Thursday, May 29, 2014

wilder in 2014: week 22

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wilder's current list of likes: cheese, bread, raspberries on his fingers, giving me hugs, giving me food, giving me little random things he finds on the floor, books, big kids, being outside, shoes, unexpected games of peekaboo (except it's a little too exciting when papa plays), pillows, laying on the floor, splashing in the tub, taking things apart, doggies, the guitar, going up and down stairs, this little piggy, sippy cups with straws, and my iPhone.

also, his new "word" is Simba. so, i guess he wants a pet lion.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

wilder in 2014: week 21

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back in atlanta and ready for summer! also, dirty toys at parks are the best, don't you think?

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

wilder in 2014: week 20

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ta da! wilder's portrait (late as usual) from last week.

so i purposely didn't post wilder's portrait last week because i knew i was going to austin for my cousin's wedding and i knew i would want to capture him looking spiffy. i didn't know how hard it is to wrangle a toddler while in a dress and heels, carrying a (giant) diaper bag, as a single parent! i'm pretty embarrassed of my photo-taking skills at important events. i am usually getting too caught up in the moment, or too caught up in chasing down this munchkin, to adequately capture the time. but i did get one of this insanely addictive face so i'm happy. also, thank you to all my aunts and uncles, cousins, brother and sister-in-law for helping me wrangle this tiny tot. he needs a village, so good thing my family is as big as one! now i just have to figure out how to move closer to them...

xx,

a mama in love

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

monday night meatloaf (so very, very good)

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on monday, amidst wrangling this suddenly nap-refusing, walking-everywhere toddler, i managed to make meatloaf. i say managed because i know that you probably think i do barely anything all day and that making dinner should be par for the course. i'm a stay-at-home mom and how hard can that be, right? but this is simply not the case, even though it astounds even me how tiring a day that seems filled with relatively little (but how DEMANDING and ENERGETIC that little can be!;) can be.

this has very little to do with meatloaf, but i thought i'd make this story more interesting than "i made meatloaf." not succeeding yet? ok well, i tried.

this meatloaf recipe is actually pretty phenomenal. if i do say so myself, and i think i can because really it's just a liberally adapted from Pioneer Woman's meatloaf recipe, so i don't really deserve the credit. good enough for leftovers, i say! although frankly i say that about everything, especially if i've also made oven-roasted red potatoes and roasted parmesan asparagus to go with it, all while an overly tired baby wanders about destroying the kitchen.

i mean seriously, monday felt like a real stay-at-home mom day. do you know the kind? where you may look semi put together in the first half of the day — non-pajamas (yoga pants aren't pajamas in this one instance), makeup on, hair done — but by mid-afternoon, right about the time that a certain someone decides to wake up early from a very brief nap, you look kind of frightful and that's nothing to how the house looks.

when loverboy came home, he looked around and said "looks like you've had quite a day." i didn't tell him that it had actually been a normal day. the difference being that i spent the energy i normally spend putting everything back in its place for the umpteenth time on making the most amazing meatloaf. it made the mess worth it. and also, the fact that i will not be making dinner tonight. :)

Monday Night Meatloaf
adapted from the Pioneer Woman's recipe

Ingredients:

1 c. whole milk
3 slices bread
1 package dry ramen noodles, crumbled
2 lbs. ground beef
1 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. seasoned salt
3/4 tsp. salt
fresh ground black pepper
1/3 c. minced parsley
4 whole eggs, beaten
10(ish) slices thin bacon

Sauce:
1-1/2 c. ketchup
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. dry mustard
1-2 Tbsp. spicy mustard
1-2 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk over the bread slices. Allow it to soak in for several minutes.

Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, ramen noodles, Parmesan, seasoned salt, salt, black pepper, and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Pour in beaten eggs. Mix the ingredients until well combined. 

Form the mixture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan, lined with foil, which will allow the fat to drain. Lay bacon slices over the top, tucking them underneath the meatloaf.

Stir the sauce ingredients together and pour 1/3 of the mixture over the top of the bacon. Spread with a spoon.

Bake for 45 minutes, then pour another 1/3 of the sauce over the top. Bake for another 20 minutes. Slice and serve with remaining sauce.


Thursday, May 8, 2014

wilder in 2014: week 19

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last week we tried out our sidewalk chalk for the first time. this week, wilder tested the orange chalk's walking around skills for awhile, but then he decided to try out its drawing capacity, too. he's not one to just go straight for the obvious, which i think is pretty genius of him. it's pretty rad how everything is brand new for him. i kind of like being there to see him experience it.

Monday, May 5, 2014

an afternoon at the botanical garden

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a few fridays ago a friend and i spent an afternoon at the atlanta botanical gardens. i've been pretty impressed with the amount of kid-friendly things there are to do here in atlanta, and the botanical garden is another amazing place. the flowers and little places to play in the kids' areas are amazing! i could probably go there every day and not get bored. wilder, as always, loved it because he got to walk around. he also experienced sand for the first time. basically any ol' place where you can walk around is a complete blast when you're one. :)

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enough lunch! let me out!
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all the flowers!
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fun kids gardens
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help me aunty jean, there's stuff sticking to me!
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atlanta botanical gardens = i give it two thumbs up.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

wilder in 2014, week 18

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wilder has been making this face all week. maybe for two weeks. it's this scrunchy, fast-breathing, monkey-sounding grin that you will miss because he mostly does it right after you've stopped looking at him—once he's decided that i guess you're a friendly after all. haha. it's incredibly hilarious if you happen to be his mama. ;)