Tortellini {recipe} and Wine Pairing

Ever have those days where you just don't want to cook?  I've been having a lot of those lately.  I'll text hubby and ask for sushi.  I'll look in the freezer and pull out something from Schwan's.  I even thought about grabbing burgers takeout the night I made this.  I just had to cook something though.  It is my job to provide a meal (or several) all day every day, and luckily I had a few key ingredients to make this happen.  I normally am really good at planning things out and I do love cooking, but I've been in a bit of a cooking rut and don't always know what to make.

I basically googled what I had on hand and came up with this--

Balsamic Tortellini 
-a little bacon
-evoo
-tortellini
-balsamic vinegar

This Garlic Bread seasoning is SO yummy and I just spread a little butter with this mixed in and broil it on whatever bread I have on hand.  It's nice to control the butter/seasoning amount.  A little bit goes a long way!

I had a bottle of red to go with.

I must say this this Pinot Noir is heavenly!! Even my husband, who isn't a wine drinker, poured himself a small glass and sipped it late night!  It has a smooth finish and would pair perfectly with any red sauce or steak.  It definitely made my list to enjoy again this Fall/Winter.  I can see myself sipping on this with a roaring fire, even though I'm not ready to give up my 80 degree days quite yet!

For this or other great wines to be delivered to your door, (ya heard!) check out Wine Chateau.  I don't' know about you, but the last place I ever want to drag two little children would be the liquor store and well, we don't have wine in our grocery stores up here in NYS! 

*These opinions are my own.  I received a bottle of this wine to review.  

Fun at home With a Toddler

While I don't ever "officially" have a lesson plan…I kind of just wing things around here in the "Toddler School" department. I am hoping to get on track come next Monday 8/31, like I've mentioned before with Tot School. 

For now?  When baby bro naps, we pull out the messy stuff, like paint!

-$1 sponge cut into pieces
-blue paint
-paper
-giant roll of brown paper from $1 store to try to contain any mess

She knows B and so we used blue…

I was inspired by Leah and her Mommy School, who had done this cupcake liner craft…so we added "water" with the sponge paint.

She then requested orange and just started painting away.

Brother woke up so I did the dishes and these two goofed around.

Tuesday night the new Madden came out, so I had to snap a photo of our silly little family.

We've been reading/doing some work with The Very Hungry Catipillar and her mind was BLOWN when I found it on Netflix for her.

Wednesday we did a little baking for brother!  She loved playing with the extra dough, rolling, pinching, and flipping!

I was going to buy or order some teething biscuits, but I just googled and found a recipe online.

Super simple recipe HERE

He approved!

We then went up to the dealership so Daddy could help switch the carseats.  He is just TOO heavy for me to carry in that seat, so we put him in Brooke's other seat, rear facing.  I then thought it'd be fun to drive out to our land…

Cross your fingers we close within the next month!!

And theeennnnn….a DOUBLE meltdown occurred. Brooke was fussy because Bradley was fussing, and she started saying she was hungry.  So I do something I never do, and got her a happy meal.   She enjoyed her cheeseburger and I was able to feed the baby.

That's real life!   I had packed snacks, but she went through them so quickly, I was in a pinch and whatever.  We don't eat it all the time.  Sometimes ya just roll with the punches.  I usually stay home because I know my kids and they thrive on routine, but man some days I just need to get out and drive. I used to drive an hour to and an hour from work, and while I do not miss that daily commute, especially in the winter, I do miss just getting out and about.  I know they won't be this little and so much work for long, (I say that a lot, don't I?) so I just do what I can and we are all just fine.

Weekend Rewind

While the hot Summer days and nights seem to have vanished, we are still soaking up every stinking minute of being outside without coats!!  Friday night we went over to our friends' house for pizza and wings--homemade!



Cathy is such a good friend and an amazing Tastefully Simple consultant. Her little girl is about Brooke's age and they are just so cute together!

They also have 2 boys and well, throw a football in the mix and it's game on with the husbands too!

It was very relaxing and just what we needed…family time!

Saturday was pretty low key and I just hung around with the kids.   Sandbox fun...

Big boy wants to so badly play in the sand!! Next year buddy.



I did end up taking them on a little drive after Brooke woke up because Bradley needed another mini nap and I had to get out of the house.  I ended up grabbing lobster tails and filet for dinner too, so it was all good!



Sunday we got up, had breakfast and then Joe wanted to go for a drive to the land.  He decided to take just Brooke, since we really notice she does better with some one-on-one attention from us.  She picked flowers while he figured out where the driveway will go, how far things need to be off the road, etc.



It worked out well because I knew Mr. B would need a little morning nap and Brooke doesn't like to sit for long walks any more and she can't walk that far, so it makes for my favorite walk not so fun…but baby boy loved it and I was able to listen to some music.

Fresh air = this.

We take what we can get around here and hired another sitter for a few hours Sunday evening. We had dinner as a family, but then went out for a bit just us two. I had fun dressing up and doing my hair.  I enjoy and miss that kind of stuff!  Although I did switch out of my high heels because I didn't know where we'd end up.

*curls*

It's not every day I get to ride in the car, so when I do…woop!

We ended up at Marge's, a little beach front bar.  This was my, "Nooo don't take a picture of me, I want a picture of us" face.

I love him!  There were a lot of times where we just sat in silence, enjoying each other's company.  Having two little (loud) kids, we learn to really appreciate the quiet when it comes around! We stopped here for a drink, walked the pier, and then drove around.  

We grabbed lattes and ended up driving out to our land again, because I wanted to see it at dusk. It is gorgeous and makes me so happy and excited to build! As we were driving with the vette's top off, I could see the night sky; it really struck me at how gorgeous this world is and the infinite beauty that surrounds us.  I thought about the babes and how we really won't get this time back, and that just a little time away, really does make me appreciate the life we live.  I am able to sit and play with them on the floor and have no place to rush or be (usually) and although I may feel a little nutty talking to a 7 month and 2 1/2 year old all day long, it really won't be like this forever.  They'll be running around like little kids do, and growing up so fast.  So lazy days of watching "puppies" and cleaning spit up are probably fewer than I even realize.  

We thought about trying to find a bar with the niners game playing, but by 9:15 we were ready to come home.  We have another date night scheduled this weekend, so that is very encouraging! It really keeps things in balance when we can spend time as a family and just us two.  Things are not always perfect in life, there are things that are weighing on my heart and really make me down right frustrated!! But I cannot control other people, I can only control my own mental attitude…and Joe has taught me (and continues to teach me) that.   Date nights always bring me back to the root of us.  Even if it was only a 3 hour mini date night, it was treasured time just us two.  

Bradley {7 months}

My dear, sweet, baby boy.  .  .

What can I say?? Your eyes have me, and Daddy and everyone else like--whoa.  I swear, everyone tells us how amazing your eyes are and I couldn't agree more!! Sister may have the baby blues, but boy, you have some dreamy eyes yourself!!

In typical mom fashion, I've misplaced my monthly stickers…so we haven't had any 5, 6, or 7 month sticker photos. OOPS.  I still love you more than anything Bradley, sorry!



Where do I begin?? You have never been very little, but you sure are growing like a crazy man!  You are busting out of 9 month onesies, and 12 month footed pjs are starting to become snug.  It's been so hot that you're usually in just a diaper and a bib.  We change bibs more than your diapers around here!



At your 6 month visit you were 20 lbs 6 oz {88%} and your length was 39 inches which is over 99%! You're a big boy I tell ya.  L-O-N-G legs and arms like Daddy.



You have ONE TOOTH!! Daddy noticed it when we went to visit him at work one day.  He was super proud that he saw it first.  It's a bit blurry, but there it is!! The first tooth.



You have the sweetest disposition and I know for sure are going to be such a kind and caring little boy. Both your Daddy and I have "seen" glimpses of what you're going to look like when you're a little older.  At not even a year old, we can see what you'll start to look like as a child and not as a baby.



You also have the biggest and happiest smile we ever did see!



Your chubby legs and cheeks are irresistible and I cannot tell you how many times I day I kiss them!  You love being held, rocked, played with, and just don't like being alone.  It makes for bedtime a little tricky, but I just don't mind rocking you to sleep…hopefully you'll go to sleep on your own again, but for now I don't mind one bit!! You sleep through most nights, but sometimes wake like this morning at 4am--you started whimpering, and once I got up you stopped and must've fallen back to sleep.


You love--

Food!  Watermelon in the mesh feeder is your jam right now.  Baby oatmeal makes you go "Yumm mum mum" along with all the foods…you didn't seem to love the cranberry too much, but I get that.  It's kind of a tart flavor!

Your sister.

Rocking back and forth trying so hard to crawl!

Your doorway jumper.

Walks.

Being outside in general.

Music.  You love to dance with us!

Everything goes in the mouth.  You love new toys; I have to keep rotating. You don't seem to have a favorite, so we just keep mixing them up throughout the day.

You are great in the car, as long as you're fed!!

I still play around with how much to feed you and when.  You'll guzzle 8 oz of formula but most likely spit up at least an ounce or more, so I've tried to do 4 or 6 and more frequently instead of every 4 hours.  Once these teeth of yours all come in,  I have no doubt you'll be housing more food than I can ever imagine! We hope less spit up comes with that as well.

You started sitting unassisted a few weeks ago, and you hold your own bottle.

 You love to move, move, move!!  You rock back and forth, but aren't crawling yet.

Silly little thing.  So close to the crawl!

What, ma? All the cool kids are crawling!!

Happy 7 months big bubs! 

Daily Routine:

6-7 wakeup

Bottle in bed with Daddy

Mesh feeder or

Fruit puree

Between 9-10 you fall asleep for about a half an hour.

another bottle

[Between 11-1 I will run any errands or appts]

veggie/fruit or cereal

It's my goal in life to get you and your sister to nap together, so around 1 is a good time to give you a bottle and you both sleep for about an hour (2 if I'm lucky!)

another bottle after nap 

From 3-5 we try to get outside or do something fun

--Play--

Dinner (usually veggies or mixed) 5-6

mesh feeder

Sometimes you seem still hungry so I give you more baby oatmeal

Bath time and then bed between 7-8

You will wake up sometimes, but for the most part you sleep! Thank you for that.  Thank you for teaching me patience and to continue to just do my best.  Perfection doesn't exist and being your mommy is making me grow in ways I never knew I could.  We love you so much Bradley bean!

Lake George {Day 4}

Still haven't finished blogging about our vacation….so here was day four!!

We were SO excited for this day to come!  We were going to Magic Forest, where the kids could do some rides and have some fun.  We fueled up at Cafe Vero--we visited the cafe before when it was in a smaller location a few years back, and now they have a bigger dining area and it was so good, we ended up coming back two more times as well.

Big bubs was sitting cozy in his carrier.

I indulged in my latte…so tasty~what I would give for one right now!

Joe and Brooke shared a donut.

Brookie enjoyed a cream cheese bagel-she cracks me up!

Face first is really the only way to do it girl.

I still dream about this bagel, egg, cheese & ham sammy!

We met up with my Dad, step-mom and niece at Magic Forest.  It was a little pricy and VERY outdated…a little rickety and on the verge of being like, "how is this still running?!"

But the kids seem to enjoy the rides for the most part!  This one was a tad on the fast side for Brookie, but she held on like a champ!

Santa!

A train ride through the forest…of creepy statues.

The whole fam on the train!! Yeeehawwww 

I cannot believe the kids didn't scream or cry on this ride because it was HIGH!  My goodness I had to look away at one point, but they made it through.

I was too chicken and used baby boy as an excuse to stay firmly planted on the ground.

Some of the odd statues…

A sheep.

We probably had the most fun walking through this part of the park--a bunch of sing-song characters and nursery rhymes and again, creepy statues.

It rained a bit later and Joe really wanted to walk through the "haunted wax museum" so we did that.  Later that night we did a big family dinner…I prepped like this:

Family shot, with a photobomber--

They were later reservations so Brooke got a little tired.

I know vacations are just going to keep getting better as the kids grow older.  We had such a ball and were again, so grateful for extra hands to help with the littles!!