Christmas Eve.

Christmas has always been one of my top two favorite holidays! (I can never decide between Thanksgiving and Christmas.)  I love spending time with family, enjoying beautiful light displays, traditions kept, and the white dusting that is usually on the ground.  I enjoy the White Elephant game that my dad's side of the family plays together- it is fun to see the goofy and/or awesome gifts everyone contributes. The conniving, stealing, and behind-the-back deal brokering that goes along with it is another plus! Ha ha!  Drew seems a little perturbed at Uncle Ross- he stole and ended up with the gift Drew wanted (movie gift card)!

Fathers even steal (one-hour massage gift) from daughters...

However, everyone forgives everyone at the end. Feeling the love here?

 My beautiful & talented sister and niece  playing Christmas duets.

However, one of my favorite parts of the holiday is when Mom cooks up one of her delicious comfort-food style meals.  This year, she fried up her version of pork tenderloin and Adam concocted whipped potatoes & gravy. Mom made possibly her best-yet apple pies (Adam collaborated again here with homemade whipped cream). Erica contributed her delicious creamed spinach. Mom's meals are the best not only because they are tasty, but because of the memories that come with them. (That nostalgia thing, ya know?) I think Felicia will always remember trying the potatoes and gravy! She really did like them, contrary to what the picture tells you...

Speaking of children, Christmas has become even more special now that there are some involved again!

It's tradition now that Drew and Maggie, the older children, pass out the gifts under the tree. This is something they enjoy doing- and yes, they do it together and GET ALONG! Brother and sister get along- crazy, right?

There will always be consistencies to count on:

Our family is full of generous and thoughtful gift-givers who love to give as much as they receive.

Our family loves to give hats.

Uncle Adam will always have a way of making Felicia cry, no matter how much he loves her! :)

New family members make the holidays that much more special and blessed...

 

...even when they're trying to steal someone else's binky.

Merry Christmas to all, especially Felicia, Alayna, & Ashtin, the newest members of our wonderful family!

7 Months Old.

 Felicia turned 7 months old over the Christmas weekend!  She was as moody as ever during her photo shoot.  Some things never change. BUT, some things do!  Here are a few updates on Felicia in the past month:

• She said her FIRST WORD! No, really! I have witnesses. Felicia recognizes certain words such as more, drink, cat, and kick.  I think she may be learning to recognize her name. However, over the past few weeks, I swear she has been trying to say the word cat. Whenever Howie (our kitty) comes into the same room we are in, Felicia would say "gah" without the ending 'T' sound. We were all sitting around at my parents' house on the 26th after a wonderful Christmas, watching TV and talking, when Pete, their cat, came into the living room. Felicia was sitting on my lap and started saying over and over again, 'cat.' The 'T' sounded like a very weak 'D', but it was obvious! Everyone just looked at her and started laughing. WOW! She may have no interest in being mobile, but she sure wants to communicate and notices every little thing.
• Felicia finally began sitting up on her own in the past month.  Big sigh of relief :)
• She's been eating a lot of big-girl food lately. She loves mashed-up homemade chicken noodle soup and slurps noodles like a champ. 
• We are skipping the sippy cup and have gone straight to the regular cup. She can't handle it herself yet, but drinks water from one fairly well with help and loves it!

 Looking fairly worried...

 So curious!

 Playing coy with Grandpa. Big surprise. Watch out, boys!

And we end on a sour note. Ha ha...

Yumminess for the Week.

Hello, all! I hope you had a fantastic holiday weekend! We had a great time celebrating with family, friends, and of course, lots of yummy food. Speaking of yumminess...

Monday: Out of town

Tuesday: Chipotle. Yummmm.

We rolled back into town coasting on not fumes, but nerve endings- Felicia had a bit of a tough trip home. Therefore, stress and laziness prevails over the desire to cook ANYTHING.

Wednesday: Sweet Potato Risotto

I found a really great website for those who want information on cooking baby's first (and second, third) solid foods.  This website provided a family-friendly meal that baby can partake in. It's for 8-month-olds and above, but I think my 7-month-old bottomless pit can handle it. Scroll down once you link up to the website to find recipe.
Thursday: Go-Green-Giant Calzones

We invited some neighbors over for dinner- they always check in on our kitty, Howie, whenever we leave town.
Friday: Kielbasa Hash

We have a ton of leftover Russet potatoes. We'll chop these up and season them with salt and pepper, fry up with olive oil in a skillet along with chopped veggies on hand (carrots, mushrooms).  We'll be throwing in some sliced kielbasa and grated parmesan cheese.

Saturday: Sushi Night?

We are forgoing a babysitter and I'm hoping James will go for an indoor sushi party. Love me some maki. 

Sunday: Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia

Check out directions for the fish in this link.

Happy Cooking!

Yumminess for the Week.

New Recipe Update: I am trying a few new recipes this week because I've been very much inspired by the new ones I've tried recently.  Here is how one of my recently-tested recipes turned out:

Low-fat Taco Salad w/Avocado Salsa:

 This was fantastic- I made this using ground deer meat my sister gave me from a hunting expedition! And no, my sister doesn't hunt- her family/in-laws do. HA! I'd LOVE to see my sister with a gun.

 But I digress.

I made a few minor omissions and one addition.  

• I did not include raw onion (gross) or red bell pepper (forgot to buy) in the salsa part of this. While I love red pepper, this salsa would still be good without it.  
• In place of molasses (I never have that on hand) I used one tablespoon of brown sugar. 
• The seasoning was phenomenal!! Don't change it a bit. 
• As you add seasoning to the cooked meat, add some water to it.  Low-fat meat needs some kind of liquid, people.  This meat is great warmed up for leftovers (with a splash of water), by the way. Makes an awesome quesadilla.
• The last suggestion I'd make is to use maybe only half of the lime's juice. A whole lime's juice is a lot when including the zest, too. The zest is AWESOME, by the way.

Here's to trying more new recipes! 

Monday: Chicken Enchiladas w/Green Chili Sour Cream Sauce

Found this on Pinterest! I love Pinterest! I love sour creamy goodness! Even if you don't love the aforementioned subjects, just look at the photo. It is incredibly drool-worthy.

Tuesday: Slow-Cooker Honey-Garlic Chicken

I am excited for slow-cooked goodness. New recipe. Will let you know how it turns out.

Wednesday: James' Birthday! 

Having barbecue at our favorite place!  If you are ever in KC and want some of the best bbq around, you must go here- they do just about everything right.
Thursday: GOT A BABYSITTER!!! Two of my favorites are celebrating their mutual birthday tonight.

Friday: Out of Town

Saturday: Out of Town

Sunday: Out of Town

Can't Keep Up With Your Moods...You Must Be My Child.

 Felicia has hated "Tummy Time" for months. Yeah, I know, it strengthens neck muscles, blah, blah, blah...but the pediatrician is not the one who had to listen to her scream and unleash upon her mother a steady stream of baby curse words. I'm scared for the teen years moreso than before...

Exhibit A:

 

 I got whiplash from how suddenly she got over her hatred of Tummy Time. 

(She's gonna hate me for the drooling photo someday, huh?)

Exhibit B

 

 

 

 

Yumminess for the Week.

Monday: Mom's Night Out @ Cafe Augusta

I joined a group for moms with young families at my church and we're doing an ornament exchange/dinner/cocktails at a cute bistro nearby.

Tuesday: Garden Ravioli

This links you to a description I posted earlier.
Wednesday: Mediterranean-Style Tuna Panini
Thursday: Graduation Party!

Going out to celebrate :) Possibly.

Friday: Quesadillas

 I love to load them up with plenty of veggies and cheese. Sometimes I'll add chicken or shrimp if James just has to have meat in it. AND frickin' Trader Joe's had avocados on sale. F'in eh.
Saturday: Sings- I'm making a pot roast, a pot roast, a pot roast. I'm making a pot roast, oh, won't it be so good!
I am that excited. The recipe I found is the best one :)

Sunday: Open Face Pot Roast Sandwiches w/Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Yay for leftover pot roast!

Because a CD Sometimes Doesn't Cut It.

I love music.  I've always had fun listening to music to bolster any mood I may be in. I'm a girl, and an emotional one at that, so I use music to indulge my sad moods sometimes. I listen to it to perk me up. I listened to music during my plan times when I was a classroom teacher.  I listen to it constantly with Felicia to keep her happy, to dance with her, and to calm her.  We listen to music just about any time we can.

A few years ago, I stumbled across a music website called www.pandora.com. You go to the website and type in the name of an artist, song, or genre you like.  The website will then create a "radio station" for you to listen to that will include the artist/song/genre you like along with others you might enjoy as well.  For example, if you enjoy the band Chicago and type that in to the website's field, your radio station may include songs from other similar bands such as Doobie Brothers, America, or Bread. It will come up with some bands you might not have listened to before, as well.  

However, in the past year I have recently stumbled across another new-to-me music website named blip.fm. This is a website where you get to be the DJ- you have full control over what songs you listen to.  Anyhow, when you find a song or music video you like (the site draws their music from other websites such as grooveshark and youtube), you 'blip' it. Your blips can earn you 'props' from other DJs, and if you find a DJ with similar music interests who 'blips' songs you enjoy, you can become a 'listener' of his. I now have a long stream of songs I've blipped that I can turn on anytime and listen to. You can also listen to another DJ's station if you prefer. If you just want to listen to a certain band, you can use a tuner function so that the website will play any recent blips from other DJs who are listening to that band. 

It's a great way to listen to music around the house or at work (if your workplace's server hasn't blocked it)! Felicia's current favorites to listen to around the house include "Sugar, Sugar" by the Archies, "Can't Buy Me Love" by the Beatles, and "The Boys are Back in Town" by Thin Lizzy. 

I'm hoping to cultivate a love for the Rolling Stones in her next.

Yumminess for the Week. Plus Appetizer Night!

Welcome to a new work week, fellow bloggers and readers!  Before I share our meals and recipes for the week, I'd like to explain one of our upcoming evenings.  In our house, we love to occasionally hold an evening entitled "Appetizer Night." It's something fun to do when we don't have too much of an appetite. It's also a fun way to use up ingredients leftover from other recipes. This night actually began out of an "argument" that I occasionally buy somewhat expensive ingredients that I use for only one recipe and then forget about.  Examples of these kind of ingredients include goat cheese (love, love, love), sun-dried tomatoes, wonton wrappers and fig jam. Keep this idea in mind if the prior two sentences describe you at all...

I am also planning on picking up a few pounds of pork shoulder since I can make some fast and yummy meals out of it for the weekend.

Monday: Appetizer Night!
Tuesday: Macaroni & Cheese 
Kraft: Because it's almost grocery day...

Wednesday: Dijon Chicken Linguine
We made this fairly recently and loved it! Read about how I adapted the recipe here.

Thursday: Crispy Fishwiches w/Slaw

I only use the slaw part of this recipe to pile on top of the fish. It's not a mayo-based slaw, which I love.  The way I make crispy fish is by dipping tilapia in flour, egg, and finally, a mixture of panko and shredded Parmesan cheese- in that order. Fries up in minutes! I put the cooked fish, slaw mixture, and a dollop of Greek (not any other kind!) yogurt on top. Sounds bizarre, but is absolute delicious and a great contrast in texture and temperature. Trust me.

Friday: Cobb Salad

Saturday: Pulled Pork Sandwiches
I just put the pork shoulder in a crock-pot on low all day with sliced onions and 1/4 cup each of bbq sauce and water. It's very tender and lets you decide if you want to put sauce on it later when the pork has finished cooking. It also lets me use the pork for other recipes.

Sunday:Tacos al Pastor-style
We tried these at a nearby Mexican restaurant we like to walk to in nice weather. So yummy! I'll be adding avocado to it should it be decently priced.

Adventures in Eating

Okay, this kid is cracking. me. up. And making me wish I'd invested in whatever company owns Shout stain remover. For those of you interested, she's eating (painting with) squash.