Cooking Club Week 4

Up for this weeks cooking club was mini pies and tarts.  We had pumpkin (wrong season I know) and strawberry.  The kids did an amazing job.  Everything turned out perfectly and so very tasty.

Mary Grace & Kim

Mary Grace, Kim, Lily, Rut & Sarah

What to do when your house is rented for a school day

So this week, we rented our house on a Tuesday to a production company filming a lemonade commercial.  Yes, I know we are crazy, but the money was good and we didn't have to give it up overnight, so what the heck.  Lily and I started the day at 7am at Starbucks, then we had plenty of time to hit Brookside Gardens before school started where we got to walk around the gardens without them being packed.  Then Mom got to volunteer at school for "field day".  Then in the afternoon I got to goof around downtown DC.  And finally we wrapped up the evening meeting a friend at Jaleo for a great dinner in downtown DC.  It was definitely a full day!

Brookside Gardens

Downtown DC

House swapping in Virginia

Our friends from Virginia wanted to head to our Delaware house and since our Maryland house was rented for the weekend, that left us without a place to stay.  So like a crazy family, we decided that a house swap was in order and we just shacked up at their place.  The big bonus, all new toys for Lily to play with because they have 3 boys.  She was in heaven and commented on "these boys must be really good to their parents because they sure have a lot of toys".  I had to explain to her that there is actually three of them.  

Although the weather was dreary, we did have a great time none the less going shopping at Tysons Corner, having brunch at the American Girl restaurant and just generally goofing around.

Cooking Club Week 3

Lily has been watching a season of Master Chef Junior (news to me that these Junior chef shows even existed).  None the less, her requests for our weekly after school cooking club have gotten way more complex.  This last week we made a croquembouche.  Yes, I had to look it up.  It is stuffed pastry (like cream puffs) loaded onto a pyramid structure.  It took me about an hour just to make the cream part in advance.  Then of course we had to make the pastries and watch them rise.  Amazing that it worked.  Then the kids piped the cream into the pastries.  Amazing and messy for sure.  And there final product turned out pretty darned good.  I was definitely proud of their patience.  And boy were they tasty.

Funland

Rehoboth Beach has this amazing amusement park (very nostalgic and the prices are still nearly 1960s prices).  This weekend we were joined by Sarah, Sam & Chloe for pizza then a trip to Funland.  It was great fun!

Nature Walk in Delaware

There are so many great parts about our community in Delaware.  Just one of those great parts is the nature.  Last weekend we came within 2 feet (accidentally) of a beautiful red mama fox.  This weekend on one of my nature walks I cam across a large snapping turtle on its way back to the pond and a huge Eagle up in the tree directly above me.  I was in awe. 

Lily's Field Trip to The Science Center in Baltimore

Thanks to my quasi retirement, I am now able to join Lily for field trips and for other fun school events.  This last Friday we spent the entire day at the Museum of Science in Baltimore.  I must say that it felt a bit like herding cats.  But it was a fun day none the less.

Lily, Liana, Jacob & Angel

Cooking Club

Since I stopped working, I promised Lily that we would bring back Tuesday afternoon Craft Club.  But somehow I convinced her to make it Cooking Club.  She has been watching some cooking stations and seems very interested in cooking more, so it wasn't a hard sell at all.  Last week we made french macaroons.  This week we made El Salvadoran Pupusas.  Very fun.

Rut & Lily making Pupusas

Lily's New Haircut

Lily has truly loved growing her hair out, but it is so fine and tangles so easy that a trip to the beauty salon was called for.  Luckily Julie gives her the perfect haircut that she loved the first day and the second day (thank goodness).  She does look so stinking cute.

Mother's Day

With the exception of needing just a little warmer weather (it has been raining way too much here)... this weekend was nearly perfect.  We had a great time at the beach hanging out with our neighbors, playing with new dogs, doing crafts and enjoying a great Mother's Day brunch.  Somehow we managed to fit painting two bathrooms in as well.  Which turned out great by the way.

Making (eating) red velvet cupcakes with Sam, Chloe & Holly

Mom & Lily before Mother's Day brunch

Lily with Madeline's new dog Max (he is an English Bulldog)

Out for a nature walk/bike