April 17, 2010

Adorababy!

There is a reason we've been slacking off on our to-do lists lately. Could you resist this adorababy? I thought not.

Marguerite, you are sweetness and goodness and charm, all rolled into one irresistible package. You bless us incredibly.

And Then There was the Food

Food, glorious food... Sing it with me.

Despite the Good Friday freezer disaster which put off our Easter food-prep and necessitated the cooking of large quantities of thawed meat, we pulled off another Leone Easter feast in the nick of time.

Joe, as usual, tended to the olive oil-basked and rosemary-encrusted lamb roast and potatoes. Meanwhile, I pulled together our caesar salad, deviled eggs, asparagus with hollandaise sauce, homemade rolls, and the annual Grandma Kate-inspired relish tray full of hot peppers and specialty olives. My mouth doth water.

The feast ended well after dark with cheesecake and Lemon Pavlova—a meringue-based frozen Australian dessert. (Yes, that would be the dessert that looks like the long slab of fish in the photo). It is both light and sweet and pretty much to-die-for. This was its third appearance on the Leone family Easter table, and suffice it to say, the lemon pavlova is now ensconced as a Leone family tradition.

Easter 2010

Christ's resurrection....




















Spiffy kids...



New books...


Sisterly love (experienced over gum-hatching wind-up chickens)...



Bug catchers...


























Pretty ribbons and prettier girls...


























And a brand new Easter basket for the cutest bambina around...

What We've Been Up To

The Leones have been...


Building treasure boxes with Dad...


Learning about metamorphosis...


Looking way-cute in pirate hats...


Helping Mom in the kitchen (any excuse to wear the cool new "boyish" apron Grandma Kate sent)...



Completing 1,000 piece puzzles, courtesy of Claudia...


Enjoying birthday gifts from Kansas...


Trying new things (and new swings)...


Perfecting the teen art of doing not much of anything...

April 2, 2010

We Are Doin' Hair

So we might not be pros yet, but we do seem to be making some progress with styling Marguerite's beautiful head of hair.

Having said that, we're finding headbands are infinitely easier for the moment. :)


BEFORE:



AFTER:


April 1, 2010

Joe Turns 29 (again?)

Well, another year has come and gone for Handsome Hubby (aka: Big Dad).

Now that Joe is 29 (ahem), he requests Surf and Turf for dinner, and he likes receiving things like auto oil extractors for his birthday. I guess it's all a sign of advancing age.


Director of Diapering

You'll never hear me complain about diapering.

I have my very own Diaper Director. Her name is Therese, and she runs to inform us whenever Marguerite needs a change. Therese runs to the "diaper closet" for supplies, and she often tries to tackle the dirty deed on her own. She'd even take on the poops if we let her.

God bless our mini-mom, Therese, and her sweetly diapered sister, Marguerite.

There's room in every family for a Director of Diapering.

To Good Health

We fell a bit off the healthy bandwagon for a couple months after Marguerite was born. It's nothing new. I always lose my resolve when I have an adorable baby in the house. My lips need to be firmly planted on those cute baby cheeks at least half her waking hours. And that whole concept does not lend itself well to spending time in the kitchen.

We are back on track now though (and Marguerite continues to get oodles of kisses -- somehow we make it all work).  ;) 

For the last couple years, I've been implementing Nourishing Traditions recipes, food choices, and dietary principles into our lives, little by little. But recently, I've upped the ante a bit and tried to make the majority of our food choices truly healthy ones. That means we are no longer buying oils with trans-fats, we are limiting (and for some of us, avoiding altogether) sugar, and we are canning, fermenting, and cooking from scratch. It's time-consuming, but it sure seems worth it for long-term health.

The latest:  homemade yogurt, kefir, yogurt cheese, whey, sprouts, bread, kimchi, and beef and turkey broth. Say it with me: yum!

Andrew Turns Six

Andrew, our new six-year-old, decided he wanted a cowboy cake for his birthday.

Hmmm... That requires creativity on the part of Dear Ol' Mom... Oh, dear...

But all's well that ends well. A couple days, and one trip to the cake-decorating store later, we came up with this Wild West Desert-themed peanut-butter-and-jelly-cake. Yum! (Check out the edible candy rocks.)

Is that a handsome six-year-old, or what?