Egg Shaped Sandwiches for Kaleb's Toddler Easter Egg Hunt

Today was the big Easter Egg hunt and party for our little mommy's group. 

It was pot luck, so I made some egg shaped sandwhiches for the wee ones. 

They were ham and cheese, though I think PB&J might have held up nice. But seeing as how my boy is alergic to peanuts, ham and cheese it was!

See? super simple

I also really liked my hair that day. I did three little buns at the base of my head. This picture does it no justice! I looked good. 

Kaleb kept trying to get at the balloon decorations.

All the kiddos were so good. (and pretty darn adorable)

Love Kaleb's shirt?

Me too. 

And, of course, the bubbles were a smash it. 

When it finally got to egg hunt time, it was like jungle/crazy/treasure hunt kids.

Kaleb contemplated stealing Jame's eggs, but he chose the right in the end.

When we got home, he dug into his treasures.

Then, maybe had a little suger rush...

But the banjo music calmed his soul and he napped well.


It was really a pleasant day.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

So, I was clearing out our cupboard and found a can of pumpkin leftover from the Holidays and I  just HAD to make these.

They are my favorite cookie, though they taste more like delicious little muffin tops.

Try it!

Ingredients

• 1 Cup pumpkin 
• 1/2 Cup oil 
• 2 Cups flour 
• 1 tsp. cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice) 
• 1 tsp. baking soda 
• 1 Cup chocolate chips 
• 3/4 Cup sugar 
• 1 egg 
• 2 tsp. baking powder 
• 1/2 tsp. salt 
• 1 tsp. milk 
• 1 tsp. vanilla 

Directions 

1. Mix baking soda in milk and set aside. 
2. In a big bowl add pumpkin, sugar, oil and egg then mix. 
3. Add flour, baking powder cinnamon, salt and baking soda mixture. 
4. Stir in chocolate chips and vanilla
5. Spoon onto a cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. 
6. Let cool. I think they taste their best a couple hours later, right from the refrigerator. 

makes about a cookie sheet and a half

So bready and delicious.

SO GOOD!

A New Patio and Kaleb's First BBQ

What I thought was going to be a complete DIY/Paitio furniture overhaul turned into a lazy Saturday where we just bought a new patio set and a BBQ for good measure.

It was pretty awesome.

We had to christen our new patio.

Blake made us a yummy dinner on our new toy

Best chicken ever

My only contribution - the Ceaser Salad

Asparagus wrapped in Bacon. Thank you Disney Land's Bengal Barbecue!

From Blake's Soda Stream he got for Father's Day

It was so nice to be able to sit outside and enjoy the summer evening! I think my boys had a good time. :D

In case you were wondering how to make your mouth water (don't let its simplicity fool you)

Chicken Recipe:

• Cut up full chicken
• Add about 4 cups of vinegar to a bowl 
• Mix in 1/2 cup to 1 cup of salt until dissolved
• Place chicken in bowl and let soak for about a minute
• Remove and place on hot grill
• Cook about 30 min or until done
• Eat the best chicken ever 

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus Recipe:

• Soak your skewers in water so they won’t accidentally catch on fire when you grill them.
• While they are soaking, cut the asparagus in the chunks about the width of your bacon
• Wrap some bacon around each chunk, making sure some overlap. The overlap is where you’ll want to skewer through so the bacon doesn’t fall off easily.
• Put the skewers on your grill and flip occasionally to cook the bacon to crispy golden brown.
  • TIP: Use tongs to pick up the entire skewer so all chunks are turned at the same time, otherwise some chunks may not turn if you simply try to turn the skewer.

You're welcome.

Homemade Sweet Potato Baby Food created with our Baby Bullet

Tonight I decided to take our Baby Bullet on its maiden voyage!

I was debating between Broccoli and Sweet Potatoes, but opted for the yummier of the two for Kaleb's first "big boy" meal.

Meet our star players. 

To make this most delicious of super food for baby, here is what you'll need:

One sweet potato. Not a yam. 

One baby bullet. We registered for ours when I was pregnant. 

One cup of water.

and a few of these cute little guys. Baby food containers that come with the Baby Bullet.

and most importantly, you will need a hungry baby
 who can sit up with support and knows how to turn his head away when hes done eating. 
(we've been practicing with baby cereal.)

First step is to peal the sweet potato. 

Quick and easy.

I then chopped up the sweet potato in to smallish cubes. 

Let me tell you, that sucker was harder than I thought it would be... granted I used a bread knife...

not quite cubes... more like "bits". 

Then I boiled the bits. You can also steam them, this is supposed to keep the nutrients in, but I found a solution...

I used minimal water

Then used one cup of the boiled sweet potato water to reclaim some vitamins and reuse in the recipe.

 I added my cup of boiled water and my potato bits to the baby bullet.

To activate the bullet, you push down and turn.

after about 3 seconds it had already reached a mushy consistency. But there were still too many lumps for my little one, so I pulsed (pushed down, but didn't lock)  the blender four or five more times.

So after just a few spins, everything had a nice, smooth "baby food" texture. Much more organic and "polished" look when compaired to mass produced, jar baby food.

See? Perfection.

Then I filled up my little baby bullet containers. 

The little containers that come with the baby bullet are awesome because they are tiny little things that are perfect size for baby and they also have a little dial on the lid so you can remember what day of the month the food was made. 

*Baby food will last only 3 days in the refrigerator, but up to 30 days in the freezer*

See the little "1". This baby food was made on the first of this month!

They even have a handy little tray that holds all six of the containers.

I had some food left over, so I put it in the frozen food tray that also comes with the baby bullet.

But now, the ultimate test.

Would he eat it? 

He seems intrigued... 

...wait for it...

SUCESS!

Heres a quick little video of his first bites. He may look like hes not enjoying it sometimes, but he really it. :D

(Does the video look pinkish to anyone else? It looks pinkish to me.)

 I had lots of fun documenting and making my baby his first "big boy" meal.
He took to it much faster then he did baby cereal, which is a good thing, right?

Hes just growing up so fast. And as happy as it makes me to see him grow and learn and become an even bigger little guy, its so bitter sweet.

Ok, I have to go cuddle with my sleeping baby now.