sleepyheads

DSC_0421
Originally uploaded by newlywaaz

I sent the Monkey in to greet Tonka when he woke up from his nap one afternoon a couple of weeks ago. After waiting a few minutes and not hearing the typical "get away from me, baby!" grumpy noises, I went in to investigate. Turns out Monkey fell asleep before Tonka had a chance to complain!

all together now, awww...

Preschool!

Tonka was thrilled to be going to his first day of preschool last month. He giggled the whole way down to the church! His teacher, who claims never to have favorites in any of her classes, might have giggled a little herself when he walked in the door.



The second day of preschool did not go as well. He slept here, there, and everywhere until about noon, which is when he finally realized that our express shipment had arrived and was being unpacked before his very eyes.



Monkey would have willingly taken his place at school had he 1)not been dressed appropriately, and 2)not been suckered in by the boxes and packing paper.

uh... really?!

So, snow? In October. Come on.

Fer likes it.

Putz dog is not so sure, but she got in the mood eventually and thoroughly enjoyed eating the snowballs chucked her way.

Jury is still out on the ducks....

I was not ready for this.

photo backlog pt.3: chickens, sheep, and raspberries oh my

photo backlog pt. 2: the cabin

1. DSC_0369, 2. DSC_0352, 3. DSC_0361, 4. DSC_0368

(ps: I'm going to live here someday!!!)

not alfredo sauce

Dinner tonight was spectacular. Since the hubby was not here to ooh and aah, I planned to take a picture so y'all could do it for him. Alas, even a fancy-pants camera has a battery that dies when left plugged into the computer for 30 hours at a time ;-p. I will still give you the recipe though, because you NEED to make this now while you can get just about all of the ingredients locally and for pennies! Trust me on this one, gang. It's worth the small effort.

Penne with Roasted Summer Squash sauce. Adapted from a recipe on Epicurious.

• 1 red bell pepper, chopped fine
  
• 1 onion, minced
  
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (or substitute. I used half olive oil)
  
• 1/2 squash, roasted and pureed
  
• 1 cup veggie broth
• 2 tablespoons evaporated milk (or substitute)
  
• 1/2 pound penne or other tubular pasta
• salt, pepper, and a few other seasonings. The peppers I had on hand were left over from making omelets, so there was some fajita seasoning on them. I think it's similar to chicken seasoning?
  
• freshly grated Parmesan or finely chopped pine nuts and toasted wheat germ.

In a large skillet cook the onion, the bell pepper, and the garlic in the butter over moderate heat, stirring until the vegetables are softened. Stir in the squash, broth, milk, salt, and pepper to taste and simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, cook the penne. You can reserve some of the pasta water if you want for the next step.

Add the penne to the sauce, and stir well. Add a bit of reserved pasta water if desired to thin the sauce. Divide the pasta between 2 plates and serve it with the Parmesan or pine nuts/wheat germ.

photo backlog pt. 1

the trip here. As it turns out I didn't have much time for pictures; almost all of these were taken on the last leg of the trip. Which, coincidentally, was one of the shortest legs and the only one during which both children fell asleep. for the record. And about that flight book/bag I spent so much time creating and organizing and imagining would save my sanity? yeah...we used maybe 3 activities from it. ugh. Looks like I've got enough car and church activities to last me until the kids are 5...