Villach, Austria 2014

Recipe: Fruit Salad

The girls love their fruit. If I allowed them to only eat fruit for every meal, they would never object. I found this quick (but healthy) way to make a fruit salad when our favorite fruits aren't in season by using frozen fruits.

Ingredients:
1 small box of instant pudding mix of your choice
4 bags of frozen fruit

I generally use vanilla or cheesecake pudding mix. For the frozen fruits, I generally do 2 bags of mixed berries (the girls' favorite), 1 bag of peaches, and 1 bag of mango. We've done lots of varieties and do I change it up often.

All you do is put the frozen fruit in a bowl. Sprinkle to pudding mix over the top. Cover and place in the refrigerator until thawed.

I generally make let it thaw over night. As the fruits thaw, the juices run causing the pudding and fruit to mix. Before you serve, be sure to mix together until well combined. The pudding and juices make a nice sauce for the fruit.

My girls go through this so fast. I have to portion size for them or they would eat it in one sitting. Most of the time I can get 3-4 days out of it by doing that. Keep refrigerated and covered to hold freshness.

Stocking Stuffer Ideas

Do you have a hard time trying to figure out what to put in your children's stockings? If so, here's some stocking stuffer ideas for preschooler and toddler. These are some of the things the girls will also be getting.

Meal Plan Monday: Thanksgiving

Here's a sneak into the dinners we plan to have during the week of Thanksgiving.

Dinners:
1. Loaded Potato Soup
2. Chicken Alfredo
3. Spaghetti
4. Beans and Sausage over rice
5. Steaks with yams and collard greens
6. Chicken, Sausage and Okra Gumbo
7. Baked Chicken Tenders

Lunches:
sandwiches, tuna and crackers, pasta salad, green salad

Breakfast:
croissants, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit

Snacks:
yogurt fruit bars, pretzels, frosted mini wheats,  fruit, carrots and celery

Pumpkin Decorating: kid friendly

Ribbon: http://digthisdesign.net/seasonal-design/fall/decorating-your-front-entryway-for-fall/

Jewels: http://formulamom.com/friday-five-5-halloween-pumpkin-whole-pumpkin-decorating-ideas/

Paint: http://www.inlieuofpreschool.com/a-fun-and-easy-way-to-paint-pumpkins/

Initals: http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/0f/13/af/0f13afb92b7fe11e2201ed83b34ff3da.jpg

Buttons: http://www.thepartyanimal-blog.org/40-no-carve-pumpkin-ideas/

Toy Review: Radio Flyer 4 in 1 Trike

I thought with Christmas coming up, I would do some toy reviews that the girls got last year.

The first one I'm going to do is the Radio Flyer 4 in 1 Trike in the color pink. We purchased ours online from Amazon.com, but they are available at Walmart, Toys R Us, and Target as well.

The trike is a 4 in 1, which was one of the main reasons for wanting it. It grows with the baby and is suitable from 9 months to about 5 years. Another great feature I love is the little sun shade up top. Italy gets really hot during the summer, so I knew it would be a plus to have it. Some other great features that we've enjoyed since having it is the cup holder up front for the littles and the storage compartment in the back.

Let's start with the adjustable, grow-with-me features. The have marketed the styles of riding as an infant trike, steering trike, learning to ride trike, and a classic trike. Right now we are in the steering trike stage, which is where the side arms come off from around the child. We just moved to this stage since E outgrew the infant trike stage (pictured). The learning to ride stage is where everything is removed except the steering handle so parents can still assist the little one that is learning to use it. The classic trike stage is when everything, including the steering. Of course we haven't made it to the last two stages, but we do intend to. More on that a bit later. 

Some important points are:

The seat does include a safety 3 point harness.

The steering handle is adjustable.

The weight limit is 49 pounds. 

We have really enjoyed this trike. E has loved it from the time she saw it. She was so obsessed with it that morning that we drove her around in it inside before we could take it out. We have taken it on walks in the neighbor for quick grocery runs or even just for leisure. We have really enjoyed it, and we plan to have it for a while. It is made great. It is sturdy, and most importantly, it is safe. 

Price point is between $78-$129.

Nido Asilo - Cordignano, Italy

I thought I would do an update on A's school adventures. She started back this year in the middle of September. She goes Mon-Fri from 0900-1600. This is her first year going full time since last year she only did half a days. We decided to let her go full day this year's because she always begged to stay last year when I would go pick her up. She lays knew her friends she Tay I'm pleased and took a nap, so she wanted to do the same.

There schedule is really simple. Drop off is by 0900. They have a light snack to get the day started. They do music first thing in the mornings. They split to go to their own classrooms to do really daily activities. Right now, they are reading and learning parts of The Little Red Riding Hood. Of course, it's all in Italian. They do activities that work in with the story. They have lunch at 1130 and recess at 1230. They come back inside at 1300, which is when they do there nap time for the younger kids. The older kids do more structural learning. A does take a nap. They get an hour nap until around 1430. They gather for a snack time and then have free play until the end of the day.

Most days A is playing by herself. She is more tom boyish and prefers to do what the boys do, but most of the time they won't anything to do with her. She has accepted it and just does her own thing. I normally find she plays with Legos, play doh, and puzzles. She does have one really good friend, which is a girl. The teachers say they do everything together, including eat lunch.

They do also go on field trips. They don't always let the parents know in advance, but they do send pictures always danced work home that they did. That's how I generally learn of their trips. Recently, they went to a corn field and had roasted corn. Another day, they went to a forest area because some of the kids showed some anxiety because of the book they were reading (The little Red Riding Hood). They brought them out to the wooded area and showed them the the story was pretend to help ease some of their nervousness towards it.

They also do and a lot of art work. They collected things from nature for some art pueces. They had corn kernels, leaves, acorns, pine cones, twigs, etc. They made a mosaic using them. That was really fun to see when she brought it home. They paint a lot. We have to bring in family pictures for projects as well. A really seems to love it. She lives her teachers, too. She speaks so well jow. she sings yoo. She even tells us the stories she learns at school.

She also goes to the library on Tuesdays and gets to bring home a book. She does gymnastic on Wednesdays, and she has her music class on Thursdays. She is really doing well this year, and I can't wait to meet with her teacher at mid term to discuss how she is doing.

It's so hard to believe that next year E will join her at school. Time flies.