Family Time

We have been busy here with the Chens. Mike and Sonja got into town on Thursday -- Sandy, Miin, and Irene got here Saturday and will be here until Thursday. So -- not much time for blogging. Here are a few photos to hold you over...

Erik loves Uncle Mike. When I asked Erik if he had fun at the wedding this weekend (Sonja's sister Hanna got married) he said happily, "Have fun with Uncle Mike!!"

Uncle Mike and Auntie Sonja giving Lainey a bath -- practicing for their baby boy who is expected to arrive in early December.

Sonja's sister Hanna got married yesterday. It was a perfect day for a wedding. The setting was beautiful -- right on the ocean. We had a fun time and were happy to be included.

Erik loved the dog at wedding -- he was very gentle with her.Erik usually naps from 1 pm - 3 pm or so. He kind of skipped his nap on the day of the wedding. He fell asleep before we got out of the driveway. He only slept for 30 minutes though -- he was tired last night.

Quite a Day

This cute little dude spent his entire day whining! This would annoy me on a good day but I am extra tired today (up 4 times last night instead of once like usual) so it was really driving me crazy. Good thing he is so cute!

Here is an example of how the day went.....

Scene: Changing diaper before nap

Me: (action) pull off jeans
Erik: NO MOMMY! My jeans!!
Me: (action) Ignore. Take off wet diaper.
Erik: My diaper! Diaper on!
Me: (action) Ignore. Clench teeth. Wipe bottom.
Erik: No mommy my penis!
Me: Chuckle under my breath. Put on new diaper.
Erik: No Mommy diaper off! Diaper Off!
(action) Writhe around frantically trying to get away from me.
Me: (action) Wrestle the diaper and pants onto my 27 pound son. Phew. Task is over.

Sound like fun?

This sweet baby was happy and content all day which helped my demeanor. Have you ever seen a cuter little baby girl? I don't think I have.

Erik managed to end the day on a better note after spending sometime with his friends at the park. However, it took him about 30 minutes to get off the park bench. When we got to the park he refused to get out of the car saying, " No mommy. All done James! All done Sean! More car!" Not sure why he didn't want to play but I needed to see my friends so off we went. He did enjoy himself and then was a much happier (more cooperative) little boy the rest of the day.

Aren't these two sweet? Lainey loves her brother a lot! Erik enjoys her too and is generally sweet and gentle with her. (Although he did stick the hand sanitizer container in her mouth this afternoon. I caught him just in time. Thankfully he announced, "Clean Lainey" prior to squirting it in her mouth.) I was only two feet away from him when he did this -- just distracted while making dinner.

Homemade Granola Bars

I made some home made granola bars today. They taste great. If you try the recipe out I think they start out a little crumbly but if you refrigerate them for a few hours (after you cut and wrap them up) they are perfect. You can put a lot of different things in them. I added cranberries, raisins, a handful of chocolate chips, and chopped peanuts. I left out the sunflower seeds. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. Enjoy!

Granola Bars:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Gather your ingredients:

• 2 cups oats
• 3/4 cup wheat germ
• 3/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup peanuts, crushed
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• approximately 8 oz. dried fruit

To crush your peanuts, put them in a plastic bag and smash them with a heavy mallet, measuring cup, or sauce pan. (I chopped them up using a dicing device.)

Then, mix the peanuts, oats, wheat germ, and sunflower seeds in a baking dish with sides. Toast them in the oven for 10-12 minutes, stirring every few minutes so that they don’t get burned.

Meanwhile, prepare a glass baking dish (about 11 x 13 inches) for your granola by lining it with waxed paper lightly sprayed with a nonstick spray.

Put the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, and salt into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. (I forgot to take a picture of this step, but it looks so pretty!)

By now, your grains and nuts should be toasted, so mix everything together in a large bowl. The grains, the liquid “glue,” and the dried fruit. Oh, and turn off your oven, because you’re finished with it now.

Mix everything REALLY WELL because you want to make sure the “glue” gets all over everything. Now, dump your granola mixture into your prepared baking dish.

Spread out the mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Wait 2-3 hours or until the granola has totally cooled.

Then, open the waxed paper …

And carefully turn the granola onto a large cutting board, peeling away the rest of the paper.

Now, firmly pressing down with a big knife (not sawing), cut your granola into whatever size bars you’d like.

I wrapped ours individually in plastic wrap and then stuck them in the fridge. I got about 18 bars out of one batch. Enjoy!

I found this recipe on this blog.