New Recipe

It's been a while since I have posted so I thought today would be a good day to do that as I am not feeling so hot and the boys and I are just hanging out at home today. Logan has had a cold for over a week now and I feel as though I may be getting it. I think I will head to the store today and get some airborne to maybe stop the cold thing. So as many of you know I struggle with Logan because he is such a picky eater! My mother-in-law gave me the cookbook Deceptively Delicious in hopes that maybe I could hide things and then Logan would eat it. It actually has some pretty good recipe's and I tried a new one yesterday that was a hit! Logan actually ate cauliflower and he did not even know it(he, he)! I made this Banana Bread and he kept asking for more and more pieces. It actually did taste real good and it was so easy to make. I will include the recipe and maybe you all might want to try it.

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional) I added this

1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar

1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil

2 large egg whites

1 1/2 cup banana puree

1/2 cup cauliflower puree

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat 9x5 in loaf pan, or 2 mini pans with cooking spray.

2. Mix the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

3. In another bowl mix sugar and oil until well combined. Mix in the egg whites, banana, and cauliflower, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and mix until combined.

4. Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake until toothpick comes out clean. 55-60 min for large loaf, 25-30 min for mini loaves. Let stand and rack for 5 min, then turn the bread out of pan and cool before serving.

Hope you are all having a good week and staying away from all the sickness that is going around.

Our Weekend

Well, our weekend did not turn out as it was supposed to. I mentioned on Friday that we were headed up to Rocky Point to spend a couple of days. Michael's dad and step-mom have a house there and they were going to be out of town so we thought it would be fun to go up as a family and have some relax time. Of course I raced around on Thursday and Friday packing everything we would need clothes, food, snow stuff, etc. We headed out about 11 on Friday morning. It was such a beautiful sunny day and the drive up 140 was just great. There was a ton of snow on the sides of the road but the actual road was clear of any ice or snow. As we approached the road where the house is Michael's dad had told us to get a running start so that we could make it up the road. It was very hard to do that because of the snow banks on either side of the car but Michael did his best, and there we sat! Yes, we got stuck! The road was so icy and the snow was so high on the sides of us that we could not get any traction and if we did move we just would slide into a snow bank and get stuck. We did this for over and hour and let's just say Luke was not so happy with the noise coming from the tires spinning. He screamed in the car pretty much the whole time. Logan on the other hand did just great and had a little running commentary of what he thought we should do. "Maybe we should call a tow truck" he said. Thanks to a neighbor who hooked us up to his ATV we were free, but we did not dare try and head up the road again so we just had to turn around and head back home. We were so bummed because we were so looking forward to hanging out at the cabin in the snow. We did end up having a great weekend of just getting little projects done around the house, playing outside with the boys and on Sunday we took the boys to the fish hatchery and they had a great time. Hope you all have a great week!

LUKE'S FIRST HAIRCUT

We took Luke for his first haircut this morning!

We have this great gal that has done Logan's hair since he was one so we decided that since Logan was due for a cut it was also time to take Luke. I remember with Logan being so excited to get his hair cut because you know he is my first and all those things are so fun with the first. Not that it was not fun with Luke but as he is the second time goes so fast and so I cannot believe that it is already time to get his hair cut! He did not do too bad although the look on his face in this picture is not all that pleasant. Logan was so cute because as Luke was kind of crying he would say "it's ok Luke" in this real cute voice. He really looks cute and a whole lot bigger. We are headed to Rocky Point for the weekend in a little while for some rest and relaxation. Hope you all have a great long weekend.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone. I had lots of fun plans today with the boys and such but Logan woke up in the night and he had thrown up! I do not do so well with throw up. I am really a real wimp, in fact I woke Michael up and there was really no reason that I needed to I guess I just needed backup in case Logan started to throw up again. Anyway, Logan had a party at school today that we will not be able to go to. I will say that he really seems just fine this morning so I am praying that maybe it was just a one time thing and we can still make heart pizza tonight and a strawberry heart cake. So, I guess my busy day will have to be put on hold but maybe its the Lord's way of slowing me down today and just spending it with my precious Valentine's! We had a great day! Logan did just fine today and we were able to go to the park this afternoon and then have a fun dinner together. The boys are in bed now and Michael and I are going to relax and watch a movie. Hope you all had a great Valentine's day!

Morning in Ashland Park

Today we had a fun morning with the boys and Michael's mom. Michael's day off from church is on Friday's so we usually try and do things as a family. It seems like with the holiday's and the kids being sick that we have not been able to take the opportunity to get back in the routine. We decided that we would pick Gaga (that is what Logan has called Michael's mom since he began to talk) up and go to Ashland and feed the ducks. Logan was very excited this morning to go and do that. We pulled up to the duck pond, opened the van doors, and so many ducks began to walk and talk towards our car. Luke was not quite sure and began to cry. Once I got him out he started to walk towards them and wave his arms up and down getting all excited! We did not stay long because it was pretty cold but it was so fun and the boys had a great time. Even though Luke is into everything and is soooo busy, he is at such a fun stage and we just get a kick out of watching him talk, dance, run, and wrestle with his brother. There of course is also those times when Logan is not always the nicest to his brother but then I look at the picture of the two of them today and it brings a tear to my eye because he really does love his little brother and has a very sensitive heart towards him. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Beach Trip

So, Michael and I had a wonderful time at the coast. I wanted to get someone to take our picture but I did not think it would be right to ask someone to get out of their car in the rain that was blowing sideways because I wanted a picture for my blog. Anyway, we dropped the boys off Friday morning at our dear friend Kelly's. As many of you know since I do not have my mom and Michael's mom is not able to take care of the boys we are so blessed to have a "Grandma" figure that helps us out and just loves spending time with the boys. It feels so good to have someone like her because I do not worry one bit when they are in her care, since she has raised two boys of her own! We got our coffee's and headed down the road in peace and quiet. It really is amazing how quiet it really is when your little one's are not in the car. Sometimes it is hard to find something to talk about because we are so used to having the boys around. But we have both decided that it is ok to just have some silence because sometimes it is much needed. Don't get me wrong we did talk we just did not feel like we had to be doing it all the time. We arrived at Ireland's Rustic Lodges about 2:30. Michael and I have been married almost 10 years and we have been going to Ireland's since then. It is nothing fancy but very pretty gardens and the rooms are cozy with a fireplace and a great view of the ocean. It was nap time because when do you get to say "I think that I will take a nap" in the middle of the day when you have kids, rarely! We got up from our nap and headed to the pier where we got some chowder for dinner and then headed back and watched a movie. We headed for bed and actually slept in until 8:30. It felt so good to just lazily get up and then head out for a good breakfast and then it was back on the road. It is always so good to get away just the two of us because I so forget when I am doing the daily stuff around the house and the stuff with the boys how much I truly love Michael, and not that I don't have fun when we are doing things as a family but when you have time without the kids it really reminds me that we do have fun together and we can just relax and enjoy each others company, you know like we all used to do before kiddos! It is also good for the boys to be away from us and enjoy other people's company. My Mom and Dad were always such a good example of this to me because when I was just little they would regularly leave me, and then when my sisters came along them also, with my Nana and Grandad and would go away even if it was just for one night. They were able to connect with each other and we got that special time with my grandparents. It is so cute because whenever I tell my Dad that Michael and I are going away he gets a little teary and is so excited that we are doing that. Anyway, don't mean to get all mushy just thought I would share about our time. So, now it is Monday and back to reality. I have already been at So Or Pediatrics this morning because Logan woke up screaming that his ear hurt. He has tubes so a little while later fluid started coming out. We will start drops and hopefully it will all clear up. Have a blessed week everyone.