Visitors

happy saturday!

our past week was totally crazy. we have my in-laws, well one of the two sets, coming this afternoon for a 2 day visit so i had some preparing to do! my sister-in-law is also in town for 2 months with her three little ones so we are having a big fam bam dinner sunday night. all of this means major grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry, cleaning again, baking, and more cleaning! one of my favorite things to do is entertain so i was happy to oblige with dinner for 13! whoa. thats a lot of mouths to feed. 8 of which are under the age of 12. which makes me wonder why my brother and sister-in-law have so many kids!? they are nuts!

Mila moved up to a big-girl carseat so we had a trip to babies'r'us with Cady and Mr. Ben on Friday. i love spending time with those two. the babies spent the car ride taking turns hollering at each other from across the car while Cady and I did some serious chit chat about her house remodel. i can't wait to see the finished project. it will gorg!

this past week i also did some work on Mila's first halloween costume and i am just so excited to take her out! i am sure there will plenty of pictures to blog :) halloween falls on the Boss's weekend this year so that makes it extra special!

hope everyone has a great weekend!

best buddies having a sushi date.

a taste of Fall

a quick yummy recipe while the baby naps. pupkin spice cookies with chocolate chips. seriously to die for. moist. cakey. delish.

1 C shortening
2 C granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 t vanilla
1 can pumpkin (i use organic from TJ's)
4 C flour
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 t cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
chocolate chips

375 degrees
12-15 minutes

whip shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla.
add pumpkin.
sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt cinnamon and nutmeg together.
gradually add flour mixture to wet mixture.
mix in chocolate chips.

these keep well without drying out and are just wonderful. you will want to keep them all for your family but...the recipe does make enough to share. i don't share. too yummy!

butterflies for the boss

 a hug. a sweet text. a little note. date night with the Boss is the best. i love going on dates with him. it takes me back to a time before our home, before our pup, before I Do, before our little M. a time that we'd go have drinks and be carefree. enjoy each others company. a favorite thing we do together. ok. so i love the Boss. a lot.

enough about my butterflies for the Boss.

Mila is 9 months old! WHAT?! when did that happen? she is so so so close to walking. walking. hmmmm. no mater how many times i say or see it actually happen i can't believe it! 29 inches and 21.7 pounds. a whopper. she is eating anything and everything and is happy as a clam. pretty much all the time. she has 2 bottom teeth and 1 on the top, almost 2. she absolutely loves bubbles in her bath and giving Roo kisses through the screen. we are so blessed with this joy in our lives!!!!

maybe why she loves Roo kisses?!

My Pioneer Woman Obsession

if you haven't already heard of the pioneer woman then you need to get her cookbooks or check out her blog ASAP! i have a slight obsession with her. my dinner calendar is marked with PW at least 3 nights a week (for PW dinner...rather AWESOMENESS). i've read her books. have both cookbooks. and love her photography. oh, and i record her cooking show on food network.

a recent post of hers was a recipe for Chocolate Dipped Granola Bars. it looked so fabulous i thought i'd share.

recipe from www.thepioneerwoman.com

Chocolate Dipped Granola Bars:

6 cups rolled oats (not quick oats)
4 T butter, melted
1/2 vegetable oil or canola oil
1 t salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 honey
1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup molasses
3 t vanilla
1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup roughly chopped almonds
1/4 cup chopped pecans
8 oz. chocolate, melted

• Pre-heat oven to 350
• Toss oats with melted butter, vegetable oil and salt.
• Spread on two baking sheets, bake for 15-20 minutes shaking around twice to make sure it doesn't burn. Remove from oven and set aside.
• Reduce heat to 325
• In medium sauce pan, combine brown sugar, honey, apple juice and molasses together. Heat slowly, stir until combine. Stir in vanilla.
• Toss toasted oats, rice cereal, wheat germ and chopped nuts. Pour in sugar mixture while stirring. Toss to combine. It will be sticky!
• Press into one baking sheet that is well greased with butter or lined with foil and grease the foil. Bake 20-25 minutes, until golden. 
• Use a sharp knife to cut into bars and dip the bottom side (bar will be parallel to the counter top) in chocolate. Bars will become chewy after being. I like to break up the granola into chunks :)

PLEASE make this. it is to die for. really. would be wonderful dipped in white chocolate and peppermint chunks for Christmas treats or dye the white chocolate orange for a Halloween treat! mmmm

money. $$$. moolah.

is lame. it causes me to have that gut feeling like i might barf. i really don't like money. of course, it does buy awesome things but it also pays the bills that never seem to quit arriving. and there are always awesome things to buy! anyone know where i can find a money tree? no really, we live a comfortable life thanks to The Boss but every time i open the mail box to find a bill, mark it down on the calendar, get the check book out and blah blah blah, i cringe. anyone else feel this way? i'm done.

happy friday! too bad it's only tuesday at our home. ok, i'm really done now.

if this photo doesn't make your day.... something is wrong with you!

Another Summer Come and Gone

well, another summer has come and nearly gone in the blink of an eye. how does this happen? just like they always used to tell me "the older you get, the faster time goes." and boy, were they ever right. it seems like the time goes even faster once you become a doting, worrying, loving, tired parent!

our summer has consisted of swim lessons with Mr. Ben, an annual trip to Tahoe (our 18th!), an evening lake trip, BBQ's with friends, lots of improvements to our home and a few date nights with The Boss along the way. and in all this busyness we call life, our baby girl is 9 MONTHS OLD next week! what?!

mila-you are the light in mama and daddy's life. every morning i am so lucky to open your door and see your smiling face and bouncing legs. jumping is your favorite thing to do. avocado and cottage cheese are your favorite things to eat. quack quack, more like qack qack, is your favorite thing to say. scrunching your little nose up is the only (and cutest) way to smile. you are a lover of all people and all puppies. you have taught me patience. you have given us a love like no other.