Try it Tuesday

Technically, this is not my recipe. I got it from Lori and now I will share it with all of you. Bella thinks it's slimy, but as far as I know she's the only one! This recipe makes a lot, but somehow it is never enough.

Honey Popcorn

3 bags of natural (no salt or butter) popcorn
1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 cup Honey
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup)

Pop three bags of natural microwave popcorn (or 1 1/8 cup popcorn kernels). In order to not have too many kernels, dump the popcorn into a bowl then shake it a little to get the kernels to the bottom, then transfer the popcorn into a different bowl.

Combine cream, honey, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring it to a boil for five min. or until it forms a soft ball when a spoonful is placed in a bowl of cold water. Remove from heat and add the butter. Pour evenly over the popcorn.

Reid joins the fray

Now that Reid is a "big one-year-old" he has decided that he is old enough to join in the family wrestling matches. Reid was laughing so hard that it was difficult for him to really stomp on anyone, but it was so fun to watch. The other kids were really nice and let Reid think he was the Heavy Weight Champion!

Beary Happy Birthday

Reid got a late birthday party, partly because I didn't start planning it until the day before his birthday and partly in honor of the two birthdays that we would be missing out west. We had a really good time playing games and hanging out. I think Reid had a great time (until he got tired and went down for a nap).

The classic cake on the face picture. He actually got some on his foot too.
Hannah showed us how she eats a cupcake :) frosting first!
I think Lorelai's way was the most unique though. I guess she decided it was time to restain the porch.
After the party I noticed a few earless bears.

Lore helped Reid open presents. He was ok with that. I bet he'll get the hang of it by Christmas!

Happy Birthday Kylee!

Today is also Kylee's birthday. It's so funny to me that we have a niece and nephew with the same birthday! We are so sad to have missed your birthday too! Here are some pics from her previous birthdays. I can't believe she's two already! I feel like we're missing all the fun!

Ok, this one is after Kylee got out of the hospital, but I didn't have any good ones from the actual day she was born so we'll just pretend.

Happy Birthday Alexander

Happy Birthday Buddy! We love you so much and miss you all the time. We hope it was great! Have your Mommy give you hugs from us!

Freddy the Frog

This is Freddy the Frog from Evan's preschool class. Freddy gets to go home with one child every night. He comes with a journal that the kids are supposed to write in and draw a picture for Freddy. It's so cute and Evan was THRILLED to have his turn last week. He drew a picture of himself and Freddy sliding down the slide with Lorelai and Reid.

New water toys at the park

You might think it's too cold for playing outside in the sprinklers, but the city of Gardendale doesn't! They just opened an awesome new splash pad in Celebration Park. The first week it was open it was just too chilly, but this week it has been in the high 80's so we loaded up the kids and went to check it out. Lore got cold quick and dried off to play with friends on the regular park toys, but the boys toughed it out. I don't know that we'll go much more this fall, but I see some fun summer days ahead! I thought the Sprayola crayon was especially funny.

Reid pretty much stuck to the piano because it didn't get his face wet. In addition, when you covered up a spout it made a sound! He couldn't quite figure it out, but he loved it when it happened!
The blue sprinklers are activators. If the water is off you just run your hand over the black part and a few seconds later the water appears! It's like magic!

Try it Tuesdays

I need to note that I got the title for this post from Miriam. I probably won't be as faithful about posting every Tuesday, but it's a great idea!

This is one of my favorite recipes from America's Test Kitchen. I am sharing it with all of you because I love you all A LOT. This is an awesome recipe becuase it is so forgiving. You can substitute almost everything with whatever you have and it will still turn out great!

Chicken Pizzaiola

This recipe makes enough sauce for up to six chicken breasts. Almost any of your favorite pizza toppings (crumbled sausage, peppers and onions, or mushrooms) can be substituted for pepperoni. You can make the quick tomato sauce (recipe below) or any type of jarred tomato sauce will work. (I used a can of pizza sauce because I didn't have everything for the tomato sauce. It was really good.) This dish is great served with or over pasta.

3 cups (or 24- to 26-ounce jar) tomato sauce
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and Pepper
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup)
4 ounces mozzarella, shredded (1 cup)
2 ounces pepperoni, sliced thin

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Spread the tomato sauce in a 9 by 13-inch baking dish.

2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Spread the Parmesan in a shallow dish, then coat the chicken with the Parmesan. Lay the chicken on top of the tomato sauce. Bake for 15 minutes.

3. Sprinkle the mozzarella and pepperoni over the chicken. Increase the oven temperature to 475 degrees and continue to bake until the cheese melts and the chicken is done, about 5 more minutes (or 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer).

Quick Tomato Sauce

MAKES 4 cups, enough to sauce 1 pound of pasta
START TO FINISH: 25 minutes

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons minced fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Salt

1. Cook the oil and garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until fragrant but not browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in the crushed diced tomatoes with their juice. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 15 to 20 minutes

2. Stir in the basil and sugar. Season with salt to taste. When tossing the sauce with pasta, add some of the pasta cooking water as needed to loosen the consistency of the sauce.

Lorelai's hair

Over the summer Lorelai's hair has become increasingly crazy. We just got lazy and stopped doing it all the time. As a result she became very difficult whenever we had to do her hair. I considered chopping it off for a minute, but I just couldn't do it. So now we are back to doing it every day. I forgot how much I love doing her hair. Here are some of her most recent hair-dos.

Happy Birthday Reid!

Wow! This year flew by! My baby is ONE! He is such a big guy! Smart and handsome just like his daddy. Here are just a few of the things Reid has accomplished this year:

Reid loves...

• Laughing
• Smiling
• Rolling
• Crawling
• Walking (almost running)
  
• Blowing kisses
• Feeding himself
• Playing peek-a-boo
• Playing with his brother and sister
• To entertain himself
• Helping Mommy do dishes
• Fixing things with tools
• Pushing the stroller
• Getting in trouble
• Bananas (they are his all time favorite food)
• Fruit snacks (they are a close second)
  

Reid brings so much joy to our family. He can make any of us laugh with one cheeky grin! What would I do without him?

We went to the park this morning. I had to run in front of him to get a picture!

Catch of the Day

Our annual lizard pictures. Here are this years for your viewing pleasure!

Time Out

Reid loves the dishwasher. He loves to climb in it, stand on it, load it with toys, and unload the dishes onto the floor. I'm waiting for the door to break because he stands on it every time I open it. So this time when Reid climbed onto the door we decided to try time-out. Reid thought it was a little odd. I don't know that it accomplished much, but he sure looked cute sitting in that chair like a big kid.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

(Picture by Maya)

Since we're not there in the flesh I thought I would just take a second to say "Happy Birthday Mom!" You look great and your kids love you! My mom has done some great things for us. These include paying for trips to Utah, buying clothes for the kids (and me), and always making sure we have a good time when we visit. These are great, but the greatest thing about my mom is her loving spirit. The way she cares for others before herself. When I was in the hospital with Reid it was so nice to know that my kids were in a safe place that they love, not being shuffled around. My mom is always supportive and kind and for today she is the Queen! So Mom, don't worry about anything else. Put your feet up and eat some bon bons because today is your day (when you are done teaching school. The principal might not like it if you put your feet on your desk :-) We love you!

Here is an example of Grandma's selflessness. Evan had her "modify" his ninja with some random stuff. They (meaning Grandma) worked hard for quite awhile and as soon as it was done Evan said "Ok, let's take it all off!" I made him snap a picture first, but Grandma was as sweet as can be.