Easter

This past Sunday was the boys second Easter. Last year was fun, but I was looking forward to the boys understanding a little more this year. We didn't make it to any egg hunts this year, unfortunately, but I'm excited that we have that aspect to look forward to next year. We did Easter very low key, that's been our style with the past several holidays and events lately. We know that as they get older, we'll do more and more, so we're taking advantage of them being young and not really "getting" it yet, and just taking it easy.

We planned on going to church, but Sunday was my day to sleep in (Greg slept in on Saturday-we take turns) and I slept too late for us to make it to church (we go to the early service). So, we just skipped it this year. I kinda felt bad, but I was exhausted and needed the sleep. We let the boys play for a little while after I got up while I got some things ready for Easter dinner. I decided to do a ham with a couple of sides for us. Nothing too fancy.

We didn't go all out for the boys this Easter, since they have plenty of toys and they're too young to even know the difference. I actually bought a couple more things last year on the day after Easter that I decided not to put in their basket and save them until next year. This year, they got a couple of Little People Easter figures, some books, some fruit and veggie magnets to play with on the fridge, they each got some swimming trunks and a swimming shirt, and the big thing was a t-ball set for each of them.

Carter went straight for the Little People Easter car.

The tube that Carter is holding was their favorite thing. The tube. Not the toy inside. We actually had to sneak it away and put it in the trash because they were fighting over that empty plastic tube!

I love their Easter shirts. They're the same shirts they wore to see the Easter bunny.

I found these magnets in the dollar section at Target and thought they were so cute. I got a package of fruit magnets and a package of veggie magnets. The boys like to play with them in their play kitchen as food more than on the fridge as magnets.

We had to run to Walmart really quick and I was able to snap this picture of them holding hands. It's their new thing they do in the parking lot. I can't think of anything cuter than them holding hands. It's so sweet!!

After the boys naps, we let them play outside with their new t-ball set. They both seemed to really like them and they played with them for a long time. I took a ton of pictures.

Evan went and got two balls, one for him and one for Carter. I had to post this for proof that they do share and they are really sweet to each other sometimes. I'll have to look at this picture the next time Carter is chasing Evan in the house crying because he took his toy. ;)

And here's some pictures of our fence. I never posted any on here, so here's a couple from different angles. I can't wait to get it stained/painted.

I went in early to get dinner ready. When I looked outside, I saw the boys coming up the deck. I turned around and when I looked again I didn't see them at first.

They had both ran over to one of the chairs and they had both climbed into it WITH the cover still on to hide. Haha. So cute!

Here's our Easter dinner. A maple glazed ham, crockpot macaroni and cheese, southern style green beans (cooked with bacon on the stove for 8 hours) rolls, and deviled eggs. For dessert, we had a carrot cake cupcake (I made a batch, we each had just one and Greg took the rest to work) and raspberry spumante. I really liked it.

I even made the boys a plate of everything except the deviled eggs, since they both hate eggs, and they took a couple of bites of their rolls and that was all! Oh, life with picky toddlers.

So, that was our Easter. It was fun that the boys were able to do more than last year and I look forward to future Easter's of actually making it to church (oops) dying eggs, Easter egg hunts, etc.

Here's the crock pot macaroni and cheese recipe. It's the best homemade macaroni and cheese that I've ever had. It's so cheesy and good. It's super easy to make, too.

Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese
16 oz. elbow macaroni

8 cups of cheese

4 eggs

3 cups whole milk

2 cups evaporated milk

salt & pepper

Cook noodles until tender (per directions on package).

Mix together noodles, eggs, cheese (reserve about 1 1/2 cups for the topping), whole milk, evaporated milk, and pepper.

Cook on low 5-6 hours.

Add remaining cheese to the top about an hour before serving.

Farmer's Market, a Pinterest Success, and a Recipe

Today was the first day of the Charlottesville Farmer's Market. There's several small ones in town, but the main one that's downtown and held on Saturday mornings opened today. It runs from April-September. They sell produce, food, flowers, crafts, etc. I was actually looking forward to this all week, I love walking through the farmer's market and looking at everything. My friend gave me a buy one get one free coupon for Starbucks, so we went by there first to get coffee and then headed over to the Farmer's Market.

It was so crowded! There was a big race that had just got finished, so there were a lot of runners there also, but it's always been really crowded when we go. It's a popular place on Saturday mornings.

The boys were really good. Greg and I got a bagel sandwich there. We always get the tacos that they sell there, but there was a HUGE  line for them, so we decided to try something different. It was good, but nothing compares to the little taco stand.

We got the boys a blueberry muffin to share. Carter wanted some of my bagel though, so I shared my sandwich with him.

Afterwards, we decided to walk on the Downtown Mall. I love the Downtown Mall, and it's such a great place to walk, but you have to pay for parking, so we don't usually go down there.

I think it's so nice down there. It's really pretty and there's so many fun shops, vendor tables, restaurants, etc.

I love the trees in the middle.

At one end of the mall, there's a Pavilion where they have concerts, shows, fairs, etc. We decided to take the boys down there to let them run around a little since they'd been in the stroller for awhile.

There's a few grassy patches, but mostly concrete. Even though it wasn't a park, petting zoo, or anything like our normal spots we take the boys, we knew they'd have fun just running around and exploring.

Evan is definitely our adventurous one, he will just take off. He has no fear.

Carter stood next to Greg for a minute because he knows that's what he's supposed to do. As soon as he figured out it was okay to run around, he took off.

I love how they stuck together most of the time.

I wish I had got pictures of how big the area was, but they went from the very back grassy patches, to the front stage, climbed up on the stage, ran across the whole stage and went down on the other side, and then did laps from the front of the stage in the audience section, to the stairs on the side, across the stage, and down again. They did this over and over. They have so much energy!

When did they get so big that they're walking up stairs without holding on to a railing or leaning forward with their hands on the stairs? I feel like it was just yesterday when we didn't even need a gate on our stairs at home.

After we got home, we fed the boys a little lunch and put them down for a nap. I decided to use their nap time to run a few errands. I needed to pick up some candles at Yankee Candle, go grocery shopping, and run by Sam's Club. When I got home, Greg and the boys went to the gym. I stayed home and tried to get a few things done. I cleaned the bathrooms (that took up most of the time) I got some things ready for Easter dinner tomorrow, put away some laundry, etc. It's amazing what I can get done when I have the house to myself.

One of the things I did while they were gone was make some deviled eggs for Easter dinner tomorrow. I saw this idea on Pinterest of coloring the eggs and thought it looked so cute, so I tried it out. I think it turned out cute and it was SO easy to do. I bought the eggs already hard boiled from the grocery store, cut them in half and scooped out the yolk into a bowl. I put the eggs into bowls with water, a couple of drops of food coloring and a drop of apple cider vinegar. It didn't take long for the eggs to color either, by the time I was done mixing up the yolks for deviled eggs, the eggs were done. I'm excited that something I tried out on Pinterest was actually a success.

For dinner, I made King Ranch Chicken. This was another recipe I saw on Pinterest and thought it looked good. It didn't call for too many ingredients and was easy to make. I just whipped it up while the boys were playing with Greg after they ate, and it baked while we were bathing the boys and putting them to bed. I love things that need about 45 minutes to bake, so we can put them in the oven, do the boys bedtime routine, and then it's ready when we're done. We both really liked it and would have it again.

King Ranch Chicken

3 large chicken breasts, cooked 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 onion, chopped (I used minced onion flakes) 1 can Rotel tomatoes 1 jar (8oz) Cheez Whiz Dash of Tabasco Dash of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce Salt and pepper Tortilla chips, crushed 8 oz cheddar 4 oz mozzarella Dice the cooked chicken breasts. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan over medium heat, mix the soups, onion, tomatoes, Cheez Whiz, Tabasco and Worcestershire Sauce until blended. Add salt and pepper to taste. Line the bottom of a casserole dish with the crushed tortilla chips. Place the chicken on top and pour over some of the mixture. Add a layer of half the Cheddar. Repeat the process, topping with Cheddar and mozzarella. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until bubbly.

Well, that was our Saturday. I hope everybody is having a good weekend so far. I'm really looking forward to Easter tomorrow with the boys. We're planning on going to church, giving the boys their Easter presents, playing with the Easter presents, and then having a fun Easter dinner.

Our Low Key Week

This week is Spring Break for the schools around here so there haven't been a whole lot of playgroups or activites going on in the mom's groups. So, the boys and I just hung around the house and took it easy this week. We spent some time in the backyard, went the gym a couple of days-the boys LOVE going to the Kid Zone there now, and today we went to Bounce and Play to get out of the house. It's been kinda nice taking it easy, but 1 week is enough for me, I'm ready to start doing things again. Next week, we have a couple of playdates scheduled, including one at our house, so I'm definitely looking forward to that. Here's some pictures I've taken this week.

I love getting pictures of the boys playing together. I love that they are so close.

Playing outside in the yard.

Both boys love to play with the house, the dirt, grass, etc.

It's a shame we they don't have any toys or things to play with. ;)

The boys were cute with the tree. I guess the branch tickled Carter, so he lifted up his shirt and rubbed his belly on the branch and laughed.

The boys like to put their monkey on their lawnmower and push him around. It's like their little boy version of a baby stroller, I guess.

I thought the boys looked so cute in their pastel, spring time polo shirts.

This is what every day at 3:15 looks like. They love to wave at Daddy through the window then go around and greet him at the door.

Both boys are such little monkeys. They can get on anything! Now, they're able to pull out the chairs and climb up. I found out the hard way that I can't keep my purse or the diaper bag on the dining room table anymore. Evan pulled my purse down and was going through it the other day. Evan can also open any door now, so we had to put those annoying child proof things on all the doors. We already had them on the main doors (like the one to the basement) because we knew he was close to figuring it out.

I love having my iphone to get quick pictures, like this one of Carter smiling, but they're so active it's hard to get pictures that aren't blurry.

This is an example. Most of my pictures turn out like this. Look at Evan! They go 100mph all day!

Evan giving the monkey "something to drink"

Carter had to make sure the pink "thing" (we're not sure what animal it is) had some drink to. It's so funny to me that they are into pretend play now. They've been doing it for awhile now, but this is the first time they've tried to feed their stuffed animals.

I took the boys to Bounce and Play this morning to get out of the house. The boys had a blast.

So, that was basically our low key week in pictures.