Banana Chocolate Bread Pudding

I made this the other day and it was delicious! I will definitely be making this again!

Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding -from allrecipes

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup white sugar (I used 2/3 cup and it was very sweet. Next time I'll try 1/2 cup.)
  
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups cubed French bread
• 2 bananas, sliced
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (next time I'll mix in 3/4 and then sprinkle 1/4 over the top)
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. I used my casserole dish that is smaller than a 9 x 13.
   
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in bread, bananas, and chocolate chips, and let rest 5 (to 10) minutes for bread to soak. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Line a roasting pan with a damp kitchen towel. Place loaf pan on towel inside roasting pan, and place roasting pan on oven rack. Fill roasting pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the loaf pan. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. It took me 1-1/2 hours.

I served it warm with ice cream and it was delicious!!

The other day on a walk

~ I saw my stroller twin. She had the exact same stroller (though hers is green and mine is all black) and the conversion bar and the same car seat in the same colors. I wanted to say something, but I didn't. She didn't even notice we were stroller twins.

~ Old men in Porsches don't let women with strollers cross the street before they zoom off... to the next stop sign, 50 feet away...

Sign that you don't want to see on your walk...

Uh... thanks, National Arboretum.

A new kind of score-keeping

Today:
nails Mama cut : 9
fingers Mama cut : 0


last Friday:
nails Mama cut: 1
fingers Mama cut: 1


That whole "cut the baby's nails while they're sleeping" thing is great... until you figure out you have swaddled their hands IN the wrap so that the baby doesn't wake herself. Then you cut her finger and it bleeds all over a new (never been worn) onesie from Janie and Jack that you still probably paid too much for, even though you chose it off the clearance rack.

I think nail-cutting will remain a job for Daddy!

Ten Good Things (in no particular order)

A friend recently wrote about 10 good things that she's thankful for, and it inspired me to do the same:

1. Baby girl smiles - they're the best!

2. A husband who says, "Are you going to get a pedicure? That's what girls do when it's spring."

3. Blossoming trees, particularly cherry trees, even though they make me sneeze. But they are like cotton candy for the eyes!

4. The idea of planting a garden

5. Planning a trip to Florida to introduce BG to her aunts & uncle

6. Getting the itch to craft again

7. Dreaming of visiting Hilo soon

8. Happiness over inexpensive cute new t-shirts from gap

9. Excitement of a friend's husband returning from several months in Afghanistan and him finally getting to meet his ADORABLE son

10. Starting to get the house in order again after being sick and traveling

{bonus} Getting 8 consecutive hours of sleep a night!

And another month has gone by...

... and I find myself with little to talk about. Only CO and I seem to be excited about the amount of poopy diapers. Then again, baby girl rolled over last night from her back to her stomach, and that was pretty exciting.

Spring has sprung and the blossoms are in full swing. Very pretty to look at, but apparently I'm allergic to something. I'm holed up in the house, wondering how much longer it's going to last.

Hmm... I need to find some blogging inspiration again. Baby girl will provide tons of fodder once she starts talking, but as of right now, most of the conversation is one-sided, with me providing running commentary of our days. Any suggestions?

My little penguin