Seen and Heard

SEEN:

Spending the beautiful spring days playing at the park with our friends.


Playing with brother's little red wagon. Everyone loves the wagon.


On the iPad. She asks multiple times a day, "Mom, I play the iPad?". If TG or I are using it she sits by us and audibly sighs until it's her turn.


HEARD:

Watching Bieber's baby video, right before the Ludacris interlude
Riley: WOOOO-DA!

Laying in our bed before bedtime watching Spiderman, TG comes in from the shower in his towel to get his clothes.
Riley: Daaaaaaad, you nakey like a jaybird! Put some ca-whoas on man!
Riley: But I like you shiny tushy (disclaimer she did not see his tushy so we're not sure why she said that but we cracked up anyway)

Whenever I leave to go somewhere without her..
Riley: MOM! YOU BACKS!

Riley: On my weddins day, I'ma mar-wee Air-wee-el! A-cause I wants to be a mermaid, that be my dream come trues Mom.

In the car, at home, in stores, just about anywhere she hears our "dams" - ie jams as I call them.
Riley: Moms, let's ROCK OUT!!!

Riley found a feather outside and wanted to keep it but I told her she had to throw it away.
Sighing.
Riley: Oh, sigh, I wish I could keeps it, but I unnerstans, I'll throws it in da trash myself.

As he points to everything for which he has no words yet...
Camden: DISSSSSSSSSSS!

Wake Up Dad!

One of Riley's favorite games as a baby (and to this day) was playing wake up Dad. TG pretends to sleep and she wakes him up either loudly or forcefully. Camden is a big fan too. They love playtime with TG.

Life With A 1 Year Old Boy

Is wonderful, crazy and oh so different than life with a one year old girl.

I think twinnie described it best when she said "Boys are just more aggressive towards life" because he totally is. Give Riley a play oven and rolling pin at age 1 and she would be opening the oven and putting things inside, pseudo baking. Give Camden the same toys and the first thing he does is start banging on it...hard.

Camden LOVES his trucks, cars and construction equipment toys. He pushes them all around the house on his hands and knees making "vroom and grrr" noises.


TG has gotten back into playing his guitar lately and loves playing for and with the kids. Cam loves music. His favorite song is Justin Bieber's Baby. It doesn't matter what he's doing and if he's fussing he will immediately stop and give all attention to the video when we turn it on Music OnDemand.


He is a legit walker now. When we were in Hawaii he learned how to stand back up on his own. He morphed from a Captain Morgan one knee stance to the tripod push back. Now that's mastered we can't stop him from toddling all over. Luckily for now he still listens to me pretty well and comes back when I call him.


Camden's favorite toy of the moment is this ball and hammer toy. It was my best consignment sale purchase of the year for $1. He loves it and is fiercely protective of it. God forbid you should try to take it from him because he's wielding a hammer.


His personality is slowly developing and he has a very slapstick sense of humor. Cam loves things that are just silly, like wearing a teapot lid on your head.


Or a play kitchen skillet, like Johnny Appleseed.


Cam's got a full mouth of teeth, as his eye teeth are FINALLY (thank the Lord) popping through. He's got tiny fangs at the moment, it's pretty cute.


Cam's loud. He's rough. He's definitely tough and he's becoming more and more independent everyday. There's never a dull moment in this life with a 1 year old boy.

Weekly Menu

I'm slacking again.

Truth is I'm cheating on my blog.

With my scrapbook. I used to scrapbook when I was a newlywed, but I never finished it. Twinnie is a hard core scrapbooker and I've jumped back on board. As I type this we're sitting at Panera, I'm using their free wifi, she's scrapping and I'm giving the blog some much needed attention.

Oh wait, you were here just for the meal plan and weekly recipe?

Monday: Crockpot chili with five cheese bread
Tuesday: American Flatbread to support All for Aidan and JDRF
Wednesday: Date night with Twinnie
Thursday: Grilled steak and parmesan cheese pasta salad
Friday: Grilled hot dogs with grilled corn on the cob
Saturday: Pulled beef BBQ sandwiches with baked beans
Sunday: Grilled chicken with grilled veggies (squash and zucchini)

Obviously we're obsessed with our new grill. And I'm so involved with scrapping again that I attended my second scrapbooking crop this past weekend. The hostess served this absolutely delicious pulled beef BBQ with a homemade cole slaw. My mouth is watering just typing it again. She inspired me to make that for my own family this week.

Once again I default to FramedCooks. She came up with a pulled pork recipe inspired by Taste Of The South. I'm changing it up myself so it's my version of Framed's version of Taste's version. Got that, doesn't really matter just prepare yourself for some tasty BBQ.

Shredded Beef BBQ Sandwiches
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons ground red pepper
2 cloves garlic, smashed (she used 4, but hubs isn't a huge garlic fan so I halved it)
1 medium onion, finely diced (I changed this to a smaller dice and from 2 large to 1 medium)
1 3 lb beef brisket (she used a 5 lb pork roast)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Water
Hamburger rolls
Your favorite coleslaw
Your favorite barbecue sauce, warmed - KC Masterpiece, duh


1. Combine salt, paprika and pepper in a small bowl. Rub brisket with oil, and then rub spice mixture on, coating it all over.
2. Place roast in a slow cooker with garlic and onions. Add enough water to come three-quarters up the side of the beef.
3. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours. Save about a cup of the liquid and take out the beef. Remove any fat and bones, and then use two forks to shred it.
4. Mix sandwich-size portions with warmed bbq sauce and place on hamburger buns. Top with coleslaw and serve.

Framed says you can freeze the leftover BBQ and warm it whenever you want more - which in my house would probably be the next day. :) Happy eating friends!

Camden's Barnyard Bash

Cam's birthday party trifecta came to an end on Saturday with a barnyard bash at GCF. With friends and family in tow we headed for the country to spread out and enjoy all the fun at the farm.

We were led to the corn crib by our party hostess.


Where she helped me set up plates and napkins while I busied myself with the decorations I made the night before. Like his cupcake tower.


The 12 months banner with a picture of him from birth and every month until the 12th month.


The gift table with a framed photo of him 8 days old and a photo of him 8 days away from 1 year old.


The place setting complete with bubble favors.


The guest of honor arrived in his new red wagon, a gift from Gigi and Papa.


He snacked on some cheese puffs while he waited for his guests to arrive.


After his third round of "Happy Birthday Dear Camden" and some eating, we all headed over to meet Farmer Bob for our hayride tour of the farm.


We exited the hayride and then it was on to the cow train! MOOOOOOO!


Even Uncle J got a ride.


After that everyone was free to head out on the farm and bounce, feed the animals or play at the playgrounds they have. We all met up at the end in the corn bin. The mama's stretched out in chairs, the Daddy's chatted or corralled children and the kiddos played happily.


It was the perfect end to the perfect day.

Cam's First Birthday

We did little man's first birthday up right and he had three little parties!

On his birthday twinnie and the junebug crew came over for a playdate and some celebrating. She arrived that morning with donuts for the kiddos and a bottle of wine for me. Don't worry, I saved that wine for dinner and had a donut with the kids.

After lots of busy playtime, we let the older kids help make funfetti cupcakes. They had a grand time. We also discovered that twinnie's 3 year old kid can crack eggs better than I can.

Then it was time to sing and eat. We gathered everyone in the kitchen and gave them all a plate with plenty of frosting and a cupcake. Cam was in heaven and after he tore up his cupcake he went in search of others.



Just look at his path of destruction. Buddy is actually saying thank you in this photo because I saved his cupcake from Camden.



When they were finally done there was frosting everywhere and this sweet little face begging me for more.

Let Him Eat Cake

Celebration 2 happened that evening after TG got home from work. I used some of the funfetti batter to make him a mini two layer cake. It looked hideous, but as you will see Camden didn't seem to mind.

After his favorite dinner of IKEA swedish meatballs he was all smiles.


Here comes the blue blob, er, the cake!


He was pretty excited about the flame.


Make a wish Cam!


Camden was hesitant at first, until TG took a glob of icing and put it in his mouth. Then he planted a kung fu grip and put the whole cake in his mouth.


Then with his grip still intact he opted to bring face to cake.


Clearly thrilled to be one year old and eating cake.


The last photo and bite before he decided he was full, shoved his plate across the table and started signing, "all done".


I meant to get a picture of him and Riley together on that day, sadly I didn't. I did want to note for my memory though what an amazing big sister she is. She didn't fuss at all about Cam having a cake all to himself and she loved watching him eat it as much as we did.

It's Mother's Day, Hooray!

All of you hardcore Diego fans should know that song.

I had an amazing Mother's Day weekend. It was the perfect balance of some "me" time and family time. Riley always says, "I wubs our wittle fami-wee" and I couldn't agree more.

TG got me breakfast, lunch and dinner so nary a meal was prepared nor a dish washed. Ahh, heaven, I'm in heaven. It's the simple things in life these days.

Even though he sent me off to Lucketts with twinnie and her Mama for several delightful hours on Saturday where I got my own gift, he still surprised me with something I've been wanting for a while.

An external hard drive with 1 TB of space!!! Let the photo organizing begin! Nothing says love to me like a gift that shows he really listens to what I say. Because if you know me, you know it's an amazing feat to take in even half of my blabbing.

A year ago I was a new Mommy of two and now I'm the proud Mommy of two toddlers that I love more than anything in the world.


I learned from my own Mother, who has given me more love and support than any girl could ask for. She is an amazing Mama, and our beloved Gammy.


She learned from her own Mother, our beloved and much missed Tutu. We hope to see you soon Tutu!


And not to be forgotten is our Gigi who raised TG to be a loving husband and father who knows how to treat his wife right on Mother's Day.


Happy Mother's Day to all you Mama's out there! I hope your day was filled with love, pampering and appreciation for all that you do.

Weekly Menu

Ever since we got back from our vacation my shopping and menu planning schedule has been off. We flew home on a Tuesday night with a 6 hour time change and picked up right where we left off with work and commitments on Wednesday morning. So now, my new shopping day is Sunday and I plan my 7 days starting then.

You will notice an upswing in grilled dinners. We hosted our first Cinco de Mayo party last Thursday and realized 30 minutes prior to the party that our old grill had gone kaput. I raced to Home Depot and got a new one (already assembled) and now we're putting it to good use!

Also, I've been asked a few times about Wednesday date night. No, sadly it's not with my hubs. My friend and I both have husbands who have regular gym time on Wednesdays. Instead of managing entertainment and dinner for the kids by ourselves we decided to join forces. We usually hit up a park or our local play gym followed by dinner out.

Sunday: Mother's Day dinner out!
Monday: Grilled hamburgers and hot dogs with grilled corn on the cob
Tuesday: Chicken salad sandwiches with grilled veggies
Wednesday: Date night with Twinnie!
Thursday: Taco soup
Friday: Chili
Saturday: Grilled steaks and baked potatoes

This week's recipe is courtesy of my sister, Tata. She had it at some sort of holiday party and I made it for the first time this fall and fell in love. Easy and delicious!!!

Taco Soup

Ingredients:
1 ½ lb. Ground beef – browned and drained
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can Pinto beans
1 can Kidney beans
1 can Garbonza beans
1 can Yellow hominy
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 – 16 oz. Can chopped tomatoes
1 pkg. Taco seasoning
1 pkg. Dry hidden valley ranch dressing mix


Directions:
Mix everything in crockpot. Use the juices from the cans (do not drain). Cook in crockpot on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 7-8 hours. Serve with tortilla chips and shredded cheese, if desired. I also get avocados and sour cream for mine. YUM YUM!

A Trim Please

Yesterday, on Mother's Day, at the tender age of 12 months and 10 days old, our little guy got his first haircut.

Since he's on the younger side I opted for Cartoon Cuts in the event that he might need the distraction. Turns out he's just like his sister and a lollipop will suffice.

A before shot. Look how long his hair hangs over his ears and it's all scruffy on top. I didn't get a back shot, but it was bad, like Tom Brady bad.



My big boy, just hanging out getting his "hairs cut" without a care in the world.


Laughing at Daddy making funny faces at him in the mirror.



I thought for sure he would fidget, but he hardly moved as the man cut all over his head. Then I braced myself when they turned on the buzz clippers because I thought he'd scream.

I underestimated our Cam. He loved every minute of the whole experience and he looks like such a big boy! TG warned me though that now we have started his hair will grow faster and he'll need frequent cuts. That's okay with me, I'll just keep lollipops stocked up.

Weekly Menu

I've been bloggy MIA for a month due to stomach bug stage 2, ear infection #7, a big and wonderful family vacation and little man's first birthday. Eesh. It pained me just to type all that.

That said we've been home almost a week now and I'm finally getting back into the swing of things. We lived 4 1/2 days on what was still good in our refrigerator and pantry before I planned our menu and made it to the Teeter. Let's just say there were some creative meals going on, but I didn't have to resort to ketchup sandwiches which I may or may not have been known to eat before.

This week I'm keeping it simple style since I'm still readjusting to life with 5 kiddos during the day.

Monday: Chicken in wine sauce
Tuesday: Spaghetti
Wednesday: Date night with twinnie
Thursday: Cinco de Mayo! Beef and chicken fajitas
Friday: BBQ chicken sandwiches
Saturday: Breakfast for dinner
Sunday: Grilled hamburgers

This week's recipe is one I got from my MIL, but I've seen it around on other sites too. What's not to love? Chicken, cheese, wine?!? You had me at hello.

It's a simple and delicious recipe that my whole family loves. I make it even easier for myself by getting a rotisserie chicken instead of raw chicken. This way I only have to bake it long enough to cook the rice and melt the cheese - good food on the table fast = happy in my family.

Chicken in Wine Sauce

Ingredients:
1 can of cream of mushroom (I use cream of chicken and mushroom)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1-2 cups rice (if you use two cups you need to adjust your liquid accordingly)
4 chicken breasts (or breasts and other meat from rotisserie chicken)
4 slices swiss cheese (or a milder cheese if you like)
Dash of paprika

Mix cream of mushroom with wine and chicken broth.
Pour rice into a casserole dish. Dump in soup mixture, stir rice well.
Place chicken breasts on top of rice and push down until they are halfway submerged in liquid.
Top each piece with a slice of swiss cheese.
Sprinkle paprika on each piece.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until chicken is cooked thru. If you go the rotisserie route I cook mine for about 20 minutes just to melt the cheese and cook the rice.

Serve with your favorite veggie or a salad!