Because I know you're already having withdrawals...

She waits about 15 minutes before falling asleep on walks these days. She battles the drowsiness in order to take in the trees.

Kicking it with Mr. Owl. 

I think she looks like a little superhero when her bibs get turned around backwards!

Slow Cooker Chili

The only way I can find to feed us these days is if I manage to get something thrown into the slow cooker during a morning nap. (Which, of course, means I get us fed approximately twice per week!) Today, I made this chili and it was so, SO good!

A few notes on the recipe:

• A commenter mentioned only leaving one can of beans undrained, rather than two. I took this advice and am glad I did. The consistency is perfect--not too thick, not too thin. 
• We couldn't find 10.75 oz. cans of tomato puree--only the honkin' 29 oz can. I was tempted to use the whole thing, but refrained. I think a lot of homemade chili recipes end up tasting too tomato-ey and mild. This didn't. So throw the extra in some leftover pasta instead!
• 1/8 tsp of hot sauce is a joke. Unless you only have crappy hot sauce. I poured in a nice little dollop of our favorite sauce and it made the chili flavor awesome. 

This one is definitely a wintertime keeper in our house! Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 3/4 cup diced onion
• 3/4 cup diced celery
• 3/4 cup diced green bell pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans tomato puree
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans with liquid
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans with liquid
• 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Directions

1. Place the beef in a skillet over medium heat, and cook until evenly brown. Drain grease.
2. Place the beef in a slow cooker, and mix in onion, celery, green bell pepper, garlic, tomato puree, kidney beans, and cannellini beans. Season with chili powder, parsley, salt, basil, oregano, black pepper, and hot pepper sauce.
3. Cover, and cook 8 hours on Low.

Cutest Duet of All Time

My sister sent me a link to this video. It's so sweet it makes my heart hurt.

Raf and I aren't musically inclined, so Jamie: we'll be expecting Michael and Eden to carry this torch!

End of a Year, End of a Project

I can hardly believe a full year has passed. When I began the 365 Project, I had hoped that it would motivate me to post a bit about our life on a daily basis. Clearly the "daily" part of that goal went out the window quickly, and once the Little Bit joined us, you were lucky to hear from me weekly monthly!

It also baffles my mind that as I was launching this project to share with you, I was already (unknowingly) pregnant. And just one year later, our lives have changed completely. My daily photos went from house projects, crafts, and food, to Lana, Lana, Lana! What can I say, we don't have time for much else these days--and she's too cute to not share with you!

It's been a fun project, but I'm ready to move on. Daily posting is a bit more than I have the energy for these days, and I'm looking forward to getting back to more substantive posts about our lives, my interests, our projects, or things I'm lusting after on the internet. I do pledge to do my best to keep giving you a very regular dose of baby cuteness and my own randomness; who knows, maybe it'll be even more consistent, now that I know longer have the pressure of the Project! (Isn't that just the way life works?!)

I hope you've enjoyed this peek into our daily lives over the past year. I've enjoyed sharing it with you, and love hearing from you here. Remember, your comments keep me motivated! I know there's a ton of you out there reading (you tell me all about it when we're together!), so drop me a line here every once in a while to keep me posting!

Happy New Year, everyone! Wishing you all the best in 2011.

The 365 Project: Day 364...er, I mean 365?! (Dec 31)

Watch out, someone accomplished the back to belly roll today! Not a bad way to close out the year, eh?! 

So, I'm pretty sure the completed roll was all in an attempt to see the television that her mean parents deprive her of. Check out that look on her face. Freaking girl. 

And then she realizes that she's on her belly, and even TV isn't interesting enough to compete with her hatred of tummy time!

Raf and I snuck out for a few hours tonight to check out the final night of Christmas lights at Shore Acres. They were as beautiful as ever and I was so excited to share them with Raf. It finally felt like Christmas.

Happy New Year, friends!!

The 365 Project: Day 363 (Dec 30)

 

Guess who rolled over for the first time today!! Amusingly, it was belly to back, while all her hard practice has been back to front. I guess when you hate tummy time enough, you'll do anything to get out of it...even roll over! So glad Raf, my mom, and I were all there to see it!

The 365 Project: Day 362 (Dec 29)

Lana is trying REALLY hard to roll over. It started with the repetitive side rolls. Today she added rolling to the right to her repertoire--and look at that head tuck! So much effort. It's pretty cute. Especially the way everyone in the family gets so excited and cheers her on with every attempt.

She didn't make it all the way over, but she's still pretty happy with herself. Love her!

The 365 Project: Day 361 (Dec 28)

Little Miss Sunshine.

The 365 Project: Day 360 (Dec 27)

My loves.

The 365 Project: Day 359 (Dec 26)

Long day on the road, headed north to spend the week with Pau Pau!