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!

I drive a mom car

...and I love it!

Hello, Toyota

Goodbye, Mazda.

I don't miss my old car.  I loved that car and we had 7 good years together, but it wasn't a good fit for our family anymore, so hello mini-van, welcome to the family!  I'm sure I will miss my Mazda 6 when winter comes and I no longer have heated seats, but I think I will survive ;)

And here is a recipe for your Friday afternoon--easy, tasty, and great for entertaining (which we did last night, when I made this):

Slow Cooker Kalua Pig

• 5 pound Boston Butt roast, preferably local
• 3 slices of bacon
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Alaea Red Tawaiian Coarse Sea Salt
• 5 peeled garlic cloves

 1. Line the bottom of your slow cooker with 3 slices of bacon.
2. Cut into the meat with a knife and tuck in the garlic cloves.
3. Rub the outside of the meat with the sea salt.
4. Place the roast on top of the bacon.
5. Cook on low for 16 hours.
6. Shred meat and enjoy!

Truth be told, I used a 3 pound chuck roast because that's what I had...and cooked it on low for 8 hours.  Super yummy!

And what did I do with the rest of my bacon?

Roasted Broccoli and Bacon

• 2 bunches, organic broccoli
• 5 peeled garlic cloves
• 4 slices of bacon cut into bite-size pieces
• a few good glugs of avocado oil
• salt & pepper

 1. Wash broccoli and cut into florets (hubby likes the stems, so I leave as much of the stems on as possible).
2. Toss broccoli, garlic and bacon into a gallon zip-lock bag until ready to roast.
3. When you are ready to roast, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
4. Add avocado oil and generous amounts of salt and pepper to the zip-lock bag and shake.
5.  Pour onto a foil-lined baking sheet in a single layer.
6. Roast in oven for 30-35 minutes, flipping the broccoli every 10 minutes or so.

Enjoy!

Both of these recipes are "Paleo."  I had not heard of Paleo until recently, but I'm finding that the recipes are both yummy and easy to make :)

Summer Vacation 2.5: MOPS Convention Dallas!

Last week I had the opportunity to spend four days in Dallas, TX at MOPS International Convention with 7 amazing women from Annapolis EP MOPS!

The weekend was filled with speakers, musical performances by Christy Nockles, Matthew West and Plumb, and good conversation with amazing women who love MOPS and the women we reach through this awesome ministry.  I left the conference refreshed and excited for the year ahead (first meeting is Sept 7th!)

  

Gaylord Texan Hotel

Our group (these women are seriously awesome!): Brenda, Lisa, Jenny, Colleen, Me, Julie, Francine, & Mary, wearing our pink "Annapolis, Maryland" t-shirts (thanks, Jenny, for the t-shirts and the awesome story behind them!)

Mens restrooms at the convention center, converted to accommodate all of the MOPS moms!

Matthew West performed on Friday night--truth be told, I didn't know who he was until he started singing.  As it turns out, I know most of his songs from the radio.  Great performance--and SO funny.  I am a fan :)

Julie and I at Mom Prom on Saturday night.

Another highlight of the weekend was spending Saturday morning on the Lazy River at the hotel water park, floating and taking with Julie & Jenny.  I don't have any pictures because I left my phone in the room, but the weather was gorgeous, we went early and had the whole river to ourselves for a while.  Perfection.

And where were the kids?  At home with super-daddy!

While Mommy was away, Daddy bought the kids new PJs.  Love these two!

Audrey Catherine

I say he is Super-Daddy because not only did he do a great job caring for the kids while I was gone, he also loaded up the car and drove them for 5 hours to Raleigh/Durham Airport to pick me up on Sunday night so we could head to Emerald Isle, NC for vacation--and on top of that, when we got home from vacation, the house was surprisingly clean :)  Thanks, hubby! 

Summer Vacation #2: Ocean City, New Jersey

We spent last week in Ocean City, New Jersey with my family (minus Uncle Chris and Aunt Allison, who are expecting their first baby at the end of August!)  This was our third year taking the kids to the beach--they LOVE the ocean!

Miss Audrey having a snack in Grandmom's beach chair.

Mommy, Audrey & Ethan

Daddy & Audrey

Audrey at Revel in Atlantic City (love the girl and the chair!)

 We had a blast at the beach--ate WAY too much salt water taffy, ice cream and Johnson's Popcorn...and loved every minute!  Thanks, Grandmom and Pop, for an awesome vacation!

My mom and I each brought a meal to eat while we were there (we ate out the other nights).  I made taco salad---here is the recipe:

TACO SALAD:


Lettuce, any variety, washed & chopped
2 Tbsp Olive Oil or Butter
1 small Onion, diced
1 lb Ground Beef, preferably locally raised, grass-fed beef
2 Tbsp HOMEMADE Taco Seasoning (once you make your own, you will never go back)
1 can Black Beans, rinsed & drained
Corn Tortilla Chips
Grated Cheese (I use raw cheddar)
Diced Tomatoes
Corn (fresh, if it's in season, or frozen, thawed)
Avocado
Sour Cream
Lime
Cilantro 

1. Melt the butter/oil in a medium-sized sauté pan over medium heat on the stove. Add the onions and cook for several minutes until they start to soften.
2. Add the beef to the pan. Break it up with a spatula while the beef browns. Season the meat mixture with homemade taco seasoning.
3. While the beef is cooking, spread the lettuce out over a large serving platter then top it with tomatoes, corn, avocado, cheese, black beans, and sour cream.
4. Top with cooked beef and crushed tortilla chips.
5. Sprinkle entire dish with fresh cilantro leaves and some fresh-squeezed lime juice. Serve immediately and enjoy!

BTW, summer vacation #1 was our trip to San Diego in June (pre-blog) to see Aunt Carol & Uncle Mark (and Brian worked a few days while we were there).  It was our second visit to SD (Audrey's first) and I hope we go again sometime--we so enjoyed our time with Uncle Mark and Aunt Carol, especially our trip to the San Diego Zoo!  (Although giving dog treats and ice cubes to Luke was pretty high on the kids' list of awesome things we did there).