The Adventure of Black Bean Brownies

I know I’ve blogged before about my challenges in getting H3 to eat different foods. Oh the adventures of having a picky toddler! I think I’ve also mentioned a black bean brownie recipe that I was wanting to try. Well, this morning I finally did! I have to say that they turned out surprisingly good. When I first heard about them, I was suspicious about them tasting halfway decent. After reading the recipe, I was still dubious, and especially after I blended it all together and stared for a moment at the gooey brown mixture that oozed out of my blender into the pan. Still, I decided to bake it and hope for the best. I was certainly not disappointed! While I have to admit that you can slightly taste the black bean flavor, knowing that it’s in there, I would have to say it’s not very noticeable and if you didn’t know what was in there, you wouldn’t guess it. The texture is really good too, kind of creamy and fudgey. Ok, without any more ado, here is the recipe and the pictures I took today. I encourage you to take a deep breath and give it a try!

Ingredients
1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 eggs
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup white sugar (I used 1/2 cup supar, 1/4 cup Splenda)
1 teaspoon instant coffee (optional)
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (optional)
Squirt of Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup (optional)

(H2 note: I did not use the coffee in mine, but I did use the chips on top and the syrup. The syrup is my recommendation, not from the original recipe, but it tasted really good with it in there!)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x8 square baking dish.
Combine the black beans, eggs, oil, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract, sugar, and instant coffee in a blender; blend until smooth; pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Squirt syrup over the top of batter and mix in with a knife in a figure 8 pattern. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven until the top is dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.


The brownies in the pan.


My piece and H3’s.


Mmmmm….all over her face!


Finger-licking good! Please excuse the tape. We’re trying to get her to stop sucking her thumbs!


More?



H1 will get to taste these when he arrives home from school today. I can decidedly say that these will be a keeper for H3 and me, and I'm hoping H1 will enjoy them too! Hope you will give these yummy brownies a chance!

~H2

Goodbye April, Hello May!

Today was gorgeous! Mid-70s, mostly sunshine, my perfect kind of day. Granted, I was rather sleepy, but I still enjoyed it. I think I got a grand total of 2 good hours of sleep last night. I never sleep well at the rescue squad, even on a quiet night. It's just not the same. My family was still asleep when I pulled in just before 7am. Well, all except Peanut. He is such a guy with his selective hearing. You can call him multiple times and he won't hear you, but let a car pull in the driveway or run the ice machine and he's instantly alert and in tune to the sound. It's rather funny!

We went to Williamsburg today for H1 to get a haircut and for some shopping. He had a giftcard to JC Penney, so we found a couple more pairs of khaki pants that he was needing for work. I took H3 to the park during his haircut appointment, so she got a chance to run around too. Tonight's dinner was leftover enchiladas (refried beans and cheese for H3), and then we all took a walk to a little ice cream shop for dessert. It's a little over a mile round trip and H3 almost made it home. She was so worn out after all the places we've been today, not to mention running about 10 laps around the ferry!

I've realized that the end of the school year and our departure for camp are creeping up on us! Only 7 weeks left of school for H1! My only sadness is that the football season is beginning earlier this year (August 1, which is a week earlier), and H1 will have to leave camp early to be back. They are cutting the number of paid football coaches in half this year, so H1 was required to be back for the starting date instead of a week later as he usually does. It will be a short summer for him! H3 and I are planning to stay up at camp a little longer though. I won't be ready to come home that soon!

Bethany really surprised me last week and bought H3 the entire cd collection of GT and the Halo Express. If you haven't heard these, you need to. All the songs are Bible verses, word for word, and H3 loves them! I hear her singing them around the house, even when the music isn't playing. My favorite is when they sing Deut. 7:9 "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God. He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands." I think that is one of my favorite verses in the Bible because it describes the character of my God. This is Who I serve. This is what He has done and will do for me, as His daughter. Anyways, I've been extremely excited to have these cds around the house as a fun way for H3 to start memorizing Scripture.

April has been busy, and we look forward to May being even more so. We'll be celebrating the wedding of a couple at church, H1 and I will celebrate our 6th anniversary, and we have every weekend packed with activity! Off we go!

~H2

Easter and the week after

Have I mentioned that it’s been warm here? Well, it has. There are a million and one beetles invading my yard right now. I should look them up to see what kind they are. I really should, but I haven’t yet and have a feeling that I won’t. They’re these little black and red things that are about ½ inch long. They love one side of my house and the 4 windows on that side. I don’t see any on the other side, so apparently they love the sun!

Last Saturday I made a double batch of pan rolls in anticipation of Easter lunch on Sunday. H3 helped me with the dough.



In almost 6 years of marriage, H1 and I are still working on family Easter traditions, other than church and participating in our church programs. There’s no debate over the bunny. Neither of us are big fans of anything to do with the “Easter Bunny”, unless you’re talking about a chocolate one. In that case, I will gladly eat the ears and give you the rest. So no Santa and no Easter Bunny. If you try to ask H3 about either, she will have no clue what you’re talking about. Anyways, H1 grew up decorating eggs and going on egg hunts. I did a couple egg hunts as a kid, but they were for plastic eggs with Bible verses inside. Nothing formal, just me and my parents in my front yard. H1 is very fond of his childhood memories and wants H3 to participate in all the hoopla. This year and last, H3 has participated in the egg hunt at church. The 8-11 year old class fills eggs and hides them for the two younger classes (4-7 and toddlers). H1 does love any kind of “seek and find” game, so egg hunts are right up her alley for fun. She ran all around that church yard in her hunt! I don’t really have any pictures from that, since I was trying to make sure everything was running smoothly, so everything is from Amber’s.

After church, we went to Amber’s house for Easter dinner. Her family has been gracious to invite us to join them this year and last year, and Amber has a little egg hunt set up for H3 when she arrives.




H3 is fascinated with the little fish pond!





After hunting for the plastic eggs which had fruit snacks hidden in them, we took a detour to the chicken coop so H3 could check out the chickens and collect real eggs for the house.





Dinner was delicious and I wish I had pictures! There was ham and smoked turkey, baked beans, salad, green bean casserole, regular and blue potatoes, and so many desserts! I especially loved the strawberry shortcake and the lemon bars. That meal was both lunch and dinner! I really enjoy spending time with Amber’s family. Her mom is so sweet and I’ve enjoyed getting to know her sister-in-law, Katie. Amber is a wonderful aunt for H3, and H3 adores her.

On Tuesday another of my former roommates, Becca, came to visit us from Lynchburg. I hadn’t seen Becca since before we moved here. In fact, I was 6 or 7 months pregnant the last time I saw her! She just drove down for the day, since she had a meeting on Wednesday and then is flying out to WA later in the week. We had a really good time catching up and taking walks through the neighborhood. I’m hoping to reciprocate the visit one day soon!



Last night H1 decided to give me a break as a mom. I had a few things on my list, so he took H3 out to Sam’s Club and Walmart for a shopping trip, stopping to eat pizza at Sam’s along the way. They were gone about 3 hours. It was a nice break. I didn’t have to make dinner or clean up a kitchen afterwards! Seeing as I didn’t have to make dinner for everyone else, I reverted to a childhood dinner favorite: popcorn. I took a walk, went on another walk with the dog, then sat and read a book for a while. It was so nice and relaxing! A couple days ago I had realized I needed a brain break, and told H1 that I would like to have one sometime soon, when I wasn’t volunteering up at the squad or running errands. He called yesterday afternoon to say that he would take H3 out when he got home. It so sweet and such a blessing!

Today is supposed to be a bit cooler, in theory, so I'm hoping to spend a lot of time outside with H3 today. H1 has a baseball game tonight and when he's done, I will be up at the squad for an overnight. Tomorrow's agenda includes a haircut for H1 and maybe a trip to JC Penneys to make use of the coupon I found - $10 off any purchase of $10 or more. Have a good weekend!

~H2

Spring Breaks for Dad H. and H1

These past couple weeks have been packed full of fun! Last week my father-in-law came to visit during his spring break. The first day he watched H3 for me so I could go up to the high school and substitute. The rest of the week we just focused on lots of family time. We hung out with H3 in her room, took her to the park, and went on lots of walks. I know I’ve said it before, but I really treasure my father-in-law and the blessing that his friendship is. We sit and have coffee in the mornings and chat while H3 is playing, and I miss his company already! He’s so much fun to hang out with.

Reading in H1's room


Pop-pop swing too?


Writing the alphabet in the dirt


This past week was H1’s spring break. We were originally planning a trip to see my parents, but since my mom isn’t feeling well, we stayed home. The school year has been a long one so far and I think H1 was starting to feel burnt out, and this break has been good for him. We spent several days at home just relaxing. On Wednesday we met up with my friend Deana and her son Caleb at the Norfolk Zoo. Her husband was having trouble with his back and unable to join us. We certainly missed him, since he and H1 get along wonderfully, but we had a good time. Caleb and H3 ran around most of the day and were really excited about all the animals, especially the bears, buffalos, elephants, giraffes, and the farm animals.

H3 and H1 staring out at the turtles and geese in a pond


Me and Deana




H3 and Caleb




They really enjoyed the train ride too!


We hadn’t been before and neither had Deana, even though she grew up nearby. I’m so glad she recommended us going. We were supposed to have lunch the next day too, but only H1 was able to get there. He was already in Williamsburg that morning and H3 and I were supposed to come later and all of us meet Chris, Deana, and Caleb for lunch. H3 and I left in plenty of time, but wound up sitting for almost half an hour in construction traffic on our way to the ferry and then the ferry traffic was backed up so far that we would have been 1 ½ - 2 hours later before arriving. I had to call and cancel since we were so late and H3 was incredibly cranky from sitting in the car! She’s fine as long as the car is moving, but you need ear plugs if you’re stuck in stand-still traffic!

Today, H3 and I hung around the house while H1 took some time at another friend’s house and worked with him on some speaker boxes for that friend’s car. He also made a little wood platform to put H3’s window a.c. unit on. We’re pulling out that unit tomorrow, since the whole next week is supposed to be in the mid-high 80s!
I guess that pretty much covers everything. I’m sure I’ll have more pictures to post after this weekend! Our church is having a large Easter egg hunt for the toddlers and 4-7 year old class (my 8-11 year old class is organizing that) and after church our family is headed to Amber’s for lunch. I’m really looking forward to this weekend!

~H2

Keeping Busy

This last week was absolutely beautiful. The days were in the 70s for the most part and it only rained during the day on Tuesday. I finally set up that sand and water table that I got for H3 on Wednesday. She absolutely loves it and has been asking to play outside with it every day since then. I’m so glad we were able to get that for her. I love seeing her so excited and getting a chance to explore.




We’ve also been taking lots of walks, to the post office, to the grocery store, and just around the block. Most of the time it’s been at least ½ a mile. She has turned into my little energizer bunny! On Friday I had a doctor appointment for a check-up on my thyroid. It was pretty much a poke and go appointment, so I was there just long enough to get blood work done. After that, we met up with my college roommate, Amber, at a park and had lunch and playtime. H3 really enjoyed seeing Amber again.





The weekend was wonderful too! H1 went to a worship conference at our church. Since he’s on the worship team, he was playing too. My friend Robyn came as well. I got to see her in the evenings and mornings, since I stayed home with H3, but I’m so glad for the time we had. We stayed up waaaaay too late talking and laughing. It’s so much fun to have a friend here!

On Saturday I took a short drive north and picked up a dollhouse that I found on craigslist. It’s one of the Loving Family dollhouses, normally $70 brand new. If you buy it brand new in the store, you will get the house and the family (dad, mom, and twins), and a kitchen table with a couple chairs. My craigslist deal included all the accessories: sound and light kitchen set, living room, den, van, horse, 3 bedroom sets (parents, nursery, girl’s room), computer room, outdoor play set, and some other miscellaneous sets. I priced the stuff brand new at Walmart, and each little set sold between $9 and $18 per set. Looking at what I got, I’d estimate it’s worth to be at least $200 and all of it was just bought in December! It’s hardly been used, and I paid barely over $100 for it. We’re going to spread everything out. H3 will get the house and a couple accessories for her birthday this fall, and then the rest of it for Christmas. Some of it will be from the grandparents too (both mine and H1’s dad). I’m so excited. I’d seen that dollhouse in the store and thought it would be so cool for H3, but didn’t think we’d be able to get it because all of the accessories would have cost so much to collect. Granted, it wasn’t the cheapest thing in the world, but I think I got a pretty good deal and I’m happy with it.

My father-in-law will be coming this week. He should be arriving tomorrow shortly after H1 and I return from school (I’m substituting at the high school tomorrow). This week is his spring break at school, and I’m really glad that he’s spending some of it with us! On Friday after school, we leave for Ohio to visit my folks for a couple days. Originally my parents were coming down here to visit, but my mom isn’t up to the trip. I’m just hoping that she’ll be feeling okay when we’re up there.
We’ve been really busy these past few weeks and I’m loving it. I think we thrive on having a packed schedule. It helps to keep us structured and it’s fun. God is so good. He’s given us so much over the past couple months and just blessed us, and I’m so thankful.

~H2

New Bed and Children's Museum

This past weekend, I attended an EMS conference. The conference lasted from Friday morning through Sunday morning, and I really enjoyed it. There were a lot of excellent speakers and I’m so glad I was able to go. My friend Nicole was so kind and watched H3 for me on Friday, and then H1 cared for her on Saturday and Sunday morning.

In the midst of our busy weekend, H3 was introduced to her new “big girl” bed. We were looking on craigslist and found a wonderful captains bed for her, which I believe I mentioned in a previous post. She loves it and we had no trouble whatsoever with the transition out of her crib. So here are the pictures!






Yesterday was a stressful day for H1 at work. He came home with a horrid headache and a sore throat after lot of yelling. This morning he was still exhausted and not feeling so hot, so he slept in for a while before I made him breakfast. Since he decided to stay home today, I invited him to join H3 and I on a trip to the Children’s Museum of Richmond. We had a wonderful time. H3 played for several hours, running from station to station and exploring everything! I know I uploaded quite a few pictures on here, and there are more on Facebook. We took so many!












There is a new location opening up in Portsmouth soon, in 50 days, to be precise, and I can't wait. We're contemplating a membership so we can go more often. The Portsmouth location is a lot closer and it would give us a fun place to hang out in the winter and on nasty days. The museum is designed for education, and I think H3 will enjoy going back again. I'm so grateful we were able to go.

H1 made a yummy dinner tonight--chili cheese dip to go with tortilla chips. I guess that's what he was in the mood for, since he'd volunteered to make it on the way home from Richmond. It was delicious!

H3 was so exhausted that she was in bed by 7:15 and asleep shortly after! A nice relaxing evening for us...with some laundry!

~H2

Daily Antics

I really enjoy watching my little girl grow from day-to-day. She is constantly expanding her vocabulary and often tries to correctly identify objects in her books and around the house. My current favorite is the caterpillar. H3 has several books with pictures of these little critters and she is fascinated by them. Although she really has tried to sound it out correctly, they are currently called “Patikillers”. I’m not really sure how to spell patikiller, but that’s my best guess! Every time she says the word, it brings a smile to my face!

Another favorite antic right now is to put one of her baby doll blankets over the dog’s head. Poor Peanut is very patient and will put up with this for quite a while before finding a place to hide. Also, H3 likes to bring some of her playfood to wherever Peanut is laying down and spread it out before him. She’ll ask him to try some. “Just one bite” is her favorite phrase. Playing picnic is a favorite game of hers right now!

Thanks to her Aunt Bethany (my college roommate who delighted us with a visit form Texas a few weeks ago), a new favorite thing is “race”. H3 isn’t a huge fan of sitting in a stroller, but sometimes she just can’t handle the amount of walking we do. While Bethany and I were strolling her around Mount Vernon, Bethany introduced H3 to a race. “Are you ready? Are you sure? Are you positive? Read, set, go!” Then the idea is to run with the stroller as fast as you can for a short distance, then repeat. Over, and over, and over! Although I’m usually exhausted by the end of walks now, it’s amusing to see H3 having so much fun and enjoying her ride. H3 will ask for the race by asking you those questions!

A few minutes ago, H3’s new sandbox arrived via UPS. I was going to buy it for her at Sam’s club, but both the stores and the website seem to have run out. I guess it’s rather popular! Here’s a link so you can see it. This sandbox will be the first piece of outdoor play equipment for our backyard, to be joined shortly by a slide that my parents are bringing her next weekend (April 9th). I got a chance to substitute teach for several days last month, and this is what H1 agreed that I could do with part of my little income. The rest went for H3’s new big girl bed. I’ll have to tell you about that at another time. It’s not put together yet, so no pictures at this time. All I can say is that I love Craigslist!
Time for lunch. More updates on our little nuthouse later!

~H2