Ozzie's Date

With three beautiful girls -lucky boy! Notice how happy he is with his three girlfriends.




My friends came over for lunch and a play date with their daughters yesterday. Ozzie was beside himself. He loves people in general and other little kids in particular. I made salmon, caesar salad with homemade dressing and Ina's potato salad because I was practicing recipes for Ozzie's 1st birthday party {more on that later}. Mommies ate, babies played and fun was had by all! Here are the pictures from their fun day.

Come back again friends it was fun!

Birthday Party Sneak Peek

I have been busy working on Ozzie's 1st birthday party coming up at the end of the month. I thought I'd share a sneak peek at some of the party elements for fun.

Lately Ozzie has been digging the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Yes I let him watch TV in the morning before his morning nap. For those of you freaking out, he only watches cartoons in the morning before his nap and then we listen to music for the rest of the day AND I don't just leave him sitting in front of the TV, we play on the floor together with the TV on in the background.

Sooo he loves the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. One day, out of the blue, he started humming a song or part of a song. If you can even call it humming, maybe half humming half grunting. I realized around round three that he was humming the opening song to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and started singing along with him. Once he realized that I understood what he was doing he was overwhelmed with glee! It was really quite cute. Ever since I have indulged his Mickey Mouse love and bought him the CD, which we listen to in the car {you should see him bob his little head when he's dancing}, and a set of board books that I found at Costco. All good Mickey fun!

Naturally when I was thinking for a theme for his 1st birthday party, Mickey Mouse came to mind. Originally I wanted to throw a monkey themed birthday party since I love monkeys and want Ozzie to love monkeys but his love of Mickey Mouse trumped my monkey love. After all it is HIS birthday.

I knew I wanted to make Mickey invitations and those trendy new envelope mailing wraps to set the theme for his party. I looked online for free Mickey clip art and a free Mickey type font and viola- below are my homemade invites and envelope wraps with personal information blurred or changed for privacy. We really don't live somewhere over the rainbow!





For those of you interested I found the clip art at Disney Clips and the font at 1001 Free Fonts and made both using Microsoft Publisher. Then I bought red envelopes at Paper Zone to send the invitations out. I thought everything came out super cute and was excited to mail them out to family and friends. It's always fun to set the theme for a party with the invitations. Plus I love that Ozzie will always have a fun keepsake of his Mickey Mouse themed 1st birthday party.

Just a little sneak peek, there are a lot of other goodies I've added to Ozzie's 1st birthday party and will share them when the day is over. Or maybe if I can pull my act together I'll share more stuff before then. I tell you I just can't wait to celebrate his big day!

Candy Buffet

photo courtesy Amy Atlas Events

Speaking of party obsessed, I've been swooning over candy buffets lately. This picture above via Amy Atlas Events has my mouth watering. Also have you seen the Sesame Street candy buffet over at Hostess with the Mostess? Both are way out of my league but fun inspiration.

I think I want to add a mini-candy buffet to Ozzie's 1st birthday celebration. I'm going mini because I am already making 48 cup cakes in 3 different flavors {chocolate, vanilla and coconut}. So in order to not overload the kiddos {and their parents} on too many sweet treats, I think I'll keep the candy buffet mini, maybe 3 or 4 containers of sweets in the birthday theme colors.

If you are interested in adding a candy buffet to your next event, Project Wedding has a great article, Candy Buffet 101. Such a fun way to personalize your next party!

Popcorn Cones

I've decided I MUST make Ozzie these adorable popcorn cones for his 1st birthday party via Martha Stewart. Not that he can eat popcorn at the ripe old age of 1.

I just can't help myself I'm party obsessed and the blogosphere isn't making it any better. Michelle over at Everyday Celebrating even has a tutorial on how to make these cones. Fun!

Pulled Pork Sandwich

I don't know about your neighborhood but pulled pork sandwiches seem to be on the rise here in Seattle. Definitely not a new sandwich but certainly a new trend. With sandwich shops like Paseo in Ballard and Fremont gaining popularity {Esquire Magazine rated their Cuban as "Best Cuban Meat Sandwich in America" last year} the pulled pork sandwich is the new black.

Since Oscar and I live pretty far away from both Fremont and Ballard, we decided to have a go at our own pulled pork sandwich. It was really easy and really, really good! Here is our recipe:

Ingredients:

5lb pork shoulder roast

2 tbsp of minced garlic

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 onion {sweet Walla Walla onions are great with this}

Salt & pepper

Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce {we used the hickory and brown sugar}

French hoagie rolls

Directions:

Rub pork roast with dry rub of salt, pepper, brown sugar and minced garlic

Slice one onion into thin pieces

Throw it all into a slow cooker

When pork is done {8 - 10 hours later} drain juice but try to preserve the onion slices

Add 1 small bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce

Stir to coat entire roast, breaking meat apart into little chunks

Heat in slow cooker for about 30 more mintues until heated through

Serve on hoagie

Some people like to add shredded cabbage/slaw to their sandwich. We didn't but will probably try it with cabbage someday.

Typically I am not a fan of the slow cooker because I feel like every dish ends up tasting like the ceramic pot but this sandwich put an end to that theory. I also liked this recipe because on a nice summer day I'd rather be outside playing with Ozzie than inside over a hot stove!

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Oh and before I go, please try to buy Organic and grass fed/free range pork. Have you heard about the treatment of those piggies in confined animal feeding operations {CAFOs} not to mention how much those operations are pulluting the enviroment. Okay off my soap box- enjoy!

Pool Party- Part 3

Ozzie decided to fill his pool up himself because he just couldn't wait for Mommy to get around to it and he NEEDED to go swimming! Okay probably not since he's only 11 1/2 months old and not quite walking yet. However he did grab the hose from me as I was filling up his pool in the morning so it would be the perfect temperature later in the afternoon. I promise I did not stage these photos. He grabbed the hose and I ran to get the camera inside. Please excuse the white onsie look, like I said it was morning and he just woke up. The nights have been too hot for jammies.

Here he is filling up his pool with water. Such a smart little boy!




We may have a future fire fighter on our hands!




Enjoying the scenery as he fills up his pool.




This is getting kind of heavy. I think I'll have a squat and maybe taste the hose. Mmmm...



Oh look I can play with the water while I fill up my pool! And later that afternoon...




The water temperature was just right for a mid-afternoon swim.

Ahhh the lazy days of summer...

Cake Stands

So I'm prepping for Ozzie's 1st birthday party at the end of the month and I've decided that I need at least 5 white pedestal cake stands. You can use them for anything, not just cakes {or cupcakes}. Also not just for food. They make lovely decor pieces or centerpieces AND since they are white they will match any theme or color palette.

This one above from Rosanna is so feminine and pretty I love it. But a good basic like these from The Martha Stewart Collection at Macy's are also great.

I've always been a sucker for anything footed. Footed glassware, footed vases and footed cake stands {or pedestals call it what you want}. Like I said, I need 5. Oscar are you reading this?

Not Your Mama's Burger

Remember that from Eddie Murphy's Raw? Or was it Delirious? That's all I could think of when making these ginormous turkey burgers!

In my effort to get Oscar and I out of our food rut, you know the one where you eat basically the same 4 meals every week then get so tired of it you eat out for the rest of the week only to start the whole ridiculous process over again on Monday. Yeah that food rut.

Not to mention as an aspiring domestic goddess, I consider it my duty to find new and exciting yet healthy meals for the family. I want to get my practice in now so I have quite the repertoire of healthy and delicious meals under my belt before Ozzie starts eating every meal with us.

So enter this turkey burger. Oscar and I frequently eat turkey burgers, remember the food rut? Our usual turkey burger consists of ground turkey, salt, pepper, Worcestershire maybe some onions or jalapenos. A few weeks ago I wanted to try a new turkey burger recipe and remembered an old magazine clipping from Self magazine that I have been hanging on to for years. This is when I love my recipe binder. It took days to put together but the organized recipes are so wonderful and easy to find.

Okay back to this burger. It was delish. I am so glad I hung on to this recipe and only wish we would have tried it sooner. Give it a try, I bet you like it too. Just remember to buy HUGE buns since the burger is big.

Southwestern Turkey Burgers (from Self magazine)

Ingredients

1 egg white, lightly beaten

1/3 c cheddar cheese, diced (I used shredded)

12 oz. lean ground turkey

1/4 tsp salt

1 c kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1/3 c bread crumbs (I used Panko)

2/3 c chopped onion

1/3 c chopped fresh cilantro (from my garden thank you very much!)

2/3 c salsa (plus more for topping)

1 tbsp canola oil

4 large green lettuce leaves (also from my garden!)

4 buns

Directions:

In a large bowl combine egg white, cheese, turkey, salt, kidney beans, bread crumbs, onion, cilantro and salsa and mix thoroughly. Divide mixture and form into four patties. Tuck any pieces of cheese into the burgers with your fingertip to prevent scorching. Heat the oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. (I used our Le Creuset grill pan and sprayed with cooking spray) Add burgers and cook 7 minutes per side until cooked through. Serve on buns with lettuce and top with extra salsa (optional).

This from Self, "Turkey's tryptophan spurs your brain to produce feel good serotonin. Have this burger with a chocolate shake since chocolate has stress relieving polyphenols and have a mellow meal!"

Nutritional Analysis per serving:

495 cal

17 g fat (6 g saturated)

54 g carbohydrates

34 g protein

Enjoy!

Pool Party- Part 2

Ozzie enjoyed pool time in his little turtle pool so much, we decided to give it a go in the big pool at my Mom & Dad's house. Not surprisingly Ozzie loved the big pool! Are Leo's really water signs?

Ozzie's cousin Andy was also paying a visit to Pepa & Nanay so Ozzie got to splash in the big boy pool with Andy all day. He really enjoyed it. Here are some pictures {okay too many pictures again} of Ozzie's 1st time in the big boy pool with Oscar, Andy & Pepa.



Ozzie's first dip in the water. As you can see he no hesitation what so ever.

Here's Andy smiling for the camera.

We bought Ozzie this floating car at Toys R Us. Best pool toy ever. His little feet can kick in the water and he's protected from the sun. Too cute!

Andy helping Ozzie steer the car.

Hey where did Andy go? Come back cousin!

Andy pretending to be camera shy!

Ozzie's practicing kicking in the water with Oscar.

I love me some Andy! He's such a good kid.

Pool tricks with Pepa. Pepa is the torpedo under the water.

Ozzie's turn to play with Pepa. Pepa even dunked Ozzie's head under the water and he didn't cry. Mommy almost passed out but Ozzie didn't cry.

He did however cry when we took off his vest and tried to float him on the Andy's floating toy. Pool time was just about over. Ozzie was ready for lunch!

Oscar rescued him and off to lunch and nap time we went!

Pool Party- Part 1

Although this week has brought typical Seattle weather {gloomy mid-60's with clouds, rain and some sun} the last few weeks were really warm and sunny. Oscar's brother gave Ozzie an old turtle pool as a hand-me-down and Ozzie got to test it out while the weather was nice.

Ozzie loves the water, we still bath him in the toddler tub on our bathroom counter in an effort to save our backs from bending over the regular tub. We'll have plenty of years of that. So for now, he uses his toddler tub on the bathroom counter which is great for our backs but not so great for our bathroom floors, counter and mirror. Ozzie LOVES to splash! By the end of his bath everyone and everything is soaked.

I knew he was going to love splashing around in his new turtle pool. He played both in the pool and next to the pool on the turtle pool cover transferring toys back and forth to his little heart's content. We were out there for hours so I'm guessing I have myself a little water baby.

Here are some pictures of Ozzie enjoying the sun on a couple of different days while the weather was warm. Hopefully summer comes back. Summer does that around Seattle, leaves and comes back every couple of weeks until September when it leaves for good until next year.

As usual I posted way too many pictures but I just can't pick and choose. Enjoy!

He was trying to pull off his drawstring on his shorts. He worked at it for quite some time despite me telling him the drawstring was connected to his shorts.

The transferring of toys to the turtle top and back in the pool. This went on all day...

He loves to eat his octopus squirt toy. He does this in his bath too.

Yay for pool time!

Got his poolside gear on after pool time was over. Luckily he was just as happy to get out as he was to get in. No pool tantrums yet.

Hope your summer is filled with some fun in the sun too!