Bus Bound Boy

 While Tuesday was Lil G's first day of school, he didn't ride the school bus until Thursday.  He was terribly excited to board the bus and be on his way.  I, on the other hand, had a small panic attack.  It's so hard to let them grow up!

Rodger and Sarah's visit

 A couple of weeks ago, we were blessed to have my brother, Rodger and his girlfriend, Sarah, come for a visit. We love when they come because 1.) they are super cool people and 2.) they greatly entertain our children.  Truthfully, Lil G cannot get enough of his uncle.  As soon as they left on Sunday, he told me that on his next sticker chart, he is earning a trip to "cago" (aka- Chicago), and that it wouldn't be too much trouble for me, as my only job would be installing the carseat in "Rodger and Sarah's car".

 Smunchie snuggles

Recipe #5: "Real" Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

This recipe, again, is my attempt to utilize food that we have around the house in order to make a relatively quick/healthy dinner.  The end result was quite good.  It was very reminiscent of the original version but the addition of the whole ingredients, particularly the fresh broccoli, was refreshing.  The husband seemed to like the end result and the preschooler was able to choke it down with prodding (he is not a fan of broccoli....or casseroles).

“Real” Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole by Kim @ Onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups uncooked brown rice (I used the steam-in-the-bag variety)
• 2 cups chicken, cooked and chopped
• 4 cups fresh broccoli florets
• 1 batch cream of mushroom soup (I used canned *shudder*)
• 1 batch cream of chicken soup (Again, canned)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I recommend shredding yourself, as opposed to the preshredded at the store)
• salt and pepper to taste (I omitted, since I used the canned soup, riddled with salt)
• 3/4 cup water (probably not necessary)

Directions:

Cook brown rice according to package instructions on the stove top or in a rice cooker. Meanwhile, in a large pot, steam broccoli florets until just tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, reserving .5 cup of shredded cheese. Mix well to combine. Divide casserole between two 8 x 8 greased baking pans or one larger pan. Sprinkle each with .25 cups shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until heated through and bubbly.

Freezing Directions:

Follow directions above and freeze before baking.

TO SERVE: Thaw and bake as directed above.

Servings: 8

 I ended up making the full amount and freezing one of the pans for a later meal.  

Recipe #4: Melt in your mouth Chicken Breasts

This should actually be entitled "Chicken YUM!".  It was so good!  Even the preschooler liked it (well, he said that he didn't but then asked for seconds).  I modified it a little in order to make it healthier and to utilize the items that we had on hand. This is a great recipe, since it generally uses ingredients that we have in the house and it requires little prep-work.

Melt in Your Mouth Chicken Breasts

4 boneless chicken breast halves  (I split each breast in half)

1 cup mayonnaise (I used 1/4 cup mayonnaise and 3/4 cup plain yogurt)

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese 

1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt (I used Tastefully Simple)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 

1 teaspoon garlic powder (I used Tastefully Simple Garlic-Garlic)

Directions: 

1. Mix mayonnaise, cheese and seasonings. 

2. Spread mixture over chicken breast and place in baking dish (I used a slotted pan)

3. Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes.

Recipe #3: Banana Coconut Pie Yogurt

I love plain yogurt.  I especially love when I can make it myself for less money and with better ingredients.  But, just like everyone else, I get tired of eating the same ol' thing all the time.  So, I frequently try to find recipes to jazz up our go-to snack/side.  One of my favorite websites from which to snag recipes is Fix Me a Snack.  This particular recipes is wonderfully delicious, just the way that it is depicted on the site.

Banana Coconut Pie Yogurt

1/2 ripe banana, mashed well
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon sweetened shredded coconut, toasted (I don't toast the coconut)
 
Mix together the banana, coconut extract, and yogurt. Top with shredded coconut. Serve. This makes a generous amount of yogurt. One serving easily serves one adult and a preschooler.

Recipe # 2: Whole Wheat Pancakes

It was Sunday night and we had nothing to eat.  Well, technically, we had nothing prepared to eat. So, I went to a time-honored stand-by: brinner (aka- breakfast for dinner).  We had some beautiful blueberries in the fridge, so the menu quickly became blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs and coconut/banana yogurt.

Overall, we all thought the pancakes were good.  I will say, however, that the recipe required some modifications.  The batter was THICK.  As in, too thick to pour.  The texture and the taste were good, though not exactly the same as their buttermilk counterparts.  Overall, I think that we can put this recipe in our arsenal to have again.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk, plus more if necessary  (I ended up using almost three cups)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon artificial sweetener (I used 1.5 tablespoons of brown sugar)
• 1/2 cup blueberries

Directions

1. Sift together flour and baking powder, set aside. Beat together the egg, milk, salt and artificial sweetener in a bowl. Stir in flour until just moistened, add blueberries (I did not add blueberries at this time), and stir to incorporate.
2. Preheat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat, and spray with cooking spray (I used a cast iron skillet with 1 tablespoon of butter). Pour approximately 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan for each pancake. Drop a few blueberries into each pancake after placing the batter in the pan. Cook until bubbly, about 1 1/2 minutes. Turn, and continue cooking until golden brown.

PreK

Today was Lil G's first day of PreK.  Most of you know that Lil G has a phonological delay of speech.  Basically, he has a crazy number of words but he doesn't always pronounce them well.  So, he is headed to a class here in town that focuses on his condition.  The awesome thing is, everyone in the class has the same issues that he has:  they are all completely normal cognitively but have some issues with pronouncing their words.

Today was very bittersweet for me.  I love spending time with my little man but I know that he has to grow up.  This is an intrical part of that process.  So, it is a necessary transition for our family.

Lil G was very excited about the first day of school..  Clearly, excited and nervous, judging by how wacky he was acting this morning.  He is generally a good listener (for a three year old) but this morning, he was having major difficulties.  But, we perservered and he was extremely excited to go to class with his teachers.  No tears or shyness around here!

Here he is showing off his new backpack for school.  He was so proud to tell EVERYONE that it had "a rocket ship and a flag".

Sweet Lil Smunchie

A voracious appetite for reading.

Goofy siblings

 On Monday, the kids were having a great time playing together.  I grabbed the camera and snapped some photos.  I adore how much Lil G loves his sister.  And, she can't get enough of him!  Smunchie gets the biggest, goofiest smiles when her big brother is around.

Bottle time!

Saturday night was a rough night around here.  Smunchie was up A LOT, and therefore, so was mama.  So, on Sunday morning, Greg offerred to let me sleep in.  Imagine my surprise when I woke up FOUR AND HALF HOURS later!! 

I came running downstairs to find that Greg had thawed some breastmilk and fed it to Smunchie in a bottle, so that I could rest.  Of course, it is always bittersweet to have someone else feed the baby but it felt so good to get some uninterrupted sleep!!

The neatest thing about the whole experience was that Lil G got to feed Smunchie too.  Daddy was cooking breakfast, so he let Lil G hold the bottle while he ran back and forth to check on the food.  Lil G was so proud to feed his little sister and she looks pretty contented to have him feed her as well! 

Playtime

Smunchie has become so expressive lately.  She loves to have floor time (particularly if naked) and is getting close to sitting up.  It is so fun watching her learn to manipulate new things!

 Concentrating hard

Hide-And-Go-Seek

Lil G, hamming it up while playing with daddy.  He was hiding underneath a blanket.

Four Months Old

 Smunchie is four months old! How in the world can time fly by so quickly?  She is changing so much every day.  She rolls all over the place, holds up her head like a champ and is getting pretty close to sitting independently!  She is a happy girl, and is a shining light in our lives.  We're so blessed to get to raise such wonderful children. 

 Baby Feet :-)

Here she is in her daddy's saxaphone case, wearing the dress that mama made for her.

Stats:

Height- 26 inches (95th percentile)

Weight- 15 lbs, 10oz (80th percentile)

Tongue Twister

Little Smunchie is growing and changing every day.  It seems like she is always discovering something new.  Lately, she has discovered her tongue.  She seems pretty intent on trying to touch her nose with her tongue and luckily, Greg caught some of her antics on film!

Snuggling Sweeties

 
Lil G LOVES his sister.  In fact, it's hard to keep him away from her at times!  He loves to snuggle her, make her laugh and generally, just spend time with her.  Any time that she cries, he tells me, "One second, mama.  My sister needs."  Truthfully, many times he's right.  No one can make her smile as much as her big brother. 

I keep waiting for some kind of jealousy to start but it just never rears it's ugly head.  No complaints about that!