Tuesday, April 29, 2014

strawberry fields forever

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over the weekend loverboy, wilder and i drove down to watkinsville to go strawberry picking. this has been on my yearly wishlist for forever, and it was so fun! wilder would have liked to have eaten all the strawberries right then and there, but we wanted to wash them first, so we had to keep hiding the bucket from him. he really enjoyed the hay ride, but the strawberry ice cream he was not really into (more for me;). the strawberries, though, he is all about. this will definitely have to be a new family tradition.


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still small enough to wear!
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random kid's playground = wilder's day made. 
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these boys are my favorites.
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we've almost finished this entire bucket.
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he was totally giving the eye to all the ladies on the ride! 
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hahaha. this face doesn't like the wind. 

Monday, April 28, 2014

wilder in 2014, week 17

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yeaaaaahhh, late again with wilder's weekly portrait from last week.

a funny thing happened last week. on thursday, wilder woke up with the super grumps, and i was feeling all kinds of cooped up after a week (or weeks? it felt like weeks.) of laying low while wilder got over an ear infection + chest cold. i had exhausted my store of necessary (and also unnecessary) errands just to get us out of the house a little bit, but by thursday i had just had it with it all. also, it was a certain date on the calendar that makes me feel down. so despite the fact that all the good parks are really too far away, around one in the afternoon, i was packing wilder up to just go somewhere. but then, as i was buckling him into his car seat, i looked at the clock, realized there was no way we would go somewhere and have any meaningful time there and be back by naptime, and finally just gave in to a full day at home. so back inside we went with our grumps and our runny noses.

it's funny but sometimes i can spend a whole day with wilder without really playing with him. a lot of my time seems to be spent making and feeding food to him. or cleaning up food. and i would really like to not cook and feed and clean, sometimes.

so instead, we got down on the floor and read some books. and made some forts (and destroyed some forts;). and played with a hat and put on our shoes. and got really upset because mama wouldn't let him play with the camera remote. haha, the temper tantrums have begun!

gosh it was fun. this probably sounds like duh, but wilder's mood completely turned around (apart from the tantrums). he was my happy, goofy, inquisitive, sweet, cuddly baby all afternoon. it was a pretty intense bonding episode.

i've been reminding myself a lot lately that these days are finite. the older he gets, the more precious they are, because every day is another step away from the sweetest era of babyhood i could ever imagine. i am so thankful for afternoons like this to hang out with this tiny person. sometimes you need days of mundane play activities with your favorite smile to remind you that your life is amazingly wonderful.

and now, i can't help myself from posting all the photos from the afternoon. be advised: cuteness overload. i mean, in my oh-so-humble opinion. ;)

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Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Sunday Best: Mexican Easter Tacos!

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it's been awhile since i cooked for sunday dinner, hasn't it? well, it being a holiday sunday, i figured we really needed to get back into the kitchen, so i made barbacoa! loverboy said it was too spicy (he's crazy), but i thought it was perfect! if you've ever had chipotle's barbacoa, that is what we were shooting for. and in fact, the recipe is supposed to be a copycat of it. seriously, go make it! i also made this corn salsa, which i quite enjoyed. eat your barbacoa on tortillas with rice, beans, guacamole, cilantro, corn salsa, shredded lettuce and cheese, or skip the tortillas and make a bowl of it, chipotle-style. corn on the cob on the side is also a good way to go. plus, strawberries, if you have a few spice-sensitive tiny mouths to feed.

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i always get nervous about making people wait while i take photos, so my photos come out awful, plus i hadn't even brought all the food out yet! oops.
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suspenders on babies! yes. 
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our own little hobbit! haha.
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he was yelling for me to put him down. ;)
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so excited to have a friend to play with!
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5 seconds of calm after guests left and before i tackled the messy kitchen, the baby woke up from his nap and suddenly everyone needed to be fed again. what is with that? 
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at the park!
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i love this photo.
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probably the last photo i'll take of my baby on his hands and knees. that's what it feels like anyways.


via Food.com

1/3 c. apple cider vinegar
4 tsp. minced garlic cloves
4 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3/4 c. chicken broth
3 bay leaves
3 Tbsp. lime juice
3 -4 chipotle chiles in adobo (canned)
4 -5 lbs chuck roast

To make the adobo sauce combine vinegar, lime juice, chipotles, garlic, cumin, oregano, black pepper, salt and cloves in a blender or processor on high speed until smooth.

Remove most of the fat from the roast and then cut into large chunks (approximately 6). Pour oil into a frying pan and sear all sides of roast on medium-high heat until browned.
Place meat into Crockpot and pour adobo sauce over meat. Pour in the chicken broth and add bay leaves. Cook on high heat 6 hours or on low all day.
While still in the Crockpot, shred the meat with two forks and turn the heat to warm. Serve with all the sides i mentioned. ;)

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

bunnies & treasure eggs!

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over the weekend, we hid some easter eggs filled with bunny grahams for wilder. i can't say that he really got the whole egg hunt thing, but he really enjoyed eating those bunny grahams! basically, he is all for this whole fertility rabbit/chicken eggs/bunny cookie holiday. ;)

easter is a day that many celebrate the Lord Jesus' resurrection from the dead, and although i did not grow up celebrating the Lord's resurrection with easter eggs and egg hunts, loverboy and i celebrate and are so thankful for the resurrection of our Lord, every day. right now i suspect wilder is more thankful for fertility rabbits and the cookie-filled eggs they laid all over our living room, but we hope that one day he will understand that although we don't want to deprive him of bunny grahams, the reality of the Lord's resurrection means so much more to us.

at the church meeting on sunday morning i had a fresh appreciation for praising the Lord. in the meeting, someone spoke about Paul and Silas, praising the Lord in a Roman prison. how there was nothing outwardly, seemingly, to make them happy and full of praise, and yet, the Lord gained their praise anyways! they had been beaten, their feet were in stocks, they were deep in a Roman prison. and yet! they were able to praise and sing! what a defeat that is to the Lord's enemy. what a testimony and a victory for the Lord. in all my circumstances, whether they are outwardly good or not, i want to learn to praise the Lord like this.

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there is a shiny tear tracking down his cheek in the left photo. our poor bunny is so sick and was so grumpy, until he discovered what a bunny graham was!
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very well-hidden eggs, as you can see. you'd be surprised how long it took him to find them even still.
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papa was needed to open every egg for him.
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bunny grahams!
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what with bunny grahams and birthday cupcakes, i'm afraid the introduction to sugar is well underway.
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who knew bunnies could lay such delicious eggs!
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egg hunting is tiring business.