We have been having lots of fun since Spring has been peeking it's way in the past few weeks. We have been playing outside, biking, playing in our enormous sand box (also know as a sand volleyball court), playing with friends, traveling a little, and enjoying making some new creation in the kitchen...yes you heard me right...I have been cooking! Here are just a few of the things we have been up too so far that I haven't shared...
We have been working on our new discipline and rewards system and it is going so great! No more frustration...it's all very straightforward and everyone knows what the blessings are and the consequences are too. Last week, the girls earned enough points to go to Monkey Joe's! It was such a blast and they really enjoyed the morning to run around and jump nonstop. I just enjoyed sitting and reading there...they have super comfy chairs and even computers and wifi. Last time we went to Monkey Joe's, I jumped with them but with a broken toe still healing...I just watched!
We visited our local library for a puppet show and had a great time. Afterwards we headed to check out WAY too many books...considering we live on the THIRD floor. But, it was so much fun and LOTS of kids showed up that weekend.
We had our good friends over for a fun afternoon of riding bikes and playing in the sand too! Then, after we had played and enjoyed the amazing weather for a while, we came inside and made homemade pizzas! Well, this has become our new favorite thing to do around our house...no more order out for us! We really do it up right. We get mild Italian sausage and hamburger meat and cook those up, along with sauteed mushrooms, peppers (red, green, and orange), onions, ham, pineapples, and of course pepperoni. Now, these are the toppings we prepare and everyone gets to choose their own mixture! Then we smother it with cheese and toast! I mean to tell you...it is the BEST thing ever. I could never go back to order out pizza again!
Anli is back to climbing. But, the YMCA that is near to us does not have a climbing wall. So, we joined a rock climbing gym called Escalade. Now, she and her daddy go there each week for classes and to enjoy the climbing. This place is amazing! Just look at the bouldering walls (above). Anli and Jay love rock climbing together and even Virginia gets to go with them once a month on our free pass. It's such a neat sport that not many girls are involved in! We're so proud of her...and I'm proud of Virginia as she took these photos of Anli!
Virginia likes to climb too...but her main activity is ballet. She is in her 4th year and is at a School of Ballet now. She is even in an age level above her because of her skill level. She does a great job and really enjoys it. But, she likes the challenge of rock climbing too!
As tornadoes were going through downtown Atlanta, we were having an indoor egg hunt. We got out that morning and headed to a new breakfast spot...Einsteins' Bros. Bagels. I had been to one before and loved it...so since our whole family LOVES bagels and cream cheese, we headed out that morning in the rain. It was so crowded that the line was almost out the door. But, we found a spot and enjoyed a fantastic breakfast and then went home to hunt eggs.
You wouldn't think it would be that challenging to find eggs in a 1100 square foot apartment, but it was! Jay and I were still finding eggs yesterday! We had planned to go to Birmingham on Saturday for a day of Easter fun, but my grandmother was in the ICU. So, we made an indoor egg hunt for the girls since they will be out of town this weekend with Jay's family.
The golden eggs had MONEY! They loved that the most...since I am not a candy fan...as you might have guessed. So, I was all too happy to put some money in those eggs to keep from having a candy overload.
Yes, we have been cooking! I have never been a very good cook...I can follow a recipe with no problems. I don't call that being a cook. My dad is a cook. He experiments with new flavors and twists and it always comes out great. I don't know how to just go in the kitchen and start making something from nothing! So, I follow directions...I don't cook.
But, I found a wonderful recipe to make your own yeast rolls. They were SO much fun to make (I even had to do the whole rising, beating the dough down, rising again, beating it down...you get the picture) though it wasn't a quick thing to do. But, the girls loved helping and twisting the dough. We even made some homemade honey butter (get this: equal parts honey and butter...now that is my kind of recipe! Who knew it was so easy?). It was too yummy and smelled amazing in our house.
Here Anli is working on buttering the tops so they will be golden brown. She is such a cook...she is always thinking up new recipes for us to try! She is the reason I am working on being a better cook...she's always encouraging me and wanting to help!
Talk about yummy!
We also made our own Monte Christos the other night. Jay and I love Bennigan's and their Monte Christos...and the raspberry sauce! So, I got online and found a great website that "copycats" restaurant recipes. It's great and this recipe turned out amazing! Even the girls LOVED it. We were so pleased with it...and it's all organic. I didn't say it was GOOD for us...just organic:)
The last new thing we have made recently was chocolate roulage. It must be a Birmingham thing because every recipe I found was from Birmingham...which is where I grew up. I was brought up eating roulage and we introduced Jay to this dessert when we got married and he was hooked! But, my mom always ordered it from this bakery we love called Savages in Homewood. But, I don't have a savages around here...so onto the internet we go! I found this recipe from a lady in Birmingham (of course) and I made it on Friday...thinking we were going to see my mom and grand mom. I knew they would love to have a roulage for dessert! It turned out amazing (this is not my photo...my camera was dead!) and mine looked just like this one. Our family ate the whole thing in 2 days! I better make more next time!
We have been working on our new discipline and rewards system and it is going so great! No more frustration...it's all very straightforward and everyone knows what the blessings are and the consequences are too. Last week, the girls earned enough points to go to Monkey Joe's! It was such a blast and they really enjoyed the morning to run around and jump nonstop. I just enjoyed sitting and reading there...they have super comfy chairs and even computers and wifi. Last time we went to Monkey Joe's, I jumped with them but with a broken toe still healing...I just watched! We visited our local library for a puppet show and had a great time. Afterwards we headed to check out WAY too many books...considering we live on the THIRD floor. But, it was so much fun and LOTS of kids showed up that weekend.
We had our good friends over for a fun afternoon of riding bikes and playing in the sand too! Then, after we had played and enjoyed the amazing weather for a while, we came inside and made homemade pizzas! Well, this has become our new favorite thing to do around our house...no more order out for us! We really do it up right. We get mild Italian sausage and hamburger meat and cook those up, along with sauteed mushrooms, peppers (red, green, and orange), onions, ham, pineapples, and of course pepperoni. Now, these are the toppings we prepare and everyone gets to choose their own mixture! Then we smother it with cheese and toast! I mean to tell you...it is the BEST thing ever. I could never go back to order out pizza again!Anli is back to climbing. But, the YMCA that is near to us does not have a climbing wall. So, we joined a rock climbing gym called Escalade. Now, she and her daddy go there each week for classes and to enjoy the climbing. This place is amazing! Just look at the bouldering walls (above). Anli and Jay love rock climbing together and even Virginia gets to go with them once a month on our free pass. It's such a neat sport that not many girls are involved in! We're so proud of her...and I'm proud of Virginia as she took these photos of Anli!Virginia likes to climb too...but her main activity is ballet. She is in her 4th year and is at a School of Ballet now. She is even in an age level above her because of her skill level. She does a great job and really enjoys it. But, she likes the challenge of rock climbing too!As tornadoes were going through downtown Atlanta, we were having an indoor egg hunt. We got out that morning and headed to a new breakfast spot...Einsteins' Bros. Bagels. I had been to one before and loved it...so since our whole family LOVES bagels and cream cheese, we headed out that morning in the rain. It was so crowded that the line was almost out the door. But, we found a spot and enjoyed a fantastic breakfast and then went home to hunt eggs.
You wouldn't think it would be that challenging to find eggs in a 1100 square foot apartment, but it was! Jay and I were still finding eggs yesterday! We had planned to go to Birmingham on Saturday for a day of Easter fun, but my grandmother was in the ICU. So, we made an indoor egg hunt for the girls since they will be out of town this weekend with Jay's family.The golden eggs had MONEY! They loved that the most...since I am not a candy fan...as you might have guessed. So, I was all too happy to put some money in those eggs to keep from having a candy overload.
Yes, we have been cooking! I have never been a very good cook...I can follow a recipe with no problems. I don't call that being a cook. My dad is a cook. He experiments with new flavors and twists and it always comes out great. I don't know how to just go in the kitchen and start making something from nothing! So, I follow directions...I don't cook.
But, I found a wonderful recipe to make your own yeast rolls. They were SO much fun to make (I even had to do the whole rising, beating the dough down, rising again, beating it down...you get the picture) though it wasn't a quick thing to do. But, the girls loved helping and twisting the dough. We even made some homemade honey butter (get this: equal parts honey and butter...now that is my kind of recipe! Who knew it was so easy?). It was too yummy and smelled amazing in our house. Here Anli is working on buttering the tops so they will be golden brown. She is such a cook...she is always thinking up new recipes for us to try! She is the reason I am working on being a better cook...she's always encouraging me and wanting to help! Talk about yummy! We also made our own Monte Christos the other night. Jay and I love Bennigan's and their Monte Christos...and the raspberry sauce! So, I got online and found a great website that "copycats" restaurant recipes. It's great and this recipe turned out amazing! Even the girls LOVED it. We were so pleased with it...and it's all organic. I didn't say it was GOOD for us...just organic:) The last new thing we have made recently was chocolate roulage. It must be a Birmingham thing because every recipe I found was from Birmingham...which is where I grew up. I was brought up eating roulage and we introduced Jay to this dessert when we got married and he was hooked! But, my mom always ordered it from this bakery we love called Savages in Homewood. But, I don't have a savages around here...so onto the internet we go! I found this recipe from a lady in Birmingham (of course) and I made it on Friday...thinking we were going to see my mom and grand mom. I knew they would love to have a roulage for dessert! It turned out amazing (this is not my photo...my camera was dead!) and mine looked just like this one. Our family ate the whole thing in 2 days! I better make more next time! Well, that is a lot of stuff to cover! I haven't been very good at updating each day...so here was the update I had been meaning to do for days now!
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