Little Chefs

Ella Beth is OBSESSED with the Food Network. She loves to watch her favorite "cookers" (mostly Paula Deed, the Neeleys, and Giada DeL...). For her birthday, she received three sets of bake ware and cooking utensils. She wanted to put them to use immediately! So I scrounged up all the ingredients I could and we made banana bread. Yum!

Both kiddos were all smiles and ready to get started!

First, we measured and placed all of our dry ingredients into one bowl.

Ella Beth loved using her whisk because she felt just like a "real cooker."

Landon got to mash the banana.

And then it was time to add our wet ingredients to another bowl. Ella Beth loves to crack eggs!

Look, the whole egg made it into the bowl!!! ;)

Landon's turn...

I thoroughly *heart* my Kitchenaid mixer, and Ella Beth loves when I use it. It wasn't necessarily needed for this recipe, but we think it makes everything taste better. :)

And, to give you an idea of what size banana bread loaf we were making, here's a little comparison. Normal loaf pan on the left, and Ella Beth's little chef pan on the right.

Yup, it was a lot of work to make one TINY loaf of banana bread. But it was totally worth it. We all had fun!

Of course, there was the waiting.....

And the invasion of a pirate.....

Look how cute that tiny loaf is!

Now, this recipe was obviously NOT written by a parent. Because.....it said, "after your bread has cooled, wrap it in tightly in plastic wrap and let it sit over night." SERIOUSLY????? All of that work for a children's recipe - intended for kids to make - and they can't eat it right away??? Sheesh! Just try to imagine the sighs and moans and questions that all started with "WHY" when I told Ella Beth and Landon we couldn't eat it.

So guess what we all had for breakfast this morning?!? Yum-o!

Happy Birthday, Ella Beth!

What a wonderful time we had celebrating our sweet girl! It's still hard to believe that she is FIVE years old, but she's definitely growing up. Ella Beth has been obsessed with dinosaurs for a year now, and she has wanted a dinosaur party since last September. I kept thinking she would change her mind in the past 11 months, but she never wavered. When we picked up her cake at Publix, the lady in the bakery said they have never made a dino cake for a GIRL! Well, our little girl has never quite followed the rules of what it means to be "normal" - so why start now?!?!

I'll let the pictures do most of the story-telling:

Pin the Horn on the Triceratops

Dino Drop

Ella Beth's loot. She's one blessed little girl!

The kiddos sat so nicely and watched Ella Beth open her presents. She loved being the center of attention. :)

Our little chef received LOTS of bake ware and utensils!

Her very own Paula Deen cookbook. She adores Paula Deen and is just smitten with this cookbook!

Disney World is in our future (next year). It's never too early to get excited about it though!

 Her favorite present was her Twinkle Toes shoes. They are TOO CUTE!

Our cousin Bentley (almost 8 years old) is a GREAT gift giver. He made a plane for Ella Beth all by himself. It was a huge hit at the party. And it just goes to show that it's the thought behind a gift that matters most. :)

And, of course, every birthday is best spent with friends. :)

We loved celebrating our special girl, and we are beyond blessed by family and friends to join with us! Happy Birthday, Ella Beth!

Multitudes on Mondays

359. celebrating my daughter turning 5 years old

360. a birthday party that goes off without a hitch

361. the look of joy when Ella Beth sees her friends

362. Ella Beth's love of cooking

363. fun birthday gifts to use in the kitchen with Mommy

364. new aprons

365. fun shoes

366. new dresses

367. interactive maps to learn about the world and its people

368. Ella Beth's Waumba Land teachers who celebrate her BIG on her last day in Waumba - especially when it's her Birthday

369. our church that teaches the Love and Truth and Grace of Jesus - from the nursery to "big church"

2 Corinthians 4:15 "All of this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the Glory of God."

Beautiful Things - Gungor Music & Lyric Video

My prayer is that all of our hearts will yearn to be made beautiful by the Creator of everything beautiful.

"You will never receive the grace of God until you accept that you need it." ~Andy Stanley

Interview of a 5 year old

One of my favorite things to do each year right before my kiddos' birthdays is interview them. I just love the responses and how they change (or don't!) year to year.

 

What do you want to be when you grow up? 

     A paleontologist (hence the Dinosaur party we are having!)

What is your favorite thing that God has made?

     Buttercup

What is it you like about Buttercup?

     I like to hold him and cuddle, and I like him because he is just like a real baby doll.

What is your favorite color?

     Turquoise, Pink, AND Purple

What is your favorite food?

     Shrimp

What is something that you don't like?

     Slimy okra

What is your favorite song?

     "American Honey" (note: she thinks Lauren Alaina sings this b/c I had American Idol recorded and was watching her performance of this song one morning before the kiddos woke up)

What are you looking forward to the most about being 5?

     To be able to swing higher and hopscotch better

What is your favorite thing to do?

     Play in mud! (She does NOT get this from her Mama!)

What is your favorite thing to wear?

     My Cinderella dress

Who is your favorite friend?

     Landon - he's my brother, but he's also my best friend. (Yes, my heart melted with this answer!!!)

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy?

     Color together - (note: It's so crazy to me that this is her answer b/c she NEVER colors with me for longer than 3-5 minutes. She will BEG me to color with her, and then she will be off doing something else in no time...leaving me alone with the coloring books and colors. Silly girl!)

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?

     I like when Daddy pushes me high in the big swing!

Do you like school?

     I really like homeschool.

What is it about homeschool that you like so much?

    Being with you and Landon all day, and you teach me to read - but I like doing math better. (Totally gets the math thing from her Daddy!)

What would you like to eat on your birthday?

     Pineapple and ham pizza

I love you, sweet girl.

     I love you, too, Mommy. Can we color now?!? (I laugh!)

First Day of School

Wow. Our first day of school is over. And we all survived. :)

We started off our morning in a tasty way with chocolate chip muffins - a huge favorite around here.

Then it was time for First-Day-of-School-Pictures.

Miss Thing l-o-v-e-s to pose. She's sooooooooo funny!

Sweet picture.

Landon is Mr. I-won't-look-at-the-camera these days. At least he was smiling. :)

Landon was being goofy, and these faces make me happy. Especially Ella Beth's scrunched up nose. She has done that since she was a tiny girl; I love.

We started class with this prayer that came to me this morning. I'm not a big proponent of "recited" prayers, but this one was a good way to remember that we FIRST want God to be a part of our homeschooling. We said our prayer together - because it's as much for Mama as it is for my two littles. ;)

Our first activity was self-portraits. My friend, Megan, gave me this idea and I thought it was fun. Ella Beth's picture is pretty accurate, now for Landon's......

Ella Beth reviewed phonics while I introduced Landon to "school." Then it was time for Math. I literally thought the kiddos were going to jump out of their skin with excitement over getting our new manipulatives out. Sweet!

Landon worked on number recognition with his units.

Ella Beth worked on a review of writing numbers and place values.

 

And, we ended the day with big smiles. :) (Landon was LONG gone and finished with his first day of school by the time this picture was taken. He was playing with Buttercup, and I'm sure he was full of smiles; I just didn't capture a picture.)

The day was a great success. If I am honest, I'll say that I was almost as nervous about this "first day" as I used to be as a 6th grade teacher. Almost. I just wanted our first day to go smoothly so that it would set the stage for what school would be like this year. It was a good day. Of course, I did learn that Landon has the attention span of a gnat 3-year old, and Ella Beth will definitely need to adjust to our longer instruction times. But, with time I think we will all ease into a nice routine and enjoy our days learning together. Hey, with a field trip planned for Wednesday, at least the first week will be an awesome start!

Multitudes on Monday

344. the first day of school

345. homeschooling

346. being close to my children

347. new ways to teach math concepts

348. good books to read way into the night

349. hot coffee in my favorite cup after staying up too late reading

350. memories of my grandparents

351. thank you cards

352. children who drift right back to sleep after a 4 a.m. potty run

353. counting down to my sweet girl's birthday

354. dinosaurs

355. museums to learn about dinosaurs and see HUGE replicas

356. a well organized school room

357. a school room that will be disorganized by the end of the day by eager learners

358. quiet time in prayer before school begins

Psalm 118:19 "Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord."