With love from a monster-toothed panda and Spidergirl.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Happy Halloween!
With love from a monster-toothed panda and Spidergirl.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Vacation!
The past few weeks have been crazy. Nothing particular to speak of... just the regular day-in, day-out stuff that keeps everyone so busy. So when last week rolled around, I couldn't have been happier. You see, it was MEA week!
MEA is the teachers' union here in Minnesota. (Actually, they renamed themselves Education Minnesota a number of years ago, but everyone still calls it "MEA.") Every year in mid-October, Minnesota public schools close down for a few days. The first conferences are held, and then the teachers' union has its annual convention.
This year, I took those days off work, and made us a reservation at Edgewater, a hotel/waterpark in Duluth. (It's about a 2.5 hour drive from Minneapolis.) On Wednesday morning we met with Maisie's teacher, and then hit the road!
We got to Duluth around lunch time. We went to the Lake Avenue Restaurant, where Aaron & I had delicious whitefish and the girls split a pizza. (The first of many pizzas on this trip, as it turns out! The hotel rooms came with a 16" cheese pizza each night, so that's what we had, both days.) The cafe is located in this cute little mall. The girls and I walked around a bit while waiting for our food to arrive.
We found this cute carousel-looking horse and went for a ride.
After that, we went to the Great Lakes Aquarium, which I really enjoyed. The girls were less impressed.
Finally, FINALLY! It was time to go swimming. The water park is not huge, but it was plenty of fun for all of us. There were slides big and small, a hot tub, activity pools, and a whirlpool that was Ella's favorite - she wore a life jacket and bobbed around like a little cork, swirling around and around.
The water park was open from 8:00 - noon, and then again from 4:00 - 9:00 on the days we were there. We'd get there early and play, and then had a nice break in the middle of the day. On Thursday during the break, we went back down to Canal Park to see the lift bridge go up and a big ship come in.
After that, it was time to eat. Since we were right there, I took them to Grandma's.
After lunch it was back to the hotel for more swimming. Then an early bedtime, followed by an early morning and even MORE SWIMMING. By the time we got home, Aaron & I were both totally waterlogged and didn't think we'd dry out for a week! The girls, on the other hand, want to go back there this weekend. Ha ha!
Even though it was a lot of fun, everyone was glad to get home on Friday.
It was a very fun vacation and one we'll definitely repeat.
MEA is the teachers' union here in Minnesota. (Actually, they renamed themselves Education Minnesota a number of years ago, but everyone still calls it "MEA.") Every year in mid-October, Minnesota public schools close down for a few days. The first conferences are held, and then the teachers' union has its annual convention.
This year, I took those days off work, and made us a reservation at Edgewater, a hotel/waterpark in Duluth. (It's about a 2.5 hour drive from Minneapolis.) On Wednesday morning we met with Maisie's teacher, and then hit the road!
We got to Duluth around lunch time. We went to the Lake Avenue Restaurant, where Aaron & I had delicious whitefish and the girls split a pizza. (The first of many pizzas on this trip, as it turns out! The hotel rooms came with a 16" cheese pizza each night, so that's what we had, both days.) The cafe is located in this cute little mall. The girls and I walked around a bit while waiting for our food to arrive.
After that, we went to the Great Lakes Aquarium, which I really enjoyed. The girls were less impressed.
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| This is what happens when I say "Say cheese!" |
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| Navigating the locks and dams in the Great Lakes. |
The water park was open from 8:00 - noon, and then again from 4:00 - 9:00 on the days we were there. We'd get there early and play, and then had a nice break in the middle of the day. On Thursday during the break, we went back down to Canal Park to see the lift bridge go up and a big ship come in.
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| One-handed attempt at a family picture (with penguin) |
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| Ella has monster teeth! |
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| Maisie hard at work... |
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| Ella can't find whole words yet in the word find, but she likes to find letters. |
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| I was so happy to be inside! It was cold and rainy out there. |
Even though it was a lot of fun, everyone was glad to get home on Friday.
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| Maisie was SO annoyed that Ella kept walking through her leaf piles! |
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
Pack a lunch!
For the past three years, we packed Maisie's lunch every school day. This year, with starting kindergarten at a public school, she has the option of hot lunch! So exciting! But she had hot lunch exactly once. And aside from that one day, it's been back to packing her lunch.
For some reason, this packing of lunch chore seems a lot more onerous than it did in years past. I'm not sure why - there's actually fewer restrictions on the food she can bring than before. (Her school is peanut-free, whereas last year they had to keep the classroom free of peanuts, tree nuts, and eggs.) Maybe it's because her school day starts so much earlier? (6:55 a.m. bus pickup, as opposed to Aaron driving her to school for an 8:45 start time.) Maybe she's gotten pickier? Maybe because I know I wouldn't have to do it if she'd just eat hot lunch?!? Whatever the reason, packing her lunch is not fun and exciting, and often led to me and/or Aaron staring at the fridge and cupboards, wondering what on earth we'd send in her lunch. We tried to get her to pack it, but that didn't work either - she'd choose grapes, applesauce, and crackers, and not have a balance. So in an effort to simplify things and pack lunches she'd actually eat, I came up with a chart.
ARGH! I just spent a bunch of time trying to figure out how to upload it here, and I can't. GRR! So I will tell you about it. It has six columns and four rows. The left-most column has the following pictures, all of which I found online by googling for free clip art of food.
So in the evening, Maisie and I will pack her lunch together. She chooses one item from each category, and checks it off as it's completed. I like to think it's helping her learn about a balanced diet, which it may be. I know, though, it's made packing a lunch a LOT easier!
So, what does she eat? The most common lunch combination is grapes, sugar snap peas, cheese and turkey slices, and Ritz crackers. It's not the most exciting lunch in the world, but she likes it and eats everything. Single-category foods are easiest for her to choose: protein is often an egg, string cheese, or turkey slices. The vegetable is either snap peas or baby carrots. (Although she asked for tomato soup once!) Fruit is usually applesauce or grapes. Grain is usually Ritz crackers. Maisie and Ella are both absolutely NUTS about Ritz crackers! Goldfish are good, too, or a little container of cereal - strawberry Life is a favorite.
We do get some combos that allow her to check off more than one category: black bean quesadillas, cut into wedges (grain and protein); spaghetti with marinara (grain and veg); mac & cheese (protein, grain); chicken fried rice (grain and protein); sun butter and jam sandwiches (protein, fruit, grain); cheese pizza (protein, veg, grain); broccoli quiche (protein and veg). As you can probably tell, except for the quesadillas and sandwiches, these are usually leftovers of whatever was for dinner the night before. We will put the portion in her thermos at night, in the fridge, then heat it up in the morning so it's still warm at lunchtime. If we aren't sending something hot then the whole business gets packed the night before, so it's ready to grab & go in the morning.
Anyway, so there you go! It's no super genius idea that'll revolutionize packing a lunch, but it's how we do it. We definitely don't have the beautiful Bento lunch art, but who has time for that anyway? Not this family! So this is our method, and it's made the whole lunch business a lot easier for us. Hopefully others will find it useful too!
For some reason, this packing of lunch chore seems a lot more onerous than it did in years past. I'm not sure why - there's actually fewer restrictions on the food she can bring than before. (Her school is peanut-free, whereas last year they had to keep the classroom free of peanuts, tree nuts, and eggs.) Maybe it's because her school day starts so much earlier? (6:55 a.m. bus pickup, as opposed to Aaron driving her to school for an 8:45 start time.) Maybe she's gotten pickier? Maybe because I know I wouldn't have to do it if she'd just eat hot lunch?!? Whatever the reason, packing her lunch is not fun and exciting, and often led to me and/or Aaron staring at the fridge and cupboards, wondering what on earth we'd send in her lunch. We tried to get her to pack it, but that didn't work either - she'd choose grapes, applesauce, and crackers, and not have a balance. So in an effort to simplify things and pack lunches she'd actually eat, I came up with a chart.
ARGH! I just spent a bunch of time trying to figure out how to upload it here, and I can't. GRR! So I will tell you about it. It has six columns and four rows. The left-most column has the following pictures, all of which I found online by googling for free clip art of food.
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| Vegetables |
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| Fruit |
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| Grains (that's pasta and cereal above the bread) |
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| Protein |
So, what does she eat? The most common lunch combination is grapes, sugar snap peas, cheese and turkey slices, and Ritz crackers. It's not the most exciting lunch in the world, but she likes it and eats everything. Single-category foods are easiest for her to choose: protein is often an egg, string cheese, or turkey slices. The vegetable is either snap peas or baby carrots. (Although she asked for tomato soup once!) Fruit is usually applesauce or grapes. Grain is usually Ritz crackers. Maisie and Ella are both absolutely NUTS about Ritz crackers! Goldfish are good, too, or a little container of cereal - strawberry Life is a favorite.
We do get some combos that allow her to check off more than one category: black bean quesadillas, cut into wedges (grain and protein); spaghetti with marinara (grain and veg); mac & cheese (protein, grain); chicken fried rice (grain and protein); sun butter and jam sandwiches (protein, fruit, grain); cheese pizza (protein, veg, grain); broccoli quiche (protein and veg). As you can probably tell, except for the quesadillas and sandwiches, these are usually leftovers of whatever was for dinner the night before. We will put the portion in her thermos at night, in the fridge, then heat it up in the morning so it's still warm at lunchtime. If we aren't sending something hot then the whole business gets packed the night before, so it's ready to grab & go in the morning.
Anyway, so there you go! It's no super genius idea that'll revolutionize packing a lunch, but it's how we do it. We definitely don't have the beautiful Bento lunch art, but who has time for that anyway? Not this family! So this is our method, and it's made the whole lunch business a lot easier for us. Hopefully others will find it useful too!
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
Midtown Global Market
Midtown Global Market is an amazing place. Built in an old Sears that stood abandoned for years and years, it has multiple restaurants and shops, all locally owned. It's really cool and one of our favorite places in Minneapolis.
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| Juusto - Finnish Cheese - at Cafe Finspang |
We especially like going there on Fridays, when they have Family night. I meet Aaron & the girls there after work. We don't have to cook, the girls get to run around and dance - everybody enjoys it.
The girls like to get cream cheese wontons and chicken fried rice from Pham's, a Vietnamese deli. They also have excellent spring rolls, but Maisie and Ella are really cream cheese wonton lovers.
My favorite place to eat these days is the Left Handed Cook, which serves a sort of fusion of Asian food and comfort food. I really like their bop bowls, which are rice, greens, and meat served in a takeout container with a soft fried egg. SO GOOD.
This picture is upside down for some reason! It looks like a cinnamon roll but was actually the Left Handed Cook's special on Friday, porchetta. It came with a fried green tomato, and a side of heirloom tomato-arugula salad. SO GOOD!! The girls also really like Left Handed Cook's edamame so I usually get them a side of edamame to share.
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| Cupcakes at Salty Tart |
Aaron got his dinner from Andy's Garage, a 50's-style diner. He had a wild rice-turkey burger, awesome fries, and then a chocolate shake (which he split with the girls, naturally - even though they'd had cupcakes from Salty Tart!).
After the girls eat, they dance and dance (which usually involves running in circles) to whatever band is playing that night.
I think that the Global Market is a really special place. If you haven't been there, go! There's noplace like it in Minneapolis.
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| Yes, that says "local artisan prosciutto" and "local artisan pancetta" - from Grass Roots Gourmet |
Monday, September 24, 2012
Brief craftiness
Just a quickie today...
I just wanted to promote this awesome crafty project I'm taking part in, along with some people I know through an online forum. Hopefully some of you will be inspired to join us!
We're knitting/crocheting red scarves between now and December 15 for the Red Scarf Project. This is a project of an awesome organization called Foster Care to Success, which helps college students who grew up in foster care. They provide financial assistance, mentoring, and support to these young adults who've already been through so much, to help them land that college degree. They also provide care packages, which is where the Red Scarf Project comes in. Each Valentine's Day care package contains a handmade red scarf. Is that awesome or what??
We thought this seemed like an easy, fun way to support an organization that's doing some really important work. There's no real guidelines other than color (any shade of red, including ombres), size (approx 60" x 5"), and style (unisex). So far I've completed one scarf, and am halfway through another.
I will keep you posted on my progress. And I hope some of you join me in crafting for the Red Scarf Project!
I just wanted to promote this awesome crafty project I'm taking part in, along with some people I know through an online forum. Hopefully some of you will be inspired to join us!
We're knitting/crocheting red scarves between now and December 15 for the Red Scarf Project. This is a project of an awesome organization called Foster Care to Success, which helps college students who grew up in foster care. They provide financial assistance, mentoring, and support to these young adults who've already been through so much, to help them land that college degree. They also provide care packages, which is where the Red Scarf Project comes in. Each Valentine's Day care package contains a handmade red scarf. Is that awesome or what??
We thought this seemed like an easy, fun way to support an organization that's doing some really important work. There's no real guidelines other than color (any shade of red, including ombres), size (approx 60" x 5"), and style (unisex). So far I've completed one scarf, and am halfway through another.
I will keep you posted on my progress. And I hope some of you join me in crafting for the Red Scarf Project!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Blerg!
There's just something about the girls' faces in this pic that really expresses much of how I feel today...
But the upside is, I have a picture that perfectly expresses how I'm feeling today!
Tuesday, September 04, 2012
Super Hero Squad
Recently the girls have been really getting in to super heroes. Aaron's introduced them to many of the characters in the Marvel universe, initially through a show he found on Netflix called Super Hero Squad. It's aimed at kids, and is really cute - Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Falcon, Ms. Marvel, and Captain America are the main Squaddies, although they're occasionally joined by other heroes including Wolverine, Dr. Strange, and Spiderman. They all live in Super Hero City and fight Dr. Doom and his Lethal Legion, MODOK and Abomination, who sometimes get help from Dr. Octopus, Mystique, Mole Man, and other rando residents of Villainville.
For whatever reason, the girls have gotten incredibly into this show, and the whole concept of super heroes, so we're going with it. Ella's favorite is Wolverine, and Maisie's is Silver Surfer. We've gotten some super hero Lego sets and Squinkies, checked Super Hero Squad books out of the library, and now... we have costumes!
Thanks to zulily, a daily deal site, I found some adorable superhero costumes that I thought would be perfect for Halloween. Ella's is American Dream, who's Captain America's daughter. Maisie's is Spidergirl, Spiderman's daughter.
But once they arrived, there was clearly no way they were going to wait for Halloween. Why would you wait, when you could wear them out to the pizza restaurant??
So here's Captain Dream (Ella's conflation of American Dream and the Cap):
And a VERY sassy Spidergirl:
They're ready to hero up!
For whatever reason, the girls have gotten incredibly into this show, and the whole concept of super heroes, so we're going with it. Ella's favorite is Wolverine, and Maisie's is Silver Surfer. We've gotten some super hero Lego sets and Squinkies, checked Super Hero Squad books out of the library, and now... we have costumes!
Thanks to zulily, a daily deal site, I found some adorable superhero costumes that I thought would be perfect for Halloween. Ella's is American Dream, who's Captain America's daughter. Maisie's is Spidergirl, Spiderman's daughter.
But once they arrived, there was clearly no way they were going to wait for Halloween. Why would you wait, when you could wear them out to the pizza restaurant??
So here's Captain Dream (Ella's conflation of American Dream and the Cap):
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Ladies and gentlemen: we have achieved Kindergarten!
It's true, I can hardly believe it, but yes: Maisie has started Kindergarten.
Yesterday (Wednesday 8/29) was her first day. The night before she said "You know what Mom? I'm scared and excited and nervous. You know why? (whispers) I have school tomorrow!"
But we talked about everything that would happen, Aaron helped her practice making friends and sitting on the bus ("Can I sit with you?"), and she got ready: she packed her lunch (grapes, pretzels, yogurt, a jelly roll-up, and pickles) and laid out her clothes (Hello Kitty shirt, flowered skirt). I was worried that she wouldn't be able to get to sleep, but she was out cold about five minutes after bedtime.
Wednesday morning, she woke up bright and early, before the alarm even went off. Got dressed, brushed teeth and hair, and was Ready! To! Go! by 6:30! Unfortunately her bus isn't until 6:57, so we had a little extra time! When it was time to leave, she was halfway up the block before anyone else was even out the door!
She was happy to see another kid waiting at the bus stop - an older girl, maybe 5th or 6th grade, who was very sweet to Maisie. For all her nervous and scared feelings, excitement had really taken over at this point!
When the bus pulled up, she hesitated for a moment, and looked back at me... I nodded, like "yep, this is your bus" and off she went!
She found a seat near the back and waved and waved as the bus pulled away.
Maisie reported a good day on her first day: her classroom is a little hard to find, and she didn't eat much of her lunch. But she made "four or five" friends, including one girl on her bus, and enjoyed music class and playing red light-green light.
She also came home with a definite opinion - she wants to eat hot lunch at school. I said that maybe we should pack a lunch, just in case she doesn't like what they are serving. But she explained that you don't have a choice; if you bring lunch, you can't choose to eat hot lunch instead. So she's buying lunch, at least occasionally.
This morning was similar - very excited to get up and go! go! go! She wanted to make sure she'd be riding the bus, and we weren't going to drive her (no worries there), and that I didn't pack her lunch, so she could buy it. I can't wait to hear about her day!
I'm so proud of Maisie. She's been at Sunny Hollow for three years, since she was not quite three years old. More than half her life! But she's handled this transition like a champ. There were a few tears shed, but that's to be expected. I know she's going to do great at her new school. I can't wait to see it.
Yesterday (Wednesday 8/29) was her first day. The night before she said "You know what Mom? I'm scared and excited and nervous. You know why? (whispers) I have school tomorrow!"
But we talked about everything that would happen, Aaron helped her practice making friends and sitting on the bus ("Can I sit with you?"), and she got ready: she packed her lunch (grapes, pretzels, yogurt, a jelly roll-up, and pickles) and laid out her clothes (Hello Kitty shirt, flowered skirt). I was worried that she wouldn't be able to get to sleep, but she was out cold about five minutes after bedtime.
Wednesday morning, she woke up bright and early, before the alarm even went off. Got dressed, brushed teeth and hair, and was Ready! To! Go! by 6:30! Unfortunately her bus isn't until 6:57, so we had a little extra time! When it was time to leave, she was halfway up the block before anyone else was even out the door!
When the bus pulled up, she hesitated for a moment, and looked back at me... I nodded, like "yep, this is your bus" and off she went!
Maisie reported a good day on her first day: her classroom is a little hard to find, and she didn't eat much of her lunch. But she made "four or five" friends, including one girl on her bus, and enjoyed music class and playing red light-green light.
She also came home with a definite opinion - she wants to eat hot lunch at school. I said that maybe we should pack a lunch, just in case she doesn't like what they are serving. But she explained that you don't have a choice; if you bring lunch, you can't choose to eat hot lunch instead. So she's buying lunch, at least occasionally.
This morning was similar - very excited to get up and go! go! go! She wanted to make sure she'd be riding the bus, and we weren't going to drive her (no worries there), and that I didn't pack her lunch, so she could buy it. I can't wait to hear about her day!
I'm so proud of Maisie. She's been at Sunny Hollow for three years, since she was not quite three years old. More than half her life! But she's handled this transition like a champ. There were a few tears shed, but that's to be expected. I know she's going to do great at her new school. I can't wait to see it.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Food I made that my kids won't eat.
I made three different dishes this weekend that I thought were really good. The kids disagreed. So I am going to tell you about them, dear reader, and you can tell me what a great cook I am.
1. Cabbage salad: pretty easy and basic. Shredded cabbage, chopped carrot, and chopped green onion (all from the farmer's market), mixed with broken-up ramen noodles, then topped with the Salad Girl's honey-ginger dressing. I thought it was delicious. The kids refused to try it.
2. Red potato and green bean salad: basically this recipe but with a vegetable mix of about 2/3 beans, 1/3 potatoes because that's what I had. Potatoes, beans, garlic, onions, and basil from the farmer's market. Maisie even helped me trim the beans. The dressing (for those who don't want to click through) is a vinaigrette with olive oil, balsamic, lemon juice, and dijon mustard. Maisie took one teensy nibble of a potato and started crying; Ella wouldn't go near it. Aaron's not a huge vinegar fan so he isn't in love with it either. I like it a lot, which is fortunate because there's a lot of it for me to eat.
3. Lazy Italian Chicken: a crockpot recipe that's allegedly kid-friendly. In your crockpot you layer the following: Potatoes, 1 tsp Italian spices, 1/2 c Parmesan, 1/2 c low-fat Italian dressing, boneless/skinless chicken, potatoes, 1 tsp spices, 1/2 c Parmesan, 1/2 c dressing. Cover and cook for 8-10 hours on low, or 3-4 on high. The girls deigned to eat some of the chicken but perhaps due to the above salad, refused to allow a potato onto their plates - even though I showed them that these potatoes had been cooked with (and therefore would taste just like) the chicken they were eating. Aaron & I liked it fine; nothing special but it's easy and hopefully with time, the girls will forget the horrors of the dijon vinaigrette and actually try the potatoes.
So that was my attempt at feeding my family this weekend. (insert eyeroll here) Next weekend, I'm going to stick with PB&J, pancakes, and mac & cheese. Not so exciting but at least I know the kids will eat!
1. Cabbage salad: pretty easy and basic. Shredded cabbage, chopped carrot, and chopped green onion (all from the farmer's market), mixed with broken-up ramen noodles, then topped with the Salad Girl's honey-ginger dressing. I thought it was delicious. The kids refused to try it.
2. Red potato and green bean salad: basically this recipe but with a vegetable mix of about 2/3 beans, 1/3 potatoes because that's what I had. Potatoes, beans, garlic, onions, and basil from the farmer's market. Maisie even helped me trim the beans. The dressing (for those who don't want to click through) is a vinaigrette with olive oil, balsamic, lemon juice, and dijon mustard. Maisie took one teensy nibble of a potato and started crying; Ella wouldn't go near it. Aaron's not a huge vinegar fan so he isn't in love with it either. I like it a lot, which is fortunate because there's a lot of it for me to eat.
3. Lazy Italian Chicken: a crockpot recipe that's allegedly kid-friendly. In your crockpot you layer the following: Potatoes, 1 tsp Italian spices, 1/2 c Parmesan, 1/2 c low-fat Italian dressing, boneless/skinless chicken, potatoes, 1 tsp spices, 1/2 c Parmesan, 1/2 c dressing. Cover and cook for 8-10 hours on low, or 3-4 on high. The girls deigned to eat some of the chicken but perhaps due to the above salad, refused to allow a potato onto their plates - even though I showed them that these potatoes had been cooked with (and therefore would taste just like) the chicken they were eating. Aaron & I liked it fine; nothing special but it's easy and hopefully with time, the girls will forget the horrors of the dijon vinaigrette and actually try the potatoes.
So that was my attempt at feeding my family this weekend. (insert eyeroll here) Next weekend, I'm going to stick with PB&J, pancakes, and mac & cheese. Not so exciting but at least I know the kids will eat!
Wednesday, August 08, 2012
Almost over now...
It's hard to believe, but the summer's almost over. Only 3 more weeks until Maisie's first day of Kindergarten! Holy cow, I can hardly believe it.
Since last weekend the weather's gotten a lot better. High temps are more reasonable - mid-80's instead of upper 90's, and not too humid - so Aaron and the girls have actually been able to get outside!
They've been going to a little park near our house to run around. We have a kid's sized soccer ball, and Aaron's teaching the girls basic soccer skills - how to kick, how to pass, how to stop the ball. Ella's still working on it, but Maisie's picking it up really quickly. On Monday after work we went to the park, and I taught her how to throw a frisbee (turn your body so you throw across your body, look where you want the 'bee to go, flick your wrist like this) and she picked that right up, too. By the end of our little outing, she was throwing confidently, and getting the 'bee where she wanted it to go probably 50% of the time. I am super impressed!
Yesterday they went back to the park - here's some of the pics that they sent me...
Ella resting, post running-around:
(It was still in the 80's, hence the very pink cheeks.)
Picnic lunch time:
Aaaah! Apparently Aaron packed a seafood lunch!!
Oh, did you notice Maisie's new short haircut? It's funny because she's such a girly-girl in a lot of ways, but she really loves having short hair. I like it too because it means fewer fights about combing out tangles.
Overall it's been a good summer. I know Maisie's excited about starting K in a few weeks but I'll be sad to see the summer over. I did take the Monday of the last week of August off work so we can all go to the state fair together - it'll be our last hurrah of the summer - school starts that Wednesday. Just 3 weeks away!
Since last weekend the weather's gotten a lot better. High temps are more reasonable - mid-80's instead of upper 90's, and not too humid - so Aaron and the girls have actually been able to get outside!
They've been going to a little park near our house to run around. We have a kid's sized soccer ball, and Aaron's teaching the girls basic soccer skills - how to kick, how to pass, how to stop the ball. Ella's still working on it, but Maisie's picking it up really quickly. On Monday after work we went to the park, and I taught her how to throw a frisbee (turn your body so you throw across your body, look where you want the 'bee to go, flick your wrist like this) and she picked that right up, too. By the end of our little outing, she was throwing confidently, and getting the 'bee where she wanted it to go probably 50% of the time. I am super impressed!
Yesterday they went back to the park - here's some of the pics that they sent me...
Ella resting, post running-around:
(It was still in the 80's, hence the very pink cheeks.)
Picnic lunch time:
Aaaah! Apparently Aaron packed a seafood lunch!!
Oh, did you notice Maisie's new short haircut? It's funny because she's such a girly-girl in a lot of ways, but she really loves having short hair. I like it too because it means fewer fights about combing out tangles.
Overall it's been a good summer. I know Maisie's excited about starting K in a few weeks but I'll be sad to see the summer over. I did take the Monday of the last week of August off work so we can all go to the state fair together - it'll be our last hurrah of the summer - school starts that Wednesday. Just 3 weeks away!
Thursday, August 02, 2012
Star Wars Art
So over the last month or so, Maisie has become a real Star Wars fangirl, at least to the extent that a five-year-old can be. She's watched all 3 of the original movies, and plays Lego Star Wars - both with actual Legos and the Xbox game. She told me the other day that for Halloween she wants to be Jango Fett - I was like, I don't even know who that is.
So I guess I wasn't totally surprised to get home from work yesterday to find that she'd drawn some of her favorite Star Wars characters... can you tell who they are?
If you said 1. Darth Vader (she says "Dark" Vader, which is adorable and also kind of apt), 2. Princess Leia, and 3. Luke, you're right!
Not bad, hey?
So I guess I wasn't totally surprised to get home from work yesterday to find that she'd drawn some of her favorite Star Wars characters... can you tell who they are?
If you said 1. Darth Vader (she says "Dark" Vader, which is adorable and also kind of apt), 2. Princess Leia, and 3. Luke, you're right!
Not bad, hey?
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Bottlecap magnets
Another craft post, since Aaron and the girls are out of town so I don't have adventures and cute pics to share.
At CONvergence, one of the crafts they did in the kids' area was making necklaces out of bottlecaps. It was pretty cool and something I thought we could replicate at home. But as I didn't want to drill tiny holes in the bottlecaps for the jump rings, we did magnets instead!
(Yes that is a Halloween-themed tablecloth. It was what we had that was plastic, and I was pretty sure that things were going to get messy!)
I used a 1" hole punch to get circles that fit perfectly inside the bottlecaps. (I got a whole bunch of bottlecaps for free from the Rusty Taco, which sells bottles of Jarritos and Mexican Coke. They let me just scoop them out of the little collection box. They weren't perfectly flat but they worked just fine. We just needed to wash them!) Then I brushed on some Mod Podge and the girls filled in the circles with beads and sequins.
We used all kinds of beads, both regular little seed beads and some larger shaped ones. We also had snowflake-shaped sequins as well as regular colorful circle ones.
When the girls had their bottlecaps the way they wanted them, we filled in the caps with this crazy stuff called Mod Podge Dimensional Magic, and let them dry for 24 hours. The Dimensional Magic dries clear and holds everything together... it was super easy!
The only thing I didn't care for was that reviews online suggested that it would not shrink down as it dried, and it totally did. It shrank sort of weirdly, too, and some bubbles seemed to appear when I was super careful to pop any bubbles before we let them dry. So it wasn't the exact effect I was looking for. But still, it worked just fine to hold everything together.
Once the Dimensional Magic dried, I used rubber cement to glue 3/4" magnets on the back of the caps.
The rubber cement may have been overkill - the magnets were actually adhesive. But I wasn't confident that the adhesive would be strong enough, because some of the caps were really very full of beads.
So once that dried, voila! Final product:
The girls are super proud of them! They like to play with them on the fridge, and also gave some to beloved neighbor Beth for her birthday.
I think they look great! I will say that the ones that the girls did that are completely full of beads and sequins look way better than the ones I did that were a little more sparing with the decoration. So, lesson learned: this is a craft for making over-the-top decoration.
It was fun and definitely something we'll repeat!
At CONvergence, one of the crafts they did in the kids' area was making necklaces out of bottlecaps. It was pretty cool and something I thought we could replicate at home. But as I didn't want to drill tiny holes in the bottlecaps for the jump rings, we did magnets instead!
(Yes that is a Halloween-themed tablecloth. It was what we had that was plastic, and I was pretty sure that things were going to get messy!)
I used a 1" hole punch to get circles that fit perfectly inside the bottlecaps. (I got a whole bunch of bottlecaps for free from the Rusty Taco, which sells bottles of Jarritos and Mexican Coke. They let me just scoop them out of the little collection box. They weren't perfectly flat but they worked just fine. We just needed to wash them!) Then I brushed on some Mod Podge and the girls filled in the circles with beads and sequins.
We used all kinds of beads, both regular little seed beads and some larger shaped ones. We also had snowflake-shaped sequins as well as regular colorful circle ones.
When the girls had their bottlecaps the way they wanted them, we filled in the caps with this crazy stuff called Mod Podge Dimensional Magic, and let them dry for 24 hours. The Dimensional Magic dries clear and holds everything together... it was super easy!
The only thing I didn't care for was that reviews online suggested that it would not shrink down as it dried, and it totally did. It shrank sort of weirdly, too, and some bubbles seemed to appear when I was super careful to pop any bubbles before we let them dry. So it wasn't the exact effect I was looking for. But still, it worked just fine to hold everything together.
Once the Dimensional Magic dried, I used rubber cement to glue 3/4" magnets on the back of the caps.
The rubber cement may have been overkill - the magnets were actually adhesive. But I wasn't confident that the adhesive would be strong enough, because some of the caps were really very full of beads.
So once that dried, voila! Final product:
The girls are super proud of them! They like to play with them on the fridge, and also gave some to beloved neighbor Beth for her birthday.
I think they look great! I will say that the ones that the girls did that are completely full of beads and sequins look way better than the ones I did that were a little more sparing with the decoration. So, lesson learned: this is a craft for making over-the-top decoration.
It was fun and definitely something we'll repeat!
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Time (again!) to eat the donuts.
One of my new favorite things is food trucks. (That sentence seems weird but I don't know how to fix it. Food trucks are among my favorite things, perhaps? anyway...) There's been an explosion of food trucks recently. It's not just hot dogs any more! Tacos, sushi, bahn mi, kebabs... you can get almost anything from a food truck in downtown Minneapolis. One of the first food trucks I knew about was the Chef Shack. It's so awesome. It does the farm-to-table thing, using fresh and local ingredients to make its delicious, delicious food. I particularly love their Moo Me sandwich, which is like a Thai spiced meatloaf sandwich. Yum yum yum.
So on Saturday we were going to the Mill City Museum. But the girls were hungry, and we were early, so we swung over to the Mill City Farmers Market. And when I saw that big red truck I knew I had to stop by! I got some delicious breakfast tacos with eggs, beans, cheese, and a crazy good salsa. Maisie had french toast (yum). But Ella wanted only one thing:
Mini donuts.
Ella was so focused, I couldn't get her to look up for a picture. But with good reason: Chef Shack's mini donuts are the best EVER.
Go get some!
(Ha! I just realized I had written an identically-titled post last month, also with pics of Ellie chowing down on donuts. She is quite the donut conniseur!)
So on Saturday we were going to the Mill City Museum. But the girls were hungry, and we were early, so we swung over to the Mill City Farmers Market. And when I saw that big red truck I knew I had to stop by! I got some delicious breakfast tacos with eggs, beans, cheese, and a crazy good salsa. Maisie had french toast (yum). But Ella wanted only one thing:
Mini donuts.
Ella was so focused, I couldn't get her to look up for a picture. But with good reason: Chef Shack's mini donuts are the best EVER.
Go get some!
(Ha! I just realized I had written an identically-titled post last month, also with pics of Ellie chowing down on donuts. She is quite the donut conniseur!)
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
My employer sponsored the Rembrandt exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, so employees got free tickets. So off we went on Sunday to the MIA, despite the girls' protests that "I only like museums where I can touch things" and "I think that sounds boring."
The line for Rembrandt tickets was really long and slow, so we decided to go through some of the galleries and come back for the tickets later. As promised, the girls didn't enjoy very much of it. They liked the period rooms, but otherwise found the older art pretty boring. They also don't like naked people or anything depicting anything scary, which is honestly quite a lot of the collection.
They were a little more taken with the more contemporary art, like this piece, Panda, by Takashi Murakami:
(another view and some further info on the artist here.)
Maisie was very interested in Cy Thao's work. We found a little video that told his story - born in Laos, escaped to a Thai refugee camp, immigrated to Minnesota, became a legislator for 8 years, and now an artist. The museum has 9 of his 50 paintings in his "Hmong Migration" series. She watched the video and looked at his paintings and said "He's really talented!" Yep!
We next found a please-touch art cart, with Native American items from the Pacific NW, that the girls liked. There was a doll, some beautifully woven fabric, jewelery, and other objects that they could handle.
They also really liked this installation by HOTTEA, letting go:
(more info on it here.)
Oh, how was the Rembrandt exhibit, you ask? Ha. Ha ha ha ha ha. It had timed admissions and our tickets were for 2:00. But everyone pooped out and melted down and was basically done 45 minutes before that. I ended up giving our tickets to someone who was in line to purchase them.
So, oh well. It was a pretty hit-or-miss excursion, but all in all I think it was a success, even if we didn't get to see the Rembrandts. At least we did show the girls that the art museum isn't all boring.
The line for Rembrandt tickets was really long and slow, so we decided to go through some of the galleries and come back for the tickets later. As promised, the girls didn't enjoy very much of it. They liked the period rooms, but otherwise found the older art pretty boring. They also don't like naked people or anything depicting anything scary, which is honestly quite a lot of the collection.
They were a little more taken with the more contemporary art, like this piece, Panda, by Takashi Murakami:
Maisie was very interested in Cy Thao's work. We found a little video that told his story - born in Laos, escaped to a Thai refugee camp, immigrated to Minnesota, became a legislator for 8 years, and now an artist. The museum has 9 of his 50 paintings in his "Hmong Migration" series. She watched the video and looked at his paintings and said "He's really talented!" Yep!
We next found a please-touch art cart, with Native American items from the Pacific NW, that the girls liked. There was a doll, some beautifully woven fabric, jewelery, and other objects that they could handle.
They also really liked this installation by HOTTEA, letting go:
(more info on it here.)
Oh, how was the Rembrandt exhibit, you ask? Ha. Ha ha ha ha ha. It had timed admissions and our tickets were for 2:00. But everyone pooped out and melted down and was basically done 45 minutes before that. I ended up giving our tickets to someone who was in line to purchase them.
So, oh well. It was a pretty hit-or-miss excursion, but all in all I think it was a success, even if we didn't get to see the Rembrandts. At least we did show the girls that the art museum isn't all boring.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Hot.
Oh man, it's been a hot summer. Hot hot hot hot hot. Heat records are being set all over the country, and Minneapolis has been no exception (87 records have been set so far this year!). Because we don't have central air, we spend a lot of time going from museum to restaurant to other air-conditioned venue. Lately we've tried to include some movie theaters.
As I mentioned in the previous post, I took Maisie and Maya to see Brave when Maya & family were visiting. Maisie was really freaked out by it, but she came away saying that she liked it.
Well, a few weeks later we decided to try to go see it all together, all four of us, as a family. Poor Maisie could. not. handle it. She cried and we had to leave. A week or two ago, the same thing happened - this time at Ice Age 3. Auntie Laura and Dylan stayed with Ella through the end of the movie, but I had to take Maisie out. Today, we considered going to see Pirates! Band of Misfits. Ella and Aaron both wanted to, but Maisie was dead set against it. So those two went, while Maisie and I hung out in a coffee shop.
This isn't limited to movies, which can understandably be overwhelming, with the huge screen and surround sound and all of that. Sometimes even watching a TV show, she finds whatever minor conflict there is to be so intense that she has to leave the room. Seriously, I never thought that My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic would be too frightening for her, but it's driven her out of the room more than once!
It's kind of frustrating. She knows that the show/movie/whatever isn't real, and she knows that it'll be fine in the end. Goodness knows she's seen enough kids' movies to grasp the happy ending concept! But in the moment, she gets so worked up that she's unable to pull herself out of it.
Sigh. So, we're obviously done with movies in the theater for a little bit (although we might keep trying, at least for $2 matinees at the second-run theater). Anyone have any ideas how we can help her remember that it's really just a show, and that there will be a happy ending?
As I mentioned in the previous post, I took Maisie and Maya to see Brave when Maya & family were visiting. Maisie was really freaked out by it, but she came away saying that she liked it.
Well, a few weeks later we decided to try to go see it all together, all four of us, as a family. Poor Maisie could. not. handle it. She cried and we had to leave. A week or two ago, the same thing happened - this time at Ice Age 3. Auntie Laura and Dylan stayed with Ella through the end of the movie, but I had to take Maisie out. Today, we considered going to see Pirates! Band of Misfits. Ella and Aaron both wanted to, but Maisie was dead set against it. So those two went, while Maisie and I hung out in a coffee shop.
This isn't limited to movies, which can understandably be overwhelming, with the huge screen and surround sound and all of that. Sometimes even watching a TV show, she finds whatever minor conflict there is to be so intense that she has to leave the room. Seriously, I never thought that My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic would be too frightening for her, but it's driven her out of the room more than once!
It's kind of frustrating. She knows that the show/movie/whatever isn't real, and she knows that it'll be fine in the end. Goodness knows she's seen enough kids' movies to grasp the happy ending concept! But in the moment, she gets so worked up that she's unable to pull herself out of it.
Sigh. So, we're obviously done with movies in the theater for a little bit (although we might keep trying, at least for $2 matinees at the second-run theater). Anyone have any ideas how we can help her remember that it's really just a show, and that there will be a happy ending?
Friday, July 20, 2012
Ella's birthday party
About, oh, a month ago, we celebrated Ella's third birthday. I mentioned it briefly here and promised a recap, but never delivered. I am the worst mommyblogger! Auntie Clare even blogged it before I did, and with better pictures, too - here's her writeup and gorgeous pics. Go check it out. Her pics are just lovely.
The party was awesome. We had it at Edinborough, an indoor play area in Edina. It's a pretty sweet deal, if any Twin Citizens are looking for an indoor place to host a birthday party - the park is owned by the city so it's really not expensive.
Here was our little party area:
The park sets it up for you and provides all the paper products, along with a shirt for the birthday kid. They also handle cleanup! yay!
Here was our cupcake cake, made of cupcakes!
Seriously, so much easier than trying to slice up a regular sheet cake or whatever. Everyone just gets a cupcake! Less cleanup, too. We got it at Target... this was seriously the birthday party of convenience.
This is what occupies the kids and where they run off the sugary cupcakes you fed them:
It's called Adventure Peak. You can't really tell from the pic just how enormous this is - it's hard to get a good perspective. According to their website, it's 44 x 44 x 37. The oak tree thingy on the side is 30 feet tall. Huge, right? There's slides and ladders in between the various levels. There's also a little bounce house on the lower level, and a toddler area for the littl'uns. Then there's a separate gym that has balls and rolly slidy toys.
We had so much fun with all the friends and family who came to celebrate. It was great to see everyone. Ella had a wonderful birthday party. Thank you all!
(I stole that picture from Clare. Isn't it great?)
And finally, here's a pic of Maisie and Maya, who I took to see Brave on Saturday afternoon, post-birthday party.
Maisie got pretty freaked out by the bears. Maya kept reassuring her, "Maisie, it's just a movie, it'll be fine." Ha!
The party was awesome. We had it at Edinborough, an indoor play area in Edina. It's a pretty sweet deal, if any Twin Citizens are looking for an indoor place to host a birthday party - the park is owned by the city so it's really not expensive.
Here was our little party area:
Here was our cupcake cake, made of cupcakes!
This is what occupies the kids and where they run off the sugary cupcakes you fed them:
We had so much fun with all the friends and family who came to celebrate. It was great to see everyone. Ella had a wonderful birthday party. Thank you all!
(I stole that picture from Clare. Isn't it great?)
And finally, here's a pic of Maisie and Maya, who I took to see Brave on Saturday afternoon, post-birthday party.
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