« September 2009 | Main | November 2009 »
baaaaaa. boo! she's definitely not a scary sheep, although her dramatic tendencies the past couple of days are. so glad that we have a warm costume this year as the high today is a balmy 43 degrees. obviously it'll be colder by the time we visit a few friends to trick-or-treat. this'll likely be daddy's last time claiming all the candy - unless of course there are gummy bears. then the girl will be all over it.
happy halloween!
so yes, i made a potato and corn chowder for week one. but THIS corn chowder is amazing. AND easy. and even better is that it makes a lot. i'll be finishing off the rest of it for lunch today. a perfect lunch for yet another grey and rainy day. i'm thinking this would freeze well too.
be sure to check out the other week 5 recipes from environmom.com's meatless supper club for more great recipe ideas.
today we got likely our last sneak peek at this little one. a bit uncooperative like his/her older sister during the same process. i was tilted a bit with my feet higher than my head and rolled on both sides so that the tech could get all the needed measurements. our minds were eased that everything looked good and well within the healthy range.
so now we simply have four more months to wait to meet him/her. these past 21 weeks have gone by so fast it'll be here in no time, i'm sure.
another rainy and dreary day today. so glad we were able to get outside yesterday for a couple of hours! now trying to decide if i really want to brave the grocery store today or just do it tomorrow night instead...
monday : spaghetti + meatballs. a super easy way to start the week. and one of the girl's favorites. the meatballs are turkey meatballs from trader joes that i realized i had in the freezer. perfect.
i've also made two batches of chicken and macaroni bake. one is going to a friend for her dinner tomorrow as she's watching the girl for me while i have an ultrasound tomorrow. the other is likely headed to another friend who's grandfather died this past week. i haven't eaten this yet myself but it got rave reviews from another friend that i made it for a couple of weeks ago after she just had her fourth little one. she said her other three children all loved it and i should be commended.
also going to make some apple crisp for dessert tonight. it was requested by andy and i'm more than happy to oblige - yum!
tuesday : corn chowder. my meat free meal for the week which means it will be on the recipejournal at the end of the week.
wednesday : orange chicken. this looks super tasty. can't wait to give it a try.
thursday : beef bourguignon. this has andy's name written all over it. beef AND bacon. he'll be in heaven.
friday : pizza. since andy was gone last week, i missed our tradition of ordering pizza once the girl was asleep. definitely looking forward to it this week.
after a week away, we're so happy to have the daddy back. he's spent the last week in boston and massachusetts. in that time, we had the number of one of our credit cards stolen and andy's cell phone stolen. good times manning the homefront. thanks to citi bank, i don't think that they were able to make but one charge on our card and we already received the replacements. and luckily we decided to get insurance on our phones in august when we renewed our plans so we only had to play the deductible to get a new phone which should be here on tuesday. but still... more than enough stress to deal with when combined with everyday matters.
in happier news, we actually made it to the pumpkin patch this year! last year it was 80 degrees when we went. a far cry from today, although it was in the mid-50s so it really wasn't that bad. and really we weren't going for pumpkins as i thought we wouldn't be able to make it to the patch and had bought a few pumpkins at the grocery store last week. we were really going for the petting zoo part as we knew the girl would love it. this farm is amazing. such a great way to spend an afternoon. and that's where the photo extravaganza begins...
go figure that she thought the geese were the greatest thing ever. she was laughing at this one as he kept trying to splash her while taking a bath in their water dish.
as much as she likes sheep, i was surprised she didn't want to pet them or feed them. i got that pleasure instead. every time i asked if she wanted to feed them, she told me to. so she baa'd at them instead.
she must have a thing for birds as she loved this chicken as well and it was extremely tolerant of her getting close to it. it really was a pretty bird at that. she'd walk up to it and crouch down to get a closer look at it.
these two were having a blast together. and the girl enjoyed having a free ride and giving her feet a rest. you'll notice that it was hard for me to get her to look at the camera as there were so many other things that were far more interesting than myself.
another bird, another winner in her book. she gobbled back at the turkey and thought it was great. this lady turkey was kind enough to stay right up near the edge of her cage as we were there for quite a bit of time.
at this point, i'll also say kudos to me for taking both the point and shoot and larger camera. i had the larger camera and was practicing shooting in manual and andy had the point in shoot which allowed me to be in photos as well. note to self - do this more often.
probably one of my favorite photos of the day - although i wish i wouldn't have chopped her legs off. you can take a wagon ride out to the pumpkin patches but they also have pumpkins around the grounds for you to see and purchase. i think she still thinks they're balls - as she is obsessed with all things balls lately - but loved walking around them.
and trying to pick them up. she was trying to lift this pumpkin and obviously didn't succeed. this photo cracks me up though as she was looking at andy at the time. hysterical.
i have no clue what type of cow this is, but wanted to at least snap a shot of him. he had really long fur and when you petted him, it almost felt like human hair. he was friendly enough though.
the requisite photo to match last years. again, i was far less interesting than the long-haired cow whose pen was behind me.
what pumpkin patch experience is complete without a photo of one of the great big pumpkins? and yes, i was carrying my bag, my large camera and my coat pockets were full of a sippy cup and goldfish crackers.
a bit overexposed but i like it anyway. they have a teepee made of corn which of course was deemed very interesting. not as interesting as the birds, but we all can't live up to that expectation.
all three of us, together again. we asked the girl several times if she had fun and were always met with an enthusiastic "yeah!" as a response.
half way through this adventure. my husband will be thrilled to hear that. the girl and i are quite the veggie eaters though, so maybe we'll convince him that being meat free once a week won't hurt him. for week 4 of environmom's meatless supper club, i went with a butternut squash risotto. i had never made risotto before - not sure on that exact reasoning - but was excited to give it a go. especially when i found i could make it in the microwave. i know - close your mouth, i was shocked too.
the end result was a hearty enough dish for our main course and was paired with a homemade applesauce that i had put together in the crockpot. the girl loved it - especially the shredded parmesan on top - and finished her entire serving. besides being easy to make with like zero prep involved, this recipe makes a LOT of risotto. like enough for the girl and i to eat it for dinner and for lunch and we still had a bit more to go.
first things first, could this photo be more horrible? a grey day. a self-portrait via timer. sleeves on a sweater that make me look as wide as a house. yep, i think that about sums it up. but because i took photos of when i was pregnant with the girl every two weeks, it had to be done. look at me already trying to be the fair mama.
i just looked at today's date and realized that's more than just a wednesday. it's the 21st of october. nine years ago today, andy and i went on our "first date." that term is in quotes because actually i volunteered to pick him up to meet with some joint friends at a bar where we were celebrating one of their birthdays. i had done so because a friend of mine was interested in him. little did i know i'd be the one taking him home last night. even though he claims to this day it was all a ploy and "the friend" that was interested in him was me. dream on, i say mr. bauer. but i do count myself lucky that i ended up with the guy.
on friday, someone got their first haircut. although it was really more of a trim to even things out a bit. she acted like she did this all the time and adored the puppy printed cape that she got to wear - go figure. and then as i took her photo before we left, i got the golfer's fist pump. because that's apparently what all the cool kids do after they get their hair cut.
and because i've been told by the girl's audience that i've been lacking in sharing videos... here's one from today while i was fixing dinner. and yes, that is the chaos that i known as my living room each day about this time. i believe thomas was napping on the sofa as to stay out of the path of destruction.
a random mish mash of recipes this week. but that's what keeps things interesting, right?
monday : butternut squash risotto. can you believe that i've never made risotto? i've always wanted to give it a whirl and today's the day! i have a feeling that the girl will love it as well. this is my meatless meal for this week which means a full review on friday for meatless supper club.
tuesday : italian sausage soup. something i found in a crockpot recipe book last fall and really enjoyed. italian sausage, tortellini, cannelini beans and tomatoes - quite filling. i'm sure the girl will pick all the pasta out first. i'll try and add this one to the recipe journal this week as well.
wednesday : leftovers.
thursday : mexican breakfast casserole. we've had this one before and it's quite tasty. it's good to have breakfast for dinner every once in a while i say.
friday : spaghetti. one of the girl's favorites.
new recipe review from last week :
pasta fagoili soup. so very, very good. and super easy. i did all the prep work the night before and simply put everything in the crockpot the next morning. the girl had three servings if that tells you anything. the only change i'd make was adding more pasta as that was her favorite part and she'd eat all of it first and then everything else. and it makes a LOT.
my submission for week 3 of the meatless supper club over at environmom - and my favorite submission thus far, black bean tostadas with corn relish.
these exceeded my expectations and then some. the fact that i didn't have a big dollop of sour cream on top speaks volumes. light and fresh, but filling at the same time. the girl and i both enjoyed them for dinner and then for lunch the following day. andy wasn't home to try them although i do think he'd enjoy them as well. i'll definitely be adding these into our meal rotation - either for lunch or dinner.
and oh how i love avocados...
