Rainy Day Brownies

I have been really enjoying my children lately. They are at such a fun age! The weather's been yucky lately, so we have been getting creative indoors. We made some of these brownies, which I think are unbelievably delicious. They aren't healthy, per se, but definitely healthier than the regular brownie...no butter or oil. A cup of sugar makes them guilty! I used turbinado. I photographed the whole process with the kids, then accidentally deleted the photos, so we did it again today to ease my heartache. We delivered the second batch to our friends, the Martins, but I could have easily waxed off 2 pans by myself in a few days!

I've found that when cooking with toddlers, it's best to do it like a Food Network star and put all the measured ingredients into their own bowls. Toddlers are great at dumping, not so good at measuring. They need a couple more years for that. I also brought in their little table so they could be at a comfortable level. I am a Nervous Nelly with our barstools and chairs. Rush is notorious for falling off of things!

Rush whisking away at the dry ingredients

Winnie working on the wet ingredients

The best part- the dumping of the chocolate chips!

My kids know how to lick a bowl. (Don't worry, Katy, this is after they were in the oven.)

Rush patiently waiting for his turn...

To do this!

They were rewarded for all of their hard work with post-bath milk and brownies.

And this is how Rush eats a brownie. What a weirdo.

Easter 2011

We had a great Easter holiday this year. I took some photos...

We had the Reinbergs over for an Easter party, toddler style. We started off making bags for our Easter egg hunt. (Hunt in the living room with plastic eggs. It took the kids about 40 seconds to find the eggs.)

Winnie and Al were especially excited to dye eggs. All of them were cracked at the end, but they were lovely eggs!

Rush spent the whole time with this one, yellow egg

We also decorated cookies. I threw them all away afterwards, because the kids had adopted the "spread some, eat some, spread some, lick some" method of decorating.

The Easter baskets. I loved their baskets this year because there was so much I wanted to get them...Rush needed rain boots and loved his new race car. Winnie got a little tea set that has proved to be much fun for the kids.

Easter Sunday! Winnie would want me to tell you right now that "Pawpaw bought her this dress."

Love these guys!

All piled on Dad before church

We were in Willow Springs visiting my Aunt Patsy and Uncle Chuck Sunday through Tuesday so that Andy could turkey hunt. We always have the best time there...this week was no different. The weather was bad for the hunters, but we had fun splashing around between showers, playing inside, eating, and going into town.

They have lots to explore at their house.

Beauty and the Beast Fairy Tale Tea

My sister was in town this weekend and brought Remi with her for a little girl (+Rush sometimes) weekend with Winnie and I. One of the highlights of our time with them was at the Fairy Tale Tea Party at the Magic House on Sunday. Sonya and Missy came with us...it was just the cutest thing. The Magic House did a great job on this event. They did a mini play of the story which was beautiful and the kids were able to do a meet-and-greet with the characters at the end of the tea.

There were plenty of roses

Waiting for our snacks to arrive...pastries, tea, and juice with fancy table settings.

Making crowns

Getting to meet Belle. They also got these little autograph books so that when they met the characters, they could sign their books.

Three little princesses--I truly loved this afternoon!

Rush

I think my kids are crazy smart. Lately, I've been really impressed with Rush. He is exceptional when it comes to anything in regards to building, puzzles, grouping, sorting...that type of stuff. He's very methodical and definitely has a system. Just like his dad.

Playing with his new Tegu blocks, built by an amazing company started by one of Andy's high school friends. Please read their story on the website.

No big deal...just doing a 24-piece puzzle ALL BY HIMSELF this morning. He finished the whole thing! He's not even 2 years old yet. I'm a proud mama.

However, he still knows how to have a good time...here, in his cousin's fancy lavender heels.

Easter Eggstravaganza

We bundled up and headed over to the Botanical Gardens for their annual Easter Eggstravaganza this morning. It was cold and rainy and windy, so they held the event indoors. I had a lot more fun last year, documented in this post. But, the kids had a blast and have loved playing with their plastic eggs since we came back home...so a successful morning.

The actual hunt lasted all of 30 seconds, because their was a 12 egg/kid limit and they were just scattered out on the floor.

My desperate attempt to photograph the kids together. How cute is my sweet boy? Winnie didn't want to be in a photo, so I bribed her and got this...

Totally not worth the bribe.

This is all they really cared about...the juice box and cookie snack afterwards.

This was Fitz the Bunny and if we weren't living in a loft that we were trying to sell, I would've bunny-napped him because he was so sweet and beautiful. He and Winnie hit it right off. Rush had to keep a safe distance from the bunnies, because he just wanted to point out their eyes.

Yum Yums

If you just wanted pictures of our family, check out Aaron's blog. We had this gloriously epic day on Saturday. It was the best day I've had in a very long time. To say we love our neighbors is an understatement. We are so thankful for the Reinbergs! I wish I'd had my camera, but luckily Aaron caught most of our activities on her iPhone.

I decided to cook "fancy" dinner tonight (I have to put fancy in quotes because I take great liberty in using that term in regards to any of my cooking), so I thought it'd be a good day for a food post.

Dunkin' Donuts. What a way to start the week! I should have photographed mine (coconut and apple-n-spice), as they were definitely more tasty looking than Rush's. It does appear so in the photograph, but I did not serve milkshakes with donuts for breakfast. These are banana, mango, strawberry, spinach smoothies.

Lunch was fun! I made these little towers for the kiddos out of Kashi 7-grain crackers, sweet potatoes, and cheddar cheese. We've been working on patterns with Winnie, so this was good practice making different patterns while we assembled them. They had so much fun eating and building and knocking over--Rush would say, "whoa...whoa...whoa..." and then gobble a bite down. Too cute! Served on the side- green beans for Rush and green bean baby food for Winnie. (She won't eat green beans, but loves them pureed. Sheesh)

I had a salad- baby spinach, purple onion, edamame, chickpeas, sweet potato, carrot, olive oil, honey, and garlic. On the side, some leftover brown beans (if you are not a Dean, however, you might call these pinto beans). Brown beans are the ultimate comfort food for me. It was a bit of a dreary morning, so these hit the spot. Also, lemon water, which is the only way I can be good about drinking water.

The kids for snack had apple slices next door with Grandma Linda, but then later had some Veggie Booty that I literally threw at them while they were watching a movie so that I could talk to my sweet friend Amber (who's pregnant with a little munchkin) in peace and quiet.

For dinner, I made eggplant parmesan, raspberry asparagus, and mashed potatoes. The kids ate different veggies, because they won't eat asparagus.

For those of you who think I probably never make meat for my husband, I pan-fried this bad boy up with intentions of turning it into chicken parmesan, but he ate it plain instead.

Rush and I had one of these tasty treats for dessert. Winnie did not receive dessert because she refused to eat her veggies. I run a tight ship over here.

Happy Birthday to Winnie!

This has been a week-long celebration of MY GIRL. She is now three, and will someone please stop time?! I burst into tears in the car when she was saying, "I'm three, then I'll be four, then I'll be five...[counted all the way up]...and then I'll be twenty!" Happy birthday to Winnie!

One of her favorite gifts, real ballerina slippers from Grandma and Grandpa

I wanted to make her birthday as special as possible, so she got to take her great friend Sonya to lunch (without Rush. she kept emphasizing that) at Bread Co. Later, we went to SweetArt to pick out birthday cupcakes and then to Bradburn's to pick out some little Calico Critters that I think are too cute.

I've never noticed how tall Sonya is! Loving on each other with bellies full of smoothies and pumpkin muffies.

Birthday dinner at our house

She had (more) cupcakes with princess candles. Her gift from us this year was a little initial necklace that is so cute.

She also had a "party" at school today...her teachers made a big sign for the door. I brought in snack...individual ice creams. I heard they went over a little better than the additional apple slices. Surprise, surprise.

It's almost surreal to think that she's been here for three whole years already, but I can hardly remember what my life was like without her. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me (with the exception of her brother, of course!) and her birth marked a huge change in my life. She gave me purpose and a larger meaning for my life that up until three years ago was pretty much all about me. I've never really been good at much in my life, but I am a good mom. It's nice to be able to feel like you are fulfilling God's purpose for your life. Winnie is so perfect and wonderful and hilarious and so full of life. I can hardly keep up! I'm so glad God put us together. To know her is to love her...