What a Beautiful Day! and Trendy Toddler Tuesday

It is absolutely gorgeous here in Northern Virginia today! Casper is out golfing in the front yard and Owen is taking a nap.

Today didn't start very good, though. I am sick (some sort of sinus thing), the neighbors are cutting down some trees so now we are going to lose some of our gorgeous view and will have to look at their back porch instead, and the Flex won't start (something to do with the anti-theft system, I think). BUT we did get great weather, and I got some very good news I had been waiting for.

Jeans from The Children's Place
Guitar t by Carters
Saucony sneakers

So Excited!

My "Shadows" photo was a favorite for the month over at My 3 Boybarians for the Project 52! What a great surprise!

Here's the picture again...

5/52: Shadows





f/1.8, 1/125, ISO 200
NIKKOR 50mm 1.8G

This was a really fun challenge. I had some trouble getting my shadow picture this week, though, because it was very cloudy and gray all week, and the one sunny (and gorgeous 70 degrees!) day both my kiddos were sick. But Casper helped me out and we came up with the idea to use his mini dinosaurs and the light in his room.

I have also met a personal photography challenge: I'm shooting exclusively in Manual Mode! It's really great being able to completely control the camera to get the picture I want.

To the Park! Trendy Toddler Tuesday

It is a beautiful day here in Northern Virginia, it is 60 degrees and so sunny outside! Casper is headed out to the park, and had to wear his new favorite t-shirt (he picked it out himself). What a cutie!

Mama's Boy - Sweet Shot Tuesday



A Boy, Asleep

a little boy
deep asleep
innocence, sweetness, love 

Recipe: Pan-Seared Chicken Sandwiches with Pesto Mayo

I repinned the most delicious-sounding sandwich on Pinterest the other day: Pan-Seared Chicken Sandwiches with Pesto Mayo. You can find the original recipe at Mrs. Happy Homemaker but the recipe below contains the tweaks I made.

Pan-Seared Chicken Sandwiches with Pesto Mayo

Ingredients:

•1/2 cup olive oil
•1 tbsp red wine vinegar
•1 tsp Dijon mustard
•salt & pepper to taste
•1 tsp dried thyme
•2 large boneless, skinless thin-cut chicken breasts
•1/2 cup mayonnaise
•3 to 4 tbsp prepared pesto sauce
•2 medium tomatoes, cored & sliced
•1 head green leaf lettuce
•8 slices cooked bacon
•8 slices Swiss cheese
•4 soft croissants or other sandwich rolls (I used homemade onion sandwich rolls)

Instructions:

In a bowl, combine the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, & thyme. Whisk until smooth. Pour into a resealable bag.

Place the chicken in the bag along with the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes while preparing the other ingredients.

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise & pesto. Set aside.

Heat a pan on the stove on medium heat until really hot. Place the chicken (discard the marinade) in the pan & cook for a couple of minutes on each side until done & nicely browned. Place aside.

Heat a clean skillet or grill pan. Slice the rolls in half and butter each side. Place buttered side down on the grill pan to toast the bread.

Spread the pesto mayonnaise on each side of the bread. Place lettuce leaves on the bottom halves of the rolls. Place the chicken on top of the lettuce. Top with a slice of Swiss cheese, 2 slices of bacon & sliced tomatoes.

Quick tip: Bacon is very easy to do in the over. over a baking sheet with tin foil, place bacon slices on sheet without overlapping. Place in the over and then turn it on to 350. Keep an eye on them until done to your liking. You may need to flip once. Easy and not messy!

It was delicious! I had 5 thin-sliced chicken breasts, so I cooked all of them and used the extra chicken breast for lunch today:

I made a quick dressing using Dijon mustard, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and thyme. Whisk together and adjust to taste. Very similar flavors to the marinade used ont eh chicken. So good!

4/52: Self Portrait

I have been dreading this week's Project 52 challenge. Taking a self-portrait is never easy. But I have realized recently that there just aren't many pictures of me taken recently and now there are some.



f1.8, 1/25, ISO 320





Go over to My3Boybarians to check out the rest of the Project 52 participants.

A Little Monster

Casper loves putting a qtip in his mouth to be a monster. I have no idea where he picked that up from, he's so funny!

Wordless Wednesday

Linking up over at Naptime Momtog 

By the Book

I love to read and am usually in the middle of several books at once. I will have a book on my phone, either purchased for the Nook app or an e-book checked out from the library (I recently found out our library has a fantastic e-book catalog), and will have one or two traditional books I am reading. I have done this all my life, but now it's great because I have books scattered through the house that I can read wherever I happen to be nursing Owen (that's about the only time I get to read anymore). I love being able to read on my phone while I nurse him, it's so small and easy to maneuver everything. Plus, I can read in the dark when I wake up with him at midnight and 3am without waking up Chris. 

I really want to foster a love of reading in my boys. I think the fact that I have always been a voracious reader is what made school (especially college) so easy for me. I read very fast, making those hundreds of pages assigned every week very easy and doing research has always gone quickly for me, too. Plus, a love of reading allows you to explore other cultures, time periods, and lives so different from your own. I want my boys to get all of that. I don't actually know many guys that like to read and do it for the pure enjoyment of it, though. So, I guess I will have to be the example for Casper and Owen and encourage them to develop a love of reading.

I took the boys to the library last weekend and a few days later, Casper and I sat in my bed reading our latest books. He picked out this great book called Air Show! by Treat Williams. So good! I actually want to buy it so we always have it around. It's about a brother and sister who get to fly in a little plane to the air show with their father. They get to see many different kinds of aircraft and even ride in a stunt plane! Casper really likes it. I was reading the latest Sookie Stackhouse book (guilty pleasure...). So poorly written but so so so entertaining. I am also re-reading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon on my phone right now (love love love her books).

   

 This photo was submitted to the I Heart Faces photo challenge – http://www.iheartfaces.com/

Lazy Sunday

Chris was off snowboarding with Greg today.

It was so cold here and gray outside.

The boys and I decided to have a lazy Sunday, playing with cars,

watching Cars and Cars 2, and eating soup.

Beautiful baby toes

Playing with cars is very serious business

I WANT TO WIN!!!!!

I love handbags. I still try and carry my white ones (which I have more of than any other color for some reason) even though I am also hauling around two dirty little boys. I have actually been pretty successful at keeping them pretty, actually. But I came across this AMAAAAHZING giveaway today for a 

Balenciaga Arena Classic City in Noir worth $1545

OMG!  

I would die if I won this gorgeous, gorgeous bag.

And it's black, so I don't even need to worry about the dirty little boys I haul around.

You can enter the giveaway at Fashion Chalet, go check it out!

3/52: I Dreamed a Dream



f/5.6, 1/13s, focal length=48mm, ISO 640

I dream that my boys will be best friends for the entire lives. I want them to be there for each other, to have each other's backs.

Chris has a dream that they will both play football at Ohio State on the same team one day (hmmmm).