kismet art

Making Pizza Memories with Grandma

I grew up with the extraordinary priveledge of knowing my maternal and paternal grandparents (as well as 2 great-grandmothers, a great-grandfather, and even have some early memories of great-great grandparents too).  Like my parents before me, at different times during my life, we have lived within walking distance of at least one set of grandparents. As a young child we lived with my maternal grandparents for a year, Grandma and Grandpa Jones, who owned restaurants (as did Grandma Jones' parents) and because of this I have grown up around people who love food, love to cook, and love to teach others to cook.

Our children are lucky to have one set of grandparents 2 blocks away, grandparents who love to have them over for some fun in the kitchen.  And on the day these photos were taken my mom, aka Grandma, bought some locally made pizza dough, some sauce and cheese, tied aprons on Ben and Emma, and let them make their own pizzas.  There was a little gentle instruction but for the most part she just stood back and let them go for it.  Yes, it was a bit messy, and yes, some ingredients were eaten and not used on the pizzas, but what was best about this day was how their laughter filled the kitchen.

Not only did making their own pizzas give them each special appreciation for the food that was on their plates (they both said it was the best pizza they had ever eaten) but it reminded me that by adding a few extra minutes to the dinner routine, and being a little more patient when having them join me in meal preparation, will go a long way in giving both Ben and Emma that same love of being in the kitchen that I learned from my family.

a very busy (but very fun) day, December Daily, Day 19

Tiny Trees

New Jammies and Our Tree, December Daily, Day 10

Deck The Halls, December Daily, Day 6

"Were You Ever This Little?", December Daily, Day 5

Snow Day

One of the greatest, and silliest, things about living in Eugene is that even a light dusting of snow is enough to close school for the day (and I can say this now that I am not working outside of the home, when I ran a child-care center chance of snow meant getting up at 4 a.m. to watch the weather report and agonize over whether or not to close the center...)

So with schools closed last Tuesday, and outfitted with new gloves and snow boots (thanks Grandma and Papa for shopping before the forecast) and snowpants/ snow jacket for Emma (thanks for the awesome hand-me-downs Tori!) we were ready for some snow play.  Ben and Emma spent a good hour making snowballs, running and laughing, digging, and even managed to put together a tiny snowman.  They came in to warm up only because the words "hot cocoa" were mentioned.

And so as we begin what is rumored to be a cold, white winter I can't help but exclaim

"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!"

My Boy and My Girl

A couple of layouts I finished in July- this one is Ben, age 5:And Emma at one week:  Trying to use some of my favorite "old" photos. 

 

King and Queen of the Sandbox

 I love summer.

Goodbye June and a Little Bit of Love

  Loving the sunshine.  Loving unstructured days.  (Not loving the summer cold shared by 3 out of 4 of us as of this morning...)  Loving homemade popsicles.  Loving 3 great tasting watermelons in a row. Loving the tiny tomatoes that appeared overnight on a few of my (18) plants (some of you will be getting tomatoes later this summer).  Loving dirty, bare feet.  Loving tiny projects that can be finished in an hour or two.  Loving a little more travel.  Loving a glass of wine or a cold beer with Dave in the evening. Loving watching movies or reading until midnight.  Loving the sound of fireworks and happy kids and birds (except those pre-dawn birds, you know who you are...)  Loving the smell of sunscreen and fresh herbs and the air blowing the smell of freshly cut grass through open windows.  Loving the parks. Loving summer.