A new year and a new attempt at this blogging thing!

So, our year started out with a new addition. Artie joined our little family the end of January. He was an "easy" birth. The big boys love him!! They can't stop touching and kissing his little chubby cheeks.

 

And as anyone with multiple kids knows... life just keeps right on going. Tyler is loving school. He's in pre-k at the rec center. He's reading and writing and learning all about school. Jason, likewise is loving his "school". He does a one hour class, 2 days a week. He is learning his letters, colors and general school routine. I enjoy having some time with only 1 walking/talking boy to catch up and spend some time with them. They also enjoy having a break from each other (and probably me too) and having something to talk about that the other people weren't there for.

We also still get to have fun outings and adventures. Zoo trips, and lots and lots of park trips. We have so far this year discovered 3 fantastic parks! We have a great group of friends that we meet up with for park adventures. So far I think "whale park" is the favorite. We'll have to see what happens when the water features are turned on for summer though.
 

All in all it's been a great couple of months. Here's to being able to get back on here more often to share our adventures!!

New Year... New attempt at this...

Okay so I still suck at this blogging thing... But we're gonna give it another go!

Both boys are now in "school" and I'm back on the eating right and exercise bandwagon. Jason goes to "school" 2 hours a week and LOVES it! Tyler still goes 6 hours a week and is really enjoying learning and playing. He's starting to read all by himself and sound out new words.

I'm working on getting the house de-cluttered and organized and running like a smooth machine. I've got some great projects for the kids. We got memberships to the zoo and aquarium for Christmas (thanks grandparents!!) so there will be some posts about our trips and our activities. I'm also working on a photo recipe book so the boys can help us meal plan (next post).

I'm hoping to be here at least once a week... Lets see if I can keep up this time!

I have not disappeared...

HI!
So I've been a bit busy with two boys and summer! But we have lots of fun posts to post... Here's a quick preview of what's to come (maybe if I make a list I'll remember it all)...

One of the little guys from our "I SPY" bags for our car trip in August...

Beer Cheese Soup.... Oh so yummy!

Spinach, Artichoke, Pasta Bake... Think really good spinach artichoke dip as a casserole with pasta

Tyler learns to Garden...

Home made Mac and Cheese... Not from Kraft...

We were on Dan Daru as the models for Little Britches...

Lasagna Cups... *Spoiler* there are no noodles!

Hard boiled eggs... In the oven??

Cheeseburger dumplings... What could be better

Oh right!! Spaghetti style pasta in a biscuit!

Snack men for our Bake Sale to support the High Park Fire Victims and Firefighters

Goose or Maveric? NOPE it's Tyler!

He also got to hang with Mermaids!

I promise you'll get to hear all these stories and more... Including Jason's new adventure in his big boy toddler bed!

Nom Nom Nom

I may not be the best cook in the world but even I was tired of eating the same 8 foods week after week. So, I got on Pinterest and found some simple recipes. I found one that was for Lemon Garlic Spaghetti. I decided I needed some protein with it too. 

This one was easy enough even I could do it. First, you set the noodles to boil. We use Dreamfields often since it is tasty but really low carb. While the water comes to a boil I got my other ingredients ready. You need:

4 oz dry spaghetti
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
2 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/2 lemon
**2 tbsp pine nuts
**5-6 basil leaves, chiffonaded

** I didn't use these ingredients

Serves: 2

Then heat up the olive oil and add the garlic. Cook until it's browning on the edges.

 Drain the noodles and toss with everything else (including the garlic olive oil). 

 Add some cracked pepper and protein. We used steaks from Texas Roadhouse (cause I'm lazy like that). It was tasty! Even Tyler and Jason ate some!

Music calms the savage... toddler?

 So, they say that music soothes the savage beast... but did you know it works on toddlers too! Tyler goes to the local rec center for "school" for an hour on Mondays and Wednesdays. They play and have story time and art and all that good stuff and it gives him a taste of pre-school. Since I'm a stay at home mom he doesn't go to daycare or anything yet. We started slow though. He took a gym class (parents helped keep order) then did a music class. He looooved it. Miss. Stephanie is AMAZING. She's the teacher. She had a class of 15 two year olds (and their adults) sharing, taking turns, cleaning up and waiting for others to play instruments! The woman is magic!

 So, we enrolled Jason in music. Tyler gets to be a big boy in school and Jason (13 months) gets to have music class. Miss. Stephanie really is magic! She has 1 year olds sharing, taking turns and waiting for others to play, not to mention she has somehow managed to convince them all that it is a great idea to clean up the shakers!!! I want some of her magic!

At the end of class the kids may come up and strum her guitar.

She even lets an alum or two strum as well!

To snack or not to snack...

Since the New Year has passed and I'm sure many, like myself, want to be slimmer... So after joining a biggest losers contest with some girlfriends, I decided we needed a fun motivator. SO... I made snack boxes. There are three ladies who all work together so I made them each a set of snack boxes. They work long hours and the only thing nearby for food is a wonderful Chinese food place and a gas station. That means that if they don't plan well they're stuck with gas station snacks (not exactly on the lose weight menu).

I started with two plastic boxes...

One large for dry snacks and one small for the mini fridge.

 Then I got some tasty snacks to fill it with. Gum, Skinny Cow snacks, Fiber 10 bar, Jif mini cups ~ perfect for dipping, and some life savers ~ sugar free...

I stuffed them all in the dry snacks box...

Closed it up...

 

Then added their names so they could tell them apart... 

So now you're thinking, "Great, now what do I do with it..."... well each week you fill it with snacks that you like that fit into your diet/meal plan. This way when you're at your desk and you're hungry you have easy snacks that you know you can have and you don't have to settle for what ever's in the vending machine. Be sure to fill the fridge one with some healthy yogurt, cheese, veggies and fruit!

Love my electrician...

Ok, so all homeowners have to figure out who's gonna work on their house. I am not good at plumbing, electric or anything other that some basic carpentry (I can assemble a bookcase in less than a week with instructions!). SO, we found a great company that does all of our plumbing, heating, electric and cooling. I LOVE them! The electric is called Mr. Sparky (sense of humor much), Ben Franklin does the plumbing and One Hour does the heating and air.

They are always on time! They do great work and the workmen are polite, and generally make the kids (2 boys) feel like part of the team. They will show them their tools, let them see what they're doing and explain to them what's happening. My 3 year old is enthralled and loves to "hold the flashlight" even in a well lit room.

They go out of their way to take care of their customers. One guy came out on a Saturday at 9 pm to look at our furnace. He figured out what was wrong and drove an hour (one way) to get a part. That part didn't fix the whole problem so he asked us what we wanted to do. We opted to wait til the warehouse opened (since he wasn't sure they would have the part and since it was closed couldn't call to check) and first thing the next day he was at our house with the part. He was cheerful the entire time and even appoligized that he didn't have the rare and seldom used part on his truck!

Needless to say I can't praise these companies (really all one but for scheduling and stuff they break it up so you don't have to navigate a huge "Push X for this" type of thing) enough. If you're in the market for a plumber, electrician, or heating and air guy I highly recommend these guys! Heck even their phone operators are nice and usually quite funny!