Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!

I think we make pizza at least once a week.  Sometimes Connor says, "Pizza AGAIN?!?"  But then he gladly eats it up for dinner, then again for lunch the next day.  Sometimes I do mix it up and make calzones.  But I am a pizza lover.  I could survive on pizza and Mexican food alone.  That would be a delicious life.

Here is what our pizzas sometimes look like.  I tend to out whatever we have in the fridge on them...

This time the toppings consisted of cheese, diced ham, pepperoni, fresh pineapple, and jalapenos.  We each get our own pizza, so I always make 4 different pizzas.  So, as you can see each pizza is different.  Connor's only has pepperoni.  Dylan's has pepperoni, ham, and pineapple.  Chris' has pepperoni and a few jalapenos.  Mine has ham, pineapple, and jalapenos.  Usually all are topped with black olives too, but I forgot to get them out this time.  And generally there are onions and bell peppers too, but we didn't have either.  Another favorite is basil and fresh mozarella.  Oh yum.  And sometimes we like to mix it up a bit and put some pesto on instead of the homeade pizza sauce.  There are endless variations for pizzas.

Here is my newest favorite pizza dough recipe.  I got it from Pioneer Woman.


4 simple ingredients is all it takes:

• 1 teaspoon Active Dry Or Instant Yeast
• 4 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• ⅓ cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil

I throw it all in with 1.5 cups of warm water into the bread machine, turn it on pizza dough and in less than an hour I have delicious pizza dough.  Could not be easier.  And mighty tasty.  I cook mine at 450 degrees for about 8 minutes.  And it comes our perfect. 

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Spring Cleaning - Day 6

Well, I have finally completed the hallway upstairs which was supposed to be day 5 of spring cleaning.  But as I am typing this, I should have included the stairs in this category.  Oh well, that will be done in the coming days..

Day 6 - Master bedroom.  I think this turned out to be the most involved so far.  I originally thought this would be pretty simple.  But then I started in and decided to pack away the electric blanket, so put new organic cotton sheets on our bed (of course, had to wash them first), then washed the mattress cover, all the pillow cases, comforter, and duvet cover.  So, 6+ loads of laundry later, the bedding is ALL washed.  However, as I went to put the comforter in the duvet cover, it was still a bit damp.  So, really, it is not completed yet.  But I did spend what seemed like 2 hours ironing all the pillow cases and duvet cover into the late hours of the night (last night). 

*I found this post just hanging out in blogger.  Obviously, I thought I ad posted it already. 
**I will give a quick update of the Spring cleaning and how it is going sometime later today. 

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Go Mariners!

Well, it was Friday afternoon and I heard something about the Rangers vs. Mariners game on the radio.  I jumped online and figured out they were playing in Dallas this weekend.  We don't get to go to many Mariner's games and Connor has this adorable jersey that he has not gotten the chance to wear yet.  So, what better reason, I called Chris at work and asked him what day he would prefer to go.  So, I bought tickets for today's (Sunday) game and off we went.  It was a blast.  Nice weather.  Not very many people.  A great view.  Lots of great pictures.  Got to see Ken Griffey, Jr. play.  Pretty awesome.  Oh, and the best part...GARLIC FRIES!  I was in heaven.  Seriously.  They were so full of garlic, I loved it!  They were so worth the outrageous price!

Here is Dylan enjoying the garlic fries...

I think this is what my face looked like while I was enjoying these garlic-y potatoes.  But Dylan makes the faces look cute.  With me, it was just plain weird!

The stadium was nothing spectacular, but we are a little bias to Safeco stadium in Seattle.  It is pretty cool.  And then, we are also used to watching the Cardinals play in St. Louis, which is also just awesome.  You really can't help but become a Cards fan when you live in St. Louis.  The energy at the games is amazing.  So, we went with high expectations.  It was nothing like being at Safeco or Busch, but it was still awesome.

  Seeing Griffey play was a highlight.

His first at bat was a single.  He ended up scoring on it.  We even got to see him steal second base & slide.  Pretty cool.  Then, the last at bat (that we saw) he hit a fly out to right field and was out.  So, as he was walking back to the dug-out, I got that last shot of him.

Here are my favorite moments of my sweet little boys at the game:

And now Dylan needs his own jersey and we will be all set!  What a fun day at the ball park this was.

Pretty cheap outing:
(3) Tickets = $25.00
Parking = $15.00
Ice Cream Cone = $1.00
Garlic Fries = $7.75
24 oz. beer = $8.75
Lemonade = $5.75
Taking the boys to their first Mariners game = PRICELESS

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Chocolate Bunny!

Pure joy.  One happy Connor.  He just thought I was the BEST MAMA EVER since I let him eat it.  But little did he understand that Papa is the one who sent the giant chocolate bunny.  I would never buy him a chocolate bunny.  I went ahead and let him think I was the coolest Mama around!

Sometimes you just gotta let them experience pure joy when they least expect it.  Plus, I wanted a few bites of those chocolatey ears!

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Fun Weekend!

We had a wonderful weekend.  Chris worked on Saturday, so the boys & I decided to go check out a Farmer's Market.  We got some more herb plants, some yummy veggies, and had a great dessert for breakfast.  It was a great start to the weekend.

Then, Sunday we took a walk to Starbucks and enjoyed our coffee and the nice weather.  Then that afternoon headed to the Rangers vs. Mariner's baseball game.  It was both Connor & Dylan's first M's game.  So fun.

Again, I just uploaded 480 pictures from this weekend, so it may take awhile to get through them.  I am officially addicted to taking pictures.  And Chris has had a lot of homework to do so he has taken over the computer.  Will post pictures and fun stories when I can.

This week will be filled with gardening, spring cleaning, going through lots & lots of pictures, and starting my new running work-outs.  Oh, and still battling sinus/allergy issues.  Wish me luck!

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Spring Cleaning Days 3, 4, 5

Day 3-Dylan's room.  I washed bedding, washed windows, dusted blinds, cleared off changing table, wiped down baseboards, picked up toys, and vacuumed.  Again, this was a pretty easy room since I had just gone through all the boys clothes. 

Day 4-Dining room.  This room needs some love.  We have yet to use it once since we moved in.  Mainly because it has carpet.  Seriously?  Carpet?  That is almost as bad as having carpet in the bathrooms.  Almost.  So, this room sits empty except for the dining room table and chairs.  There are at least a few things on the walls.  I washed the windows inside & outside, dusted blinds, wiped down table, baseboards, dusted light fixture, checked light bulbs in light fixture, vacuumed, and even dusted the return air vent (yuck).  But now it is nice and clean to sit empty.  Maybe we should put this as a high priority to tile :)

Day 5- Upstairs hallway and hall closet.  This space is always a disaster area from toys to crafts to dirty clothes and towels to games.  You name it, it has taken up residence at one time or another in this hallway.  Unfortunately, I haven't gotten to this one yet. Here are my excuses reasons: Dylan sleeps too much when I  need to clean in or around his room (it is a good problem to have, not get me wrong), I have had sinus issues again (with headaches), we bottled beer this week, and I chose to mow the lawn today instead of clean. 

When I get to it here is what I will do:  wipe down baseboards, find a home for everything that has cluttered the hallway, go through all games in the hall closet, check batteries in smoke detector, and vacuum.  Shouldn't take too long.

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Getting Big!

Dylan had his 1-year well visit and the doctor said he looks great!  He is 30 3/4 inches tall (the 75th percentile) and weights 20.9 pounds (only the 20th percentile).  He has grown an inch and a half and gained a pound and a half in the last 3 months.  The doctor said there is nothing wrong with being tall & skinny.  I sure hope not!  And with Dylan being such an active little boy, we wouldn't expect anything else. 

Dylan still loves all foods.  He still has yet to turn away any food.  But his new thing is to eat with a fork or spoon.  He is so silly.

If I am not quick enough to get him a fork, he just digs in and 'drinks' his pasta.

He would never turn down a blueberry!

Just look at that face!!!

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Happy Easter!

The Easter bunny made it to our house, yet again.  Three years and three different houses, I was sure he might get lost this year!  We had a wonderful day.  The boys were both up and ready to hunt eggs and see what the bunny brought them.

The Easter Baskets...

The balls were a big hit for part of their Easter baskets.  (Take note Easter bunny)

The Egg Hunt...

Time for relaxing...

 Connor watching Princess & the Frog with his bunny and ball.

And later Connor finishing the movie with no clothes and one more ball.

Dylan likes to just sit on the stairs.  And try and put on his shoes.  I think he wanted to go back to the park.

Now this is relaxing.  Too funny.

Apparently, the boys have decided that they don't wear pants on Easter.  At least Dylan's diaper matched his shirt!  And the boys are cute, so they can pull it off.  We had a wonderful Easter.  It was nice and relaxing.  We took a walk to Starbucks (it was the best thing I have had in 46 days), stopped by the park on our way home, and did a lot of playing.  It was a great day!  Happy Easter!

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oh SUGAR

I am seriously counting the hours & minutes I  have left to eat indulge in sugar.  Yes, I know it somewhat defeats the purpose, but 46 whole days without sugar is a very long time.  Especially for me.  But realistically, I will try my hardest not to eat too much --- I know it may make me sick.  Sad, I know. 

First up is a little fudge.  I may or may not have a whole pound of pecan turtle fudge.  I may or may not stay up until 12:01am just to have a slice.  Or two. 

Then a venti caramel machiatto with extra caramel.  And I can have caffeine now too (and it has been about 21 months since I had caffeine).  Hello Starbucks!  I believe they open at 5:30am, I might just be there at 5:29am.  LOL.  I will be all hopped up on caffeine and sugar, that can never be good.  Or maybe it can.

And I plan to make a quiche for breakfast, which I have every intention to put ketchup on.  Go ahead and judge.  It tastes good.  And instead of a ham or prime rib (our normal holiday feast menus), we will be making a beef brisket (with some bbq sauce).  Oh my.  And some grilled asparagus, again, dipped in ketchup.  I am a bit of a ketchup fan.  I have missed my ketchup.  We have a special relationship.

I may eat a tiny bit of Easter candy/chocolates, but I am most excited about the Starbucks, bbq sauce, and ketchup.  And fudge.
 
In all seriousness, this has been an amazing experience.  I proved to myself that I could do ANYTHING if I put my mind to it.  It also made me realize that sugar is everywhere in everything.  This is what we are feeding our kids, whether we know it or not.  I was not able to eat out at restaurants, as 99% of them have some form of sugar.  Same goes with processed foods. 

It was good timing that Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution show on ABC started in the last 2 weeks.  It is an eye-opener for all Americans, especially those who have kids in school.  Knowing the crap that goes into our food is the first step in making a change.  When I cook, I know what I am putting in my food, that makes me feel good about mealtimes at our house.  I will continue to use the 80/20 rule.  80% of the time we eat healthy foods, 20% of the time we have sweets or eat out, including holidays. 

I will give myself one week to eat what I want, get my cravings out of the way, then start to limit (not take out entirely) sugar from all of our diets.  Even though the boys (Chris included) ate a lot less sugar, they still had some sweets on occasion.  So, that is the plan.  It was quite the journey and I would do it all over again if I had to.

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Spring Cleaning-Day 2

On the agenda for today's Spring Cleaning was Connor's room.  It was pretty simple since I had just gone through all the drawers and closets and exchanged summer clothes and put those small clothes away in bins.  I vacuumed the carpet, washed the windows, washed the bedding, dusted blinds & bookcases, wiped down all baseboards, organized books, and took out anything that didn't belong in there.  Pretty simple.  Connor was helpful ( a little bit anyways) in picking up all his puzzles and  books and putting them all away. 

*I will only be doing this during the weekdays-the weekends we tend to have to much going on.

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Spring Cleaning-Day 1

For some reason, I thought today would be a great day to start Spring Cleaning!  I have something with the first of the month (first of the year, etc).  It is like a new start.  If only I could make it last all month (or all year).  So, while we were playing in the play room, I decided my goal would be one room a day!  Sounds doable, right?  Let's hope so.  So, first up is the playroom.  I could clean the play room 5 times a day and it would still be a mess.  But that is besides the point.  I vacuumed, washed the windows (on the inside and outside (yikes!), wiped down the baseboards, window bench, and dusted the fan.  I am embarrassed to say that (I think) that is the first time I have dusted that fan.  It was pretty dusty.  But in my defense, the fan doesn't work.  In which case, I found one online to order, I think.

Connor was a big helper....

My official sprayer.

Dylan got himself into trouble while we were cleaning the windows...

He got his arm stuck in the ball popper (on more than one occasion).

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