Soccer Play Group!

**added some pictures at the end that I had forgotten.

We had such a fun play date with friends at the soccer field.. Isabelle learned all sorts of stuff about soccer and she loved it. 

Isabelle just wanted to hold the ball, she had a hard time with the 'no hands' concept. 

It was so fun watching Iz run around with the soccer ball, she just had a blast.

Lookin' like a pro here!  It was so windy!

She loves the playground too!

For days, Isabelle said she had to go to soccer, or that she had soccer- it was pretty cute.

My tomato plants have been out of control!

 Check out that green pepper!  Pretty proud of my garden this summer!

 Some of the first of the pretty tomatoes picked.. 

As I was picking tomatoes and setting them down, I looked down and realized how they were sized.. our little fam as toms..

 Lilly girl on our walk..

 Isabelle loves to make Lillian laugh and she's pretty good at it!  Lillian is just so happy and reaching for her.

 This is one of Isabelle's photos.. she's getting better!

 Look how hard she's laughing!

I had to capture some of the giggles for you!

 Izzy girl help decorate some cookies.. she loves sprinkles!

I walked in the daycare after working out, to this.. I mean, I didn't even want to take her because she looked so comfy.. look at those cheeks!

 We had a fun little stroll around the neighborhood.. Isabelle has become such a pro at her little scooter, I mean she races around!

 She does get tired though... thought this was so cute {kind of hard to see} of her on the front of the stroller with Lillian's legs around her.

 Isabelle loving on sister.. love how Lillian's little hand is on Iz's back..

 look at Lillian looking at Iz- ahh, I love it!  With her hand reaching up for her.. they just kill me.

:: Family Weekend- just the four of us ::

Love weekend mornings when we are all in bed together!

We all went to the gym, then had a nice little lunch together at the local "Kanza Yanza" restaurant.. love how Lillian is looking at me and dad is telling Isabelle that Lil is too heavy for her to hold. 

Look at those smiles.

 Sunday morning was home made biscuits and gravy... yum!

I made the first batch too thin {misread her measurement} so I doubled them up on the second batch to make them thicker like the picture in the recipe.. they were really good!

I was even able to make veggie gravy {just make a roux like you would for any white gravy, add fresh ground pepper, a little curry powder {I like the hot yellow one from Penzey's} and any other spices you like, then 1 1/2 C milk {used Almond} + 1/2 veggie stock or more milk if you don't have stock and stir until it thickens} and Jacob liked it!

I found a great + simple biscuit recipe via Pinterest, I would definitely make them again.

Foolproof Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits from 'tracey's culinary adventures'...

9 oz {about 2 C} all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

5 T cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes 

3/4 C cold buttermilk {I made my own buttermilk with 1 C almond milk, 1 T white vinegar.. put 1 T vinegar in a measuring cup and pour in milk until it hits the 1 C line, let stand for 5 mins, then measure out 3/4C}
3 T honey 

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter cubes, and use a pastry cutter (or your fingertips, if you'd rather) to cut in the butter until the pieces are no bigger than peas - the mixture should resemble coarse meal. Stick the bowl in your refrigerator to chill for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together the buttermilk and honey in a measuring cup. Add to the bowl with the butter/flour mixture and stir gently just until the dry ingredients are moistened.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead gently about 3-4 times to bring it together. The dough may still be a little crumbly, that's fine. Roll the dough into a 9x5-inch rectangle about 1/2-inch thick. Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter (using the long sides of the rectangle). Once again, roll the dough into a 9x5-inch rectangle about 1/2-inch thick, and again fold it into thirds like a letter. Roll the dough out to 3/4-inch thickness (the shape doesn't really matter). Using a 1 3/4-inch round cutter, cut biscuits from the dough (don't twist the cutter, use a straight up and straight down motion) and transfer to the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch of space between them. (I gathered the scraps and cut more biscuits once or twice to get as many as possible.)

Bake for about 11-12 minutes, or until the biscuits have risen and are golden brown on top. Remove the baking sheet and transfer the biscuits to a wire rack. Allow to cool for a few minutes and serve warm. Or, if you won't be serving immediately, pop them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds when you are ready.

Isabelle picked out this princess wand for Lillian at the toy store so she was trying to get her to hold it {this is what was going on while I was cooking}, but I think it was too big for her.

And she just wanted to put it in her mouth and it had so much glitter on it, I had to take it away from her.. she had glitter all over her face.

This is one of Isabelle's photos.. wish it wasn't blurry because look at that happy face!

We finished our weekend with home made pizza on the grill.. look how pretty!

tomatoes and green peppers from our garden!

We did try a new pizza crust recipe because we wanted it to be like the crispy cracker type crust and we found one that was really good on the Food and Wine website.. it was really simple and delicious!  There is just nothing better than pizza on the grill {with garden veggies and fresh mozzarella of course}!

Crispy Pizza Dough

3/4 C + 2 T warm water
1 package of active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
2 C all-purpose flour, + more for dusting
1/2 tsp salt
extra virgin olive oil

1. In a large bowl, mix the water with the yeast and sugar and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the 2 cups of flour and the salt and stir until a raggy dough forms. Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
2. Lightly oil the bowl and return the dough to it; turn the dough to coat it with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch down the dough and divide it into 4 balls.

MAKE AHEAD The balls of dough can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated overnight or frozen for up to 1 month. Let the dough return to room temperature before rolling out.

We had such a nice little weekend as the four of us.. love when that can happen and think it's important to do every once in awhile.

The swing!! Sisters!

 Lillian says, "get me out!".. 

 Look at those thighs!

 So happy!  Love that face!

 Yay!  Arms up!

 Just another day at the gym.. Izzy girl was strutting her stuff with her baby!

I mean, look at that hand flipped out to the side.. like she owns the place!

:: Fried Rice with Kale + Scallions ::

I thought this was funny when I turned on the monitor, she was just looking up at me, like she knew I was watching  her.

I  made this yummy 'Fried Rice with Kale and Scallions' from Gwyneth Paltrow's first cook book "My Father's Daughter".. love her cook books!

It calls for kale, but I did a handful of kale and spinach.. I will write out the recipe when we get home.

It was so pretty and so good.. looked pretty much like the picture in the book!

Just a little bit of Iz and Lil...

{I turned around and Iz was winding Lillian up, poor girl had to be so dizzy!}

*check back a few posts, I have uploaded a few from May.. trying to catch up!

:: Fast + Easy Granola Bars :: Baked Mac ::

I found this recipe for Fast + Easy Granola Bars, they are very similar to our energy balls, but a little different, so I wanted to try them- you know, change it up a little.

The bars were really good, but the balls just seem easier to grab and go, so I think we will stick with those, but here are the ingredients and details in case you would like to try them!

2 cups quick oats

1 cup all natural peanut butter 

1 cup honey

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup ground flax

sliced almonds (optional)

Mix all ingredients together and stir until well blended.  Spread mixture and roll out onto a cookie sheet or pan lined with parchment paper and refrigerate for an hour or so.I cut them with a pizza cutter after they had set for a little while in the fridge.  Wrap each bar up in some parchment paper or wax paper to keep them fresh.

Of course I failed to take a picture of the finished bars after they were out of the pan, but here is Izzy girl {yes, in her cheerleading uniform} helping me roll them out and after I cut them.  My little helper!

I had been wanting to make baked mac and need to get rid of some cheese so I looked for one on Pinterest and followed this recipe.

Creamy Baked Mac + Cheese

• 4 Cups Elbow Macaroni
• 6 Cups Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese {I did 4 C of sharp cheddar and 2 C pepper jack}
• 2 Cups Cubed Colby Jack Cheese
• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 4 Tablespoons Flour
• 2 Cups Milk
• 2 Teaspoons Pepper
• 1/2 Cup Italian Style Bread Crumbs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees
2. Boil the elbow noodles until the are al dente - it is important not to overcook the noodles
3. Create a roux using the butter and the flour {slowly stirring the butter and flour until it starts to brown}
4. Add the milk and the pepper and keep on medium-low heat until the mixture begins to thicken
5. Add the shredded cheddar cheese a handful at a time stirring the entire time. Be sure that the cheese is completely melted and mixed in before adding more cheese to avoid clumping
6. Stir in the noodles making sure that every noodle is coated
7. In a deep baking dish begin layering the coated noodles and the Colby Jack cheese. Begin with a layer of the sharp cheddar coated noodles, then a few cubes of Colby Jack cheese and then the coated noodles again until the dish is full. Make sure to end with the cheddar coated noodles.
8. Evenly sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top.
9. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until the cheese on the top begins to brown

Lil's 5 months old!!

So I've decided to start with Lillian at 5 months because that's pretty much where we are in life and I don't want to forget any details and I'm afraid with my crazy baby brain {you don't get it back, it's so true and sad} I will.

Oh girl, you are just so big.. and cute!  You were so funny when I was trying to take these pictures, just wanted to try and sit up the whole time.

Some of your stats:

~wearing 9 month and 9-12 month clothing, footy onesies have to at least be 12 months or they are too short

~size 3 diapers, size 4 night dipes {yep, started those on 6.26 with size 3's but moved to 4's on the next box because they would be so full in the morning}

~drinking 5-6 oz of breast milk about 4 times a day

~eating some rice cereal with milk for dinner {around 5:30} and you seem like you were meant to eat, you just knew what to do from the beginning {imagine that, I know!}
~you started sleeping on your tummy on 6.20, it was before you officially rolled over, but you just slept better that way, so that's how I put you to bed!  Illegal, I know.. sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do!

~you rolled over on 6.28!!  And of course, Iz and I were in the kitchen, walked back into the play room and you were on your belly, I couldn't believe it.. so I flipped you over and we sat there to watch you flip over, you didn't, so I walked back into the kitchen real quick to check our lunch in the oven and I heard Iz yell, "she just rolled over mommy!!", I was like, no she didn't?!  Yep, I missed it again!  I couldn't believe it!  Typical!  I did see you roll from your belly to back the next day in your crib and have seen you do both ways several times since :). 

~you have been teething for a couple of weeks and are just chewing on your hands, toys, everything!  Not near as much drool as Isabelle had, haven't had to resort to full time bibs yet.
~nicknames: Lilly girl, Lil bug, Lil, doodle, doodle bug, 

~you are so happy and giggle and laugh a lot, which is great.  You love your big sister and she can make you laugh the best, it's so fun to watch.
~you found your feet and love to lay on your back, grab your feet {happy baby yoga pose!} and chew on your toes

Oh Lillian, just look at that little face, gets me every time!  You are such a lovable, hugable, sweet little baby and I don't know what we would do with out you in our little fam!  I always wondered how I could love another little as much as I love Isabelle, but it just happens and I do!  It's crazy how it works!  We love you so much and can't wait to see how much more you change and grow in the next month {but slow down please, getting too big too fast}!