Making a rice/treasure box

This is a really cute, fun idea that my friend Shelly told me about. She actually told me about it a year (or was it 2 years?) ago, and today I decided to try it!

Gather some small objects from around the house to use as the "treasures". Here are some that we used:


Place them in a shoebox (I used a clear one because that's what we had available), and fill the shoebox halfway with rice. Mix it all up so that the rice covers as many of the treasures as possible.


Then call your treasure-seekers and have them sift through the rice to see what they can find!



I thought this activity would last maybe 10 minutes, but surprise, surprise! After they found all of the treasures, they both asked me to hide them in the rice again. After the 2nd round, they just sat and played with the rice for another 15 minutes. Definitely doing this again. :-)

A trip to the zoo, zoo, zoo!

We've been meaning to visit the Cameron Park Zoo for a while, so this morning we did just that! I really like small zoos, like this one and the Baton Rouge Zoo, because you can take your time and still see all of the exhibits in 2 or 3 hours. Today was very nice day to visit, although a little bit chillier than we'd anticipated (I thought it was going to be in the upper 40s, but it was actually freezing with the wind chill, oops!). Despite the chilly start, we had a great time and we are definitely going back before it gets too hot!

At the "Peacock Park"

A couple of weekends ago, we visited a new (to us) park with a rocky trail and a stream to explore, and is also inhabited by peafowl. (Yes, Hubby, I said PEAFOWL. ;-)

When we first arrived, we looked around for the birds, but couldn't see any. I thought maybe it was too cold for them to be out, and then a woman standing nearby pointed out that they were all roosting in the tree limbs far above our heads. We'd been walking underneath them for 15 minutes without knowing it!

After a few minutes, one swooped down from a tree, then another followed, and then they were all walking around near us. So beautiful!



By the way, did you know that some peaFOWL are white?



While we were there, we met up with Anna and Baby Madi -- who is now Toddler Madi, but will more than likely always be "baby" to Buttercup and Oliver. :-)




Such a fun morning!

You Capture: the letter L

Here are my captures of the letter L, and you can find more here.

Leaves in the kids' gravel box.


Legos, of course! These are Buttercup's. (Incidentally, I used the incandescent setting on the camera and the colors came out much better.)


Large belly.

Oven-fried talapia

This is one of the recipes that I used to make about once or twice a month, but it never turned out just right. I've used it for chicken and fish, and usually the meat would end up dry while the crust would be goopy.

Then, the other afternoon, I tried the recipe again with chicken, but was rushed for time and ended up baking it at a higher temperature. And guess what? It turned out SO much better than before! The chicken was juicy and tender (we didn't even need knives to cut it), and the crust was crispy and crunchy. I tried it again tonight, with fish this time, and got the same results. Fabulous!

Here's the recipe, using tilapia. If you use chicken, you'll need to bake it for about 15-17 minutes. As a side note, I almost never measure ingredients when I cook, so this is my best estimation . . .

Oven-fried Tilapia
6 boneless tilapia filets
1 1/2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp dry ranch seasoning
1 tsp ground mustard
parmesan cheese

Move top oven rack to the upper level. Preheat oven to 450. Spray a 9x13 glass baking dish with cooking spray. In a shallow dish, mix all of the dry ingredients, excluding parmesan cheese. Dip the fish in the dry ingredients, coating each side. Lay each fillet in the baking dish (it's okay if the sides touch). Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until fish flakes apart easily. Enjoy!

Oliver-isms

Mom, were you funny a very long time ago? Because it's okay that you're not funny anymore.

Do you like my new Death Star that I made? I used up my whole imagination to build it, you know. It's [his imagination] not here anymore.

Buttercup, can you please be quiet?! I'm trying to talk to myself and I can't concentrate with you talking all the time.

Is Obi-wan Kenobi just a Jedi Knight, or is he a Jedi Day, too?

You want to know something? The guys who sit in the Imperial Cruiser are all men. Not ladies. But they wear something that looks like a tutu. [puzzled expression]

Did you know that I am stronger than Buttercup and a Lego guy?

And now . . . I will sing the "Afraid" song with my nose. [begins blowing air rapidly out of his nose]

You Capture: warmth

Doesn't she look warm and cozy? You can find more You Capture here.