It must be some latent British genes that have caused Chris to be so enamored of scones.  I probably make this version a few times a month, and it's rare that they last beyond a few days.  They're great for breakfast (often I use frozen blueberries in place of chocolate) and are especially tasty with coffee or tea.
I'm forgoing the chocolates boxed in hearts and rich, fudgey cakes in liue of these not-so-sweet sweets for my sweetheart.  Easy to make, and too easy to eat!

Chocolate Chip Yogurt Scones (makes 8 scones)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl, beat the egg, oil, sugar, vanilla until smooth.  Add the yogurt and stir until thoroughly combined.

In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add to the wet mixture and fold together until flour is incorporated.  Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.  If the mixture seems really dry, add a tsp of milk or two.

Flour your work surface, then turn the dough out onto it.  Knead a few times (flour your hands to help), then pat into roughly an 8" circle.  Sprinkle with remaining sugar and cut into 8 wedges (cut in half, then half, then half, then half) and transfer onto baking sheets.   For my Valentine ones, I made a little indentation with my floured finger at the top to create a heart-like shape.
Bake for 20 minutes or until brown on top.  Cool on a wire rack, and devour!

This weekend I made a huge step in fulfilling my New Year's Resolution of learning to really use my DSLR camera; I learned to shoot photos using the Manual mode.
It's incredibly easy, despite being initially intimidated by that "M" on my Canon's dial.  Earlier this month, I was frustrated when noticing that photos taken with my point-and-shoot were looking so much brighter and more vibrant than the DSLR.  {Those of you who already have great photography skills  (I'm looking at you, Sheena), just bear with me here.}

While I don't think I have a problem with composition of photos, I am often disappointed about the quality of lighting in my shots, particularly indoor ones, since we live in a house with mostly North-facing windows.  I did have some understanding of exposure, however it often confused me, especially ISO (which still does).

I picked up a copy of Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure at the library, which has been a great resource, as is this tutorial, which is a little more colloquial in its explanation of exposure.
On Sunday, I started fooling around with the camera using the tips I had read about.  What a mighty leap this has been for me, understanding what the former-jibberish on the camera's LCD panel means.  Understanding the light meter alone has been huge.
You might not be able to tell in the photo above, but I can.  It's so much brighter than my prior photos taken in the living room, though shooting two moving boys is challenging with slower shutter speed and a larger aperture (ie. plenty of blurred shots). I'm still learning though.
It's such an incredible feeling when you finally "get" something that you've wanted to understand for some time now, especially when you make a huge leap in that understanding. It's rare for that to happen; it seems like things like this usually take lots of time.  I'm even more eager to share my photos here in the upcoming weeks and months!

As a child of the '80s, I grew up on cassette tapes, Hanna Barbara cartoons, Atari and old-school Cheerios.  I'll admit, it wasn't a time of high fashion--in my opinion--and I nearly gagged (with a spoon, no less) when I saw the neon-colored women's accessories as I strolled into my local Target.  (Note to young buyers: you WILL blush with shame upon seeing photos of yourself wearing these years later).

However, another tastier retro item has recently taken up residence at Target, Big G cereals with 80s throw-back packaging, starting this month and continuing into mid-March.
Participating General Mills cereals include: Cinnamon Toast Crunch® (17 oz.), Lucky Charms® (16 oz.), Honey Nut Cheerios® (17 oz.), Cheerios® (18 oz.) and Cocoa Puffs® (16.5 oz.), each with Atari-themed games on the back.  (Didn't you just love reading the back of the package while slurping down Cheerios as a kid? I sure did).
Speaking of Atari, did you know it's its 40th Anniversary this year? Be sure to check out GrocerySavvy.com and test your online Atari gaming skills at Asteroids while also entering in a sweepstakes for chance to win Target gift cards and Atari merchandise.  I sure would love to tackle Space Invaders and Pac-Man again.

Are you ready to slide up to the 80s again at the breakfast table?  I have a little prize package for you to win.
To Enter
Visit General Mills and leave a comment about your favorite retro cereal or a fond memory from the 80s.
Extra Entries (you must complete the first mandatory entry before doing the extras.  Also, leave a separate comment for each one):
~Subscribe to my updates
~If you're a Fan of Katydid and Kid on Facebook leave a comment letting me know
~Follow @GeneralMills on Twitter and leave me your Twitter handle
~Follow @katydidandkid and tweet this giveaway, leaving a link to your tweet in the comments. You can tweet once per day (leave a comment each day). You can copy and paste my tweet if you'd like: #WIN a #Retro BigG Cereal Prize pack+Target gift card from @GeneralMills http://goo.gl/fb/qrVsq @Katydidandkid #Giveaway #MyBlogSpark

You must do the first entry in order to enter ("I want to win, thanks!" comments will NOT be considered). You will have until Sunday February 26th at 11:59pmEST to enter. The winner will be chosen via random number generator the next day and notified by email.I'll also post the winners on my blog HERE. If I don't hear back from the winner within 24 hours, I'll pick another. 
Disclosure:  The prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills, Atari and Target through MyBlogSpark.

Finally, my son is interested in something cool like robots.  Naturally, I'm going to exploit it as much as I can, first with Valentine's Day, then with his birthday party.  More on that to come, of course.
Since this is officially his first Valentine's party at a school, I wanted to make something fun to give to his friends.

I found some robot tattoo Valentines at the Dollar Tree, some robot bags in Target's Dollar zone, and thought I'd package them with something else.  Hmmm, what could it be?
Affirmative! It's a juice box robot.

Here's what you need:

Adhere the Hershey nuggets together to make the head.  Alternatively, you could use any other square candies.  Then stick them to the top of the box.
Add the googly eyes (mine thankfully were sticker ones, which made it easier).
Add some Smarties for arms (or any other long-ish candy, like Laffy Taffy) and stick on your card (in my case, the tattoos).
We added some Starburst candies for the feet, but you could also use them for the neck.

On the back, I added a little construction paper heart that said "I'm nuts and bolts about you!"
If you can't find robot-themed Valentine cards, you could always put the heart on the front with your child's name on it.

Here's the final result, a thirst-quenching friendly robot.
Cute, huh?  Definitely worth the extra time it took me to assemble 14 of these for the class.  I then stuck them in the cellophane bags, just in case any candy pieces came off.
I kinda wish adults did these sorts of exchanges.  Though I guess that's what husbands are for.  But moms are so much more creative!

Still in pajamas, even at 11am.

I'm linking up to Soule Mama's "this moment" today.  Happy weekend friends!
({this moment}=A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.) 

Because Jude is such a good eater and willing to try so many foods, I'm really determined to make my own baby food this time around. With Soren, I recall spending hours running stuff through the food mill and freezing cubed baby food only to have much of it thrown out or mixed into soups for his dad and me.

So far I've been giving Jude homemade purees at least once a day, so I was eager to review a copy of 201 Organic Baby Purees by Tamika L. Gardner's (founder of SimplyBabyFoodRecipes.net).
You would think that with two kids now, making my own baby food would be difficult. However with a small counter-top baby food blender, it's so simple just tossing in some fresh or steamed foods and pureeing them with water.  Gardner's book gives parents confidence in combining foods from the most basic to a little more gourmet as children grow.

201 Organic Baby Purees is a great starting point for me.  I'm not one to necessarily go out shopping for all the ingredients in a recipe, but I do like to combine what I have on hand, like yogurt and a ripe pear, which I purred into a mash-up of the Plum-Pear Yogurt Yum Yum recipe.
While the recipe called for pureed plums, I had some prunes on hand that I added (just a tad).  Jude lapped it up eagerly, and kept yelling for more.
While many of the basic recipes are redundant for an experienced cook and baby food maker like myself, I do like that they inspire me to add more variety into Jude's diet.

The book is arranged by baby's age and is really easy to flip through and reference via the index.  There are also tags under the recipes titles referencing categories like "superfoods", freezer-friendly meals, instant no-cook purees, and even dishes that are good for the whole family.

I love not only that the focus is on organic eating, but that there also many vegetarian options included in the book, including a few tofu dishes.  In a chapter on organic eating, I'm glad to see that Gardner has included the "toxic twenty" fruits and veggies with the highest pesticide amounts. It's always helpful being reminded of those foods (or learning about them for the first time).  All in all, 201 Organic Baby Purees is a great reference for any home baby-food chef.
To Enter
Leave a comment here letting me know if you've ever made your own baby food or why you'd like to win this book.

Extra Entries (you must complete the first mandatory entry before doing the extras.  Also, leave a separate comment for each one):
~Subscribe to my updates
~If you're a Fan of Katydid and Kid on Facebook leave a comment letting me know
~Follow @AdamsMedia on Twitter and leave me your Twitter handle
~Follow @katydidandkid and tweet this giveaway, leaving a link to your tweet in the comments. You can tweet once per day (leave a comment each day). You can copy and paste my tweet if you'd like: #WIN a copy of 201 Organic Baby Purees from @AdamsMedia http://goo.gl/fb/Fcpjx @Katydidandkid #Giveaway ends 2/19

You must do the first entry in order to enter ("I want to win, thanks!" comments will NOT be considered). You will have until Sunday February 19th at 11:59pmEST to enter. The winner will be chosen via random number generator the next day and notified by email.I'll also post the winners on my blog HERE. If I don't hear back from the winner within 24 hours, I'll pick another. 
Disclosure: I received a copy of 201 Organic Baby Purees for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Another month with Jude has flown by, and though this baby is a tiny guy, he's so filled with happiness and some killer kicks!
Seriously, this baby has some strong legs, and loves stomp-kicking the floor when on his back.  He's also quite fond of standing when supported by one of his parents, like on our laps.

As I wrote, Jude is small for his age, which tends to make an over-analyzing mama like me worry.  Between his last two well visits, he gained only a few ounces, which makes me compulsively check out every baby we come across, comparing body types and ages.  His little friend (whose had you see in the photo above), is 3 months younger than him yet 3-4 pounds heavier.  We've actually gotten some hand-me-downs from him.  Oy!

But Jude is quite healthy and happy, and is growing longer, despite his lean-ness.  He's still a pretty good eater, eager to devour most anything we feed him (sweet potatoes excepting). I can't figure out why he doesn't gain more weight.  I wonder if he'll just be a small kid.  Isn't it just like a doting mom to worry about everything?  Too chubby, too skinny, too picky, too sleepy.  Just go with it, Kathleen.
Ounce for ounce, Jude is such a sweet and pleasant little guy, and has started clapping and really hamming it up for his parents and brother.  He loves to laugh, especially when I tickle his belly with my nose.  He grabs at everything and really enjoys toys and objects of all kinds.  He's so curious!
He's also sitting up more on his own, though still needs a little support.  He's delighted by the feeling and sound of air moving through his lips when he practices "ppffft" and "bbbrr" sounds.  I sometimes even hear him doing it at night, mid-sleep cycle.

I adore my two boys, and at seven months, I think we've finally settled into a comfort zone.
Though I still find it hard to fathom where the last seven months went! I've actually started pondering first birthday plans and have been stalking Pinterest for ideas.  July's One Year "Jude Update" is really going to blow my mind.