WEEKEND WRAP UP | SNOW BLAST

With the amazing sunny and 45+ degree weather this weekend, we had some epic fun with the remaining snow that hasn't left us yet.

 

Saturday afternoon we loaded up the truck with snow gear and headed over to Lake Ann Camp.  Every year Harvest Bible has their Winter Snow Blast, but this was our first time visiting.  I basically left wondering why we've never gone before because it really was a blast.  It was also my first time visiting Lake Ann Camp which I have to say, they have a really great facility ...and a really amazing tubing hill. :)

 

Look, there is a whole brownie shoved in that mouth. And a rice crispy treat in hand. That was lunch.

 

We left Linden inside to get lots of lovin' from others while Joe and I took Conner over to the tubing hill.  I'm still in disbelief that we got Conner to go down the hill. I'm in bigger disbelief that he was actually loving it.

 

It took a good 15 minutes (and a wager between Joe and the pastor on whether we'd make it) to get up the hill, but we made it! There were mini tantrums along the way up but squeals of laughter the whole ride down. And those squeals made the slow, tantrum filled trip up the hill completely worth it.

 

 

And this hill was no joke.  I felt like we were going 43 mph and I didn't know whether to hang on to the tube or Conner for dear life.  And there were definitely points that we got airborne which is where Conner really broke out into bursts of laughter. Can we say, adrenaline junkie?

 

At this point I was holding on tight to Conner and hoping we both wouldn't go flying off!

 

 

Sunday slipped by too quickly for us.  We churched, napped, worked and played.  Today was one of those rare days that I got both the boys down for afternoon naps at the same time. So, I took advantage on working on my bathroom project which I'm getting really excited to share in the near future.  Seriously, our bathroom has gone through more remodels than any other room in our house.

 

Once Conner woke up from his afternoon snooze we dashed outside so that little boy could watch his daddy play on the tractor and clear the remaining stubborn snow from the driveway.

 

 

How do I not have any pictures of Linden-boy from this weekend?? I promise he's still around despite my lack of photographic proof!

 

This household had some fun this weekend with the last of the snow.  However, I'm ready to kiss winter goodbye and greet the summer weather. 

A BREATH OF WARM AIR

...and I'm back! It's been about a week since I've posted, but we have just been having a blast and keeping busy.

 

We spent a long weekend visiting family, friends and even snuck in a date night.  The main purpose of the trip was to celebrate my grandma's 90th birthday.  That's right, the big 9-0!  All but 8 of our 50+ clan went out for dinner to celebrate that special woman.  I can always tell when I'm too busy chatting, I never take picture.  Not one picture of that party.

 

But I did get plenty of pictures for the rest of the weekend.

 

We started the weekend off right by visiting some really good friends

Linden was introduced to his future wife and man is she so stinkin' cute.

These two, I just can't.

 

Got the whole crew.

 

poor Joe. He loves it.

 

Afterwards, we wandered our way back to my parents and enjoyed the weather.  We were lucky to leave the below freezing temps back in Michigan and enjoy the nearly 70* weather further south.  Basically, that means we spent as much time as possible outside, and we all loved it.

 

Me and my hairy beast. The beard is his winter attire.

And when you experience a 50* swing in temps, pants become optional.

And stretching in the grass becomes mandatory.

 

The party didn't stop after grandma's dinner.  We got to spend even more time with my family.  Talk about a busy and fun Saturday!

 

Do you see the way this little girl lights up towards her mama? Pure love!

 

Watching some late night Thomas with the cousins.

 

Ah, Sunday morning.  It started great, ended great, and everything in between was perfect.  We weren't spoiled with more warm weather, but we enjoyed time at the house.

 

I just can't get enough of these two.

 

Best brothers.

 

I don't know who fell asleep first.

We snuck out for some pizza and appetizers sans boys.  Joe's glass looks baby-sized next to mine.

 

Monday came too quickly, but we didn't let that stop us from having as much fun as possible on our last day in Illinois.

 

 

We had the chance to spend some good one-on-one time with our first little man. Quality time with this boy is the best.

I had to do a double take when I was walking past the oil aisle in Walmart.  Nice marketing.

We made our way home Monday night.  It's never easy leaving what feels like home, but it's always good to look forward to the next time we get to be with family.

 



WHAT'S COOKING | CHICKEN BREAKFAST SAUSAGE

Happy Wednesday everyone! Only two more days until the weekend, and that makes me smile.

 

A few weeks ago, I purchased a food grinder attachment for my KitchenAid, and boy has that thing gotten a workout ever since.  I use the grinder multiple times a week and I've only used the mixer portion once since I got this bad boy for Christmas. Slightly pathetic. Clearly I grind a lot more meat than I make baked goods.  I love it. A lot.

 

The main reason for purchasing the grinder was to make venison burger and summer sausage from the deer that Joe gets each year. And while the venison is still hanging out in the freezer waiting to be transformed, I have been busy making breakfast sausage with chicken.

 

If you're looking for a healthier and/or cheaper alternative to the premade store bought sausage, then here's a recipe to file away.  You really don't even need a food grinder to make your own.  You can simply buy ground pork, chicken or turkey from the store and use that as your base.

 

Another plus to this recipe is that you can cook the sausage after you mix it and freeze it for a later day.  Just take one from the freezer and pop it in the microwave. Totally acceptable for those who are rushing out the door in the morning.

 

Chicken Breakfast Sausage

2 lbs chicken breast, cubed (or 2 lbs ground chicken/turkey/pork)
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1 tsp sage
1 tsp marjoram

If you are grinding your own meat, cube it into pieces about 1.5"x1.5".  I find that my grinder works best if the meat is really cold but not frozen.  (As the grinder warms up it tends to melt the fat making it slightly slower)

Run the cubed chicken through your grinder on a low speed with a bowl placed below to catch the meat.  Take the bowl of freshly ground chicken and evenly sprinkle your salt, pepper, sage and marjoram.  (If you want a maple flavored sausage, pour in 3 Tbs of pure maple syrup.) Using your hands, mix the spices into the meat but be careful not to over-mix. 

You can place the chicken sausage in a ziplock and use over the course of the week or you can form into patties and cook them in a pan over medium-low heat cooking each side for about 3-4 minutes.

From start to finish in pictures:

I can tell you this sausage doesn't last long in our house. ...And I may or may not have had some from lunch today. :)

TODDLER LIFE | 28 MONTHS

TWENTY EIGHT MONTHS

 

I'd like to say that we are marking this day with giggles and grins, but we are not.  Conner is entering his next month with a fever and puking to go along with it.  That poor kid.  He is the sweetest thing when he does get sick.  He just wants to cuddle and sleep in your arms non-stop.

 

But despite the rough day he's having, I can't help but note that he is another month older.

 

 

Toddler Talks

The speech from this little boy really slowed down this month.  Like progressed backward almost.  In the past month, I was only able to get him to say one new word which was "bus". However, now that we're back in daycare, he's a talking machine!  There's still a lot that I can't understand, but he is definitely trying to form sentences.

I guess we just needed to get him back around other kids to give him something to talk about.

 

Toddler Play

We started daycare again this past week, so his excitement to play with other kids has grown leaps and bounds this past week.  I admit, it was difficult to get out of the house for play dates during maternity leave since we're in the cruddy winter months.  His social time was pretty limited to just the kids at church and occasionally a friend or cousins.

He still loves his trains like something fierce.  From the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to sleep, it's all about the "Choo-choos".  He has a little bucket that he puts all of his trains in and carries them around the house since there's too many to carry by hand.

We also got him his own little "laptop" by LeapFrog that he loves playing with.  Joe and I act like it's a treat so he gets excited.  We get excited because we really love how well the LeapFrog brand works on his letters and vocab.

 

Toddler Eats

I feel like we will forever have a boy that eats small amounts of food non-stop throughout the day.  Standard meals still aren't his thing.  We've been playing around with different smoothies this month, and let me tell you, that boy will eat a mixture of anything.  In an attempt to clean out the fridge, I blended up some celery, broccoli and spinach and that boy drank it down.

We are really looking forward to summertime and fresh garden produce.  Conner still loves fruits and veggies, and I can't wait to have them readily available.

 

 

Toddler Sleep

Ah, my little boy.  He's still the best sleeper in the house. There's not much to be said when you have a little boy the does so well with his bedtime routine every night.  Now if only I can get him to sleep in past 5:30am.

27 MONTH PHOTO DUMP