Pho Down Friday

!!!!!

The rest of the week isn’t soooo bad…but there’s just something about Fridays, right?? Ms. White seems to think so. And they’re followed by two whole days of WEEKEND :D.

You may have noticed that I changed things up a bit theme-wise. I have this thing where I get bored really quickly. I’m always moving things around at home, my desk at work, wherever I can, really. When I was a kid, I’d decide to turn my room upside-down and completely reorganize it from top to bottom. I’m talking drag my 4-poster iron bed from one end of my room to the other, take every single teeny bopper magazine picture down and tape them up in new spots…seriously, not one thing would stay in it’s original spot. I totally get it from my mom. Every time I go to their house, everything is moved around.

Anyway, that explains the one of many theme changes you’ll notice on here. Obsessive-compulsive-change-things-up-disorder.

I also cannot stand clutter and am getting seriously pumped for spring cleaning, FYI.

All I want to eat these days is pho noodle soup. I’d have it for lunch and dinner everyday if I could, which is funny coming from someone who just rambled on about always changing things. But it’s SO good, especially during the cold, rainy January we’ve been having. We go to a little pho restaurant by our house once every week or two (it’s the BEST), but yesterday I decided to get adventurous and make my own. I don’t eat red meat and didn’t have any chicken on hand, so I made a veggie version and just added sausage to Duncan’s, because he doesn’t understand the concept of eating a meal without meat.

I used this recipe from Oh My Veggies, but omitted the mushrooms because I just loathe them. There’s not much I won’t eat, but of those few things, mushrooms are definitely at the top of the list.

I didn’t snap any pics, because I just didn’t think to, so I’ll just borrow a few from OMV to make your mouth water.

Mine basically looked the same, minus the you-know-whats of course. And it was really good! I was pleasantly surprised, especially because I used straight-from-the-carton broth instead of homemade stuff. Even Duncan who is annoyingly picky and critical was impressed. And he’s used to the authentic stuff that his mom makes so that’s saying a lot.

30 Minute Vegetarian Pho (copied & pasted from Oh My Veggies)

Ingredients

• 64 ounces homemade or low-sodium vegetable broth
• 6 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• Salt to taste
• 1 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, tough stems removed
• 1 1/2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 14 ounces rice noodles, cooked according to package instructions
• 8 ounces bean sprouts
• 2 jalapeño peppers, thinly sliced
• Fresh cilantro, basil, lime wedges, hoisin sauce, and chili garlic sauce or sriracha for serving

Instructions

1. In a large pot, combine the vegetable broth, green onion, grated ginger, and salt. Bring to a full boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. While the broth is cooking, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté for about 6 minutes, or until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the hoisin and sesame oil and cook until the sauce thickens and coats the mushrooms, about 1 minute more. Remove from heat.
3. Divide the rice noodles between four to six large bowls, then fill each bowl with the ginger broth. Add bean sprouts, sliced jalapeños, shiitake mushrooms, fresh basil, and cilantro and serve with lime wedges, hoisin, and chili garlic sauce.

I left in all the mushroom talk in case you don’t despise them as much as I do ;).

Alrighty, time to put my Friday party pants on. But first:

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!!

A Touchy Subject ~ Part II

Hello & happy Friday & can you believe Christmas is in a week??!!! How did that even happen??? I’m ready-ish. Just a few more little things to buy (which i’m sure will turn into a lot of little things), and a few more cookies to bake. I have my work holiday party later today at a fancy restaurant that I could never afford to eat at otherwise, so that’s pretty exciting. And if we get a little break from the rain this weekend, I’m hoping to check out a couple of Christmas events.

OK, now onto a more serious note. You can check out A Touchy Subject ~ Part I if you want to get up to speed, as this post is a continuation from that.

I should probably mention how this all started. I was in grade 9 at the time. One night I made myself a bowl of ice cream with hot chocolate powder and Rice Krispies sprinkled on top. It was really good, so I decided to have another. A little while later, I went to have a shower but before I got in, I took a look in the mirror and for the first time, I saw a bunch of flab that seemed to have appeared overnight. I basically felt like a giant cow and I couldn’t believe I had let that happen to myself. And then I thought about the 2 bowls of ice cream I had just eaten and decided that it just couldn’t stay in my body. So, it didn’t. I remember thinking, “well that was easy.” And there you go. From that point on, for way too long, a vicious cycle had begun. In my mind, it was win-win. I could eat whatever I wanted but not get fat because I would simply get rid of the food.  And when I ate, I ate. Anything and everything in sight. I went back and forth between that and not eating anything at all and the weight just came flying off. I started to feel weak and sick, but it just didn’t matter.

It didn’t take long for friends and family to start commenting on my weight loss. Compliments quickly turned into concern, which was an even bigger compliment to me. One day, I went to the mall with my boyfriend at the time and I fit into a pair of size 1 pants. I was elated. My boyfriend basically said that I looked sick and gross, and as sad as it is, that made me happy.

It’s hard to believe that my body put up with that phase of my life. For a solid year at high school, my lunches consisted of a small bag of gummy bears and a can of diet coke. And nope, no breakfast to start my days. Even worse, I smoked cigarettes throughout high school and used them to curb my appetite on a very regular basis. I was consuming roughly 500 calories a day, sometimes less, which is way too low. Dangerously low. And those calories usually didn’t include an ounce of nutritional sustenance. But guess what? I was wearing size 2 jeans! Worth it, right? Not one little bit.

I had a part time job that I usually went to right after school which was great because I could get away with not eating dinner. I might have a few carrot sticks or rice cakes, maybe a plain bagel on a good day. If I happened to be at home, I’d sit down and eat dinner with my parents. Lots of dinner. Then I would sneak off after…and you know the rest.

I remember being at a friends party one night when I was about 15. Her parents ordered KFC for everyone and WOW did it ever smell delicious. Of course there was no way in hell I was going to let myself have any of the chicken, but I did give in and have one of the small little dinner rolls that came with it. I was SO mad at myself after. Seriously, just livid. I felt like a complete failure that had absolutely no self-control. When things like that happened, I would tell myself “ok, well tomorrow you have to make up for it,” and I’d basically eat nothing.

The farther I get in my nutrition program, the more I realize how lucky I am. There are so many health consequences that can result from eating disorders, both short and long-term, which for the most part, I was able to avoid. I deprived my body of the vital nutrition that it needed to keep me going, yet somehow it still didn’t fail me. I call that a miracle.

Thank you for tuning into Part II. As I mentioned before, writing about my disordered eating journey isn’t easy, but it’s good for me and I think it’s something that I really needed to do at some point, even all these years later. It’s helping me understand now what I couldn’t understand back then. A healing process that was a little delayed.

Have a great weekend and I’ll talk to you soon!

 

 

Weekend Things

For those of you who tuned into A Touchy Subject ~ Part I last week, you might agree that it wasn’t the most upbeat post. But, much like everyday life, it can’t all be rainbows and butterflies because that’s just not real. I plan on continuing to post on the topic every week or so because there’s a LOT to tell. And like I mentioned in the post, I know people out there can relate. I follow certain blogs strictly for that purpose; I feel like I can somehow relate to the author.

And also, thank you for tuning in, if you did. Every word was straight from the heart and 100% honest. Or better yet, Real Talk.

OK, onto some Weekend Talk. On Friday Ryland and I went to the happiest place on earth (IMO), Trader Joe’s. I LOVE that store and basically everything in it. So I bought basically everything in it…even though the Canadian dollar has seen better days :/. But their prices are low so I figure I still beat the system. If not there, then I still saved on gas!

But either way, I bought tons of my favorites, these being one of them:

Have you tried these??? If not, you just have to. They’re crunchy, delicious, basically guilt-free and just the best snack ever. Ryland and I ate the whole bag in one sitting and patted ourselves on the back after for eating so much green ;).

I also bought some stone ground tortillas and whipped this up:

I spread some garlic tomato sauce on the tortilla, sprinkled it with oregano and shredded Havarti cheese, and topped it with spinach and red onions. It went into the toaster oven at 375° for about 8 minutes and was consumed in half that time. I gave the kiddo some, positive that he’d peel off the spinach, but nope! It was a good  lunch. So good that this happened:

He’s literally asleep here. What a guy.

I baked some cookies too because ‘Tis the Season. I went with my favorite, Cake Batter Cookies. Not only because they’re delicious, but I’ll admit it, they’re SO easy to make.

I brought a bunch to a Christmas party on Saturday night and one of my friend’s called it “the perfect cookie.” I’ll take it ;). I’ve made these the last few years and always follow this recipe. Warning – don’t go to this website unless you’re prepared to drool heavily. Sally is a baking goddess.

What else can I tell you…well I won’t talk about how it was windy and rainy and miserable out for most of the weekend because that’s just depressing. We watched a couple more overly cheesy Christmas movies and as mentioned before, we went to a Christmas party at our friend’s house. An Ugly Sweater Party to be exact. It was really fun, especially because there were lots of kiddies there in ugly sweaters too. Ryland stayed up wayyyyy past his bedtime but he was just the cutest little party animal. He was pretty worn out on Sunday and spent some quality time catching up with his beloved elephant blankie.

Ok…I’ve talked your ear off enough today. I’ll see you in a few!

Creamy Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

I don’t know about where you are, but it rained and rained and rained all weekend here in Vancouver. But it also warmed up a little, so that’s a plus.

There were a few different outdoor Christmas events that we wanted to check out, but they just wouldn’t have been all that fun in the downpour, especially with a toddler. It was more of a stay-inside-and-read kinda weekend.

It was also an oatmeal-for-breakfast kinda weekend, and I put together a pretty delicious and extra healthy pot on Saturday and Sunday morning. It was full of apples, cinnamon, and creamy vanilla yogurt. It was like having dessert for breakfast, but with zero guilt. Win win. I love oatmeal, I think that’s because it reminds me of my childhood.

Creamy Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal ~ 2 servings

Ingredients

• 300 ml cold water in a small saucepan with lid
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cups quick oats
• 2 small apples, diced into small pieces
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt

Directions

1. Bring water and salt to a boil in a small saucepan covered with a lid.
2. Add oats, apples, and raisins to boiling water, stir, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 4-5 minutes.
3. Mix in yogurt and sprinkle with cinnamon.
4. Enjoy!

Well of course I need to talk about why this bowl of oat-y deliciousness is so good for you. Lets start with the oats:

• lower bad cholesterol > reduces risk of cardiovascular disease
• control blood pressure
• high in antioxidants
• high in soluble fiber, particularly beta-glucan, which strengthens the immune system, making it better equipped to fight bacterial infections
• beta-glucan also stabilizes blood sugar and reduces the risk of Type II diabetes
• great alternative to those with a gluten allergy (as long as the oats are certified GF)
• play a role in preventing childhood asthma

The list goes on, but you get the idea. Oats are basically EXTREMELY good for you.

And so are apples.

• rich in flavanols which help to reduce to risk of certain cancers
• high in soluble fiber > reduces cholesterol and stabilizes blood sugar
• detoxifies lives
• boosts immune system
• high in antioxidants, some of which play a role in the prevention of cataracts
• chewing on apples increase the production of saliva which reduces tooth decay

And so on and so on.

Yogurt is full of calcium and probiotics*, and cinnamon not only adds a delicious, warm flavor, but it is also an excellent blood sugar stabilizer.

Ryland loves oatmeal, which is great. Duncan…I’m working on it.

In case you’re wondering, there are only 18 days left until Christmas. Can you believe it??? I’m currently watching a super cheesy Christmas movie. The cheesier the better :D.

Have a great day!

*Not all yogurts have probiotics. It will generally say somewhere on the container whether or not they’ve been added in.

 

 

Yams, Brussel Sprouts &…Christmas!!!

How are you on this frosty Monday?? Not frozen, I hope. It was freezing but super sunny all weekend. Perfect winter weather in my books.

I’ve talked about my love of Brussel sprouts before, but lately it’s turned into more of an obsession. Of all things, hey? But roasted with some olive oil & sea salt…YUM. I love yams too. The nutritional value of both is way up there, so lots of bonus points right there.Yams are full of the antioxidants beta carotene and Vitamin C, both of which tell the cancer-loving free radicals to beat it. They’re a great source of potassium which works to prevent high blood pressure, and they’re also high in fibre and complex carbs which equals good digestion and stable blood sugar. Loooots of other benefits that i’ll tell you about at some point.

Brussel sprouts are loaded with fibre and antioxidants as well, but that’s not all. They’re rich in a compound called isothiocyanates which not only fight, but possibly even prevent certain cancers and cardiovascular disease. They’re high in lots of other vitamins and minerals that make our bodies very happy :D.

My love for these healthy eats made this happen:

It was on the side of some roasted chicken, which wasn’t really all that picture worthy. But this really does make a fantastic side dish, especially during the holiday season.

Roasted & Sea Salted Brussel Sprouts & Yams ~ serves 4 as a side dish

Ingredients

• 4-5 small to medium sized yams
• 2 cups Brussel sprouts
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil.
3. Wash yams and dice into bite size pieces.
4. Wash Brussel sprouts.
5. In a large bowl, toss together yams, Brussel sprouts olive oil, and as little or as much sea salt as you desire. I ground about 1 tsp into my bowl.
6. Spread evenly on baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes.
7. Dig in!

My parents are doing a turkey for Christmas so I think i’ll add this to the side. My dad and Duncan will turn their noses up at the Brussel sprouts…more for me!

I put up all of our Christmas stuff over the weekend, basically because it’s never too early for that, in my opinion. As long as it’s after Remembrance Day of course.

Our tree is small, and sadly not real, but it’s a good size for our condo. And as much as I love real trees, I don’t mind not having to sweep up pine needles every 3 minutes. Nothing beats the smell of them though. NOTHING.

I also got a ton of Christmas shopping done on Black Friday at some outlets. The deals weren’t that great, but i’m about 80% done which is kind of a relief. I looked at the calendar and I don’t even think i’ll have time to sit down between now and Santa’s visit from the North Pole ;).

On Wednesday i’m going to tell you about some fluffy, light chocolatey Chocolate Carrot (but you can’t taste the carrot) Mini Muffins that I whipped up. I hope you’ll be back for that :). Have a great day!

Cheesy Brown Rice & Black Bean Loaf

Hi!

Happy Monday :D. We had the most perfect November weather over here. Cold but not too cold and extra sunny! We deserved it though. The week leading up to it was pretty gross.

I basically have a river in my backyard with a path beside it that you can walk along for as long as you feel like walking. You might come across the odd black bear, but they generally won’t even give you the time of day. When we moved to the neighborhood almost 5 years ago, I just about died when I saw a bear up close for the first time, right by my house. Neighbors kept saying “don’t worry, they’re harmless,” and so far that’s proven to be true. But at the same time, they’re wild animals and us humans need to respect that and be cautious. Better safe than sorry!

My “backyard”

On Saturday we walked along the river for awhile and then headed over to a local high school that was hosting their annual Winter Market. There were tons of really crafty, cool, yummy goodies. I easily could’ve spent way too much money because I’m such a sucker for things like that, but I managed to walk out with my wallet still intact. I bought Ryland the Charlie Brown Christmas Story but the best part is that it’s a handmade quilt book. He buries his face in it and my heart explodes, as per usual with everything he does. I won’t deny that I’m an obsessed Mom. We also had some chocolate covered pretzels. Had to support the bake sale!!

OK, so back to the title of this post, the purpose of this post. I usually try to make something on Sundays that Ryland and I can take to work/daycare for lunch throughout the week. I also try to make sure that whatever I come up with has a good balance of protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats. Since I’m not a huge meat eater, I rely on beans and eggs quite often to get my protein and iron intake. Beans are also high in fibre, and we all know how important that is! I also love brown rice which is a plus because it’s full of fiber, antioxidants and slow-releasing sugars, which promote stable blood sugar. And last but not least, cheesy goodness. A little more protein, a good does of calcium, and of course, YUM.

OK…so it doesn’t look all that appetizing, but the lighting was bad and I used my cell phone. It turned out to be pretty tasty though, promise!

Cheesy Brown Rice & Black Bean Loaf

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 1 tbsp taco seasoning
• 1 tbsp coconut oil (melted) or olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375° and grease a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan
2. In a large bowl, mix together rice, beans, and taco seasoning
3. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and coconut oil or olive oil. Pour into large bowl and mix all ingredients well.
4. Gradually add shredded cheese to bowl, mixing gently.
5. Pour into loaf pan, pressing down gently until level.
6. Bake 40-45 minutes.
7. Let cool in pan for 10-15 minutes before removing.

I would say this is good in the fridge for 3 days max so I recommend freezing any that might not get eaten within that time. I had a slice for dinner last night and topped it with chopped green onions and hot sauce (because I’m addicted, I admit it). My fingers are crossed that Ryland gobbles it up at daycare today! Duncan turned his nose up at the brown rice but that’s fine. He can stick to white rice covered in MSG-filled soy sauce! I have a LOT of work to do on that guy :/.

Time to get to it. Have a great day!

Friday Favorites

Hi!

Seriously, TGIF. It was nice to have a little break from work on Wednesday, but it was so busy the other 3 days that I felt like my head was spinning. In case anyone’s interested in what I do for a living, I’m a legal assistant. It’s a good job, great company…do I want to do it for the rest of my working life? Not so much. I’m really hoping to go somewhere with the whole nutrition deal.

Anyway.

A few blogs that I follow do this “Friday Favorites” thing so I thought I’d have a go at it. But first, here’s a picture from a Remembrance Day parade that we went to. It was a really great event. I started to get choked up thinking about my Grandpas and all of the other amazing men & women out there. There really is a lot of good in this world.

Before we went to the parade, I put together this smoothie bowl.

It was super tasty and refreshing, and of course packed full of nutrients.

I. LOVE. PEANUT BUTTER. Usually just the all natural, unsalted, unsweetened stuff, but I bought a jar of this stuff and it’s ridiculous.

How much is too much PB??

They have a few different flavors which you can bet I’ll be trying as soon as this jar is done. Which will probably be in the very near future :/.

It’s currently cold, grey, and rainy, but it was gorgeous on Remembrance Day. There’s just something so beautiful about fall colours. Not to mention that handsome fellow sitting all pretty for the camera.

And then there’s this face, my favorite face in the world. I just can’t get enough of this guy.

Sometimes I miss how tiny he used to be (well all the time, actually), but he’s just so much fun these days! A few weeks ago he started giving us really tight hugs…my heart explodes every. single. time.

And of course Fridays themselves are a favorite of mine. Even though they’re just a little different since Ryland came along ;).

A few girlfriends and I are going out for a little girls night tonight so I’m pretty excited about that. They definitely don’t happen as often as we’d like…life is really friggen busy when you’re a grownup! We also have a mini family photo shoot on Sunday so I should have some pretty awesome pictures to share next week. Other than that…the usual weekend chores will surely be calling my name. Yay :/.

Have a great weekend!

“Fast Food” for Extra Busy Days

Something that stresses me out immensely is trying to come up with nutritious and tasty meals that all 3 of us will enjoy. This is especially difficult on days that are go, go, go from sun up until sun down. I really want to be one of those people that can write out a 5 day meal plan and spend 5 hours on a Sunday doing food prep, but i’m just not quite there yet. I also know it would make life sooo much easier so I’m going to try my hardest to become “one of them.” But for now, there are times when the basics have to make do.

I love my crockpot. And one of my favorite meals is this Turkey Chili. I can get everything ready the night before fairly quickly, throw it in the crockpot before work, and come home to a ready-to-eat dinner. This gives me some extra time to hang out with Ryland which is always my goal.

And then there’s good old breakfast for dinner. Scrambled eggs with green onions & wholegrain toast topped with hummus, cucumbers, feta cheese and fresh ground black pepper. Yes, a gallon of hot sauce was added to my eggs post-picture.

And lunch for dinner? Why not?! Sometimes a sandwich & smoothie is on par with steak & prawns. No?

This basically couldn’t be more basic. But no matter how simple some of our meals might be, I try to make sure they include healthy fats, protein and complex carbs (because if I haven’t already mentioned it, meals without carbs just ain’t my thing).

I currently have a Cornish hen cooking away in the crockpot. I’m not totally sure what I’m going to do with it yet, but if I come up with something decent, I’ll share the details on Monday. If there is no mention of Cornish hens, then it clearly ended in disaster.

On another note, I was up with a very congested and unhappy toddler from about 12-2:30 am so i’m just a tiny bit tired at the moment. Excuse me while I  zombie walk to the kitchen to pour my 18th cup of coffee :/.

Basically.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday Beauties

Hey there, Friday! It’s good to see ya!

I’m going to do less rambling today and post pictures of pretty things instead.

My office is walking distance to one of the most beautiful spots in Vancouver. It’s called Coal Harbour, which is very close to the world renown Stanley Park, and it’s just gorgeous. I spend a lot of my lunch breaks going for walks along the water there and I’m reminded every time of how lucky I am to live and work in this amazing province. I took these pictures last week on an exceptionally nice fall day. I felt like a tourist in my own town!

I like to pretend I’m a millionaire and pick out which one of these is mine.

Living on a houseboat…or floating home…whatever they’re called…would be so cool. Well, for a bit anyway.

A house in the sky.

Isn’t this the cutest bike rack??

On days like those, it takes a lot of willpower to get my butt back to the office ;).

There’s a community garden not too far from my house. I don’t have a plot there but I like to wander through it, admiring everyone’s else’s goodies. I really do want my own garden…I just haven’t found my green thumb yet.

A tomato…patch?

Minty freshness.

You can’t tell from the picture, but this sunflower was about 6 feet tall!

This picture makes me want to put rosemary on EVERYTHING.

And I took a million pictures at a local pumpkin patch a few weeks ago, but only posted a couple which revolved around my kiddo. Here are a few others that I think are pretty cool:

Squash squad.

The cutest little farmers market I’ve ever seen.

And finally, this. I personally wouldn’t eat mushrooms if someone paid me, but I thought it was picture-worthy anyway.

Meet the Mushroom Family.

I sure hope you felt like looking at pictures today. And I also hope you have a great weekend! Happy Halloween Eve!!

Halloween 2014

Mini Muffins & Weekend Happenings

Did the weekend even happen?? I feel like I blinked on Friday and when I opened my eyes, it was Monday! Well I hope you all had a great weekend anyway, if it did in fact take place ;).

I always buy bananas on Sundays, let them ripen up throughout the week, and bake with them on Fridays. This time around, I made mini banana oat muffins and it was the easiest method possible. I put all the ingredients into the blender (in 2 batches – so I basically divided all the ingredients in half) blended until smooth, and poured into a greased (with coconut oil cooking spray) mini muffin pan. The recipe produced 24 perfectly moist and sweet-but-not-too-sweet 2 bite muffins.

Banana Oat Mini Muffins

• 3 very ripe bananas
• 2 1/2 cups quick oats (you can also use old fashioned oats – use gluten free if you have an allergy)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp coconut oil (melted) or olive oil
• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/4 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp chia seeds (optional)
• 1 tbsp hemp hearts (optional)
• 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350º and grease a 24 cup mini muffin pan – I use coconut oil cooking spray
2. Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend well. Depending on the size of your blender or processor, you may want to divide the ingredients in 1/2 or even 1/3’s.
3. Pour batter into muffin tin so that each cup is about 2/3 full.
4. Bake 18-20 minutes. Let cool in pan for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. These are good for about 3 days so you may want to freeze part of the batch.

**You can add a handful of mini chocolate chips if you’d like, but fold them in after blending.

Replacing regular flour with oat flour means a denser finished product, but I find the blending method makes them a lot fluffier. And the cleanup is so easy!

On to other things.

We had a very rainy Saturday so we did some super exciting indoor activities including Home Depot for wood primer and stain (working on a fireplace mantle), and the mall for some food court lunch and playtime in the kid zone for Ryland. He is obsessed with slides. I need to find one that will fit in our condo, which is already overflowing with toys. Yet all he wants to play with is tupperware, coasters, remote controls and shoes. Seriously though, I don’t think he’s ever had so much fun in his life then he did on that slide. Melts my heart!!

About once a month, Duncan gets up early to make a pancake breakfast. We love pancakes!!

I took Parker for a quick hike after breakfast while Ryland (and Duncan) were napping. I try to spend quality time with just him when I can because I hate to admit it, but he definitely doesn’t get the attention he did before Ryland came along. I promised myself that wouldn’t happen and constantly feel guilty for it. Sometimes I feel like there needs to be two of me.

When we got home, Duncan & Ryland were all geared up and ready for football Sunday. We’re a Packers family while pretty much everyone else we know are Seahawks fans so it was a highly anticipated game. Lucky for us, the Packers cleaned house!

Our little Cheesehead!

We put Ryland to bed after the 1st quarter, but he was right into it for that little bit. Future NFL-er?? I hope not…I’d have way too many heart attacks.

That about wraps up our insanely fast weekend. I hope yours was great and I’ll see ya soon!