Crave Wednesday: Reuben Sandwiches

Big surprise, we're backlogged here.  BUT YOU GUYS I SEE THE LIGHT!  Last weekend was one of the most mellow we have had since February.  FEB.RU.ARY.  We cleaned the house, played with the kids, and even slept a little!

So let's rewind to the weekend before.  It was, like most of our weekends, packed.  Which meant we spread Father's Day out over both weekend days.  We started on Saturday morning with a trip to Thatboy's favorite breakfast location - The Original Pancake House.

Thatkid made a point of trying everyone's pancakes.  Thatbaby was much more interested in eggs.  Oppobaby strikes again.

I spent the rest of Saturday and part of Sunday with my girlfriends, celebrating me, so the rest of Father's Day celebrating resumed Sunday afternoon.

We had such a great time at Wave Waterpark last year, we decided to do it again this year.  Except last year, Thatbaby was only a week old, so he and I spent the entire time in a cabana in the shade.  This year, he and I spent most of the time floating around the lazy river in an inner tube. 

He also got his first taste of snow cone - watermelon snow cone!

After the waterpark, we tried out a new brew pub - Prohibition Brewery.  Neither Thatboy nor I were terrible impressed with the beer, but we both loved the food. 

Thatboy had some amazing macaroni and cheese, Thatboy had prime rib, and me?  I had a cuban sandwich.  I love a good sandwich at a restaurant.  And Prohibition had a number of really good looking sandwiches.  I had a really hard time deciding between the Cuban and a Reuben.  I ended up going with the Cuban because I can make a mean Reuben sandwich at home.  This Reuben sandwich.

The Reuben is a quintessential Jewish deli sandwich.  Corned beef and cheese, topped with sauerkraut and Russian dressing.  But the most important part of the sandwich is the rye bread.  Accept no substitutes!

Reuben Sandwiches (From Cooking Light)

1/4 cup canola mayonnaise

1 Tbsp chili sauce

2 tsps finely minced dill pickle

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp grated onion

8 slices rye bread

3 oz swiss cheese, chaved

4 oz lower sodium corned beef, thinly sliced

1 cup organic sauerkraut, drained well

1. Preheat broiler.  Combine mayonnaise, chili sauce, pickle, Worcestershire sauce, and onion in a small bowl, stirring well.
2. Place bread slices in a single layer on a heavy baking sheet.  Broil bread 1 1/2 minutes or until toasted.  Turn bread over; broil 1 minute or until lightly toasted.  Remove 4 slices.
3. Divide cheese evenly among remaining 4 slices, sprinkling it lightly over toasted sides.  Broil 1 minute or until cheese melts.
4. Spread about 1 1/2 Tbsp dressing over cheese-coated side of each bread slice.
5. Top each serving with 1 ounce corned beef, 1/4 cup sauerkraut, and remaining bread slices.

Mommy Mondays: Life at 1 with 2

 I don't know, I think there is something so much fun about reading how everyone's days go.   I love seeing how people spend their time, and how they're able to fit in the things I wish I could do!

I've found that having 2 kids has exponentially decreased my free time, and I'm not entirely sure why.  I'm hoping with Thatbaby gets a little older we'll go back to the status quo.  Until then, this is a basic workday for Thatfamily.

2:01am:  Thatbaby wakes up and I head in to feed him.  This has been an ordeal lately.  There is so much screaming and thrashing.  It's as though he does not want to sleep and fights it as much as he can. 

3:01am: I finally get back to bed.

4:57am:  Thatbaby is up again.  I feed him, and this time  I throw him in bed with Thatboy so I can get ready.

 5:40am: shower
5:57am: Put up breakfast.  This morning it's cream of wheat.

6:04: I do my hair and makeup.

 6:30: I wake up the boys.

6:37:  I get dressed.

6:40: we all eat breakfast.  Thatkid doesn't want cream of wheat.  He wants "drinking yogurt."

 Thatbaby is thrilled to have cream of wheat with me.

 6:52:  Thatbaby is all done.  I wipe him down and get him dressed while Thatkid washes his face and brushes his teeth and hair.

7:02: I clean up the kitchen and pack up our stuff.

7:11: We are out the door.

7:28: Arrive at Thatbaby's daycare.

7:34: Arrive at Thatkid's preschool.

 7:44: Leave Thatkid's preschool and hook myself up to the pump so I can pump on my way to work.  I'm currently weaning from the pump, so at this point I had gone down from 4 pump sessions a day to three.  I'm currently at 1 pump session a day, and by the end of the week I'll be done!

 8:30: Arrive at work!  Today is going through a bunch of documents in preparation for an upcoming deposition.

12:07: I take my first pump break.  Where I also eat lunch.  Today is a goat cheese and zucchini tart.

12:37: back to work and document prep.  I made some roasted chickpeas to snack on during the afternoon.

 3:30:  Second pump break!
4:00 - back to work.
4:30 - I pack up and head out.
5:18 - Arrive at Thatbaby's daycare.

5:23:  Head to Thatkid's preschool

5:29: Arrive at Thatkid's preschool.

5:36: head home

5:47: Home!  The boys play outside while I unpack the car and throw dinner in the oven to warm up.

6:13:  Thatboy arrives home.

Dinner isn't quite ready, so Thatboy entertains the boys outside.

Meanwhile I get dinner for tomorrow night ready - roast chicken to serve with salad.

And I make some mango lemonade popsicles.

6:40pm:  Dinner is ready!  We all sit down to eat chicken pot pie.

7:09pm:  Thatboy takes Thatbaby in for a bath while Thatkid finishes up dinner.  Then Thatboy gets Thatbaby in pajamas and reads him a story.

7:30pm: I nurse Thatbaby and put him to bed while Thatboy gives Thatkid a bath and puts him to sleep. 

8:40: I've finally got Thatbaby to sleep.  I go kiss Thatkid goodnight, and put up a load of laundry.  Thatboy does dishes.

9:00:  Thatboy and I retire to the couch and try and catch up on our ridiculous DVR list.

9:56pm:  Wash up and go to bed!

Sunday Runday: Orlando United 5k

The past few weeks have been one tragedy after another.  It's sad and it's scary.  And part of the sadness and scariness is the feeling of victimization and helplessness.  What can we do to help?  What can we do to prevent these tragedies from happening.


It's hard feeling so helpless.  Because no matter what we do, it doesn't change what has already happened.  The best we can do is to remember.  There's an age old adage "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."  Memories become so vital.  We must remember for those who are unable.  We must live for those whose lives were cut short.  We must come together in the hopes that such togetherness serves as deterrent to destruction. 

The tragedy at Pulse in Orlando didn't effect me personally in that I didn't know any of the victims, but it did effect me personally in that I have many friends in the LGBT community.  And what happened in Orlando could have just as easily happened in my own community.  It's senseless and terrible, and it leaves me with a hollow feeling, a dull ache for the lives that were lost.

As I said before, the best thing we can do is remember, and not forget.  So in remembrance, and as a way to stand with our brothers and sisters in Orlando, a virtual run was created.  The Orlando United 5k took place yesterday.  People from across the country dressed in their rainbow colored best, got together, and ran in remembrance of the men and women of Orlando.  Because we are all Orlando.

Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee. 

- John Donne

Round and Round at Thatbaby's Carousel Birthday

This is a picture heavy post, but not as picture heavy as it could be.  As usual, I ended up running late with the party and not having time to take pictures of everything before the guests arrived. 

I decided on a carousel theme for Thatbaby's birthday.  Which to me just seems fun and youthful.  But a quick google search found that most carousel parties are geared toward little girls, with pinks and golds as the predominant color. 

I wanted something brighter and more colorful.  I set the scene with our invitations, from delightinvite.com.

Almost everything else was handmade by me.  Because I am a glutton for punishment.  And I don't make good choices. 

One of the things I knew I wanted to do was make actual carousel horses for decorations.  I cut them out of cardboard, painted them, and mounted them on PVC pipes.

Then Thatboy used them to line the driveway, the entrance to the party.

And I made a banner with all of Thatbaby's monthly pictures on it.

I did a terrible job of taking picture of the food, so I'll just tell you what I served - corn dogs, quesadillas cut in the shape of carousel horses, mini Greek salads, fruit salad, circus animal cookies, cotton candy, and cake.

I did manage to take a picture of my fruit salad!

I also thought it would be fun to have a milkshake bar, as a fun drink alternative.  I made carousel straws to go with them.

And served watermelon, pineapple, and blackberry smoothies.

We went with caramel cakes for the cakes.  Like Thatbaby's smash cake.  It's obvious this is a homemade decorating job.

 

The bigger cake featured a spinning carousel cake topper.

 

I made a crown for Thatbaby along with a high chair banner for his eagerly anticipated cake smash.

Which he wanted nothing to do with.  He loved putting the candle on and off the cake, but wasn't so interested in eating the cake.  He kept asking for watermelon instead.

Having the party at home meant we could entertain the kids with toys we already had.  Like the swing set, or hula hoops.

 And Thatbaby's birthday gift from grandma.  All the kids loved this one.

For favors we sent each guest home with a carousel stick horse!

Overall the party was a great success.  Although after so much cutting of horse shapes I've decided the theme of next year's party is going to be "squares."