What would we do without...

Legos and paint?!

Getting us through the late summer lulls.

I just didn't realize

Lila's first morning waking up in her big girl bed

Last week Lila moved out of her crib.  Drew and I had been talking about it for a long time since she crawled in and out of her crib and has been potty trained for a few months.  We have procrastinated in refinishing the bed that would be hers so we'd just left her in the crib.  Lila is very particular.  She is a very good staller...something Andrew just never did.  She wants certain books and if she is awake in her crib for too long, she would yell out for us to get her more books.  Then she began using the potty as an excuse to call out.  One night last week I had enough.  The next morning I bought mattresses and tore down her crib and moved out her rocking chair.  It wasn't until I laid down with her that night that I realized I hadn't taken a picture of her sleeping in her crib in some time.  Then I realized that I just might not ever rock her to sleep again.  In such a rush, I lost a few precious moments.

My baby girl is getting so big.  She loves to look at books in her bed.  She arranges her babies on the     end of her bed so they can listen to her stories.  She was given a few princess gowns and wants to wear one every night.  It won't be long and she'll be blowing out 3 candles on her birthday cake.  Gotta remember to slow down and take this all in.

Noodle Less Lasagna

The easiest way (in my opinion) to eat clean is grill a meat and serve with veggies.  That's pretty much what I've been serving my family for the past few months.  But I'm starting to get a little bored with our dinners.  So last week I tried making traditional spaghetti and meat sauce except I substituted spaghetti squash for pasta.  It was a huge hit (unlike Moroccan Chicken I made the week before) and gave me confidence to keep experimenting.  

So tonight I made Noodle Less Lasagna.

Here's what you need:

1 lb ground beef (ours came from Yonderway Farm)

1 jar of spaghetti sauce or make your own (if pre-made, look for one without added sugar)

2 eggs

15 oz ricotta cheese

1/2 cup of shredded parmesan

~1/4 teaspoon each of basil, oregano, thyme

Salt & pepper to taste

8 oz shredded mozzarella

2 large zucchini sliced lengthwise with a veggie peeler (sub for noodles)

Brown ground beef.  Drain.  Add red sauce.  Simmer.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease 9x13 baking dish.

Mix eggs, ricotta, parmesan, and spices.

Layer 1/2 meat sauce, 1/2 zucchini slices, ricotta mixture, 1/2 mozzarella.  Then repeat layers.

Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Remove foil, move to top rack for an additional 2-5 minutes until the cheese reaches your desired color.  (I don't like mine to get dark)