Corn Hole

Jonathan decided he wanted to make corn hole boards. He found the plans online and has been working on them for the past couple months whenever he has time. He says that's hard because I am always giving him things to do. Either way, I am glad they are finished and happy to get my garage back. My man is so talented!

Morning Shake Off

I turned around and saw Weston and Elliott playing with each other during breakfast this morning. Elliott's becoming much more interactive, especially with Weston.

Chicken Pot Pie

I was trying to think of something different to do with chicken and came across this Chicken Pot Pie Recipe. I love when you follow a recipe to a tee and it turns out just how you hoped it would. That just doesn't happen for me every time. I bought celery seed for this and it might have been the first time I've cooked with it. Don't have any clue what it's supposed to taste like, but I must be a fan. Did I mention Weston gobbled it up?

This one is going in the recipe box. YAY for comfort food!

W for Weston!

Just Not Having It...

Elliott is just not having it. Gotta get that bow out! All summer long...

I prefer to be all natural!

Guacamole Goodness

Guacamole looks scary but if you can get past the fact that it's neon green, you might love it! I used this recipe for the first time almost five years ago now, for the Super Bowl. It was our first year in Madison, WI and we had our new friends coming over, Jon and Jessi. I got Jon's approval but he did say that all we needed now was to make our own chips. Once we started frying our own corn tortillas I realized that we could never go back. ;)

There are more ingredients in this Emeril recipe than I usually like to deal with, but that's why it's so delicious. If you happen to have all 25 things laying around please try this. Always get one more avocado than you need b/c one is probably bad. I can't tell you how many times we have had to go back to the store for more before a party.

Mush, mush, mush.

Press down the cyran wrap to get all air out before you stick it in the fridge.

21 Months

Weston is ONE year old. Who does he think he is sleeping in when he needs to get up for preschool? I had to go and wake him up this morning. Then I went and turned on the bath water and went back to grab him. He had fallen back asleep. I just never thought this would start so early. Of course the days I get to sleep in he is wide eyed and bushy tailed at 7:30 am.

The kind of face I get at 21 months. Such a punk.

Braised Short Ribs

My meals are usually based on what meat is for sale that day. Yesterday it was boneless short ribs. It was literally $3 for the package I bought. I had never cooked short ribs before but wanted to ever since I saw them on Secrets of a Restaurant Chef.

I pretty much made up my own recipe with stuff I had around the kitchen. Starting off with a couple cloves of garlic in OO and then browning off the meat. Then I added water to cover up the meat and a packet of french onion soup mix into that. Brought that to a boil adding carrots and some more onion. Then I covered the dutch oven and stuck it in the oven at 350 for 2 hours. The meat was so tender. Jonathan loved the results which means I loved the results even more. Have to keep an eye out for short ribs on sale from now on!

Before the Oven

After the Oven

I don't see anything green!

10 Months Old!

Elliott is 10 months old! Somedays it's hard to believe she hasn't even been here a year yet, other days it seems it was just yesterday that I had her. She is crusin around now, from coffee table to couch. All she wants to do is what Weston is doing. She smiles and gets so happy when he wakes up from his nap and it's time for them to play again. They are a cute pair and I will enjoy it while it last!

Hanging It Up

The nursing bra, that is. I have been looking forward to this in a way for months now, but it's still a sad thing. Elliott has taken to the sippy cup and whole milk with no problems. She nuzzles her head on my chest from time to time but I will just have to be strong.

Breastfeeding has been the most amazing thing I have ever done other than having these two babies. :) It is a HUGE commitment and takes an insane amount of dedication and determination. You always hear about women having babies and saying, I tried to bf but couldn't so we went to formula. I have been on both sides of this. Breastfeeding didn't work with Weston. I hadn't been through it before and didn't know who's advice to take. Going through it with Elliott I knew exactly what to do different and how to be successful.

Not all moms feel the desire or are able to breastfeed their babies and I totally understand that. I think it's safe to say that I was born with that desire and it was a big part of what I looked forward to about being a mom and having babies. The fact that women are equipped with everything it takes to nourish and grow their infant is incredible. Yet another thing that makes me wonder how anyone couldn't believe in God.

I am so grateful that I was able to breastfeed Elliott these past 10 months. If you know me well you know that she didn't take a bottle and I haven't been able to part with her for more than a few hours since she was born. As difficult as it was at times, I would do it all over again without a doubt in my mind. I will forever have immense respect for any breastfeeding mommy out there!

Pepper LOVE

One of Weston's favorite past times this summer has been picking the peppers in the garden. He likes to pick them until he can't hold them anymore. He doesn't like to part with his peppers, that's for sure.

Pasta Lunch

Whenever food is running low and it's time to go to the grocery, I usually end up making some variety of this dish. I try to always have canned tomatoes and pasta around. When I have cream, I make tomato cream sauce. Today I had some chx in the freezer so I boiled that, shredded it and added it to the sauce.

The beginning to anything good

The Sauce

Garlic & Olive Oil for the French Bread

Ready for the oven

Time to Eat

Visit to Hickory

We went to Hickory, NC this Labor Day weekend to visit my Aunt Debra and Uncle Bob. Elliott and Weston rode all 4 hours with out getting out of their car seats. Jonathan is awesome at entertaining them while I drive.

UB & AD have a beautiful home on the lake. Weston went out on the boat for the second time, and Elliott had her first boating experience (other than in my tummy last summer). Poppy and Jiji were there too and we all had a great time! Mom drove me around on the jet ski and we all hung out on the huge island float. It's quite an amazing set up. Elliott was hilarious in her life jacket. We all agreed she looked like Violet from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Thanks to the Isley's for having us! :) Love you guys!

Weston and Aunt Debra driving the boat.

Their home from the water.

Weston and Elliott having a ball!

The Island