Day 1039 | Monkey Bread

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Although I  *try* to promote sugar free snacks and baked goods, I'm definitely not above splurging on sugar-filled deliciousness every so often. Case in point: this monkey bread. It brings me back to my childhood and is Just. So. Delicious. I would never consider eating an entire tube of biscuits but for some reason, eating that same tube of biscuits covered in brown sugar and butter seems totally possible. Ha!

Here's the recipe for those of you looking for a little indulgence in your life:

Monkey bread

Ingredients:
1 7.5 oz tube of 10 small biscuits (that some times comes in a four-pack like this).
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp water
2 tbsp butter

Directions:

  • Add brown sugar, water, and butter to a bowl and microwave for 1.5 minutes. 
  • Stir to combine after cooking.
  • Cut up biscuits into quarters and add to the sugar mixture. Stir until evenly coated. 
  • Use a spoon to create a whole in the center of un-cooked biscuits. Place a narrow-ish glass in the hole (provides more surface area for cooking).
  • Microwave for 2.5 minutes. Let stand in microwave for additional two minutes.
  • Remove from microwave and flip onto a plate (sometimes it doesn't come out in one uniform ring as shown above...that's ok).
  • Try to enjoy with several other people so you don't eat too much of it.

 

Day 1036 | A Duck

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We did a lot today. It was a busy, but really lovely day. One of the highlights, though, happened before we even got in the car to start our adventures. We had a duck in our yard! I've been secretly dreaming of this day for some time (we live close to the river, after all). Today it happened!!

We even fed the little lady and she brought her male friend back with her. I hope we see them again really soon.  

Day 1033 | Homemade Granola

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Perhaps you saw my latest recipe post on Mary Catherine's blog, but this granola was just too yummy not to double-post. Plus, I wanted to be able to search for it on my own site for the next round of baking. 

As I said in the Simply Sugarless post, I was really skeptical of attempting a granola recipe. I'm very particular about the granola I like and I was convinced that a no-refined-sugar recipe would never satisfy my picky tastebuds. I'm so happy to report I was wrong. I've been eating this granola for breakfast with a bit of yogurt all week and, I'm going to say it, it's better than any store bought versions I've found - at least it is in terms of what I'm looking for in granola. I will definitely be making this as a staple around our house. Yippee!

HONEY PECAN GRANOLA

Hands-on time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 25-30 minutes | Total time: 40 minutes
Yield: 6 cups

Ingredients: 
4 cups old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 325°. Grease a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

  • Mix oats, flour, shredded coconut, pecans, and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Stir in honey, coconut oil, and vanilla extract until evenly incorporated.

  • Spread oat mixture on the prepared baking sheet.

  • Bake in the preheated oven until lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Stir gently. Continue baking, stirring every 5 minutes, until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

  • Let cool until crispy, about 15 minutes.

  • Store in airtight container.

A Couple of Notes:

  • I left my granola in the oven for an extra few minutes (past 25 minutes) because mine didn’t brown very much. Maybe it was the whole wheat flour, but it still turned out crunchy and delicious even though it stayed light in color.

  • Now that I’ve made this, I would consider mixing some freeze dried strawberries in at the end. I love a little fruit in my granola.

  • I would also increase the amount of pecans, to a half a cup. I don’t really even like pecans all that much, but I think a few extra would only be a good thing.

  • Probably an obvious comment, but you can add/substitute fruit, nuts, etc. as you fit, I would just warn against adding too many dry ingredients because you still need the wet ingredients to coat + bind it together.

Day 1032 | Sticker Chart Champ

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This little peanut snagged his latest sticker chart reward (a toy camping set) and, once again, we couldn't be more impressed with + proud of his determination. The latest challenge? To stop sucking his thumb at night. That's a tough one since he was doing it semi-unconsciously. 

With a helpful tip from uncle Brian to wear mittens when he sleeps, we now have a no-more-thumb-sucking (but mitten-wearing) three year old in our house.  

For the record, this wasn't an easy transition for our sweet Robbe. It's been harder for him to fall asleep and his overall sleep quality has definitely been affected. I gave him the out several times over the last five days by offering to remove those mittens but he never took me up on it. That's one tough dude. 

Next time you see him, please give him some praise. He deserves it!

Day 1030 | Swimming Success

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Chase had such a blast during his first session of swimming lessons that we signed him up for another round for the spring. Best news ever? Robbe gets to join him this time! So many benefits to turning 3! You could not imagine two happier brothers saying goodbye to their mom. It. Was. Adorable. 

The boys even jumped in by themselves (into the shallow pool). Chase exclaimed that he wishes he could have swim lessons every day and Robbe added an enthusiastic, "me too". Such a proud mom.

Day 1029 | Biker Boys

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The weather is not quite as warm as we would like (hence the winter coats and mittens), but that's not keeping us away from our newest outdoor activity. The boys seem super excited about biking this year so it'll be fun to see where that goes! We even got Robbe his own mini training wheel bike today (sorry...not pictured) so he can keep up with his brother. Now he just needs to figure out that pesky pedaling concept. 

Day 1028 | Baby Farm Animals

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Thanks to a tip from Karen, we scheduled a super fun trip to a lambing barn (yep, that's a thing) only 20 minutes from our house! The boys got to hold piglets, lambs, chicks (a ton of chicks), and kids (of the goat variety) and see a bunch of other animals, too. The rule is that if you can fit the animal in your arms, you can hold it. That's a good rule, right? The boys had a total blast!

Unfortunately, it was a bit too cold to explore the rest of the farm grounds and they didn't have much for extra activities so we went home and made the above sheep craft to commemorate the day.

Day 1027 | Project Complete

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We survived it. Our first major home improvement project is officially in the books. The boys even got to nap in their own beds today for the first time in a week.

Whew. I'm exhausted. Even after eight loads of laundry and hours of deep cleaning, I'm still in catch up mode over here. I'm just lucky that the boys were so happy to be home and playing with their own toys that they let me tackle all that. We even treated them to ice cream tonight to show our extreme appreciation. 

The windows are looking really nice, though. Totally worth all the hassle. Now to figure out blinds + curtains...but not tonight.  

Day 1026 | New Windows

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The end is in sight. All of the new windows are in and they just need to do the finishing work tomorrow. It has been a long week of finding places to nap, taking down and setting up beds, and putting up temporary curtains.  The week has really given us a new appreciation for people who take on bigger projects than this.  We are all ready for the project to be done and can't wait to see and enjoy the final product. 

Day 1025 | DIY Shorts

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Check out these sweet shorts I made for Chase yesterday! Thanks to some expert tutoring (Karen's the best!!) and some free time during nap, I whipped these up in about 2.5 hours. Not too shabby. Of course Robbe is all up in my business to make a pair for him now. Sheesh. It took me five years to make Chase his first pair, you would think Robbe could be *a bit* more patient. They were pretty simple + straight forward, though, so there's a good chance you'll be seeing Robbe in a pair of these fun racer shorts sometime this summer. 

If Karen's not available to walk you through the process (that's a bummer!), here's the tutorial + pattern that we used. I might just have to find a permanent home for my sewing machine if the projects are going to be this fun + satisfying + practical.

Day 1023 | I Heart Puzzles

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It turns out that the boys aren't the only ones with a fondness towards puzzles lately. Last night, I convinced Chris and his parents that we should bust out a puzzle (like we did on one of our past vacations). It was so fun! And such a sense of accomplishment! There were some dark moments (piecing together the sky, mostly), but the high points (George finding the two missing pieces! Bibi telling her decomposing jackalope story!) more than made up for it. 

Can you believe I even let Chase stay up 30 minutes past his bedtime because he was enjoying the grown-up puzzle time so much. As he and Chris were working on the Eiffel Tower, Chase said, "the pieces just come to me," as a response to us asking how he was so good at puzzling. Adorable.