Vacation Week and Food Review

What a fabulous week off!!!  While we were a little sad not to be on the beaches of Cabo, I think everyone should take a staycation when they need a little break, too.  We managed to get a lot of random things done - cleaned out the garage a bit, Greg spent an entire day smoking pork shoulder, I did a little cleaning out of our closets, cleaned a few over stuffed drawers, and rearranged our pots/pans so everything kind of fits.  I still have a long list of other things I'd like to accomplish (potty-training, some yard work, putting away outdoor furniture, and a few more drawers/closets that need organizing) but I feel good about what I was able to accomplish :)

In addition to spending a few days in Canada, we also:

Made breakfast!  A lot!  There is nothing like whipping up some pumpkin pancakes, bacon and eggs and enjoying several cups of coffee over a lingering meal.

I left the boys at home so I could enjoy meeting/holding baby Emmett and visiting with Becca!  He is perfect and they are now an adorable and happy family of four! 

Greg chopped down a tree that he has been detesting ever since we moved in :)  And Ben watched.

We went on a few walks:

We went to the park.

We picked up some flowers and brought them to Grandma at work.  And we got a balloon for being such a good boy.

We played trucks.

We had Myles (and family) over for dinner:

I think this was the week before last, but Lisa came up and we made cookies:

The boys watched a few Steeler games (while I escaped to yoga classes) :)

And we OBVIOUSLY cooked and drank wine :)

I'm trying to get a little better about using up what might be leftover in the fridge from another meal.  The book I'm reading suggested throwing any about to go bad vegetables or cheese on top of a flatbread, cracking an egg on top and making a pizza, or throwing the vegetables into a pot with some chicken stock and making soup, or sauteeing it all up and making a scramble of some kind (all strategies I plan to try in the upcoming weeks).  But when we returned from Canada and wanted to make something, I was SO pleased to discover that I had everything leftover that was needed to make Pan-Seared Chicken with Bulgur. 

Since we were away on vacation we didn't do much of a meal plan, but this is a bit of what we cooked up last week:

The Tilapia over rice was great with vegetables was pretty good.  Jade rice is something new to me - and I liked it.

The turkey meatballs over linguine was great, although it's hard to beat the Italian meatballs you can buy frozen from Costco.  (So easy)!  But I've been wanting to incorporate turkey instead of beef once in awhile and this was a delicious way to do it. 

The cuban sandwiches with kale/plantain salad were amazing - my only critique would be to use a panini press instead of using oil in a pan to get the bread crispy.  We made a variation of this with smoked pork this past weekend and it was much less greasy using the panini press.

I made Lagered Turkey Soup (which I had thought was LAYERED Turkey Soup the first several times I made it) and it was great.  I could eat this chili every week.

No meal planning for the next couple weeks because Greg's mom arrives on Tuesday and I'll be happily handing over the kitchen to her!  (I'll be her sous chef) :)

7 Years

On Friday October 10th, Greg and I celebrated 7 years of marriage!  (Woah).  Each time we celebrate an anniversary I am reminded just how far we have come and how much our lives have changed since we met each other.

Greg and I met and fell in love under the easiest of circumstances: easy, low-stress jobs with zero outside-of-work responsibilities, living rent-free (me) or close to rent-free (him), having entirely disposable incomes with only a few places we wanted to spend it (bars! clothes! casinos), and our main focus was always on each other.  

Over the past 7 years of marriage our lives have changed so much.  Our priorities have shifted drastically and our responsibilities have increased about a zillion percent.  It can be challenging at times to remember to focus on (and have patience with) one another like we used to because we now have so many other things requiring our attention.  But as we grow and change and learn about ourselves and one another I'm reminded that this really is what marriage is all about.  Having that other person to rely on (which we do, tremendously, in all aspects of life).  To appreciate the little, small things we do for one another each and every day.  And to learn to keep our eyes focused on our family and our goals we have set for it.

I do understand very much when people tell you that marriage takes work - and I feel lucky and happy and satisfied that I'm with the person who (more than) deserves this effort and who I love to live, laugh, eat, drink, and parent with :)

With both of us feeling pretty proud of our 7 year accomplishment, we wanted to celebrate in our favorite way:

FOOD AND WINE!

We FINALLY got the chance to eat at Staple & Fancy, which immediately became our favorite restaurant and favorite meal EVER.

At the urging of others we have talked to who have dined here, we opted for the family-style kitchen prepared menu and were blown away by the four courses presented to us.

I'm sure I'm remembering some of this menu incorrectly or incompletely, but this is a taste of what we had:

• figs and house-made lemon ricotta
• fried oysters with chipolte aioli
• beef tartar
• blackened octopus with avocado cream and radishes
• wedge salad with buttermilk ranch dressing
• charcuterie
• butternut squash soup with hazelnuts
• ravioli stuffed with goat cheese and hazelnut cream
• rib eye with a wine reduction sauce with chantrelle mushrooms and brussels sprouts
• dense chocolate cake with mocha icecream and a salted caramel sauce

HOLLA.  When we left, I declared that we will now embark on an Ethan Stowell restaurant tour over the next few years.  Next up, Red Cow or Mkt. for my birthday.  :)

CHEERS to Greg for being a great spouse for 7 years.  I love you!

Whistler 2014

Due to a somewhat last minute cancellation (or, as we keep reminding ourselves, postponement) of our Cabo trip, we found ourselves with a week off from work and ZERO plans.  We brainstormed to come up with somewhere to go for a short getaway, and landed on Whistler!  We both had been before but never had been together, plus we figured it would be a perfect place to hang out for a few days with Ben.

On Monday morning, we got on the road a little before 10.  The drive up was GORGEOUS - sunny and beautiful.  We stopped briefly in Vancouver for lunch and then continued on our way.  Ben was a complete angel, too - happily watching Frozen, singing songs, and pointing out every.single.truck.and.bus.and.motorcycle he saw on the road.

When we arrived, we took a stroll around the village until our room was ready, and found an amazing park that we assume they added for the Olympics a few yeas back.  Definitely made several trips there throughout our time in the village.

After unpacking and relaxing a bit, Ben STILL hadn't napped all day.  I have had a growing fear that he is starting to phase out his nap all together and figured we would just roll with it, but when he requested his stroller (something he NEVER wants) around 5:30 pm, and then proceeded to pass out in it at 6:30 pm, my concerns are no more.  He DEFINITELY needs a nap during the day if we want him to last much past dinner time.

However, this time it worked out great!  Greg and I were able to pour some wine in our travel wine tumblers (an amazing and perfectly timed early birthday present from Hilary), do a little shopping, and enjoy our evening "alone".

Ben being a REALLY good boy.

Needless to say, it was a very early night for all of us.

On Tuesday morning, Greg went for a run while I checked Yelp for the best breakfast spot.  We ended up at Elements Urban Tapas and had one of the most amazing breakfasts EVER.

Ben is on a bacon kick (great), and ate an entire side of bacon (that could have been an entree) by himself.

Greg and I split a Crab Benedict...

And a ham and brie stuffed french toast.  OMYUM.

The rest of our morning we walked in loops (and ran and jumped and climbed on all of the benches) around the village checking out menus at all of the restaurants for later in the evening (it really is all about the food for us) and took pictures :)

That evening, we walked the trail to the base of Blackcomb and ate sushi for dinner and enjoyed beautiful sights all along the way.

And after dinner (and another stop for a pitcher of beer), we came home and Ben and I enjoyed a bubble bath in the big jetted tub :)  I definitely stopped at LUSH and picked up some fresh face masks, a hair mask and a few bath bombs. 

The next morning we grabbed crepes (and a smoothie) and played at the park one last time and then packed up and checked out.

Throwing rocks in the water.

The drive back home felt much quicker.  (Isn't that always the case)?  We enjoyed the views and the stopped at the World of Science in Vancouver to play for a few hours and have lunch.

And Ben slept ALL the way home from Vancouver :)  

Whistler was great!  We learned a few things:

1) Going to Whistler during the off season is amazing - no crowds and no waiting for a table at restaurants.

2) The village is also DEAD - i.e. several restaurants and the gondola were closed, which was a bit of a bummer.  

3) Whenever possible, we now need to get Ben his own bed.  As nice as it was to snuggle, it was quite irritating getting kicked all night long!

Now are back and happy to be home enjoying the last few days of our time off!  It was so nice to disconnect, relax, and not worry about anything - trying to keep that going through the weekend.  My biggest "task" now is trying not to eat this entire box of cookies I brought home at once.

The iPhone 6 has created a slow-mo monster (me)

Apparently this has been an available feature on previous iPhones, but I never knew about it until now.  And now I can't stop.  Everything is funnier and more fun in slow-mo.

Meal Planning: Week of September 29th

Review from last week:

I failed to take that many pictures this week...and this week was also kind of light on cooking!  I DID, however, bake my all time favorite pumpkin cookies because it's FALL and it's RAINING and life is good. (Shout out to Callie for introducing these into my life the day Ben was born - I make them several times each Fall now)!

I recently found a slightly modified recipe because I didn't have any Crisco on hand and the end result tasted EXACTLY like the original ones I've been making for 3 years now.

SOFT PUMPKIN SUGAR COOKIES

Here's what you will need:
4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil and they tasted great)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs

For the Glaze:
3 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons half & half (or milk)
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, and spices; set aside. In another large bowl, beat together the butter, oil, pumpkin, sugars, vanilla, and eggs. Mix until smooth. Then, slowly mix in the dry ingredient until completely incorporated.

Using a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop, place the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or a silicone baking mat). Use a glass to flatten the dough to about 1/2 inch thick. (If the dough sticks, press the bottom of the class in granulated sugar before flattening the dough.) Bake for 8-9 minutes.

Once baked, transfer the cookies to a cutting board to cool.

While the cookies cool, prepare the glaze. Whisk together all of the ingredients until smooth. If your glaze is too thick, add more milk. If it's too thin, add more powdered sugar.

Once the cookies are cool, use a spoon and spread glaze over top of each cookie. Let the glaze harden before serving or packing away.

Recipe from www.inspiredbycharm.com 

But back to dinner:

The Chicken Pot Pie served as dinner 2 nights and lunch 2 days - gotta love that.  I joined Rachel for Indian take out on Sunday and loved it so much that Greg and I got it again on Wednesday night :)

I messed up and purchased ingredients for Santa Fe Chicken instead of Chicken Tortilla Soup, but oh well - Greg likes this one more anyway.  It also served as leftovers for a night.

We also finally ate the beef and broccoli (Trader Joe's) that has been in my meal plan for weeks :)

Tonight I am hoping to go out to eat because I haven't grocery shopped yet and this weather has me feeling a little cooped up!

Plan for next week:

Saturday: Going to make something with chicken - I'll throw together using whatever we have.  Hoping it will be the blackened chile-dusted chicken we didn't make last week, but this chicken parmigiana also looks pretty bomb. 

Sunday: Lisa and Evan are coming over for dinner - rescheduled from a few weeks back.  Greg is going to try using his deep fryer for the first time and we are planning to make halibut tacos!

Monday: Our favorite weeknight go to soup - Crockpot tomato basil with grilled cheese sandwiches.

Tuesday: We are doing Blue Apron this week!  Tuesday will be Togarashi-Spiced Tilapia & Jade Pearl Rice.

Wednesday: Blue Apron Meal: Cuban Sandwiches with Sweet Plantain & Kale Salad.

Thursday: Blue Apron Meal: Turkey Meatballs & Linguine with Fresh Tomato Sauce and Pecorino Cheese.

Friday: Dinner at Dan & Jeannette's!

Saturday: My recent obsession just won't quit - so I'm going to try and make Indian food at home.  Butter Chicken with a side of stir fry vegetables. 

3 Years Old

My little big 3-year-old.  

How I wish I could pause our lives right now and continue to soak up every ounce of Ben's sweetness.  One of my biggest fears becoming a parent was that I would end up with a bratty, rude child.  I'm not sure why I was so worried - I think Greg and I are generally pretty nice - but so far, Ben's sweet and polite disposition, his passion for dancing and tickles, and his contagious giggles have proven that I had no reason to worry.  

Our day to day routine is full of moments where I absolutely DIE inside over how much love I feel for this kid.  In the mornings after he wakes up, he will typically walk over to his table to sit down and play with a toy.  He will let me know when he is ready to come out by getting back on his bed and talking straight into the camera and saying "I'm all done going night night - I had a nice nap"!  A few weeks ago, I had noticed he had gotten out of bed but then never let me know it was time to come get him.  I went into his room and he was under the table in the complete darkness and all he said was "peak-a-boo, mama".  Followed by "I want some chocolate milk, please".  

After he finishes his milk it's IMMEDIATELY time to "play Thomas", which is still what he says in reference to the front room/train table/all his trucks.  Monster trucks have totally taken over our house right now and he can entertain himself playing forEVER, (as long as he knows I'm watching him from wherever I happen to be).

One of his favorite activities is to take a morning walk (or drive) to the park to see if any other kids are around to play with/chase.  He absolutely loves any little kid who will chase him or be chased by him.  He engages them by running past them, stopping, looking back with an encouraging smile and then cracks up once the game of chase begins once more.  I love how friendly he is and how quick he is to say "I want SOME MORE".

Once back home, he is a champ at helping me with certain chores.  He is eager to please and loves to be praised for: helping collect the garbage, spraying the Windex when we are cleaning the windows, and wiping various things (he will tell me "Mama, I need to get some of my wipes, please").  He also loves to wash his hands (which is nice, considering potty training MUST happen soon).  

At night time, it is generally fairly easy to get him to bed, as long as he gets to pick a few books out to read.  Recently, we rediscovered "I'll Love You Forever" and Ben wants to read it almost nightly.  He will say some of the words along with me and it takes ALL THAT I HAVE not to break down every time I read it.  Once we are done with books, and Ben starts to catch on that I'm about to turn off the light, he will say "I want some mama", and needs me to snuggle with him for awhile.  And this part is so funny to me: We ALWAYS lay on our right sides, I am (obviously) always the big spoon, and it has been like this pretty much every night since he was born.  

I will often lay with him for a few minutes until I think he is starting to fade, but as soon as I start to back away to sneak out, I'll hear the littlest voice again.  

"I want some mama".

I love his crazy, BLONDE (with a gangsta cowlick) hair.  I love his beautiful, against his genetic odds, blue eyes.  I love how when he sees a picture of a unicorn, he calls it a "popcorn". I love his goofy facial expressions - particularly his furrowed brow.  I love how he tilts his head to the side, makes a "that was so nice of you!!" face, when he says, "thank you"! I love how he asks me "Hey Mama, whatcha doin'" 1,549 times a day - and when he KNOWS exactly what I'm doing, he will tack it on in front of a comment - i.e. "Hey Mama, whatcha doin' you're makin' the bed"!

Ben, in a nutshell

A few other updates:

We had our LAST speech therapy session.  We were both so sad that we would no longer be seeing Katie every couple weeks, but at the same time, feeling so confident in Ben and the massive progress he has made over the past year.  On our last visit, she told me how blown away she was with his speech lately, and even commented that he is conjugating verbs like a champ for his age!  I hadn't even noticed, as I obviously have no idea when that is supposed to happen, but she was right - he does (sometimes)!  She also said that it feels so great to know that he essentially "graduated" the program - in that he isn't continuing on with additional therapy after finishing with her.  

I'll be taking Ben in next week for his 3 year check up and I'm curious to see how he is measuring up in height and weight.  My assumption is still tall and still "medium" in his weight.  His 3T jammies are much too tight, and he is starting to transition into 4T clothing.  It just dawned on me that he will likely be getting shots - which he hasn't had since he was 2!!  Knowing how much more aware he is, I'm curious/nervous to see how that goes.

I (WE) love him more than words.  I worry that I love him TOO much at times, but that is impossible.  The good news is that I think the feeling is mutual :) Ben's frequent, unprompted hugs make me melt inside and I dread the day his bumps and bruises are no longer magically healed by my kisses.

Pics from the weekend

A short and sweet updated from a lovely weekend.  In addition to celebrating Ben's birthday, we had brunch in Bothell (followed by a yoga class for me)!

Ben took a few naps with his monster truck.

And Ben and I spent an evening with Rachel and Raleigh.