School time once again!

Today the kids started back to preschool (can I get a hallelujah?!).  They will both go three days this year.  I just cannot believe a year from now Andrew will be off to Kinder.  Andrew is in the zebra class with 16 other 4 year olds.  Lila is in the elephant class with the "older 2s".  Each day her class size differs with as few as 6 but no more than 10.  Both kids walked in without any fuss this morning - Andrew a little reserved, Lila telling stories before she got through the door.  I am incredibly eager to hear how the day went for both of them.

Here's a little flashback from last year:

And the year before:

Space Center Houston

Today we visited Space Center Houston.  The place was empty which was great since I get a bit overwhelmed with the crowds.  There was one group that came in just before we got on the tram -- an assisted living center.  So no lines.  The kids enjoyed the Star Wars exhibit, the play structure, and liked walking through the space craft.  Lila didn't understand the "museum" aspect of it and kept asking if we were going to see "real space men."  

Andrew so excited to see the Star Wars Exhibit

Lila with the only "girl" thing in the whole place

I have such a hard time get "sibling" photos so please excuse the large blue rail.

Since riding a bike upside-down is not part of my daily routine, I decided to give it a try.

(As I type, Lila is playing in a large empty box talking about "outer space" so I guess some parts stuck with her.)

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)