Is There a Monster Under the Bed?

Nope! Just Dawson lurking under there! He figured out the dog and cat's hiding place from him and lately joins them under our bed. Here's the video.

Tasty Tuesday

This weeks Tasty Tuesday is going to feature another puree from The Sneaky Chef by Missy Chase Lapine. It is the Green Puree, and it has spinach broccoli, and green peas in it. You can use this puree as a mix-in in guacamole, mixed with an egg as a wet coating to breading chicken, and in your meatballs, meatloaf, and burgers. Enjoy!
Green Puree
By Missy Chase Lapine

2 cups raw spinach leafs (or 1 cup frozen chopped spinach)
2 cups broccoli florets, fresh or frozen
1 cup sweet green peas, frozen
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3-4 tablespoons water

Wash spinach if using raw spinach. Steam broccoli and spinachfor about 10 minutes. Add peas the last minute of steaming. Once cooked, drain veggies and place in food processor with 2 tablespoons of water and lemon juice. Puree on high until as smooth as possible, stopping if necessary to push contents down. Add additional water if needed. Makes about 2 cups of puree. Store in refrigerator up to 3 days or freeze in 1/4 cup portions in baggies for longer.

Why so nutritional? Spinach is a nutrient powerhouse. It has twice as much iron as other greens and is an excellent source of calcium, folic acid, and vitamins A and C. Broccoli is one of the most nutrient dense foods on the plant. It is high in protein and fiber. In a 1/2 cup serving, you get 2 grams of fiber and 100% of the recommended vitamin C. This antioxidant boosts immunity against colds, flu, heart disease, and cancers. It is also one of the best vegetable sources of calcium. Peas are a good source of fiber, vitamin C, and potassium. They help boost immunity as well and can also protect against heart disease and cancers. They are high in vitamin K and iron. 1 cup of peas has more protein than a large egg!

Home Alone

In honor of me, because Home Alone is one of my favorite movies, Christopher taught Dawson how to do "Home Alone." Cracks me up every time!

Tasty Tuesday

Dawson is a SUPER picky eater, and I try really hard to get him to eat a well balanced diet, but those of you with toddlers know that doesn't happen so easily. One day he loves dry cereal, the next he turns his nose up at it. The next week all he will eat is cheese and hot dogs, then he acts like it's disgusting. I can't keep up with this kid! I went online to try to get some new ideas to "revamp" mealtimes, and offer him some different things. One idea I came upon was try making a toddler trail mix with their favorites and a few nutritional things. It worked! You can tweek this to your toddler, but this is Dawson's favorite mix. It does have some sweets, but also fiber from the cheerios and protein from the sunflower seeds.

Dawson's Favorite Toddler Trail Mix
By: Sarah Selin

1 cup goldfish
1 cup cheerios
1 cup marshmallows
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup m&m's
1/2 cup sunflower seeds

You can always mix it up by adding sliced almonds, pretzels, dried fruits, etc.

Pretty In Pink

This past weekend was Selina and Cameron's Wedding (Selina is our cousin on Chris's side.) They got married in the Salt Lake Temple and I got to be her escort! The whole day was great, the ceremony was beautiful, the luncheon was yummy, and the reception was black and white and PINK all over!!! It was really pretty, and very Selina! That girl loves polka dots so there was a lot of polka dots as well...all the way down to her shoes! I was one of her bridesmaids, then she recognized Chris and Dawson by them wearing pink ties. We all had a ton of fun, but were definitely tired by the end of the night. PS Dawson's pants were big and I pinned them but they were apparently still too big cause at one point I looked over and his pants were around his ankles!!!

The 4th of July

As mentioned in the previous blog, the main events for the Fourth of July in Crystal Lake took place that Saturday the 5th. So, on the actual 4th we went to Veteran's Acres, a huge park in Crystal Lake with a play ground, trails, pond, etc. Dawson played for awhile, we went and fed the geese which we weren't suppose to, and enjoyed nature! After that, Chris, my sister Missy, Me, and Dawson went to my Grandma's and ate bbq ribs...Yum! We returned home and hung out, played Guitar Hero, jumped on the tramp with a bunch of water balloons, then bbq'ed again with my family. After that we lit some fireworks and got nostalgic when the ice cream man came around and all bought an ice cream (did you know that now it costs like, $2.50? It used to be a dollar!) On the 5th, they had a kid's parade where kid's could decorate their bikes, strollers, wagons, you named it; so we decked out my parents old radio flyer and Chris pulled Dawson in the parade. Right after that the actual parade took place. It was a really entertaining parade, and even had the infamous Lawn Chair Dad's. Awhile back, a bunch of guys started the "Lawn Chair Dad's" and every year they are in the Crystal Lake parades. They wear black socks pulled up to their knees with sandals, white undershirts, boxers, and bandannas around their heads. They march with lawn chairs and stop and do a little routine with the chairs and it is so funny! I am thinking we need some here in Utah! After that we hit up the Gala, which you have to go to. It has a carnival, live band (this year they had Josh Kelley perform and Sister Hazel), and a ton of local restaurants come out for a "Taste of Crystal Lake." Let me tell you, the food is awesome. We spent $45 there on food. My bottomless pit husband ate a personal Georidano's deep dish pizza, foot long corn dog, a brat, roasted corn, a huge shaved ice, fried twinkie, and finished any food I couldn't. I don't know where is goes. The day finished off with fireworks, which was an event! Little did we know, they were being lit off on the opposite side of the baseball field where we were sitting. We could SEE where they were getting lit off and see the fireman doing it!! The result? Chris and my sister Becca got hit with chunks of firework! They were not burning anymore thank goodness!) It was a great 4th of July and I was so excited to go to the Gala again...it had been too long!

I PROMISE he is wearing shorts!!!

Our Trip

Over the Fourth of July, we took a trip back to my hometown of Crystal Lake, Illinois to visit my family and friends. It was a busy but fun-filled 8 days filled with humidity and mosquitoes (it's amazing how quickly you get climatized!!!) We had so much fun though and here is a quick recap of our trip!!
Day 1: We arrived and hung out at my family's house and relaxed as everyone gushed over Dawson...he LOVED all the attention!
Day 2: We went to Randall Oaks Park and met up with my friend Andrea, her husband Mike, and daughter Kylie who is a week younger than Dawson. They played, we bbq'ed, and went to the petting zoo their.
Day 3: Me and my sister's went shopping and we all ate Tommy's (yum, Chicago dogs!!!!)
Day 4: The Fourth of July!!! The fam went to Veteran's Acres to play and feed to geese (which we found out later your not suppose to do...oops!), we went to my Grandma's and had yummy ribs for lunch, then bbq's at my parents house later. We also lit off our own fireworks.
Day 5: For some reason, all the Fourth of July festivities in Crystal Lake are on the 5th. Dawson was in the kid's bike parade, we watched the real one, went to the Gala, and then watched fireworks.
Day 6: We went to Great America and rode lots of Roller Coasters as Grandma took Dawson to the kiddie areas...thanks again Mom!! He LOVED the rides and would shout "Again!!" When it was over. There were a couple of times he started crying when we took him off the ride too.
Day 7: Met my friend Ashley and her son Andrew at the park, had lunch with my grandma, and met up with my friends for dinner.
Day 8: Left on a VERY early flight!!

When I think back of our trip and the memories I have, what comes to mind is Dawson and Kylie playing together and posing for pictures, Dawson getting lots of attention from his Aunt's and realizing he could get out of early bedtime with their help, the geese chasing us for food, eating way to much at the Gala, remembering how much I love roller coasters, watching the lawn chair men in the parade, trying not to get eaten alive during fireworks, and jumping on the trampoline with my sisters and a ton of water balloons (you have to try it, so much fun!)