Food we LOVE

I am feeling good this morning about Olivia's diet. The cause? This article boosted my confidence and I'm happy to be able to say that my darling Olivia eats 5 of the 7. Avocados, yogurt and blueberries are (almost) on the menu daily, along with old fashioned oats and salmon making an appearance weekly. I am working on a way to incorporate more veggies into her diet. I just picked up Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Sienfield for $5 - what she does is add pureed cauliflower, sweet potato, pumpkin, ect to her kid friendly recipes. I'm a bit skeptical but it definitely seems worth trying. Feel free to check it out!

Beach Days.

Early Saturday morning we packed this bug up,

and headed to Cardiff-By-The-Sea on this beautiful day!


to visit this Uncle :)


For fun in the sun & sand.


This girl was pooped and slept all the way home!

What's for dinner??

I always find myself scrambling last minute trying to put together dinner. Usually I am so busy figuring out what Olivia's eating all day (2 meals + 3 snacks). Which has been more challenging lately since she has been only wanting fruit (her favs are blueberries! grapes! melon! strawberries!) and occasionally scrambled eggs. Tonight wasn't much different I had pulled out chicken in the morning but hadn't given what to do with it another thought. Lucky for me I got inspired and dinner turned out delish (gotta love that!)

Tomato Alfredo (w/ a twist)

* 1 lb pasta (I like bow tie)
*4-5 oz cream cheese (half a package)
* minced garlic (I eyeball a few tsp)
* 2 tbsp butter
* 1 can (14.5oz) diced or stewed tomatoes
* 1 cup Parmesan
Tonight I added:
* 1/4 medium onion, diced
* 1/2 cup sharp chedder cheese, shredded

1. Cook pasta (according to package) drain.
2. In sauce pan, melt butter, add garlic & onions. Saute until clear and soft.
3. Add tomatoes (I do this first because the tomatoes can boil and cook down). Cover and let heat until tomatoes have softened. Lower heat.
4. Add cream cheese. (I usually slice/cube it that way it melts easily) Keep stirring while it melts.
5. Once blended together add Parmesan (and chedder) stir until combined.
6. Pour over pasta. Toss!

Definitely a fav in our house (even with my picky eater!)

Baked Chicken w/ Tomatos & Spinach

This was somewhat of an improv version of a recipe I found. We enjoyed it - although I plan on tweaking a few more things for next time.

* 4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
* 2 eggs
* bread crumbs
* olive oil
* 3 roma tomatoes, sliced
* baby spinach
* sliced mushrooms
* mozzarella cheese
* 1 cup white wine or chicken broth

1. Heat olive oil in skillet on high. Heat oven 350 degrees.
2. Dip each chicken breast in bread crumbs, then egg, then bread crumbs. Place in skillet cook 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove and place into (greased) baking dish. Do for each breast.
3. Place spinach, tomato slices, mushrooms over chicken breast. Top with mozzarella.
4. Pour wine/broth.
5. Bake for 20 minutes until chicken is cooked through and cheese is bubbly.

My notes: I think next time I'll add a little tomato sauce over the top for some extra flavor.

Granola.

I have this amazing granola recipe (fresh off the cooking channel of course) and I realized I haven't made any in forever. It's so easy, especially since I usually have all the ingredients on hand. Great to dump in some yogurt or on some ice cream :)

* 3 cups oatmeal (I use Old Fashion)
* 1 cup slivered almonds
* 3 tbsp butter
* 2/3 cup honey
* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1 1/2 cup dried fruit (I buy the packages with the blend of cranberries, blueberries..)

^ Preheat 350 degrees.
^ Grease 9x13 baking dish.
^ Toss oatmeal and almonds on a baking sheet and place in oven for 10 minutes. Remove.
^ Reduce heat to 300 degrees.
^ In small saucepan combine butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Bring to boil.
^ Dump oatmeal mix in a mixing bowl and top with butter mixture. Combine well. Add fruit.
^ Put in baking dish, pressing down the mixture evenly.
^ Bake 25 minutes.

Happy FEET!!

Lately the only shoes I have been putting on Olivia are little sandals and I happened to notice that when she's outside playing with other kids (best walking encouragement ever) that she didn't seem very sturdy. I decided to make the trip to Stride Rite and check out these "walking" shoes I have heard so much about. Not surprisingly Olivia cried when the girl measured each of her feet for her new shoes.

I can hardly believe that these little feet-sies (only the size of my pinkie)

(mildly horrified that this is the best picture I could find)

Have turned into these freshly polished little piggies!

Olivia is the proud owner of these new tenn-ies. I hate to admit it but Alex and I were in the store for a while compromising on shoe choice. So darling (just a smidge to big). I will have to post a picture of her cruising soon (you know.. when she decides to really WALK!)

1st Day of SUMMER!!

To celebrate the day Kacy and I packed these two munchkins up and headed to the beach!


After a few delays we finally ended up in Oceanside.


This Mama was super excited to get Olivia's feet wet. She definitely liked it but was a little nervous when the water pulled her in. After a few waves or so she decided she liked it better from Mama's arms (leaning toward the sand of course and putting her little hands in the water).


Just the two cutest blondies on the beach today :)


I can't say positively if Olivia was helping build a sand castle or shoveling more sand into her mouth! This girl loves sand.


This bug definitely enjoyed the beach. We will have to head back soon :)

Happy Father's Day!

Since it has been a few years since I have been home in June I was so excited to be able to spend Father's Day with my Dad this year. Olivia and I were a little bummed that Dada (not to be confused with Grandpa) had to work in the morning. Although it is hard to be down with this little lady running around.


When Alex finally did get home we shamelessly put him to work! Hey, we were starving. Looks like he enjoyed cooking for us and the food was delicious :)


My Dad, Mike and I (a little dressed down) enjoying this beautiful day.


Sleepy bug finally woke up from her afternoon nap and was thrilled to find Dada home.


The men of the day.

Just a little family photo op. (Too bad I didn't realize I was holding Olivia's dress up).

Temecula!

So I haven't really had much of chance to update since the move to Temecula but we are doing great. Loving the cooler weather. We have been busy catching up with a few old friends, playing at the pool and taking daily walks enjoying this beautiful city. These 2 girls are loving California :)