Cavatappi with Spinach, Beans, and Asiago Cheese

Doesn't that sound fancy? Don't be fooled, it's actually really simple. In fact, I usually don't cook much that isn't simple and easy. So, if you are looking for something quick and healthy to eat on a weeknight, try this. I love the blend of flavors and can usually make it even with two kids wrapped around my legs.

8 cups coarsely chopped spinach leaves
**4 cups hot cooked cavatappi (about 6 oz. uncooked spiral shaped pasta)
1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded asiago cheese
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (I'm not fancy so I just sprinkle regular old pepper in there)
1 can cannellini beans or other white beans, drained
2 garlic cloves, crushed (I just use the minced garlic out of the jar)

Combine ingredients in a large bowl and toss well. Voila!

**I use whatever pasta my children can eat. I have yet to find cavatappi.

Maybe some of you foodies think it is blasphemous to not have one of those cool pepper grinders. One of these days I will be cool like all the folks on food network and use freshly ground pepper. It's probably terrible not to crush fresh garlic cloves either, but if I were striving for perfection I might never get dinner on the table. I like to serve this with some type of rosemary bread. My favorite is Big River's Pan Marino. It's so good with this pasta. I don't know if anyone will make this, but I just thought I would throw it out there. My neighbor gave me a big bag of greens yesterday, so the spinach was my inspiration.

I know I only have a few seconds before my kids realize I'm on the computer and they start crawling all over me, but I wanted to take a second to write down some thoughts before my day catches up with me. This afternoon we were riding home from the park. Will was telling me his big dreams of owning a motorcycle AND a skateboard. I put him in the car seat and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He had a cute smile on his face. I am so grateful that I can give him kisses and say I love you to him whenever I want. On the way home he was singing songs on the radio. Ella was dreaming dreams of her own in the seat next to him. I have to write this down now because I know it won't always be like this. They are only little for such a short time. Here comes Ella. She spotted me and is crawling, growling and saying mamamamamama.

Last night Mike was telling me about something he saw on the news about how it is hip to be a "bad" mom. We looked up the article on line so I could read it. When you do that you get to see all of the comments that people make. Here was one that stood out to me...


The best part of being a parent... is when you become a grandparent. That's when you really know the difference between building Lincoln Log Cabins or doing the dishes. That's when you realize dirty hands and not pulling your socks up, doesn't matter. Those fingerprints on everything that used to drive you crazy..... Now belong to grown up hands, hands that grew before you knew it. If I could raise my kids again, I'd be out back playing ball more often and spend less time wiping fingerprints off windows.

Isn't that sweet? If you come over and my sliding glass door does NOT have fingerprints on it, please know that I just washed it especially for you or that I have lost all of my marbles and am totally neurotic! :) My kids/dog are all over that window looking at themselves, checking out squirrels, and watching the world go by. To keep it clean I would have to wipe it down every five seconds. Right now, I'm just shooting for once a week. :) Enjoy your crazy little fingerprint making munchkins while you can!

While I'm being a mushball...

It has been pretty incredible to see our parents as grandparents. You catch a glimpse of what they must have been like with you as a baby and it's very special. It's also fun to see them bring out their silly side. Our children are blessed with amazing grandparents who are very dedicated to them. I already have a flood of images flowing through my mind of the grandparents and my kids are only 1 and 3 years old (almost). Here are some...

*Mom dancing around in the backseat with Ella and making her crack up. Ohmygosh, can't help but think of waking up in the morning and hearing my mom singing James Brown. If any of you know me well, you know that I don't enjoy waking up most mornings. My mom would sing, "I Feel Good" complete with hip shaking. Very annoying perkiness when you are a grumbly teenager who does not want to get out of bed. It also makes me think of her dancing in Thriftway...to the music playing over the loudspeaker. Mom, seriously?! :) She loved pushing that cart around dancing and singing just loud enough. Man, I can't wait to do that to my own kids some day.

*Seeing Carolyn get down on the ground and play with the kids. That woman has so much energy! I also like to think of Carolyn as the master of distraction when it comes to Ella. I think Carolyn must love a good challenge because she was not afraid to take that screaming little girl and show her around the house (I think she called it a tour). She would bop her around and try and make her forget her troubles for a while (and mine too)! Carolyn is still pulling out toys from when Mike and Kristin were kids. She has a full on grandmother arsenal at her house for Will and Ella! My personal favorite is the Fisher Price parking garage.

*Will on the piano, David on the flauta (I'm sure there's a special name for this, but I can't think of it). They have their own little jam sessions in the living room and it actually sounds pretty good. Thanks for encouraging Will's musical talent! Also, dancing with Ella in Hawai'i. It was the sweetest thing to see those two together. One more thing about the music...I'm not sure who gave the kazoo to Will before he got into the car the other night, but I know you and Carolyn got into bed that night and had a good laugh knowing that I was being serenaded by kazoo all the way home. You thought I took that one in stride, didn't ya'? You two knew exactly what you were doing!!! :)

*Will climbing on my dad for a horsey ride. We used to do this as kids. Now he plays with my munchkins, shows them the farm animals, and tries to feed them sweets when he thinks I'm not looking! It's good to have a part of you that is still innocent and knows how to have fun like only a little kid can. My dad still has this gift and it shines when he is around his grandkids.

Okay, that's enough for now. Hope you grandparents don't mind that I shared some of our memories!

Happy Birthday, Mike!

Happy Birthday, Mike! We love you!!! Thanks for being such an awesome husband and father!!!

Sew Domestic (get it?)

Kelsee with her example block of fabric. She picked out some fun colors.


Mom with her bad ass racing fabric (excuse the language, there just wasn't another way to put it)

My fabric all laid out. I took this picture for Katie Jane :)This is what it looked like after I cut and sewed my strips together
Finished 9 patch block

Sorry for the title folks, but you know I like a good pun. I'm sort of nerdy that way. Mom, Kelsee and I took our first quilting class last week. We had a good time together. I am posting this especially for Katie so she can check out the progress. Hope you like it, girlfriend!

Saturday with Katie Jane

I guess we were having too much fun because these are the only pictures that I took! We started out the morning by going to our favorite coffee shop and then walked over to the fabric store. I am taking a quilting class with my mom and decided that I would give the finished product to Katie, who has been wanting a quilt to keep her warm all winter long. It should be finished just in time for the ninety degree weather! I wanted to surprise her, but I am a horrible liar, so I just let her know what I was up to. The next three hours were spent agonizing over which fabrics to use! It's not as easy as it looks to pick out the right fabric and color combinations. It was fun and we walked away with all of the material to make a quilt top. We spent the rest of the afternoon downtown, eating lunch and going into some other shops.

I was very grateful that Katie came down to visit and hang out with the kids and me. It was good to catch up and have some girlfriend time!