2010 Memorial Day: Traditions Old & New

What's not to love about Memorial Day?

We are FREE to live and celebrate with family, friends, and great food!

What a blessing!

Every year we hit the donut shop early in the AM and the kids and Samuel positively devour their sweet pastries. 

I pick...

at the frosting that is. 

Which, in my opinion, is the only thing good about a donut!

Unless, of couse, it's creme-filled.

In which case you would eat the filling...get it?

{Okay, I'm back from my donut-frosting tangent.}

After our suger-induced hysteria we meet up with my family

for the local Memorial Day Parade.

Watching the parade is something I've been doing

for as long as I can remember, and it's so much fun to pass this tradition onto our kids. 

And as we stand for the flag,

hand over heart,

it brings back so many memories of my Grandpa Lopez. 

I know he's there with us.

Later we met up with Samuel's family where the Wylies host an annual Memorial Day BBQ in a truly spectacular country setting.  It is a great place to relax and visit and the kids have an great time exploring.

There are tire swings...

Little toys...

Big toys...

{Note the lack of helmet.  That didn't go over so well...}

Uncooperative toys...

Tears...

Chickens...?

Wild play areas...

...and of course, smiles!

We hope you had fun celebrating too!

Crazy-delicious Homemade Sushi

So, it's no newsflash that I love to eat. 

And basically, it's so bad that I'm just like the person who gets distracted by something shiny.

If I see, hear, or read about it...

I want it!  

And unfortunatley,

the condition worsens the later it gets.

So once more, it's 9:40 at night and I think:

We can totally make sushi.

Right?

So I get to work (I say work but it's really "play")

preparing the rice and shrimp,

while Samual handles all the veggies,

and... 

Voila!

Sure, they were huge. 

But boy, were they good!

There was even some leftover that had "Olivia's lunch"
written all over it!

So get off the couch and make something!

And then eat...

and get back on the couch!

{smile}

Aughh! The Frustration!

One day my son, I promise, you won't have to make do with tidbits of food.  They'll be whole drumsticks to gnaw on, large carrots to crunch, and a whole mess of other non-baby-friendly food! 

Patience!

It's funny every time...

I love it!

Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

I love chocolate!
And this recipe, tweaked from Cooking Light, pairs bananas and chocolate in an irresistible way!

Here's a quick tip for you: 
Make a double or triple batch and freeze the finished product in your freezer.  After a quick defrost, this bread is piping hot and just as fresh as when it popped out the oven! 

Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread

Nutritional Info (one slice):

Calories: 183; Fat: 4.7 g 

Makes one loaf, 18-20 muffins, or 32 mini-muffins.

Ingredients

2 c all purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 c sugar

1/4 c unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 c ripe bananas, mashed (about three whole bananas)

1 large egg or 1/4 c. egg substitute*

1/2 c plain low-fat or fat free yogurt*

1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips

Cooking spray

*I use a whole large egg and fat-free yogurt
(non-fat vanilla yogurt is excellent too!).

Directions

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife.  Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place the sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about one minute).  Then add the banana, egg, and yogurt and beat until blended.  Add the flour mixture and beat at a low speed just until moist.

Place the chocolate chips in a a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for one minute or until almost melted, stirring until smooth.  Cool slightly.  Add one cup batter to the chocolate, stirring until well combined.

{Loaf Pan}

Spoon the chocolate batter alternately with the plain batter into a 8 1/2 x 4/1/2 inch loaf pan coated with the cooking spray.  Swirl the batters together using a knife and bake at 350 degrees for approximately one hour and fifteen minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out just clean.   Be careful not to over bake!

{Muffins}

If making muffins, gently fold the chocolate mixture back into the plain batter, and use a knife to swirl the batters together.  Then, spoon the batter into a muffin pan sprayed liberally with Pam, and bake as directed above for approximately half of the cooking time.  Note:  The mini-muffins will cook even faster, at approximately 12-15 minutes (oven times will vary).

Cool the loaf for ten minutes in the pan on a wire rack, and then remove from  the pan.  For the muffins, cool for just a few minutes in the pan before removing (I find that they stick if you leave them in longer).  Once on the rack, cool slightly longer and then serve!

Enjoy!

Chopsticks & Late Summer Suppers

So you know how it goes, right?

Spring segways into summer and the carefully crafted schedule of

dinner and bedtimes goes right out the window! 

There are so many things to do,

so much sun to soak in,

 it's all we can hardly do to drag ourselves to the table,

bedraggled,

starving,

and yes,

happy to try something

different and fun!

There's nothing simpler to prepare than an Asian noodle salad.

And this...

...paired with chopsticks...

...makes for an engaging meal everytime!

Happy Slurping!

On two wheels...

We're so fortunate to live near so many bike trails, and not too far from us is a beauty studded with oak and rolling fields.  It's the perfect place to ride,

and of course,

to stop,

take a breather,

and explore!

Owen,

doing what he does best...

Wander!

Bella doing what she does best...

Smile!

Gabriel doing what he does best...

Eating things!

Ava & Iris.

Yes, Iris is doing what she does best too...

{Smile}

It was a fun scramble.

We need to do it more often...

Grandma Rose: Happy Birthday!

We had a great time celebrating my mom's birthday with an old fashioned Weenie & Polish Dog roast!

Everyone loved it-especially Ava!

Nice see-food, hon!

I love the gang sign Owen's throwing out to his peeps!

Good goin', homeboy!

Mom,

We all love you so much! 

You make every one of us feel so special and loved. 

You are a super-special mom, mother-in-law, and grandma! 

And it is a great blessing to have you in our lives.

We love you!

Samuel, Olivia,

Isabella, Ava, Iris,

Owen & Gabriel

This is life...

Seeing a little piece of you...

in them.

It's incredibly humbling.

Simple Sugar Cookies

I needed a simple and easy sugar cookie recipe for my daughter's tea party that would yield fabulous, soft, and chewy cookies.  It was the day of the event, with only hours until the guests arrived, when I stumbled upon this recipe on allrecipes.com.  I adapted the recipe to what I had on hand, and because this was a no-need-to-chill-the-dough-in-the-fridge and a no-rolling-of-the-dough recipe, I had my cookies baked and cooled in plenty of time for the party!

Simple Sugar Cookies

Yields 24-36 Cookies

Instructions

1/2 cup shortening, butter-flavored
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the shortening, butter, and sugar in a large mixing bowl.

Add the eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients, and then slowly add to the wet ingredients.

When combined, roll the dough in the palms of your hands into walnut-shaped balls and space evenly on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 9 minutes, or until the bottoms just start to brown.

Remember, do not overbake.  You want these babies to remain moist and chewy.

Enjoy!

Iris' Spring Tea

Tell me,

what good is a beautiful spring day

if not for an equally fabulous spring tea?

Iris and I were of the same opinion,

and so we sent out invites to all the four-year olds we know,

decorated our home,

baked treats,

and waited...

...for the fun to begin!

The doorbell rang...

and rang...

and rang...

and soon our backyard was humming with excitement!

The air was filled with happy squeals...

...a flurry of bubbles...

...and laughter!

We coul not have done it were it not for our fabulous helpers!

Thank you Ava...

Elizabeth and Isabella!

We took a break from the fun in the sun to decorate sugar cookies!

Never have you seen so many sprinkles...

...atop gobs and gobs of frosting!

There was a brief respite from the festivities to watch a little of

-what else?-

"Cinderella"!

We took our tea (fruit punch),

caramel corn,

petite brownies & cupcakes...

...al fresco!

Amidst the fluff of organza and lace...

...there was a lone boy!

We were delighted that Iri's Sunday School classmate chose to join us!  Though he was in the minority, I do believe he had a great time! 

Thanks for coming, Nathan!

As the "tea hour' came to a close...

...it was time for some games "on the lawn"!

We divided the girls into teams,

and in relay-fashion they attempted to fill water pitchers with

...what else? 

Tea cups filled with water!

Some were intent on not spilling a drop!

Others ran without care!

And still some tottered graceful as can be!

In the end though,

they had a smashing time!

The grand finale of was a riotous game of "Duck, Duck, Goose!".  They had so much fun, and we all died laughing when Nathan, at the conclusion of our game, took a flying leap to capture the runner!  Well done!

Then it was time to wait for mom's and dad's to collect their princes and princesses!

What better way to wait than with lollies?

It was a delighful day! 

And at the end, I positively flopped on the bed!

Thank you to all the mom's who stayed to help,

and for all the parents who let their little ones 

share this special day with us! 

We were so glad to have you!

And last of all,

endless XOXO's to my sidekick and best friend. 

He is happy to help in every capacity,

and most of all,

he makes us smile.

Iris and I are eternally grateful!

Happy Tea-ing!