BIG CHANGES.

i've always been an advocate for children making their own choices. i think it's one of the best things a parent can do to nurture their child's unique identity. we've always said the kids can decide how to dress(although we certainly encourage weather-appropriate attire), how to cut or not cut their hair, what activities and classes they want to participate in, etc. that being said, i'll admit that i ignored jacksie's haircut request all summer long. he said he was tired of it being long, it was irritating him at his taekwondo class and he wanted it "really short". talk about breakin a mama's heart. i love my boy with his signature long locks. it was pretty darn difficult to see him walk through the door without them. it was as if i expected him to come home with a new personality to compliment his new hair. not a chance. he came home my same little jacksie and i'll just chock it up to coincidence that he let me know later on "my name is jackson, not jacksie". alas, he loves his new look and i'm happy for him. now to come up with new ways to convince him never to cut it again....hmm.

-bette

WORTH THE WAIT.

Jesse Finn Patrick Jones

born into his mama's arms

on october 17th @ 6:15pm

7 pounds, 15 ounces, 22 inches long

things have been pretty quiet here on the blog. we've been spending all our time getting to know mister blue eyes. we're madly in love with him already. he has a gentle little spirit and life has been relatively peaceful since his arrival. i have much to share about his birth at home and our first week with our no longer little family. that will have to wait, as i'm currently writing this one-handed with a hungry babe in my arms.

thank you to everyone for your sweet words and congratulations since jesse's birth. we love you guys.

-bette

TICK TOCK.

tick tock is what i've been hearing in my head all day, every day for the past few weeks. not to mention, people look at me like i'm a ticking time bomb. i'm admittedly going a tiny bit crazy over here. i know friends and family are just excited for us but, if i get one more text, phone call, facebook message or tweet saying "no baby yet?", i might just have a full on meltdown. baby seems to be nice and cozy on the inside with no intention of coming out...ever. i'm actually ok with him coming whenever he's ready, even though i am getting incredibly anxious to meet him. i've never been pregnant for forty-one weeks and three days, so this is a whole new experience for me. if baby doesn't come before monday, i have to go see an obgyn for a few tests. hoping to avoid that scenario, but we'll see.

so, we've been trying to stay busy and relax around here. we have a new pet squirrel that the kids have named butterfingers. he comes to our back door everyday and waits for the kids to notice him and bring him a snack. i'm pretty sure he would waltz right in the house if we let him. other than that, we've been doing lots of lounging about in our pj's, admiring our new vintage sofa, eating way too much ice cream and catching little boys sneaking into the candy jar. nothing too exciting really. just lots and lots of waiting. tick tock.

-bette

BUTTERNUT SQUASH GRATIN WITH GOAT CHEESE AND ALMONDS.

i'm sure i've never mentioned it before but, i frickin love fall! there is no better time of year. not too cold, not too hot. the crisp air and cozy sweaters. the most scrumptious colors in abundance and the food, oooh the food! i can never get enough of the autumn goodness during these months. i've been craving thanksgiving dinner already and since i didn't have quite the motivation to tackle that beast in my current state of forever pregnant, i opted for one of my most favorite fall recipes. the original recipe can be found here and it's delicious just as it is. i was missing a couple ingredients the other day, so i substituted a bit. it was just as yummy as i had remembered and i'll be making it embarrassingly often this season...if you try it, you will be too. enjoy!


BUTTERNUT SQUASH GRATIN WITH GOAT CHEESE AND ALMONDS

Ingredients:

3.5 lbs of butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed(it should be around 8 cups)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 tablespoons of butter
2 medium onions, sliced
1 5.5oz log of goat cheese
1 cup of half and half
1/2 cup of almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon of dried, ground sage
coarse sea salt
black pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place butternut squash cubes and olive oil in large bowl; sprinkle with coarse kosher salt and ground pepper and toss to coat. Spread out squash cubes on large rimmed baking sheet. Roast until just tender and beginning to brown, stirring occasionally, about 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add sliced leeks and chopped sage; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until tender but not brown, about 15 minutes. Coat 11x7-inch baking dish with remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Spread half of leek mixture over bottom of prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with half of squash and half of cheese. Repeat layering with leeks, squash, and cheese. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Pour cream evenly over gratin. Sprinkle with toasted chopped hazelnuts. Bake uncovered until gratin is heated through and cream is bubbling, about 30 minutes (40 minutes if previously chilled).

*preparations from here, i was too lazy to type them all out myself!

THE GARDEN OF RULES.

monday morning we headed out with all the littles to the denver botanic gardens. the gardens were absolutely gorgeous. there were some amazing bamboo sculptures set up all around, vividly colored koi fish in the ponds and all kinds of crazy looking plants and flowers we've never seen before. so much to see. only we were with four children who love to explore and quickly tired of all the signs stating don't touch, stay on the path, no climbing, keep out and look only. you can see above what charlie thought of those signs. it wasn't long before the comments from the peanut gallery began. you know the ones, "are we allowed to do anything?!" and "there sure are a lot of rules here!" the saving grace was discovering quite possibly the best rolling hill that ever existed and the promise of a picnic lunch and fun times at the children's garden across the street.

i think we'll wait a few weeks and give it another try. i think if jack has a camera in hand and madi brings along her sketch book and pencils, they'll have a much better time. and charlie, well...he'll probably still yank the signs out of the grass and try to drive the stroller into the pond. if nothing else, memories will be made and we might even learn a little something amidst all the rules.

-bette

THE CHILDREN'S GARDEN.

this was the second half of our day on monday. what an awesome place this was. this is the mordecai children's garden in denver. it's part of the botanic gardens and it's located on the rooftop of the parking structure. how cool is that? and yes, the view was amazing. everything at the children's garden is interactive and the littles played their hearts out. they put on a show at the sagebrush stage, bought and sold groceries at arlo's mercantile shop(all while speaking "spanish" mind you), they stopped to read and follow all of the little signs throughout the garden(mama thought the waddle sign was an insensitive suggestion to some of us), they had a little native american feast and fossil discovery at the roots'n rocks campsite, they got to climb marmot mountain and be eagles on pika peak, and finally they got to get soaked and build a dam in springmelt stream. they even made up a little tune about building their dam. it had the word dam in it about a thousand times and i think the other parents appreciated it as much as i did. thank goodness i was mature about it and didn't bust out laughing every time they started the song up again...not.

how very grateful i am for the freedom to spend our days like this. one of the many blessings of learning outside of school. i aim to never take that for granted. i love learning alongside these sweet kiddos and witnessing firsthand the joy of their discoveries. may there be many more wonderful adventures and songs about dams.

-bette

DISTRACTIONS.

i know what you're thinking...what? no baby yet? umm, obviously not. i was starting to go a little crazy just sitting around with everyone staring at me, analyzing my every move, jumping at every little ouch! i decided that it would be a better idea to cram pack every moment of every day until this boy decides to make his grand entrance. so far we've managed a day at the park, a two-day star wars movie marathon, church(mostly spent dodging people and their obnoxious questions and remarks) and a two hour round trip drive to denver to spend the day the botanic gardens and children's garden, complete with a picnic lunch and four water logged littles. whew, i am exhausted. but i'd rather be exhausted and distracted, than bored and impatient.

more photos of our adventures to come...and maybe even a baby...maybe?

-bette