Gabe.

Gabe calls his blankie, his kingkeek. That's how it sounds anyhow. Just think it's cute. He, like Olivia, also replaces the letter "S" with "F"s. So, he says his name is Gabe Frouse and he really likes to fwing.

Bill and the kids

 The kids on our new counter stools, thanks to David and Rachel. They love to sit and eat or color while I prepare and clean from the other side.

Pops

Time for art

 Downtown Disney for the afternoon and dinner

 Pops and the kids at Downtown Disney

 Painting

 Reading with Pops

Belle's 3rd Party

It was at a My Gym in Temecula and the kids had so much fun!

Bill and Samuel

 Olivia

 Gabe

 Olivia and Isabelle

 Story time (Gabe, Isabelle, and Olivia is far right)

 Bill and Sam again

Our Community

Two very dear friends left our community for France last week. David and Rachel are very much missed! Olivia and Gabe miss their playmate, Damien as well.

We had a fire and desserts as a farewell the night before they left.

Becky and Ben

 Mary Beth, Daniel, and Daryl

 Rachel and Kelly

 Caryn and Jeff

 Daryl and David

 Me and Rachel

 Our spread

Olivia

Olivia is growing in independence every day. Here is a fairly recent example of, "Mom, can I try that myself?" It's ranch dressing for her carrots.

 She drew this herself!

 She spends many hours at the table coloring and drawing.

 At Downtown Disney this week.

Gabe

Here are a few pics of Gabe over the last month or so.

A typical ornery look from him.

 Loves his hat and monkey.

 Every Wednesday morning, he watches the gardeners mow and trim.

 Chillaxing.

 Pulling up a chair to watch Charlie, our maintenance man work.

 Just playing.

 At Downtown Disney. If I ask him to smile for a picture, he'll say, "Cheese." just like this.

Cooking

So I have been trying to access my creative side, but life is busy. So, I tried to combine the fact that my family has to eat anyway, with my desire to learn to cook.

I asked a good friend here, Rachel, where to even start, and she handed me a stack of "Bon Appetit" magazines. "Look through recipes and choose the ones that have ingredients you actually like. Also, as you read, look for techniques that you don't know how to do, and learn them."

-Rachel

So, that's what I have been doing. Let's just say most of the dishes I make have mushrooms, onions, and pasta. Those things I know I like. I've learned a lot from these "fancier" recipes, including what porcini mushrooms, shallots, creme fraiche, and swiss chard are, and how to use fresh herbs.

Tortellini with Porcini mushroom sauce.

Chicken Parmesan in process
Finished product- Chicken Parmesan.
My first Pecan Pie. (Although being creative for a main dish has limited my need to create while baking, I couldn't leave it out altogether:)
My apprentice, Olivia rolling out Giada's pizza dough.
Mushroom and Pancetta pizza, fresh mozz, parmesan, and pecorino cheese.

Before:
After:
Smoked salmon with creme fraiche and chives.
Buttermilk Pie with berries, mint leaves, and homemade whipped cream.
This is Giada's Winter Minestrone Soup:

Swiss Chard and Pancetta

I've learned the key to a good flavor for this kind of soup, is simmering a parmesan rind.
I know it doesn't look pretty, but trust me, my whole family gobbles it down.
Giada's pizza dough, with barbecue chicken and red onions.
I've also made my own basil pesto and added cream and tossed with thin noodles. I still don't like strong cheese, but I do like to freshly grate parmesan when I can.

The kids today

For about 5 minutes, they played alone, and quiet. Olivia at the tool bench, and Gabe reading on the couch. Gave me just enough time to get dinner started!

Our 4-year-old beauty.

A rare, still moment caught.