Top 10 Moments of 2012

10.  Taking the kids to see their first movies in the movie theater.

9.  Making the most of another spectacular year of snowmobiling in New England.

8.  Having friends' and family support while continuing to learn to play roller derby and then winning season championships with the Vineyard Vixens roller derby team.

7.  Getting together with friends and family to watch the Redskins win football games and go to the playoffs!

6.  Enjoying a rainy beach vacation with the Chabots, including nontraditional beach activities like peach picking.  

5.  Watching Cole transform from a toddler to a preschooler, full of independence, an ever-growing vocabulary, and his own plans!

4.  Watching Sydney continue to swim independently and having a completely worry-free summer in the pool.

3.  Running a couple of 5Ks as husband and wife!

2.  Family fun adventures of all sorts: Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum, Frying Pan Park, ICE!, Natural History Museum, apple picking, Temple Hill Farm, Great Country Farm... the list goes on!

1.  Continuing to learn more about Cole's allergies so he could safely attend preschool and we can leave the house on family adventures.  

Number one cannot be understated.  Late last year, it became clear that Cole has a touch allergy to milk.  For example, Syd spilled her milk, Cole touched the puddle, and we ended up in the emergency room.  Other times, he develops hives after just inhaling milk or dairy "fumes."  Just this Christmas, he developed hives after simply picking up the dog's milk bones (yes, milk bones have milk in them - who knew?).  Anyway, it's been a learning experience.  We have to take some pretty serious precautions, but now that we're a little more ahead of the game, we're able to get out of the house more, take day trips, and enjoy life!  We're looking forward to more of this freedom and flexibility in 2013!   

Catching Up... Again

I do so well... and then, I don't.  Ugh.  So - here I am - again having to catch up.  At least, I can say - with certainty that it's because we've been busy having fun!  

The beginning of November marked the end of the presidential election and the roller derby season!  After a grueling 8-month season, it was incredibly satisfying to finish it off as undefeated season champions - Go Vineyard Vixens!   

Fall ended with a packed Thanksgiving celebration at the house.  We hosted the entire Bergeman crew: Grandma, Papa, Jodi, Bret, Sarah, Haley, Dylan, Tom, Syd, Cole, and me.  But - before there was turkey to eat, there was a 5K to finish!  Bret, Tom, and I ran like maniacs in Ashburn and kicked the day off with a bang!  Tom finished in 27 minutes, and Bret and I finished in 29 minutes.  Not bad!  I think this will start a yearly 5K tradition.

December was full of cookie exchanges, Christmas pageants, birthday celebrations, snow, and Christmas itself.  We took advantage of vacation time to take a few day trips to see ICE! at National Harbor and to visit the museums downtown.  Most of all, it's been fun to relax and spend time with family and friends!   

Cinnamon Vanilla Depression Cake

This is a recipe that folks made during the Great Depression (hence the name).  But - it works great for folks with allergies because it is free of milk, eggs, and butter.  This version is cinnamon vanilla, but you can adapt it to make chocolate, spice, orange, or lemon by adding or omitting ingredients.

3/4 + 1/8 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 t vinegar
1 t vanilla
1/6 c oil
1/2 c water
1 t cinnamon

Combine all ingredients and pour into cupcake tins.  Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes.   Makes 6 cupcakes.

I used Pillsbury Creamy Vanilla Frosting to top them off.  It is also dairy free!  

More Fall Fun

Wow!  We have been busy.  There's been apple picking, pumpkin decorating and carving, a corn maze visit, a cow ride, trick-or-treating, and general Fall and Halloween shenanigans!  Here are some pictures from the highlight reel...  

Run Zombie Run

A couple weeks back, one of my derby teammates, Jen, Jodi and I totally lost our minds and participated in our first mud run!  Mud Run: a fun running race that has various obstacles like: hay bales, wall climbs, crawls, tunnels, and of course, mud pits and mud crawls!  Our race involved all these obstacles as well as a water obstacle (think running in water to your knees), a log carry obstacle, a tree trunk walking obstacle, a ravine obstacle, and - BONUS - we had to avoid the zombies that were chasing us at every turn.  We started the race with a belt that had three flag football flags.  The zombies were after the flags.  If we were able to finish the race with at least one flag still attached, then we finished "alive."  As you can see from the picture, we finished the race alive and even received a medal to prove it!  It was not an easy race, but it was super fun, and Bret gets a shout out for running zombie distraction for us at the end so we could finish with our flags!  Look out zombies - now that we've got one under our belt, we're out to get you next year!  

Fall Fun

We've been busy lately!  We've had a full schedule between work, school, swimming lessons, derby, Redskins Sundays, and our regular errands.  But - with all of that, we've focused some specific energy on making sure we spend some time having some special Fall fun.  We've made our way to the pumpkin patch, the firehouse, various playgrounds, and even the movie theater.  We also decorated our front door for Halloween.  Here are some highlights!

Decked out in his 3D glasses ready to watch
his first 3D movie: Finding Nemo!

 

Pasta with Pesto Cream Sauce

This recipe took approximately 15 minutes to make.  It was delicious, and, therefore, I love it.

Pesto (or use 4 ounces store-bought pesto)
3/4 cups Fresh Basil Leaves
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
3 Tablespoons Pine Nuts
2 cloves Garlic, Peeled
Salt And Pepper, to taste
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 cup Heavy Cream
2 Tablespoons Butter
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan (additional)
12 ounces, weight Pasta (cavitappi, Fusili, Etc.)
2 whole Tomatoes, Diced

Cook pasta until al dente.

Add basil leaves, 1/2 cup Parmesan, pine nuts, and salt and pepper to a food processor or blender. Turn machine on, then drizzle in olive oil while it mixes. Continue blending until combined, adding additional olive oil if needed. Set aside.

Heat cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add pesto and stir.
Drain pasta and place in a serving bowl. Pour pesto cream over the top. Toss to combine. Add diced tomatoes and toss quickly. Serve immediately.

Original source: http://thepioneerwoman.com