The Maya Wrap

My friend Alexis from NC sent me this cool baby sling - she has been marketing the product and suggested using it since Clara is so fussy. It will also come in handy on our upcoming adventure to Spain! I already own the new native sling but I may like this one better because you can control the tightness which makes the baby feel more secure. Alexis designed their website (mayawrap.com) - check it out.

Photos by William

Becca has got me bakin'

Suz is redecorating, Emily's sewing, I think Cahty -s been entertaining guests......I don't know about the other sisters but Becca has got me baking!!! Today we did baguettes, biscotti, and these cute little shaped loaves. Dad talked me into purchasing them on our last trip to Spoons n' Spice. I finally go them to use and it was so much fun. Again, William sat infront of the WOLF with the light on watching the bread as if it were a TV show. Tomorrow we'll have heart and flower pb&j's. Thanks Becca!

Little Miss Bug Eyes

Here is little Clara Lou. She is wearing a reversible kimono I made her. I love the print and quality of the paisley fabric that was salvaged from a pair of Cheryl's bu-you ("I don't want" in Chinesse) pajama bottoms. The reverse side is made of a pink knit velour of which I also made some footed pants. I will post the whole outfit along with some of my other recent sewing projects.

So much for Shiny Cowboyboots

These are William's cool boots. Maryanna is sporting them with her diaper after a post nap bath. The little stinker did it AGAIN - phew what a mess in her crib! Good thing she is so irresistibly cute.

"My Solution for Wall Scribblers"

By Maryanna
The following was an experiment. I bought four 2x3 ft foamcoard boards (originally I thought to buy canvases but they were too expensive) - the foamcoard was 4$ a piece - I let the kids go at it with a combination of pencils, markers, and acrylic paints. It turned out to be a huge sucess. The boys were very careful and thoughful about their pieces. It occupied them completely for hours at a time over the course of 3 days (Maryanna's took 60 seconds). We now have original art on our bare walls. I displayed Peter's "Bloggysing" horizontally but he informed me that it didn't look right and turned it on its side for what he thought to be better presentation. I think he was right.

"Bloggysing"

By Peter

"The Great Underwater Competition"

By Wiliiam

"A Feeding Kwanctonago"

(cuan-ston-ajo) or
(suan-ct-oon-ae-go)
By James PF

Saturdays are for Bagels

Here is a sample of our lovely bagels. 6 cinnamon, 6 plain, 6 asiago cheese, 6 poppy seed. Peter can't wait to eat one!

James wrote the following paragraph about them for his homework yesterday.

"Bagels are fun to make. Dough is important for the bagels. It must have time to sit before we form them. Put on your apron and wash your hands. One batch equals a dozen bagels so the dough should be divide equally."

The assignment was to write inference. Write details about the sequence of events. I told James that he forgot the most important part - eating the bagels. James told me the reader would just infer that part.

Beccacrocker to the Rescue

Finally! I got my pizza to work. With all the right tools and of course a great kitchen helper it worked. We got the perfect combination of crispy and chewy. Here are some of my tips and notes.
-I used a quick rise dough recipe:
3 cups flour
1 tsp. yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
2 TBS olive oil
1 cup water (room temp)

-I let it rise 3 hrs then punched it down and followed Becca's tip on seperating it into 2 pieces then flattening it slightly on a floured surface
-I covered it with saran wrap then let it sit for 45 minutes while I waited for the temp of the oven to reach 500
-I floured and spread corn meal on the paddle
-The pizzas were formed almost as large as the paddle and because they were so thin i topped them with minimal sauce and cheese - The Asiago added great flavor!
-As for the sauce though... I think it was too sweet. I prefer a fresher savory taste. Next time I may not simmer it either.

Still I am happy with the results and can't wait for next Friday's Pizza/Movie night with the kids.

P.S. James got the apron for Valentine's Day and has requested that i embroider it with the following phrase: "The official house of helpers"

Rise and Shine!

Check out those Shiny boots! Maryanna can't wait to start the day - usually undressing herself before I hear her calling from her crib. Luckyily she decided not to change her own diaper this morning. She must have been distracted by all the falling snow outside. We have at least six inches now and it just keeps coming. What to wear on a day like this...we chose some size 2 boot cut old navy jeans (great little handme down staple), 18-24 month long sleeve raglan T-shirt from Boden (notice the elastic rouching under the neckline and ribbon trim 3/4 way down the sleeve), and of course the all new SILVER COWBOY BOOTS!!!!!! Yes I broke down and bought something so frilious, useless, and probably not very beautiful BUT I will argue that they are useful and a lot of fun. At 6$ I convinced myself that these are more of a toy. Tell me what you think a good purchase or just more junk to managae.
Well I better run here.... Peter has just informed me that Maryanna has just spilled Puffins cereal all over the "Chicken Shop" (our little blue play kitchen in the basement). She must have pulled them out of the garbage. Why I had a full box of Puffins in the garbage? That is another "Maryanna Story" .

Welcome to the sick house....

Here is Willyummy sippin' his ovaltine and feeling pretty crummy. He found his hat XiaoXia gave him and hoping it would warm him up pulled it on had some ovaltine and tucked himself in bed. This was all before 1:00 pm.
Clara LouLou also has it bad she's been sleeping or crying all day longgggggg..... Let's hope for more sleep than crying tonight. MooMoo has a drippy nose but is enjoying the novelty of all the tissues. She also likes to stick her finger in her nose and then say "yuck".
PetiePete thinks he is sick because he wants some Ludens cough drops. While everyone was sleeping he got lots of attention and hung out on my bed talking to me about all sorts of nonsense. We even managed to write a story together titled "Grape Soup". I can't wait for him to illustrate it!
JamesPie is safe at school away from all these germs - well let's hope he is maybe that is where this all started!

EVERYONE IS CRYING!

We'll post later!