Blender Pancakes or Waffles

Here is my favorite blender pancake and waffle recipe. I change the recipe and make it dairy free.

Blend in blender on highest speed. Milk and wheat kernels for 4 minutes then add rest ingredients in order. Mix well.

1 C milk (coconut or rice milk)
3/4 C wheat Kernels
2 eggs
4 Tbs butter or margarin or oil coconut
1 Tbs sugar or honey or agave
1/4 tsp salt
1 scant tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder

Enjoy!

Ginger Bread Houses

Making ginger bread houses has been a tradition for a long time in our family. We use graham crackers and make royal frosting to use as the glue. I collect candy all year.  My mom sent a huge box of candy and it was a treat to have so many different kinds of candy. I used hot glue and made the basic shape out of graham crackers.  Lilia watched daddy start decorating his house.  She told me where she wanted the glue and then decorated that spot. She did color and shape patterns with the candy. She are a little candy but not as much as I thought she would. When she was almost done she realized the "glue" or frosting was yummy. She started licking her house and fingers. So cute. Grandma R. came a little later and made a house as well.
We have more than enough candy to make snow houses on a snow day with a few friends later this winter.

New Dinosaur Playground

A friend called me up and we made plans to go to the park. It was nice weather and the kids had a blast playing together. They have dinosaur bones and eggs to climb on. They had some rope structures and other playground things. This was not the kind of playground I grew up with! It was fun! Lilia tried to keep up with the big girls. Elayna climbed on whatever she found. I think this park will be a regular place for us to go and play.

Santa Came....Christmas Morning

Here is Lilia Christmas morning. We did not mention Santa to her. We wanted her to figure it out. Daddy got up and started breakfast. Lilia wanted her Cinderella dress on. I helped her get dressed. She headed to the kitchen with me behind her and was passing the Christmas tree when she noticed the gifts by the tree. She said, "Santa Claus come!" Breakfast can now wait. Lilia had great time opening gifts and Elayna loved tearing the paper.  Daddy video tapped and I took pictures. It is fun to see their faces. Merry Christmas!

T'was the Night Before Christmas

Lilia and Elayna colored a page in the big book. Lilia was coloring and Elayna enjoyed throwing crayons and then picking them up. Grandparents and Aunt Annie cane over for dinner. We had homemade enchiladas, fixings, and flan. I made a dairy free flan with coconut milk and it was divine. Best flan I have made. I usually make them with dairy. Grandpa, Annie and Lilia colored more in the book. We read the older books (T'was Night Before Christmas and Birth of Christ). We sang Christmas songs and talked.

I love the Refrigerator!

Elayna tries to get into the fridge every time. This time daddy took too long and she won the prize....she got in!  I love the happy look on her face. We will be keeping an eye on her.  Wish I could convince her the sippy cup was as much fun.

Girls + Box equals Priceless

A box ......best toy ever!
We got a large box from FedEx and the girls love to play in it. It has become a car, house, train and a hiding place. I love the simple things.

When I was a little my brother and I played in huge boxes that were taller than us and we could run inside. My dad would put packing peanuts inside and we would jump on the peanuts. We were old enough to not eat them. Oh, we had so much fun. I am sure we spent hours inside the box and had many adventures.

Christmas Tree Hand Prints

This was an adventure to make.  Only hint I have is do the youngest child first (top of the tree).  She did not want to open her hand up when she was hoovering over the canvas. If we stood the canvas up and had her stand up we risked her touching the rest of the not dried tree. Hence if we do this again in the future, start at the top and work way down. Lilia had a great time making her hand prints.  I think daddy secretly had fun too. No pictures on how to make, it was hard enough to keep painted hands away from everything else.

Nativity and a Box

Elayna loves to climb up on this box and play with Lilia's nativity. Elayna has a Little People nativity that she plays with as well. She can not resist Lilia's though.

Cinnamon Rolls, what I did today....

I just made 5 pans of cinnamon rolls, that is two batches!
Started at 8:45 a.m. and just finished and sent them ALL with Asher to work.
Total time was 4.5 hours. This dough has two rises and then has to rise a third time as rolls. Lots of down time to prep the filling and topping. Two batches of rolls used 2 lbs of butter, 2 blocks of cream cheese, 6 cups powdered sugar, 4 eggs, 4 cups brown sugar, 2 pkg of vanilla pudding, 4 cups milk, and 12 cups plus of white flour. The rest of the ingredients are small.

The recipe is on the blog.  See this post Cinnabon Rolls

I am taking a nap now.

Girls in the Laundry Basket

They had a great time riding in the basket. We have so much fun together.

Elayna Standing

Elayna is standing and almost walking. We try to keep her hair out of her eyes. Love this little angel!

Easy Sugar Cookies

I made sugar cookies and altered the recipe so Lilia could eat them. She loved them. I think this would also make a great fruit pizza. We are working on wearing clothes (Lilia).

Thanks to my friend Ann for the recipe.

Easy Sugar Cookies

Mix ingredients below to creamy.
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/3 Cup Butter softened  I used Coconut Oil
1/3 Cup Oil I used Coconut Oil
1 Tablespoon Milk  I used Rice Milk or another non dairy drink
1-2 tsp almond extract or other (vanilla, lemon)
1 Egg

In another bowl mix and then add to the above:
1 1/2 Cup Flour
1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt

Mix everything together.  You will have a spreadable dough.  Spread in an ungreased baking sheet or jelly roll pan (15"x10").  Sprinkle with colored Sugar (1 Tablespoon or more). Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes and cut.

I did not use 2/3 cup of coconut oil total but just under that amount. Next time I will use the entire amount.  They turned out great and they tasted yummy.  I have purchased Coconut Oil from two different companies and love them both.   Coconut Oil Online and Tropical Traditions.  I use coconut oil as a substitute for butter and other oils and crisco in all my baking. 

Ice Pops

Elayna loves eating ice pops and is starting to figure out how to eat them. She ate two and was very blue.

Daddy's Komushin

Elayna and Lilia love to play with daddy's shoes. They are called Komushin in Korean.  Here is Lilia trying them on. They are slippery on the tile floor. She had a lot of fun slipping and sliding on the floor. The other picture is what is stamped inside the shoe.

Play Dough

Lilia is teaching Elayna about play dough. Elayna is teaching Lilia how to share. Both are equally hard to do. Elayna tasted the play dough. She did not mind the taste. Lilia was mostly patient with Elayna.

Measurements

Here are the girls measurements:

Elayna (this was not easy)

Head circumference 18
Waist 19.5 sitting
Back of neck to thumb 14
Waist to floor 14.5

Lilia (she held still and then measured me)
Head circumference 19.5
Waist 19
Back of neck to thumb 16.5
Waist to floor 20

Dressed and Not Dressed Piano Players

The girls love to play the piano. They are learning to share.  Lilia plays the piano nicely and is showing Elayna how to play nice as well.

Fixing Mommy's Hair

Lilia decided to fix my hair. She keeps saying, "wait", "hold still", "two more" and "stay".  She is also learning size and color of the rollers. She loves to play with my hair.  It amazes me that she remembers what to do with the rollers because I do not use them often. She is having a lot of fun playing.

Climbing on Stool

The first attempt at climbing on the stool failed when her feet slipped off. Elayna was not deterred. She tried again and stayed on the stool. She even tried to reach up and touch the counter top. She is daring. She had this proud look of accomplishment on her face. This made me smile. Now if she could be daring and try walking.....I can wait. No rush.
This week she climbed onto the couch.  Lilia had the pillows on the floor and Elayna used them to her advantage and climbed up on to the couch. She loves to climb the stairs.

Elayna 11 Months

Elayna you are 11 months old! You love your Eeyore. Not walking yet but getting close. You will take a step or two and then sit down. You are into everything. You love playing with your sister and being around her. You are wearing size 4 or 5 shoes if they stayed on your feet. 12 month clothes fit great and size 3 diaper is perfect for you. Your hair is always in your eyes and mommy tries to keep it clipped up. Your bed is your favorite place to sleep. When you get on our bed you go straight for the pillows at the head of the bed. Being on our bed is a treat for you.

Sent to Room

I was trying to cook dinner and they were under foot. I sent them to their room to play. Yeah, they are playing and not fighting! They made a mess but they are having fun.

Swim Lessons

Lilia loves to swim and going to swim lessons. She loves her pink swim suit. She jumps into the pool on her own and holds her breath. She is learning a lot and enjoys spending time with mom.

Santa Cookies

I am going to a cookie party.  Here is the cookie I am making. I will be making 10 dozen Santa cookies. 7 dozen done and 3 dozen to go. Whew!

Lilia Hand Art

Lilia drew on her hands tonight. I don't encouage this but thought it was picture worthy.

Visit to Santa Claus

We headed to the mall on Saturday afternoon.  We never go to the mall especially during the holidays if I can help it.  My cell phone is having issues and so we were headed to the mall for help.  The line for Santa Claus was not long and so we decided to try out the Santa thing. Lilia has been talking about Santa for a week or more.  She is very excited that he is coming.  She was good till it was out turn.  She would not get near him.  Hmm, just like last year.  We decided to take a group picture and see what we got. We did not plan for this visit but here is the picture of our family sitting with Santa Claus!

New Swing

Elayna wiggled down from daddy's lap and found a fun swing.  Lilia had to have her turn. They love daddy so much.

Lilia is enjoying Christmas music and is starting to learn a few songs. She has decided that Santa Claus is fun. She says she wants to sit on his lap and that he is coming. She wants costume and presents. We will see if she sits on his lap when she meets him.

The Box

Best toy ever.....a box!  They played for 30 minutes or more. Elayna was laughing and Lilia loved making her laugh. Lilia prefers to wear her panties and nothing else lately. She will wear a dress for a while. She will only wear shirt and pants if we are leaving the house and it is a struggle sometimes to get them on her.

**We love our girls!

Jingle Bell

Lilia showing me her jingle bell. She is happy I promise. She does not smile for pictures lately. Need to find a big jingle bell for Elayna so I can hear her coming.

I Won!

I won my first blog giveaway (Alaska Swag)! I got a surprise package in the mail yesterday. I totally needed the surprise.  I have not been on many blogs this last month and I did not know I had won.  Thanks Tara! I love my new Alaska cookbook and flip book.

Check out her blog, http://weirdalaska.blogspot.com

Lilia 33 Months

Lilia you are growing up fast. You are talking a lot and surprise us with what you say. You love to wear dresses and panties. You take care of your baby dolls and are learning to share with Elayna. You are very sensitive to others feelings. You ask us if we are happy. We are happy and love you very much! You then tell is you are happy. You answer the phone if we are not quick enough.