Patriots Point: USS Yorktown

New Recipe: Pasta Salad with Grilled Summer Vegetables and Fresh Mozzarella

Pasta Salad with Grilled Summer Vegetables and Fresh Mozzarella

The kiddos all loved this tonight. And the boys had great fun putting the veggies on the skewer. I added mushrooms (a BIG hit) to the recipe and I grilled all the veggies except the spinach. I also used Italian dressing since I wasn't sure how the kiddos would like balsamic vinegarette. Oh, I also used whole wheat veggie pasta.

Video: Josiah's K5 Graduation

Video: Josiah Loses His First Tooth

Caleb's quote of the week

Driving home last night I hear from the backseat, "Mama, there's a bug on me."

Me: "OK, well, just flick him off."

Caleb: "OK"

A few minutes later.

Caleb: "He's stuck on my tongue."

Me: "Well, spit him out! What's the bug doing on your tongue?"

Josiah, "Mama, you told him to lick the bug off."

All I could do was laugh!!

Twists!!

I tried doing twists in Carissa's hair tonight. One of Josiah's classmates told me how to do it. Here is how it turned out!

New recipe: Ham and Pasta Salad

Found this in the Southern Living Everyday Menus cookbook. It's a great light summer dish. I made it according to the recipe but after having it I think it would be great to play around with it some. Minus the ham and add some veggies and it would make a great vegetarian dish. Since I had some frozen ham leftover from Easter, this recipe took me only about 20 min. to make!!

Ham and Pasta Salad

8 oz. penne pasta, cooked (I used pipe rigate. The kids thought it looked like snails.)
1 1/2 cups diced ham
1 cup ranch dressing (I used light organic.)
4 green onions, sliced
2 T fresh parsley
2 T fresh basil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 t pepper

Toss together cooked pasta with remaining ingredients. Serve immediatly.

Josiah's questions at dinner

At dinner tonight Josiah, almost 6, asked me, "Mama, does 1 - 100 = -99?" Me, "Umm, yes!" Josiah, "Mama, does 2 -3 = -1?" Me, "Umm, yes!"

About a month ago he asked me if 7 x 11 = 77.

I think we might have a math genius in the family!

Braids!!

Carissa got her hair braided yesterday. Here are some pix.

Video: Playing Ball with Daddy

Carissa's new words

home
door
stairs
up
down
see
Batman
sandwich
pizza
cookie
sausage
talk
STOP!!
wrestle
hug

Video: Daddy and His Girl

Video: Caleb's Debut on the Piano

Video: Josiah's & Caleb's Star Wars Song

Video: Meredith's Baby Shower

Video: Josiah Explains His Star Wars Picture

Carissa's new words

trash
eyes
ears
mouth
nose
hair
be-bo (belly button)
horse
mouse

Carissa's new words

mine
milk
cereal
done

Carissa's new words

car
food
Diego

Carissa's new words

door
chair
home
pants
dress

Carissa's new words

purple
pink
butterfly
pretty
beautiful
earring

Carissa's new words

purse
princess
seat
book
bracelet

Video: Snow Day

Last Sunday night we got our first good snow of the year. Monday the schools were closed so the kiddos had a fun day playing in the snow. It is hard to believe that was just last weekend and today it was almost 80!!

Video: The Epic Battle Against Darth Vader

Last weekend my mother and brother visited. The boys love playing rough with Uncle Will.

Video: Caleb's 1st Basketball Season

Here is the video from Caleb's 1st Basketball season.

Video: Josiah's 1st School Project

Video: Trip to the Health Adventure in Ashevile

In January, we took Josiah and Caleb, along with Ellie and Sam, to the Health Adventure for Caleb's 4th Bday. Here is the video from our adventure.

Carissa's quote of the week

Carissa has started shouting "Dada" very excitedly everytime she sees a cyclist. Today as we drove through a park to get Caleb from school she saw several cyclists (because the weather is so spring-like today). Carissa screamed "Dada" at every one of them!

Another new favorite recipe

Here is another new favorite recipe. Lasagna with Spinach. Some of us aren't crazy about so many peppers so I substituted zuchinni and squash. I also cut down on the amount of red pepper. And since cottage cheese comes in 2 cup containers I just used all 4 cups instead of the 3 cups the recipe calls for.

New Favorite Recipe

We made Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas last night. 4 out of 5 of us loved it. I did substitute a tomatillo salsa for the quickie green chili sauce.

Natural Laundry and Dishwasher Detergent

From a friend from college I found out about making our own natural detergents, both for the laundry and the dishwasher. I have tried both and so far both seem to be working great. Here are the links for each.

Natural Laundry Detergent

Natural Dishwasher Detergent

Carissa's new words

'Rissa

Carissa's new words

moon
bath
purse

Carissa's new words

eyeball
bubbles
April
ready (everytime the timer on microwave or oven goes off)

Caleb's 1st Basketball Game

Here is a short video of Caleb's 1st basketball game. He is #3.

Josiah's Art: Sh Lotus

Josiah's Art: Alien drawn in art class

Josiah's Art: Kung Fu Panda

Carissa's new words

Nessie (our cat)
thank you
Grandpa
Omi
cheesestick (favorite snack)
hamster
horse
potty
peepee
poopoo

Caleb playing basketball

Here are some pics from Caleb's basketball practice.

Here are the players waiting for the tip off in Caleb's first game. Caleb is #3.

Ww Lotus

Here is some of Josiah's school work. They refer to this as a lotus.

Movie: Cleaning

Here is my first attempt at a movie made from video I shot with my new camcorder. The kiddos, including Carissa, love watching it!

Christmas, Part 2

Here are pics from our Christmas with Chris' family.

Three generations: my mom-in-law, Linda, my sis-in-law, Michelle, & my niece, Amanda

Daddy and his girlThe boys with their cousin, Ben.Bops, Grammy, & the boys

Playing with the Leapster!