homemade electronics

Liam makes his own Wii balance board for exercising.

snow day=tent day

I had to finish a 15 minute presentation on wolf conservation today and it was cold and snowing. Bored, Liam and I decide when I get done with Powerpoint to set up his tent. Reactions were made from all members of our household:

Liam: was thrilled and had some awesome static hair

Bella: really wanted the sandwich Liam was eating and to roll around in the tent

Jasper: couldn't stay out of the tent and got tangled up trying to jump in when the door was only partly open.

Galena: the cat attacked the tent and watched the dogs from the window sill

Molly: took pictures. I had a cute one of the cat, till Liam jumped out in front of me with a PB&J face right when the flash went off. 

Liam: no taking pictures of the kitty

Molly: Liam! you ruined the picture you punk!

Liam: I'm not a punk! You are too too angry and too short to sit in my chair.

When I got up he put his chair on the couch so I wouldn't sit on it.

Jasper really wants in

Galena would also like to be let in

Jasper and Liam; meant to be and making the same face

lump in the back is from Galena attacking the tent.

Liam is kind of scary here. Bella is scared she won't get that sandwich

Bella really wants that sandwich

Liam looks homeless. Jasper looks on.

Jasper posing, Bella still really wants that sandwich

This is the pic Liam ruined with peanut butter jelly time

finally got one of the cat

Snow break

Even though the ground has a few inches of snow, it was actually pretty warm here. Liam wanted to make a snowman, so we went outside for a winter break. 

Snowman Version 1

Snowman Version 2

Snowman Version 3 "it's a bug" Liam says

The demolition begins

After we made three versions, Liam decided that was enough. "I want to take the snowman down".  Then he basically slammed into Mr. Snowman and tore off his head. Afterward he looks at the pile of snow and says "I'm going to miss that snowman"

 

the day of the day: Thanksgiving

We all had a wonderful day, yummy food, football, Liam made us each a Lego dragonfly, and I finished "Gone Baby Gone". The food of course, being the highlight of the day. With food allergies the whole meal was gluten/wheat free.   And Jerad's work gave us a turkey voucher so it was free. Yay, for work related gifts!

Menu:

• Turkey: oregano, lemon zest, and kosher salt rub
• Shredded Brussels sprouts cooked in butter sauce
• Potatoes Au Gratin (authentically baked in a Le Crusset casserole dish. I wear my French heritage on my elaborately decorate sleeve, man)
• Cranberry sauce with quince
• Cajun cornbread stuffing with sausage
• Pumpkin Pie
• Pumpkin Cheesecake 
• Handmade whipped cream

Help yourself, Liam

Jerad's first turkey!

the turkey was wonderful

dinner

guess which parent Liam looks like?

after dinner.

Jasper really wanted some pumpkin pie

Liam enjoying the pie he made

Bella,. really wanting some turkey

some Liam quotes from today

Overheard while he was playing:

"I can't go fishing! I have to poop!"

"Oh my goodness I lost!"

"There's a broken track! Don't fall in the broken track! You will fall in the water! Oh no you fell in the water!"

Day before the day: Thanksgiving prep + baking with Liam

The prep list (basically what I'm making, Jerad starts tomorrow):

• Rub the turkey with lemon zest, kosher salt, and oregano (Jerad is baking it tomorrow)
• Make 2 pie crusts
• Make pumpkin pie + pumpkin cheesecake. Save back some pumpkin puree for pumpkin eggnog shakes tomorrow.
• Bake cornbread and let it dry for stuffing tomorrow
• Make Jell-o for Jerad friendly dessert (he doesn't like pumpkin)
• Successfully make homemade whipped cream

As of 3:34pm, everything is done. It was not without a few disasters though:

• Liam helped with the pie crust when my back was turned (pictured below)
• Dropped and broke a pickle jar on the floor (no worries Jerad, it wasn't the expensive ones you and Liam like)
• I cracked an egg and instead of going in the bowl,. it landed on my son. 
• Poured 1/2 a teaspoon vanilla extract into the cream then spilled the rest on the counter
• Liam poked the pumpkin pie. I told him to leave the pies alone, they were cooling. He poked the cheesecake and says "it's cool! I eat it". They finished cooling in the fridge. 
•  

We had a great morning though. I came in the kitchen and Liam had the table set, two plates with one banana on each one. "come eat your banana mama!". Only 4 and already making breakfast. 


And then later I cracked on egg on him.
Liam "Mama, why you do that?"
Molly "I'm not sure."
Liam "You need to say sorry"
Molly "I am very sorry"
Liam "It's OK"
Molly "should we go change your clothes?"
Liam "Yes. You did it"

whipped cream

Liam made the decor

salt rub

salt rub... hope I did it right.

Gluten free pie crust

Liam mixing up the pumpkin pie (pre-egg)

finishing the pie. after change of clothes.

he also made the cheesecake filling

and helped withe the pie. he told me. "i helped you with the pie" yes, you certainly did.

whipped cream success! thanks to Thanksgiving 101!

This is Halloween, this is Halloween, Halloween Halloween Halloween Halloween!

We have Halloween year round. My mom's friend Audrey mailed us a care package, Liam opened it. He pulled out the gummi spider then handed me the bag. The rest was baby girl clothes wrapped in pink tissue paper. "Uh...you take this mama".  So to summarize:

Liam, likes: spiders 

Liam dislikes: pink tissue paper. 

Also, thanks Audrey!

Turkeys + Cocoa

Thanksgiving decorations and hot cocoa, Liam and I have some inside time today as it snows outside.

new coat

It might be a little big.

We took Jerad to work, with Liam in his new coat, hat, boots, and gloves. "Yeah Molly, you look nothing like an overprotective mom right now" 

At least he was warm. 

GF Chocolate Banana Muffins

It's snowing and raining in Boise this morning, so we decided to stay in and bake muffins. I let Liam pick ingredients, we ended up with chocolate banana muffins with white chocolate chips. I added some flax meal, shredded coconut, and some chopped almonds. We used GF white rice and garbanzo flours and Bob's Red Mill GF baking soda. Yum!

Liam mixes the dry ingredients

putting the dry mix in the pureed bananas, vanilla extract, canola oil, and egg

fin! picking the perfect one for him (and picking the right one for me)