The Tin-Man Tri 2009

Well, this is going to be short, because once again I should be folding laundry and getting geared up for swimming lessons! Today is our last day of that however - although I think I'm going to get the big kid private lessons once we get back from GA. Moving on. I thought I'd post some pictures from the Husbands Tri this weekend. In case you were curious of distance and all that, it was an 1100 M swim, 20 mile bike ride, and a 7.2 mile run. I have NO idea where they came up with these numbers, but it's "close" to those of an Olympic distance. He finished in just over 2 hours and 30 min.

The boys enjoying a breakfast tail-gate before the race

Ready to Race!

Ready to Swim

off on the bike

transition to the run

coming into the finish!!

post-race family picture

So, there you have it, a brief sum-up of the race in pictures. It was a good time, and I for one really enjoyed being the one to do the cheering on for a change. I am so proud of him! It's been a lot of training and hard work - he did great. We couldn't have asked for better weather either. It was a little muggy, and would have been terribly hot, but we had good cloud cover because there was a chance of showers, which thankfully held off until the moment we got back to the hotel!

Because we were close to KC for the race, and with my parents being in town for it as well, we left Sunday AM to head to KC and enjoy an AWESOME Fathers Day brunch and then we all went to church at our old church. (In case you're wondering I was born and raised in Overland Park, KS). Here is a picture of the boys on Father's Day.

After church my parents went back to the airport to catch their flight and we began our drive home. It was a great weekend, but I was beat!

I've got another post but I need to get a move on so I'll try to post that later today. Enjoy your day!

I'm here...

just been a little behind. This past weekend we were out of town for the hub's Tri...he did GREAT by the way, coming in 4 min under his goal time! I'll have pictures later, they are on the other computer. But just wanted to check in real quick.

Haven't done any great cooking or baking this week...but I'll do some this weekend. I'm scheduled to take a meal to a friend who just had a baby not to long ago (her hubs is overseas right now) so I know what that's like. Well...the having a baby and not having your husband home part...anyway - rambling. So I'm cooking Friday night for that, then sat I'm going to a MOM family bbq night thing, so I'm bringing something to that as well.

Kids still have swimming this week, tomorrow is the last day, and then big kid has soccer camp through July, so that's pretty much where we spend our time these days. The pool and the soccer field...and Dairy Queen. Yes, it's bad, I've reverted back to my old pal DQ and we've gone there once a week after soccer!! At least my favorite thing is just vanilla soft serve with nothing else, otherwise I'd be in real trouble!!

Okay, well I've got laundry to fold and kids to suit up for the pool, but I'll be back soon!

Mind blank

I can't remember if I've posted these or not?? Every now and again I'll treat the boys to cinnamon rolls from scratch. Usually I save this for a holiday or special occasion, but sometimes it's just because. In this case it was because the big kid and the hubs both requested them for breakfast Saturday morning and who am I to say no? Plus they are SOOO good! Believe me when I tell you it takes every ounce of self-control I have not to sit down and eat the whole batch.

I've tried a few different recipes for cinnamon rolls, but this one from Alton Brown is the best I have found yet, and to me, the easiest to make and not muck up!! Just keep in mind they have to sit overnight in the fridge so don't try to make them the same morning that you want to eat them because it just doesn't work like that for these suckers. I add a little more brown sugar than the recipe calls for, but that's the only real change I make. Oh, and I always end up with more than 12, I usually get around 15 but I guess mine are just smaller.

These pictures are actually from over Easter which is the last time I made them, but my batch this past weekend looked about the same. I just didn't feel like digging out the camera.

Not much else to report really. The kids started swimming lessons this week which has been a lot of fun for all of us. This weekend we head out for the hubs first Tri! WHOO HOO! We're all very proud of him. We'll be home Sunday evening. My parents are flying in as well to see him so it will be nice to have them around and get to see my dad for father's day.

Well, I need to get a move on some laundry and cleaning while the little ones are resting! Catch y'all later!

Pat-on-the-back pasta

My hubs deserves a shout out every now and then. He is a wonderful husband and fantastic father, he's supportive of me in every way. He works hard all day, comes home and hangs with the kids, then after getting them in bed he makes time for both me and all his coursework for both his masters and JPME (Navy stuff for all you non-Navy folks). He's been training super hard for his first Tri coming up next weekend for which I am VERY proud of him! He has been running for awhile now, but the biking and the swimming were new for him and he really stuck to it and put in the time and hard work involved. I am just so proud and feel very blessed to be the one he comes home to every night and gets to wake up with every morning.

So, now that I've gushed about enough to make you all want to gag, I'll stop. But, because he is so great, when he asks for a special dinner, I can hardly refuse. A few nights ago he requested a "different" kind of pasta. Meaning - no lasagna, spaghetti, or my "spicy" noodles. Well, seeing as how those are my "go-to" pasta dishes, I had to get creative, so I turned to the goddess of Italian cooking, my favorite - Giada. Plus she is just too darn cute! I flipped through my cookbook I have by her, and decided to go with her Chicken Carbonara. I have made it once before, but it was WAY back when we lived in KB so I'd say it's been at least two years. Her recipe is a bit on the heavy side, and it makes a TON so I halved it and made a few other changes, but it came out fantastic!! If you're looking for a different spin on spaghetti noodles this was a big hit and I recommend it! Here is a link to the original, I'm going to post it the way I made it.

Ingredients

Cooking Spray
2 ounces thinly sliced bacon, chopped
1 teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup milk
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
3 large egg yolks
1/8 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/8 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt
1/2 pound spaghetti
2 cups coarsely shredded chicken, cooked
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel

Directions
Spray heavy pan with cooking spray and add bacon and garlic and saute until it is brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Cool slightly.
In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, cheese, yolks, basil, and parsley to blend.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the spaghetti and cook until it is just tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Drain.
Add the chicken to the pan with the pancetta and stir to combine. Next, add the spaghetti and the cream mixture and toss over medium-low heat until the chicken is heated through and the sauce coats the spaghetti thickly, about 4 minutes (do not boil or you might end up scrambling the eggs). Season the pasta, to taste, with pepper and salt if needed (the pancetta will likely add all the salt you need). Transfer the pasta to a large wide serving bowl. Sprinkle lemon zest over, and serve. (Her recipe calls for toasted walnuts as well but the hubs doesn't like nuts in his pasta so I leave those out)

Also, because I don't eat a whole lot of pasta, so I made myself a nice salad to be my main dish. It's got chicken, broccoli, yellow tomatoes, and some other stuff that I can't remember now, but it was delicious!

oops..

I forgot to mention one more new thing from my last post! I made a cute new insert for my coffee cup. I know, no huge life altering thing there, but it's cute so I wanted to share.

However...I made this BEFORE giving big kid his haircut, so I guess I need to make a new one soon! Haha. Have a great hump-day y'all. I'll be back soon!

Out with the old...

...and in with the new (or clean, or just different). Clean sheets, new haircuts, even transformed some old bananas into something much better (pictures and recipe on that below).

Yesterday was pretty busy for us - although for most of the day I was feeling lazy...don't quite know why though. So lets see, the day started out getting rid of old dirty laundry and replacing it with clean stuff...changed sheets, picked up the house, all that fun stuff. By 9:30 we were on our way to the gym.

Came home for lunch, the little one took a nap, and the big kid did quite time. I have been inspired to make a shower curtain for the boys bathroom - and therefore re-decorate it, so I browsed online for some ideas to get a start on that. After quiet time I decided it was time for the big kid to get a haircut that would be better for him this summer. If you've ever met my kid you know he has a TON of hair, and he's always so hot and sweaty - so (drum roll please) here are the before and after pictures.

BEFORE

AFTER

HE LOOKS SOOOO BIG!!! And if it were even possible, it makes his eyelashes look even LONGER than before. It's quite the change, and I still can't believe I did it, but it will be good for the summer. Although mark my words, come this winter I'll let it grow out again!

Anyway, so after the new haircut, he helped me use up some old bananas for this wonderful banana bread! It is really yummy, and it's from cooking light, so it's not too bad for you either!!

Classic Banana Bread (Cooking Light)

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar (I used 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup butter, softened (I used 3 Tbsp instead of 4)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas) *I used 4*
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean (in my oven it took about 1hr 10 min). Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Nutritional Information (for original recipe)
Calories: 187 (21% from fat), Fat: 4.3g (sat 2.4g,mono 1.2g,poly 0.3g), Protein: 3.3g, Carbohydrate: 34.4g, Fiber: 1.1g, Cholesterol: 40mg, Iron: 1mg, Sodium: 198mg, Calcium: 20mg

I just love the smell of my house when the bread is cooking...YUM!! So, all in all that was the majority of our day yesterday. Last night I had book club which was nice. Today has been pretty low key. We've had thunderstorms off and on all day, so we manly hung around the house with the exception of a quick trip to target. Oh, and I cleaned out my car! It really needed to be done, and I love getting into a nice clean car!

Well, that's it for me. I'll be back soon with more updates!

In the wings...

Just wanted you to know I've been chewing and putting together a post, but I haven't had time today to upload the pictures I want - or finish writing the post. But I did want you to know that I have one coming! :)