Busy as a Bee

We have been super busy over here and haven't had time to post any updates. We started Mini-Mermaid Running Club last week and had a fantastic week with the girl's. They were not slowed down by rain and on our second practice session they kept asking if it was time to run yet? Okay by the end of .75 mile run and the .25 mile cool down walk I think they were DONE.

This photo pretty much sums it all up

Super large photo so you can see the expression on her face!

I'm feeling after having completed our first week and I hope the girl's are excited for week two where we will be focusing on the "heart" and of course more running!

Over the last couple of weeks it's been obvious that I need some new breakfast options. I've grown tired of the usual and to be honest there is barely time for me to even prepare and eat breakfast all why trying to get two girl's up dressed, fed and out the door by 7:45am. Many of my friends have been talking about making egg cupcakes ahead of time and heating them up during the week for a quick healthy breakfast. So today I finally had my opportunity to make some (that and the fact that Scott and I both bought eggs at the store this week). You can pretty much throw whatever you have on hand in the fridge to make these, but here is the basic recipe I used Breakfast Cupcakes. I used onion, spinach and jack cheese but you could do some great with things. Here is my final product.

Hopefully this saves me some time this week!

Soccer, Soccer, Soccer!

Sydney had her first soccer game over the weekend and I have officially become the team photographer, apparently this is what happens when you show up with the biggest camera. Sydney is on a team of mostly 2nd graders and since this is her first time playing she seems to be taking her time to actually get that the idea is to run and try and kick the ball. She did manage to get a few kicks in but for the most part wandered around the field lost in her own thoughts. Which I'm okay with, I know eventually she will get comfortable the girls on her team and the best part is that she is running around the field and getting exercise!

Since so many of my friends have kids who play sports I wanted to share an awesome thing that Shutterfly does. They have share sites, but more specifically you can set up a site for your sports team! It's totally awesome, you can create your roster, coach contact information, calendar, game schedule, sign-ups for snacks, and share photos. I set one up for our Soccer team and my Mini-Mermaid Running Club. Such a great way to communicate with other parents and to share photos and other necessary information. So far I'm really loving it.

Speaking of Running Club, I am excited to have six girls take part in my Mini-Mermaid Running Club! I still need to raise about $100 in the next week to cover our supplies and entrance into the our 5k but I am so excited to start running with these girls! If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to support our team, please let me know.

Cold Season, Running Club and Peach Mojitos

Really, how is that so many of us have summer colds. It just seems so utterly wrong to have a runny nose, sore throat and headache when it's sunny outside. What I really want to do is curl up in bed with a movie and some tea, but it just seems wrong to do that when the kids want to swim in the sunshine.

As most parents are this time of year, I am ecstatic that school is about to start and I'll get at least 2 days of week of me time (for three hours a day anyway) to volunteer at the school, workout and shower (not necessarily in that order). If I haven't mentioned I volunteered to be a Dolphin Deli Director (our hot lunch program which raises over $50,000 for the parents club - our 2nd largest fundraiser). As I go a little crazy here making sure we have enough volunteers to run the program and training all of the said volunteers I am optimistic that we will be able to execute this program as well as our predecessor. In addition to this I have decided rather recently to coach a Mini-Mermaid Running Club team. I am so excited about this I can barely contain my enthusiasm. So far I have 3 girl's confirmed, 2 more possible waiting on fall schedules. My goal is to have between 5-10 girl's for the 6 week program where at the conclusion they will run the Mermaid SF 5k run. More then just hopefully instilling a love of running in these girls we hope to help build their self esteem, teach them to set goals and teach them about proper nutrition for fueling their active bodies. This program is offered at no cost to the children because we want every girl to have the opportunity to participate in this amazing program. I will spend the next month fundraising for our club to cover the costs of the materials for the program, t-shirts and journals for the girl's and entrance into the 5k. If you would like to make a donation to our team it is 100% tax deductible and I can forward that information to you to support our team. I will also be selling coffee and cocoa to raise money for our team as well. If you would like to support us that way, please let me know. Our coffee and specialty beverages will sport the Mini- Mermaid Running Club logo on them to remind you of our great little team.

Lastly, I believe I promised you a peach mojito recipe. We are lucky enough that my in-laws have lots of peach tree's and recently I received 2 huge bags of frozen peach slices. Lucky me, I didn't even have to peel them myself! The only change I make to this recipe is that I I prefer to have my peaches not purree'd in the blender, I've tried it both ways, but I prefer to muddle the slices with the sugar, lime juice, etc.

3 cups coarsely chopped peeled ripe peaches
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 cup of fresh lime juice (about 4 large limes)
3/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of packed mint leaves
2 cups of white rum
4 cups of club soda
crushed ice


Blend peaches until smooth in either a blender or food processor. Press peach puree through a fine sieve into a bowl and discard solids.

Combine rind, lime juice, sugar and mint in a large pitcher and crush the mixture with the back of a wood spoon. And puree and rum to the pitcher, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Stir in club soda and serve over ice.

I personally add the soda water to each individual glass so that the soda does not go flat if the pitcher is sitting out. But in my experience if you are having a party, these will go fast and go ahead and mix the soda into the pitcher.

Enjoy!

Lawrence Hall of Science and Veggies

As you know my quest for the summer was to find inexpensive and fun things to do with the girl's. Today, we went to the Lawrence Hall of Science where they currently have Dinosaurs Unearthed, a very cool exhibit you should catch while it's here. As Lindsay members we receive a 1/2 off discount but since the girl's also participated int he Summer Reading Program through the library we also had a free youth admission and much to my surprise they let us use both together, so it was only $14 for all three of us. It's been  along time since I visited the Hall of Science, but the girls were like wild banshee's so excited by all there was to see and do. The moving and roaring dinosaurs were a huge hit but they also loved the sphere that showed our earth with locations of volcanoes, weather patterns and then turned into the sun and other cool things.

We packed lunch and enjoyed it outside looking down on a great view of the Bay Area. The girl's are already begging to go back.

One thing that I'm not sure I shared is that we built a vegetable garden for the summer. Last year we did most of our veggies in planters and this year Scott built us an actual bed to have fun with. While Kylie is a great eater and loves veggies and fruit I was hoping that the process of watching your own veggies grow would encourage Sydney to try some things. We were probably a little excited and planted too soon but we started with a wide range of tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, corn, celery and carrots.

Pretty soon our garden started to grow

Well, one side of garden started to grow
 

We saw great growth in our corn, celery, carrots, squash and green beans. Sadly, critters started eating our corn, but left everything else. The celery has grown some amazing stalks, more than I can eat!

The carrots are so good! And to think all we did was toss a  bunch of seeds to get such a great bounty of yummy carrots. The squash sort of took over so we know for next year to give it it's own bed. It was difficult to see when to harvest the squash because the leaves covered up all of the veggies, but I think I have a handle on it now.

I was going to share a new recipe with you but I need to go cook some veggies! Next time I'll share my peach mojito recipe!

Soccer Camp and Orange Chocolate Chip Bread

It's been a crazy summer for us, so much drama and stress that I decided the kids needed something fun to do. In the Spring, I thought for sure there was no way Sydney would be interested in a Soccer Camp, 3 hours everyday of Soccer... I wasn't sure she would enjoy it. However over the spring we got a small soccer net and she already had a ball so the girls started having fun kicking the ball around. Given that the kids loves to run and there aren't any organized running leagues at this age I asked her if she wanted to attend Soccer Camp and she was ecstatic! She's attending Soccer through Euro Soccer Camps and today was her first day. I hadn't bought her any soccer gear as I wanted to see if she would actually enjoy it and if she did I would enroll her in our local Soccer League for the fall.

We picked her up and got to watch the last 20 minutes of camp.

This was the last drill they did, one player from each team runs to the cones to circle around it as they comeback, the ball is thrown into play and whoever gets the ball and scores a goal earns a point for the team.

Showing she is as speedy as her competitor

In the end he scored the goal, but she did good! 

 Needless to say she was thrilled and tired when we picked her up and said she loved it! So we went out afterwards and bought cleats, shin guards and some new dry wick gear for her. I hope she enjoys the sport I think it will be very good for her.

On to some grub! Yesterday morning I was watching the Food Network and they were featuring a bakery that makes all of these delicious coffee cakes and breads. One of the breads they made was an Orange Chocolate Chip Bread and it looked amazing. So I was off to find my own version! Here is what I made yesterday.

Ingredients

• 1 medium navel orange
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Wash and grate orange. Place orange peel in a small bowl. Juice orange. Add enough boiling water to the juice to measure 1 cup. Pour over orange peel; let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In another bowl, beat egg, butter, vanilla and reserved orange mixture; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. 

To top this off I made an orange simple syrup. I may experiment with this more but this is what I did. I took one navel orange and grated the outside and juiced the orange. I added both to a small pot with 1 cup of sugar and some water to the orange juice to make 1 cup of liquid. I boiled until it became like a syrup.

Once the loaf came out of the pan I pricked the top of the loaf with lots of holes with a toothpick and than brushed the syrup all over the top. The idea is for the syrup to sink down the holes and help keep the bread moist as well as add a glaze to the top of the bread.

Enjoy!

Post 4th of July Recovery

The kids are wiped out, Mom is wiped out and poor Dad is back at work, equally wiped out. Our four day weekend was awesome but with the high temperatures was probably more exhausting than it really should have been. Swimming, running, slip n slide and BBQing every night and we all need a day of rest.

After Sydney was born I decided to take up running, something about the alone time and the instant sense of accomplishment at the end of the run was really gratifying. I blog about my running adventures as well at girls on the go. Running is primarily something I do by myself for many reasons, but a couple of years ago Sydney expressed an interest in running and it turns out she is really good at it! When the opportunity presents itself I would sign her up for a kids run. Two years ago we ran the Moraga 4th of July Run. Sydney did the kids run which she loved and I ran the 2 mile course. Last year Kylie did her inaugural run at this event as well. This year we were excited to have the entire family run! I am so proud of my girls, as a child I was never really encouraged to be athletic so it gives me great pleasure to see my girls love to run so much.

While I love to run by myself for the peace and solitude, it gives me nothing but pleasure to run with my entire family!

It was pretty warm here yesterday and temperatures reached the mid 90's, so we were all pretty exhausted after the morning's adventures. I almost forgot that I had to prep for our special dinner, instead of taking a nap! As you know my lovely neighbor is the creator of One Family, One Meal. Her menu options for the big weekend were BBQ ribs, I haven't made ribs in a long time, so I decided to give it a go! Amanda's BBQ Ribs  are AMAZING! It's worth the extra mile to do the spice rub and the homemade sauce, we could barely contain ourselves they were so good! Even Sydney ate some, which is a small miracle in our house for the kid who won't try anything new. Here is the finished product:

We finished our evening watching fireworks in our backyard. With such a long and eventful day, I just couldn't imagine actually taking the kids anywhere to watch the Moraga Fireworks. We are lucky enough to have a decent view from our backyard of the local show and we can even the hear the music from Moraga Commons.

I hope you all had a safe and fun 4th of July!

Oakland Zoo

I was pretty certain I wanted to go to the Oakland Zoo one day this week since we get free admission with our Lindsay Museum membership. When I saw the forecast of rain for the next two days, I figured we better go today.

The last time I was at the Zoo, Sydney was about 2 years old. I remember not thinking too much of it at the time, there were several empty exhibits, the petting zoo area happened to be closed and well, at 2, Sydney was only interested in it so much. As I put on my big mommy pants and headed to the zoo with my two kids without my husband, I was determined it would be a good day. Of course even with free entry I still had to pay $7 for parking and we would soon learn that the only friendly zoo employee was the one taking my $7 dollars to park. The kids were super excited to arrive and were thrilled to see the Flamingo's just after you enter the main gates. I foolishly brought a stroller for Kylie who wanted to be independent and walk and ended up pushing my 6 year old most of the time in the stroller (note to self: next time both kids can walk).

The girls were pretty excited to see bears. I don't remember seeing bears in this exhibit before, but they were pretty cool.

 

As we made our way around I was sad to notice that they no longer had bats, bummer, the bats were pretty cool. WE did get to a meet a very large Tortoise who was right next to the railing and not bothered byt he children hanging over him, he was very intent on the grass he was eating. 

 

 

 

The one really great thing about the Oakland Zoo is all of the great statues and climbing apparatuses for the kids. 

I have to say, it's difficult for me to go to the Zoo, I feel sorry for the animals. I know that these animals would not survive in the wild but you still wonder what they would be like in the wild. The giraffe's in particular really made me sad. such beautiful graceful creatures. They seem to be really affectionate with each other, which just seemed so simple and sweet. 

Kylie wants to bring one home, I can't really blame her. 

It's great that my kids can see all of these animals up close and I'm glad that they had a good day and enjoyed themselves, so I hope that the animals at the Zoo aren't too sad about their living conditions.

 

Summer Adventures

Now that we have had some warm weather it feels like summer is in full swing. Yesterday afternoon we made a late visit to the pool where the girls were pretty well behaved (I say surprised). I must have worn them out yesterday because Kylie slept in until 7:45am and Sydney until 8:30am. Of course I was up at 6:30am, this could possibly never happen on a day when I really need or want to sleep in. Still, it was nice to have the quiet house to myself. In true Kylie style there is always some mischievous activity going on. When she did finally wake up, I heard her crying and went to check in on her. She was sitting in her basket of stuffed animals, apparently upset that her puppy had spent the night in the basket rather than in her bed. Of course, once the camera came out she hammed it up and was no longer sad.

I was super bummed to find out that the Moraga Library had to discontinue it's story time until mid July. Not sure why, I heard something about being short staffed, probably budget reasons. We've still been making our weekly trip to the library and I was pleased to see that they have summer reading programs for babies up to adults. Kids can earn prized based on how many minutes they read over the summer and adults are entered into a drawing for various prizes based on books they read and reviews they leave. Sydney is super excited about coloring in her sheet for every 20 minutes of reading but you can also create an online account for the kids and they can track it online as well.

I also wanted to share some Free Kids Bowling opportunities. Visit this website to check out a list of bowling alleys in your area that offer free kids to bowling. I haven't checked it out because I'm not sure about taking my kids to Paddock Bowl in Pacheco, not a great area that exudes family fun. But maybe you're closer to one of the bowling alleys.

Tonight (if my husband ever leaves the office) I'm making Paula Dean's Basil Grilled Chicken and in true Paula Dean fashion it calls for over a stick of butter! It's a great summer time meal and super easy to make. In fact I've even brought it to the pool and bbq'd it there. Pair it with an orzo salad and you are set!

Potty Training

I'm on day four of summer break and I must say that the girls were awesome on Monday, I've been under the weather a little and the girls completely entertained each other on Monday and let me take it easy most of the day. I think Kylie was so excited to have a play mate besides me and Sydney was just excited to not have to go to school. On Tuesday Scott stayed home because I had a doctor's appointment, it was hot and the kids enjoyed the slip n slide and a trip to the pool. I should have known better that the days were going to easy to keep it up any longer. the girls have been at each others throats for the past two days and are driving me insane. Add me not feeling 100% and loading our trailer for our upcoming camping trip and I've been a little crabby myself.

While Kylie seems to be for the most part napping again, we're also working on potty training. Sydney potty trained really late or rather just decided at what age she was ready to commit it. She could do it, but she wanted to do it on her own terms. Which was fine for me because when she finally decided she was ready we had hardly any accidents. So I haven't pushed Kylie and I'm just letting her do it on her own schedule. She loved going potty at Sydney's school when we would pick her up in the afternoons, so I figured that was a good sign. We clearly have had no interest in pooping in the big potty, again, Sydney was the same way, so I know in time she'll get there. I have used the excitement of the skip n slide to my full advantage. She does not wear a swim diaper for water play in the backyard, just her bathing suit, so she knows she has to come in and go potty so she doesn't have an accident in her bathing suit. On Tuesday she ran into the house saying she needed to go pee and poop! And sure enough she did both on the toilet. She was rewarded with a treat and so was very proud of her accomplishment. Yesterday she did the same thing, although didn't stay on the potty long enough and finished up in her diaper later, but it's still progress. So this morning she got on the potty and pee's and than decided to try and hang out and go poop as well. This is the end result.

All in time, and I just can't wait until I'm free of diapers!

Is it wrong to share a recipe after all of that? I'm making my Mother-in-law's banana bread to take camping with us, it's super easy and really yummy! So I thought I would share it, the whole family eats it, which as we know is a small miracle in our house.

2 1/4 c flour
1 c of sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c margarine
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas (the riper the sweeter the bread will be)
1 tsp vanilla 1/2 c milk

Cream the margarine and sugar together, add eggs and 1 banana. Add all of your dry ingredients and mix well. Add the last banana, milk and vanilla. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

I like to sprinkle brown sugar on top of the batter before it goes into the oven, because sugar on your crust is just even better! Be careful how much you add, too much and the sugar may burn, so just keep an eye on it in the oven.

Maybe I spoke too soon

After a hellish 8 days of no nap and waking up at 6:15am on Tuesday, it was clear the youngest in our family would require a nap. To my surprise, she did! I don't want to jinx it or anything, but today is the third day in a row of naps and Mommy is feeling slightly more sane.

It has been an interesting week of transition prep for what will become Summer Vacation and I have to admit, it's hard not be giddy with all of Sydney's excitement (but I'm sure by this time next week, I'll feel differently). Tomorrow is Sydney's last day at school complete with parties in her classroom and at K-Club. This weekend we are hosting a slumber party for one of Sydney's oldest friends (really, since like they were 18 months) before she moves to Southern California. I'm not sure she really understands what this means and since they don't go to the same elementary school, I'm hoping it won't be too hard on her. In any event, at least they can have on last fun sleep over together.

It's been an interesting week of conversation at home with Sydney. Yesterday I asked her how her boyfriend Rowan was. She informed that she was thinking of breaking up with him. Hmm, not even sure she knew what that meant. I asked her why and she answered that he's weird. I pressed on and asked her why she thought he was weird. "He tried to fart on an apple" she responds. As I stifle a laugh I look at her and explain that this seems like something most boys Rowan's age would probably try to do. Sydney goes on to explain that "everyone" is telling er to break up with Rowan. I'll admit I was kind of shocked when she proclaimed that she had a boyfriend at this early age, I don't remember having my first boyfriend until 5th grade, but it all seemed kind of cute and harmless so I went along. However, I certainly felt like this was a good lesson to learn about not doing everything your friends think you should. So we had a nice conversation about not being influenced by what our friends think and making decisions on our own. A day later they apparently still a couple, but we'll see how they fair over the summer break.

In other interesting conversation Mom made a booboo by selecting a less than stellar choice of words yesterday which resulted in Kylie saying "Jesus Christ Sydney!", which really is quite hilarious in the voice of a three year old. After I laughed out loud I explained to Kylie that Mommy had used a bad choice of words and we wouldn't say that. It's going to be a long summer, isn't it?

I am fairly certain I have been neglectful in posting a recipe for you, so I wanted to share my a recipe from my amazing neighbor who happens to be the amazing woman behind One Family, One Meal. Her Autumn Minestrone with Turkey Meatballs is really good and really healthy and even my kids eat it. Okay, Sydney eats the broth and Kylie actually eats it, but in my house, that's HUGE! You might need to register to see the recipe, but it's free and she has two young boys at home and while I would say her kids are more adventurous than my girls, there are some great recipes here!

Enjoy your weekend and wish me luck for my first ever summer at home with the kids!

Naps no more

I haven't posted in a week because well, Kylie has not napped in a week. The first few days I tried to full myself that it was just a fluke and that I would get her back on track soon. I think I am past the denial and have moved on to acceptance. Sydney napped until she was about 3.5, even then she only stopped at school and I could still get her to take a nice nap on the weekends, she clearly still needed them but they weren't very vested in getting her to nap at school and she felt like she was missing out on fun when other kids her age didn't have to nap. I truly expected to make it through the summer with Kylie still napping and tapering off once she started school in the fall. So much for that idea. Her evening crankiness seems to be getting a little better but I do remember it being a month of hell with Sydney as she made the transition, so I'm hoping the rest of the month is not too terrible.

As I have been preparing for Summer home with the kids I have been stocking up on books, workbooks and crafts ideas. My hall cupboard has been busting at the seems with crafts and pens and books and play-doh! Last week I decided I needed some baskets to better organize all of the activities to make them easier to get to and easier to find. We went to Home Goods where I was pretty sure I would be able to find baskets to organize all of the activities. Of course in addition to some baskets we also found these.

If you've been to Mexico before these are chairs (in mini size) that they used to use on the beaches, so they bring back fond memories for me and they were just too cute to pass up. Too bad our weather has been nothing but rain and the girls are enjoying the chairs inside rather than outside.

One fun summer activity we were able to get in before all of the rain was a campfire. We bought this Fire Pit at Osh several years ago and we have for sure gotten our money's worth out of it. The kids love to make smores in the backyard, and to be honest we make them way more often at home than we do when we go camping!

Wish us luck, with naps gone and this being the last week of school for Sydney we're moving into new territory for me, an entire summer at home with both kids!

Nap Time

This is what I found after nap time yesterday. Needless to say we had a very punky toddler at dinner last night.

Lindsay Wildlife and Larkey Park

Since the sun decided to show itself today and with it being a holiday weekend I thought today might be a nice day to use our new membership at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum. It was perfect and not very crowded just as I had hoped, as we entered a nice volunteer escorted right us away downstairs where a pet and tell was about to finish up. The girls got to pet a Guinea Pig before it was swept away to go back to it's home. We were than lucky enough to have this volunteer show us around and talk to the girls about all of the animals they have on display. The stuffed bears of course are always a hit.

Nice volunteer who showed us around then brought out a Barn Owl and fed her lunch while we watched. Things like mouse tails and feet were on the menu.

The play area is always a huge hit

They love to check the mailbox

Spying the raccoon under the house

Through the windows of the Museum the girls spotted the play structures at Larkey Park, so of course it would not be complete without playing at the park. We've never been to Larkey with the kids and it's a really nice park. Had I thought of it I could have packed a picnic lunch to enjoy after our visit to the Museum.

A great 1/2 day outing to enjoy the Museum and the park and it wasn't complete without a drive by the old house Mom and Dad used to live in to say "this is where Mommy and Daddy lived", I must be getting old.

First visit with the dentist

Kylie had her first trip to the dentist yesterday, following her sister's footsteps, she loves it and asked immediately if she could go back! When all else fails at least I can say that my kids love going to the dentist! Okay, this really probably has more to do with how awesome our dentist is but I'll take whatever credit I can get. When it was time for Sydney to see a dentist I researched all of the pediatric dentists with all of the fun kid stuff and cool decor and than realized that our dentist who is a family friend is also family practitioner and maybe we should give that a shot. The one thing I love about Dr. Greer is that he always explains everything, for years my old dentist had told me I needed my last 2 wisdom teeth pulled but never really explained why so I never had it done. Dr. Greer actually took the time to explain why they needed to come out and what consequences of not having them out would be (they were impacted) but also said I had time to do it and we would keep an eye on them until I was ready to do it. He takes this same approach with the kids, explaining everything, letting them hold the mirror and other tools before he sues them so they can see that they aren't really scary. I also think that having a joint appointment with a parent really helps. Sydney loves that when she goes Daddy is in the other room getting his teeth cleaned as well and it helps to reinforce that it's not a scary situation because Mom and Dad are having it done too.

Okay, it's not all roses and sunshine there is a downside to the trip to the dentist. As I attempted to have Kylie nap I didn't realize that her dental bag of treats had made it into her room. As we all know, Kylie loves to play at nap time rather than sleeping and some sort of mischievous activity always takes place.

Yes, this is what happens when your 3 year old goes to bed with dental floss, she unravels the entire amount of floss and now has a new toy. Good dental hygiene starts early, I'm told.

Moving on to a fun end f year activity. The end of a school year is always hard because there are always lots of people to thank for loving and caring for your kids. At Sydney's Walk-a-thon we got some great pictures of her with her Big Buddy and the two teachers who handle the kindergarten after school program. I thought it would be fun to paint and decorate frames.

Very serious work

Micheal's sells these wood frames for $1, we already had paint and I threw in some wood flowers and jewels that the girls can stick on their frames when the paint is dry. Overall an inexpensive craft day that hopefully the recipient will love.

On to my favorite subject.... FOOD! I used to watch a lot of Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals, at least before she became annoying and I could still tolerate watching her on TV. I do have some great recipes from her that have become staples in our house. One is a Meatball Sub recipe that I converted to a Spaghetti and Meatball recipe. I also use ground pork instead of ground sirloin, we just like the flavor better with the pork.

READER BE WARNED: there is an overwhelming amount of garlic in this recipe. If you have a loved one in law enforcement, I highly recommend not serving this to your loved one before a graveyard shift as said loved one's partner will really dislike you.

Meatballs:

• 1 1/2 pounds ground pork
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 cup (3 handfuls), Italian bread crumbs
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons (several drops) Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/4 cup (a couple of handfuls) flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
• 1/4 cup (a couple of handfuls) grated Parmigiano
• Coarse salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Place ground sirloin in a large mixing bowl and punch a well into the center of meat. Fill well with the egg, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire, parsley, cheese, and a little salt and pepper. Mix up meatball ingredients until well combined, yet not over-mixed. Divide mix into 4 equal parts, roll each part into 4 balls and space equally onto a nonstick baking sheet. Place meatballs in oven and roast about 12 minutes. Break a meatball open and make sure meat is cooked through before removing from the oven.

Bring a pot full of water to a boil and add your spaghetti noodles 

Marinara Sauce

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, (2 turns around the pan)
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• A handful flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped, about 2 tablespoons
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 (28 ounces) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (14 ounces) can chunky style crushed tomatoes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add oil and garlic. When garlic starts sizzling, add herbs and crushed pepper. Allow oil to infuse for half a minute, then stir in the tomatoes and season sauce with salt and pepper. Bring sauce to a bubble, reduce heat, and simmer until meatballs are removed from oven.

Serve spaghetti and sauce with meatballs and enjoy.