Awesome Day

Life did not roll as planned today.

Last night I had told Cesar that Hugo and I planned on staying home today. A nice quiet day was on the agenda. It is time to spiffy, dust, sort, toss and organize the upstairs. We have two rooms which need to be condensed/organized in hopes of being beautified for welcoming our soon to be arriving girls.

Cesar telephoned at 8:23 am and I was still sleeping, in my bed! Not on the couch, cuddling Hugo with sounds of Imagination Movers or Agent Oso running through my dreams. Then I realized that if I was in bed, Hugo must also be sleeping! Awesome! Once off the phone, my thoughts drifted towards those oh so yummy swedish hotcakes. I quickly dialed up Jin to join us with her girls for a breakfast party. It was de-lish!

Then Jan called. "Want to meet up at the park to play with Kenney?"

Snacks of apple slices, fat pretzels, almonds and water bottles were quickly tossed into a cooler. Bodies were clothed, bikes loaded into the back of the van, a movie was turned on. The weather was playdate perfect.

There were some grumpy moments.
Mostly from my child
but I couldn't resist Miss Amy
and her beautiful sourpuss face.

We avoided the yellow jackets, smashed a few.

Enjoyed the view from the river's edge.

Met new play friends.

The afternoon was fading and groceries needed purchasing. We caravaned to Jolly Cow for chocolate cones all around, Jan was a trooper and stayed behind with the kids. Jin and I slipped away in our van to Adam's for quick dinner items. I want to try out her husband's meatball recipe. I've been dreaming of them... The Doc says that I'm anemic at the moment so, bring on the meat I say!

Once home, I didn't make the meatballs. Possibly tomorrow or maybe Friday. I want to make extra to start putting aside dinners, or at least parts thereof, for when the girls arrive and I have less time. Millie told me she has a great chicken casserole recipe which freezes well, I'm waiting for her email. Any more great freezing ideas out there?

Hugo and I ate ham sandwiches with horseradish cheddar cheese spread, cheddar and herbs flavored chips, grapes and a biscotti with milk for dessert.
Hit the spot.

All and all, it was a very tasty food day.

Now, what to make tomorrow?

Food - Day 3

Muffins have been very popular on my eating list. My current two favorites are the Kellogg All Bran muffins (pictured above with loads of blueberries) and my girlfriend Alissa's banana muffin recipe. I've made the bran muffins for years. I think my mom started making them for us while I was in high school, maybe, possibly?? Anyway, they are good for you and delicious. I like to press sliced strawberries and sprinkle sugar on top before I slide them into the oven. Alissa brought her muffins to a playdate a few months ago and I demanded the recipe from her. She is such a good friend that by the time I drove home, the recipe was waiting patiently for me in my inbox. Hugo has been off bananas of late so we seem to have blackening extras often. Alissa's recipe is fast and oh so yummy and, is a great way to use up those lingering bananas. Hugo and I can't wait for them to cool once out of the oven. We fight over who gets to eat the last one even. I suppose in a few years I'll need to bake a double batch to include the twins in our muffin gorging fun!

Food - Day 2

I found this recipe for swedish hotcakes recently on the blog Tangled and true. They looked so lovely and reminded me of the crepes which my brother-in-law Rafael makes for his children on Saturday mornings. He even makes up fancy syrups... My mouth is watering remembering the experience of cooked apples, sliced ever so thinly, smothered in maple syrup. Wonderful! Anyhoo, I've been afraid to try crepes. They seemed so delicate and possibly problematic for my spatula flipping in the kitchen skills. But, are swedish hotcakes the same as crepes? I dunno. I looked up Ms Julia Childs recipe for crepes, which she refers to as dessert crepes or crepes sucrees. Her recipe is pretty similar but, she wants you to wait at least 2 hours for the batter to rest. Come on Ms Julia. Our stomachs are a growling over here! At least mine is. Long story short, I'm stickin' with Tangled and True's recipe. It whips up in a snap and the hotcakes cook up fast and are very easy to flip! I like the hotcakes because they haven't left me feeling bloated and slugish as regular pancakes do. I also like the fact that its okay that the swedish hotcakes are a bit cool by the time you eat them and that they're still delicious. I feel with pancakes that I'm flipping and flipping for Cesar and Hugo and end up eating alone or just as I dig in they suddenly want more. Who wants a cold pancake? Not me. Hugo ate 5 of these swedish hotcake babies, with a pile of sliced strawberries and blueberries on the side, this past Sunday night. A winner in our house I tell you, a winner.

Food Temptations

The beginning of this pregnancy found me craving fruit. Fruit, fruit and more fruit. Simply could not get enough of fruit and a good green salad. Oh, and eggs. I ate tons of eggs. Omelettes, egg salad sandwiches and shrimp salad loaded with eggs. Yum, yum! Then I moved onto a quiche faze. More eggs please! I'm forgetting to mention about my love affair with potatoes. I've eaten a whole lot of fried potatoes. I've bought bags and bags of potatoes like they were going out of style. I like them mashed but, I've wanted them fried. Haven't had them in awhile though... With Hugo I craved shrimp and oranges like mad. I drove Cesar crazy with my desire for the delivery man to peddle over some delicious Shrimp Pad Thai - nightly.

My weight gain has been right on track, so far. The doc is pleased and so are my hips. These past two or three weeks have seen me fall off the strictly healthy food wagon, big time. It's awful! All I really want to eat are chocolate bars with bits of almond and toffee in them, caramels, Panara's chocolate croissants, cookies, cake, sweet rolls, caramel rolls, sticky buns, orange pull a parts, Pepperidge Farm's apple turnovers, fettuccine alfredo, and a juicy steak, cooked the perfect medium rare, with loaded mashed potatoes. I do still crave fruit but it has most definitely taken a back burner to all the bad stuff which I want to stuff my face with.

I thought I'd share some new found favorite recipes tonight and through this coming week, some good for you and others to be enjoyed in moderation! Tonight I made Julia Child's Quiche Lorraine. Hugo and I gobble this up fast!



Earlier today we had a playdate at the park. We had a great time but summer's heat finally hit our spot of the earth today. After an hour or so of play, we decided to move our little play party to the kiddie pool. As the afternoon rolled along, a string of meltdowns occurred and for the most part were ignored, being chalked up to the heat and the children's missing naps. When the time came for us all to part company, not a complaint was heard from the kids. Everyone was content with the length of our outdoor time and ready to head for home. Once inside our house, Hugo ran up to his room to play with his cars while I headed into the kitchen to prepare our quiche. We ate, cleaned up, had a little sandbox time and then headed upstairs to wash in the bath. Hugo dressed himself in his pajamas, mostly by himself. After our prayer, we read The Last Basselope One Ferocious Story by Berkeley Breathed and had lights out. I haven't heard a peep from upstairs since.