Roasted Potatoes

So I found a new tasty recipe the other night - thank you Lipton Onion Soup package! Onion-Roasted Potatoes...so so good! I served it with grilled BBQ chicken (got to love those grilling nights!) and corn on the cob, but they were so good, you could put them with a more elegant meal and completely get away with it! This really was a super easy recipe too...I love the ones that are easy and quick to prepare with not a lot of clean-up or dishes involved! Who has time for that?!?!

I (of course) tweaked it a bit...but here's the recipe! Give them a try! And check out the back of the Lipton box if you want the real thing w/o my random notes!

Onion-Roasted Potatoes
4 medium potatoes (about 2 lbs) , chopped into bite-sized pieces (I used 7 small potatoes)
1 Lipton Onion Soup packet
1/3 cup olive oil (I think next time I'll use less...maybe 1/4 cup?)
I also added:
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
Parsley - sprinkled on to add some color

Mix all ingredients in a 9x13 baking dish (I used a cookie sheet). Combine well. Bake at 425 for 35 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Stir occasionally while while baking for even cooking.

***Edited to add: While glancing at the Lipton box sitting by my computer, I happened to glance at the ingredient list. MSG! What a bummer! Sorry for promoting such a scandalous recipe - loaded with icky things like that!!! So, here's to hoping that there is an MSG free type substitute for the onion mix, because these potatoes are tasty!

My Scissors

Kind of random, but I keep a pair of kids' school scissors in my car. You never know when you're going to need them, and they have come in handy more than once! But today, my love for my scissors grew even more. :)

We've been having minor car problems lately with my car...nothing big - just annoying little things! So today, I left the house believing that all problems were behind us, as the latest little thing was figure dout. But the car must have know that stop #2 on my trip was to stop and check-out a car that has the potential of fitting more than 3 children into. (Got to upgrade sometime, right???) But apparently, the car was holding a grudge because after my first stop...the blasted thing wouldn't start! Mind you, we had been in a store for 15 minutes and the car was already 900 degrees inside the car and I had my kids all strapped in and ready to go before I realized that we were completely stuck. So I open all the doors of the car to catch a breeze for my kiddos and pop the hood (big ol' prego belly and all), get Steve on the phone and try to understand what the new problem is.

Apparently, I should have packed some tools, because to fix the new problem, I would be required to remove bolts this time and get a bit deeper than before - info that might have been useful BEFORE leaving the house!!! :) Hmmmm...no wrenches or screwdrivers or anything in the car...but my trusty pair of kid scissors! So the point of all this is...yes, if you're praying hard enough, you can unscrew bolts with scissors, in case anyone was wondering! I am not attributing any of this to my amazing scissor-handling skills, but they did come through for me in amazing fashion - both the scissors AND the prayer!!!

So moral of the story...don't leave home without your scissors and sense of humor! You never know what you'll need them to do throughout the course of a day!!!

You are my sunshine!

Me (when I walked in to get Ethan out of his crib this morning): Good Morning Ethan!!!

E: Go moorney, Mommy!

Me: Are you ready to get up?

E: O-tay!

Me (giving him a hug and getting a big squeeze back): E? Are you my sunshine?

E: No! Me E-ten.

There's no foolin' this kid! :)

Houston...we have lift off!!!

After many attempts to jump like his big bro...Ethan has finally managed to get both feet off the ground when he leaps! It took me a while to realize it yesterday, due to the fact that he seriously jumps all day long (and has for about a year!) but he was actually doing it! Both feet cleared the floor consistently! He would land his jump and be all smiles and clap for himself every once in a while...and Garrett, the self-proclaimed coach couldn't be more proud!!!

Ethan-isms

Cha Cha Na!!! Cha Cha Na!!! Cha Cha Na!!!

This phrase is yelled often in our house by an energetic 2 year-old, while running laps around the kitchen. This is his chant when he wants Chocolate Milk. Why he calls milk, 'NA' is beyond me...but it's been the word since he was just barely learning to talk and apparently it stuck! :)

The only thing better than the 'cha cha na' is the 'na matash' meaning milk mustache! He loves to drink the milk out of his cereal bowl every morning and entertains Garrett across the breakfast table with his lovely white mustache. How do kids know that they are so funny?!?! He seriously entertains himself (and us all) to no end!

Think Pink

So I may have picked up a little pink outfit or two on my latest errand trip. Yep, that's right...our lucky boy streak has officially ended (unless we're in for a big surprise later this fall!) We had our ultrasound last week and we are so excited to add a baby girl to the family!

And I must admit, that after having to pass all that cute girl stuff in the stores for all these years, it was quite enjoyable perusing the racks and picking out a little pink item or two! Maybe she has the shopping gene and is passing it on to me already...I generally avoid shopping as much as I can...but yesterday was so much fun!

How We Spend Our Days...

What do you get when you take 2 chairs, 1 blanket, and a pillow???

One happy boy! (and one mom who gets at least 2 minutes to herself to make dinner!) Success!!!

gratitude

There really isn't anything like a good friend who will drop everything to go out to lunch on a day that she knows you need out of the house! Or one who will drop by with a special delivery to brighten your day! Or another who will change her whole day to pick up your son from school so that your other little one can get a good nap in or so that you can be at the millionth appointment for the week! Or the ones who will rearrange their whole day to be able to watch an extra child (or two) at a moments notice! Or those who just call just to check in. Thank you to all of you who support me in so many ways! I love you all and appreciate all you do for me and my family!!!

I'm not tired!

So at night, we tuck Garrett into bed...stories read, teeth brushed, prayers said...you know the routine. Many nights though, we'll hear him up walking around. Sometimes it's to get the much needed last drink of water for the night, other times it's to go to the bathroom one more time, often it's to come tell us that he can't fall asleep. Tonight though takes the cake. I hear some noises upstairs and after a reasonable time to have finished his drink or whatever he saw fit to be doing, I called up to ask him to once again get in bed. Here's how it played out...

Me - Gar...what are you doing? Please get back in bed!

G - I AM!!!

Me - Okay...just lay down and stay there please...no more getting up!

G - OKAY! (said in a slightly exasperated tone!)

This is where it gets good...

G - Mom?

Me - Yeah?

G - Well, you see, I'm really not feeling that tired. So I thought I'd practice some things...you know, to make me tired. So I'm practicing my tripods and headstands. (tripods being where your head and hands are on the floor and you balance your knees on your elbows...it's our precursor to a handstand!) So, I'll be tired soon...okay???

Me - (trying to stifle the giggles alongside Steve who is listening to the whole thing and laughing hysterically - though quietly) Um, let's just try laying down and closing our eyes. That will make you tired too!

G - (heaving a big sigh) Okay...I'll try!

Bruiser

Ethan took a little tumble this weekend...why little boys heads and concrete seem to have a magnetic attraction is honestly beyond me! While the injury really wasn't that bad...barely taking off a few layers of skin...it resulted in a pretty awful-looking scrape on his forehead. I've gotten questions about it all weekend so I thought I'd snap a picture of the cute little guy or my 'little bruiser' as he seems to be right now. Of course...now just 3 days later, the scrape is hardly what it once was...but here it is for my journaling sake! :) I think it looked so bad before because it was paired with a few mosquito bites on his face too...man, it's hard being a little guy!

I just had to include this picture too, just because it makes me laugh! Ethan shouts 'CHEESE' as loud and as long as he can whenever the camera turns on. This picture seemed to catch the 'cheese' behind the picture a bit better than the last one...though the scrape is hardly noticeable!

I've arrived...

Okay...so we all know that I'm totally preggo and while I've felt larger than a truck from day one...I think today I've officially arrived. You know the day...the one you feel officially HUGE!!! Today was the day that this belly of mine has managed to catch every single thing that has fallen its way...I'm on my 3rd shirt due to strawberry juice splatters and other annoying stains that happened to find my protruding belly. This week has marked the first unknowing person who has stopped me to ask if I'm expecting and other such fun milestones. So yes...the world can tell now, so there's no stopping (or hiding) this belly of mine! Maybe I should lay off the ice cream...perhaps that would help my predicament! :)