Tough life...

Lalon getting a quick cat nap in after her morning bottle - she lives a tough life you know!

Naylor napping with his babies - so sweet.

Lalon down for her afternoon nap - for now, she and Naylor are in sync for their naps!

As you all know, I stay home with the kids and while some days are more trying than others, those are few and far between and we generally have lots of fun and share lots of smiles. Today has been just as sweet as it could be so far - we all got up and had breakfast and then ran some errands and came home in time for naps. I do enjoy the quietness of nap time and sometimes even take one myself! This may be one of my favorite parts of the day though, to go in and see their sweet little faces while they sleep... I like to step in and peek at them before I go to bed at night too. With those two down the hall, wouldn't you just stand and watch them too?!

Blackened Chicken Fettuccine

Well I had high expectations for this dish and while it was good, I think I had worked it up in my head WAY too much! I'll make it again (especially the pasta / veggie part), but next time I may just marinate and grill the chicken. For this, I used some thin sliced chicken breasts and it was a little too salty for my liking - not sure if it's because the meat was thin it absorbed all the salt or if it's just a salty dish. Naylor loved and again ate it up (while I was chopping veggies, he snacked on some red and yellow peppers - pretty cool) and Brian liked it as well, but so far the overall winner this week was the salmon.

Please note the chicken needs to marinate 8 hrs for this recipe.

Blackened Chicken Fettuccine

1 T garlic powder

1 T onion powder

1 T dried thyme

1 T dried oregano

1 T paprika

1 T dried tarragon

1 T ground nutmeg

1 t salt

1 t ground red pepper

1/2 t black pepper

2/3 c olive oil

1/2 c Worcestershire sauce

5 skinned and boned chicken breast halves

1 (12 oz) pkg dried fettuccine (I used whole wheat and couldn't taste a difference)

1/2 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1/2 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips

2 celery ribs, sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

2 carrots, diagonally sliced

1 c dry white wine (I used a Sauvignon Blanc)

3/4 c whipping cream

3 medium tomatoes, chopped

2 T water

1 t cornstarch

Freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

Combine the first 12 ingredients in a heavy duty zip top plastic bag; add chicken. Seal bag and marinate in refrigerator 8 hrs, turning bag occasionally.

Remove chicken from bag, discarding marinade. Cook chicken in melted butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes on each side or until well browned. Remove chicken from skillet, reserving drippings in skillet. Slice chicken diagonally, and set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain well. Set aside. Saute peppers, celery, onion and carrot in drippings in skillet 4 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add wine, whipping cream and tomato. Simmer 5 minutes.

Combine water and cornstarch; stir well. Add to vegetable mixture in skillet. Bring to a boil; boil 1 minute or until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add chicken and pasta, tossing well. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Steak Salad

Picture it, it's 5:06 p.m. and I run in the kitchen to get some Blackened Chicken Fettucine going for dinner. Here I am pulling out spices left and right when suddenly I see the words and let marinate 8 hours. Uh-oh, now what?!? Needless to say, we didn't have Blackened Chicken Fettucine. Don't worry, we'll just switch up the recipes and have Steak Salad tonight. I didn't eat this last night, but am having mine for lunch today. However, I did try the dressing and I think I'll make it in the future just to have on hand - it was yummy. Also, Brian's salad last night didn't include the tomato or olive because he doesn't like them (crazy!), so he got the simple version plus mushrooms because I had some on hand. My friend Stacy sent this to me a while back and I'm just disappointed I didn't make it before now! Oh yeah, I mixed up all my marinade ingredients last night and put my chicken breasts in first thing this morning... tonight or tomorrow morning I'll let you know about the fettucine!

Steak Salad

Ingredients
1 3/4 pounds beef sirloin steak
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
8 cups romaine lettuce - rinsed, dried, and torn into bite-size pieces
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 small green bell pepper, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1/2 cup sliced red onion
1/4 cup sliced pimento-stuffed green olives

Directions
Preheat grill for high heat. Lightly oil grate. Place steak on grill and cook for 3 to 5 minutes per side or until desired doneness is reached. Remove from heat and let sit until cool enough to handle. Slice steak into bite size pieces. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Mix in the cheese. Cover and place dressing in refrigerator. Onto chilled plates arrange the lettuce, tomato, pepper, onion and olives. Top with steak and drizzle with dressing. Serve with crusty grilled French bread. Enjoy!

Lalon Hope

We think Lalon may be a chameleon like her cousin Ava James. If you look at the baby pictures, she looks A LOT like Brian and Naylor looks A LOT like me (I'm going to have to find some and scan them 'cause folks find that hard to believe). However, Lalon definitely has the Edwards family eyebrows, Brian's hairline and my "non-verbals", aka facial expressions. Here's a picture of us tonight after dinner; she's just the sweetest and doing great. I don't know that she so much looks like me in this picture, but a picture all the same. As soon as I can find the baby pics of me and Brian I will scan and post along with pics of Naylor and Lalon.

Honey Teriyaki Salmon

WOW!! This was amazing and we will definitely be having it again. Brian has been begging for a fish dish forever and I don't know why, but I've always had this stigma about preparing / cooking fish... not sure why, this was wonderful, super easy prep and cooked in 10 minutes! And again, it passed the test; I served it with brown rice and steamed broccoli and Naylor ate every single bite and even had seconds! Brian and I also enjoyed a nice chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc which was quite delightful. On deck for the remainder of the week: Blackened Chicken Fettucine, Stuffed Peppers and Steak Salad - I'll let you know how it goes!

PLEASE NOTE: The recipe calls for the salmon to marinate for 6 - 24 hours prior to cooking... I almost missed that, but luckily was planning ahead today and was able to get it going before the 6 hr window passed.

Honey Teriyaki Salmon

1/4 c reduced sodium soy sauce

1 T chopped peeled fresh ginger

1 T honey

1 T fresh lemon juice

1 garlic clove, crushed

4 (1/4 lb) skinless salmon filets

1) Whisk together the soy sauce, ginger, honey, lemon juice, and garlic in a small bowl until the honey has dissolved; pour into a large zip-close plastic bag. Add the salmon, squeeze the air out, and seal the bag; turn to coat the salmon. Regrigerate, turning the bag occasionally, at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours.

2) Remove the salmon from the marinade; transfer the remaining marinade to a small bowl.

3) Spray a large ridged grill pan or nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium heat. Add the salmon and cook 5 minutes. Turn the salmon, brush with the reserved marinade (discard any excess marinade), and cook until just opaque in the center, about 5 minutes more. Serve at once.

I got this recipe from a Weight Watchers cookbook and it has a POINTS value of 4 if you use WW.

Green Enchiladas

I feel like I've been making the same 10 meals over and over... so over the next couple of weeks we're trying lots of new recipes and I'll be sharing the good ones! This one was a hit (and my new definition of hit is that it includes a meat, a veggie and that Naylor eats it)!

Green Enchiladas

4 c water
2 lbs skinned, boned chicken breast halves
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 c butter or margarine
1 (10oz) pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
24 oz container sour cream
1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles, drained
3/4 c milk
1 t ground cumin
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
12 (6 inch) flour tortillas
1 (16 oz) pkg Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (I only had the Mexican kind and it was tasty - I think just shred cheese will work)

Bring water to a boil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken; cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until tender. Remove chicken and shred; set aside.

Saute onion in butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until tender. Remove from heat; add spinach and next 7 ingredients, stirring well.

Combine half of spinach mixture with chicken; stir well. Spoon 1/3 c chicken mixture evenly down center of each tortilla; roll up tortillas, jellyroll fashion. Place tortillas, seam side down, in 2 lightly greased 11x7 inch baking dishes (I used 9 x 13). Sprinkle 1/4 of cheese evenly over each casserole. Spoon remaining spinach mixture over cheese; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes. Yield: 6 servings

Happiest minute - so sweet.

Luke and Naylor on Thursday over lunch - these two are a riot. If you are having a bad day, take a minute to watch this, you should be smiling by the end! Oh yeah, don't mind the heavy breathing in the background - I was standing just over Lalon who was enjoying her bottle.

Video 122

New tricycle and a Fire Truck

Thank goodness for the beautiful weather today; it was so nice for all of us to get outside and play! Brian put together Naylor's tricycle, I popped Lalon in the stroller and we headed down to the playground. Naylor and Brian went down the slide and played on the see-saw for a while and had lots of fun.

On our walk back to the house we saw a big bunch of boys sitting in a big circle in the street and a fire truck and water rushing out of a hydrant - now that looked like some fun! The local fire station was checking the hydrant to make sure it was in compliance and gave it a fresh coat of paint. While they were there, they talked to all the boys and let them all sit in the fire truck; it was a lot of fun. The firemen were so very kind and told us to call anytime; hopefully we won't need to!

Once we were back inside, we played with the home made play-doh that Naylor's buddy Carson brought over for him. He didn't really like it that much when I tried it, but was having lots of fun with his dad.

First slumber party!

Luke and Naylor eating bananas and pancakes for breakfast in their pj's - sweet boys.

Last night Naylor had his first sleep over with his buddy Luke. Luke's dad was already up in the DC area for work and his mom was flying out early this morning to head up so that they could finalize the details of their new home. So we decided to have Luke spend the night so that mom (who was already having to get up way early) wouldn't have to wake Luke and take him out in the cold.

Luke came over all ready for bed in his pj's and when those two saw each other they both went nuts! Squealing and laughing and chasing each other - it was pretty cute. We had to calm them down though, read our stories and hop into bed.

This morning, all 3 (let's not forget about Lalon) woke up within 10 minutes of each other, so we got on up and had breakfast. Everyone has been playing nicely so far this morning and Hayden and Noah will be over any minute to join in on the fun.

Two more firsts...

This morning Lalon took her first shower and didn't seem to mind it one bit; she did great. We put Naylor in the shower about this same age, maybe a little older and he still loves to get in there.

Tonight, Naylor officially ate with his spoon for the first time. He's been using it at meals for months, but really got it tonight. We're going to keep working on it, but he did great and was really pleased with himself (we were pretty proud too).

Chik-fil-a Playdate!

Noah coming down - he's kind of spread eagle here.
Luke taking it down slow.

Luke trying to help Naylor and Stacy out while Noah supervises. That's Alec in the background; he kept telling the boys to share.

Sweet Noah

Luke and Naylor

Hayden - his mom was smart and brought him a healthy lunch - he's going to be 1 next week!

The gals and I were looking for something to do with the boys this morning so we headed to our local Chik-fil-a in Holly Springs for a playdate. We are realizing the "boyness" of our boys and were trying to find something / somewhere that they could run around, be loud and not disruptive all at the same time... Chik-fil-a indoor playground here we come!! The boys had fun and I think all the moms did too because we weren't on extreme high alert of what are they going to break. Here are a few fun pictures of them playing and sliding and then enjoying lunch. It was perfect for us because Naylor played hard, ate well and was zonked out just as we got home. I think we will definitely be back!

Whodathunkit?

This week we're trying a new recipe each night. Last night was the Minestrone (awesome), tonight was a Maple Mustard Pork Tenderloin with brown rice and asparagus (it was okay, I have another pork recipe that Annie makes that's way better).

ANYWAY... of all that goodness on his plate, Naylor loved the asparagus the most and ate 2 or 3 spears. I'm afraid of what tomorrow's diapers may bring, but how awesome that he liked the green stuff - yay for Naylor! It could have been that he liked eating the thing that was funny looking, but I'll take it.

Hearty Minestrone Soup

This was very good and hearty. The friend, Stacy that shared this added 1 lb of Italian sausage and sauteed with the onion; I had intended to do the same, but forgot to get it so I used 1 lb Neese's hot sausage and it was delicious. Very quick to make; probably took me longer to chop the veggies than cook it! I will definitely be making this again. It also made a huge amount, so I put some in the freezer for later.

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 1 cup chopped cabbage (I did not use this)
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 1/2 cups water
• 2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can(15 oz) garbanzo beans or chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (15 oz) tomato puree (The largest I could find was 10oz)
• 1 can (8oz) tomato paste (I used 6 oz and it was fine)
• 3 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup small pasta shells (I couldn't find the baby shells, so I used regular and I added 2 cups and it wasn't too much pasta)
• Fresh basil leaves and shaved parmesan cheese, optional

In a Dutch oven, brown meat and onion until cooked. Add the celery, carrots, cabbage, green pepper, zucchini and garlic; saute 3 minutes longer. Stir in the water, tomatoes, beans, tomato pureee, tomato sauce and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Stir in pasta; cook 12-15 minutes longer or until tender. Garnish wtih basil and parm cheese.

*The original recipe is meatless and calls for 3 Tbsp oil to saute the onion in.

Lalon's 3 month pictures

The proofs are ready for viewing and I think they turned out great!

Check them out at http://www.michellestudios.com/slideshows/ and the password is lalon (case sensitive).

If you can't duct it...

The buffet in the kitchen has become of great interest just over the weekend... would be okay, but lots of fancy breakables are stored in here!

He loves to turn these on every time he's in the bathroom. The tape works great, except I really, really have to want to take a bath these days to un-tape and re-set it!

Cool dude - having fun with some of Brian's old glasses this morning.

Trying as hard as he can to sit (and fit) in Lalon's bumbo!

So here we are in the prime of Naylor's curiosity stage and have pretty much childproofed the house. Occassionally he will get into something we didn't realize he could get in to, but these days that's kind of rare - we're so proud of ourselves for making our house safe for him. Well, after all the money we've spent on child proofing gear, there are some things that they just don't make gadgets for to keep closed. In these special cases, I've found painter's tape to be my new best friend! So far, it keeps him out / off of whatever the interesting piece may be and doesn't mess up my furniture like duct tape would (leaving that gooey glue behind). So if and when you visit and see blue tape throughout the house, please know we aren't painting, we're childproofing!

Also, here are a few pictures of Naylor this morning - what a doll (almost all of the time)!

Valentine's Rooster!

My sweet Valentine's first thing this morning.

Practicing his acrobatics!

Checking out his new Matchbox cars - he loves little cars!

You may be wondering what in the world is a Valentine's Rooster?? Well, he's a distant cousin of the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy; he started visiting us when I was in high school and has made quick drop-ins ever since.

Amazingly enough, he can still find me and made one early delivery (apparently he sometimes gets confused and still leaves things at Annie and Pa's) and then stopped by our house too. Lalon got a sweet little shirt with a giraffe and hearts on it; Naylor got his first Matchbox cars and a coloring book and crayons and Brian got some fun poker cards.

Our super sweet neighbors offered to keep the kids for a little while this afternoon, so Brian and I got a surprise date! We went to the movies and saw Valentine's Day (super cute movie and not too girly, Brian liked it too) and then got a quick bite at Jack Astor's (where we had our very first date about 8.5 years ago). Came home to the kids and just hung out the remainder of the afternoon; pretty good day.

Valentine's Day

Well, the day of love is coming up and I wanted to do a cute something for the special ones in our lives. I had the bright idea of doing something crafty and having Naylor and Lalon paint their hands to put their prints in cards for close ones. Well, Naylor loved it and had lots of fun; I see some afternoon painting coming up soon! Lalon on the other hand didn't love it so much and kept her hand balled up in a fist, so only the grandparents get one Lalon and Naylor's hand! I also tried to take a sweet picture of the two of them to send out... boy was that a riot! As you can see, neither of them wanted to participate, but I got one that was okay and would have to work.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Picture Day!

This morning Naylor headed over to Luke's to play and a nap while Lalon and I ventured out against the wind for her 3 month photo shoot. I called this her "fancy session" as she was decked out in lots of beautiful dresses for most of the shots.

Naylor was (and still is) definitely a ham for the camera and knows how to "turn it on" when someone pulls a camera out... Lalon went for the more serious approach, but somehow it seemed to work for her. I'm anxious to see the proofs and will post the link as soon as we have it - probably this weekend.

Lalon's first trip to church

This morning Lalon went to church for the first time and she did great. She had a bottle when we first got there and then just smiled and smiled the rest of the time taking a quick nap towards the end and even joined me for Communion! We hope to have her baptized soon, maybe this month or in March - I'm going to call Jim this week and see when we can get it on the calendar. He announced today that he'll be leaving soon and I want him to do it. He's a part of the special things in our lives, including our wedding and Naylor's baptism, so I definitely want him to be a part of Lalon's special day too.

We had a big weekend at Annie and Pa's for Pa's birthday with way too much food! We also went to Anna's pageant and saw her receive 2nd runner-up as Little Miss Midway - she did great and was so beautiful. I'm so proud of her!

We have lots of activities lined up this week with a visit to the library for story time, McDonald's is hosting a craft something, Lalon is getting her 3 month pictures taken and I'm sure we'll throw a play date in there too!

So many blessings

It is very easy to get caught up in every day life that we sometimes don't stop to appreciate the people and things in our lives. I think now that I have been blessed with Naylor and Lalon, I stop to "smell the roses" more often and they have opened my eyes to all the things that I'm grateful for each and every day. If you are reading this, please know that you are one of those special blessings that I give thanks for each day. Below is a forwarded email a friend shared that reminds me of all the wonderful things in my life and how grateful I am for things, most of which I take for granted a majority of the time. While it is to raise awareness for those victims of the Haiti earthquake, I think the first half of it can apply to most of us every single day of our lives. I hope this reminds you of how special you are and to appreciate those in your life as well.

Lord, I just want to say THANK YOU, because this morning I woke up and knew where my children were. Because this morning my home was still standing, because this morning I am not crying because my husband, my children, my brother or sisters need to be buried out from underneath a pile of concrete, because this morning I was able to drink a glass of water, because this morning I was able to turn on the light, because this morning I was able to take a shower, because this morning I was not planning a funeral, but most of all I thank you this morning because I still have life and a voice to cry out for the people of Haiti. Lord I cry out to you, the one that makes the impossible, possible, the one that turns darkness in to light, I cry out that you give the people strength, that you give them peace that surpasses all understanding, that you may open the streets so that help can come, that you may provide doctors, nurses, food, water, and all that they need in a blink of an eye. For all those that have lost family members, give them peace, give them hope, give them courage to continue to go on! Protect the children and shield them with your power. I pray all this in the name of Jesus!!! To all my friends please continue to forward this so that we can pray together for the people in Haiti. "When two or more come together in my name, I am in their midst." We are coming together via the internet in His name.

Amen.

Bless her little heart...

Sweet little Lalon and all of that hair, bless her heart! We're trying to be good about setting the stage for good sleep habits for Lalon and this includes her "sleep routine" per the baby books, which basically says do the same thing and let her sleep in the same place pretty much all the time.

I've just started it this week - or at least paying attention about it - and she's been in her crib for her naps and bedtime. On two different occassions, she'd be screaming bloody murder and I'd go in to check on her. Sweet little girl had a death grip on her own hair in the back and subsequently pulling it, bless her heart! So I removed her hand from her hair and hushed her back to sleep and all was well. Naylor certainly never had that problem as it seems like his hair just showed up a couple of months ago!

Today we got to have lunch with my friend (and great sport) Mary Mc. This lunch timing was not my smartest move as I knew we'd be infringing on Naylor's nap time. He did well for the most part, aside from the collection of food that surrounded our table and then a mini melt-down at the end. Sweet Mary Mc never seemed embarrassed to be with the circus I was tending today! It was fun to see her, but we agreed maybe next time we'd catch up over hot chocolate in the morning. : )