blow it out, joseph

Recently, I discovered that Joseph loves to blow out candles.  If there was one lit on the kitchen counter or on a living room table, he was adamant about blowing it out (as hard as that can be for him...you'll see). He would make gestures and noises and say "oh no!" until I reassured him that the thing on fire was ok and supposed to be that way.

So, I had a revelation at lunchtime one day: I could get him to take bites of food if I let him blow out the candle. Considering the difficulty we've had in getting him to eat, I made this an incentive. It's Joseph and me, his food, a candle and a lighter. I know this seems strange, but I am eager to make mealtime more enjoyable. {We still cling to the belief that because of his long-standing GI issues, he associates food and even being at the table with unhappiness and discomfort.} The candle provided a distraction for him. The candle also provided good old-fashioned entertainment for me.

Meme came to visit during this short phase of candle-blowing. That's her in the video holding the candle and laughing while I film. I lost my voice around this time, so excuse the hoarseness.

He is satisfied  long enough to clap before he wants me to light it again.

Thankfully, things are better. There is no candle present at the table, and Joseph's willingness to eat has improved since this video was recorded. Now that his GI problems are managed by medication, and we are not desperate for him to gain weight, he is conforming to our hard-and-fast rule: you eat what's in front of you, or you don't eat. Now, we just have the stubbornness to deal with! But, hey, we also have Hannah, who could teach a course in stubbornness.

sibling love

The other day I uploaded this to Facebook as my new cover photo. I have to say, I am totally in love...

Any parents of small children know, it is so hard to get pictures of them together. And actually smiling at the camera is an almost-impossible feat. But then there are moments like this, when they do it on their own. Taken on a Sunday morning in early January, they were on the sofa in the playroom, being silly and playing happily together. I don't remember if I told them to hug or "love" each other, or if they just did. But I am so thankful my phone was nearby. Just might be my favorite picture ever.

pink, red, and hearts all over

We have been celebrating the valentine spirit all week. Meme left the kids packages in the mailbox when she left here on Monday morning. Checking mail is, as you know, one of the highlights of our day.

{Hannah laying out all her goodies...comes directly from me.}

Yesterday, Hannah wore this outfit from last year - remember? {2012 Valentines post here.}

The pants were a little short this year, so I put her in jeans instead.

A lot of attitude has developed in the last year. I'm not sure what the head-tilt, hands-on-your-hips thing is about. Maybe one of the high school girls here can enlighten me. I just know that simply asking for a picture before school becomes a take-twenty-shots-and-you-may-get-one event. I did get two with a real smile.

My mom left a valentine for Joe and me, too:

Customized m&ms. Both of my brothers are represented in there, and "The Boo Family" would be us. {I've been boo boo for as long as I can remember and, ironically, my husband was called Joe Boo at the Naval Academy. There, now you know some family history.}

I cleared the snowmen off the refrigerator to make room for all the hearts coming home.

 And, today before school:

Again, what is with the scary-eyes-raised-eyebrow face? ...I don't like it.

Off she went to preschool. {Outfit courtesy of Meme, of course. I believe it is Mudpie.}

We shared valentines with classmates:

I punched holes in Hannah's and weaved a lollipop in there, and I cut two slits in Joseph's and put Smarties in there. I should've taken a picture of those, but alas I did not. Joseph has not been able to go to school the last couple days because of a fever, but he was well enough to visit his class party for a little bit this morning. And, be still my beating heart, this week he made us this:

Hannah's and Joseph's bags of valentines:

I especially like the bowl of goldfish one of the moms kids in Hannah's class did.

When we got home, Hannah had another package waiting for her:

Two books from her godparents, Aunt Karen and Uncle John. Today is the third anniversary of her baptism.

I am having a wonderful love-filled day. Hope you are, too! Happy Valentine's!

last weekend

Joe had to go to a conference last Friday and Saturday. Lots of work was going on at the house, but the kids and I did a lot of hanging out at home and playing outside since the weather was so nice. I wanted to take some photos of my boy...

{The look he gives me when he's running towards me. Love it.}

{You wanna ride?}

{I am totally capable of pushing this thing.}

Joseph likes to be in the kitchen whenever we are. This past weekend he discovered, and I finally thought of, the kitchen sink. Delightful means of entertainment.

I think he could spend hours in front of it. Something I am certain we do not have in common.

And this is random, but also from the weekend, Hannah is becoming increasingly crafty. I have told her not to mess with her jewelry box on her dresser. She pulls up one of her little chairs to reach it. I warned her that if she loses her nice necklaces and bracelets she would be really sad. But she likes to take it down and play when she is suppose to be sleeping. During this particular naptime, she told me she didn't know where her jewelry box was.

Hmmm....I have a guess. What about you?

from the kitchen of...

Good grief. It's eleven days into February and no posts. Where have I been? Checked out of the blogosphere to put it simply. Last week was hectic with work being done to the house, both underneath and in. And the usual busyness and sickness of everyday life with small children has set blogging on the back burner.

But, here I am now, and I want to share two recipes I've made recently. My mom delivered a bag full of ripe and wonderfully-smelling Meyer lemons from her tree. I had to do something with them, so I made these for dinner with friends:

 Strawberry Lemon Bars. Delicious. {The photo is beautiful, but not mine.}

And then I made these for a going away party for a girlfriend:

Mascarpone Chocolate Toffee Bars. Heaven on a plate. {You might remember way back when I first blogged about these here.}

I am trying to get in the kitchen more. I've made or assisted with dinner more in the last month than I have in the last year. Not really... But I want to give my husband a night off occasionally. And there are so many dinners and desserts that I've seen in magazines or "pinned" that I want to try. Usually, I just tear out a recipe (or DVR a Food Network show) and put it on the honey-do list. But this year, I'm turning over a new leaf; I want to help my honey - whether he wants me in the kitchen or not!