Cute Ludwig Brothers

I couldn't resist putting up a few of the cute pictures from last weekend. Aaron Scott and Landis had a great time playing together in the back of Daddy's truck. They were playing some sort of game trading acorns back and forth, and happy as can be in the sweltering hot bed of the truck. Silly boys!

Then, we stopped by the grocery store, but Aaron Scott had forgotten his shoes. Fortunately, Goat had an extra pair! Aaron Scott looks quite silly in his Daddy's shoes, but he had a great time walking through the store and seeing people's reaction to an 8 year old wearing giant shoes!

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Watch it now!

Things I Love

About my almost 2 year old!

I love the way he gets my attention, putting his hands on either side of my face and turning my face towards him. "C'mon, Monny!"

I love the ridiculous reasons he has temper tantrums. "Monny, make it rain more!!!!" I love that he thinks I control the weather.

I love his pronunciations - blankink (blanket), genckle (gentle), puter (computer), oop'it (open it), and so many more.

I love how much he loves going outdoors. We usually go on walks in the morning, and the first thing I hear after breakfast is "Very long walk today, Monny!"

I love that he's still at the stage where a kiss and a snuggle can make everything OK.

I love how excited he gets about seeing his grandparents, aunt and uncles, brother and friends.

I love the way he forms his sentences. "Trucks! Trucks drive. Trucks drive in road. Trucks drive in road FAST!"

I love how imaginative he is. He tells me stories and asks me to tell them, looks for dinosaurs under bushes and pretends he is a birdie and can fly.

I love how independent he is getting, and I love hearing "Landi do it!" all day long.

I love how excited he gets when Daddy comes home from work. He loves his Daddy so much!

I just love my little boy!!

Go Bake Some No-Knead Bread!

It's delicious, and so, so easy!

It's about a 20 hour process, but requires only 15 or 20 minutes of hands on time. The recipe can be found here. I modified it by using 1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 c. all purpose flour and it turned out great!

The whole wheat flour gives it a yummy nutty flavor, and the long initial rise gives it just a hint of sourdough. I don't have a dutch oven or casserole with a lid to bake it in, so i've been using the insert from my crockpot, which is a little bit too big. I think the loaf would end up a lot taller and more evenly shaped in a smaller pan.

Give it a try and let me know how your bread turns out! It really is the easiest bread recipe I've ever tried, with the least hands on time and the smallest amount of flour dusted over the surfaces in my kitchen. :)

Landis just got the most appropriate saying for an almost 2 year old in his fortune cookie.

"Your emotions are right on the surface, but that's okay."

So true!

Awww!

Landis just woke up from his nap in the best mood.  We snuggled in the rocking chair for a minute, and he curled up in my arms.  I gave him kisses and tickled him and told him "Monny loves you!"  After a minute, he looked up at me with a satisfied grin and said "My Monny loves me!"  

Face Paint + Attempted Mohawk =

Ridiculousness.











What am I going to do with those crazy uncles?

We're in Gainesville..

And just look what those crazy Benton uncles have done. Poor Landis! He is covered in temporary tattoos. He ran to the back of the house to play with Aaron Scott and the uncles, and ran out a few minutes later looking like this.

Foolishly, I let him go play again, thinking they had done their worst. Now his face is painted in a greenish brown color! I guess he is ready for some recon missions now. I'll have to watch him like a hawk or he will be crawling on his belly through some high grass. If I lose sight of him, I may not be able to find him.


We are headed to the Ichetucknee River for some tubing in a few minutes. Landis will stay behind to have some quality Nonnie time, but Aaron Scott and the uncles and I will have a great time tubing in the cold, cold water.

Recipes

We have been trying some new recipes over the last few days and found a few that are too yummy not to share!


Soft Pretzels These are perfect - soft and salty and sweet. We've tried topping them with salt and with cinnamon sugar, and both are very good. Landis loves them as a snack, and I could eat them all day long!

Onion Chutney We made onion chutney quesadillas, and I think I'm officially addicted! The chutney is both sweet and fruity from the apple cider vinegar and brown sugar and pleasantly spicy because of the chile and coriander. It's good enough to just eat plain, and it will transform a sandwich from a boring lunch item to the high point of the afternoon.

"Pop Up" or German Pancakes We (mostly Goat) have been looking for a good German Pancake recipe for months. Goat's Dad used to make these for breakfast years ago, but somehow the recipe got lost along the way. These are exactly the way Goat remembers them! They are rich because of the eggs, but puff up when you cook them so they are not too dense. We ate them with lemon juice and powdered sugar and they were delicious!