ten smile tuesday

can it really be true that an entire week has passed us by....a week packed full of those ordinary moments i would simply like to savor....to gather up and store away for those "rainy" days. (mind you, this week has had its share of rainy moments--tantrums, broken plates, piles (errr....mounds) of housework--and on and on...but truly, we are blessed here in the "yak family".

1. the finale of "c" week...baking cookies (incidentally i experimented with the recipe and created something new and delish!--chocolate chip cookies with banana and peanut butter--moist, chewy, and yummy!--i used the toll house recipe+an extra 1/2 cup of flour, then i tossed in my two ripe bananas that needed to be used...and finally, i thought...hmm...what good are bananas and chocolate without a wee bit of peanut butter, so i threw in 1/4-1/2 cup of PB). however, keeping cookies in the house is never a good idea, so we made some cards, read one of our favorite books, "you can do it, sam" (about a bear who delivers cakes (a tasty surprise) to his friends....SOOO cute!), loaded into the van and headed off to drop our own little tasty surprises off to friends. elizabeth was absolutely enthralled by this adventure....toting her homemade card and plate of cookies up to the door, ringing the doorbell and saying, "here's a tasty 'prise!" kate was quite thrilled by the adventure, as she just loved seeing all the friends! we'll most definitely be doing this smile again! (oh how i wish we could pack up a plateful and drop them off to all of you bloggity friends!)


2. playing....especially watching daddy and his daughters play. one of elizabeth's favorite parts of the week was reading the comics with daddy on sunday afternoon. and kate...well, she loves just about anything involving daddy....as the grin reveals!


3. COOTIES! (and not the kind fourth grade boys have....) i picked the cootie game up at a garage sale for a buck. so worth it. as i opened the box and looked at the gameboard i have to admit i was a bit stumped. i don't know that i honestly remembered cooties being a game....i just remember sitting with my sister (or by myself) putting the cooties together in different ways and then playing "house" and pretending with them. i mean, really, cooties were just another verious of dolls and barbies around our house! this, however, was mike's first ever run-in with cooties (can you believe it!?)...he bashfully admitted this fact when i laughed as i recounted the story of a lady at the garage sale seeing me with the box and saying, "cooties...whats that?" (please, please tell me you all remember cooties!)


4. piggy pancakes...well, atleast that's what i was going for. in reality, elizabeth took one look at it and called it a cat, which actually fit well with our "c" theme...so i guess you could say we had "cat cakes" for breakfast saturday. (and yes...she did scarf down the chocolate chip eyes and nostrils first)


5. doll-making. you all have to know just how much i am loving elizabeth's newfound fondness for all things crafty. i must admit that i often have to step back though...i can get way too obsessive about the pieces being glued just right OR the big messes that come with the projects. this particular project was a wee bit above lib's independent ability though, so she happily requested "help mama!"...and i didn't even mind the glue EVERYWHERE when we were finished (and it was that SUPER sticky craft glue...that stuff could hold a house together!)....or the glitter (if you look closely the sashes are covered in glitter...as is the table...and the people in this house (still...even though the project was yesterday). gotta love glitter...


6. goggles. need i say more...


7. paint, paint, paint....i suppose this could go with smile #5, but i'll give it a smile all its own. so elizabeth loves painting. finger painting. brush painting. she. loves. painting. todays d project were daisies, which involved painting the middle of a muffin cup yellow (or a rainbow of colors if you're elizabeth) (by the way...i got this idea from moziesme), but i knew that simply wouldn't be enough in the painting realm. SO...i invented "daddy dollars" (which elizabeth will present to daddy this evening....and daddy can redeem for hugs and kisses and dates and other special moments) and let elizabeth have at it with the paint to decorate them. you know what i discovered...i like finger-painting almost as much as elizabeth does. the other thing i discovered is that i really need to make paint smocks for the girls!


8. dessert. ooey gooey and delicious rice krispie treats...made with the help of one eager (almost) three year old while kate napped. (which is also when we bust out the paint and glue...) this treat will be accompanying a dinner (chicken enchiladas) we are delivering to some friends who just got home after a year overseas doing missions. (and yes...you guessed it...elizabeth picked the colored, fruity flavored marshmallows...and they do give the rice krispie treats a bit of flavor). while we stirred and melted the marshmallows elizabeth danced around the kitchen twirling and singing (at the top of her lungs), "marshmallows...marshmallows. oh i love marshmallows! marshmallows...marshmallows. you taste so good!" hilarious!


9. faces. elizabeth has this new face. she calls it a daddy face...though we have NO idea why. it is too funny (and she knows it...and tries to milk it for all its worth). even funnier....the realization that apparently kate is picking up a similar facial expression. i truly believe the best pictures aren't always the smiley ones...these might be among my recent favs!


10. grace, grace, God's grace. grace for dinner time...which is definitely in one of those "not so happy" phases. kate, who just weeks ago would eat anything...is getting picky. ugh! and elizabeth, who had been on a positive streak when it come to dinner...is back to those stubborn, wants to take six hours to eat ways. ugh! in case i haven't mentioned it...parenting is hard. and yet, God is gracious...gracious to give patience when all around the dinner table is going haywire...gracious to remind me that just as i wish my children would just listen and realize what i want them to do is best for them, so this is how He sees me....gracious to forgive in those moments when i don't respond as i should....gracious.