Happy Hump-Day!

Ah, we've made it halfway through the week. The weekend is in sight! Today was a good day. Kyleigh, my four-year-old, went to preschool today and after we got back from dropping her off, my fifteen-month-old went to sleep. That gave me an hour of quiet. ::sighs contentedly:: I wasn't too productive because I wasn't feeling well, but that's okay. My puppy Peanut kept me company on the couch. Peanut is a brindle boxer who is very affectionate. She's just over three months old. I love her so much already, she is always with me. Having Peanut in my life was an important step for me to recover from losing my mom's ten year old boxer. We got Bandit, a fawn little boy boxer, at the beginning of my freshman year of high school. We had to put him to sleep because it was discovered that he had a rare advanced form of cancer. He was a loyal, sweet, gentle dog who was still a puppy til the end.

So, while Kyleigh is at school, Abby usually naps. I love getting my little Abby up from her naps. She is such a ray of sunshine. Abby loves to snuggle right after I get her out of her crib. She is so warm and still a little sleepy and just smells like baby. It warms my heart when she wraps her little arms around me as best she can and lays her head on my shoulder and just lets me hold her. After naptime we ate lunch and then went to get Kyleigh. Watching Abby get so excited about picking up her big sister, it gets you super excited too. She follows Kyleigh out of the classroom and in her own way, is asking for a hug and a kiss. It is so sweet.
After school, we had a playdate with one of Kyleigh's classmates from last year. It was a lot of fun for everyone. Kyleigh didn't want to leave when the time came. Her friend actually came downstairs upset and said to her mom, "Mommy, Kyleigh messed up my bed!". Turns out Kyleigh was hiding in the bed. It looks like we'll be having another playdate soon.
Once we got back it was time for naps for both of my girls. Abby slept but, as per her usual, Kyleigh did not. After Kyleigh's quiet time was over and she had a snack, we colored Halloween print-outs together. When Abby woke up (three hours after putting her down!) she colored with us. However, after coloring for a short time, Abigail got hungry and decided to snack on her jumbo crayons. There are now small chunks missing from a quarter of the crayons. She'd look over at me guiltily, and then grin her big grin -- with purple covering her four teeth. Then, since these are washable crayons (hence, water-soluble) there are later green and orange marks around her mouth. All I have to say is 'thank God for non-toxic crayons'!
Then it was time for dinner. I just wasn't feeling it today and my husband had the brilliant, nay, genius idea of ordering pizza! Since we really don't order out hardly at all, I was game. So the recipe for today? Last night's dinner: My Mom's Banana Muffins. Yes, we had breakfast for dinner and it was awesome!

Mom's Banana Bread

1 c. butter (mom uses shortening)
2 c. sugar, divided
4 eggs, beaten
2 c. mashed banana
1 c. whole wheat flour
3 c. all-purpose flour (mom uses all 4 c. whole wheat flour)
8 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease pans or, if using paper cups, line muffin pans.
Mash bananas and set aside.
Beat eggs with 1 cup sugar and set aside. Beat butter (or shortening) with 1 cup sugar til well combined and mixture is creamy. Add egg mixture and mix well. Add bananas and mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder.
Add the flour mix to the wet mix a little at a time. Once all of the flour has been incorporated, add the vanilla and mix well.
Bake each batch for 15-17 minutes; til the muffin tops are a nice golden brown.
They are good warm, cut in half with butter alone, melting on top, or melting butter and strawberry jam.




Since we have most of these things on hand at any point in time, but budget idea is this: buy the bananas at the grocery that are marked down. They are already starting to brown and are therefore sweeter than the slightly green bananas. These bananas are bundled together and are cheaper than the usual ones-- although bananas are pretty cheap as it is. Enjoy!