homeschooling wrap up: december!

i know, i know.

it's the end of january.

and i'm just now getting around to posting about the wrap up for december.

it was a great month and very busy!

enjoy the pictures!

mv always practicing our tracing...

jack practicing following lines

mv's cutting practice, turned into a Christmas tree!

letter matching

Joy to the World!

guacamole tree :)

Merry Christmas!

a bit of "cooking practice" with peppermint sugar scrub for g-ma's stocking!

thumbprint thank you notes

"silver" bells memory matching game 

*couldn't find silver kisses...*

our Advent wreath is in storage so we improvised this year ;)

snowflake ornaments for grandparents

color sorting

number practice

cutting and organization

a fun and sweet craft!

Christmas sensory tub

"J is for candy cane!" - Jack

(fail.)

We Three Kings

a special trip to the san antonio children's museum with g-ma!

an antique gem i found in my mother's library.

we added it to our morning routine :)

another great month!!

gabe's baptism...finally!

finally posting about baby gabe's baptism!

sheesh.  only about a month late.

but, anyway, we had a great weekend with tons of family (mike's twin brother and sister-in-law were the godparents) and tons of friends!

we had a big brunch and a fish fry over the weekend and then on the very rainy and cold Sunday morning, while baby gabe decided to cry the entire sermon, he was baptized into the Episcopal church!

we are so very blessed to have such a wonderful church and family that joined us for this special day!

the boys even got an early morning duck hunt in :)

a great weekend!

huffington post!

it's published!

go read it!

share it, tweet it, facebook it!

and then go follow our new travel blog, www.dclandromomania.blogspot.com

that's where we'll be blogging and posting our whole trip.

so, when we leave, we'll switch to that blog.

for the next 4 weeks, i'm still here.

but go bookmark it and follow along!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-desa/the-southern-americas-7-c_b_6445668.html 

lately...

lately, we've been...

enjoying texas winters!

going on lots of dates :)

being silly

loving some girl-time shopping

eating lots!

but mostly, just enjoying each other and our very blessed life.

sweet potato encrusted spinach quiche

this is the best.
seriously.
i don't even miss the flaky crust of a quiche when i've got the toasty, roasty goodness of sweet potatoes.
think of it like sweet potato french fries on the edges and soft, mashed potatoes underneath.
so. good.
and definitely put the spinach in...you don't even taste it and you've got your greens intake for the day!

eat this with a nice green salad for dinner or with bacon for breakfast!

Sweet Potato Encrusted Spinach Quiche
Serves 4-8...serve in quarters for a meal, in eighths for a side dish.
Found from pinterest!
2-3 small sweet potatoes, scrubbed, peeled, and sliced thinly
Cooking spray
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
10-16 ounces of fresh spinach, washed and de-stemmed
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat your oven to 400*F.
Arrange the sweet potato slices in a 9" pie pan (use disposable, as seen below, for a great meal to take for friends!).  Spray with cooking spray to evenly coat and season liberally with salt and pepper.  Roast in preheated oven for 15 minutes, until getting browned.  Remove from oven, set aside, and lower oven temp to 375*F.
Meanwhile, heat a large saute skillet over medium-high heat and add a drizzle of olive oil.  Add onions and garlic and saute for a few minutes until soft.  Add fresh spinach and saute, tossing, until wilted.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Drain in a colander and press lightly to squeeze the excess liquid from the greens.  Set aside to cool slightly.
Add beaten eggs and cheese to a large bowl and carefully stir in warm spinach.
Pour mixture over roasted potato slices in pie dish.
Bake at 375*F for 30-40 minutes, until browned on top and set in middle.
Enjoy warm! 

*see those spaces between the roasted potatoes?  not a problem.*