Blueberry Muffins

Make blueberry muffins of course! Will loves blueberry muffins as long as I don't try to make them too healthy! ;) I learned that last year, so this year after we went blueberry picking, I made sure to make a more normal, less whole wheat flour one! He was happy!

It was a pretty easy recipe and Alex was more than happy to help! I found the recipe here.

You need:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 cups blueberries

• Let your toddler put muffin liners in the muffin pan (it will take forever! :) ) and preheat oven to 375
• cream together butter and sugar
• then add eggs and milk and mix well.
• in a small bowl stir flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
• add to milk mixture and stir it up.
• fold in blueberries.
• fill muffin cups. (I ended up making about 18)
• sprinkle some sugar on top of each muffin
• bake for 30 minutes or until tops are light brown!

enjoy! they will disappear quickly!

Blueberry Picking

What I love about summer is how the days kind of run together so I really have no idea what day it is, and we have so many fun-filled adventure days mixed in with laid-back, stay-at-home ones and so when I think about the fact that we only went blueberry picking a week and a half ago, I can't believe how many amazing things we did between then and now. 

Summer. It makes you think and act in run-on sentences. Because life is that good.

Anyways. Blueberry picking. Last year I had done two trips. One with the family and one by myself.

So this year part of me REALLY wanted to pick a bunch of blueberries to freeze, 

but I also REALLY wanted to make it a fun family function.

 (Although, I really don't know how much any of the three boys I am with really cared!) 

So of course we all went together. 

 I was actually a little bit nervous about how Alex would enjoy it. He was in such a TWOs mood in the morning. But, thanks to the magic of blueberries, He was quite in awe of all of the berries...especially the ones on the ground!

But we got him on the right track and he started picking blueberries!

...Until it got hot.  

And he was done. 

He chugged water, and ate all of the snacks, but blueberries were of no interest!

But he had fun...

...and Liam did what he does best {sleep!}

 We barely picked 4 pounds, but it was nice to be together.

And although it was SO hot, we all survived. 

And of course...

{I will be dragging the boys}

We will be coming back next year!

 Instead of freezing we used them all up in four fun recipes!

{coming soon!}

clockwise from top left: 

Blueberry Buckle

Blueberry Mango and Peach Smoothie

Blueberry Muffins

Peach & Blueberry Ice Cream

Alex: Take Me Out to the Ball Game

I am not really sure when Alex's love of baseball started. It all began when he got a T-Ball set from my sister, and he would spend ages hitting with a variety of bats that Will had. Then on one library trip, Will got a several baseball books and that seem to seal the deal. He was hooked on baseball. It is really so cute hearing him say the word even. And then he and Will started singing Take Me Out to the Ball Game. 

PRECIOUS!

Here is a video if you are interested! :)

As he developed this interest, so did my wish to take him to a baseball game. But USC's season was just about over, the Braves were to far away for a toddler, so I had settled on a Columbia Blowfish, the local team, game; but it wasn't really what we wanted because we weren't very interested in the team. Then, as we were planning our trip to Ohio, it dawned on me that we should go to an Indians game... So we did! The Indians have had low turn out this year, but when they heard we were coming, everyone else wanted to as well! Hehe, they were actually playing the Detroit Tigers, who had just overtaken them in their division so it was a big game... that we lost!

 Our tickets were actually for seats in the left hand corner of the picture...we never sat there! We went straight to the kiddie section! :)

 Alex is too preoccupied with the field to look at the camera!

 Mesmerized!

 Of course, 9 innings is a little long for toddlers! They enjoyed a hot dog...

 ...popcorn, and juice!

 We also enjoyed the great play area!

 This was our view from the kiddie area. I was thankful for more leg room, space for the kids to move around, and a net to keep them contained! :)

Our Family!

 Post game!

Of course, we paused Alex's play time to make sure he was paying attention to the seventh inning stretch. He was a little overwhelmed with all that was going on, and you really can't hear him sing, but towards the end he caught on. I think they needed to sing it one more time for him to be able to sing too! 

 This was another adventure where Liam did what he does best:

eat, sleep, and look around. 

Thankfully loud noises don't bother him too much. It will be fun when he can enjoy all these adventures too! 

 I can't wait to take them to some more games!

Summers in Ohio

Growing up in Japan, summers always meant Takyama, camps, going to the pool parks and lounging in the river pool. Kakigoris, ice cream treats, fans, a matsuri or two, all sleeping in the living room which was the one air conditioned room in the house (my sister just sent this great article on surviving the heat in Japan!). Even now, if I see, hear, or smell a particular thing, I am transported back to the good old summers in Japan.

For the first time since living in the States, I realized what makes a summer for me in America. I thought it was the grueling summer heat of South Carolina (but at least we have air conditioning), hearing the cicadas, and grilling. But no. In the beginning of July we went up to Ohio to see my sister and her family before they move out west. Maybe it was my first summer as a parent of a child who actually now enjoys various activities etc, or maybe that it was my first trip to Ohio in a while that didn't feel rushed. But as we enjoyed various experiences with Alex and the rest of my family, I finally felt like I was "at home" for a summer in America. We always returned to Ohio in the summer, usually to my grandparent's house and as we experienced culture shock and jet lag, we also enjoyed summer back in the states. It was the place where our family would always come back together after being separated by several states, oceans, time zones. And that is still what Ohio is to me. I think it was so fun this time seeing Alex experience some of the fun things that remind me of my childhood...

Family time:
Ohio Grass. (It is so much nicer than grass in South Carolina.) Grilling with the extended family. Sitting outside and chatting until it is too dark to see outside. Seeing big cousins play with the little cousins (once removed!). Desserts. Catching up on each other's lives.

Fireflies (or Lightening bugs):
Finally at this house in SC we have fireflies, but they are all over the place in Ohio and we had fun catching them.

Baths with cousins:
We have more pictures as kids of taking baths with our cousins when we were together for a couple of days. Of course that continues with our kiddos.

Baseball games:
Nothing says summer like a trip downtown to Cleveland for an Indians game. Of course, since we are not with my dad, we don't leave two innings early to avoid traffic! ;)

Kiddie Pool time:
grassy water, freezing cold. Because in Ohio 80 degrees is hot.

I am glad I figured out what Summer is in the States, and that I got to share that with Alex. As Will and I talked about summers on our {LONG} trip home, he commented on how his cousin's farm in Sumter represents summer to him. It is funny how we connect certain places and memories with the seasons. Summers are a wonderful thing. I am thankful for so many good memories.