Happy Birthday, Daddy!

It is so fun that Jack is talking so much these days. I can whisper in his ear and he will do things like tell Daniel, "Happy Birthday Daddy!" We are working on learning the tune to the Happy Birthday song, but we aren't quite there yet.

In the past Daniel and I haven't really celebrated our birthdays in a traditional way (we never do cake or presents). This year Jack really wanted to have a cake, 3 balloons and 3 candles. He was very adamant about the number of balloons and candles. Too bad Daniel is 34 for this year instead of 33.

On Daniel's actual birthday, we celebrated by having lunch at the Olive Bean Cafe on Signal Mountain. Daniel had an open face roast chicken sandwich while I tried the chorizo and potato frittata. Jack had a ham and cheese sandwich with a smoothie. All of it was on the lighter side, but delicious.

As an added bonus, we saw a woman riding a horse down James Blvd. while we enjoyed our lunch on the patio.

Friday night we celebrated by going to eat dinner at Cracker Barrel (where Daniel got a free slice of chocolate cake)...

and then we went on a short night paddle to the Nickajack Bat Cave. It was a fun, low-key evening.

Saturday night I made Daniel grilled salmon (per his request)...

and my family's traditional pistachio birthday cake (per Jack's request).

Sunday was more birthday celebrations when we met up to celebrate Daniel's dad's wife's birthday at Provino's Italian Restaurant. Her kids brought a cake, so we had 3 days in a row of cake. Jack was in cake heaven!

Pistachio Cake Recipe
My mom has been making this cake for over 40 years.

Cake Ingredients

• 1 white cake mix
• 1 pistachio pudding mix
• 3/4 cup oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup Sprite

Directions

• Mix for 3 min.Pour into greased 9x13 pan.
• Cook for 40 min. @ 350º (or 25 min if using 2 round 9" cake pans)
• Cool cake before icing.

Icing Ingredients

• 1 pistachio pudding mix
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 8 oz cool whip

Directions

• Mix milk and pudding until combined.
• Add cool whip, then put on cake.
• If making a layered cake, put layer of icing between cake layers.

Jack's First Day of Preschool

Monday morning we woke to a wet, foggy day. I set my alarm to make sure we wouldn't oversleep and Jack wanted to know why it was so dark outside.

We hadn't talked a whole lot about preschool, just here and there – like when we drove by the school, but Jack was still excited. I asked him what he wanted for breakfast and we made pancakes together. Then he dressed himself, it was even appropriate to wear his rain boots since it was raining.

Our little guy is very independent (when we went to preschool orientation, Jack ran in to play and never looked back), so I expected the first day of preschool to be easy. And it was. 

I must admit that I got a little teary-eyed walking him in, but as soon as we were inside I was distracted by the dropoff. Actually I was distracted by all of the crying kids. Jack did not cry, he just ran in to play and I had to ask him to come back for a hug and then I left.

To treat myself to my first morning of freedom I went to the Olive Bean cafe for a latte. At pickup, Jack was a happy camper. He didn't want to leave because he was too busy playing. 

Day 2 of preschool went pretty much the same way (except it had stopped raining). I think Jack will love preschool. I have mixed feelings about how much he will actually learn since he is almost 3 and stuck in the 2 class because he has a November birthday, but I think he will have lots of fun and I will have a bit more time to get projects done.

Another thing we took care of this week was getting Jack a much overdue haircut. He was starting to look pretty shaggy. I kind of like him with longer hair, but it was getting in his eyes.

I think this is about the 6th haircut he has had and it was the best experience so far. We have been choosing to drive to Pigtails and Crewcuts in East Brainerd because they have toys to play with while you wait, the staff is professional and fast, and the kids get to pick to sit in an airplane, police car or firetruck.

This was a very successful week for Jack – preschool and a haircut with no tears invovled.

Local Food

The city of Chattanooga, and the people who live here, really emphasize the importance of eating locally. This means that most of the money you spend stays in the community. Also, many of the local restaurants use local food sources, so your money is going even further than just the restaurant. Here are my thoughts on some of the local places we have tried recently...

The Big Table, base of Signal Mountain
Daniel heard about this little cafe at the base of Signal Mountain and suggested we try it out one night. It is a little dainty restaurant that serves fresh southern food. We ate on the front porch so that Jack wouldn't bother those sitting inside. 

The portions were big enough that we were able to order two adult portions and share with Jack. Daniel tried the trout with a side salad while I had the casserole of the day – Poppyseed Chicken. Both were good.



Olive Bean, Signal Mountain
Olive Bean is a restaurant that recently opened on Signal Mountain. They serve a limited, but excellent selection of gourmet coffee. I am so thrilled to be able to go out for coffee (close to my house) and I also like that they have outdoor seating.

I have heard that their brunch and sandwiches options are excellent – I look forward to trying brunch soon. The Olive Bean is also a local grocery store that sells organic and local foods. It is expensive, but not astronomical by any means. I hope they stay open for a long time!


Off the Grill II, Signal Mountain
This is also a new restaurant on the mountain. According to the local weekly paper, it promised to be a great place for BBQ. Unfortunately it did not live up to expectations. The night we went, the water was turned off. We should have just left, it kind of weirded us out that they were running a kitchen with no water. Also, it just felt overpriced and the food wasn't that great. I don't think we will go back.


Hummingbird Pastaria, Signal Mountain
A couple of weeks ago, we took advantage of family visiting and let them babysit Jack while we ran out for a late cup of coffee and dessert. At first we weren't sure where to go since a lot of places on the mountain close early and we only wanted dessert (we even considered walking to the local gas station for coffee!), but then I remembered that the Hummingbird Pastaria (previously Ninos) served dessert. 

This was our first visit since it changed owners. We only had dessert but it was delicious. I had the Tiramasou and Daniel had the Chocolate Mousse. I also ordered their French Press Coffee. Unfortunately the coffee didn't taste that great – probably because I ordered decaf instead of regular. The desserts were a win and we will be going back to try their meal time offerings.

Clumpies, NorthShore (Chattanooga)
Last week we went to Clumpies for ice cream before attending Movies in the Park. 

They make their waffle cones and ice cream from scratch and it was all amazing! Daniel chose peanut butter ice cream, Jack picked strawberry with sprinkles and I had a waffle cone with espresso chocolate chunk. I can't wait to go back!

BrewHaus, NorthShore (Chattanooga)
Last week we attempted to go to the Flying Squirrel in an effort to support the LiveStrong program at our local YMCA. Unfortunately when we arrived, they told us that you had to be 21 to enter. Since we had Jack with us we had to find another place to go, so we settled on the Brewhaus in Northshore. 

The Brewhaus (which is also a bar) had no problems with kids eating at their establishment. It was a Tuesday so we thought we would get right in, however it was Trivia Night so the place was packed. After about a 10-minute wait, we lucked up with seats on the back porch with a great view of Lookout Mountain and the Walnut Street Bridge. It was great to watch people while we waited. And wait we did. I don't know if they are normally this slow or if Trivia Night had them going slower, but it was SLOW. 

Thankfully the food made up for the slow service. Daniel had a burger with bleu cheese and I tried the Rooster Schnitzel Weiner Art with a side of veggies and potato cakes. It was all amazing. Jack gobbled up the potato cakes. I hope we go back and try some of the rest of their menu (maybe when it isn't so busy). Jack was a trooper considering we were out until 9pm!

Independence Day Weekend: My Brother Visits

To continue with our 4th of July weekend fun, we were excited that my brother (Jack's Uncle Mark) decided to come spend part of the weekend with us. Jack is very social and loves when anyone comes to visit, especially family.

Mark arrived Saturday morning and after lunch and some visiting we decided to head over to Chickamauga Lake in Hixson to take a dip in the lake. 

The water was nice and cool but the beach area is rocky and there were lots of people.

I am still in the process of trying to get Jack more comfortable in the water, but he absolutely refused to wear the puddle jumper we recently bought him (that he picked out). 

One of these days we will get him in the water!

After swimming, I dropped Mark and Jack at Chick-fil-a to get ice cream while I picked up groceries for dinner.

We decided to grill a surf-and-turf spread. The steak, shrimp and sea scallops were all really delicious. 

To go along with our meat, we made homemade sweet potato fries and pico with chips. 

I love having my brother visit, because after we made our delicious spread he jumped in and did almost all of the clean up!

Mark was really sweet and offered to read books to Jack at bedtime. He did a great first-time reading of the Dr. Seuss book "Fox in Sox." I kept waiting for him to mess up and he never did.

Sunday afternoon while Jack napped, Mark and I went to grab coffee at one of the newest cafes on Signal Mountain, The Olive Bean Cafe – a cafe combined with a grocery store that sells local food. I am looking forward to trying out the various grains from their bulk bins as well as picking up some farm fresh eggs.

It was nice to sit on the front porch of the cafe and sip a latte. I am so glad there is a place to get good coffee (in an actual mug) on Signal Mountain now. I'm looking forward to taking Daniel to the Olive Bean for a coffee date.