Boo!

happy halloween! mila's first halloween was so much fun! we went to grandma's and gigi's for photos and then headed off to a halloween party at katie and megan's. i used to nanny for katie and megan for four years and miss them dearly. we try to get together as much as possible but they are busy little girls! megan was a witch and katie was a kitty. they just adore mila and mila adored chasing all the big kids around!!

 halloween weekend was also a very special weekend because my wonderful friend Valerie gave birth to her second baby, a beautiful little boy! I am so happy for the Pera family and for that mama! She is an absolutely great mama to Evelyn and i know Vincent open her heart to even more love!

we hope you all have a fun and safe halloween! BOO!

reunions, birthdays & busyness!

last week was a little hectic and i am hoping tonight is the last night of hectic. saturday we had the Boss's 10 year high school reunion. it was great to see old friends. we took a limo, a little reminder of prom's past, but nice to have a sober ride and spend time with close friends.

i am so proud of Trevor. in 10 years he has accomplished so much and become a wonderful husband and daddy. everyday i am reminded of why i fell in love with him and how lucky i am he is mine.










sunday we hit the pumpkin patch which wasn't quite as fantastic as i had hoped. mila couldn't have cared less (i don't blame her being 10 months old). and the Boss wasn't feeling quite up to par being the day after his reunion. oh well, we got some awesome pumpkins and there is always next year!

Boss is currently working a 6 day week so we didn't get to have the sunday part of his weekend. we miss him terribly. we had rain for a few days so M and i were stuck inside and with her being a crazy busy bee  i think we both almost lost our minds! we celebrated a wonderful friends birthday last night with sushi (yummmm!) and finally the girls are going out for a drink tonight! Phew, that is a lot.

i am ready for bed just thinking about it all. i wish.

M is 10 months old and we had her check up with the doc today. she is growing growing growing and just perfect. eating could be her favorite thing to do and she is SO close to taking off on those adorable little feet. 9 steps is the record as of this morning. i am in love with this little pooky.

Little Punkin

 Our little punkin! It was super hot out so I let her skip the clothes since she's in a hat :)

It was over 100 degrees this week so we decided to skip town and head to the coast. Only to find we were sweating there too! We had dinner at a fave spot on the water and walked around enjoying touristy shops. Mila could not get enough of the pickle! Never even puckered, she thought it was delish!!

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