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12.19.2011

Around here

::  The weather's been gloomy here for the last couple of weeks.  Jude took this picture today, which pretty much sums it up.


And speaking of gloomy, Iris was diagnosed with RSV today.  The poor baby has been so sick.   Yet I am thankful that it isn't worse and that she's been able to stay home and in arms.

::  Jude and Indigo are on their winter breaks from school.  We started the week off with this blueberry-buttermilk breakfast cake.


{Image found here via Pinterest}

I made it dairy-free by using almond milk, souring it with lemon juice.  I used Smart Balance instead of butter and cut the sugar down to 1/2 cup.  Then I topped it with 2 Tbsps of brown sugar before baking.  I also used mixed berries instead of blueberries.  That's a lot of alterations, I know.  But it was great and went fast.  A taste of summer and sunshine on an otherwise dreary day.

:: Inspired to make better paper snowflakes, the kids and I watched this tutorial.  I'll never make snowflakes the old way again.  Jude and Indigo were so impressed with their personal creations and opening each one was like unwrapping a Christmas present.





::  Eves and I made these gingerbread cookies, using the spice combination and the Royal Icing instructions found in this recipe.


::  The kids and I had lots of fun playing Yahtzee this afternoon.   They have their special shakes that they hope will bring them good luck.



I'm so enjoying this stage of being able to play real games with them that involve some strategy and not just pure luck.  I think this one has been our favorite.  Though Indigo can beat me every time.

Hoping your days are filled with games and laughter, sunshine and snowflakes... even if they're only paper ones!

4 comments:

  1. OH- I love that was can finally play boards games together too (I'm such a nerd!)! :)

    I'm totally checking out the snowflake tutorial...if your kids can do it than surely mine should be able to also! They'd LOVE that, I think!!!!

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  2. thanks for your nice comment! I see that you are a doula. Very cool. I had a home waterbirth with my youngest and really LOVED the experience of the midwives and their gentle support.

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  3. So many great ideas in this post--thank you! I SO want to make the blueberry breakfast cake! I like that you decreased the sugar, and it still worked out okay. The trick will be to find fresh blueberries--not looking so good in our grocery for the last 2 months or so. (We've been on frozen since then.) I'd like to try the gingerbread cookies, but M is really picky about his spices--he doesn't like anything "weird". Okay, he likes curry and berbere, which I guess are weird to some people, but (for example), he can only eat a little bit of a candy cane at a time, because the peppermint becomes too much for him. I'm not sure how he'd do with ginger and cloves...

    I envy your board gaming (Ron is really into obscure board games, so we've got some interesting kid ones, but they still don't really require strategic thinking) and snowflake-making. M is still REALLY uncoordinated with scissors. Not sure what age kids are supposed to be able to do that--we see an awful lot of kids who are only a few months older than him and able to do it...

    Hope Iris is getting better quickly!

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  4. Jenna, I think they'll easily be able to do it! I did the folding and the older kids used an adult scissors to cut out the snowflakes. Our (adult) scissors are sharp. There are quite a few layers to cut through, so it could be frustrating/difficult with a kids scissors.

    Tara, so glad you had a positive birth experience with midwives at home. I have been so happy with the midwifery model of care.

    Jenny, I used frozen mixed berries and it worked out great. (Though it does make the whole 'cake' purple!) Also, I made the batter the night before, refrigerated it and baked it in the next morning. It was perfect.

    Jude is a freak about mint. No mint toothpaste, mint gum and absolutely no candy canes. He can't even stand the smell of mint. He is super sensitive about spice, which is why I used the spice combination in the second recipe. The first called for 1 Tbsp of ginger and I think that might have been too strong for him. He loved these cookies, so I bet M would, too! ;)

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