I've been a bad blogger

Life is busy, but in a very good way.  Sure there are negatives, but they are outweighed by the many, many positives.   Little things, like hearing Hadley speak in an English accent while playing with a toy castle tonight.
-Watching Blake play with these magnetic blocks, his tongue covering his top lip as he was deep in concentration.
-Dinner time positives look like this: Both kids eating a good dinner, asking for seconds, maybe even thirds, without screaming fighting, or throwing food.  That right there, that's a huge positive.
-I had a frustrating day at work, but on my way out the door a nurse very sincerely said, "thank you for all of your help today." That little positive completely erased the negatives of the day.
-After dinner tonight, the kids asked to go on an adventure on the path behind our house.  We spent the next 20 minutes running through leaf piles in the dark.  Positive.
-The other night, I surprised the kids with a new book from my gift stash at bed time, just because.  Who remembers this book from childhood?  I was flooded with memories when we got to the page about chocolate cake.  I very clearly remember wanting cake every time my mom read me this book.  The addiction started at a young age.
- Speaking of cake, I'm planning to bake a few as gifts for people.  I've been in a gifting mood; care packages, baby gifts, birthday gifts, just because gifts.  I'm hoping to create a "positive" for others when they receive their gifts.
- Speaking of that, my commute has recently tripled, so I really appreciate having pretty things to look at.   There is one particular house that I drive by every day that has really beautiful flowers.  I've committed the address to memory and I've been thinking of sending an unsigned post card, thanking them for brightening my day.  But then I think that maybe that's creepy.  Would you be happy or creeped out if your purple flowers received a secret admirer postcard in the mail?

Well, I should wrap up this weekly blog and start preparing for the big holiday tomorrow.  Our kids have been practicing "trick-or-treating" at every door in our house for the past few weeks.  Hadley is pretty consistent, but Blake's only hitting the correct verbiage every 2nd or 3rd time.  Oh well, it is more entertaining when you open the door to a 2 year old in a cow costume saying, "I need candy!"  or "Smell my feet!"

Super Soup!

Long time, no post. So, I'm back and I'm going to talk about the ever exciting cruciferous vegetable: broccoli. Specifically, broccoli soup. This stuff is super easy, cheap and healthy. The best, most super part? Blake ate two bowls. Hadley only ate one serving, but she didn't fight it, and after dinner she asked if she could clear the table and load the dishwasher! See? Magic soup.

First, melt some butter in a soup pot. Chop up some broccoli (I used three large heads), some carrots, and an onion. Toss it in the pot.

Okay, so I kind of forgot about photos and that's the last recipe picture I have.  So, you can find the recipe here.   But, I do have a photo of Blake eating the soup, and if you look closely you might find Waldo Tyler.

While broccoli soup capped off a good day of vegetable eating by the kiddos yesterday, tonight we made it to bedtime realizing that the only veggies the kids ate today were corn on the cob and sweet potato fries. So, my somewhat selfish bedtime snack choice was pumpkin smoothies.  Two cups for me, one for each of the kids.  Delicious!   I did a google search for pumpkin smoothie recipes and ended up just winging it with ingredients I saw in different recipes.  1 can organic pumpkin, vanilla yogurt, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice + extra cinnamon, a spoonful of brown sugar and some ice cubes.  Blend it up and enjoy!  

(Bonus- both pumpkin and cinnamon are known to have anti-inflammatory and pain relieving qualities.  I sure hope it works, because as of bedtime, Blake is refusing to walk due to a sore leg following his 2 year vaccinations.  Do you think we can send him to daycare in a stroller?)

Love This!

Family Photos

This outfit will likely not make the cut.

We have our fall family photos coming up next week, so I'm starting to tackle that oh so difficult problem of what to wear.  The truth is, when we get the photos back, we probably won't even notice what we were wearing.  We'll notice that Blake has his fingers in his nose in 84% of the shots.  Hadley will be screaming at Blake in 79% of the shots.  I'll be trying to keep them separated in 94% of the shots.  We will all be looking at the camera in 4% of the photos, and we will all be smiling in exactly one photo.  This is exactly why I can't fathom paying big bucks for photos at this time.  We simply don't have it in the budget, especially considering there is a chance that none of them will turn out.  However, if I had the money, here is the photographer I would use.   Her photos are always so wonderful.

Now, off to choose outfits.  Or perhaps I should be picking out the bribes.  Fruit snacks...lollipops...$20 in the piggy bank if you'll sit still and just smile, just one time, I beg you...

Compost!

If you live in the Boise area, you can purchase a compost bin from Allied Waste for $42!  That's a great deal. We now have a big enough yard for the bin, so we picked one up yesterday, and I'm excited to finally start composting.  A large amount of our kitchen trash is food scraps, vegetable peels, egg shells, etc.  Combined with yard waste, I think we'll be able to significantly reduce the amount of trash we put out each week.

If you are interested in buying one, you can go to Allied Waste at 11101 W Executive drive during normal business hours.

Two!

My baby is two!  How did that happen?  I still remember every little detail of his birth day like it was yesterday.

Ready to meet my baby.

8 pounds, 12 ounces of adorable, handsome boy.

First family photo

One day old and sleeping sweetly.

Little did we know that he would scream,

 and scream,

 and scream for the next 10 weeks.

  But we sure loved him anyway.

My little pumpkins at the pumpkin patch, 10.16.09

And now, somehow here we are.  I have a two year old and a three year old.  No more of this baby business; these are two full blown little people and they rule my world.  Blake hasn't forgotten how to scream (the colic was great training for his lungs), but he is also the sweetest boy.  He loves to cuddle, give kisses and tell me he loves me.  Even when wheeling from one room to the next on a ride on toy, he never forgets to say, "uh-by, love you, see you later, I'll be back soon," and then blows me a kiss.  When he returns, he demands "hugs."  

Perhaps it's to balance his soft, emotional side, but this kid loves all things "boy."  Cars, trucks, mud and sports.  To be fair, he also plays a mean game of "baby" or "house," but give this kid a toy with wheels, and he's a happy camper.  This made choosing his birthday party theme an easy task.  Planning the party, not so simple.  I somehow decided that it would be a good idea to have his party exactly one week after moving to a new house, which meant I was completely un-prepared.  The cakes were moderately burnt, the muffins severely so (darn new-to-me oven).  The decorations were non-existent, and the "game" was created 15 minutes before guests arrived.  Which is actually not so bad, considering that the frosting was being made and cakes assembled once the party was in full swing.  Oh well, Blake didn't know the difference. 

Without further ado, here are a few pictures from Blake's Truck/Car 2nd birthday party.  

Just a boy and his truck.  And, uh, his patent leather heels.

Blueberry Zucchini muffins, black bean chips, corn chips and pineapple salsa, dried fruit mix, truck cookies and juice boxes in the shape of a truck.

I had planned to make a pinata, but when I found this one for less than $9 at the party store, I couldn't pass it up.

 We filled a laundry basket with every car, truck and train in the house and brought them outside to play with.  Vroom, vroom!

The last minute homemade party game- car races!  It's a good thing we had plenty of cardboard from the move!

Chocolate turtle cake and pumpkin cake with whipped cream cheese frosting for the adults.

Dirt dessert for the kids.  Served inside Blake's new tractor from Grandma.  

It seemed like a good idea at first, especially as Blake sat motionless while everybody sang to him. 

But of course, if you present a 2 year old with a brand new ride on toy, he's not going to sit still for long. Oops.  If you're going to eat dirt anyway, it might as well be eaten off the floor, right?

Happy Birthday, Blake!

It's a Fine Line...

...Between a toddler painting and fine art.

Hadley Learns About Families

Hadley was fighting naptime the other day (everyday), so I let her watch television for a bit of quiet time.  There seemed to nothing age appropriate on, so we settled for Garfield, which I quickly realized is not toddler friendly.  Anyway, Hadley started asking "Where's the mom?  There's a doggy and a kitty and a daddy, but no mommy?"  I explained to her that there a lot of different kinds of families; some without moms or dads, and some even get two mommies or daddies.  It didn't seem to phase her, and she quickly moved on to the next topic. 
 
Fast forward to this evening, when after a hectic day of moving, playing with friends, tantrums in the grocery store and the normal pre-bedtime drama, Hadley finally settled down and was having some quiet time with us after Blake went to bed.  Out of the blue, she said, "Mommy, if I had two daddies, I would miss you!"  Then she turned to Tyler and said, "And Daddy, if I had two mommies, I would miss you."