Circles in NYC

Lauren and I searched for circles along our walk in Hudson River Park and High Line to make this collage :)

On Your Mark!

Spring swim meets have started. The first one was a little chilly, but Lauren was a trooper and gave a great swim in all four events! She's the one in the dark swim cap :) And the sunset was breathtaking.

Grow little garden, grow.

One Pot Meals

Have been in a dinner rut recently, so was on the search for something new to try. Stumbled upon this recipe for One Pot Orecchiette Pasta and have made it twice now. Pretty easy and quite tasty. My new favorite ingredient is tomato paste in a tube :)

Just dump everything in the pot, stir, bring to a boil, then cook over med-high for 12-15 min. Stir in some parmesan, and serve with arugula. Some of the recipe reviewers suggest using chicken broth in place of the water, so might try that next time for a little added flavor.

21 Days and Counting...

There's been a whole lot of walking/running around here, ever since we joined my SIL's 'Mile-A-Day Challenge'. Participants must walk/run a minimum of 1 mile every day (no exceptions!), and last man standing wins (a pool of money we all chipped in at the start). Will see how long we can keep it up :)

A Treat

We always look forward to parent/teacher conferences. We get a chance to observe the kids at work in their classroom, and always have a wonderful snack served to us :)

ALS Awareness and a little ice

Earlier this week, I was nominated by my brother for the ALS ice bucket challenge, and I made a donation to alsa.org in memory of our grandmother. However, the kids were disappointed to learn that I did not partake in the whole ice bucket thing :) So they were promptly nominated, and here we go.

First Day of School

Kindergarten and Second Grade, bring it on!

Busted

One afternoon, a few weeks ago, I was baking with the kids. We had to wait for one of the cookie sheets to be done in the oven before loading it up again with another batch of dough. So I told the kids to go play, and we'd meet back up again 7 minutes.

We reconvened, and I noticed Cole was chewing something. I asked what it was, and he said it was nothing. I asked again, and Lauren, apparently developing a conscience, said "we have to tell the truth".

After a little more questioning, Cole finally confessed to taking some chewy fruit snack packets from the pantry and eating them - in his closet. I went there to find around 10 empty packets, carefully concealed beneath some clothes on the floor. He'd apparently eaten 8 packets earlier in the morning, and just shared the final 2 with Lauren. Sneaky, sneaky.....

Unfruity Smoothie

Stumbled upon this 'frosty light' recipe on Pinterest - a chocolaty treat, and a nice break from the traditional fruit smoothie. May be hard to guess the ingredients - almond milk (I substituted vanilla soy milk), cocoa powder, chia seeds, and a frozen banana. Lots of other good smoothie recipes on her site too.

Don't you just hate it....

when you misplace your tail?

Right Now | Jul 2014

Lauren (age 7): Has a wiggly tooth. Is working on the breaststroke. Can't stop reading. Takes lunch orders as her evening chore. Has a new interest in drawing. Is collecting yogurt containers to build a castle. Enjoys singing.

Cole (age 5): Can count to 100 by twos. Loves to bake. Has discovered potty humor. Is enjoying his first season of basketball. Is quite the jokester - always saying 'tricked ya'. Practicing cursive. Always says 'thank-you' when receiving a compliment.

Acting Debut

Lauren's class put on an impressive performance of James and the Giant Peach last week. We scored front row seats, thanks to the early arrivals of Grandma and Grandpa. Lauren played the role of the ladybug, and only had a minor costume mishap - an accidental tear to the wings when the peach rolled down the hill.

Fall Harvest

Our fall/winter garden yield is quite low... So far we have 1 radish and a handful of yellow pear tomatoes. Better luck next time :)

In the Garden and Around the Yard

Prepping and planting of the seeds for a fall/winter garden.

Lauren cutting some burlap to protect our cactus from the blazing sun.

Oops, too late. And yes, a cactus can actually die.

But never fear, a replacement has arrived.

One of our garden visitors, a tomato hornworm.

And a visitor in waiting - look closely.

Right Now | Aug 2013

Lauren (age 6): Prefers cartwheels over walking. Is a tad feisty. Earned a yellow belt in Karate. Loves a long shower. Is addicted to reading. Likes avocados, and apples.

Cole (age 4): Loves to swim. Can tie his shoelace. Enjoys singing 'God Bless the USA'. Is learning to read. Always asks "Where's Lauren?" Still loves cars, trucks, and trains....

In the Kitchen

Tried 2 new recipes plus one old favorite this weekend. Cole was my sous chef for the baking activities; he did all right :)

First up was the old favorite, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, based on this EF recipe with substitutions to make dairy and egg-free. They were a tad on the crispy side (maybe because of the substitutions?), so need to make a note to decrease the baking time.

Next was the first attempt to recreate Pita Jungle's hummus :) I used this recipe, adding cilantro to half of the batch (yum!). It was very tasty, and pretty straight-forward. Although I think I'll aim for a little thinner consistency next time.

And finally, tried a new vegan banana bread recipe - it smells delicious, but we won't have our first taste until breakfast tomorrow.

Fresh and Delicious

Pita Jungle in Ahwatukee, is my new favorite restaurant. Love the $1 Happy Hour tapas, hummus trios, margaritas/sangria, 'choose your own' kids meals, and the large variety of entree options.

My entree of choice is the wood-fired salmon salad, or over potatoes and sauteed spinach (shown).

And I love the restaurant's nice open space, and eclectic decor. Seems they also do a large take-out business - we tried that this past weekend. Yum.

They're Back

It's that time of the year again.... Their high-pitched buzz, and molted skins are telltale signs. No cicada artwork from Lauren this year, but she did collect a nice pile of their skins from the tree bark at a local park.

Garden Pests

Last week, Cole and I went out to check on our tomato plant and noticed the leaves were missing on several of the branches. Upon closer inspection we discovered.... the tobacco hornworm! And not just one, but ten! The kids picked them off one by one, and dropped them into a bucket of soapy water. A few more days and that tomato plant would have been no more.