1. I guess I lied about the boys' post...that will come tomorrow. I've just been missing TonT and din't want to miss my chance to jump back in!
2. Speaking of fun, alliterated, blogging days of the week, I think I'm all Mama Monday'ed out. It's been missing for a while now and I thought I'd get back into it after the holiday rush but, to be honest, I'm not sure I have any thing else to share. I've told you all I know! I'm sure there are lots of you out there with wisdom to impart though so if anyone wants me to pass the baton I'd be more than happy to do so!
3. I really, really, really want to be against the commercialization of Christmas but my extreme excitement over holiday shopping is winning that battle. I was such an emotional/physical/mental disaster last year after Ephraim's birth that I was far from the poster child for Christmas cheer. I totally missed out and I hated it. This year I'm back with a vengeance and I'm SO EXCITED. I'm not a big spender but I do really enjoy the little surprises that come with Christmas and I'm not holding back.
4. On Sunday, four days shy of his first birthday, Ephraim finally pushed a little tooth out.
5. Yes, he turns one on Thursday. I know, I know.
6. In the spirit of his first birthday we headed out this weekend for a little photo shoot. He was having NONE of it so we came home empty-handed. I was dejected to say the least.
7. Breakfast in my house has gotten lame. Any ideas for healthy, yummy, fast options?
8. Sarah has been announcing at most meals that "I like to try new things!" or "thanks for cooking healthy food for our family, mom!". Lest you think she's the poster child for health I'll also add that this is usually followed by a bite or two of whatever our meal of the night is and then the inevitable, "can I have dessert now?!". Nice.
9. I've been wanting to get a set of plain white plates for a while now. I have several colors of pastel Fiestaware but it isn't very versatile for entertaining since I'm stuck with one color scheme. I was thrilled to find these in the lastest Pottery Barn catalog and grabbed a box last week. I really, really wanted to add these orange ones to my collection too but I couldn't justify it.
10. A little elf came to my house last week and heard me bemoaning a certain set of orange plates that were made for my kitchen. Yesterday, they arrived. I love elves.
18 comments:
breakfast ideas:
banana chocolate chip muffins ( i just take a banana bread recipe add nuts/choc chips if you want, and make them into muffins)
graham crackers w/ strawberry cream cheese and sliced strawberries in the middle....okay, my kids usually have it for a snack, but i could see it being a breakfast, esp. with a strawberry smoothie on the side.
cinnamon french toast, cut into strips w/ syrup to dunk them in!
chocolate chips pancakes or blueberry pancakes.
toast w/ cinnamon sugar mix.
oatmeal w/ nuts, cinnamon, fruit on top>
I adore those orange plates! I also have plain white everyday dishes, and when I saw those in PB I immediately wanted to change the colors of my kitchen to include orange!
For breakfast, we have been doing a lot of oatmeal with the colder weather. She loves oatmeal with yogurt mixed in. And we also love baked oatmeal with some milk and fresh fruit on top (peaches are so good). It is awesome left over, too! This is the recipe I use... http://www.recipezaar.com/Baked-Oatmeal-Wisconsin-Style-321993
My favorite easy/healthy breakfast is Betty Crocker's Easy Garden Bake:
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Bisquick Heart Smart® mix
1/2 cup fat-free (skim) milk
1/4 cup fat-free egg product or 2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
This recipe is designed for 2 servings, so I generally make 4x as much (full cup of bisquick and egg sub/whites and 2 cups milk) and throw in whatever veggies I have. I've made it with peppers, onions and gimme lean (fake sausage that's GOOD), broccoli and spinach, I've thrown in ham or bacon before too. There are TONS of ways to make it. Hope that helps!
Awesome ideas girls...thanks so much!
yep, as soon as i break a few more of our plates i'll have to get new ones and then for sure it's plain white. i'm keeping those in mind. there's also ikea!
breakfast in our house has been getting lame here, too, but i did make an applesauce bread the other night as an accompaniment for our salad, and that was a hit this morning. so i think i may make more. granola always works, homemade, with yogurt.
eggies. bacon. smoothies!!
hey girl, love the orange plates!
easy quiche is a hit in our house:
9 oz pie crust
1 1/4 c ricotta cheese
1 c cheddar cheese
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
10 oz frozen, thawed broccoli (i just usually use fresh and i like it better). Cut them in small pieces.
parmesan cheese
1. arrange pie crust in pie dish.
2. mix all those ingredients together, minus the parm. cheese.
3. put in pie dish. add parm. cheese on top.
4. bake at 375 for 35 -40 min. it is done when knife comes out clean.
it reheats well, so sometimes i just throw it together and bake it the night before and then microwave it when breakfast time rolls around.
Hmmm...I think I need new dishes too! :)
Breakfast:
We too make an array of different oatmeals...pumpkin, raisin, blueberry.
Pumpkin pancakes have been a huge hit. I beef them up with flax meal and a little wheat flour and make a million silver dollar size ones to freeze. Fun shapes go over really well too.
Pumpkin waffles are right up there too.
Yogurt smoothies...I also sneak in a little flax meal. I let Lucas help make them and get fun straws to drink them with. We do banana and various fruits, sometimes peanut butter and chocolate.
French toast and yes, I even put pumpkin in the batter and powder sugar on top is always exciting.
Hard boiled eggs...no yolk yet but I'll keep trying.
I love all the others ideas too. Thanks ladies!
Orange plates are cool. The elf is cooler.
Dude, I want an elf. Those plates are fantastic!
Good Elf! what girl with a green and orange kitchen doesn't just NEED those?
LOVE those orange plates. I have white plates that I'm tired of. They're Corelle ware and amazingly we've broken some. A few more and I'll get to choose something new.
I'm liking the breakfast suggestions. Things have gotten boring here too.
erin........i want those orange plates as well...
they are gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!
My 2 and a half year old (Stella) waited until 6 days before her first birthday to cut her first tooth. I was beginning to worry!! :) She just cut her eye teeth about a month ago. LOL!! She was a slooooow tooth cutter. Still waiting on the 2 year molars.
And I hear you about lame breakfast... maybe it's just the time of year. We've gotten bored as well. I'm enjoying the great ideas posted here!
Congrats on the new dishes. Lucky you to have such a great BFF. ;)
Can't wait to see the pics of the boys!!!! And I'll be waiting patiently (well, maybe not so patiently...) for 1st birthday pics too!
For an occasional weekend treat I make Bisquick jelly dainishes:
2 cups Bisquick (I use the low fat)
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup softened butter
2 T sugar
jelly
powdered sugar glaze
1 to 2 cups of powdered sugar with enough water (2-3 tablespoons) to make it drizzle but not too thin
Mix first 4 ingredients together to form a dough then drop by spoonfulls onto a baking sheet (makes 12). Use a spoon to make a well about the size of a quarter in the middle of each one (don't go all the way through!) and drop a teaspoon of jelly into the well. Bake at 450 until golden brown. Let cool a few minutes then drizzle with powdered sugar glaze.
These freeze/defrost really well.
Baby-friendly Baby Muffins
2 cups Instant Oats, plain (I used instant steel cut)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I used spelt flour)
1 1/4 cup milk (I use rice milk)
3/4 cup shredded zucchini
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
tiny pinch of salt
cinnamon--I like a lot, I just keep sprinkling :)
1. preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease mini muffin tin (I used olive oil)
2. Mix ingredients well
3. fill each muffin well about just under the top (they don't grow too much)
4. Bake for 15-16 minutes
Makes about 30 mini muffins.
--Monica
Happy Birthday Ephraim! Graham just got his first tooth a couple of weeks ago...now he has 2! He was the only baby I knew who didn't have any teeth yet!
hey erin!
i'm a long-time 'lurker' and I especially love your Mama Mondays. I wanted to request you to please do a Mama Monday on cleaning your house with natural products! I've just started and am having some trouble. thanks!
- nk
Erin, I see "nk" is having a little trouble with natural products for cleaning. Send folks my way if you think I can help them out.
Thanks.
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