Five on Friday- FOOD!

Our baby meals are coming to an end (sob!), and I am getting back into the kitchen.  Of course, I love to cook and eat, so this is no great hardship.  Of course, at 5 PM when I am trying to get something ready and both children are screaming to be held, I might say something different. . .

Here's what I have been enjoying recently:

1.  Asparagus Soup:

This rich and creamy soup from this month's House Beautiful just tastes like spring.  Leeks and Asparagus- what's not to love?  Find the recipe here.

You can add scallops if you are feeling fancy.

2. Hot Potato Salad

Have I told y'all that Deeds is getting baptized Easter Sunday?  Probably so.  My in-laws are all coming in from North Carolina and staying at my parents' house.  We are having Easter lunch on Saturday at my house, and I am being thoroughly unoriginal and making the Easter lunch menu from this month's Southern Living.  I made a trial run of the Hot Potato Salad as I was both intrigued (green olives) and concerned (velveeta).  It was delicious! Morgan also approved.  The inclusion of velveeta falls under the old recipe/cannot be subbed with actual cheese exception.

3. Symphony Brownies

I have had to make approximately eight hundred billion of these brownies for a volunteer deal this weekend.  Of course I had to make a practice run for my house this week, just to test my oven of course.  I'm real scientific like that.

Basically you make a box of Duncan Hines chewy fudge brownie mix (fudgey style) and put in in a 13x9 pan.  Then you place three Hershey's Symphony bars (with toffee and almonds) on top.  Then you cover that with another box of prepared brownie batter.  Bake it in a 350 oven for 30 minutes, then 325 for 10-20. Heavenly!

4. Salad

Luckily to balance out the potatoes and brownies, I have been obsessed with salad lately- salad with strawberries, avocado, pecans and goat cheese.  I make a simple balsamic vinaigrette and can't get enough!

5. Ginger Tea

Also balancing out my dietary indiscretions is a constant mug of homemade ginger tea.  I love the stuff!   Basically you boil chopped and peeled ginger root, let it steep for about 20 minutes, then add lemon juice and honey to taste.  Delicious!  It helps my tummy, and possibly Deeds' tummy through my milk.  Also possibly speeds up your metabolism.

So that's it for me- off to sling brownies all weekend and enjoy this beautiful weather!

Thanks, ladies for hosting the link up!

Throwback Thursday

While procrastinating actual work last week, I found a stash of completely random pictures stuck in a desk drawer. So without further adieu-

This one is during law school in Atlanta. Guy friends from Georgia put on a golf tournament every year.  One year they decided to invite us ladies to participate as cart girls.  We decided that we should also be shot girls.  People drove golf carts home, and we were banned from the (public) course.  Ladies were not invited again.  (I'm on the far left in black and white).

 The last time I had my hair this short- junior year of college?  This is in Knoxville so maybe over Christmas break with two of my favorite guys in the world.  Like my lovely purple satin evening coat paired with jeans?  Styling.

 This is from Watercolor almost two years ago.  It's hard to believe that Deeds will be that size when we go at the end of this summer.

These are from Leigh's wedding about a year and a half ago.  I wore the exact same outfit to Loucinda's nuptials a few weeks ago.  Such fun- I'm enjoying looking through this group of gals and seeing all the weddings and babies and changes that have happened since this picture was taken.

The solo shot of me is just exceeding flattering. I need to frame that baby.  Hmm, anniversary present for Morgan perhaps?  One year for Valentines (or his birthday, I can't remember?) I framed a ton of our wedding pictures/my bridal portraits and gave them to him, knowing full well there was no way for him to vocalize any dislike for said gift.  "Whaaaat?!?  You don't want pictures of your wife scattered everywhere throughout the house? What kind of unloving monster are you?"

Who could say no to that?  What can I say- my vanity for professionally flattering pictures of myself knows no bounds.

At least I'm not framing the college pictures.  Those are all getting put in a lockbox where my children can never find them and use as ammunition or defense to their own wild times.  My parents telling stories on me will be bad enough.  (I know, I know, Mama.  Payback's a bitch.)

A Day in the Life, Part Two

So I thought I would continue with my days and post a day that is more work oriented- i.e. when Dell Harper is in school from 9-1.  Tuesday/Thursdays are sooo different from my M/W/F.  That's what I thought a least.  Then I started working on this and realized it's pretty much the same. Regardless, I'll go ahead and bore/entertain you with a recount of my day.

It started out a little hectic, as I ended up sleeping in Dell Harper's bed after her third frantic wake up.  All conveniently timed to NOT coincide with Deed's feedings, but instead with the top of my sleep cycles.  Morgan helps, but she is in a stage where she only wants Mama in the middle of the night.  So I gave up at 5 AM and crawled into her bed- which is superbly comfortable.  Morgan woke us at 7:30 with a hungry Deeds.  I  managed to get everyone dressed and fed (thank goodness for granola bars), bade Morgan goodbye as he headed out of town for work, and greeted Deeds' babysitter.

Barely running late for school, I loaded DH in the car and was greeted with the news that I had "0" miles to empty. Gas station. Yuck.  I hate getting gas. I am a child.

 Miss Priss runs into school and her "work" as she calls any activity.  I am chopped liver the minute she walks into school.  Too bad I can have her teachers come over at 3 AM to hold her hand why she sleeps.

 I go to Barre class, which I am doing on Tuesdays/Thursdays this month to try and get back into bathing suit shape.  I try to wear cool exercise clothes like all the college girls in the class.  The instructor plays some Talking Heads and I distract myself reminiscing about college.  I got to hand David Byrne his mint juleps when he played at the Georgia Theater.  Do college students still listen to lots of Talking Heads?  I wanted to ask the girl in the fraternity PCB spring break tank next to me. but lost my nerve.

 I come home to a snoozing baby, and go straight to work.

 I review and edit some contracts/agreements and answer e-mails for a couple hours.  I also put together a meal that I prepped the night before to drop off to a friend who just had a baby.  Pork tenderloin, hot potato salad from this month's Southern Living, balsamic green beans, and brownies.

 Deeds got to visit with this little cutie when we dropped off the food before school pickup.

 We pick up big sister- she has to get water every time before we leave.

On the car ride I hear about how her best friend fell on the playground and had a big boo boo and got band aids. Big day for PS1.

Nap time for kiddos. I want to take one myself, but instead refuel with a brownie and a diet coke, otherwise known as the food of the gods.  This is a risky move, since Deeds has a an aversion to my chocolate consumption, but a seven page performance agreement and little sleep call for desperate measures.

A couple hours later everyone wakes up.  This ensues.

Morgan is stuck in out of town until late, so I ride out the witching hour solo.  Order is restored with the help of the Frozen soundtrack and making videos with my cell phone. Whew.

 Deeds and Buddy watch while Miss Priss and I enjoy balsamic green beans, herb crusted pork tenderloin and hot potato salad for dinner (I make two whenever I make a baby dinner).

 Dell Harper paints while she eats.  After we eat, she gets to watch a little Cinderella while I bathe Deeds, who adores his nightly bath.

I love getting that non-distracted solo time with him, with nothing else demanding my attention.

After I feed, swaddle and put Deeds to bed, I begin the bedtime negotiations with Miss Priss.  Her lawyering skills exceed my own.

After pjs are forcibly applied, we lay on the floor and read books.  She knows I am an easy target for excessive book reading, so delays bed with that tactic.  Then demands for hand holding, back rubbing, two more songs, one more book, and crawling out of bed.  Finally I get her calmed down and firmly exit.

Here is my awful confession of the day.  I go to feed Buddy his dinner and remember I was supposed to pick up more of his fancy allergen free dog food from the vet.  He has about a third of his normal dinner left.  I scrape that together, then feed him 2 bananas, which are his favorite, and not bad for dogs.  I looked it up.

Sorry Buddy.  This is what happens when your mama has 2 hours of sleep, and your dad is out of town.

 We are both thrilled to see Morgan get home around nine.  He heats up a plate of dinner, and we watch the Mindy Project, then it's off to bed with fingers crossed that neither child decides to party all night.

It never hurts to be optimistic, right?  I'm sure Sisyphus said the same thing.