Insta-September

These Instagram posts are likely going to become the guts of my blog.  The picture quality isn't always as good as my Canon, but sometimes I get lucky and it's better!  All you busy moms know:  a lot of the nitty gritty of our days seem to fly by before we can blink and the pictures that most often get snapped are only because of the convenience of cell phones.  It's sad, but true.  And I'm simply going to embrace that and not succumb to the guilt.  I almost never print pictures anymore.  And making albums is almost a joke.  But I love my dear, little blog and this may just be the best way to realistically maintain it.  After all, this IS my great big photo album.  :)

There is no recognizable order to these posts.  They are just our day-to-day reality and some of my favorite moments.  Not (typically) pictured here:  tantrums, time-outs, crazy mommy, chaotic mornings getting out the door, chaotic evenings getting back in the door, some of the ugly moments, etc.  But be assured:  they're there... in between the lines.  I don't think to pull out my phone at the same moment that I want to pull out my hair.  ;)  Just keepin' it real.

Here are a whole bunch of glimpses of our September:

Labor Day picnic at the Munoz home with all of the Riedeman crew.

We sometimes like to wander the farm and just enjoy the serenity.  Sophie inevitably gravitates to the horses.

Homework has resumed as part of our evening routine again.  Shirts not required.

Packed lunches for two kids!  Sophie's first day lunch on the left.  Will's on the right.  I try to keep it varied and thoughtful of their preferences.

Sophie's first day, pictured with her buddy Jax.

First day of school interviews.  We do them over dinner on the evening of both kids first days.  They're filed in the school bins.

I've started doing tiny pancakes for Will in his lunch box this month.  These are zucchini bread pancakes (recipe from Smitten Kitchen).

Cast graffiti.

New school shoes for Will.  Like father, like son.

A fun date night with my girl at the Perrysburg Farmers Market.  Tasting apple cider.

We walked down by the river and I followed her lead.

One week to go until cast removal.  We're so excited!!!

Zucchini corn bread, garden tomatoes, rolled lunch meat and a cheese stick, nectarine slices, chocolate chips.

Home from her second day of school.  By the looks of her hair, I'd say the day was a success.

She came home sporting a new homemade bracelet from a school friend.

His eyes.  I ADORE them.

Guess who came to visit our house for the 3rd time in just a few months!

Library morning.

Birthday party for a karate pal.

Play date with a bunch of Will's buddies.  Light sabers, Nerf guns, running around ALL over the yard, lots of sound effects.  General boy stuff.

Late summer dinner:  grilled balsamic chicken, tomato bread salad, corn on the cob.

We ended up taking dinner outside because it was so nice out.

Another new school week.  The weather's going to fluctuate a lot this week.

Sorry for the dark picture.  School lunch.  Hard boiled egg - no yolk - Will's preference.  ;)

Lunch time escapades:  quick mani in OPI Bright as a Feather and making my grocery list.

After school routine:  sort the papers in his Comet folder to my action box or his.  Then homework.  Then free time.

After school routine:  practicing writing her name several times.  Then setting the table.  Then free time.

We may have gotten a little carried away with our library books this time.

Pancakes again!  This time red beet pancakes - one of his faves.

Trying a new energy bar recipe (from shutterbean.com):  dried apricots, coconut, flax seeds, cashews, oats, agave and coconut oil.  Yum.

Also made in the kitchen this night:  Curtis Stone's pecan chocolate chunk cookies and Weelicious homemade graham cracker dough to roll out and bake later this week.

Current favorite hairstyle for Soph:  double braids to a low side pony.  Out of her face and ready for another HOT school day.  

Squeezing in a few more pages of his book at the bus stop.

Nana and Will.

Another day of lunch for both kids.  Only on Wednesdays do I have to pack for Soph.

Will and his friend Aidan pouring over the "who's who?" Star Wars book Will borrowed from the library.  Boy stuff.

One of our all time faves:  grilled chicken with peach salsa.  Tomato slices from the garden too.

Clipping the last link from the chain.  Tomorrow's the big day!!!

Looking uber adorable at the orthopedic office, ready to get her cast off.  Craig took her and sent me pictures and then they dropped by my office afterward so I could give her a hug.

Happy girl and not nervous at all!

Cast removal.

Cut up pizza strips is always a well received lunch.  :)

I've been so excited for this book release!  My name was on the library request list EARLY and I was second in line.

School lunch.

Home again, home again.  Jiggity jig.

Picking cherry tomatoes.  Our garden looks terrible this year, but we're enjoying the output anyway!

Still more to come!

Peppers I brought in this night.  Our pepper plants have been OUTSTANDING this year.

Poking fork holes into our homemade graham cracker dough before baking.

Finished product:  homemade grahams.

Hey there, Will.  :)  He's peeking around from the bath tub.

Love this kid.

Peace.  From Will and Sophie.

Little mother fed him and helped me bathe him.

I hate spending money on things like this but I desperately needed new tires.  $460 later...  Ugh.

My adorable niece Veronica is just a few months away from her 2nd birthday!  The Munoz girlies came over to play while their mom & dad went to a wedding tonight.  We ate dinner outside again.

Cozied up for the Buckeyes game.  We really need a bigger couch.

Oh my gosh, you guys.  This tomato salad with crushed croutons is to die for.  It's another Smitten Kitchen fave.  Shallot, garlic, olive oil and parm in the homemade "croutons" and red wine vinegar, oil, s&p over the halved cherry tomatoes.  Divine!

Quiet time.

I knew she was over tired from all the poor sleep while her cast was on.  She is going on a 3-hour nap here!  Thank goodness!!!

You can tell it's tomato season...

Fall prettiness in my dining room.

Veggie enchiladas for dinner tonight.

School lunch

After school bike ride.

One on foot.  One on a bike.  Such a gorgeous evening!

Jazzing up this yellow eyelet twirl top from Tea with a bold pink necklace and some animal print flats, as inspired by one of my favorite blog writers.

Ham, cheese & tomato kabobs today

I'm lovin' everything about this.

I love this idea for salvaging overripe bananas, because you don't have to use them RIGHT NOW.  Just peel, cut into chunks and pop in the freezer.  Then when you want a light treat, just drop frozen pieces into the food processor and let them whiz into banana "ice cream"!  It's surprisingly creamy and the kids love it!

More garden peppers!  I'm thinking fajitas, stir fry, stuffed peppers, bean salad with peppers & vinegarette.

School lunch.

My lunch at my desk at work:  tuna salad (from my momma), sharp cheddar with Triscuits, watermelon, peppers and the peeled/sliced stalk of broccoli (my fave).  Not pictured:  two choc chip cookies and some pistachios.  

Today's lunch time mani:  Zoya Tru (the purple) and Zoya London (the silver matte pixie).  Love it!!

A milestone in our baby's social world tonight:  making his first phone call to a non-family person.  ;)  He asked if he could call his school friend Matt earlier this week and I have been hesitant because I don't know Matt or his family.  Will rattled off his friend's number from memory when I asked and I spoke with Matt's very nice mother to initiate the call.  Whew!  We're on unfamiliar parenting grounds with this!

Waiting at the hair salon for Sophie to be called for her appointment.  She met a new friend and they played for awhile.

Telling elaborately inventive stories during her haircut.

It looks so smooth and straight after a trim and a blow dry.

Yogurt with homemade raspberry sauce for lunch today.  S'more snack for dessert with one of our homemade grahams, a few chocolate chips and marshmallows.

No more split ends for me!!  Happy, happy, joy, joy.

Lunch:  black bean tacos with feta and cilantro and lime slaw.  Leftover from girls night last night.

Meals prepped for dinner this week:  1) filling for grilled Hawaiian pizza burritos (a new one for us), 2) ham & noodle casserole, 3) Tyler Florence's fajita marinade + sliced peppers and onions.  I love having a jump start on smoother week nights.

Happy Birthday to my bros!  26 & 24 respectively.  Love you both!!

Goodbye, Clifford!  We enjoyed your company this weekend and I Sophie can't wait to tell her classmates all about it.

School lunch.

Borrowed Zoya Pepper from a friend.  I like.

Homework time.  Picture day is this week so Will just got a haircut from daddy too.

Tyler Florence's Ultimate Fajitas.

Another attempt at getting some acceptable protein into Will's lunch:  coconut almond butter "bon bons".  Recipe from Real Simple and it is just that!  Rice krispy cereal, almond butter, a little maple syrup and a pinch of salt.  Also, half of a large banana muffin with dried blueberries from Nana.

A mouth full of apple and laughing at his silly daddy.

It's 10pm.  Kids are snuggled & asleep, lunches are packed, dinner dishes are done and I just polished off a bowl of vanilla ice cream with my homemade raspberry sauce and some chocolate chips while putting in my online order for Will's school pictures this week.  Mom life.

I think we're a little behind on this but look what Will did independently for the first time this morning!  As of October 31st, Will's first grade teacher will be done tying shoes at school.  So we're down to the wire and really need to perfect this important skill!

Freshening our breath after pumpkin oatmeal for breakfast.

He needed an extra hug this morning before I left him with Nana at the bus stop so I could get to work.  Ugh... working mom guilt.  I want to get him on and off the bus myself each day.  Feeling sad about missing these moments today.  :(

School lunch.

Ditto.

My kids are not the best at smiling on cue.  Hoping for a genuine looking smile today on picture day!

School lunch.

Daddy offered Will $3 per filled bucket of buckeyes collected from the yard beneath the tree so Craig could mow the lawn this afternoon.  One + one-third buckets later, Will's allowance "spend jar" has $4 more in it.

Productivity is not the only measure of time well spent.

While Will and I snuggle, this little lady is playing dress up and "taking my order" for lunch on her notepad.

Spaghetti with roasted butternut squash for dinner.  One of my fall faves.

And pumpkin walnut biscuits drizzled with some of our local honey.  A family favorite.

School lunch.

Trying to mimic her brother's favorite trick.  She's getting better!

Craig took kids to karate while I stayed home and got dinner ready.  Baked sausages with potatoes, apples and onions from Dinner: A Love Story cookbook.  I absolutely love how quickly this comes together with everything rough chopped on one cutting board and into one pan.  And my house smells amazing when it cooks.  Served this with big dollops of dijon mustard for dipping and more of our pumpkin biscuits.  Everyone devoured.

And that was our September!  Some of it, anyway.