More Please!

I have used basic sign language with all of my babies. It is a testament for anybody who doesn't think that babines are smart, to see them express plainly what they want and need before they have the physical ability to speak. It has been a life saver for me several times.

Anyways, I don't do anything major, just the basics, you know, more, water, change me, please, thanks et cetera. With Maira I started when she was about 14 months old and she picked it up super quickly. I don't really remember with Arami, but I know that it happened.

Well, I have been using some signs for a few months now with Amira (11 months today), just to get her used to seeing them, and on last Saturday, she started to sign. All we have really gotten from her is More, and that is just for ice cream, but it is a start.

Let's just say that she is her father's daughter, sweet tooth and all!

Magic Banana Sticks

Brooke, Arami and I made a really cool snack today that correlated with our theme this week in preschool. I had intended to take photos of the process, but my lovely husband seems to have removed the photo card and didn't tell me!!!

The girls peeled the bananas and removed all the stringy thinGs...then they cut them in half. In the mean time, I melted chocolate chips (I added a little bit of milk to make it runnier). Then we stuck the bananas with popsickle sticks and dipped them in the chocolate. They then had their choice of 6 different types of sprinkles to douse them in. Lastly, they were placed on a wax-paper covered plate and put in the freezer.

We are anxiously awaiting the time when we get to eat them.

Arami

Arami is such a cutie! She is extremely creative. A few moments ago, she was sitting at the piano plunking away at the keys, which is a normal activity for her. She often creates songs, names and all. For example, figaro, as you can imagine sounds a bit like the opera, just the 3 notes mind you. Chingalana is a four key repeat. Well, just now she has another, it doesn't have a name, but it does have a story. The high key is the good guys, the medium key is the bad guys, and the low key is the crocodile....it is quite ominous, the crocodile is the key player and gets the most play time.

It's official, Fall is here!

I know, this isn't really news for anybody who isn't in a coma, but I am reminded by all the new blog backgrounds that it is official. Autum is definately, without a doubt, unequivicably, my favorite season. I love the crisp, blustery air, the way that the earth naturally cleanses itself by getting rid of the old and making space for the new. There is something very exciting about school starting and the days getting shorter...oh wait, that isn't fun, but it does happen in the fall.

I used to live in New Hampshire...for all you non-geography gurus, that is the state to the east of Vermont, of beautiful leave fame. Maybe that is why I have such an affinity for the season, becauase we had just about all the same trees and leaves, but not as much traffic to see them.

Mall Family Restroom

Dave and I went to the mall the other day. We were down south in Tukwila at what was formerly known as Southcenter. (Yes, this is the same mall that the two of us met and worked together in 13 years ago.) We went there because Maira and Arami met with their biological father and his wife for about an hour for the first time in over a year (That is a completely different story though, and its not going in this blog, but...as a woman, I would love to vent, so if your curiosity strikes you, please...give me a call and I will talk you ear off.)

OK...enough bird walking! So...Dave and I were at the mall that is now known as Westfield Southcenter shopping center. They have done some MAJOR upgrading, for example, the dining area was previously called "Rainier Court" and it is now called "Rainier Dining Terrace" and it even has an outdoor balcony should if fancy you to eat outdoors. Amira needed to nurse, so we found the "family restroom". Holy Moly, let me tell you something! This place had 5 couches in a circle around the "up-to-three year old appropriate play area. This particular area also had a 52" plasma tv on the wall, should you be in there with older children, or a husband, to keep them entertained. It had 3 seperate nursing stalls with nice curtains, a lounge chair, and your own personal television, complete with, like, 100 different cable network channels to choose from (because who doesn't want a tv 1-1/2 feet from their face when they are nursing their baby?). The changing area was a huge (like 20' x 10') counter with 3 seperate sinks and the diaper changing spots were built into the counter next to each sink. They were actually sunk into the counter, so escape was out.

As you can imagine, the price of anything inside the stores was astronomical, but I guess they didn't really have any choice, if they are going to make rent on their spots, they have to pay an arm and a leg after the hugemongous (no, there isn't a spelling error there, that is my new word) upgrade.

Anyways, I just was kind of beside myself and even said to Dave while we were there, that I was going to have to blog about the room, to which his responce was "Too bad we don't have a camera!"

Bear Claws

Maira and I made bear claws on Saturday. it's been a while since she has shown any interest in working in the kitchen with me so it was a lot of fun.


For those interested in th recipe...

2 Tblsp yeast softened in warm water
sift 4 1/2 cups flour, 4 T sugar and 2 teaspoons salt
cut in 1 cup butter until fine (i just did this with my hands)
add 1/2 cup evap milk, 2 unbeaten eggs and 1/2 cup raisens
add softened yeast mix weel and chill overnight or at least 2 hours.
Filling:
cream 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup brown sugar. You can add 1 cup chopped nuts if you want.

After dough is chilled, divide into six balls. Roll eac ball into rectangles. Spread filling in center of each and fold over. (fold small ends first, just enough to tuck, then the long sides, both to the center") Then flip the entire thing over seam side down. Lay dough in a half moon shape on cookie sheet and cut slits along outer side about 1/2" apart. Then twist the "toes" so that the filling side is up. Let rise 45 minutes and bake at 350 until just brown, about 15 minutes.
Glaze:
2 T melted butter, 1 cup pwdr sugarm 1/2 t vanilla, stir in 1-2T evap milk. pour over top. ENJOY

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Digging for Bones

For those of you who don't know, or maybe those of you who may have forgotten, I homeschool the kiddos. We are trying something new this year...The Story of the World...It is a history book that has an optional workbook that is just what its title says, the story of the world, from the beginning. We started last week and talked about how we know what happened. We learned about how important it is to keep records and journals, so that our posterity can learn from our lives. We all made little family books, where interviews of each member of the family occured and pictures were placed. Then we talked about Historians and Archaelogists. The class culiminated in a dig for "bones". I was going to use chicken bones, but kinda got grossed out at the idea of it, so I found some nice plastic dinosaurs and jungle animals and buried them in Plaster of Paris. This kids LOVED IT! Reiley checking the progress of everyone else.

Some friends who are doing the class with us...Alexander (on the left), Maira (not a friend, but needed to point her out as she is in the photo) and Jules. Arami and Brooke (in the front). Brooke is the little cutie I get to take care of everyday. She and Arami are good friends, and they help each other (and me) stay on track with pre-school.

Got Fruit?

Amira has never been interested in Baby Food, neither were her older sisters for that matter. I beleive that part of that is the texture, and the oterh part is simply the need to be independant and feed herself. She is slowly picking up on the "fuller tummy for longer periods of time if I eat the stuff they give me" mentality. One of the things that is definately a keeper in her diet is fruit. The plums she is eating in some of these photos are from the tree in the back yard.

Arami Turns Five

We had a birthday party for Arami on Saturday. She will be officially five on Monday the 15th. She decided that she wanted a Dora party...so I put on my Creative Hat (and did some internet research) and came up with some fun ideas for a party. This first picture is Dave, Reiley and my nephew Balthezar working pre-party on one of the activities. We did a typical Dora adventure with the map and all. Stop number one was to Pin the Tail on Swiper. Maira was the hostest with the mostest. She is going to be the best teacher some day!
Stop number two was the most popular. THE PINATA! The kids all loved this part, the question then is....is it more fun to hit the thing, or run for the candy afterwards?
Stop number three and the destination was the cake. I did decorate this cake, thank you very much. This was my very first attempt ever, not bad huh!
Overall, a fun time was had by all, especially the birthday girl who got lots of fun presents and a weekend with the grandparents.

Clothesline Update

Ok, I'm not really in the mood to try to figure out these pictures and how to put them in order, so you all will just have to figure it out on your own!!! These are the life of the clothesline to date. We had to bury the pole in cement in a cinder block, then dig a hole in the ground and bury it as well. It was really exciting! No, I am not being facetious, this is just the life of a mom!!! Needless to say, I LOVE it. The photo with the clothes is a king size load...and I can't be for sure, because by the time to put a third load up, the first is dry, but I think that I could get at least three full loads up there.

So...my trick is to use fabric softener in the wash and then, when they are done outside, I throw them in the dryer for 10 minutes to give them a little fluff, then they aren't stiff.

Boy o boy do my clothes smell good!

Italian Plums

This is a 10 quart bowl full of really yummy plums from a tree in our backyard. I didn't even know what kind of fruit it was until this year, because they never did more than become hard green thingys. We actually thought they may have been apples, but this year, they ripened all the way. Our Japanese pear tree didn't make any fruit this year though....I wonder why?






















Here is the tree they came from.

The Power of Marketing

Let me start by saying that the only TV the kids watch in our home is PBS and it isn't watched often, even during the summer!

Beware what your kids watch, because they are the ones that these infomercials are talking to. Maira is absolutely convinced that we can not live without the Shark (you know that vacuum that can climb mountains and solve the worlds conflict).

Today she came to me with a note page, yes, a full page of notes that she took whilst watching an infomercial on the Power Juice Deluxe, by Jack LaLanne. I really can honestly say, that I have no idea where or when she has seen this, must be at Grandma's house.

This is what she wrote down...

"Power Juice Deluxe" 1-800-971-8417 Costs only $49.90

It helps save your life and you can put whole fruit in it and whole vegetables. It can make you healthy and skinny. When you are old, it can help you do stuff that you could do when you were young. It can also help you make muffins and zuchini bread (if you use zuchinis) and banana bread.

Goodbye Baldrick!

Yep, that is right. Baldrick is gone. We sold him to a nice David look alike, who was thoroughly impressed with the description of him, so much so, that he drove here from Kalispell Montana to pick him up, sight unseen.

The idea is that we learn to be a one car family, cuz that is just more responsible financially. We didn't get any money for him, just got out from the car payment. Now the real test is whether or not we are responsible about the extra money we will have each month as a result!