It’s been a minute since my last Catching Up With The Kelnhofers update…ermmmm, actually it’s been a year. It’s just me running this blog, I celebrated 13 years of blogging, and one of the things that brings me the most joy is sharing with you, but not in a pre-determined way…sharing when I have a moment (I also have a part time job outside the home and 4 kids lol) vs. coming up with a pre-determined content calendar and then feeling bad when I’d inevitably get behind. All this to say, I’m so happy to be sharing this update with you – I’m not going to share a years worth of updates because that would take forever, just some of the recent ones. At the bottom I’m sharing a few of my favorite products and recipes of the year!
We got our fall family photos done
- We got our family photos taken. The kids, omg, they did not want to be there doing photos. They just kept picking up rocks and wanting to throw them, and then sand would get on their dark clothes and we’d have to clean them up. And they were just not having it. Nick told the photographer (who is amazing dealing with kids – Cassie Rosch) to just take a picture of them throwing rocks because that’s the best we were going to get. Then, omg, image my sheer and utter shock when the photos came back and there were multiple gorgeous ones. I was stunned! This is the dress I wore. Cassie is a magician.
Frankie diner lunch date
- Frankie had a playdate with a lovely friend from ballet. They did a princess tea party theme, and a craft, so cute. On the way home Frankie knew that the boys were at the zoo and asked if just her and I could go to lunch (of course I said yes). We went to a little diner by our house. Why is diner soup always so good?
Sam allergy testing
- Last year Sam had what we thought was an allergic reaction to shrimp, we weren’t sure. We got an EpiPen to have in the house. Then he ate a piece of sushi off my plate and had wheezing, there was shrimp in it so his pediatrician said we should probably get him tested, sure enough, he tested positive for being allergic to shrimp, lobster and crab, there were a few other borderline ones like crab, so we’re just going to stay away from shellfish as a whole for him. And of all our kids he’s the one who is most adventurous with eating so it’s sad. When he got his blood drawn, the nurses gave him this hat, scarf and mittens set, it was so sweet and he was so brave.
We celebrated Nicks family Slava
- A Slava is a family’s annual ceremony and veneration of their patron saint. We went to church with Sam (the other kids had school) and then we took Sam to lunch. I had the most delicious salad and soup at Storyhill BKC
- I made vanilice (raspberry filled vanilla sandwich cookies, so so good) for the cookie plates. We had a big meal/feast at Nicks uncles house.
Tour of American Family Field
- The kids aunt gifted them a tour of the stadium, and wow was it cool. Highly recommend checking out the stadium where you live, we really got to go behind the scenes
Nick and I
- We got to go to see Dave Matthews Band at Alpine Valley. It’s an outdoor music theater. Because of thunder and weather conditions they postponed, we left when they told us to go shelter in our cars, so many people stayed until they made the official announcement hours later. They rescheduled and we were able to attend. We also got to get dressed up and go to a wedding!
A few of my favorite purchases this year:
- The little green clean machine – this thing cleans carpet and upholstery like a dream, it actually works! See it in action in the photo below
- This water bottle – I’ve also gifted it to like 5 friends, I love it
- This red lipstick – it’s nourishing (doesn’t peel) and just offers such a pick me up
- My porch goose – I buy it costumes for each season, it brings me so much joy
- These bins for memory boxes for the 4 kids, I got some file folder and made one for each grade, and then their school pics and projects go in them.
- These sheet pan parchment paper sheets that are precut, wow are they great. They save me time messing with parchment paper, are great for easy clean up, and last forever because there’s 200 sheets!
A few of my favorite recipes I’ve made this year:
- Yogurt marinated chicken – you can cook it a bunch of different ways (stovetop, oven, grill) and you can make so many things with it (pitas, salad, grain bowls)
- Chocolate chip cookies – from the Zoe Bakes Cookies cookbook. They’re sheer perfection, I’m going to share them here on the blog soon. And I’m making so many of the cookies in the cookbook for Christmas!
- Pancakes – Nick gets the credit on these, he wakes up on the weekends and makes a double batch so that we’ll have enough leftovers to freeze for the week ahead. And he adds flaxseeds!
- This sheet pan Greek potatoes with chicken sausage and zucchini is a favorite, I make it so often I’ve lost track!
- A big favorite – making pizza with kids
Here is a video of this Catching Up With The Kelnhofers:
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