Five Facts for Friday

Fact #1 It is definitely going to be cold! Not as cold as last Friday when we got snow, but cold enough to make me want Spring to get here and get here NOW!

Fact #2 is that we will definitely be needing our shades, because it is supposed to be sunny all weekend. I think I hear the great outdoors calling our names!

Fact #3 We will be all smiles, because it is FRIDAY and the weekend is upon us!

Fact #4 Wherever you find Dan, you are sure to find Joshua, because Joshua wants to do anything Dan does!

Fact #5 Mimi is coming to visit for the weekend and we are sure to have a wonderful time!

And there you have it, these are the facts, the known facts! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

2 Pigs and a Dirt Pile

My Dad has a neighbor that has a grandson the same age as Joshua. Every time we are down there, we try to get them together, but it never seems to work out. So when we were at my Dad's this last time, Joshua was invited by his new little friend, Hunter to come and play in his dirt pile. Joshua and Hunter had the best time. They played in the dirt pile, made mud puddles with the dirt and the water that they were bringing over by the bucket loads from the kiddie pool that was full of rain water and they even got to see some pet pigs. My dad lives on many acres and so does everyone else in the neighborhood so you are able to have a lot of things that a normal neighborhood wouldn't be able to have in the city, this includes pigs! Hunter's grandpa got them for him so he could play with them. Some people have dogs, and then there is Hunter who has pigs as pets. Anyway, Joshua was very excited about these cute little pigs. He petted them and talked to them and asked them if they wanted to eat as he poured water onto them. The pigs really didn't seem to mind it, I guess they were hot and it felt good. So for a good part of the morning, Joshua and Hunter spent time "watering" the pigs. By the time it was all over, Joshua was covered from head to toe with water, dirt and grass. These two were the perfect picture of "boys will be boys!" At the end is a video of them pouring water onto the pigs, too cute!! Oh and when Joshua came back over to my dad's to clean up, he said this: "Gandpa, I want a pig like Hunter!" (Don't hold your breath Joshua)

Ready to do some diggin'

The boys hard at work "watering the pigs"

Snow Day Fun Day 2011

So while we were dreaming away last night, we got about a half an inch of snow! So when Joshua woke us up at around 630, I looked out the window and saw our backyard covered in white powder. Joshua was ready to start his normal morning routine, but when I opened the blinds on the back door in the kitchen, he was completely surprised by what he saw. Needless to say his morning routine was thrown off a little. He promptly wanted to go outside and play in the snow. He told me he needed his jacket! So, I threw his jacket on top of his pajamas, put socks and shoes on him and out we went. Yes, I do realize that I did not stop to put on gloves and a hat, but he had on flannel pajamas and a hood(wink). Dan didn't have to go into work and neither did I so we have been going outside to play in the snow and then coming inside to warm up and then back out again. Joshua is loving every minute of it! Too bad it will melt away by this evening! It was still a blast and we made lots of memories!

Joshua running around in the snow at 630 am

Getting cold now, but still did not want to go inside

See he eventually got gloves and a hat on!

Throwing snow at Mommy! The snow was powder you couldn't even make a snowball

The beginning of a snowball fight.

Joshua's first snow angel! He didn't think it was a such a good idea once he laid down!

The park in our neighborhood

In front of our house.

Edible Architecture

Today at school Joshua's class got to build their very own "house" made out of graham crackers and white icing. Needless to say the kids L-O_V-E-D it!! Ms. Maria said that this was the most focused all of them had been at one time on a project. Well, of course they were it was graham crackers and icing! She let them make the said house however they wanted too. So below is Joshua's "fort", not "house". When I said I love your house, he quickly corrected me and said it was a fort!

The Fort! In all it's glory!

Man, this fort taste good!!

Want some, momma?

Enjoying the fruits of his labor!

Total destruction of the fort!

Oh So Delicious

APPLESAUCE MUFFINS

(with Butternut Squash or Carrot)

Prep: 20min Total: 40min Makes about 12 muffins

These muffins are so yummy! Yes, they came out of my deceptively delicious book by Jessica Seinfeld. They are not too sweet, but they are wholesome and are great for breakfast on the go. I chose to put carrot puree in my muffins instead of butternut squash, but either one would work. Below is the recipe.

Nonstick cooking spray

TOPPING

2/3 cup old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp margarine spread, melted

BATTER

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1 tsp backing powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup nonfat (skim) milk

1/2 cup butternut squash or carrot puree

1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar

1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 large egg

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups

2. To make the topping, stir together the oats, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir in the margarine.

3. To make the batter, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl or zipper-lock bag and stir or shake to mix(putting it in a zip lock bag was fun because I had Joshua help me out and he shook the bag all around and then got to dump it in the bowl). In a second bowl, mix the applesauce with the milk, vegetable puree, sugar, oil, and egg with a wooden spoon. Add the flour mixture slowly, stirring until just moistened. Do not overmix-the batter is supposed to be lumpy.

4. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle with the streusel topping. Bake until the topping is lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the muffins, 18-20 mins. Turn the muffins out onto a rack and serve warm or cool.

OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES

(with banana and zucchini)

Prep: 20 mins Total: 35 mins Makes about 2 dozen cookies

(SORRY NO PICTURE HERE)

Nonstick cooking spray

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar

6 tbsp margarine spread, chilled

1/2 cup banana puree

1/2 cup zucchini puree

1 large egg white

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat two baking sheets with cooking spray, or line with cooking parchment.

2. In a bowl or zipper-lock bag, combine the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and shake or stir to mix.

3. In a large bowl, beat the sugar and margarine with a wooden spoon until just combined; do not overmix. Add the banana and zucchini purees, and the egg white , and stir just to blend. Add the flour mixture, raisins, and walnuts, if using, and stir to combine.

4. Drop the dough by heaping tablespoonful onto the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch in between. bake until golden brown, 12 -15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 4 to 5 minutes, just until they are firm enough to handle, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

I actually substituted the raisins for craisins and added white choc. chips. It was really good.

Both of these recipes came out of "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld

You should try them, I promise they will not disappoint!!!

Hoppin' Hippo

Joshua has been doing so well with his potty training! He is starting to tell us when he has to go, but the majority of the time we still have to remind him. He went all last week at school with no accidents and the majority of the time at home too. So, we decided to take him to a place that I found a while back on the internet called Hoppin' Hippo. While it is called Hoppin' Hippo it only has 2 jump houses, the rest of the place has a tree house with a tire swing underneath, a playscape and a bunch of space just to run and have fun in! Joshua absolutely loved this place. He kept saying he didn't want to go, but I knew he would love it once we were there. He attempted the bounce houses, but never quite made it in to jump, but he did everything else there was to do there and when we got home he crashed for 3 hrs!! What I liked about this place as a parent is the fact that only kids ages 0-7yrs are allowed in the place. I think that is a wonderful thing, because we have been to some places that are just too much for little ones and they seemed to get run over by the older ones. Another good thing is that adults are free, so you only have to pay for your kids. It is pretty reasonable, only 7 bucks and they are always running special too. I think we will be making more trips back to this fun zone! It was nice to go somewhere on a Saturday and it not be packed with people. I posted some pictures of the fun time that was had by all.

This thing was like an inflatable maze/tunnel! Pretty cool! Joshua kept going up to it and saying "elephant! elephant!" and then would make the noise that an elephant makes complete with raising his arm up and down. Funny kid!

Couldn't quite get the hang of the tire swing,but he tried!

At the top of the tree house

His 28th Year

On Thursday(1-20), my fabulous husband turned 28! While he said it was just another day, I was determined to prove him wrong. So, I sent him different texts throughout the day about how much I loved him and what a great daddy he was and of course poked fun about him being 2 yrs away from 30(payback, he did it to me!) Joshua and I went to the store to get a few last ingredients for the birthday meal and when I told Joshua that it was Daddy's birthday, he insisted that he have balloons and candles. So I let Joshua pick out the balloons and we bought some candles, plates and napkins. The night before I had made his birthday cheesecake, which is his favorite and what he always has requested since we have been together. His birthday dinner is usually roast, but he decided to get creative and asked for Chicken Scallopini! It was a great birthday meal! Then it was time for cheesecake. Joshua was super excited about this part, because he knew there were candles and singing. We lit the candles and sang "Happy Birthday" and then Dan and Joshua together blew out the candles! He opened up all his cards from friends and family and then he opened his gift from Joshua. Dan has been saving up for a grill and not just any grill, a "MANLY" grill. He has been researching grills and what he wants them to have, etc. He has saved all his money/gift cards from Hanukkah, Christmas, and now his birthday for the grill of all grills! So I thought it would be a fabulous idea to give him an important accessory to go with his grill. Earlier in the week Joshua and I did a painting project. I found a black apron and I thought it would be neat to have Joshua put his hand prints all over it and then I write: "The Best, Hands Down..." and then he could where it when he grilled! I thought it was a cute and memorable idea. Well, Joshua was all about painting his hands. He kept painting them over and over and knew exactly what to do with his hands when he had painted them, smash them on the apron and press down with his other hand(you think they do that at school?!). Anyway, when Dan opened it up Joshua started showing him all his hand prints and telling him what colors they were. It was really cute and of course I made Dan put it on to take a picture. I hope Dan had a great birthday, because I had fun trying to make his day special. We didn't do anything elaborate, but we still had a great time celebrating his birthday!! He is the best, super fantastic, 28 year old Daddy and husband anyone could ask for! I am thankful for every year that I get to spend with him, each year gets sweeter and sweeter!!!

You think Joshua picked these out for him?...lol Dan you are a good sport!!

Of course Joshua had to try it on next!

HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT BIRTHDAY BABE!! WE LOVE YOU!!