The First Day of Summer

The kids and I rang in the first day of summer yesterday with a swim in the creek.  We have had a ton of rain this spring, especially in the last few weeks, which made the creek very high and very muddy.  Jay had warned me about this, but because I had never seen the creek in this state I didn't quite realize what that meant.

 The kids were very excited to go swimming and we put bathing suits on as soon as they got up.

Last year Charlotte would not keep on her hat or wear her floatie without pitching a fit so all morning we talked about how everyone had to wear their hat and floatie to go swimming.  After a lathering of sunscreen, we were set to go.  Once we arrived they kids put on their hats and puddle jumpers.

As I stepped into the water I realized that by muddy it meant that your feet will sink deep into the bottom of the creek and it is a hard to move them around.  The way into the creek is a gentle slope with some large rocks that act as steps.  Trey stepped to the bottom rock and liked playing in the water that way.  He let me help him take a few steps in the creek, but he didn't like that sinking feeling so he was content to stay on the rock.

Charlotte let me hold her in the water for a few minutes, but then she was very happy just to play in the grass with buckets of water.  This made life easier for me because I could watch her while staying next to Trey since he was actually playing with the water.

Hopefully the creek will clear up soon and we can enjoy many more days actually swimming in the water. 

Baking Day

 Wednesday morning was a baking morning at our house.  It was still very damp and cool outside from all the rain on Tuesday so I decided that we should stay inside.  The first thing I made was some homemade playdoh to keep the kids occupied.  Normally their Nana makes playdoh for them, so I called to get her recipe and I was very pleased with how it turned out. 

I wanted to have some healthy snacks on hand that aren't from a package in the pantry.   The first recipe I made was for mudballs.  It is like a homemade granola bar in a ball form.  I substituted almond butter for the peanut butter so Charlotte could enjoy them too.  I also subbed flax seed for the wheat germ because I was out of wheat germ.  They turned out delicious.

After forming the balls I put them in the refrigerator to cool.  You don't have to do that, but it made the mudballs stick together really well and they didn't melt when the kids ate them. 

 Charlotte really loved them! The almond butter blended well with the chocolate and honey and I didn't notice that peanut butter was missing.  I am glad to find some recipes to adapt for her.   

 Trey was excited to eat them because he saw me put in the chocolate chips, but when he got to the middle and started chewing up the seeds inside he decided he didn't want to eat anymore.  I am still proud of him for trying something new. 

 Next we made homemade cheeze-its from a recipe I found on pinterest.  Trey and Charlotte LOVE goldfish crackers and have eaten way too many this summer so I was hoping this would be a good alternative.

I don't have a food processor, and honestly I don't want to have to store one more small appliance, so I just adapted the recipe for my kitchen aid mixer.  I crumbled the dough in the mixer and then used the dough hook as I added water to made the dough into a ball.  Instead of rolling the dough out on a dough mat, I rolled it out directly on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  That way I wouldn't have to try and transfer really thin dough. 

They end crackers were crisp, but the ones in the middle were a bit chewy. It is very hard to make all the dough a uniform thickness.   I have tried a few homemade cheese cracker recipes, but these were by far my favorite and the easiest to make. 

Charlotte devoured them!  Trey didn't want to try them after the mudball incident.  They made a good amount and have lasted for 3 days of snacks.   

 While all this was going on in the kitchen, I had a loaf of bread going in the bread machine.  By lunchtime we had mudballs, crackers and homemade bread to eat. 

 The only way I was able to accomplish any of this was by making the playdoh first.  The kids played with the playdoh all morning and I could watch them from the kitchen and pretend to eat all the play food they made me with their playdoh. 

Summer Break

For many people summer break means sleeping in all morning.  That is not the case at this house.  No matter what time she goes to bed, Charlotte wakes up at 6 am.  Not only does she wake up, she comes out of her room, closes the door behind her, goes potty, then comes to our room.  So at approximately 6:05 every morning a 2 year old in a pajama top with a pull up around her ankles is trying to put my glasses on my face to wake me up. She never even goes to Jay's side of the bed. 

 Charlotte and I traipse downstairs and start our morning while the boys keep sleeping.  Usually by the time I get downstairs I am in a better mood and we enjoy our one on one time together.

Goldfish- the breakfast of champions.  Or what I let Charlotte eat when she found a bowl left out from snack time the day before and insisted on eating it for breakfast. 

Summer break also means cooking yummy foods.  I have extra time to prep for dinner (instead of just the night before) and time to make healthy snacks.

My kitchen helpers

Trey gets his one on one mommy time during Charlotte's nap.  Trey usually rests in his bed for about 30 minutes, and the deal is if he stays in bed and is quiet I will come and get him in 30 minutes.  This usually coincides with the cool down of my workout, which he absolutely loves to join.

Trey is re-enacting a bicycle crunch for this picture. 

After 5 straight days at home we needed a new activity this evening.  I spent yesterday cleaning out the garage and I found a bag of toys leftover from when my niece visited it us a few years ago.  The best part about these toys is that they were mine when I was little and my niece brought them from my parent's house to our old house.  Trey and Charlotte have been playing with these little dolls and cars all evening.  The fact that they were "Halle's toys when she was little" (their words) moves them into the most amazing toys ever category. After Trey wanted me to make a house out of legos for the toys and I declined we pulled out Charlotte's doll house.   Earlier this week I learned legos are not my calling and that Trey needs to wait for Daddy to be home if he wants anything built like the pages in the lego book.    

Do you see the My Little Pony?  That is probably at least 22 years old. 

Baby dolls and Sand

 Charlotte has been really into playing with her baby dolls lately.  Pretty much anything I do for her she will turn right around and do for her baby dolls.  If I hold the phone to her to talk to her Nana, she will get off the phone, get her play phone and tell her baby doll to talk to Nana.  If I tuck her in and sing two songs before bed, she will get out of bed, tuck her doll into bed and sing her two songs.  It is very sweet (but exasperating at bedtime!).  Her new favorite thing to do is fix dinner for all her babies.  She will put them in chairs around the table, give them food, and then hold their hands and sing the blessing.  She gets really into it, as you can see here. 

 "You need juice baby, I get it for you."

"I taste it for you first." Such a good mommy.

We have the kids asked to be excused at the table that way they aren't just hopping down whenever they please, which would probably be right after they sit down!  Tonight when Charlotte asked, "May I be excused."  I told her "You may."  She looked at me and and said, "I not May Mommy, I Charlotte." ha! 


 For Trey's pirate party back in April I put the water table on the front porch so the guests could dig for buried treasure in the sand.  This means for two months the kids have been playing in sand on the front porch and dragging it into the house.  No matter how much we wipe their feet, there is sand everywhere. 

 

Saturday evening after the kids had played outside all afternoon I swept up the sand into piles on the porch.  I am really unsure what to do with it because I don't want to sweep it all over my grass, but there is so much I am not sure how to get rid of it.  Sunday afternoon Trey spent hours playing with his tractors on the sand piles.  I think he is ready to go to the beach. 

Chasing Butterflies

So far this week the kids have explored grasshoppers and caterpillars up close in the yard.  Today it was a beautiful butterfly.  This one butterfly kept flying around and around the front yard and the kids had the best time chasing it.  They would get close, but never attempt to grab or catch it.  The butterfly seems to enjoy the game too because she would flutter away across the driveway or down the hill, but then be right back again a few moments later for some more fun.