happy birthday mom!

70 years of oz

a trip downtown to crown center to visit the 70 years of oz exhibit. these free exhibits change every few months and the kids enjoy it every time we we go. this one lasts through april 26. the kids follow the yellow brick road past dorothy, glenda, the scarecrow, lion and tin man, through the witches castle and a ride on a hot air balloon.

of course we had to eat at fritz's where a train delivers the meal and look at that huge brownie sundae!

then outside to watch the fountains and enjoy a semi warm day in february.

valentine's

here are our valentine's this year. we wrapped a chenille stem around a pencil and added our message and a sticker at the top.

friday family fun nights

march's theme for tastebud magazine is family favorites, so i documented one of our friday family fun nights at home. it was fun to include the kids on this one!

Friday Family Fun Night
In our house Fridays are reserved for family fun night. This can include anything from going to the Nelson-Atkins art gallery to trying a new family friendly restaurant or the kid’s favorite, game night at home. Since this night is all about fun and family time together start with setting an interactive and brightly colored table. Roll out a large sheet of white butcher block paper and provide lots of markers, crayons and colored pencils for creating bold drawings. To hold our supplies we made ‘junk drawer’ robots out of recycled cans, old hardware, paper clips and any odds and ends we discovered in the garage. Have the kids design the robots out of these old parts and an adult can attach the junk with a hot glue gun. My kids were so excited to add their works of art to create our centerpiece. Next, bring on the games! For our last game night we played bingo. The cage served as the centerpiece, we placed the bingo cards at each place setting and spread the colorful markers all over the table. Another alternative would be to place a board game and pieces in the middle and get ready to play!
The menu is simple: make your own pizza and chocolate milk. Stop by Whole foods to buy their pre-made pizza dough in the deli area and get plenty of toppings (pepperoni, black olives, broccoli, mushrooms, red peppers, etc.), sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese. Everyone is happy because they choose their own pizza toppings and they have fun making it. While the pizza is in the oven enjoy coloring and talking about the week. When the pizza is gone it’s on to dessert. What could be more fun than chocolate fondue? Kids love dipping marshmallows, pretzels, bananas and strawberries into the yummy melted chocolate.
Spend the rest of the evening playing games and laughing, dancing and enjoying this time together. We end our night with everyone piling into our king sized bed for a family slumber party.

Family Fun Night Tunes

House Party Time: Dan Zanes
Pizza and Chocolate Milk: The Terrible Twos
Victor Vito: Laurie Berkner
I Chalk: Justin Roberts
Heist: Ben Folds
William Tell Overture: Rossini
Catch the Moon: Lisa Loeb and Elizabeth Mitchell

ku natural history museum

over christmas break we made the road trip to lawrence to visit the natural history museum. (since we are k-state fans the boys made sure to wear their jerseys). what fun was this! so much to explore-the bug room, birds, animals from every region, dinosaur fossils and a real bee hive. the kids had a blast following the scavenger hunt that the museum provides. we will definitely head back this summer for more learning and fun.

after we had fuel up so we had lunch at local burger. delicious and freshly made choices including a veggie, turkey, buffalo and cow burgers and yummy sweet potato fries!

i have not been posting my articles for tastebud here because they are on my botanica blog.

head on over there to see what's up - i'm excited about the february issue!

if you are in the kc area-don't forget to pick up a copy at local coffee shops, grocery stores-there is a list of where to find them on the web-site.

***note to all 5 of my readers-if you would still like to find the articles here, just let me know.***

(a behind the scenes look at what is really happening when i'm trying to take pics. this little guy couldn't wait to get his hands on the fruit!)

at home-winter

gingerbread houses. we made two this season.

tea time in the bathroom.

lucy's new fairy tent-our new reading spot.

eating snow

by far the most played with toys in our house. sports figures. we have soccer, baseball and football guys. lots of games have been played with these. i had been thinking about creating something like this a few years ago when we were making our own games with teddy grahms on fields we had drawn. soon after found these in a magazine. i'm sure created by parents whose children were crazy about sports and thought why not sports figures instead of power rangers. darn my million dollar idea gone!

winter family fun night-games in mom and dad's bed.

tis the season

the nativity set from my grandma nadine, over 60 years old. a treasure.

all i want for christmas is my two front teeth!

our family at the plaza lights.

bringing home our christmas tree.

on santa's lap at crown center.

save, give, spend

a little project our family has been talking about -oh- for a year now. trying to teach the kids (and ourselves) about money. with the busy spending and giving season upon us it is the perfect time to really think about how and where to use our money. the boys get so excited deciding where we should put all of our loose change, birthday money, etc.

october tastebud article:

Halloween doesn’t have to be just for the kids. Celebrate this fall holiday with a table set using classic black and white elements with added playful and spooky surprises.
Start with a tablecloth in a bold black and white pattern. This could be a fun animal print or classic damask. I found this material at a local fabric shop and made my own. Next, use the staple white dishes topped with a smaller Halloween themed plate. Try to find and use a variety of these dessert sized plates to keep the table from feeling too formal.
The centerpiece for this table starts with a large white ceramic soup tureen placed on top of a cake platter. Serving soup or chili on Halloween is a great idea for several reasons: you can prepare it ahead of time, it is usually cold and rainy in Kansas City this time of year and it can easily accommodate any extra goblins that may show up on your door step! Surround the soup tureen with acid green hedge apples-these brainy looking fruits add to the theme. Then add in the other spooky choices: wooden blood shot eyeballs, spiders and furry rats or other night time creatures. Hanging spiders from the chandelier with fishing line is another great surprise. Now add in the pumpkins. Stay with the black and white theme by choosing a white pumpkin then painting or stenciling it with black paint. Be creative with varying widths of stripes, scrolly vines or bats and ghosts. You may even choose to write a Halloween message to friends.
This table, with it’s classic color palette and goulish details, is sure to please both the adult and child in all of us. Now it’s time to decide on costumes!

Find it Here (if you dare)
Creepy crawly spiders, webs and rats
The Curious Sofa
3925 W. 69th Terr.
Prairie Village Shops
www.curioussofa.com

Soup Tureen
Nell Hills
4101 N. Mulberry Dr.
Briarcliff Village
Or
Atchison, KS
and
Target Stores

Easy Taco Soup
2 cans of northern beans
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of shoepeg white corn
1 can of diced green chiles
Packet of taco seasoning
Rotisserie chicken (shred meat)

Add all ingredients to a stock pot
(do not drain beans or veggies)
Thin with chicken stock if needed
Simmer until ready to serve

Top with crumbled tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream and salsa