Thursday, March 29, 2012
Sweet Potatoes for a Sweetie Pie!
Well we tried rice cereal a couple of times and Jett didn't seem too interested. He is still very interested in what we are eating though so we decided to give sweet potatoes a try. I had ordered some organic dried baby food that you just mix with your breastmilk and so we thought we would give it a try. He was interested for a few bites but still not quite sure what to do with the new textures.
We Are Going to the Zoo
The other night we got to go to Ava Kate's school musical which was all about the zoo. It was amazing how much progress she and all of her classmates had made since the beginning of the year as far as participating and singing along go. They were precious! They sang two songs, "We Are Going to the Zoo" and "The Elephant Song". So proud of our big girl!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Sunday in the Kitchen
We spent some time together in the kitchen today making some of our favorite new recipes- oatmeal muffins to have for breakfast for the week and creamy pesto chicken pasta and roasted brussel sprouts and cauliflower for lunch! Yummy! It was a family affair, Ava Kate helped stir and Jett was busy working on his rolling!
Personal Size Oatmeal to Go (love these to pull out of freezer in morning and eat on the go)
Ingredients
2 eggs
2 cups applesauce, unsweetened
5 cups, Old Fashioned rolled oats
1 banana, mashed
2 3/4 cups milk (I used 1%)
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
6 packets of Sweetleaf Stevia or 1 1/2 teaspoons stevia powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
Optional toppings: raisins, walnuts, chocolate chips
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.Mix eggs, vanilla, applesauce, banana and Stevia together in a bowl.
3.Add in oats, salt, baking powder, flax and cinnamon and mix well with wet ingredients.
4.Finally pour in milk and combine.
5.Spray a 12 and 6 capacity muffin tin with cooking spray or use cupcake liners.
Pour mixture evenly into muffin tin cups.
6.If using toppings add them onto the tops of muffins now. If using fresh or frozen fruit, drop it right into the batter. I dropped chocolate chips in ours this time and so yummy! Last time I put chocolate chips and blueberries on the tops only.
7.Bake 30 minutes until a toothpick in center comes out clean. Cool and enjoy or freeze them in gallon freezer bags.
Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta
Bowtie pasta
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese + ¼ cup for topping
3 T prepared pesto
2 cups shredded cooked chicken (used 6-8 tenders)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup or so of milk or cream
Cook pasta only till al dente, cook and shred chicken, in large bowl combine all ingredients except pasta and then pour over pasta and mix together and place in baking dish and top with cheese. Bake on 400 for 30 minutes or so until crispy on top.
Roasted Veggies
Cut your veggies- we've done brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower
Place them on a baking pan
Sprinkle with olive oil, kosher salt and cracked black pepper
Bake for about 20-30 minutes on 400 until start to brown on edges
Remove from oven and drizzle with olive oil, squeeze juice of one lemon on them and sprinkle fresh grated parmesan over them
Justin does not eat brussel sprouts and he loved these and Ava Kate kept asking for more "flowers" cauliflower
Personal Size Oatmeal to Go (love these to pull out of freezer in morning and eat on the go)
Ingredients
2 eggs
2 cups applesauce, unsweetened
5 cups, Old Fashioned rolled oats
1 banana, mashed
2 3/4 cups milk (I used 1%)
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
6 packets of Sweetleaf Stevia or 1 1/2 teaspoons stevia powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
Optional toppings: raisins, walnuts, chocolate chips
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.Mix eggs, vanilla, applesauce, banana and Stevia together in a bowl.
3.Add in oats, salt, baking powder, flax and cinnamon and mix well with wet ingredients.
4.Finally pour in milk and combine.
5.Spray a 12 and 6 capacity muffin tin with cooking spray or use cupcake liners.
Pour mixture evenly into muffin tin cups.
6.If using toppings add them onto the tops of muffins now. If using fresh or frozen fruit, drop it right into the batter. I dropped chocolate chips in ours this time and so yummy! Last time I put chocolate chips and blueberries on the tops only.
7.Bake 30 minutes until a toothpick in center comes out clean. Cool and enjoy or freeze them in gallon freezer bags.
Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta
Bowtie pasta
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese + ¼ cup for topping
3 T prepared pesto
2 cups shredded cooked chicken (used 6-8 tenders)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup or so of milk or cream
Cook pasta only till al dente, cook and shred chicken, in large bowl combine all ingredients except pasta and then pour over pasta and mix together and place in baking dish and top with cheese. Bake on 400 for 30 minutes or so until crispy on top.
Roasted Veggies
Cut your veggies- we've done brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower
Place them on a baking pan
Sprinkle with olive oil, kosher salt and cracked black pepper
Bake for about 20-30 minutes on 400 until start to brown on edges
Remove from oven and drizzle with olive oil, squeeze juice of one lemon on them and sprinkle fresh grated parmesan over them
Justin does not eat brussel sprouts and he loved these and Ava Kate kept asking for more "flowers" cauliflower
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Phew- Caught Up For Today at Least!
Once again I'm caught up on the blog, but I'm sure that will change in a week or two. 13 new posts for March, probably the busiest month of the year in our family! Phew, glad to have that done and now I'm off to bed!
Randomness!
So I finally did a dump of my iphone pics and there were several cute, funny ones that I wanted to share!
Yee haw!
Look what I can do with my lollipop mommy!
Ready for the derby!
Little House on the Prairie maybe?
Not only do they look alike, they sleep alike too!
Daddy's little buddy!
Mommy's little man!
Jett saw his first movie, The Lorax, and he actually watched about half of it before dozing off!
Life with a sister! Not only do you have to play in her pink teapot exercauser but then she has to go and put her headband on you!
First nap in his crib, hey people at least it is a little progress!
It is hard work being little!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Celebrating 20 Years of Friendship!
Last week I got to go to dinner with one of my oldest and dearest friends, Robyn. Her birthday is one day before mine. We went to elementary school together but it wasn’t until 7th grade that we were actually in class together. That year we became instant BFF’s and by that spring when it came time for our 13th birthday we decided to have a joint party. Ever since then we have been celebrating our birthdays together. We always try to find time to at least go to dinner to celebrate. This year marked our 20th year of those birthday celebrations which made me feel a little old but mostly made me feel tremendously blessed! Robyn has truly stood beside me through everything those years, she has held my hand, dried my tears, laughed with me till we cried, encouraged me in my failures, lifted me when I’ve fallen, prayed for me and most of all loved me in my good and bad! She is a treasure and I’m so thankful that 20 years ago God put her in my life!
2 Fortunes
2 Blue Moons
2 Best Friends Celebrating 33 Years of Life and 20 Years of Friendship
Justin’s softball game
Last night we went to Justin’s first softball game of the season. He is playing with several of the guys from Beltway and our Life Group this spring. It was the only early game of the season so it was likely the only one we would get to make it to with little ones. It was pretty chilly but still fun to get to cheer on our favorite softball player! The kids had fun running around and being kids. Jett got to do some snuggling with Mrs. Jamie and he enjoyed watching the big kids play. Ava Kate loved cheering for her daddy when he was up to bat and when the game over she very proudly ran up to him and hugged him exclaiming “You did good Daddy!”
Food Glorious Food!
We have been trying lots of new recipes lately thanks to Pinterest so I thought I’d share a couple of our favorites! In fact I think I might try and share one new recipe a week with a rating on how we liked it!
Spaghetti with Tomatoes, Black Olives, Garlic, and Feta Cheese
Rating: 3 Thumbs Up- we all loved it!
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds tomatoes (about 3), seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup Kalamata or other black olives, pitted
1/4 pound feta cheese, crumbled
3 tablespoons drained capers
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
3/4 pound spaghetti
6 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
In a large glass or stainless-steel bowl, combine the tomatoes, olives, feta, capers, parsley, salt, and pepper.
In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the spaghetti until just done, about 12 minutes. Drain.
Meanwhile, in a medium frying pan, heat the olive oil over moderately low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the cooked pasta and the garlic oil to the tomato mixture and toss.
Chocolate Brioche Bread Pudding With Warm Vanilla Sauce
Rating: 3 Thumbs Up- How could it not be, chocolate and bread pudding combined!
Ingredients
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 ½ cups half-and-half cream
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 -8 thick slices brioche bread, crusts removed ( or other good white bread such as challah)
¼ cup butter ( 1/2 stick)
Warm Vanilla Sauce Ingredients
1 cup sugar
½ cup half-and-half cream
1 tablespoon Bourbon (optional)
½ vanilla beans, split and scraped ( or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract)
½ cup butter ( 1 stick)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees .
Melt 1/2 stick butter in a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish.
Cut brioche bread into 2-inch cubes, and press into the buttered dish.
In a medium bowl, stir together all other ingredients (except chocolate chips), stirring to combine well, and pour evenly over the cubed Brioche.
Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
Bake the pudding for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Warm Vanilla Sauce:.
Meanwhile, place all vanilla sauce ingredients in sauce pan.
Page 2 of 2Chocolate Brioche Bread Pudding With Warm Vanilla Sauce (cont.)
Directions
Heat gently and stir often. Don't overcook, only about 5 minutes. Remove vanilla pod just before serving.
Scoop bread pudding into twelve individual serving dishes, drizzle 2 spoonfuls of warm vanilla sauce over top of each serving.
Spaghetti with Tomatoes, Black Olives, Garlic, and Feta Cheese
Rating: 3 Thumbs Up- we all loved it!
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds tomatoes (about 3), seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup Kalamata or other black olives, pitted
1/4 pound feta cheese, crumbled
3 tablespoons drained capers
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
3/4 pound spaghetti
6 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
In a large glass or stainless-steel bowl, combine the tomatoes, olives, feta, capers, parsley, salt, and pepper.
In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the spaghetti until just done, about 12 minutes. Drain.
Meanwhile, in a medium frying pan, heat the olive oil over moderately low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the cooked pasta and the garlic oil to the tomato mixture and toss.
Chocolate Brioche Bread Pudding With Warm Vanilla Sauce
Rating: 3 Thumbs Up- How could it not be, chocolate and bread pudding combined!
Ingredients
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 ½ cups half-and-half cream
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 -8 thick slices brioche bread, crusts removed ( or other good white bread such as challah)
¼ cup butter ( 1/2 stick)
Warm Vanilla Sauce Ingredients
1 cup sugar
½ cup half-and-half cream
1 tablespoon Bourbon (optional)
½ vanilla beans, split and scraped ( or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract)
½ cup butter ( 1 stick)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees .
Melt 1/2 stick butter in a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish.
Cut brioche bread into 2-inch cubes, and press into the buttered dish.
In a medium bowl, stir together all other ingredients (except chocolate chips), stirring to combine well, and pour evenly over the cubed Brioche.
Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
Bake the pudding for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Warm Vanilla Sauce:.
Meanwhile, place all vanilla sauce ingredients in sauce pan.
Page 2 of 2Chocolate Brioche Bread Pudding With Warm Vanilla Sauce (cont.)
Directions
Heat gently and stir often. Don't overcook, only about 5 minutes. Remove vanilla pod just before serving.
Scoop bread pudding into twelve individual serving dishes, drizzle 2 spoonfuls of warm vanilla sauce over top of each serving.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Not So Weary Anymore
I really appreciate all of your sweet comments on my Weary Mom post. I just felt strongly like I needed to write that post, partly to vent but a lot of it was because so often blogs and other social outlets become very surface and while our blog is mostly my way of documenting photos and events for our annual blog book, the roots of this blog were our journey of infertility and I felt the need to get back to the roots which were very vulnerable and honest. So thank you for letting me share and thank you for being an encouragement to me. I will say while I’m still tired I’m definitely feeling better. We are all healthy and have been for about 2 weeks now, thank you Jesus! We’re still all piled in the bed together but I know that in a few years I’ll probably look back and miss this time of snuggling with all my littles so for now I’m just going to enjoy it. Thankfully after getting fully recovered from the flu and starting some herbs my milk supply is back up and we aren’t having to supplement anymore. We saw the pediatric dentist and while Ava Kate does have some cavities to be filled he did make me feel a little better when he told me based on which teeth it was that the cavities were due to all the ear infections she had when she was younger. He also eased my nerves about the whole procedure, I had some bad experiences with the dentist as a child so I was having some anxiety about this. I still haven’t worked out much but I feel a little more hopeful that in the days ahead we will figure out our new routine and find a way for both me and Justin to get to the gym a few times a week. I have had a few girls night outs recently, a date with Justin, pedicures with a friend and enjoyed some time off with Justin and the kids last week for Spring Break so that all was very refreshing. We had a fun birthday party for Ava Kate and the preparations for that are now behind me. And I even got all of our closets cleaned out so I’m feeling I’m slowly chipping away at that lingering to do list. So while I’m still tired I don’t feel so weary. I know I am blessed to be a mommy, a dream I had for many years. I am learning through that to let go of some of my perfectionism. God is teaching me a lot about priorities and right now that is my kids not my to do list. I am thankful for the joys, trials, tears, laughter, frustrations, questions that come with being a mom! God is using all of them to grow me!
Sunday, March 18, 2012
3 Years Old
Love bug,
The last 3 years you have brought us joy, laughter, amusement, challenges, adventure, sass, snuggles and more love than we could have imagined! You are a smart, funny, sassy, fashionable, stubborn, beautiful, sensitive, radiant, silly, loving, cuddly curly headed 3 year old girl! You are a great big sister and I can really see your love for your little brother growing. You love to help me! You love clothes and shoes and jewelry and I have no idea where you get that from, hmm the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. You change outfits about 10 times a day and I have to say I admire your inhabitions in trying some pretty funky ensembles and some days think maybe I should let you dress me! You have a very big imagination and can turn pretty any inanimate object into just about anything. You are a leader and with that you are a little bossy, or a lot maybe, again not sure where you got that from?!? You love to role play with your dolls, play dress up, play doh and play with your Leap Pad. You still love your high chair and want to eat every meal and snack in it. I'm afraid you are not going to like it when we have to break that habit so your baby brother can use it. You are really thriving in school and your teacher always has excellent things to say about you which makes us really proud. You are a people pleaser and hate to disappoint even though you are very strong willed and want to have things your way. You love music and singing and dancing. You are quite the story teller and often embelish stories when you are retelling them which can be very amusing but also sometimes not such a good thing. You have a thousand different facial expressions and really know how to work your audience with them. You always have us laughing! You love your family, your cousins, grandparents and love nothing more than when we are all together. You are growing up so fast and while part of me wants to slam on the brakes another part of me loves watching you grow and learn.
I love you Love Bug!
Mommy
The last 3 years you have brought us joy, laughter, amusement, challenges, adventure, sass, snuggles and more love than we could have imagined! You are a smart, funny, sassy, fashionable, stubborn, beautiful, sensitive, radiant, silly, loving, cuddly curly headed 3 year old girl! You are a great big sister and I can really see your love for your little brother growing. You love to help me! You love clothes and shoes and jewelry and I have no idea where you get that from, hmm the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. You change outfits about 10 times a day and I have to say I admire your inhabitions in trying some pretty funky ensembles and some days think maybe I should let you dress me! You have a very big imagination and can turn pretty any inanimate object into just about anything. You are a leader and with that you are a little bossy, or a lot maybe, again not sure where you got that from?!? You love to role play with your dolls, play dress up, play doh and play with your Leap Pad. You still love your high chair and want to eat every meal and snack in it. I'm afraid you are not going to like it when we have to break that habit so your baby brother can use it. You are really thriving in school and your teacher always has excellent things to say about you which makes us really proud. You are a people pleaser and hate to disappoint even though you are very strong willed and want to have things your way. You love music and singing and dancing. You are quite the story teller and often embelish stories when you are retelling them which can be very amusing but also sometimes not such a good thing. You have a thousand different facial expressions and really know how to work your audience with them. You always have us laughing! You love your family, your cousins, grandparents and love nothing more than when we are all together. You are growing up so fast and while part of me wants to slam on the brakes another part of me loves watching you grow and learn.
I love you Love Bug!
Mommy
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