I Heart SYTYCD!

I love it, love it, love it!

This year has lived up to all my expectations and more!

My favorite dances this season so far have been...

1. The Addiction piece with Kayla and Kupono

2. Cancer piece with Ade and Melissa

Any Fans...Your Faves?

Hot off the Grill

Summertime is when I love to live, play, and cook outside.

I was tired of all my indoor recipes so Michael and I spent a week having all meals "a la grill!"

This Disney fave became one of my faves:

Roasted Tomatoes

Stuffed with Grilled Ratatouille

Ingredients:

4 large tomatoes

Ratatouille

1 med. red onion-cut crosswise into 1/3 " slices

1 med. red bell pepper-cut into flat pieces

1 med. zucchini-cut lengthwise in 1/3" slices

EVOO

black pepper

2/3 c grated mozzarella

1tbs freshly chopped basil

1ts balsamic vinegar

1. Prepare the tomatoes:

Cut 1/2 " slice off the top and cut round the fleshy inside. Scoop out the flesh leaving about 1/2" border of tomato goodies. Lightly salt the inside, turn them upside down to rest on a paper-towel lined plate.

2. Grab your "Little Chef" and put him under your hat. It is time to prep the Ratatouille!

Brush the onions, peppers, and zucchini with your EVOO. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Place the yummies on the grill over Direct Med. Heat for 8-12 min.

Once the are kissed by the fire, cut into 1/3" pieces. Add the veggies to a bowl with the cheese, basil, and vinegar. Give it a good mix.

Spoon Ratatouille into tomatoes.

3. Grill tomatoes over Indirect Med. heat for 8-12 min. until the cheese is melted.

Voila!

Little Chef Returns with a delish summer dish!

Mama's In and Out List

Brody and Mama

Dylan and Mama



The boys are now 17 months old! Yikes!! I am loving this stage for a lot of reasons: napping (finally!!!) independence, family outings, their personalities are developing more and more...I could go on forever. Personally-because of these things I am begininng to find myself outside of mama again and it is nice after being on hiatus for 2 years.

What's IN

* Hot Wheels

* Books

* PUZZLES!

* "Shu, SHHHu" Shoes!

* coloring

* building with blocks and clipos

* climbing and wrestling

* hugs and kisses ...and fighting and hitting :(

* balls

* riding toys

* singing and dancing

What's OUT

* soft spout sippy cups

* size 3 shoes

*12-18 mo. clothes

*crawling

Brody's Top 5:

Food: Broccoli and Cauliflower

Object: Snack Cups

Activity: Yo Gabba Gabba Dances

Song: If you're Happy and You Know it

Special Talent: The best straight line throw out there

Dylan's Top 5:

Food:Fruit-lots and lots of it

Object: Shu, Shu, Shu...Shoes!

Activity: Petting Zeke

Song: I've Been Working on the Railroad

Special Talent: a puzzle wiz

It has taken us a while to catch up with our weight and size, but I feel we are rounding the corner!

While the Cat is Away

these mice will play!

Let the games BEGIN!

Brody dumped his blocks out and brought his tub to the living room. Very proud!

In our house-Monkey See, Monkey Do.

So Dylan had to have a tub, too.But as the saying goes...

The grass is always greener on the other side.

Dylan is going to try out Brody's tub.

But it is a little crowded in there.

SO back to their own spaces. It is time for f-u-n.

Cause we are living in an Complicated world

And I am a complicated girl.

BPA Free, Organic, Nitrate-Free, No High Corn Fructose Syrup...

My head spins and my brain hurts trying to stay on top of these things and keep my boys healthy.

(Bad pic of mommy and sweet pic of Brody)

(Dylan and Mommy)

Someone please pass the aspirin b/c the headache grows as I am very limited to my resources living in a small town.

Wish our town had this...

or this...

and I had some more of this.

This is one of those reasons why I HATE grocery shopping!!!

How do you eat healthy and on a budget?

So Not Cool

I wish you could still blog without a picture. It takes so much time to upload the pics and that is one thing I don't have a lot of these days. So I am going to be uncool for the 1st time in my life (ha!) and blog without a pic.

Summer is on us-hot, sweaty days! The boys and I are having a great time. It took us awhile to get off the school schedule and make a new one. I have got to have a schedule. I am a teacher and that is really the only way I know how to function.

Everyone has been healthy-Yea! Only the minor accidents from Dylan-of course. He is my little dare devil- no fear. He actually has had these bumps on his face for almost 2 weeks. The Dr. thinks its drool, but it is around his eyes and forehead too. I don't think he is drooling up there. I am suspicious of the sunscreen. We have used Water Babies. Any other suggestions for the sensitive skin?

We are about to try cows milk. I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo tired of buying formula and I have slowly been introducing the dairy products into our diet again. I am praying this is something we have almost grown out of. At 20 bucks a can every 5 days it is an expensive allergy. MOOOOOve over Soy there's a new Cow in town.

Goals for the summer:
*Clean out closet and get rid of all clothes that will never fit again. It is time.
*Language Lab-The boys really need to be adding more vocabulary to their books. I have read that male twins have language delays and I have been very conscience of this. Not to mention that teaching background. We do communicate non-verbally and in "twin speak." However, Mommy is trying to stress the importance of using verbal language to communicate our needs.
*Could I please, please, please, please lose these last 10 lbs? I go to the gym at least 3 days a week, eat healthy (minus those weak moments with the chocolate chip cookies-dang it!), and it will not budge. I am soooo FRUSTRATED with this post baby bod I could SCREAM. I have lots of leftover skin from the glory days of stretching beyond belief. maybe it weighs 10 lbs????
*Get my garden in order.
*Read more than a magazine. I already have 2 books under my belt.
*Blog more. I have crossed over to the dark side and Facebook a lot. But, I have neglected the blog. I set this goal a lot and always come up short.

Hope I can be back on the So Cool list soon.

Remembering Sunshine

On a rainy day, it is nice to remember the sunny days.

Little BB ED on the way

With the summer coming, it was time to shower Baby Eydie and her dear momma Kate!

It was the cutest shower I have seen in awhile.

Her hostesses were super creative.

All I can take credit for are the cupcake bon-bons.

(Thank you Annalee and Bakerella!)

This baby is well loved already.

Can't wait to cuddle her soon!!!

Extream Makeover

About a month ago my sister won a blog makeover for the sad little site I call my blog. I have been putting the makeover off because I have no clue which direction to take this thing.

To my faithful readers:

(all 2 of you)

What should I name this blog?

And for a Mother's Day Treat: Breakfast in Bed

Dylan picked the heart pancake cutter and Brody picked the flower. :)

Forgive me Bloggers

It has been awhile. I have many blogs pending, but I thought I would stay up just a tad later to give a "quickie bloggie".

*Coming Soon*

*Kitchen and Living Room tours*

* A BLOG makeover*

*A Baby Shower*

*Summertime Fun*

* A big announcement!*

The boys are soooo grown up. A couple of weeks ago we had some major milestones. Both boys began to walk! And we passed 20lbs!

We finally got to get our big boy seats out. Check us out in our new ride!!!

The Bunny Trail part deux

The cord arrived in the mail so now I can brag on my babies... Let the gushing begin. Dylan Matthew Brody Daniel

We tried for a good together shot, but it wasn't going to happen. Here are our attempts:

Now, I am no Bakerella. I tried-First Attempt.

Happy Easter!

Slicing and Dicing

Between Michael and I we have done a lot of slicing and dicing lately. We are not just chopping up the boys' food. Tonight I diced off the top part of my thumb. OUCH! A few weeks ago Michael sliced his finger instead of the chicken. Keep the blood out of the chicken already!!!

Dylan is such a hoot. He just has this rolling cackle every time he sees food and after every bite.

Brody took 3 steps yesterday. Such a big boy! He is having a little separation anxiety whenever his mommy, daddy, babysitters, or teachers leave him. Mommy misses her babies, too- Hazard of school breaks.

I hope my thumb heals fast. It is a few awkward thing to pick up two boys with a bum appendage.

Report Card Blues

I am taking a break from sitting in a classroom with no AC. (It is in the 80s outside and my windows are painted shut.)

Report Cards go home tomorrow. I am trying to think of something to say on all my cards, mark a gillion 1, 2, or 3s, check off letters...

I have the "Easter Break was awesome and report cards stink " BLUES!

Who's That Hopping Down the Bunny Trail? Pt. 1

We had a great Easter. The boys look just presh!!!!

Brody loves to dance and do the bunny hop. He is soooo funny. I am trying to teach him the stinky leg, booty bump, and the disco. ;) The boys' GG gave them a blow-up bunny. It makes the perfect tackling device. Brody loves to dive bomb the bunny.

Dylan loves HAM! We had it for the first time this weekend and he was shoveling it in as fast as he could. He got a puzzle in his Easter basket and already is a wiz at the circle and rectangle.

Michael and I also celebrated our 6 yr. anniversary on Easter. I can't believe that we have been together for 10 years now and married for 6!

Unfortunately...the camera cord got left behind so I am not able to post any pics yet.

Shoeless Joe and Moe

Wardrobe Crisis: Must find 2 pair of size 3 (we have tiny feet) sandles for Easter Sunday. The squeekers shoes I was going to get were not offered in their size. On a serious mission-

Why don't you take a break?

S.P.R.I.N.G. B.R.E.A.K.!!!!

I have really needed a break from work and Spring Break came right at the right time. It was great to have some time with my 1 year olds! They keep me on my toes. Here are a few of our treasured moments!

The ABCs of Our Spring Break

A: armadillo roadkill

B: Brenham's BluebonnetsC: Crackers. Lots and Lots of Crackers!

D:Darcy Visit for highlights and a fabulous new do! I still go home for all my hair appointments.

E: Brody's favorite animal from his 1st visit to the zoo is an ELEPHANT!

F: Friends are treasured people and it is always a treat to reconnect with some of those long-distant kind!

G: Graham Goldfish! Yummy! This one is a new favorite of the boys (mommy & daddy 2)

H: HEB Central Market Organic Food Shopping! The boys eat organic as much as we can. I am always so excited to see how much more of a variety the city has versus home.

I:Ike still has left a footprint. Blue tarps are on roofs everywhere.

J: Jellybeans-a great travel snack

K: Kisses from Dylan and Brody-a nice slobbery wet one is the best.
L: Light Rail ride to Reliant Park.

M: McDonald's! God bless Mc D's as it was a nice place to take rest from a long car trip. The boys chowed down on their breakfast deluxe eating 2 pancakes, a biscuit, hash browns, and 1/2 a sausage!
Monkeys were also a zoo favorite of Dylan! He clapped for the monkeys each time they came by.

N: Ninfas-Not my favorite Mexican in Houston, but yummy still.

O: One Year old photo shoot with Miss Debbie. Check us out! http://blog.pure-photography.com/2009/03/07/dylan-and-brody-are-one/

P: Paisley, Brad. He was playing the night we went to the rodeo. He has really fun guitars and put on a great show.

Q: Quiet time for mommy courtesy of Mimi!

R: Rodeo Time! Michael and I got to sneak away to go to the Houston Livestock and Rodeo! So Fun!

S: lots of Singing in the car-The boys love Praise Baby and Backyardagins.

T: Toys R Us Visit. Even if you are almost 28 it is a place where a kid can be a kid.

U: Uncle Herb's Birthday dinner and cuddle time with my almost 90 yr old MeeMaw! She brought all of our old programs and a few notes we had written her over the years. Former Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz chattin with you right now.

V: lack of volume-My hair always is flat, flat, flat in Houston.

W: Walkabouts in "Australia" (This is a BIG deal-we NEVER get to watch movies...) walking around the zoo, mall, Galleria, and Mimi's lake

X: Boxes and cans-The boys loved to build with coffee cans and boxes at Mimi's house.

Y: Baby Mum Mums A new favorite snack!

Z: Zoo! They are building a very fancy addition for the train so we will have to wait till next time...

Happy Birthday to Two!

Dylan, Mommy,Brody

Happy Birthday to my sweeties!

I have been waiting to brag on my little men until I can take some time and do so apprpriately without interuptions!

Brody and Dylan sporting their 1 yr. Sock Monkey Birthday shirts

The Decor

The Feast
a feast of Banana Bread Muffins, Spunky Monky Snack Mix, Fruit & Monkeywiches, Cake, and Monkey Cupcakes

not huge fans of the cake-Dylan ate a few bites of icing and smashed it w/his fist. Brody was a little taken back by all the friends singing him happy birthday.

The TreatsSock Monkeys up for adoption! The kiddos got to adopt a monkey, put on the finishing touches, and take their monkey home.

Every monkey needs his snack. Banana Cookie are the perfect treat! Yum, Yum!

It was the perfect day! The boys had a great day, everything ran smoothly.