Friday Favorites

 These are a few of my favorite things this sunny Friday.

A surprise package in the mail from a good friend.

For no special reason.

It included: my absolute favorite coffee, her favorite candy, some lip balm, baby strips and loads of notes on everything.

It made my heart happy.

 My new favorite accessory.

Made special just for me.

Jack did it all on his own.

It is pretty perfect.

Play dates at the park.

3 little boys riding sharks.

Loads of running and chasing.

Perfect sun shining weather to use up some of that energy.

Date night.

Any reason to break out a fun dress.

Groupons.

 Lobster ravioli or glazed salmon.

The only important decision to make in an evening.

Happy Friday!
 I hope you get to enjoy some of your favorite things this weekend!

The Triangle

 Last weekend, Ryan and I had a chance to get away for a quick little trip. My family was in town and graciously offered to watch the boys while we went away for a night.

Not wanting to go too far away, and having traveled north to D.C quite a bit, we decided to head south.

Raleigh-Durham area is about 3 1/2 hours away. 

So we decided to head to the Triangle.

(Raleigh-Durhan-Chapel Hill)

We had no plans really. Just to shop and eat and spend time together.

We did wander around the Sarah P. Duke gardens for awhile. It was beautiful outside and Ryan was able to get some good ideas for some landscaping.

We wandered around downtown Raleigh. It was during their K-9 3k walk...so there were tons and tons of dogs and owners walking around.

I am not going to lie. It was a little weird. You could barely walk down the streets, due to the amount of restaurants and bars throwing tables on the sidewalks so people and their dogs could eat.

So, we basically just dodged dogs the whole time.

But we did eat. A lot.

 And it was glorious.

We randomly found my favorite coffee place AND my favorite cupcake place in the same area.

It was like Minneapolis and Nashville combined in Raleigh.

It provided the best breakfast ever.

We also ate a ton of Asian food.

I could eat some sort of Asian food every single day.

It was also glorious.

The trip was such a nice little break.

We came back feeling refreshed and missing our little men.

Shopping, good food and time with my Husband. 

I could not have asked for a better weekend.

Minis

Last summer a good friend of mine came for a visit. She has two small boys, I have two small boys. Chaos ensued and it was all great fun.
One thing I noticed was that my friend brought loads of these cute little mini banana muffins. Her boys ate like 5 for breakfast every morning. Five.
I knew I needed that recipe.

Here's the problem. Those little mini muffins were good. Too good.
I needed to healthy them up a bit, or I would be in serious caloric trouble.

So, I took out the all-purpose flour and subbed for whole wheat. I completely skipped the (delicious) cinnamon and sugar topping. I opted out of the oil and used unsweetened applesauce instead.
I also took out a full 2/3 cup of white sugar.

The results.
Good. Really good.

O.k. Fine. They are still not SUPER healthy...but better.

And still really good.

Colin had 4 for breakfast.

The perfect little 2 bites of muffins.




Mini Banana Muffins
recipe adapted from Susan Hall

3 C Flour                                       

2 teaspoons baking soda              

2 teaspoons cinnamon                   

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I did not have cloves...so I skipped)         

1/2 teaspoon salt                              

6 extra-ripe Bananas  (I freeze mine and include the extra defrosted juices for flavor)                      

1/2 C.  unsweetened applesauce

 4 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla

1/3C Dark brown sugar, packed. ( I only had light brown sugar, so that will work as well)

1 Stick Butter, softened                   

1 C White Sugar

Preheat oven to 250* degrees. Grease and flour pans. Combine first 5 ingredients

in a large bowl and stir well to mix; set aside. Mash Bananas and combine with the

vegetable oil; set aside. Cream Butter and white sugar; add brown sugar and mix well.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Mix in Banana mixture. On medium

speed, add flour mixture to batter. Add vanilla. Pour batter into muffin tins. 

 Bake for 30-35 min. If making mini loafs; Bake for 1 hour 15 min.

Simple. Easy. Delicious. Kid- friendly.

My type of recipe.


Enjoy!

Jackisms

 

I wish I could walk around with a tape recorder and just record Jack talking for a day.

It would be a LONG tape.

The kid loves to talk..and talk...and talk.

But, he is so smart and articulate for a little 3 year old, I sometimes forgot just how old he is.

Here are a few of my favorite Jack sayings of late.

 ~~~~~

" Mom. Come sit by me. I am kinda busy right now, because I am watching the Fresh Beat Band."

" Colin. I do NOT feel like playing the push your brother game right now, o.k?!"

After asking Jack if he is coloring his picture inside of the lines:

"Mom, I am coloring inside of the lines. And outside of the lines too."

After asking him how he got to be so big:

" I just like food."

" Mom. Give me a hug because I am the fastest runner in the whole world."

After burping:

" Woah! There is a toad in there. Well, there is not actually a real toad in my throat. It just sounds like it."

After being told that he was going to go to the zoo with his friend Grace:

" Well. I might want to hold her hand. But I might not. Sometimes I like holding hands and sometimes I do not like it. Grace always wants to hold my hand. So, I do not know."

After being told not to hit his brother:

" Mom, I am just Hulk smashing Colin."

After waking up around midnight to go to the bathroom:

"Sometimes accidents happen. Sometimes they don't."

" My superpower is talking."

Yes, yes his superpower is talking. He is right about that one.

This guy just needs to remember to be three...and not 35.

Amazing. Grace.

 

image

Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

My chains are gone, I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, amazing grace

lyrics by Louie Giglio and Chris Tomlin

And that, dear friends, is what Easter means to me.

May you have a wonderful, beautiful Easter day.

Frivolous Friday: Hodgepodge

 I had some very handsome lunch dates today.

A smattering of thoughts for your Friday, because it is Friday. And frivolous.

~ Instagram finally came to Android. I now feel .05% cooler, even though I am still i-phone less. I may not tote the hipster phone, but gosh darn it, I can take pictures like one.

~ Jillian Micheal's Yoga Blast is like doing Yoga on speed. I should have known. She definitely takes any "relaxation" out of any yoga that you do.

~ Colin runs around the house and yells "Got you!" as he grabs your legs and pushes with his whole little body weight. This will happen all day, at random times and without warning.

~ I need all this Easter candy to be gone from the stores. I may have eaten 4 bags of jelly beans over the last month. I say may, because I did give a few beans to my boys. A few.

~ My family is coming to visit next week. Cue frantic Spring cleaning.

~ Ryan and I are leaving the babes with family for a few days and heading south to the Raleigh-Durham area. Anyone have any suggestions on what to do/see/stay?

~ I want to buy and wear this necklace everyday. No one in my family would be very surprised.

~ A jar of dill pickles tipped over in the back of my fridge and spilled pickle juice ALL over the fridge. It smells super awesome in there now. Cue frantic cleaning.

 ~ The weather is cool, the sky is blue and I get my Husband all weekend long.  I love Fridays!

Today is Good Friday. A Navy F-18 crashed into an apartment complex in Virginia Beach today. As of this writing, not a single life was lost. The Lord was truly watching over Virgina Beach today and what a beautiful Good Friday it is.

Have a wonderful Easter weekend. My family will be celebrating the Risen Lord this Sunday. We hope you have a truly Blessed Easter.