Macky and cheese

Who doesn't love a good 'ol bowl of Macaroni and Cheese, or as my oldest son calls it "Macky and cheese"?  It's about as comfort-foodish as comfort food gets, and in this house it gets gobbled up so fast my arm gets sore from scooping it onto the plates.

Today I was in a hurry to get lunch together, and literally only had about 5 minutes before I had to leave to get my son from preschool.  I opened the fridge and grabbed some fresh carrots, shredded cheddar cheese, almond milk, olive oil, and some plain rice pasta left over from dinner last night.  Now I could have easily used whole wheat pasta, gluten free, semolina, whatev's, and same goes with the milk. Whatever pleases your palette! For me, I prefer my wee little Parker to be hive-free, so we opt for the egg-free/cow's milk free stuff!

I started with the sauce. I poured about a tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of a saucepan and added some shredded cheese and a splash of almond milk and start stirring. It got all melty and I got all happy! I added a bit more of each until it was a creamy melty goddess of gooey and then added the secret ingredient - shredded carrot! I then tossed it all together with the pasta and poured it into a baking dish and popped into a warm oven to buy me some time.

Meanwhile, I informed Logan on the way home from school that we would be having his favorite lunch and he exclaimed "MACKY AND CHEESE! WEEEEEE!". That is a direct quote.

When the kiddos were good and hungry, I switched the warm oven to broil and let this bad boy crisp up and get all bubbly.  I can tell you... it smelled amazing. The carrot gave it a yummy crunch, and some obvious vitamin power.  I served it with apple's and cucumbers, and was immediately instructed that this needs to be added to our lunchtime rotation.

and it came out looking like this:

Okay, not the best photos, I know. Best I can do with the iPhone and 4 hungry kids. But I will tell you that this was probably the creamiest macky and cheese I have had.  It was my first time making it with the almond milk and I must say, I am a huge fan.  Our other household favorite for this yummy classic is the Squash Macaroni and Cheese which I talk all about on the most recent episode of Green Corridor Living!

Boys and 31

A few weeks ago, we headed back to Brian's Dad's house for the day.  Our boys dressed in their Sunday best, and if you couldn't tell, Logan picked out his entire outfit down to the argyle socks.

I took the opportunity to take some photos of my 

happy guys since they had all their clothing, 

they didn't have Cheerios stuck to anything, 

and they nobody was in footie jammies.

Instead we had owl hats and fun, spring-like ties.

And eyes that I could get lost in.

Oh, and eyelashes for days. 

And sweet middle kiddies who give me coy smiles.

And who think I am funny!

And has a comb-over. 

And a Punky!

Who makes me work for a good photo. 

And is cute regardless.

And oh so serious... 

We did some exploring!

This past weekend we celebrated my dear husband turning 31! Logan and I made dark chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting - all from scratch - and they were Ah-Mazing!

Every kid needs to learn the art of licking the beaters. Especially when they are 

covered in whipped butter and sugar. Mmmmmm.... 

Don't you want to just roll around in this bowl? No, just me then?

Last year, I started the tradition of giving Brian food with his age on it. 

Don't ask me why, but for his 30th he got a pizza with "30" in pepperoni. 

This year was 31 in cupcakes! 

This is the face Logan made when I told him "Daddy is 31 years old! That's old!"

The boys got Daddy a new pair of jeans for his birthday, and I went to a specialty store and got my hubby a yummy sampler pack of some fun beers that I knew he would appreciate - including two Hopslam which is normally $20 (minimum) for a 6-pack. I think he liked it!

(PSA - Do not pay any attention to the basket of clean laundry on the counter)

That night we got a rare adult night out with some friends.

 We enjoyed a dinner, drinks, laughing, gas station wine, and a shot that had

 something to do with a rooster. 

Um, it's March?! How did that happen? Also, it is going to be in the 70's next week while my boy is on Spring Break. I see the park in our near future! Happy Spring!

Bathroom hooks

When I was about 5 months pregnant with Logan, and home alone, I decided that I needed to paint the soon-to-be kids bathroom. right. that. second.  So off to the paint store I went and found this yummy, buttery yellow color that was so happy and creamy and I loved it the second the roller hit the wall.  Years later, when Logan was on his way to becoming a big brother, I waddled my twin-bellied-self through Target and let Logan pick out a fun shower curtain for the soon-to-be boys bathroom.  Little did we know that this shower curtain that my boy stood hugging in the bathroom section of Target would be the inspiration for Parker and Cooper's nursery, and their first birthday party! The Woodland Owl curtain perfectly complimented the buttery wall, as well as the other decoration I have for the bathroom (I will show those soon!). 

Until recently, I had a standard towel bar in this bathroom.  One towel bar for three dirt covered boys to hang their cozy towels wasn't going to cut it. I found these hooks at Ikea and knew they were perfect. I mean, they come in packs of three! I love that they can be folded up for safety, and are easy enough for little hands.  

I thought of a few different options for art above the hooks, but I had these large letters from Michaels laying around and figured this would be the perfect place! They were already painted three different colors, and happend to look great with the shower curtain.  Logan and I grabbed some rogue tree branches laying in a field nearby and broke them into small pieces.  About 6 sticks of hot glue and 45 minutes later we had some rugged, woodland art to go above Parker, Logan, and Cooper's towel hooks. I am pretty smitten with how these turned out, and the best part is that the entire project cost under $15!