Monday, February 7, 2011

You can't always get what you want...

"You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes, you might find
You get what you need." -Rolling Stones

That would be the theme song of the day.

I had it all planned out... A relaxing day spent taking Devon to school, shopping for winter gear for our upcoming vacation, a photo session with the boys, Valentine's Day card making, and a homecooked dinner. Doesn't that sound lovely? Yeah, in my mind it was all lollipops and rainbows...

Ok, and then real life happened. I did drop Devon off at school, but quickly realized that you can't find any snow boots in Atlanta after December 31st if your life depended on it. That's fine, we'll be just fine making snow angels in our tennis shoes, right? Hmm....

After getting home and eating a quick lunch, our main goal for the day was to take some amazing photos. Photos that would say "I love my kids... aren't they cute!" Or... "My kids should really be models!" Instead, my photos said this...

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We're brothers and we have to stick together if we're going to get through this... now look sad and hope she gets this over with quick!
-or-
Dean, your mushroom hat is really depressing me.

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I'm teething and she HAD to pick today to torture me?

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Mama, you're worse than the paparazzi. Now please stop!

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Grrr... photos make me angry! Dev, can you help me reach that camera, so I can smash it?

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Ahhhhhhh! Seriously, this photo thing is torture!

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If we both start crying at once, do you think she'll stop?

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I'm running away, no looking back. I would much rather look for the paci she won't let me have or anything else I can get my teeth on, rather than take those stupid pictures!

After an hour and a half, four outfit changes, two crying kids, Devon in the naughty corner, me sweating and covered in Dean's teething drool... I gave up! And this is what I have to show for it...

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There's a glimpse of cute in this photo, but this is really scraping the bottom of the barrel...

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Let's just move on, shall we?

After being fully exhausted, I needed a little pick-me-up. This is my absolute favorite coffee, so I am happy to share it with you. I saw the recipe on a show about desserts on Food Network (shocking, I know), but unfortunately, I can't remember the girl's name, or I would happily give her the credit for this great idea. Here's what you need:

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Coffee, Pumpkin Pie Spice, Orange, Whole Milk

It's so easy, but soooo good. You put your coffee in your regular old filter in your regular old coffee maker. Let's not pretend to be fancy here. Then, you add the magic... a nice heavy sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice. This has all the goodness - the cinnamon, the cloves, the nutmeg - all in one perfect little jar. Then you take a nice shaving of orange zest (this is the beautiful bright orange rind, not the bitter white part) and put those large curls of orange zest right into the coffee grounds.

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Now, the easy part... brew the coffee.

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Add some nice steamed milk (1/2 cup of milk, microwave for 30 seconds and froth).

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Add your sugar, then top with a little bit of cinnamon. PERFECTION!

After this little bit of heaven, we dove head first into dinner prepartion and Valentine's card making. Let's just say, this is not as relaxing as it sounds when you have Dean screaming at the top of his lungs for 2 hours straight. Anyways...

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Yes, I really do let Devon make the cards, with a little help. And yes, there is plenty of glue on my coffee table to prove this.

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When I asked him what we should put on the cards, he said "hearts... and dinosaurs... and sea creatures." I wasn't about to argue after the day we've had, so we did it all!

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Pretty soon, these lovely little Valentine's will be handed out and mailed!

On another note, I was very proud of myself for making my own cooking challenge. Can I cook 6 days out of 7 during the week? Can I make those meals amazing? Not always easy with a full time job, and two monkeys on my back (and those are the kids I'm talking about!). Even though this is what I aim for, rarely do I make it. But, this was one of those weeks and we ate like kings! Here's a little taste...

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Marinated NY strip steaks, sauteed mushrooms, roasted asparagus, rosemary potatoes, and garlic pita bread... and a little red wine for the parents. :)

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What kid eats like this? Not your everyday mac n' cheese!

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Another day we had pan seared tilapia over saffron rice with grape tomatoes, sauteed onion and cilantro.

So, we can't always get what we want... but sometimes we do! We get amazing food, time with our family and a day off of work, even if it's spent with two little gremlins (and those were my "angels" today)! :)

1 comment:

  1. Ohhhhh, that all looks so good! I love the pita bread and the steak! :)

    And I love the pics even with the silly faces. AND the outfits!

    ReplyDelete

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