mallorie cooper

Life as of late(ish)

1:22 PM

Hold on folks, it's going to be a long one. I know...it's been awhile. Bahaha, that might be my signature saying around here. We will call this one life as of late(ish). I *might* have just took snippets from my instagram feed all the way back to July. Summer in a snapshot, anyone? I stopped myself at Holland's birthday. You're welcome. ;)

So, here we are. Life as of late(ish)…

Sweet, sweet blanket snuggles

And mamma snuggles :)

Park play days

Grins full of teeth

Duck feeding

Puppy teasing. He's attempting to coax the dog out from under the bed with that piece of bread.

Tools, tools, and more tools. Play is hard work.

A little cleaning action with friends.

Bath shark!

Butterfly fun at the fair!

Checking out farm animals

Hey mom! Goats!

I went back and fourth on this one, posting my son's butt on the internet and all, but just couldn't resist. Look at those buns!

More bath time crazies.

A tip of the hat.

More mamma snuggles….I'll take em!

Skate park excursions with dad and friends

Puggle snuggles or puggle pillow rather ;)

Here dad, it's for you!

What's a summer without playing in the hose? Like every.single.day.

Bocce champ!

Really Holland? Really?? He gets me.

Pool party! Thanks D!!

Muffins, muffins, and more muffins!

Garden watering. *Note the tongue sticking out. Serious business ;)

Sweet, sweet boy. I love you.

Aren't they the best?

Carousel rides!

Mess making!

Again, mamma snuggles. Told you I'd take them!

Trying to be friends. It's a work in progress.. :/ TOTALLY open to tips.

Someone finally found my potato basket. And insists they be lined up on the counter.

Errr…or on the floor with his toy cars of course.

I see you! ^^^

Rainboots for fall have arrived!!!

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And someone may have recently boycotted their highchair, but thankfully decided it wasn't so bad after all and is back in it now. Whew. Not quite ready yet.

Bell pepper munching from the garden.

Again, serious business.

Need I say it again. And snugs.

A recent trip to the fire station left us with ongoing fire fighting fun.

A late night snack. Feed your dinner to the dog, wake up starving. Lesson learned.

A little diy pumpkin spice latte action. Make your own here.

Car rides

and boat trips.

Dog walks

and beautiful fall art from our walks.

Baby gate down! Helping dad with the final touches. Always helping dad :)

Basket rides

Halloween practice. Aka, keep the hat on Holland practice. ;)

Quinoa messes

but it's ok, because he REALLY likes it.

Trips to the store for free balloons!

Lazy Sundays.

A shameless selfie. Guilty.

Too much problem solving ^^

Morning dates

Pumpkin picking.

An AMAZING Chinese Acrobat show by Shangri-La Chinese Acrobats and a much needed night out with my husband. He planned it all. Thank you babe!

Homemade cookies. Lots of cookies. Always.

Seriously, rock on Holland. Rock on.

A moment I've been waiting for. Baking with my boy!

He's such a good sport. Horsey rides.

And wagon rides.

Kitchen pals on Saturday mornings.

And last but not least, one more picture to make you smile. At least it does me!

Aren't you glad I stopped there? Haha, who is still with me? Seventy something photos later. Maybe I should have stopped at about twenty, but there you have it. Summer in a snapshot.

Hello brisk fall mornings, holidays, and cozy mornings inside. We are ready for you.

♥

MAMASTUFF

Yogurt banana muffins and toddlers

9:11 PM

Here we are, toddler years, at least when it comes to eating. I am learning some days my son eats like a mouse, yet somehow seems to double in size come morning (and goes through umpteen diapers). Some days he just about eats the house. Today was an eat the house kind of day. No joke, I greeted him in his room this morning to him frantically signing "Eat! Eat! Eat!" Upon lifting him out of his crib he RAN straight to his highchair and from 7 am until sometime after 10 that is pretty much where we stayed. He ate and ate and ate. There were brief periods of play and mess making, but mostly just eating and dishing out more food. LONGEST meal time yet. It is at this point I decided we *must* go to Costco today. Even though the amount he ate was insane and spending practically three hours in the kitchen on a Saturday morning isn't my favorite thing, it was welcomed, because up until today, he has practically lived off of banana yogurt muffins, oranges, and soymilk this week. It could be worse, right?

On these eat like a mouse days, I have been happy to have muffins on hand. Very happy. He eats them. I like them. Plus they are easy to grab and go on busy out the door kind of mornings. And they aren't too terrible for you. We doubled our batch with left us with 24 muffins and 1 full loaf size of banana bread. The recipe below is doubled because they freeze great and if you are already making them, it doesn't take a whole lot longer to go ahead and make more now, right? One mess, one time, so use a big bowl and be prepared for a lot of muffins.

The yogurt keeps the muffins (or loaf) from anything but dry and adds a little protein which I am ever so thankful for on those "my son won't eat anything days". I will warn you, they get a little crumbly, but what muffin doesn't in the hands of a 15 month old?

For Holland we had some fun with one dozen and topped them with sprinkles before going in the oven. For us, we made a more grown up version sprinkling just a little brown sugar on top, but I am dying to try a yogurt brown sugar icing I stumbled across on pinterest. Next time. I imagine that wouldn't freeze so well however so if your go that route, I'd say keep your muffins plain and top as you eat or serve them. Your pick, sprinkles, icing, brown sugar. Have fun with it.

Banana Yogurt Muffins
Yield: 2 dozen muffins plus 1 standard loaf

Ingredients:

6 medium/large ripe bananas, mashed
2 large eggs
12 ounces plain yogurt
1 cup mild olive or vegetable oil (I'm sure coconut would be delicious too)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 teaspoons cinnamon, or to taste
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, to taste
sprinkles and or additional brown sugar to top

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin pan with liners, set aside. Recipe make about 24 muffins plus one standard loaf of bread. Spray or line your bread pan with parchment, set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mash all 6 bananas. Add the egg, yogurt, oil, sugars, vanilla, and cinnamon. Whisk.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined; don't overmix or bread will be tough. Pour or scoop batter into prepared muffin pan, filling three-quarters full. I have found a small ice cream scoop work great for this as well as cookie dough. Add a generous pinch of sprinkles or brown sugar to the center of each muffin. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until tops of muffins are set, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean. Muffin tops should feel springy to the touch when done. Allow muffins to cool in pan for 10 to 15 minutes before removing. Your standard loaf will bake for about 55 minutes. Again, test for doneness using a toothpick. Also let cool at least 15 minutes before removing from pan.

Muffins and bread will keep in airtight container for up to 5 days. Freeze extra muffins or the loaf if you won't consume it within a week or pass them out to your neighbors. I'm sure they wouldn't complain.