Banana Bread Goodness

Lately we haven't been very good about eating up all the bananas, the good thing about that is I get to make some yummy banana bread. I use my mom's recipe, which she got out of one of my Aunt Marie's cookbooks...that's as close to a source I could track down since it probably happened 40 some years ago ;)

Ingredients:

1/2 c soft/melted butter

1 c sugar

1 teas lemon juice

2 eggs

2-3 bananas (depending on size)

2 c flour

1 1/2 teas baking powder

1/2 teas soda

1/4 teas salt (I tend to leave it out)

1 1/2 TB sour milk (mill with 3 drops of lemon juice)

1 c nuts (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and grease baking pans.

Cream butter, sugar, and lemon juice. Add eggs and bananas then dry ingredients. Finally add sour milk and the optional nuts.

Bake for 30-45 minutes, it could less or more depending on your oven and what size baking pans you use. Bread is done when you can stick a toothpick through it with no gunk (don't know what else to call it) sticking to it. Cool for a couple of minutes before cutting, or enjoy a crumbling mess ;)

Left without nuts (for little stinker M) and right with nuts (for the rest of us)...it got the full cup ;)

Perfect after school snack, it sures makes the house smell good too. I think both were gone in three days ;)

Our Little Terrarium

So I have been eyeing cute little terrariums for about a year...and then enter pinterest and it just got worse. Take a look at these that I have pinned...I know I couldn't stop myself from making one. BONUS it fit into M's requirements for Cub Scouting!

SOURCE: http://homeiswherehershoesare.blogspot.com/2011/08/diy-terrarium.html

SOURCE: http://www.designsponge.com/2011/04/around-the-world-with-bash-please-california.html

SOURCE: http://brittanyanddylan.blogspot.com/2011/11/weekend-project-1-terrariums-for.html

So we picked up some supplies. I had the large "wine glass" from our wedding center pieces...it is the only one that has survived the almost 10 years of moving...7 moves to be exact. Then I scored two bags of rocks from Michael's when they were 50% off along with the dried moss. The plants were from our local Lowe's, I think sitting outside in a CA winter hasn't been the best for them, but we will try to nurse them back to health. We also used the special cactus/citrus soil, although they only had the ginormous bags...anyone local want to give it a try can stop by and scoop some out of the bag ;)

First I cleaned the container..simple enough...and then M layered some of the rocks on the bottom, some pre-soaked "dry" moss and finally the special soil.

He then got out his football gloves so he could handle the various cactus/succulents I picked up. We dug little holes, planted them and then put another layer of rocks over the top.

Finished product. Looking forward to having some real greenery in the house that is low maintenance and the boys can help take care of. I've got my eyes looking for some more containers so that I can make some other little projects...like some fairy gardens, check these out!

SOURCE: http://themagiconions.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-to-make-fairy-garden.html

SOURCE: http://www.midwestliving.com/garden/container/miniature-garden/#page=4

A Whale of a Day

So last weekend was a glorious three day weekend. Saturday was beautiful and so we choose to do something semi-local and take advantage of some warm winter weather. We headed up to Point Reyes since it is prime whale watching season. It is about an hour and half from here, J has been on some of the roads around there with his motorcycle, but for the rest of us it was all new ground.

We headed to the beach first. It was a different beach then what we have experienced in the past. The beach consisted of small little pebbles perfectly polished and in an assortment of colors.

After the beach we headed to the visitor center and bought bus tickets ($5/adult) to take us to Point Reyes Lighthouse. It was a 20 minute windy curvy road where we went through the coastal Alphabet Ranches where we even had to stop to allow some Holsteins to cross the road into pastures closer to the milking barns.

Once to the lighthouse we decided to not venture down the 300 steps but to stay at the top observation deck. Going down wouldn't have been so much the problem as coming up with tired little boys who out numbered us.

We did catch several whale "sightings" mostly the tails like in the above photo. We also saw several scuba divers down in the same cove.

My funny freckled boy.

Boys with a California Grey Whale scull.

Some really interesting landscape, CA just keeps amazing me with all the different coastlines.

That Thing That Never Happened.

So a couple of months ago I mentioned that I was going through the training to become a Family Child Care (FCC) provider...for those of you not familiar with military jargon it is the equivalent of running a daycare in your home. Due to some of the guidelines/rules regarding your own children, with the help of my family, decided it really wasn't going to be the right fit for us. As much as I wanted to make it work in my head (and be able to make some money without really leaving the house), my gut was telling me I may be biting off more then what I could chew and that the boys are settled into a good routine...so why change it? 

My most important jobs in life are raising my boys and caring/managing the household. Due to the structure, responsibilities, and demands that J may have with his job I need to be available to the boys and provide them with the best care I can possible give them. Our boys mean the world to us. Am I 100% always there, no. I do take breaks and they do have babysitters. It is also important for them to know how to follow rules that others set and understand that they need to follow rules we have set even when we are not there. I also think it is important for moms and dads to get away together (or individually) without kids to recharge themselves, aka mental health days.

And that is the dilemma that I still feel, part of my reason for wanting to be a FCC provider was to allow parents to be able to work without worrying what their child was doing and who was watching them, to allow for SAHM to have a resource to make daytime appointments, allow spouses with deployed loved ones some time to have a breather...all things that when we were in a different place I would have loved to have. Unfortunately, it just wasn't going to be good fit with our already kinda crazy schedule of sports, scouts, school, and social commitments...oh and all that laundry, shopping and cleaning that needs to be done occasionally ;) . Hats off really to those that are able to provide a loving place that we can trust to care for our children and are able to balance their family needs with the needs of their daycare "family". I met some wonderful providers along the way that do make it work, it just wasn't going to work for me.

All those rules and guidelines really had my head spinning, but I could do it...clean, cook, nurture, lesson plan, "teach", etc...I may not get as much sleep as I do now in order to keep up with it, but I could have done it. The deal breaker for our family were the policies about where our own kids had to be while the house was "open" for business. M would be allowed to go upstairs and play in the "big boys" room due to his age (8), J would not get to(7)...see the dilemma? Same with going outside and playing with neighborhood friends, M it would be ok...J it would not. Could I take all the kids outside to play, yes, however I would become responsible for all the neighborhood kids if their parents weren't outside with them...possibly going over my FCC allotment for kids under my care which would get me into big trouble. Was it worth the disruption, confusion and anger it may cause my children...no. It is important to me that my boys have a safe place to retreat to after school, to feel they can have all of my attention if they have a bad day, and a mom that can drop everything if they run into the house needing a hug. Being a FCC from 7am-5pm (+ or -), would change that.

I hate that I started something that I didn't finish, I hate that I couldn't help some friends out with providing them with childcare that they knew would be responsible and loving towards their children, but I am glad that I was able make the decision that would be the best for my family and know it before too much chaos was set into motion. Do I still watch others kids when they ask? (less then 10 scheduled paid hours/week in my home following the FCC rules for being a non-licensed provider) Hear that doorbell? Gotta go, I think my friend is dropping off her kids so she can run to the commissary ;)




Linking up with Military Monday Blog hop...

Couch to 5K

So at the end of last year I decided that I was going to be a runner. I played in organized sports from elementary through college, but really never loved to run. Run, just to run....ummm no thanks! Now add some bases that needed to be rounded or a ball that needed to be caught I'm all in! I was never the fastest at running. Nor had that super long crazy endurance that some people just have. However, I did live on a farm that had a super long driveway that I may or may not have had to run up in order to catch the bus maybe once or twice. Lately I have been on a little quest to stop making excuses, two boys are at school full time, N can sit in a jogging stroller, and I actually have more energy afterwards that chores around the house aren't that bad either. That last part is the key for why I wanted to start running in the first place.

I want to have energy to be chasing these three crazy boys around, not just this week, but for as long as humanly possible...and believe me these three take some energy!

So with the holiday's I neglected to do any running, but this week I have managed to get three runs in. Wednesdays run just about killed me (note to self: do not try running with Diesel and pushing the jogging stroller at the Duck pond so early in the training unless you want shin splints from all the hills), but managed to go running sans stroller (and kiddo) yesterday and felt good...maybe even looking forward to starting off week 2 day 1 tomorrow.

One positive side affect I am having is craving healthier food, although food in general looks pretty darn good too, but I know that if I am going to (re)lose the 5 lbs I lost the first time I started the program and the 10 more lbs I set as a goal I need to be consistent about the 5k program and what I am putting into my mouth. You may saying wait a minute I thought you did this for more energy, well that is a side affect of eating healthy and building endurance so they all sorta go together...plus who doesn't want to go shopping for new clothes when you are trading in for a slimmer size!

So the app I am using is the Couch to 5k program. It tells you when to walk vs run, keeps track of the time and distance you ran, and also gives you an overall look at your progression. The program also allows me to listen to my Weezer station on Pandora while I run, music makes running go a lot faster and enjoyable for me.

The app that I am using on my Iphone to help kick my butt.

Pretty sure this sums up what people are seeing when I go for a run...but I can't see myself so its all good ;)

Pinterest

So do you pin? More specifically Pinterest...if you don't  you are missing big time! Here is my link. Addicted...maybe just a little, but I have actually gotten a lot of inspiration from cruising the boards. I even COMPLETED a few projects I have found and pinned. Like what? Well there was my hanging measuring spoons, some yummy crock pot recipes, and even some great tips on how to use my camera. I also love the laughs I get from some of the uploaded pins...

GI Joes with some road kill...can totally see the boys doing this!
(google image search)

Knew I should have named one of the boys Luke for future practical jokes.
(pretty sure it came from http://parentsshouldnttext.com/)

AMEN! Tired of having clerks look at me crazy for calling it pop.
(http://themittenstate.com/)

So true!
(http://www.sawdustcityllc.com)

I think I found J's Halloween costume for next year!
(http://www.reddit.com/)

Do you want to join in on this fun? Let me know and I will send you a link through my account, much faster then requesting it through the site. Can't wait to see your "boards"!

Cookin on Christmas Eve

So what has become a tradition around here J, with the help of some other little hands, makes pies (5 this year) and buns for us to scarf down on the big holidays. N really enjoys this whole process and the boys have also been known to make their own little pies out of left over crusts...carrot, blueberry, and strawberry have been used as filling by our boys.

N really likes getting his little fingers dirty.

Just like daddy?

This Christmas Eve we had a bit of a challenge with all this cooking/baking we had planned. In the middle of baking a pie and having buns that were ready to go into the oven, the power goes off.  I received a text (thank goodness!) from a friend that they were needing to shut down all the power to return power to a division of homes on base that had been without for over 24 hours. As much as I knew this was interfering with a lot of families Christmas Eve plans, I am glad that they were restoring power for those that had been without for so long in hopes to have them enjoy power on Christmas day. Thankfully we have been without power before and took action and purchased a generator for moments (or in this case hours) like these. So after about 30 minutes of firing up the generator, unplugging everything and replugging it into our new power source we were back to normal.

Thank you trusty generator for making our Christmas desserts happen, for keeping our food good and cold in the fridges, and for allowing our boys to continue playing their DS's for 4 hours straight ;)

Final Day of Christmas Adventure 2011

After venturing all the way back to Monterey from the Hearst Castle and sleeping in our beautiful hotel we woke up and decided to do the walking tour of old Monterey.  Peek at the pictures below, I enjoyed using my new camera lens.

Heading back home we went through Gilroy "Garlic Capital of the World" and stopped at one of the many garlic stands. My honey may or may not have a thing for garlic...like an obsession thing! He loves his garlic, and I swear you know how Forrest Gumps best friend (Bubba I believe)  goes on and on about all the different ways to make shrimp...this place was like that but with garlic. Italian garlic, ranch garlic, jalapeno garlic, cayenne pepper garlic...and these are just the oil "infused" garlics you could buy ;) Of course we had to try them all. It happened to be lunch time so we also purchased some brisket that they were serving outside, some dried persimmons, and finished it off with what else but vanilla garlic ice cream.

Here are some of my favorite varieties of garlic ;)

Gilroy does host a Garlic Festival, the 34th annual one is coming up July 27, 28 and 29 2012...be there or be square...'cause you will find us there!