Fun on the Farm

Stranger Danger

I feel like this is a must read as a parent.  I found it to be a good way to talk to your kiddos about this without making them too fearful!

Stranger Danger

both at 4

love these two! sara beth's pants weren't as short as i remembered, but she was definitely taller than leigh is now!

4 year old

Today was Leigh's first day of school, so we had her Back to School Party last night.  When I asked her what she wanted she quickly picked cheese sandwiches and milkshakes.  I sort of laughed out loud because I have NEVER made a milkshake!  You can tell by her face how excited she was about her special dinner!

This girl has my eyes and can't see a single thing without glasses!

Her teacher is Mrs. Julie Gordon and she has the CUTEST room!  Sam quickly made himself at home and played with the Gordon Grocery Store.

McCalara, Miller, and Leigh checked out the gingerbread house.

Leigh and Mrs. Gordon

I told her I was leaving so she could have her tea party and she gave me a thumbs up!

While Graham and Leigh were at the tea party, Sam and Jake had fun playing with some toys.

And check out this cool airplane the park has now!

First Grade

To celebrate first grade we had our annual back to school dinner.  She picked really easy stuff this year--shrimp, salad, and sprite.  Leigh and Sam were with my mother in law because we had a parents meeting at 8:30 the next morning.  It was a special time with our biggest girl!

Sara Beth with Mrs. Nowell

buddy

buddy, sam, sam i am, brother, lil' man, bud, baby--all of are names that sam is being called right now by his sisters.  they are all very appropriate--i can't wait to see what else they end up calling him!

he is the funniest little guy!  he tries so hard to play and keep up with them, and this sometimes means getting into a few "girl" toys.  however, when it comes down to it--he's all boy-- rough, tough, fast and sweet

playing dress up--notice he has on princess shoes

and then two minutes later- jumping on my coffee table

he's definitely a ham

his first line of cars

i told a friend on friday that i was no where near ready to potty train this little guy.  i knew he was ready but he was absolutely afraid of the potty!  but, that maybe i would try about christmas.  well, when i talked to her on monday i told her potty training was well under way!  monday and tuesday he had one accident, and wednesday none!  this might go down as the easiest child in history to potty train!  of course, now that i said that, we will have some major setbacks!  i am sure accidents will happen, but so far, so good! and he looks really cute in his big boy underwear!

oh, and in the above picture he was playing "daddy" and going to the grocery store.  now, zeb does go to the store every now and then, but i'm pretty sure he always wears clothes! and this little man obviously doesn't have any clothes!

Baked Eggplant Parmesan--This is a combination of several eggplant parmesan recipes.  My entire family really likes this and the girls love to help make it! It takes a little time, but is very easy!  If you like more cheese, add it.  If you like more sauce, add it!  It's very hard to mess up!

Ingredients
*2 eggs
*1 cup breadcrumbs
*3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (plus a little for the top)
*1 tsp dried oregano
*1/2 tsp dried basil
*coarse salt
*pepper
*2 1/2 lbs eggplant (peeled and cut into 1/2 inch rounds)
*tomato sauce (I like Prego traditional)
* 1 - 11/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 2 baking sheets with olive oil spray.  In one bowl wisk eggs with 1 TBS of water.  In another bowl, combine breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, oregano, basil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Dip eggplant in egg mixture then in breadcrumbs, and place on baking sheet.  Bake until golden brown on bottom (20-25 min).  Turn and repeat baking for 20-25 min.  Remove from oven.
Spread some tomato sauce to cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch dish. Layer eggplant, more sauce, 1/2 cup mozzarella. Repeat.  Top with parmesan cheese.  Bake until bubbly and cheese is melted (15-20 min).

I served this over some pasta.  Also, we had sauteed shredded zucchini. (Just shred zucchini.  Heat a little olive oil in a skillet and zucchini, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Cook until it is crispy.)

secret ingredient-zucchini

Our friends, The Oakleys, brought us some tomatoes and zucchini at church last Sunday.  (Hope Fruit and Berry Farms--you can follow them on Face Book.)  The Livingston Market was rained out the Thursday before and they were kind enough to share.  This picture does not do the zucchini justice.  That one is absolutely HUGE! That is a Peter's Pottery platter holding the tomatoes! Now, you must know that zucchini is an all-time favorite here.  We eat it almost every week--usually I  just roast it or grill it, but this was so much so I had to get creative.

All of that above turned into this below...Zucchini 5 ways...1. asparagus 2. zucchini fries 3. zucchini bites 4. sauteed shredded zucchini 5. tomatoes and feta with balsamic dressing 6. roasted zucchini and the 7th thing on the plate is a layered zucchini, tomato, and mozzarella baked dish

We definitely will be eating all these dishes again!  It was lots of fun coming up with various ways to use the zucchini, but I won't be cooking all of this at one time again--it took me over 2 hours!

Our Opening Cermony

Let's just start by saying that I love the olympics.  I love the competition, the level of athletics, and the personal stories. I want to pass this love on to my kids so we will be getting a much needed break from all the heat over the next several weeks and we will be watching lots of t.v.  Tonight we celebrated with our very own opening cermonies!

First, we had an olympic torch snack!

 Some good friends came to help us start the games.

Then we made a medal.

Showing them off...

Then we made an olympic rings abstract art piece. (I wish I took a picture of the after--they are so cute and great for any age.)

Athletes need a carb fix before a big competition so we had pizza and finished it off with olympic cake.

Due to it raining outside, we made the best out of it and did a few of the races in my living room.

 And finished just in time to watch a bit of the real opening ceremony!

pride and parenting

pride--just the word makes my skin crawl.  i hate it.  it is one of those sins that just sneaks up on me and makes me so mad.  as a christian i know it has absolutely no room in my life.  i really want god to get the glory and i know every gift i have is from him.  


i got a new calendar last week and as i was going through my old one and transferring the important dates i noticed that i took some notes on pride.  i can't remember where i was when i heard them.  so, someone deserves all the credit for the things below--i'm thinking maybe someone from focus on the family.


but, i wanted to put this on the blog so that i would be able to find it again, because i doubt i will be going through my 2011-2012 calendar again!


this specifically deals with pride and how we i like to take credit for my kids behavior.


*the world often judges us by our children's reaction to something however god judges us by the way we react to our kids.


*we take too much credit.


*our responsibility is to help our children find their place in his kingdom.


*am i being a good steward with the child god has given me? am i helping them grow? am i addressing their weaknesses?


*am i more concerned with god saying well done thy good and faithful servant more than my neighbor saying that?


*we need to be god centered.


*we need to parent with the heart of worship


do you agree?  is this something you struggle with too, or am i all alone? 


have a great tuesday!

And finally...

I am not sure why I am having so many problems with this post.  But, I am going to get these three videos on here even though it has taken me all day!!

This has definitely been a summer of new skills for the girls! Especially for Sara Beth. It has clicked that to get good at something you have to practice.  I must say, I am very proud of the work she is putting in to learning new things.  I have seen so much determination in her!  They are having much fun with hula hoops!  Now all we need is a talent show!

Another New Skill

This has definitely been a summer of new skills for the girls! Especially for Sara Beth. It has clicked that to get good at something you have to practice.  I must say, I am very proud of the work she is putting in to learning new things.  I have seen so much determination in her!  They are having much fun with hula hoops!  Now all we need is a talent show!

A Morning at the Zoo

William and Wes are here while their parents are in Wyoming!  We met them at the zoo this morning.  

  

It was our first time at the splash pad! Pretty fun!