I can't believe I let my 2 year old do this

This has recently become a favorite activity for Sarah and Jason. I remember the youngest Stew Crew boy flying down the neighbor's driveway at a very young age and being amazed at how brave he was. Still kinda freaks me out, but they love it, and they have to wear helmets, so hopefully it's okay. Please don't chew me out, Mom! (Love you!) Sorry you have to look at it sideways--don't know how to turn videos.




...and here's a little love Daddy received when he got home tonight. I had the camera nearby and just wanted to capture the moment. He is SOO loved! (And check out those muscular arms! Hubba Hubba!)

This makes me so happy!

So I've been meaning to/wanting to start recycling for several years now. After Levi's lesson in school last year, teaching them to "reduce, recycle, and reuse", I almost made the leap, but for some reason getting started seemed so daunting to me. I kept thinking it'd be a big expense to get all the organizers that I needed, or that it would be too much of a pain, or that we had no space to store it, or insert numerous other excuses here. My friend Jen had me take a look in her garage, and to my great surprise, any random storage box in the house is suitable for storing the recyclable items! (Must not have thought that one through too much.) Anyway, this is our first load that's getting close to full. Maybe it's the honeymoon stage, but I can't help but smile when I see how much stuff I'm not sending to the landfill. This family's turning just a little bit green!

Easter fun

Most of my family got together this past weekend at my parents' home--we weren't able to go, so I tried to still make it fun for the kids. Here are some pictures of us dyeing eggs with our Chinese neighbor. The kids think she's wonderful, and she even watched my kids as they slept later that evening so I could go hear my hubby teach at Challenge.



Robbie using the Res*rrection Eggs to tell the Easter story to the kids. If you don't have any, they're pretty great--there are 12 colored eggs, each telling a part of the story of Christ's death and resurrection. The kids are sooo excited each year for who will get the empty egg, representing the empty tomb.


My friend Leslie had a post last week about these ruffled skirts. She was wanting to teach a class for people who want to learn to sew, but since she lives 2 hrs away, I decided to look for the online tutorial she wrote about. Here's what I made. They're not perfect, but Miss Sarah loves them, and had so much fun helping me pick out the fabrics for them.

This is one way that she thought of to wear them--she's quite the creative dresser!


Here's one of Levi's bugs that he made when he was being babysat by another friend. He's got 4 or 5 of them hanging from his (now Sarah's) loft. Notice Sarah dressing up as a bride and looking in the mirror behind him. One day my full length mirror in our bedroom dissappeared, and since she uses it so much more than I did, I guess she can keep it!


And here are the adorable Easter baskets the kids made this year. Levi made his in school and taught the kids how to make their own. I love them--don't know how well they'll hold up in the years to come, but maybe we can come up with another idea next year. They made them similar to how you would a pinata. You blow up a balloon to the size you want, make a line across it where you want the fabric to stop, and start dipping fabric pieces in watered down glue and placing them on the balloon. We only did one or two fabric pieces thick, then let them dry and pop the balloon. Punch out holes for the ribbon with a hole punch, tie the ribbon on and you're done. Simple and sweet.

Breakfast

This is what my kids decided to fix themselves for breakfast the other morning when they were up before Robbie and me. Not sure if you can tell just how big these containers are, but they're massive--the biggest ones I have. They must have used about 8 cups of cereal and just as much milk. It was so hard for me to throw it all down the drain! Silly kids.

A fun Saturday

So Saturday morning Rob and I watched the StewCrew kids while their mom and dad were getting their first aid class done. (Side note--at the same time, some other friends were surprising them by painting their soon-to-be little girl's room. Beautiful!!!) We took the 6 kids to H*me Depot for a very fun kid's construction time. They each got their own apron and a kit to make a bird house. My dad and Rob's grandma would have loved it--(they're the bird nuts of the family). It got a little crazy with all of them wanting our help at the same time--thankfully our friends Kristy and Justin were there to save the day and helped several of the kids with their project. They of course took them home and decorated them and are soo proud of their efforts!



Here's a video of Jason building--he didn't move from his designated spot in the hour or so we were there--he is such a tool guy! Makes his daddy proud!




We also are now proud owners of a basketball goal! Here's Levi and his buddy helping dad level the ground for it to be placed. Levi is sooo pumped--our circle's gonna be hopping with little dribblers!

We miss you, Mai!!!

Mai was an exchange student in my house my senior year in high school and has been a very close friend since. Last summer, she and her 2 adorable kids, her husband, and her dad were able to come for a long visit and stay with us. We had a great time--stayed up way too late every night--had lots of noise every minute, but it was such an amazing opportunity for my family--especially my kids--to live with this family. My favorite meal that Mai cooked for us was her Japanese Curry with rice. SOO good! I made it tonight and was missing her like crazy! It's a simple recipe, a little too spicy for my kids' taste, but it's become a comfort food for me. Here's how I made it:

Cut up 1-2 onions, 2 large carrots, 5 potatoes and 2 chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces.

Heat 3 Tbsp oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, chicken, 4 cloves garlic, and 1 tsp ginger paste. (I LOVE the smell of ginger! Always reminds me of China.) Stir for 3 minutes, then add water to cover 1 inch above veggies. Add 2 bay leaves. (Is it disgusting that I'm still using the same bay leaves that I got at a shower before my wedding, 11 yrs ago?!?) Bring to boil--boil 10 minutes. Add potatoes and boil 10 minutes more. Add this curry roux (not sure how to spell that word) You can buy G*lden Curry roux cubes at W*lmart in the int'l aisle--I use 6-8 cubes--you have to stir quite a bit to dissolve the cubes.
The result is simply delicious!

Buddies

These two have a blast together--Mr. Powerr*anger Bear and Mr. Shooter Batman can sure have some fun battles. We're so thankful that Jason already has such a great friend!