Sorry for the lack of posts this week. We have been enjoying the time with my Mom and have been introducing her to different places around town.
Here is what my family ate for dinner this week...and they are Busia approved!
Sunday, June 1: I found this yummy marinade for pork chops on Pinterest. Scott threw them on the grill with some asparagus and used some reserved marinade for both the chops and asparagus. I also made some Annie's mac 'n' cheese to go with it. This recipe will definitely stay in the rotation.
Monday, June 2: Mexican Quinoa Bowls. This is one of Scott's favorite recipes and if he could make it once a week he would.
Tuesday, June 3: I made one of Aaron's favorites, chicken broccoli alfredo. All you have to do is cook up a couple of chicken breasts, slice them, add to some pasta, toss in some broccoli and light alfredo sauce. It's that simple.
Wednesday, June 4: The kiddos graduated kindergarten, so we went to one of their favorite restaurants for dinner, Chuy's.
Thursday, June 5: We introduced Busia to Aaron's all time favorite meal, turkey burger casserole.
Friday, June 6:Spaghetti Bolognese. I love this recipe and make little tweaks each time I make it. I also used the multigrain gluten free spaghetti from Target (Simply Balanced brand). It's so good! You cannot even tell the difference.
Saturday, June 7: After a hot round of mini golf, we grilled some hot dogs. It was the perfect summer dinner.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to enjoying these last few days with Busia! Hope you enjoy!
A great partner, Lani, who without her this past year would not have been possible!
Lake Sumter Station 33, squad A (I believe? not that I'm a stalker). Saw them at dinner last night and could not be more thankful of everything they did for my kids back in November. Plus, they're easy (read very easy) on the eyes, so it made my meal just as nice.
My neighbors who have painted our house for dirt cheap! It looks awesome!
Melissa d'Arabian saying that she loved me, mainly because I actually read the press release.
We went to Seaworld today to check out the Shamu show. The kids and I have never seen it before so we were all excited! We had pretty good seats, way out of the way of the soak zone. And can I just say this....you know you're in the soak zone, it says it on your seat, so why must you act surprised when you get soaked????
Anyway, the show was great and the kids LOVED it! Jill would wave every time Shamu "waved" at the crowd. Both of them danced and clapped and just had a great time! Here are some photos and video:
After the show the kids were pretty wiped out so we just walked around until they fell asleep and then left. I love having the annual pass there as well! It's great to be able to just go in for a show and then head home.
For dinner tonight I finally made Melissa d'Arabian's Potato Bacon Torte (click on the link for the recipe). Oh my word it was delicious! Seriously, little bites of heaven! I did cheat though and use store bought pie crust, but it was really easy to make and like I've said a million times, really delicious, see:
That's about it over here. Scott will be making his second and third degree with Knights of Columbus tomorrow, very exciting! I am so proud of him for being a part of such a great organization and that he is moving forward in it!
I had just finished talking to my parents and was sitting down to enjoy my coffee when the phone rang. It was my parents. Hmmm weird, we just talked, what's up? So I answer and my Dad goes "I've been sitting at this God D@#N computer for a half an hour now and I don't see any photos of my grandkids!" All I could think was, did I tell him that I put photos up? And how did he get on the computer? Does he know where the on button is? So, just for you Dad, this post will include a lot of photos. On a totally unrelated side note, Lollapalooza is this weekend in Chicago, sigh good times, and if you talk to my Dad about it, it's called Lolpl-ooza. He also says EYE-talian instead of Italian, but I digress.
We took the kiddos to the Orlando Science Center this afternoon to 1) get out of the house 2) have a cool indoor activity and 3) get out of the house. A lot has changed since I worked there, the strength of the A/C being one of the bigger things. It was also insanely busy! There is a ton of stuff for the kiddos to do there, and I cannot wait to take them back when they are a little older and it's not as crowded. The first area we let them run around in is the All Aboard exhibit that has models of planes, trains and automobiles (sigh RIP John Hughes, that was an awesome movie). Here's Jilly doing her best Red Baron impression:
Then we took the kids down to the Kidstown Exhibit. Even though I worked there, many moons ago, I never actually went into this exhibit, there were always screaming kids in there and yeah I wasn't about to venture into that. So I was pleasantly surprised when I saw just how awesome it actually was in there! A lot of the stuff in there though will be much better when they are older. Here are some photos of the kiddos in Kidstown (please excuse my hair, I need to get it cut and colored desperately):
We only hung out for a little over an hour before we left. I seriously cannot wait until we take them again!
And as an added bonus, here is a video of the kiddos from when we got home:
To say that I had an awesome day is an understatement. I got to interview Melissa d'Arabian of The Next Food Network Star and Ten Dollar Dinners with Melissa d'Arabian. Granted, I did the interview with 5 other Mommy bloggers, but uh it was still insanely awesome. Plus, I was the first person to ask questions! YAHOO!
I literally wanted to vomit the hour before I talked to Melissa. So I chatted with my sister Cathy prior to the conference call. Why did I chat with Cathy you ask? Simple, she majored in journalism in college and I didn't. I took one journalism class and only because the Communications department at Illinois State told me I had to. I wish I would have paid more attention to whatever his name was that taught that class. Seriously the only thing I remember is that he thought it was pronounced Frucktis, not Fructis. Gee Mom and Dad aren't you glad you spent your hard earned money on my education? Back to why I started this story, I emailed my sister to get some last minute advice and calm my nerves. So what did my journalism major sister tell me? "If you feel a nervous 'toot' coming on put the speakerphone on mute so they don't hear it. If it sneaks out though tell them you are having really bad storms and that was thunder." I wish I was kidding, but that is honest to God what she told me. So of course here I am sitting on a LEATHER chair that, let's face it, sounds like you farted every time you move. Awesome, this should be good.
Then the time got closer and the sheer panic overtook me. What time is it? Which clock should I go off of, because seriously every clock is a minute off from each other. Should I call now? How about now? So I called two minutes early to be safe and listened to some way awesome hold music for seven minutes. Michelle from Food Network came on and did roll call to make sure we were all there (surprisingly there were a few no shows). Then I got the news that I was the first person to respond to the interview email so therefore I got to go first. Say what?! I was actually hoping for two, but one works. Melissa beeps in at this moment, you know the moment where you wonder if you can make it to the bathroom to toss your cookies and get back in time without all the callers hearing you.
I'm not going to go into the interview now because it is going to be featured on Multiples and More on Sunday (I'm so evil, aren't I?) but let me tell you Melissa is so insanely sweet and just awesome in general. She's also really chatty and totally personable. If you watched The Next Food Network Star at all, she is exactly like that only better! Her new show Ten Dollar Dinners with Melissa d'Arabian starts on Sunday (12:30EST) and I know I'm going to watch it, I even have the recipe that will be featured. Want the recipe? Hahaha you will have to wait until Sunday at Multiples and More!
Another week has come and gone, so this week I am thankful for:
Scott letting me sleep in pretty much every day this week. Granted, I think it's because he feels guilty that his snoring has returned, but I'll take it!
Scott going back to work in a couple of weeks, not that I am counting down the days or anything.
My kiddos being the funny little kiddos that they are.
Everyone that is around us, supporting us.
The press department at Food Network sending us that press release and actually responding back to us so I can interview Melissa d'Arabian. :) :) :)
My sister Cathy majoring in journalism because I totally slept through my required journalism class at ISU. Mom or Dad if you are reading this, of course I didn't sleep through that class! I would never do such a thing! Ahem...
Naptime, it's such a wonderful time.
Coffee being sold in bulk, it's the little things in life people!
Girls night at Devenney's on the two seven by the one nine two.
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