Pomp and Circumstance

As hard as it is for me to believe, my baby sister Lauren graduated from high school!  In my mind she is still the blonde little girl sitting on her rocking chair, selling duplicate beanie babies on the corner of our street.  Its amazing how fast time goes by and it seems to go by way too fast when you don't get to see your loved ones everyday. I'm so proud of Lauren- she has a great spirit about her and has the ability to bring joy to so many peoples' lives. And I must say, she has a way with Conner- that boy is just crazy about his auntie Lauren. I think he already is showing a preference for tall, leggy leggy blondes. 

We had a great time in Nebraska but it just went by way too fast. Made me realize how unfortunate it is that the twins live so far away from both sets of their grandparents. While I too often discount living in Nebraska, there were moments that really had me taken aback when I was home. One was watching Conner, in nothing but his diaper, being pushed around in a wheelbarrow on the farm. It was the epitome of being a kid. Another moment came when I was picking asparagus and came upon a stalk of asparagus, standing perfectly straight out of the ground. Its always amazing when you get to see the food that you just pick up from the grocery store growing in its natural habitat. Now, if I do make it back to Nebraska in the winter I might not have as many fond memories to report from that trip. Its freakin' cold there!

Barrel of Monkeys

Spring has sprung and along with the arrival of flowers, I do believe two monkeys have inhabited my house.  These monkeys come with an intense love of bananas, great climbing abilities, and the use of hands as eating utensils. Fortunately, slinging of feces has not occurred yet.  Here are a few pictures of my cute monkeys:

Ode to Mom

I was sitting in a lecture a few weeks ago about troubled teens and a program designed to prevent problem behaviors through behavioral therapy. One woman asked if this was the right approach and if a better approach may be therapy with the parents. Well, I think this woman was on to something. Perhaps the kids are troubled because they aren't receiving the parental support at home needed to keep them on the straight and narrow. As today is the day we celebrate the mothers in our lives, and this being only my second year of celebrating motherhood, I want to give a big thanks to my Mom! So far, I think I've been a pretty good mom. Though the twins can't give you affirmation through words on that, they do say ma ma a lot and are always really happy to see me when I pick them up at daycare.  All in all, I would say that they are pretty fond of me. And for this success in becoming a mom of my own, I owe a big thanks to my Mom. You did what I imagine to be an impossible task and raised two girls as a single mother. And, you raised two girls who were only 15 months apart!  The twins are now 15 months old and I can't even imagine what it would be like to have another baby to take care of at this point.  Any success I have in being a mother is owed to you, for giving me the foundation needed to build a family upon. I love you!  

Granola with Greek yogurt and strawberries

Greeks and granola

So today I emailed my lovely sister Megan the recipe for granola that I have been making and am totally hooked on, and she suggested that I post the recipe to my blog. Genius! I replied that I had never thought about posting things non-baby related but I think maybe I should share aspects of my life that don't directly involve children. After all, I think there is a lot more to me than just being an over-worked mom. So I was thinking that I will start blogging about food fetishes that I am currently entangled in. And here is my current food fetish, granola (nope, its not just for hippies anymore!).

If you have never experienced homemade granola, be warned, you will never go back to boxed granola once you have made your own! The difference in taste is amazing! And, I haven't done the exact math but I imagine a big batch of granola costs about $7 to make and has at least 15 servings in it, making it much cheaper than what you buy at the store. Currently I am eating my granola with some Greek yogurt and fresh strawberries- delish! Here is the recipe I use for my granola, adapted from Nigella Lawson's granola recipe:

Granola:

5 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking oats)

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup dried dates

2 cups pecans (or almonds, or a mixture if you are feeling a bit wild)

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. salt

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup brown rice syrup

1/4 cup honey (or maple syrup if you want to make it vegan)

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 300F.

In large bowl combine all dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix well.

Spread the granola over two baking sheets. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, being sure to stir granola every ten minutes and rotate the pans. When it is ready, remove from the oven and stir well to prevent it from cooling into one big hard sheet. Place in an airtight bag and it will keep in the fridge indefinitely, though I don't know one could refrain from eating all of it long enough for it to spoil!

One note on Greek yogurt, it is so expensive! I have no clue what makes it so much more expensive than regular yogurt. From what I can tell the only difference in Greek yogurt is that it is strained more than regular yogurt so it ends up thicker. I just ordered a yogurt maker so if I have any luck making my own Greek yogurt I will lend those tips via the blog.

Go ahead and find that inner hippie and make some granola this weekend, just be sure to shower!

What did the Easter Bunny ever do to you??

Pictures are really worth a thousand words.  Here are a few to convey how the twins feel about Easter bunnies.

Lizzie's first experience with "the bunny"

Conner expressing disdain for "the bunny"

Obviously still harboring harsh feelings towards "the bunny" a year later

Celebrity look-alike

I am like most mothers in that I think my two babies are the cutest things on earth.  But, there are times when Lizzie's cuteness just doesn't translate well into a picture.  Perhaps its her chubby little cheeks or the gallons of drool that seem to constantly come out of her mouth, but many pictures of her tend to bear resemblance to a famous celebrity.