Monday, April 25, 2011

Maddy Says


* One day I was a little sad and Maddy said, "Mommy sad; she needs a paci!"

* She likes to insert random words into her favorite songs. For example: " Twinkle, twinkle, little ROSE, how I ROSE, ROSE, you are!" Usually it doesn't really fit -but it's hilarious!

* "I can't fall!" She says this when she is about to fall and she needs help getting down from somewhere.

* I was in the kitchen washing some dishes and Maddy was playing in her highchair when I heard her say, "Don't grab my shirt!" as she lowered herself down from her chair. She ran to me (obviously frustrated) so I said, who grabbed you? She said through tears, "The chair grabbed me!"

* One night at dinner Tim Said to Madison, "Obey your parents in the Lord for this is right." Maddy  quickly responded, "YES JESUS!"

* We have been doing lots of pretend lately (with her ponies and her dolls). It's so fun! Well, one day, I asked Madison to please pick up the crackers that she just dropped onto the floor, She quickly opened up her empty hand and said, "I did it!" When she had clearly NOT picked up the crackers...haha.

* We were leaving Target (which she loves!) and she said, "I LOVE you store! Pick up store?" "Hug store?"

* One day we were at the library and I told Maddy, "No, do not get out of the stroller yet", She looked me right in the eye and said, "Don't say no to me mom!" I had to stifle laughter as I said, Maddy, the Bible says that children need to obey there parents. We're still working on this one.

* One day in passing, I told Maddy that Rose doesn't have any teeth yet, but they will be coming in soon. Then I found her looking in Rose's mouth saying, "Rosie's Teeth coming Mom!" (As if they might appear at any moment ;)

Madison Hope,
Your Dad and I love you so much and are thankful for your great sense of humor and spunky spirit!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Holy Week

In celebration of Holy Week and preparation for Good Friday (celebration of Christ's death for our sins) and Resurrection Sunday (Celebration of Christ's victory over sin, death, and the grave 3 days later) my friend Kelly and I decided to read the book of Luke. We decided a little late though (Two days ago to be exact) so we have been reading several chapters a day, just so we can be reading Luke's telling of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ over the Easter weekend.

I have been excited about his challenge because to be honest, I have just been struggling to get into the word lately. And I know that once I do, I will "Taste and See that the Lord is good" and find my JOY in Him again. This exercise so far as proved to do just that. Reading through the book more quickly has been so refreshing, giving me a great overview of Christ's life. I mean think about it. Sunday I read about Christ's birth; yesterday I read about his childhood; today I read about some of his many miracles and His temptation in the wilderness. In two days I will read about how he was betrayed by a close friend, nailed to a cross, pierced with a sword, and then on Sunday about how he was raised from the dead! What way to celebrate Holy Week?!

How have you and your family been preparing and how do you celebrate Easter week/weekend? I am really wanting Easter to become as big (if not bigger) of  a celebration in our family as Christmas is. Any ideas for me?

I wanted to include and expert from Luke 6 that was water for my dry soul today.

Luke 6:20-26
"And he (Jesus) lifted up his eyes on his disciples and said:

Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold your reward is great in heaven, for so their fathers did to the prophets.

But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
Woe to you, when all people speak well of you for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you."

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Clinique Bonus!

I went to the mall today with Tim and the girls. We usually walk around some and then let Maddy play. I had to grab some facial moisturizer, so Rose and I walked to find some while tim hung out with Maddy while she played. I was walking by Macy's and found this deal at Clinique! 


With any $21.50 Clinique purchase receive this free gift valued at over $60:

  • Lash Doubling Mascara in Black (0.14 oz)
  • Take The Day Off Makeup Remover for Lids, Lashes and Lips (1.7 oz)
  • Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion (1 oz) 
  • Choose your eye, cheek, and lip colors: Pinks includes a Clinique Colour Compact with Colour Surge Eye Shadow Duo in Rose Wine and Soft-Pressed Powder Blusher in Pink Blush plus a Lipstick & Gloss Duo in Different Lipstick in Think Bronze and Long Last Glosswear in Air Kiss; Violets includes a Clinique Colour Compact with Colour Surge Eye Shadow Duo in Twilight Mauve/Brandied Plum and Blushing Blush Powder Blush in Smoldering Plum plus a Lipstick & Gloss Duo in Different Lipstick in Shy and Long Last Glosswear SPF 15 in Mystic
  • Cosmetic bag set
  • Shipping is free when you spend $50 on beauty (any brand)



I think they may be doing different deals for different states/stores, so look here for your local store and deal information! If you already need something, this might be a great deal for you too!

Friday, April 15, 2011

Spring is in the Air!

Rocking the double stroller!

Fun outside!


Rose was in awe of the grass!

My friend Jordan hanging out with the girls and I ;)


Me and my gals ;) Of course we couldn't even get one picture with both of them looking!

I don't have very many pictures of just Rosie and I. I just love this little Rosebud ;)

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Rose is 7 months!

Time is just flying by these day! I know that's what everyone says, but I literally feel like I just sat down yesterday to write about Rose's 1/2 birthday! She is getting so big and starting to be able to do so many things!


We got home from her 7 month wellness visit on Friday and her STATS are:
Height - 26 3/4 inches (75%)
Weight - 13 lbs 2 oz. (5%)
Head Circumference: 42 1/2 cm

She is growing nicely in her curve and looks like she is going to be long and lean ;)

Things she can do now:
* Sitting pretty - she can sit on her own now and by far she prefers this position most now!


* Foodie - she LOVES her some baby food, in fact I think she would rather eat pureed food rather than ever drink milk. I feel like I have to force her to drink her bottles now that she is eating 3 meals a day in baby food. But all in all, she still has 3-4 bottles and 3 "meals'  of veggies, fruits, cereal a day. She also as started to try and drink water out of a sippy cup at meals. She seems to like it!

*Not a Nurser: for various reasons, I decided to stop nursing her. Mainly, she was just so nosey that she would watch Maddy or look around the whole time instead of nurse. She was getting so frustrated (and frankly so was I) as one feeding could drag out to almost an hour as I am trying to get her to focus (when normally it would take her 15 min). So I had gotten to the point where I was *maybe* getting one good nursing in the morning if she was really sleepy still. Otherwise I was pumping for the rest of the feedings, which was getting stressful with Madison- I think we were both ready to move on. Things are much easier and happier around here now ;)

* HAPPY - She is still a happy, laid back little goober ;) She giggles and laughs when we kiss her neck and belly  or when Maddy is anywhere in eye sight! She gets this really sweet, knowing grin when she sees that we are going to kiss her and turns her head away to try to get out of the way as she SMILES from ear to ear!

* Mover and shaker- ok, well she's not actually going anywhere (which I am COMPLETELY fine with!) Maddy started crawling and pulling up on things at this age and I am so happy that Rose is good with playing in one spot. But she loves to kick like crazy, jump and bounce in her exersaucer or in the bouncer at church. She is just so wiggly it makes me laugh ;)

*Grabber - She grabs everything and anything that is in front of her! The other day I was on my way out of the house with the girls when I realized Rose (who I was holding on my hip) had leaned way over and was sipping the cold coffee out of top of my travel mug!

*Talker - She has some great sounds these days! She says, baba and dada the most. But she also makes raspberry blowing sounds which are just hilarious. Maddy and I always giggle at her and then Maddy asks her to do it again (which of course she can't do on command) at which point Maddy gets miffed with Rose- oh dear!

*Snuggler - When she is sad or tired, she will kind of grab me around my neck/chest and snuggle into me. It is the sweetest thing ever! At her 7 month check up, she got the biggest poochy lip ever and burst into tears when the doctor listened to her heartbeat, looked at her ears, and her eyes. I felt so badly! She almost NEVER cries or fusses - so it was shocking! When I was allowed to pick her up again, she grabbed me around my neck and just nuzzled her little face right into the crook of my neck and quickly calmed down. It was so sad, but precious too.
I snapped this pic of Rose and I after church today - poor girl was SO tired after nursery!

*Blanky - She now holds her soft little blanky when she goes to sleep. She loves to pull it up to her cheek and snuggle into it to fall asleep. I LOVE how she is attached to it already!

*Bath time - She and Maddy are hilarious in the bath together! Rose lays on her back and kicks her feet way up in the air and then splashes them loudly into the water and giggles as water goes flying! The funny thing is now Madison is getting annoyed with Rose splashing and will say, "Rose stop splashin' me!" Haha!  For the most part though, they have so much fun in their together splashing and giggling - by far one of my favorite times of the day!


*BACK girl -she sleeps on her back and would much prefer to play on her back than her belly. In fact when we force her to have some tummy time, she gets so stressed out and spends most of the time with her hands out like superman instead of supporting herself with her arms. Ha! So no where near crawling yet - which again, I am FINE with!

Rose you are a sweet gift from the Lord to our family and we LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Monday, April 04, 2011

Chicken and Waffles

So Tim and I saw an episode of "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" making Chicken and Waffles  last night on YouTube and and we were drooling! We decided to make it together tonight! I would definitely recommend making it with another cook. We felt like you needed one person to man the waffle iron while one person watched the chicken. It was really fun working with Tim in the kitchen ;)
And I am dieting right now, so you might be thinking - WHAT?! How can she eat that and lose weight? Well, I am of the opinion that if you completely deprive yourself of what you are craving, you will never be able to stick with your diet. So I ate like a bird most of the day and then FULLY enjoyed my two waffles and two chicken strips -yum!

I didn't want to do whole chickens, so we used chicken tenderloin and only marinated them for two hours instead of 4. As well, we cut the entire recipe in half because it's a HUGE recipe calling for two whole chickens!

As well,  I couldn't find whole pink peppercorns by themselves, so I got "rainbow peppercorn" and probably used less than they called for. Oh and I couldn't find "chile de arbol powder" so I used hot sauce (tobasco) instead. Does anyone know if chile de arbol powder is just regular chile powder? Anyways, even with our little changes, it was AMAZING!


I was a little bit skeptical with how savory  the recipe seemed to be. But It was the perfect balance of sweet and savory! The wheat waffles weren't too sweet. The honey peppercorn butter was a perfect balance to the chicken tenders and horseradish syrup! Tim, our friend Stacey, and I just kept taking bites and saying how well everything complimented one another so well! WOW! Even if this doesn't sound like something you would like, you should totally try this! It took a bit of work, but it was worth it!

  Have you ever had chicken and waffles before? Does it sound like something you might like? I am finding a ot of people think it's totally weird-haha- well- call me weird ;)

Here is the recipe from the Food Network:

Fried Chicken and Wild Rice Waffles with Pink Peppercorn Butterand Maple-Horseradish Syrup


Wild Rice Waffles:
    * 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    * 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
    * 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
    * 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
    * 2 teaspoons baking soda
    * 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    * 1 teaspoon kosher salt
    * 4 cups buttermilk
    * 4 large eggs
    * 1/2 cup vegetable oil
    * 1/2 cup cooked wild rice (rice should be overcooked) drained well
    * Melted butter, for the waffle maker

Fried Chicken:

    * 1 quart plus 2 cups buttermilk
    * Kosher salt
    * 2 teaspoons chile de arbol powder, or 2 tablespoons hot sauce ( I used hot sauce)
    * 2 chickens (3 to 4 pounds each), cut into 8 pieces - (I used about 15 chicken tenders)
    * 3 cups all-purpose flour
    * 1 tablespoon garlic powder
    * 1 tablespoon onion powder
    * 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
    * 2 teaspoons cayenne
    * Freshly ground black pepper
    * Peanut oil, for deep-frying

Pink Peppercorn Butter:

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, slightly softened
  • 1 tablespoon pink peppercorns
  • 3 tablespoons clover honey
  • Salt and pepper

Maple-Horseradish Syrup:

  • 1 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish, drained
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Directions

For the Waffles: Whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.

Whisk together the buttermilk, eggs and oil in a separate large bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until the mixture just comes together. Add the wild rice and fold until just combined. Let mixture rest for 10 minutes.

While the mixture is resting, heat the waffle maker. Brush the waffle grates with some of the melted butter and make the waffles according to the manufacturer's directions.

For the Chicken: Whisk together 1 quart of the buttermilk, 2 tablespoons salt and the chile de arbol in a large bowl or large baking dish. Add the chicken, turn to coat, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Stir together the flour, garlic and onion powders, paprika and cayenne in a large bowl and divide among 2 shallow platters. Season generously with salt and pepper. Drain the chicken in a colander and pat it dry. Dredge the pieces a few at a time in the flour mixture and pat off excess, then dip in the remaining 2 cups buttermilk and allow excess to drain off. Dredge in the second plate of flour and pat off the excess. Put the chicken pieces on a baking rack set over a baking sheet while the oil heats.

Pour about 3 inches of oil into a deep cast iron skillet; the oil should not come more than half way up the sides of the pot. Put the pot over medium-high heat and heat the oil to 375 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer. Working in batches, add the chicken pieces to the hot oil, 3 or 4 at a time and fry, turning the pieces occasionally, until evenly golden brown and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and transfer to a rack to drain; repeat to cook the remaining pieces.

For the Butter: Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until combined.

For the Syrup: In a small bowl whisk together all ingredients.

To serve: Place waffle on plate, top with 2 pieces of fried chicken, and a dollop of butter. Pour syrup over top.