Happy Leap Day!

I had a great "Leap Day" with the kids which included playing leap frog on a number line outside for math and making crazy actions/noises to a leap day poem. Even though the poem was for 1st graders, my students got so into it and I think it was a nice break for them to get a little wild and silly. Of course all of their actions they did for the action verbs in the poem were hilarious. I love my 4th graders and planning spontaneous lessons :) Thought I'd share a few pictures of what the leap frog math looked like. We were learning about benchmarks used on number lines with decimals so it worked out perfectly to do this activity today. I'm glad I thought of it at 6:30 this morning!

I of course had to hop along with them for a few :)

Sunday Dinner #2

So I actually made this dinner Friday night instead of tonight since we had some dinner guests over. I'm posting it a little late, but it's better late then never.

Ken and I wanted to make something that was going to be easy since we both worked all day Friday so I found a great BBQ pulled pork recipe for the crock pot. I used a 3 pound pork loin (since that was the only pork they had at the super market!) and rubbed salt, pepper, and garlic powder on it. I made some holes in it on both sides using a fork before putting it in the crock pot. I then filled the crock pot with one 12 oz can of root beer and then cooked it for 10 hours. When I returned from work, I drained the crock pot and shred the meat which was so tender and juicy. Then I mixed 18 oz of BBQ Sauce (we used Maull's of course) and cooked it another hour. It was ready to go quick and simple!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-pulled-pork/

As for the sides we cooked corn on the cob, fresh green beans, and we made a homemade potato salad (thanks to my Grandma Therese for the recipe)! Here's how to do it:

1. Peel 4-5 potatoes and boil them until they are tender.

2. Let cool and then cut them into cubes.

3. Cut up a small onion, about a cup of celery, and 4 hard boiled eggs.

4. Add all of these ingredients to a bowl.

5. Heat up 3/4 cup mayonnaise until its warm and pour over the other ingredients. 

6. Add salt, pepper, and mustard to your liking.

We of course had some potato chips to go with our delicious BBQ pulled pork sandwiches and a glass of wine...or two...or three.

To top it all off, I made homemade apple pies inside the apples! I found this great recipe online using pinterest and it was so much easier than I thought it would have been.

1. Cut the top off of 4-5 large green apples.

2. Scoop out the insides being careful not to puncture the sides.

3. Then peel and cut 2 more apples into small pieces. Mix this with 1/4 cup sugar, 1 Tbsp. of brown sugar, and a tsp. of cinnamon.

4. Spoon this mixture back into the apples.

5. Cover with homemade/store bought pie crust and put into an 8 x 8 pan with just enough water to cover the bottom.

6. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes covered with foil.

7. Bake another 25 minutes without foil or until the crust is golden brown.

http://domesticdilettante.com/2012/01/11/applepie/

Vanilla ice cream on the side makes it delectable! Bon Appetit!

Happy Valentine's Day

We had a great Valentine's Day yesterday even though it was incredibly busy! I wanted to share with you all some of the things we did and got for the holiday. It was definitely memorable.

At school, my kids were uber excited to make heart keychains thanks to Ken's mom who sent me the supplies last year (it just never made it until this year!). Luckily I was able to have my kids work on them this time around. They have already been put on their backpacks too...they just couldn't wait. They also made a heart basket weaved out of paper to put all of their valentines in, including their card to their parents which I think is the cutest thing in the world.

Making key chains

They were so in to it!

Ta-da the final product!

a few more

Such creative minds

The special box they put their secret valentines in.

Woah it's over flowing!

Heart garland from Jody :)

woven paper valentine baksets

So happy with all of their candy

Yay!

The party went well in my room even though the kids ate wayyyy to much pizza, soda, and candy. Parents bringing in 5 big foot pizzas for 17 kids is a little too much...don't you think? Each kid probably ate 4-5 pieces!

Ken and I had decided that we would stay in for Valentine's Day this year. He would make a surprise dinner while I would make a surprise dessert. Then we each came up with our own little presents for each other. Take a look at all.

Ken blew up a photo of us and got me 3 giant balloons!

Ken with his 2 presents: chocolate chip cookie dough brownies and a book I made him

My card from Ken...wait for it...wait for it...

BA-HAHAHAHAHA! Best card ever!

Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day! We'll update again soon :)

Sunday Dinner #1

Hello all! I've decided that I'm going to try something new. For awhile now, I've been wanting to blog about food and the different things I cook and make. Instead of starting a new blog for this, I figured why not try making a weekly post on Sundays with whatever I made that night for dinner. Sundays are great for me since I've got all day to relax and then brainstorm a creative meal. I usually try my new recipes on Sundays too with all of the time I have (plus if I mess up I can always whip up something else pretty easily). So here it goes...

SUNDAY DINNER #1: Butternut Squash Soup with Salad and Italian Cheese Bread

Ken and I have been consciously trying to eat a bit healthier over the past few weeks so I've been on the search for meals full of flavor that don't have heavy cream or other fatty things. I found this butternut squash soup recipe on www.eatingwell.com (through pinterest.com...I'm obsessed!) and it's full of vegetables and fresh ingredients. If those of you follow calories too there's only 60 calories per serving. I tweaked the recipe for me since I didn't have all of the ingredients on hand but this is basically it...

1. Sautee onions and carrots in oil until tender.
2. Add tomatoes, squash (after its been pre-cooked in the oven for about 45 minutes at 350), 1 tsp. cumin, 1/4 cayenne pepper, pepper, and 6 cups chicken broth.
3. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until everything is cooked all the way through.
4. Blend the soup in the blender and add a spoon of plain yogurt if you'd like!

For the salad, I decided to do a salad bar style layout so Ken and I could make our own salads. I put on a plate cut up tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, avocados, and some black beans and corn (whatever you have in your fridge and what you like on your salads of course!). I had some walnuts on the side and of course our favorite dressings (ranch for Ken!). 

As for the Italian Cheese Bread...I haven't found an easier homemade bread recipe yet. It didn't need a lot of time to rise either so this made it quick and easy.

1. Mix in a bowl 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. sugar, and 1 tbsp. quick-rise yeast. Add 1 cup warm water and 1 tbsp. of oil. Mix until you get a dough like substance.
2. Knead the dough until it becomes elastic and then set aside for 20 minutes in an oiled bowl covered with a towel to let rise.
3. After about 20 minutes (I waited 30 minutes and no harm done), punch the dough down and spread out on a greased pizza pan or cookie dough sheet in a 12 in. circle.
4. Spread 1/4 cup Italian salad dressing over it and then sprinkle with oregano, thyme, garlic powder, pepper, parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese.
5. Cook at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

It went great with the soup and salad and had lots of flavor. Out of the three different things made this was of course the least healthy but it is completely homemade which to me is important since I know exactly what's going into my body.

I hope you enjoy it if you end up trying anything and if you have any questions let me know!

Since Valentine's Day is around the corner, I thought I'd share with you the valentine's that I made for my students this year. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! The hearts for my kids say "You make our class Sparkle!"

Rio Pico Bonito

Last weekend, Ken had to work all day on Saturday at the Santa Teresa Festival that his school holds each year as a fundraiser. Instead of me being a bum all day, a bunch of our friends and I decided to head out to a new river and relax for the day. Our usual hang out spots of Rio Maria and Rio Congrejal have been getting used more which means there is a lot more trash and vandalism. It obviously doesn't make it as relaxing when there is garbage and graffiti all around you.

Last year, Jesse and Brian went backpacking and camping on Pico Bonito Mountain and Rio Bonito follows the trail for some of the way. Since Jesse remembered where it was, he was our guide and led us on an hour hike through the Honduran countryside to the river. At one point, the trail disappeared and we were going through the jungle...I was waiting for a bob cat to come out at me. I think we were way to loud for that to happen but either way it was a bit scary.

The girls taking the lead.

Pico Bonito Mountain

The trail

Beautiful.

We finally made it to the river!

Peaceful

The girls

Jenna, Jessie, and me

Once we arrived at the river, we were sweaty and extremely hot so we immediately jumped in to the icy, cold water. It took a few minutes for my body to adjust. Then it felt amazing. The water was crystal clear and there was absolutely no one around us. It was awesome! We swam for a bit before unpacking our backpacks and having lunch (tortillas with beans, cheese, and salsa and some trail mix). After about two hours of hanging out we made the trek back to the car. Although its a bit far from town to get to on your own it was a great experience and one that I hope happens again before we leave. I guess my excuse to go again is that Ken still has to see it!

A fuzzy friend

While I was skyping with my brother earlier this week I looked out into my landlords backyard and saw a fuzzy friend staring at me. Luckily this time is wasn't another possum but a small kitten inside one of the flower pots (the one my brother broke while trying to climb our coconut tree...how ironic). Hope it puts a smile in your day :)