No Fear: The Joy of a Toddler in the Pool

I don’t think that these photos really need any explanation—you can see the excitement on his face. This was when we were in Vermont earlier this fall, and he loved jumping into the pool. 

He was counting to three before he launched into the pool. 

Chop Suey - An Easy Weekday Meal

My mom used to make chop suey all the time when we were little—as a mom now, I realize why: it is so easy to make. I mentioned in one other post that I try to keep my meals under 30 minutes during the weekday and this comes close.

INGREDIENTS

A generous amount of olive oil

2-3 chicken breasts, boiled and then shredded

 1 cup of diced onion

1 clove of garlic

 2 cups of diced celery

1 red pepper diced

1 green pepper diced

 1 cup hot water

 1 teaspoon salt

 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

 1 (14.5 ounce) can of bean sprouts, drained and rinsed

 1/3 cup of cold water

 2 tablespoons of cornstarch

 2 teaspoons of soy sauce

 1 teaspoon of white sugar

DIRECTIONS

1.       Add olive oil to a pan, then add onion and garlic and saute for 5 minutes.

2.       Add celery, hot water, salt and pepper. Cover skillet and simmer for 5 minutes.

3.       Add sprouts, red pepper, green pepper and shredded chicken. Heat to boiling.

4.       In a small bowl combine the cold water, cornstarch, soy sauce and sugar. Mix together and add to skillet mixture. Cook for 5 minutes, or until thickened to taste.

5.       Serve over rice. 

Family Bike Ride at Storm King Art Center

A few weeks ago, we went to Storm King Art Center. The colors were spectacular, as were the grounds. We met our friends there, had a picnic and then biked around most of the exhibitions. 

Alex and his friend had so much fun running around all the sculptures and hills. It was a super fun outing, and only about an hour outside of the city, so very manageable to get to. 

Alex and his friend on top of waves of grass. Alex’s friend’s mother rolled down one of these hills, and it was awesome. If I weren’t almost six months pregnant, I would have done the same thing!

There were some serious hills at Storm King and most of the paths were gravel. I was a little apprehensive about some of the paths, but all turned out fine. 

I made it to the top…barely!

This Evoking Tradition exhibit just closed, but Alex really liked running up to the big feet and smelling them, then running away and saying how stinky they were. It was hilarious. 

Here the boys are hiding from “No Noggin”—a mythical scaregrow ghost in one of the Curious George books. We both ended up getting this book from our Scholastic Book Fair at school and the boys loved it. 

It was a super great day and we highly recommend visiting! 

Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and Caramels

I made these spice cupcakes (from a box!) and topped them with cream cheese frosting and caramels. They were a great fall cupcake. The hardest part of this recipe was chopping the caramel, but, as you can see from the photos below, they were also one of Alex’s favorite parts!

I made these spice cupcakes (from a box!) and topped them with cream cheese frosting and caramels. They were a great fall cupcake. The hardest part of this recipe was chopping the caramel, but, as you can see from the photos below, they were also one of Alex’s favorite parts!

Cake

I followed the directions from the Duncan Hines, Spice Cake box.

Cream Cheese Frosting

INGREDIENTS

4 ounces of unsalted butter, softened

4 ounces of cream cheese, softened

2 cups of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1.       In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer.

2.       With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy.

3.       Beat in the vanilla extract.

4.       Spread on cooled cupcakes and top with chopped caramels. 

Hiking in Vermont

A few weeks ago, we went to Vermont to experience the peak of their fall colors. While there, we went for a hike at Mt. Philo. Alex did the entire thing himself (at least up)—he was a trooper. 

Stopping for a quick break. 

 

 

We made it to the top! The views were spectacular.