Experiencing that which you love...

My oldest is a stereotypical boy in that he loves, loves, loves trucks. As in can't get enough.  He always has an arm full of matchbox cars, along with some extras in his pockets. We're often asked to carry a few.  We spend the majority of our walks talking about the trucks we spot. We have read our truck books so much that I've run out of things to say about loaders and such (which says a lot if you know me).

Well, we brought him to a "Touch a Truck" event, one that daddy was working at. He was initially quite shocked.
 
 But then his face turned rather stoic and didn't change.  We toured a bus, ambulance, tractor, loader, police car, etc. and he had the same look on his face.

 

 

I know  it's not unusual to be overwhelmed...but these are his favorite things.  It would be like bringing me to a cupcake store and telling me I can try each and every one.  Or bringing me to a fabric store and telling me I can make something with as many fabrics as I want.  I would be over the moon!

 

 

 

 

Finally, we did get a couple of smiles.

 

 And of course we've been talking about this adventure daily since.
It's just funny how kids are sometimes.

Baby sister, on the other hand, finds trucks mighty dull.  Probably because she's listened to book on trucks daily since conception.

It was a good day.

Quilt 64

Quilt 64-2000-Twin Size

A bit of thrifting...

 

A salad dressing shaker...which will be handy given our commitment to making our own salad dressings the last couple of years.
A basket to better contain our collection of wooden play apples.
A handmade Wells doll cheering costume (we live in Wells).
Police socks.
Bathing suits for each kid for next year.

$5.25.

Fatayers (Mediterranean Calzone)

My grandfather, who was Lebanese, used to make these.  They're oh so yummy.  And here's the recipe, per request.

Fatayers (Mediterranean Calzone) 

A) Make Bread Dough First.

2 C. Warm Water

1 pkg. yeast

1 tsp. of sugar

3 Tbsp. Shortening

1 tsp. salt

6-6 ½ Cups of Flour

1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water.
2. Add shortening, salt and flour.
3. Knead until smooth and elastic.
4. Place in greased bowl. Flip over so top of dough is greased.
5. Let rise in a warm place until double (1- 1 ½ hours).

B) While bread is rising, make filling.

½ cup pine nuts

½ onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 pound of ground meat (beef, lamb, turkey)

1 Tbsp. Lebanese spice (or mixture of oregano, thyme, sesame seeds)

salt and pepper to taste

½ lemon

1 block of cream cheese, softened

1 small box of frozen spinach, defrosted

(We also would sometimes use 1 T. of Stonewall Kitchen Red Farmhouse Relish for color...that's optional)

1. Toast pine nuts, set aside.
2. Brown onions. Add garlic. Add meat. Add spices.
3. Add meat mixture to pine nuts. Stir in cream cheese and spinach. Add lemon juice to taste.  Salt and pepper to taste.
   
   
   C) When bread dough has doubled in size, create the fatayers.

1. Preheat the oven to 375◦.
2. Punch down dough. Roll flat. Use pastry scrapper to cut dough into large rectangles.
3. Add scoops of meat filling.
4. Fold over dough and press edges to make a half moon.  Pierce with a fork.  My grandfather would brush with egg wash or milk so they'd be browner on top.  I usually skip that step.
5. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until dough is slightly browned.

Snippets of Summer...

Hope you're finding picture perfect snippets these summer days...

 

 

 

 

 

Ruffled Peasant Dress

A new dress for my baby girl.  A ruffled peasant dress to be exact.

I bought the fabric from the $0.99/yard bargain bin.  I was envisioning a dress such as this.  I found this pattern and whipped it up, adding a ruffled bottom and an appliqued butterfly.

Here's my little model:

And her ruffled bottom.




And here she is with her mama, who loves her so much.

 

My Little Artist

Yesterday's post  got me thinking about how much I love the art work kids do.  As in I can't get enough of it.  I love seeing the world through their eyes.  I love the intricate details and the lack thereof at times too. Once the language comes along to adequately describe the masterpieces, well...I could sit there all day creating and listening about the creations.

I'm wondering if my little guy has inherited some craftiness from me.  We have been attending VBS this week.  The youngest class is the preschool class and it includes kids up to kindergarten age.  Although he's not quite two and doesn't always sit still in a room of toys, that's the class he's been in.  The teacher wondered if it would be too much for him.  I suggested we could try.  Well, this little guy sat the longest out of everyone when putting bingo dots on a paper heart. When he was finished, he turned it over to start fresh.  His attention span was longer than mine for that particular project.  

 I'm hoping this interest in creating continues.

We spend quite a bit of time on our porch with our easel. Usually we're drawing trucks, but with our current interest in finding caterpillars and making caterpillar houses, caterpillars were the request.  I made the body.  He spent about 10 minutes talking to that caterpillar and drawing the legs.  This must be a fast caterpillar with all those legs.  

I just couldn't erase it.  Not only am I a fan of his art, I'm a fan of my little proud artist too.
 

I'm excited to see what creations will come.