Mexican Chicken Soup with Chick Peas, Avocado, and Chipotles.This is the best chicken noodle soup recipe ever. It actually isn’t exactly a chicken noodle soup, but we change it up to where it kind of is. First, we put ten times the amount of carrots it calls for, and then we add whole wheat pasta with it. I highly recommend you make this!
I’m sure you figured out by now, we are pretty adventurous when it comes to eating and cooking. The only thing is we try to make things healthier, but we love trying new things. Are your taste buds open to trying new things or do you like sticking with what you know?
I’m so thankful for the good rhythm the girls and I had together this week.
I think Ben and I found a bed frame we want! We are thinking about getting this one (or this), but now we just need to find the right mattress. We are looking for a natural one that is nice and firm, but it’s been proving to be a difficult thing to find. Our mattress search started two years ago and we still don’t know what to pick.
Ben and I have been watching clips of Jimmy Fallon skits from The Tonight Show, and he’s so funny. I think way better than Jay Leno. The current Saved by the Bell one is funny. Ben was left wanting a full episode. LOL
With Valentine’s just a week away, I’m hosting this sweet giveaway with Duff from Jean Jean Vintage. One of Duff’s favorite things to give friends is jewelry. Duff loves to gift everyday easy-to-wear stuff for her mom and friends (pin for a purse or a scarf, a classic everyday ring, a locket for holding pictures, etc.). So in honor of spreading some love around, if you win, you can send someone dear to you something shiny and something sweet!
This special package consists of chocolate (um, yes please!) and the vintage locket pictured above (it’s sterling and 12k gold fill). It’s a sweet way to way to let someone know you love them. The locket comes with a silver chain and the picture rings are intact, so it will be ready for a small photo. If you want a chance to win this to send to someone you love, just 1) follow Jean Jean Vintage on instagram, and 2) leave a comment on this instagram post telling me who you want to send the gift to! Once we have our winner, we will contact you, package it up, and send it for you! Contest ends this Wednesday at 8am PST.
If you still need other Valentine’s Day ideas for a mom or friend, this locket is perfect for the occasion or this darling tulip pin.
The girls are so cute. I was busy making granola downstairs, and I come up to see this set-up. Not sure what was going on, but it looked like they were having fun. While, our homeschooling schedule is full, I make sure these girls get a lot of play in too. I think play is just as important! They can play everywhere and they play so well together. I love seeing their imagination come to life, and while my inner neat freak cringes when the mess gets crazy, I do love seeing their imagination at work.
When we just had True, we were pretty strict on this handmade/wooden toys only, and while I much prefer that, they’re kids and they will like other things too. And with the grandparents, sometimes, there’s just no way of stopping them; we do try. If the girls don’t clean up their toys, and I have to do it, all the toys I clean up go in a bin. Later, if they do something that warrants a prize/celebration (like performing in a small school production, memorizing memory verses, graduating to the next level of swim class, etc.), we go back to the bin and they pick out something. A toy that was theirs once, may not be theirs later if a sister picks it out before they can get to it.
The way my girls play is a little bit different from how I remember playing as a child. I was way more into dressing and styling my dolls, and I had tons of Barbies. My girls don’t have Barbies because of Ben’s feelings about them and the type of body image it portrays to little girls. Though they do have those Disney princess ones, so it’s kinda different (kind of not), but the princess ones are allowed (although they don’t last long!). I think the main difference in the different ways we played is that I played by myself because I was 4 when my brother was born. My girls have each other, so they are always playing in groups. The drawback to that is that they are so used to playing with each other, that when other kids come around, they just tend to stick together and not really talk to other kids. Then add them being slower to warm up, and sometimes I get embarrassed that they don’t seem so friendly to others. That’s probably a whole other post, and maybe some of you may have tips on how to deal with that.
I remember as a kid, my cousin would make fun of me because my Barbies’ boyfriends were my New Kids on the Block dolls. I think I had the whole band! Anyone else have those dolls too? I think Jonathan was my favorite.
Do you do Valentine presents? Sometimes we do all handmade, and sometimes we get a little something. We don’t give the children chocolate or candy, but there will be handmade cards, and I always bake something for the occasion. Plus, February 14th is my parents’ wedding anniversary, so that day is extra special to us. We did order the girls more of these Tegu blocks. Ben’s sister got them this set for Christmas, but after seeing how much they play and create with it, we thought they would enjoy more pieces. Ben knows he can’t go wrong with jewelry for me, but I did tell him I would really love a handmade card (or another Pablo Neruda poem like last year). And for Ben, I know he would love another fruit tree, or some gardening things. It probably isn’t what most men would ask for, but I think my Ben is a rare species.
This is a sample of our typical homeschooling day… 8:15-9:00am True and Brave alternate practicing piano and their Spanish homework 9:00-9:30am Spelling and Latin (Latin takes about 10 minutes) 9:30-10:30am Math 10:30-12:00pm Writing, grammar, and reading 12:00-2:00pm Lunch/play 2:00-3:00pm History/science (we alternate the days) 3:00-4:30pm Spanish with Grandmama (read about it here)
Above is the guideline we follow three out of five days of the week. One of the other days, they go to school all day, and on another, school is woven between swim, piano, and dance lessons. The great thing is that we have a lot of flexibility, and so sometimes, we do school in my bed (as seen above).
You might ask what the younger two are doing during this time, Soul is usually working on some simple alphabet or counting activities, and Glow is napping. Say what?! Yeah, Glow is 3 years old and she still takes two naps a day. It’s the strangest thing to us, but we’ll gladly take it. She naps between 9-12pm and 2-4ish. She’s been the best at napping, and if she doesn’t get her nap, she’ll start complaining that she’s tired. We are pretty amazed at her napping abilities. When I go to get her from nap, most times, she’s still sleeping! If not, she’s quietly playing by herself. It’s almost like she needs the break from all of us too. HA!
Now, your next thought is probably, “What time does she go to bed?” The kids start getting ready for bed around 7pm, in bed by 7:30ish, and they have quiet reading time until 8:30pm. You’re now wondering, “What time do they wake up?” It varies… Soul’s usually the first one at 6:45ish, and the rest of them between 7-730am.
Anyhow, I usually start cooking around 4:30pm, and we aim to have dinner at 5:30pm. The girls are pretty good at entertaining each other while I’m in the kitchen, but I probably should start getting them involved more. The days are full and by the time 7 o’clock rolls around, I’m exhausted and ready to zone out. Lights out for me a little after 10pm, and I wake up at 5am to do it all over again (Ben and I workout before the girls wake up). So when do I blog? I do it after dinner. Ben cleans up and gets the girls ready for bed, and I take care of the things I need to online, then I chill out with a book or a show on Hulu (I watch Scandal and Blacklist).
You can read a post about our curriculum choices here.
I have a large growing pile of fabric scraps. I refuse to throw them away because I am sure they can be used for something. I have been seeing different types of interesting necklaces made of buttons, beads, and fabric. Then, I figured why not make one out of my scraps...
I think it made my white shirt a little less boring. This was so quick and easy to make.
How to make a recycled scraps necklace (which is very similar to the straps on my braided tablecloth bag):
1. Take your scrap fabric, I cut a .5''-1'' snip and tear the rest of the fabric down for a nice frayed edge. Used 3 different fabrics for each strand.
2. Take 3 of the torn pieces and tie the ends together with a rubber band.
3. Braid the 3 pieces together and tie ends together with rubber band when done.
4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 for more strands. Remember you can make the strands any length you want, if run out of fabric, just weave more into the braid.
5. Once all the strands you want are braided, gather one end of each strand together and straight stitch together with sewing machine. Repeat for the other ends of the strands. Snip off any excess.
6. Gather ends of the necklace and sew together (snip excess) or a ribbon can be sewn at the ends to be able to tie the necklace closed, but I just sewed both ends together.
7. Voila! A nice way to make use of all your lovely scraps.
Sorry if the directions get you a little lost, but it really is easy. I promise. Maybe I should put some in the shop. Please share any other good ideas you may have of things that can be made with scraps. I would love to hear (read) them!
Mexican Chicken Soup with Chick Peas, Avocado, and Chipotles. This is the best chicken noodle soup recipe ever. It actually isn’t exactly a chicken noodle soup, but we change it up to where it kind of is. First, we put ten times the amount of carrots it calls for, and then we add whole wheat pasta with it. I highly recommend you make this!
