Baked Brie and CRUEBERRY pie


A day in the life of Caden and Conor....

We wake around 6am, eat "first breakfast", play until 9am, then eat "second breakfast", play outside til about noon. We then either eat lunch or take a nap (those usually flip flop). We then wake from our nap, have a little snack, and play til dinner around 5pm. We do bath and bedtime routine starting around 6:30pm and bedtime at 7pm! The day often goes by really quickly - especially when we pick them up from school, we only have about two hours until they go to sleep. They enjoy their schedule and look forward to what comes next - especially when it's time to go upstairs to their room. They love climbing stairs and  playing in their room.

We still drink bottles. They only have them when it's time to relax and take a nap, or about an hour before bedtime. I feel it begins the relaxing bedtime routine and I love they are getting that much calcium. Surprisingly, I am in no rush to get rid of the bottle. They have a sippy cup at their meals, and also have a sippy cup of water in their cribs when they sleep. And my theory is - they drink MUCH more milk this way. So, why not help them have a little extra calcium? Not to mention boys can be pretty "rough" when it comes to playing. I also feel I am pretty strict when it comes to most other things like napping/sleeping routines, schedule, foods, etc...so why not be a little lenient in the world of bottles. Really - is that going to mess with their lives long-term? And plus, I selfishly enjoy the 15 minutes of quiet time. :)


Here's a recap of our week -

Tuesday: We went over my parents house on Tuesday and met Auntie Theresa there. She picked up the boys at daycare because I worked pretty late. The boys had some ziti, meat sauce, milk, and veggie pouches. They are starting to fit in a regular seat and actually eat their food, rather than falling off the chairs. Since we do it down the Cape,  we tried it at my parents. It's so adorable...and hilarious. Look at Conor's face trying to see his plate. LOL.


See below for Wednesday app recipes. ;)

Thursday: Aunties Chrissy and Lindsey came over to visit for a bit on Thursday night. For some reason, we thought it would be fun if we put in the DVD of our helicopter ride during our honeymoon in Maui. Here we are all watching the Blue Hawaiian Helicopter tour in Maui. What a fun memory! 



Friday: My cousin Derek (Caden's Godfather) came over last night with his friend Steve. Derek helped me give the kids a bath and put them to bed. When they were sleeping, we then ordered some calzones and played pool. What a great Friday night! Thanks for visiting everyone!


Here's that 6pm bottle we all enjoy so much...


Saturday: Conor slept in a bit this morning...almost til 7am. When he woke, he was so snuggly. He then relaxed on the ground, so I put a blanket on him. He is the snuggliest little guy. It's so sweet.


And Caden proceeded to take the blanket OFF of Conor....


They started getting a little fussy around 8ish - we had been changed, we ate first breakfast, we got dressed, we played...but they were still a little cranky. I put on the original "Mister Rogers Neighborhood" that I grew up with (pre- Daniel Tiger days). The song came on and they saw trolley. THIS was their reaction. It is so priceless.


Wednesday: I worked on Veteran's Day, met with Lindsay/Chrissy and others for a bridal shower prep lunch in Dedham which was so fun!! It's nice having meals with other adults. :) Then Jim and I had some friends over on Wednesday night. Rather than preparing a formal sit-down dinner, we asked if they would like to do some light apps and enjoy some amazing Del Dotto wine we picked up from Napa a few years ago. That vineyard was so unique and incredible. They have a different concept where the wines are stored in caverns. We toured the caves and they gave us taste tests from a "wine thief" straight from the barrel! Certainly one of our favorites. The Colellas agreed on apps, so I made some bruschetta and my favorite baked brie recipe. It's great in the fall. I also had some shrimp cocktail, cheese and crackers and fruit, and veggies with an awesome yogurt ranch dip.

This baked brie recipe is always great in the fall. I buy one triangle brie package, chop off a bit of the edges, and then slice it in half to sort of make a square. I add some frozen cranberries, apple slices, and brown sugar. I wrap that all up in a crescent roll. I bake it at 325 for about 15-20 minutes...basically until it's all bulked up and slightly brown. You will know when it's done. Sorry I don't have an after pic. Serve it with a bread knife and more fresh apple slices. You can add crackers too - but the bread/crescent is really enough to go with it.


I then served some shrimp cocktail. I honestly just thawed some frozen shrimp in a bowl in cold water for about 30 minutes. I rinsed it off thoroughly several times, served it with fresh lemon slices and cocktail sauce. It's always so simple and such a hit. Everyone LOVES shrimp.

Shaz Cooking Tip: I typically reserve about a dozen shrimp in a 31-40 count frozen shrimp bag. I do this so I can make a dinner dish for Jim and myself the following night. This time, I made a protein-packed angel hair pasta with spinach, bell pepper, onion, and shrimp tossed with feta and marina sauce, and EVOO. It was really delicious and simple. Here's the shrimp and the package of pasta.

I then made some bruschetta which I blogged about two years ago. Jim and I hosted our annual NYE party in LA and I made so many similar things to Wednesday night! At the NYE party, I served a shrimp cocktail, the bruschetta, and a blueberry pie (as well as a homemade spinach dip and other things). This time, I made a blueberry pie, but I also added cranberries -- leftover from my brie recipe. My friends at work and I nicknamed it a CRUEBERRY pie! Ha. So here's the bruschetta pre-baking and a pic of the crueberry pie.



A BIG happy and healthy birthday mention to my friend Suz!! Enjoy your day and see you tomorrow during the Pats game! Love ya.



Have a great weekend everyone!!  

xo,
Shaz, Caden, and Conor

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