Saturdays have always been our “lazy” day. Pre-baby and pre-house that meant sleeping in and having a nice brunch around 11-ish…then playing computer or xbox games, messing around online on Crossings, or reading. Once we started the house search we would spend most of Saturday afternoons driving around and looking at different neighborhoods and houses and going through model homes. Housework beyond dishes was put off and dealt with come Monday (which was pretty hard when I was working full-time and easier but not-so-fun when I was working part-time).
But then we moved into our house last February and welcomed our little guy into our lives last July…and weekends are just not the same. Typically the little guy wakes me up no later than 7:30am…but usually a good 45 minutes earlier than that!! Sometimes Brack gets to “sleep in” until 8am, but many times he wakes up when the little dude starts making noise.
Coffee is made and a bottle of milk is warmed immediately so EVERYONE can get a good start to the early morning!! Then I fix breakfast while Brack plays some xbox and Edmund plays on the floor with some toys and occasionally climbs on Brack, disrupting the game!! Here is a pic from several months ago on a different Saturday morning…but it’s still pretty typical (except Brack isn’t so fastidious about keeping the little man from seeing the screen these days)!!
Then we all sit down to eat. Usually by the time we eat and Edmund is ready to get down from his chair, he gets in a few minutes playing with Papa and then it’s time for his morning nap (sometime between 9:30-10:00am) Once the little guy is down, Brack plays on the xbox for a little while longer while I savor a second cup of coffee.
But then the day really begins. There is usually some house project to work on, if not several. I try to get a couple loads of laundry done and keep up with the dishes as well so that Monday catch-up won’t drive me insane. Meal plans for the next week must be made up and grocery lists and coupons got together. Clothes for Sunday must be picked out and readied. If we are really on the ball, we usually can sit back and relax (besides dealing with dinner) right about the time the little guy goes down for his afternoon nap around 2:30-3:00pm. If I am lucky I can even get a nap in while he naps to make up for not getting to sleep in!! Once the baby boy is up from his afternoon nap we have fun playing with him, going for a walk, running errands, or just relaxing. Then of course once he is down for the night we can sit back on the couch and watch a movie or something. Saturdays may be busier now, but they are just as enjoyable.
One thing I have enjoyed doing on Saturdays ever since getting married is fixing our brunch. Of course, these days our brunch is a bit earlier than it used to be…typically between 9:00-9:30am!! A favorite new recipe is a clone of Panera’s Spinach-Artichoke Souffle (which isn’t a souffle at all)!! Oh, but it IS good!!
I found the recipe online here but have tweaked it a bit. I use green bell pepper instead of red…as it’s a bit cheaper and I usually have green on hand. I use 4 tablespoons half and half instead of 2 tablespoons each of milk and heavy cream since we always have half and half on hand. I substitute mozzarella for monterey jack as I usually have mozzarella on hand after our Friday night pizza. I also substitute a blend of parmesan, asiago, fontina, and romano cheeses in the places the recipe calls for parmesan and asiago. I also don’t divide the dough up into four, only into two and I cook the “souffles” in my Corningware 16oz round dishes. The last thing I do differently is buttering the dishes with a stick of butter instead of melting it first. Even with all the changes, they still taste like the ones at Panera.
One thing that makes getting the meal ready easier is having some of the components prepped ahead of time. I actually premeasured into small rubbermaid containers the frozen spinach, chopped canned artichoke hearts, onion, and bell pepper that the recipe calls for so that I only have to do that once to have enough for 4-5 times.
So here are a couple pictures of our yummy brunch…
In the interest of full-disclosure, the prepped breakfast table actually looks more like this!! :-P
Of course, I can’t post an entry without at least one picture of my cute little guy!! Here he is chilling out in the hammock that his Papa hung on the patio this morning. Don’t worry, I was RIGHT beside him!!
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