Monday Meals (and Playroom pics)

Try this great little kid-friendly recipe for your little ones:

PIZZAS IN BLOOM

Slice pattypan squash (its ridges make it look like a flower), top with tomato sauce and shredded cheese. Broil a few minutes until cheese melts.

Bonuses: young toddlers can eat it on their own, as it's definitely "finger-food," you're pleasing them by serving "pizza," but they're getting great vitamins from the squash vegetable! And it comes together in a snap!

Enjoy!

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So, we have our playroom set up now. Bye bye office, hello gated-in playroom! It's WONDERFUL! We did have a "play area" set up in the back of our den that we had used for a year or so, and it did a good job of providing Jack and Lucy with an area to play in. Downsides were that it wasn't "contained" and thus, neither were our kids. After two or three minutes of being alone, they were off to find the best entertainer of all, "Mommy!"

They really needed some practice in "independent play," so that's why we converted the office into a playroom and installed a gate with a door. Most of the time the gate door is left open, and Jack and Lucy can come and go as they please, but certain times I can shut the gate, and they're forced to entertain themselves.

The first two or three times I gated them in, they definitely did not approve -- Jack would walk over to the gate, hang on as he sobbed, and just wait for me to come back. Lucy didn't have such a hard time, but she'd shout, "Mommy, you can't close the gate! Mommy, you can't close the gate!" Oh, I beg to differ, baby girl... Yes! I absolutely CAN (and will :-) close the gate!

As with most things involving young children, the transition time was very brief, and now they LOVE being in the playroom. In fact, last night Jason joined the kids in the playroom, and Lucy ordered him, "No Daddy, you leave, and close the gate." okay... :-)

Lucy has taken to telling Jack what toys they're going to play with, and we hear her talk to her babies all the time, narrating how she's playing. We're definitely making great gains in the area of independent play. And this morning, after breakfast, they played while I showered. It was wonderful not having to worry about how Jack would entertain himself while I stole a few minutes for a shower. I LOVE IT!

Mom, you wanted to see pics, here ya go...(And I will never paint another room again...I hate trim work! :-)




How it looks all neat and tidy...





and how it looks eight seconds after Jack and Lucy are alone in there :-)