Uncategorized

Blog-iversary 3

~ lk529 ~ 20 Comments

3 yrsSew You Think You Can Cook is 3 years old!

This past year has been a whirlwind in my personal life between welcoming a second baby boy to our family and moving across the country.

Blogging-wise I have continued to grow. I have 43 more followers by e-mail and 270 more Facebook fans. I’ve become more active on Twitter and Instagram with a total following of 423 and 530, respectively.

In this fourth year I hope to find the time to delve into monetizing the blog and gaining some sponsored posts. That’s if my two busy boys allow me to do so! I did however, finally pay to own my domain name! As my “birthday gift,” take a look up at the top of your browser and you’ll notice something a little different. The “dot wordpress” is no longer there! I hope your finger memory (and mine!) adjusts quickly when you type in sewyouthinkyoucancook.com.

For Mother’s Day 2016 my husband got me a macro lens for my camera and I have enjoyed taking photos even more! I’m even breaking out the tripod these days. Now when I recreate a recipe from my blog for dinner, I try and reshoot the photos. Updated photographs can be found on Balsamic Glazed Beef Roast, Baby Baked Beef Burritos, and Sweet Potato Waffles.

I hope you’ll continue to follow along with my journey here on the internet.

It has become my tradition to share something new to me on this milestone. For my 1st year, I baked with olive oil. For my second, I made marshmallow for a cheesecake. Keeping with the sweet side of experimentation, this year I’m sharing a vegan cupcake!

Why vegan?

We have friends here in California that we knew in Ohio as well who follow a vegan lifestyle. They have a daughter who is 4, a son who is only 2 weeks younger than Firecracker, and are expecting a third child in a month-ish. We did a play date with them and Firecracker was insistent about wanting to bake cupcakes with “Emmer.” I found a recipe that didn’t require any strange ingredients (borrowing almond milk from them) or coconut. The kids did a fabulous job making these cupcakes and the dozen didn’t last long. Icing didn’t come to fruition though and instead I ended up with a glaze. But it’s a glaze that was fantastic! No one felt bummed or cheated by not having a beautiful frosting peaked top.

We will be having a joint birthday celebration for the 2 year olds next week and I’ll be remaking the cupcake base. Now to find an actual frosting – if you have a recipe for coconut free vegan frosting please share it with me in the comments!

This recipe makes 1 dozen cupcakes.

Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients:

  • 1 3/4 C flour
  • 1 C sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 C almond milk
  • 1/3 C olive oil
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tin with liners.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the almond milk, olive oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Mix until just combined.
  3. Divide batter in cupcake tin. Bake 18-20 minutes. Allow cupcakes too cool in the pan for 1 minute before removing to a cooling rack.

*This recipe is adapted from Alison at http://lovingitvegan.com/vegan-vanilla-cake/*

Vegan Maple Glaze

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 C powdered sugar
  • 1/2 C almond milk
  • 1/2 C canola oil
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

  1. Using a hand mixer, whisk together all ingredients until smooth. Poor over cooled cupcakes.

Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes with Vegan Maple Glaze Sew You Think You Can Cook

#TourDeManger: Walnut Cake

~ lk529 ~ 14 Comments

Eat the Tour De France image

When my blogging buddy Sarah of Curious Cuisiniere informed me she wanted to gather a group of bloggers to celebrate the Tour de France I thought it’d be fun to join in. While I don’t watch or follow the race (sorry, bikers, tennis and soccer trump you in our house), I can appreciate some good food!

The idea behind today’s blogging event is to eat through the race route. The race starts in Mont-Sait-Michel, dips into Spain and Switzerland, and ends in Paris.

My recipe today comes from Southwest France, more specifically, Aquitaine. Aquitaine has a little bit of everything – from seaside to mountains to woodland and farmland. The area is known for its wine, truffles, and walnuts. Northeast Aquitaine, the Dordogne area, is considered to be one of the oldest populaces  in Europe. Pau in Southern Aquitaine is Stage 8 of Le Tour De France.

I decided to make a walnut cake. Those cyclists need some sugar to keep going, right?! I adore this cake, and it couldn’t be any simpler to make. I’ll admit, I was skeptical because it doesn’t have a leavening agent in it. And I was converting metric units to American measurements. Technically… I used 13 extra grams of butter and somewhere between a third and a half cup extra flour, but hey, it worked! The cake didn’t rise (or if it did I couldn’t tell) but that didn’t mean it was dense. This walnut cake was somehow fluffy, sweet, and had texture from the ground nuts. A perfect base for some chocolate.

And it wasn’t at all my mid morning snack this week….

Walnut Cake

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 C powdered sugar, divided use
  • 1 1/2 C halved walnuts
  • 3 eggs
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 C flour
  • 1 C semisweet chocolate chips
  • 3/4 C heavy cream

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8″ circle cake pan.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and 3/4 C powdered sugar.
  3. Place the walnuts in a food process and pulse until finely ground, but having some texture. Transfer to a bowl and mix with the remaining 3/4 C powdered sugar.
  4. Add the walnut mixture to the butter and mix until combined. Add the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Add a pinch of salt and the flour, mix until combined.
  5. Transfer cake batter to the prepared cake pan. Bake 35-40 minutes, until golden and a toothpick inserted comes out cleanly. Allow cake to cool in the pan.
  6. Put chocolate chips and heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 20 second increments, stirring, until the chocolate is melted. Allow ganache to cool slightly before pouring over the cake. Garnish with extra walnuts if desired.

*This recipe is adapted from http://southweststory.com/french-south-west-gastronomy*

Walnut Cake for #TourDeManger from Sew You Think You Can Cook

See what the other bloggers have made from the other regions on the race route. Be sure to visit each one to learn more about the regions on the route and to enjoy a taste of the cuisine! Show us how you plan to eat your way though Le Tour de France all month long with the hashtag #TourDeManger !

Tuesday Tattles with OXO Tot

~ lk529 ~ 11 Comments

Tuesday Tattles

When you become a parent the general topics of your conversation change drastically. Discussions about bodily functions, sleep, and eating vie for the number one slot. I could have predicted those, though. You can delve even deeper into that eating category – how to introduce foods to baby, what foods to expose your little one to first, and when to get started. Closely linked to that conversation is drinking (and I’m not talking cocktails for the parentals): When to introduce water or milk? How much does your kid actually drink? And my personal favorite – what kind of cup do you use?

I can’t tell you how difficult it is to answer that final question. I think we’ve tried them all! And to be honest, after over a year we still didn’t have a clear winner. When I was selected to review OXO Tot’s newest line of cups I couldn’t have been more ecstatic. In my box was the Transitions Soft Spout Sippy Cup Set – Aqua and Transitions Sippy Cup (9 Oz.) Aqua. I was pleasantly surprised to also receive their ingenious Roll-Up Bib – Gray and Cleaning Set for Straw & Sippy Cups. (I used the cleaning tools on more than just sippy cups or bottles, I was able to get into the nooks and crannies of my Ninja single serve blender blade!)

IMG_9175

Firecracker has developed the most unfortunate taste for plastic – teething toys, sippy cups, and straws have all had their fair share of pieces bitten out of them. That meant the Transitions Sippy Cup is perfect for him – he can chew on the nozzle all he wants without tearing it apart. Its spill proof design is perfect for my little man on the go, too. I can confidently give it to him in the car, stroller, or just to have while he’s playing.

I have always found the spill-proof cups to be near impossible to drink out of – yes, I try! – but not this OXO Tot product! The spill-proof valve has a unique design that can be removed making it easy for cleaning, too. With two under two (at least for a few more days) the cup has already found its way under the couch more than once without a drop of water spilled.

IMG_9178

Because of the previously mentioned chewing habits of my almost-two year old, the Transitions Soft Spout Sippy Cup was handed to Treat. Up until this point we’d offered him water by simply holding up a small cup and kind of splashing the liquid into his mouth. The first time he drank from the cup most of it ended up down his front and we had to hold it for him. Just one short week later, the cup came with us to the beach and he was able to hold it by the handles and drink from it himself! (That didn’t stop big brother from wanting to help out, though.)

The Transitions Soft Spout Sippy Cup has another drinking configuration, too; a training lid that acts just like a regular cup. It has a clear cover to it that helps minimize a complete douse in liquid but allows the child to visually see what happens when they tip the cup. I think it’s really a smart concept and a perfect teaching tool. This cup, however, is not spill proof, so its use is reserved for meal times at the table under adult supervision.

The roll-up bib is another genius creation from OXO Tot. It has a large pocket for catching food, is machine washable, and rolls up! (As the name suggests.) The simple design makes this bib my go-to for bringing to restaurants or on picnics. I can even toss the dirty spoon into the pocket and keep all the sticky surfaces hidden from “contaminating” everything else in the lunchbox or diaper bag.

Bottom line. Would I recommend these OXO Tot products to my friends? Absolutely! We were already satisfied OXO Tot customers and I’m happy to report that the love with their products has only increased after reviewing these items.

Disclaimer: I received these items from OXO in exchange for my honest review. All opinions and comments are my own. 

#SundaySupper: Waffles!

~ lk529 ~ 16 Comments

I am so excited to be back blogging with the Sunday Supper Movement. My last post was the Regional Specialties themed day – OVER TWO MONTHS AGO! I have definitely missed being able to share the table with this great group of foodies.

As soon as the theme was revealed for today’s event, you know I couldn’t miss out on this one. Waffles! If you know me but at all you’d probably have reported a missing person had I not chimed in today. Thanks, Sue from A Palatable Pastime, for hosting today’s event at a time in my life when I could finally participate in #SundaySupper. I know you did it just for me and not because National Waffle Iron Day is Wednesday. 😉 Be sure to scroll past my recipe for a collection of over 35 waffles recipes.

Having made just a few waffles in my day, I decided to throw caution to the wind and make my own waffle. I did it “by feel” and needed to adjust my flour amount before I was comfortable with the batter. I’m happy to report that my waffles worked out, and my creative flavor combination wasn’t a failure.

I love pairing cherries with chocolate, so those hand picked cherries of ours found their way into my waffles. As sometimes the only way to get Firecracker to eat is by way of waffle or pancake, I knew I had to throw something nutritious in there. That’s where the beets come in. I was going to roast them and toss them in a smoothie, but this way was easier.

An Original Recipe

Chocolate Cherry Beet Waffles

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 C flour
  • 3/4 C whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 C cocoa powder
  • 1/4 C sugar
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 C milk
  • 1/3 C vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 C shredded beets, patted dry
  • 2 C fresh cherries, pitted and chopped
  • whipped cream for serving (optional)

Steps:

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
  2. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla.
  3. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Fold in the beets and cherries.
  4. Into a hot greased waffle iron, drop 1/3 C of batter and cook until browned. Serve with whipped cream.

Chocolate Cherry Beet Waffles for #SundaySupper from Sew You Think You Can Cook

Sweet and Sinful:

Savory Brinner Winners:

Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement

SRC: Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie

~ lk529 ~ 19 Comments

newsrcbanner

It’s Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day! In the Secret Recipe Club, each participating blogger is assigned a blog from another participating blogger and secretly searches their site for something to recreate. The accompanying blog post then goes live on reveal day! So while I was immersed in my assigned blog, someone else was picking through mine! I’m so excited to be part of this group, to see what on my blog peaks other’s interests and to stumble upon new blogs and new recipes.

This month I was in a mad scramble to make something from my assigned blog, The Avid Appetite. While I’ve had my assignment for a month, it’s been one heck of a month between my husband going on his first work trip since the boys have been born, finally getting internet, and traveling for my brother’s wedding it’s been hard to get into a rhythm that supports my hobby!

Rachel is the mastermind behind The Avid Appetite. Rachel has been sharing her culinary adventures for over five years! She’s a wife, mother, and brand licensing professional living in NJ. Sounds busy to me. She shares family stories on Tuesdays (hey, me too, with my Tuesday Tattles series!), consider yourself pre-warned for some adorable Penelope cuteness overload.

Her recipe index left me with 15 items to consider for today’s reveal! From those 15, real consideration was given to a Chicken and Pineapple dish and a Baked Oatmeal. Had I been assigned her blog two months ago when I was in my blood orange obsession there’s no question that I would be sharing this Loaf Cake or these Shortcakes. And I will be revisiting her Caramelized Potato Parsnip Tart next week, too.

Due to my {self imposed} shortened time table I settled on a smoothie. Her sweet daughter sold me on the Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie. Precious. Well, that and the fact that I had some farmers market strawberries in my freezer. It’s as if it were meant to be because the amount called for in her recipe was the exact amount I had saved! I did substitute plain Greek yogurt for the vanilla so I doubled the amount of vanilla extract. I can’t believe I’ve never thought to put extracts in my smoothies. That quality of sweetness can’t come from anywhere else. I felt like I was drinking a smoothie from a smoothie place, not my own kitchen. It reminded me very much of a smoothie I used to get in between classes back at Auburn. Amazing how something so simple can bring back memories over 6 years old.

This smoothie recipe will make two servings. I saved one glass (aka what Firecracker didn’t finish) for the next day and it was still perfect!

Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie for Secret Recipe Club from Sew You Think You Can Cook (kid approved)

Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 C frozen sliced strawberries
  • 1 C milk
  • 1/2 C plain Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

  1. Place ingredients in a blender. Pulse until smooth.

*This recipe is modified from Rachel at http://www.theavidappetite.com/home/2016/1/31/strawberry-vanilla-smoothie*

Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie for Secret Recipe Club from Sew You Think You Can Cook

To see the other bloggers who participated in The Secret Recipe Club this month click here:

Tuesday Tattles #14

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

Tuesday Tattles

Today’s Tuesday Tattles is all about removing superglue from a toddler’s fingers.

Fun right?!

A couple of months ago Firecracker’s wooden helicopter broke. The metal spoke holding the propeller snapped. Because it’s one of his favorite toys, I decided we should try and fix it. Super glue can fix anything, right?

Well, probably, if you know how to use it properly.

My husband and I very carefully applied some glue to the top of the spoke and held the top in place. After a few seconds I put the toy on the table to dry. Almost immediately Firecracker grabbed it. The top fell off and his fingers were covered in super glue. He ran up to Daddy and asked for “help.” We are quite thankful he was not strong enough to pull his fingers apart.

Immediately I reached out to the internet. I needed a method that was safe for my toddler. Using laundry detergent, nail polish remover, or WD-40 was not going to cut it. Not surprisingly, warm soap and water is perfectly capable to remove super glue from skin, especially if you’re acting quickly enough. I immediately took Firecracker to the sink and used as warm of water as he could tolerate. I then used hand soap until his fingers pried apart.

The dried super glue will eventually flake off on it’s own, but because I have a boy who can’t keep his fingers out of his mouth for more than three minutes, I knew I had to get the glue off completely. I set him in my lap, turned on Chuggington and took to his fingers with an emery board.

How to Remove Super Glue from Skin

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Thursday Thoughts #18

~ lk529 ~ 4 Comments

Thursday Thoughts

This move to California was our second real military move. (Our first from Auburn to FL hardly counts as we had very little inventory to relocate and the distance was only 200 miles.) You can read about our move to Ohio here.

We left a small home in Ohio and were expecting something even smaller out in the Los Angeles area. In preparation for that we gave some of our furniture to my brother-in-law who just purchased a home with his fiancé, and my in-laws were more than generous in offering to store some other items until we return to the East coast. I begrudgingly left the majority of my fabric, quilting and scrapbooking supplies, and Monopoly collection behind with them. Stuart and I had many conversations about the “must-haves” in a new home and a third bedroom for an office/craft space was simply a “nice-to-have” as my free time with two little ones is quite limited and this blog is my hobby priority number one.

Unlike the previous move, this one was not a “door-to-door” move, meaning we did not have a destination address. With two boys under two and a husband in a grueling Masters program there simply wasn’t any time to take a trip to California to house hunt ahead of time. So, we booked a stay in Temporary Housing and used the 8 days provided upon reporting to find a place to live. As a result, we knew our items would end up being held in a storage facility until we could provide the moving company with our final address.

The moving company we were assigned to this move was incredible. A crew of three guys came the Monday after Easter to pack up everything. They were punctual, friendly, patient, and very courteous. They worked quickly and efficiently and while the team lead was inventorying every box, the other guys started to move everything into the garage to make loading day go smoothly. The same crew returned the following day to disassemble furniture, and along with the driver load the moving truck. We provided Subway for lunch on day one and tipped them on day two. Having the same crew for both days really helped things go smoothly.

We had a bedroom marked off as a “do not pack” room containing anything and everything that would be traveling across the country in the van. My parents came to attend Stuart’s graduation and while here, they helped us pack the other vehicle before the movers arrived. That car was loaded down with my grandmother’s antique secretary desk, quilts, and scrapbooks, along with all important documentation.

When there are young children involved, I highly recommend dropping them off with a friend while the movers are packing your home. Unfortunately that wasn’t an available option for us, but luckily my mom planned to stay and help us with the cross country drive. My mom and I were able to keep the boys occupied in the “do not pack” room and run errands. We handled the weighing of the van and returning of cable equipment to keep out of the way while my husband stayed at the house. We also handled the lunch pick-up and delivery.

That same piece of advice is even more important when the movers are unloading your belongings into your new home. This time we had my mother-in-law who flew out to California to help. She was able to keep Firecracker out of the house and at the park almost the entire day! I was able to wear Treat during his nap and keep him more easily contained as he was much less mobile. 

While our delivery crew didn’t start out as personable as our packing crew, they were quite competent and earned both the taco lunch and a tip for having to deal with our inconvenient location and countless stairs.

Because my mother-in-law stayed for the first week in our new place, I was able unpack our boxes myself instead of allowing the movers to do it. I had learned from our previous experience, when the movers unpack the boxes they essentially dump everything out on the floor, which I knew wouldn’t work well with two curious boys. There were a few exceptions to what we had them unpack – we wanted them to open up all of our wedding china and stemware and art boxes to ensure they weren’t damaged during delivery.

Unfortunately, a few boxes didn’t make it all the way to California including our bin of snowboarding gear and one box of our wedding stemware. At first inspection my husband’s weight plates didn’t make it either, but the team lead called the storage facility and they were found. He returned the next day with the weights and took away all of the boxes and packing paper that we had gotten through on that first night, which was over half of them!

One bookshelf, a desk, and our Keurig ended up in the “RIP” category.

Overall I am happy with our moving experience.

We moved many essential things ourselves because of the length of our trip and the unknown amount of time we’d be living in a hotel. Here are some of the things I wish we had added to our long list: vacuum cleaner, tape measure, scissors and/or exacto knife.

I’m going to reiterate: The biggest piece of advice I have for anyone moving with children – get help! My mom helped us get out of Ohio and traveled with us all the way to California. Having a third set of hands was invaluable. My mother-in-law was able to fly out to California the week of our delivery and she was able to take Firecracker to the park and on walks while the movers were unloading the truck. My sister-in-law came down the day after delivery and was a huge help with both boys keeping them entertained while we did a lot of unpacking and organizing of our home. She and my mother-in-law were able to share the brunt of the kids’ energy, too. If they weren’t able to provide so much help I know that I’d still be living in a house of brown cardboard boxes over one month later. I look forward to their next visits when things aren’t quite as hectic and more valuable time can be spent with them. I know their presence was much appreciated by the boys too, if their behavior after their departure is any indication!

Thursday Thoughts #17

~ lk529 ~ 6 Comments

Thursday Thoughts

Now that you’ve read about the toys and gadgets that got us through a cross country road trip, I’m going to share the more exciting story of our journey, with lots of pictures!

Because we were moving two vehicles and two children my mom more than generously volunteered to help us. If she weren’t with us I have no doubt that the timeline you see below would have had another day or two added to it, and a whole lot more frustration. Being able to have two people in the car with the boys was amazing.

We planned the general idea of our route from Ohio to California but the details of each day’s drive weren’t hammered out until the night before. I was hesitant to book hotel rooms in advance because, truth be told, there wasn’t any way to predict how the boys would handle the long stretches of driving or how long 6 hours would actually take. We knew we wanted to start out on the North route to see friends from Auburn located in Omaha and Denver. After that we knew we wanted to stop at the Grand Canyon and I wanted to add a second detour to the Four Corners.

Day 0

Our movers showed up on the Monday after Easter to pack up our belongings and on Tuesday they loaded everything onto the moving truck. (I’ll do another Thursday Thoughts on handling the move later.) We knew we wanted to turn in our house keys that day and get started on the drive.

Day 1

To our surprise, loading day took under 5 hours and we were on the road a little before 3 pm ET after having grabbed lunch at a diner in town. After the boys napped for 2.5 and 3.5 hours we stopped at a Pilot for gas, bathroom breaks, diaper changes, and water. We let Firecracker run around in a grassy area and he had a blast running races against Daddy. Cross Country Move (1)

Another two hours later, at 8 pm CT, and we stopped for dinner in Bloomington, IL. We picked a pizza bar, Lucca’s, but almost had to search for something else. This place was the kind of restaurant where you need reservations. Not because it’s fancy, but because it’s that good. To our luck the reserved table of 6 dwindled down to a party of 2 so we were given their table and the two gentlemen sat at the bar. When we walked in I was surprised to see a fair number of children! They had highchairs, but no changing tables. Firecracker was provided two coloring books and a cup of crayons for use while we waited on our order. The pizza was incredible – thin crust, crispy, and cut into square, as all good Illinois pizza should be! Their sausage was easily the best I’ve ever had.

While at dinner we looked ahead at the map and called a couple of hotels less than an hour away. We ended up spending the night in Morton, IL. Both kids fell asleep after dinner but only Treat transferred to the Rock ‘n Play Sleeper without waking up, and he slept through the night! Firecracker ended up waking up on the walk into the hotel and picked up a burst of energy. He did not end up in the port-a-crib and instead had to be pinned down between us in the king size bed, where he did eventually sleep through the night.

Day 2

WDE 5 monthsBefore getting started back on the road I had to take Treat’s 5 month photos in the hotel room!

IMG_0742We got going at 9:45 am CT and drove until noon for lunch and gas in Iowa City. There was a big hill by the parking lot and Firecracker got out some energy running up and down it. Our next break was a rest area just outside of Des Moines where there was a small playground! Firecracker preferred to play with the rocks and mulch while I nursed Treat.

The early evening drive was fairly smooth; almost every toy was pulled out, and Scout
was a favorite. But, nearing our destination, Firecracker let out some crying outbursts of “Dada!” Thanks to the wonderful technology of Bluetooth, I was able to give Daddy a call and have his voice broadcast through the van’s speakers. It worked beautifully and we made it to Omaha a little after 5:30 pm CT.

We had a great visit with one of my best friends from college and his wife. Firecracker loved playing fetch with their dogs before we went to dinner where conversation was flowing as if 2.5 years hadn’t gone by without seeing each other.

Both boys again fell asleep after dinner and this time they both stayed asleep. Our hotel room had two queen beds this time and we put Firecracker in the center of one surrounded by pillows. He slept all night. Treat woke up around 2 am and stayed awake for 2.5 hours.

Day 3

We got a little bit of a late start owing to the need to give the boys baths. At 10 am CT we started the drive, this time Stuart joined me in the van and my mom drove our other vehicle. There weren’t a lot of opportunities to stop, and with 7-10 miles between exits every child meltdown got harder to stop. Around lunch time Firecracker really wanted a turn behind the wheel so after a very loud 5 minutes we took a break at 1:40 to eat.

IMG_0784

IMG_0794It was my turn for a meltdown when we missed the Welcome to Colorado sign. We pulled off at the Welcome Center rest stop so I could calm down and decide if I was actually going to turn us around so we could cross the state line again. Thankfully they had the same signage at the Welcome Center and backtracking was not necessary. This Welcome Center was insanely hospitable, there were countless pamphlets for what seemed every city in the state and we were given a free state map. The volunteer staff tried to help us plan our route to the Four Corners, too. We spent an frighteningly long break at this rest stop.

Middle of Nowhere Emergency Diaper ChangeAbout an hour outside of Denver, Treat had a major diaper blow out. We literally stopped in the middle of nowhere to make a diaper and wardrobe change. I was quite thankful for the bed pad I’d put down. I was also quite thankful for deodorized diaper disposal bags!

We got to Denver around 7:30 pm MT.

The hotel had a full sized fridge in the room and I was able to completely refreeze the breast milk I was hoping to transport to California with us. (Spoiler alert, it didn’t survive…) Staying in the city meant our vehicles had to be valeted during our stay. I felt the pressure to unload the 50 million items we need each night quickly, I absolutely hate holding people up. Unfortunately in my rushed state I failed to grab food for Firecracker. Before we walked to dinner we had to ask the valet to bring the van back around so I could make him a sandwich. We met up with another friend from college and we got to meet his fiancé. We’re looking forward to seeing him some more, as we were stationed in FL together. His job sends him out our way every now and then and my husband’s his way. And of course we’ll see him for their wedding in the Fall!

Day 4

IMG_0789

The night was really rough. The time difference really got to Firecracker and he was overly tired, which meant next-to-no sleep. I woke up with him at 5:30 am MT and we took a quiet stroll down the hall until breakfast was served at 6.

We booked a hotel for the night and got an early start and walked to Starbucks before leaving Denver at 9 am MT. Firecracker absolutely loved riding on each and every luggage cart we needed to use.

The stunning drive took us through mountains and plains and very few places to stop. Good thing my boys (husband included) took long naps! It was an interesting drive leaving Denver – there were stretches of road where I was in the only lane headed West with three lanes of traffic heading East – and no median! Down mountains! I would have loved for Mom to have been the lead vehicle at that moment.

IMG_0846With stomachs growling we stopped in the tiny town of Saguache, CO. The diner where we ate was a great find. All of the food was fantastic. Mom got a BLT on homemade jalapeno cheddar bread. After tasting hers I regretted not doing the same. With breakfast served all day Firecracker enjoyed the fluffiest blueberry pancakes ever and I had French toast (because who can resist homemade bread!?). I don’t recall what they named the dish that Stuart ordered, but it was a flour tortilla topped with refried beans, potatoes, onions, cheese, a gravy-type sauce, and sour cream. I loved it! Mom also got a slice of homemade mixed berry pie.

Overall, we took a two hour driving break and did some walking down the main street and popped our head in some of the shops. They actually had a working paper press for their local newspaper which was neat to see!

IMG_0848

We made it to Cortez, CO at 7:30 pm MT. We did laundry and went to bed.

Day 5

Today was a fun day. Our first stop was to the Four Corners! I was the only person excited about this pit stop on the drive, but by the time we left everyone was wishing we’d had more time and can’t wait to go back. We had a lot of fun taking pictures at the corner and we even got to do a little hiking nearby.

Four Corners Monument            Four Corners Hiking

At the Four Corners there are local vendors selling lots of jewelry and pottery. I got an ornament to commemorate our trip. There was also a stand selling fry bread. This pastry was delicious! We tried a few different toppings: apple butter, honey, and cinnamon sugar. (You can probably guess which one was mine!)

Fry Bread

We weren’t entirely sure how long it would take us to get to the Grand Canyon and at one point we pulled off on the side of the road to double check the maps. My car’s GPS was taking us to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, which would have been closed at this time of year. Thankfully we thought something was fishy about how long it was supposed to take us and we re-consulted with Google. We needed the East Rim, cutting 3 hours off the travel time! There weren’t any good places to stay along the way past the Grand Canyon so our options were to spend the money in the tourist area or backtrack to Flagstaff. We called a Holiday Inn Express at the Grand Canyon and they had one room available, and at a decent rate. My mom was going to have to bunk with our family of four for the night.

As we approached the Grand Canyon we saw a sign that said $30 per vehicle. Well, we had 2 vehicles! I started to fret over the price and convinced myself that instead of thinking of it as a “per vehicle” cost, to divide that number amongst our party and look at it as “$20 per person and kids are free” which seemed much more reasonable.

Upon arriving at the entrance to the Grand Canyon I was reminded that as an active duty military member, we get access to all National Parks for free!

Both Stuart and I had been to the Grand Canyon as children with our families, but it was a whole new experience going as adults. Pictures can’t illustrate the sense of awe and wonderment that one feels looking at the expanse, seeing the reds, oranges, and browns. If the boys were older we would have planned to spend much more time at the Grand Canyon, but our couple hour visit was well worth it and we can’t wait to go back. I don’t know if we’d ever camp in the canyon, but we’d definitely love to do some actual hiking. Firecracker kept wanting to go “down” and I definitely watched my husband’s hold on him tighten the closer they got to the edge.

Grand Canyon National Park

Day 6

Somewhere still in Arizona (I believe Seligman), Firecracker got to watch his first real life train at one of our stops. There were a lot of train sightings along the way and he had fun spotting them from the car window.

This final day of driving was the hardest on me. I wasn’t mentally prepared for the expanse of desert after crossing the California border and there were only a handful of places to stop on I-40. Time seemed to stand still while we drove on a never ending highway of sand.

Day 7 & 8


We spent our first two nights in Los Angeles in a hotel by the airport while we waiting for our temporary housing to be available. Firecracker loved watching the airplanes land and take-off. My mom flew back to Florida on day 8. There aren’t enough words in my vocabulary to indicate how much we appreciated her taking so much time out of her hectic schedule to help ours.

Days 9 – 22IMG_0995

Two weeks were spent living in temporary housing while we explored the area and did some house hunting. The small space was equipped with a little kitchen, in which I made my Cali inspired Fish Tacos. While the boys learned how to share a room in hotels on the drive, they really started their co-habitation in our temporary living quarters. Firecracker discovered the joys of a community laundry facility and had great fun pushing the baskets across the room and being pushed in the baskets. Treat even learned how to roll over during our stay! The location of the temporary housing was 30 minutes south of where we ended up finding a home in which to live, and my boys definitely became less than enthusiastic about the traffic. Firecracker learned the phrase “slow traffic” from the van’s GPS.

I am grateful for the availability of temporary housing and the permissive time off provided to Stuart for house hunting. We were able to explore the surrounding neighborhoods and find the perfect fit for our family.

On day 24 the movers delivered {almost} all of our belongings. Stay tuned for that grand adventure next week (or the next chance I get to use internet)!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Tuesday Tattles: Road Trip Edition

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

Tuesday Tattles

Now that we are almost settled in California I figure it’s as good a time as any to share my newly acquired wisdom on a long road trip with little ones!

Tip number 1: get a minivan.

Only joking, except that we absolutely love ours and it definitely makes road trip driving (and everyday) driving a little easier. The amount of floor space and storage space we had was impressive!

img_1224
Taking a road trip is definitely easier than flying when babies are involved. But it’s not exactly a walk in the park either. Not having a limit on items and liquids makes life so much better, not to mention you don’t have to have a squirming baby on your lap giving you busted lips and black eyes.

Here’s a list of some of the items that made our 5-day drive go relatively smoothly:

Car Seat Toys

I put two car seat toys on rings for Treat to stare at and occasionally grab. The links
prevented him from accidentally throwing them out of his car seat. Mr. Turtle and Freckles are now well loved car companions. (Those names were given by me during an attempt to cheer him up.)

Zeta the Zebra Teething Toy

Firecracker had the classic Sophie the Giraffe teething toy so to prevent any confusion Treat gets a different version. (Granted, Sophie has been lost for almost a year now.)

Disposable Bed Mats

Now here’s an item you probably didn’t expect to see on this list! Treat is the king of diaper blowouts and I wasn’t about to worry about needing to wash the car seat cover in the middle of nowhere. I simply folded up one of these (cutting one in half to fold would be even better!) under his bum for the trip. Really, I should maintain this practice until he starts solid foods…

Diapers and Wipes

I simply kept a jumbo diaper box and filled it with diapers for each the kids as well as a tub of wipes (with refills) on the floor in the backseat for easy access.

Hand Sanitizing Wipes

When gas stations and public rest area restrooms are the main stops it’s highly recommended to have an easy way to clean both adult hands and children hands.

Mirrors

If you don’t already use mirrors for the kiddos during day-to-day travel, you’ll definitely want them for a long road trip. It’s always good to know if they’re asleep and/or starting to stir when planning driving breaks.

Media Station

Unless your vehicle is equipped with rear entertainment, you can easily create your own set up. We got a $5 universal tablet holder and hooked it up to the middle seat headrest. The holder is intended for the back of headrests but as my kids are still rear facing our method worked just fine! We downloaded a season of  Wallykazam and turned it on in moments of great need. Surprisingly Firecracker didn’t acknowledge its addition to the backseat for a long time so we didn’t need to use it until halfway through our trip.

For the adults, books on CD to help with the 40-odd hours of driving. My choice: the whole Harry Potter series! We got through all of books 1 and 2 and more than half of book 3! I am now continuing listening to the series to make LA traffic much more bearable.

Box of Books and Toys

I knew we couldn’t let the movers pack up all of the toys so I kept a bin of the absolute favorites for Firecracker to grab and play with as desired. Of course all the trains made the cut as did Scout, phone, and laptop. I kept some books out for hotel nights, too, mostly those that are bedtime appropriate.

Food

A small cooler of food was definitely a blessing on a long trip. I was able to keep cheese and fruit as well as ingredients for countless PB&Js. Snacks for the adults was also necessary for long stretches of driving. And water! Just don’t forget some silverware, baggies, and cups.

Cereal Storage Box

I can’t take credit for this one. I saw this tip on Pinterest many years ago and have kept a bin (and plastic shopping bags) in my car ever since as a vehicular garbage can. It’s great for tissues, food wrappers, and receipts. I suggest keeping soiled diapers in a deodorized bag though if you can’t toss them elsewhere right away. (Yes, we made a highly necessary diaper and outfit change in the middle of nowhere. Only once though!)

img_1225
Coming soon will be more details as well as tips and lessons learned for getting through another military move.

Dislclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Thursday Thoughts #16

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Thursday Thoughts

Last week I shared our favorite kid-friendly activities to do in the Southwest region of Ohio. Today I’m sharing our favorite dining destinations. … And my favorite quilt shop.

Best Places to Eat in the Dayton, Ohio Area

Oregon Express

We didn’t get to check out a lot of the restaurants in Downtown Dayton because of the kids, but we made an exception for this bar! For Christmas 2014 my parents gave me tickets to see Wicked at the Schuster Center, with the promise that my mom would travel up and baby-sit Firecracker. We searched for a place to go do dinner before the show and settled on the Oregon Express for pizza. This was some of the best pizza I’ve ever had. Thin, crispy crust with a lightly sweet sauce and cut into squares like all thin crust pizza should be! We loved this pizza so much that we had to go again, so we chose a random time (2-3pm) when a one-year-old wouldn’t be a bother. It’s a bar so there wasn’t a highchair in sight. The waitress was very kind and patient with the toddler running around the empty establishment.

Pies and Pints

Pies and Pints was another favorite {and kid-friendly} destination. Their pizza flavor profiles are unique and you can even do half-and-half on their large pizzas of the specialty pies. The Chicken Gouda (smoked gouda, chicken, bacon, and chipotle crema) was a staple and could almost never be beat by any other flavor we tried; though my husband always jumped at the chance to order a Thai when we had enough people for more than one pizza so that the coconut wouldn’t contaminate my slices. Their kid’s pizzas are a great size, usually yielding 2-3 meals, and they come to the table as soon as they’re ready rather than waiting for the full order. Turns out there are multiple location in OH, WV, and KY.

Spinozas

Keeping with the pizza theme here. You’d think that’s all we eat! And sometimes it seems like it. But you’ll never hear me complain about it. Spinozas is attached to the mall and therefore is another kid-friendly eatery. They’ll even provide some raw pizza dough for kids to play with while waiting on the meal. Their Spinoza “Swirl” Bread is my absolute favorite thing on the menu, and Firecracker agrees. Their pizzas are very unique and my husband’s favorite is the Yin Yang, a crazy combination of Chorizo, Gorgonzola, and glazed walnuts. They also have pizzas with bases of hummus or garlic oil instead of tomato sauce. I like their well-sized Baruch’s Favorite salad which contains dried cherries, Brie, and glazed walnuts tossed in a raspberry vinaigrette with a slice of cinnamon flat bread.

Meadowlark

I can only speak to Meadowlark’s brunch menu, but I can tell you it’s amazing. We went twice, each after our sons’ baptisms. Their menus are seasonal and everything is made from scratch. Firecracker was baptized in May of 2015 and on the menu was a fried green tomato sandwich that changed my life (okay, not really), but I have been craving that perfectly crafted sandwich every day since. Treat was baptized in March of 2016 and that beautiful sandwich wasn’t on the menu yet. Their liver pate was sensational, though.

La Colombiana Restaurante 

When we had some previous coworkers from Florida travel to Dayton on business we met up with them at La Colombiana in Beavercreek. The food here is all made to order so be prepared to enjoy the company of your eating companions while you wait for your order. The staff is very friendly and attentive. I promise that the wait is worth it. We took my parents during our last weekend in the Dayton area and my Dad absolutely loved it. While the cuisine is different from Dominican cuisine, the flavors are comfortingly similar. The portion sizes are huge and very well priced. The Arroz con Pollo is large enough to feed two people and full of flavor. For a great assortment of traditional flavors try the Plato Tipico, it’s also enough to feed two. Their empanadas are great to share with the table or enough to be a meal for one.

King Garden

It took us a long time to find a good take-out Chinese place and King Garden in Beavercreek finally fit the bill. Their Mongolian beef is almost perfect, the onions are sweet and charred and the beef is tender, it doesn’t get a full 100 points, though, because the onion to beef ratio isn’t right, there isn’t enough meat! But maybe I think that because Firecracker ends up taking most of it.

Graeter’s

Graeter’s is an ice cream chain in the midwest that began 145 years ago in Cincinnati, Ohio. My step-grandfather, Grandpa Ray, grew up in the Cincinnati area and his kids would ship him Graeter’s ice cream down to Florida after he’d married my Busia. I now know why! The black raspberry chocolate chip is my hands down favorite. To be fair though, I never got a chance to try the seasonal Cinnamon in November/December or the Key Lime in August.

101 Beer Kitchen

One of the reasons we preferred the Columbus Zoo to the Cincinnati Zoo is because of the 101 Beer Kitchen and their Loaded House Made Tater Tots. Their menu changes based on the season but their featured pizza was a hit according to whoever ordered it. And their steak, when on the menu, is cooked to perfection.

Fabric Shack

fabric shackAs promised, I couldn’t leave Ohio without finding a favorite quilt shop. The winner here is the Fabric Shack in Waynesville. This shop was worth the 30-40 minute commute. It has an impressive collection of batiks, a great children’s section, and other beautiful novelty fabrics I’d not seen anywhere else.