first birthdays

2 eager sisters helped plan this first birthday celebration.  They were incredibly excited about a first birthday celebration for their youngest sister.  Cupcakes were made, table decorations were carefully laid out, homemade pennants were hung from the windows, special birthday clothes were worn, first birthday candles were lit and lots of family arrived to celebrate another first.

Breakfast for dinner was the theme for the special celebration.  Her favorite meal of chocolate-chip pancakes, eggs and fruit was served.  Momma and Daddy made Fireweed Jam from the flower blossoms of the fireweed flower to top your first-year pancakes too.  Daddy picked them when he went to Alaska and then we experimented with jam making.  Luckily, the jam turned out quite tasty and you loved it!

When it was time for cake, you very carefully touched your cupcake first.  Tiny fingers drug through the frosting on top and after the first taste, the entire cupcake was thrust into your mouth by both fists.  It was devoured in minutes.

I was reminded that all a one-year-old needs for her birthday is a bag filled with tissue paper...this kid had so much fun pulling tissue paper out of bags, playing with it and then attempting to eat it!

We had so much fun celebrating you!  Happy Birthday!

summer fish recipes: halibut and salmon

I love to eat fish in the summertime.  It is light, healthy and just seems perfect for bright summer evenings.

I recently found a couple recipes that I really like.  I am a little picky when it comes to fish and have never been crazy about seafood.  A fish recipe has to have just the right about of seasoning without tasting fishy or overpowering the light fish flavor.  The following 2 recipes passed my picky fish test.
Enjoy some fish on a lazy summer evening with a glass of your favorite white wine.  It is the perfect summer supper!

Panko & Parsley Baked Halibut

adapted from this recipe

Ingredients:

2 large halibut fillets (approx. 2 pounds)

1 cup Panko crumbs

1/4 cup melted butter

4 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley (chopped)

3 cloves fresh garlic (minced)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Place fillets in the bottom of a baking dish.

Combine all other ingredients in a bowl.

Sprinkle mixture over fish fillets.

Bake for 25 minutes or until fish is flaky.

Salmon with Lemon and Dill

recipe source

Ingredients:

2 salmon fillets (approx. 1 pound)

1/4 cup butter melted

5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

lemon slices to garnish the top of the fillets

4 tablespoons fresh chopped dill

2 garlic cloves (minced)

sea salt to taste

freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease a medium size baking dish.

Place salmon in the baking dish.

Sprinkle salmon fillets with salt and pepper.

Combine ingredients and pour over top of the fish.

Place lemon slices on top of the fish before baking.

Bake fish for about 25 minutes or until flaky.

one year

Our no. 3 is a year old!  She is joyfully clapping, waving, blowing kisses, giving high-fives -- all of which began within a week of her first birthday.  I'd say she was super excited about turning a year old.

This one is a little firecracker and keeps us on our toes at all times when she is awake.  She disregards baby gates, the word "no," locked cabinets, stairs and all places she shouldn't be in general.  With all that said, she is also the most loving and expressive child.  She is patient and happy and works hard to keep up with her sisters, whom she adores.

She isn't too interested in walking yet, but gets around with a vigorous and energetic crawl.  She climbs around and over things that are in her way and teeters on top of toys quite frequently. 

We are absolutely smitten with you, little one.  You have been the perfect addition to our family and home this year.  Keep up your determined little attitude, joyful smile and cheery heart--you will go far! 

magic potions--you never know what you might learn while waiting in line to register your child for preschool

If you are at all like me, you've tried making many cleaning products at home with poor results.  

Since my no. 2 came along with many breathing problems, I've tried making many of my own cleaning products.  Unfortunately, many of them seemed like a waste.  I got tired of buying essential oils and mixing up magic potions...until last spring.

As I waited in line to register my child for preschool in the fall (at 5:45am!), I sat with a bunch of ladies who were discussing homemade cleaning products.  One lady swore that there was one potion that was super easy and affordable to make.  She said it worked like magic on everything.  I was skeptical but thought I'd give it a try.  The 2 ingredient cleaner is amazing and cleans everything!

It is magic!  

Magic Cleaning Solution

equal parts blue Dawn dish soap and white vinegar

Warm the vinegar up in the microwave for about 30 seconds and then pour it into a spray bottle with equal amounts of blue Dawn dish soap.  Voila!

This stuff cleans everything!  Yucky showers and bathtubs, toilets, grime, goo...you name it, it cleans it!

I dare you to give it a try.  It is amazing!

little conversations...

By the end of the day, sometimes I neglect to remember all the funny little conversations that come out of the mouths of the little people in my home.  Today, there were a few that I wanted to remember.

"Momma, please don't clean up the mermaids and put them in the pool-toy basket.  They need to be in water to live."

"Momma, I want to take this long stick home."
I think it is too big, let's just leave it for next time.
"No, I want to take it home so I can throw it for my big dog."

"I like roses.  And I like bluebonnets."
Why do you like those flowers?
"Because roses are red and Gabby likes red.  Bluebonnets are blue and Daddy likes blue."

a year in the morning

Tonight, I peeked in several times just to watch you sleep.  In the morning you will be a year old.  My last baby turning a year sort of pulls at the insides of my soul.  I am heavy with sentimental feelings about my baby turning into a child.  I think back over her year and wonder if I rushed too much.  Did I stop to enjoy all the sweet baby stages?  The thought of your little pudgy legs, elbow and knee dimples, first teeth, the mop of hair on your head and your beautiful little soul bring warmth and happiness to the heaviness I feel.  I am delighted to watch you grow and change, but for right now, I just want to forever remember this beautiful little baby asleep in her crib.  Sweet dreams on the eve of your first birthday.

a party

This year, all she wanted for her birthday was a party.  I thought we'd do just a small family gathering this year instead of a big shindig.  When we presented that idea to the soon-to-be birthday girl, she politely asked for a party with friends.  I scrambled just a few weeks before her birthday to find a suitable spot for a hot July birthday.

The local children's museum was the perfect spot for lots of friends and family to play, explore and celebrate!

She wore her favorite boots, played with friends, rode in on her great-grandmother's lap and was quite happy about sitting in a birthday throne at the head of the table.  Pigs-n'-blanket were served along with the requested Cinderella cupcakes {same as last year--some things don't change around here}. It was a wonderful morning with family and friends.

Her yearly birthday questionnaire:

How old are you?
Four

What is your favorite book?
Cinderella....
and Pocahontas (prompted by her big sister)

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Umm -- play with our children (big sister butts in and says, "don't you mean play with children?")
Yes, play with children

What is your favorite food?
meatballs and spes-getti

Where is your favorite place to eat?
IKEA

What is your favorite activity to do inside?
play castle

What is your favorite activity outside?
play  
Play what?
bicycles

What is your full name?
Pocahontas

What time do you go to bed at night?
I don't know....Momma, I don't know

Where is your favorite place to go?
I want to go to Disney World because we haven't been there before

What is your favorite TV show?
Curious George

What makes you happy?
when you sing me a song
What song do you like?
Cinderella songs
I don't sing Cinderella songs.
yes, sometimes you do

Who is your good friend?
Cinderella

What do you like to do with your sisters?
dance

What is your favorite color?
purple