While Mom was here. . .

Here is a quick round-up of the fun.

Playing Outside

We have had the most gorgeous weather lately. Sometimes in the high 60s!

Mom wasn’t feeling too well that day.

We love a fenced in park.

Hanging in the back yard.

Arts and Crafts

We played with play dough, and after a couple reminders, they didn’t eat it! We might be getting somewhere.

But we did let them eat the paint, because it’s made with sweetened condensed milk. It’s probably just confusing them letting them eat some art supplies, and not others, but oh well. They had so much fun.

So much fun that we did it again, only this time Ruby used her body as a canvas.

So naturally we had to throw them all in the tub together. Sorry if this embarrasses you later, kids.

I guess I needed an outlet or something, because I decided to do a little project. I was planning on us all doing it together, but time go away from us so I just did it myself while mom watched the kids.  I wanted to make gingerbread houses (with my new Wilton cutters!) during Christmas, but it never happened. I decided to keep the dream alive, and just make some adjustments for Valentine’s Day, making it shortbread, and, of course, decorating accordingly. It was fun to play around. I was in a hurry toward then end, as you’ll see my poor royal icing piping on the front (it needed a re-whip). Oh well, it looks like snow, right?

Reading

Bennett enjoying some Charles Dickens.

They LOVE the book that Cami made of the family.

And we have thoroughly enjoyed all the great books Nana brought to read.

Scrumptious Food

I’ve been wanting to make this for a while, and after reading Julie’s review, I couldn’t wait any longer. Definitely going to make this one again.

Some chocolate, pretzel, coconut, caramel bark-type stuff I concocted (we just call it a candy bar). It’s deadly.

Coconut Limeade. So good and so simple. I even had everything we needed for this. (Yes, I keep a supply of Coco Lopez around. Sometimes a girl just needs a pina colada.)I actually used fresh lime juice instead of the concentrate and it was tart and delicious.

I made a version of these sandwiches for KC’s birthday (substituting turkey for ham, and croissants for rolls). Turns out if you assemble these sandwiches the night before a party, and plan to bake them right before the guests arrive, but the party never happens, you can just freeze them, and bake them whenever you want. They turned our amazingly well after being frozen. good to know.

We also all enjoyed a night out together and a great, authentic Mexican place in Annapolis that Elise and Jeff stumbled upon. It was so great to get out after the slightly hectic week.

Piling on Mom

The kids couldn’t get enough of Mom’s attention. There were always piles of babies wherever she was.

And this is what sweet Alex did when mom told him she was going home. As heavy as that kid is, he is really fun to cuddle.

Elise and I even squeezed in a haircut outing together, which was lovely. The Amish market was also a highlight. And mom and I enjoyed some excellent British entertainment, including Doc Martin, Lark Rise to Candleford, and Downton Abbey. So, we had our ups and downs, but always enjoy a visit from mom. Come back soon! We’ll do our best to be healthy when you do!