Week in Photos: Gingerbread houses, Christmas Jams, and Thanksgiving (in that order)

Ben's friend Freya from school (actually, her mom), invited us to go make gingerbread houses with them and it was so.much.fun.  I seriously want to go to this next year with friends!  I found myself wanting to decorate my OWN house - it was a blast.

These two REALLY love each other.

As a kid, I love this game that my mom would play with me.  (Put a bunch of things on a tray, give them a minute to study it, then have them close their eyes and remove 1 thing and see if they can find it)!  I did it with just 3 items with Ben and he liked it and then he got distracted.  I hope I can get him more into this again :)

Diggin' at school.

I could not resist buying new Christmas PJ's for all of us.  Ben obviously looked the cutest in his.

Ben made cookies on Wednesday with Grandma :)

Thanksgiving!  We got up early and got all of the food prepared and started.  Then we began this puzzle (that I obsessed over much of the day)!

 

As my mom and I were posing for this picture, I saw a DEER run across our front yard!  He ran around the back of the house, through the back yard, and then hopped the fence and crossed the street.  Magical!

Really enjoying my sangria!

So thankful for my family today and every day! (And my mom and dad - not pictured)!

FINISHED the puzzle first thing Friday morning.

On Friday, we took Ben bowling when Greg got home from a short day at work.  I snapped this pic before we went in.  Love him.

Meal Planning: Week of November 30th

Review from last week:

It's funny, I planned a week of "light cooking" leading up to Thanksgiving and found that I MISSED spending more time in the kitchen!  The kitchen is my happy place.  For real.

Chicken tortilla soup:

 

Pasta with arugula and slow roasted cherry tomatoes:

Not pictured: The boxed mac and cheese I made for dinner on Wednesday - made the "Cougan" way (extra cheese grated in with freshly cracked pepper).  Delicious.  Made after a long day at work where I didn't get home until 6:30.  I'm telling you, my cooking ambition is a direct result of a flexible (most of the time) work schedule.

Thanksgiving!!!!!  A fantastic meal.  I would not recommend this green bean casserole.

Plan for next week:

Sunday: Ricotta Meatballs with Chianti Sauce and salad.

Monday:Slow Cooker Moroccan Lentil Soup

Tuesday: Blue Apron Meal: Chile-Rubbed Steaks with Quick Kimchi and Tomato Rice

Wednesday: Blue Apron Meal: Crispy Catfish Shoyu Ramen with Yu Choy & Fresh Ramen Noodles

Thursday: Blue Apron Meal: Chicken Meatballs with Braised Kale & Spiced Celeriac Mash

Friday: Something from our freezer

Saturday: Hilary is in town for Jamie's baby shower, so we are going out afterwards :)

Week in Photos: Fun with Raleigh, being naughty, and love for mommy

 Goofballs at bedtime:
 


While in my room putting laundry away, I hear Ben holler from the other room: "I'm not doing anything!  Don't come in here"!  (I love that he alerts me to his naughtiness)!
 




Another funny story related to being naughty:  A few weeks ago, I was in my room getting ready for work while Ben was eating breakfast in the kitchen.  He came to my room and told me that he was going to close my door....Then about 30 seconds later, he knocked on the door and offered me a chip he was holding in his hand.  (HA)!  Apparently he had snuck into the pantry to grab a bag of chips but his conscious wouldn't let him go so far as to eat them without getting my approval ;)

We took a trip to the Science Center last weekend and I loved showing Greg up in the flexibility test :)

 

Ben passed out on the way home :)

 

That evening we went to Rachel and Raleigh's house for dinner and crafts...

...which necessitated a bath afterwards...mostly due to Raleigh getting creative with the paint (in his hair, ear, and likely his mouth) ;)

A few other funny things from this week:





Ben (as he was lying next to me): "I heard your tummy burping" (growling).

Last weekend while Greg stayed the night in Seattle after celebrating Adam's 40th birthday, Ben got to sleep with me.  I was SO cold as we were going to bed that I must have suddenly jumped out of bed to go grab a warmer pair of sweatpants.  Ben was watching me carefully as I changed, and finally asked me "did you pee in the bed"? (LOLS).  It obviously didn't make sense to him why I would change my clothes otherwise.

The other night as we were all snuggling:

Ben: I love you

Greg: I love you, too!

Ben: I was talking to mommy.

The weather was SO nice yesterday (although cold) that we couldn't resist going out to feed the ducks!  Had to take advantage of the clear skies.

And finally...

He told me he was making either a rocket ship or a pirate ship with his hands - I can't remember, I was too focused on grabbing my phone to snap a pic :)

Meal Planning: Week of November 23rd - THANKSGIVING

Review from last week:

Tried a new Chicken Parmigiana recipe and it was fantastic.  My kitchen smelled so good while cooking this.

I love this dinner because I generally only have to grab one thing from the store to make it: 1 sweet potato.  (We always have chicken in the freezer and a random vegetable we need to use).

 

Tried this pulled pork gyro recipe from one of my favorite food blogs and loved it.  I'm not sure it really tasted like GYRO meat, (more just like well seasoned pork), but it turned out great and I liked the cabbage.

 

Plan for next week: The least amount of cooking necessary (aside from Thanksgiving)!

Sunday:  Chicken Tortilla Soup.  

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (15 oz) can kidney beans
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans
• 1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 (12 oz) can beer  (or 1 can chicken broth)
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
• 3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts  (1lb of chicken tenders)
• shredded Cheddar cheese
• sour cream
• tortilla chips

Directions

Place the onion, kidney beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer or chicken broth, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker.  **Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend.  Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients.  Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.

Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips

Monday: Pasta with arugula, slow roasted cherry tomatoes and Parmesan.

Tuesday: Leftover Chicken Tortilla Soup

Wednesday: Tomato Soup and salad and/or grilled cheese

Thursday: Thanksgiving!  I'm hosting, and so happy that my mom cooks at least half of the meal :) I am taking a short cut and making this Crock Pot Turkey Breast.  We did this a few years ago and the meat was SO tender.  I'm also going to make a Green Bean Casserole, mashed potatoes, this blood orange soda sangria, and a loaf of this bread:

Friday: Leftovers!

Saturday: Jeannette's birthday dinner at The Spaghetti Factory!

Meal Planning: Week of November 16th

Review from last week:

The Kalua pork that never disappoints.  Greg brined the pork before he put it in the crock pot to cook, which made it ever more delicious.

Another week of Blue Apron.  This cod over couscous and acorn squash was really interesting and very good.

The chicken khao soup was everything I like about soup, but way too salty.  The recipe calls for adding salt to season to taste all throughout the cooking - but it really doesn't need it at all.

  

This lentil pasta was probably my favorite from the week.  I will very likely make this one again. It never occurred to me to add lentils to pasta!

 

Greg was out with friends on Friday night, which meant Ben had meatballs and I binged on sushi :)

 

On Saturday night, Ben and I joined Rachel and Raleigh for some Christmas crafts and I made shrimp summer rolls with peanut dipping sauce.

 

 
Plan for next week:

Sunday: Slow Cooker Korean Beef with Brown Rice

Monday: Chicken Parmigiana

Tuesday: Leftover Korean Beef
 
Wednesday: Grilled chicken (or a roast chicken from the grocery store) with snap peas and mashed sweet potato

Thursday: Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Gyros

Friday: Dinner with the Christensens

Saturday: My dad's 70th birthday!  Celebrating with take out Indian Food!

Week in photos: 4 year check up, greeting cards, and cute things Ben says

A few photos from this week:

Ben had his 4 year check up.  It revealed a few things we already knew: He is huge (95th percentile for height and 75th for weight), growing big and strong, and is exactly where he should be in all his developmental areas.  It also revealed a few things we didn't know: He can draw a person (kind of - he has never shown any interest in drawing a picture or anything beyond a scribble, really - but when the doctor asked him to draw a face and a body, he did.  What?  The appointment also revealed that he needed to be referred to an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist - apparently he had a pin hole in one ear drum and persistent effusion in the other.  The appointment with the ENT doctor just a few days later revealed he had 2 ear infections.  ?  (Marcia, I know you are freaking out as you read this)!  So he is on meds now and we have a follow up in a couple weeks.  So we learned he inherited his daddy's ears!

He also handled his vaccinations like a champ (the last he will need until he is 11)!  He even kissed his own owie after he got his shot (adorable).  He ended up with a red, rashy arm - but it was gone after 24 hours. 

  

The boys chillin'.

 

Me and Ben - I freaking love this hat on him.  I wanted to snap a picture before I left it in his cubby at school for the season.

Ben LOVES greeting cards.  We learned this after his birthday party, when I kept them by his mailbox in his room and he proceeded to pull them out to read multiple them times a day.  He has memorized who gave him each one and is so interested in the words (finding his name - and he now can identify "birthday" pretty well)!  I think this will be how he learns to read!

Side note - he calls his cards his "presents" and I'm pretty sure he will be getting some Xmas cards in his stocking this year :) 
 

 

 A few other funny things he has said/done lately:

One of my favorite things he says when he and Greg and doing something together: "We guys are playing together".

When I asked him if he wanted to share his cookie with me, he said "No, I'm sharing it by myself".

The day after his shots, he told me his arm was "sword - like daddy".  (Greg will tell Ben he is sore after work, but Ben always says "sword" instead).

Observing the fire in the fireplace: "The fire is dancing".

He calls the trophy he got from soccer his "piston cup".

While singing "Old McDonald", instead of saying "had a farm", he says "Happy Meal".

When getting into the bath with me, Ben walked into the bathroom with 4 matchbox cars.  (And there already were a bunch in there). I said he could choose 2 to bring in, and he immediately responded with "3??".  I said, "No, 2".  He then walked straight to the bath, not breaking eye contact with me, and gave me a sweet smile as he dropped all 4 into the tub.  The ultimate mic drop.  Greg and I about DIED laughing.  This kid certainly knows how to get his way.
 Ben is really into using all kinds of objects for playing pretend.  As I'm writing this, he is sliding his camera across the kitchen counter pretending it's "Ben", and pretending that my coffee mug is "Auntie Karen" and they are talking to one another.  The other day, I heard him in the back seat say "You're my best friend", to which I said "Awww, you are mine, too"!  He then shouted "NO - this shoe is Ben and this shoe is Freya"!  Apparently they were talking to one another.

He is obsessed with singing "Ben Ben Bo Ben".  It's extremely annoying.

He also is obsessed with singing "You'll Be Back" from the Hamilton soundtrack - which of course I can't get enough of.

He will randomly ask about his friends and ask me if they are doing the same thing he is doing.  For example, "Mom, did Oliver wake up?" (when he is waking up), or "Is Callie going night night"?

We have fun around here.  4 is officially the best.

Mother/Daughter Weekend!

 

 
This past weekend, my mom, Lisa, Shirley and I embarked on a mother-daughter getaway to Orcas Island!  While the weather left something to be desired, the company and accommodations ddefinitely did NOT!

On Saturday morning, the 4 of us headed to catch the ferry in Anacortes.  We arrived on the island at lunch time and grabbed soup and sandwiches at Rose's Bakery Cafe.

I had the most delicious mushroom soup that I've been craving another cup of.

 

Next up, we drove to check in to the Rosario Resort.  I had originally booked us a suite.  The day before we were set to arrive, they called me to let me know that the suite I had booked was not available (???) but that they would like to upgrade us at no charge to one of the residences (!!!).  Needless to say, we got hooked up!

Here is the view from our deck:

 

And the view from on of the bedrooms:

 

 
I would love to come back here again and stay longer next time!  Maybe when the weather is a little nicer!

There was a giant kitchen that we probably should have cooked dinner in, a nice sized living room with a fire place, and amazing views everywhere we turned.

After awhile, we decided to head back to town to check out some of the stores before it got too dark.  We had fun wandering around the bookstore, some art galleries, and a kitchen store before heading back to the resort to have dinner - followed by staying up super "late" (11 pm!).

The next morning, we had breakfast at the New Leaf Cafe (I had a mushroom, spinach, goat cheese omelet with truffle oil).

On our way back to the ferry, we stopped at Orcas Island Pottery, which was in the middle of the woods in this big, beautiful clearing.  Ben would have loved the tree house they had! 

 

 

These faces were so funny - I took these photos to show Ben:

 

When I showed this one to Ben, I kept asking him "Who is that??"  I wanted SO BADLY for him to say "Daddy?", but he let me down ;)

On the ferry ride back we attempted this puzzle that they have out for anyone to play.  Most of us gave up pretty quickly :)

It was such a fun time to spend with Lisa and the moms - I'm hoping we can all do this again!