Spaghetti Squash Recipe

This blog is not really about cooking, but I just felt like I needed to share this recipe with someone! I adapted it from a recipe on allrecipes.com. Basically, I just simplified it a little and adapted it to my family's taste. If you have never had spaghetti squash, it comes out looking like spaghetti (hence the name) but it has a slight crunch to it. By itself, it doesn't have much flavor.

What you need:
1 spaghetti squash
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil, divided
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
3/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet with a little bit of the oil.
2. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and take out the seeds with a spoon.
3. Put the squash, cut sides down, on the cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until you can easily pierce the skin with a fork. Remove squash from oven and allow to cool until you can handle it. (Use the cooling time to chop your tomatoes, garlic and basil.)
4. About 10 minutes before you are ready to serve, heat some oil over medium heat in a pan on the stove. Add the garlic and saute for a couple minutes. Then, add the tomatoes and heat through.
5. While the tomatoes are cooking, take a fork and scrape out the flesh of the squash. Place it in a serving dish.

6. Toss the squash with the tomatoes, basil and cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Delicious! It makes a great side dish to just about any meal!

Looking for a rainbow

On Sunday, we went over to Bill and Susan's house to hang out with Doug and Finn and eat an early dinner. We were there right after the hail storm and during the subsequent downpour. When it was over, a neighbor told us there was a beautiful big rainbow outside. After we finished eating, we took the boys out to look for the rainbow. We couldn't find it, but we did find some puddles!

8 month milestones!

Wren had her 8 month "birthday" on Friday, April 13! She is growing so fast, and time is flying by! I really can't believe it has already been 8 months since she was born. Apparently this is a big birthday (at least for Wren.) She had two big milestones within days. On Thursday, April 12, she crawled for the first time! She had been preparing for this for quite some time. She practiced what I called the inchworm for a few weeks, where she would get up on all fours and then flatten to her belly, then back to all fours. This was a very slow method of moving, but she did inch forward. Then on Thursday, she figured out how to move those knees. By an amazing stroke of luck, I caught those first movements on video! This is one reason I am so grateful to be able to work from home and have Wren home with me during this first year of her life!

Wren has also been teething for quite some time. I knew those teeth were ready to come soon, but had no idea when they would arrive. Tuesday, April 17, we went to dinner at Bill's brother's house (Doug and Megan). I had just finished telling Bill's dad that we hadn't seen any signs of teeth yet when Wren looked up at me and grinned really big. There I saw a flash of white. I stuck my finger in her mouth (this is not recommended with a teething infant) and there were, not one, but two teeth on the bottom poking through. I swear they were not there earlier that evening. That night was pretty rough, with several screaming wake-ups, but the days since then have been much better.

5x7 Folded Card

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If you give a mouse a cookie...

she might give you a hug!

Thanks, Traysie, for a great day at SCCT last weekend!

On the move! (almost)

As I mentioned in my last post, there are so many milestones coming up for Wren in the next few months. In the past week, she has started getting up on her hands and knees and rocking! I can't believe how close she is to crawling. Slow down!

And she loves her doorway jumper, too!

Let's compare

I am a little behind on this, but what else is new? Wren is six months old! (Well, she was on Feb 13) I cannot believe how quickly this time is passing. With every day, I am remembering how much I loved this stage with Wells. It seems like the stage from 6 to 12 months is filled with so many new things: learning to sit well, crawl, pull up, and maybe walk; learning to make those first words; and learning to eat "real" food. I cannot wait to see what these next few months have in store for us!

Since Wren was born, so many people have commented about how much she looks like Wells did when he was a baby. So, here is a new comparison.
Wells at 6 months: 16 lb, 3.5 oz; 27.5 in

Wren at 6 months: 14 lb, 10 oz; 26.5 in

So, what do you think? I still think they look a lot alike, but I also think Wren is starting to look more like me, where Wells looks more like Bill.

Also, I was going through pictures the other night, and I have to share this one. It is just too sweet not to share! This is from Christmas morning (again, I am way behind here. Don't judge.)