Friday, September 25, 2009

The gate is down!

It's these little milestones that are passing ever too quickly that make me realize how fast my baby is growing up! About a week ago, we decided Keaton was responsible enough that we could take down the gate at the bottom of the stairs. Quite frankly, Scott and I were tired of tripping over it in the dark every morning, so we decided to take it down and see what Keaton would do. He has actually gotten pretty good at going up and down the stairs by himself, and he doesn't really seem interested to climb the stairs unless one of us is going up anyway. He gets a real kick out of it when I say, "C'mon Keaton, let's go upstairs. Follow me!" Then, he crawls up the stairs behind me all by himself like a big boy! We still don't trust him enough to take down the gate at the TOP of the stairs yet. Baby steps, right (literally)?

Thursday, September 24, 2009

My Busy Garbage Guy

This is one of my favorite Deep Thoughts....
“Here’s a good thing to do if you go to a party and you don’t know anybody: First take out the garbage. Then go around and collect any extra garbage that people might have, like a crumpled napkin, and take that out too. Pretty soon people will want to meet the busy garbage guy.”

Keaton has turned into my busy garbage guy lately. He is very curious about the trash, and is constantly looking around on the floor for bits of spilled crumbs or paper ("like a crumpled up napkin") to put into the trash can. Even though it can be quite helpful to have little trashman around clearing the floors for me all the time, I have to be very careful, because sometime his idea of trash and mine can be somewhat different (i.e. sippy cups, toy cars, and cell phones).

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Quality time with Dada


















An unexpected blessing that has come out of Scott's recent unemployment is that Keaton has had much more Daddy time. Keaton has always loved his Dada, but until a few weeks ago, he would choose his Mama hands down if he had a choice between the two of us. Not so anymore! Keaton now looks around and asks "Dada?" when he notices Scott is not in the room. He cries when Scott goes outside to take the trash out.

I'm sure if I could read Keaton's mind, he would think this is the greatest season of his life so far - 2 stay-at-home parents to love on him 24-7! I'm determined to try my hardest to embrace this season of our life just like Keaton, and enjoy all the extra time we have to be together as a family.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Fun in Grandma's Garden

Keaton and I are spending Labor Day weekend in Oklahoma with my family. He loves the farm! So much space to run free and so many animals to name! Cows, goats, horses, doggies, kitties....

We spent some time today in Grandma's garden. He stomped around with Mia picking green beans and eating fresh cherry tomatoes by the handful!


"I don't eat any veggies, but I love to help Grandma pick them!"


















Playing hide and seek with Grandma in the flowers.













Yummy!



Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Lasagna Soup

I cut this recipe out of Family Fun magazine a couple of months ago. We tried it for the first time tonight. It was so good that I had to share the recipe! I followed the recipe pretty closely. Although, I used italian diced tomatoes, and I had to omit the fresh basil, since I did not have any (I'm sure this would make it even better!). I also halved the recipe, and that was a perfect amount for just Scott and I. This will be perfect for those chilly fall evenings! Hope you enjoy!


RECIPE INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds Italian sausage (bulk or with casings removed)
2 onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
6 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
8 ounces fusilli pasta
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil
8 ounces ricotta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of pepper
2 cups shredded mozzarella

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and sauté, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until the sausage is no longer pink, about 5 to 7 minutes. Drain any excess fat from the pot. Add the onions and sauté until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and sauté for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and sauté until the paste turns a rusty brown, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, the broth, and the bay leaves and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

2. Add the pasta, then increase the heat to medium-high and boil the soup until the pasta is tender to the bite, following the time recommendations on the pasta package. Discard the bay leaves, then stir in the basil. If desired, season with salt and black pepper to taste.

3. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, the Parmesan, the 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and the pinch of pepper. To serve, place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture in each bowl, sprinkle with some of the mozzarella, and ladle the soup on top. Makes about 13 cups.