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!