Day 412 | Emery Playground

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I didn't start the morning off thinking we'd be visiting another new park today (or be blogging about another new park for that matter) but that's the way it turned out. And boy am I excited we ended up at the Emery Recreation Center playground today. It was amazing!

A few of the highlights:
  1. A big hill in the middle with two slides coming down from it=super fun!
  2. A double-decker play structure with some really unique attractions (think slide with three turbo boosters, an "elevator" pole feature, two bridges, etc)
  3. Really interesting and addicting wall-mounted games that I haven't seen anywhere else. There was a construction-themed one where you had to manipulate four different gears to get all the marbles through the different machines. Very cool. 
The only downside? It was too hot to stay for very long. We'll be back when the sun isn't quite as brutal. 

Day 411 | No Shoes

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We ventured out to visit a new park this morning. Pretty standard excitement until we arrive at the park after a 1.25 mile walk to find out that Robbe has only one shoe. After a quick sweep of the area and no shoe to be found, I embraced the only acceptable solution: of course my tiny toddler will play at this park without shoes on.

I have to say, it didn't phase him as much as I thought it would and we all had a great time. And the best news? We found the shoe on the walk home. Yippee!

Day 410 | Summer Reading Success

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We completed the DC Public Library summer reading program...for the second year in a row. It's a pretty big deal. The boys and I worked very hard reading specific kinds of books (nonfiction, wordless, about animals) and doing specific activities (singing a favorite song, practicing the alphabet, counting fingers and toes) to earn some fun prizes (placemats, chipotle kids meal, free book).

And we did it all in two weeks. We're good. :)

Day 403 | Salsarita Pasta

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Do you remember when

Trader Joe's

made real meals for their samples instead of just warming up one of their frozen products? I do. I miss those days.

This is one of the recipes I got during a shopping trip years ago. It's a goodie and so

so

simple. 

Salsarita Pasta

  • 1.3 lbs (approx) chicken, cut into small chunks

  • Italian seasoning

  • 1 large jar of salsa (on the runnier side, I use Pace Picante)

  • Noodles of your choice (I use whole wheat penne)

  • Parmesan cheese

Directions

  • Coat chicken with Italian seasoning.

  • Sauté chicken with a little olive oil over medium heat until cooked through.

  • Meanwhile, cook pasta in a pot of boiling water.

  • After straining the pasta, stir in the salsa.

  • Add the cooked chicken to the pasta and stir.

  • Let the pasta/chicken cool. Serve room temperature with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

It was a crowd pleaser at our house tonight: Robbe had three servings. 

Day 402 | Pretend Play

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Chase has been really getting into pretend play lately. I'm digging it. The scenarios he comes up with (play museums, fixing Thomas, and researching things, mostly trains, on his "computer") are pretty interesting and super impressive.

Today as I was cooking dinner, I overheard him telling Robbe about the movie he was watching (including inserting the DVD). In case you can't tell, they were watching the movie on a cutting board. 

Day 400 | 400!

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I made it to 400 posts! Woohoo! To keep with tradition, here's an update on the team.

Name: Sara
Favorites: walking (thanks to the extra motivation from my fitbit), the rain (which has been constant the last few days, but I don't mind at all), strawberry gin and tonics (I'll do a post about these some day), clean bathrooms (I just wish I didn't have to be the one to clean them).
Biggest hurdle to overcome: finding time for crafting. Since my built-in crafting mornings are gone (thanks, summer vacation), I'm having a hard time finding time to sneak crafting in. I already have afternoon nap and post-bedtime pretty over-booked so something has to give.
Dreams for the future: finding closure to the school situation. We're still up in the air (very up in the air) about where Chase is going to be going to school come the fall. It's silly to be so preoccupied with this for a three year old but it's a big deal. Five day program or two day? Closer to home or further away? We're confident we'll have some choices come the fall, but in the meantime I continue to feel conflicted about the best option for our sweet boy.

Name: Chris
Favorites: our new minivan. That's it. He loves it.
Biggest hurdle to overcome: making it through the rest of the month of June working his normal schedule before it's smooth-sailing into the month of July and vacations.
Dreams for the future: meeting our new neighbors. The house next door was listed to be rented as of June 1. So far, no movement over there. Who are they going to be? When are they going to move in? Can we be best friends? So many questions!

Name: Chase
Age: 3 years
Favorites: minivan spotting (he's really good at it...and differentiating between makes, too), building with legos, reading, baking with mommy, being independent, eating sushi
Biggest hurdle to overcome: he's been "so sad" lately because our vacation is "still so far away." We all feel that way, buddy. At least we know that he enjoys his time with family in Wisconsin.
Dreams for the future: own an outside car (see explanation here)

Name: Robbe
Age: 1 year
Favorites: blowing raspberries on any visible skin, saying "hi" and waving to everyone, reading the My Big Animal Book, playing with wiggle bug (a toy), food (any food), communicating (nodding yes and learning sign language)
Biggest hurdle to overcome: teething. Yep, still working our way through this challenge. He's up to seven but three are about to pop and continue to mess with the poor guy.
Dreams for the future: a full day to pass without some sort of hardy spill. This guy trips, bumps into things, dives head first, and misjudges distance constantly leading to some minor, some more serious, stumbles. Don't worry, little man. Someday your feet will catch up with the rest of your body.

Day 399 | Another Day, Another Craft

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Two crafts in a row! I'm on a roll.

I've decided to make curtains. For the first time ever. Also, it's been several months since I've pulled out the sewing machine (think: Halloween costumes) so let's hope it doesn't hold a grudge. 

Today's task? Making a pattern and cutting the fabric. I've decided to add a bold-patterned stripe to my curtains (for Robbe's room, by the way) so the pretty simple task of sewing one piece of fabric has become much more complicated. But still shouldn't be that tricky...it's just sewing straight lines after all. Right? I'll report back when the project is complete to let you know if I underestimated the skill involved. 

Day 395 | Oatmeal Cookies

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Remember when I mentioned

Chris's favorite cookies

? Time to give my own top pick a shout out.

I'm a sucker for the oatmeal chocolate chip variety and think I just stumbled upon the perfect recipe. I know, I'm excited, too. They are super soft and are perfectly delicious (think texture and sweet/salty balance). You won't be disappointed, I swear!

Here's the

original recipe

, but you'll find the modified recipe that I used below.

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened

  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar

  • 1/2 cup white sugar

  • 2 eggs

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 3 cups old-fashioned oats

  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

 Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

  • In a large bowl, cream together the butter, applesauce, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the oats and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.

  • Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

*I'd like to point out that I didn't substitute applesauce for butter to be healthier (note the amount of sugar in the recipe), so don't put me in that box. I had only softened one stick of butter and didn't want to fight with a cold stick trying to get it to the same consistency. And, I think the applesauce

made

the recipe. They are so much softer and fluffier than I've been able to get any other recipe. Yay for happy accidents!