2 and 9

We had a couple of birthdays that need to be recognized. Jesse turned 9 on Jan. 26 and James turned 2 on Jan. 30. Time keeps marching on no matter how much I would like it to slow down sometimes!
Jesse picked a dog cake because he thought that James would like it...he can be pretty sweet sometimes. He didn't mind at all sharing his b-day with his "mini-me!"
James got a slide.I think he was happy!Jesse got a new bike and some Fablehaven books (which are really good!) Sorry, no pic! But his dad did turn him 9...
I think this is the last year for him to be "turned" in this manner!

Just for the record...James had his 2 year check up and he is finally legal to be facing forward in his car seat! He was 20.6 lbs and 32" tall. He finally registers on the charts for his height in the 5th percentile and is still below the charts for his weight in the -5th percentile. Oh well, I don't think that he will ever have to worry about childhood obesity!

I'm happy that my boys had a good birthday this year. I love those boys so much and are grateful they came to our family.

A "Wicked" Time!

We just got home from seeing this:
It was amazing and I highly recommend it to any of you who get the chance to definitely take it.

This song was my favorite:Just terrific. And is it just me or do any of you get choked up at the standing ovation for the amazing performers? Maybe it's just pregnancy hormones, but I had to hold back the tears when Glinda and Elphaba came out on stage for the curtain call and the crowd jumped to their feet. Tell me I'm not the only one!! Awesome!

Just a head's up...when 7 months pregnant, opt for the comfy shoes and not the cute ones! It didn't spoil the evening, though, just the walk back to the car!

Yummy!

I have never posted a recipe on my blog before, but I just made the yummiest (and easiest) dinner that we have had in a loooong time. I get into a bit of a rut, but I tried something new tonight and it was great (and healthy), I thought I would share.

Curry Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

4 boneless chicken breasts (I used chicken tenderloins)
1 med onion-cut up (I used onion powder...we are not onion fans at this house)
2-3 sweet potatoes-cut into chunks
2/3 cup orange juice
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 tsp curry powder
1 clove garlic-minced (I used 1/8 tsp garlic powder)

Place the chicken, onion and sweet potatoes in your slow cooker, mix together remaining ingredients and pour over the chicken/sweet potatoes. Cook on low for 4-6 hours (or however your slow cooker works.) I cooked mine on high for about 3 hours.

I served this with delicious coconut rice. Just replace 1/2 to 2/3 of your water with canned coconut milk (found in the Asian food aisle) and cook as usual. I used Minute rice and did 2 cups of coconut milk (one can is just about 2 cups) and 1 cup water to 3 cups of the rice. I am not a huge coconut fan, but this was so delightful!

The whole meal was so "fancy" tasting (quoted from Danny!) I loved that it had a little exotic flair without going overboard. The kids liked it well enough, but Danny and I loved it! Definitely a keeper in our food file. YUM!

Sorry-no picture.
Original recipe found here.


You've gotta try it!

Pinewood derby 2011

Jesse had his second Pinewood derby last night. It was fun, except for the part that he didn't win! He was not too happy about it. I guess next year we will have to research a little more about how to make a winning car!

Jesse and his car


Danny taping on some pennies to add more weight before the race
All the participants

If it's any consolation, he did win an award for fastest looking car...it wasn't for Jesse!!
Better luck next year!

Self portrait

Dylan loves to play with my camera and it is always funny to see what he captures. Here are a couple of self portraits that he took, not the best pictures, but the first one shows off his gorgeous eyelashes (of which I am jealous, he did not get them from me!) I can never get a good shot of them. Aren't those amazing...so not fair!And the second one is just plain goofy.So classically Dylan! I just love that little goof ball!

Weird Kid

This is how Dylan has chosen to spend the past several nights. Doesn't he look comfy?? I promise, he has a nice comfortable bed!!

December wrap up!

Here are the festivities that rounded out our Christmas season.

The botanic gardens here in Abq have what they call The River of Lights during the holidays. We went and had a great time. We were glad it wasn't too cold!

Jesse got to sing with his school music group The Mustang Chorale at a senior center. They did a great job.

Our only snow day so far. They ended up canceling the last day of school which made for 2 very unhappy kids...they were sad because they were supposed to have their class parties that day. Grace even got mad at me as if I had done it on purpose! They were somewhat appeased when we ended up spending the day playing with friends.
We actually got a fair amount of snow and it stuck around through the next day so the kids and Danny were able to have a snow war.
James preferred the safety of the playground...and Dylan wouldn't even get out of the car!

Danny, Jess and Grace stayed out for quite a while and had a great time. Eventually James and I retreated to the car, but we all had a good time playing in the snow.

Finally, Christmas day was here.
The kids were very happy with their haul. It was nice to have such a relaxing, fun day. Although it was a little lonely without family. We missed you all!

The aftermath!!
Hope everyone else had a great Christmas as well.