Rainy Day...again.

So it's raining again....I know, big surprise, it's London.

A list of things to do with a kid (age 3) when it is rainy and cold.

1. Go to Ikea. Cheap Meatballs, Kid area, lots of space to run around, and 35p ice cream. The train ride to get there is half the fun

2. Sock/Balloon/Washcloth in Hamper Basketball

3. Marble Shaving Cream Painting..then cut into hearts.

4. Hide and Seek. Either with yourselves or a favorite toy/doll.

5. Bake.

6. Race Car Day.

7. Sidewalk Chalk on Kitchen Floor. Then mop, because you know it probably needs to be done anyway!

8. Painting in the shower.

9. Go to the Mall. Similar to #1, but not as fun.

10. Clean, and have little one help. For instance, get all your dusting done and give them a cloth. Wash dishes and give them a bowl of water, some plastic cups and a washcloth. Sweep or vacuum and put all the dining room chairs in "choo-choo train formation". This only buys you a few moments, but hey, you get a few things done.

11. Put on boots and coats and go out in it, if even for a minute.

12. Sort different kinds of macaroni, beans, etc into muffin tins. We do this with small 3D scrapbook supplies as well.

Flowers, Snow and Hearts

These are the dresses that I bought at the Market this weekend. I was mentally planning for warmer weather.I was even ready to plant seeds in the garden...but Mother Nature had other plans! This is very rare for London.

Even though I was ready for Spring, I didn't mind. In fact, I LOVED IT!! Everyone seems to love the snow. On our street, we had about 6 snowmen. Here are a few. There were a few other snowmen with carrots and potatoes put in humorous places.

And we made the freezer paper Painted T Shirts from SouleMama's book "Creative Family". They turned out really cute.

If you have a 3 year old, a few suggestions.

1. Cut out the template before you start the project.

2. Have it all ready to go, freezer paper adhered, and then have them sponge paint the design.

3. Let them paint (or draw with fabric marker) around the design before you take freezer paper off. This leaves the design nice, even though their doodles are all around it.

4. Wear painting clothes!!

To Market, To Market

Yesterday we found 2 really good markets that are close to each other.
1. Petticoat Lane Market, which sells inexpensive clothes, shoes, cheap stuff, but good stuff.

2. The Sunday Up Market, near Liverpool Street., which was only a few blocks away from Petticoat. It was indoors (a plus!) and was a mix of eclectic vintage, thrift, and handmade unique items. It also had a really good food area with places to sit. As you can see, we had no problem finding lunch for Tate since there was a Chinese Food stand.

On the way from one market to the other... On the way home, we had to go through King's Cross Station. We wandered around... And we found Platform 9 3/4! (For those of you who don't know, that's how Harry Potter took the Hogwarts Express to his magical school. )

Happy Chinese New Year '09

Cool Chinese New Year Crafts from Kaboose.com. Martha Stewart has a few as well.

This Lo Mein Recipe that tastes like I picked it up at Chinese Take Out--it's awsome. We make it with chicken.

General's Chicken, that my sister in law said is YUMMY.

No longer my Magical H. Potter school...

I was so excited to think that Tate might attend this school. It is right behind our house, and I took the picture from the seat I am sitting from in the office. I told Paul that it looked like a building in Harry Potter, so we called it the Harry Potter School. We were excited.
Tate went for ONE DAY. Let's just say, it wasn't a fit for us.

He is now going to the Spanish-English school that is down the road and went solo for a few hours for the first time today. Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! He had a good time, and fell asleep immediately at naptime.

As for the rest of the day.....

Planning on doing lots of this:
and this: (figuring out plane tickets for my brother to come here at Spring Break)and this: (figuring out requirements to get my quarantined kitty back to us!)maybe even making these: (requested by Tate.) Listening to this: (Yes, sadly. I think I am 13.)

Wearing this: (Read above. And it looks much better on than you may imagine. And the fur is faux!)

Roman Holiday

1. Food was amazing. I know, not a big surprise. Do you think Tate got tired of spaghetti?? Nope--he requested it again for dinner yesterday.
2. The Roman ruins were really impressive. Yea, I had seen photos, but up close you see how incredibly giant it all is. And the detail in every little piece...crazy to think when and how it was created.
3. Vatican--same comment as #2.
4. Looking for comfy cool boots? This was the place to find them. (Bethany!!)
5. Not all Gelato is created equal. But I'm not complaining about any of it.
6. Tate wants to live in a hotel.

Holiday Break Update

I have barely left the house in the last 3 days...and it is wonderful. Ok, besides the bickering between Tate and Paul, it has been great.

Random Tidbits:
1. I'm in love with this stuff. My face is super clean and, every night when I use it, I feel like I am getting a decadent face massage.
2. I have not scrapbooked at all. Wish I had!!
3. Paul is addicted to facebook poker.
4. Experimented with Mushroom Risotto. It came out AMAZING! I got the fresh mushroom mix from Borough St. Market. I didn't even recognize some of the mushrooms that were in the packet.
5. I am NOT READY for Tate to start school on Thursday. Nope. NOT AT ALL. Every day attendance just seems like a lot for a 3.5 year old. And I will miss the playgroups.
6. On the school thing, I'm bummed that Tate can't go to the Waldorf school. It is such the right fit for us. I just can't do the 40 min bus/walking trip daily for him to be there just 3 hours!!
7. I still need some freaking local friends, besides the shop keepers and the fruit and veg guys.

Mushroom Risotto Recipe
INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
6 cups chicken broth, divided
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 shallot (minced)
1-2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons finely chopped chives
4 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
In a saucepan, warm the broth over low heat.
Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms, and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove mushrooms and their liquid, and set aside.
Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to skillet, and stir in the shallots and garlic. Cook 1 minute. Add rice, stirring to coat with oil, about 2 minutes. When the rice has taken on a pale, golden color, pour in wine, stirring constantly until the wine is fully absorbed. Add 1/2 cup broth to the rice, and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove from heat, and stir in mushrooms with their liquid, butter, chives, and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Time for Scrapbooking

I haven't scrapped in weeks... It is my new favorite layout. Probably because it is one of my favorite pictures.

And a few other photos from this weekend:

Pizza Making Party Breakfast on Sunday. I look scary. We are wearing our Christmas Cracker hats. Our friends, Mike and Courtney, and Tate.

Really? Are there only 6 days left?

Treats for our visitors this weekend, Courtney & Mike Thomas and Bethany & John. His favorite place...mama and daddy's bed on movie night with a big bowl of popcorn. I hate food in the bed, but I make the exception for him.

I feel like I spent many months thinking of all the stuff Tate and I were going to do for the holidays, and before I knew it, we are only 6 days away.

Where's Waldo? Apparently in London...

As we walked down Regent St...And inspired by Paula, here is our Christmas decor:

For our advent Calendar, we have a craft or activity every day after nap. Race car day was Day one. Another day we made a SNOWFLAKE MOBILE--basically paper snowflakes, glue, ribbon, popsicle sticks and glitter.

Need more ideas?? Email me or leave a comment. I'm chockfull. In fact, Tate sometimes just wants to color instead :(

Teatime!

Ever have carrots with lemon and salt on them?? They are really good--I'm not lying!! I had them for the first time in this fancy bar in Turkey and just rediscovered them. The other dish is just walnuts, pecans, and almonds that I microwaved for a few minutes in my stoneware to toast them up. I then added yogurt covered cranberries. The whole thing kind of melts together and I ate it with a spoon.

"A teaspoon of HONEY makes the medicine go down...in the most delightful way!" This is sung in my house daily, with a request for the actual teaspoon of honey.

Because it gets dark VERY early here...

And it is freezing outside, and Paul is coming home late for the 6th work day in a row, and because Mama stayed up too late:

**Please ignore my super dirty floor, and my drying laundry on the table!!