honorary siblings

When I think about the"L" family, i kind of think of them as "new" friends. But as we were chatting last night, we actually have known eachother for over two years! Which makes more sense because we feel like we've known them for longer :)

After our small group last night, we all impromtu - like decided that they should stay for dinner.
(Which was dino-bites for the kidd-os, and fish tacos for the grown-ups).

After the kids ate, this is what happened.. which was a miracle, because it allowed us to eat quietly with very little interruptions. (thank you AGAIN Yo Gabba Gabba!!)

How cute are they all lined up on the sofa. They are captivated!

From Left to right: Collin, Liam, Audrey and Ian)
* Liam and Ian STILL look like they could be twinners.

Here they are at Liam's first bday... so you can see that they looked a lot alike back then too!

clearly MY child is annoyed with something...
this lasted for a while...

i think TWO episodes in a row!!

my favorite little foodie mag. - and some substitution tips.

Do you guys subscribe to Martha's "Everyday Food"? I am a charter subscriber, and have been on board since vol. 1. and this is absolutely my GO TO mag... for weeknight recipes that are simple, delicious and use fresh ingredients... most can be done inside of 30 minutes.
this has been one that we cook often, and is super easily tweakable when we don't have all of the proper ingredients.

Green Chicken Cutlets

so.. i didn't have chicken cutlets.... so, i used some frozen chicken breasts i had in the freezer... i just thawed them out in the microwave, then pounded the hell out of them by putting them in a freezer gallon sized ziploc bag and rolled with a rolling pin. I also marinated the chicken with a little olive oil, garlic, s&p inside the bag while i prepped the topping.

so - the substitution list:
- i didn't have mint... but i had basil, so - i used that instead.
- i also didn't have feta - but i had blue... so, it had to do.
- oh, finally, i added some red onion, because - i like red onion, and luckily so does the Mr.

here is what the topping looked like - pretty, no?

so, then while the ingredients in the topping were getting accquainted, and getting to room temp... we grilled up the chicken
(ummm, i don't have a grill pan, so i used a non-stick skillet w/ some pam) it works in a pinch!

in about 4 min on each side, its ready to plate... just top with the topping, and there you go.

easy, breezy... dinner in less than 30 min.

Bon Appetit!

Happy 19 months Lima Bean.

You are my little helper. Helper, helper bean!
Every month i think this.. but really, this time - i swear, it gets BETTER every month... really, it does! You are blossoming, and are SOO much fun i don't know where to start!!
YOU UNDERSTAND ME... you know what i am saying.. this is HUGE. HUGE. HUGE. You know when I ask you to "wash your hands"... and you actually DO IT. same with brushing your teeth, picking up your toys, giving high 5s and kisses on command. (thats my favorite... kisses!)
You are sweet and shy, your shyness is endearing and super flirtarific!! You LOVE the ladies, especially your "aunt" Kammy - you have taken a liking to snuggling with her, and even though she is scared of kid germs... i think she kinda likes it... so, keep it up!
You LOVE to help me cook.. still. I love it. Maybe one day you will be like Curis Stone (the take home chef) who I adore... maybe you will be the next Bobby Flay, which everyone thinks looks like your Daddy. Maybe you will be your very own Food Network personality. You definitely have the PERSONALITY... now, we'll keep working on the cooking skills.
You are totall obsessed with Balls... maybe you get this from Jinx and Ace? Maybe its a boy thing... just like you absolutely LOVE cars.. I think this, you get from your grand dad - grandpa bob... he LOVES cars too.
For your 19 month bday, I bought you a water table to splash around in outside. I thought you would go crazy for this, since you love the water... and you DO like it... but you still prefer splashing about in the dog dishes... that being said... you ALWAYS surprise me... always, always...don't stop - you keep things interesting, and i love that about you. You are a little unpredictable. its ok.. its quirky... and if you weren't quirky... you wouldn't be my kid.
i LOVE you little man.

happy golden birthday... at least until you turn 19 YEARS old... may the time between now and then linger sweetly.

love,
mama.

unpredictable...

you like to help vacuum.

Do you like pretty furniture? Do you LOVE a good deal?

Then CHECK OUT my pal Kammy's blog post today.
She is an amazing interior designer and is clearing out her warehouse to make room for more stuff.
Here is the direct website where you can check out the inventory and pricing.
http://www.designerhomefurnituresale.com/home
Oh - did I mention that a portion of the proceeds will benefit HomeAid? So, you can feel good about spending some $$!
Happy shopping!
kari

springtime helper

1st, i will say - WELCOME SPRING ... it has been nice enough here to bring out the patio furniture, so i was pulling the cushions from the garage and limabean was nice enough to help his mama out.

How do you solve a problem like my Ace-ah?

Why is it that the second child (DOG) can be such a sweet-boy... such a trouble-maker... such a handsome guy...and SO accident prone all at the same time? I guess it is because this 2nd dog doesn't do ANYTHING halfway.
he works hard, plays hard, loves hard... and unfortunately - sometimes he falls hard.

Remember back in December when he was PROTECTING hard, and his ego was writing checks his body couldn't cash.. which landed him in the ER w/ emergency surgery and 30+ staples in his neck?? Well - he bounced back... and all has been back to normal.
UNTIL...last night when we noticed his toenail (which they call a "dew claw") was bleeding/broken and bent about halfway back.. eek! He had just come back from a run at the park w/ Kurt and Jinx... so it must've happened while they were playing.. Of course it was 9:00 pm - which meant another trip to the doggie ER (THANK YOU KURT for taking him)... they made it home just past midnight... this time the bill was about one tenth the amount it was last time, which we were thankful for - and Acey is going to be just fine.
see...

only a teenly little acey-bandage...

which annoys him...
but also makes me feel sorry for him... (look at that face)...
and pulls at my heartstrings just enough to look the other way - when he does things like get on the sofa...

the white sofa...

but - how could i move my poor, sweet, cute, injured 2nd child?

saturday night in.

We must be getting old.
Why? Because I never thought I would prefer a Saturday night spent at home to a night out on the town.
More and more, we are enjoying these times at home... maybe its becaue we ARE getting old, maybe it has to do with the economy - and a night in is a surefire way to save a little $, maybe its part of being a family... maybe its just plain fun... especially when good friends come over and partake on our cozy evening in.

uncle Todd and Liam built a few beautiful masterpieces with megablocks.

Liam taught aunt Kammy a thing or two about construction safety and the importance of a hard hat.
He made her demo the hat herself.

She looks pretty cute in it, and it made Limabean very happy that she is now protected.

*** intermission / put liam to bed ***

Now that Liam is snug as a bug in a rug. We do what we do best when we get together... WE COOK!
Tonights assignment. Tri-tip Beef Stroganoff with Sourdough Toasts from the March 2010 issue of Bon Appetit.

It called for WILD mushrooms.. how is this for wild? these are Oyster Mushrooms ... part scary, part intersting, and part yummy.

then - everyone's FAVORITE ingredient. BUTTAH.

mmm.

* about here we started drinking some wine, and didn't take anymore photos... even the photo below isn't from last night... its actually leftovers - from today - just so you could see the finished product - which looked WAY better last night btw.

anyway - it was surpringly delicious, and super fun to try something new and challenging.

Oh -we can't forget Uncle Todd's amazing Gin-infused raspberry tart which was topped with powdered sugar and fresh whipped cream.

Would you believe the man who made this Tart is out riding his NEW Harley with Kurt today?
AND would you believe the boys did ALL the dishes?

I love that they do things like bake like a professional pastry chef, and clean up a messy kitchen one night, and ride the open road the next.

thanks for coming over and spending Saturday night in with us!

camera phone grab bag

TGIF!
its been a long and tiring week.
kurts been on the road, i've been on the road.
so much juggling and scheduling with a toddler, two dogs and two parents who work full-time.
thank goodness we have some good friends to lend support.
(thanks henny for helping kurt out with the daycare pickup situation this week!)
did i mention TGIF?

the only pics we took this week were from the camera on our phones.

morning snuggles

got my hard hat - off to work!
we need this in our backyard!whats in the box?

so grown up - strolling in the park