Pizzeria Kaufman

On Monday, and for no other reason than the fact that I was very under-budget on groceries this week and felt like splurging on this fun activity, the girls and I "made" pizzas!  Now, I realize this is a far cry from homemade.  I used to have a great recipe for homemade pizza dough but we're talking 10 years ago and I can't find it.  Oh yeah, and I'm too lazy to find (or try) another.

But boy, to a two-year-old or two, this is MAKING. DINNER.

(Forgive the poor picture quality, we seriously - prior to a trip to Sam's - had virtually no working rechargeable batteries so my camera had virtually no juice.  Annoying.)

And - though I swear I hadn't thought of this when planning this adventure - it made a nice presentation when put together, too.  The girls got a kick out of it!

DFD #10

Five more DFD's until our vacation!  But who's counting?

Today (What? Same-day blogging?) we had a fairly impromptu "A Bug's Life" party.  We're leaving for the weekend (off to exciting Columbus while Kyle attends a conference) and thought it would be just as easy to move it forward a few days than backwards.

I'd say that, for literally under an hour of prep (including a 5-minute menu design), it turned out kinda cute!

We went with a picnic theme, and enjoyed Flik's Fried Chicken, Princess Atta's Potato Salad, Heimlich's Fruit Kabobs, Francis' Strawberry Ladybugs and Dot's Dirt Dessert.  Yummy, and I hardly had to do any of the work! ;)

Since we had watched the movie before (and during... shh.....) dinner, we had just enough time after to play our first ever game of Cootie.

 The girls thought it was awesome, though admittedly it seemed to pale in comparison to the aforementioned dessert.

Howl-o-Fest

Yesterday, we went to Howl-o-Fest at Kings Island.  Because there was so much offered that we thought we'd go more than once, and because we have half a dozen other fall activities to fit in that are almost all open only on Saturdays and/or Sundays, we went in September.  Turns out we probably won't make too big an effort to go back since the girls were probably just a year too young to enjoy many of the things, but we still had a really great time. (And mom, we might still if you insist ;))

Howl-o-Fest is the kid-friendly event at the park, taking place for just a few hours each weekend day in the Picnic Grove area.  It has a lot of potential, and we experienced several fun things just in the 2 hours we were there.

First, we found the candy spots.  Of which there were 4, giving out one piece of candy each.  I told Kyle at home, at least it's not the end of the world if they eat their entire loot bag of candy for this particular event! ;)

We then checked out the "Foam Pit", of which my princesses wanted no part.  Elise eventually touched the soap (yes, it was just soap), but that's as far as we got.  Fine with me, as most of the kids coming out were soapy, wet messes.  Cute idea, though!

We also got pumpkins in the pumpkin patch which we then got to color, and participated in a costume contest (with no intention of competing with our Walmart-bought (worse than "store bought") clearance costumes from last year, but with one goal of saying hello to Snoopy, which was accomplished).

We visited the petting zoo and found our way through a tricky hay bale maze.  Oh my goodness, the girls were so proud of themselves leading the way and backtracking when they'd reach a dead end.  Adorable!

Finally we went through a cute "Twisted (Fairy) Tales" maze, that was very clever.  There were lots of other activities we skipped, but Elise and Avery had a wonderful time.  And really, they were so excited by their Snow White dresses (easy to please, no?) that I'm pretty sure they would have had a fun time had they worn them to the dentist.

More pics in Picasa, including our little Snow Whites dancing in the streets while Kyle and I ate the Strawberry Funnel Cake that they wanted pretty much nothing to do with.  Huh?

Disney Family Day #9

Yesterday was DFD #9, and featured Monsters, Inc.  I couldn't believe that Elise and Avery hadn't watched this one with us (though admittedly we just started working through feature films this summer), because I just thought they would love it.  Aside from a few scary parts, they really did.  They are in the bathtub as I type this talking on and on about Mike, Sulley and Boo.

For the occasion, I picked up these Monsters, Inc socks from the Target dollar spot.  "Put your feet next to Sissy's," I said.  "Well, that'll do."

When the party started, we first started out designing our doors.  I wasn't sure this would go over all that well, but the girls got a kick out of it and I think they pointed out each and every door they saw from the opening credits of the movie to the very end.

Next was movie time,

followed by dinner, which turned out ok despite not mixing the right proportions of icing colors to make the Sulley cupcakes the way I had planned.  And only having a few minutes to care. :)

Next up: A Bug's Life!  (More photos from this and the previous DFD in Picasa)

Miss Meghan's Music

As you might recall, there have been some changes to our beloved Music & Movement class.  As I suspected, we will finish out our classes we've already signed up for (one more), and then it will be a closed chapter.  However, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.  Despite not being quite enough to justify the cost and the drive with any regularity, we really did have a nice time at the latest class we visited, "Miss Meghan's Music".

Miss Meghan previously taught Musikgarten classes so there was a nice structure to the class, but there was also a fun mix of popular Children's songs - including a new Laurie Berkner song we had never heard, which prompted the CD purchase and is now one of Avery's & Elise's favorites.  And for whatever reason, give Miss Meghan more bonus points because from the first minute they walked into the classroom the girls - especially shy, oft backwards Avery - couldn't get enough of her!

After class we got to play with our friends Addy, Beth & Baby Liam.  Since naptime had been a big to-do in the days leading up to (and following) Monday, we weren't in too big a rush to get home for nothing... so the girls got to play with the dinosaurs and reptiles, climb on the spider web, visit the fish, crawl through a new caterpillar tunnel, AND play in Water Works.  What a fun morning!

DFD #8

In addition to Tyler's Run, last Saturday was our eighth Disney Family Day.  The movie du jour was Cars - one of our favorites, for sure!

Technically, the girls had seen this one before (and I wasn't trying to repeat yet).  I had forgotten though because it was when we were all sick several months ago, so we justified it by saying they hadn't really paid much attention anyway.  Yeah, that's it.  Besides, the food was adorable and I had found decor in the $0.50 clearance bin at Factory Card Outlet weeks before.  So Cars it was!

First things first, snack time which - since there was an abundance of desserts (and I'm not ashamed in the slightest because they were a-dorable) - was also themed.

Then we played "Where is Lightning McQueen?!", also known as "Memory".  Avery caught on quickly, and Elise had fun, too ;)

Dinner was simple buy yummy (Lightning's Speedy Sandwiches, MACK-aroni & Cheese, Frank's Garden Medley (Frank is the combine.  You're welcome.), Fillmore's Traffic Light Treats ("I'm telling you dude, every third blink is slower..."), Luigi & Guido's Chocolate Tires and Mater's Motor Oil Sundaes) and we had a great time!

Shhh...

It's here!  Not as pictured (any longer), because we aren't positive we're keeping it there (and it definitely won't be in that order).  Oh, and also because it's not making its public debut for another 90 or so days.

But still, THE kitchen that I've been waiting to find since January is here.  Of course, I had to spend 5.5 hours in the car on Wednesday afternoon/evening to get it, but it was worth it to pick up all three pieces for what I (after a TON of work, and with still a lot more to go with timing sales right, ordering discounted giftcards, etc) would have paid for just two of the pieces.

I realize I'm probably as excited or moreso than the girls will be, but I'm not sure.  I think they'll give me a run for my money, considering how much they dote on it every time we see it.

Hooray!

Oh yeah, and one more thing.  This means that my Christmas shopping is finished, except for 2 time-sensitive gifts (and unless Kyle and I decide to change our tentative plans for one another).  Most everything is wrapped too, but I'm not going to say that too loudly for fear of receiving hate mail.  

Laurie Berkner

Elise and Avery still absolutely adore The Laurie Berkner Band. We are listening to the "Best of" CD (just came in the mail yesterday!) and they are making my day.

Ironically, "Walk Along the River" (known in our house as "Ooh Ah" since my girls were quite small) is the only song from the DVD (known in our house as "The Ooh Ah Show") that isn't on the cd. Maybe they won't notice? Otherwise, I think they might want to send a letter of protest to Ms. Berkner-Mueller with regards to her definition of "best".

Until then though, thank you Nana for introducing Laurie to us. Her music doesn't irritate the snot out of me (quite the opposite, in fact) and it brings Avery and Elise (and their parents, by default) so much joy! :)

Tyler's Run

Last Saturday, Kyle joined hundreds of others at Miami Whitewater Forest for a run to raise money for (among other things) SIDS awareness.  Tyler's Run is over a decade old, and is run in memory of "Little Angels" around the area.

This is Charlie.

Elise and Avery saw this picture, and immediately said, "Baby Charlie is sleeping.  Baby Charlie is sooo cute!"  I hate that we live in a fallen world where things sometimes hurt really badly, and for no humanly understandable reason.  That in time, my precious girls will learn that sometimes mommies and daddies have to say goodbye to their sweet children when they are only 3 weeks old.  Charlie's Daddy was a colleague of Kyle's and someone I had worked with during his intern year.  He and his wife had to say goodbye to Charlie a few months ago.  The outpouring of support at Tyler's Run (in literally dozens and dozens of families wearing red "Charlie shirts") was incredible, though I can't imagine how little it really does in such a situation, especially one so new.  I only hope they felt a little bit of extra peace for that while...

It was a beautiful, PERFECT day.  The event is really well done and we had a wonderful time.  There were clowns and balloons, lots of food, uplifting music and friendly people everywhere.  It was unlike any other race event we've been to in that it was very laid back, yet very well supported.  It was really cool.

Next year, the girls and I will run with Kyle.  It wasn't clear whether it would support strollers and little ones, though now we know it absolutely does.  It supports children's bikes, tricycles, walkers, strollers, wheelchairs and whatever other method one wants to use to show their support.  So fun!  This year, though, we watched and cheered on the runners and walkers.  Elise and Avery anxiously awaited the Kids' Fun Run, when it would be their turn.

Surprisingly, Avery ran even more gung-ho than Elise (though both were fantastic).  Not long before the finish line, my little sprinter took a horrendous face-plant into the concrete.  Needless to say I don't have excellent pictures since I was running down to meet them to help Elise finish while Kyle tended to Avery.  Elise and I crossed the finish and got her goodie bag, and I explained to the folks at the end that my other daughter likely would not finish due to injury (her first DNF? ;)).  I turned around though, and saw her as determined as ever.

For days, she talked about how she had fun, how she fell down, but how she still crossed the finish line. What a sweetheart.

This is definitely an event we look forward to participating in again!

"Before we buy them at the store, apples grow on trees!"

For the first time in a very long time, I actually remembered to find a U-Pick apple orchard while they were still in season!  The heat at the end of the summer did a number on a bunch of local places, but we were able to gather a peck of delicious apples at Irons Fruit Farm a couple of weekends ago.  Sure, it took us over an hour when it should have taken about 20 minutes, but whatever.  It was an experience :)

Irons is a really great little farm in Lebanon.  We hadn't been, but were very pleased with our time there - after a misguided phone call that morning telling us there were plenty of apples only to arrive an hour later and be told we couldn't go pick.  It got resolved, and is really a very boring story.  Back to the cuter one..

While we took turns taking potty breaks in the Yucky Blue Potty, we got a sneak peak of a few animals we might visit later.

Then it was time to find the Apple Trees that Avery still talks about daily.

The girls had a really good time finding apples and looking to see if they had any boo-boos (since most of what was left was rotting on the ground), and were so pleased when they'd find one that was "jus' puhfect" to put in Mommy's bag.

As we were trying to leave, Avery was dawdling and lagging far behind.  I turn around, and see that it is for good reason --

Silly girl!  They had given us permission anyway, so we all decided it was time to join in.

When we had paid for our apples, we visited with the animals a bit (emu, llama, goat, pony, & rabbits), and then took a free hayride before heading home.

Pretty good start to the "fall" (even if it is still technically summer), and now I'm off to enjoy some Apple Cider!  Several cute pics in the September Picasa album!

Culver's

Avery and Elise have grown up a bit since the first time they went (*sniff*)...

... but we enjoy lunch at Culver's more than ever now!  Two kids meals gets us three girls more lunch and custard than we need, so we may or may not have eaten there twice in the last 10 days...