My Sweet Girl

Halloween 2013

Little Mia: Always up for a little chat

Mia: "Mommy, I need to tell you something!"

Me: "Mia, go to bed." Maybe that makes me an impatient Mommy, but I just don't think 1:00am is a good time for conversation, especially if it's simply to tell me "something".

Mia: "Mommy, come here. I need to tell you something!"

Me: "Mia. Go. To. Bed."

Mia: "Mommy, I need to tell you something!" (She's persistent, for sure)

This is when Mia was unpleasantly surprised. You see, she had no idea that Daddy was home too.

Daddy: "Mia. Go to sleep!"

Mia: "Never mind!"

And that my friends, pretty well sums up the dynamics of our family. Though I wish Mia had the same response when I told her to go back to bed, I love that we each play an important role in the life of our child.  I'm the softy, at times maybe too soft. Unless it's 1:00 a.m., that is.

If you give a kid a camera,

the results look something like this,or this, and even better, like this,Mia's officially made her photography debut and credit should be given to her for the first two pictures. I admit, I'm solely responsible for my face. I really should have given her better material to work with.

Mia LOVES to cook

Mia loves to join me in the kitchen whenever possible. She has the routine down: pull chair into kitchen, wash hands, break out the cookbook,offer observer a little taste (even if it's only flour and salt),

pick nose,pick nose again (if at first you don't succeed...),SMILE (that always wins 'em over), and do a little "raise the roof" move (makes 'em forget all about the nose picking bit)

Mediterranean beef pitas

This is a family favorite and SUPER easy. To give credit where it's due, I found this recipe in a Real Simple issue.

Mediterranean beef pitas

1 lb. of ground beef

pocketless pitas or tandori bread

hummus

flat-leaf parsley

red onion

lemons

olive oil

dried oregano

salt and pepper

Shape beef into 16 patties. Season with salt, pepper, and 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano. Brown over medium heat, 2 minutes per side. Top 4 pocketless pitas with hummus, the patties, flat-leaf parsley, and sliced red onion. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with lemon wedges.

The flavor is awesome! Each ingredients adds something unique to the overall flavor. Unless there's something you're completely opposed to, try the recipe as is.

The perfect pumpkin waffle recipe

After a friend graciously gave me four cooking pumpkins, I found myself on a pumpkin kick. The pumpkins are long gone now, but I've found canned pumpkin works fine too. I believe I found the recipe on a blog entitled 'Pumpkin Waffles Blog', so you now know this recipe means business.

Ultimate Pumpkin Waffles Recipe

1/4 c. light brown sugar

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour (I use white whole wheat with fine results)

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 3/4 t. cinnamon

2 t. ground ginger

1/4 t. cloves

1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg, or 1/4 t. pre-grated nutmeg

2 large eggs

1 c. whole milk

1 c. canned solid-packed pumpkin

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and warm

1. Lightly oil the waffle iron with vegetable oil, and set to the desired temp.

2. Combine brown sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl. Whisk together to break apart the cornstarch. Add the remaining dry ingredients. Whisk to blend.

3. Separate eggs: yolks go in a medium sized bowl and whites get set aside in a smaller bowl.

4. Add pumpkin and milk to the egg yolks. Whisk to blend and set aside.

5. Whip egg whites with a hand mixer on high until stiff peaks form (about 1 1/2-2 minutes)

6. Pour melted butter into the yolk/pumpkin/milk mixture. Stir until combined.

7. Add pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients and mix together until just combined.

8. Slide the whipped egg whites out of the bowl and into the pumpkin mixture. Gently fold until no white bits are seen.

9. Batter is ready to go! Pour into waffle maker. Serve with REAL maple syrup! Its worth the price.

Pretty girl

What a little face! She's such a blessing.

Life's tough

Can't you tell?

And now that I allowed the dogs to sit on the leather couch, I, along with the rest of my family and any visitors, have no where to sit and remain hair free. What was I thinking?

Spencer's 6!

December is a busy month for most of us, but you add a birthday (or two) into the mix, and things get even crazier. Despite the busyness, we're determined to make our near-Christmas baby feel special (mostly because I am a near-Christmas baby too and I know how it is). We gave Spencer the reigns and let him dictate our day, which he loved. Our agenda included pumpkin waffles, bowling, Taco Bell, a movie, and macaroni and cheese dinner (we talked him into a little broccoli too).

A huge part of me can't believe out little guy is 6, but at times and in a good way, it feels like he's been here for so much longer. I can hardly remember life without him. He's certainly loved.

Spencer the Elf

Spencer's kindergarten class performed the Gingerbreadman play. So cute! Spencer actually sang some, which is a far cry from his preschool performance (which I put in the "agonizingly painful" category). I kept his costume simple using khaki pants he already had, a green t-shirt, felt elf shoes, and an elf hat another mom in the class picked up for him. The rest was all Spencer. What a goof!

"Snowballs"

I had this recipe for "snowballs" in a neat book filled with things to make with kids. I received the book when Spencer was really young, so I had planned to make the snowballs when the threat of soap eating had passed. In the meantime, I forgot about the recipe until a friend made it with her kids and triggered my memory. So glad that happens sometimes!

The recipe is simple and includes: grated ivory soap, water and little trinkets to hide inside the snowball. The balls are left to harden for a day or so and then become bath worthy.

The best pumpkin bread recipe. Yummy!

I found this recipe on the web on the Organic Valley site (too lazy to post link). Its the best!

Spiced Maple Pecan Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter
1 cup pure maple syrup (the real deal, not the fake stuff!)
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I use white whole wheat flour and its turned out fine)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup chopped pecan

Frosting: (I actually cute this in half. The full recipe as listed below is too much for us)

2, 8 oz. bars cream cheese
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup agave nectar

Instructions:

For the bread:
In a large bowl, cream the butter, maple syrup, eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, with a wire wisk, mix together the flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt. Then, stir in the pecans.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry, until just fully incorporated. Do not over mix. Spoon into a well greased loaf pan (I've done cupcakes instead and cut time). Bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

For the frosting:

Cream all of the ingredients together well. Frost loaf after its cooled, or frost by the slice.

I think I've made this recipe at least 10 times now....just this season. Its that good!

Seeing green!

I looked for a cute, but not scary cupcake for Spencer's Halloween party at school. I found this idea on Martha Stewart's site and made a few changes to the original design. I had intended to involve the kids in the decorating process, but I hit a snag in the frosting phase and quickly shooed them out of the kitchen. I felt bad about it, but I quickly realized they were just there to eat any scraps I might happen to offer. Once I got a handle on things, I pumped out the cupcakes pretty quickly. Although I hate to encourage too much sugar consumption, these were a BIG hit and made for a good Halloween themed treat.

Spider shirts

I thought this shirts came out so cute! Two handprints per spider minus the thumbs. Spencer got creative and made a detailed web for his spiders to enjoy.