The New Hobby

Dace's reaction to Dallin's longboard might be the cutest thing he has ever done. A couple weeks ago, Dallin took him for a ride down the street to get the mail. One ride and the kid was addicted. Now everytime we get home and are pulling into the garage, he points at it and starts giggling. Let's go for a ride, Dad! Today we got home from church and of course he did the same thing. We told him after his nap he could go. He had a quick lunch and we went to take him upstairs but he started crying thinking he was going for a ride after lunch. He settled down quickly but once he woke up, he remembered that it was time to ride. The video explains the rest.

Ode to Pioneer Woman.com

I have a confession. I love being in the kitchen. Especially when I have a good day cooking/baking/creating in the kitchen. I can't wait to design my kitchen for our dream home. Then I might sleep in it too. Today's afternoon was spent in the kitchen and I thought I would blog it step by step purely for curiosity's sake as well as comical relief. Here we go:

Time- 2:04pm. Dace is napping and I don the apron. Today's choice of music (which is critical in having a good kitchen day, fyi) Harry Connick Jr's Greatest Hits.

First, I make 50 chinese dumplings. These things rock and are highly addictive. Time check- Just after 3. I hear the bubbas. Perfect timing. Fish him out then back to the kitchen....

Next, I decide to use some of the 1500 lbs of free tomatoes we got last week to make fresh tomato sauce. Five tomatoes, an onion and 5 cloves of chopped garlic.

I take the onions and garlic and get them sauteing. I also add five fresh basil leaves. Oh the delicious scent of it all!


Add the diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, dried oregano and parsely. Simmer down for 40 minutes.

Puree into this beautiful, buttery, smooth sauce. Added a bit of brown sugar to cut the acidity and presto! perfection. But wait! What has Dace been doing to occupy himself?

Freeing his goldfish. Swim free, fishies! Swim free!

So now we are going to use the sauce to make veggie lasagna for dinner. Layer one. Isn't that sauce the most gorgeous thing ever? okay these pictures really don't capture its essence but trust me on this one.

A layer of garden veggies. Love all the color! Today's selection- yellow squash, zuccini, red onion, carrot, green pepper. The first time I made this, after a few bites Dallin commented, 'wow, you don't even miss the meat." I haven't made meat lasagna since and that was almost 2 years ago.

Another layer of noodle and sauce then a mixture of spinach,ricotta, an egg and pepper.

Final layer of noodles, sauce then pour on the cheese. I am a Racicot. Therefore I only know one amount for cheese- LOTS! Bake uncovered @350 for 35 minutes.

Do I clean as I go? No. I get that from my mother. I think it is the one habit Dallin can barely stand about me. But isn't that how it works? I cook, you clean. Isn't that hidden between the lines of every wedding vow out there? I think so.

But wait, where's Dace now? This is Dacebook after all. Here he is! Playing in the tupperware once again. Uh oh. The camera and I have been spotted.

No touchie!


End result- bubbly goodness that is lasagna. End time- 6:04pm. Did I mention I'm 19 weeks pregnant? Someone give me a She-ra award....or a footrub would work too.

Back to the Beach

I can not remember the last time we walked on the beach which means it has been way too long. This afternoon I finished a novel about walking and just had a hankerin' to go for a nice walk. So after Dace woke from his nap, we headed to the island. This was the first time that Dace walked along with us and the little boy explorer in him was in heaven. I loved just watching him run and draw in the sand and dip his toes in the water and sit down and play without a care in the world. We are so blessed to live in a place where a wonderful afternoon like this is only 15 minutes away.

Awesome driftwood.

Friday morning flood

Friday morning (today) we woke up to the beautiful sound of rain pouring on our roof. Isn't that the best sound to wake up to?! Especially if you can snuggle back under and have it lullaby you a little bit longer, which we were privileged to do. But then the rain kept pouring and pouring. Dallin went to work and came back because the yard was flooded. We ventured out to get a couple close-to-home errands done and it was like driving in a white out. Roads were flooded everywhere, ditches and fields were now small lakes. We have lived here almost 2 years and this was the craziest rain we have seen yet. I took a couple videos once we got home and it slowed down a bit. This is one of them.

The magical world of Distractions

What happens when you have a curious toddler and you make 95 perogies in one afternoon?

He finds a distraction. This game was called count the plastic bags, one by one. I think the total came to 178.

Hide N Seek

Moments

One of my favorite things to see is when I come out of the kitchen and I witness a 'Dada-Dace' moment. Here are two that happened this week:

Popcorn night.

We made popcorn Wednesday night. Dace had had a late nap that afternoon and Dallin worked late so we had a little bedtime snack. Dace was loving it. He'd eat each piece so carefully, loving the different shapes and the yummy taste. I came back into the living room with my bowl and there they were, the 2 triple D's eating popcorn and having a snuggle. It melted my heart.

Sunday paper.

After dinner tonight, I came around the corner and saw this adorable sight. Just chillin' with dada.

Oh how I love my men.

Just A Fun, Happy Little Boy

It would be funny if this was the result after he ate a whole chocolate bar or something but no, this is not sugar-induced. He has been like this off and on lately. Usually it is triggered with dada getting home. The night I taped this he acted like this for almost 2 hours. Needless to say, he slept like a rock that night.