Playdate with Old Friends

Yesterday, we got together with a couple of my old high school friends.  Keith and Jody now have Baby Addy, who, as you will see, is just adorable.  And Mitch came along to partake in the chaos.  Life with children is irrationally crazy and unpredictable, and I've been the worst at keeping in touch, so it was great getting to see everyone, even if conversation is always a little limited with three little ladies running/scootching/supported standing around.

Noelle and Addy get some one-on-one time while Addy shows off her Superman skills.

Noelle quickly grew attached to Keith.  She was pretty thrilled with this comfy seat. :)

Jody and Addy.  See what I mean about her cuteness level?

 

Mitch was a real trooper, playing Riley's version of hide-and-seek (aka throw-a-blanket-over-Mitch-then-count-then-go-find-him-under-the-same-blanket-right-where-I-left-him).  

I see more crazy playdates in our future...

As American as Petting Zoos and Parades

 We had a pretty darn amazing Fourth of July weekend.  I mean, really, we tried to fit in all the American things we possibly could.  First-- All-American family.  Uncle Steve came over, and I'm pretty certain the girls (including Kona) were thrilled with it.

 Second-- All-American gluttony, over-indulgence and petting zoos.  I didn't get a picture of the ginormous plate of freshly-made curly fries that I got at Ribfest, or the Desperado's Psycho sandwiches the boys got, but take my word for it-- we had enough food.  I did, however, get plenty of pictures of the girls at the petting zoo. 

 We spent the $1 to get Riley some food for these extremely well-fed animals, and she loved getting to contribute to the girth of their cute little tummies.

 Noelle, however, took the prize for Most Excited Child in the City of Naperville.  She DRAGGED either Mike or me around the place, chasing whatever animal happened to come into her view.  And don't miss this hilarious fluffy-legged chicken.  Who knew those things existed?

Both Riley and Noelle are big fans of bunnies.  This poor, traumatized bunny got a LOT of lovin'. 

Third-- All-American parades!  I usually DON'T love a parade, but this parade experience has to be one of the best we've had.  Ashley hooked us up with a friend who has a house right on the parade route, so we had shade and even a yard to move around in.  The girls were happy the whole time.  It was a 4th of July miracle.

I love this picture of Riley-girl...

Although she is capable of walking on her own, Noelle's still kind of resistant, most of the time.  However, she's always up for an accompanied stroll!

The Livingston stroller was the place to be for a good half hour.

Robbie, Ashley and Baby Maddie.  We just love this family.

One of the major bonuses of attending the parade-- candy and a mom who will let you get away with double-fisting lollipops.

Our little vagabond-looking child :)

Playmates, taking a break from the parade to play with Kate's toys.

Fourth-- All-American pool party and barbecue.  The night of the 4th, we grilled out.  Sure, it was just for our little family, but it was great.  And while Daddy threw the burgers and potatoes on the grill, the girls splashed around.

Sadly, we didn't have apple pie, but we have to save something for next year, I suppose!

Pink pool party

Gracie came over to play this past week, and since the day was another gorgeous one, I filled up the pool.  The three girls got to splash and goof around for awhile, and then I was struck by an idea.

A few weeks ago, I bought a container of Crayola Bath Color Dropz that have revolutionized bathtime for us, but why couldn't they also be pool drops?

Pink water, not just for bathtime anymore.

Summer Soup

All of a sudden... and I truly mean ALL OF A SUDDEN... yesterday, I was struck by the "nesting" instinct.  Thus, I started planning how to redecorate my entire house, and I began browsing for great summer recipes.  I'm still in the decorating brainstorming stage, so I'll spare you that.  But here's a recipe that I just made ahead for dinner.  Mmmmm!  I found it on Epicurious (to make sure I give credit-- it's apparently from Lourdes Castro), and I've made a few changes.  Here's my hybrid recipe, as I made it.  I have to say, though, that this ended up yielding only about 2 servings, so I would FOR SURE double or triple it if you're going to strain the soup.  If not straining, I'm thinking you should still double it.

Yummy Summer Corn Soup with Roasted Corn Gaucamole

For the soup:
5 ears fresh corn
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 clove minced or chopped garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 Cup chicken broth

1.  Cut the corn off the cob.  Put kernels in a blender (but wait to blend).
2.  Put the oil and garlic in a soup pot over medium heat.  Add the onion (and if you like heat, the original recipe called for 1 chopped jalapeno).  Saute until translucent.  Add oil, garlic and onion to blender.  Blend until smooth(-ish).  You'll probably have to pulse it.
3.  Put blended mixture back in the pot.  Heat on medium, stirring for the first few minutes.
4.  Gradually add chicken broth, mixing together.
5.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
6.  I strained the soup because the texture was a little strange, though still fine if you don't want to deal with straining.

You can make the soup ahead, cool it, fridge it and reheat it later.

When you're ready to serve, make the roasted corn guacamole.  I haven't made this yet, but it promises to be awesome. 

for the guac:
Kernels from 3 ears of corn
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp finely chopped red onion
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 avocado, chopped

1.  Preheat the oven to 450.  Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.  Toss the kernels with the oil, salt and pepper.  Spread evenly on baking sheet.  Roast for 20 minutes, until the corn turns golden brown (but some black is fine, too).
2.  Combine the corn with the other ingredients.  Place in the center of each bowl of soup!

I think, for simplicity's sake, we're going to do this with grilled cheese tonight.  I'll report back on the results!

Gluten-free pizza!

I decided I wanted to try to make a pizza for lunch, but with Noelle and me on gluten-free diets, this becomes slightly more difficult.  I had some pre-cooked polenta, though, so I thought, Hmmm... cornmeal crust?  I browsed the internet and found enough inspiration to experiment.  Sure, it wasn't Lou Malnati's, but I'd still like to label it a success.  I liked it, and both the girls ate it up.  So, here you go!

1 tube pre-cooked polenta (I used a garlic and basil kind)
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp corn starch
1 Tbsp gluten-free flour (or regular flour if you don't have to be gf)
A jar of pizza sauce
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Whatever toppings you like


This is quick and easy.  Ready?  Pre-heat the oven to 450.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (or use a pizza stone, if you have it).  Slice the polenta and throw it into a food processor with the water, corn starch and flour.  Get it well mixed.  Flatten the mixture out on the cookie sheet; I'm guessing my crust was about 1/4-inch thick.  Put it in the oven for 15 minutes.  Pull out the crust, spread the sauce on it, add toppings and cheese.  Put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes.  (I actually was going to have it in there for 25, but my cheese was getting pretty browned.)  Let sit for 5 minutes.  Slice and serve. 

Because it's polenta, the crust doesn't get super crispy, but it's also not disgustingly mushy.  I give it a big gluten-free two thumbs up! 

P.S. I just grabbed a cold sliver of our leftovers, and it's pretty darn good that way, too!

Loads of Fun

Erin was in town the past couple of days, and whenever Erin is in town, immense fun is to be had.  We got lots of play time with her and with the Barnett clan.  Yes, I'm currently paying for the expenditure of energy coupled with poor sleepers, but we had fun nonetheless. 

First, Celeste and Erin were awesome enough to watch Riley while Noelle had PT; then they watched both girls while I went in for another ultrasound (more on that in another post).  So, obvsiously, the girls had a blast of a morning, and Riley, apparently, was a crazy lady-- screaming "No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" and flailing/dancing around to her heart's content.  I realized that Clayton is quite possibly the perfect playmate for her-- full of energy, so he brings out her more exciting side, but not too touchy, so she's not intimidated by the remote possibility that she may be knocked over or (gasp!) have a hand laid on her. :)  Oh boy... these are things we need to overcome. 

After naps, we headed to Naperville and red mango.  Mmmmm, red mango!  I'm glad that that place isn't in downtown Wheaton because I would be in trouble.  Frozen yogurt for breakfast, lunch, a snack and dinner?  Yes, please!  Then we took a stroll to the carillon, ran up and down the hill, and Noelle-- with the help of Erin-- walked quite a bit. 

The next morning (which began, by the way, before 6:30 for BOTH girls), Erin came with us on our first adventure (of the year) to the Glen Ellyn splash park.  If your kids like getting splashed, the place is awesome.  Contained, clean, fun.  Our problem is that Riley doesn't particularly like to be splashed, and Noelle doesn't particularly like cold water.  So it started off a little dicey.

 

But after Noelle realized that sitting in Mommy's lap fixes everything, and Riley, well, just realized that we were at the splash park, and it's a fun place, things got better.

But wait!  That's not the end of our adventure!  After naps-- this time a little bit better than the day before-- we first had a dance party...

... then we headed to "Clayton's house" again to play in his pool.  As Celeste said, we moms try so hard to create fun for our kids, and sometimes we just fail.  This wasn't a total failure, but it, sadly, left Riley with some crazy welts of mosquito bites. 

And neither girl really wanted to play in the pool.  But Clayton, as always, was fun and hilarious: jumping around, landing on his tailbone without a second thought...  We love that guy. 

So today, needless to say, we're lying low... until I get a super-fun offer that I can't say "no"... or I just get stir-crazy. :)

Blast from the Past Short Story

This actually happened-- I don't know-- a month ago, but I was reminded of this hilarious conversation when, this morning, Riley was talking about her "wollipop." 

We were at Grandma and Papa's house, and Ben and Riley were sitting on the fireplace.  Ben wanted to get Riley's attention, so he looked at her and said, "Wi-wey?"  Riley turned around, and in a school marm-y way, corrected, "No, Ben.  It's not Wi-wey.  It's Wi-Yee."