Dinner with Santa

Last week McDonalds was having Dinner with Santa. We thought the girls would love to go since Gabrielle is so into Christmas this year and can't stop talking about Santa. Wow.....McDonalds was SO busy. People were packed from one end to the other it was crazy!!!! We didn't think we would be able to get a picture with Santa because the line was so long but we ate and let the kids play for awhile and by the time we were ready to leave we got to see Santa right away! The Santa wasn't the best looking Santa but Gabrielle loved it. Giana doesn't like strangers and does not like to be away from me so I didn't even attempt to put her on Santa's lap.

Toledo Botanical Gardens

I took the girls to Toledo Botanical Gardens on Friday so I could get some pictures of them in a beautiful setting. Giana loved that she got to walk around and not just ride in the stroller and Gabrielle thought it was a blast. I took a ton of pictures but unfortunately not all of them turned out. I think we will be going back after it snows and get some cool snow pictures.

Two Monkeys, Monkeying around

Gabrielle chasing Giana (Giana's favorite game!)

Look mom! I can stand upside down.

Giana the Brute wrestling down Gabrielle!


I like to take random pictures of the kids playing around. It gives them proof when they are older that at one time in their lives they really did like each other and liked to play together.

Gabrielle Gets a Haircut!

After Haircut

Side view after Haircut

She's been caught! After Haircut

Side view before Haircut

Before Haircut


I love having Gabrielle's hair long but only when she lets me put it up in pigtails. If it isn't in pigtails it looks straggly and she always puts her glasses on over her hair and that drives me nuts! Although I like it in pigtails all of the time, Gabrielle does not, so I did the second best thing and got it cut. Although I am not completely loving her hair right now, I have to admit it is 100% better.

Halloween Night

Look mom, I got a sucker!

Apprehensive Bride

Ah, the end of Halloween activities for the year! It feels like we have done so much but even with all of the trick or treating we have done the girls didn't get much "good" candy! Giana got a ton of suckers and she found out Saturday that she LOVES suckers! I found her sitting on the kitchen floor and she had a sucker in her hand trying to get the wrapper off of it. Next thing I know she has the wrapper off and it is in her mouth and boy was she happy and very sticky! Halloween night Gabrielle decided to dress up as Barbie Bride instead of the Princess she had worn to all of the other events. We went to Whitehouse to trick or treat with Grandma Cherryl and cousins Allyssya and Brooklynn. Halfway through Gabrielle got tired and didn't want to trick or treat anymore and Giana was busy trying to tip her Halloween basket over so she could get some goodies! I didn't get many pictures because once again, my camera battery died! Mom if you are reading this, I sure hope you are getting me the camera I want for my birthday!! Hint, Hint...

Preschool Halloween Party

Gabrielle had her Preschool Halloween Party on October 30th. She got to dress up and parade around to all of the classrooms for the other kids to see. After the parade we went back to the class and made pumkin laterns, witches hands with popcorn and candy corn, played games and then had Halloween snacks. Gabrielle was so excited that I got to be in class with her. She usually doesn't want to go to Preschool saying she would rather be home with me. I think she enjoyed the one on one time with me without Giana as well.

Two sisters, same Halloween Costume!

Giana - Halloween 2008 (15 months old)
Gabrielle - Halloween 2005 (6 months old)

I found the pictures of Gabrielle as a flower for Halloween in October 2005 and Giana as a flower October 2008. My flowers are so beautiful!

Little Boo at the Zoo - Toledo Zoo

We went to the Toledo Zoo for Little Boo at the Zoo on October 23rd. They had Trick or Treat stations set up in a small part of the Zoo and other fun activities for the kids. Gabrielle and Giana's favorite part was the Fisher Price Play area where they had a lot of the Fisher Price toys set out for the little one's to play with. Gabrielle's favorite thing was the Gemstone's GFF jewelry box and markers. I would have gotten a picture of her playing with the jewelry box but the battery on my camera died right after taking one picture at the entrance of the Zoo. I was so sad because it was the first time I remembered to bring my camera and then the battery died! Giana just loved the fact that she could get out of the stroller and walk around for a bit. She wasn't too happy when I put her back in the stroller.

Trunk or Treat 2008 at Crossroads Community Church

We went to Trunk or Treat at my Church for the 2nd year in a row. It is a nice, safe, easy and fun way to go Trick or Treating especially with the little ones. Gabrielle is so funny, she is like a Deer in Headlights walking to each trunk. She really doesn't know what to think of everything going on. This year we went with Olivia, Grandma Cherryl, Allyssya and Brooklynn. Grandma was pushing Giana around in the stroller and every once in awhile she would look up to see who was pushing her around. I think she was confused because Grandma was dressed as a tree and had face paint and a hat on. Oh yea, in case you can't tell, Gabrielle is a Pretty Princess (we forgot her crown at home) and Giana is a flower. Yup a recycled costume from Gabrielle's first Halloween. I will have to find a picture of Gabrielle in the flower when she wore it.

I HAVE AN ARTIST ON MY HANDS!

Picture of Daddy

Gabrielle loves to draw and until recently her drawings mostly consisted of scribbles, markes, dots and squiggles. One morning when I was cleaning the kitchen and Giana was taking her morning nap, Gabrielle was in the family room drawing. She came to the kitchen and said, "Mommy I made a picture of daddy!" She held it up and I was amazed and I said who drew that? Did daddy draw it? and she said No, I did. I was so excited! It was awesome, it looked just like daddy (ok not exactly but it really does resemble daddy). She has made other pictures since and none of them are as good as the daddy picture but they are still so cute. She has evolved now and gives people arms and legs now. Last night she even drew Giana some hands!

What happend?

Wow, Shame on me! It has been weeks since I have posted anything. I am embarrassed to say that my two princesses have not tried any new food lately. Not because they have protested but because I have not offered any to them. I have fallen back on my old habits of offering them the same non-nutritious stuff everyday. It is sad and I feel like a bad mom but sometimes the battle, the constant battle just wears me out. Since my two princesses aren't much into trying new foods, I am going to change the direction of my blog and just make it a scrapbook of my princesses lives!

Chocolate Chip Waffles!

I have stopped asking Princess Gigi what she wants for breakfast because I know what her response is going to be, "Chocolate Chip Pancakes!" of course! I get tired of making pancakes 7 days a week especially now that our mornings are busy trying to get out of the house for preschool, gymnastics or one of the other many activities we seem to have booked. One day I decided instead of pancakes I am going to make waffles! Still chocolate chip so Princess Gigi shouldn't complain too much. Boy was I wrong! She refuses to eat waffles. They just aren't the same. Princess Gia however loves her chocolate chip waffles and well....just about anything you put in front of her. Why can't they all be that easy to please?

Cone Snack

This week Princess Gigi had to bring in snacks for her preschool class. One day while I was perusing an issue of Family Fun at the dentist office I saw a neat snack idea that I thought would be perfect for her to take. I used plain ice cream cones as the edible snack holder and filled the ice cream cones with Pretzels, Teddy Grahams, Goldfish, SpongBob Cheez Its, Rice Chex, White Cheedar Cheez Its and I topped it off with M & M's.

Princess Gigi said they where a big hit!

Variety is the Spice of Life

Princess Gigi has been in fine form this week. Her only food requests have been, you guessed it, Chocolate Chip Pancakes and Mac and Cheese. I did get her to try a little bit of a Chicken and Rice Casserole I made at the beginning of the week but it took a lot of coaxing and bribes and I made Chocolate Chip Waffles today instead of pancakes but for dinner she requested pancakes again.

I long for the day I set a plate in front of my two princesses and they say Thank You and eat the food I have prepared! Do you think that day will ever come? I am not holding my breath that it will be anytime soon. In the meantime another week begins and I can only hope for something other than CCP and MC. ;)

Energy Boost Bars

I finally got the chance to make the new granola bar recipe and although it isn't the most awesome thing I have ever had, I kind of like them and I can't seem to stop eating them! Hahaha, I know, I know, I am trying to find food for my princesses to eat and here I am devouring the tasty treats. Princess Gigi still won't even try these and like usual Princess Gia sticks it into her mouth and chows down. The bars are a little on the crunchy side, think Nature Valley Granola Bar but not as crunchy. I didn't have all of the ingredients so I omitted the sesame seeds and dried blueberries and added chocolate chips to make them more appealing to the princesses. Next time I will follow the exact recipe and still add chocolate chips and see if it turns out even better.

INGREDIENTS:

1 (8 -ounce) bag almonds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 1/2 cups oats, quick-cooking
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup dried blueberries
2/3 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup milk chocolate chocolate chips (optional)
I also added about a 1/2 tablespoon or more of vanilla extract (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 275 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking pan (or line with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray). Grind the almonds in a food processor (or the magic bullet if you have one) until they resemble a coarse meal. Combine the ground almonds and the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and stir well. Using wet fingers, press the mixture into the prepared pan and bake it for 1 hour. Cut into pieces and allow to cool.

I found this recipe in a Family Fun Magazine.

Grab and Go Crunchy Granola Bars

I have this cookbook for kids with recipes that hide healthy foods in Kids' favorite meals called The Sneaky Chef. Occasionally I like to flip through it and see if something catches my eye. I have been on the lookout lately for a good granola bar recipe and found one in the cookbook that I thought I would try. The ingredients didn't exactly sound appealing to me (Wheat Germ, crispy brown rice cereal, blanched almonds) but I thought what the heck, I will give it a try. After mixing all of the ingredients I have to say I didn't really like the smell so I was pretty scared about the taste. Twenty minutes later and bit of a cool down I cut the the granola into bars. It was very crumbly and I still did not like the smell. My husband, always the adventurer, said he would try one. His response was not so favorable. I ventured a taste and I have to say I wasn't too impressed either. I debated on whether to throw the granola bars in the trash but my husband said, "who knows, maybe the princesses will like them!" I agreed and put them into a container. In the morning I placed a granola bar in front of both princesses. Princess Gigi said, "No Way!" Getting her to try new food is close to impossible. Princess Gia grabbed it and stuck it in her mouth! She loves food! Since she can't talk yet I have to go by the fact that she ate quite a bit of the granola bar and assume she must have liked it.

I have another recipe for granola bars so I am going to try that tomorrow. I am too tired tonight after wrestling with my two princesses all day!

Honey Bran Muffins

I am always looking to try new things for my princesses to eat. I stumbled upon this recipe one day while I was trying to figure out how to get more fiber into Princess Gigi's diet. I knew I wanted to make Bran Muffins, but your typical bran muffin is not always kid approved in the taste department, no matter how much jelly you put on it, Until Now!! This bran muffin has that bit of sweetness to it to lure any small child into eating. Princess Gigi liked them so much she kept asking for more and more (I made mini muffins).

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups pineapple juice

2 cups golden raisins (I use dried cranberries and sometimes I just omit this all together.)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup honey

5 eggs, beaten

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoons salt

4 cups whole bran cereal (I use All Bran)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small bowl, combine pineapple juice and raisins. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in cereal. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl combine brown sugar, oil, honey, and eggs; mix well. Add cereal mixture, and mix well. Fold in the pineapple juice, raisin mixture. Batter will be thin; it will thicken as it chills. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.

4. Stir chilled batter. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 3/4 full.

5. Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 15 to 17 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

For the mini muffins I baked them for 12 minutes.

Fruit Smoothies

My homemade fruit smoothies are a big hit with my two princesses. I tell Princess Gigi that they are shakes like the ones you get at McDonalds. She absolutely loves them and I know that they are getting lots of vitamins and nutrition in such a simple thing.

INGREDIENTS: (Listed in the order I put them in the Magic Bullet)

Orange Juice
Frozen Blueberries
Frozen Strawberries
Frozen Peaches
Fresh Banana (if I have them on hand)
Vanilla Yogurt
Orange Juice

I don't use exact measurements for this. I just fill the Magic Bullet to the top and use the cross blade to mix until the fruit is all chopped up.
Pour into a cup and let them sip it with a straw!

I use to make these Smoothies every morning when I was pregnant with Princess Gigi. Maybe that is why she likes them so much!!

My two girls

I have two little princesses. One is 3 1/2 and she has been a spit-fire from the moment I gave birth to her and the other is 13 months old and is much more laid back than her older sister but don't let that fool you, she still has some spit-fire in her too.
When my oldest was a baby she woke every 2 hours at night wanting to eat and ate every two hours all day long. She believed in snacking rather than having a complete meal! 3 + years later not much has changed except that she doesn't get up as often during the night! When it was time to introduce baby food she turned her nose up at nearly everything. I usually had a trash can full of opened jars of hardly eaten baby food. I kept trying, like all of the experts said, but pretty much to no avail. I kept saying to myself this is only a stage and it will get better, the pediatrician would say pick your fights, don't battle about food. Here I am 3 + years later and my little non-eater still only has a hand full of things she will eat like chocolate chip pancakes, macaroni and cheese (but not any kind, it has to be Velveeta Mac and Cheese), spaghetti, my homemade smoothies (we call them shakes), cheese sticks (but only Sargento's Colby Jack) and pretzels. I can occasionally get a banana into her list of things to eat but absolutely no vegetables. Sometimes I have to get sneaky and puree vegetables to put in her food or slip extra ones into the spaghetti sauce.
So here I am on a journey to find food she will eat and post recipes of these foods for other mom's in my situation. May are children grow big and strong despite their objection to food!!