me, "I just love this trick or treating thing." It was so cute and made me feel so glad that I had taken her down to do it and be a part of it. When we got home, she went through all the candy and was passing it out to us (I think she may have thought if she shared it, I would let her eat a lot of it!). But she had fun and I am so glad that she did!

Earlier in the day, we did pumpkin carving. I know, I know, late....but, our pumpkins rot if they are left out for a week, so we decided to just do them the morning of Halloween. We had Miss No-No help pull out the seeds, and she kept telling us, "It's sooo gooooooey!"

More later!! :)