Soundtrack to cook to: Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. I LOVE, love, love disco music! This was one of my absolute FAVORITE movies when I was in high school. I was obsessed. There's some great booty-shaking music on this soundtrack. Check it out!
Oy vey! The dreaded sniffles and coughs have taken over our household the past few weeks. There was one bug that took over me and the boys and lasted for two weeks! It was pretty brutal. Thus, we didn't do a lot of traveling on our "adventure days" because this mama was down for the count. Instead, we visited our local playgrounds and played a lot at home.
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| Our cute little three year old modeling his hat. If I can't dress little girls, then our boys have to be stylish! |
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| In a small bowl, mix together the following ingredients: 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp onion powder (I used dehydrated onion flakes) 1/4 tsp salt In a separate small bowl, pour 1/2 cup lowfat milk (I used buttermilk) |
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| The recipe calls for 3 zucchini, but I used 2 large golden zucchini and sliced them into 1/4" rounds. Dip the zucchini rounds into the milk and then coat each side of the zucchini in the breadcrumb mixture. Place on an oven proof wire rack that has been sprayed with nonstick spray and place in a 425 degree F oven for ~20 minutes (or until the zucchini is golden brown). |
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| Ta-daaaaa! FINALLY! A recipe that is just as delicious as the fried version. The saltiness of the cheese with the sweetness from the zucchini were fantastic, but my favorite part was the nice crunch that you got when you bit into each piece. I served these alongside some broiled halibut and it paired beautifully. |
Like I said...we like dessert in this household. I was on Pinterest and found this awesomely easy recipe. Plus, the description of the recipe said that the brownies were "fudgy"....they had me at fudgy. I had to make these right away.
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| Lightly coat the inside of a 9x9 baking pan with nonstick spray. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix together the following ingredients: 1 box Ghiradelli triple fudge brownie mix 1 1/2 cups canned 100% pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling) 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice Spread the batter into the greased baking pan (batter will be thick). Place in a 350 degree F oven for ~40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out mostly clean. (Remember, the brownies will be a little fudgy.) |
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| The end result! (Our brownie box came with frosting in it, so I iced the brownie and Alexander put sprinkles on his own piece.) These brownies were definitely fudgy and were best served warm. If you like pumpkin pie spice, then definitely add it, but if you don't like it, then don't add it. A delicious and easy dessert that even your preschooler can help make! |
The flu really kicked my behind, so on one of our days at home, we built forts and played with flashlights in my closet. Alexander had a blast making shadow puppets and William enjoyed it as well. It was nice and easy fun that didn't require too much energy on my part.
I was finally on the mend and feeling ready to join the world once again. Joseph's friend Gaurav was turning 30 and his lovely wife Shikha decided to throw him a surprise birthday party. She rented out a boat for the evening and we enjoyed a beautiful sunset cruise together with a bunch of their close friends and family. It was so nice to get out of the house and spend a wonderful evening with Joseph and his friends.
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| Alexander playing with the flashlight's light in my closet. |
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| He had fun playing with his shadow. |
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| Another thing that we did while William was sleeping was play with sidewalk chalk on our patio. Here's Alexander's drawing of "Mommy." (The two eyes together with a little smiley underneath and a large circle for the head.) This was the first time that he drew something that actually resembled a face! I was one proud mama. |
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| In the afternoon, I dragged out the water table and the boys had a blast splashing around together. |
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| The boys playing together in the basement. |
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| William was running around the house in his walker (yes, he REALLY does run in it). Alexander decided to hitch a ride on William's walker. They both thought it was hilarious. |
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| Our tired little sailor after a morning at school. |
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| William, helping me out with the laundry. |
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| "Wait a minute, mommy! You're not going to put me in there, are you??!" |
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| Me and Joseph on the boat. |
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| A great night with great friends! Erika, Irun, Joseph, and I had a lovely night chit chatting and catching up. These guys drove from NYC just for this party. We were so glad they made the trek! |
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| Me and Peter (another one of Joseph's med school friends). |
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| The whole crew on the boat! What an awesome way to ring in someone's 30th! Happy birthday, Gaurav! Awesome party, Shikha! |
Since summer has been starting to wind down, I've been trying to do as many outdoor activities with the boys as much as possible. We've got some really great parks around our area, so I took all three boys (Alexander, William, and Oscar) to another park to play for the morning.
Alexander is the next Ninja Warrior!
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| William LOVES the swings. He starts giggling and smiling as soon as he's in. |
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| Brother snugglefest! |
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| Awwww! |
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| It was pretty hot that day and we had been doing a lot of running around while we were at the park. All of the boys (Oscar included) were pretty pooped when it was time to go home. So, all of the boys decided to take a ride in the stroller on the way back home. (This was DEFINITELY not a light stroller ride for me to maneuver.) |
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| Oscar was so relaxed on the ride back home. What a silly dog! |
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| Just chilling. :) |
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| Our little chef! I used to love to play dress up when I was younger. Alexander got a few dress up outfits from Nono and Nai Nai for his birthday this year and has enjoyed dressing up and playing around. |
Love and kisses,
Nikki
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