Honesty Is Always The Best Policy... Even When It Comes To Cheese!

After supper last night, I didn't put the food away for a little while and a little girl found her way back up to the table and began grazing. After a bit we discovered that all the cheese had been eaten off what remained of the casserole. When Stephen and I jokingly pretended we were surprised and wondering about where the cheese could have gone and he asked Clara in mock puzzlement "where the cheese had gone?", she opened her little mouth wide, pointed inside and said "Mouth". :-) Who could be upset with that cuteness!

Honesty is always the best policy!

Eating Instructions From A Two Year Old

At supper this evening I found myself being instructed by my precious two year old to "Eat, eat". She was indicating a piece of broccoli on my plate. I obediently complied and was immediately rewarded with "Good girl. Yaaay!" :-)

You got to love it!

This and That

Cute one of Hil anyway! :-) I think Clara may be "taking a picture of me" with her phone! :-)


I've been meaning to get Clara a piggy-bank for quite some time now... but the other day, an idea came to me. Why not just make a simple one? It would do the job and would give me a little project to do with her (I struggle with coming up with creative projects/activities to do with her). So, I found an empty yogurt container in the recycle can, cleaned it out, penciled her name on some paper, let her decorate it, cut a whole in the lid, and covered the container with her art... and there ya have it... a piggy bank!


Absolute, Total, No-questions-asked, Complete, 100% Preciousness!!!


And some cute Clara-isms: When she sees a mail truck she sings out "E-mail!" There have been a couple times lately when I have disciplined or talked sternly to her and she has popped out with "I wuv ew" afterwards. :-) Awwwww. Talk about melting a Mommy's heart! And she's taken to saying "Good man" to her Daddy (and it also sounded like she was saying it to me:-)). Sometimes when she's enjoying the food she'll say "Good Mommy." Makes a mommy's day! And I love the "Wow. Cool." that she occasionally pops out with!

Our Precious Kidos

Here's some shots from this last week:












And I LOVE these two pictures! I was able to snap these today! Clara can be challenging to take pictures of, at times, because she often wants to run over and just watch videos on the camera. However, she was willing to smile for the camera today and we were able to get a couple great ones of our two precious packages!

Had to share this shot of a FILTHY DIRTY girl, from 4th of July! Although she doesn't look too happy in this picture... she had been having a great time... in the dirt, as you can see!


And another cute picture of our sweet little fella taken recently.


And on another note altogether, Eating Well scored again in this household, with their Mediterranean Wraps. When I saw these back in the June issue I wasn't super impressed and didn't end up trying them. However, I put them on the menu for this week and we had them Monday. They were so delicious and full of great flavor! Stephen and I both really enjoyed them! The recipe is simple and they are so healthy, loaded with fresh herbs, cucumbers and tomatoes. And use whole wheat tortillas and whole wheat cous cous and you can truly feel good about this scrumptious meal! I chopped the recipe out of the magazine and it has earned a place in my recipe binder!

Note: In true "Me" style, I didn't follow the recipe exactly. Here are a couple of the differences: I didn't buy spinach wraps, but just used whole wheat tortillas that we already had and wrapped them up burrito style. Also, instead of parsley I used cilantro, which we like better. I didn't measure the amount of herbs I put in, but combined I guess it was between 1/2 and 3/4 of a cup after being chopped... less then what they called for.

One Of The Joys Of Summer...

A Snickers ice cream cone on a hot day!




Got to love her technique of eating down the side! :-) This was a pretty fun experience to watch! When Stephen would ask her is she wanted help she would respond "No, fine, fine." :-)

Another cute Clara moment from resently has happened a couple different times when she's done something funny and Stephen and I have been laughing. The little lady has got miffed at us and said "Stop fraughing". :-)

Spinach, Steak and Blueberry Salad

Ok folks, don't let the thought of steak and blueberries being combined scare you off! This salad was so yummy and not difficult to make. Also, if you don't want to grill the meat... just fry it inside, like we did. It was so delicious... and with blueberries and spinach it's super healthy too. Serve it with some toast and butter and you've got a great meal!


If you give this fabulous salad a try, you're likely to have a look on your face something like this one:

May We Recommend...

I've been on something of a "new recipe" kick lately... though I guess cooking and baking is a hobby of mine and I'm often on that kick. :-) Anyway, plenty of the time the results are ok, but not something you really enjoy. But sometimes you come across something yummy! Here are a few "winners" from lately.

I've been enjoying my Eating Well magazine and this Peach Custard Pie is one of the recipes from the latest issue that I tried. Stephen REALLY liked this and said it made it on to the "make-it-again" list! :-) If you read over the recipe, it may look complicated and time consuming. But I'll tell you a secret. I think a big chunk of that is making the crust, which is probably a fabulous crust and much more healthy then the normal pie crust. However, if you want to do a faster version you can do just a regular pastry crust recipe. That's what I did and it worked out fine.

My dear hubby, who isn't a big chocolate guy was actually bragging about these Chocolate Ricotta Muffins! Fresh out of the oven, they were sooooo yummy! They had this chewy texture, and combined with the ewwwy gooey chocolate chips... mmmmm good! And if you can't get rid of all of them while they're hot out of the oven, warm the leftovers up in the microwave and put a big scoop of cool whip on top! :-)

Got to run for now... but I shall try to return soon with a link to a FABULOUS Blueberry and Steak Salad!!!