pre-k orientation

This morning Amelia had her pre-k orientation. She was so very excited to see her lil buddies from last year and meet the new students. I had just adjusted to her and I being home alone with Aiden at school. She will be at school three mornings a week!

ps the scraped nose is from a crazy stunt dive at the pool and she is quite embarrassed about it. I powdered her nose so you can barely see it. Right?

apple picking family style

I dragged the family to Sm'apple farm after soccer on Saturday. It felt a bit too warm to be apple picking but the sun was out and it was on my to do list. We picked Jonagold's to make applesauce and some Honeycrisp for eating.  The wasps were making me a wee bit uncomfortable so we picked fast and skedaddled.

monday meal plan

monday: thai pork stew with rice
tuesday: beef strogonoff  and salad
wednesday: spaghetti and meat balls, salad and bread, angel food cake with straw berries (Grandma's dessert dinner)
thursday: chicken enchiladas
friday: leftovers

soccer 2011

Fall soccer has arrived. Aiden is trialing a new patented smile. Isn't it great?

husky run

Yesterday was Aiden's husky run at school. This is the first time I was able to attend. Amelia and I showed up to count laps and cheer the kids on. Aiden ran 16 laps and Amelia joined him for 6. It was such a hot day all the kids had hot red faces and not a lot of smiles. Reminds me of the Terry Fox run when was I kid. I dreaded it every year.

fall to do list {2011}

go apple picking
make applesauce
make pumpkin bread, pumpkin scones, and pumpkin waffles
go for a family fall walk
do leaf crafts with the kid
make another gratitude tree
go to the pumpkin patch
sip warm apple cider while reading a good book
decorate the house for fall
decorate the house for Halloween
make jack o lanterns
roast pumpkin seeds
paint a pumpkin with Amelia
have a photo shoot in a leaf pile
fall yard clean up
dig up dahlias, divide day lilies, plant daffodil and allium bulbs
fall picnic

photo book love

I finally made the leap and started creating photo books. I am loving how easy and relative time saving they are compared to scrapbooking. I made a Disneyland book and one of our family photos this year. Next up San Francisco and a year in review. This could get addicting...

Monday meal plan

Monday: ravioli with tomato sauce and green beans
Tuesday: spinach bacon tomato quiche with salad
Wednesday: Thai pork stew with rice
Thursday: turkey chili with jalapeño cheddar bread
Friday: leftovers

red curry salmon

photo from Real Simple

I have found another super quick and easy salmon recipe that the kids like! Thanks to Real Simple.

Ingredients

• 4 5-ounce pieces salmon fillet
• 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
• kosher salt and black pepper

Directions

1. Heat broiler. Place the salmon on a foil-lined broilerproof baking sheet. In a small bowl, mix together the curry paste, oil, sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Dividing evenly, brush the salmon with the curry paste mixture.
2. Broil until the salmon is opaque throughout, 5 to 7 minutes

lil miss does the swimming thang...

Amelia started swimming lessons last week. Partially to occupy her time until preschool starts in October and also she loves the water. She has class with one other little boy and she loves it. Yesterday I tried to grab a few pictures (I'm trying to get better about documenting our lives again) before swim lessons but she wouldn't co operate. In the pool is another story. She is a little fish! 

easy bake cake

Amelia got an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas last year. We finally put the light bulb in and she made her first cake. It was the perfect size (2.5 inch diameter) and she was in heaven. She even saved a tiny bite for Daddy after work. Lucky Dad. Nobody else got to taste her masterpiece.