{A Rainy Day}

it has rained all day.
gray and dreary.
it would have been the perfect day to stay put but
we stayed in yesterday, and two days staying home in a row
makes for a nutty mommy.

sorry...our play-doh looks neon

we spent the morning playing with play-doh.
we made little birds nests with eggs and worms.

this song inspired us.
and we listened to it over and over again.
i think aubrey likes the little girl singing.

later we braved the rain and headed to the mall
a little walking around
a little pretzel
a little bag of mini gummi bears
a good day.

after lunch we played with our "friends".
we have quite the dollhouse neighborhood going on don't ya think?

i love little people.
and i love to see those chubby little hands wrapped around them.

these two are mimi and poppy.
they had wonderful conversations together.
oh how i love that kind of play.

do you know how many times i was instructed to say,
"hi, my name's cindy...what's your name?"
lots
but i love it.

and this little people lovin peanut.

i will leave you with another song we listened to over and over this morning.
we sang this a lot in my classroom.
i love it.

{don't forget to pause my music down below}




{today i am thankful for:}
1. wholesome music
2. play-doh
3. rain
3. a dry place to live
4. left over homemade spinach pasta for lunch
5. my girls

{you're not gonna find deep thought provoking gratitudes here...simple and little...that's me!}

have a happy day,

cindy

{Salsa, Pho and Gratitudes}

we are big salsa eaters in our house.
we have tried all kinds.
all different types of recipes.
but the best salsa i have ever tried is one i can have any time i want.
my honey's salsa is truly the greatest.

he starts with these key ingredients.
chops everything up (except the lime).
adds it together and blends it all smooth with the immersion blender.
he then adds lime, salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

it is fresh,
simple,
filled with flavor and loaded with cilantro.
just the way i like it.

now i know you have had salsa before, but have you ever tried pho?

dave has made this recipe (minus the mint) for about two years now and

it is one of our go-to fall favorites.

perfect thing to make with your turkey left overs from the holidays because the flavors are so different.

my favorite part of this recipe is the star anise and of course the fresh cilantro.

you can never have too much of either in my opinion.

i prefer mine with the bean sprouts left out...but that's just me:)

dave adds a little "heat" to his

and of course uses chopsticks...he's cool like that!:)

i am so lucky to have a hubby who loves to cook

and when i say loves i mean loves

he is always treating us to delicious dinners, most of which are wasted on picky girls and mommies:)

if he could cook whatever he wanted, with no regard to who likes what and who won't eat this or that there's no telling what he would come up with...in other words, we stifle his creativity quite a bit:) but i think he'll keep us:)

thank you baby for all you do to feed us wonderful meals every single day

we love you!

love,

the picky eaters in your life

**********

i have kept gratitude journals on and off throughout the years and there is something powerful about looking for the good in each and every day, no matter how small.

dave and i even started a gratitude journal for each other before we got married.

every sunday we would write 5 things that we were thankful for from the week

we love reading back over that book.

we treasure it

we were pretty religious about keeping up with it...till kids came along and life got busy

which is really pretty sad.

every once in a while, one of us will pull it out and add an entry.

it's funny to see how the lists have changed over the years...they went from "thank you for the candlelit dinner" to "thank you for vacuuming and mopping and washing my car!!" ha ha

i thought since i try to blog most days, why not put my gratitudes right here

i've seen that a lot out in blog land and i like the idea

i love what karina is doing this month for gratitudes

i am going to try and play along...not quite sure in what fashion...but i'm going to try

wanna join in?

have a happy day,

cindy

{Boo}

hope your halloween was happy!
janey had tumbling till 5:45.
we had some fun playing with riley and aubrey out front till she came home.

daddy holding her up in front of our maple tree

poor janey
when she finally got home it was a mad dash into costume with two sisters yelling "hurry, hurry":)

riley the witch

favorite candy: airheads and now n laters



janey the jockey

favorite candy : whoppers and crunch bars

aubrey the pumpkin

favorite candy : any

and we're off.....

aubrey getting her first piece of trick or treat candy.
she was a bit shy about taking it out of the basket.
she asked me to help her.
it was a tootsie roll
and it lasted her for about 8 houses:)

she spent most of the time huddled up in the stroller
but finally wanted to get down and walk near the end

doesn't she look cold?
even with two shirts, tights, leggings, fleece and a hat
i think gloves would have helped
but who wants to eat candy in gloves?:)
she held that open lollipop and kit kat bar forever and never ate them

our best buddies and trick or treat partners for years

the girls had so much fun running around with their friends
but surprisingly were done at about 7:15.
i think the chilly temps and uncomfortable shoes had something to do with it!

so we went home to count our loot
and marvel at some of the "different" type of candy we got

janey and her "carmel au lait" lollipop
we love looking for the most unique piece of candy each year
this is what riley got in 2009

seriously a pecan pie....and lovin those green teeth!!:)

here's riley's most unique piece this year
and janey trying hers out

it was a happy halloween.

have a happy day,

cindy