The Lazy Days of Summer

I woke Cruz up from his deep sleep on our bed this afternoon when I heard Brian Williams' voice on NBC Nightly News.  It's true I put him down for a later than normal nap (interrupted by a later than normal trip to the pool), but it seems a 3-hour nap is how he rolls lately.  I don't mind, as spotting that tan little back nestled in a mound of comforters and snuggling face-to-face for awhile is one of my favorite summertime occurrences.  

August is here and we've officially hit the lazy days of summer.  We're busy indeed, and my to-do list is once again filled with my regular August essentials --- meal plans, closet organization, school shopping, hair appointments, etc.  We're see-sawing back and forth from busy to sleepy, productive to lazy, and it creates a comfortable balance to end the season.  The weather has finally provided a little relief after what seems like more 100-degree days than I remember from any other summer, and we're trying our best to squeeze in as much summertime as we can in the days we have left.
  
So what have we been up to lately??? 

...I baked a rhubarb pie.  The vodka crust turned out even better this time, and the pie was melt-in-your-mouth amazeballs.

...We spent Sunday's perfect weather outside on an extra long bike ride to George Wyth, a break at Pfeiffer Park, a visit from Gabe and Gina, and beers and pizza on the sunny patio at Mulligans.  It was the perfect way to spend such a beautiful day outdoors, and my legs are feeling our miles today.

...We put Cruz in his new room, and he's been a champ in his big boy twin bed.  He loves it, and has given me a glimpse of what life will look like when he's sixteen.  The room is still in progress and I hope to share more pictures soon, but I'm loving his cozy space upstairs.

  
...I moved into my new office.  The UNI Schindler Education Center is my new home, and while my office space is small, I made it homey with some lighting for ambiance and wall decor.  

...I organized my closet and donated three massive garbage bags to Goodwill today.

...We had a Henrichs family reunion, the first one since 2003.  A lot has changed since then, and instead of talking about high school graduation, we were chasing our littles around a playground and cutting up grilled hotdogs into bite-sized pieces.

...We ate sno-cones at the pool.  We can't go to the pool anymore without stopping for a sno-cone on our way out (or as soon as Cruz spots the concession stand, which today meant five minutes into our trip).  

...We watched a lot of Olympics.  Cruz is a fan of beach volleyball.

...We wore bandanas.  Cruz needed a couple for a craft at daycare, and Beau insisted on buying a couple more for him and Cruz to wear around the house.  Cruz actually fell asleep wearing one the other night :)

...Cruz had a major meltdown in JoAnn's Fabrics yesterday because the check-out associate wouldn't let him play with the credit card swiper.  I later had to leave in the middle of waiting in line to buy books at Barnes & Noble because Cruz wouldn't stop removing magazines from the rack.  I guess A Sick Day for Amos McGee will just have to wait...

...We had an impromptu overnight stay in Omaha to celebrate the life of a very special person.  Our good friend and neighbor, Windee, lost her mama to cancer last week, and we felt the nudge to go and be at our friends' side during this difficult time.  We stayed in a nice hotel room, to which Cruz has grown quite accustomed to, and took him to the Omaha Zoo before hitting the road home on Saturday.

Cruz loved the zoo.  He spotted all the animals, said goodbye to each of them as we pushed him along, and helped groom some goats in the petting zoo.  It was the first 70 degree day in more than a month, so the zoo proved to be the hot spot of the day, however, we took our time, enjoyed the beautiful weather, and stood by the gorilla cages far too long.

Few words and lots of pictures to document our day in Omaha...

  

I love posts that end with a bunch of penguins in a firing line.  They stood tall and proud like this for the entirety of our aquarium tour :)

Creamy Pepper Pasta

If you've been getting your hands dirty in a garden this summer and made the mistake like we did of planting not one, but two banana pepper plants, than this is the blog post for you!  Since this was our first time planting a garden, we didn't exactly know how many tomato plants and pepper plants we would need for a solid 'yield' of produce.  We actually thought we were skimping when we only planted six tomato plants and six different pepper plants.  Now, like many, we have tomatoes and peppers coming out of our ears!  I'm poppin cherry tomatoes in my mouth every five minutes, and we have a small funeral for every tomato or pepper that has to be tossed.  Needless to say, we're on the lookout for lots of yummy recipes that call for veggies, and I fear that maybe just maybe, I may be sick of fresh tomatoes by the end of the season (as if that's even possible).  

The other night, I took a recipe that I usually cook with sweet yellow peppers, and substituted them with a few of these mildly spicy banana peppers.  Banana peppers are the bright yellow peppers you usually see pickled as toppings at Subway or Jimmy Johns.  They are a little spicy, but mildler and sweeter than a jalapeno.  Out of the garden, they're slightly bigger than a jalapeno, and chop up like a bell.  They're excellent on sandwiches, in salads, and as it turns out, the perfect addition to this quick, easy, and fresh pasta dish.

This one's a keeper.  It's no fail, and like most pastas, you can add or change what you want to personalize to your liking.  As I said before, I usually use yellow sweet peppers, but really liked the bite of the banana peppers in it.  This time, we also added a pound of spicy Italian sausage, only because it was in our fridge and needed to be used.  I actually like it better without the meat.  And topped with some garden fresh basil, this hit the spot after a hot day outside.

  
Creamy Pepper Pasta 
  
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 sweet yellow pepper (or 2-3 banana peppers, depending on heat and size), chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp. flour
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce (buy your favorite - we use Bertolli or Classico)
1 lb. bowtie pasta
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped (or 1 tbsp. or so of dried)

1.  Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet; Add onion, pepper, and garlic, and saute until tender.

2.  Stir in flour.  Gradually add milk, cream, and salt; bring to a boil.  

3.  Once you're boiling, mix in spaghetti sauce and reduce heat to a simmer; simmer for 10 minutes.  

4.  While you're simmering, boil your pasta noodles in a large pot of lightly salted water until al dente.  Drain noodles and pour back into pot.

5.  Pour pasta sauce over cooked noodles and toss with basil and Parmesan.  Serve immediately (however, the leftovers are soooo good, too :))     

 

Guest Post - Amanda from "It's the Little Things"

Happy Monday!  Awhile back, I did a guest post at my friend, Amanda's blog, "It's the Little Things."  Amanda and I were friends in college and are now wearing the hats of teacher, wife, and mama to two babes, Cruz, and Amanda's adorable little bean, Stella.  We were also both born in August - August 13th for me and August 14th for Amanda.  And I'm sure we're both feeling the heat of another school year approaching, all while trying to squeeze as much summer as we can into these important days in August.  

Now it's Amanda's turn to do some guest posting on my space.  Take it away, girl!   

Hello there, I’m Amanda, writer behind our family’s blog, It's The Little Things, centered around this fantastic little thing called life! Our tiny corner of the internet is your glimpse into our endless giggles, yummy meals, park excursions, bebe letters, colorful crafts, and heaps of love, with bits and pieces of what inspires us along the way. Something parenthood has taught us so far, is that the little things in life aren't so little after all; they are, in fact, quite big and beautifully important. We invite you to our neck of the woods to enjoy a peek at some of the treasured moments in our lives as a itty-bitty family of four.
 

Sweet Ashley has put together a list of questions so you can get to know us better!  And I must say, what a treat it is to being hanging out in this wonderful space today.

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-Tell us about Stella - what is her latest 'thing?' Stella’s latest thing has got to be shaking her head no.  You guys…she is 14 months going on 14 years.  Right before she does something she knows she is not supposed to do, she shakes that little head of hers back and forth.  It's pretty darn adorable if you ask me.
  

-What is your favorite thing to do with Stella? One of my favorite things to do with Stella is take her to the library.  We always have so much fun when we go, which is usually once a week.  She gets to pick out a few new books and I get to read while she plays in the baby section.  It’s my kind of fun and is only a short walk away!

-What do you do for fun with the family? As a family, we adore the park.  I mean...we have a borderline obsession going on over our park.  Yes, I call it "our park" because we live in a condo and do not have a backyard, so the park is our refuge and special place.

-How do you find time for that ever-important 'me' time? How do you balance your many hats as a mama, wife, teacher, etc? Oh, now this is a good one!  This whole balancing act is more like a juggling act.  One thing is up while the other is down.  I haven’t always been okay with that, but over time I have come to realize that I don’t think life will ever be balanced out as perfectly as I used to hope for.  I concentrate on making sure I am being positive while embracing the little things in the moment, whether that be as a mama, teacher, or wife.  I am just so grateful for this sweet life of ours.

-You are an Iowa girl who married your high school sweetheart and moved to the city to build a life for your family. What do you miss about Iowa, but love about your new home/city? One thing I miss about Iowa would be the comfort I feel around the familiar, whether that be my family, friends, or my old surroundings.  I guess you could say corn fields and clothes lines soothe me.  And as for life in the city, I love that every thing is just a walk away.  Be it a museum, a store, the market, the cinema, the park…it’s all right down the street.  I love that.  I think the urban life suits us, for now.  

-What is the most rewarding thing about being a mama? The most rewarding thing about being a mama is seeing Stella happy.  I love getting to experience new things with her that bring her joy.  When she radiates happiness with that beautiful smile of hers, I cannot but help feel beyond blessed.   I also cherish her little milestones, such as flipping through a book for the first time or when she learned how to blow a kiss.  Those moments just melt me.

-Your idea of the perfect date? Easy.  Eating food with my man.  Really though, any time Andrew and I can go out to eat and try new food together I am one happy camper.  We love the diversity of restaurants here in Kansas City and have a blast exploring them.  And I wouldn’t mind taking said food to a drive in…now that would be an ultra-perfect date. :) 

-You have an eye for style and can rock a fedora more than any woman I know. Share a style secret and your favorite place to shop! Miss Ashley you are too kind!  The fedora makes for one good bad hear day cover up, that’s for sure.  One style secret I have is to not be afraid of color.  I hate it when I hear women say, “Oh, I could never pull off hot pink pants but have been dying to try it!”  I think to myself, “Then try it sister!”  There are no rules when it comes to feeling good in clothes.  So I say go for it.  And as for my favorite place to shop that would have to be the Anthropologie sale rack and H&M.  I could live in Anthro.  For real. 

-Favorite meal?  As you already know, I love to eat.  Food is my passion, so narrowing down a favorite meal…well that’s a toughy.  For starters I love comfort food.  Bring on the savory sauces and bold flavors.  One of my signature dishes and most favorite things to eat on a brisk fall say is boeuf bourguignon.  Julia Child’s recipe, of course.  You can find this recipe on my blog under the good eats tab!

-Favorite drink? Hands down: iced coffee.  Need I say more?

-Song you can't get out of your head? “Gold On the Ceiling” by the Black Keys.  I’m sort of having a Black Keys moment right now, and miss Stella does this incredibly cute booty shake when she hears them rock out. 

Thanks for having me Ashley and to all of her lovely readers, I would love to be your new blog friend!

xo, Amanda

Orange Week

Last week, Cruz and I celebrated the color orange with food, fun, and a patio table smeared with paint.  While my Muffin Tin Monday was probably the easiest to prepare this week, I had a hard time coming up with lots of orange activities to keep us busy.  So, we had our usual fun, and by the end of the week, seemed to incorporate lots of colors instead of just one.  

This week's discovery box (in Cruz's brand spankin' new Nike shoebox)...

This week included a shovel, a basketball, on orange pom pom and paint for a paint project later in the week, some goldfish crackers, a sweet potato veggie snack, Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin, and one of Beau's favorite childhood toy, an Ant? (I had never heard of Ants before, but later learned they were about as big as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles back in the day).     

Muffin Tin Monday...

This was an easy week for food.  I did easy finger foods for Cruz this week:  some Goldfish, a peach, mandarin oranges, carrot sticks, a cheese sandwich, and his absolute favorite, cheese curls.    

What's Cookin' Wednesday...

 

  
Cruz helped me bake a batch of white chocolate orange cookies.  They tasted very similar to white chocolate macadamia nut only with a hint of orange (and no actual nuts).  They were delicious, teeny, and perfect in a glass of milk.      

One morning, we sat on the back deck and painted some mini murals for Cruz's new art gallery in his new room (pictures to come soon).  Since I figured using only orange would be pretty boring, we experimented with lots of color and used a different texture for each.  Cruz loved playing with the many types of 'brushes' and I think the finished product ended up really neat.

  
The textures we used were all things I had around the house:  a cotton ball and Q-Tip, feather (from a feather duster), paint brush, toothbrush, a sponge brush, and an orange pom pom ball.

  
How else did we celebrate orange week???

We had a carpet picnic of cookies and milk and watched some Olympics.  I taught Cruz to dip his cookie in his milk until it was nice and soggy, which led to a new pair of pajamas and a pretty good milk goatee!

  

Where'd it go???

And we watched God paint a pretty Iowa sunset to end our week...

Two more weeks of summer left and I'm bound and determined to squeeze in two more colors to complete our rainbow.  After all, school is just around the corner and my son has a thing for yellow school buses, and my garden is chock full of pretty purple lavender that I have no idea what to do with!  

Happy Friday everyone!  

The Dance Machine

I dare you to watch this video and not smile at a one-year-old attempting to work some game on the dance floor.  He's got some moves.  

This is my first attempt at iMovie...sorry for the weird audio and transition issues :/

Click the four arrows to the left of 'vimeo' (on the actual video) to view in full screen!

Happy Day, all!

Our Trip to Tahoe from Ashley Jorgensen on Vimeo.