Our International Shower Adventure

Our au pair is getting married so I threw a shower for her.  And it was an International Fest!  

A couple of Karen's friends helped me throw it.  Look at the beautiful banner Yuri made!  She also made a canvas for everyone to sign for Karen to remember everyone who came to celebrate.

But you know me!  It was all about the FOOD!  Yuri from Columbia brought some Arepas and Empanadas.  Moana from France brought a savory Tuna Cake and a Quiche!

Between Yuri, Moana and I, we had food from every continent!

I made some Caprese sticks, three kinds of UK tea sandwiches, Australian sausage rolls and Swaziland Mealie Bread.  I made three types of pan-Asian satay in three different styles: Lamb, Shrimp and Chicken.  And representing the USA...we had some potato chips, lol.

The savory spread!

Though I am most proud of the dessert table.  Yuri brought a Lemon Pie.  I made Turkish stuffed apricots, Malawi Peanut Balls, and this amazing Norwegian Ring Cake.

The ring cake tasted super awesome...like almond paste.  It wasn't super sweet, which was awesome.  Even better, it was easier to make than you'd think!  For sure easier than if I'd tried a traditional iced cake!

I even made some fun beverages.  Horchata, a rice drink from Mexico that reminds some people of rice pudding.  Though, I like horchata and am not a rice pudding fan.  I also made a favorite shower beverage of mine...Strawberry Basil Tea with either sparkling soda or sparkling wine added in.

And of course there were GAMES!

Yuri organized a game with pictures of every year of Karen's life, which was so fun!

I also made a few...Present Bingo, What's in your Cell Phone, Love Quotes From Movies and How Well Do You Know Karen!

I think I was most proud of the prizes.  Most of these I got at World Market.
USA - Bike mug with an assortment of hot cocoa mixes...including a bacon one!
International (2) - Passport covers
Morocco - Mint tea, moroccan looking hanging tea candle holder and tea candles
India - Small box and scented soap
Japan - Sake and a little snow globe with a japanese scene
France - Small bottle of wine and a bag of madelines
Europe - Italian cookies, gummy bears, cookie butter
Beach - Pedicure set

I put them in brown bags, where I wrote the theme on the bag.  As people won, they got to pick the theme and then open to discover the prize!

Tomato crashed the party when he saw one of his favorite friends was an attendee.

It was a successful party!

Potato Mix Adventures

Sometimes it's easy to forget that kids like the simplest things.  Take our latest adventure.  It was just fun with a box of potato mix.


Pete was super surprized when I came home from the store with boxed mashed potatoes (I'm not usually one to use mixes), but then was disappointed to learn that it was not food.  It was for an activity.  But, Tomato LOVED the activity!

At first he loved seeing the flakes flying in the wind.  After he'd done that for a bit, we added some water to make it like clay.  He really enjoyed destroying shapes and smashing the potato clay.

Deck Table Assembly Adventures

Tomato loves to copy his Daddy.  Pete was assembling our deck table, and Tomato wanted to get in on the action!  Here's a few pictures of Tomato's Deck Table Assembly Adventure.

Humm, this little thing fits in these holes.  

This is your glove.

I guess it's mine now.

This bigger one fits in too!

Still having fun.

They took away my screwdriver!!!!  How could they!!!!???

Enjoying snacks with a friend on the completed table.

Gender Reveal Adventure

It's offical.  Tomato is going to be a big brother in August.  We hosted a gender reveal party for our family/friends/neighbors.  I'm pretty proud of how the event turned out.  It was a bee theme so we served everything that was, in some way, yellow or bee themed

BarBEEque Pulled Pork
BarBEEque Beans
BarBEEque Meatballs

Potato Salad
Corn and Black Bean Salad

Carmel Cheesecake Stingers
Lemon Squares
Honeycomb Cereal
Pineapple and Blackberry Skewers

Honey Lemonade

I think that from now on a big bowl of Honeycomb cereal will be a staple at kid events around here.  Let's just say that it was a hit with the under 5 crowd.



And of course, a cake.  I managed to get it into a honeycomb shape.

I took a few pictures of the dessert table, but only a partial one of the rest of the food.  Ah well.  It looked nice, I promise.

The reveal itself was via pinata.  Unfortunately we did this a couple weeks ago and it was a little cold out so we had to do it all inside.  Luckily, that's why we have a basement!

Yup, that's blue candy you see.  It'll be another boy!   Tomato wanted to horde all the ball-shaped candy.  He didn't realize that it was candy.  He kept trying to throw and bounce them.

The due date is August 20th.  We are so excited to add another member to our adventure!

Coomer Farm Adventure

It's the spring again and we have emerged from hibernation.  You'll see in the pictures that little Tomato is not so little anymore.  Well, he's still little, just not AS little as the previous post.

Last weekend we went to an open house at Coomer Farm.  Everyone was super nice and Tomato loved seeing all the animals.

He got to pet a horse and a baby chick.  He loves El Pollito Pio's song "Pio Pio" (the joys of having a Spanish-speaking au pair includes Spanish kids' songs).  Pollito means little chicken so petting a little chicken was super cool for him.

We also got to see some pigs, a cow, a big turkey and a very spunky little goat.

I thought it was super cool that Coomer Farm had an open house.  It was nice to see all the animals!

Easter Egg Hunt Adventure

We went over to West Park in Carmel for their Easter Egg hunt.  Karen (our au pair) came along too for the cultural experience.  Zander waited mostly patiently for his turn to hunt/scramble for eggs.  While we were waiting we went to check out the Easter Bunny.  Let's just say that Zander was not impressed.

That Easter Bunny is big and SCARY!

Karen with Zander and the Easter Bunny

We went to play on the park equipment and then got a nice banana as a snack.  Zander liked that better than the Easter Bunny.

There were several fields with eggs layed out (for different age brackets).  Zander and Daddy wandered the rest of the park while Karen and I held his spot.

Waiting for time to hunt

Then it was time for the hunt/scramble.

Look at them thar eggs!

I got one!

Humm...what is it?

I shall put it in my basket!

And more eggs!

Zander wasn't allowed the candy inside the eggs so we gave it to Karen instead.  More cultural exchange.

All in all, our first Easter Egg Hunt was a success.  As long as that scary bunny stays away!

Emergency Preparation Adventure

The last thing we want to think about is disaster.  But, sometimes, a little planning ahead can give you peace of mind.  I hope none of you ever actually need to use your kit.  The start of a new year is a good time to think about such things!

Have a plan:

• Have an emergency kit and keep it in a designated place. If you do need to evacuate, you will want to take your kit with you and if you may not be able to spend even a few minutes running around and gathering supplies.
• For us, some of the kit items overlap with what we take camping.  I keep those items slightly separated from the other camping supplies so that I could grab them quickly.  For example: sleeping bags and blankets and our first aid kit.
• Have a safe meet-up place in case your family is not together when disaster strikes.
• Fill out the FEMA Emergency Plan and make sure every member of the family knows the plan.
• Understand the emergency plan at work and your child's school.

Basic Emergency Kit Supplies:

• Water - You'll need at least three gallons per person -- one gallon per person for three days
• Food - Enough to live on for three days.  Good ideas are:
• Canned fruit and vegetables
• Peanut butter
• Jam
• Low-salt crackers
• Cookies
• Cereals
• Nuts
• Dried fruit
• Canned soup or meats
• Juices
• Baby food and formula if you have a baby
• Food and water for your pets
• First aid kit (I keep my normal first aid kit near my emergency kit, no need for two)
• Various sized sterile gauze pads
• Various sized  adhesive bandages
• Adhesive tape
• Elastic bandage
• Antiseptic wipes
• Hand cleaner
• Antibiotic ointment
• Antiseptic solution (like hydrogen peroxide)
• Hydrocortisone cream (1%)
• Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen
• Antihistamine
• Tweezers
• Sharp scissors
• Safety pins
• Instant cold packs
• Calamine lotion
• Alcohol wipes or ethyl alcohol
• Thermometer
• Plastic non-latex gloves (at least 2 pairs)
• Blankets and/or sleeping bags -  I leave our camping bedding supplies near the emergency kit.  Ready to go!
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation.
• Pictures of each family member in case you are separated or someone is not home when the disaster happens. (for bonus points, also put these pictures in each family member's go bag).  Don't rely on your phone for this.
• Basic Tools
• Manual Can opener
• Flashlight
• Radio – battery operated
• Batteries

Bonus Points:

• Create a go-bag for each family member and a go-bag for your pets
• Warm clothes, hat/gloves and rain gear
• Personal hygiene items including toilet paper, feminine supplies, hand sanitizer and soap
• ID
• Whistle
• Dust mask
• Pocket knife (for those old enough)
• Emergency cash
• Photos of family members and pets (for identification purposes)
• Some water and food
• Copy of health insurance and identification cards
• Toothbrush/toothpaste
• Copy of your family's filled out FEMA Emergency Plan
• Cell phone charger and an extra charge cell phone battery
• Water Purification system
• Plastic sheeting, duct tape and utility knife for covering broken windows
• Tools such as a crowbar, hammer & nails, staple gun, adjustable wrench and bungee cords.
• Large heavy duty plastic bags and a plastic bucket for waste and sanitation
• Permanent marker, paper and tape
• List of emergency point-of -contact phone numbers
• Extra prescription eye glasses, hearing aid or other vital personal items
• Extra keys to your house and vehicle

Maintenance:

• Check the food, water and batteries every six months to make sure that they are still good
• Store in a cool dry place.
• Keep new items towards the back and older items towards the front.

Resources:

• http://72hours.org/
• http://www.ready.gov
• http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/home/firstaid_kit.html