Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Fannie

yesterday was Fannie's birthday.
we went to a concert in the park and had dinner and cupcakes to celebrate.

the clan


the hubbers, the chubbers and grandpa


the birthday babe


the hubbers, the chubbers, and grandpa again


the birthday babe (again), her brother and her father


the chubbers


the chubbers and his mama


up close and personal.
funny how this doesn't look like him at all.


getting ready to sing.

hooray for birthday season!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Birthday Week!!

the chubber's birthday is this week!!!!
aaaahhhh! i can't believe it has gone by so fast!
i can't wait! he's so fun and i'm so excited to throw him his first birthday party.


the chubbers new favorite game - let's see how long mom and dad will hold my hands and walk around with me.


riding in the car is tough business.
you can tell by the fist.


we had a cheerios picnic with pais and critter.
it was so much fun - the kids LOVED eating snacks and sitting on the sleeping bag.


the chubbers new job - dusting the coffee table with our tissues.


"let's see....which one should i use now?"


"mom - aren't you proud of me? i've started doing chores without being asked."

sometimes in the mornings it feels like i have to rip the chubbers out of bed to take him to the babysitter's house. i hate doing it. it's my least favorite thing in the world.
but - most mornings he's pretty good and wakes up happy in the car. and then he rewards me with smiles like these:

"was that a good one?"


"are we done now?"


"fine - here's a good one for your blog"

he's so fun!

Monday, June 20, 2011

monday, monday

yay for another monday.
and yay for Father's day!
i meant to get a pic of the hubbers and chubbers together - but forgot. :(
so i'll just post some others.


the chubbers LOVES to shop. i mean - come on - look at him chillin' back checkin' out the blue light specials and lovin' life. when he spots something he wants - he just grunts to me and i put it in the cart for him like a good mommy.
he's really got it good.



for our last night of school they had a nice dinner for us and our spouses / significant others. it was so nice to spend time with my classmates and think back about the past 3 years. i will miss them all - especially these lovely ladies. they are some of the greatest people i know - and i will miss seeming them every week.

now - for these next pictures - if this is your grandpa - or someone you know - let me know. i was in total awe of this. so much so that i had to take a picture while we were at a red light.



i mean really - people never cease to amaze me.

anywho - happy monday all - hope you have a good week.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

busy, busy, busy

we have been busy around our house - learning lots of new things and having many firsts.

here is the chubbers first time sitting in a high chair at a restaurant.

the hubbers took these of us while we were napping. i woke up as soon as he took the picture because he started laughing cause he thought he was so funny.


he was trying to get a picture of the chubbers because of the position he was sleeping in. so funny how flexible kids are.


this is the chubber's first ride in his new car seat. it is so fun to be able to turn around and see his face instead of having to look at his reflection in a mirror. i think he likes being up higher - now he can see more stuff outside of the car.


this picture doesn't do justice, i know.
i took this right after the chubbers crawled for the first time! it was just a few crawls - but it was AWESOME! and the hubbers and i were both there to see him crawl for the first time - what an awesome moment as parents. of course, we couldn't get him to crawl anymore after this - i think our excitement confused him.


and just another sleeping picture for your enjoyment. he is such a little wiggle worm. can't hold still in his sleep. but at least he's content, right? guess daddy is nice and soft - who wouldn't want to sleep on him?

Thursday, June 9, 2011

three, trois, tres, 3, III....years.

you would never believe that 3 whole years has gone by. but i can believe it. i've been writing papers and reading books and sitting in the same chair for all these months and i am so ready to kiss it all goodbye.
don't get me wrong - it's been a pleasure. but as the saying goes - there's a time to laugh, a time to cry, and a time to be done with going to school.
so there.
o.k. - let's not focus on the fact that i still need to read a book and write a paper about it before next week - at the moment i don't want to focus on that. what i do want to focus on is that i get Thursday nights back with the hubbers and the chubbers. i get to go home after work instead of eating 2 meals a day from a lunch bag. i get to go home and take a nap if i want. i get to read whatever books my little heart wants to. i get to catch up on all sorts of things. and just in time for school.
so for now - goodbye academia! so long textbooks! adios tuition bills!
hello the rest of my life!


(photo credit to whoever took this great pic of the Y)

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

through a child's eyes -

weird.
i know it's weird.
but the chubbers LOVES to suck / chew / whatever kids do - on our coasters. he can't get enough of them. i think he likes the soft side of cork on his two teeth and the hard stone side on his gums that have no teeth yet.
go figure.
i think if he could eat them, he would.




this last weekend our nephew Luke got baptised - CONGRATS LUKE!
and what a perfect photo op - when the chubbers and the hubbers both are dressed up. i took advantage of the situation to snap a few.




the hubbers, the chubbers, Luke and another pair of legs behind them.


you know the saying that goes something like - seeing the world through a child's eyes. well, if only we knew what they were thinking. here are a few pics of the chubbers that i really love - and i can't help but wonder what's going through his head.

"i sure do love this ball"


"you guys are so funny!"


"don't even think about touching my ball"


"can i take this ball home?"


"oh yeah - i have a ball 4 times this size at home"


"oh well - maybe they'll let me take it home anyways"

Thursday, June 2, 2011

randoms.

just saying - if you click on each of these pictures below it will enlarge them and then you can see his true expressions.


this is what the chubbers thinks of food.
nice.


here the chubbers was waiting for his bath. we had just fed him dinner and he was soooo dirty.


the chubbers LOVES bathtime.
last night he was laughing so hard - at nothing. he just kept laughing and laughing and he was so cute so i made the hubbers come and take a picture of him.
he splashes like crazy and then can't figure out how his face gets wet. it's really funny.

now - here's my weekly recipe, along with a story.

Double Chocolate Loaf Cake – from http://www.howsweeteats.com/
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks soft unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 tablespoon good-quality vanilla extract
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, putting in a baking sheet as you do so.
Add the flour, baking soda, cocoa, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream into the processor and blend until smooth.
Scrape down the sides and process again while streaming in boiling water. Remove lid and fold in chocolate chips.
Scrape and pour the batter into a buttered and floured bread loaf pan and put into the oven.
Bake for 50-55 minutes.
When ready, the loaf will be risen and split down the middle.
Let cake cool, then poke holes throughout the top with a fork or knife.
Press all the way down into the cake so the caramel sauce can sink in.


Salty Caramel Sauce
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup water
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon sea salt, crushed until fine

Mix water and sugar in a saucepan and heat over low heat without stirring until sugar dissolves.
Increase the heat to medium-high, allowing the mixture to come to a boil.
This will take about 5-7 minutes, and you can occasionally swirl the pan to stir. Once a golden amber color, remove heat and add cream, vanilla and salt – it will bubble up.
Turn heat back down to low and stir continuously until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and let sit at room temperature for 2-4 hours where it will thicken.
Once cool, drizzle over chocolate cake, making sure to hit all of the poked holes so the caramel sinks down in. Serve with additional caramel.

i made this monday morning when we had the day off of work so we could have a nice dessert with dinner. and - cause i needed time to make the caramel sauce. seriously - it really took me like 30 minutes to get the sauce just right. i was so excited to see all my hard work pay off when the hubbers ate this treat and told me what a good cook i was. but alas. it wasn't meant to be.
i baked it just like it said - waited for a crack down the middle (50 minutes cooking) and then i took it out of the oven. well, i should have done the toothpick check. but i didn't.
hours later, i mean really - like 6 hours later, i came back to start fixing dinner and noticed the whole thing had caved into itself. i looked closer and noticed that the whole thing was still very, very gooey. it was not done. still needed like another 10-15 mintues cooking, at least.
so - if / when you make this - make sure it's done DONE before you take it out.
what a sad waste - i had to throw it out. and it looked so divine.