Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day! Did you know that most cereal box liners are made of #2 plastic (high density polyethylene)? I didn't, and I've been separating them and throwing them in the trash forever! I learned yesterday that they can be recycled with the rest of the #2 plastic we generate around here. We go through several boxes of cereal a week, so this is good to know and I thought I'd pass it along!

Egg hunting

The rain held out while Jack and his friends from playgroup had an Easter egg hunt a couple of days ago. 

 All of the kids had blast playing once all the eggs were found. 

(Check out that playhouse!)

Jack mastered the ladder...

He must have climbed it about 20 times, so that he could go down the slide! It was a fast slide and every time, he was sort of launched out the end, landing on his bum while he laughed hysterically. He never hesitated and ran around to the ladder again. I literally had to drag him away when it was time to go.

A little bit of Spring

Spring seems to be taking its sweet time arriving around here. Cool, rainy days seem to be the norm this year. We have seen a few hints of the sun, now we only need the temperature to rise. These two shots remind me that even though I haven't broken out the flip flops yet, warm days will be here soon.

Forsythia on a rare sunny day. 

Newly bloomed azalea blossom taken today.

Halfway!

It's hard to believe that I am already 20 weeks along! Time is certainly flying by and I know once the summer starts it's going to fly by even faster. Usually, I wish for time during the summer to slow way down, but I have a feeling I am going to look forward to turning the calendar ahead for the next few months...

Snapshot of the day

Camera phone shot...

After music together class this morning, Jack and I had lunch with some new friends...We went to Friendly's so we could all get some ice cream for dessert...Jack ate all of his grilled cheese and applesauce, but he didn't want anything to do with the vanilla ice cream.  He had no problem eating the entire sugar cone dipped in fudge though!  Oh well, that meant more ice cream for me! :)

Wordless Wednesday

29 Months

I think Jack might have had a growth spurt recently, because all of a sudden the sleeves on his shirts are too short and his pants are getting harder and harder to pull on. He is growing too fast...can someone hit the pause button?

It's a....

Here is his profile

and his little foot.

And most importantly, he looks healthy and perfect. We can't wait to meet him!

Oh, and our osso buco with saffron risotto was delicious! Having a nice meal is the perfect way to celebrate good news! 

Pink or blue?

That's me at 18 weeks!

Tomorrow is the day we find out! (of course only if the baby cooperates).  We've decided to have the ultrasound tech write it down and seal the news in an envelope. Rob and I are planning on making a nice dinner for ourselves (we're thinking osso buco...yum) and then we'll open the envelope (if I can wait that long!). That way, it will be just the two of us, instead of the two of us and a stranger at the doctor's office when we learn if we'll be a family with two little boys or with one of each. I can't wait to share the news with you soon!

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

I seriously have a hard time not eating all of these up myself.  They are really delicious...Jack even agrees.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

Makes 12 muffins.

1/4 cup butter at room temperature

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup light brown sugar

1 1/2 cup flour (I used 3/4 cup AP flour and 3/4 cup whole wheat flour to up the healthy factor)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup finely shredded, unpeeled zucchini, squeezed and drained.

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin or use paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, oil and sugar. Cream mixture until smooth. Sift the flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and set aside. Add the egg to the creamed mixture and mix until incorporated. Add the sifted flour, about 1/2 cup at a time until all is incorporated and the batter is smooth.

Fold the zucchini, chocolate chips, and lemon zest into the batter.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 22 to 25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. 

This can also be done as a bread, which I haven't tried yet. Just up the baking time to 55 to 60 minutes.

Also, the second time I made this, I didn't have a lemon on hand, and they came out just as good! 

These caught me eye...

I just had a look through the new summer arrivals at West Elm and they have some really cute additions to their catalog...Just sayin...

How fun is this butter dish?

LOVE these mugs.

Rectangular tins

Melamine bird plates

Learning to hide the veggies

I never imagined that I would have a picky eater. Rob and I have put food pretty high on the top of our list as far as things we enjoy and we've exposed Jack to all kinds of food since he's been old enough to try it. Here's a shot of Jack trying kimchi for the first time at 15 months and he LOVED it!

Now that he's almost two and a half, getting him to eat anything besides grilled cheese or peanut butter and jelly is like pulling teeth! He no longer eats his old favorites like yogurt, bananas, or even oranges! And getting him to eat vegetables, besides a very seldom bite of carrot, well, I can just forget about that. So I have been trying to find some recipes where I can sneak in some veggies. I guess I've started at baking hidden-veggie muffins. Yes, we've had muffins coming out of our ears over the last few weeks, but Rob and I have been enjoying them as snacks too. I know that this is not a replacement for the real thing, but I do feel better about offering these types of goodies to him as a snack or dessert than cookies or crackers. I am going to share a few of my favorite muffin recipes in upcoming posts. Stay tuned!