school days

The first day of school for us is usually meant with much trepidation, despite the "meet the teacher" time and massive conversation, my sweet Robert has such a hard time with separating from me...until now.  As I prepared for the worst, we were meeting a new preschool teacher AND sunday school teacher is the same week..my big man passed with flying colors.  Although this was a sign of his growing up, instead of crying over how big he is, I cried tears of joy that he did so well at drop off...just thinking about it now makes me well up.

Here he is, allowing mom a few photos:

first, the play nice option:

to be immediately followed by, this is my real personality...

and my personal favorite:

This year, Robert is going three days a week...but the big news is that JOSHUA is also going once a week...mommy's morning out never looked so good!  He's in a class with only a few other kids, and has already warmed to the workers...

here's our sweet boy:

Do you think little brother idolizes his big brother?

Joshua rewarded mommy for sending him away by coming down with strep and roseola at the same time...awesome...we are on the mend and trying to enjoy the weather before fall really sets in:)

can we go back?

I gave up the blog for the summer, sorry family and friends, but my finger just made it too hard to put forth the effort...now that we are all healed, here's our trip to the beach...

we really had such a lovely time, Robert got to test out a bit of surfing:

and pulling his cousin around on the board...

Joshua got his first taste of the water, and loved it...big surprise:

riding cousin Braden's truck...both little guys LOVED this:

Robert got to dig with the big boys, he took his job seriously and loved spending time with his wonderfully patient uncles.

The four cousins are all so close in age, we are often asked if they're twins...I can't imagine why:)

AND we managed to get a whole family pic...where all the kids were looking at the camera, and all adults were smiling...a miracle if you ask me...

I would love to be back there right now, especially considering it's 70 and raining right now...plus, I stinkin' love the beach, my husband DIDN'T WORK all week and we got some great time with our own kids plus it's such a blessing for me to watch my boys play with their cousins..such a special time for all.

visit to the zoo

This summer we are going to attempt to stay busy with lots of outings and activities...although this plan was already derailed last week with a broken finger for mom, double pink eye for big brother and a cold for little brother...but alas, we DID get to the zoo before this all went down and have the photos to prove it!

We started out a bit apprehensive...staring from afar at a kangaroo...

then we moved to the giraffes!  Richmond zoo is fantastic because they allow you food the giraffes, and my sweet timid son was having nothing of it...this was a close as we could get:) Rolling the food down a ramp rather than actually feeding...

Then, I don't know what came over him but he decided to give it a try!

Then there was no stopping him, he loved feeding the baby goat (much more his speed and size really)

Joshua was a champ, riding in the stroller and loving just looking around:

Last but not least, we took a spin on the carousel..

We ran through the zoo using a animal scavenger hunt, which was a huge hit!  if you live in richmond and want a copy, let me know:)

i love little boys when they hold hands, so sweet and innocent.

We finished up out zoo week with a little giraffe craft at home the next day, and I must confess that my son chose to color his giraffe orange and blue, without any influence from mama, i swear. HE WAS SUPER PROUD OF IT!

recent eats

although not a weekly menu, here are a few things we've been chowing down on recently:

The CSA started up for the spring which means one thing...Kale...a vegetable so good for you and so out of my comfort zone...BUT throw in some bacon and other veggies and I'm sold.


Kale and Red Pepper pasta with bacon in a light cream sauce:
(no photo, sometimes don't even have time to snap an iphone photo before we sit down to eat...)
serves two adults, one kid and one next day lunch:)

Cook 4 slices of bacon in a skillet and remove once it's nice and crispy.  In the bacon drippings saute half a red pepper (or more if you love it...i'm teaching Robert to like it) and some summer squash (a full medium sized piece) sliced.  When the vegetables are nice and brown add the bunch of kale, roughly chopped.

While you're doing this, cook up some pasta, then add it to the vegetables mix once the kale is cooked down. 

(if you're me...pause and run the boiling water up the stairs to pour down bathroom drain in an attempt to protect husband from having to pull out the nasty drain-o)

Pour in some half and half and just stir enough to coat and produce a light sauce. 

Spoon into bowl and heap on some parmesan cheese..yum.

Next up...and admittedly just for Robert and I

Radish and Carrot Salad with shredded chicken.

I loosely followed this recipe but made an orange-lemon vinaigrette instead of just juicing the salad, then I put the whole thing over some field lettuce.

My only regret was not having any crusty bread and we had to settle for english muffins...not bad, but not the best compliment either:)

 Reeses Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Strawberries
made 24
One box Pillsbury Yellow cake mix
6 mini reese cups
6 strawberries plus more for toppings
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup chocolate chips
strawberry jelly of choice
buttercream frosting (I make the same frosting my mother has made for years...I don't measure and therefore have no reference for you...BUT the side of the confectioner sugar box has a great recipe that we use as a general guide)

1. mix up cake batter according to box instructions
2. add in crushed PB cups and chopped strawberries
3. bake using cupcake liners:)
4. while cooling...heat up peanut butter and chocolate chips in microwave for about 30 seconds to 1 minute...mix thoroughly
5. once cupcakes are completely cool, spread layer of peanut butter-chocolate mixture on top and allow it to harden
6. place a half teaspoon of jelly on top of each cupcake
7. frost your cupcakes.
8. try not to eat 6 in one day...like I did.

 

Heath Bar Mug Cake

I hadn't tried a mug cake yet, but have really been wanting to...they ARE as easy as people claim and they do taste pretty darn good considering it only takes 5 minutes to throw together.  AND one cake fed both me and my young dessert loving son..he had his plain while mama threw in Moose Tracks Ice Cream and Strawberries...clearly.

I used this recipe and in the future will cook for less than amount listed, probably only 1.5 minutes instead of three

The heath bar also sank to the bottom so I might stir it in beforehand or make the pieces smaller in general. And I didn't use pecans because little man doesn't like nuts in his dessert and I was afterall making it as a special treat for him after he ate his Kale pasta dinner so good:)

Last and certainly not least was this gem:

Summer Squash Gratin

my 8 x 8 pan fed two adults and one complaining three year old (who, despite complaining he hated it after every. single. bite. ate most of his portion...shocker)

I VERY loosely borrowed from this recipe,  but only used about one step of it since I didn't make the salsa verde and cut ingredients AND steps out of the actual gratin:)

3 summer squash (I used two yellow and one zucchini)

3 TBS butter

1 cup breadcrumbs

1 tsp herbs de provence (or really any herb you choose)

1/2 grated Gruyere...I freakin' love this cheese

olive oil

1. slice up the squash really thin, add to baking dish

2. melt butter in sauce pan until just browning, then add breadcrumbs and saute crumbs on low until they just begin to brown...mmm brown butter bread crumbs.

3. mix herbs into the breadcrumbs

4. pour breadcrumbs and grated cheese over squash and shake dish a few times to get them good and mixed in with the squash.

5. bake at 400 for about 20 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly:)

side note: if, by chance, you are like me and the gratin starts to get a bit dry because, for instance, you don't check it because you're following around an almost walking 10 month old/jumping 3 year old...splash on some olive oil and gently shake the pan...works like a charm.

We ate this with some bbq chicken sandwiches, the husband exclaimed "this squash is so freakin' good"...try it and let me know what you think.

beach with friends

So despite my best efforts, I haven't posted meals in awhile...there hasn't been much to write about, considering that we've been in survival mode while Robert finishes his big case (read grilled cheese, pb and j, pizza and cereal).

BUT I do have food coming soon...I love food, don't you?

We did manage to get away for a long weekend with Robert's roommates from college and their families/wives.  We do a get together twice a year and this spring we ventured down to nags head for one of the boys' 30th birthday extravaganza.  It's so special to watch Robert and his roommates bond and catch up...and since I love their wives too, it's a win win...plus several are finally getting on the baby train with us so we aren't the lonely parents!  We had such a relaxing and fun time despite being sick and a bit exhausted from all the mothering and working...

here's the whole gang:

 

here are the men:

here are my cute boys:

 A rare mommy and kids photo:

and an even more rare family photo:

I just want to go back and relax some more:)

on your mark...

My big guy is three and we are overwhelmed...that might also be because his daddy has been on a big case and I'm overwhelmed by single-mommyhood these past few weeks, nonetheless, our sweet little first born is not even a toddler anymore, he's a full grown little boy.  I don't know what it is about age 3, but he just seems different, changing before my eyes....I'd better show photos before I start crying:)

We had a cars themed birthday because well, if lightning mcqueen were a real car, we would be required to own one and every tow truck in the world is named mater.  If I didn't think that TV left an impression before, I have Disney and the Cars Movie to thank for my enlightenment!

We sent out sweet little race ticket invitations to all of Roberts friends, nothing fancy, just something that I created in powerpoint...I don't know how to even open/get photoshop so we're old school over here:

the kids were pretty stoked to get personal mail, or so I'm told...

we had a few things waiting for them when they arrived:

a "pitstop" with snacks and drinks, complete with labeled bags because lord knows you don't want to take someone elses animal crackers! Then they all just hung around the picnic table (which we love) and chatted it up about their weekends thus far.

then we had the kids get their "cars" ready for the big race.  I wish that we had some photos of the transformation from beer boxes to cars but alas, at 11pm photos were not on my mind.  Basically cut off the top, add duct tape for the bumper and paper plates for the wheels...I had fun creating them for the kids for sure and used the basic idea from this blog.  Each guest got to paint their own car, and these kids totally went to town, it was so fun to watch...I have more photos of the painting party, but for now, he's my little guy:

Finally it was time for the big race, and although there were a few minor crashes, they had an awesome time!

Robert needed an extra wheel on the back of his race car because that's where the spare tire goes on jeeps...obviously.

Last but not least, cake and cookie time:)
I couldn't find a cookie cutter so I just made one out of a soda can and staples...incredibly and surprisingly easier than anticipated...And my mom gets complete credit for the cake decoration...my first attempt was a total and complete fail, we don't even need to talk about it.