Bread with the Brisels

  It's the end of our first full week of school with students, and I don't know that I've ever been so happy to see a Friday. 😉 I'm linking up with  Erika  and  Andrea  to share a few favorites from this busy week.  I made these  savory sausage muffins  this weekend and they were a favorite for quick breakfast option! Dustin really liked them, too.  Sammy is settling into the groove of kindergarten! He wakes up excited to go each day, and we're so thankful for supportive family members who can help get him to and from school safely. On this day my aunt picked him up and had her dog with her. He was so excited!  Last weekend the boys (and I) had a jammie morning. We were so happy to be home relaxing together! I'm looking forward to a repeat this weekend.  In so many ways I think I prepared Sammy well for kindergarten and knew how to make the transition smooth for him. However - I neglected to think of myself through this transition. Haha. I miss having "acc

This weekend I spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen getting things organized for the upcoming week. This week will be Sammy's very first FULL week of school, and I'm anticipating we'll both be fairly exhausted by Friday. 😉 I made these savory sausage muffins for a quick breakfast choice for our mornings, It has minimal ingredients and came together really quickly. Y ou could very easily freeze the muffins and pull from the freezer as needed.  Savory Sausage Muffins serves: 1 dozen muffins Ingredients:  1 1/4 cup of Biquick (I use the "Heart Healthy" kind) 1 pound of breakfast sausage, browned and crumbled and cooled a bit 2 green onions, sliced 5 eggs, mixed well 1 cup of shredded cheese (I used half cheddar and half pepper jack) Directions: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin with muffin liners.  In a large mixing bowl, combine your Bisquick, browned sausage, green onions, eggs and shredded cheese. Mix well until all ingredients are combin

Happy Monday! I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend. After my first full week back to work, and the first day of school on Friday, I was so thankful for a weekend filled with some preparation and organization, as well as plenty of downtime.  On Friday we sent our boy to Kindergarten for the very first time! He had a terrific day, and can't wait to go back.  Dustin, Jack and I were able to drop Sammy off for his first day, and I had the hardest time keeping it together. Thankfully I had 20 first graders to distract me shortly after getting him dropped off. 😉 He's getting so big, and it doesn't seem quite right that he's in school all day. I know that a tremendous amount of growth happens during this year, and I can't wait to see how much he learns.  Fun fact, MY precious Kindergarten teacher snapped this picture of us walking in. Even though I've got tears, I'm so thankful she took this picture of us.  Last year I asked Sammy  10 Questions as he star

On Monday I declared the start of the school year as the "Unofficial" start of fall, so it's about time I shared a recipe to mark the occasion. 🍁 These cookies are chewy, cakey, and bursting with the flavors of apple, butterscotch and cinnamon, I wanted to eat them for breakfast and I wanted them for dessert with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of butterscotch syrup. I'll be making these cookies again!  Apple-Scotch Cookies Serves: about 3 dozen cookies Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature 3/4 cup light brown sugar 2 eggs 1 apple, peeled and grated (I used Honeycrisp) 1 tsp cinnamon  1 tsp maple or vanilla extract 1 cup flour 1 1/2 cups Old Fashioned Oats ( see note below ) 1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt Directions: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat your softened butter and light brown sugar together until light and fluffy - about 2 minutes.  Mix in your eggs, one at a

Happy Monday! As you're reading this, I'm likely getting ready to head into my first work week of the 2024-2025 school year.  Last summer, I closed out the summer with a little  Maternity Leave Reflection  and found it was a great way for me to share some highlights and some photos from my summer last year. So, this year, I'm doing the same. 😊 Every single summer I think, "wow, that went by really quickly." But thinking back to the start of the summer with t-ball games and Jack's birthday party feels like forever ago. This summer was restful, productive, and fun all at the same time.  This summer, Sammy and Jack really developed a sweet little friendship. They seek each other out in the house and are happiest when they are near each other. Many people warned me about sibling rivalry, and I haven't seen a ton of that...yet. 😉 Sammy sometimes gets frustrated if Jack "wrecks" something he is building, but it quickly turns into a smile.  My favorit

I survived my first day back to work! Yesterday was a teacher work day to begin the week and it was a productive way to begin the week. The rest of the week we have meetings, trainings, Meet the Teacher Night, and our first day of school on Friday. Dustin is home with the boys this week (until Sammy's first day of school!) which is a great way for me to slide into the school year - I only have to get myself out the door, not myself + 2 little boys. 😉 Today I'm sharing a little recap from our weekend.  On Friday, we went to Missouri to help my cousin Joe get married!  Sammy was the ring bearer and did a terrific job. He is *very* well trained as a ring bearer, as this is his third time doing the gig. He told me that he thought this wedding was great because he got to wear shorts!  First we practiced... ...and then we did the real thing. 😊 A few more from the day... We had lots of great family time and Sammy loved the hotel stay. It makes me laugh at how much kids LOVE hotels.

Anyone remember that episode of Friends where Phoebe, Monica and Rachel are dress shopping? They're at a discounted dress store and Monica gives them whistles to blow when they find "the dress." Rachel ends up hiding in a rack and Monica has the dress so both are blowing whistles and Phoebe doesn't know which way to go.  Long story short, that was me yesterday. Haha.  Because this is the last week of my summer, and because we're heading out of town on Friday for a family wedding, I am feeling like I need to do all.the.things before Friday.  Yesterday I made three pans of lasagna for the freezer, I deep cleaned our laundry "closet," reorganized Sammy's old clothes, organized the pantry, and cleaned the main floor.  Today, I'm hoping to clean the bathrooms and the basement.  Tomorrow, I'm planning on doing laundry in between haircuts.  Maybe we can fit the pool in there somewhere, too. 😉 It feels good to get things crossed off my list. And if

'Tis the season for easy weeknight meals. I was inspired to make a remix on a favorite taco recipe, and we ended up loving it! It's a little spicy, but nothing we couldn't handle. If your family is a little sensitive to spice, you can reduce the amount of pepper jack cheese and add in a little cheddar cheese. Easy! Try this recipe this week. 😉 Pepper Jack Tacos Serves: 4-6 Ingredients: 1lb lean ground beef (I use 93/7) 1/2 package taco seasoning 1/2 cup mild taco sauce 1 cup of shredded pepper jack cheese   Hard taco shells (I like stand and stuff)  Green onions, lettuce, sour cream and cheddar cheese to garnish  Directions: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a pan with foil.  In a skillet over medium high heat, begin browning your ground beef, breaking the meat up into small pieces.  Once your beef is cooked through, add in your 1/2 package of taco seasoning and mild taco sauce. Give things a really good mix until things are incorporated well.  Next, reduce the hea

  It's Friday! I'm linking up with  Andrea  and  Erika  to share some favorites from my week.  I don't even know HOW it happened, but this is my last official week of summer. Can you hear me crying from wherever you are? 😅 June passed slowly, but July and August flew. I know that I will blink and the upcoming week will be over.  We've just been over here trying to soak in all  that's left of summer. 😉 On August 6th, Dustin and I celebrated 8 years of marriage! We celebrated with our first date night in an entire calendar year.  With Jack's allergies and Dustin's crazy work schedule, we find it so hard to get out just the two of us. It's a goal of ours to make it a priority this year!  Sammy's Kindergarten backpack, lunchbox and thermos came and he couldn't have been more excited. We loaded up all of his supplies and he is ready. Me on the other hand? I need someone to come over here and hold me. Haha.  Smiley boys at the park are one of my very

The weather yesterday afternoon couldn't have been better so we were off to the park. The neighborhood we live in has a park just down the hill, and Sammy has spent tons of time there! Jack spent lots of time there last summer, but he was snuggled in his baby wrap.  Sammy took him down the slide and it was such a fun moment to watch. I kept thinking of how much bigger Jack will be next summer, and Sammy too, for that matter. Only 11 more days of summer left, and I know they will pass far too quickly!

Happy Wednesday! Yesterday, Dustin and I celebrated our 8th year of marriage. In some ways, our wedding feels like it was just yesterday. In other ways, so many BIG life events have happened between August 6th, 2016 and August 6th, 2024 that it seems like a lifetime ago. While planning our wedding, I remember thinking about how this was going to be the most important day of our lives. And in lots of ways, it stands as a huge day in our lives. But when I think back on our marriage (so far!) the births of our boys are among some of my favorite days together.  We celebrated our anniversary with dinner a few towns over. We hadn't had a date in an ENTIRE calendar year, and we're hoping to improve on this in the coming year. With Jack's allergies, we have a really hard time leaving him. But - it's a goal of ours to be more cognizant of getting out together, just the two of us.  Another exciting event was the arrival of Sammy's backpack and lunchbox in the mail. We loaded

I absolutely LOVE chicken salad. I find it so yummy and light, especially during the summer months. I'm sharing my favorite variation for you to try. It makes the perfect lunch!  Chicken Salad Servings: About 6  Ingredients:  2 chicken breasts, cooked through and diced  1/2 cup grapes, halved 4 stalks of celery, diced 2 tablespoons of red or green onion 1/3 cup of mayonnaise  salt and pepper to taste Directions: Place your chicken, grapes, celery and onion in a large bowl and give everything a good mix.  Add in your mayonnaise and salt and pepper and give mix until everything is evenly coated. Feel free to add in more mayonnaise if you like a creamier salad.  Store in the fridge, and eat within three days.  *I like to buy two chicken breasts from the store that are trimmed. Then I roast them in the oven with a little olive oil and salt/pepper until they are cooked through. Once they are finished cooking I cover the pan with foil for about 5-10 minutes before dicing. I find that thi

Happy Monday!  We had us a busy weekend over at my house. On Friday we went to the pool, and Sammy had a swimming lesson. He is getting so brave in the water! His very favorite thing to do are jumps and he did his first (and maybe last 😅) belly flop. I love this picture! We had one of Jack's favorite foods on Sunday for dinner - spaghetti. Eating spaghetti is a full body activity for him, and I'm fairly certain I had to wipe marinara sauce off of the walls when he was finished. So funny!  Short and sweet today, friends. Have a great day! XX

  It's Friday! Our day has two things on the docket today: swimming at the pool and pizza night. It's going to be a great day! I'm linking up with  Andrea  and  Erika  to share some favorites from my week.  Dustin and I completed a much needed organizational overhaul in our basement and as a result, we've been spending so much more time down there! When we finished our basement several years ago, we did it with the plan that the space would primarily serve as a playroom for the boys. They are starting to "play" together and it is so sweet to watch! One morning this week Sammy wasn't quite ready to start playing but brother was. 😉 I'm afraid he's going to miss our slow mornings most of all when he starts kindergarten!  We have a dachshund and she is *very* talented at finding the smallest patch of sunshine and soaking up some rays. I caught her on top of the couch while I was heading upstairs to do some laundry and her face made me laugh!  Avocado