Choo Choo- Grayson Turned Two!!

The kid said he wanted Thomas- and Thomas he got.

 

 

 

The party started out in the pool- so of course Daddys mostly got swim duty.

 

After they got all dry, the food was delivered and it was time to eat.

 

Grayson decided that he would eat a chicken finger, carrots and cheese curls. At least he chose a veggie?

 

Then it was time for cake- and for us to find out that Grayson did not like being sung to, at ALL.

Telling me to make them "top!"

 



Lucky, once he realized he got to eat cake and had a new train all was right with the world.

 

We couldn't have asked for a better day, or more generous people to spend the day with. Since I literally had over 100 pictures thanks to my sweet friend Jackie who took them for me, I'll be sharing the details and projects in tomorrows post!  



Parmesean Crusted Chicken Tenders

Some nights call for comfort food- like nights where it gets dark at five fifteen and the cold of winter starts to set in.  One of my favorite semi quick comfort foods to make are definitely chicken tenders. Easy and versatile, once you get the recipe down you can make it a bunch of different ways.

 

Tonight- it was quick chicken parmesan.

 

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken tenders

1 cup bread crumbs

1 cup parmesan cheese

two sprigs of fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon of thyme (if you have fresh, use that- I just didn't)

garlic powder

salt

pepper

 flour

1 egg beaten with water

vegetable oil

 

 

1. Salt and pepper the chicken tenders and trim off any nasty bits.

 

2. Set up an assembly line that consists of a scoop of flour seasoned with salt and pepper, the egg beaten with a bit of water. In the third pan mix the breadcrumbs, cheese, spices, and chopped up fresh herbs together.

 

 

3. Now comes the time to bread the chicken- use one hand for the wet and keep one dry. It prevents gummy fingers. First dip the chicken in the flour, then the egg, then roll it in the bread crumbs and pat them on to coat the chicken.  Once they are coated let them sit for a few minutes to allow everything to stick.  I just leave them on the cutting board until the oil gets hot.

 

 

 

4. Put about an inch to an inch and a half of oil in a pan and heat it over medium heat.  Once the oil ripples, it should be hot enough. You can test it by dropping a little piece of the bread crumb mix in and see if it starts to bubble.  Put about three chicken tenders in the pan at a time, allowing them to cook for five to six minutes turning if needed.  If they get very brown very fast, your oil is too hot.

 

 

 

5. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place a cooling rack over a foil lined cookie sheet and after the tenders cook for five to six minutes remove them and place them on the cooling rack and place them in the oven.  It keeps them warm while you're cooking the other batches and makes sure if they need a minute or two more to cook through you're good to go. As you finish more batches, add them to the batch already in the oven.

 

 

 

Once they have all cooked through you're good to go.  I usually serve them with tomato sauce, cheese and a side of pasta for a quick chicken parmesan. You can also serve them with roasted potatoes and veggies- just coat the potatoes with time and rosemary so the flavors carry through.  

 

I love this recipe because from start to finish it takes maybe thirty minutes, and if you use paper plates for the flour/egg/breadcrumb mix and line the pans with foil it makes for a quick clean up. Its also fun to play with different herbs in the bread crumbs, like crushed red pepper and garlic for spicy tenders or really any combo of flavors you'd like.  



 

Try them- you wont be disappointed!



 

Halloween 2013

This year Grayson wanted to be one thing, Thomas the Train.

After seeing the fact that the costume was nothing more than a flap of fabric that he could trip over, I quickly put the kibosh on that. I asked him if he wanted to be Curious George- but he said no. So I asked him what he wanted to be, and he brought me his Minion doll.

 

A Minion, it was.

 

If you haven't seen Despicable Me, then you have no idea what I am talking about. If you have, you know that the Minions are yellow henchmen who have existed since the beginning of time, evolving from yellow single celled organisms into beings who have only one purpose: to serve history's most ambitious villains. You also know they are adorable, so I was totally on board with my little guy being a Minion.

 

 

The cutest part happened a few days later when I asked him again if he wanted to be a Minion and he said YES! Then he said Mama, please? And I asked him if he wanted me to be a Minion with him. I got a resounding "yes, peas! peas! peas!" So it was official, Mommy was going to be a Minion, too.

 

I did get him a Thomas treat bucket, which he was thrilled with.  He was so excited, he didn't want to stop for pictures.

 



 

Of course it had to rain for trick or treat- so umbrellas were a necessity. So was Nana, otherwise known as the ONLY person Grayson trusted with his treat bucket after he caught Daddy taking a peek.

 

 We trick or treated at the Firehouse- and Grayson wanted the truck. Smart kid.

 

Why does a kid always weigh 10 pounds more when you have to carry an umbrella as well?

 

Momma was a minion as well. For a party the week prior Daddy dressed up as Dr. Gru, but he didn't want to put the costume on to trick or treat. Stick in the mud, much?

After about an hour the wind started to pick up and it got cold, so we headed for home. Much to the dismay of my normally shy child who was RUNNING up onto peoples porches saying please and thank you as people gave him treats. He would have kept going, but his bucket was full and I was wet and cold. Sorry kid, your Momma just can't hang.  We did manage to convince him to head home by saying he could have a sucker- which explains the blue mouth in the photo above.

 



 

Overall it was a great Trick or Treat- especially when Nana let him have any treat he wanted while they watched the Great Pumpkin. Too bad Nana wouldn't take him home after sugaring him up, he was on a sugar high for a good two hours. But I suppose that's what Halloween is all about, well that an invoking the candy tax once your child goes to bed.

 

Those Reese's Cups didn't stand a chance.

Happy Halloween, All!



Pumpkin Carving

This year Grayson wanted a BIG pumpkin, and he could not wait to carve it.

 

No pictures, Mom!

 

He wouldn't touch the goo.

 

To allow Daddy some time with the knife, I gave Grayson some paint to keep him occupied. Battle of the pumpkins was on.



Same intense faces- they are carbon copies of each other.

 



Checking out Daddy's handy work.

 



 

I couldn't find a small candle, so I used a big one. It was a big pumpkin, it worked.

 

Once it was carved and lit, he was terrified of it.

 

Pumpkin painting was a success.



These are My Confessions...

This morning on my way to work I heard Usher's 'Confessions part 2' on the radio. Holla, 2004! I'll pause for a moment while that song gets stuck in your head, well, the chorus anyway.

 

Now keep in mind this was at 5:45 in the morning and my brain typically thinks strange things when I have a lack of sleep- so I started thinking what my confessions would be. Obviously I didn't cheat on my relationship and impregnate the chick I have on the side, so they may not be QUITE as serious as Usher- but they made me laugh when I thought about them.  So here goes nothing internet, these are my confessions....

 

...I squeeze the Hershey's syrup right out of the container and into my mouth about once a day. I'm the only one in my house who eats it, so why not.

 

...sometimes in the middle of the night when Grayson wakes up fussing about something, I lay there and wait a minute for Patrick to get up to go snuggle him back to sleep. Hubs likes to sleep on the futon, and I cant stand it- and I never let him go for more than like two minutes at most before I wake Patrick to go check on him.

 

...during the summer and weekends when Daddy works I am totally that Mom that doesn't get the kid or myself out of our jammies until he calls to say he's on his way home.

 

...my husband has a few articles of clothing that are hideous and nearly falling apart. I may have been known to pull some threads here and there when they are going into the washer to make them fall apart faster.

 

...I have no idea how to work most social media sites. FB, Instagram and Twitter are about it. I have no idea what the heck snapchat and tumbler are, but I know the teenagers love them, so they scare me.

 

....Speaking of teenagers and technology- I may have had some of my students set up my iphone. Without them, I'd have no idea how to update software, clear open apps or probably even answer my phone. I love my kiddos.

 

...As much as I love and adore my son- some mornings I literally dance out of the house so that I can go to work. The terrible two tantrums are pretty bad some days and at least I can tell the teenagers to sit down and shut up- and they have to listen! That being said, I'm always ready to race home and scoop him up for a hug and a snuggle after my little 'break'. (I also have the days where I hate to drop him off and literally think of just quitting my job and staying with him forever, so don't go calling me a bad Mom!)

 

...last week I realized after seventh period that my zipper was down and I hadn't gone to the bathroom since 7 am that morning. That's embarrassing.

 

So those are some of my confessions- what are some of yours?!

 

 

 



Three Years Down, Forever to Go!

Three years ago today I put on the prettiest dress I had ever seen and stepped off of a bus and walked towards the most handsome guy I had ever seen outside of the church where we would be married.

 

 

 

 

That day I pledged my love to this blue eyed Southern boy who made me fall oh-so-in-love with him six years prior when we met as babies our first day in college. Now, three years later I can't believe that time has gone so quickly and so slowly all in the same breath.  Some days it seems like just yesterday we were DIY-ing the details of that day, and others it feels like a whole lifetime ago.  It is a whole lifetime for Grayson, as a mere two and a half months into our crazy ride we learned about the little boy who would cement our love and make us a full fledged family.

 

We've had our share of ups and downs and bumps in the road on our three years, and I can honestly say I cant imagine being on this journey with anyone else. Nights where you work too late, mornings when the child thinks 5 am is play time and weekends full of making memories and messes. Our life may not be the textbook definition of perfect but it is perfect for us.

 

Thank you for taking the good with the bad, the crazy and the sad and loving me more each and every day. Thank you for working so hard to give us the life you want us to have and for always doing the things around here that need to get done. Without you Grayson wouldn't know how to yell when he comes charging down the stairs, soar too high up into the air, how to hide the broccoli under his plate, or say "peas!" to get whatever he wants. Thank you for teaching him all of the things you know and wanting to show him, and me, the world.

 

Thank you for loving me for who I am, flaws and snores and all, and loving me more each day.  You're the absolute best husband I could ask for and I can't wait to see what the future holds for us. As we embark on the next stage of the journey I know we'll tackle it together with love and laughter knowing that we're both in this for-ev-er.

 

I love you hubs, you're the best.

Happy Anniversary, LP.