toddler meals, part 3!

we amuse ourselves.

but hopefully you can benefit from my amusement!

have fun and your kids will have fun eating too!

on a whim, i bought a little can of those raviolis.

guess what my kids didn't eat.

haha!

nothing cuter than a baby bel mouse!

be careful with this one.

michael was very disappointed when he got to the bottom and there wasn't ice cream. 

;)

and we do love our buffets.

apples with almond butter on top and sprinkled with unsweetened coconut flakes, pecans, and mini chocolate chips!

good for mama too!

cold cuke salad

easy, easy. 

and oh so refreshing during a hot summer. 

disclaimer: i don't care for cucumbers. I think they are crunchy bites of nothing. i'll eat them if i have to or if they are atop white bread and cream cheese or in the pretty pitchers at the spa (although pretty sure you aren't supposed to eat those) but otherwise? meh. 

but, when tossed with a bit of this and that and i'm hugely pregnant and hot, i'll take em ;)

Cold Cuke Salad

Serves 2.

1 firm cucumber

Drizzle (2-3 tablespoons) extra virgin olive oil

Drizzle (2 tablespoons) white or red wine vinegar

Big pinch (1/8-1/4 teaspoon) red pepper flakes

Shake or two (1/2-1 teaspoon) toasted sesame seeds

Pinch (1/2 teaspoon) dried dill weed, or to taste, and use double fresh if you've got it!

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Peel your cuke, halve lengthwise, and scrape seeds from the insides. Then lay flat on your cutting board and slice into 1/4"-1/2" half moons. Put in a medium bowl and toss with the rest of ingredients. Taste, season accordingly, and enjoy!

chickpea cookie dough fail.

have you heard of this?

chickpeas, blended with other relatively healthy ingredients, makes a great "cookie dough"?

no.
nope.

fail. 

at least this recipe. 

i've tried a couple others and they were okay but nope. 

i'll wait another 7 weeks for the real stuff, thank-you-very-much. 

nope.

not even in a fancy cup. 

happy father's day...belated

we adore this man.

from our honeymoon, dreaming of our life ahead...

and first and foremost, a loving husband, to teach our boys how to treat their wives...

to our firstborn.

through deployments and separations...

and home again for our second. 

 and adventures in homeschooling...

and now onto a third son!
(he was gone when i found out and this is how i told him...baby #3 was the size of a pea that day)

you have taught our boys, and me, Christ's love through parenting.

you are our superman.

and always will be.

we love you.

strawberry pickin'!

last weekend, we headed down to fredericksburg and visited a strawberry/complete working farm!

the boys had a great time...eating as many strawberries and snow peas as they could hold, watching chickens, picking blackberries, and trying to feed the pigs!

we had a great time and can't wait to get to nanny and paw paw's for some real farm fun!

30 week baby gabe bump!

stuffing his chubby cheeks

daddy and mv did most of the picking...

jack didn't.

watching pigs

taking over mv's basket so he could keep eating

and trying to give those chickens a treat!

last homeschooling wrap up!

ok, you'll forgive me in advance.
i didn't take too many pictures this month.
mostly of our "special" activities and you'll just have to trust me that we did the dutiful tracing, cutting, and reading.
but, on to the good stuff!

mexico was our culture series rotating center of the month!

painting a poncho...

...and trying it on with a "sombeho"

sorting beans!

and making them into a mexico flag!

our grand finale...cinco de mayo dinner!

my little bandito :)

all of our mexican (ish) meals we had during those two weeks!

then, it was on to social studies!
we learned about which service workers make up a town...

post office

doctor

and fire fighters!

a "fire" breakfast

and "fire" cupcakes for our end of year party!

complete with trip, with jack and daddy, to the local fire station!

but, with all this fun, we also did our "normal" too...

i can't believe we made it another whole year!

i think someone is already missing school...

:)