Friday Feffer Fun Day

Today I was blessed by having my sister and her fabulous daughters come over for the afternoon. I tell you, sisters are a gift from God! They arrived while Isaac was taking his morning nap, which was a perfect time for us to paint pumpkins! I saw a blurb on Facebook about painting pumpkins a teal color to let parents know that you will be offering something other than candy so that if their child has a food allergy your home is a safe place to go trick-or-treating (here's the link about it). Whereas I love the idea, I am not a crafty person, so this worked out to be the perfect thing to do with my nieces and sister. And I even ended up having a good time painting my pumpkin (it was a team effort)!

Once Isaac woke up we had lunch and Eleia allowed Ike to hold her arm as he ate. He LOVES to touch, squeeze, shake something/someone when he eats, so it was nice of her to oblige.

To maximize our time together, I made Ratatouille and a quinoa salad before they arrived so we could have that for lunch while they were here. While cutting up the eggplant for the Ratatouille, I found this little friend...

I don't mind spiders, but I still prefer them outside, so he was promptly moved!

Ratatouille is one of my absolute favorite healthy, easy meals. So for those interested, here's the recipe passed down from my mom:

Ratatouille ("stew" or "soup" in French)

1 large onion

1 green pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large eggplant

2 medium zucchini

3 tomatoes, chopped 

         OR

5 tablespoons tomato paste

   & 3 tbsps water

1    tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 clove fresh garlic, minced

Dice eggplant into 1-inch cubes and slice zucchini into 1/2-inch rounds.  Chop onion coarsely and cut green pepper into squares.

Use a heavy-bottomed saucepan with a lid.  Saute the onion, garlic, and green pepper until they are soft;

stir in eggplant and zucchini and saute a few minutes more.  Add tomato and seasonings.  Cover and 

simmer gently for about 30 minutes or until all the vegetables are well cooked.

Uncover and turn the heat up to evaporate some of the liquid.                                                                    Serves 6 to 8.

After lunch I played hide and seek with the girls and then Ashlie and I shared some PG Tips tea and yummy dark chocolate pumpkin spice salted caramels. If you have not had these- yes they sound just as good as they are. YUM! I really enjoy eating special treats with someone, so it was nice to share them with her. It was nice to be able to sip on some tea while the kids played in the other room. Isaac was so captivated by his cousins. It's fun to see them together.

Lastly, I got to read to the kids before they headed back on the road to San Jose (2 1/2 hours- not a short drive!). And because I can't help myself: here's a video with the pictures and a little video from our time together!

Thanks for coming and hanging out Feffers! I love you to the moon and back!