Time with Dad and Yummy Food

Jeff has been off the last couple of days and Zeker has been having lots of fun hanging out with his dad.

Building forts...

and being silly.

But, I have to tell you about our dinner last night because it was so delicious. It was a simple tomato sauce over pasta and zucchini strips (which looked something like this). The sauce was very easy to make. You can find the recipe here. Oh my gosh, it was SO good, and I loved it over the zucchini. I have wanted to try more of her recipes under her "budget" category and this one was definitely a winner. Even Zeker ate everything in his bowl, and then moved onto my lap to finish what was left on my plate. This is a huge compliment considering this is the face I typically get when I try to feed him something that is not crepes...

Z Photography

Zeker got a hold of our camera the other day and documented the assembly of his new table from Grandma Sherry and Papa Arnie. Here are a few of his better shots (taken without any help from mom and dad).

The table! He loves it. It's great for creating, imagining and, especially, climbing.

Determination

Even though I am about to celebrate my second anniversary of becoming a mother, I still find that I have to daily give myself a reality check regarding life with a toddler. Each morning I wake up determined to accomplish something. Anything. Which is why we ended up at Michael's on Saturday morning.

Let me just say, that it is always a bad idea to take your almost two year old son to a craft store (and your 34 year old husband, for that matter). Joann's is definitely the worst, but Michael's is up there. First of all, as soon as I walk in the door I am completely overwhelmed by the craftiness. I start roaming the aisles aimlessly, thinking of all that I could create if I only had the time. Then, when I get around to my actual shopping list, I cannot find a single thing on it. With absolutely no employees in sight, I have to again wander the the store in search of what I actually need. In the meantime, Zeke has pulled everything within reach into his stroller. This includes most of the $1 items, all of which are small and easily damaged. We finally got out of there after about 45 minutes, at which point Zeke had somehow figured out how to unstrap himself from the stroller and was standing on his seat, determined to be free. Desperate, I promised him some carrot cake when we got home if he would just sit down.
After a nice long stroll back to our house, I figured he had forgotten about the promise. We went inside and sure enough the first thing he asked for was "Buh-uh". "Broccoli," I thought, giving myself a pat on the back. "My kid not only likes vegetables, but he actually asks for them." I pulled the broccoli out of the fridge.
He looked at me and shook his head, "No."
"Buh-uh? Bread?"
"No."
"Butter?"
"No."
"What? What is buh-uh?"
He disappeared into his room and came back with his stacking blocks.
"Oh, blocks. You want to play with blocks?"
"No."
He points to the box, to the picture of the cow blowing out candles on the birthday cake.


"Buh-uh," he says.
"Buh-uh. Birthday cake." Of course.

I am impressed with my child's resourcefulness as well as his determination. He may look like a clone of his father, but he has some of his mom in him, too.



In other family news....we sent Jack back to Grandma Evie's today. I think he was ready to go.

Friday Favorite: I Heart Freezer Paper Stencils

Recently a friend gave me a copy of The Creative Family and I have absolutely loved reading through it. One of the projects in the book uses freezer paper stencils to upcycle used clothing. You can find lots of tutorials on freezer paper stenciling online, so I won't go into detail about how to do it. I'll just tell you that you must try it. It is so fun and easy to do. I made a few for Christmas gifts and then made a couple more after Christmas. I have also been experimenting with adding an applique to the shirt and I have been really happy with the results. So fun!

Before

In the drying process

After

I painted the tree using the stencil and then added the appliqued leaves.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Although being trapped in the house has been a bit of a bummer this week, Zeke has seized the opportunity to wear some of his favorite hats during this rain storm.

Sporting Mom's Quiksilver beanie and his rain boots as he prepares to take Jack for a walk through the park.

This beanie also doubles as a monster mask. (Imagine hearing scary growling and tiny footsteps wandering through the house.)

He also loves his monkey rain hat from Auntie Coco. Here is the little monkey enjoying a banana.

I took this last picture right before I realized he was actually choking on the banana. Oops. Way to go, Mom.

This freakin' kid...

decided to wake up at 4 a.m. this morning. I was not happy, but I did everything I could to get him to go back to sleep--I laid next to his crib, I got him milk, I sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer to him like 50 times. I did everything (except the one thing he was asking for--"Mama!! (sob) Mimis!!"). Finally, I needed a break. So I told him, "Zeke, I need a break, I'm getting some tea." To my total amazement he stopped crying and said "Uh." (Translation: "Ok.") Nice.

I went to the kitchen to make some tea and while the water was boiling I remembered Katie's Cinnamon Raisin Bread recipe she sent to me earlier this week. "Hmmm," I thought. "Could I potentially bring redemption to this hour of lost sleep by making some delicious bread for us to enjoy in the morning?" As my tea steeped I threw the ingredients in our bread machine and hit start.

I grabbed my tea and tip toed down the hall. Still no crying. I peeked into his room and the crying resumed. I was feeling more patient, though. I sat with him as I drank my tea and imagined the bread awaiting us in the morning. I had about 15 minutes of patience in me, then I closed the door on my screaming child and went back to bed.

He survived the night and so did I and this morning we enjoyed some delicious bread as we listened to the rain. If I don't sleep train this child soon, I am going to weigh about 500 pounds.

In honor of MLK

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Happy Friday

He loves his dad...

This boy loves his dad. This morning when he woke up I brought him into bed with us. We do this every morning and he always cuddles up to me and sometimes will even fall asleep again. This morning he laid down next to me, but then he noticed his dad. He slowly crawled over to him and put his face right up to Jeff's. He looked at him carefully and crawled into his arms and snuggled in close to him. He laid very still next to him for awhile and just enjoyed being near his favorite guy. They have so much fun together. He loves the crazy things they do together (activities that would never occur to me--like putting Zeke in a box, putting the box on a skateboard and rolling it down a hill). Zeke LOVES his dad. His goofy, wacky, crazy dad.

Painting with Potatoes

Zeker and I had a lot of fun making potato stamps the other day. Well, I had fun. He was feeling a little grumpy. It was a nice way to break up the day, though. We've loved playing with his new art stuff. Thanks Grandma Ne and Papa Dave!

Friday Favorite: Fresh Baked Bread

This is one of my favorite recipes because it is so simple, so satisfying and it makes our home smell so good. Of course it came from Katie who is my resource for so many delicious baked goods. You can find the original recipe and instructions here. Please try this. It is so delicious. It is so easy. Easier than easy. Easier than driving to Trader Joe's and buying a loaf of bread. Make it tonight. Pair it with a delicious pasta, hearty stew or fresh salad. You will be so glad you did.

23 weeks

Feelin' Crepey

Zeke and I have been purging away the post-Christmas blues by binging on crepes. The recipe I follow is simple:

1 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp melted butter

Mix all ingredients. Pour 1/3 cup into hot, greased pan. Tilt pan to spread out the batter. Cook about 1-2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.
Add your favorite toppings (we like Nutella or powdered sugar and butter).
Leave the room for 30 seconds, come back to find that your child has stuffed all of the crepe in his mouth.

Happy New Year!

Blogging has been scarce lately due to Christmas activities, present making, gift wrapping, etc. I'll post some December highlights later, but for now here are some pictures from New Year's Day. Zeke and I went to the Arboretum on the 1st so we wouldn't feel too depressed about Christmas ending. We had a great time. The highlight for Zeke was the coyote we bumped into on our way to the pond.

Howling like a coyote--which means, "C'mon Mom, let's go find more!"

A very friendly squirrel who was too interested in Zeke's peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Zeke tried to chase him away...

and ended up getting chased himself. He was a little nervous about the squirrels after that.