First Day of School

Wednesday was Ethan's first day of 4 year old preschool. He has the same teachers as last year (we LOVE Ms. Jen & Ms. Krista!) and some of the same classmates, too (along with a new classmate and cousin, Alex!) We are SO excited for the year ahead!

Ethan & Alex -- Ethan loves preschool. He does not love smiling for photos.

The kids wanted pictures of their backpacks :)

Audrey

 Audrey was SO ready for her first day of school. She got out her backpack, posed for pictures...she was ready!  I told tell her that it was Ethan's first day of school and that she would get to go to her class on Friday at MOPS, but she was convinced that she was going to preschool. When we dropped Ethan off and Audrey realized that she didn't get to stay, she was not pleased at all.  Mommy made it up to her with some Chick-Fil-A and she was a happy girl again :)

"Snack Helper"

One of the first things Ethan always tells me when I pick him up from school is what "job" he had that day.  Last year he LOVED being "calendar helper" and would choose that as his job whenever he could.  This year, on his first day, Ethan was "snack helper."

And because I LOVE good food and sharing recipes:

Tonight for dinner, we had Paleo fish sticks (my cookbook calls them "fish stick-o-licious") and let me tell you, they were yummy!

Paleo Fish Sticks

18 oz cod or catfish (I used Wild Caught Cod)
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup almonds, finely chopped
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
2 large eggs
1 tbsp olive oil

1. Rinse fish and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut into 3- to 4-inch lengths. Try to make them all the same thickness.
2. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
3. In a medium bowl, combine coconut flour, garlic powder, and black pepper. Place the finely chopped nuts on a small plate and whisk the eggs in a medium bowl until they begin to froth.
4. Coat the fish in the flour mixture and pat to get rid of excess. Dip the floured fish into the egg and then into the chopped nuts. Press the fish into the nuts so they stick well on both sides.
5. Place strips on well-oiled baking sheet (I used coconut oil). Use the olive oil to drizzle on each and bake for about 20 minutes. They'll be golden brown and ready to go.

I served my fish sticks with veggies and they were delicious!  And because the baking sheet I chose was too small to hold all of the fish, I cooked the last 6 fish sticks in coconut oil on the stove.  Both were yummy, although next time I will just choose a bigger baking sheet ;)

Enjoy!

My Kids Call Him "Baby Brandon"

My sister (in-law), Allison, is a child-birthing ROCK STAR!  Chris and Allison welcomed baby Brandon into the world a little after 10 pm tonight!  6.5/7 hours of labor and 25 minutes of pushing--yes, Aunt Allison is AWESOME!  We are so thankful for a smooth delivery and a healthy baby. 

Baby Brandon!!!

Chris, Allison and Baby Brandon--doesn't my sister-in-law look amazing?! She gave me permission to post this photo on the blog (and why not?  She seriously does not look like she just gave birth!) Love you guys!!!

Can't wait to introduce baby Brandon to Ethan and Audrey.  They will be in LOVE - I know I am :)

Labor Day Weekend: Part 3

Now here's a day that started out pretty ordinary and then proved to us that even though we have kids, we can still be spontaneous!

Here's how it happened:

I love Craig's List.  I love reusing/recycling.  I love that one man's trash really can be another man's treasure, so this morning, we drove to Baltimore to pick up an accent table for our living room.  Truth be told, my living room is my least favorite room in my home.  Since we've had kids, it doesn't know if it wants to be a living room, an office or a play room...it's a combination of all three, which drives me crazy, but I digress...

As we drove into the city, past the Raven's stadium, we noticed some unusual traffic and road closures...and then we remembered...the Baltimore Grand Prix!  Thankfully, the traffic wasn't terrible and we could see a little of the race from the road, which was awesome!  I was hooked.  After we picked up our new (to us) accent table, we headed toward the Inner Harbor for the Grand Prix.

It was around 1:30 PM by the time we parked, so there was only one race left, but it was the BIG one (we were told--I actually know nothing about IndyCar, except that Arie from Emily's season of the Bachelorette is an IndyCar driver--and yes, he was there, but no, we didn't see him).  Since it was so late in the day, we hadn't had lunch yet, and the tickets were expensive, we decided to have lunch at Brio and then watch the race from outside of the fence.  It worked out great.  There was a spot by the sharpest curve of the track where we could see through the fence (they're pretty good about making the track so that you have to pay if you want to see much of anything). We heard a crash while we were inside the restaurant and it was LOUD, but thankfully no one was hurt.

Miss Audrey at Brio in Baltimore (she would have eaten the butter by itself if I had let her...instead she licked it off of her bread...yum?)

Brian & an Ethan who wouldn't stay still for a photo.

Audrey and I (this did not last for very long!)

Brian and the kids (I'm not sure why Brian and Ethan look mad, they were having a good time...I promise!)

Ethan--and here you can see the view we had.  We could see the cars as they went around the curve.

Mommy and Audrey (doing her "silly face")

I love that they won't smile on command, but ask for their silly faces and you'll get them!

This car was right behind where we were standing.  I don't know what kind of car it is. (If you do, I would love for you to leave a comment!)

Surprisingly, Ethan did not take an interested in the car, but Audrey wanted to see, so we went to check it out.  This particular car does not race anymore, they only use it for show.

Audrey didn't want to pose for a photo by herself, but thanks to the reverse camera on my phone, here we are!

  We had such a fun day!  I wouldn't have even thought about going if we hadn't been in the area, but as it turns out, I LOVE fast cars! So glad we went!  Grand Prix 2013--we just may have to buy tickets ;)

 Since we were a little far away, it was hard to get a good video, but while Audrey and I were still in the restaurant, my trusting husband took Ethan outside and gave my new droid to a stranger who had tickets to the track side suites (which were right next to where we were standing) and he took this video for us (that after 30 minutes will not upload--but I'll have my technical assistant husband work on it, because it's a really cool video). Thanks random stranger!--For the video and for bringing back my phone!

 The kids and I napped in the car on the way home--thanks for driving, honey (and for carrying my solid wood accent table down three flights of stairs!)

We also made 2 other amazing Craig's List purchases tonight--dinning room chairs (finally, after 6 years, I have chairs to go with my dining room table!) and another accent table to replace the Ikea table in our family room (I like to call the new table our "grown-up" furniture).  Ikea served it's purpose, but it's time to move on :)

And how did we get all of these awesome finds home?  Our new (to us) mini van, of course!  I will post pictures tomorrow :)

Labor Day Weekend: Part 2

Saturday was a pretty laid back day.  Since the kids went to bed late on Friday night, we all slept in (I cannot tell you how much I LOVE that my kids will sleep in!)

On Saturday afternoon, we ran some errands in Annapolis.  We went to Michael's for picture frames for Ethan's "big boy" room (more on that to come), to Pottery Barn to see if they had anything good on sale (which they did, yay!) and to Janie & Jack to look for jeans on sale for Audrey (which they did not have, but we picked up some great sale items for Audrey to wear next summer!)

And here is a tired Audrey, trying to nap on the sofa at Pottery Barn.  She looked so cute and comfortable...I would have bought it for her if it didn't cost $2,000.

My sweet girl!

Love her!

 We finished the day with an early dinner at Noodle's & Company (one of Ethan's favorite restaurants).  They love the Macaroni & Cheese.  I'm a Penne Rosa with Shrimp girl--go there, try it, you will love it! :) 

Labor Day Weekend: Part 1

Friday evening, we went out with our friends Josh and Julie (and their sweet, almost 3-year-olds twins, Kennedy & Kylie) on their boat.  We had such a great time hanging out.  The weather was beautiful and the kids did great. We love spending time with the Masts!

Josh, Julie, Kennedy, Kylie, and Ethan

Kylie & Kennedy

Ethan Michael (love this kid!)

The kids and I. Brian was there, too...he's the one holding the camera :)

Thank you, Masts, for an awesome start to our Labor Day weekend!

..and as a side note, Julie is one of the coordinators for MOPS this year and I am SO excited.  She is amazing! Less than 1 week until our first meeting, can't wait!

Getting Ready for Pre-school

 In preparation for Ethan's first day of 4 year-old preschool, we went for haircuts on Tuesday.  The kids LOVE Pigtails & Crewcuts!  Between the train table, play room, animal crackers and lollipops, not to mention getting their hair cut in an airplane/fire truck/taxi and picking a prize from the treasure box, they are pretty much in heaven.
 

Ethan Michael

Audrey Catherine (We actually have this exact kitchen set at home, minus the cute little oven mit...we may have to get her one...so cute!)

Audrey did not actually get her hair cut, but she was still allowed to sit in the fire truck--that made her one happy little girl!

Wednesday was Ethan's preschool "open house."  We went for about an hour to play and to say hello to his teachers, Ms. Jen & Ms. Krista.  They taught his class last year as well, so he was very excited to go back.

Ethan

Miss Audrey was also excited to be there.  Last year, when she was only a year old, she already wanted to stay when we dropped Ethan off at school.  Since it was "open house" she was able to play too!

Audrey bathing her baby in the sink--she is my natural born nurturer.  I love it!  I'm not sure that she can see the baby, since she doesn't like for me to put her hair up, but she loved every minute and didn't want to leave.

 Preschool starts on the 5th and I am excited for Ethan because I know he will love it!  My little boy is growing up so fast!