Grandparents are everywhere!! M is having a blast. My parents came back to visit for a quick trip this weekend. I can’t believe it’s been over a month since they were here last! Time’s a flyin’.
Grammie Buzz liked holding him in his marshmallow peep blanket at breakfast! [Next thing I know she’ll be feeding him peeps for breakfast!!]
Meanwhile, I worked on oatmeal!
Mom requested “oatmeal with a lot of toppings.” Whipped pear oatmeal (just a chopped pear added in the beginning and stirred around) with Autumn Spice Granola, pumpkin butter and Barney Butter.
Poor little pumpkin! This onesie was handmade by a local artisan and a gift from our neighbors.
After breakfast and baths, we all went on a long walk
About 3 miles in the gorgeous fall weather. M liked his stroller the whole time!
Cville is having peak tree beauty right now!
When we returned it was already time for lunch, and instead of going out we decided to use up all of the leftovers in our fridge.
Matt made me this salad – greens, hummus, bread cubes, Apple Scrapple, leftover tofu + eggplant
We hung out at home for the afternoon, playing with the baby and things before we headed over to our neighborhood association’s fall picnic!
Box of Great Harvest sweets in tow
While there we nibbled on some snacks – cheese + crackers – and met some neighbors.
We planned a simple dinner because we knew we had snacks before and desserts after!
No Bull Burgers topped with arugula and condiments
On Rosemary Garlic Buns!
And those delicious canned green beans. So easy to serve!
For dessert mom brought an angel food cake for my birthday!!! [I am turning THIRTY on Friday, 10/26!]
Baby blue on the inside to commemorate such a fun 29th year. Also Duke’s football win over Carolina (yeehaw!) Lots of whipped cream on top!
Happy early birthday song
Karen came over with her friend Mary and brought an apple pie, so our group dug into both. It was a sweet night.
That FACE!!! Awwww. GO DUUUUUUUKE!!!! Did you watch the game?! Holy moly.
A fellow scorpio!?! Yay!
Happy Early Birthday! I just turned 32 this past weekend. The carrot onesie brings back lots of memories – my son came home from the hospital wearing the same one.
Happy birthday! You look great in the walk photos!
Mazen looks uncomfortable there…poor little guy. Does he not like the camera? (I could see the flash bothering little eyes…) Still a cutie, though.
No flash… He doesn’t like putting on clothes. He’s been sooooo much happier this weekend though! 6 week miracle?
Lol, a nudist in training? 😉 Glad to hear he’s happier!
Growing up I always asked for angel food cake for my birthdays! I hope you have a great one!
Oh I forgot to add. Only a 1.6 pound loss this month. I think it was the beer. LOL! Got to get back to walking daily even if for 30 minutes. Time management has been hard this school semester. But I will get back on track. I promise
🙂
That’s quite a face little man is sporting with the locally grown apparel! 🙂
I’m on a major pie kick, that apple pie wouldn’t have stood a chance with me. Cute angel food cake!
Angel food cake is such a yummy dessert! I love it topped with strawberries!
M is looking so big already! Amazing how fast he’s growing. Lucky little guy to have so many loving grandparents!
I can only imagine how much love y’all experienced this weekend! And Mazen is so stinkin’ adorable!!!
I love the happy face and the peeps blanket – that’s so adorable! the angel food cake looks divine – love the blue and the fluffy whipped cream.
Happy almost birthday! That cake looks amazing! Haha the perfect cake to icing ratio in my opinion!
That cake looks amazing! And Maze is just getting cuter by the day!
Looks like such a fun weekend! Angel food cake is my favorite and a definitely for my birthday! Since I can’t do whipped cream, I top it with seven minute icing…YUM!
Hey Kath, love seeing all the updates of M! I will be ready to pop here soon too and have our very own little one (Henry). Love getting all the great info you have, please keep it up! Also happy birthday. My thirty’s have been my favorite so far, pretty sure you’ll have a blast with yours… “Cheers!”
I love that shirt! Yellow is your color!
Why haven’t I ever thought to make pear oats? I’ve tried every other fruit…Must try that this week!
Grandparent Explosion! Love it. We haven’t stopped having grandparent explosions for 7 months! I looked around this weekend and thought, “How weird…we didn’t see a single gradparent all weekend!” (they are 2 hours away…but that usually doesn’t stop them….nor do we mind!) Also, I always forget we share a birthday until this time every year…Happy Birthday week to us!! I have the golden 26th on the 26th this year! Hope you have something fun planned. It is my first as a family of 3 too!
Although that cake looks delicious, I’m drooling over the canned green beans! I always forget how tasty they are.
Onesies are the best 🙂
And girl, you are looking great!
I turned 30 last year. It wasn’t too bad – 31 was worse for me. 🙂
I’ve always thought babies get cuter with age – more facial expressions and personality. Maze is getting cuter every day. I’m jelaous of your fall colors – ours are all over with now after the windy weekend weather. Boo!
hahaha someone was not happy in that onesie! Too cute though. Also, I love that plaid shirt. I feel like not many people can pull off the color yellow, but it looks great on you.
Yes, what is it about canned green beans. They are so good and such a nice change from fresh once in a while.
It looks like the grandparents were just eating Mazen up. 🙂 It’s nice to have the extra help, too. I’m sure they will make a point to come around even more.
The yellow shirt you wore looks really nice. It’s a great color on you.
Our trees are changing so fast up here in PA. One day the tree has green leaves and then overnight they are red and then gone. Amazing and beautiful!
I love that plaid shirt!
I love that Carolina blue cake! Did you parents bring it up? Love to get one to take to UNC tailgates!
Yeah my mom madeit!
hi kath!
why did you have to wear name tags to the picnic?
also, do you want mazen to go to duke?! that would be so cool!
— best, kat
To learn each others’names! It’s a big neighborhood.
He can go to college wherever he wants!
Start saving now!!!
Wow your comment box is really wide today! Maybe my screen is having a hiccup though. Will refresh in a second…
The cake looks awesome! all that fluffy frosting…I want to dig in, asap 🙂
And love all the grandparents and that Mazen has all this lovin!
I am sure M loved all of the extra attention this weekend. 🙂 He is getting cuter every day.
Happy Birthday!! It looks like such a beautiful day. Mazen even looks adorable when he is angry. love it!
Looks like a wonderful day! I wish we had a neighborhood association. Sounds nice 🙂
Cake question!: Since your mom brought that cake over, how did she cover it without messing up the whipped cream frosting? Or did she wait to frost it until after she uncovered it and it was ready to be eaten?
We whipped the cream and spread it on right before serving
Sounds delicious! And hey, I have one more question (sorry!), but I was wanted to make some baked oatmeal like you did the other day but don’t have enough rolled oats. Do you think quick oats would work?
yes!
Awesome, I will try it out 🙂
Yellow is a great color on you! I think bright colors really complement you. Two desserts and two sets of grandparents, that’s how you kick off a birthday week!! The baby blue angel food cake is so sweet. 🙂
Fun that the inside is blue!!
That yellow shirt looks so pretty on you!
Love, love, love the “locally grown” onesie! So clever. Also loving all that whipped cream on the cake! Enjoy your birthday week!
you have some of the best oatmeal bfast and best meals overall on here! where do you come up with all the amazing meal ideas?? i want you to become my personal meal planner!! 😉
so i have started making overnight oats for bfast!! mm amazing!! i am trying to get creative, my creations seem so plain compared to yours though 😉 now in the am when i take my overnight oats out i like to heat it up for almost 2 mints, does that hurt the yogurt in the oats at all??
I think they are fine if you like the texture after the heating
ok, well cold is good but with this cold weather now i prefer to heat them up 🙂 im very cold naturedf so anyway i can get warm 🙂
Happy Early Birthday! That is an epic looking cake! Do you have anything planned for your big day??
Yes! A fun lunch out and dinner too we think… Possibly solo
Time away from family when your growing a cutie is tough—- they change so fast that if they don’t see them every other day, the little one is different already! My parents & sister are feeling that right now- so hard to be away. But, it makes the time with them super sweet!
What a great 29th year you’ve had!!! 🙂
What a fun day and night! Maze looks adorable, even when he’s screaming his head off. Love that onesie. And yellow is definitely your color!
How exciting to have your folks visit again!
Mazen definitely looks more like you in that first photo!
Happy early birthday! And how fun that you get to have an early cake too. double birthday cakes = double the fun.
What a lucky little guy to have so much grandparent love! My parents are gone and husbands parents don’t visit even though his Mom is just one state away…
Few questions for you if you have the time: A) what kind of modifications did you make doing Body Pump classes thru your pregnancy? Would you lie down on your back on the step bench and do presses with the bar? I am guessing being on your back for that short period of time doesn’t matter much. B) Where did you buy good maternity workout clothes?
Here’s a post I did on Body Pump modifications: http://www.babykerf.com/23-weeks-pumping-and-i-dont-mean-my-breasts/
And I just bought a bunch of tank tops at Old Navy and wore my regular shorts. It would have been harder in the winter, I think
M looks so comfy in his blanket!! And I love that yellow shirt – you look great.
Those trees are just beautiful — such vibrant colors!
Mazen looks adorable!! Mama does too! I’m one of those weird people who doesn’t like frosting so that whipped cream is a fantastic idea!
I noticed you had three butternut squashes on your counter… my method of removing the outside doesn’t work well – how do you get the outside off?
I just use a peeler, and it’s not fun : (
I nuke the squash in the microwave for about three minutes and then it’s a TON easier to peel without really cooking the inside of the squash at all- works every time!
Me too! Okay. I thought I was the only one who had trouble using a peeler…
Wow that macaroni and cheese really lasted a long time! I’m so impressed with the way you are able to stretch your leftovers (and a dollar, I’m sure lol)!! I always get weirded out eating things after 2 or 3 days. lol Happy (almost) birthday!! You cake looks delicious!!
That first photo is absolutely adorable! I thought he was SO cute when he was first born, but he just keeps getting cuter and cuter! Happy early birthday!
loved the crying picture, those babies can get so mad:)
Happy almost birthday! You look beautiful and that cake looks amazing! I am so not a cake person but I would totally take a bite of that. So fluffy!!!
Sounds like a fun day. Happy early birthday! I really enjoy being in my 30s.
Hi Kath! I’m a longtime reader but have never commented. (I know you get bombarded!) I just wanted to thank you for helping me along in body acceptance journey. I believe in healthy living and that it is a lifestyle and it’s not work when you love yourself and enjoy taking care of your mind and body. So thank you for the daily, monthly, yearly inspiration! It makes more of a difference than I could ever tell you!
Thank you for reading !
I am curious how you prepare the canned green beans. Do you eat them cold or warm them up? If you warm them, how do you warm them?
Warm in the microwave !
Holy cow I want all that whipped cream on the angel food cake! Birthdays are the best!
I love his locally grown onesie (or shirt?). Too cute!
What a wonderful weekend! It’s fantastic that the Grandparents can come often to visit. I am right there with you on the green bean addiction. I love green beans, fresh, canned or frozen. I could eat them everyday. Early birthday blessings to you.
Happy Birthday early! I turned 30 this year, too (May). I wasn’t totally in love with hitting my 30s, but I’ve adjusted 😉
I LOVE your bright yellow top, so gorgeous! And every time I see Mazen’s little sewn-design onesies it makes me want to get out a sewing machine and go to town on some white onesies! Open an Etsy shop? Oh, gosh, so tempting (yet seems so impossible with a 6-week old!)
Happy Monday! Your eat look fantaaasic, like always. Happy 30th this week!!
Happy early birthday, Kath! That blue cake is great, and looks soooooo good to me right now. I am friends with anything covered in a thick blanket of whipped cream!
Oh my, is it just me or does Mazen suddenly look older this week? And getting cuter by the day 🙂
The oatmeal and cake look soooo good!! Glad you had such a sweet weekend 🙂 Happy early birthday for Friday!
I’m glad my cake tasted better than it looks!
I miss Maze but great to see all of you.
We share a birthday! Happy birthday to you! I enjoy reading your blog and sharing your joy in Mazen – he’s adorable!
Yay 10.26!
Happy Early Birthday! 🙂 The cake and pie look yummy!
How do you keep your leftovers so fresh in the fridge for so long? I can only keep mine for 3-4 days before they go bad when I cover them in foil or plastic wrap..do you do something different?
In a glass container with lid. 7 days is my cut off (less for meat) and I rarely have anything go bad.
Okay, I may have to try that–I hate wasting food!
Happy early birthday-beautiful cake! I grew up with my grandparents living super far away-I love that your little one has already gotten so much time with them!
Yay for grandparents!! I’m sure it’s so fun to have them around 🙂
And I love your yellow checkered shirt!
Fall is my fave season!
Yellow is your color, Kath 🙂
Has anyone else tried making the whipped pear oats?? DELICIOUS!!! I used 1/4 cup oats, 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 pear, and 1/2 Tbsp flax seed stirred in at the end. With lots of cinnamon. It was so delicious!! Next time I’ll try slicing the pear into smaller pieces so that it melts and incorporates into the oatmeal even better.
: )