Weekend Pumpkin Patch Trip!

Happy Monday! What did you guys do this weekend?  Ernesto and I took Mateo to the Zoo Saturday morning.  (Marcelo went too, but he slept the whole time in the baby carrier)  There was a 'new member' party, complete with a DJ, coffee and donuts and FREE TRAIN RIDES! Oh my!

Ernesto went golfing later so by the time the kids were in bed (7:30p) I had to get out of the house.
A quick trip to TJMaxx and Whole Foods was just enough.

Sunday we made our weekly stroll to the Grant Park Farmer Market.  I can't go without my apricot & ginger scone from The Little Tart Bakeshop!!  We made a quick stop at the playground so Mateo could wear himself out and by noon we set out for our little day trip to Burt's Pumpkin Patch Farm in Dawsonville, GA.   Although it is 1.5 hours away, it was worth it.  Both boys passed out 10 minutes into the trip, so it was a relaxing ride for all of us.

We learned about Burt's on Good Day Atlanta, but had no idea how huge a deal this place was.

Last year we stayed "in town" for pumpkins at  Brookhaven Christian Church.  They had a nice selection and I surprised myself by wanting so many pumpkins.  This year was no different, in fact, it was worse.  Once I saw all of the beautiful pumpkins, I wanted them all. With all the colors, shapes and sizes I was having a hard time deciding.

I especially liked the gray/robin's egg blue and bright bright orange pumpkins.

But what really gets me are the little ones...so cute!

This guy was overwhelmed too.  With all the people and pumpkins, it took him a while to even get out of the stroller.

With a selection this big, and pumpkins this big, it's best to grab one of the many wheelbarrows  on the grounds.

Wheelbarrows and tractors, this little mexi-can had a good time.

Next up!  The hay-ride...this is what we traveled 90 miles to do!  Adults $5 and kids $4, it was a 20 minute ride and the line was long, but moved fast.  They had one tractor ride after another.

The ride went through the actual pumpkin patch, which was pretty cool, but then there were some cheese-ball decorations for the kids.  Mateo was pretty quiet and mesmerized by the tractor. 

 My little pumpkin stayed behind with papi.

Sure!  We will sit on your haystacks and give you some publicity too.  Why not?

In the end, Ernesto put a limit on the pumpkins, which was probably a good idea.  The more I looked the more I thought "I think this one looks better."  We drove away with these:

...and I can't wait to carve the two bigger ones!

Burt's Farm is just 1/4 mile down the road from Amicalola Falls State Park.  As the name implies, there is a waterfall in the park.  Brrrian, Neto and I went hiking there back in 2010, and it is beautiful.
Yesterday though, we weren't planning on a hike.  Still, we pushed the stroller as far as the trail goes and the steep stairs start.  (so glad we have a BOB)

Ernesto and Mateo continued on up to the viewing deck while I waited with Marcelo.  We snapped this shot at the bottom.

We will have to plan another trip to this park.  This time with hiking shoes instead of flip flops.  I noticed they even have cabins you can rent at the top of the falls.  Another NewYears Eve in the mountains sounds good!

Habanero Hot Sauce

When we came home from our San Diego trip our garden was a mess.   It was raining so much before we left, things grew like crazy.  I guess the month we were gone though, it only rained a couple times. My potted wisteria vine?  Dead.  My potted Japanese Maple?  Dead.  Potted boxwood?  You guessed it.  Dead!  Not surprisingly, all my potted succulents look beautiful.  I never learn.  Pots should be filled with succulents here unless you can water regularly, which I have proven year after year that I can not. 

I did get smart with my little vegetable garden this year though.  It was hooked up to a soaker hose on a timer, so every morning at 5am they got 10 minutes of water.  The tomatoes, peppers and herbs were saved.   As a matter of fact they were thriving. 

If you follow me on Facebook and/or Instagram,  you saw my habanero plant was weighed down with peppers.  

 We have absolutely no problem eating all of the peppers from the two jalapeño plants.   I harvested about 40 habaneros the other day and there are still a ton [of green ones] on the plant!  I called out to facebook friends for suggestions of what to do with all of these peppers and got back some great ideas.  (Thanks!) I did give some away, I sliced some and froze them to use for our spicy popcorn, and we've added some to our red roasted salsa just for an extra kick.  Other suggestions for habaneros were: pepper jelly and a pepper hummus. Both of which I would like to try on the next harvest. 

But what did I do with the other 24 peppers from this "first harvest?"

Ahhhh, yes.....the point of this post.  Habanero hot sauce.  While visiting my brother Tim back in January, he pulled a plastic squirt container from his fridge.  It was full of fire.  We loved it.  He just sent me the recipe and it is from Rick Bayless.  (Of course!) If you love Mexican fair, you probably know this guy.  If you haven't heard of him, you are missing out.  Go make one of his recipes NOW!

Since I put hot sauce on a lot of food [and Ernesto puts it on everything] I doubled the recipe.  (I figured we could freeze some too)  It is a quick, simple recipe and really has delicious flavor, if you don't mind the burn.

HABANERO HOT SAUCE

Makes about 2 cups

INGREDIENTS

5 cloves garlic, unpeeled

1/2 cup peeled, roughly chopped carrot (you'll need 1 medium carrot)

1/2 cup roughly chopped white onion (you'll need about half of a small onion)

12 medium (about 5 ounces) orange habanero chiles, stemmed

1 cup apple cider vinegar

About 2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar

DIRECTIONS

Roast the garlic in a skillet over medium heat, turning regularly until soft and blackened in spots, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool and peel.

In a small saucepan, combine the carrot, onion and habanero chiles with the vinegar and 1 cup water. 

Partially cover and simmer over medium-low heat until the carrots are thoroughly tender, about 10 minutes. Pour into a blender, add the roasted garlic, salt and sugar. Blend until smooth.  (I vita-mixed the shit out of this, the texture is perfectly smooth!)

Thin with a little additional water if you think your hot sauce is too thick. (mine came out just right) Taste and season with additional salt if you think necessary.  (not needed IMO)

Pour into jars or containers and store in the refrigerator .

 We ate this on grilled chicken tonight and I'm looking forward to eating it with our eggs tomorrow morning.  Yum!   So, do you think you will try this recipe?

Pss. Years ago we made this habanero salsa.

Blog Loving...Changes Are Coming!

Is anyone out there still reading?  My blogging schedule has been horrible, I know.
Super Dad just left with the boys looking something like this:

He said he'll be gone for 2 hours so I could do whatever I want.  Here I am.  Sweet right?
Maybe I should mention that he is going golfing at 1p.  Oh well, no matter.  I still have two hours to myself. Yipee!
I have so much to share with you.
So many posts have been started and never finished.

Some of the posts I have drafted and are close to completion?

Marcelo's Birth Story
Yard Saleing: Last Weeks Finds
Our New (not anymore) Shed!
Los Hermanos
Selecting Art and Creating a Gallery Wall
Master Bath Reveal  (completed back in March! Ugh!)
Nursery Reveal  (I never showed you everything and Mateo is TWO!)
Entering the World of Childhood Discipline
Dining Chair Saga
Paint Colors in Casa Espinoza
The Search for Navy Paint
Cloth Diapering
Selling on Craigslist
Papi and Son
House Tour

**These will be linked up as they are published [in the near future].

Must focus in.  Must buckle down.  Must hit "publish" more often!

All of this plus VivaCindy is in need of a major makeover!  (more to come on this!)

I have been blogging so long that it is killing me to not have things documented.
Yet the time...where does it go?
Oh yeah...the culprits.  The suckers of time.  Also the loves of my life.

It's all about time management, right fellow Mom's out there?  I have an easy baby too.  I can do this!

We are about to get rolling with the Christmas Light business, so it is only going to get harder.
Nap time will soon be sucked up with phone calls, writing estimates and working emails.
Wah. Wah.

I have set a few parameters to help me though.
#1 No reading of other peoples blogs unless I am nursing (I use Feedly app to read blogs on my phone) or on a "bathroom break" (Whatever! You do it too!)  Ok, that's it.  One parameter.  Starting today. This should do it.

On a side note: I will also cut down the number of blogs I check.  The two that I can't live without [and that you should definitely read] are:  Little Green Notebook and Style by Emily Henderson.  These two girls have serious decorating/DIY skills and I am jealous inspired after every visit.

By Monday you should see progress over here.
Thanks for sticking around.
Speak up once in a while.  Leave a comment. On the blog.  I'd love to know who's out there.
Happy Friday!

Month Three {Marcelo's Monthly Photo}

Los Hermanos!

Im sure that I am doing what every mother does...Comparing her kids.  Moms, you do that right? 
After 3 months, I am noticing how Marcelo is different than Mateo.  Looks and behavior wise.  

Let me start off by saying, minus the first 5 months of painful breastfeeding with Mateo, I considered him a pretty easy baby.  I mean, I was a new mother, so a bit nervous, but his signals were pretty clear.  When he cried, he was hungry, wet or tired.  He slept through the night around 3 months,  and was (and still is) able to adjust to change very easily and quickly.

Marcelo is different.  This little guy doesn't cry for days.  

So what do you think?  Do they look like brothers?

Marcelo y Mateo:  Week one

Marcelo y Mateo: Week two

Mateo y Marcelo : One month (obvs)

Here I compare their one month [photoshoot] photos and boy do they look different! 

Marcelo was already a chunk at one month.  When I took his photo, I decided I would take another pic with Marcelo wearing the same shirt that Mateo wore at one month.  It was stretched tight.  He definitely has some pounds on Mateo at that age.

Marcelo y Mateo:  One month  

Month two really shows some differences:  Mateo was still pretty tiny and Marcelo was wearing 3 month onsies and was too long for 3 month sleepers.

Mateo y Marcelo:  Month two

No matter how different these little guys are, I love them just the way they are .....
Especially right now...a calm, no trouble 3 month old and a FULLl of trouble 2 year old.

*photo taken a month ago in San Diego.

And Im so happy that they are going to be buddies. Mateo is already

Mateo's Fire Truck 2nd Birthday!

I can't believe my little boy is two!  I can't believe I have another little boy.  Life is good, but time is flying by too quickly!

We woke Mateo up by playing/singing "Las Mañanitas" outside his door, a tradition that started when Ernesto was a kid.  We followed that by Feliz Cumpleaños and presents.  This was the first time that Mateo was interested in opening presents.  That made it really fun. He opened a Melissa & Doug number puzzle and a wooden train for his set.  

Pardon the low light pics.

 All day this Birthday Boy had a lot of sweets.  How could I deprive him on his birthday?  He doesn't really ever get any, and I wanted today to feel special.  He licked the cake batter and ate chocolate chips right out of the bag.  He made a beautiful mess.

 We invited our neighbors over for cake and ice cream.  Something simple.   It turned out to be a great little party, planned in one day.  (unlike his one year fiesta, which also was great but a lot more planning/prep work)

In the afternoon before everyone got to our house, we did round two of presents.  (Ernesto insisted on not opening in front of the other kids!?)  As you can see, the little mexi-can was pretty excited.

He opened a Thomas the Train fire engine and a BIG Tonka fire truck! He is obsessed with them at the moment.  It was love at first sight.

 Yes, I baked the cake (my mom's delicious chocolate zucchini cake recipe & Martha Stewart's cream cheese frosting), but Ernesto really made it special.  We wanted a fire truck birthday cake (of course!) and googled some images for inspiration.  It took him less than 30 minutes and...look at this cake!
He did an awesome job, right?

Ernesto was working (doing landscape lighting) till about 2p and I must have sang happy birthday to Mateo about 25 times.  We also practiced blowing out candles.  After about 6 times, he had it down and was ready for the real thing.  

 Mateo watched everyone while they sang to him and was ready to clap at the end.  Upon his request, we re-lit the candles for him to blow out again.

After everyone left we sang one last time and Mateo got to blow out two more candles...in his birthday suit!  Check it out! He stayed up till 9pm!

This morning we stopped by the Grant Park Fire station [#10] and the guys there were really friendly.  Mateo of course instantly got really shy!?  They opened the door of the huge red truck and Mateo didn't want to let go of us.  I climbed up and sat with him.  They let him toot the horn and they turned on all the lights too.  I think Ill take him back again soon! 

After we left he was wanting to see it again all day.  Mas mas and putting his hand up to his ear.  That is what we do when we are listening for things like...garbage trucks, airplanes, trains and yes, big red firetrucks.  I think he had a great birthday and we enjoyed watching him.  My big baby boy. 

I love that guy so much. 

2 YEARS {Mateo's Monthly Photo}

**This completes Mateo's Monthly Photo Series.