Photo 107: Trains

So after Alex's nap I decided we needed to do some coloring!
At Japan Fest in the kids section they had coloring pages from this website here, and I discovered some fun ones. So we got to coloring and then we got to play!

As we played with the train and he was saying "choo choo" I realized he needed to hear what real trains sound like. (Real trains meaning Japan trains!)  So we went over to the computer and enjoyed watching some videos of Japanese trains while eating an osenbei snack!

This first one is 10 minutes, but it shows the ride someone took--looking out the front of the train.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=b5R3PnZCID8

Then this is a short video of lots of different trains (imagine Alex yelling "rain" as we saw each new one)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5aAvksTbFE

And this is a must see, because, while it is humorous, it is more common than you might imagine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0A9-oUoMug

This one is really long and they were not the kind of trains I normally rode, but it also gives you a good gist of what things looked like around there! :) We skimmed through most of this one!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EBOHmTGw_U

Why would you watch videos about trains? You will get such a glimpse of what Japan looks like! And you have no idea how watching these can make me so homesick! Everything from the music that is played when the train is getting ready to leave, the typical clocks that hang in every station, and crowded views of the country as you stare out the train window.

Also keep in mind I rode a train to school from the time I was in second grade. We lived as children through the crowded rush hour trains when we could hardly breathe and almost lost backpacks, and occasionally a shoe as the crowds pushed out and in at each stop. I wouldn't trade my train experiences for anything.

Well, that is quite a tanget from the picture... but now Alex has a little bit of an idea of what a train ride is like in Japan and what it sounds like! Hopefully he will be able to ride them himself one day! :)

Photo 106: Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall!

Today was a Saturday at home, which seems to now mean spending some time during the day to do some food prep for the days ahead. A little extra work on the weekends goes a long way to make the weekday meals less stressful!
Today was saying goodbye to summer... as I took the dwindling supply from my basil plant to make some pesto for the winter, BUT
I welcomed fall with a batch of apple sauce and pumpkin scones!

The apple sauce recipe can be found here. I made another batch a couple weeks ago, but had some extra apples so decided to fill up a couple more jars to stick in the freezer.

The pesto recipe can be found here. I mixed in some leftover spinach I had, used walnuts, and mixed in a little parmesan. Hmmm... can't wait to pull these out of the freezer to use on pizza or for a quick pasta dish!

The pumpkin scone recipe was found here. They were delicious! I made two batches--one I baked right away and another I stuck in the freezer! The recipe said you could take out a couple at a time and then bake them right up. How perfect is that? The spice drizzle is AMAZING! I think I want to put it on all desserts now! Will and Alex both gobbled some right up (and Will had said earlier he wasn't much of a pumpkin fan!)

Happy eating! :)

Photo 105: Really?!

September 20

Learn How to park people!

catching up 2

I never meant to get so behind, but this year there are literally not enough hours in the day. Between everything I have to do, want to do, need to do, there is just not enough time for things like blogging that fall in the want to do list at about position 140. But as I was sitting at my computer, trying to do something I needed to do and having ZERO motivation, I figured it was time to take a break from that and get caught up!   Only to probably discover that I have failed miserably again at taking a picture every day, but we will see how this goes.

Sept 8. Photo 96: Nutella Pancakes!
make pancake recipe found here.
pour batter into pan and swirl some nutella on top. put a dollup more of batter on top to make sure the nutella doesn't burn.
flip after a couple seconds. both sides should be a light brown.
enjoy with coffee and powdered sugar! :)






Sept 11. Photo 97: Helping

Sept 13. Photo 98: Pockets
Alex has discovered pockets, but still has a ways to go...

Sept 14: Photo 99: cool dude! :)

Sept 15 Photo 100: Japan Fest

Sept. 16. Photo 101: Sisters

Sept 17. Photo 102
Always ask your student what they are drawing a picture of...
Turns out it was his favorite ninja costume....

Sept 18. Photo 103: Hello!
Wouldn't you want this sweet face waving at you when you open the door! (check out the video :) )

Sept 19 Photo 104: Sign of a well loved bookshelf.
Current favorite have to do with transportation!

Photo 95: Sweet Goodness

Nutella and Cheerios. 

An amazing late night treat.

Photo 94: Game Day

Sept 6.

Alex cheers loudly whenever anybody else does. He also tells the team they need to get with the program and also excitedly raises his hands for a touchdown...
even there wasn't one.

Photo 93: Baking with Alex

This afternoon Alex and I needed something to do (I was not in the mood to go outside!) so I decided we should bake some cookies. We need to meet our next door neighbor and taking her a plate of cookies was a good reason to go over! Anyways, Alex followed me over to where I was looking for my pink recipe book. I told him I was trying to find my cookbook so we could make some cookies.

He scampered away. I thought he had lost interest. 

But he returned with what HE thought I was looking for...

his Sesame Street Cookie Cookbook! 

I about died, I couldn't believe how smart he was.  But then, Will often reads to him the cookbook when he is going to bed! He is SO my child...I have multiple food magazines and recipe books! So without further ado we sat on the floor to pick a recipe and then got started. 

Here are the steps for how a toddler boy follows a recipe. Below all the pictures is the actual recipe!

Bert's Cranberry Oat Chip Mini Cookies
(from Alex's favorite cookbook. Yummy Cookies!)

1 cup quick oats
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chocolate chips

• preheat oven to 375. 
• stir together oats, flours, baking powder and soda in a small bowl.
• beat butter, sugars, and peanut butter in a large bowl until creamy. 
• add egg and vanilla, mix until blended.
• stir in oat mixture, then cranberries and chocolate chips.
• drop teaspoonfuls of dough onto ungreased cookie sheet
• bake for 7-8 minutes or until golden brown.
• let cool on cookie sheet for a minute and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Photo 92: The Antics of Alex

15 seconds is all it takes for Alex to get a crayon stuck in a hole left by a loose rung in a chair. 

(He was pretty much in my line of vision the whole time.)

He has also taken a real interest in my coffee station 

(is he too young to teach how to get my morning coffee ready for me).

 Bubble baths are a real hit.

Occasionally he takes a moment to sit still and draw.

emphasis on MOMENT.

but for all his shenanigans through the day, he is my wonderful little Alex. 

The one who now brings books to me to read to him

(and sits long enough to read the whole thing!)

and then, 

my favorite moments when I am hugging him good night, 

and he takes his little arms and wraps them around Will and I for a group hug.

(and often makes sure we all exchange kisses!)

oh my sweet, silly Alex.

Photo 91: 2 hours, 3 recipes, 12 meals.

...So maybe I am cheating a bit with the 12 meals. one of the recipes is breakfast for will and I, which should last the whole rest of the week.
With a little bit of chopping this morning I came out with this:

I have done some freezer meals before. They were okay. I didn't love them, but they weren't terrible either. But at this point in life, to only have to pour some stuff into a crock pot in the morning and have dinner in the evening. I am willing to give it another try!
The freezer meals I found here. I am hoping we like these more...they fall under more the type of flavors that we love so I hope so! :)
Then I made an easy egg "pie" kind of thing that a coworker had posted here (her's is the first idea in the comments! :) )

I am so grateful to have smart people out there who make my life simpler when the days are busier.

Isn't Labor day so nice. It was nice to have a day off after 7 days in school and since school stuff is settling down I was able to focus on getting my house more in order...well, maybe it is still a bit of a mess, but it is a mess with curtains hung and pictures on the wall! That makes me happy!

Photo 90: Sunday Dinner

In our house we don't do a big Sunday Lunch. Alex is going down for a nap right away, and we are usually hungry after church so we just grab something quick. Anyways, I have been enjoying life getting back to normal and feeling like there is time to cook again.

But today the conversation went like this.
Katie: What should we eat for dinner?
Will: uh.... Chicken.
Katie: Just chicken, or with something?
Will: uh....uh... (some help he is in meal planning! :) )
Katie: With tomato sauce, japanese sauce, rice or noodles?
Will: tomato sauce.

So with that huge amount of help I ventured into the chicken. This was a meal that really didn't come together  until I started cooking it, but we enjoyed it very much!

You need:
2 chicken breasts, cut into about 3 pieces each.
olive oil
pepper
diced tomatoes
parmesan
garlic
fresh basil
more olive oil
noodles of your choice

• pepper chicken and cook in pan with olive oil.
• start boiling noodles
• turn chicken and sprinkle crushed red pepper, parmesan, and pepper on chicken
• once mostly cooked through add 1/2 can of diced tomatoes, basil, and garlic. cover
• once noodles are boiled and drained, pour back in pot and add a little more olive oil, remaining diced tomatoes and basil.
• Put noodles on a plate and top with chicken and juices.
• enjoy!

Photo 89: A Box

Sept 1st.

Photo 88: Bubble Bath

August 31.
I bought Alex bubble bath for the first time. We had just been adding some of his shampoo to the water previously, but these bubbles were so much more fun! It was hard to get Alex out of the bath!

Photo 87: Stroller View

August 30
One last cheer for the falcons before we went home