Sunny Days ... A Montage with Bert & Ernie

Once upon a time there was a most precious little boy who went for a visit to Busch Gardens. Little did he know that two of his best friends were there!

Ernie? Bert? In real life???
I am going to need to confirm this with my momma.
You might kind of be freaking me out a little bit.

But you sure do look like Ernie.
And momma keeps telling me it's okay.

HI-FIVE???
Now I know you are legit!

I cannot contain my excitement and on that note ...

I need to stick my tongue out.

I am all about squeezing your nose.
Or eating it.

I think ...
I love you Ernie.

Scuse me? Ernie?

Mind if I tag along?

Adios Momma.
"I'm on my way to where the air is sweet."

Let the Nesting Begin!!!

This weekend was the official kickoff for "Nesting 2009 - Baby #5 is Coming!!!"

Baby Gate ... Done ... Twice in the same day

Bought it 6-months ago ... took Dad a good hour to hang it ... took Samuel all of 14 seconds to swing on it, pulling it right out of the sheet rock.


Bought this clock about a year ago. Benjamin nearly pulled the hour hand off before we finally hung it. I am terrible about hanging things that require drilling into the studs.


Bought this three years ago during our road trip home. Had no clue where I was going to put it at the time but I HAD to have it. Built the playroom addition and realized that the colors in the map and the wall paint matched perfectly!

"We'll hang it in the playroom!", I said ... about 18 months ago.

There is nothing like pregnancy in the latter months to give procrastination a swift kick in the pants!

Um. He has little to do with this project but he placed himself right under my camera.

What's a momma to do?

A New Recipe

We channeled Giada last night (minus the cleavage) and made this yummy dish!

I think it is only fair to give you the "get real" details and tell you that the bocconcini mozzarella was fairly unnecessary considering the price and how much of it was shoved to the side ;)

Orecchiette with Mini Chicken Meatballs

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis, 2008

Ingredients

• 1 pound orecchiette pasta
• 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 3/4 cup grated Romano
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock, hot
• 4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 8 ounces bocconcini mozzarella, halved
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, parsley, eggs, milk, ketchup, Romano cheese, and the salt and pepper. Add the chicken and gently stir to combine.

Using a melon baller (or a teaspoon measure), form the chicken mixture into 3/4-inch pieces. With damp hands, roll the chicken pieces into mini meatballs.

In a large (14-inch) skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the meatballs and cook without moving until brown on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Turn the meatballs over and brown the other side, about 2 minutes longer. Add the chicken stock and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to low and simmer until tomatoes are soft and meatballs are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water. Transfer pasta to a large serving bowl and add the Parmesan. Toss to lightly coat orecchiette, adding reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Add the meatball mixture, mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 cup of the basil. Gently toss to combine. Garnish with the chopped basil.

My Husband the Comedian ... Part III

As we approach our 18th year of marriage we can only give glory to God above for seeing fit to bind our hearts to His ... thus being the only way we can then love one another with hearts full of grace.

God also saw fit to give us each a love of laughter and a ridiculous sense of humor.

For this to make any sense whatsoever, you need to know that I married a cowboy-lookin' fella. He wore a black Stetson hat, black Justin boots, & black Wrangler jeans. Since his roots were bound in the suburbs, he also wore a cream & white striped Guess shirt.

Hold up while I visit that memory for just a minute.

It was "the look", ya'll. And he pulled it off rather well.

He often sported a full beard but to mix things up, he would also don a Fu Manchu. It went well with "the look".

Over the last 18+ years he has made idle threats about growing another one and I have followed suit by threatening to kill him pretend I do not know who he is.

So it's funny. When he jokes about growing a cowboy mustache. Cause he's just joking.

He most always has some sort of goatee ... the very tame sort ... nothing long or braided.

Like this:

Then a couple of weeks ago I came home to my husband's handsome face sporting ...
the FU MANCHU!

I held my breath for what seemed like eternity a few minutes, waiting on him to tell me that HE WAS JOKING.

Which he finally did.

Because remember? He is a comedian.

Rainy Days Don't Bring Him Down

Chris and I were sitting out watching the rain yesterday. The kids and I have been gone to Maryland for the past few days so Daddy & I were catching up.

As we talked, we watched a large portion of the front yard begin to swell up. We both yelled remarked, "Hey there is a large lump growing in the front yard!"

We deduced quickly that the plastic tubing which is buried under our yard and connected to our gutters had somehow come loose and the rain was making it's way out ... one way or the other.

And although we came to that conclusion rather quickly it was not before my mind wandered to thoughts of a volcanic eruption or underground creature.

Good thing for the ol' rational thinking husband ;)

Anyhow. Chris ran out into the yard to climb atop the blanket of grass and release the pressure.

Benjamin soon followed with reckless abandon.

These pics were taken with my camera on the wrong setting and I normally would not publish them ... because blurry pictures make my stomach hurt.

But they tell the cutest story ...

Hotwheels: The Common Denominator