Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Here is a super yummy (personally tweaked!) recipe that I have been making quite a bit lately. They are a great way to use up brown bananas.

The boys love them and so do I (even though I am usually not a big fan of banana bread)! The boys call these muffins "mups!" So cute! Enjoy! Let me know if you like them!

INGREDIENTS:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt OR flavored yogurt OR sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (1-2)
1/2-2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips (if you make mini muffins, mini chocolate chips work wonderfully!)

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt.

In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt, milk and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in bananas and chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 22-25 minutes or 12 min for mini muffins until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. ENJOY your MUPS!

Poppie

My grandfather, Charles Kenneth Arpke, passed away on Tuesday May 18th. He was the ripe old age of 88 and had been fading for a while but his passing still hurt quite a bit. Aaron and I packed up the boys, picked up my sister Kalina, her son Hunter, and my brother Kellan (who happened to be in Norfolk VA for an ROTC event), rented a huge SUV and drove down to FL. It was an adventure! The kids did really well (mostly) and the adults didn't kill them or each other. It was really nice to see my siblings but a sad circumstance to bring us together.

We got to Florida on Friday and saw my parents, uncles and grandmother, Nonnie. Nonnie and I just sat on the couch together and snuggled. She seemed alright but I know that having her family there was helping to ease (mask?) the pain of losing her husband of 60 years. She nursed him at home until the end.

I really missed Poppie when we got to the house. He would always say, "Hey Brit!" or "Hi there sweetie!" and give me a big hug and kiss. His memorial service was on Saturday at 1pm. It was nice service although we had to sit in the "cry room" at the back to the sanctuary with the boys because they were WILD! They were pretty good for most of the trip but they didn't get a nap at their normal time (most of the time not at all!) the whole time we were gone so my family didn't really see their best side but everyone understood.

In the past 4 years that Aaron and I have been married (4 years TODAY, actually) we have lost 4 grandparents between the two of us. Wow. I guess we are at that age where we are both creating life and saying goodbye to those we love too. I am so glad that because Aaron is from FL, I was able to spend a lot of time with my grandparents in the last 7 years. I know I appreciate my relationships with them so much more than I did when I was a kid. Poppie was a wonderful man and I miss him dearly.

Tiss and Snugs?

I wrote earlier this year about the cute way the boys say certain words, especially "kiss" (tiss!) and "snuggle/hug" (snugs!)

The other night the boys were NOT wanting to go to sleep. The kept crying and crying in their room. After numerous trips in there to talk to them and snuggle with them, we finally decided to get them up again. It was about 9pm and Aaron and I were watching Two and a Half Men on TV. The show is pretty funny but a bit off color in parts (probably why it is so funny!) and definitely not a kids show.

One of the characters was getting, shall we say, amorous with a lady friend in bed. Usually the boys are oblivious to non-kid shows on TV but lately, we have noticed how much they are noticing. Well, Micah, apparently was very in tune to the TV that night. He watched the couple on TV and said, "Tiss? Tiss? Tiss?" (There were lots of kisses on TV) Then he turned around and kissed me.

(I was thinking, "Our kids should probably not be watching this.")

Then, as the couple got more "friendly" (it was nothing super inappropriate, it was NBC, not MTV) Micah said, "Tiss! AND SNUGS?" Aaron and I just about died laughing, me with a red face and pricked conscience. Sweet little Micah just saw the couple being loving with lots of "tiss-es" and "snugs." This incident just showed us how much the boys are picking up these days. Parenting is a hilarious and humbling job!

Chew! Chew!

Like most 2 year olds learning to talk, the boys are repeating everything we say, especially common phrases like "be careful!" "What do you say?" and "Are you ok?"

We say this last phrase quite a bit, especially after the boys cough. The tend to cough quite a bit at dinner where there is a great temptation to stuff all of one's food in one's mouth at once. Of course, the result is coughing. After the familiar, "Are you ok?" the next command given is "Chew your food!" or simply "Chew! Chew!"

The other night Aaron was laying with Micah before he went to sleep. Aaron got a tickle in this throat and started coughing. Usually Micah, our sweet sensitive son, will ask, "Are you ok?" But this time he told Daddy, "Chew! Chew!!"