Day Date

Lee and I hadn't been on a date since before Christmas. Grant was asking when "M" was coming again (our sitter) and he even said, "I think you guys need a date." Okay, I don't need much more convincing! We scheduled our sitter to come during the day so we could get out and about while things were open.

We went to Americana in downtown Des Moines for brunch. We actually didn't know they did weekend brunch. They had a large selection of food...everything from fruit, pastries, and yogurt/granola, to apple crisp, waffle bread pudding, fried chicken, breakfast meats, egg casseroles, crepes, chili, etc. But the best part, was the bottomless Mimosa and Bloody Mary bar. The server brought the champagne or vodka, and we got to add whatever juice/mixes we wanted. It was SO yummy!

From there, we headed to West End Architectural Salvage, and just browsed through FOUR floors of antique/salvaged/repurposed junk.

Next were stops at Trader Joes's, Best Buy, Borders, Scheels, and Pottery Barn. We didn't buy much, but it's fun to be able to shop without worrying about kids.

We headed home and still had all evening with the kids and got to tuck them into bed ourselves! It was SO hard for me to realize that Lee and I needed to take time for ourselves, away from the kids, but I am SO glad I know it now. It's good for ALL of us!

Peanut Butter Granola

This recipe was a Pinterest find.

Peanut Butter Granola

(Makes four 1/4 c. servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. creamy peanut butter (I used organic from Trader Joe's)
  
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. oats

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Spray cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
• Combine peanut butter and honey in a bowl and microwave until peanut butter melts (approximately 20 seconds). Stir.
• Stir cinnamon and vanilla into peanut butter and honey mixture.
• Add oats and stir until oats are completely covered in peanut butter mixture.
• Spread out oat mixture onto prepared cookie sheet and bake for 7 – 8 minutes until granola is slightly browned.
• Let cool until granola is crunchy.

http://www.pbfingers.com/2011/06/14/peanut-butter-granola/

After it was cooled, I added craisins and chocolate chips to make a snack mix.
YUMMY!




I put the granola (minus the craisins and chocolate chips) on top of some almond flavored greek yogurt and it was delicious!

Black Bean Brownies

Okay, you are thinking GROSS!!!!! At least that is what I've been thinking for months, since first hearing about this recipe. I decided to try it, because if I can make "healthy" brownies, why not? I figured if they were bad, I was only out a few dollars, and then I'd know for myself. Well, they are GOOD!!!!!!!!

The texture and taste is almost the same as regular brownies (if you didn't KNOW they had black beans, you probably wouldn't notice any difference). The kids love them....Lee hasn't tried them yet.. I'm not going to tell him until AFTER he tries them to see if he notices anything different. (Hope he doesn't read the blog at work today!)

Directions:
Open a can of black beans, pour into a collander and rinse, scoop back into can and fill with water. Pour can of beans and water into blender and purée until smooth. Dump beans and brownie mix into bowl and stir until blended. Pour into greased pan and cook according to package directions (do not add oil or egg).

Yummy! I would not qualify this as health food, but certainly HEALTHIER dessert!

Steph, these brownies for breakfast might be okay :)

If you try these, let me know what you think!


Nutritional info can be found here: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2008/06/black-bean-brownies-2-pts.html

Princess Party

Brynna got invited to her first "friend" birthday party..and it's a PRINCESS party! She is so excited :)

Lee is taking her because Grant and I aren't feeling well...what a great dad!!!

Pumpkin Carrot Muffins

These are yummy and healthy!!

Grating the carrots is a little work, but totally worth it in my opinion.

It took 2 large carrots to get the 1 cup of grated carrot.

The batter is pretty thick.

These are hearty and delicious!

Recipe
1 cup pumpkin
2/3 cup brown sugar
4 tbsp oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup grated carrots
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder


Beat together pumpkin, brown sugar, oil and egg.
Add in carrots.
In a separate bowl, blend together flour, salt, soda, baking powder and cinnamon.
Add to the pumpkin mixture.
Fill muffin tins about 2/3 full.
Bake at 375 degrees for 10-14 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/recipes.asp?recipe=13719

For an extra treat (and to trick myself into thinking of these as dessert) I put a little bit of non-fat cool whip on top as a "frosting!"

Enjoy!

Christmas - Take 1

The first Christmas celebration was with my mom, Roger, and my Grandma Audrey.
We had SO much food, SO many presents, and a great time together!

Grant, Ellie, Brynna, Whitney
(Matt, Tiff, Owen, and Eli didn't make it over b/c Eli was only 2 days old)

Her new nail polish (and her super daddy)!

The Army guys playing with Grant's new Army toys.

Cousins!

Matching pjs!

Thank you for a wonderful weekend everyone!!!

Roasted Veggies

SUPER EASY!!!

Cleaned and chopped veggies
(broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, sweet potato)
olive oil
garlic cloves
salt/pepper/or Lawry's

Roast at about 400 degrees for 30 min (or until veggies are tender)

Black Bean Salad/Dip

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained and rinsed (recipe says shoepeg corn, but I used regular b/c I had it)
1/4 - 1/2 chopped red onion
3 tomatoes, chopped
cilantro to taste
6 TBS olive oil
6 TBS lime juice
garlic salt to taste
I added about 1/2 avocado to this as well, but not necessary

I love this with tortilla chips for lunch. You could also eat it plain or on a bed of lettuce/spinach.

This make A LOT, so I would do 1/2 unless you are hosting a party!

Random Christmas Photos

Teacher Christmas gifts of homemade toffee.
For his classroom teacher I also got a "Chamber Bucks" gift certificate.

We made salt dough ornaments.

We did the "adopt a child" thing this year in effort to get the kids to think about GIVING on Christmas instead of just getting. We adopted a child through the Friendship Baptist Center in DSM. His name was Fernando and he was 7. We went shopping and dedicated our whole night to him. It took awhile, but Grant finally started to think of Fernando and other "not as blessed as us" people. He even had the idea that we should buy someone a car that didn't have one. Oh, how I WISH we could do that!!!! This was a good start, but we are already thinking of how we can do better next year b/c as much as we tried to guard against the "commercialism" of Christmas, it still happened!
Anyway, this is them helping to wrap Fernando's presents.

Our tree.

The kids' nativity set.
They LOVED playing with this and even Brynna can tell you who all the people are!

Grant's school Christmas Program

Here is a picture/life update.

Grant's school Christmas Program!
The Christmas Wish List
December 15, 2011

While theatre/performing may not be in Grant's future, the fact that he is up on stage, singing and doing the actions is AMAZING!
It was a little funny b/c he had to watch the other kids to know exactly what to do, but as I reminded Lee, Grant is the only one that goes 1/2 days and the rest of his class has music in the afternoon! So, he did GREAT!

This was the same day that Owen got a baby brother, so he got to come with us. He was VERY excited to see Grant sing :) Brynna was excited to have someone to TALK to during the performance.

Thanks to Papa, Grandpa Brian and Grandma Paula for making the trip down to watch him.





Owen's new baby brother, Elijah (Eli) Douglas Welsh.
(Matt and Tiffany)

Healthy(ier) kid lunch

I have found that the kids eat everything better if it's on a stick.
I guess it works for the State Fair and it works here too :)

Turkey, pepperoni, apple, pear, and string cheese kabobs, with a a side of carrots/pb, and a homemade biscuit (with whole wheat flour).

This one is strawberries, cold chicken breast, and grapes.


Again, use your imagination and whatever is in your fridge!

Avocado Toast

This one isn't for the kids, well not MY kids, but I LOVE this for lunch or a snack.

Toasted bread (pumpernickle here), 1/4 avocado spread onto the toast, halved grape tomatoes tossed in a bit of olive oil, sprinkled with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. So good and SO quick/easy.
(Notice the smoothie too, that one had blueberries and spinach)

Smoothies

This is the easiest way to get more fruit and veggies into our menu.

I use fresh spinach, frozen bananas, frozen mixed fruit, frozen juice concentrate and water.

This tip saves time and makes the consistency of the smoothie SO much better! The almost too ripe bananas on my counter, get sliced/chunked up, placed on a plate in a single layer, and then placed in the freezer. Once frozen, I pry them off the plate and put in a ziploc. Then I can just throw a few in the blender. I used to just use the bananas from the counter, but the consistency is so much better when they are frozen.

Pre-blend.
Spinach leaves on bottom, then frozen fruit and bananas, a spoonful of frozen juice concentrate and fill about 1/3 full with water. This is NOT an exact science, the smoothie comes out a little different each time. I have put carrots in before, I've experimented with various fruit/veggie combinations, and they almost always come out good. You can add yogurt, different flavors of juice, the possibilities are ENDLESS. Just find what works for you. Blueberries make it a great blue/purple color, but their little seeds don't grind up well, so sometimes Grant won't drink those, but I think they are great!

Breakfast for the kids....who knew they'd LOVE spinach for breakfast :)

YUM!

Food

I'm REALLY behind on the blog AGAIN, obviously! Someday I may get you updated with our life, it just seems to be moving along at lightning speed and it's all I can do to take care of my family, house, church, and Bible study obligations. SO, forgive me that the blog has taken a back seat for now.

One thing I'm focusing on right now, is FOOD! I really had been slacking on providing HEALTHY food for my family. My goal is to add more fruits, veggies and whole grains for Lee and the kids, and I'm trying to cut down on the fat/calories for myself as well as the above.

I've been posting a few pictures to Facebook an Pinterest, but my SIL Steph has been suggesting I put them on the blog as well. So, I'm going to try to do that, as time allows. Maybe with the blogger app on my phone, I'll be able to do quick food updates, b/c a lot of typing won't be required. We'll see....but here comes some recipes/food ideas. I find a lot of my inspiration on Pinterest, or just by searching the internet. I find a recipe/idea and then use it as is or "personalize" it!

First REAL haircut!

She did awesome!!!! Climbed up in the chair herself and sat still the entire time, totally opposite of Grant's first haircut. I think the bangs are a little short, but it will grow out.