First Day of Pre-K

I can't believe today is the first day of Pre-K for the boys.  Not that they didn't go to "school" last year, they did.  But somehow this is different.  (Just bear with me...)  It is different because it is the last year that they don't have to go.  Don't get me wrong, they love, love, love school.  But this means that they are now one year away from going to Kindergarten and I am terrified of sending them to our local public school.  Which is bad, because I work in a public school.  Which probably is why I am so freaked out about the whole thing. 

So today was the one year of worry mark.  Ugh.  I hate that I am such a worrier, but I can't help it!

A little surgery for the 4 year olds...

Tonight Doug decided it was time to take out his massively wide stitches he got about a week ago when playing with the table saw.  The boys have been very, very interested in his thumb all week and taking inventory of if has healed yet.  So this combination of events led to a little preschooler surgery in the kitchen tonight.

Doug gave each boy a hemostat and then snipped the stitch and let them each have a tug and pull one out.  (Pictures to come when I can get them off the camera)

I have to say I thought this was pretty brave on his part - and the boys thought it was very neat.  (Gabe wanted to actually keep the nasty, crusty stitches - but luckily we convinced him it was not a good idea.)

The Buick Refuses to Die

The Buick absolutely refuses to die.  I keep thinking - this is it -- finally! But no.  It just keeps hanging on.  Today Doug needed to get the Roll Back so he could take the Buick into the shop and have the brakes checked, as the brake lines leaked out all the fluid last month and now we need the third car for kiddo pickup.

So the Roll Back is called in, the Buick is loaded, the chucks are pulled out from under the tires and...well, the Roll Back did just that.  It rolled.  Back.  And over the 8 foot retaining wall.  With the Buick on it.

Sigh....  and was the Buick injured?  No.  Was the Roll Back - ummm, yeah.  So a BIGGER Roll Back was then called upon to get the first one (with the car still on it) from the dangling position it was in over the wall.  Many, many hours (and an ulcer on my part -- but great fun for the boys and a large portion of the neighborhood) later the Buick was on the Roll Back, which was on the Roll Back.  

Welcome to what it is like to be married to a Bowen man.

Blueberry Muffins made with Yogurt

I love, love, love blueberry muffins - but almost every recipe I see calls for a stick of butter or a cup of oil.  Now that I am over 40 and have to make an effort not to gain weight, I just can't bring myself to make those old recipes any more.

I did find this recipe that uses yogurt in place of almost all the fat.  It makes the texture a lot like pound cake AND it provides a couple grams of protein, which is always a plus in our house since we don't eat meat all that often.

I pretty much always double this recipe.  When I double it I end up with 18 regular (not super sized) muffins and 12 mini muffins for the kiddos.

For a single batch (12 muffins) you need:

2c Flour  
1/3 c Sugar
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Baking soda  
1/4 tsp Salt  
1/4 c Orange juice  
1 tbs Vegetable oil  
1 tsp Vanilla extract  
1 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt
1 Egg
1 c Fresh blueberries (or frozen ones that are defrosted - that's what I always use)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.

Combine all the wet ingredients (NOT THE BLUEBERRIES) in a separate bowl

Make a well in dry ingredients, add wet and combine just until moistened (it will be a thick batter)

Gently fold in blueberries.

Pour into sprayed muffin tins.  Top with a little raw sugar if you want.

Bake for 18 minutes (for big ones) or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Remove for pan immediately and cool on wire rack.

Per Muffins Info:

Calories: 139

Fat: 1.8g

Protein: 3.5g

Carbs: 27.2g

Just hanging out...

 This has been an incredibly short summer with really weird weather.  These things together have meant we have had very little pool time at our house, which is a real bummer.  After weeks of meetings/conferences/etc. we were finally able to get the kids in the pool again and it was so much fun.  I had the twins in a few days earlier when I was home with them and didn't get any pictures because I thought I'd be hanging on to them the whole time.  I was soooo wrong!

All of a sudden these two little boys have turned in to pool masters.  I couldn't wait for Doug to see how far they have come with their level of comfort and ability over the summer.  They were jumping off the side, swimming across the pool with their little jackets on, kicking around on their backs, and having a great time. 

Doug was shocked at how good they were!  They wanted everyone to stand on the side and watch them jump so they could see them (not jump on them, like at the beginning of the summer!)

After some pool time, they all (Doug included) ended up in a tree.  My little boys are turning into "real boys" right before my eyes.  This summer has really been fun to watch them become more and more independent and try new things. 

Meal Planning - Reinvented (August 1- 14ish)

So I kind of fell off the Meal Planning Wagon over the summer.  Life just got in the way.  I still made rough plans based on what was coming out of the garden and what we had and what was on sale - but I never sat down at put it in the blog.

But with school starting shortly and my new 90 day Beach Body Challenge, I have to start planning again like I mean it.  What I decided to do was make a master list of meals I could make on any given day - and decide which to make during the day, based on how hungry I am and how much protein I have already eaten during the day.  (Protein is always hard for me to get enough of - 'slab 'o meat' is just not appealing.  I'd much rather have a huge mess of veggies or pasta.)

So here is my menu/recipe list for the first 14 days of my 90 day challenge.

Breakfasts:
eggs, whole grain cereal, cottage cheese, fresh fruit, pumpkin seeds

Lunch:
left overs (if available), tomato sandwiches, other random healthy things

Snacks:
Fresh veggies, hummus, almonds, Shakeology

And Dinners - I've noted where they come from (MW is Moosewood, MWLF = Moosewood Lowfat).  I took the easy way out and linked to other people's posting of these recipes if they were true to the book.) I will get the rest of the basic nutritional info up soon.

Black Bean Soup (MW@home p. 23) 204 cal., 10.8 g protein 4.1 g fat per 8 oz
Corn and Squash Soup (Cooking Light, 2011)
Cold Tomato Soup (MW@home, p.26) 71 cal., 1.9 g protein, 2.8 g fat per 8 oz
Curried Chickpeas and Tofu (MW@home, p. 169) 253 cal., 11.7 g protein, 10.5 g fat per 8 oz
Broiled Eggplant w/ Lentil Salad (MW@home, p. 131)
Avocado and Corn Salad (MW@home, p.119) 317 cal., 5 g protein, 23.5 g fat per 8 oz
Pasta Fresca (MW@home, p.184)  273 cal., 11.7 g protein, 9.2 g fat per 8 oz
Pasta Tutto Giardino (MW@home p.186) 208 cal., 6.3 g protein, 5.4 g fat per 8 oz
Caribbean Fish in packet (MW@home, p. 245) 212 cal., 22.4 g protein, 10.5 g fat per 6 oz
         with mashed sweet potatoes
Braised Fish with artichokes, red peppers and onions (MW@home p. 248) 165 cal., 18 g protein, 6.1 g fat per 6 oz  over steamed rice w/ roasted beets
Tuscan White Beans and Sage (MWLF, p.168)
Curried Cabbage and Potato Roll Ups (MWLF, p.251)

Meal Planning Monday

Crayons

Recycled Crayons!

I've been looking online for ways to make recycled crayons that are a little better than my first attempt.  I came across a page that suggested just melting them in the small batches and pouring them into little silicon ice molds.  I didn't have any luck finding small silicon molds - but I did find some star shaped candy molds that seemed like a good size.

I grabbed the box of ever smaller crayons and set out on a mission.  I took any pieces smaller than 1/3 the original size and grouped them by color (all shades of blue, green, red, etc.) and got a little microwave dish out.  I out all of one color group in the dish and zapped it on about 70% power for a little over 2 minutes.

When I pulled the dish out it was screaming hot -- and the crayons were melted!  There were a few little chunks, but when I stirred it they melted right in.  I poured the melted crayons into the molds, left them on the counter, and in about an hour I had new crayons!  The best part was that I could do a little batch whenever I was in the kitchen doing something else.  No big time commitment.

I'm really happy with these little crayons.  They color really well and are easy for everyone to grab - even Reece.  I do love when something easy turns out so well :D

River!

Wow- it is has been so stinking hot here the last week or so it has been literally unbearable.  I know I should be better equipped to handle it, but I guess I've gotten soft in my old age.

As the summer has progressed I am trying really hard to come up with a few new and fun things to do with the boys each week.  Today I decided that we would try going and playing in the river at Elizabeth Furnace.  I was a little worried about getting to a good spot since I know Grayson doesn't have the best footing in the world and I didn't want to walk with little kids down the side of the road along the river (Doug and I do it, but not with kids in tow!)  Doug and I drove along the river the weekend before and found a good place to park OFF the road and that had an easy in access that Grayson could navigate.

 So today I packed a little snack picnic, loaded up the boys in swim trunks and lathered them with sun screen and off we went!  We spent several hours there and eventually had to leave to get home in time to make dinner for Doug and Reece.  I think they could have stayed longer :)  This is something we will certainly be doing again.

Worn Out!

Apparently we had a little too much fun this afternoon.  I left the room to get a refill on my drink and when I came back, this is what I found.

Little Blue Truck

I've been lurking around again on the Play at Home Mom site to get summer ideas for the boys.  I am always amazed at the "invitations" they set out for their kids to discover and explore.  When I saw this one, I thought it was about time I tried it!  My kids love the book Little Blue Truck, and I had a sleeve of farm animals tucked away for a rainy day.  So I set up their little table with the book, some trucks, some farm animals, and a big mud puddle and waited to see what would happen.

This particular invitation was really interesting to Gabe.  He spent about 40 minutes at the table arranging the animals, gathering other things from his shelves to add to the story, and making up a story line of his own.  It was really fun to watch/listen his play evolve.  I'll have to do this again!

Weekend Project

Painting the frog face 

  This weekend Doug decided to make a little Adirondack chair for the boys.  Of course, he'll have to make three so they don't fight over who gets to sit in it -- but this weekend was the first attempt.

The amazing thing is that he actually managed to get the entire thing done in one weekend!  This never would have happened a year ago, so maybe we'll survive after all :-)

AND, not only did he get it built, he got it painted.  I expected it to just get painted a solid color - but he decided to paint it like a green frog.

This was pretty fitting considering Reece's favorite 'snuggy' right now is a Melissa and Doug pull along big green (wooden) hoppy frog.  He insists on having it in his lap when he reads, in his bed when he naps, and he tries to gives it pacies.  If not very snuggable, it is very cute.  (OK, it's a bit weird, too - but cute.)

Meal Planning Monday: June 11

The crud has invaded our house again.  This time it seems to only be me - and my yearly mysterious frog voice.  Laryngitis strikes again.  Usually it sounds worse than it feels after the first 48 hours, so I am going to meal plan for the week with the hope I actually feel like eating.  Plus, I went grocery shopping this weekend before I started to feel crappy - so the fridge is full of food!

Monday:  Grilled Chicken w/tampenade sandwiches and sweet potato fries
Tuesday:  Grilled Steak, corn on the cob
Wednesday: Graduation - probably have to grab something ahead of time
Thursday: Home made Pizza (Prosciutto-Mozza)
Friday: Baked Mac and Cheese with Brocc oli

It looks like I'll be making bread again sometime mid-week.

Thanks to OrgJunkie.com for inspiring me to plan out my meals!

Chopped Apple Bread / Muffins

I have been recently had several people ask me about my bread recipes, so it got me thinking I should post another one that I love.  It is a little labor intensive, but it makes LOTS and it is soooo yummy.  The original recipe was for bread - but I found it made spectacular muffins, as well.  So I made both.

Like I said, it is labor intensive (plan on hanging out at home about 3-4 hours for this one), so make sure you read through the entire recipe before you start - maybe even twice - to get your bearings.

To keep you motivated, I put some pictures throughout the recipe. :)

Bread Dough:

• 6 1/2 - 7 cups of bread or AP flour  (I used AP and it worked just fine)
• 4 1/2 tsp dry yeast (this is 2 packets for the occasional baker)
• 1 Tbs salt
• 1/2 cup dry milk
• 2 1/2 cups hot water (120-130 degrees)
• 3 Tbs shortening (I am thinking of trying to sub coconut oil for this, but haven't yet)

Apple Mixture:

• 2 cups apples, chopped into 3/4 inch cubes
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped into pea sized pieces
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbs ground cinnamon

Pans : 2 medium (8x4ish) loaf pans, greased AND lined with buttered parchment paper
           muffins tins, greased (to hold hte bread that doesn't fit in your loaf pans

Now start cooking!   (I did the whole recipe by hand, no fancy equipment)

MIX:

• Combine 3 cups of the four with all the dry dough ingredients in a LARGE mixing bowl.  Pour in the hot water and stir in the shortening.  Beat the batter about 100 times by hand with pretty hefty strokes.
• add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until you get a dough you can scoop/lift it from the bowl and get it on the counter.

KNEAD:

• Knead this massive ball of dough until it is elastic and smooth.  Sprinkle more flour as you go if it gets sticky.  Be patient and enjoy the process!

FIRST RISE - 1 hour:

•  Place the smooth dough back into a greased bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside to double (about an hour)

PUNCH DOWN / SHAPE:

• Punch down the dough and place it back on a floured counter.  
• Press and roll the dough into a large (18 inch or so) square about 1/2" think
• Let the dough rest a few minutes 

NOW IT GETS MESSY:  

• Spread the chopped apples evenly all over the surface of the dough, then pour the eggs over the apples.
• Add the nuts, sprinkle on the sugar and cinnamon
• FOLD the dough into a package (of sorts)  From this point on it will look like a huge mess, but that means you are doing it right!

• Using a dough scraper of large knife, chop the dough into random pieces about and 1" in size.  They should be random and not uniform.  It will be a huge mess.  It is OK.

• Scoop up the pieces and dump them and random/messy into your loaf pans until they are about 2/3 full.  Any that don't fit - put in the muffin tins.  DO NOT give in to the idea of over filling the loaf pans.  This bread really grows

SECOND RISE - 40 minutes:

• Cover the pans with wax or parchment paper and put aside to rise until it is just above the edge of the pans.
• Preheat the oven to 375 about 20 minutes into this rise.

BAKE:

The parchment paper is a must!

• Place in the oven and bake until golden brown.  The loaves take about 45 minutes, the muffins about 20.  You can test them by doing the 'cake test' trick.  Remember the apples may try and fool you into thinking the loaf is wet - so be careful.

• Remove from the oven and ever so carefully turn it out (lift edges of parchment to transfer) to a wire rack to cool.  Be careful!  The bread is still fragile when hot.

While you are waiting on the loaves to cool, you can behold your incredibly beautiful bread and muffins.  They really are spectacular - and they taste as good as they look. 

How freaking good does the look?

Sidewalk Chalk Paint

Grayson has been in rare form recently, so we thought it might be a good idea to let him go have some one on one time with Doug.  That left me with Gabe and Reece - and it was too cool to really get in the pool, so we needed a new project.

We headed to the stock pile of little pieces of sidewalk chalk and let the boys each pick out a color to turn into chalk paint.  They helped smash them up, brought cups of water to stir them up in, and each grabbed a paintbrush.

Once the paint was all mixed up we headed to the parking lot to 'paint' on the blacktop.  The boys thought the water paint was pretty cool (it just looked wet at first), but as the wind blew over it the water evaporated and the color of the chalk 'magically' showed up.  Once they realized what was happening the painting got much more frenzied as Gabe made lines to "help the cars know where to go" and Reece, of course, promptly copied him.

And yes, Gabe did most of this while still wearing his bicycle helmet.

Dip in the River

It is has been pretty hot and today Ms Patti decided to take the boys on a special little field trip to the river boat landing at the park after school.  She told us she thought they would be tentative - and it would be a short little diversion.  Not so much, it turned out they went in as far as she would let them and they spent hours and hours.  They didn't even want to stop for lunch.  Finally at 4:00 she insisted that they leave and go get something to eat.

When I got home Gabe informed me they got in the water with Ms Patti.  I asked if it was the pool and they said - noooo.  So I asked if was the ocean - again they said - nooooo,  Was it a lake? - Noooo, it didn't have lily pads.  (well ok then) Then they declared it to be a river.  Too funny.

Meal Planning Monday : May 28

With the school year wrapping up and lots of last minute things to take care of, I think we are going to use a lot of 'old favorites' that don't require a lot of planning or effort.  I hate that there is nothing all that "new" on the list, but it what it is this week.

Monday: Doug's make dinner tonight - so who knows what we'll end up with!
Tuesday: left over ribs from Sunday
Wednesday: Taco Salad
Thursday: Quiche
Friday: Tuna Noodle Casserole
Saturday: Caramelized Tofu with Noodles (new)

Linking to OrgJunkie.com, where MPM lives

Pool Time!

Summer has begun!

With today the being the first official day of the summer season (though we are all still in school for weeks), AND the fact it has been hot as all get out all weekend, it seemed like time to break out the kiddie pool and let the boys have a field day.  The "big pool" is no where near warm enough, but the little pool was more than enough entertainment for the day.  The boys stripped fasterthan I could actually find their "swimmy pants."  Once everyone was wearing their suits they wasted not one second getting in.  Luckily, I managed to snap a picture before the point where Gabe decided to be "nakey butt" and remove his suit!

The pool kept them entertained for over an hour in the morning, then we took a break and had lunch and 2 of the 3 crashed for a nap.  After everyone was awake, we started the process all over again and they splashed and played for another hour or so.  It totally wore them out - but they had a blast! 

Highland Horse Farm

OK, so there are no pictures of horses to go with the title of today's post - but that's ok.  We were at Highland Horse Farm on Sunday and the boys got to putter around the farm free-range style.

We started with visiting the goats (Grayson was thrilled to pet them and feed them leaves) and several VERY large pigs.  (Gabe kept telling us to 'watch out for the poop!')  Then we went up to the top of the property where they got to pet bunnies, play on the pirate ship, and wander in the cow pasture and harass the cows. (and yes, Reece picked up a fresh new cow patty)

They also got farm tours on the Kabotas by two older kids - older being 7/8 years old.  This was probably the highlight of the day.  The boys were absolutely amazed that other "kids" were getting to drive these things around by themselves.  They took us all over the farm and told us about the different things to see/do. 

At one point, Grayson got behind the wheel and promptly told me "lets rock and roll!"  Apparently, this is what Patty says to them as they leave school in the afternoon.  We made a video to send to her:

Meal Planning Monday: May 21

Another crazy week on tap at our house.  It always seems this time of year quickly turns into a whirlwind of activity and despite our best efforts to keep it calm and sane, it always happens.  We are trying to keep it simply this week with a lot of easy prep/stand by kind of meals so they can be done without a lot of effort and by whomever has a few minutes in the kitchen to spare!  It is one of those times that I am glad I found Meal Planning Monday over on OrgJunkie.com - a few minutes making a plan helps keep us sane all week!

Monday:  Korean Lettuce Bundles
Tuesday: Frozen Lasagna from Costco (hey, it's easy and makes left overs for lunch - don't judge)
Wednesday:  (new for us) Tofu Stir Fry (recipe coming)
Thursday: Grilled Chicken, sugar snap peas, and roasted baby potatoes
Friday: not sure - I am hoping we can maybe get a babysitter and eat out :)

Beds and Bikes

The boys had another full day with Doug. It was a bit of an unusual day because they had to go all the way to Winchester to school, then all the way back to Strasburg for Grayson's speech therapy after lunch.  They ended up just staying at home in the afternoon.  Gabe got a slow start in the morning and we found him all curled up under blankets on the couch.

As usual, there was lots of outside play.  We have potatoes coming up in the garden, so that was a fun thing to check out.  And while you are up there you have to be on the look out for the garden snack that lives in the wall. 

The older boys continue to be very into riding their balance bikes.  I think they may very well be ready for 'real' bikes by the end of the summer.  Gabe is getting pretty good at holding his feet up and coasting for 10-15 seconds at a time.  Grayson is also getting much smoother in his riding.

Reece was out of sorts because he didn't get enough of a nap with the crazy schedule, so he actually ended up going to bed early.  But not before he let us know he really thinks he can use the potty.  He grabs his pants and signs "potty!" and takes off running for it.  He ended up a running around with a naked butt for about an hour and at one point he decided he had to pee so he ran out the back door and peed in the grass - then went back inside to play.  Not exactly what we want, but at least it wasn't on the carpet!

When Reece was in bed the boys worked on putting the final coat of paint on Grayson's new bed with Doug out on the porch.  They are so cute being little helpers :)

They have all been so busy lately.  I still can't believe how big they are getting and how much they they want to be like / do everything their Daddy does.