Spring Break Bucket List!

Countdown to Spring Break: 18 hours.

I only have to survive one more day in the classroom.  To have a full moon on the week before Spring Break is just cruel.  Get me out of here!

As usual, our to-do list is longer than a roll of toilet paper.  But, we decided to keep the kids home the entire week from school so we can spend as much time with them as possible.  So, we'll see how much gets done. But, here's our "must accomplish" list:

1.  Detroit Zoo trip!

2.  Northville's Tiny Town Lounge.  Considering we're Detroit Kid City junkies, this is one place I figure we have to check out since it's sooo much closer to us than DKC.

3.  Sean's first dentist trip.  This Friday at 10am.  Let's hope he spares the dentist his fingers.

4.  Baby food for Evan.  I made a huge batch over Christmas break and then some more back in February, so we're due.  Up this time:  Varieties of ground turkey with sweet potatoes and apples and then some ground turkey with sweet potatoes and carrots, flounder, chicken with apples, green beans, spinach, and some fruit blends like cantaloupe and strawberries, blueberries and pears, peaches and raspberries.  I've got my work cut out for me.

5.  Getting Evan to sleep through the night.  Yup, sleep training here we come.  I've checked out four books from the library and am ready to figure out which solution will be best for us.  Tonight, we're attempting crying it out.  The ol' fashioned way.  Mama needs some sleep.

6.  Frankenmuth Zehnder's Splash Village!!!  Thanks to Nana and Pops, we'll be going for an overnight to let the boys live it up at the indoor water park.  It will be Evan's first time in a pool.  And let's be honest, I'm more excited about the chicken dinner I'm about to crush down.

7.  Getting our summer membership to the Livonia Rec Center so we can enjoy outdoor pools, indoor pools, a tree fort, weight lifting, exercise equipment, etc.  Plus, I plan to sign the boys up for swim lessons that will start the end of April when Sean's gymnastics classes are over.  I'm super excited at the notion of having an outdoor pool to hang out at all summer while we're off work.

8.  Join Weight Watchers.  This is a big one for me.  I've been stuck at the same weight since about 6 weeks post-partum with Evan and something has got to give.  Clearly, what I've been doing isn't working.  I guess eating endless sweets and treats really does hold you back from losing weight.  Not to mention I haven't been working out since the stomach bug took over our house back in February.  I need the motivation of having to weigh in at meetings to keep me going.  So, as a friend told me, it's high time I invest in myself.  $52 a month better be some darn good motivation to lose this weight.

9.  Ahhhh on to the home improvement projects.  First up, re-doing the boys' bathroom.  When we first moved in, Sean was still little, so I just picked a shower curtain that matched the white and black tiles on the floor and in the shower.  But, it's too mature for a kids bathroom.  So, I found this awesome shower curtain that brings some nice color to the bathroom, but still has some black in it so the tiles match.  Plus, Sean is going to love the theme!

I plan to bring the curtain to Home Depot on Friday to pick out a can of paint.  It's hard to tell from this photo, but the curtain is actually a turquoise and it has another blue accent color in one of the cars that it a pale blue.  I'm going to do the pale blue for the walls so it's not too dark.

Also, I saw the idea on Pinterest of taking a picture of both boys and framing it.  Then you hang it on the wall, put one of those 3M brushed nickle hooks underneath it and then they each have a towel hook.  These are the pictures I'm going to use:

Then with the existing towel rack that's hanging above the toilet, I'm going to use this idea with baskets to fill with washcloths and bath products:

10.  Update the front porch!!!  We desperately need a new, vibrant paint color for the front door.  With our new storm door that's all glass, it needs to stand out.  We're going to get a new address sign and possibly a new light as well.  Finally, some huge pots that I can fill with various plants throughout the year.  I want really big pots.

It's doubtful that we'll get through this whole list, but hey, one can dream, right?!  We've got 10 days to accomplish 10 things.  Oh, it's on Spring Break!

Week 12: Peppermint Patty Cake!

3 more days until Spring Break!  3 more days until Spring Break!  3 more days until Spring Break!

Can you tell I'm excited?

Either that or completely bored.  Scott rented Men in Black 3 at the library tonight to watch.  Seriously.  Men in Black 3.  The first one wasn't horrible enough, they had to make a second and THIRD??  Our trip to the library was a complete and utter fail tonight.  I'll spare you the details, but I'll at least give you this:  Scott insisted that we don't put a pull-up on Sean since he's been doing so well in underwear over the past week.  Yup, mom knows best here.  We experienced 2 poopsplosions in underwear (poor guy told us he needed to go, but couldn't hold it until we made it to the bathroom) in the 40 minutes  we were at the library.  And he decided to make it a complete trifecta by another experience in the shower while Scott was hosing him off.  I'd wager to say Scott learned his lesson.

Anywho, the past week flew by with lots of ups and plenty of downs.  I'll start with the positives.

Evan is now taking a bath in the big bath tub!  Bonus!  Only having to give one bath that takes care of both kids is amazing.  Although, Sean is still learning not to be as aggressive with the splashing now that he has a new guest in the tub.

Sean went his first week in underwear with only a handful of accidents!  Despite my paragraph above, I've been pleasantly surprised that pull-ups were just holding him back from being ready to try out underwear.  We don't have the fights about going to the bathroom anymore and he's been excited to pick out his drawers every day.

I had my girlfriends over on Saturday night for an HP Wake Up Your Walls House Party that I was selected to host.  The best part:  I got a bunch of free canvas and mounted photo prints to show off at the party!

On the down side, I had another horrific week at work.  Between parent-teacher conferences on Thursday night that made for a long cooking day, a parent meeting that I had to translate to Spanish for (the parent didn't even show up), and a group presentation that was supposed to be at the next staff meeting, but was rescheduled, I was ready to enjoy the last few months of our unlimited sick days before that's taken away.  But, like a good employee, I sucked it up and moved on.  After all, I'm about 2 weeks behind on curriculum and time is ticking!

The one redeeming thing this week was having several leftover pieces of Peppermint Patty Cake I made on St. Patrick's Day to help cheer me up when I was feeling down about work.  This cake was a ton of work, but I'm proud to say it's my first layer cake and homemade frosting I've ever made!  So, I'll start by showing the finished product:

I'll pause while you wipe off the drool...

Here's how it goes:

Cake -

• 2 sticks 1 Cup Butter
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa Powder
• 1 cup Water, Boiling
• 10 whole Miniature Peppermint Patties, Unwrapped
• 2 cups Sugar
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 cup Buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 2 whole Eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 teaspoon Mint Extract

Frosting - 

• 4 sticks 1 Pound Butter, Softened
• 6 cups (more To Taste) Powdered Sugar, Sifted
• Dash Of Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Mint Extract
• 2 whole Vanilla Beans, Caviar Scraped Out
• 4 Tablespoons Half-and-half, More To Taste
• Extra Miniature Peppermint Patties, For Decorating

CAKE

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two round cake pans.

In a medium saucepan, melt 2 sticks of butter and stir in 4 tablespoons cocoa. Pour in boiling water, let mixture bubble up for 30 seconds, then turn the burner to low. Add 10 peppermint patties and stir until almost totally melted. Remove pan from heat and set aside.

In a measuring cup mix together the buttermilk, baking soda, egg, vanilla, and mint extract. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and salt. Pour the hot cocoa mixture into the bowl, stirring to slightly cool. Pour in the buttermilk mixture and stir until smooth.

Pour batter into cake pans and bake for 16-18 minutes, or until done. Remove from pans and let cool completely on a wire rack.

FROSTING

Beat butter until fluffy. Add vanilla caviar to bowl. Slowly add powdered sugar and salt and beat until fluffy. Add half and half and mint extract and beat until totally fluffy.

Place one layer of cake face down on a platter and spread a good layer of icing on top. Place the second layer face down on top, then ice the top and sides of the cake, getting plenty of icing around the sides. Decorate the cake with a circle of peppermint patties.

Store leftovers in the fridge!

I'm going to be honest.  It was a lot of work, like I said above.  And it was absolutely delicious.  But, four sticks of butter and 6 cups of powdered sugar in the frosting alone?  About 5 minutes after I had my slice, I felt like I had a brick sitting in my stomach. 

Bottom line:  Next time I'm going to play around to see if I can reduce the amount of butter in the frosting.  It was sinfully decadent, but a little too rich and buttery for me.  

On that note, I'm off to bed to read some sleep training books.  Mr. Evan's nightly shenanigans has got to stop... 

Week 11: Patty Melts!!

Our week started off as busy as can be.  I interviewed for a leadership training opportunity my school district sends four people to on Monday after school.  I really felt good after the interview and thought I had nailed it.  Tuesday, I got the phone call after dinner that I wasn't selected for the training program.  I was completely crushed.  Their reasoning, "It's not the right time for you".  My translation, "You have two little kids and we don't think you can handle the work load."

They don't know me at all.  Two kids and a full time job doesn't prove my ability to multi-task?  Sheesh...

With a battered ego, I went to work on Wednesday and "just kept swimming".  Thursday, I had parent-teacher conferences in the evening and a foreign language committee planning day at work during the day.  I appreciated the time to work with my colleagues on an exit exam and some catered in lunch from Beruit Bakery, but being out of the classroom for a day left with me with a huge stack of papers to grade.

Thursday night, Evan woke up an hour after I got home and cried for an hour straight.  Even though he doesn't sleep though the night yet, this behavior was completely out of character for him.  Teeth?  Ear infection?  Those were usually the culprits with Sean for sleepless nights.  I was able to schedule him an appointment for Friday after school and they confirmed what I thought:  double ear infection.  Poor little guy...

The rest of the weekend was spent just trying to keep him comfortable and happy.  We were up several times Friday night, Saturday night, and last night.  I think I got less sleep on the weekend then I do on a typical work week.  Yuck...

But, our weekend was somewhat enjoyable.  Friday night we went to my sister-in-law's house down the street for pizza and for the kids to play.  Saturday, Sean had gymnastics in the morning and Scott stayed home with Evan while our new AT&T U-Verse was being installed.  Yay for movie channels!!  Sunday, Scott did a 5k in Plymouth for St. Patrick's Day with his whole family and we went out for breakfast afterwards and then in the afternoon my parents came over to see the kids while I cooked a delicious feast (to be featured in next week's cooking challenge!).  So, despite Evan's ear infections, we had a good weekend.

Andplusalso, I finally finished the forever long process of taking Evan's 6 month pictures.  Who needs a photographer, right?  Sigh...it was so much work and I'm not convinced they are amazing, but hey, they'll do.

Oh, so considering this is supposed to be my cooking challenge post, I guess I should describe the most amazing patty melts I cooked earlier last week.  I'm a patty melt junkie.  I order them anywhere we go that has them on their menu, so for these to be restaurant quality, I was shocked!  I saw them on a recent episode of Pioneer Woman and I knew I had to try these.  I know she uses a whole stick of butter in this recipe, but come on, it wouldn't be the same without the butter.

1 stick butter
1 whole large onion, halved and sliced
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
5 dashes Worcestershire sauce
8 slices rye bread
8 slices Swiss cheese

In a medium skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium-low heat. Throw in the sliced onions and cook slowly until the onions are golden brown and soft, 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a medium bowl, mix together the ground beef, Worcestershire and some salt and pepper. Form into 4 patties.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a separate skillet over medium heat. Cook the patties on both sides until totally done in the middle.

Assemble the patty melts this way: Slice of bread, slice of cheese, hamburger patty, a quarter of the cooked onions, another slice of cheese and another slice of bread.

On a clean griddle or in a large skillet over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and grill the sandwiches until golden brown. Remove the sandwiches and add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the skillet. Return the sandwiches to the skillet, flipping them to the other side. Cook until golden brown and crisp, and until the cheese is melted. Slice in half and serve immediately!

They were amazing!  Amazing.  There's no other way to describe them.  I'm definitely making these again in the future. 

Well, I'm feeling better about being turned down from my leadership opportunity, but after our union meeting today and hearing about our potential four year contract, I think I need a Blue Moon.  It's another busy, long week with a little guy who still isn't feeling right...

Wordless Wednesday!

My son's interpretation of going to get a book out of the basket to read in the play room...

Week 10: Infant Teething Biscuits

Oh my gosh - the weather yesterday was amazing!  It was the perfect way to end our week and start another.  Although, I'm so excited for spring now, it's going to be hard to make it for another few months at work until summer vacation!  We took the boys for a walk in the stroller and went to the park so Sean could let off some steam.  Even Evan enjoyed the fresh air and stroller ride. 

Earlier in the week we enjoyed Scott being done with his basketball season so that he could be home right after work to help with dinners and play with the boys.  It was a pretty uneventful week of work and daycare.  Evan still has a cough from the last cold he had, but both boys are healthy and we had no interruptions from daycare.  Including no biting incidents!  Maybe things are moving in the right direction...one can hope, right?

Friday, I picked up Evan from daycare and drove straight to Troy.  I was going to sell a lot of my infant stuff at a mom2mom sale on Saturday morning and had to do the set-up Friday night.  So, Evan and I spent the night at my parents' house and Scott and Sean stayed home.  Sean had his first gymnastics class Saturday morning that Scott took him to.  While, I should say it's his second, since he had to be put in a different class considering he couldn't handle a weeknight class.  He did really well on Saturday morning, although he still has a hard time sitting still while the teacher is talking or while they are stretching.  Hey, he's only 2.5.  I can understand that.

Saturday from 7:30am-1pm I sold over $300 of baby clothes and gear!  Considering a lot of these items were registry gifts or bought for us, I'd say that's darn good.  It was a lot of work, but I think I figured out a few tricks to make my next go around easier.  I plan on doing another in the fall of the rest of the baby clothes and gear and that should be a big one for me considering we still have a lot of big items that he's using right now. 

After the sale, I picked up Evan from my parents' house and drove back home.  We took the boys out to dinner to celebrate my sale and then had some friends come over with their four month old daughter in the evening for a few hours.  It was a nice evening, but man I was exhausted.  Neither my friend nor I could keep our eyes open past 11pm.  The joys of being a parent...

So, this week, I decided to do my weekly cooking challenge on some infant teething biscuits that my mom made Evan.  He always seems to be fussy and demanding during dinner time when we're trying to eat ourselves, so she thought giving him some teething biscuits would keep him occupied.  I was a little weary since I worried about them breaking into small pieces and him choking, but these were perfect!  She made them in a boot shape (stocking cookie cutter from Christmas) so that he could hold one end while gnawing on the other.  And they held up great!  They'd get a little slippery from his drool and slobber and he would keep dropping them, but he didn't seem to mind.  Bailey was even lucky enough to catch a few of them.

1 cup flour
1 cup dry infant rice cereal  (We used organic brown rice cereal)
1 ripe medium mashed banana (1/3 cup-I have also substituted pureed carrots and sweet potato)
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 425ºF / 220ºC. In a bowl, mix together flour, cereal and cinnamon.

Add in oil, banana and water. Mix until dough comes together to form a firm, non-sticky dough. Add water or flour (1 tablespoon at a time) if necessary.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out about 1/2 inch thick and cut into shapes or bars.

Bake on a greased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes, or until slightly brown. Allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Happy Monday, everyone!  We've got a busy week ahead of us with parent-teacher conferences and other work obligations, but I'm looking forward to finally having a weekend with no plans other than gymnastics class!

Evan is 6 months!!

6 Months Old

15 lbs. 6.5 oz.

27.5"

Ahhhh!  I love the 6 month milestone!  You know that the hardest part is far behind you and now, having a 2.5 year old, you know how wonderful the next two years are going to be!  We couldn't be any happier or any more proud of this little nugget.  I mean, come on, look at how unbelievably cute he is?!?!  Ahh those dimples!!

He is getting into quite a routine these days.  Two meals of solids; one in the morning and one at dinner time.  He's loving all of the new foods that I've been making him.  I'm not sure he's a big fan of butternut squash, but can you believe he likes peas and broccoli?  As a baby...that blows me away.  While we haven't tested the waters yet to see if he can handle any dairy products or milk based formula, we've been happy to see that he's not had any allergic reactions to the foods he's been trying.  

Despite some setbacks earlier in the winter, like his ezcema, RSV, and various colds, he's still hitting all the milestones.  He can sit up unassisted, whether there's something in front of him to play with or not.  He's so strong!  He amazes me every day with his strength.  He loves to stand up.  He can hold on to our wooden cube toy standing up without me holding on to him.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm right there behind him, but it's so crazy that he can stand there without my support.  He barrel rolls occasionally just to show off, but he loves, loves, loves being on his tummy.  He sleeps on his tummy at night and rolls on to his tummy any time we put him on his back.  At my mom's house this weekend, he was wiggling like he was trying to get on all fours and so after we helped him get on his hands and knees he was able to stay there for a few seconds or so before collapsing.  It's so hard to believe crawling, walking, scooting, whatever is in our near future!  

It's hasn't been all puppies and rainbows this month.  We didn't make it through February without getting hit hard by the stomach virus that went around with a vengeance.  Just when Evan was starting to sleep through the night he was sick throwing up all night.  Since then, he's back to getting up once or twice a night.  Sigh...I really don't want to have to sleep train.  What is it with the second baby that you're more willing to tolerate sleepless nights?  I just don't want him to cry.  I'm such a softie for him.  I think the redeeming quality for Scott is that Evan recently started babbling syllables like "ba" and "da" and surprised us both the other day by saying "dada" multiple times.  

Stats:

•  Size 2 diaper.
• 6 month clothes, but transitioning into 9 months for the length.
• Eats a 6 oz. bottle every 3 hours or so.
• Two solid meals: morning and evening.
• Wakes once a night to eat and sometimes twice, just to complain that he's stuck on his tummy.
• 3 naps...only 45 minutes each usually.  Such a cat napper!

Favorites:

• The mirror!  This kid loves looking at himself and smiling.
• Being tickled.  He's so ticklish!
• Being on his tummy.
• Sitting upright and playing with some of his toys in front of him.
• Gnawing on teething biscuits my mom made him.
• Chewing on anything and everything he can.
• His jumperoo!
• Dancing before bedtime to Music Choice channels on TV.  We made this a new family tradition every week night.  From 6pm to bedtime we listen to music, dance, sing, play in the big mirror in the living room, etc.
• Babble and blow spit bubbles.  Yay!

I love this little munchkin so much!  I'm so excited for the weather to get warmer so we can go on walks in the double stroller, play at the park, and to watch him experience all our favorite Spring/Summer activities for the first time.  He's such a happy, beautiful baby boy and we are so blessed!

Week 9: Braided Spaghetti Bread

Happy March everyone!  We are so close to Spring!  I can smell it in the air.  With the sun shining the past two days, the snow melting, and the 40 degree temps, I'm getting so anxious for Spring it's unreal.

Our past week was jam packed with fun.  We had our much hyped snow day on Wednesday!  I got the call before Scott.  A full 45 minutes before Scott.  So, it was a nerve-wracking 45 minutes from 4:45am-5:30am until Scott's school was called off too.  Geez...took long enough.  We made sure we had a ton of fun things for the kids to do so that we could all stay sane stuck at home all day.  I had the boys make some St. Patrick's Day shamrocks with their hands and also had Sean do some ice cube painting!

We also had a play date with their cousins that live two streets over.  Nana was babysitting the girls for the day so Sean had a blast playing with both his cousins and Nana.  The snow was perfect for making a giant snowman!

It was strange going back to work for Thursday and Friday, but at least it broke up the week and made it go by quicker.

Friday night I came home from work and put together my new recipe for the week.  I made Braided Spaghetti Bread from pinterest.  A friend of mine had made it a few months ago and posted her picture of it on facebook and it motivated me to give it a shot.  I mean, how can the combination of garlic bread, spaghetti, and meat sauce go wrong?

• 1 Loaf Rhodes Bread Dough or 12 Rhodes Dinner Rolls, thawed to room temperature
• 6 oz spaghetti, cooked
• 1 cup thick spaghetti sauce
• 8 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 –inch cubes
• 1 egg white
• Parmesan cheese
• Parsley flakes

Roll loaf or combined dinner rolls into a 12x16-inch rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

Cook spaghetti according to package instructions. Drain and let cool slightly.

Remove wrap from dough. Place spaghetti lengthwise in a 4-inch strip down the center of dough. Tip with sauce and cheese cubes. (I mixed my spaghetti and sauce together and added a ½ pound of cooked ground beef with onions and garlic).

 Make cuts 1 ½-inches apart on long sides of dough to within ½-inch of filling.

Begin braid by folding top and bottom strips toward filling. Then braid strips left over right, right over left. Finish by pulling last strip over and tucking under braid.

Lift braid with both hands and place on large sprayed baking sheet. (or transfer parchment paper to baking sheet). Brush with egg white and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and parsley (I added garlic powder).

It was great!  I think the added garlic powder on the bread was key.  It gave the dough some more flavor.  Bread dough isn't the most exciting form of bread, so any added flavor really made it more tasty.  Even Sean liked it.  Look at all the amazing gooey cheese coming out?!

The rest of our weekend was completely crazy!  We packed a bridal shower, Monster Truck Show at Ford Field, and 3rd birthday party at a bowling alley all into one weekend.  So, we decided it was best we stay at our parent's house in Troy.  Sean and Scott stayed at Scott's parents' house Saturday night and Evan and I stayed at my parents' house.  It was fun!  But, very chaotic.  Add a visit with my best friend, grocery shopping at both Whole Foods and Kroger while in Troy, and a couple of meals out at restaurants and we never stopped.  But, my mom and I enjoyed out Saturday evening sitting in her hot tub and watching Something Borrowed while the boys were at the Monster Truck Show and Evan was fast asleep.

I'm exhausted just writing a recap of our weekend, but it was so much fun!