Mother's Day #6

Since teacher appreciation week ran right before mother's day this year, the teachers who are mothers to their own children (on top of the 12-100+ students they have, who probably feel like their kids) must have really gotten spoiled this year.  I hope everyone was able to feel as appreciated as my last school always made me feel, and as my little gentlemen are learning to make me feel as their mother.  For our pre-school teachers,  I sent in a teacher interview sheet from here, gift cards, and these appetizers for the luncheon.  Pinterest had some great ideas for this week.

But getting back to Mother's Day, my mother's day blessings/gifts this sixth year of my motherhood included:

A sweet mother's day tea earlier in the week with just my oldest child.  I loved the special time with just him.  And the surprises they made, including a pretty vase with a "blue camouflaged" butterfly on it.  No matter how "girly" the craft, Theo still managed to keep his personality involved in it.  And, he decorated two butterfly cookies and gave me the bigger one because my belly is bigger.  So sweet.

Bacon for breakfast.

Finding the paper flower Eli made at book club this week, and hid from me.  For four days!  I even asked what craft they made and they kept it a secret from me (my children are getting crafting).

Buying the first strawberries of the season at the local farmer's market.  Always exciting.

Getting a brand new church!  Well, not new to us, but our church officially organized from a mission congregation to an ELCA one.  We're officially Lutheran members again!

Celebrating the 50th anniversary day of a special couple at our church.  Golden anniversaries are so beautiful.

Scheduling the last payment toward our SUV, we finally own a car again!!  That rear-ender really messed up our plans back in 2010, but at least we're back on track now.

A few successful potty attempts by Eli.

Watching my husband deal with all the glue, plastic wrap, and tape involved, but still getting to see the excitement over the solar oven my pre-schooler created.

Teaching my son how to juice a lemon.  And making our first pop-sickles of the season.

Spending time enjoying the kicks and swirls of my 25 weeks along baby moving around in my tummy while the boys ran to the store.

Salmon, asparagus, and red potatoes for dinner.  (Though Theo really wanted to make me toast and cereal all my himself.  Bless his heart.)

More pretty blooms on my balcony that the boys picked out together at the "man store".

And a beautiful "chalk board card" that they worked together to make.

And as much as I may yearn for a daughter, I know I'll be okay if this next little one is also a boy because my boys have hearts of gold and I'm so appreciative that I get to be their mama.  And as kindergarten looms ahead ready to steal all my time with him, I'm especially glad I got to spend these two years at home with Theodore enjoying the excitement and wonder of life that only a pre-schooler can have.  And Elijah has been an awesome youngest child, and I hope he is this good at being a middle child too.  And of course, I'm thankful for a good man-who-made-me-a-mother who orchestrated most of this wonderful day for me.

2.14.2015

I think now that we've had kids, we've actually upped our Valentine's Day celebrating a bit.  It is so much fun helping them make cards, seeing how excited they get about heart shaped cookies/pies/brownies, etc, and hearing about the things they love.  I love sending fancy mail, so mailing out beautiful Valentines with the newest LOVE stamp every year is one of my favorite things (I have limited my stamp collection specifically to love stamps, and can't wait to see the newest one each year). 

Kind of like an elf-on-the-shelf, we had Valentine to keep us company this week.

This year, (as you know if you follow me on instagram) we stretched Valentine's Day into a three-day holiday.  First, Theodore celebrated with all his classmates at their party Thursday.  Theodore was very excited to make his own Ninja Turtle cards that he picked out on pinterest, and was quite a serious worker.  I traced the hearts for him, and cut the edges off the bandanas, but he did the rest.  On the back I wrote "Happy Valentine's Day!" and he signed his name (most correctly).  I also signed up to bring cookies, so of course broke out the cookie cutters and pink tint for heart shaped sugar cookies with sprinkles.  Theodore said they tasted the best because they had so much love in them (can anyone name that Mercer Mayer book?).

Theo did his own chalk art complete with hearts.

On Friday, we actually got to go out alone for I think the second time since moving to Virginia.  Our church offered babysitting so parents could go out, and we were able to leave both of them there with no crying from Eli!  We walked around the outside mall just a bit while waiting for our reservation, and got to explore the sides of Wegman's I never get to see with two kids and a grocery cart.  I am even more in love with that store now than I was before.  Brian couldn't believe my excitement to be exploring a grocery store on our date (we discovered they have Friday night family movies, so we'll probably be back for another family date night soon).  We then had a very tasty dinner at Not Your Average Joe's, and enjoyed splurging on dessert since it is Valentine's after-all.

Saturday, I woke up early (not by choice) and finished the strawberry pie I decided to make this year, (from here), that Theo and Eli helped me prep the day before.  Theo cut all the strawberries, Eli helped cut the crust hearts.

We had that for breakfast (pastry and fruit, that's an okay breakfast, right?), and then spent most of the day in pajamas fielding skype, texts and calls from our parents, grandparents, and siblings as they opened their Valentine's Day card from us (a modification of last year's photo), pictured below. Almost everyone was pretty surprised, and it was fun to share our news finally!

Irish Soda Bread

Occasionally, I will treat Brian to Irish Soda Bread when I make my easy modified shepherd's pie.  I still make this recipe that I posted years ago, but I have long ago dropped the bacon from it and recently changed from sour cream to a low-fat/no-fat yogurt just to drop a little more fat.  Sometimes I make it with beef or lamb, but I prefer to make it with turkey just to bring the nutritional value up even more.

I like to make this shepherd's pie meal every other week or so, but it has probably been a year since I've made any of the soda bread.  However, since it's St. Patty's Day I decided I would go ahead and make up a loaf for the holiday.

This bread doesn't necessarily have the most traditional presentation and shape, but I love how it turns out.  It's one of the only things I make that uses a bundt pan.  The one I have doubles as a springform pan as well.  I love pans that have multiple uses like this since I still have pretty limited kitchen storage.

 In a large bowl, combine 3 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 Tbsps caraway seeds, 2 tsps baking powder, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp baking soda.

In a small bowl, whisk 2 eggs and 2 cups (16 oz) of sour cream.  

Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Fold in 3/4 cup raisins. 

Spoon into a greased 9-inch bundt/springform pan.

Bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  

 Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing sides of pan.  Cut into 8 wedges; serve warm.

2.14.2014

May 2006, Scottsdale, AZ

I've always had a thing for this design, I think partly because the artist is Robert Indiana, a man who bears my home state as his family name.  When we lived in AZ we happened upon a statue of this near one of our favorite restaurants, Los Olivos, in Scottsdale.  As we are heading into this last stretch of winter, I crave the warm/hot/blistering days we spent there, and remember them fondly.

Brian even decided to finally "officially" propose to me at the statue in 2006, so I thought this idea would make for a cute Valentine's Day card from my two boys eight years later!  Maybe someday soon we'll be able to retake this photo with them in Scottsdale.

*Please don't mention I forgot to slant the "O".  My husband already pointed that out.  I still love their little grins though.*

Happy New Year!

Wow, I have sure posted a lot this year.  When I realized I had 99 posts, I figured I had better write something today to push me to the 100th one.  That is more than I've posted in the last couple years put together.  I guess having two kids and moving gave me a lot to write about, and now that I'm not teaching I have the time to actually do it. 

I'm not going to go over my past year, since a good proportion of people that will ever read this get my Christmas letter, but I am looking forward to  a more stable 2014 for sure. I am needing some babies to fill the void that spunky little Eli is leaving, as he quickly grows; luckily I am getting two nieces this year in January and June.  Hopefully that does the trick.  There are also lots of big birthdays in my family this year, with my grandpa, mother, mother-in-law and myself all celebrating ones that end in 5 or 0.  Not in love with mine, but I've still got 10+ months to get used to it.

I'm glad that I've had the last few months to have some time to spend working on my physical self-which I plan to keep focusing on for a few more months until I am firmly into my new habits.  Theo decided his resolution would also be "healthy eating" (and getting less time outs).  It think he needs to work on not crying when he wants something (it works for Eli, so he thinks he should do it to).  Theo thinks dada's resolution should be getting home early once the new road is finished (he drives through some construction every day, and I tend to complain about the time he gets home).  Finally, Theo has given Eli the instruction to work on growing up as his resolution.  So he's more fun to play with. I think he's growing up just quickly enough.

Have a blessed 2014! 

HallOween

So, for some reason, I have decided that I would really like to make my kids their Halloween costumes for as long as they will let me.  But I am not one to spend a lot of time with an elaborate costume.  I try to find ideas that are fairly simple (cheap) and quick.   Here are the ones we have come up with so far.

2012:  Football 1 month old and Football Player 2.5 Years Old

Having a newborn at Halloween kind of narrows the options, but I saw this on pinterest months ago and knew it would be perfect.  The football onesie was very easy.  Dyed it brown, and then used fabric glue to attach white bias tape that I already had in my craft supplies.  Brian gets the credit for making the stitching look as realistic as possible.  Bias tape worked much better than ribbon, which the glue kind of bled through on.  We put a green sleeper underneath for warmth, and thought it could double as a the green grass on a football field.

 For the player, we used a Colts jersey, blue socks, and white sneakers that we had at home.  For the pants, we bought some girls leggings and just adding two strips of ribbon down the side.  Theo was most excited to put on "mama's make-up" for his eye black, and was tolerant with the pads that dada made for him.  My husband spent quite a while making very, very realistic looking shoulder pads out of a plastic container and cardboard, and kitchen twine. He also made thigh pads out of cardboard and stuffing.  It was a little dangerous walking around in Eagles territory with the Colts jersey on, but he still got treats from everyone.

2011:  Johnny Appleseed:  1.5 Years Old

This year Theo had just begun saying the word "apple", so it gave us the inspiration for this costume.  Hubby again got in on the action with this one, creating the hat that Theodore would wear (a real pot was too heavy and wouldn't fit his head correctly).  He used cardboard covered in tin foil. I added a quick vest I made out of some brown cotton material I found, and made a quick pouch for his "apple seeds" (candy bag!).  Theodore carried an apple with him, and rolled up his pants to complete the look.  He could have gone barefoot to add to the look, but that wasn't practical. 

2010: Chocolate Chip Cookie 6 months old

For his first Halloween, I made T a cookie costume.  I simply made two light brown circular pillows, and then added dark brown chocolate chips to each one.  He still has these pillows on his bed.

For some more recent costume ideas, check out 2013 and 2014!

2nd Mama's DAY!!

My favorite day of the year.

This year daddy made another fabulous supper, and mama spent a lot of time just enjoying her little baby (who refuses to stay small, and is really not a baby any longer).

A Philly Fourth

This year we headed up to Philadelphia for their big July 4th celebration. Wanting to avoid traffic, we "park and rode" up there from the outskirts of the city (Marcus Hook). Had it been a weekday, we could have just rode from Wilmington or Newark, but those trains don't run on Saturday. Theodore just loved watching everything go by on the train, and I laughed as his eyes moved back and forth tracking passing objects. We have not really spent a lot of time in that part of Philly, so it was a bit of an adventure for us. 30th St. Station was our destination, which is a classic train station that is actually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in the 30s, back when beauty and details in architecture was considered a necessity in public buildings. Check out the columns in the picture linked above.

Once we got down to the "Party on the Parkway" (after just a few mistaken streets) we scoped out the place and got down to business getting dinner. We had some pretty good gyros and humus, something I would never pick out on my own but Brian suggested we try it. I always forget that I really like Mediterranean/Greek food, and it reminded me of the place in Arizona that we infrequently got to enjoy, The Phoenicia Cafe.

The Benjamin Franklin Parkway leads right up to the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum (think Rocky Balboa) and looked beautiful lit up in the evening.

(We were about half way down the street in this picture... and it actually goes a lot further.)

(Theodore in full patriotic regalia.)

We found a decent place to set down our blanket in the shade, and we relaxed and enjoyed the music. Theodore napped through most of his first official concert, but did wake-up and enjoy dancing with mama for some of it. Green River Ordinance were a pretty good start to the show, and then The Roots helped put us in a decidedly Philadelphian state of mind. The Goo Goo Dolls finished off the night. Unfortunately, by the time they were over, we had to start heading back to the station for our 11:50 (!) train back (the last train of the night). Apparently, there was some miscommunication about the start time of the fireworks, and they didn't start until way too late in our opinion. We had to watch them as we walked. Had they shortened all the music a bit and started the fireworks sooner, it would definitely have been a perfect July 4th.

First Father's Day!

Father's Day fell just three days after our anniversary, and we enjoyed a relaxing Sunday celebrating our new patriarch. We couldn't ask for a better daddy!

Brian manned the grill.

His gift was a new mug from Shutterfly with Theodore's picture, to replace a similar one he had of Kiki that was broken shortly after Theodore arrived.

First Mother's Day!

I forgot to post about Mother's Day, but wanted to mention that we had a great one!

My son (and his daddy) took me to Ole Tapas for super! It was great like always. Our old waitress who served us both the day I told Brian we were expecting (our 3rd anniversary), and for my 25th birthday, came over to meet Theodore. It was cute that she remembered us. And the food was as good as ever.

Baby also gave me a card he signed (foot-printed), a beautiful orchid, and a jewelry box I've been wanting so I can actually organize and find all the pieces that daddy has given me over the last decade. :) It was a very sweet day.

Easter 2010

Easter in our Church's newly remodeled sanctuary!

With my family.

With Aunt Erin.

Brian made Leg of Lamb for Easter dinner.

And I made cheesecake for dessert.

Theodore being goofy...

And in his second outfit, sleepy...

Spring!!! (And St. Patrick's Day)

It was the most beautiful day of the year Saturday, a great start to spring.

We started it with a trip to Babies R Us.  They were having a promotion for a new type of diapers. We got a bunch of the new Pampers with Dry Max feature. And an outfit for baby to wear to his daddy's softball games this fall, a picture will come eventually of that. We also got him some new shades to protect his eyes.

Then we headed to Main Street to stroll, eat, and watch basketball.

We had lunch at Grotto Pizza, and watched Villanova lose.

We then finished walking along Main Street, with lots of people commenting on how cute Theodore looked in his stroller with his shades on.

And then we participated in a 20 year Newark tradition. Apparently, Rita's gives out free water ices on the first day of spring. We stumbled upon the line that stretched at least 200 feet from the counter. I've been wanting to try water ice for a long time, and we liked it, and will need to return this summer. It's one of area's claims to fame, along with pretzels and Philly cheesesteaks.

Earlier in the week, we also made a big deal out of Theodore's first official holiday:  St. Patrick's Day! He wasn't at all excited though :(