Strawberry Patch

Last Saturday was gorgeous. Sunny and breezy, and warm, but not too hot.

So we packed up a picnic lunch and wound up here.


The last time I picked strawberries Matt and I were young, in love and carefree for the summer. We took a daytrip adventure in our hometown to a tiny patch to pick some berries. That was a long time ago people, and little adventures like this make me so happy, and I was seriously excited about this.

Little man helped direct us to the field.


Where we and our little strawberry attired friends filled our baskets.


With these ruby beauties.


While Camden picked from this patch...


These adorable three year olds disussed their finds.


"See Mom, a saw-raw-berry!"


Then someone decided he wanted in on the pickin' fun.


So TG helped him find some good ones.


When all was said and done we had 2 lbs of the most mouthwatering strawberries ever. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to go back to enjoying the grocery store fare again.

And an "All Natural (Strawberry Stained) Beauty" giving me the goofiest grin ever.

A Boy And His Popsicles

Some nights after dinner the kiddos get a popsicle for dessert. This night I knew little man wanted one because he retrieved the dilly bar from the play kitchen and was walking around and pretending to eat it.

Even after I gave him the real thing he couldn't be persuaded to give up the dilly bar. So doublefisting it is.

Who me?


Haha, this is tasty.


Halfway gone, maybe I should slow down.


Or maybe not...


Definitely not.


High on the deliciousness of fudgesicles.


On to the dilly bar!

Hello Summer

Okay, so I know it's not technically summer yet, but it sure feels like it around here.

And when it's this hot there's nothing more fun than visiting our local fountain park. This is our third year coming here. The first year we watched our little Riley running about with glee. Last year we watched our newborn snoozing and talked happily about the time when he would be able to join his big sister.

And now that time has come. Last Thursday I loaded up our two sweet babies for Camden's first trip to the fountains.

When we got there the water was in an off cycle, so Camden didn't quite understand what was going on.


Riley, the old pro, immediately stationed herself in the path of impending water.


Her patience was rewarded.


I did wonder what Camden's reaction would be. Most babies aren't too fond of randomly spraying water surrounding them and hitting them in the face, but he loved it.


Riley ran circles around all the other little guys there, including her brother. Who loved sticking his chubby hand in the water.


She darted through the water a few times.


But she was no match for this little guy! Who cracked me up as everytime the water hit his face and he would violently blow raspberries.


Here's to many more days of summer fun. Less than two weeks to go!

Weekly Menu

I'm thinking about getting hard core into couponing again. That could be a whole post entirely, but with summer coming and freedom for work I think it's an attainable goal. Anyone have good couponing sites, plans, or tips they want to share? I'm listening. Anyone want to join me in this adventure and we can go it together, perhaps splitting the work? Email me! Now, on to the menu!

This week I planned some tasty meals. I love when I'm excited about our meals because in turn I'm more motivated to cook them. Except for Tuesday night, when TG might have had to step in and rescue our poor family from being dinnerless because I was too exhausted to even formulate coherent thought much less be operating a stove burner.

So here's what we've got going this week.

Monday: Neighborhood Pizzeria deal after a trip to the swimming pool
Tuesday: BBQ sloppy joes - usually Tuesday is my crock pot night (which might explain why I was too tired to get up and cook!), but a sale at the grocery store prompted a last minute change
Wednesday: Date night with Twinnie
Thursday: Chicken salad on croissants with pasta salad and fresh strawberry shortcake
Friday: Grilled beef tenderloin and veggies
Saturday: Pioneer Woman's Braised Short Ribs with whipped potatoes and roasted root veggies
Sunday: Four Cheese Chicken Pasta

I may have already shared this week's recipe on here, but it's so good it is worth posting again. I received a premade dish from my husband's secret santa three years ago with a copy of the recipe on top. At the time I was very pregnant with Riley, exhausted and just giddy with a meal that I didn't have to cook. Then I tasted it and the rest is history.

Trust me, this is my go to meal. Pot lucks, birthdays, dinners for new moms or sick friends, picky kids? This is a crowd pleaser folks, so if you love pasta, and seriously who doesn't, print this out and put it in your files. Your taste buds will thank you.

Four Cheese Chicken Pasta
8 oz uncooked pasta (I prefer mini farfalle/bowtie pasta)
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (you can go with the low sodium, or low fat option)
1 8 oz. pkg of cream cheese, cubed
1 4.5 oz. jar of sliced mushrooms (you could use fresh)
1 8 oz. carton of heavy cream
1 stick butter
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 C shredded Swiss cheese
2 1/2 C cubed cooked chicken (I usually get a rotisserie chicken and use the white meat only for this dish)

Topping:
1/3 C seasoned bread crumbs
2 T butter, melted
2 T grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350.

Cook pasta al dente per package instructions. I usually take about 2 minutes off the suggested cook time because this is going to go in the oven when all is said and done and you don't want soggy pasta.

While pasta is cooking combine the soup, cream cheese, mushrooms, cream, butter and garlic powder in a large kettle on medium heat, stirring frequently until the cream cheese is melted. Add Parmesan and Swiss cheese, continue to stir until melted. Add the chicken and heat through.

Drain your pasta and then add to the sauce pot. Stir until all the pasta is coated.

Now for the topping! Pour your breadcrumbs, melted butter and Parm in a bowl and mix until well combined.

Transfer pasta to a greased casserole dish. Sprinkle your topping over the entire dish (I prefer to use my hands to get it spread evenly).

Cover and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until the delicious topping is golden brown.

ENJOY!!! I usually serve mine with a bit of fresh parsley or a green vegetable like peas or asparagus.

Ala Moana - Day 3

Our third day in paradise came with another early wake up call, but as we all were sound asleep before 7 pm it didn't matter. Plus, my family likes to wake up early when we're there anyway so as not to waste a single minute of our time there.

This day we decided to walk in the opposite direction down to Ala Moana Park. On the way there we stopped on the bridge and saw giant box jellyfish. My Dad couldn't believe 1. how big they were and 2. that there were jellyfish at all! He said in all the years he's been going to Hawaii he's never seen one there before. Actually, I forgot to blog about TG and Riley's jellyfish encounter. On Friday (Day 2), before we went to the pool we actually walked down to the beach. It was dusk and Riley wanted to go in the water. She and TG were playing out about waist deep when all of a sudden, TG hollered, yanked something up out of the water, and tossed it away. Then he and Riley started making tracks for the sand. She ran right up to Gampy and said, "No one, said anything to me about any jell-wee-fish." My dad was so tickled by her choice of words. It was definitely a funny and favorite memory. Don't worry TG was just fine, there was a little spot where he was stung and although I offered to ahem, alleviate the pain, he politely declined.

Anyway, our walk around Ala Moana was a treat because we got to see the beautiful beaches and there was a outrigger canoe race gearing up. Riley was fascinated by all the paddlers and canoes.





I'm so sad I didn't take any pics of the next part, but there was this lovely little protected stretch of sand. As the sun came up Riley just ran right out into the calm, cool water and soaked herself. It looked like so much fun that Camden and I decided to join her. The waves sent spray over the rocks, but the water was so flat, clear and shallow. Gammy watched us splash around while Gampy and TG watched some surfers from the point.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped and watched the paddle teams head out to the start and then make their way towards Diamond Head. Instead of Denny's we opted for breakfast at Happy's Cafe at the hotel where Gammy and I gobbled up spam musubi. Oh for the love of musubi. I ate it often and happily while I was there.



After morning naps and more musubi we hit the beachfront at the hotel and enjoyed playing in the ocean, building sandcastles and watching paddleboarders galore! The rest of our day was spent with a very fussy and feverish Camden and another early bedtime for all of us.

Tag Team

Back again, Wrecks n Effects, and let's begin...

Man I love old jams and there are certain songs like this one that I can link very specific memories to. But I digress.

This post is about my IRL tag team partner and amazing hubs, TG.

I am always thankful for him, but I don't always verbalize that gratitude. I've been working on letting him know how appreciative I am of his help as a husband and father.

At dinnertime tonight I became hyper aware of how thankful I am to have him by my side. While I was prepping plates, I looked behind me and he was filling sippys and getting us drinks. While I was delivering plates, he is right behind me with all the dinnertime necessities like napkins, condiments, and bibs. And right after we say grace he's ready with our music on demand. I feed Camden, he refills Riley's cup, I get a spoon off the floor, he wipes a nose.

Clean up was more of the same. As I was clearing the table he's wiping messy hands and faces. While I quickly washed dishes he vacuumed. Before I knew it all the work was done and we were ready to spend some time together outside enjoying the sprinkler with our two sweet babies. It was a delightful evening.

Of course it isn't always this seamless, but it makes me all the more thankful for when it is. So, thank you TG for being the ultimate tag team partner.

Whoomp, there it is.

Memorial Day Weekend

We had such a wonderful laid back weekend together as a family.

It made me ready for summer...like now. TG has three weeks left of school and I have that same amount of time with my little crew of 5. Believe me, I love those kids and we have great fun, but watching 5 age 3 and under is hard work! I'm exhausted by the end of the day. This weekend was just what I needed to recharge for the last bit of time.

We managed to go to the pool all three days of our weekend. We joined our community pool and it is only 3 minutes away from our home. It makes it very easy to throw some snacks and drinks in a bag and head down there.

Riley and Camden loved playing at the pool! Our sweet Riley is so determined to be able to swim this summer. She is not afraid to put her face in or even go under the water. Actually, today at our gym pool she was begging us to let her "gos under so I cans sink to the bottom wike a rock". TG and I worked with her a lot over the last three days and she's definitely showing improvement. She can make it a short distance between him and I or from us to the wall, but we really need to work on getting her to keep her face down in the water and only lift it to breathe! Riley told us yesterday, "I wills be able to swim by hmm, Saturday!"

My handsome TG and his mini me.

Watching his big sister swim laps in the pool with Daddy.
Look at that reach! She's a natural born swimmer just like her Mommy and her Tata.
He loved sitting poolside, splashing with his toys, and watching the action. For about 5 minutes.
The baby pool was closed, but NBD, we rock the big pool just fine.
You lookin at me? Mean muggin' his little octopus.
Three days of fun in the sun definitely caught up with our kiddos today! We had to wake them both up from their afternoon nap around 5:30 pm. Tonight we grilled steak, made Tutu's potato salad, and grilled veggies for dinner. It was the perfect end to a wonderful weekend.

I hope all of you were able to enjoy time with your families today. I have to take a moment to say thank you to all the men and women who serve our country in the Armed Forces. We don't take our freedom for granted and we know that is only made possible by the sacrifices of so many. I specifically want to say thank you to our family and dear friends who have served our country. We love you Gampy, Papa, Uncle P, and Uncle R!

ALOHA - Day 2

It took us several days to adjust to the 6 hour time change. The first morning we were there Camden was awake and hollering at 5:30 am. I managed to hold him off for 30 more minutes by feeding him and letting him sleep in our bed, but by 6 am Riley was awake too.

One of my favorite things about our trip was watching my kids get up every morning and go looking for their Gammy, Gampy and Tata in their adjoining room. My parents would sing "Good Morning" to them and give them hugs and kisses and generally let them run back and forth while we all got ready for our day.

I simply cannot say enough about how amazing my parents and sister were on this trip. This was their vacation as well, but they went out of their way to help with Riley and Camden as much as they possibly could. They were so insistent that TG and I be able to relax and destress while on this trip. Little things like holding Camden whenever they could, helping push the stroller, taking them to the pool, dressing them, bathing them; I could go on and on. I never had to ask for help, more often then not they were offering without me even saying a word. Hubs and I were able to spend so much time alone! We went shopping, laid out at the beach, paddle boarding, parasailing, visited happy hours and just enjoyed ourselves. Gammy, Gampy, and Tata if you are reading this, thank you so much. Your time, help and love for our children meant so much to us!

So that first morning we were up with the sun and headed out for a walk down Waikiki. We walked to the pier which was almost 2 miles away and by then the kids were melting down from a combo of hunger, jet lag, and the heat. We tried watching the fish to brighten Riley's mood, but she wasn't really having it.







So we made tracks for our favorite breakfast spot...


DENNY'S! I'm a little embarassed to say how many times we had breakfast here, but their portuguese sausage, eggs and rice were so good! A dash of soy sauce and some hot sauce for Gammy and we were in heaven! Little man LOVED the portuguese sausage too. Riley preferred the baseball pancake breakfast.


After a nap for Cam, we went up to Punch Bowl to visit my Grandpa. It was my first time here. We said hello and left some beautiful red flowers for him.




After Punch Bowl we had to head back over to the airport so we could retrieve Riley's backpack that I left in the baggage area the day before. Luckily her bag and all her things had been picked up by the airline office. After that we went to Wal-Mart for some trip necessities.

It was Kid's Month at the hotel and they had all sorts of fun activities for them! When we got back from our errands we went to the Easter cookie decorating. They had a wonderful set up; tons of premade sugar cookies in cute Easter shapes, tons of icing bags, and decor galore! Riley had a great time. She made a cookie for herself and one for her brother.





Gammy and Gampy offered to stay with the babies while they napped so TG and I went down to Bibas happy hour. We relaxed on their patio and had a snack, some drinks and listened to the live music. When they woke up we all went down to the pool for a swim.

In the weeks leading up to the trip we told Riley that in Hawaii she could go swimming at the pool or beach everyday. We made sure that happened and she loved it!




Cam was such a trooper. I'm not sure if you can tell from these photos, but he really wasn't feeling well at all. At this point the double ear infection was still kicking his tush.




After the pool it was time for an early dinner and baby baths courtesy of Gammy before another 6 pm bedtime.

Weekly Menu

I missed posting last week's menu, but trust me you didn't miss much other than some grilled chicken and grilled cheese. It was a busy week, as the end of the school year weeks usually are and I'm TIRED. However, I'm trying to pull it together and march on for these last 3 weeks and planning is the key.

Monday: Grilled Rosemary Merlot Flank Steak with roasted veggies
Tuesday: Loose Meat Sandwiches (Crock pot meal)
Wednesday: Date night with Twinnie
Thursday: Spaghetti
Friday: Taco Bake
Saturday: Classic Italian Panini with Prosciutto and Fresh Mozzarella
Sunday: Grilled hot dogs and corn

This week's recipe comes from my Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2009 cookbook. I decided to make this recipe when TG commented on how out of control my container herb garden basil is growing. You can't make this sandwich without the fresh stuff so if you don't have it, get to your grocery store and buy some!



Classic Italian Panini with Prosciutto and Fresh Mozzarella

1 (12 oz.) loaf French bread, cut in half horizontally (I use a baguette from Harris Teeter)
1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 T chopped fresh basil
1 C (4 oz) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese, divided (you can use the packaged stuff but the fresh mozzi gives it the best flavor)
2 oz. very thin slices prosciutto (I've subbed bacon before and that is just as delicious)
2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced (It's tomato season!!!)
Cooking spray

1. Hollow out top and bottom halves of bread, leaving 1/2 inch thick shells; reserve torn bread for another use. Spread 2 T mayo over cut side of each bread half. Sprinkle basil and 1/2 C cheese on bottom half of loaf. Top evenly with prosciutto, tomato, and remaining 1/2 C cheese. Cover with top half of loaf. Cut filled loaf crosswise into 4 equal pieces.

2. Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray (I use EVOO in a Misto). Add sandwiches to pan. Place a cast-iron or other heavy skillet on top of sandwiches (I usually just use a small pan with two cans of food in it). Cook 3 minutes on each side or until bread is toasted (leave skillet on sandwiches while they cook).

It makes 4 servings of a tasty, easy and perfect summertime sandwich. We love this with grilled veggies or a romaine salad with a balsamic vinaigrette. Enjoy!

Home Is Where The Heart Is - Day 1 - Travel

Over a month ago, after a 6 year hiatus, we finally made it back home.

Home to our beloved Hawaii.

The last time we were in Hawaii, TG and I were still newly married and our children were only stars in the sky.

We've tried several times over the years to plan a trip back, but houses, jobs, babies and life just got in the way. So when the last minute opportunity to take our whole family came up we jumped on it.

We decided to break up the 12 hour travel time and stop in San Francisco overnight to give ourselves and our kids a break. That was the best decision we ever made.

We left here on a Wednesday night (after missing our 4:00 flight) on Virgin America. I simply can't say enough about this airline. From the staff in the airport who went out of their way to help us get on another flight, to the pilot who after a 6 hour flight went out of his way to locate our stroller - their customer service was unmatched by any airline we've ever been on. Add to that the seriously beautiful and spacious airplane with cable tv on demand and courteous flight attendant service and you've got the ideal cross country flight with two small children. If you haven't flown Virgin, you are missing out.

After a much needed night of sleep we woke up early West Coast time and majorly excited for our flight to Honolulu. Now, can we talk airports? In my opinion, Dulles is one of the worst airports to fly out of. It's busy, understaffed, and sprawling. The majority of the reason we missed our flight was simply our fault for cutting it too close, but that combined with the ridiculous security line at Dulles sealed our fate.

Not wanting to make the same mistake that we did in DC we arrived 2.5 hours early at SFO for our Honolulu flight, but much to our surprise that amount of time was unnecessary because San Fran has a security line just for families. We breezed right through, had a delicious breakfast and had 2 hours to spare. 2 hours that were happily spent playing in the Kids Science Area. SFO is seriously family friendly, hello Dulles can you get on that train already?

Our flight to Honolulu was okay, mostly because we knew at the end we would be in Hawaii. Camden slept almost the whole way with a raging fever due to an ear infection we were battling right up to the day we left (with a last minute morning trip to urgent care to get yet another antibiotic). Riley happily played the iPad for most of the trip while TG tried to relax. I missed winning the halfway point game by a mere 2 minutes and TG and I enjoyed a yummy cheese and wine tray as our lunch.

My heart swelled with joy when we caught our first breath of island air and Riley grasped my hand and solemnly said, "Mom, this is my faber-it place in the whoa-el werr-ld." I couldn't have said it better myself.

After we grabbed our bags, we hopped on our Roberts Hawaii bus to the hotel where we immediately dropped our bags off at the bell hop and ran down to the beach to put our toes in the water. Riley soaked herself and her dress while Camden squealed with excitement at the waves lapping over his little feet.

I might have shed a tear of at that moment watching my two babies so happy in a place that brings me so much joy.

Then we sprawled on the grass, played with shoes, and ran off some pent up energy while we waited for Gammy and Gampy to arrive.





We wrapped up our first afternoon there with dinner at Bibas and an early 6:00 pm bedtime for all.