Cousins and Country Living September 20, 2012

Well, so much for Keenan sleeping in (at least not at my parent’s house!)…today he promptly woke up at 6:30 a.m.! On top of waking up early, he didn’t fall asleep until 9:00 p.m. last night, due to a little fiasco of putting he and Maddie to bed in the same room. I thought Keenan was already asleep when we put Maddie to bed last night. As soon as my mom and Maddie walked in the room, Keenan stood up in the crib and was ready for play time! Needless to say, we didn’t have the two of them sleep in the same room, otherwise no one would get any sleep! As far as Keenan’s early wake-up goes, I think it is partly due to his teeth, and also being at my parent’s house. He has two molars coming in on the bottom, so he is constantly sticking his fingers in his mouth, not to mention being a little irritable. Also, for the past few days, he has only been napping for an hour to an hour-and-a-half (he usually sleeps at least 2 full hours!). I’m hoping after his teeth come in, he will go back to his normal sleeping habits (crossing my fingers!).

A quick picture before we headed up the road!

Since we have been at my parents’ house, we have been playing outside non-stop and enjoying the country. Every time we visit my parents’ house, it makes me want to move back to the country sooner, rather than later!

Yesterday, after Keenan and Maddie woke up from their naps, we went on a bike ride up the road (Keenan rode his trike and Maddie rode her bike) and on the way back, we stopped to pick peaches! Keenan thought the “mushy ones” on the ground were SO funny! He kept wanting to pick them up and make them even more mushier! I can’t wait to make a nice crisp or cobbler with some of the peaches this weekend! I am going to try making it with almond flour and Xylitol. I’ll let you know how it turns out!

Picking peaches!

After we got home, we made ice cream cones, cupcakes and cakes out of play doh.

Play doh time!

A little while later, we danced, sang and gave lots of love to the dogs, Lady (Rottweiler) and Princess (German Shepherd)!

Giving lots of love to the dogs!

Hugging Princess!

“Scratching” Lady’s back with the broom!

For dinner, my mom made roasted chicken with potatoes, broccoli and salad. She stuffed the chicken with lots of garlic and herbs, so it was perfectly juicy and full of flavor! Once again, I forgot to snap a picture, sorry!

After breakfast and a little playing outside, we went to the ranch so Keenan and Maddie could ride the tractor with Avo. At first, Keenan wasn’t sure about the whole thing, but after seeing Maddie on the tractor, he wanted to ride it, too! They also got to sit in the big tractor!

Maddie enjoying a tractor ride with Avo!

Enjoying his tractor ride with Avo!

Sitting in the big tractor!

After we were done with the tractors, we picked a LOT of tomatoes (Keenan wanted to pick the green ones!) and visited GG (my grandmother), who lives down the road.

Picking tomatoes!

When we got home, Keenan helped my mom pick a couple of pumpkins from her garden, to bring home to our house (we’ll save them for carving next month!).

Helping to pick some pumpkins!

For lunch, we had leftover chicken and broccoli with some slices of tomatoes and peaches. Since Maddie and Keenan finished all of their lunch (including all of their broccoli!), my mom made them small ice cream cones, before they went down for their naps.

We definitely had a busy, but fun-filled morning! Hopefully, with all of the activity, Keenan and Maddie will take long naps! Once Keenan gets up, will be heading home and I’m hoping to go to the later CrossFit class tonight. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon!

Question: Aside from eating peaches fresh, grilling them or making a crisp or cobbler, what other ways do you eat them? Since we have so many peaches, I’d love to try some new ways of cooking/baking them. Also, how do you like to use fresh vine-ripend tomatoes? We picked two big bags full, so I’m thinking of roasting and grilling some. I would love to find other ways to cook/eat them (aside from adding them to salads or pasta dishes).

Organizing your life August 21, 2012

Have you ever been on an organizing or cleaning kick where you don’t feel your life is settled until you re-organize/purge things in your house? For some reason, I have been on an organizing streak lately, specifically to make room for Keenan’s new things, i.e. his IKEA table and free up additional space in our house. I don’t feel I can function at my best, until I get everything organized (I know my husband would roll his eyes, but it’s true!). As Keenan is getting older, it seems we have less “liveable” space, so I want to make use of the room we have, without it feeling cluttered. We have lived in our house for almost 5 years and some of our closets haven’t been touched since the day we moved in, so they are definitely due for some re-organization!

This morning, after breakfast (having our “usual”, of course), Keenan and I played with Play Doh at his new table and then we headed upstairs to organize. I sorted through all of his toys and put the ones he doesn’t play with anymore in a box to store in his closet. It was funny, as soon as I was putting the toys away, he immediately “needed” to play with them (even his old teething toys from when he was a baby)! He was such a goofball today; he wanted to “hangout” in his crib with several of his books, toys and critters, while I was sorting/organizing his things (I wish I had a picture of it all)!

Making ice cream cones!

Anyhow, I’m relieved, because my mission for today was accomplished. I finished organizing his room by lunch time and now, I only have our guest room closet to do! I feel somewhat better now that Keenan’s room is complete. Now, we just have to convince my husband’s parents to store the rocking chair and lamp (what we used when Keenan was a baby) in their storage container, until we need it again when we have a second child! I wish we had the extra space to store everything, but it is amazing how much stuff you to start accumulate when you have kids! For those of you who are parents, how do you manage to store everything (especially if you plan to have multiple children) and/or keep things organized?

“Hiding” in his old toy box, before folding it and putting it away!

For lunch, Keenan requested his favorite (once again), a peanut butter and honey sandwich, but this time, I made it with my mom’s leftover (from yesterday’s picnic) beer bread and blueberry honey from my mother-in-law. He enjoyed his sandwich so much that it was everywhere! I had a piece of leftover fried chicken (I figure my last piece of fried goodness for a LONG time!), a small piece of torta and carrots. It hit the spot! There is something really satisfying about eating a drumstick.

Making a peanut butter mess (even in his hair)!

My lunch, YUM!

After Keenan’s nap, we head to CrossFit ( I wonder what today’s WOD includes) and then home for dinner to make Cauliflower Rice, such a good dish! I am making it Mediterranean style with chicken, sun dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts and an onion with feta cheese. Look for the recipe tomorrow! Have a great afternoon!

Forgetful July 25, 2012

I don’t know what it is…maybe too many things on my mind lately or just “mommy brain”, but unless I write things down, I easily forget them. With that said, I completely forgot to take a picture of our dinner last night, sorry! I am going to work on this by making sure to keep my camera handy, so I can take plenty of pictures. As far as last night’s dinner goes, it was delicious and very satisfying, especially after another brutal workout (running 2,400 meters and finding your 1 rep maximum of front squats, which I maxed out at 135 lbs)! Here is the recipe that I created, if you are interested:

Sauteed Kale with Sun dried Tomatoes and Onions: (serves 3)

Ingredients:

– 2 bunches of kale (chopped)

-1 red onion (diced)

– 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes (packed in oil)

– 1 clove garlic (minced)

– 1 tablespoon olive oil

– 3 Italian sausages

– 1 tsp. Italian seasoning

– 1 tbs. balsamic vinegar

– pinch of salt and pepper

– 1/4 cup of feta cheese

– 1/2 cup cooked couscous

Directions:

1.) Saute onion with garlic and olive oil in a large pan.

2.) Add sausages and cook until browned.

3.) Add kale, balsamic vinegar, spices and saute for 10 minutes, or until soft and vinegar is absorbed.

4.) Divide cooked couscous among 3 plates, pour kale mixture on top and sprinkle with feta cheese. Enjoy!

My morning latte that my husband so kindly made me!

On to today: Keenan had his swim class this morning, so it was rather rushed to get out the door on time, especially since he slept-in to 8:30 a.m. again! I’m loving that he is sleeping-in; I sure hope it lasts! We had a quick “usual” breakfast with blueberries (Keenan’s favorite fruit) and I took my latte to go (thanks to my loving husband for making it). After class, we ran some errands, delivered a meal to a mom in my MOMs Club who recently had a baby, and then headed home for play time before lunch. Since Keenan got his Play Doh ice cream maker set from Uncle E, Auntie Mimi and his cousin, he hasn’t wanted to play with anything else! All he wants to do is make and pretend to eat ice cream cones! Does your child (or children) have a favorite toy that they always want to play with?

For lunch, I made my “typical:” a turkey sandwich on Orowheat whole wheat sandwich thins with lettuce, tomato and a little bit of jalapeno yogurt dip from Costco (it is scary good!), along with carrots and a peach. I made Keenan his favorite: a peanut butter and honey sandwich with blueberries and a glass of milk. He sure loves his peanut butter! As we were eating our lunch, we sang, “The Wheels on the Bus.” Since we got back from San Diego, he has wanted to sing that song over and over…it’s funny, but also tiring at the same time!

My typical lunch, very satisfying!

The best spread for sandwiches and a dip for veggies!

Since today is Wednesday, it is gymnastics day at CrossFit Gold so I’m excited to see what today’s WOD includes. I love Wednesdays at the box, since I used to do gymnastics when I was younger.

Since my husband is gone for the night (for a work event), tonight’s menu is all about salad!! Though I don’t like it when he has to travel for work, I love that I get to make HUGE salads for my dinners (my husband thinks I’m crazy!)! If I had it my way, I would eat salad every night. I love that there are so many things that you can do with a salad: add fruit, nuts, meat, veggies, cheese and different vinegars. You can be as creative as you want. I don’t think there is a wrong way to make a salad. When my husband was gone for four days a few months ago, I made myself a different salad each night, it was great! Tonight, I’m going to make “everything, but the kitchen sink” salad that will include, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, avocado, peperoncinis, kalamata olives, carrots, chicken and a few roasted unsalted walnut pieces with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! Since I’m having salad, I’m going to make Keenan some chicken with avocado, carrots, bread and some blueberries. What do you eat if you are by yourself for dinner?

Peanut butter hands!