Sunday, April 29, 2012

Our visit to the barn

Since my hard drive crashed, I wasn't able to keep up with my posts. Luckily my husband doesn't need his computer tonight so I am catching up on both blogs. 

Last week we took a trip to the Arabian Knights Farm. My very good friend Gabi volunteers there on the weekend so she was so nice to invite us and let us get up close to some beautiful animals!

Here T is being bugged by the "bosses of the petting ZOO". Apparently they are not suppose to get up there... Now you know who is the boss!


T giving a back rub to the boss! 

 

T learned how to feed the horses.  

 

He wasn't a bit scared even of the bigger horse. This is BJ taking a carrot. The carrot was big so T was allowed to feed it to him by just holding it between the fingers. B wasn't so brave and so she is hardly pictured on these...

This guy was the best. Llama and his name is Chris! Isn't it awesome!



We had some time for extra fun in the barn!




And a picture I really like! This is T and Nightlight.


Kids always enjoy a trip to meet some animals. They make amazing connections. B needs a bit more warming up to do. I hope we will be back soon!

I am linking to the the very inspiring It's a Boy's Life Blog Field Trip Friday :-)

Friday, April 20, 2012

Don't you love when Cinderella lives in your house

I love how little kids still like to clean. My kids' favorite cleaning activities include this spray bottle and also our new vacuum cleaner. There is nothing cuter when little B gets dressed up in her most beautiful dress (this one is actually her Christmas dress), tells me that we will pretend she is Cinderella, and starts cleaning. That gives me the cleaning bug!!!


 When T spots his sister having fun, he joins in immediately. This time he even dropped his "Cars 2 movie" (That's what he calls the story he makes up when he plays with his Cars characters - and that is a big deal)..
I sure should take advantage of this till it lasts. I wonder if he will give up something later on in life, to come and clean with me ;-)


Organizing my junk drawer

I am trying very hard to organize my life these days... And one of the main areas, my kitchen, is the first on my list. I posted pictures of organizing my pantry before and next up is the junk drawer! 

Here is the way it was before (now you understand the need):

 I had to first empty the whole drawer, purchase some small containers that would fit in it and decide which way to place them. This is the winner!

Next was to decide what should stay and what should go! I kept the most important things that I need at hand most of my days, such as - pencils, pens, permanent markers, erasable markers for my fridge calendar, toothpicks, gum, computer cleaner and sponge, scotch tapes, white out, paper clips, pins, measuring tape, tissues, matches or lighter, some houseplant food sticks, flash light, and some tools. Take a look at the difference!!!


I hope you feel as good as I did after I was finished! Now, of course, I will have to repeat this soon again (that is what happens when you have tiny people in the house try to help themselves to things in the junk drawer ;-)

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Some Garden Wisdom



"All gardeners live in beautiful places
because they make them so."

Joseph Joubert


Monday, April 16, 2012

Shoe shopping with B

Yesterday, while the boys spent some quality time biking around the neighborhood, I decided to take B on a girls-only shopping spree, to get her some new (and fancy) shoes! Let me tell you, it is amazing how little girls get somehow pre-programmed to LOVE shopping. We spent two hours in Target, looking through toys, clothes, and shoes (and we bought a vacuum cleaner for mommy on top of that - yes!) and she couldn't be happier the whole time. T would have been bored out of his mind but not B. She kept on running around picking things and putting them in the shopping cart. It was very funny! And she ended up taking it like a champ when I told her that we are not able to buy the entire girl clothes section, together with all the Barbies... and bathing suits ;-)

But she LOVES her new shoes!!!



Friday, April 13, 2012

My herb garden

First let me say that I am very excited about this year in my garden! One of my ongoing projects is my herb garden and I think I am finally bringing it to the finished stage this year!!!

This is, by far, my favorite spot!

And this is my work in progress!I have decided to place my garden by the pond in the back of our yard. It gets enough sun and it looks very pretty there!


You can see parsley, some mint, thyme and sage there right now. Inside of my glass house I am starting basil, oregano, parsley, cilantro, dill, and chamomile (which I am super happy about growing this year. I want to make some more chamomile oil from it again). Only few more weeks and they are all coming out here! I am planning on putting rosemary into the blue pot, which means it will be probably switching places a lot, depending on how much the rosemary will grow. Right now the blue pot looks great where it is!

I will be going now to browse the web for some new info!
Happy herb gardening!



Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Lilac muffins recipe

Every spring I get very inspired by the flowering lilacs that grow in our front yard. Last year I made the lilac jelly and this year I wanted to make the lilac muffins. Here is the recipe:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup lilac blossoms

Preheat the oven for 400 degrees... baking time will be 25 minutes.


Rinse your lilacs and try to get out all the green parts that sneaked in. Then mix together the butter, egg, sugar, and milk.


 In a different bowl mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Put this mixture in your mixing bowl and let it do it's job. When everything is well mixed, fold in the lilac blossoms.

Fill up the muffin cups about 3/4 up and put in the oven. Oven times may vary so keep an eye on them. Here they are!!!



I like their taste. They are not too sweet and taste almost like european style busquits. I got this recipe from the always lovely Dana at the Roscommon Acres blog. Thank you!

Sunday, April 08, 2012

Easter Baskets

 I came home from work at midnight but nothing can stop me from putting together some cute little Easter baskets for my munchkins.

I think one little girl will be very happy!



And I am sure one little boy will be very excited about his gifts from Easter Bunny!



I used material I had at home to cover the inside of the baskets...




And you will love this! Did you know what is hiding inside this plastic egg? I made this myself today! What a cute idea I got from my friend!!!


 Do you like this homemade Easter grass? I made that tonight as well - all you need is paper shredder and some colorful paper!


Happy Easter!!!