More Pictures

Leighton is such a sweetie!



Uncle Matt and Aunt Becca enjoy some time in the greenhouse.



Sean had lots of fun with Mama and Papa in the greenhouse!



Aunt Katherine and Leighton.

Some Christmas Pictures

My dad bought antler headbands for the 6 grand kids. The idea was to get a picture of all of them together with them on. That didn't quite happen, but Reagan enjoyed wearing them for Aunt Becca and Uncle Matt!



We were blessed with a Best Buy gift card and bought the game Rock Band. What a game! It stayed at my folks' house for about a week and a half and pretty much everyone had fun playing. I think my brother was bummed when we picked up the xBox last Friday! Reagan really enjoyed the singing.





Sean really enjoyed spending time with his cousin, Anastasia. In this picture, Sean wanted to read a book to Anastasia so Damian helped her up on his lap and Sean read to her and Connor.

Connor Turns 2!

Ok, so he actually turned 2 on August 23rd, but things have been a little crazy around here. Tropical storms, starting school, moving Connor to Sean's room, etc...

So anyway, for Connor's birthday we went up to Ft. Myers to spend time with Mama and Papa and Uncle Philip and Aunt Savannah. The original plan was to go to Chuck E. Cheese's, but the line was out the door and down the sidewalk. It would have been an hour wait, at least! There was no way we were doing that with a 2 year old.

So instead we went to Stevie Tomato's Sports Page. That was my dad's idea. It was close and they have a much better menu than Chuck E. Cheese's! There are also a couple of arcade games, pool tables and lots of TVs.

It turned out to be a great choice bc there were very few people there. We actually got the large room with the pool tables all to ourselves for the majority of the time we were there.

Here are a couple of pictures from the afternoon:

Connor's Words

Connor has been making great strides in his vocabulary over the past couple of months. Some of his words/phrases are:

What's that? - Those were actually his first words, no kidding.
Thank you
Please - he does the sign for this one as well.
No
Oh wow!
Yes
Good-bye
Daddy
Shoes
Nose
Mouth
Eye
Door
Down
Up
Meow
No way
Out
Ow

And he's adding more day by day. It's pretty cool to watch!

Radom Thought

I love it when things like this happen! Yesterday the kids and I met my friend Julie and her kids at Dig Park. We were there for 3 1/2 hours! I don't think I've ever stayed at a park that long before. The kids had a really great time. Sean was able to make some new 'guy' friends and I got to have some mommy time.

Anyway, we got there around 9:30 and didn't leave until close to 1:00. So Connor didn't go down for his nap until almost 2:30. That's when he's usually waking up from his nap! He ended up sleeping til after 5 and was then up until 10ish. Sometimes it's hard to stick him in bed, even when he should be there, bc he's so darn cute when he's tired! He was being very cuddly with mommy and daddy.

Well, for some reason he decided to wake up at his normal time this morning, which was before 7:00. He was pretty tired still, and a little cranky. So around 8:30 the kids and I took a half hour walk down the street. It was already almost too hot to do so (but we're having company tonight so it was the only time to get a walk done). Well, I had to take care of a few things when we got home and Connor was playing nicely with Reagan and Sean. So I grabbed his blanket and walked up to him and said, "Ok, Connor, it's time for your nap." And he picked up the toys he was playing with and walked right into his room and to his crib. No fussing, crying or anything.

I took off his shoes, gave him his blanket, water and toys that had fallen out, and left the room. Not a peep from him. He'll be out like a light soon enough, if not already. I am always thankful when naptime goes that smoothly! He doesn't usually whine or fuss too much anyway, but he certainly doesn't always walk in when I tell him it's naptime. The other cool thing is he so clearly knew exactly what I was saying to him.

Awesome Flank Steak!

Last night I made a new South Beach recipe called Pan-Roasted Steak and Onions. This recipe is good for all phases of the diet. I couldn't believe how much I liked it. Damian thought it was good too.

My cut of meat was actually a pound and a half so I tripled everything. It turned out perfect!

Here it is:

Pan-Roasted Steak and Onions

1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound flank steak
1/2 tablespoon cracked black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fat-free chicken broth
1/2 medium onion, cut into 1⁄4" thick rings

In a large nonaluminum baking dish, combine the oil, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and garlic. Add the steak; turn to coat. Cover; refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight, turning once.

Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Place over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the steak with the pepper and salt. Brown for 2 minutes per side. Add 1⁄4 cup of the broth; cook, turning once, for 5–6 minutes per side (for medium-rare). Remove the steak from the skillet; cover the steak loosely to keep it warm. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion slices to the skillet and cook until golden brown, about 4–5 minutes per side. Add the remaining broth as needed to prevent the onions from sticking.

Thinly slice the steak across the grain; serve with the onions.

Flickr Photostream

Well, I'm finally joining the ranks of those using Flickr. Here's a link to my photostream. There's a new link with all the others on the right hand side of the blog as well. I will still post pictures directly in the blog. But if you want to see more, then visit Flickr.

Right now I only have 3 sets there. Soccer, Cakes and the current visit with Aunt Katherine. I'll be adding more as time allows, so check back every now and then.