.....fall harvest......

.....it has been several days since Stefan arrived home from traveling for 6 weeks straight......to say he crammed in his big trips before baby would be an understatement.......the last 6 weeks went something like this......Brazil for 5 days, home for 8 hours to unpack, repack and head to New Orleans for 2 days......swap out bags over breakfast with the kids before heading to the office for a full day, only to catch a red eye to Germany for bedtime......etc, etc, etc and ouch......and that was only two of the six weeks......it wasn't fun......

......the kids did not like the in and out of the house in the least.......especially Brody, who is adjusting to nursery school and the anticipation of a new baby who will soon make a grand entrance......his best buddy was scarce around here and Brody is a typical two and half year old who is very strong willed and opinionated.....this summed up to a losing combo for everyone.......I think of windows, divorced mommas, single parents and military wives all the time when I am in a phase of solo parenting.....I don't know how they do it.......

......we took full advantage of our first Sunday afternoon together and unplugged to everything and everyone.......we drove without a destination and soaked in the autumn goodness that comes with the month of October......we stopped at farms, fruit stands, pumpkin patches and chicken coops.......we found a gorgeous, remote spot for a picnic and relished in the solitude of just our family in an open field surrounded by maple trees......we missed a lot of pictures because we left our phones behind for a lot of the day.......it was lovely and we were lost in making up for lost time......

.....Brody covered his face so Stefan couldn't see him upon their reunion.......he ran away from Stefan and avoided him at all costs for the first hour of Stefan being home......but eventually, his grudge wore off and my boy was happy to be reunited with one of his favorites.....

....the girls have each other and watching their sisterhood grow has been such a gift....we would have never planned to have two children 15 months apart, but God is good and knows what is best for us.....the closeness of their age is such a blessing......

.....children are resilient and bounce back to their routines quickly......it did not take long after Stefan returned for them to fall back into the security of their happy little home and start counting the days until their Papa T's visit from Texas.....Stefan's Dad planned a trip at the end of the summer and we have been excited to show him our slice of the suburbs......

.....it is easy to understand why Brody is so impacted when Stefan isn't present in our house......over the last few months, he has loved to be around other males.....it doesn't matter if it's Papa T, a new little boy he met at the playground, or our mailman; Brody soaks in the testosterone and relishes in the attention and adoration of other males.....he is definitely bonding and associating that there is a difference between boys and girls and right now, he chooses boy......

......and over the weekend, he chose Papa T.......besides Daddy on a few occasions, there was no one else that he wanted to spend his time with......

....and that is just as much of a joy to see as watching two sisters bond over sidewalk chalk and dress up clothes.....

.....I am enjoying my three children immensely right now.....

......fall always inspires me to head back to the kitchen after a summertime break......I have signed up for the local CT farm share and we are on week two of having organic and local grown vegetables delivered to our door......we participated in a farm share in NYC and it was one of the best ideas to kick start us in to healthy eating and creative cooking for the fall......

.....the fresh beets have been amazing in my micro green salads and I blanched and froze the swiss chard to add to our kale smoothies this winter.......

....and as much as we love our vegetables, Stefan is still a Texan and our home will always been a meat  and potatoes kind of home......I crave red meat, especially when pregnant; but I have been really selective on the beef I am buying to be consumed in our home.....there are so many horrific things I have read about the meat that is available for consumers to purchase and I have gotten to the point that I will only buy grass fed and hormone free meat......

.....not long ago, OBE Organic reached out to me and asked me to try their beef......they are an Australian organic meat wholesaler of free range beef and I have to tell you, it was the best burger Stefan has ever made......I sent Stefan to the store to purchase their products and he ended up coming home with several pounds of OBE Organic ground beef........it is football season after all and my man loves the game and his grill......he added a few spices that he normally does to his burgers, but these were exceptional.....

....we combined them with homemade french fries from the local potatoes we received from our CT farm share and were feeling pretty good about eating "burgers and fries" for the night.......you can follow OBE Organic on Facebook, as they post great recipes to try, too......I am looking forward to trying the slow cooker beef stew recipe next......and I am sure I can find some veggies in the house to add to it too......

.....happy fall eating.......

.....16 days and counting......

.....practice patience......

.....it has happened twice now since I began blogging......I had a post written last night and it was ready to go......saved and tucked in for the morning......many times, I write at night, sleep on my words, and wake refreshed......I grab my coffee, spell check my writing, make small edits and then either publish or schedule a post as I am finishing the last few luke warm sips of my brew......

.....this morning I came back to check my work and prep to schedule this post for this evening and it was gone.....

.....nothing but a blank slate.....

....so here is the quick and dirty version because I am frustrated my work was lost.....

.....New Years dinner was delicious.....I was still sucking crab meat out of claws with rubber gloves on as I cleaned the kitchen.....I had to stop when I saw my reflection in the window; still trying to savor the last of the savory crab meat with the bright yellow gloves up to my elbows......it seemed a bit too gluttonous, so I went back to scrubbing the dishes, dreaming of dessert......

....s'mores over the fire in the empty library were fabulous and we all over indulged.....

.....this New Years Day dish is a must do......my friend Becky commented on my Instagram pic that this did not look very appealing and it made me laugh out loud.....one, because her honesty is always so refreshing and two, because she is so wrong.....this meal is ah-ma-zing......

....if you are into tradition and keeping up with old recipes on holidays, you must make this black eyed pea dish next New Years Day.....we have eaten it for four years now and we go back for seconds every time......

....Brody was sad to lose the cast earlier this week......he literally took the old cast off the Dr's office floor and tried to affix it back to his arm.....I think he learned quickly that cast=attention......

.....smart boy.....

....and Callie has had a passion to learn how to write......it's been fun to have this enthusiastic little one beg to practice letters.....

.....now we just have to focus on the patience part.....

.....a good lesson for both of us since this MAC and I have a few things to square off tonight.....

.....enough said for now in case this post gets lost in cyberspace......

......more in a few days on celebration.....

.....good night......

*Black Eyed Pea Soup- a New Years Day tradition

2 cans of blackeyed peas (do not drain)

2 cans of field peas (do not drain)

1 10 oz can diced tomatoes (do not drain)

1 lb of breakfast pork sausage (I prefer the hot version)

1 small onion (diced)

 chopped garlic

salt and pepper

In a large pot, cook sausage, onion, and garlic......break up the sausage until browned and onions tender. Add remaining ingredients and cook on low for 3+ hours.

Serve with corn bread, crackers or beer.

We eat ours with garlic crackers:

1 box of premium saltines (4 single packs)

1 package of dry ranch dressing

1 cup of canola oil

3T of California garlic (garlic powder with parsley)

1T of crushed red pepper

Empty crackers in a very large mixing bowl, careful not to break and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together remaining ingredients, stirring well. Drizzle 1/2 mixture over crackers- toss crackers gently, not to break any. Drizzle remaining mixture and continue to toss gently. Coat thoroughly.

Let set for 30 minutes in bowl. Toss again and set aside for another 30 minutes.

Happy, lucky and prosperous New Year!

......savoring small, savoring ordinary.....

.....my husband has redefined the word disciplined in my vocabulary.....since January, he has been studying for his CFA (level III)......and for several years now, on January 2, he carefully selects one of the eight books he memorizes throughout the six month study schedule......he begins the tedious process, just on the brink of the Christmas let down; preparing ever so carefully, so he can apply this knowledge to the seven hours of questions he must carefully analyze and answer come test day.....he puts in 6-8 hour days on weekends.....he arrives at work while it's still dark to study before the day gets crazy and then winds the night down in a coffee shop with his books in hand.....he's tenacious, driven, and focused......in fact, the CFA always reminds me of the many traits that first endeared me to my beloved so many years ago.....

....but this three year test is vicious......it has a 38% pass ratio and Stefan will not be grouped with the 62% who receive their letter in July with the word FAIL typed neatly at the bottom of the page.....so he studies and he studies hard......and when his nose is in a book, a calculator or his flash cards, it makes for limited Daddy/hubby time.....so to say that our entire family is on countdown mode is an understatement.....we are ready to have our Daddy back full time and we get him back on Saturday night......

....however, there have been a few rare occasions when he takes a prolonged study break.....just long enough to surprise two fancy princesses at the park.....and we have savored those special occasions.....

....the week leading up to the CFA is always Memorial Day weekend.....it is always such divine timing for my own self wallowing that has been building since January.......I can't get too wrapped up in my own emotion of missing my complete family because this weekend, Memorial Day weekend, especially reminds me of the men, women, husbands, wives, sisters, sons, daughters and families who sacrifice for all of us so that our independence can reign true.....our six months of CFA prep is nothing compared to what so many others have endured and what so many are currently sacrificing to give our country the freedoms we have today....I am humbly reminded of that several times a year, but especially this weekend when the longing for our party of five is at its height.....

.....so this weekend we have savored it all.....mostly small, mostly ordinary......but it has been nice to slam on the brakes and stop to enjoy the small and tiny minutes that add up to one big grateful weekend.....so, without further adieu, here have been my favorite sweet and savory moments........

.....corn on the cob for lunch.....

....who needs a grill?.....we city folk can pretend our stove and oven are the same thing.......and the girls' faces were a prize when the answer to what's for lunch? was corn on the cob......Momma likes to keep it spicy around here.....

....and I don't know about your BBQs, but mine are not fully complete without watermelon.....corn on the cob and watermelon are two necessities or it just doesn't count......

......at least not in my book.....

.....making memories through messy play......

.....fortunately or unfortunately, whichever way you look at it; we have been too busy lately for taking the time to hang out when you make the ordinary extraordinary......

....our little man likes to take out all of the crayons, study them, turn them around in his fingers, chew on a few while he's at it, and then put them all back in the box.....

....sort of.....

.....these shoes were made for walking.....

.....it's hard to believe that this was Brody three weeks ago.....please disregard the over zealous Mommy voice.....even at baby number three I get ecstatic when they start to walk and this was his first big debut.....I am so lucky I got it on camera......

.....he is sturdy and fast now, so we made a family trip (minus Daddy) to pick up two pairs of really good walking shoes to support our new little sprinter.....

....not only is he sprinting, but he can finally get to the  exact place he wants to go.....

.....which is usually in the tail wind of his two sisters.....

.....moments with Daddy.....

......Daddy is off work this week so he can use his work days to study......he is out of the apartment by 6am and comes home for intermittent breaks throughout the day......and if the kids are around when he walks through the door, he doesn't have much time until he is swarming with the children.....it's like living with a bee hive when he's around......

.....and in those instances, I take the chance to recharge my battery.....so on Saturday, he was the bee hive for our little bees and dinner time had already passed......Stefan suggested I run out for burgers so he could have a bit of time for the babes......

.....gladly....

.....so while I was waiting, I sipped on a cold draft beer and flipped through the pics on my iphone that I took of my kids that afternoon......

....comical....

.....good eats.....

......despite a night of burgers, we have been eating well and enjoying some new recipes that I have found on pinterest......I haven't cooked with sun dried tomatoes in forever, so this chicken with sun dried tomato and basil sauce was as fun to make as it was to eat......add a small serving of whole wheat pasta and it's a hit.....the easy recipe can be found here.....

......bon appetit....

.....raspberry ice.......

......Elsie has been dying to have a lemonade stand since her friend Sydney had one last weekend.....I found an old piece of cardboard shoved in the back of a hall closet and cleaned out my cabinets looking for lemonade packets.....instead, we chilled and mixed some crystal lite raspberry ice and we were in business........

.....we lasted for 30 minutes before Callie poured most of our pitchers into cups for herself, leaving Elsie quite upset that we would not have enough left for our customers.......

......Callie's stash began to pile up and in the frenzy of keeping Brody off the streets of New York, raspberry ice being poured (or should I say sloshed) everywhere (it stains, by the way), and several (did I say SEVERAL) relaxed New Yorkers stopping by for a cup or two, I can't quite guarantee that some of Callie's stash didn't get thrown into the mix of what was served to our loyal patrons......

.....it was a busier activity than I thought it would be......many people find two little girls hollering, Raspberry Ice for twenty five cents quite endearing......they made $12.75 in 30 minutes and I felt like each of them saving six one dollar bills in their piggy banks was a fantastic first day......but luckily, a lot of our patrons are good friends who offered wonderful distractions so I could wipe sticky raspberry ice off everything and ensure the ice cubes that went into customer's drinks were not touched by grubby little fingers.....

......so the newest baby in the building making his Memorial Day debut was a perfect distraction when I let the girls know that it was time to shut it all down.......a newborn can take the brunt out of any bad news because the girls did not even flinch as I packed up our table......they had other things on their mind......

.....meet Ryan Blackburn.....

.....20 days old and the most alert and sweet newborn who has captured all of our hearts......

.....he's delicious and I can not remember when my little man was that tiny......but he was......

....and it goes by too quickly.....

.....and so did the weekend.....

......here's to enjoying the second to last week of preschool in New York City......next year we will be CT students......

....and here's to Daddy's 6 months of studying paying off this Saturday......

.....let's get a big fat PASS on that letter and move on......

......Elsie isn't the only one who is tired of the CFA.....

....happy week ahead.....