Author Archives: Karen

Awesome Sauce! – Kids Cook Monday

Posted in Kids Cook Monday by

One of the reasons I am always getting my kiddos in the kitchen with me is because I love the idea of raising men who know how to cook. What woman doesn’t love a man who knows his way around the kitchen? Someday, my boys’ future spouses will be so happy their mama taught them a thing or two when it comes to food! It’s so fun to see Brady looking forward to our cooking sessions. He drags his little step stool up to the counter and now (thanks to mommy’s super Target clearance find!) puts on his Planes apron!

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For this weeks meal, I wanted to see just how many veggies I could pack into a meal. Nolan is not the greatest when it comes to eating his vegetables, but he loves spaghetti, so I thought I could sneak some in that way. Although, I don’t really like the idea of being “sneaky” when it comes to food per se- I think it’s important for kids to know what they’re eating so they are aware that they actually like certain foods. I just like the idea of presenting new foods in a way that’s somewhat familiar, and of course, tasty. If I just gave the kids a bowl of spinach, it probably wouldn’t go over so well, but by cooking a yummy sauce with spinach, I’m showing Brady that he likes spinach.

I called this sauce “Awesome Sauce” because it tastes awesome and it has some awesome ingredients in it…

Ingredients:

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1 onion
1 bell pepper (I had an orange one on hand)
2 cloves of garlic
1 pint of grape tomatoes
1 cup of shredded carrots
1 bag of spinach
2 cans of tomato sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
~1 Tbs. Italian Seasoning
~1/4 cup Heavy Cream (optional)
1 box of your favorite pasta

 

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B and I chopped up the onion, pepper, and garlic and sautéed them together in olive oil. Then, we added the shredded carrots. Once they were all tender, we added the grape tomatoes. I left them whole, seasoned the pot with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning, and let all the veggies hang out together for a while (until the tomatoes started bursting.) Then we threw in the bag of spinach and let them wilt for a minute or so before adding the 2 cans of sauce.  The sauce was super chunky at this point so I took my immersion blender and let Brady give it a few pulses to smooth it out. Last, we stirred in a little cream to give it a little creamy sweetness.

Brady was quite proud of this creation. The spinach adds lots of vitamins and protein to this otherwise “carby” meal. And even though it really doesn’t change the flavor too much, the little specks of green throughout, remind you just how good this sauce is for you. It would be super good over ravioli, pizza or in a veggie lasagna and this recipe makes a bunch so I now have a container in my freezer as well. Awesome Sauce!

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Carolina Smitten

Posted in Family by

The Smith Family has been in North Carolina for a little over a month now. It’s been a fast month, yet we’ve done a lot of exploring! When moving to a new area of the country, you don’t always know what you’re getting yourself into or how you’ll like the spot you’ve chosen to live. We got so lucky when we moved to Pennsylvania when we happened to find the small town of Lititz. It had charm out the wazoo and was so safe and friendly. We always said we hit the jackpot finding that little city, and so far the feeling is mutual with Garner, NC.

Chris had no idea how close we would be to Downtown Raleigh when he found our rental house in Garner. One day we were driving around looking for restaurants or Target or something of the like, and we suddenly saw all the big downtown buildings in front of us (less than 15 minutes from our house.) Raleigh is a very inconspicuous city. It’s surrounded by suburbs and nestled in between huge oak trees. We’re loving taking advantage of all it has to offer; food truck rally’s, fun restaurants, beautiful parks, a weekly Farmer’s Market, and an AMAZING kids museum. It also helps that we moved here during the most perfect time of year so we are able to get out and about and enjoy all that the area has to offer.

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Riding the Kiddie Boats at Pullen Park in Raleigh.

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Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh

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Giant train table at Marbles Kids Museum

Our little town of Garner seems to be going through a growth spurt. There are several new shopping plazas-two Targets within 10 minutes of the house (moms you get how important this is!) We also have two lakes within 10 minutes of the house. The kids are loving going to the parks, story time at the library, and playing in our new backyard.

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This slide is HUGE! White Deer Park in Garner (also where a HUGE tree fell down right by us!)

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Bubba playing in our backyard- lovin’ tank top weather!

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Lake Wheeler Park

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Playground overlooking the lake!

Brady is enrolled in pre-school for the Fall and he can’t wait to make some little friends. He truly misses our playgroup in Pennsylvania (as do I!) but is loving all the kids in our new neighborhood.  Everyone has been super welcoming which has made the transition “back down south” that much sweeter. Our house is almost completely unpacked, but to be honest, we have put some housework on hold recently because we are just having too much fun on the weekends getting to know our new city- hanging pictures can wait, right?!

Chris is loving getting to know all the golf courses in the area and trying out the local breweries. He’s looking forward to getting his motorcycle out and also doing some fishing since the weather is so nice right now. I’m loving that we are less than 2 hours to the beach and 2 hours from mountains. I can’t wait until we get some family and friends up here to visit and can help us do some more exploring!

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Me and the hubby at Lake Benson (4 minutes from our house!)

Drop a Beet!

Posted in Brady, Education, Family, Projects/DIY by

Recently, I bought a whole bunch of beets for a recipe that Brady and I made for Food Revolution Day. I’ve never been a beet girl, per se, but they were pretty tasty in the Rainbow Salad Wrap we made. Nonetheless, we had a whole lot of leftover beets. I wasn’t sure what to do with them, but after seeing how amazingly vibrant and purplely-red the juice was, I thought, this would make a fabulous paint color!

I sliced the beets in different directions so they would all have a different shape. Then, we went outside and used the beet chunks like big stamps. This was easy, and not nearly as messy as I would have anticipated. If you ever have a leftover beet or happen to find them at a farmer’s market for a really cheap price, give this activity a try with your little one!

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Food Revolution Day

Posted in Family, Kids Cook Monday by

Happy Food Revolution Day! Jamie Oliver’s goal is to get as many kids and families from across the globe, in the kitchen together today.  I’m taking part in this day because I love Jamie Oliver’s philosophy on the importance of getting kids involved in the food they eat.

“It’s time to take action!

We need every child to understand where food comes from, how to cook it, and how it affects their body. This is about setting kids up with the knowledge they need to make better food choices for life.” -Jamie Oliver

To participate in this day, our family made Jamie’s “Rainbow Salad Wrap” recipe.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/rainbow-salad-wrap

I have to confess, when I first saw the ingredients (raw beets, pears, green cabbage…) I was a little concerned. I’ve never eaten raw beets, let alone tried to feed them to a two year old! I was up for the challenge because, if I’m not willing to be adventurous when it comes to eating new foods, how can I expect my kids to be willing to try new things?! I also have to admit that I took some short-cuts with this recipe. It calls for you to shred all of your own veggies, but when I saw pre-shredded cabbage and carrots in the store I thought, umm, yea, let’s do that instead! I did however shred my own pear (with Brady’s supervision!) and beets.

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Here’s my PSA for beets- they’re M.E.S.S.Y. If your child is old enough to use a box grater and shred the beets themself, please use gloves and an apron, or be prepared to have stained hands, countertops, clothes, etc. I took on that task myself, and it was still messy. I kept thinking, we should totally use beets to paint with- outside. Other than the beet mess, this recipe is super easy to put together! Shred the veggies and mix together. Whisk up some cider vinegar, EVOO, mustard, and yogurt for the dressing. Once you mix the dressing and veggies together, top it with some feta cheese and roll it in a whole wheat wrap.

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Brady enjoyed measuring, stirring, and as usual, tasting ingredients. (He loves shredded carrots!) But, there’s also something to be said about the amount of conversation that goes on while preparing a meal. From helping me pick out the ingredients at the grocery store, to picking herbs from our herb garden that he helped plant, to reading through the recipe together, there’s some really valuable dialogue that takes place.

I wasn’t sure what Brady would think about this meal. But, no joke, the first words out of his mouth after he took a bite were, “Yum. That’s delicious.” Chris and I both said, “Really?! Yay!” It just goes to show, you should never underestimate what a kid will eat or enjoy. This food was new to him, but it was colorful and fun looking. Plus, Brady was the one who helped mix the dressing and stir it all together and top it with cheese. To him, he cooked it, so it had to be awesome!

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This was a fun recipe to make and it just makes me so happy to think that kids around the globe were cooking and eating the same thing that my family was!

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For more info on Food Revolution Day, check out this site.

http://www.foodrevolutionday.com/

 

 

Fruit Salsa- Kids Cook Monday

Posted in Kids Cook Monday by

We recently discovered a small strawberry farm near our house that let’s you come pick your own strawberries. They are the most delicious strawberries I’ve ever had!!! So sweet and so juicy! We’ve gone a couple of times recently because they are so ripe right now.

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Brady hard at work pickin’ “drawberries.”

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The “fruit of our labor.”

Brady will gobble up strawberries by the pint, but I wanted to try some fun recipes with some of the berries we picked. For Kids Cook Monday, I thought I’d make a fruit salsa that has lots of strawberries, apples and kiwis with a little basil from our herb garden. This recipe was mostly chopping and mixing. I did the fruit cutting and Brady did the lime squeezing, basil ripping and sugar stirring. I’d be lost without him! 🙂

Fruit Salsa

Ingredients:

About a pint of strawberries- chopped into bite sized pieces

1 green apple- peeled and diced

2 kiwis- peeled and diced

the juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup of white sugar

About 1/4 cup chopped basil (or ripped by toddler hands!)

*Cinnamon & Sugar pita chips for dipping

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This recipe comes together so easy. You chop, dump in a bowl, and mix. It gets tastier if it sits for an hour or so, but you can also eat it right away.  We loved that it was such a refreshing, light dessert. The hubby liked the pop of basil and Brady could’ve just eaten it with a spoon.

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“Perks” of Being a Mom

Posted in Family, Holidays by

Mother’s Day is a perfect time to reflect on the hard work and love that goes into being a mom. I am lucky to not only have a selfless, strong, amazing mom, but also aunts,a grandma, and step-mom who have all been a blessing in my life. All of these women have had an impact on the kind of person I want to be and the way I want to raise my boys.

With that being said, it’s important to note that being a mom is not always a fun, easy gig. It can be gut wrenching, stressful, and all– consuming. To know that every move you make impacts the life of someone else, is quite humbling. While the love between a mom and her kids is the absolute greatest reward for all that hard work, there’s some parts to being a mom that are not always glamorous. I thought I’d take a moment to list a few of the ways being a mom has changed my life- and perhaps find the good in those “not so glamorous” moments.

1.Never will I have to worry about getting lonely while peeing. Even when the bathroom door is shut, I can count on at least one little hand creeping under it to track me down.

2. I can have all the kid food leftovers I want. In between wiping up spaghetti sauce spills and crushed Cheerios, I am totally swiping bites of grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza and Mac-n-Cheese. And let’s not forget about the free desserts that come with kids meals…

3. It is completely acceptable to bust out in a Disney song, watch The Little Mermaid, and plan Disney vacations. I play it off like it’s for the kids, but who am I kidding? I freakin’ love everything Disney!

4. My body automatically wakes up at 6:30 AM every day. Nolan is my early bird and rarely sleeps past 7. That means, whether I like it or not, I get to see the beginning of The Today Show every.single.day.

5. My days are spent cleaning up messes, reading children’s books, singing kids’ songs, tripping over crayons and Legos, hearing my name called 177 times an hour, and repeating myself until I’m blue in the face. This seems exhausting until I remind myself that before I had kids I was a first grade teacher and my days consisted of almost the exact same things! Except now I get to do it without the hassle of principal observations, complaining parents, and lesson plans. (Or a paycheck, but I digress…)

Being a mom has also made me appreciate the little things in life so much; drinking an entire cup of coffee while it’s still hot, having one too many glasses of wine and being able to sleep in the morning after, 20 minutes of quiet time to read, a solo trip to Target, an uninterrupted conversation with my husband, eating as slow as I want- using both hands, and starting a project and finishing it within the same day. Some of these things are unlikely to happen while my boys are still young, but that’s ok. I’m sure someday when I’m able to indulge in these little treasures, I’ll be longing for the days of rocking Nolan to sleep at night, getting blue Icee’s at Target to appease Brady while I shop like a madwoman, sharing chicken nuggets with the boys, wiping sticky handprints off my windows, pushing the swings “higher!”, “faster!”, “more!”, having to sneak out of the house to avoid sad faces looking out the windows if I dare go somewhere alone, and reading just “one more” book at bedtime.

I can safely say that being a mom is more challenging than I could have ever imagined, but the truth is, it’s a job that I am blessed to have and am thankful for every.single.day.

 

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Mexican Popcorn- Kids Cook Monday!

Posted in Family, Holidays, Kids Cook Monday by

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Or…Happy “excuse to eat as much Mexican food as possible” Day! The hubby lived in Mexico for several years, so by proxy, we’re totally an authentic Mexican family. Right?! Anyways, we do cook our share of Mexican food around here, but I wanted to switch it up today.

While we did go to a Mexican restaurant today for lunch, I thought it would be fun to do a different kind of Mexican themed snack for after Brady’s nap. Brady was (ever so nonchalantly) requesting popcorn today. He brought it up in the car, and then again in Target, so I promised him that would be our after-nap snack.

Mexican Popcorn

Ingredients:

Popcorn

1/2 cup Popcorn Kernels
Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

“Fancy Butter”

1/3  Stick of Butter (melted)
the juice of one lime
about a tbsp. of chopped cilantro

Seasonings

1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Tbsp. parmesean cheese to sprinkle on top

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Stove top popcorn is so much fun to make! The anticipation of the first kernel popping is pretty exciting, like for me, as an adult. So, I figured Brady would love it too. And sure enough he did! We popped our popcorn according to the kernel directions and then added our fun, Mexican themed toppings. You could also make this with microwave popcorn, it’s just not as fun! For toppings we used a combo of fancy butter, seasonings, and cheese. First we poured our “fancy butter” (a combo of melted butter, lime juice and cilantro) on the hot popcorn and shook it up in a big bowl with the lid on. Then we put our seasonings on the popcorn, put the lid back on, and shook it up some more. Finally, we topped it with a little bit of parmesan cheese.

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Pickin’ cilantro leaves off and squeezin’ limes!

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Shake, shake, shake! That bowl is as big as him!

It was muy deliciosa! Que Bueno! And, as an added bonus, Brady got to use some of the cilantro we’ve been growing from our garden. Love, love, love when things work out like that!

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Yummy, buttery, salty, tangy, popcorn! Sidenote: I used tri-color kernels so my popcorn has an even cooler look to it (in my opinion). Just know those pieces are not burned pieces 🙂

Planting Herbs- Kids Cook Monday

Posted in Kids Cook Monday, Projects/DIY by

Us Smiths have had a busy couple of weeks. We have now been in our new home for a little over a week. So far we are loving our rental home and all that the Raleigh area has to offer.

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We are especially loving the warmer temperatures and being able to hang out on our back deck. It’s great because it has a screened in portion that provides shade and an open area that leads to the backyard.

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I recently decided to use a little corner of our deck to plant some herbs.

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So many of the recipes we make call for fresh herbs so it just made sense! I wanted Brady to be a part of the planting so that he could see exactly where the ingredients he was cooking with and eating came from and have a little ownership over our meals.

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I love the idea of having fresh herbs on hand. Chris and Brady planted chives, basil, thyme, and cilantro. I can’t wait to add them to our meals! I love to take something store-bought and throw a handful of herbs in it to make it taste fresh. An easy one that is always a hit is basil mashed potatoes. I use store-bought mashed potatoes and fold in a handful of fresh, chopped basil leaves. It gives it a fresh, Italian flair that is so good as a side dish to just about anything!

 

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I can also picture me throwing some cilantro into a pot of rice for a Mexican side dish, chives on a bowl of soup or baked potato, and thyme sprinkled in a bowl of buttered noodles. Let’s hope I have a little, tiny, morsel of my grandma’s green thumb in my genes and I can keep these little guys alive!

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Grow, grow, grow!

Nolan’s Hole In ONE Par-tee!

Posted in Family, Nolan, Projects/DIY by

We had a busy, busy weekend full of family, friends, and celebrating Nolan’s first birthday! This year has truly FLOWN by. I can’t believe our baby is now a one year old…a one year old who had an absolute blast at his party! He loved seeing all of his little friends, eating cake, and most of all, balloons! Or as he called them, BALLS!

His party was a golf theme that was put together with the help of Pinterest and Etsy. Seriously, what did we ever do without those sites….wander the craft store, trying to muster up inspiration?? Psshh! Here’s a little glimpse of the party set up, decor, and food…

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We were so thankful that so many of our playgroup friends were able to make it to Nolan’s big day. The kids had a blast running around, decorating hats, and of course, eating!

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Nolan was also blessed to have his Grandma, Uncle Charles, Aunt Gift and cousin Chloe at his party. We did our best to get group shots with everyone looking!

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Not surprisingly, Nolan was a fan of his birthday cake.

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Thanks to our friends and family who sent messages, cards, and gifts to our littlest man. His birthday was so special thanks to all of the people who love him. Nolan is such a sweet, fun-loving, little guy who is bursting with personality and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for him!

 

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Nolan’s First Year

Posted in Family, Nolan, Projects/DIY by

What a year it’s been! This time last year, we were anxiously awaiting the birth of our littlest man. My due date came and went and we started to wonder just how long this little guy of ours was going to make us wait for his arrival. Then, in the middle of the night (going into the day after my due date) my contractions started. Chris and I were up all night timing my contractions, eating peanut butter sandwiches AND peanut butter crackers (it’s what my loving husband whipped up when I requested a snack) and we watched some awful Jessica Simpson movie on TV. Apparently there was nothing else on at 3AM. My contractions slowed down around 5AM and we figured it must have been a false alarm so we went back to bed. By 9AM we were back up and on our way to the hospital. Our baby boy was on his way!! After a pretty uneventful day of labor that turned into a quick, rushed, scary emergency C-section, we got to meet the little guy that had, and would continue to, always keep us on our toes!

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From finding out that we were pregnant two weeks after moving 6 states away from our family, to the full head of black hair that he was born with, I’m constantly surprised/amazed by our lil’ Bubba! He’s been a character from the beginning and has never lacked in personality! He’s the little brother that Brady never knew he wanted, but now, couldn’t live without. He completed our family in the best possible way and solidified my very proud status as a “BOY Mom.”

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It’s hard to believe that we’ve had Nolan in our lives for an entire year now. I’m partly in denial as he makes his transition from an infant to a one year old…he’s had his last weekly picture, nursed for the last time, is cruising around the furniture (desperately trying to walk to catch up with Brady), is out of his infant car seat, and got his first hair cut. As much as I would love to freeze time forever, we are having more fun than ever as a family now that Nolan is becoming his own little person.

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To celebrate Nolan turning one, I did a little make-shift smash cake photo session for him. His little buddy Elliot got in on the action too…they’re just 5 days apart! After a little Pinterest research, I made a paper bunting banner, rearranged my couch so I had a blank wall for my backdrop, and Elliot’s momma Lauren brought two cakes for our little guys to indulge in. I’m not gonna lie, it was messy. We really could have used a third adult to help corral the kiddos, and it would have been great to do it outside (temps in the 30’s didn’t allow for that!), but all in all, we got some really great shots!

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His face says it all!

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There was a lot of excited grunting going on here!

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I just love this shot with the frosting covered feet and hands…

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Yea, that frosting was EVERYWHERE.

Tomorrow we’ll celebrate Nolan’s big day with a golf themed birthday party (expect a blog post on the party soon) -Chris couldn’t think of a better way to kick off Masters Week! He’ll officially be ONE. As usual, this milestone will be bittersweet. My little guy will be even less little, but he’ll always be my forever baby!

Check out the video below for a glimpse of Nolan’s first year through the weeks…