Mom's Birthday Dinner.

Last night we had a fun time.
We had my family over for a casual dinner party to celebrate my mom's birthday.

I made a loaf of french bread in the morning.

I made a big pitcher of this most refreshing cucumber water.

 I made one large tray of PW's lasagna for the party, and two small ones to have in my freezer for a rainy day.

 (cell phone pic.)  I love using slices of mozzarella for this lasagna instead of shredded.  Somethin' about it, I don't know, I just love it.

I chopped up some basil, mozz, and tomatoes...

 and put em on a stick, sprinkled with salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic, and called it caprese in a cup for our appetizers. 

 I got that idea from pinterest.
I heart pinterest.
Like a lot.

 I had fun decorating the island and getting things set up.
I framed a couple of pictures of my mom and had those out for display.  The frame next to the flowers and the wine is a picture of my parents with Hannah at Grandparents Day at her school, which of course my mom got to take home with her.  I also had some blue and yellow peeps out for eating and display because my mom loves peeps.

 Soon it was time for our guests...

 I pre ordered PW's new cookbook for myself and my mom months ago, and I had to tell her NOT to go buy it.  I think she was excited to finally have it.

 My sister brought the cake,
and I tried to squeeze 52 candles on it but that is harder than you'd think.  ;)

We love you Mom!
Happiest of happy birthdays to you.

This & That

Hi there.
Happy Tuesday.

Sunday we went over to Grover's Grove (my parents house) to stock up on our oranges, lemons and avocado supply.

 The girls love to do that.

 And I love all that free organic produce.

Sunday night I sauteed some leeks in butter...

 Leeks might be my new favorite vegetable.
They are fun to chop.
And they taste good too.
I used the leeks in a cowgirl quiche from Pioneer Woman's new book.

 Oh my quiche heaven was this good.
P-Dub has not steered me wrong yet.

I had some sweet potatoes that I needed to use, so I tried this recipe from pinterest for sweet potato oatmeal casserole.

 On top is a mixture of chopped pecans, flour, butter and brown sugar that you broil until browned and crisp.  Oh my.  It was too good to be breakfast.  It didn't last long.  I told the girls it was pudding and they ate it right up.

 The girls putting on a barbie show for us after dinner one night.

Today for lunch I had this mexicali salad from Trader Joe's.

It was really really really good.

But then I ate a cadbury egg.

So that probably subtracts all good things from the salad.

Way to go Genn.

Before I sign off to go round up the crazies,

two things to tell you...

#1- We started watching Downton Abbey.  We've seen three episodes so far, and we are hooked! 

#2- A blog friend Janene (who I got to meet at Blog Sugar), recently told me about this website www.farmfreshtoyou.com .
They have a delivery service that she just signed up for to receive farm fresh locally grown, organic produce delivered to your doorstep!  The contents of Janene's first delivery sounded fantastic!  After researching a couple of other sites that are similar, I liked the farmer's story at Farm Fresh To You, and decided to go with them.  I decided to get the $31.50 box of fruits and veggies mixed, delivered every other Friday.  That was the recommended size and delivery for my size family.  I will blog about my first delivery soon.  But if you are interested in doing the same, email me and I can send you the coupon code for $10 off your first delivery!!!    (Thanks so much Janene for sharing this with me!!!)

Longer Days, Hunger Games, Hair and Stuff.

Let's hear it for the weekend!!!

I think we are finally getting used to the time change.
It took a while, but I am enjoying that extra hour of daylight lately.
It seems that we have been in the backyard much more.

Thursday night I made what might just be our new favorite pizza.

Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough, brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt and cracked pepper, light layer of freshly grated mozzarella, steamed asparagus, olives, and sun dried tomatoes, followed by a wee bit more mozzarella.  It was delish.

With that extra hour it seems we are finding time to go on walks after dinner again.  One last trip out of the house so Mr. Hass the girls can burn off a bit more energy.

Friday afternoon we let the girls play at the new park in Dos Lagos for a bit.

That picture with Claire using the binos makes me laugh.

The girls had a blast playing with this nice young man on the teeter totter.

Mr. Hass and I got to sit on a bench and chat for a good hour while they played, and then we all walked over to Trader Joe's.

That was an experience.

Two kids, both wanting to push their own kids cart, a crowded Friday night in TJ's, Claire tipping her cart upside down and emptying the contents on top of her, fun times I tell you.  Fun times.  ;)

Saturday night I had been looking forward to for months now.

Way back when I heard the release date of the Hunger Games movie, my friend Irene and I who both read the book, made our husbands read the book(s), and then we set a date to see the movie and do dinner afterwards. 

Since I haven't been linking up for what i wore wednesday, here's an outfit pic for ya.
Details: striped sweater- BP Nordstrom, scarf- Nordstrom, skinnies- Paige Premium Denim Nordie's, and boots- my good old Steve Maddens.

Oh, and I don't think I told ya I got my hair done did I?
Yup, got a full weave.  Not going blonde or anything, but just lightening up a bit for summer.

Can you see the highlights?
I asked Mr. Hass to take a picture of the back of my hair for my blog buds and he did this...

Yeah. 
Sorry about that.
Then I threatened to go shopping with his credit card and not cook for a week, and he took this one for me.

It's getting longer too huh?
Remember when it was this length...

That was in July.
Grow hair, grow.

Anyway,
Saturday night was tons of fun.  Mr. Hass and Mr. Dunbar had not met before, but they hit it off just as we knew they would.
And The Hunger Games was great.  I can't wait for the next one.

After the movie we had dinner at Islands.  Fun fun fun.  Can't wait to do it again.

I'm off to enjoy what's left of "quiet time" in my house.
Hope you are having a nice weekend too.
And in case you were wondering...

Yes, yes Claire still likes to color with markers.

Random

Hi there.
I've got writer's block.
Or something.
So this post actually might be short and sweet.

I got my new PW cookbook in the mail.
I haven't had much time to flip through it yet but it looks like another triumph for her.

Last week while Hannah was in school Mr. Hass and I took Claire to be seen by a speech therapist at a local elementary school.  She is talking a lot but is just so very hard to understand and we wanted to see if there is anything we can be doing to help her and if there was anything to worry about.

 The therapist was very nice and Claire had a really good time.
She said that she didn't think Claire had anything wrong with her mouth or her tongue muscularly, but that there were a few things we should probably address.
She has some bad habits with her speech that she said most kids usually self correct by age two.
The biggest issue is that if a word begins with a consonant Claire just drops that letter and only says the second half of the word. 
For example, the word green Claire will pronounce as "een".
The problem is that most of her words sound like "on", "een", "or", "eeeee", and so on.

 But she improved in just the hour we were there last week, and I am taking her again tomorrow morning after I take Hannah to school.

I wore my rain boots last weekend, and this afternoon I sat outside in the sun in shorts hoping to get some color on my white legs.

 The asparagus I bought from the farmers market has been so good.
Tonight we are having homemade pizzas.  My go to easy dinner.

 Mr. Hass gave me flowers.
Aren't they pretty?

I bought the girls new bedding and here is a little peak into their room now...

Hannah's lamp recently broke so she got to pick out that pink polka dot one.

I'll try to find my bloggy mojo soon.

I kinda feel like all my days are the same lately.

I haven't even been taking many pictures.

I'm counting down until Napa right now.

I could really use a weekend with the Mr.

I'm also counting down to a weekend at the beach using our motorhome that we just booked.

You counting down to anything?

Dinner?

Bedtime?

The weekend?

Peace out friends.

Friday.

Anybody else feel like they can't stop yawning since the time change?  Anybody?
I've been so tired.
I am so glad we don't have to rush out to school tomorrow morning.
Hannah's school starts at 8:50am and every morning that we are trying to get out the door by 8:30 I am thinking how am I going to do this next year and have her there by 7:45am?
Coffee. 
I think the answer will be increase my coffee intake.  I think that is the only way.

 So next year, Hannah has to be at school by 7:45am,
Claire's school will start at 8:50am, Hannah will get out at 11:30am, and Claire will be out (on the other side of town btw) at 11:50am.  And on Wednesdays, because of budget cuts and early dismissal, Hannah will be out at 10:30am, and then Claire out at 11:50am.  Taxi mom here I come.  I think it's time for that convertible I want so at least I will look cool while cruising all around town all morning long.

 It is dark and stormy looking today.
The rain is comin.
I want to go to the farmers market tomorrow, and they are there rain or shine. 
We might be produce shopping in our rain boots.

I finished reading Bossypants by Tina Fey this week.
I love her.  And that's all I have to say about that.

Since this post is lacking some exciting pictures, I checked my folder to see what I had from March 16th last year, and this was the only edited photo I had in there.

I've got bread kneading in my bread machine right now.
I am trying this recipe in the crockpot for dinner tonight.

It required ham hocks.

First time I have ever bought ham hocks.

Hope it turns out good.

In five weeks, Mr. Hass and I will be gettin' out of Dodge.
We are going to spend a long weekend in Napa celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary.  We can. not. wait.  We will be staying here.  I am so excited.  I've been planning wine tasting outfits in my head.  ;)

I better run.
Time to go pick up Hannah.
Just wanted to pop in.
Say hello.
Happy Friday.
Got any plans?
I've got two movie dates planned already!
Can't wait.

Bye for now.
G

Cherimoyas, A recipe, & Sunday Funday

Monday Monday.
How was your Monday?
Mine was ok.
I ran errands.
Worked out.
Made breakfast, made lunch, made dinner.
Picked up messes.
Cleaned upstairs.
Sorted through my bathing suits and workout clothes.
So I guess Monday was productive at least.

 The girls have really been enjoying their sandbox lately.
I am glad.  When we got it I was so excited for them because I remember how much I loved my sandbox as a kid, and they were not too interested.  Now it is a different story.  They are in there all the time.  Makes me happy.

In a recent Rachel Ray magazine a recipe for toasted almond and coconut macaroons caught my eye.
I gave it a whirl, and not only were they so simple to make, they were delicious (if you like coconut).

 3 egg whites
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c sugar (next time I might try them with stevia or truvia)
2 1/2 c shredded sweetened coconut (I chopped it pretty fine in my food processor)
1 c whole roasted almonds (I chopped these in food processor too)

*Whisk together egg whites and salt.  Gradually sprinkle in sugar, whisking until thick and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Fold in coconuts and nuts.  Drop rounded tablespoons onto parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake at 350 until golden, 18 to 20 minutes.  Makes about 20.

At the farmers market on Saturday I tried a fruit that I had never heard of in my life.  Cherimoya.  Prounounced (che-tti-moya)

Cherimoyas are originally from Peru and now some grow them in San Diego.

You do not eat the skin.

The insides have seeds, and they are soft and almost creamy textured.

The. best. fruit. I. have. ever. had. in. my. life.

So delicious!!!

And of course so expensive.

Because I always like the most expensive no matter what it is.

Ha.

On Sunday Mr. Hass was working again, and my Mom and the girls and I drove out to Anaheim to check out Mother's Market.

My parents went the weekend before and found all sorts of great stuff.

These are all cell phone pics.  No big camera with me on Sunday.

I really loved Mother's.

It is a health food store that sells all organic and locally grown (and BEA-U-tiful) produce and other healthy foods.  They have a neat little cafe inside with a juice bar (which I will try next time).

After shopping around we stopped for lunch at Corner Bakery.

And after lunch it was time to check out one more healthy market that my Mom had heard about.  

 It was huge.
And packed.
I thought it was a bit too much but I think my Mom loved it.
I bought Mr. H some fancy IPA's and another specialty beer.
They had all sorts of international foods in different sections.
We stopped at the Greek cafe to order Mr. Hass and my Dad a chicken schwarma.  We got to taste the chicken right off the rotisserie and man was it good.

We joked that we were like health food store "groupies", driving all over to check out new grocery markets. 

It was fun though.

Back at the ranch, er, I mean the grove, we decided to check out the new tetherball in the backyard and just hang out for a bit.

 After a few intense games of tetherball (I am the champion btw), and one or maybe two, alright fine three pieces of the best pie ever that my cousins Chad and Matt brought by on their way home from Blanca's up in Big Bear, we might have all hit a wall.

It was Sunday Funday.

And today, Monday not so fun day, I made more kale chips.

I bought the kale at the farmers market, and this time I used a bit less olive oil, less salt, and I also sprinkled this nutritional yeast over them. 

They were good.  But I'm unsure about the yeast.  I have read that it is a slightly cheesy flavor and this was not that.  Still good, with lots of health benefits, but lacking the cheesiness I thought it might have.  Maybe I bought the wrong yeast.  This was from Mother's Market.

I also bought about $15 worth of cherimoyas.

I told you they were expensive!
And woops, now Mr. Hass knows that too.

That's all I got.
I'm out.