Carb Overload

This past weekend, Erik took my nonchalant comment of "We should try making bagels one weekend" and indeed decided to make bagels.

[Why doesn't that work when I mention "We should go through the closet and get rid of some clothes this weekend" or "Wow, the toilet needs to be scrubbed this weekend?"]

Anyhoodles, here are the sesame bagels in all their glory. Erik did a wonderful job! They were extremely easy to make (thanks to the dough function on our bread machine) and the first batch soon spawned into a second batch to keep in the fridge for the week and also into a set of 4 bagel dogs. I looooove bagel dogs. Mmm, mmm, mmm. So as you could imagine, we ate a lot of carby bagel goodness this past weekend.

The Great Escape

I'm starting to liken Landon to Stewie from Family Guy as he seems to become more scheming week by week. But more like the cute cerebral side of Stewie; not the side that is always trying to kill Lois.

This past week's excitement came in the form of watching Landon sit up on his own (good job, buddy!), pull himself up on his own (great job, buddy!) and then try to swan dive out of the crib on his own (no no no, buddy!) all within a 5 minute time span. There is no real end to the video, since I abandoned watching his goofiness and ran to the nursery once I realized what he was about to do. Joy.



Update: The video is not working on some mobile devices for some reason. The link for the video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYgf838ln5E if you want to watch it from a YouTube app on your phone.

Hangin' With Dad

"Aawww, come on Dad... not in front of Mom."

My boys and their baby blues.

Are You Not Entertained?

Landon's foray into the swing game this weekend was... well, not very exciting. He just sat there looking quite bored. Or the oppressive heat may have had something to do with it. Either way, we will put the swings on the back burner for now and try to amuse him elsewhere.

"This is supposed to be fun? Yawn. My buns are burning. Next option, please."

One of my recurring lines these days is quoting the movie Gladiator in which Russell Crowe's character looks around the arena after a match, strongly posing the question "Are you not entertained?!" Yeah, we pulled that quote out a couple times this weekend.

A Real Parenting Site

I think there needs to be more stories told such as the ones found at www.longestshortesttime.com. I'm not trying to be a jerk and scare moms-to-be, but for all the times that someone says "Well better sleep now, 'cause you won't have time later! Mwah-hahaha!" when they find out your pregnant, I think you become numb to the fact that you should probably really be stockpiling zzz's as per the unsolicited recommendation.

The site is dedicated to stories about the trials and emotions that new parents experience during childbirth and during the first few months. No one is trying to sugarcoat anything and no one will tell you that all the pain and frustration disappears when your baby farts for the first time. Hallelujah to a forum for real experiences of the emotional spectrum.

Phone = Crawling

You know how people tell you that kids rather play with other objects other than their toys? Like the box a toy came in? Or that a 6 month old can differentiate between a play phone you give him versus the real one? Yeah, all of that is true.

Pears = Squinting

Recipe Try Out: Easy Meatloaf Muffins

Last night's dinner was so simple and easy; I will definitely be making these again. I actually like meatloaf, although I don't think the word "loaf" goes well with meat vocabulary in general. I find that meatloaf is fairly easy to make already, but the recipe below from Kraft (via stacymakescents.com) appealed to me because of its simple ingredient list and short cooking time.

It was very difficult to not eat a bunch of these! They didn't even need any ketchup for dipping - which is crazy to me since ketchup and meatloaf is like peanut butter and jelly, Sonny and Cher, Snickers and ice cream, diapers and wipes, etc.


Recipe:

1 pound ground beef
1, 6oz box stuffing mix
1 cup water
2 teaspoons chili powder
3/4 cup salsa
3/4 cup shredded cheese

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Mix meat, stuffing mix, water and chili powder until well blended. Press into 12 muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray.

2. Make indentation in center of each with back of spoon; fill evenly with 3/4 cup salsa.

3. Bake 30 min. or until meatloaves are done (160°F). Top with 3/4 cup cheese; bake 5 min. or until melted. Let stand 10 min.

South Texas in the Springtime

Meanwhile, in South Texas when we open our door this evening...


We were warned about scorpions, so this isn't a big surprise. This pairs well with the tarantula scurrying across the patio floor at the O Club on Friday night. Which also accompanies the small army of red ants that attacked my foot this morning while weeding. And its not even summer time yet. Have I told you that I keep my son under a net whenever we are outside?


In all fairness, I can find beauty in simple things around this interesting South Texas town. Like the field across from our house...


And the random old telephone booth that my neighbor insists on having outside at the end of his driveway (presumably as an art piece or a cozy place for scorpions to mingle)...


And the black-eyed susans that are doing their best to hang on in the arid terrain...

Pennsylvania in the Springtime

I love this photo that my brother took of my dad last week. It makes me miss home and it makes me miss springtime.