Tilapia Caesar

My patient's mom shared this easy but delicious recipe with me and it has become a household favorite around here.  Thought I should share it with all of you. 

Tilapia Caesar

What you will need:

Tilapia Fillets

Butter

Salt

Pepper

Caesar Dressing (we like Marie's Caesar Dressing)

Croutons, crushed

Romaine Lettuce

What to do:

1. Turn your oven on broil. (My oven defaults to 500 degrees for broil)

2. Place fillets in oven safe dish and top with a thin spread of butter, salt, and pepper.

3. Broil for 3 minutes.

4. After 3 minutes, flip fillets and broil 2 more minutes.

5. After broiling 5 minutes total, add Caesar dressing over fillets and broil 2 more minutes.

6. Remove from oven and place on bed of romaine lettuce (I add a little Caesar dressing and crushed croutons to romaine lettuce before adding the tilapia).  Top with Caesar dressing and crushed croutons.  Serve with sides of your choice (we like it with sliced tomatoes and asparagus).  Yum!

Voila! Quick and easy but looks gourmet!

Because Brody doesn't like lettuce, I serve this dish to him with egg noodles in lieu of romaine lettuce.  He loves it!

Give it a try and let me know how you like it!

What Made Me :) This Weekend

1. The "No Girls Allowed" Club that Brody headed up in his Thomas the Train Tent. 

He had a royal fit when I tried to climb inside with him and his Daddy.  No hard feelings though.  I just told him that one day he might have a little sister and we would make a "No Boys Allowed" club. ;) 

2. My camera strap arrived in the mail!

How fun is this?!? They wrapped it! If there is one thing I love it is getting presents in the mail, especially ones that are wrapped in cuteness.  Gotta love a company that adds that special touch of scrumptious!  Jonathan thought I was crazy for getting so excited. Psh! Boys!

 

3. Jonathan and I completed our first week of P90X. 

We were unbelievably sore all week but it was well worth it! Our arms and abs are already shaping up! Don't we look fantastic?!?

Totally kidding...this is not us! I wish it was! 

Brody decided to sabotage Jonathan's Ab Ripper X workout!

 It's not going to be easy with this little monster running around, but we are hoping to complete the 90 day program in mid-April. Wish us luck!

Happy 1st Birthday...

...to you, my beloved blog! 

You have given me hope that Jonathan and I will remember many of the precious moments we have been given with our sweet Brody Boy.  For that, I am grateful because without you, dear blog, I know we would inevitably forget.  The two of us have the worst memories ever given to a twenty-something couple.  It's beyond pathetic, actually. 

So for your birthday, I promise to visit you more often, tickle your keys more often, and tap out memories of our life with Brody more often. I promise to write at least 100 posts this year (hopefully more!). 

Happy 1st Birthday!

Mexican Chocolate Brownies (Gluten Free)

Last night Jonathan, Brody, and I went to the Tutterrow's house for dinner.  There were four couples there (our Bible study small group minus one couple) and each couple was in charge of some part of dinner...appetizers, entree, condiments, and dessert.  To no surprise of mine, it was a Mexican-theme. I'm not entirely sure Samantha knows there is any other type of food.  :)  You know I love ya, Sam...and eating Mexican with you!  Samantha and Alex were in charge of the entree and it was delicious! delicious! delicious!  They (meaning Sam) made Chicken Tortilla Soup.  It was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G., especially with all the extras we added on top!  Check out Samantha's blog for the recipe. 

Jonathan and I were in charge of dessert.  I was smart to sign us up for dessert rather than appetizers because, let's face it, we're always late (and last night was certainly no exception).  Side note: I hate that we are always late. And we were late before Brody even came along so imagine the difficulty now.  Anyway-after signing up for desserts many questions popped into my mind and I had a minor panic attack (not really, and I shouldn't joke, I know).  What in the world do Mexicans eat for desert?  And Samatha has a gluten intolerence.  What kind of desserts are gluten free?  What does gluten free even mean?  Ahh! 

So I turned to my good friend Google for advice and she had just the answer.  Gluten Free Mexican Chocolate Brownies. 

I was nervous.  I made them.  I conquered them.  Everyone loved them.  Here's the recipe.

What you will need:

3 cups Cinnamon Chex® cereal
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 box (16 oz) Betty Crocker® Gluten Free brownie mix
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 eggs


What to do:

1.Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom only of 8-inch square pan with cooking spray. Place cereal in resealable food-storage plastic bag; seal bag and crush with rolling pin to make about 1 1/2 cups.

***Tip: The secret to cutting perfect bars is to line the pan with foil so you can lift out the baked bars. Spray the foil as directed in the recipe.


2.In medium bowl, mix cereal, brown sugar and baking soda; stir in 1/4 cup melted butter until well mixed. Reserve 1/3 cup cereal mixture for topping.

 
3. Press remaining cereal mixture evenly in bottom of pan. Bake 5 minutes. Cool 5 minutes.

 
4.Meanwhile, in medium bowl, stir brownie mix, 1/4 cup melted butter and the eggs until well blended. This mix is unusually thick. Don't be alarmed.  I guess it's because it's gluten-free.

5.Drop batter by small spoonfuls over baked layer. This is important because if you try to just spread it like a normal brownie mix you will ruin the bottom layer.

6.Carefully spread over baked layer; sprinkle with reserved 1/3 cup cereal mixture.

7.Bake 30 to 34 minutes or until brownies look dry and set. (Brownies will be soft; do not use toothpick test).

8.Cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours. For brownies, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Store tightly covered.

Source: Miss Betty Crocker.  Recipe and nutrition info (eek!) can be found here.

Yum! My mouth is watering now. :)  I should also note that the brownies are meant to have a gooey consistency (which is why the toothpick test will not work).  Don't be alarmed when you bite into them.  My husband was freaked out by the gooeyness of them but didn't bother to ask me about it until after we left the dinner party. Thanks, hun.  Now all our friends have salmonella!  You should have spoken up before everyone ate them!  Very much kidding! Everyone is happy and healthy.  The brownies were cooked and yummy. :)

Capturing Couture

I'm SO EXCITED! I just ordered this gorgeous new camera strap from Capturing Couture with one of my birthday gift cards! 

Thank you to my brother, Chad, and SIL, Alison, for my birthday gift! I LOVE it!!!  I spotted it before I even owned my new Cannon Rebel, and since getting the camera for my b-day have been waiting for it go on sale.  Well, today was my lucky day!  Yes, it's true, I used a gift card, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be smart with any form of money and wait for a good sale!

If you are interested in buying a camera strap or wristlet from Capturing Couture (they have tons of cute ones!)... Click here to visit Capturing Couture.  I just became an affiliate for them since I love their straps so much.  I will receive a 10% reward for every purchase made through the above link.  :)

Happy shopping!


Update:  Capturing Couture is offering discount code to use in celebration of Valentine's Day.  So visit the above link and enter CCLOVE2012 to receive 20% off your order!!!

Snow White & Beauty and the Beast

Friday night, Aunt Jess came over to hang out with Brody while Jonathan and I went on a date.  I surprised him with tickets to the Fabulous Fox Theatre here in Atlanta.  Guess what was playing!

I know what you are thinking.  Why would Jonathan want to go and see Beauty and the Beast?  Well, a few months ago we were talking about what a great movie it was and how much we liked it as kids.  I liked it for the obvious girly reasons. Jonathan liked it because he thought it would be cool to be a beast.  :)  So, when I saw that the Fox was hosting this Broadway musical I just had to grab tickets for us.  Sure, any of my girlfriends would have jumped at the chance to go, but I thought this would be a memorable experience for the two of us.  It was memorable.  Just not the kind of memorable I expected. 

That night was actually my very first time out of the house all week since we were snowed/iced in all week.  The snow started last Sunday and turned to freezing ran through the night.  By Monday we had 5-6 inches of snow in our area and a solid layer of ice on the roads to hold us hostage over the next several days.   Brody was sick this past week so I didn't dare take him outside to play in the snow.  But, it wasn't just the snow holding me hostage. 

As we were pulling into our garage after church last Sunday, my car began to smoke.  The radiator had overheated.  We expected it any day, but we put off ordering a radiator because we weren't ready to fork over the money.  But, we realized we couldn't put off ordering it any longer.  Jonathan found one online for a good price and had it scheduled to ship to our house by Thursday.  But due to the winter storm and all the delays it caused, we are still waiting for its arrival.  So, even if I had wanted to be adventurous and explore the icy roads for a quick trip to the store, that was not an option.  To say that I was going stir-crazy would be an understatement. 

So when Friday rolled around, I was anxious to get a shower, fix my hair, and dress in something other than PJ's.  Jess came over early so that we could get a head start on traffic and have plenty of time to eat at a nice restaurant before the show.  Unfortunately, traffic was horrendous due to the few ice patches that remained and the accidents they caused.  But we didn't mind.  We were having fun talking and laughing and just being alone together for the first time in a long time.  We arrived at the Fox two hours later with only 35 minutes to spare so we grabbed Quiznos subs instead of a gourmet meal at the little Italian restaurant near the Fox.  Quite a downgrade, but I enjoyed it just the same.  Maybe because I was so hungry but probably because we had a good time talking and laughing (and waving to a little girl who we thought was waving to us, only to realize she was waving to the little girl behind us. Embarrassing!). 

Unfortunately, the show itself pretty much stunk.  They added tons of songs that weren't from the movie.  The dancing was boring (except in the Guston song which was the best part of the whole play.)  The props were non-impressive and repetitive.  They didn't do any cool illusions like previous plays I have seen (such as Mary Poppins who flew from the stage all the way to the top corner of the theatre).  When I glanced over at Jonathan, I could tell he felt the same way.  He was looking up at the "clouds" on the ceiling for a good portion of the second act.  I realized my surprise for him had turned into 2.5 hours of torture! 

Please excuse the poor picture quality.  This was taken with my old camera by a very young boy sitting next to us :)

Even though the play was two thumbs down, the night was two thumbs up for me.  I got out of the house, with my man, who held me tight from the parking lot to the theatre so that I wouldn't slip on the ice.  We talked. We laughed. We reconnected.  It was totally worth it and I would do it all again.  Well, who am I kidding?!  If I could do it all again I would buy us tickets to next week's Blue Man Group instead.  Oh well. Sorry, Jonathan! Thanks for making the best of it with me.  Blue Man Group is on me next time they are in town. :) 

The Binky Battle

About a month ago I got a crazy idea.  I decided it was time to go cold turkey on the Binky.  I'm not sure what I was thinking, especially since Jonathan was out of town at the time and Christmas was right around the corner. Crazy, right?!  I guess it's because he has been taking naps at his preschool two days a week without one.  His teacher, Miss Brittney, nipped that in the bud from day one back in October.  But we didn't carry that rule over at home because I felt bad.  We were putting him in preschool two days a week for the first time and it just felt cruel to take away his comfort. 

Let me rewind for a second and say that even though he still used a binky, it was only for falling asleep at night and naps at home.  And, as soon as he fell asleep, he dropped the binky anyway.  Other than that, he only ever wanted it if he was really, really upset or sick.  So, it just seemed harmless to have around and we let him keep it longer than we originally intended. 

On that mid-December night, as I was preparing him for bed, he seemed very sleepy.  I thought to myself, It's time to just rip it off like a band-aid.  If he can fall asleep at school without it, then he doesn't really need it.  If I do it now, there will be plenty of time for him to adjust by Christmas.  So we went about bedtime as usual and I just didn't offer him the binky at all. I laid him down in his crib, said a bedtime prayer with him, kissed him good-night, and left the room.  I was shocked.  No crying.  No problem.  I did it and it had been a piece of cake.

But the next night was not like desert at all.  As I laid him down in his crib he was repeatedly whimpering, "Binky!" as he he scrunched up his sweet little face and looked at me with the saddest of eyes.  I calmly explained to him that he didn't need the binky anymore.  I stayed in his room and comforted him for a short time before praying with him, kissing him good-night and walking out of his room.  He cried.  For awhile.  Those next 10ish minutes were tough.  I didn't have Jonathan to validate the decision since he was out of town and oblivious to the decision I made by myself.  But I knew I couldn't go back in there and give it to him.  What message would that send to him when one day we decided it was definitely time.  No, I had made a decision and I had to stick to it. 

Over the next several days, nap times and bedtimes were not the pleasurable experiences they had once been.  Brody has always been so easy when it came time to sleep.  He hardly fussed...if at all.  When he did fuss, it was for no more than 20 seconds before he would yawn and slowly fall asleep or start laughing and jabbering to his stuffed animals.  I missed those days.

As the days passed and Christmas was upon us, Jonathan and I both dreaded putting him to bed.  But we stuck to the no binky rule and toughed it out.  I knew we needed a new consistent routine for both naps and bedtime. The short routine of prayer and kisses wasn't cutting it anymore...not without the binky in the midst of it all.  The problem was, I couldn't figure out a routine that seemed to satisfy. 

Before we knew it, Christmas was here and company was in town.  This meant any sort of routine we had was out the door and a set bedtime was no longer "set."  He was staying up late and going to bed at various times.  Not only was he crying for roughly 10 minutes but now he was staying up for close to 2 hours each night playing in his crib before drifting off to sleep.The whole experience at nap time and bedtime just got worse.   Even Wynni didn't want to be the one to put him to bed.  No one wanted to be the bad guy.  It broke my heart, nap time after nap time, night after night. 

I questioned the decision each and every night.  Our company had mixed opinions, but most agreed we needed to stick to it.  I felt horrible though!  Brody is such a good kid and it just felt like punishment.  So we did.  We stuck to it.  Some nights the only reason I didn't give in is because I didn't want everyone else to see me break under pressure.

Before we knew it, Christmas was long gone and company was leaving.  We slowly worked our way back to an 8 o'clock bedtime but Brody still wasn't the easy-going child we knew him to be when it was time to lay him down.  On New Year's Eve night, as I walked him up the stairs I began to sing The Ants Go Marching.  He was silent, listening intently.  So I tried it again the next night. Same thing.  It was amazing.  He was back to crying only for a few seconds after we closed the door.  Then he was done.

It has been two weeks (one month since I took the binky away), and we are still singing The Ants Go Marching each nap and bedtime.  It works.  But I was still holding on to the last 2 binkies...until today. I kept them on my nightstand, hidden behind a picture.  Just in case.  Those binkies became my comfort. 

Well, I decided today that it is time to rip that off like a band-aid just like I ripped Brody's "band-aid" off last month.  They are in the trash.  The trash that will be put out on our curb tomorrow to be taken away forever (assuming they will come and not cancel due to the winter storm).  It's not just my comfort that I will be throwing away though.  It's another milestone.  A symbol that my baby is not as much a baby as he once was.  He's becoming a big boy.  A big boy that doesn't have a binky.

I kept Brody's bottles for about a month after he stopped drinking from them just because it was a reminder that he is growing up so fast.  This is a picture of the last of his bottles thrown in the trash (a very long time ago).  It was a tiny heartbreak for me that day.

Throwing away the binkies was a tiny heartbreak too but it was also a huge victory (for us and Brody)!  Way to go, Brody! I'm so very proud of you!

What I failed to mention

Well, I thought I was finished blogging about our Christmas, but I forgot a couple of things.  Don't worry though...this post will be short and simple. 

I experienced first hand this year just how special giving gifts to those who take care of your kids can be.  If you have kids, consider giving their teachers, therapists, day care workers, nurses, etc. a Christmas gift next year...or any time throughout the year for that matter.  It doesn't have to be big.  It doesn't need to be expensive.  It just needs to say, in its own way, "we thought of you and we appreciate you."  As most of you know, I am a pediatric therapist.  This year, my kiddos and parents spoiled me.  I was overwhelmed with warmth as each family, in their own way, gave a small gift.  It truly wasn't about the gifts at all, but about the thought.  Some were store bought, some were baked, some were hand-made, some were even for Brody!  Here are just a few...

I think Brody enjoyed this home-made chocolate covered marshmallow from one of my families.

Since these small gifts made such a difference in my week and gave me the push I needed to keep doing what I love at such a stressful time of year, I decided to pay it forward and make some special gifts for Brody's teachers, Miss Brittney and Miss Michelle. 

You can see a step-by-step of how I made a similar monogrammed letter for my SIL's wedding by clicking on Craft Madness.  Although these here are smaller letters (12") which I actually recommend over the larger (23") letter I made for my SIL.  It eliminates the need for the patchworking step in my instructions.  Also, for his teachers, I added the chalkboards pictured above with their names stickered on in lieu of the small wooden letters (if you look at the instructions you will know what I mean).  In addition to the letters, I gave them each one of these...

It's the Nine Bean Soup mix I made on my First Annual Soup Day.  You can find the recipe here. 

I really enjoyed making the monogrammed letters and decided to make one more for my mom.  I thought it would be a great gift for her because she never gets anything with "Wynni" on it.  (Brody calls her Wynni because my mom has never wanted to be known as grandma, nana, etc.  We all call my grandmother Gin Gin for the same reason.  It's derived from her name, Virginia.  And Wynni is derived from the last 3 letters of my mother's name, Darwyn.)  So, since we will never find a card in Hallmark or a picture frame that reads "Wynni" instead of  "Grandma," I decided we would make her a little something special.

I added a yellow heart to her letter since that is her favorite color.  Then I embellished it with black beads.  Let's just say the beads are a result of a mistake but turned out to make the heart look better than it originally did.  Love when that happens!

So there is one more thing I failed to mention in my last post about Christmas.  (By the way, I'm sorry for the randomness of this post.)  Earlier in December, Jonathan got busy outside putting up our Christmas lights as Brody and I camped inside the house and watched.  

Brody and I found ways to keep ourselves entertained as Jonathan worked hard outside on that chilly day.

Little did I know (until this year) just exactly how he got the lights on the second tier of our house each December.  Every year he has asked me, "Do you really want me to put lights up top again?" To which I have always replied, "Yes! That is what makes the house look so good!"  So, sweet as can be, Jonathan has put the lights on top as I requested.  Never once did I question how exactly he reached up there.  This year, I found out as we watched him place a ladder straddling the arch above our garage.  I was mortified!!! 

He asked me to come out on the roof and hold the ladder for him this year since this part worried him. Oh my goodness! Seriously?! He has done this every year?! And without anyone holding the ladder?! I reluctantly agreed after he assured me he would be fine; but let me confess, I was crying as I held on to that ladder as tight as I possibly could! That sweet man never once mentioned this to me in years past. He just wanted to make the house look the way I wanted it to and did whatever it took! Now I understand why no one else in our neighborhood bothers to put lights up on the second tier! I'm not so sure our house will be quite as beautiful next year.

Christmas 2010

I know what you must be thinking.  A Christmas post?!  It's January 10th already!  Isn't it a little too late for that?  Maybe, but my "OCD-ness" won't let me move on with my blog postings until I have covered Christmas 2010.  Life was busy pre-Christmas, during Christmas, and post-Christmas for all sorts of reasons so I took an unexpected and long break from blogging to get my life in order.  But, as each day passes and I don't post anything, my blog-stress level climbs.  Each day there is something different I want to blog about but I think, "No, I have to post about Christmas first."  But to post about Christmas requires sorting through hundreds of pictures I haven't had the time to sort through...until today.  A winter storm has imprisoned us in our own home (more about that another time).  So, I decided it was time to bite the bullet, post about Christmas, and move on already! So without further ado (forgive the long post that will surely follow)...

Two days before Christmas, Jonathan and I rushed to the mall to take Brody to meet Santa for the first time.  We didn't visit him last year because the line was long and the pictures were expensive.  And though this year was just the same (long lines and hefty price tags), a receptionist at Jonathan's work got a part-time job working as one of Santa's elves so we got to skip the line altogether for a quick but pricey visit with Saint Nick.  The pictures say it all.

The following night, we went to the Candlelight Christmas Eve Service at Phil and Vanessa's church (Northside) with Shane and Jessica.  We were a half hour late, so we only got to see the last 20-30 minutes, but wow! it was an awesome service for a small, new-ish church. We were impressed and I was thankful for the reminder of the only reason for Christmas, especially amidst all the pre-company, house-cleaning stress of earlier that day. I went home that night humbled and thankful for all our Savior did for us.  We also went home with 4 great friends/family and celebrated this year in a manner much different than years past.  Jonathan and I have both always been with our parents (on either side) for Christmas Eve/Christmas morning.  But that night we had dinner and played games with 2 close friends and my SIL with her new hubby (who, in my book, are more friends than family...does that make sense?).  And we woke up Christmas morning only to continue the celebration with the four of them.  They were there to witness Brody coming down the stairs to find the toys Santa left for him.

And even though Santa brought him a tricycle and other fun toys, Brody chose to ignore them and play with the same train he had spent the past month playing with! UGH!

We tried to switch his attention to his new toys, but he wasn't having any of it.

So since Brody obviously wasn't into opening presents that morning, we decided to get busy making Christmas breakfast.

Monkey Bread...a Christmas breakfast tradition I started when Jonathan and I got married.

To our surprise, after his tummy was full of yummy breakfast items, Brody decided to take his new tricycle for a spin...only he wasn't quite sure how to ride it. :)

Early in the afternoon we began to see our first snowflakes.

 And before long we had enough snow to make snowballs and officially call it a White Christmas!

It was a great afternoon and a very special Christmas this year.  We enjoyed our "out of the ordinary" Christmas.  But soon it was time to say good-bye to one set of guests...

 ...and get ready to welcome our next wave of guests...just in time for Christmas dinner that night.

But what a pathetic Christmas dinner it was!  I'd rather not go into that detail.  I'm hoping that in just a few years I will forget that small part of Christmas (and if I blog about it then I'll always be reminded of my less than domesticated mistake).  So moving on. :) I was excited to have my entire family in town Christmas night!  Since my brother is a pilot and out of the country 50% of the year, this was no small miracle! And, as an added bonus, he brought his friend Anna from Hungary.  LOVE her!

 Brody loved her too.  He found a friend in her within minutes of walking through our door.

As the snow continued to accumulate outside, we got cozy inside around the Christmas tree.

Growing up, it was tradition for us to read the Christmas story from the Bible before we began opening gifts.  Jonathan and I have continued this tradition in our own little family and this year my Dad opened up the Bible and read from the book of Luke.

Admittingly, it was hard to concentrate on my Dad's reading as Brody played with the train set and made "choo-choo" noises under the tree.  We excused it this year as he is still a bit young to sit so still with all the excitement surrounding him.  Brody received the first gift from Uncle Josh and Anna.  This was the gift that stole him away from the festivities for the rest of the night.

And this is the gift that took his Daddy away from us for the rest of the night AND the following week!

It's a remote-controlled mini helicpoter meant to fly inside the house.  All of the "boys" got one. When Jonathan got his he exclaimed, "I was hoping I would get something fun like this!"  Josh enjoyed flying his around the house all week too...though not as obsessively as Jonathan.

Brody got his Uncle Josh another great gift (though more funny than fun).

But my favorite gift of the night was the gift we got for Chad and Alison.  Footed PJ's!  When Brody was just a newborn, Chad and Alison came up to visit us and meet Brody for the first time.  Uncle Chad took one look at his nephew's footed PJ's and was jealous.  He announced many times that he would love to have a pair.  So, when I saw them for sale this year, I couldn't resist buying them matching Sock Monkey PJ's.

I'm pretty sure Alison has been devising her revenge since that night...

Though that was my favorite gift of the night, the very best gift went to my Dad.  We all chipped in and bought him the iPad he had been dreaming about since they came out.

But if you asked him, he might say the award for his favorite gift would be a toss-up between the iPad and the Lincoln Logs Santa (my mom) gave him. :)

We were finally able to attract Jonathan away from the helicopter and back to the room by giving him his last gift.  Powerblocks.  All he wanted for Christmas this year was a pair of adjustable dumbbells. 

If you ask me, it was a gift for me too in the long run! Can't wait to start P90x again.  I'll be having some extra sweet eye candy in no time! ;)

Sadly, unlike his Daddy, Brody never really came back for more presents that night.  We just made him a pile of his unwrapped presents in our living room and let him unwrap them at his leisure over the next several days.  Christmas has never lasted so long in our house!

Even though it felt like we were celebrating the 12 days of Christmas, time flew.  Before we knew it it was time to say good-bye.  Brody had such a good time with his Wynni, JimPop, Uncle Josh, Anna, Uncle Chad and Aunt Alison.  It's always sad to see family go home after the holidays.