Crisp and Tasty Snack Mix

Though it may look like it, this is no average snack mix.  Thanks to my friend, Kerri, she led me to this recipe in a Cooking Light magazine years ago.  It is incredibly tasty and so easy to make!  First you combine Crispix corn cereal, pretzel twists, Wheat Thins, and cheddar crackers of your choice (I used Cheese-Its). 

Then you mix together a little melted butter, ginger stir-fry sauce, chili powder, ground cumin and salt.  Sprinkle this over all.

Pour coated mixture onto a cookie sheet sprayed with Pam and bake at 250 degrees for 30 minutes or until crispy. 

To serve, I put a small piece of wax paper into a small bowl.  (Now, the wax paper really isn't necessary - but I like the way it makes it look - it makes feel like special, homemade snack mix).

I went to a Halloween Party last night and instead of taking a bottle of wine, I gave the hostess a hearty portion of snack mix in a cute little "sack."  I had some extra skirt fabric that I had ordered and didn't like it enough to make a skirt out of it, so I used a square of that to make the "sack."  I laid it flat and put 2 sheets of wax paper on the inside.

I then added a pile of the snack mix. 

I wrapped it up with a piece of shiny brown ribbon.

I felt like it needed a hint of green, so I walked into our backyard and clipped a few sprigs from my cypress plant and it gave the little "sack" some life!

I loved this hostess gift because it was "homemade" (now, I know I used a box of this and a bag of that, but the fact that I mixed the sauce and baked it makes me feel 100% right in calling it "homemade") - and the wrapping just gave it that extra umph it needed. 

I was thinking that this would make a great holiday gift for a neighbor or a teacher - even a friend.  We all get overloaded (gladly so, by the way) with sweet goodies during the holiday season - cookies, cakes, pies, candies, etc.  Wouldn't it be nice to give a serving of something that isn't oozing in sugar?  Wrapped in cute holiday fabric with a pretty bow and some holly, it would be adorable!  You can get well priced fabric at Hancock Fabrics. 

So, here's the recipe:

Crisp and Tasy Snack Mix

2 cups Crispix corn and rice cereal
1 cup tiny pretzel twists
1/2 cup reduced fat wheat crackers (I use Wheat Thins)
1/2 cup reduced fat cheddar crackers (I use Cheese-Its)
1 1/2 TBS butter, melted
1 TBS ginger stir-fry sauce
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt
Cooking spray

1.  Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
2.  Combine the first 4 ingredients in a bowl.  Combine butter, stir-fry sauce, powder, cumin, and salt; drizzle over cereal mixture, tossing to coat.  Spread mixture into jelly roll pan coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 250 for 30 minutes or until crisp, stirring twice.

***I typically double the cereal mixture and quadruple the stir-fry sauce mixture - I like LOTS of flavor.  I double it because everyone in my family loves this and doubling makes it last a bit longer.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Pancakes

My household loves pancakes - who doesn't?  We like them plain - we like them all dolled up with fruit or chocolate chips - with or without whipped cream (on special occasions).  We eat them so much that I decided to try a whole wheat version.  I picked up Aunt Jemima's Whole Wheat Blend Pancake & Waffle Mix at Publix.  My kids couldn't tell the difference, but I could!  The whole wheat mix produces a pancake that is rich in taste and delicious!!  I've discovered that I really like earthy flavors (think roasted almonds) and these are very rich, almost nutty in flavor.

I whipped them up with cut up bananas and blueberries.

I added about a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a few hearty shakes of cinnamon to add a little flare to the recipe.

There is no trans fat in the mix and one serving contains 15 grams of whole grain!  Served with turkey bacon, it's a great breakfast for growing boys (and girls).  I typically double the recipe and put the leftovers in the freezer.  Then on a busy school morning, all I have to do is heat one in the microwave for an instant (but healthy) breakfast!  

To Cleanse or Not to Cleanse ?

I started a 2 Day DETOX on Tuesday afternoon.  I had already begun mentally drafting this blog before I even started the detox - about how great it was, how "cleansed" I felt....  Well, I'm here to tell you that the draft has changed a bit since then :).  Matt and I bought all of the juice and water needed for the detox from Arden's Garden.  Two days - $40.00/person.  Drink one gallon of distilled water and one gallon of fresh juice (grapefruit, orange and lemon juice) a day for two days.  2 gallons of liquid a day - no problem, I thought.  I didn't start this with the intention of losing weight.  I  did it because I was curious about how one feels when one is truly....cleansed.

So, I had my last meal at lunch on Tuesday - a nice, big salad with mixed greens, mushrooms, red onions, grape tomatoes, black beans, etc.  Mmm.... solid food.

This is what I started with:

It was suggested that we drink some pear juice to "get things moving" the night before we started the cleanse.  I enjoyed the pear juice on the way home from work, expecting  to be running in the door to the bathroom.  Well, I waited and waited and waited.  I was braced and ready for a big experience in the bathroom (it even says, "BEWARE, IT'S PEAR" on the label!!).

Nothing.

I won't bore you with all of the details, but by 9:30 a.m. the next morning, I had already peed 7 times since waking just 4 hours earlier.  By noon, the count rose to 13 times.  After "lunch" (a cup of distilled water), I sat down at my computer to do some work.  I heard a little something outside my window.  Oh, a cute little blue bird.  Look at him pecking at the windowsill.  Cute bird....YUMMY bird.  I wonder what the bird tastes like.  Chicken, maybe?  I don't even care.  I just want to eat that little blue bird!!!  Let's just say that after I imagined myself deep frying that cute little bird, I knew I probably wouldn't make it the full 48 hours.

And, I was right.

After I did two carpools in the afternoon, I came in the door and (after I used the restroom for the 16th time) helped myself to my mother-in-law's freshly made crab cakes.  And then I had a few slices of turkey pepperoni.  I followed that with a square of dark chocolate.  Then I had a few bites of lentil soup.  Oh, and I made Matthew a melted turkey and cheese sandwich before his football game, and I had a few bites of that, too!  I had never been so happy to be eating food - good, tasty, solid food!

My 48 hour cleanse ended after about 23 hours.  I gave it my best shot and found that peeing over and over really didn't give me much satisfaction.   I think I would have gotten more out of it if I had just come back from a girls' weekend full of wine and appetizers - or if I had a fancy event to attend and I had a tiny dress to fit into.  Until then, I'll continue to enjoy eating a lot of vegetables and fruits - feeling "cleansed" in my own way.

Earrings for $25.00

I've got some FABULOUS earrings for sale for $25.00!!  They are sterling silver with cultured freshwater pearls.  Every time I wear mine, I get compliments all day long.  They are comfortable to wear and look like they are MUCH more expensive than they are.  Buy a pair for yourself or order a pair for your mom, sister, or friend for the holidays!  Email me if you'd like to see them in person.  If you purchase 3 or more pairs, you only pay $22.00/pair. 

No Ordinary Baked Chicken

I wanted to have a nice meal ready for Mimi and Papa, who arrived home on Sunday afternoon after a weekend vacation in the mountains.  I was in the mood for baked chicken - but not bland, boring baked chicken.  I wanted to prepare chicken that would be tender and really flavorful.  I went to the store and picked up just a few of my favorite ingredients and came home to prepare what ended up being the best baked chicken I think I've ever had!  Get out your pen and paper or get ready to push PRINT because this is one you'll want to have on hand (recipe below)!

I bought 6 big organic bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts.

I also picked up some fresh rosemary and lemons.

After chopping the fresh rosemary and slicing the lemons, I added some fresh garlic to the rosemary and then stuffed each chicken breast.  I used my fingers to pull up one side of the skin and then stuffed it with the rosemary, garlic and lemons.

After each chicken breast was stuffed, I put them in a lightly greased baking dish (I actually used 2 because the pieces were so big).  I then squeezed fresh lemon juice and poured a little white wine on top of the chicken breasts. 

To top it all off, I added a fresh rosemary sprig on top of each breast and sprinkled everything generously with olive oil, salt and pepper.  All of the above took about 20 minutes, and I covered it with aluminum foil and put it into the refrigerator for about 4-5 hours.  When it came time to bake, I took the dishes out of the refrigerator and let them sit at room temperature while the oven heated to 350 degrees.  I baked it uncovered at 350 for 40 minutes and then turned it down to 300 degrees and baked an additional 15 minutes.  It looked GORGEOUS when it came out of the oven and our house smelled of citrus and rosemary.  Here is what it looked like:

The outside was crispy and golden, and the inside was tender and so deliciously flavorful.  I especially liked dipping my chicken into the juices on the bottom of the pyrex.  The rosemary on top of the chicken was toasted and added a nice crunch.  It was wonderful!!!

The best news is that my TOUGHEST critic LOVED it!

This is a dish that I will bake again and again - both for an ordinary night at home and for a company dinner.  It was super easy to prepare and I could do all of the preparing earlier in the day - just what you need when you're having people over for dinner.  Like I said, I used 6 big chicken breasts and had a lot of leftovers but I plan to use the leftovers on a salad and perhaps make chicken enchiladas later this week!

NO ORDINARY BAKED CHICKEN

6 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts

9-10 sprigs of fresh rosmary

2 lemons

1-3 cloves garlic

1 cup white wine

olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

Chop 2-3 sprigs of rosemary and thinly slice the lemons.  Add chopped garlic to rosemary.  Stuff each chicken breast with 2 lemon slices and the rosemary and garlic mixture.  Place each stuffed chicken breast into a lightly greased pyrex .  Squeeze fresh lemon on top and pour white wine over all.  Sprinkle generously with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Place a sprig of fresh rosemary on top of each chicken breast. 

Let sit for several hours in the refrigerator.  When you turn on your oven to preheat it to 350, take chicken out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature until the oven is ready.  Place it in the oven for 40 minutes (uncovered) at 350 and then turn down to 300 for an additional 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Turnip Greens...for breakfast?

Good Morning on this lovely Saturday!  We continue to be blessed with such beautiful days!

We woke up today with just the five of us here as my in-laws are in the mountains for the weekend.  As much as we love being with them on a daily basis (we all get along beautifully), it is nice every once in a while to have just the five of us here at home alone - something I don't think I used to appreciate as much as I do now.  Between sports, school, other activities and living with my in-laws, these moments are few and far between.

I woke up at 6:30 and met my friend, Debbie, for a 7:00 run and it was just perfect.  Perfect not only because this is ideal running weather, in m opinion, but also because being with her for an hour provides me with such emotional balance.  Most of the time when we run, it is dark outside and so we talk and share without even looking at each other - we're like two souls sharing everything with each other.  We have been meeting at 5:15 or 5:30 a.m. for several years - and God bless her, the entire 9 months I was pregnant, she walked with me - and the year following of nursing and waking up 3 times a night, she put up with me canceling on her last minute so that I could get another hour of shut eye.... She is such a constant for me and I think the world of her.  So, Debbie, if you're reading this - thank you for your amazing friendship!!

I got home from our run and Matt and the kids were awake.  I made myself a cup of coffee with (drum roll, please).... PUMPKIN SPICE CREAMER!!! (iPhone picture)

I found it on Friday at the grocery.  I must not have been the only one anticipating its arrival because there were only 2 left on the shelf, so don't you know, I grabbed both!  Mmmm.... it's pumpkin deliciousness!!

The kids wanted Chick Fil A for breakfast, so Matthew and I enjoyed listening to music in the car and chatting in the drive-through line while we picked up chicken biscuits, chicken minis and a chicken breakfast wrap - oh, and hash browns, too.  Here is Brooke enjoying her first hash brown in Daddy's lap.

And the boys wanted to use Mimi and Papa's TV trays to watch a show during breakfast (I broke all the good mommy rules this morning with an unhealthy breakfast AND breakfast in front of the TV...but they loved it!).

I wasn't in the mood for Chick Fil A this morning so I came home and made something different - turnip greens with a scrambled egg.  It was DELICIOUS!!  Before you go, "ew," let me describe it to you...

Yesterday I bought a bag of pre-cut turnip greens.  I am a southern girl and boy, do I LOVE my southern greens.  I love collards and turnips and mustard greens cooked all different ways.  I especially love them when they have been cooking all day with some fat and are soft and rich in flavor.  I don't cook that way at home, so yesterday I cooked the turnip greens in 2 cups of chicken broth and added 4 strips of turkey bacon.  I let this cook for several hours on low heat and added some champagne vinegar at the end - and a little salt, and they were DELICIOUS!!!  I'm hoping that one day, my kids will enjoy eating them as much as Matt and I do.  Water soluble vitamins in these greens stay in the water, so I usually pour myself a cup of the turnip greens broth - may sound gross to you but it's actually pretty darn good!  It tastes a lot like soup broth. 

This morning I heated up a small bowl of turnip greens and added a scrambled egg to it - topped it off with super spicy Sirachi sauce (thank you, Kerri and Emily!!).  It was rich in flavor and healthy!!!  I had my greens and my protein so I felt healthy AND satisfied!

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

Jesus Calling

Happy Friday - and what a gorgeous Friday we have been blessed with! 

So, I read the Halloween story to Champ's class - and I brought peeled grapes ("eyeballs"), ice filled latex gloves ("dead hand") and spaghetti ("brains") - seemed to be a big hit in the classroom this afternoon.  And I don't think any of the kids were scared - they seemed to really enjoy it! 

I wanted to tell you about a very special book that my dear friends, Jessica and Debbie, gave me while I was in the hospital shortly after I delivered Brooke.  They gave me Jesus Calling, a daily devotional that references a verse everyday and is written as if God Himself is speaking to you.  It has been amazing for me.  It references a verse each day and takes less than a minute to read.  It really puts my heart and mind in the right place from the moment I read it, on. 

I had dinner with three friends the other night and decided I would give each one of them Jesus Calling, and I attached one of the macrame bracelets to it.  It made such a lovely gift!  If you're looking for something special to give someone for the holidays, this is it! 

I found Jesus Calling at Barnes and Noble for $14.99, and the bracelet at $22.00 made a lovely gift for less than $40.00!  Sarah Young, the author, has written a Jesus Calling for kids, which is equally as amazing. 

I plan to take a lot of pictures this weekend as the weather is supposed to be gorgeous.  I anticipate spending a lot of time outside with the kids.  Here are a few that I took of Brooke at the beginning of the week! I just love taking pictures of her because she's too young to pose and candids are my favorite, anyway! 

Enjoy your weekend!

Rainy Mornings and Spooky Stories

I have to admit that I LOVE rainy mornings -especially rainy dark mornings.  I just drove Champ to school and the sound of the windshield wipers filled the car as we chatted about how he hoped the rain wouldn't cancel his playground time at school.  I loved our conversation, the sound of the rain falling, the sound of the windshield wipers, the car and traffice lights - mostly that the rain and slick roads forced me to slow down.   I sipped my hot coffee and just enjoyed the ride to school.  When Champ got out and closed the door, I heard it - "my" song on the radio, and so I oiled my voice with a sip of coffee and I began yet another voice lesson with Adele as we sang, "Someone Like You," together.  Let me just say that I am one heck of a singer when I'm all by myself in my car.  My voice is as pure as the morning rain :)...until someone hears me and then it all turns to mush.  What a great car ride this morning!

Coffee.

Mmmmm... I love my coffee. I like for it to taste like a hot milkshake - with lots of cream and a bit of sugar (I gave up artificial sweeteners years ago).  I feel strongly about things that I eat and drink tasting GOOD.  Life is too short for light beer and boring coffee - that's my mantra.  I have always enjoyed creamer in my coffee - typically vanilla, except when the holidays roll around and Pumpkin Spice is available - then I'm all about the pumpkin.  Have you ever read the ingredients in these things?  The list is VERY long (lengthy ingredient lists in anything is usually a sign that it is full of artificial, processed ingredients).  I've recently discovered Natural Bliss.  It is made with only milk, cream and sugar and it tastes just as good as the other kinds!  Don't get me wrong, I scan the coffee flavoring section of the grocery store everytime I'm there and as soon as the Pumpkin Spice is available, I'll be enjoying that for the season, and I won't think twice about the long list of ingredients. 

On a spookier note, I had two strands of cute little pumpkin lights that, at our old house, I strung on our front steps along with our other decorations.  Here at my in-laws' house, I couldn't figure out where to put them outside so I wrapped them around the boys' bunkbed and decided that we would have "spooky storytime" every night leading up to Halloween.  I googled and read a dozen different spooky Halloween stories - trying to find one that wouldn't completely freak them out and keep them up all night but one that wasn't too weak, either.  I found this cute Halloween story, and they really enjoyed it.  We turned off all the lights so that only the glow of pumpkin lights filled the room, and we snuggled up as I read the story.  It only took a few minutes and the boys loved it (and of course, I loved the snuggling!)!  I think we'll make this a tradition every year.

I am Mystery Reader for Champ's class on Friday and I was thinking that I'd read this story to his class and pass around containers of cold spaghetti noodles (brains), peeled grapes (eyeballs) and sticks (bones) while I read it.  Matt thinks I'll be taken away in handcuffs for terrorizing the kids, but I think they may enjoy it!  I'll let you know how it goes... 

These Boots are made for Walking

I stopped by Target this weekend to buy some cute little boots for Brooke.  Brooke got her first real pair of shoes on Wednesday and while I was waiting in line at Nordstrom to pay for them, I was looking at the Ugg boots for girls.  Asking if they had some for toddlers, the salesperson said yes, for $90.00.  Well.... this mama doesn't pay $90.00 for shoes for a one year old.  I just don't see the sense in that, but I knew I wanted to find some cute little boots for her anyway.  So, I surfed the web and found a cute pair at Target for $14.99 and was really excited to buy them.  Who knew that shopping for a girl would be THIS much fun?  Here she is sporting her new boots...

They say boots are made for walking (not tripping), so I think I'll put them away for a few weeks until she's a little steadier on her feet.

You know how Target is.  You go to buy one thing, and you walk out with 5.  I was walking towards the checkout when I noticed a jeans rack with these jeans.

This is the Target model - not me :)

I HEART these jeans!  Levi's makes them - they are the Denizen brand and cost only $24.99 (though I just discovered that they are on sale for $19.99 online today).  They fit perfectly and I love the way they feel - the mid rise is just perfect - and they're boot cut which I love!  Comfort is key for me these days, I'm finding lately that a woman (or a man, for that matter) cannot own too many pairs of jeans.  I found some great looking dark Joes Jeans at Loehman's a few weeks ago for $79.00.  Made with a very tall woman in mind, I had to pay $9.00 to have them hemmed, but a pair of good jeans for $88.00 is worth every penny! 

I do love to find good buys.  My friend, Kerri, has always delighted in finding unique items at a good price - she enjoys the hunt.  Anyone can walk into a store and pay $175.00 for a good pair of jeans, but it takes a real expert to hunt for a good pair of jeans for $75.00.  I tend to agree with her (when I have the time).

Down the toilette

We have been blessed this Fall with gorgeous blue sky and pleasing temperatures - what a treat!

Matthew had football practice at a team member's home Friday night.  The beautiful house had a VERY large backyard flanked on one side by what I think is Peachtree Creek.  It was a gorgeous setting and fun for the boys to practice somewhere different.  After practice, we had dinner with good friends at their new and beautiful home - steak, mashed potatoes, salad, lima beans and peach crisp - mmmm - delicious!  Thank you, Linda and JP!

Brooke and I left at 9:00 as she was past the point of being able to handle being up that late - do you remember those times with your little ones?  So, I ran into our house, put my iPhone in my back pocket, grabbed her sippy cup and went upstairs to get her ready for bed.  After I said goodnight and put Brooke in her crib, I needed to go to the bathroom. 

Well, when I stood up to pull up my jeans, my iPhone fell into the toilette.  It was like slow motion after that - I felt like throwing my arms up towards the sky and falling down on my knees yelling, "Noooo!!!"  Instead, I got down to business and thrusted my hand into the toilette (yes, it was the dirtly toilette) and grabbed it - took the cover off and started furiously wiping off my phone.  It proceeded to vibrate constantly for 20 minutes and then just stopped.  My iPhone is no more.


Dead iPhone



So, after laying my defeated iPhone to rest, I scrubbed my hands and lay in my bed feeling lonely - - - I mean, Matt was there, but my iPhone wasn't.  Could it be that I had really become THAT dependent on this device?  I had terrible dreams that night - the kind where you know you're late to something and the faster you try to get there, the longer it takes... all the while not able to be reached... 

I quickly came to realize how much I use my phone - not only for phone calls but for the MANY updates via email and text, Words with Friends, my Weather Channel app, Safari, Zillow, etc.  It was almost as if it had become a third arm or something - I DEPENDED on this thing beyond that for which it was intended - a phone to reach people or be reached.  How would I survive any amount of time without it?

I ended up inheriting Matt's old phone late Saturday morning.  But for those few hours I was without it, I must say that it felt GREAT!  I felt FREE in a way!  I didn't have to keep up with it and I found myself very PRESENT in the moment.  It made me realize how much I use that little thing.  So, I'm vowing today to use it less from now on and be more present in the moment.  I'll let you know how it goes...



New iPhone (with a fancy pink cover - thank you, Matthew and Champ!)

Matthew's football team, the Seminoles, beat the opposition.  I took some pictures but honestly just held down the picture taking button and listened while my camera did all the work.  This one is my favorite.  I just love boys and football is such a BOYS' sport - it's rough and tumble - it's the quintessential TEAM sport.  I have come to love the sounds of football - the whistles blowing, the kids helmets and pads crashing into one another.  I love the smell of the grass first thing in the morning when it's still wet from dew.  I have really come to love watching my kids play football.  Before the season started, I had a lot of anxiety about the risk of injury.  But I realized after the first game got underway, that I could either continue being scared and living in fear, or I could just GO WITH IT and hope for and expect the best.  I chose the latter and am having so much fun at their games (even with Champ's hand in a cast).
. 

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You may or may not know that I had gestational diabetes during my last pregnancy.  As bummed as I was not to be able to enjoy cakes, ice creams, donuts during the last half of my pregnancy, I learned so much about good eating.  I had to take a 1/2 day course on diabetes, and the first thing I learned was the importance of managing your food intake by carb servings.  One carb serving is 15 grams of carbohydrates.  So, there were certain things that have no carbs that I enjoyed like all vegetables, cheeses, meats, etc.  (I ate more salads than I had eaten in my entire life).  I'll explore some of my findings in future blogs, but I wanted to share with you a little something that satisfied my sweet tooth but didn't raise my blood sugar (because it is pretty low carb compared to most other sweet treats).  Dark Chocolate.  I would buy a bar and keep it in the freezer and when I had a sweet craving, I would break off a small bite and the sharpness and richness of it really satisfied my sweet cravings.  Fast forward many months and we were at our friends' house, the Penn's, when Jennifer introduced me to

Sea Salt Soiree....

Oh.... let me just tell you that this stuff is amazing!  It is dark chocolate with almonds and a little sea salt.  I have one, maybe two blocks and it completely satiates my sweet tooth!  I feel better afterwards than if I had eaten a big bowl of ice cream (my pre gestational diabetes go-to dessert).  Dark Chocolate is full of antioxidants and is actually great for your heart!  It lowers cholesterol and blood pressure.  You can buy this bar at Publix for less than $3.00.  I keep it in my pantry and often eat a square or two after lunch and dinner.  I do hope that my kids one day develop the taste for dark chocolate, but the good news for me now is that they don't - so I don't have to ever worry about it disappearing. 

It is Sunday afternoon and incredibly gorgeous outside and so I'm on my way to throw the ball with my boys while Brooke sleeps. 

Tonight for dinner, we are grilling skirt steak (that has been marinating overnight in a little soy sauce, garlic, freshly grated ginger) and enjoying that with wild rice, and roasted vegetables - and I'll be drinking an ice cold Hoegarden with it.  I love my Hefeweizens!

I'll be back later this week with some delicious and easy recipes! 

Sick Day - It's the little things...

I woke up this morning to, "Mom, I don't feel well."  Oh, no.  We've made it this far - so you could say that we were due.  My kids sound like they've been pack-a-day smokers for years.  Tuesday is one of 2 work days a week for me, but our typical "sick day practices" were still in full swing. 

So, we double up on our vitamins, take in lots of Vitamin C and rest.

When the kids are sick, I always make them a "nest" on the sofa.  The "nest" is merely a pillow (not a throw pillow, but a sleeping pillow from their bed) and a blanket - a fancy name for making them feel special when they're not feeling well.  Then it's a lot of fluids, reading, soup, oyster crackers, movie time, board games, cards - and today, a little lego building.

I'm so very fortunate and blessed to be in the living situation I'm in right now - living with my in-laws.  Our nanny took care of Brooke while Mimi tended to Matthew and Champ.  She came home from Target with a new box full of legos and some raspberry jello.  I had no reason today to feel guilty for being at work because I knew all day long that they were probably in better care with her than they would have been with me!  Though, it did make me feel good when Matthew called me mid-day and said, "Mom, are you almost home?  I want you to make a nest for me."

When I got home from work, I fluffed Matthew's "nest" and made him a glass full of crushed ice with white grape juice and a green straw.  I've found that it's these little things - this attention to detail - that make them feel special.  He wrapped himself up in his snuggy and sipped on the apple juice over crushed ice and he went to bed feeling better!

 What are the little things that you do to make your kids feel special and cared for when they're sick?  I'd love to know...

And those of us with dogs know that they suffer from very real sympathy pains....

To follow it up this morning, Matt went to Arden's Garden to pick up a jug of "Fresh Nutri-Boost Recovery" smoothie."  

This stuff is amazing!  Arden's Garden is on Roswell Road just north of Piedmont.  I love Arden's Garden because their smoothies are made from pure fruit - not from a ton of powders and additives like a lot of other smoothie companies use.  This has 425% daily value of Vitamin C and is made from apples, oranges, strawberries, bananas... It stimulates the immune system to fight colds, flu and infection.  (too bad we didn't start drinking it BEFORE the kids got sick)

It costs $12.00 (64 oz) which is a good price, in my opinion.  

So, if you feel a cold coming on, pick up a jug of Complete Recovery, make a "nest" on the sofa and feel better soon!

Hot Apple Crisp

 This weekend, we decided to see what apple picking was all about.  Now that we have our girl, such trips are warranted (even though she will have no memory of this beyond pictures), right?  After five minutes of surfing the web for an orchard, we headed up to Ellijay, Georgia, to Hillcrest Orchards.  After an hour and a half in the car and a rather humorous directional argument (mapquest vs. navigation -  according to Matt, if we had followed the directions I thought I had copied correctly from mapquest, we would have been in Charleston by the afternoon  - and I must admit, he was right!), we finally arrived at Hillcrest Orchards.

What a great day we had!  Almost mid-October, the apple trees were pretty picked over but the boys didn't care.  They took pride in picking the best looking apples they could find.  We filled a HUGE bag full of all different types of red and green apples.  They enjoyed many activities while were there - bungy jumping, sliding, the petting zoo....  There were people EVERYWHERE - people chasing their kids, people eating fried oreos and moonpies, walking around with giant turkey legs, people shuffling leisurely along - typical festival atmosphere... aka, Matt's version of Hell on Earth.  Oh, he enjoyed it, though - even if he did enjoy some of it from the "sidelines."  We left feeling the same way we felt when we left Disney World a few years ago.  We had an AWESOME time, but we don't feel the need to do it again anytime soon.  

We came home with a 20+ pound bag of apples. What to do with all those apples? We made Apple Crisp (thank you, Ina Garten, one of my favorite tv chefs!).   

After peeling all of these gorgeous apples, I cut off the 4 "cheeks" of the apples (a Food Network trick I picked up from the countless hours I watched it when Brooke was a newborn).

 

My dear friend, Irmela, has given me countless cooking tips over the years - there isn't a day that goes by when I'm not thinking about something she has taught me.  Today, it was my nutmeg grinder.  In the picture above, Champ is using my nutmeg grinder to add fresh nutmeg to the recipe.  Fresh nutmeg, Irmela says, should always be used when nutmeg is called for in a recipe.  Mmmmm... she's right!

After a lot of slicing, dicing and mixing, out came our wonderful creation...hot Apple Crisp!  There are those yummy recipes that you taste once and know you will make again and again, and this is one of those.  It's actually so good that I think I'll only make it once each Fall when I can use freshly picked apples.  The apples are swimming in a buttery brown sugary sauce (hey, if you're going to make dessert, MAKE dessert.  I did not attempt to make this lighter in calories or fat and believe me, every delicious little calorie was worth it!) with a crispy oatmeal topping - mmm mmm good! 

We spooned it out tonight after dinner and put a cold scoop of ice cream on top - oh, it was delicious!!!  And to eat it knowing we picked the apples made it taste that much better.  As Champ was licking the sticky apple goodness from his lips tonight, he asked, "Mom, when can we go back to Hillcrest Orchards?"  Hmmm... guess we might consider doing it again next year afterall...