Bridging part 3: Powder Puff Derby!!!

I just realized I missed the post about finishing up our Girl Scout year. Sorry :(

To finish up the year girls got the honors of making their own cars and parents as well as other family was welcomed to join in on the races.

We started with a check in and weighed all the cars. This year we were not strict on the rule but next year we will be following the Cub scout Derby rules. 

While I ran check in Justin set up the tracks. 

The girls were so thrilled that after the race the girls did not want to stop. 

Everyone was excited to show off the cars and want to do it again. 

Brook won and there was no competing against her car this year. Maybe next year we will make some adjustments to our car. 

We finished the year with a bang! 

Tri weekend

Things have finally been slowing down in our house ( YAY!!). I have been become some version of Zombie mom running on coffee and soda. This weekend was the Triathlons, yes I meant for that to be plural not because I would ever do it, but because Yasser did it!!!

I have to say I am extremely proud of my little girl who I am noticing is not so little anymore. Yesterday it was in the 60s and just pouring rain and it was horrible, yet she keep going and never quit.

Justin ran beside her and cheered her the entire way she was the only kid to actually swim and was in last place most of the way ( she is insistent she was in 11th) but she was proud of the fact she finished and she should be. Today was not any better and it was colder but Justin did his run and although his time was not as good as last years he finished.  He did it with a flat tire for 7 miles and in the freezing cold temperature ( it was in the 50s today).

So as I sit here sniffing and coughing from a lovely cold I caught standing on the side lines taking picture I can't help but to think how amazing my life has become. I married a man that even if I get pissy he is there. I have kids who never give up no matter how hard things get. All I can do is try to keep calm and remember that cheering is all I can do.

Daisy Bridging Ceremony: Part 1

My co leader and I wanted to do something amazing and extraordinary for the girls. We went through a lot as a group and we wanted to make them feel amazing and ready for the next adventure.

For several weeks we practiced a few different songs (Great Big Moose, Little Bunny Fufu, and Go Bananas) and the meeting before our ceremony we did a run through. Lesson learned plan on more than 30 minutes with 6 highly energetic girls for a run through.

As for projects for the event: 3 piñatas, 6 fairy wands with tacks at the end, 6 balloons filled with confetti, cupcakes, brownies, special markers for the girls cupcakes, letters to each girl, certifies, tape game, bubbles, bubble wands, candy flower bouquets and cookies.

This takes much longer than a single day please plan accordingly otherwise you will be extremely tired but it was worth it.

My Girl Scout post will be in 3 parts this being the 1st in the series and ending with our finally meeting with Powder puff Derby. 

Now to begin I am going to start with my simple projects:)

FAIRY WANDS!!!!

We wanted all the girls to pop a balloon and end the ceremony with a big bang, this was it and they will be Brownies next year, except one will be joining our Junior troop.  

I started with $.29 wooden dowels and painted them rainbow themed. I even dipped the tip in gold paint. 

Then we took about 7 different colored ribbons and cut them in long strips. 

I tied a knot in the middle to keep it all together. 

 I cut 2 inch strips of the thicker ribbon because it was going cover up the know and give a finished look to it. 

I glued it to the top of the wooden stick. 

 I then glued a tack to the top so the girls could pop their balloons. After the balloons have been popped the tacks can be easily removed giving the girls a cool new fairy wand. 

This proved to be a fun and exciting moment for everyone involved. 

Another quick thing I did was write a little note to each girl. 

I found a cute Ribbon and flower that I glued to each of the envelopes and wrote their names in cursive. 

I found these amazing cards for $.50 at Michaels and was beyond thrilled. 

Lowes Build and Grow

I am some what handy, my dad made sure I knew what the different screw drives are.  I want to kids to  know how to take care of things for when they move out.  I have started looking for projects and things to do that allows me to teach the kids basic skills. Lowes offers build and grow clinic, the best part is it's all free!!!! So the kids got aprons and little hammers with googles.  Our first project was Iron man's Jet and they turned out amazing. We did not take pictures as we made the project because it was 3 kids to the 2 of us and one of them were in constant need of help. Maybe one day as they feel more comfortable  and we can take pictures from the beginning. But for now I will just tell you how much fun it was and the after picture. It is also a solid project and simple enough for the kids to figure out the only thing was hammering was difficult for them but once they get use to it I think it will be a breeze.

Broccoli Cheese Meatloaf

                                      

Personally I can't stand meatloaf, but my daughter and husband are pure carnivore. My father in law tends to make this meatloaf that has meat and broccoli inside it and cheese melted on top. I sorta tried to keep with that theme but my own version. 

 This recipe is a broccoli cheese filled meat loaf wrapped in bacon and BBQ sauce and cheese over the top. This is a meal my daughter loves and she loves it even more when I make shaped like a cupcake.

 For the meat loaf we need: Bacon
                                             3-5 pound ground beef (depending on the amount of people)
                                             Tarragon, oregano, basil, thyme, paprika, marjoram, savory

                                             Salt and Pepper

                                             Panko and eggs
                                             Broccoli
                                             Provolone

Add all of the seasoning to the meat with eggs and panko. Mix well 

Lay plastic out and layer the bacon.

This will be on the outside and create a crust. 

Now press ground beef out on top of the bacon. 

Keep in a nice even layer. No thinner than 1/2 inch. 

Add cheese and broccoli. 

Roll and stick inside a loaf pan. 

Cook at 375 until the beef is fully cooked and temps at 160. I pour out the extra grease that collects. Then place BBQ sauce and  cheese until a nice and bubbly-ness appear.

Now for the lovely mash potatoes.

For 7 people I cooked 8 potatoes. First we peeled it and then boiled it until soft. 

After the potatoes are cooked I whip them with butter and a small amount of milk and seasoning. 

I love garlic with cheddar. 

Cook some green beans or salad as a side and call it a night. 

End of the year for school

Yasser is ending our school year with testing. I do not truly like testing or the idea of it but decided it was the best way to show where we are in our schooling. Yasser excels in her Math but reading is tricky because she just wants it to come to her. This year we are finishing up with assessment testing we found for free at Calvert Education. We decided for next years portfolio and proof of developing we are doing a blog. I am already in the works sending in my testing with my Letter of Intent which I will be breaking down a tad more next weekend.

Next week I plan on showing what paper work I do for school and the way things are laid out. Later today I will be posting about our amazing recruitment for cub scouts going on in town. 

Ropa Veja

As promised I am writing my family recipe that is my go to for large gatherings. My mom came from Panama but it was not until I got married that I learned about our family recipes. My grandmother was never good at sharing her recipes.  I buy a pork should for no more than $15 and can feed about 10 people. Once you add rice and beans plus topping it goes even further. If you make this you should really start it a day or even two before you want to serve it. The longer it sits the better it taste.

You will need: 

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Salt & Pepper

2 broken Bay leaves 

crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

1 jalapeño, Halved

2 large onions 

2 Carrots 

parsley

4 garlic cloves

pork shoulder ( my Grandmother used Brisket) 

Diced Tomatoes (1 1/2 cup)  and tomato paste

2 tablespoon chicken base

1/2 dry white wine (we do not use this but it adds)

1 tablespoon  white wine vinegar

1 roasted red, yellow, and orange

I start by tossing everything but the meat into the crock pot. I mix it and taste and adjust the taste until I get what we are looking for. Then add the meat and leave it. You do not need to cut the meat because by the end of the day it will just fall apart. 

Living with Speech Problems

Yasser hit every single milestone usually ahead of time. She was always our little over achiever and it made it hard when we had Gill-G. I knew that he would not be like his sister because not every kid is holding their own head up at birth. I am not even joking she got the nickname super baby because of it. It was not until Gill-G was 6 months that we started to worry he could not roll over still but the doctor we had at the time love to tell me they all develop at their own time. At 10 months he got up and walked so I figured I may have been over reacting. At 2 years old I started to really worry, my son still had no voice or sounds even. Yasser was talking by the time she was 18 months. At this point we moved back to New York and we had a new doctor. Someone who heard my concerns and saw that they were real serious, we would start our journey to getting real answers. It would be about 6 months before Gill-G would start making baby noises and by the end of the year we would start to understand a few things. We knew what to look for, so when Hulk man showed signs we knew how to handle it. After a year of doing Speech therapy with both boys and two years for Gill-G part of me still is worrisome because some of the time I still have no clue what they are saying and it frustrates them. Yasser is really good with it but I am deciding it is time for something different. Over the next few months we are going to learn ASL as a family. My goal is for us to sign as we talk so one day the boys feel comfortable. Later today we should be done putting up our flash cards and our new books will be here. ( I will post pictures) Our kids has made our life extremely interesting. Learning to live with strong willed, smart, anxiety, autism, apraxia, sensory processing, dermatographia, and allergies can be tricky. As I figure out how this works and what works for us I will share what we are doing. For more information on Apraxia check out http://www.apraxia-kids.org.

Hidden gems: Canandaigua Lagoon

Canandaigua once had a theme park and hid many things in the ground. Over the last several years they have been going through some huge cleaning project and creating a space that is just amazing to visit. 

One of my favorite places to walk is right behind Wegmans. It is a beautiful secluded areas that you do not expect to turn out as amazing it is. 

 Justin and I went for a walk after dropping the kids off at a sleep over. We walked these paths on our dates and still after all this time we still find really cool and interesting things.

 I am pretty sure Justin was annoyed with my need to take a hundred pictures of the snails trying to get that perfect shot. 

This is a perfect place to fish if you are into that kind of thing. 

This was the first time we have ever seen a beaver and we had no clue there were beavers in that area. I spent 15 minutes chasing the beaver before it slapped its tail and scared me because I was not expecting it.