Another Zoo trip

We took another trip to the zoo last week and met Darci and Carter there.  This is pretty much the only picture I got but it sums up our trip pretty well.  They seemed to have fun and even Hannah got out of the stroller and did a lot of walking.  It was pretty hot, in the 90's, so we got there when they opened so we would be done before it got way too hot.


They were checking out the ducks in this picture.  Go figure we go to the zoo and they were most interested in ducks.

Family

Lily needed a family picture for school and being on top of things like I am we have already gotten one note sent home reminding us we still haven't turned in our picture. I realized that we don't have an even remotely current picture of all 4 of us so I asked Colin's mom to take one when she watched the girls for us today. This is what we got.

Like I said, we really needed the picture and Colin and I knew what it was going to look like so we are both laughing while the girls just screamed. I am really hoping that Lily's teacher has a sense of humor because this is all I've got.

Yummy....pumpkin

Oh yes, these are definately on my grocery list for this week.  I love pumpkin and sure I could make some home made, healthier pumpkin muffins but these look sooo good.  Oh, and in case you didn't know there is a pumpkin shortage going on right now.  I've been to 5 different stores trying to find canned pumpkin and it is no where in sight.  So until I am able to locate some pumpkin in a can I will just console myself with these.

Poison Oak....not fun

We were working on the landscape around the house and I managed to get into some poison oak.  Colin got a few spots but I pretty much had it from calf to shoulder on both sides of me.  I was trying to tough it out but it seemed to be spreading and when I showed the pediatrician at the girls' check up last week she said I really need to go get a prescription to clear it up.  So I thought it would be fun to go from the pediatrician to the walk in clinic and just skip nap time for Hannah.  We were in and out in under 45 minutes, I think the two screaming toddlers ransacking the place may have helped get us some preferential treatment.  The doctor took one look at me and immediately started writing prescriptions.  Just a little FYI for you too, he said that it was spreading (after a week from when I first started itching) because it had gotten into my blood stream and could then move on to new areas.  I got my prescriptions filled and am almost back to normal after a few days and only seem to still get itchy right before bed for some reason.  I will spare you any visuals, it is not pretty, but luckily the weather is cooperating and cooled off a bit so I don't look ridiculous when I wear longer sleeves and pants when I go out so spare the public.

Mmmmm.....doughnuts

I was pleasantly surprised to find a lovely package on my front step this afternoon.  My lovely UPS lady dropped of a box from Amazon and my mom and dad sent me the mini doughnut pans I have been eyeing for my birthday.  I managed to hold off for a whole 3 hours before I had to do a little pantry inventory to see if I could come up with the ingredients for one of the doughnut recipes I have been collecting.  I started simple and went with one that uses a cake mix as it's base and it worked out pretty well.  Now, there is no way I would serve these as breakfast as they are really just chocolate cupcakes shaped like doughnuts but, as you can see the girls did enjoy them for dessert tonight.  I love the picture of them peering in the oven, they couldn't wait for them to be done.

Since these were the mini doughnut size it really made quite a bit so I put half in the freezer and frosted and decorated the other half with Halloween sprinkles.   I will do a little more planning for the next batch and hopefully they will be a little more appropriate for breakfast.

Recipes

I will admit that I have a bit of a recipe obsession.  I love to collect new ones however they tend to get stuffed into any out of the way space I can find for them never to be made.  I at least got to the point where I just tore them out of magazines instead of keeping the whole magazine but still had about 4 hiding places for them around the house.  The other night I got a chance to go through and collect them all up and organize them, I had some that I know for a fact are 7 years old and I still haven't made them.  I got out my trusty 3-hole punch and organized them by category into a binder.  Any new recipes go into the binder and when I am in the mood to try something new I can open it up and pull one out.  Once a recipe has been tried it will either be tossed if it doesn't meet approval or be put onto an index card and moved to my recipe card drawer.  And yes, I do have a drawer specifically for my recipe cards in the kitchen.  I won't even get started on the cook books.

Cutest Monkey Ever!

Lily and Hannah have recently started watching Curious George and are now in love.  I had this great idea that they could be George and the The Man in the Yellow Hat for Halloween.  My wonderful mother in law found this adorable costume for Hannah the other week but unfortunately I think Lily may have her heart set on being Angelina Ballerina instead of being decked out in yellow head to toe.


Isn't she adorable?

First Day of School 2010

Today was Lily's first day of preschool.  We went in on Friday so she could meet her teacher and she wasn't too receptive to having a new teacher this year but this morning went much better.    My girly girl picked out a Star Wars folder and green with flourescent orange spiders lunch box for the year....she has varied tastes.
 

And just for a little comparison, this morning is on the left and last year's First Day of School picture is on the right.  Her hair has only been trimmed once in the last year, it is finally growing in.

Sonic

After the zoo we decided to stop at Sonic for a treat.  Lily requested an ice cream cone and it was her first one.  I have a feeling it will be the first of many, she really enjoyed it.  Hannah had a smoothie and seems to have finally mastered the whole using a straw thing.  I had my favorite Orange Cream slush and it was quite delicious.

Zoo

At the beginning of the summer we bought year long passes to the Zoo and went once before it got too hot and now that it is cooling off again we were able to go for our second trip last weekend.  Hannah is getting more interested in seeing the animals every time.  Lily still loves the Tigers and they even had two baby tiger cubs this time.  Lily and Colin went into the big bird cage area and fed them.  Lily was loving it but when I took Hannah in there she kept trying to step on the birds that landed on the ground so she and I didn't stay in very long.

My Monkey

See this cute little cheese face, she was being very naughty this morning. Yes, she is sitting on the back of the couch and I do know how dangerous it is since she could fall and crack her head on the hardwood floors. She won't stay down. I pulled her down from there at least 50 times day and she just goes right back up. I tried putting her in time out and even put her up in her crib to try and get her to stop. You can see how long her mullet is getting too and though it pains me to have my children's hair cut because it takes them forever and a half to get any we may have to trim the mullet a bit, it's just getting out of control. If only the front could catch up to the back.

Dessert

I made some waffles tonight to just have handy in the freezer for breakfast for the girls. They smelled so good that I just couldn't resist. I put vanilla ice cream, fresh strawberries, and a little chocolate syrup on top and it looked so pretty that I had to take a picture before I devoured it.



I bet they will good in the morning with some maple syrup too.