Friday, July 31, 2009

Friday? Still the Fun Day!

Yep, no matter how stressful, no matter how hectic, Friday is still our "escape" day!

The leftover half a loaf of french bread, we turned it into french toast! Mr. Man suggested it and he is a genius for that. He himself loves french toast so that was an expert suggestion in my book! (I so love that man! Whew, is it hot in here or is it just me? LOL)
Then, it's time to let our cockatiel out! We let him out and he says "hello" to everyone by opting to land and play with any of us. I-Dude got that honor this morning. Look at that smile!Then he finds a bigger mirror and "sings to his friend" in there. LOL
Cece and Dexter seem to have "private" conversations when they're together. I wonder if it's about how to convince us to let him out more. ;-)
After our typical "leftover smorgasbord" lunch and a nap, we headed to Half Price Books again for the last day of their Reading Promotion. J-Pony held on to her coupon last week and earned another one this week. Her choices, she found a computer game she saved her coupon for and two great books with today's coupon. She saved $6 and only paid, $5.83! As for I-Dude, he saved $3 with his coupon and paid only 1.08 for two books!

Btw, it's official, my girls are Anthony Horowitz fans and our family's hooked on the Berenstain Bears series. Michelle found "My Sister's Keeper" and a photo editing software.
When we got out, we decided to look into DSW Shoe Factory and try on some shoes. As you can see, I-Dude was not enjoying the "activity of choice". LOL
Here's me finding a great sparkly pair in the Clearance section. (My cell took this pic and I look like my feet are jaundiced.) *hee hee*
But before that, I tried on this 4-in. "blind ya" number! Cute, but not me...
Here's J-Pony finding a great pair for a wedding...
And I-Dude slipping into some Rocket Dog slip-ons! There was no children's section... ;-(
Here's J with a sweet turqoise pair that matched her socks.
Michelle found some really cute ones, too, but the prices, not so cute! Yep, the only thing we're able to afford, the browsing and try-ons, what else? Before we left and after all those we tried on, this is the pair I fell in love with! It just looks like fairy slippers made of leaves and vines. (But as you can see, even with that blue (40% off the shown price) tag, I can't afford it.)
Then off towards HOME to make dinner and since it's Friday, it's also movie and soda night! (I get nominated for Mother of the Year weekly because of these two. LOL) As you can see, we chose to watch...

Well since I've also blogged about our day, it is officially over... It's some ME time now. (Whatever that is...) ;-)

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND, EVERYBODY!!!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

12 Hours of Fun (While Learning)!

Since I'm taking a break from tablescaping and school is coming again soon, I had the kids wake up @ 6:45AM and we treated this day as if they are gonna be in school. It was a day of fun, learning and more fun!

First, a good breakfast of cereal and buttermilk pancakes with milk, then the Morning Exercise (Wii Fit) Each of them did three routines and even did the Step aerobics together! Gotta wake up those brains!
We did our Morning Chores and some extra ones to also wake up our bodies and have a clean space! That's a bit of Social Studies, isn't it? Loved that!

Then some Strategy and Thinking Game. Rummikub is a great game of number sequence and matching. I-Dude won!
Of course, Independent and Group Reading commenced as well. I read them Chapter 12 of "The Children of the Lamp" by PB Kerr. They just love it and was a little sad that we only read one chapter.

The 5:30AM t-storm cleansed the air enough to reveal this beautiful vista. Nature watching, wait... that's Science time! *ha ha* The kiddos loved seeing the leftover rain on the leaves and the sun peeking through our trees!
I threw in a bit of Zoology education- watching what makes cats relax and happy. It turned out, only a well fed tummy, warm window sill and a great view! Thanks for being our subject, Cece!
Then, some Chemistry- baking some "Honey Butter French Bread". J-Pony watched precisely measured flour, honey, butter, eggs, water, yeast and salt get mixed up, and kneaded into this, rise for an hour...
Molded into these loaves, rise for another 30 minutes...
Then 20 minutes in 425 deg F and the result looked like this. Crunchy on the outside,
Oh so soft on the inside! It looks dense but it's so light. (Let's see how the crowd liked it...)

"I think we have a winner, Mom!" I loved it, too enough to call L-Infinity and "brag". *hee hee*
(I even texted Mr. Man and he, too, loved the "delish" pictures. He actually called to tell me how much he liked the pictures. Then requested for a sourdough. I guess I have another recipe to try...) :-)

Then we went to the store as the kiddos dictated the dinner: Chicken Fettucine Alfredo chosen by J-Pony. They learned Economics as well. With a $2 off next shopping trip coupon, a $10 budget and a list, we were able to focus our purchases, pay attention to the price per ounce, and able to buy all that we needed for only $7.00!
And Chunky Dark Chocolate Brownies! I halved it since I love almonds! I had to make sure that I-Dude had the plain end as he is allergic to ALL nuts! Doesn't it look yummy?
Part of the French bread, we turned into Garlic Bread! Oh man, it was so good!
Here's Michelle with most of the dinner on the table. (I was still cooking the veggies.)
When she put away the brownies, she found this big hunk full of the chocolate chunks I put in. It was pure heaven in her mouth... (LOL She asked me if she had a pulse after the first bite.)
Then some Physical Education and Field Trip- Night Swimming! Our complex has two pool areas. One near our mailbox and this one behind the office at the front of the complex. We haven't been to this one in a long time so it was fun to have it all to ourselves.
Look at all the beautiful plants surrounding this one... The other one was plain.
Look at the fence, full of trailing mandevillas and the pool is curved rather than the typical rectangle kind at the other end. It framed the "swimmers" beautifully, don't you think? ;-)
We swam until we were so tired, silly faces started to come out! LOL
And some last minute "underwater" tricks.
Ok, some more silly faces...

Thursday or any day, can be and is a wonderful learning experience.

How was your day?

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Just Browsing and Planning...

Well, it's Wednesday again, that means, the day is crammed!

Mr. Man is back to work and August is lurking in the corner which means... School is at the top of our mental list. Isn't it yours?

Every year, we go to Costco twice a year to beef up our pantry for the school year and to get ready for Summer vacation. I go every February or March then again in September. In between, we visit Costco so I can "create a shopping list" that includes all the items we pick up, with those we want, round up the price to the next dollar so I can have a realistic budget set with what we actually should buy come time to shop.

(I took a picture of Michelle next to a stroller, but my cooky cell didn't save it though I saw it in there after I saved it! It's done that too many times! grrrr!)

Anyway, we went there because I haven't gotten a card, so after I pretended I was Cindy Crawford in front of the camera, I toured the whole store for my list. Michelle, J-Pony and I-Dude all went around reading books, looking at the Wii games and tasting all the sampler tables that they fancied. They had a great time and I finished my list. They even played "I Spy"!Wonderful. Thanks, Michelle! (Psst! Btw, the picture turned out like I have half of my face-melted off! Ewwww....)

Then off to...
For some Fall ideas! I love this iron frame set... I will wait for another sale in September. I don't really do "Before Season" sales. Just not my thing... (I'm more of an "After Season" Sale connoiseur; wait it out, buy real low and enjoy next year! Haven't failed me so far!)
Here's a "floating" frame for a project I lined up. But it'll have to wait...
I love these frames! It's exotic and classic at the same time. As Michelle would say, "Sa-weeeet!" ;-)
I saw three different ones of these combo centerpiece things and I chose this one and when I asked I-Dude which one he thinks I'd choose, he guessed this one! He knows his Mama! LOL
Michelle needed a shirt for an upcoming work interview so we also hit our local Target Superstore and since she loves babies, these caught her attention!
While she looked, I took the two smallish kiddos to the school supplies end of the store and they fought over a box of pens! ;-) (They posed like that. LOL)
As I went through the list, I was glad to realize that we have most of them already that I only had to spend $15! The best part, no whining about any "wanted" items! Both J-Pony and I-Dude were patient and just had fun trying out backpacks and looking at the supplies. Sometimes, I feel like I'm the luckiest mom on earth!

Only clothes and backpacks later. And... since we got rebate cards and a Target giftcard, our bank card got ignored today! *woot woot*

At Costco, the kids tasted baked potato with Michelle and I-Dude loved it! Well, Michelle and I ended up craving some, too! So, I used the red potatoes I have and "loaded" it with butter, cheese, tomatoes, bacon and cilantro! Yum! (Though, I have to admit, this is the first time, I've made one, good thing it was with red potatoes, it tasted lighter and fresher. Oh yeah, you have to microwave the red potatoes for 8 mins in High with water in the shallow bowl and the skin pricked all over to cook it.)

The kiddos enjoyed the bacon with rice, cheese and grape juice. They will feast on fruits tomorrow as I was too tired to notice that I didn't serve them veggies. Bad, mama!!! LOL

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Feelin' Like the Tropics Today...

A few days ago, we enjoyed some Mexican cuisine like the Taco Salad. Last night, we explored the exotic oriental part of Asia with Broccoli Beef and Ponzu Shrimp. Today, we will explore... the Tropics!

Close your eyes and let your minds focus on this island paradise spot where the water is cool and as blue as the sky, the breeze never stops and the palm trees dance away your worries...

(coastal living dot com)

But before we can go to our island getaway, we must figure out which vehicle we'll take after we arrive at our tropical destination. (I-Dude just created them in mere minutes!) The kiddos need to have some downtime, so let's find a wonderful venue for a rousing game of Hide and Seek.

There's I-Dude! We treated everyone to BK and the King gladly accepted our B1G1F coupons, saving us almost $10! (J-Pony is still a little sick, so she's not up to taking much pictures.)

Now that everyone's settled and entertained, let's go to our rented villa and enjoy the local fruits, but it doesn't have to be typical and boring "slice as you go" business. Let's make it fun and make a "Beetle" fruit bowl!

To make it more interesting, let's make it with a face and wheels, making it both a "bug/VW bug" fruit bowl! LOL (There's Mr. Man putting on the front wheel...)
And the back wheel!
Here she is, all ready to transport to our hungry tummies her load of yummy fruits! Michelle balled all the watermelon, I washed the grapes and Mr. Man took care of the rest while the kiddos enjoyed the extras. Team work, baby, tropics style! LOL
Let's check out her cute face... Mr. Man outdid himself in copying Michelle's magazine picture! *woot woot*
And of course, you can't experience the tropics without enjoying a great plate of "Hawaiian Haystacks!" I love all the layers in it and it's delish!
Now that you've been fed well, go and enjoy dreaming in that cozy bedroom with a mosquito net, and billowing curtains. Aaaahhhh... the easy life, good food and summer fun!

Did you enjoy our virtual trip to the Tropics? We sure did enjoy having you!