March Update....

Hello, all! I desperately need to put some updated pictures of Mr. Weiss here on the blog; he has grown so much and is changing every day!!! Now that I am "working" (internship), on the weekends, I want to relax and spend time with my boys. I feel like I am missing out on so much with Weiss when he is now in school from 8 to 5. Don't get me wrong---I am VERY happy with his teachers and school (my only wish would be for the food selection to be healthier, however---typical cafeteria food stuff), but I don't get so see him like I used to. So lately, we've been scheduling fun things to do on the weekends. Last weekend we were in New Braunfels with the Burns family. We went to Gruene, Texas to eat at the lovely Grist Mill for lunch, followed by some time by the river for the kiddos to "skip" rocks. We then went to New Braunfels to the great McKenna Children's Museum. Weiss absolutely loves it, and I would highly recommend it to all of my parent friends. (I prefer it much over Austin's or San Antonio's.) We then made a Chick-Fil-A run---we have to do that when one is in sight! Weiss always says "Chick-Fil-A and play!" We had some ice cream, lemonade, and a cookies and cream shake, followed by 30 minutes on the playground! We drove in to San Marcos and stopped at the Tory Burch, Gymboree, Pottery Barn, and J.Crew outlet stores. Weiss was such a trooper; after all, everything so far had been all about "him!"
We headed in to Austin for Weiss a haircut at Cool Cuts for Kids... (He is NOT a fan of haircuts, even when holding a Thomas the Train and watching Thomas!) We then spent a long time in PetsMart.... Weiss has been loving guinea pigs lately because our precious neighbors own one.... He loves "Mr. Piggy." He is so gentle and sweet with him.... We are contemplating adopting one from Austin's guinea pig Rescue society, but haven't taken the plunge just yet....
We then went to Pei Wei in Bee Cave. (Because I could get my weekly fill in San Antonio, I desperately miss Pei Wei now!!!!) We ended the night in Target, walking up and down nearly each and every aisle. By this time, Weiss was starting to get cranky, so it wasn't the most pleasant shopping experience we've had.... I had a great time with my boys that weekend!

This weekend, we had a wonderful Friday dinner.... Weiss is SUCH a good eater and eats pretty much whatever we cook. (And we don't modify our menu around our house for our kiddo because he will learn to like what we like---we like yummy, healthy, food!) Logan helped me cook because we could prep the food faster, and he is good about making sure the food is perfect! (And whenever I use a Bon Apettit recipe, they are always more complicated....) We had tri-tip beef with shallots, fresh shitake mushrooms in wine and cream, served over tomato-basted sourdough bread.... Our salad was arugula and spinach, pinenuts, fresh blueberries, and goat cheese, with a yummy raspberry balsamic reduction.... Dessert was Ina Garten's tiramisu..... It was a great dinner, and will be repeated because Weiss ate it up! (I know I talk about food alot in my blogs, but we are big foodies, and it is such a big part of our family time--we all enjoy cooking together and spend lots of time in the kitchen....) Weiss really loved the tiramisu, as well....

Saturday morning I went on a 5-miler with Judi and Donna.... I am still feeling good at 18 weeks but starting to show more... I have to take more walk breaks now, but feel great! We then got ready and headed in to Kirby Lane Cafe on Llamar in Austin for brunch.... YUMMY!!!! We all had different varieties of pancakes, and I love how they offer farm-raised eggs and natural sausage, grilled, so it is not greasy. It was wonderful and we will definitely be back to Austin's popular local hangout. We then went to Stride Rite to take advantage of the "buy one get one half off" for Weiss.... Logan went clothes shopping at Barton Creek Mall and then the Domain. (He needed to---it's funny how guys can wear stuff for years before they think they need new clothes!!! Some of his poor shirts were getting really worn out!) Weiss and I went to Border's Books, where we read--you guessed it---Thomas the Tank Engine's Easter book.

We came back to Marble Falls to go to our Sunday School's cookout at a local park. The BBQ was great, and Weiss got to burn off some steam on the great playscape. (We had never been to this particular park before.) We had a fun time; it was starting to get colder, so I was getting miserable. We went home and I slept for 2 hours while the boys built--surprise---a Thomas the Train track/layout. (I think the weather change was getting to me.....)

Sunday morning we went to church, came home for leftovers, and then took a WONDERFUL Sunday afternoon nap. Logan and I had some friends (Justin and Ashley White) in town (Austin) from San Angelo, so we went to Barton Creek Resort to pick them up. (Weiss stayed with his grandparents.) They are huge foodies, as well, so we went to Hudson's on the Bend. It was absolutely wonderful, and we had a wonderful time catching up with Justin and Ashley. They have a little girl, Sydney, who just turned two, and Ashley is expecting their second, who is only two weeks after our baby is due to arrive!

Weiss has been busy around the house, as usual, with his obsession, Thomas the Tank Engine. He plays daily with his train table and cannot get enough of Thomas and friends! However, we recently got him some Step2 outdoor toys, and he has wanting to spend more time outside. (Last week, Logan was so kind to assemble his extreme coaster, and we have to assemble one more....) It's great Weiss is spending time outside, but he is at the lovely stage where I have to be a continual, captive audience....

"Watch, Mama!" "Look at me!"

I don't mind some of that, but if I am trying to get dinner ready and need him to be occupied, it makes it kind of difficult.....
(Even though our kitchen looks right out into the backyard and he can see EVERYTHING I am doing in the kitchen, and vice versa...... Stubborn little dude!!!!!!!!! But I love him anyway!)

Tomatillo and Shrimp Enchiladas.....

Okay. I have been a baaaaaaaaaaaaadddd blogger in 2010. (It's been almost 2 months since my last post----what a shame!!!) However, I have a yummy, kid-friendly recipe I would love to share.....

Tomatillo and Shrimp Enchiladas

1 jar tomatillo salsa (approximately 16 oz. or so)
1.5 lb fresh raw shrimp, deveined and tail removed--cut in half (not butterflied)
1 red or green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
2 T of olive oil
1 medium purple onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup frozen corn
12 corn tortillas
3 T of half-and half
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I had sharp cheddar on hand, so I used that)
1/4 cup water
1 t chili powder
1/2 t cumin

1. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and pepper, cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add shrimp, cook an additional 3 minutes, until shrimp is opaque. Stir in corn, water, chili powder and cumin. Heat through.
2. Heat oven to 375. Coat a 13x9x2-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray (I use olive oil or coconut oil).
3. Wrap four tortillas in damp paper towels. Microwave 30 seconds. Brush one side of each tortilla with salsa. Spoon 1/2 cup shrimp mixture on each. Roll up and place seam-side down in prepared dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling. Top with any extra filling.
4. Mix remaining salsa with half-and-half. Spoon over enchiladas. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 375, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until bubbly.

Weiss LOVED this dish, so it will be repeated in the future!

It may look complicated at first glance, but was really super QUICK to cook and assemble, not to mention quite tasty! For those of you who are more health conscious, I was able to find all of these products in an organic version at my local HEB this time, but they are somewhat inconsistent with their produce at times. (We try to eat organic produce/food when it is available, avoid GMOs, and highly avoid any dairy product(s) with rBGH.) I also had some cilantro on hand, so I topped the enchiladas with that....

I enjoy posting recipes because I always know where to find them if I misplace them!!!!