Shake Things Up

Okay, the Christmas decorations are down, the day is grey and the video games are getting old (I guess that's what happens when you have a LEGO Star Wars marathon).

So, it is time to start shaking things up. We have had some fun around here making things and creating science experiments, and we are really s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g our comfort zone by going vegetarian.

When we are transitioning away from holidays, it seems we have to put a little more effort into being engaged. Here are some things we've done to shake off the cobwebs of Christmas and get more into the fun of winter (an oxymoron if *I* ever heard one, but my kiddos like winter and who am I to say anything.....)

Some things we have done to get the fun rolling again are:

*museums (especially small-ish ones, like plastics or associated with a college. I think we'll hit the MIT museum next time we're up there.)

*a new crafting tool (next time this happens, I have my eye on a wood burning tool, I may get it sooner, but right now we have enough craft material lying all around the house for me to want to buy something new. Both Ella and I are a little in love with the Crafty Chica)

*bowling, roller skating, or a video arcade (last time at the arcade,my dd got a Newton's cradle http://www.officeplayground.com/newtonscradle3.html with her tickets won on the games, and there have been some unbelievable discussions that branched off from that toy!)

*a new music CD or video or computer game...or season three of the Gilmore Girls

*a road trip (even just to the next town over)

*the supermarket to buy strange fruits and veggies and figure out how to cook them (we have a coconut sitting on our counter right now waiting for a smashing)

*a day/week of foods from a different place, or eating on the living room floor instead of the table, or breakfast in bed

*checking out books from a different library (somehow I come out with completely different kinds of books from the library on the other side of town...we've been all over looking for our Gilmore Girls DVDs)

We Made Butter!

Declan and Ella shook, rattled and rolled their way to butter! It was really fun, especially since Ella decided that we HAD to do it to music!

Here is the finished product. Yummy. I think it was a little bit more like creme freche, which I want to make now.
Hmmmm....Mr. Delicate Palate is wondering if, and I quote, "It will be to {his} taste"
Oh, baby, yep, it is!

Now, I am wondering, too, if you can make butter from soy milk....if not, why not?

Pie

Yum. Fresh apples. So delicious, I could have just eaten these.

Ella does like to leave her mark. Sometimes, we call Ian "E", too, so it worked with the collaborative effort.
Doesn't that look gorgeous?!?!

Ella baked her first pie today with her dad. I haven't eaten it yet, but it looks good.

New Beginnings

I love fall. It seems to be a time for new stuff to come up and other things to be put away. I like the holidays (Halloween and Thanksgiving) and the weather (mmmm...cozy sweaters).

We are trying this fall, in the spirit of the season, a new piece to our routine. We have been having big yummy breakfasts. Well, Ella calls them weird breakfasts, but *I* think they are delicious.

We loved when we were at the conference and we would all eat and plan our day together. As Ella usually sleeps in and Declan is a bear until he eats, breakfasts together had all but disappeared from our family.

Last week we had breakfast burritos that were not a huge hit. I am going to try them again, though, because I got some farm fresh eggs yesterday and that should make them more appealing. We had pancakes which are always welcomed in the morning, and a baked french toast dish with apple-brown sugar-caramel sauce. I know! It sounds great. I have to admit, tho, it was totally stinky. We had a lovely oatmeal day, with vanilla soy milk and crunchy granola to go on top.

The topping on the coffee cake, so to speak, was the crepe day. We had crepes with all kinds of topping imaginable. We had strawberries, and raspberries, and apples and caramel and organic chocolate syrup and maple syrup and butter and yogurt and even a little left over vanilla ice cream.

Declan had his crepes plain.

Of course.

Cooking

Ella really loves to cook. She is getting good at baked goods and trying her hand at other concoctions. Yummy. Maybe she'll make some Christmas presents this year. Delish.