Mr. Questions

Weston is Mr. Questions. He loves to know the whys and how's of EVERYTHING which is so much fun and keeps us on our toes! He notices details and is an avid learner- traits we want to encourage! But sometimes he asks things I'm not prepared to answer...

Today's conversation went like this:
"Mommy! You are getting bigger and bigger like a giant! (Referring to my growing baby bump) you didn't have a baby in your tummy before, but now you have a baby in your tummy! How did you get a baby in your tummy??"

So I called Andrew and he told Weston they would talk about that tonight ;) neither of us were prepared to explain to a 4 year old how this happens! Any advice??

Strawberry Vanilla Bean Layer Cake with Strawberry Buttercream

This recipe is a shortcut using fabulous Trader Joes products. I have grown to depend on much of their staples and have fun trying to create new recipes using their all natural and tasty foods! This isn't exactly a health food :) but it is all natural and easy and what more could you want in making a yummy cake for a special occasion?!  My dear sweet college roommate just had a baby girl and we went for a visit this past weekend and it was Weston's idea to bake them a cake! I thought something pink would be fun.

If you have never tried the vanilla cake mix from Trader Joes you must! It is all natural, moist and there is actual vanilla bean in the batter. It's delicious. Another favorite treat from Trader Joes are the organic fruit spreads- sweetened with only fruit. I like to use them in oatmeal, plain yogurt and on toast. 

And the freeze dried strawberries are so much fun. (unsweetened)

Strawberry Vanilla Bean Layer Cake with Strawberry Buttercream

1 box Trader Joes vanilla cake mix

1 jar Trader Joes organic strawberry fruit spread

1 cup Trader Joes freeze dried strawberries finely chopped 

Strawberry Buttercream

4 sticks butter softened

about 1 lb. powdered sugar

To make the cake:

Prepare cake batter as directed from the package. Stir in chopped dried strawberries and 1/2 jar of the fruit spread. Bake in 2 round 8 in cake pans coated with butter and flour to prevent sticking.  cool 10 minutes and remove from pans to cool completely on cooling racks before frosting.

To make frosting:

In a mixing bowl combine softened butter and remaining half jar of the strawberry spread. slowly add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until fluffy and your desired sweetness. 

To frost the cake spread some frosting on the top of one of the layers, top with the other layer. Cover the cake with remaining frosting. You will have frosting left over which stays for a while in the fridge or freezer for another time.

Sweetness

These little boys make life sweeter every day. We had so much fun celebrating the death and resurrection of Christ with these little goofs!

The weekend before Easter we went to a park that hosted an egg hunt breakfast with the infamous Easter bunny 

Saturday evening before Resurrection Sunday we did our own little egg hunt-the boys are terrible hunters but they sure have fun!

It was such a blessing to be all together at church on Sunday!

We have also enjoyed this devotional for kids- it walks thru all of the events of Christ's death and Resurrection and it has really helped us explain Easter better to our boys

 

We hope you enjoyed your Easter season too! There is no greater thing to celebrate than our Savior!

We are still here!

We have been under the weather with various plagues and pestilence :) but are slowly emerging! We are so grateful to our family and friends for the help we have received and learned a lesson or two about not complaining and being selfless for one another when no one feels well! But we look forward to this exciting weekend of celebration as we remember what our Lord did for us through His death and resurrection. Our Savior lives, what a comfort and joy it is to dwell on those simple truths!

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1+2= 3

Coming in October :)

Chickpea and Spinach Burgers

The Husband wasn't too excited about these when I told him what was for dinner, but he actually liked them! :) I loved them so I had to share. Who doesn't like dinner in 15 minutes? On the spices I just added what I thought sounded good at the moment and didn't measure so do what your family likes. I served them with organic baked sweet potato fries that I tossed in olive oil, sea salt and Herbes de Provence at 400F for 40 minutes or so. You could also serve with a salad or in between a bun.


Chickpea and Spinach Burgers

1 can chickpeas ( garbonzo beans) mashed
2 cups organic spinach, wilted or sauteed
1/3-1/2 cup panko bread crumbs, or your bread crumb of choice
1/4 cup quality all natural mayo ( if the mixture seems too dry add more mayo)
seasons to taste: salt, pepper, garlic powder, dill, basil and paprika

Smash all ingredients together and form into patties. Cook in a large skillet coated with olive oil over medium/high heat until browned on each side, about 5 min per side.

Makes 4 large or 6 small

Littlest Golfer

The boys babysitter told us about a free golf program for kids so we signed Weston up to see how he would like it! For a week he learned all about putting, chipping and his favorite...using the driver to hit the ball as far as possible. He was also the youngest and smallest ( and I think Cutest) little golfer there, so the instructors took special care with him. It was also fun to see him interact socially outside church. He definitely likes to be by the little girls :) I think we are in trouble! Nanni was able to make a trip down to watch our budding golfer and he was so proud of his new learned skill. I was really impressed at how well the program was run and how nice the people were, and all for free! Not used to that around here. 

Gabe can't wait to join in next year, but he had fun climbing and running around the golf course, dropping goldfish crackers all over and rolling in the grass :)