Doe- a -Deer

It feels like yesterday that my bubs was this small ( 2 months old here). I can still sit in that same rocking chair and hold him in my lap, but it recently occurred to me that he won't always fit on my lap, or want to for that matter!

Tonight he asked me to rock him in this chair and sing him "Doe-a-Deer" from the sound of music. He heard it on a kids Pandora station and LOVES the song. I was in heaven tonight as my snuggly sick boy (103 temp for the 3rd day in a row, poor baby) laid so still in my arms and sang along with me. I will always cherish these sweet moments with my boys. I love you Bubba!

DIY- Framed Pin Board

I have been trying to get this done since the summer, but you know how it goes! Well it sure is nice to finally have a pin board in our home, I have always wanted one since I need visual reminders to keep me on track in life... I put this in our laundry room and it was super easy to make.

My mom snagged this huge ugly framed art from a thrift store really cheap for me to paint black. I went to Target and bought two packages of the cork board with the adhesive backing and stuck it over the art, and there you have it!

PS the photo calendar is from Great Uncle Brian- who makes these for the cousins. Thanks Uncle B!

Monster Cookies

My mom used to make a version of these when we were kids and we just LOVED them! These cookies are a combination of all the best cookie ingredients combined. They are big and full of yummy stuff...hence the name Monster :). I used an oatmeal cookie recipe that I got from school as the base for this recipe and then added all the yummy stuff.

Monster Cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 sticks butter softened

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

3 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup each: mini chocolate chips, peanut butter, m&m’s, roasted salted peanuts

preheat oven to 350

Whisk together flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.

Beat butter until creamy. Add sugars and beat until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time.

Stir butter mixture into flour mixture. Stir in oats and remaining ingredients until combined.

Chill dough 15 min.

Scoop dough onto cookie sheet using an ice cream scooper and bake 20-25 min or until edges turn golden.

Rainy Day Fun!

We had a fun day today despite the rain...I let Weston get completely drenched and freezing, but he had a blast splashing in our flooded back yard. I also brought out some toys I saved from the boys birthday parties for a day such as this and they were thrilled to play with something new!

Sicilian Stew

This is a really yummy comfort food dish, and the leftovers taste even better the next day...love that!

Sicilian Stew

1 package seasoned chicken sausage casings removed

2 cups broccoli florets

1 can white beans

1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes

4 small potatoes diced

1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

1 small onion chopped

2 garlic cloves minced

1- 2 jars finishing sauce or marinara sauce ( I used a Provencal sauce from Fresh and easy)

serve over rice or pasta

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion and potato. cook until potato browns slightly and onions are soft about 10 min over med-high heat stirring often. Add garlic and rosemary and cook 5 min. Add sausage and cook until almost cooked through, breaking up the sausage as you stir. Add remaining ingredients and cover and simmer about 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are soft and sausage is cooked through.

Gabe's 1st cut

As much as it kills me to cut the boys hair for the first time ( it's like the beginning of the end of their babyhood!) it has to be done. And as you can see this poor baby needed a cut badly! Here are the before and after pics. He did great sitting still as long as there was a cookie in his mouth :)

Before

After

I just love this little squishy face!

Chillin with Papa

Andrew, Gabe & I were away this weekend for the high school winter camp and Weston got to stay home and have a special weekend with Papa! They had so much fun & Weston enjoyed the special attention and fun activites...park, MacDonalds, Ice cream truck, long walks and baseball! Thanks Papa for loving our sweet boy this weekend! He loves you so much!

The Recipe "Project"

One of my New Year's "projects" ( I am not saying "resolutions" this year because the word is much too scary for this stage of my life!") is to go through all of my saved recipes over the years and remake them to decide if they are worthy to keep or to toss...and then to create a family cookbook for us! I have always dreamed of a cookbook in which every recipe is something that I would love to make! A go-to cook book in which every recipe is tried and true and perfect for us. So I thought I would share with you all since I am going to be snapping pics and writing out the recipes on the computer anyways... here goes!

Berry Clafouti

This is perfect for brunch or dessert and you can put anything you like into it! It is a cross between a custard/crepe...very yummy and comes together in a snap.

( Thank you Martha Stewart for this recipe, I have made it with cranberries and blueberries and both are wonderful)

1 T. unsalted butter, to butter baking dish

1/2 cup plus 2 T. granulated sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 T all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

2 large eggs

1 cup chilled heavy cream

3/4 cup whole milk

2 tsp finely grated orange zest

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries or blueberries

Garnish: powdered sugar for brunch or ice cream for dessert

1. preheat oven to 400. Butter a 1 quart baking dish, sprinkle 2 T granulated sugar over bottom. Sift remaining 1/2 cup sugar, the flour and the salt into a large bowl. Gradually whisk in eggs, 3/4 cup cream, the milk and zest.
2. Scatter berries into dish, pour batter over top. Bake until puffed, slightly set, and brown around edges, 32 to 34 minutes. Let cool on wire rack for 15 min. It will sink.
3. Whisk remaining 1/4 cup cream until soft peaks form. Dust clafouti with powdered sugar. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream

The Costco Sandwich

Whenever I shop at Costco, I never leave without these items in my cart: a couple rotisserie chickens and the rosemary olive oil bread. The chickens are amazing and the price is unbeatable and the bread is just so yummy and fresh! I use the chickens for a handful of recipes and pop the bread in the freezer ( the package come with two big loaves) until the perfect meal requires it.

Today I thought I would make a sandwich with my fav Costco deals since I am always hungry and tired after an adventure there!

Simply slice the yummy bread, spread with your favorite dijon mustard, add some crisp lettuce and some shredded chicken still warm from the store and your treat is complete!

Mmmmmmm :)

Big Bear for the New Year

My parents were so kind to take us to Big Bear for the New Year! We stayed 3 nights in a mountain house and had a blast! The weather was perfect. We enjoyed the slopes, went on walks looking at all the interesting homes and just hung out in the cabin together. Everyone enjoyed getting out of the valley for a few days!

The house next to ours, isn't it cute?!

This guy was so happy the whole way there. He was so excited to see snow for the first time! He had only seen it on TV before.

Weston's first snow man- "Frosty" of course!

My dad thought it would be fun to let the boys play with snow inside the house!

Hooking up the WIFI...can't have vacation with out it :)