66|365 april fools joy

I had Gigi ask the boys if anyone had played any tricks on them for April Fools Day. Then I made them meatloaf and mashed potato cupcakes. I told them we'd have dessert before dinner tonight. They agreed. So I served the meatloaf cupcakes but I told them that they were chocolate with vanilla frosting. They were not impressed. So I offered them spaghetti instead. The"spaghetti" was really strawberry cupcakes decorated to look like spaghetti. Sadly I didn't take a piture of the spaghetti cupcakes while they were all in a bowl, but I did snatch one out of Kyle's hand just before it entered his open mouth. It really looked much better when there were several grouped together. oh well. And after all my April Fools jokes, I let them know one more trick I had played on them...that today wasn't even April Fools Day!


Meatloaf/mashed potato cupcake




Spaghetti and meatball cupcake

64|365 shaking the stink off joy

Everybody in this family has been sick...some have been sick twice. Today the weather was nice so we went outside to get some fresh air and shake off the germs.

63|365 baseball joy

Barrett and Kyle had their first baseball game of the season. It was Kyle's first game ever! They did so great. This year, the get to try to hit from the coach's pitch, and then if that doesn't work out, they can use the tee. They both hit from the coach's pitch!! They both had a fun and Kyle was so excited to be out on the field this time. I took a few more of Kyle because it was his first game.

"Thumbs up, mom!"


Playing in the dirt.


Barrett playing First Base


He's got moves just like real baseball players


He smacked it! No Tee! And then ran to Third Base!:)

62|365 senior session joy

This is the son of one of Barrett's teachers. He'll be attending OSU in the fall.

61|365 pretty dinner joy

I made a new recipe for dinner. It was so pretty I had to snap a picture. It was delicious too! We had some grilled chicken with it.
I got the recipe from the Today show (actually Martha Stewart on the Today show, but don't tell Cody).
I'll put the recipe below the picture.


Recipe: Cherry tomato, mozzarella and zucchini pie
"Martha Stewart's New Pies and Tarts: 150 Recipes for Old-Fashioned and Modern Favorites"
Ingredients
(I used a frozen pie crust (thawed), which Martha would NEVER do)
• For the filling:
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2 inch-thick half-moons
• 1 1/2 pounds cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 ounces bocconcini (fresh mozzarella balls) or fresh mozzarella (1-inch pieces)
• 3 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Preparation
2. Make the filling: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium. Add shallot; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini; cook, stirring occasionally, until light golden and liquid has been released, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. Halve one-third of the tomatoes. Stir halved and whole tomatoes, both cheeses, basil and flour into shallot-zucchini mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 13-inch round, about 1/4-inch thick. Make seven 3-inch-long cuts around edge of dough, evenly spaced. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Drizzle shell with remaining tablespoon oil. Transfer filling to shell. Fold in flaps of dough, slightly overlapping.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake pie on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, 70 to 80 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm.

60|365 so excited he wanted to sleep in the jersey joy

Kyle had his first ever T-ball practice last night (Barrett missed it because he's sick). The whole time I was getting him ready to go and the whole time Cody was driving him there, he kept saying, "I am so excited!", "I am gonna rock the baseball field!", "I love you so much!", "I am so glad I get to play baseball!"
Afterward, he didn't want to put on pajamas which is his favorite thing to wear. nope. He wanted to sleep in the t-ball uniform.

59|365 disapearing act joy

Sometimes I walk into a room where I think Kyle is playing and find nothing but a pile of clothes. It's almost as if he had just disappeared into thin air...until I find him naked in another room.


Side note: he saw me taking this picture and I told him I was going to show his future wife. I asked if he thought she'd like it and he said "No, she won't like it. Maybe I should pick up my clothes." smart boy.

58|365 They're actually kinda cute when they're sick joy

Barrett is sick. Cody and Kyle were working out in the yard and Barrett wanted to be out there with them but he felt so bad he could hardly move. He fell asleep watching them through the window. Poor baby.

56|365 fuzzy's tacos joy

Mmmm. We love Fuzzy's. Notice how Kyle had half the taco in his mouth?

55|365 seeing green joy

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

54|365 the foot book joy

53|365 bowling lessons joy

Before the bowling lesson this morning the boys would walk up to the line and heave the 5-pound ball haphazardly at the pins. After the lesson, they would walk half-way to the line, stop, then march 4 deliberate steps and haphazardly throw the ball at the pins. hmmm. I guess that's progress. It's pretty funny to watch, though.
Here's Kyle bowling.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the ball is in the middle of the lane (in the picture) and appears to be going straight toward the pins. It's not. Kyle's employs the zig zag method where the ball bounces from one bumper over to the other until about 5 minutes later it eventually hits the pins and comes to a halt.

52|365 Karate joy

Barrett has started taking karate. He is so excited about it and so am I. I really love the life lessons talks and the confidence he is getting. They have talked about self control, and listening. He has only had two trial classes and I haven't officially signed him up yet but I plan to do that on Wednesday.


I am pretty sure I tied his belt wrong...I am still learning too!

51|365 sweet sweet cupcake joy

Gigi made the cutest little pillowcase dresses for Annabelle. This is her cupcake dress!

50|365 toes in the sand joy

We found the greatest place to play and spend a beautiful day like today! There's a playground and sand and shade and even a splash fountain! We had a really great day.

49|365 rockin' his own style joy

When he spotted this tie from across the store, Kyle ran and clung to it as if it was a long lost teddy bear. He asked me very nicely to buy it for him. I didn't buy the tie. I thought the delayed gratification would be good for him and it would give me a chance to see if it was something he would just forget about the next day. The following week he talked repeatedly about how much he wish he had a tie. One with all his favorite colors. He even promised to let me take a picture of him in the tie. DING DING DING! Whoever said "please" was the magic word, was not a photographer with reluctant children for subjects. So I bought the $6 tie for the little sweetheart and held him to his promise. He dressed himself, but the good news is that his pants are not backwards. By the way, at one point during the day he decided to leave his tie in the car (so he wouldn't lose it) and he reminded me to lock the doors...twice.

48|365 St Joseph joy

Well, we had a bury-the-Saint-Joseph-statue ceremony. We gathered around like it was his funeral, said a prayer and buried the little guy. He is going to help us sell our house. The little card said he has never failed. St. Joseph to the rescue!

47|365 toofers joy

46|365 lemonade shmemonade joy

When life gives you lemons, make a sour face!
Kyle kept telling me he had a bad day. He had some reasons why he thought it was a bad day. He didn't get to play with Play-doh at school, it started raining 5 minutes after we got to the park, etc. I asked him how that made him feel and to show me with his face. I took his picture and showed him his face on the back of the camera. By the end, we couldn't stop laughing.

45|365 monday night joy

Yes. I know. It's trash. I like it anyway.

44|365 sitting pretty joy

Annabelle has been sitting for a while now but she has begun doing it for longer stretches and she's not really crawling yet so this is a perfect time to capture her new skill.

43|365 blowin' out my own candle joy

Photo taken by Cody

42|365 super doctor joy

I love playing the patient when the kids want to play doctor. It requires nothing of me but to lay there and occasionally whine a little. Kyle told me I had a spider in my ear and it would need to be amputated. I don't know where he picked up the word 'amputated' and I didn't know if it was the spider or my ear that would get the cut. Luckily the scissors that came with the doctor set don't work very well so I didn't have to find out.

BTW: you see the chicken fight looking scratches I mentioned in post 40|365?

41|365 freckles joy

40|365 lunch on the patio weather joy

What a beautiful day it was today. Perfect for patio dining...so that's what we did. Gigi, Kyle, Annabelle and I ate at 5th Street Patio Cafe today after a doctor appointment. Covered patios have great lighting so I took advantage of it and snapped some shots of Annabelle. Kyle leaned over my shoulder to get her to look at the camera. He sweetly said, "Awww" everytime she smiled. I love how he loves her. Kyle didn't want his picture taken at first, but then decided to let me after I took Annabelle's. I am not posting it because he has scatches all over his face. He looks like he's been in a chicken fight.

39|365 blast from the past joy

I have been working on a project that has me going through old photos. I found these while I was digging and I love 'em. I don't know if they ever got printed but they will now.

We were at a Rudy's and the boys were both eating from the same corn cob. Obviously I did not take these today, but I am trying to get over Strep so this is what I am posting today.