Back again for a brief second

Hi there. Two posts in one day; you would think I wasn't getting anything else done. I actually am though. It is proving to be a fun & productive day. That doesn't usually happen with all three kids here; it is usually one or the other. Anyway, turns out Ainslee isn't' well enough to go to school, but isn't so sick that she is confined to bed. She has been up and about most of the morning - thank goodness. So, in honor of her not-too-sick-day I have made a big pot of soup for dinner & a little dessert - Apricot Blondies.

Wanna make them too: 1 1/2 cups AP flour, 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, freshly ground pepper (just a dash); 1 stick unsalted butter - softened, 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. light brown sugar, 2 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 large egg, 1/2 cup dried apricot chopped, 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (I actually used milk chocolate), 1/2 cup salted roasted almonds chopped (I used unsalted, blanched sliced almonds). 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter an 8 inch square baking dish. In a small bowl whisk the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, salt & pepper. 2. In a large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter with the brown sugar and vanilla at medium speed until creamy. Beat in the egg until smooth. At low speed, beat in the apricots, chocolate chips and almonds, then beat in the dry ingredients. 3. Using a spatula, scrape the dough into the prepared pan, pressing into an even layer. Bake in the lower third of the oven for 40-45 mins, until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let cool.

Okay, now I am off to try and restore some order to the guest room.

not feeling so good

This is the nest I made for Ainslee as she isn't feeling too good today. Notice she isn't in it? Me too. She is feeling bad enough to miss pre-school, but not so bad that she wants to stay in bed. I did what my mom always did - nice cool sheets on the sofa - but she doesn't want to stay there either. She does have a fever, but no other symptoms. It doesn't help that her sister is bouncing around the house. Ainslee is inclined to join in. Oh well. I'll just see how the day develops.
~~~
I almost took a photo of the car yesterday, pre-Goodwill donation, but it just seemed wrong. There was so much stuff; I felt a little glutinous. I finally decided that no amount of organization will make us fit in this house so it was time to clear out. I am trying to get it all organized for real before my Mom & MIL come next month. They will be here at the same time - a first. I am glad I am finally getting this accomplished & I am really looking forward to both of them visiting next month. Well, as I typed Ainslee crawled into her nest and is now curled up watching TV. See - I thought she would like it! Have a great Tuesday.

It's Monday - again

These weeks keep sneaking up on me. Monday arrives and before I know it Monday is here again! So, what have I been doing? A lot, but not much of it is very interesting. There have been doc. appts, ped. appts, house stuff, outside stuff. The weather is still a little fickle, but we have been outside a lot more. Notice the new scarves below? I started them in December after receiving a purl stitch tutorial from my MIL and I just finished them a few weeks ago. I am not fast - that is for sure. They both insisted on wearing them with the tails thrown over each shoulder. Stylish, but not great for photos. Anyway, they are now in the dress-up clothes. Their whole purpose was to practice my knitting since I haven't done it in a while. I am working on a dishcloth now - WOW you say? Yes, a dishcloth. It has a pattern which is also something I have never done. So far, so good. As soon as that is complete I am going to work on something more substantial - like a throw. I have one in mind.
Anyway, a certain someone (below) is growing & growing. She is rolling, "talking", and she is very interested in what her big sisters are doing. If they are in the same room as Aidan, then Aidan's eyes are fixed on one or the other.

This was a tea party that Aidan wasn't invited to, but she so wanted to be there. Once she is sitting up I am sure she will be invited to all the tea parties.

Well, as I said, it is Monday again and this week is looking like another busy one. The girls (all three) have been gracious enough to allow me to post a blog, so it is time to divert my attention to them before their generosity expires! Sending smiles your way! Have a great week.

Be Healthy

My blog title may seem a little ironic considering my last post talked about chocolate chip pancakes; all things in moderation. However, health has been on my mind a lot this week.

I am thinking about things I can change to improve and protect our lives. We are all fans of fruit & veggies which is helpful. Sunscreen is big in our house since we are all fair, but I know there is more I can do. I wish I was disciplined enough to grow our own fruits & veggies. I also wish we could go entirely organic, possibly even cut out red meat, and I would not have any problem cutting out chicken. That is my least favorite protein (although the Barefoot Contessa did roast a chicken the other day on Food TV that looked pretty good). Those are all a little too extreme at this point in our lives, but maybe one day.

***

The weather has turned cool again which gives me a opportunity to bundle up in some more sweaters, and there is a busy Valentine's day ahead of us. The parents have been invited to eat with our children at school tomorrow and stay for the Valentine's party. Sould be cute. Hope you all enjoy your Valentine day.

Sweet squared

It has been a sweet day. The weather has been great the past couple of days which has allowed a lot of outside time. We started this morning off with chocolate chip pancakes. This past summer I made pancakes just about every Saturday morning. I grabbed my cookbook this morning and saw the recipe for chocolate chip pancakes and figured I would give it a try. Martin was out of town so it was just the girls and I - all lovers of chocolate. I didn't realize they were chocolate pancakes with chocolate chips.

It turned out to be a little too much for me, but both of the girls loved them. We have extras which means they get to have them again tomorrow.
This afternoon Erika was the first up after napping. We sat outside on the glider, Erika walked around the yard picking little purple blooms and asked me to put them in her hair. I love when children ask for something sweet without having to be prompted by us adults. She does look sweet!

Well, Martin is about an hour from home, I have a bottle of wine ready and the pizza delivery phone number ready! Hope you are all having a great weekend.

It has been a while

I think about blogging much more than I actually blog. There is just so much to do so much of the time & I don't feel as on top of it as I used to feel. There is always this little lady to feed, bathe, play with. She is just growing up so fast I can't stand to think of missing a moment, and she is just soo much fun! Then there are the occassions when I myself have to eat. These were actually prepared for Erika & Ainslee to snack on but I did sneak a few of the blue ones for myself.

And then there is all the partying that we do on an average week. The city sponsored a family art day at our small little art musuem and we attended for a few hours. There were masks to be made, face painting, candy sculptures, drawing, painting, stringing beads. All the stuff 3 1/2 year old girls LOVE.

Not to miss out on anything, she snatched Ainslee's mask during the big-girl-naptime. She thinks no one can tell who she really is.

A day late but none the less: Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulet!