Easter, Yummy Easter Dinner, Egg Hunts-A-Plenty, Zoo Play Date, and Out On The Town

On the plate: Orange baked ham, roasted asparagus, and Israeli carrots
     
Soundtrack to cook to:  Wham's Make It Big.  Gotta love some really great throw backs!  I love the 80s!

Happy Easter 2014!  We had a very busy week two weeks ago, because we celebrated Passover on Monday evening and then Easter that Sunday.  There was brisket and a Seder to be planned, and then egg dying and a ham all in the same week.  (At least we had lots of leftovers.)
While I was running the BAA 5K, the boys spent some time with my sister and her fiance at their apartment.  As soon as I got back, I showered, and then the boys participated in an Easter egg hunt in the apartment's lobby.  The boys had a wonderful time and got MANY eggs (so many that we had to leave early so that other kids could get eggs, too.) 

I know it's a little blurry, but I thought it was so cute that William
totally understood immediately that he was supposed to pick up
the eggs and put them in his basket.  He was SO into the Easter egg
hunt and was excited to run around the lobby and collect the eggs.

Alex loved this as well. :)

There he goes!

Kristen was good about showing William where some eggs were hiding.

Look at the little guy go!

William didn't even need help most of the time. :)

Uncle Pete was there to help Alex.

The little man cleaned up!

The darling girl Lily, (that my sister nannies for) and her equally darling mother
Alicia joined us for the Easter egg hunt as well!

Alicia and Lily looking for eggs. :)

William also insisted on carrying his "Melmo" (Elmo doll) around with him
while he was hunting.

One happy boy with his Tita and a basket filled with treats!

Alex, Pete, Kristen, and William at their apartment's Easter egg hunt.

Alex was happy to meet little Lily and Alicia.

So sweet!

Lily and Kristen, getting in some snuggle time.

So cute!

Later that afternoon, after nap time, Alex woke up and we dyed Easter eggs together.  We got the natural egg dyes from Whole Foods that were made from red cabbage, kale, and turmeric.  They're pretty neat, but don't dye the eggs incredibly well (compared to the kits that I used when I was a kid).

Here's Alex, decorating an egg with a white crayon (that would show up
after the egg dying).

Oscar was guarding us and observing from afar.

Alex, spooning the kale dye over some eggs.

Alex, dying Easter eggs.

Brotherly snuggling and movie watching that evening.

So adorable!!!

Here's Alex and William's Easter haul, courtesy of my Mom and Dad.
(With Easter bunny ears and Easter card created by the boys.)
Thanks Mom and Dad for all of the yummy treats!  (I may or may not
have taken a few of the treats myself...heh heh.)

Alex and William on Easter morning.  I love William's scrunchy-faced
smile in this picture.

Happy Easter 2014!

The boys, checking out their Easter baskets from Grandpa and Mama B.

Two happy boys and one curious dog.

We had a lovely breakfast with Pete and Kristen.  Then, after that, we had an Easter egg hunt in our front yard for the boys.

William, Kristen, Alex, Oscar, and Joseph during our Easter egg hunt.

There goes the little guy again!

Alex was very busy collecting all of the eggs on the stairs.

Alex, showing William where some of the eggs were hiding.

It was so much fun, seeing them running around our front yard
collecting the eggs with such excitement.

The boys after the Easter egg hunt.  As you can see, someone (*ahem*
William), did not want to sit on the stairs and pose for pictures.  :-p

There we go!  Two happy boys with full baskets.  :)

The boys during their second Easter egg hunt.

While William was napping, we took Alex outside (because he's starting to phase out of his afternoon nap) and Joseph shot some silly string at Alex.  They both had a blast!

"Here Alex, let me show you how to use the silly string," said Joseph.

Joseph loved coating Alex in the silly string.  He even got Oscar once.  :-p
I think Joseph had a little more fun than Alex.

HA!

Joseph and Alex during the *not so fair* silly string fight.

Alex did end up taking a short cat nap that afternoon.  Then, after that, he helped me make dinner for that evening.
First up was an orange baked ham.  I had never made a ham for Easter before, so when I was perusing the Internet and found an easy Barefoot Contessa recipe, I was all over it like white on rice.  Ohhhhh yeah!

Ingredients:

• 1 (14-16 lb) fully cooked, spiral-cut smoked ham on the bone (I found an uncured, smoked 8 lb ham at Whole Foods)
• 6 garlic cloves
• 8 1/2 ounces orange marmalade
• 1/2 cup dijon mustard
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 orange, zested
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

First, you need a really cute sous chef to help you use the food processor.
CHECK!  :)

Mince the garlic in a food processor.

Then, add in the marmalade, mustard, brown sugar, orange zest and orange juice.
Blend until smooth.

The smell from this glaze is simply to die for.

Pour the glaze over the ham and bake it in a 350 degree F oven for 1 hour.

The house instantly smells amazing.  You get the spiciness from the mustard,
the sweetness from the brown sugar, and the tang from the orange zest and juice.

This was a HUGE winner in our household and was reinvented into many other
meals for the remainder of the week.

Wow.wow.wow!!  A smoky, salty, and sweet entree that you could be
proud to serve to anyone!

Joseph and Alex, snacking on carrots while I was cooking dinner.

Our little grumpy bunny finally managed to get a good nap and even gave us a little smile.
*Check out Joseph's glorious man beard!* :)

After William woke up from his nap,
he got a carrot as well. :)

The next dish that I made while I was baking the ham was Israeli carrots.  I found it from the Cooking Light daily calendar that my parents got me for Christmas.  It was a very simple dish to whip up, but I think I would do it a little bit differently next time.  I'll explain why in a bit.

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts water
• 1 lb baby carrots, trimmed and quartered lengthwise
• 1 garlic, chopped (*do NOT use any more than this, because it will be too spicy)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp fresh orange juice
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt

I washed, trimmed, and actually quartered the carrots (because they were thick).

*I'm sorry, but I just have to take a moment to admire how beautiful these carrots are.*
Aren't they gorgeous??

Place these GORGEOUS carrots in the 2 qts of boiling water for 5 minutes,
or until tender.  Drain in a colander. 

 

Mince the garlic in the food processor.  Then, place the fresh cilantro
in and finely chop it (~3 pulses).

Then, add in the dill, olive oil, orange juice, cumin and salt, and
pulse until finely chopped.

Finally, toss the herb mixture with the carrots until the carrots
are evenly coated.  Serve and enjoy!

*These turned out OK.  The herb mixture was delicious.  I think that*
if I were to make this again, I would place the carrots into a 400 degree F
oven and roast them for a few minutes after they have the seasoning on them.
That way, the herb mixture would be more baked into the carrots, making
them even more flavorful.

They look just as pretty as the picture advertised!

I wanted one more vegetable side dish, because we really love veggies in our household.  So, I found a very quick and simple recipe from FoodNetwork.com for roasted asparagus.

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches medium asparagus, trimmed
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• black pepper
• Grated Parmesan (I used a mixture of Parmesan, asiago, and romano cheese)

I didn't do a step-by-step for this recipe, because it is THAT simple.

1. Spread the trimmed asparagus on a foiled sheet pan so that they are in a single layer.
2. Coat with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
3. Toss the asparagus to coat evenly.
4. Place in a 450 degree F oven for 8-10 minutes (turning them around at the halfway point)
5. Take them out of the oven, sprinkle with cheese, and serve!!
   
   This dish was INCREDIBLE!!!  It was salty and woodsy while still having
   a nice crunch.  You don't need to use a lot of cheese, either.  A little goes a long way.
   LOVE this side dish and it's put together in the same time that it takes you to set a table.  :)

And now, dinner's served!!

My handsome men at our Easter dinner table.

Ok Mom...enough with the pictures.  Can we eat already?  :)

Ooh!  Dish recreation number 1:  Pasta with smoked ham and Israeli carrots!  I cut up the ham and carrots into small pieces, and tossed them together with some mushrooms, onions, pasta, and marinara sauce.  Huge success and so, so delicious!

While I was washing dishes in the kitchen, the boys got eerily quiet.  I peeked around the corner to find that they were playing together nicely!!  Alex said that they created a game called, "Checky-check-check" where they put marbles into a container, then poured them into a fireman's hat.  I was just happy that they were playing together so sweetly.  :)

Later that morning, we met up with two of Alex's former teachers who are now nannies (and the children they nanny for), and a former co-worker of mine named Suzie with her darling son Coda at the Franklin Park Zoo.

Suzie, and Alex with one of his former classmates named Nathan.

Alex jumping around like a frog with two of his former classmates,
Benjamin and Nathan.

There they go!

The boys loved looking at the prairie dogs.

Suzie, Coda, Alex, and Benjamin checking out ostrich eggs (replicas).

Alex and Nathan with the elephant bones.

Suzie and Coda with the elephant bones.

Coda, checking out how he measures up to the fellow zoo animals.

Alex, Benjamin, and Coda.  Alex is taller than a pygmy hippopotamus! :)

Coda and Alex checking out an alligator.

The boys, communicating with a gorilla.

They were very excited to be so close to the gorilla.

William with Noah, Benjamin's younger brother.

William was trying to have a conversation. :)

Suzie and I had planned to have a picnic at the zoo, while Sarah and Annie (Alex's former teachers) chose to take their kiddos back home.  Alex had so much fun seeing his former teachers and classmates on this play date.

Alex gave his friend Nathan a BIG hug before we headed off for our picnic.

Coda, Alex, and William at the picnic table, munching away.

PB&Js, carrots, fruit, and pretzels.  A winning lunch!

There was a Canadian goose that had joined us for our meal, but I
neglected to give him any attention.

After the delightful picnic, Coda and Alex had a lot of fun playing at the playground.

Oh my goodness!  They were so cute!

After that, they went on two carousel rides together.  This was Coda's
first time on a carousel and he was SO happy and excited to go on it with Alex.
It was so heart-warming to see the pure joy on each of their faces.

Then they went on a jeep ride together.  Our boys had a lot of fun together.

So precious!

William was a little irritated that he couldn't ride
the rides with the big boys.  Next time, Will, next time.  :)

After that, they held hands and went off to explore the zoo together.
How sweet!!

They were seriously, so cute together!

Alex and Coda on a tractor.

Alex was feeling a little adventurous and climbed to the very top of the
playground equipment.  But then I had to help him down.  LOL!

Coda, Alex, and a boy from the playground, sharing the ladybug
bouncer.  There was seriously no fight over this.  They enjoyed it together!

We had a wonderful time seeing our friends and catching up.  Thanks for the great day, Suzie and Coda!!

William selfie!!  He's almost 1 1/2 old!

Music class fun under a blanket.

Playing around with instruments.  :)

I couldn't resist this...William eating a lemon :)

While we were playing on our patio, William
decided to do a little "downward dog."

Even though I absolutely LOVE the time that I have with the boys, it's definitely nice to get out of the house and have a date night with Joseph. 
Last Friday, Joseph and I had an amazing dinner at Empire restaurant in Boston on the waterfront with two of our dear friends, Liz and Peter.  It was so nice to get out with just Joseph, eat a quiet and delicious dinner at a regular pace, and to catch up with some great friends.

Liz, Peter, and Joseph at Empire restaurant.
Funny story, we ordered dessert and when they brought it to us, they
thought we said it was someone's birthday, so they put in a candle
and gave us a "Happy Birthday!" cookie. 

Peter, me, and Joseph at the restaurant.

We felt that Liz and Peter should take the honors of blowing out the candles.
Then, Peter took the liberty of eating one of the candles that he claims
was a complete accident.  LOL!!

Joseph, Me, Liz, and Peter out on the town.  :)

That following night, we were sitting on the snuggle couch while Joseph played piano.  Alex found a googly eye from one of his arts an crafts projects and was playing with it.  Then, I turned around, looked at him because he was giggling hysterically and found him like this:

HA!!  Alex with a googly-eyed belly button.
He's a super, silly kid.  Love him!

Joseph and William playing the piano together.

Another busy week that was full of fun activities!  It was so nice to catch up with so many people, and eat lots of yummy foods as well.  Thank goodness the weather is warming up again so we can continue to get out and have more adventures!
Until next time...

Love and kisses,
Nikki