Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from our family to yours! I hope that your 2014 is filled with warmth, joy, curiousity, exploration, and love.

These are the photos I took to send our to family as our holiday cards, they are not the traditional formal pictures I take, but I thought the kids would enjoy this sitting more. I set up a secret hot cocoa picnic compete with artisan marshmallows and candy canes.  It is fun to give them a big treat like that every once and a while.

After taking the photos we went on our annual December float on the Willamette River with our kayaks lit up for the Illuminata Regatta. It is always fun, but this year was so amazingly pleasant. I don't know if it was the really cold (14 degree ferenheit) weather we had in the weeks leading up to the Illuminata Regatta or what, but it felt so warm we didn't even need our gloves!

I hope you enjoy the pictures.
:) Emilia

Preschool Turkey Activity

Friday morning I decided that I wanted to do an activity with my daughter and the little boys I was taking care of that day. I thought it would be nice to use the homemade playdough I had sitting around and something with fall colors.

I decided that I could easily make colored pasta and then shape the playdough into the shape of a turkey's body. The kids could then use the pasta to decorate the turkeys. I also added in some long pieces of dried spaghetti so the kids would be able to make longer "feathers" by putting the penne pasta over the spaghetti pasta.

While the kids were making their turkeys we talked about the colors, what the playdough felt like, if the noodles stayed in well, what patterns they could make, how they could make the noodles look like feathers on a turkey, and how the colors of the noodles and turkey looked a lot like fall leaves.

They enjoyed this activity a lot and after finishing their turkeys moved on to making their own shapes with the playdough and decorating those. It is great for fine motor skills, sensory play, creative play, learning about patterns, and colors.

To make the pasta all you do is get dried pasta, fill a bowl half way with white vinegar and add food coloring of you choice (I used probably at least 10 drops of color per bowl) then add pasta so that it is covered by the vinegar. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, maybe a little more, stirring a couple times while it sits. Then dump out the liquid and lay the pasta flat on a cookie sheet to dry. It took about two hours maybe three for ours to dry completely.

Now you are ready, just set out the materials for the kids to get to work.

Fall Fun: Pumpkins, and Apples, and Squirrels Oh My!

We take a weekly trip to the library for story time and to check out books. Usually I let the kids check a few out and I choose a couple to check out as well. I try and find books that fit into a weekly theme that I have in mind or that are seasonally appropriate. So a few weeks ago I spotted this cute book about a squirrel who is busy finding food for the winter (called The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri).
Buy it by clicking this link:


The little squirrel picks up various fall foods and takes them back to his nest. At the end of the book you see him asleep with all of his food. It is a cute book that teaches about what a squirrel does to get ready for the winter and shows some of what they eat.

I immediately started thinking of ways I could create activities surrounding this book, so I checked it out. We read it several times before ever getting to the activities, but finally I set things up and we did some writing, math, and science exploring some of the things that squirrel might have picked up to eat.

I got out a large bowl of water for a float or sink test, a measuring tape to measure each item, and some fall vegetables (a sweet dumpling squash and a bright orange squash), an apple, grapes, and dried fruit and nuts.

The plan was to read the book and then talk about why the squirrel was saving for food and if we had any of the same things. Then we put the things in order from largest to smallest.

I had written out a list of what each thing was before hand so then we measured each thing with the measuring tape and I wrote how big it was in yellow and then my daughter traced the number with a black marker.

Next, for each item, we predicted which items would sink and which would float. Then we put each on into the bowl of water to test our predictions. We then put a mark in a column for each one that sank and one in another column for each that floated.

This was my daughter's favorite part of the activity and she wanted to do it several times. We then drew a picture of one of the items as an added art activity. It would also be great fun to use the items to paint or make prints into play-dough.

Roasted Pears: Easy Fall Dessert

This is a great simple dessert that also has the added advantage of being really quite healthy. It also happens to be gluten and dairy free. A great paleo or vegan dessert as well.

I first served this dessert to a group of my family members who were visiting from out of town. We had a large dinner of my favorite ribs, with mashed potatoes, fresh tomatoes with basil, garlic, olive oil and vinegar, and other fresh vegetables from a farm box I picked up. For Dessert I wanted something just as fresh, but I also wanted it to be really easy to put together with people there. This fits the bill. 

Roasted Pears With Coconut Whipped Cream:

For the Pears:
Half a pear per person, slightly firm
A sprinkle each of cinnamon and cardamum
About 2 teaspoons real maple syrup per pear half

For the Whipped Cream:
A can of Whole coconut milk in a can (or Trader Joe's Coconut cream, in a can)
           Chilled well (I usually just keep a can in the fridge in case I want it)
A teaspoon vanilla extract
A tablespoon of maple syrup
A pinch of ground cardamom

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, put the beaters and mixing bowl into the freezer to chill

Wash the pears, cut them in half length wise and use a melon baller to scoop the seeds out. Sprinkle the pear with a bit of cinnamon and cardamom and then lightly pour maple syrup on them (about 2 teaspoons). Place in the oven for 30 minutes to bake until soft.

About 5 minutes before the pears are done get your mixing bowl out of the freezer and set it up. Open up the can of well chilled coconut milk and you should see a firm thick white layer. Scoop out just the very firm white layer into the mixing bowl, leaving behind the clear liquid for another use. Start mixing the coconut milk in the mixer on medium speed, add in the vanilla, maple syrup, and cardamom. What should happen is the coconut milk should become fluffy and look like whipped cream.

Serve the pears hot with the whipped coconut milk on top. We also served dark 80% chocolate with them and some people put small pieces in the middle of the pears so it would melt, that was great!

Planning A Party

Every year I get to plan at least 4 birthday parties. My kids, mine, and my husbands. This year is no different and as I approach my husbands birthday I am getting into the nitty-gritty of planning his party.

Over the years I have found a process that works to keep me organized, on track, and well not to insane during the day of the party.

The first thing I do is figure out the guest list. Then I figure out a theme (mostly for invitations at the adult stage). Next I invite people making sure to try and give them a month notice so they have time to plan around it, but honestly there are times that I am not perfect at this aspect of it. 

The very next thing I do is go to Pinterest and start a board dedicated to that party. This is probably my favorite part of party planning because I can imagine I have limitless possibilities, of course this means that I usually have to bring myself back down to reality of a budget and time. It still really helps with organization, especially because I am a visual person. 

On Pinterest I look for menu ideas that might fit into the theme, cake designs, decorating ideas, and entertainment ideas. Later I can go back and make my lists using these ideas. 

About a week before the party I really figure out the menu, decorations, and any entertainment ideas that I am going to use for the party, along with the number of people who are coming. I start a list with the menu, decor, and games written down under their own sections. Then I make a grocery list and a list of other items that I will need. I try and do this all on one piece of paper in sections so I can see it all at once. 

At the beginning of the week I try and buy anything that will need time to make for decor or games. Then in the evenings when the kids are in bed I start working on those things. 

In the morning the day before the party I try and do all my shopping and cleaning. Then that evening I try and do prep work. I usually make the cake but don't decorate it, do anything that can be done ahead like washing produce. 

The day of the party is all about decorating and making food. 

Here are a few links to Pinterest boards I have done for parties in the past in case you want to take a look at them. The next party I am holding is for my husband's birthday on Friday and it is a BBQ theme. I hope maybe letting you in on my process will help you a bit with your next party. 

http://pinterest.com/ecarleyroe/husband-birthday/

http://pinterest.com/ecarleyroe/ak-birthday-party-ideas/ (this was a bird themed party for my little girl)

http://pinterest.com/ecarleyroe/ab-bday-party-ideas/ (This was a superhero themed party for my little boy)

Do you use Pinterest at all? Do you make a board for your parties?   

Father's Day Photo Shoot & Gift

I did a lot of searching online for Father's Day ideas and how to include the kids in making the gift for Father's Day. I discovered many photo shoots of the kids along with prop ideas and framing ideas. You can check out many of the ideas I came upon on my Pinterest board about Father's Day. I took a few of these ideas and combined them to get what you see above.

I really liked the idea of the kids finishing the sentence I love Daddy because... and using their answer in the photo shoot. I also thought it was really cute to see kids dressed in their Father's work clothes. I think it would make a nice sequence if we did it year after year to see how much they have grown. I also really like the sign for I love you in sign language, I grew up using it with my mom and have used it with the kids so I really liked the tracing of the child's hand and having it folded to say I love you in sign language and holding a heart.

Each of the kids also answered questions about Daddy (like what is his favorite food, what does he do at work, what is is favorite thing to do, etc). I plan to do that year after year as well and see how the answers change.

I would love to hear of other ideas that you come up with so I can start coming up with things for next year or birthday which is right around the corner. :)

Ricotta Stuffed Apricots

The other day at the super market I saw these beautiful orange apricots and felt like I really needed to find a way to use them. I decided to experiment with making stuffed apricots with sour cream or ricotta and rosemary.

I ended up trying out both and found that I really preferred the ricotta because there is already a lot of tartness from the apricots so the sour of the sour cream did not counter that flavor enough for me. I added a little bit of finely chopped rosemary and maple syrup to the cheese, scooped the mix into the apricot and broiled it until the cheese was just lightly browned.

The combination was amazing. I tart flavor of the apricots combined with the slightly sweet cheese and woodsy rosemary was amazing. I was mostly amazed at how filling this was considering the small size of an apricot and the small dollop of ricotta it takes to fill the space where the pit was.

This recipe became my breakfast for the next few days and I am sure to revisit it throughout the apricot season.

Enjoy!

2 firm but ripe apricots cut in half with the pit removed
2 tablespoons ricotta
1/8 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary (sprinkle it in starting with half the amount and then taste to see if you want to add the full amount)
2 teaspoons maple syrup plus a slight drizzle for the top

Mix the cheese, rosemary and 2 teaspoons of maple syrup together. Scoop into the place where the pit was in the apricot filling generously. Drizzle very slightly with maple syrup. Broil until lightly browned.

YUM!

My kids preferred to eat the ricotta mix on slices of apple. Another version of this uses cinnamon and vanilla in the ricotta with some maple syrup. This makes a great dip for apples. 

UPDATE: A Vegan Version I just made recently that is amazing:

 You make these the same way as the non-vegan version but I made cashew cheese to go in them instead of ricotta or mascarpone. Here is the deal with cashew cheese:

Fill a large container (that can hold at least 4-6 cups of stuff with 1 cup of raw cashews and the rest with boiled water that has cooled just for a minute or two. Allow it to sit at least 1 hour but it is even better (smoother end result) if you can let it sit all day or over night and most of the day. 

Next drain the water into a measuring cup and add to the cashews about 2 tablespoons maple syrup and 1/4 cup of the reserved water. Using a very good blender (Vitamix or that sort) or an immersion blender on high speed mix these together until smooth. If it does not seem to be blending you may need to add a bit more water but be cautious about this and take it slow doing it just a tablespoon at a time. You want this to be very smooth and thick about the texture of mascarpone cheese. 

Follow the rest of the recipe as above in the non-vegan version.