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rare moment of sweetness... yes they are actually being sweet, ivy doesn't have him pinned down

chicken & spinach enchiladas

photos by ivy:

this week hasn't been particularly long, just really tiring. 

kevin and i feel 100 years old by 8 o'clock. 

is this normal? we're pretty sure we're the only ones. 

our dinner dates have to be at 5:30 or i literally can't make it. :) 

hey evvia. best restaurant around hands down. 

highlights from the week (last week?):
when ivy cried because i told her she can't marry eli.
homemade chicken enchiladas
ivy wore shorts! (and without any drama)
eli is basically practically bottle-weened
the glorious weather
the day eli only ate chocolate milk, a chocolate milkshake and croutons.
new summer dress in the mail (for me, not ivy for once)
eli's gymnastics class....picking up a squishy ball and dunking it one-handed?! impressive.
 sweetest kid ever. he goes where he's supposed to and always wants me right by him.
when it's time to go, he says "bye bye" real softly and leaves without any fuss
even though it's the best 45 minutes he's ever had in his life.

weekend plans:
make blueberry muffins and eat 'em all
take ives to a local kid's musical.. she is going to loove it
susie cakes
clean the backyarrrrrd
go watch a stanford baseball game with ivy's preschool.. should be fun
horse riding lesson
oh yeah.. take the kids to benihanas per ivy's request haha i'm super excited about this
i miss tokyo
and while we're at it, novroskys and chula vista.
wow i am fat.

hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

He is Risen!

 we were in town for easter, just us, so it was pretty laid back and simple. 

(we haven't been in texas for easter the past 3 years so that's kinda sad) 

but we had a wonderful day.

ivy woke us up when she walked into our room with her easter dress half pulled over her head, a sponge in her hand and a jelly bean in her mouth. 

"mom! eli got a sponge in his easter basket!"

"really? cool, sweetie. go put it back reeeallll quietly and i'll be there in just a minute."

(e loves to clean). 

i thought it was sweet she was so excited for him :)

not so sweet that she raided both baskets before the crack of dawn.

we made our favorite muffins with sprinkles 

opened baskets 

got dressed for church. 

(ivy couldn't have been more excited to wear her dress and flower headband. 

she is literally crazy about dresses.) 

celebrated easter and our risen Lord.

 home for naps and baking.

glazed sugar cookies and coconut pie. 

our super sweet neighbors invited us over for an early dinner. 

grilled lamb chops, mashed potatoes, asparagus, 

salad and homemade bread. so good. 

we sat outside and it was just so nice. 

her older kids hid eggs for mine and ivy was in.to. it. 

after she found them all, she re-hid them and hunted again by herself. 

eli found some too and ate probably 7 chocolate eggs. 

i do not know where he kept finding them. 

they have a few chickens, so when she first invited us over for dinner and an egg hunt, 

i thought they were going to hide chicken eggs..and i was kind of worried my kids would be disappointed and i would get embarrassed and aren't those really fragile?...but..it was just the plastic ones :)

she even had this big prize bag and everything. 

so, so sweet.

and that was nice and all, but the glory of Easter is really something entirely different.

i am so thankful for Jesus and the cross.

He is Risen!

By His wounds you have been healed. 

hope y'all had a happy easter!

sunday...

happy easter!

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

According to His great mercy, 

He has caused us to be born again to a living hope

 through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 

to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading..."

1 Peter 1:3

raspberry-almond tart

for some reason, ivy thinks baking follows nap time. 

like every day.

she always walks straight to the kitchen and pulls up a stool. 

usually i'm happy to oblige.... 

not sure this is good for anyone though!

well today i found this recipe during her nap

and miraculously had all the ingredients. 

it turned out to be really kid-friendly too. 

she brushed the egg on the pastry, 

poked holes with a fork, 

poured the cream and sugar into the mixer, 

spread the almonds on a baking sheet, 

and plopped the raspberries on the final product. 

she was very proud, and

it turned out to be the prettiest little tart! 

i love it.

she strategically only ate the whipped cream,

but i don't blame her. 

this was my first time making it homemade, and it was soo good.

i'm kinda inspired to only make this kind of dessert all spring. 

fruit + whipped cream. 

so pretty and so delicious! 

giada's raspberry-almond tart

1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed

flour, for dusting

1 egg

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

2 T amaretto liqueur (i used 1 tsp almond extract)

1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds, coarsely crumbled

2 (6 ounce) baskets of fresh raspberries

unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting (i skipped this)

preheat oven to 400.

roll out the pastry sheet on a lightly floured cutting board to a 10 inch square.

cut off about an inch-wide strip off each side, set aside.

brush the edges of the square with the egg.

place the 4 pastry strips on top of the edges of the square, overlapping on the corners, and forming a raised border.

brush these borders with egg too.

poke the inside square a LOT all over with a fork.

bake until golden, about 20 minutes. 

let cool.

beat the cream, sugar and almond extract on med-high until firm peaks form. 

fold in the nuts. 

spoon the cream mixture onto the cooled pastry crust. 

arrange the berries over the cream.

dust with cocoa powder or powdered sugar if you like!

also- this would work well with basically any kind of fruit. 

i think a banana one sounds good... 

enjoy! 

art class

wednesday = art class!!

ivy's friends came over and srolled with us.

the weather is so beautiful! 

70s and sunny. 

so miss delores let the kids paint outside...

with the hugest of brushes! 

i love this weather. 

i love this art studio.

i love ivy. 

the end! 

27 wks

and counting!

chocolate chip zucchini muffins

this is kendall's recipe for zucchini oat muffins - i just added a little chocolate. i used my last stash of american chocolate chips for these, but it was worth it :) these are quick & simple, and pretty healthy too! hope the bible study girls like them.

chocolate chip zucchini muffins

2 1/2 cups flour

1 T baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp or so of cinnamon

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup oats

1 zucchini, shredded

4 eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

Preheat oven to 400.

Place cupcake liners in muffin tin.

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, oil and sugar. Combine with the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Your batter will be thick and lumpy. Fill muffin cups just about all the way and bake 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy!

salmon with citrus herb butter

Yum, salmon! We try to have it weekly in our house, especially during pregnancy :) I usually just season it with s&p, but wanted to try something a little Spring-y. I threw together a few things with some butter and it turned out really tasty and was just as simple to make.

Citrus Herb Butter

1. mix together in a small bowl:

--a few TBS of butter at room temp

--zest of an orange and lemon

--a spoonful of chopped fresh herbs (I used dill and lemon thyme)

--sprinkle of salt

2. roll up in parchment or put in little butter molds.

3. throw in the fridge for at least 10 minutes.

*This butter would work great on any fish or chicken!

Here's all you do:

Preheat oven to 350.

Make your butter and let it sit in the fridge while you get everything else ready.

Sear salmon fillets over high heat in a teeny bit of butter, 1-2 minutes on each side.

Put in the oven to finish cooking to your liking.

Take out your butter, unroll it from the parchment or molds and place a slice on each fillet.

enjoy!

alice in wonderland

Last Sunday afternoon we strolled over to the St. Andrews Castle (15 minutes) for a production of Lewis Carol's Alice in Wonderland put on by the local youth theatre. The weather was sunny and perfect, there was a great turn-out and the cast was actually really talented. It was kind of an interactive thing where the audience moved to different locations around the castle for different scenes. Such a cool backdrop! I forgot to keep an eye on Ivy sometimes because I was so wrapped up in the play haha - thankfully Kevin was there :)

View from the Castle of the North Sea/St. Andrews Cathedral ruins in the far back

Ivy following the crowd to the next location - haha

There was an adorable red ice cream parlor by the entrance, wish I got a pic.

Very fun!

to mom

hope you win.

eat some cake for us!

we love and miss you!

k, c + i