Flashlight Fun

 

Playing With Food

I never follow a recipe, much to my husband's chagrin.  My dad used to pour over cookbooks, like Jeff Smith's The Frugal Gourmet, for hours and hours.  But I never actually saw him follow the recipe word for word.  What fun would that be?!  Because I am a daddy's girl, I, too, have a love for cookbooks, but they tend to sit {unused} high in my kitchen cupboards...  usually I don't have all the ingredients to follow a recipe anyway, so I Google recipes and read five or six of them and then pick pieces from each that I like {or that actually include ingredients I have on hand}.  As such, I never know exactly what the end product will be ... nor how to duplicate it.  Ever.

I don't cook from scratch often, but try to provide healthy meals or at least healthy components to a meal as much as I can. {Confession:  Quick pasta and sauce straight from a jar is a staple here!}  I'd be happy with steamed vegetables {period} every night.  Maybe some perogies and kielbasa would be good too, but with two {growing} boys in the house, the need is there, but I struggle with planning and executing well-rounded dinners.

No matter what I cook, Alekzander loves to "help" in the kitchen.  He drags his tool bench into the kitchen and "fills" measuring cups with the drill bit, "cooks" on the workspace, and stirs, pours, and mixes with all his might.  Some nights I let him help for real; what a treat... for us both.

Tonight we made homemade waffles and a plum-apple compote for dinner.  It was successful and delicious! And I might be able to recreate it.

Homemade Healthy Waffles

Original found here

{*} my additions/changes

1 3/4 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups milk

2 generous shakes of cinnamon* 

1 large egg*

1 tablespoon flaxseed meal 

         + 3 tablespoons water (as an egg substitute)*

1/2 cup melted butter

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract* 

1 teaspoon/frugal swirl of molasses* 

Mix dry ingredients; add mixed wet ingredients; mix well; let sit 5 minutes; use 2/3 to 1 cup of batter in 7-inch waffle iron; cook 5-10 minutes until waffle iron stops steaming!

Plum-Apple Compote 

{from my head ... inspiration :: our fruit bowl}

2 plums - peeled and diced

1 Gala apple - peeled and diced

In small saucepan, add cut up fruits and 1/2 cup of water.  Boil until liquid is reduced and fruit is soft.  

Enjoy warm over waffles!

Alekzander-isms

Clearly I think Alekzander the cutest little toddler I know, but he is also sweet, smart, and silly.  He talks constantly.  His vocabulary is increasing everyday and he is putting sentences together perfectly and easily {though verbs and prepositions are sometimes lacking}.  Here are some recent Alekzander-isms that I don't want to forget!

I made fruit salad for dessert tonight... when Alekzander got his bowl, he asked, "Where is lettuce, Mommy?" 

 "Mama, go teach?!"  "Alekzander go teach, tooooo."

"I Alekzander Swistak," upon entering into the church nursery room. 

 Praying with his hands folded at dinner.  "Thank you Mama, Thank you Dada, Thank you noodles."

"Good job, Mama/Dada."  {Compliments come at all times especially during household chores!  Love his sweet, grateful heart.} 

 "Next page, Mommy." When reading the same book, Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go, again and again!

 Singing, "Holy, holy, holy" and rocking out to "Our God is an Awesome God" during dinner.  {Never have I been so confident in our music choices at home and in the car!}

Love You Because

I love you, Alekzander, because you give great bear hugs.

You grab my face and kiss me.

You have a great imagination.

You call me Mama and Mommeee... 

and I never tire of your sweet voice calling my name.

You include us in your play-world.

You are my precious little boy.

I love you, Andrew, because of your love for Alekzander and me.

{You love us so well.}

You make waffle batter at 4:30 in the morning 

so we can have homemade waffles on Valentine's Day.

You are determined and focused.

You see the best in everyone you meet.

You are my strength and my stability.

You are my forever and ever, amen.

Breakfast Made With Love

 Pink Pancakes with Chocolate Chips

{Pumpkin Puree was added to negate the artificial pinkness!}

Licking the batter ... more for the experience than the taste!

Perfectly Pink Pancakes

 

The Final Product

DIY Decorating

What you'll need:

1 silly toddler

an empty canvas and an open mind

washable markers

hours of playtime

Embracing Cowboy Fashion

Two-year old party fun

Per the birthday boy's request, 

Alekzander and I embraced the party theme 

and proudly wore our cowboy hats!

Sadly, my {everyday, favorite} cowboy boots stayed home

due to the rain, but practical, patriotic rainboots matched perfectly

with my red-rimmed cowboy hat that Oliver picked out for me!

Yeeee Haw

This little cowboy had so much fun 

celebrating his best buddy's birthday.

Even a gray, wet day couldn't dampen the excitement 

about seeing all of the animals!

Buddies brushing the "peep".

 Not so sure about the chickens.

Loved the little goat.

He wouldn't ride the "horsey" but he did walk it!

{And spent the rest of the day saying "Yeeee-Haw!"}

Uwharrie 40 Photo Finish

 

Elmo and Daddy went on a 40 mile run...

Nothing big.  Just running up and down some mountains... for nearly 8 hours.

We made it in time to see our hero finish the 2012 Uwharrie Ultra.

Watching Daddy finish 

{Photo by Lauren Taylor}

 Yay Daddy!  40 miles ... You made it!!

I'd like to think that arms outstretched like that are better than any other award.

{Thanks to Lauren Taylor for this awesome picture!}

{Photo by Lauren Taylor}

... and the aftermath ...

RICE and some Alekzander initiated TLC.