Swinging

We had a beautiful weekend full of sunny and mild days. Greg grilled pork barbecue for us on Saturday, and hung a swing (one of Mark's birthday presents) in the backyard. Both of the boys thoroughly enjoyed having their daddy push them.

Of course, pushing the yellow truck is still a favorite outdoor activity.


On another note, I have been trying to make some healthy changes in our lunchtime meals. We had been on a pbj, fruit and pretzel routine for quite a while, and at Nathan's 3 year old check-up the doctor recommended we add some variety. So far, a big hit has been this pasta salad recipe that I found on wholesometoddlerfood.com:

1 bag of tri-color pasta (shaped in wheels or another "fun" shape if possible)
1 C chopped fresh broccoli
1/4 C sliced black olives
1/2 C baby Carrots, julienne
1/2 C zucchini, sliced thin
1/2 onion, sliced very thin
2 T olive oil
black pepper and lemon juice (or low-fat salad dressing if you choose)

Boil pasta al dente. Sauté broccoli, carrots, zucchini in olive oil until crisp yet tender. Drain & rinse pasta. Combine pasta and vegetables in large bowl and add Parmesan cheese to lightly coat. Add black pepper and lemon juice if you wish. Serve warm or cold.

Today we added tomatoes to the salad. Last time we made it, we used feta cheese. It is a pretty versatile, mild-flavored recipe and it does get the boys to eat their vegetables.

The fun part has been letting Nathan help me with preparing the food. He is good at scraping veggies into the bowl, stirring the salad, etc. I have to say that adding another element into my daily routine has been a little challenging with two little boys roaming around. I should probably do some of my prep work in the evenings or during naps to save myself the stress, while still planning to let Nathan assist. It's definitely worth it to know that we are all eating a more nutritious diet.

And here's the sweet "happy pumpkin" playing on the front porch.