Kelsey, Fred & Elijah

Yes! I am so stoked!

I finally got a picture of Fred and his darling little family.
I've been begging them for recent photos for a long time now...
...I think they're picture shy.

Although as you can see,
they really have no reason to be...

This is on a trip they took to Hawaii
(a few years ago)

They look

tropical    beautiful    good

One might even mistake them for the locals. 

{Well, Fred, anyway}

And look at this cutie Elijah.

Wow, what a pose!

What a ham!

We sure miss you guys!

Oh, and please send some recent photos!

hugs 'n kisses

Nachos for dinner

So if you love Mexican style food, or if you're just looking for some quick and easy recipes, here's a treat for you...

1. Line the bottom of your plate with tortilla chips.
2. Top with pre-heated homemade beans or chili con carne. We once-in-a-while often use the canned kind.
3. Garnish with grated cheese (which will melt over your hot beans - yum!), a dollop of cream and some mango salsa.

Voilà! and Olé!

oh....

Eat it fast because the chips tend to get soggy

and

if you must lick your plate at least use your finger!

§

Stay tuned for more recipes and cooking tutorials this week!

Inspiration Monday: The Tender Mercies of the Lord

With love, I share this with you... I hope it might brighten your day and lighten your load. Enjoy!

Mango Salsa!

We used to buy this stuff in bulk from Costco.

But Costco has not yet arrived to France...

...and I don't know if it ever will...

And I tried to make it once, but didn't get it quite right.

§

About a week ago, I saw a tutorial on a blog that I follow...

..Lola B's: Private salsa lesson

(if you like  trendy deco, fashion, humor & an occasional cooking lesson, this blog is an absolute must)

...and this is what I came up with...

a non-spicy and a very spicy version

It was a hit. A HUGE hit.

My husband went running to the grocery store to buy three bags of tortilla chips.

And listen to what my nephew said:

Oh Maria ! Je viens de gouter ta "salsa" ... et c'est divinement bon !!

 What?

You don't understand French?

You can still get the divinement part I think.

And, yes, it was divine, even if I do say so myself!

So if you like mango salsa...

check out this private salsa lesson.

Of course, I modified mine just a bit...

Canned mangoes instead of fresh, canned apricots instead of fresh papaya, no cilantro because I didn't have any on hand, no jalapeño pepper in the first jar and 1 chopped chipotle in adobe sauce in the second jar and I think I'll add only half next time for serious heat issues. I also added some fresh garlic to both.

And I'm sad to report
that there is not a drop left
of the three jars of mango salsa.

Gonna have to make some more.

My husband requested that I can it by the dozens.

Thanks Kasey and gracias Ernesto!

The tooth fairy in France is a mouse

The French people say that it's a little mouse

la petite souris

that leaves money in exchange for a lost tooth.

I contest.

I say it's a fairy. The tooth fairy. In America it's a tooth fairy.

But I stand corrected.

In the Babin household it's a tooth fairy that is a mouse.

(As in a mouse dressed as a fairy, or a fairy disguised as a mouse.)

After all, mice are impish creatures...

...just like fairies...

...who like to steal things.

Our tooth fairy mouse stole this ribbon from my craft closet...

{gasp}

...and also stole this darling idea of wrapping up the loot from a friend's blog...

{double gasp}

All this for one very deserving little girl who
finally
honest-to-goodness really
lost her first tooth

and

who is
totally
absolutely
honestly
convinced
that...
 ...yes, the tooth fairy is definitely a tooth fairy mouse.

(no more trompe l'oeil ;p...)

Veggie purée soup - real comfort food

Sometimes it just feels so good to eat soup! And it's a great way to make sure the family gets their veggies. Serve it up with grated cheese and some French bread. My kids like to break up little pieces of baguette that they add to their soup.

Here's how you make it...

Rinse with cold water, peel if necessary and cut into large chunks 10 carrots, 2 turnips, 3 onions, the white part only of 2 leeks, 1/4 head of cabbage, 1 bay leaf and a sprig of thyme. Make sure you remove the dirt between the layers of your leeks, especially if you don't like crunchy soup!

Assemble your pressure cooker with the stand and veggie basket. Add 2 liters of water, your cut-up veggies, your fresh herbs, 1 large cube of chicken bouillon, and a small handful of rice. Make sure the rice goes either in the water or below the veggies, once again, especially if you don't like crunchy soup! And don't add too much rice, it will make your soup too thick!

Put the lid on your pressure cooker and turn the steam dial to the vegetable setting, if there is one. Use high heat until your pressure cooker begins to left off steam. Let it cook for 15-20 minutes on medium/high from the moment your pressure cooker begins to let off steam. After 15-20 minutes, turn off heat and wait for all the steam to evacuate, then open your pressure cooker.

Use your standing mixer to purée the vegetables. Add a dollop of cream, then season to taste with salt, pepper and ground nutmeg. If your purée is too thick, you can add milk to thin it out.

Let me know if you try this recipe and how it works out for you! Hope everyone loves it!

Birthday sleepover & homemade pizzas

Click on the collage to see a close up version.


Video games, soda, spicy hot chips, homemade pizzas, Iron Man

+

Maxime, Théo, Alex, Hugo

=

shouting
really loud burping

hysterical laughter

jumping on beds
wrestling

parents with headaches
§

one successful birthday party for one nine year old Alex

Endurance test!

Elena's school (Louise Weiss) participated in an endurance test and competition with the other elementary schools of Magny-les-Hameaux. My pretty girl is dressed all in pink, from head to toe. Can you spot her in the pictures?

The children were given points upon crossing the finish line and those points were tallied up for each school. Rumor has it that Elena's age group took the trophy for Louise Weiss. Way to go sweet'ums!

Bananas about you

Alex asked me to take treats in for his class to celebrate his birthday. I tried to politely refuse, but I just couldn't. This is what I came up with. Not very pretty but banana cake is his favorite and he also loves these Haribo banana candies. And then I was plain out of time to do anything else!

§

To my utter surprise, the children in his class were utterly pleased. I even had some of his classmates politely thanking me when I went to pick up Alex from school. And Alex was, well, utterly delighted that everyone loved them and proud to tell them that the banana cake was an American recipe and some of the children even asked for it!

If you want the recipe, click here for the Best Ever Banana Cake... Instead of making a loaf, use a muffin tin and obviously, those little babies bake a lot faster! The icing is just powdered sugar and water whisked together...

The Many Faces of Alex

My baby turned 9 years old and it's so hard to believe. This cutie, my firstborn with those delicious cheeks.... He may have gotten taller and skinnier, but those cheeks are still just as yummy! I just checked again today....
(Once again, if you want to see a larger version of this photo collage, just click directly on it. Those faces are worth getting a closer look at, believe me!)

Since he joined us exactly 9 years ago, this adorable face has brought us infinite joy! Happy Birthday to my handsome boy! We love you, Alex! Oh, yah, and infinite rocks, sand and pebbles, infinite HOT wheels, infinite insects and snails and infinite pokemon cards and video games!

How can I sum it up in a few words? I love this little guy! (who just happens to be getting big!)

And I loved what his Grand-mère Francine commented on a similar face collage that I put on Facebook. So I thought I'd add it to this entry, since at the end of the year my blog entries and photos become our family journal/photobook.

Mon petit (ou plutôt grand!) Alex de 9 ans, j'aime toutes ces photos de toi. Que tu sois joyeux, sérieux, concentré, malicieux, étonné, coquin, fripouille, boudeur, charmeur, tu es toujours mon beau petit garçon chéri que j'aime. Il faudrait que ta Maman ajoute celle que j'aime beaucoup de toi : à environ 3 semaines quand tu portais ton joli bonnet péruvien, je ne l'ai pas retrouvée dans mes albums! et elle manque à cette belle collection. Gros bisous de ta grand-mère.

Easy Crockpot Boeuf Bourgignon

For cooking instructions, see the photos below. Click on the whole thing if you want to see a larger version because that writing sure is tiny! Also, you'll find the list of ingredients at the end of this post.

Easy Crockpot Boeuf Bourgignon

• 1 kilo beef for stewing chopped into small pieces
• 2-3 cups red wine
• 1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 medium onion coarsely chopped, a few shallots works equally well
• 3-4 peeled whole garlic cloves
• 1 Tablespoon herbes de provence
• 200 grams lardons or bacon
• salt & pepper to taste
• For the traditional recipe, add a few chopped carrots and potatoes. On this particular day, I just felt like doing without. 

A walk in the woods...

It was still near-freezing temperatures outside, 

but...

the sun was shining,

the sky was blue,

there was hardly a cloud in sight

and

we were just itching to get outdoors.

§

So we took a drive with the children and stopped to take a walk in this lovely neck of the woods.

Hey! The sun was shining! Sunglasses were a must for this little girl!

We walked all the way to the Crossroad of Misery
and then a little more...

After that things got a little muddy.
We made a u-turn and dreamt of warmer days...

And had loads of fun along the way...

This little impromptu escapade made me think of the following quote: "Families need unstructured time when relationships can deepen and real parenting can take place," M. Russell Ballard, “Daughters of God,” Ensign, May 2008, 108–10.

Hoe Down!

 Click on the photo to see a larger version.

First of all, thanks to Star for sharing these great photos on Facebook! I just jazzed them up a bit for a fun collage. I love to see photos of my nieces and nephews and especially photos of them having fun! Looks like they're having a great time with the Texas culture. You are adorable Jacob and Haylee! We miss you so much!

Alex's Faith in God, Goal #2: Word of Wisdom FHE

Alex decided he wanted to set a goal in the area of “Learning and Living the Gospel,” Faith in God for Boys

He prepared a family home evening lesson & game on The Word of Wisdom. We read through Doctrine & Covenants 89 and talked about what it means to live the word of wisdom and the blessings that are promised to us when we do.

We finished with a very fun game where Alex would show us images of different food items, as well as harmful substances, and we had to decide if it was right or wrong to partake of these different items if we want to obey the Word of Wisdom.

As you can see, Elena really enjoyed the game! And if you're wondering about the strange eyes.... they were red and I tried to fix them, but I'm not really sure they look better!

Sunday Pork Roast

There's nothing like a Sunday pork roast.

You open the front door
and your nostrils are pleasantly flooded
with the rich, savory aroma....

We're back home from church and just a little hungry...
and just a little too tired to cook.
Thank heavens it's been cooking all morning...

 Thank heavens for crock pots!

 

A few sliced carrots and 

a whole bunch of garlic cloves with the top sliced off...

Some salt and pepper...

We put it in the crock pot early Sunday morning...

and usually come home around 2 p.m.

The meat is so tender

it shreds on your fork

and melts in your mouth.

Then you spread 

the buttery soft garlic cloves

on a piece of crusty baguette. 

Divine!

Sunday pork roast.

Broccoli Salad

It's fresh and it's full of flavor and crunchy textures!

• Chop your fresh broccoli into small pieces.
• Add chopped apple, cheese cubes, sliced almonds (or other nuts), raisins (I used golden) and diced cucumber.
• Add enough mayonnaise to lightly coat ingredients and add a few squirts of vinegar for a bit of a tang!
• Toss lightly with freshly ground pepper and salt.
• Enjoy!

This recipe was inspired by a dear friend Jody Jones, who is an awesome cook! ;) Thanks Jody!

Create!

I LOVE that my girls LOVE to create! Give them paper, glue and scissors and they will stay occupied for hours - literally! This was one of our winter school vacation projects. It was cold and rainy almost every day and so... we decided to make our own spring! The girls also made little cardboard bags for carrying little treasures.

 Googly eyes are the BEST!

Trompe l'oeil & missing tooth

Wikipedia says.... 

that trompe-l'oeil (French for 'trick the eye', pronounced [tʁɔ̃p lœj]) is an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects appear in three dimensions, instead of actually being a two-dimensional painting.

And we say that it LOOKS like Elena lost her first TOOTH, but in fact nope!

Her two bottom teeth just happen to be extremely polite and have parted the way to make room for the NEW TOOTH.

Look closely, you can even see the new tooth who was so IMPATIENT that it just decided to grow in BEHIND the others.

 Either way, that smile of hers is no trompe l'oeil.

She is as happy as can be about losing a tooth in the near future.

Easy Peasy Primary Bag

 What Elena really wanted was a scripture case.
But I wasn't feeling that ambitious...

So I opted for a simple primary bag where she can carry her scriptures AND other fun stuff to keep her occupied and quiet during Sacrament meeting.

So this is what I did...

1. Cut out three inch squares of different fabrics. As many to suit your fancy. Also...You can use any scraps of fabric, even from old clothes! Mix and match or make a pattern!
2. Sew squares together in rows. Once again, you decide how many. Depends on how big you want your bag.
3. Sew the rows together side by side.
4. Add some batting and a liner fabric & sew around the edges. You've made a mini-quilt!
5. Add some biais along the top and bottom for a pretty finish. This will be the outer edges of the bag or the area where you put stuff in your bag.
6. Fold your mini-quilt in half inside out and sew along the right and left edges to seal the sides only of your bag. The edges where you did not add any biais.
7. Use your liner fabric and some batting to make a long carrying handle. Sew it inside out and then turn it right side out with a diaper pin, then sew each end on opposite top edges of your bag using a square and criss-cross action.

Add a pretty ribbon or large button for flair.

 
I had so much fun, I ended up making a make-up lip-gloss carrying case for Elena and another bag for Gabriela!
I think I'll make one for me too!

Fun 'do

Once again, this hairstyle lasted about 23.5 minutes before she begged me to take it out.

Too bad. 

It sure was cute. 

Maybe I should invest in a doll with long hair! 

Nah... 

It wouldn't be nearly as fun.

Carson

This is my newest nephew Carson, Melody's little boy.

I've never met him in person... boo hoo...

Isn't he lovely?

Look at his creamy skin
&
dark chocolate eyes 'n hair.

I think I'll call him my chocolate chip cookie!

The Pretzel Time Recipe!

We don't have Pretzel Time or Pretzel Maker here in France and sometimes I just crave those
warm, soft, buttery pretzels.
...so I googled it.
You can google anything nowadays...

I've tried making pretzels before, but I've never been satisfied with the results...

But this recipe called for a unique technique...

...a baking soda bath...

Once you've let your dough rise and formed your pretzels 

give them a quick dip in the baking soda water. 

Then bake 'em 'til they're golden.

My children went CRAZY over them. Me too!

This is Alex eating his 2nd one.

 

The recipe came from All recipes.com. They've got a great website where you can recalculate by how many servings, or if you want U.S. or metric measurements.
Buttery Soft Pretzels

Alannah!

I heart you Alannah!

I hope I spelled it right! 
I'm always misspelling my nieces' and nephews' names with their original spellings!

Anyways... I'm just tickled pink because Andrew just uploaded to FB a ton of recent photos of my cutie niece. These are a few of my faves...

Shooooooooooooo cute! Feeding her Daddy!

Goofy girl!

...and singing and playing the piano at the same time. What talent!

We love and miss you Alannah! 

And we're so happy to see how you're growing!

You are a beautiful, happy girl!