Cheese Grater Girl

I normally buy already shredded cheese, but just recently I decided to buy a block of cheese instead.  For dinner that night I decided to make quessadillas which are one of Lilly's favorite foods.  I called her over and told her I had a special job for her to do.  Reluctantly she came to the kitchen because normally my "special jobs" are not fun for her. When she got to the kitchen, I showed her the cheese grater and the block of cheese and said, "I need you to grate this cheese for our quessadillas."  She looked at me with the strangest look.  So, I showed her how to grate the cheese and how to be careful with the blades so as not to cut her fingers.  She thought it was the best thing ever!  I told her she was the best cheese grater girl I ever met.  Smiling, she kept saying, "Aren't I doing a great job, Mommy.  I listened to your directions and I'm grating a lot of cheese."  I think from now on, I will buy the blocks of cheese, just so she can grate the cheese.

Pinterest Day

Last week, there was a day where it seemed like everything I did was an idea I had gotten off of pinterest.

First, I did the paint bags and taped them to the table.  These were great, in fact, they are still on our table one week later because it is so fun to just walk by and do a little design. 

Then, I was telling Lilly and her friend about teeth so we made the snack where you use apples for the lips and marshmallows for the teeth, sticking the teeth on with peanut butter.

We also practiced "flossing" by using a duplo block for our "teeth."  We put play doh in between the "teeth" as the "germs" and used a string as "floss" to get the germs out.  The kids loved that!

Since Easter was coming, we made Resurrection cookies.  They didn't turn out to great because we didn't beat them long enough, but Lilly and her friend loved taking turns with the mixer and helping to wash the dishes.

That evening, for dinner, I made pepperoni rolls - so unhealthy but very yummy - and the zuchinni parmesan. 

I love having all these ideas that I can use and Lilly seemed to like them too!

Chef Lilly

One of our friends made Lilly this wonderful chef's hat for her birthday - yes, she made it!  It is beautiful and Lilly loves it.  She thinks it is perfect as a clown hat as well.  The other day, she thought it was hilarious to dress up as a clown chef.  Here are pictures of her modeling it.  She's also wearing an apron that Nana bought her.

Strawberry Mango Smoothie

Smoothies are so yummy and pretty nutritious.  We decided to make one for a snack while we had friends over.  I gave each of the kids a cutting board and a knife and let them help me cut the stems off the strawberries and then into quarters.  They had so much fun!  I had so much fun watching them that I had to take a picture! 

The Pan is Hot

Not too long ago, Lilly learned how to make her own ham and cheese sandwich. I learned this while preparing dinner one night.  She said she didn't like what we were having, so I  jokingly told her that she could make a ham and cheese sandwich if she wanted but I wasn't going to make anything else.  So, to my surprise she proceeded to get out all the things she needed and make the sandwich. 

After this incident, I began to realize that she is growing and maybe she can do a little more with helping me prepare meals than pour in the flour or stir the ingredients in the bowl. 

One morning, after she had woken up, I told her she was going to make scrambled eggs.  She was a little hesitant because she knew she would have to stand at the stove which I constantly had been telling her to stay away from so she wouldn't get burned.  I assured her that I would be right there beside her and that we would be super careful.  You should have seen the look on her face when she was able to tell her Daddy that she made the eggs we ate for breakfast.  It was priceless!

Valentine's Day

When Daddy is home, we usually go downtown and serve burgers, drinks, and a packaged cookie to the people who don't have much.  Lilly goes with us and she loves to help pass out the cookies.  Since, Valentine's Day happened to be the day we were going, I decided to bake cookies instead.  Lilly helped me bake them - adding the egg, stirring the ingredients, etc.  We baked 100 cookies, but I knew that wouldn't be enough so we added kisses and peanut butter cups to the bags.  She was a great help in counting out the correct number of kisses and cups for each bag. 

When we got downtown, she was a big help again in passing them out to all the folks.  Seeing her usually brings a smile to their faces. 

After serving food to others, we decided to go out to eat with our old pastor and his wife, who are like grandparents to us.  My beautiful daughter decided to take pictures of us.  Here are her amateur photos: