friday five

Mission Accomplished-  We took away (she gave up?) Jilly's pacifier this week.  It hasn't been as terrible awful as it could be, but at night she especially misses it.  Sleep has felt like a long lost besty-best friend.  And, her saddest quote of the week- "Being a big girl is hard."  But, she did get her Aurora dress and boy oh boy she loves it.

Baby Miles-  The girls and I headed down to San Jose for the day to meet Sweet Baby Miles.  We all love him so much, and had a great day hanging out with his mom and big brother too.

Swinger- We put Mattie in the swing for the first time this week and she seemed to be a big fan.

Divergent- I've finally gotten out of my reading slump!  I had heard lots of good things about Divergent by Veronica Roth but was hesitant to start another dystopian trilogy.  But I got it to listen to on my drive and loved it so, so much.  It's kind of a mix between Hunger Games and Matched, and it definitely has the best love story of the three.  I miss listening to it (the narrator is excellent) and am dying that I have to wait on the hold list for the next book. 

Fall- I realize I'm the first person ever to say this, but I am totally in love with fall.  The weather is perfect, the leaves are beautiful, and there are so many fun things to do.  I kind of don't want this month to ever end.

quinaritos

We've been on a quinoa kick lately.  It started out when Bryan was trying to avoid gluten before his marathon, then perpetuated when we realized this was an alternative to Jilly's rice addiction.  There are so many good recipes on pinterest, and this is one of our favorites we've found.  It's originally posted here, but I modified it just a bit and couldn't resist calling them "Quinaritos."  They are tasty, meatless but filling, and make excellent leftovers.  

Cilantro Lime Quinoa
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper, to taste

I cook quinoa in my rice cooker because it cooks perfectly every time.  Just throw the broth and quinoa in and in 20ish minutes it's ready.  But, you can also cook it on the stove- boil the broth then add the quinoa, turn the heat down, and let it simmer.  The quinoa is done when it is light and fluffy and all water is evaporated (about 15-20 minutes.)   Pour cooked quinoa in a bowl and fluff with a fork.  Add garlic, lime, cilantro, sugar, and salt and pepper.  I made the quinoa during the girls' nap time and then put it in the fridge for a few hours til dinner.

Quinaritos
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup diced bell pepper (I did a mix of red and yellow)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, rinsed and drained
1 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp cumin
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I didn't measure, but probably used a lot more than this)
10 tortillas (we love the kind that you cook yourself)

1. In large skillet heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion and cook til tender, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.  Stir in peppers, beans, corn, chili powder, cumin, and cilantro.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Add lime juice and season with salt and pepper.

2.  In a strip down the center of each tortilla layer quinoa, shredded cheese, and bean/corn mixture.  Be sure to leave a 1/2 inch border on the edges.  Roll tortillas into burritos by folding the ends then rolling them up.

3.  Turn your griddle on medium-high heat and spread the burritos seam-side down.  Cook a few minutes til crispy then flip and cook the other side til crispy.

We dipped them in Greek Yogurt mixed with taco seasoning, but I'm sure this Creamy Avocado Yogurt Dip would be delicious (we didn't have an avocado.)

Mattie: five months

Mattie is now quite the mover.  I'll put her in one spot and between rolling and scooting she'll be in a totally new spot in just a few minutes.

She grabs everything.  The other morning I was holding her while eating breakfast and I very nearly had my whole bowl of cereal fall into my lap when she grabbed and pulled my place mat.  

I was ready to revoke her super sleeper status last week when we had some rough nights, but she seems to be back on her regular schedule of waking up once or twice during the night and going right back to sleep after eating.  I wouldn't be sad at all if she decreased that though.

She's a big time momma's girl, which I love most of the time but it can also be extremely inconvenient.

Above all, her most impressive trick is her toe touch.

friday five

If you come to our house Jilly will make sure the first thing you do is admire our pumpkin.

Up until now Mattie has worn mostly new clothes since all of Jilly's 0-3 month clothes were for winter.  But now that it's fall and we're into 6 month clothes she can wear Jilly's hand-me-downs and it's so fun to get them out and reminisce.

Jilly is clearly an up-and-comer in the cupcake business

We made our first pumpkin patch visit of the season.  We had so much fun playing that we never even made it to the pumpkins.  We'll be back soon.  (Yes, that is a box of corn kernels- best idea ever.)

We got rid of Netflix and switched to Amazon Prime, but so far have not been overly impressed.  Any Prime lovers?  Is there any way to easily access the shows we watch most without having to search every time?  Can someone please convince me this was wise?

C is for Cookie

A couple weeks ago I taught preschool and we did the letter C.  We practiced writing C's and made C's out of pom-poms.

The kids did a Colors Puzzle I got from the library.

We talked about Colors, and how you can mix colors to make other colors.  I bought these squeeze bottles and put water and a couple drops of food coloring in each.  I got this idea from my friend Christina and she is a genius because the kids LOVE it.

And we made c-c-c-Crowns.

You absolutely cannot do C without cookies.  We watched a little clip of "C is for Cookie" then we ate cookies.  The rule was they had to use their first bite to turn the cookie into a C.  Yum!

a wonderful weekend

Jilly had a sleepover at her Nana and Papa's on Friday so Bryan and I (and Mattie) went on a date.  We got sushi, and Bryan has mentioned at least 15 times since then how much he likes sushi and that we need to go more often.  

Saturday was mostly taken up by General Conference.  We also did some projects around the house, looked at cars (a minivan may be in our future- gulp), and drove out to Bryan's parents' house in the evening.

On Sunday morning we started conference with yummy cinnamon rolls, then kept busy listening and entertaining Jilly.

 Between sessions we visited 100-year-old Grandma Croshaw, my girls' great-great-grandma.  She kept saying the girls were little smarties, told Bryan he was a big boy, and told me I'd be a big boy soon. Every few minutes she'd also let out an "oh hell."  It was a nice visit.

Bryan's brother Jeff brought his new Harley and I surprised everyone (including myself) by agreeing to go for a ride.  He went easy on me and it was actually pretty fun.

I don't know that I have a favorite talk from this conference (at least not yet.)  But, I did come away with many sweet gems.  Lately I've been more stressed and less kind to my family than I should be, and I came away with a new determination to fix this.  I also feel so grateful for the many reminders of what a blessing it is to be a wife and mother, and how valuable I can be in this role.  Lastly I feel so comforted to know that I am part of a bigger plan and have a Heavenly Father who knows and loves me.

five

1- With it being the first week of October I felt that sloppy joes were in order.  I made this recipe and Bryan, the self-proclaimed sloppy joe hater, and Jilly, the picky toddler, scarfed them down.  Chalk one up for Rachel (and Mel.)

2- Mattie got her first little cut this week (we let her hold a straw and she used it to scrape her nose.)  Good thing she has a big sister around to hook her up with a Dora bandaid.  (Someone gave us these pajamas when Jilly was little and she wore them many times.  When I put them on Mattie I realized for the first time that they are definitely "boy pajamas"- nothing gets past me.) 

3- Pigtail braids made an appearance this week and it was love at first sight. (These pictures are at the zoo with Jilly's bestie Kylie)

 

4- Yesterday I heard Mattie on the monitor waking up from the world's shortest nap.  She was making happy noises so I just let her be until Jilly asked if she could go check on her.  Then I heard in the monitor, "YAY!!!  Baby Mattie is awake!  Hooray!"  For the next few minutes I heard Jilly talking and being silly while Mattie laughed so hard.  Sisters are the best best best.

5- This is one of my favorite weekends of the year; we get to stay at home and watch excellent messages from our church leaders.  If you'd like to learn more about what I believe, tune in!