Oh man she's fun!

Here is Liane doing some of the funny things she comes up with each day... goodness I love her! So proud of herself for climbing on the chair all by herself!
One second she is playing with the bowls and the next she is sitting in the drawer WITH the bowls... lol

Hmmm I wonder where Liane is?... yep she thinks she is hiding from me... lol

Too cool for words!

My creations

Gingerbread spice cake (with broccoli and carrot)
Oatmeal cookies (with zucchini and banana)
Oatmeal Cookies:
Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oats
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
¾ cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar ( I use organic brown sugar)
6 tbsp trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread, chilled
½ cup banana puree
½ cup zucchini or carrot puree
1 large egg white
Raisins and nuts optional (1/2 cup of each)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat two baking sheets with cooking spray.

In a bowl combine the flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and stir to mix.

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and margarine with a wooden spoon until just combined – do not overmix. Add the banana and zucchini or carrot purees and the egg white, and stir just to blend. Add the flour mixture, raisins and nuts (if desired) and stir to combine.

Drop the dough by heaping tablespoonful onto the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch in between. Bake until golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 4-5 minutes, just until they are firm enough to handle, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Blackberry oatmeal bars (with spinach)

Here are some of my creations from the class I taught at church last week on "healthy snacks"... yummy!

Ok for those of who who are confussed... long story short, but I steam, puree, and freeze in 1/2 cup portions, many fruits and veggies and then "hide" them in the foods I make. I also use wheat flour, whole grains and organic sugar in all of my cooking. These are just a few of my creations (ok well I got the recipe for these, but I do tweek them as I go). :-)

I didnt have the other recipes already typed up, so if you want them, just let me know!

Sounds like FUN!

The first FIVE people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year. (meaning sometime in 2009 :))
4- You have no clue what it's going to be.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it! Sounds like fun, right?

talkin' away...

More of Liane's latest additions...

bottle, fishey, yes, happy, curtain, orange juice, towel, robe, bowl, stuck, heavy, house, flower, hat, eat, Einstein (as in Baby Einstein), basket, snow, purple, blue, paper, Wubzzy (Wow Wow Wubzzy), teeth, hair, nose, eye, Amen, down, Elfie (Grandma's new dog), Buddy (another one of Grandma's dogs), Ashlee, Lilly, Jake, exercise, stretch, over, hmmm... this! (when trying to choose something)

Signs
baby
eat
mommy
daddy
cereal

Laundry Queen

Liane is amazing... she has always been interested in what I am doing and wants to be a part of it. If I am cleaning the bedroom mirrors, she wants to as well.... if I am wiping up a spill, she wants to as well... if I am loading the dishwasher, she wants to take everything out (ok we are working on this one :-)... the point is, she is a FANTASTIC helper and I want to encourage that! She loves it when I do laundry and is ever so fascinated by whats going on in the washer especially. So over the past little while I have begun to let her help me and today the girl basically did it all - as much as a 16 month old can do anyway. She LOVED every minute of it and did not tire of it... so wonderful! In no time this girl will be doing it on her own! She catches on quickly and we have so much fun doing the laundry together!! She is amazing!!

Carlos' 30th Birthday Party

Salomon's brother Carlos celebrated his 30th birthday on Saturday and we (his family) threw him a party. It was nice to see Carlos' friends and co-workers show up for the event. The food was great, the music was fun to dance to and a good time was had by all - especially Carlos (Liane is a close second!).

Creating beauty... (yep I totally stole this idea from a friend - thanks Michelle!)

Ok so I totally stole this great idea for some creative/inexpensive holiday decorating ideas from a friend... I used some old frames I had in the house and repainted them and scrapbooked the insides. I threw it together with some cute heart dishes I got as a wedding presant and wa-la!! I love it and already have some stuff together to make Easter decorations!! Thanks Michelle!

Catching up

I knew Liane had this container of brown sugar and she likes to shake it... but in 1.2 seconds that went from an innocent little game to full on pour central!! Yep she quickly discovered that it had a lid which opened and oh how fun it was for her to watch it all pour onto our hiddeous pink carpet!! Good times! Silly Mommy! Boy she is lucky she is the cutest girl in the world!

Random art projects... squares and green feathers

Instant pudding art... colored it yellow for the color of the week and let her "paint" with it... oh and eat it as a snack too ( I know, what?! I gave my child pudding??!! It was sugar free :-)