Adventures in Life

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Update: I am behind posting this entry. I am going to dedicate a couple of hours today to getting vacation posts and everyday posts ready to publish. Look for the vacation entries this week.

I am taking a break from the regularly scheduled program of finishing my vacation pictures posts. I am also a little behind.

I bought Alex a Power Wheels vehicle at a city-wide rummage sale. It was only $10 and Alex loves it. They also had two older ones for $5 each, I should have bought those too. I know several people that would have taken them.

We stayed home for Father's Day and ate in. I made Gabe tiramisu for dessert. I was happy when he requested it, because I don't like it and therefore I will not eat it.

Alex painted Gabe a picture.

Gabe lets Alex walk Elsa (with a little help when they are outside).

This Black & Decker Work Bench was also a city-wide rummage find. It was a steal at only $5 and Alex loves working all of the tools.

It is pretty hot here, so we have had a couple of pool days here and there.

After a visit to the doctor we stopped off at the Dairy Queen for a cone.

We enjoyed the free fireworks and festivities at a casino that is nearby. We were prepared to leave once the fireworks started because we thought they would scare Alex. That didn't happen. Instead, he had fun watching them from the back of his dad's car in the parking lot.

The vacation pictures will resume soon...hopefully.

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A very special Happy 2nd Father's Day to Gabe!

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Mother's day was pretty low key around here. Alex wasn't feeling well, so we stayed in. We did make one trip to the grocery store for supplies so Gabe could cook dinner.

Monday Alex was having trouble swallowing so we went to the pediatrician. He has tonsillitis. He seems to be doing better, but that just might be the ibuprofen doing a great job.

Alex and I have just been hanging out at home. I did go to Bible study yesterday. Since he has been napping a couple of times a day I finished the book I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced. Nujood lives in Yemen where the minimum age to marry is not always upheld. Hence, she was married off at the age of 10 and divorced shortly thereafter. Her husband was three times her age. The books talks about girls as young as seven being married off to men that are thirty-five. This book is a quick read and I recommend it. It really makes you wonder how things like this can still be happening and why people are turning their heads when it does.

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Our trip is planned! I worked and worked figuring out what we are going to do at each place we are going. Gabe finished up the last of activity planning a couple of nights ago. We are going on an organized tour at one location.

On April fool's day I had a cookie exchange. There were some pretty yummy cookies. Since it was so close to Easter, I made egg nest cookies. I found the recipe on a jar of Jiff peanut butter a long time ago. I have made them several times and they always turn out cute.

Gabe was home on Good Friday. We played out in the yard a lot.

Hanging out in the grass.

Saturday we went to two more Easter Egg Hunts.

He still doesn't like the Easter Bunny.

Hunting for eggs.

Sunday Alex tore into his basket. We had Belgian Waffles for breakfast (Gabe makes them for special occasions). After breakfast, we headed to church and after the service, Alex hunted eggs again. We came back home had a yummy meal and then Alex hunted eggs at our house. He had a lot of Little People eggs to collect, a few with gummy fruit snack, and a couple with bubbles.

Alex and his basket.

Getting ready for the hunt.

Hunting eggs at home.

Monday morning I went to a couple of stores with some friends. After shopping I went to the grocery store. The day after a holiday, they give the holiday balloons away for free. I picked on up for Alex and he loved it...actually, he loves it because it is still around.

Alex loves balloons.

Alex stayed home with me on Wednesday and I went walking with Debbie on Thursday morning. Friday Cindy and I went for breakfast and on Friday night, Carrie, Debbie, and I all went scrapbooking. I am not finished with August and I have a partially completed September.

Saturday we did some grocery shopping, Alex flew a kite for the first time, we had dinner at Kevin's, and I went to a Southern Living at Home Party.

Gabe flying the kite.

Alex having fun flying the kite. Some of the neighbor kids and adults even came over to fly the kite.

Sunday was fun. We went to Madera Canyon and walked around. We also attended Anya's birthday party at the park.

Gabe and Alex at Madera Canyon. This time I made it home with my camera.

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Wednesday night a group of us went out for Dawn's going away party. We had dinner at a nearby casino and we had hoped to play Bingo (yeah, we are so wild and crazy). Apparently there is no Bingo on Wednesday so we played the slot machines instead. I lost $5.00, but someone in our group won $160! Dawn and her family are leaving tomorrow.

I went to Dawn's house on Thursday to help her with last minute cleaning and packing. Alex and I had to leave earlier than I had anticipated due to nap time. We went back over after Alex was up and had a snack. I am sad to see them go, but they will be moving very close to my family. We will be able to visit them again when we are back in Illinois. Gabe, Alex, and I also filled out brackets for the NCAA tournament. Some of Alex's choices are different. If there are a lot of upsets he has the perfect bracket.

Friday we went to the park with Cindy and her son. After some time in the swing, we headed to babytime at the library.

On Saturday, we went to an Easter Egg hunt. Alex had a great time running around, picking up eggs, and placing them in his Easter bucket. Luckily, we have two more Easter Egg hunts.

Alex looking cool in his dad's sunglasses.

I finished Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan. I recommend this series to anyone that is a fan of Harry Potter.

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Alex has recovered nicely from his surgery. We went to the doctor yesterday and no ear infection! Of course, he just finished his antibiotics yesterday too, so hopefully his ears will stay infection free.

Alex had his surgery on Mardi Gras. I had big plans to make a king cake, but that didn't happen. Instead, we celebrated Mardi Gras on Wednesday and I made Jambalaya.

Alex relaxing.

On Friday, Alex was feeling great and we went to the park. He loves to swing.

Walking around the park.

On Saturday, Dawn and I went to a Mom to Mom sale. I found Alex a few toys, but I still need to disinfect them. Gabe, Alex, and I went to a birthday party for Kimmie. Unfortunately, the weather was cold and it sprinkled a little bit so we only stayed for about 30 minutes and we left. After the party I went over to Debbie's house and Dawn, Debbie, and I scrapbooked. I now have May 2009 finished!

I have started running back up again. I quit due to illness earlier in the month. I still have my goal of running in a race, but I guess I will run it alone. Dawn was going to run in the race with me, but she is moving to Indiana in March. I will miss her!

I finished reading Julie and Julia. It is actually a funny and interesting book. I am looking forward to watching the movie. If you would like to see the blog that started it all click here. There is also a link at the top of the page to go to her current blog.

Gabe and I are watching American Idol again this season. So far none of the girls are really doing it for me. I am looking forward to the guy's performances tonight.

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We have been hanging out relaxing the past few days. A couple of days ago, Gabe and I attempted to take the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) tour, but apparently you have to get there at the crack of dawn to get tickets. Okay, not really the crack of dawn, but you do need to be there right when the Pima Air and Space Museum opens. The AMARG tour is a guided tour of the aircraft storage facility on the Army base.

So, instead of the AMARG tour, we each went for a much needed haircut and I went for my very fun shots. Speaking of fun stuff, Alex went to the dentist for the first time on the 28th. Everything was fine, but he didn't really enjoy the visit. I guess one good thing about the screaming was the dentist could see all of his teeth.

We decided to go to the AMARG tour on New Year's Eve Day. It was a lot of fun. I really liked the fun facts that the guide gave us about the planes during the tour. There are close to 5,000 planes, so he gave us the spiel about the more interesting planes.

After the tour, we went to Color Me Mine and Alex had a blast painting a plate.

He likes to get his own paint with the paintbrush.

He also likes to paint with a paintbrush in each hand.

Here is his plate before glazing and firing (The "Alex" was done by me). I will post a picture once I pick it up from the studio.

We stayed home for New Year's Eve. Alex went to bed and Gabe and I watched the ball drop in New York. This year we decided to eat a grape with each stroke of the clock. We don't have any clocks that chime, so we just ate the grapes quickly.

Alex a few moments after midnight. You can check out his picture from last year here.

We had Belgium Waffles for breakfast on the first and Gabe opened his presents. The mini-Alex for his desk was my favorite.

Alex enjoying a waffle.

Gabe with Alex and mini-Alex.

Mini-Alex.

I purchased the mini-Alex photo sculpture from Zazzle. I think it will make a cute addition to his desk at work and it is definitely different from a picture in a frame. I also ordered and ornament in the same design. I really love them both. I will definitely order them again once Alex is a little older. A family picture would be cute too.

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I guess Gabe did not destroy the pictures from my other camera. They are on a memory card somewhere on his desk. Now I guess I just need to find them.

We had a relaxing dinner and then we went on a walk. I made a new dessert that I did not like. It is called Pumpkin Upside Down Cake. I made it because I do not like pumpkin pie. It tasted like pumpkin pie. Oh well. Maybe I will just make a pecan pie next year. At least Gabe thought it tasted good.

We also watched Year One today. It had its funny moments, but it isn't something that I would rent again.

Alex eating his Thanksgiving dinner.

Alex and his drumstick (we didn't really let him eat the drumstick).

Playing a little football after dinner.

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Happy Veteran's Day! Thank you for your service!

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Today I started cleaning the house. Alex is still a little blah from the vaccines, so we decided to stay in. Once he took a nap Gabe helped me finish cleaning.

We went trick-or-treating to two of our neighbor's houses. Alex wore a onesie that had "Peek-A-Boo" written on it along with a ghost. We headed back to our house to hand out candy. Alex went to bed around 7:00 p.m., so I headed down to one of our neighbor's until 8:00 p.m. When I returned home, Gabe and I played a few games on the Wii.

Alex in his "costume".

He was not a big fan of trick-or-treating.

I am still waiting on pictures from Alex's photo sessions. So, I am just now sending out the Halloween cards that I made a while back. I was going to send his portraits in the card, but it is taking too long to get them. This is also slowing down the mailing of some thank you cards.

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Happy Halloween!

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Happy grandparent's day!

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Happy Labor Day!

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We have been pretty busy lately...even more that normal. Wednesday, July 1, I went to a Pampered Chef party. Alex stayed home with Gabe.

On Friday, July 3 we went to the Old-Fashioned Independence Day Festival. We had a lot of fun. We decided to watch the fireworks from home instead of the festival. We had a pretty decent view out of our extra bedroom window. Alex really enjoyed watching the fireworks, but I think he might not have enjoyed them quite as much if he would have heard the boom. We decided to watch them from home so things would be more quiet and less hectic.

Alex modeling his beads.

We had lunch with Kevin at a Greek restaurant on the Fourth of July. We were actually late due to some confusion at Babies R Us. We bought Alex a car seat and when they went to get it out of storage for us, they couldn't find it. It took them 40 minutes to decide that their inventory system had not been properly updated and they did not have the car seat that we had paid for. Apparently the stores have two inventory systems. One system said that they had 1 car seat in stock and the other system said that they had -1 in stock. So, they ended up ordering one for us. I would not have minded the situation that much (we saved $80 on the car seat) except it made us late for our lunch date. Everything worked out ok and Kevin was pretty understanding.

During the evening of the fourth we had Mike over for dinner. We grilled hotdogs and hamburgers. We also had pasta salad, chips, and apple pie with ice cream for dessert. Alex went to bed and as we sat outside eating dinner we watched fireworks from our back yard.

Monday I went over to J's house for some socializing. There were quite a few people there and we snacked on yummy low calorie desserts. I made yummy chocolate mint cookies. I forgot to take a picture, but I will post the recipe in a different post.

Recent we have watched a few movies. We watched the entire first season of True Blood. It is about vampires that have come out in society and they are now seeking equal rights thanks to the invention of True Blood. It is a blood substitute that fulfills all nutritional requirements and stops the need for vampires to feed on humans. The main character is Sookie Stackhouse. She can hear people's thoughts and really has an interest in vampires. Her brother, Jason, just seems to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Bill, a vampire, becomes Sookie's love interest. The series is based on books by Charlaine Harris.

We also watched Babylon AD. It was a much better movie than I had expected. Vin Diesel takes a job to smuggle a girl to the United States. We are currently watching Insomnia. It is doing a great job of keeping my interest (I always do two things at once). Al Pacino is sent to Alaska to investigate the murder of a girl. He kills his partner while attempting to apprehend the suspect. He does not admit to what he has done. While dealing with his guilt he is still trying to catch a murderer.

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Well, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is an interesting movie, but not one that I would want to watch again. I think I should have just quit watching after the first half of the movie. Aging in reverse is just weird. I never read the F. Scott Fitzgerald book, maybe that would have made a difference.

We went to a party on Saturday the 13th. It was actually pool party, but we didn't swim. Alex has taken to hating his baths again. So we were pretty sure he would scream the entire time just like he does during a bath.

Alex & Gabe

Sunday the 14th was a very busy day. After church at the lake, we had brunch and then headed back home. We decided to try out Alex's little pool in our back yard. He loved it! He absolutely loved splashing around in it. Maybe we should have let him splash at the pool in the party.

Splashing in the pool.

Alex very happy after splashing in the pool.

Stephanie & Alex

Next we decided to head out to the zoo. On the way back we stopped by Border's for a free Seattle's Best beverage (courtesy of our rewards card).

Stephanie, Alex, & Giraffe

Cute African Spotted-Necked Otter

The capybara is the world's largest rodent, related to guinea pigs.

Once we were back home again we had dinner and decided to go to our neighborhood pool around 7:30 p.m. Even though it was 90 out it was too cold for Alex. When there is no humidity it feels like air conditioning for any part of your body that is out of the water. I stayed in for a little while, while Alex and Gabe sat on the edge.

I started watching the new season of The Next Food Network Star. I must say I don't miss Jenn and I was happy to see Brett go. It was a tossup between Eddie and Teddy, but I do hope that Teddy goes home next week. I just wouldn't watch a show with him as the star. Gabe thinks that Debbie is going to win, but as of right now I guess I am voting for Jeffrey. No one has really gained my "vote" yet.

Wednesday the 17th Dawn D. and I went for a walk in the morning (Gabe and I usually go in the evenings). She left for Illinois on Monday for three weeks. She was nice enough to drop off an exersaucer for Alex before she left.

Friday the 19th I scrapbooked with Cheri (originally we had plans to do it on Thursday) until around 3:00 p.m. and then we had Victor over for dinner. I cooked Greek food. I really loved the feta and cream cheese dip that I made. I will have to post the recipe the next time I make it (that way I can post a picture).

Saturday the 20th we went out to eat at Macaroni Grill for Father's Day. We were going to eat out on Sunday, but we switched it Saturday and went to a BBQ at one of our neighbor's. Wednesday we had some people over for dinner.

"Ice Cream" Cupcakes that I took to the BBQ. They were ice cream cones filled with chocolate cake, frosted, and then topped with sprinkles.

Gabe & Alex on Father's Day.

We watched Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. I actually preferred the first Underworld movie. Rise of the Lycans is a prequel and takes a five minute portion of the movie and expands it into a full length movie. Slumdog Millionaire was ok. It wasn't my favorite movie. We are currently watching Role Models. I think we should have watched Confessions of a Shopaholic instead.

After dinner we went on our nightly walk. We were going to head out to Old Navy to check out he $5.00 swimsuit and shorts sale, but we both decided to relax instead. We are going to go tomorrow instead. We also having Mike D. over for dinner tomorrow. I have plans to clean out and organize my office this weekend. We will see how it goes.

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A very special Happy 1st Father's Day to Gabe!

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Just like the first Father's Day Gift that I posted, I think that this one will become a tradition too. I plan on making one of these each year. The original idea came from Brassy Apple. You could certainly take three 4x6 pictures and print them out. I was going to do this with the same frame that I used to make the first gift, but I decided to do something a little different. I used the collage print function (5x7) at Wal-Greens and bought a 5x7 frame. The collage print allowed me to easily add a title to the print. The lady at the photo counter commented on how cute the picture was. Oh, instead of buying the letters I just cut out some white corrugated cardboard that I had around. I was just going to cut the letters out of paper, but Alex loves to crinkle paper up. The entire project cost less than $3.00!

Please ignore the terrible photography. In case you are wondering, in the first picture he is biting on the "D". In the second picture he is holding the "A" and smiling. Finally, in the third picture, he is looking through the "D". I ended up taking around 30 pictures to end up with the three that I ultimately used.

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This is one of Gabe's Father's Day gifts. It is pretty easy to make. Just buy a picture frame that holds three pictures. I traced Alex's hands on some scrapbook paper and placed them in the frame along with a fun picture of Gabe and Alex. If Gabe has a favorite picture that he would rather have in the frame, it can easily be replaced. I thought I would post this early in case anyone else would like to make one. Now if I can just keep Gabe away from my blog until next Sunday. Please ignore my photography skills.

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The following recipe is from The Little Book of Farmhouse Cooking. It was purchased on our trip to Ireland. I decided to pull it out and pick out a few recipes to make for St. Patrick's Day. The picture does not do the food justice. Too bad I can't just show you the picture from the book.

Apple Nut Tart (serves 6)
9 oz plain flour (I used all-purpose flour)
5 oz caster sugar (I used granulated sugar...I could have put it in a coffee grinder to make it super fine)
4 1/2 oz butter, cut into pieces
1 egg
1 lb dessert apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I did not peel the apples)
2 oz hazelnuts, coarsely ground (I used chopped pecans)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
juice of 1 lemon (I skipped this)
3 tbsps apricot brandy (optional) (I skipped this)
4 oz apricot jam, melted
2 oz chopped hazelnuts (I used chopped pecans)

1. Sieve together the flour and 4 oz of the sugar into a bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. (I used a pastry blender.)

2. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and drop in the egg. Gradually incorporate the flour into the egg using a knife or, as the mixture becomes firmer, your fingers. Continue kneading the mixture together, until it forms a smooth dough.

3. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes, then roll out and use it to line an 8-inch greased flat tin. (I used a tart pan.)

4. Layer the apple slices and the ground hazelnuts (chopped pecans) in the pastry case. Sprinkle over the cinnamon, remaining sugar, lemon juice and apricot brandy, if using.

5. Pour the melted jam over, and sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts (or pecans). Bake in a preheated oven at 425 F, for 35-40 minutes or until the fruit is soft and the tart is golden brown.

This is yummy! I will definitely make this again and I will not wait for St. Patrick's day before I do. Gabe really liked it too.

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The following recipe is from a Weight Watchers Cookbook Around the World. A friend gave it to me because she didn't use it. I have made a few recipes from it and we have not been disappointed. The picture does not do the food justice.

Mashed Roots (serves 6)
4 cups cubed peeled baking potato (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 cups sliced peeled parsnip (about 12 ounces)
2 cups cubed peeled turnip (about 12 ounces)
2 bay leaves (I skipped the bay leaves)
5 tablespoons reduced-calorie stick margarine
1/4 cup fat-free milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper (I skipped the pepper)

1. Place first 4 ingredients in a large saucepan; cover with water, and bring to a boil. Cook 20 minutes or until vegetables are very tender. Drain well, and discard bay leaves. Return vegetables to pan; add margarine, milk, salt, and pepper. Beat at medium speed of a mixer until smooth.

These were okay, but next time I will just make regular mashed potatoes. White potatoes in a white bowl make a terrible picture.

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The following recipe is from The Little Book of Farmhouse Cooking. It was purchased on our trip to Ireland. I decided to pull it out and pick out a few recipes to make for St. Patrick's Day. The picture does not do the food justice. Too bad I can't just show you the picture from the book.

Chicken Cobbler (serves 6)
4 chicken joints, 2 breasts and 2 legs (I used 3 very large boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
2 1/2 pints water (I used chicken broth...you will see why in the recipe)
1 bay leaf (I skipped this ingredient)
4 whole peppercorns (I skipped this ingredient)
2 carrots, peeled and diced (we sliced ours)
24 button onions, peeled (we used a quarter of a large onion)
6 tbsps frozen sweetcorn (I just used canned corn)
1/4 pint double cream (we used heaving whipping cream)

Topping
14 oz plain four (we used all-purpose flour)
1 1/2 tbsps baking powder
pinch salt
5 tbsps butter or margarine
12 fl oz milk
1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt (umm...didn't use this either)

1. Place the chicken in a deep saucepan with water, bay leaf and peppercorns. Cover and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until the chicken is tender. Remove the chicken from the pot and allow to cool. Skim and discard the fat from the surface of the stock. Skin the chicken and remove the meat from the bones. (Umm...I didn't do this.)

2. Continue to simmer the stock until reduced by about half. (Okay, I just used chicken broth added the carrots and onions and went from there). Strain, then add the carrots and onions. Cook until tender and add the sweetcorn. Stir in the cream and season. Add the chicken. Pour into a casserole.

3. To prepare the topping, sift the dry ingredients into a bowl.

4. Rub in the butter or margarine until the mixture resembles small peas (I used a pastry blender). Stir in enough of the milk to bind the mixture.

5. turn out onto a floured surface and knead lightly. Roll out with a floured rolling pin and cut with a pastry cutter (I just cut the biscuits out with a juice glass). Brush the surface of each round with the egg mixture (I didn't do this part...so my biscuits didn't brown as nice as the picture in the book). Place on top of the chicken mixture and bake for 10-15 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 375 F. Serve immediately (we let it sit for about 5 minutes).

Okay, if you actually made it past the picture (which was absolutely terrible), the cobbler was very yummy. I actually thought about doing this post without the picture because it looks so unappetizing. I will make this again. I would make the biscuits every week if it weren't for all of the butter. Gabe and I are laughing about how unappetizing the picture looks.

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The following recipe is from The Little Book of Farmhouse Cooking. It was purchased on our trip to Ireland. I decided to pull it out and pick out a few recipes to make for St. Patrick's Day. The picture does not do the food justice. Too bad I can't just show you the picture from the book.

Carrot Soup (serves 4)
1 lb of carrots
1 medium onion
1 medium turnip
2 garlic cloves, crushed (Umm...I forgot the garlic!)
1 1/4 pints water or vegetable stock (I used chicken broth)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
salt and ground white pepper, to taste (I omitted the white pepper)
Toasted sunflower seeds, flaked almonds and pistachio nuts, mixed together for garnish (I skipped these ingredients)

1. Peel the carrots and cut them into thick slices. Peel and roughly chop the onion and turnip.

2. Put the vegetables, garlic and water or stock, into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Cover the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

3. Add the herbs and seasoning, and simmer for a further 5 minutes.

4. Using a liquidiser or food processor, blend the soup until it is thick and smooth.

5. Reheat the soup as required, garnishing with the seeds and nuts before serving (We skipped the nuts).

This soup was okay. I will probably try something different next year. After tasting the soup, I thought it might be good with some ginger, but Gabe didn't agree.

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It has been a while since I have updated, so here I go.

Below are the pictures of Alex rolling over for the first time.

Starting out during tummy time.

Midway through the roll.

Completed roll.

Apparently he wasn't finished!

I used to be a fan of Anoop, however I did not like his American Idol performance last week. Now I have started to wonder if he can actually sing, or if he can only sing My Prerogative. Anyway, even though I was not a Jasmine or Jorge fan, I still believe that based on the performance, Anoop should have been sent home. I guess we will see what happens this week. It should be interesting since the judges have a "get of jail free" card. Right now I think they will only use it to save Danny, Adam, or Lil.

Saturday I went to a Pampered Chef party. I ordered the bread mix. I really want to see if it is as good as Tastefully Simple. I also ordered the Sun-Dried Tomato Herb Oil Dipping Seasoning.

On Sunday Gabe, Alex, and I went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival in Tucson. The parade was a lot longer and much more interesting than I had anticipated. We will most likely go back again next year. It is an added bonus that it was in the 70's.

Alex sporting his "Kiss Me I'm Irish" shirt. He didn't wear this to the festival. Since everyone seems to like touching him we didn't want to give them an excuse to kiss him.

Waiting for the parade to begin.

Green Man Group

Apparently Star Wars characters enjoy St. Patrick's Day.

Darth Vader even made an appearance...though he wasn't wearing green.

Alex showing off his green beads.

Fire Truck

The festival was also a lot of fun. The type of craft booths reminded me a lot of the festival in my hometown. We had Irish Stew for lunch and it was really good.

We had our St. Patrick's day dinner on Sunday. It was a lot easier to cook the meal while Gabe was home to watch Alex and help me. So, we decided Sunday would be a better day than Tuesday. I pulled out a cookbook that we purchased while we were in Ireland. We had Carrot Soup, Chicken Cobbler, Mashed Roots, and Apple Nut Tart. I will post the recipes to each menu item as I get a chance.

I was really disappointed that Steve-O was not able to dance last night on Dancing With the Stars. As much as he is not one of my favorites, he is pretty entertaining to watch. Gilles is still my favorite guy. I just hope people vote for him. Maybe the judges need a "save" like the American Idol judges. Ty was a thousand times better last night. I actually smiled through his entire performance. As far as the girls go, I liked both Melissa and Shawn's performances.

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Posted by at 8:04 AM | Permalink

I should be picking up the bedroom, finishing up the birth announcements, working on Christmas cards, or one of the other million things I need to do since Alex is sleeping. Instead, I am writing an entry to update everyone...what dedication.

Friday my mom wanted to go shopping. Now, just in case you are wondering I am not the "get up and go out at 4:00 a.m. type" and I did manage to order my shower curtain at Kohl's online at 11:00 p.m. (actually Gabe did it for me because I kept falling asleep). We went to the mall around noon thinking the die-hard shoppers would have returned home or at least stopped for lunch. We were wrong. Cops were directing traffic at the mall. It was ridiculous and finding a parking space (note: just a space not necessarily a good space) was nearly impossible. We did however luck out and found a space at Dillard's. Little did we know Dillard's is located at the opposite end as Macy's, which just happens to be the store that my mom wanted to shop. Stores had cue lines set up and shoppers were only allowed in when another shopper had left the store...crazy!

I found Alex a couple of cute outfits and my mom purchased my birthday present, Gabe's birthday present and his Christmas present, and a few things for Alex. She also found Alex an ornament.

Alex's ornament

My Dad and I managed to get our tree up.

Alex helping us clean.

On the way home I stopped by Home Depot and picked up a ceiling fan that the Home Depot near us didn't have. Actually they had one, but it was a return item and it was missing the blades.

Gabe's parents arrived Friday evening. Saturday my parent's watched Alex while Anna, Duane, Gabe, and I went to his office. This time I was able to take the tour and see what Gabe works on. My mom also made spaghetti and meatballs while we were gone. Duane, Anna, Gabe, and my Dad all attempted to go to the pecan factory on Saturday, but they missed the store being open by 3 minutes.

Sunday was my birthday and we had our Thanksgiving dinner. We were supposed to have the meatballs on my birthday and the turkey on Saturday, but the turkey was still a little frozen. My mom made a very yummy carrot cake. I couldn't find the candles, so I had one taper candle in the middle of the cake to blow out. My Dad was also our "professional photographer". He took several pictures of us so we could pick one out for our Christmas card. Gabe and I decided it would just be easier to take our pictures at home instead of taking two dogs and a baby to a photo studio.

Alex in a Santa hat.

Very early Monday morning Gabe dropped my parents off at the airport. Their flight was delayed due to the weather in Chicago. Luckily, they had a four hour layover so they did not miss their connecting flight. Monday morning we applied for a passport for Alex. Monday afternoon we went to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum with Gabe's parents. Alex slept through the majority of the zoo.

Alex enjoying the Desert Museum.

Alex hanging out with the javelina.

The three of us with a cactus on an 80 degree day in December! Maybe I should throw this picture in our Christmas cards too.

We went to Sam's on the way home and received our Christmas present from his parents a little early. We picked out a mini-fridge for the upstairs of our house. This way we can store the pre-made bottles upstairs instead of having to go downstairs at 3 a.m. We put it to use for the first time last night and it was wonderful.

Mini-Fridge

Tuesday morning we had lunch at Agave and then went to the copper mine gift shop and museum. They offer a tour of the mine, but there just wasn't time (they had to catch a plane home). I came back with Alex and Gabe dropped his parents off at the airport. When he came back we worked on the house a little more.

Entrance gate to mine property.

Gabe is at work right now, but he will be coming home in a few hours. Alex has his one month appointment today and he is getting a shot. I am not looking forward to the shot.

I think that wraps up the update. I am going to pick up our bedroom and then get back to cards, packages, and wrapping Christmas presents.

Posted by at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Gabe picked my parents up from the airport last night around 10:40 p.m. Alex and I stayed home. After wading through the maze of boxes, we finally made it to bed sometime after midnight.

This morning we headed out to have lunch at a Mexican restaurant that we really like. Unfortunately, they were closed for Thanksgiving. I guess you can't really blame them for wanting to spend time with their families. We ended up going to Arizona Family Restaurant. It was our first time there and it was pretty good. Gabe and my Dad ordered breakfast and my mom and I ordered lunch.

After eating we headed out to Gabe's office. He gave us a tour of the facilities. Alex and I hung out in the car for part of the tour (safety glasses were required).

We came back home and worked on clearing out some boxes. Now, before you think I forced my parents to unpack boxes, my mom really wanted us to get things organized so we would all have somewhere to sit (and I think she knows the lack of organization really bothers me). Gabe and my Dad managed to install of the ceiling fans. We still have three more to purchase since Home Depot was out of the fan that I wanted for the kitchen area.

We took a break and went to eat Thanksgiving dinner at a buffet. We have a turkey in our refrigerator, but it is currently thawing. We will have it in a few days when Gabe's mom and dad arrive.

We came back and finished the room we were working on downstairs. Then my Dad and I came upstairs and began working on another room that was box city. It isn't any where near completion, but it is looking better. Maybe tomorrow we will be able to finish it. I need to throw some towels in the dryer and maybe start another load of clothes. I am so tired right now I would fall over if I wasn't reclining in a chair with arms. There are a few Kohl's deals that I would like to purchase online, but I don't think that I am going to be able to stay away (Alex may have a different plan).

Alex in his "gobble 'til you wobble" outfit. There is a turkey on the onesie.
I hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving.

Posted by at 11:03 PM | Permalink

Graphic courtesy of Pat's Web Graphics.

Posted by at 10:21 PM | Permalink

Happy Valentine's Day!

Posted by at 12:32 PM | Permalink

We arrived at my parent's house a little after 1:00 a.m. We finally went to bed around 2:00 a.m. My family came up and it was good to see everyone. Gabe and I went over to Brandi and Doug's and saw their house. We gave them their wedding present (a Flavia machine). Brandi was really excited to get it. She would drink chococcinos when we lived in our apartment. The apartment complex had a free Flavia machine. My parents, Gabe, and I tried to play Deal or No Deal on the TV, but the DVD kept resetting itself halfway through the game. Kyle came back over and we ended up playing 1 vs. 100. We are on our way back now (I have to work tomorrow). We should be back around 5:30 p.m. tonight...hopefully I can get some stuff done.

Posted by at 12:26 PM | Permalink

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Posted by at 11:00 AM | Permalink

Happy Halloween everyone!

Posted by at 7:36 PM | Permalink

We are still working on the house. It is a never ending project. Actually, I hope to have it mostly completed by the end of this year. I guess we will just see what happens. Yesterday we stopped at a pumpkin patch on the way back from Lowe's. We bought a 23 pound pumpkin and a two carmel apples. It was fun walking around. We are still working on the downstairs bathroom. I spent a lot of time yesterday stripping and staining the current wood fixtures. The new vanity is cherry in color. The oak fixtures just didn't match, so I am attempting to make it all match. I need to get ready to leave. One more coat of stain awaits me tonight.

Posted by at 9:45 AM | Permalink

Since Halloween is coming up soon, I thought that I would post the link to the Cadaver Calculator. Find out how much your body is worth. I am worth $5175...don't tell Gabe ;)

The question about vision is misleading. Most people that think they have "perfect vision" are uncorrected hyperopes that will wear reading glasses before the "normal" age and a distance prescription when they are unable to compensate for the distance correction that has actually been there all along. Or, I guess they could just walk around not seeing so hot.

Posted by at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well, we watched the fireworks last night. Clara is terrified and wouldn't come out and watch them. Elsa just barked at the fireworks until she became tired and then she sat on the steps with Gabe and I and just watched them. We stayed out until 10:00 p.m. and then I decided to go to bed. Gabe asked what I wanted to watch on T.V. and I said nothing, I wanted to sleep. He then reminded me that the firework noises would stop me from sleeping, so we watched 2 episodes of Scrubs. We are a good way through the first season. So far they are pretty funny. Which reminds me, after I watch the first season I am going to retake the Scrubs quiz.

Posted by at 10:32 PM | Permalink

Happy Fourth of July everyone! Today was better...I guess. We have decided that we should spend the extra money and spring for the larger apartment in the first building that we looked at yesterday (the back-up plan). It is a nice apartment and the apartment complex has some nice amenities. Plus, the will take the dogs and even have a fenced in dog park for them. We thought about going to the Taste, but decided against it...neither of us wanted to fight the crowd. Our neighborhood usually has a fireworks display put on by the residents. We might watch it tonight. Actually they have been putting it on for a while now, sometimes the noises are a little less than desirable.

Posted by at 6:27 PM | Permalink

Today is going to be a fun "catch-up" day for me. Too bad I can't hit the Memorial Day sales!

Posted by at 11:46 PM | Permalink

Happy Easter everyone!

Posted by at 9:26 AM | Permalink

Happy April Fools Day! Anyone pull any good pranks?

Posted by at 2:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! Did anyone else notice that Chicago celebrated St. Patrick's Day a week early and then moved on to Easter? Before you know it, they will literally be celebrating Christmas in July!

Posted by at 9:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Happy Birthday to Bree and Happy Valentine's Day to everyone (or as a friend from U of I calls it...Happy Singles Awareness Day!)

Posted by at 7:33 PM | Permalink