easter 2011

up on the rooftop

a few saturdays ago i came home from running andrew over to a friends house and this is how i was greeted...

look at that beautiful sky.
chris had been doing some cleaning up on the roof and let the kids sit up there with him to wait for me.

they were pretty excited about this and keep asking to do it again the next few days.
oh, the things dads will let their kids do.
i would have never allowed it, good thing i wasn't home when he was getting them all up there.
instead, i got to just pull up and see how cute they looked up there.
how could i get mad at those beautiful smiling faces up there on a glorious saturday.
just don't ask me if you can do it again.
here's to beautiful skies, beautiful weather and fun dads!

baked ziti

ok, a day late but here is the new recipe i made for my friend on monday.
i made one for our family too.
the kids loved it and it served us two meals and then some.

it was a great after school snack too.
serve with salad and french bread and there's dinner for you.

kitchen help

i made dinner yesterday for a very good friend of mine who just had her 5th baby.
john wanted to help and pulled out the pot he wanted to use and then stood there with the fridge open trying to figure out what he was going to put in it.

he pulled out a bag of shredded cheese and an apple.
i sliced the apple and he diced it to put in the pot.
this kept him happy and busy for quite some time.

i was pleased he came up with a decent combination.
when ella was this age she would come up with some pretty strange concoctions.
fun for her, but sometimes hard to swallow for me.

since i had been cooking on the stove, he also wanted to.
so, then we, or rather, he, cooked up his little snack.

and i have to say it was pretty good.
cooked apples and cheese.
not bad for a 3 year old.

oh, how i love my little sous-chef.
i'll post the recipe i made tomorrow.

friday fish tacos

i've been making these the last few fridays.  they are mighty tasty and easy.

all you need is:
-box of frozen fish fillets
-cabbage
-salsa
-guacamole
-special sauce:  equal parts of mayo and plain yogurt mixed together
-cut up limes
-corn torillas

*cook fish according to instructions (i cook for about 5-7 minutes longer on each side because we like the fish nice and crispy!)
*heat up tortillas (i just did this in the microwave)
*put it all together!!!

i've been making homemade salsa and guac to go with it...delish.
i didn't even do any sides to go with it and everyone was happy and full with just the tacos.
oh, and don't forget to have your husband make you a gin and tonic to go with it.

catching up on school stuff

we had two students of the month from our family at the school assembly yesterday morning.

each class gets a turn to present a skit at the assembly demonstrating the skill that the entire school is working on for the month (which then leads to picking a student of the month).
and ella's class was in charge of the skit for yesterday's assembly.

here she is with her class last year when they presented their skit as kindergardeners.
look at how much younger she looks, what a difference a year makes.

here's christopher a year ago, when he got student of the month at that same assembly.
he too, looks so much younger!

and some from andrew from i believe three years ago.
the most recent i could find, my poor middle child.

ok, i feel a little better now.
a little more caught up on some school stuff.
now i just have to catch up on the birthdays, still.
and, isn't it amazing how much of a difference a year makes?
kids just change and grow so quickly, it's amazing, and scary.
i mean, next year my oldest will be a 6th grader...it's really starting to fly.
and it's a little bitter sweet, ok a lot bitter sweet -
but i am sure proud of my kiddos, who they are, and who they are becoming.
and lucky for me i still have that little john-john around all the time.

first day of swimming

in our pool was yesterday.
the kids have been talking about jumping in the pool for a few weeks.
after playing out front for awhile they asked if they could jump in the pool.
they were so excited to get their suits on.
ella was the first one to fully go in - she is one tough girl...

and the only one to go off the diving board.

but soon enough they were all in, having a great time in that cold pool.

andrew remembered how good he got at diving last year.
and wanted to show off his skills.

and the boys took turns holding john in the water.
they love doing this, and so does he.

john went to town drawing on himself that afternoon as i was making some phone calls.
and, yes our pool needs a little skimming thanks to that beautiful breeze we had yesterday.
so, they were all pretty tough and happy swimmers.
i just love to see them all having fun together and getting along!

proud to be an american

tata became a u.s citizen on friday.

although he goes by tata, he's actually from canada.

i took the kids out of school early and we headed downtown for the ceremony.

actually, we surprised tata - he didn't even know we were coming.

it was fun to be downtown

and in the us district court building.

there were testimonies of those becoming citizens, some very touching stories.

all the candidates got a little american flag.

and they played the song 'proud to be an american' with the words up on flat screens.

although it was a little cheesy, i got teary at some of the words and the freedom we have here.

"and i'm proud to be an american, where at least i know i'm free"

"and i won't forget the men who died and gave that right to me"

that second lined got me a little choked up as i was singing.

we went back to nani's for a nice surprise celebration.

yes, we are lucky to be in this country and we will never take that for granted.

and as a mother i am most fortunate that these smiling faces get to grow up in this free country.

i cannot even imagine having to go through the hardships that mothers in other countries do.

let us pray for those mothers and their children and remember how lucky we are.