I said this at the end of January, and I'll say it again now that it's the end of February:

How is this year going by SO FAST already?

There. I'm done now.

Not really, though. Odds are, I'll say the same thing at the end of every month. Because the faster time goes by, the more and more I realize just how much my boys... and my husband...and I'm growing up.

Can it just stop already?

I want time to stand still. I never understood it. Like everyone, I was in such a hurry to grow up. Now I'm in a hurry for my boys to stay small.

#6

Michael plays flag football with Dada.

Levi conquers the bouncer, with a cold.

#7

Levi explores the water table in the Arizona "winter".

Michael becomes a teenager at age four in Batman pajamas.

#8

Papa, Marmee, Michael, and Levi act silly at the zoo.

I hope my parents don't kill me for that last picture. It's pretty much my favorite all time, since they're making the same face and Michael is looking AT the camera and Levi is just hangin' out enjoying a french fry.

I love my life.

Welcoming March with a good attitude! Bring it on.

Practising Simplicity's 52 project

These blueberry muffins are to die for. They're easy, moist, and perfect when you're just craving something sweet, but not to sweet, in the morning.

Not to mention they went perfectly with our celebration of finishing reading The Wizard of Oz. We've been making a point to make our way through chapter books with Michael, who is eating it up. And when trying to figure out a way to do something special after finishing the book, we decided we'd bake something new.


Because that is our way, isn't it?

As always, I digress.

Here's the recipe you're here for!


Ingredients:
Note: This is a HALVED recipe. If you want 12-18 muffins, double the recipe.
- 1 egg
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1/2 C milk
- 1/4 C olive oil
- 1.5 C unbleached flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3/4 C blueberries

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 375 and prep your muffin pan as you like (with liners, spray, or both).
- Whisk together your egg and sugar. Next add your milk, olive oil, and vanilla.
- Add your dry ingredients, mixing until completely combined. (Batter is going to be thick. Don't over mix!)
- Gently fold in your blueberries.
- Fill the muffin tin with 1/4 C batter per muffin.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until cooked through.

See what I mean? So easy and you almost always have the ingredients in house. You can also substitute the blueberries with a different berry, or chocolate chips, or anything similar!

Valentine's Day came too quickly for my liking, but it never has to really end. We celebrated by going out and playing some T-Ball with our oldest while our youngest was pretty much the cutest outfielder, ever. Don't believe me? Check it out....



But you're not here to tell me how cute my kids are (a little bit of favoritism there). You're here for this delicious recipe.

Red Velvet Donuts

Ingredients:

- 3 TBSP butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1/2 tsp red food coloring
- 1 C flour
- 3 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt

- 1.5 TBSP distilled vinegar
- 1/2 C buttermilk

Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 350 and spray your donut pan.
- Use a standing or handheld mixer to combine your butter, egg, vanilla, sugar, and food coloring.
- In a separate bowl, mix together your dry ingredients. Alternate adding your dry ingredients, vinegar, and buttermilk to your butter mixture until all is well combined.
- Add the mix to your donut pan, filling each 3/4 of the way full.
Side note: I don't have a piping bag, but using one or filling a large ziplock and cutting off the tip to put the mix into the donut pan helps it disperse evenly and come out "prettier".
- Bake for 9-11 minutes. Remove from the oven/pan to a cooling rack.
- Let them sit for around 20 minutes before adding your icing/frosting (and sprinkles if you like)!
Forgive the poor quality of my photos, they're all with my phone!
I cheated and simply stuck some Pillsbury frosting in the microwave before dunking these bad boys in it to frost them, but this recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting was paired with the original recipe.


Pair with coffee or milk for the greatest taste!


I wrote an "attitude" piece over at my new blog. You should check it out!

My husband's mother has been here for nearly two weeks, so I decided to attempt a few pictures of her and the boys. All the "pretty" ones were edited (at least, my version of edited), and this is one that clearly didn't turn out the way I'd hoped. Michael is laughing, Mimi's hand (now cropped) was blurry, Levi was getting cranky-- and you can see his fantastic Star Wars band aid on his pinky (he got his finger stuck in the garbage can pedal).

But I love it to pieces.

Practising Simplicity's 52 project

HAPPY FEBRUARY!

I have rediscovered my bread machine and everyone who comes over is thanking me for it.

That's not cocky, it's just a fact.

There is something about homemade bread. The smell alone can make a person drool, but to be able to eat it on a regular basis...needless to say, I need to step up my exercise game.


I made this bread to go with some yummy lasagna pasta. Because, if you're going to have pasta--you might as well have some bread. This quick bread was super easy to throw in my bread machine and let it do its thing. However, if you aren't in possession of a bread machine, you're in luck! You can bake this bad stuff, too. And I mean that in a good way. You know, like... bad is good.

Annnnnnnnnyway.

Ingredients:
Recipe adapted from Home With Boys
- 1.25 C warm water
- 1.5 C olive oil (or vegetable)
- 3.5 C all purpose unbleached flour (or bread flour)
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp dry Parsley
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp basil
- 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/3 C grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
- 2 tsp active dry yeast

Directions for Bread Machine:

- Add your liquid ingredients to the bread pan.
- Add your dry ingredients, except the yeast, to the bread pan.
- Use your finger or a spoon to form a little hole in the middle of the dry ingredients for your yeast.
- Select the "French" setting, choose crust color (I did "Light"), and BOOM! Your bread is in the making. See how easy that is?

OR

Directions for Baking:

- Preheat your oven to 350 and spray bread pan.
- Mix together your wet ingredients, followed by your dry ingredients. Knead the yeast into the dough until all are combined.
- Place in bread pan, using spatula to make it as even as possible in the pan.
- Bake for 30 minutes.


Simple, easy, and delicious. My husband described the bread as BANGIN' more than once... and it BARELY lasted 48 hours in the house (this is including the fact that my mother-in-law is visiting, too).