eat. play. sleep.: August 2009

Monday, August 31, 2009

recipe for relaxation

Joel and I had a fun weekend in Kirkland and Seattle this past weekend. We stayed at a fabulous hotel (in a room with an AWESOME view), ate amazing food, stalked one of my favorite writers to her new pizza place, had some great wine, and slept in (and also without a two year old between us!). We also visited the EMP and Sci-Fi Museum, the original Starbucks, and my favorite crumpet shop just around the corner from Pike Place Market.

Bliss!

meal plan monday

Last week was insane...we ended up eating a ton of leftovers so I actually didn't cook much. This week we came home from a weekend away to a completely empty fridge and pantry so I anticipate cooking a lot more this week.

MONDAY

Breakfast: oatmeal, fruit

Lunch: sandwiches, salad

Dinner: bowties with sausage cream sauce, salad

TUESDAY

Breakfast: eggs in a nest, fruit

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner: black bean and sweet potato enchiladas

WEDNESDAY:

Breakfast: yogurt and granola

Lunch: grilled cheese, tomato soup

Dinner: buffalo chicken sandwiches, veggies and dip

THURSDAY:

Breakfast: oatmeal, fruit

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner: End of Summer Harvest Soup, homemade breadsticks

FRIDAY:

Breakfast: muffins, smoothies

Lunch: sandwiches

Dinner: smoked chicken, pasta salad

SATURDAY:

Breakfast: pancakes

Lunch: chicken sandwiches, fruit

Dinner: out

SUNDAY:

Breakfast: waffles

Lunch: sandwiches, salad, fruit

Dinner leftovers:

Extras:

Lemon & Lavender scones, Blackberry Cornmeal Muffins

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

wordless wednesday

***otherwise known as Mama needs wine as soon as Daddy gets home from his trip***

shots from the first week

This week has been a review week - letters, sounds, numbers.

Here's Ava playing number bingo. I found a set at Lakeshore Learning, but I'm cheap - I just drew my own!

While Ava and I were playing bingo, Emily worked on sorting beads by color. She got them all correct too! I don't remember Ava knowing her colors this early.

Ava and I had some craft time too - we scrapbooked together. She got to really work on her cutting skills by using the leftover Disney stuff I had from doing the album for our vacation last summer. I actually got a few pages completed (and can I just say...LOVE that Amy Butler does paper crafting supplies!!).

Sunday, August 23, 2009

meal plan monday

Another short week with a weekend trip to Seattle. We're planning on smoking a few chickens on Tuesday, who knows what we'll eat with them. I did hit up the farmer's market on Saturday, so I will be canning some caponata and some marinara sauce....yum!

MONDAY

Breakfast: pancakes, fruit

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner: penne with white beans and rainbow chard

TUESDAY

Breakfast: soft boiled eggs, toast, fruit salad

Lunch: sandwiches

Dinner: smoked chickens!

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast: oatmeal, berries

Lunch: grilled cheese, tomato soup

Dinner: sausage and tortellini soup

THURSDAY

Breakfast: pancakes, fruit

Lunch: burritos, salad

Dinner: black bean and sweet potato enchiladas, salad

FRIDAY

Breakfast: omelets, smoothies

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner: out of town

SATURDAY

Out of town

SUNDAY

Out of town

Extras:

marinara sauce, zucchini bread

back on the school train

Tomorrow, we begin our homeschooling adventure! Ava has been asking to start school every day this month, so I thought we'd start early. Tomorrow, we'll start a week long review of what she learned last year so that we can ease into a school routine. I've got my learning board set up, school supplies all stocked, and my lessons planned for the week.

I'm going to combine two sets of curriculum that I found online, plus we'll be taking some classes at the local community center for homeschoolers. Starting in September, we're going be part of a weekly homeschool co-op, and I have also formed an art group with a few other families that will meet twice a month. WHEW! I'm pretty sure that all of this will provide a ton of opportunities to learn (which, let's face it, kids just do on their own just fine!).

Friday, August 21, 2009

Oaks Park!

We've hit up Oaks Parks Preschool morning quite a few times this summer, so I'm going to just post a bunch of pictures of different visits. This is one our favorite summer activities - the girls can ride all of the kiddie rides an unlimited number of times and then enjoy a story with cookies and milk provided by the park.

fountains!

One of our favorite things about living in Portland is the abundance of great fountains in the area. During the summer we hit up the different fountains about once a week. Yesterday we met up with our friends Lakyn and Kolby at the Korean War Memorial and had a blast:

Thursday, August 20, 2009

summer (in a jar and on my plate)

If you know me, you know that three of my favorite things are peaches, tea time, and lavender. Today while the girls had their quiet time, I made some lovely Lemon & Lavender Scones and also some Lavender Peach Jam. Together or separately, they really capture summer. I can't wait to enjoy the jam when the snow comes to visit in a few months.

And tonight after the girls are in bed, I can't wait to have a cup of the lovely tea I bought in Seattle with a fluffy, fragrant scone. Heaven!

Lemon & Lavender Scones
makes 8

1 1/2 cups AP flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
zest of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 t lavender (make sure it's not sprayed!!)
5 T butter, cold
1/2 cup milk
juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 T heavy cream
sanding sugar

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the first 8 ingredients, pulse to blend. Add lemon juice to the milk, pour in and pulse until barely combined. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and pat into an 8 inch disk. Cut disc into 8 wedges. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, brush wedges with cream and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake at 375 for about 18 minutes, or until slightly golden on top.

Peach Lavender Jam

1 T lavender (not sprayed!)
1/4 cup boiling water
5 cups peaches, peeled, pitted, and chopped
juice of 1 lemon
4 cups sugar
1 pouch of pectin (or not if you are making freezer jam)

Seep lavender in boiling water for at least 30 minutes. Strain, reserving tea. In a dutch oven, combine lavender tea, lemon juice, peaches, sugar, and pectin. Bring to a boil and let boil for about 5 minutes. Skim off the scum. Continue to boil for another 5 minutes or so until the mixture sets (try dropping some in a bowl of cold water...does it gel together? If so, it's done). Pour into sterilized jars and follow manufacturer's directions.

Mmmmm...summer in a jar!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

off to see the wizard

This past week, we were able to spend some lovely time in the Emerald City visiting with my dad and brother. Good food, good times, boxes upon boxes of old family photos, and lots of traffic. Lots of driving around and thinking "hey, that house looks like it would be perfect for us!"

The girls had fun eating new things (oysters!) and were completely fascinated by the boats. We spent almost a whole day at Ballard Locks, watching the boats go in and out, up and down. We also watched the salmon try and make it up the fish ladder below the locks. Best of all, Ava got a lesson in baseball when we watched the Mariners kick the Yankees butts and see Safeco Field AND Qwest Field ("Dat's where dey play FOOTBALL Mama!!!"). Well, OK, maybe that was best for my baseball loving heart. But really...planes taking off left and right, a ferry to Bainbridge Island, and Shirley Temples until they couldn't drink anymore...the girls were in heaven!

Playing at the beach: