summer

the unofficial end of summer

As I lay wide awake just hours before both my babies enter elementary school, I am pondering how we got here so quickly. I know this is the most redundant question a parent asks themselves over the course of a lifetime, but seriously, why does it happen so fast? Payton is entering first grade and Brayden is beginning transitional kindergarten. Payton is over-the-moon excited that she got the teacher she wanted and the friends she cannot live without. Brayden has no idea what to expect, but has been very clear that he does not want to do homework and wants to play as much as he can. When he lined up today during a practice run of what to do when the bell rings, I found myself (yet again) looking over at my son. I was beaming with pride that 1). he did not cry 2). he handled walking in late to orientation and after I urged him to sit in back, he walked right up front and plopped himself front and center 3). he is the second tallest and though he gets scared with learning and tends to quit I know he is going to kick butt in TK.

Our Summer vacation was fast and while it seemed to me that we did nothing, we did. The first weekend of vacation we made a bucket list as a family. Most of the items seemed to be way easier but as the days moved quickly so did our work schedules. We joked that the kids would only gets baths in the pool and we would be lucky if they washed their hair. This was almost a correct assumption as the first month was swim lessons every day and then post lessons they were in our pool until the sun went down. The good thing is, we escaped without green hair and Payton didn’t end up with dreds, parenting win I tell you! Theres still time to knock a few things off our list like: baking cinnamon rolls, a Padre game (this week to be exact), Palm Springs, library visits and a backyard light show. I am sad that Summer is unofficially over with the school year beginning, but I am also excited for my kids. I love watching them become better tiny humans with larger hearts and sarcastic souls.

A big thank you to Little Blue Bow Photography for capturing our beautiful blue eyed babes!

Mexican Street Fair Corn Salad {Elotes}

One of our favorite things to get at the San Diego Fair is the roasted corn. It’s so simple, the kids love it and apparently it’s a fair standard, you can tell just by the line alone! This year I noticed that they added, Elotes, a Mexican corn salad. The corn salad is served with mayo which I happily declined but has buttery corn, plenty of cotija cheese, cilantro and lime. To the side of the stand you can add as much chili and tapatio as you wish. After The Fourth of July we had several ears of corn leftover so I decided to recreate this new fair fav!

Mexican Street Fair Corn Salad

Ingredients:

3 ears of roasted corn, cut off the cob (here’s a great tutorial)
1/2 stick of butter
1-2 tsp chili powder
salt, to taste
1/4-1/2 cup cotija cheese
2 TB cilantro, chopped
tapatio, to taste
fresh lime

Directions:

In a skillet melt the butter. Once melted, add the corn and heat through until warm. Toss the corn with the chili powder, use more or less depending on your taste. Season with salt.
Toss the warm corn with desired amount of cheese. I added additional on top, because let’s face it, everything is better with more cheese! Add a few dashes of tapatio and garnish with cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
Enjoy! Now you can enjoy the flavors of the fair all Summer long.

tiny dancer

This past weekend Payton had her first ballet class. Is she graceful? Not quite sure yet, but her heart is there. Watching her pay attention to Miss Nicole was so cute, watching others before she acted, nonchalantly biting her nails as she waited for her turn and taking two silly ballerina twirls while the teacher wasn’t watching made for an anxiety filled 45-minutes. Am I a stage mom? Probably. This pint sized kid is definitely my mini me. Her favorite part of class? Striding across the room like a princess ballerina pony. My favorite part of class? Watching her light up as the teacher asked, “who hear likes ponies?” and taking moments to find me from her circle to wave hi. My tiny dancer is finally at “ballerina school”. Bring it on dance moms.

Greek Quinoa Salad {recipe}

About a month ago I had lunch with my best friend at True Food Kitchen. We had the most amazing Mediterranean quinoa salad paired with to die for veggie pasta dishes. Since that meal I have been craving that simple and refreshing salad. The ingredients have been in my pantry and refrigerator to add the salad to our weekly meal plan but I never seemed to make it until last night. It was my Mom’s first quinoa dish so I was a little worried she wouldn’t care for it, but surprisingly she did and went for seconds! It’s so easy and can be made ahead of time to enjoy for an easy weeknight meal or for lunch throughout the week. Serve alongside a light pasta dish or a steamed artichoke.

Greek Quinoa Salad

1 cup red quinoa cooked according to the package directions (I like to replace the water with vegetable broth and I add fresh chopped garlic)
2 Persian cucumbers, cut lengthwise and then sliced
1/2 cup mini heirloom tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 cup Marcona almonds
1/2 cup kalamata olives
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 cup organic micro baby greens

Dressing:
Juice of one lime (a lemon will do too, it’s just what I had)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 TB extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Once you have cooked the quinoa let it sit for a few minutes. Combine the dressing ingredients into a small bowl and toss over cooked quinoa, set aside.
In a large serving bowl mix together the remaining ingredients except for the baby greens. Toss the ingredients and then add the quinoa. Refrigerate for at least thirty minutes before serving. The longer you let this salad sit the better. Before serving top with the micro baby greens. These greens wilt relatively fast so I like to top the salad with it.
Enjoy!

kicking off Summer with Tim!

Friday night I attended my fourth Tim McGraw concert. It was the perfect way to kick start Summer even though we’re still a few weeks away from the solstice. I went with a co-worker and we decided on the general pit tickets and it worked out just the way I had intended. We made our way to the stage while Love & Theft opened (seriously cutie patootie country boys) and after an almost fight with some crazy middle aged women we took our spots at stage left. Brantley Gilbert was the second act and let me tell you that his raspy, bad boy country act was amazing! I am totally a new fan and started downloading his album as we drove away from the Sleep Train amphitheatre. Tim McGraw did not disappoint, I love that man. His new smokin’ 40-pound slim down was jaw dropping. I seriously could not stop staring at his arms and well his ass in those tight pants. Damn! I am starting to sound like one of those crazy middle aged women. We wedged our way behind two couples which put us one person away from the stage, the show was amazing and one of those nights I’ll never forget. Singing along to my favorite songs like “seventeen” going back sixteen years ago like I was singing the song for the first time. This Summer is going to be amazing! What are you looking most forward to?