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Sunday, September 23, 2012

10,000 reasons

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

You're rich in love, and You're slow to anger
Your name is great, and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

Friday, September 21, 2012

tgif (again)

 i can't believe it's already friday!?!
it usually takes the weekend for-e-ver to get here 
but not this week. 
guess the fall routine has officially begun
and the days are getting busier. 

weekend plans  ideas:
make pumpkin waffles
visit a farm
wean eli from his bottle (pray for me)
work on my bsf lesson
take the kids out for pancakes
buy a new pair of flats
i really like these, these and these.
get a bike with a kid seat!
make a fall treat for the neighbors
read my new magazines (thank you kat)
get ivy a nightlight
organize october trips
wish i had a babysitter
plan a date night at home instead (any good movie recs?)
last but not least... clean out our car!!

what are y'all doing this weekend? 
hope it's a good one! 

Friday, September 14, 2012

tgif

happy weekend to you! 

Thursday, September 13, 2012

broccoli pesto pasta + croutons

i kinda followed a recipe from martha stewart's everyday food magazine,
but i blended it all up, instead of having it in the pasta separately.
let's be honest, my kids aren't gonna eat chunks of broccoli.
in fact, ivy only eats plain pasta.
no sauce of any kind.
but tonight i asked her (again) to try some.
so she did and instead of spitting it out, her eyes got big
and she smiled and said "i love it!"
"you do??"
she took another bite and said 
"mom i love it!"
i was so happy i almost cried. (i was tired).
she was so proud. 
eli ate some too and my night was made.
thanks kids.

ingredients:
1 box short pasta (i like cellentani)
2 cups broccoli florets
handful of baby spinach leaves
handful of fresh basil
a couple cloves of garlic, peeled 
lemon zest of one lemon
handful of toasted pine nuts
freshly grated parmesan (handful)
s&p
olive oil
------------------
2 slices of sandwich bread
shredded chicken

boil broccoli & pasta:
bring a big pot of water up to a boil.
put in broccoli and boil for 3-4 minutes.
remove broccoli with a strainer or slotted spoon into your food processor. 
now put the pasta in the boiling water and cook to al dente.

make your pesto:
while your pasta cooks, finish up your pesto. 
just add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and blend it up, 
adding olive oil as you need it to make it pesto-consistency.
drain your pasta, saving a little of the water. 
toss the pasta with the pesto, adding some water to thin it out a little and make a sauce.

make some croutons:
cut the crust off your bread, and cut into squares (like 1 inch)
heat up some butter in a skillet and toss the bread in there.
toss it around til its nice and golden.

to serve:
add some shredded chicken to your pasta, top with croutons and 
sprinkle on some more grated parmesan.

Monday, September 10, 2012

a boy & an orange






 the end. 

Sunday, September 9, 2012

first dentist visit


ivy's first dentist appointment:
september 6, 2:50PM. 
dr. eggers - menlo park. 

this really isn't a big deal or any kind of milestone, but i'm just documenting it anyway. 
probably because she was so hilarious during in it. 
she was excited to sit up in that big chair and see what was in store. 
maybe she was feeling special with all the attention.
our new dentist's office is really small and there may have been one other patient there. 
the staff was SO sweet and made it comfortable and fun.
still, she surprised me with how interested and attentive she acted. 
the nurse showed her all the tools and explained what they did. 
ivy paid good attention and let her put the different gadgets in her mouth.
when the dentist came in, she turned her little body towards him, 
placing her hands on his at one point (haha) 
and nodded and answered questions like she was 13. 
when he would make a joke and we laughed, 
she would put her hand over her mouth 
and let out a big fake laugh like she does.  
so funny. 
anyway, he counted her teeth, showed her everything up on the screen,
 gave her a new toothbrush and said to come back next year!  
and that was that. 
good girl ives! 

Friday, September 7, 2012

gramma's visit



kevin has been in DC this week so my mom came to help out for a few days.
lucky us!!! 
ivy was soo excited when i told her gramma was coming. (of course).
it was such a blessing to have her all to ourselves. 
these rascals are nuts for her. 
she cleaned out the whole garage, got the kids some adorable fall clothes,
 fed them as much as she could, got to see some of our spots,
and turned eli into a little boy overnight :) 
new kicks, new clothes, big boy car seat, and a hair cut. 

ivy hung on her like there was no tomorrow
and we loved having her here. 
she is such a burst of fresh happy air.
i'm so encouraged and inspired after being with her.
it is the worst thing ever watching her leave
(ivy and i cry like babies)
but i'm so thankful for the visit
and of course we'll see her soon! 

thanks for coming gramma!! we love you! 

side note: 
i wanted to grow his hair out
so mom was just giving him a little trim, 
but it didn't turn out as good as last time, so we had to jump in the car 
and take him to the barber. 
it was almost bedtime
so there he is in his jammies. 
mom's trying to distract him with a video of ollie. 
he's like "mom,  i thought we had a deal." 
i'm sorry buddy. 
you're still impossibly cute. 

sweet note:
i tucked eli in, and ivy and i were having a bowl of late night oh's.
(k gets home around midnight).
i asked her: what's your favorite thing you did with gramma?
she said without a pause and with the sweetest face:
hug and kiss her :)

Saturday, September 1, 2012

father/daughter day

last night i asked kevin if i could "stay in bed all day" saturday.
being the amazing man he is, he said "sure!" 
and it wasn't even sarcastic. 
well, that's not exactly how today went,
but it was close.
maybe even better.

kevin took ives to the children's discovery museum in san jose. 
those two have a thing for museums.
they came home for a pit stop,
then headed to palo alto's junior museum & zoo.
ivy's favorite parts of the day were
dancing with kevin in the disco room, 
 "the HUGE tortoise", the bats and peacock,
and telling me what they each ate.
(she's fascinated by what animals eat, especially when it's other animals.)

it was really nice 
hanging out with just e,
then reading outside during his nap
all by myself.
in the peace
and quiet.
but my favorite part
was when everyone was back home.
being in the kitchen getting dinner ready
kevin grilling
garth brooks playing really loud
the kids dancing around us
the weather perfectly cool
and knowing i'll think back on times like this
in the sweetest possible way. 


later on, ivy came running in my bathroom and told me
"mom! i just played basketball and golf. can you give me that?!"
(pointing to the deodorant).
then she flipped her shirt like that and did her thing.
ooh ivy.

happy weekend one and all!