Butterfly pasta

Emily is a picky eater. She is reluctant to try new things and will happily go hungry rather than let a morsel of anything unfamiliar touch her taste buds. For a long time, bow tie pasta with butter and parmesan cheese was what she asked for and devoured. It was a meal she never turned down, and I named it "butterfly pasta" to be more appealing and exciting sounding. We haven't had butterfly pasta in a while because she has branched out to spaghetti and has actually been trying some new foods. I served up some butterfly pasta last week and watched as Emily picked up each noodle, ate the "wings" off the pasta, and deposited the rest in a pile on her plate. It reminded me somewhat of the episode of Seinfeld where Elaine ate the muffin tops and gave the stumps to the homeless. So behold, the butterflies and the stumps that remain....

Fancy Nancy Party

The Wadsworth Library in Geneseo had a Fancy Nancy Party today. I just happened to have the day off and I thought Emily and Chloe would really enjoy going because they like the Fancy Nancy books. So, they chose fancy dresses, jewelry and hats and we were off the the party. It was very well done, there was a craft (decorate a crown), story time and of course fancy snacks. We sat with Ellie and her mom and had a great time.

Little chefs

I went to the library after dinner one night last week and came home to find the house smelling all chocolatey. Joel had enlisted the help of two little chefs to mix up a birthday cake for a friend. I hear it was tasty. It was made with love. ;0)

Simple pleasures

It is really amazing how thrilling little things can be for kids. I grabbed an old tablecloth and spread it on the ground in the backyard and we had a picnic lunch last weekend. Emily and Chloe absolutely loved the idea and we laughed and ate and had a blast.

Little Mermaids

We've had so much rain this summer we have had to grab any opportunity to swim that we can! Joel runs a hose from our utility sink in the basement to the pool so the water is nice and warm and most evenings we can be found in the driveway watching Chloe and Emily frolic in the pool.

Backyard Fun

This summer has been pretty rainy, but there were a few sunny days where we were able to enjoy some fun outside. We had a robin's nest on our front porch and watched 4 robins hatch and grow, then right after they left, more eggs were laid and 4 more robins hatched and flew away. Joel took the nest down, and a robin built another nest in a different spot on the porch and there are eggs in that nest, too! Chloe and Emily love being outside. They like playing in the sand, swimming, looking for bugs, and having a picnic lunch outside. Emily found a super cool black and white moth on our basement window and we were able to snap some pics of it.

We play with our food.....

My paternal grandmother died when I was young, but one memory I have is of her spreading a large sheet on the floor and bringing out the elbow macaroni for my sister and I to play with. We would scoop and pour, fill and dump, stir and mix to our hearts content. When the girls were big enough to know not to put the macaroni in their mouth, I went to WalMart, got a large rectangular container with a lid and 6lbs of elbow macaroni. Chloe and Emily are almost 4 and they still ask to play with macaroni. We scoop and dump, fill and pour, whisk and mix. I love the sound the macaroni makes, I love my children's laughter as they play and I'm glad my grandmother thought to bring out the macaroni.

Preschool Graduation

Chloe and Emily attend preschool 3 days a week. They are in a classroom with other 3 year olds and they really enjoy their teachers, classmates and the activities they do there. On June 23rd there was a Graduation ceremony. In September, the children in the class will be moving to the 4 year old room. All the children received an award. Emily's award "Classroom Entertainer" was given for her sense of humor and intelligence. Chloe's award "The Little Einstein" award was given because of her great vocabulary and language skills. It was fun to see the class perform 3 little songs for us. I am happy that Chloe and Emily enjoy the program so much. I know that while we're working, they are having fun with friends and learning, too.