Sick of the Rain

Hello Hello! Did you think I forgot about Mesa Monday... here is what happened... Tim went a head and planned a HT BBQ for Monday night... which meant I had to push Mesa Monday off until Last night. The shrimp with the Chili butter... it was a pretty decent recipe. But I found it lacking when eaten on its own. so i whipped up a salad and topped it with the shrimp. then it was WONDERFUL!
  So next week... is still a mystery. I am heading up to Edmonton to spend sometime with my parents since they are up from TX... ok... My boys are dying to see Mama and papa so we are going to hang out! Plus Im always up for the help that grandparents have to offer! So Im waiting to pick a recipe until I see what my mom wants to do and what she has in her kitchen!

More Mesa Monday

Ok... so I know its really a few days past monday and I havent posted how monday went. Life has been a little insane the last few days. Tim got home late-ish on Monday... in time to put the kids to bed. Then tuesday Tim had to work a 14 hour day (boo) and didnt get home until 10pm and then Wed we had an ice cream date night (thx Ashley for watching the boys) and I had a YW Pres. Meeting... and top it all off... I am supposed to be writing my talk for sunday... Keywords;Supposed to be. if only I could find the time! HAHAHAHA I better work on it soon though... Sunday is right around the corner.
So.. Mesa Monday.. last monday was the grilled prawns with Habanero-Toasted Garlic Vinaigrette. It was ok. I enjoyed it... but I wasnt blown away like I was with the other recipes Ive tried. So I probably wont make that one again... So onto This coming up monday....
Grilled Shrimp Brushed with Smoked chili Butter
1 1/2 lbs large Shrimp, shelled and deveined.
1 Tbsp Olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small shallot, chopped
12 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp.
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
juice of 1 lime
1) Heat oil in a small saute pan over med. heat. Add garlic and shallot and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
2) Put butter in a food processor and add shallot mixture, chipotle chiles and lime juice. process until smooth. Scrape chipotle butter into a bowl
3) Brush shrimp with oil and put onto the grill. grill shrimp brushing with chipotle butter every 30 seconds. (should take about 1-2 minutes per side)
Sounds good to me!
While tim was away on his "Dudes reunion" I had the boys all to myself. it was exhausting and we had some pretty long days... but we all survived and even had a little fun! One day we went to get slurpees... yes it was a rainy day but we went anyways. This was Owens first Very own Slurpee... he wouldnt let go of the cup!

this is his "Touch it and Die" look

Also while tim was gone We went to Jaxons buddy Elizabeth's bday party. That was an adventure. They had a bouncy castle with an Elephant on it... While owen is terrified of cartoon elephants (yeah I know totally weird) So he was in hysterics the entire time we were outside. it was not awesome at all. Then we went in for cupcakes and to make a craft. The kids made masks. Ashley had Princess ones for the girls and pirate ones for the boys. But Jaxon insisted on doing a princess one.. I was a little worried about my boy until he said "if I make a princess one I can bring a girl home with me" now Im worried but for a whole other reason!

My Little Monster

I have been blessed with two very wonderful, very different boys. While its after hard to tell them apart in pictures since they look so much alike they have two very distinct personalities. Jaxon is my little buddy. He tries so hard to be good and helpful and is so dissappointed in himself when he gets too out of control or makes me upset... then there is his brother Owen... My Little Monster. Dont get me wrong owen can be really sweet and loving.... when he wants to be. But for the most part he takes great joy is tormenting me. He refuses to listen and will simply ignore me. you can watch his eyes and he will purposely go cause trouble... then I put him in time out and he laughs until I say "You are not getting out of time out until you feel sorry for what you did" Then he fake cries and tries to give me a hug. He is a non talker... or so he would like you to believe. I have caught him speaking in his sleep and if I ignore him long enough he will bust out words I never knew he had... but those moments are rare...stinker.

But how can you not love this guy....

He has also inheritated my dads perma-gel hair. for those of you who dont know my dad... he has never used hair products (at least in my lifetime) yet his hair holds almost any shape you put it in. He runs his hands through his hair and it stands on end... I am constantly surprised at what I find when owen wakes up from sleeping. Its a wild mane to tame on my little monster

Rainy Day Craft projects

It was bound to happen... after weeks of nice sunny, hot weather the rain has come and we have been stuck in the house the last few days. My Kids are going CRAZY and so am I... so in order to relieve my cabin fever I have started crafting again. My mind has been a little scatter lately so I have not done any big projects that would require me to concentrate. So I have returned to Felt Food... it always does when I want to be crafty but only have short periods of time to whip something up... here are the latest additions to the felt food gallery.

Pepperoni Pizza

Broccoli and Cauliflour

Doughnuts
Then yesterday my uber talent friend Ashley came over with her kidlets and taught me how to make a necklace. Jaxon and Owen were thrilled to have playmates and I was thrilled to get a gift made for my cousin Kinsey who is getting baptized on Saturday. I am super excited to learn how to make necklaces... I may have to start doing some up for gifts! Thanks so much Ashley for helping me learn this skill... although Im pretty sure Ill be calling you often to ask; "How do I do this again?"

its not the greatest picture... but its really pretty... I actually want it... but alas its Kinseys..LOL

Another Great one

Mesa Monday yesterday was another real good one. I think i still like the Yucatan chicken better. But those two I had last night were awesome too! Plus i made use of my Mandoline which is always fun! Oh I will say... when I made the Potatoe Gratin... there was no cheese... so I added a layer of grated cheese on the top of it... I know I know... Im sorry Bobby Flay... but it needed CHEESE!
So whats on the Mesa Menu for next monday...

grilled Prawns with Habanero-Toasted garlic Vinaigrette
1/2 cup, plus 3 Tbsp canola oil
6 cloves of garlic, peeled
salt
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 habanero chile, chopped
2 tsp honey
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 1/4 pounds large prawns

1) heat 1 tbsp oil in a small saute pan over med. heat. add garlic, season with salt and cook until golden brown on both sides (about 4 minutes)
2)Transfer garlic to a blender and add vinegar, habanero, honey and thyme. Blend until smooth. With blender running slowly add the 1/2 cup of oil and blend until emulsified. (hmmmm I wonder if I should use my blender or my food processor....)
3) Preheat grill to high. Toss prawns in remaining 2 Tbsp of oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill for 2 minutes on each side.
4) Transfer to a platter and immediately drizzle with the vinaigrette.


So these pics may be repeats... I can remember if I added them here or on facebook or both... But I love them!

Jaxon at the zoo!

Jaxon making paper towel butterflies. When we made them he insisted on making to take over to his friend Krysten. He Adores her and reminds me every day that she is his best friend!

Owen enjoying a popsicle. My Kids LOVE LOVE LOVE popsicles and freezies. Owen (the non talker) actually busted out Purple when I gave him this popsicle... has he said it again... of course not

Summer Success

Yesterday was our first Mesa Monday. It was awesome! I think I am really going to love Mesa Mondays! I started by making the BBQ sauce... it was amazing... then I marinaded the chicken and man... that combination of Chicken and BBQ sauce was AMAZING!!! i even used the left over bbq sauce for dinner tonight! It was wonderful! So Next monday I am making Ancho Maple glazed roast turkey and Potato, sweet Onion and sage Gratin.
Here are the recipes
Ancho Maple Glazed Turkey
1 1/2 cups maple syrup
2 tbsp dijon mustard
3 Tbsp ancho chili powder
1 (18 lb turkey) Ok... Im not cooking a turkey... so I will lower the recipe quantities and do it on chicken breasts!
20 Sage leaves
8 Tbsp butter, melted
1) Whisk together the maple syrup, mustard and ancho powder.
2) loosen skin on the turkey... or chicken... and place sage leaves under the skin. Rub entire surface with melted butter... I may not do that... hmmmm...
3) They do a bunch of different stuff here since they cook an entire turkey... but Ill place chicken and glaze in a baking dish and back at 350 degrees... basting every 5 minutes until cooked through.
Yes I know Im altering this one alot... it makes me nervous.. wish me luck!

Potato, Sweet Onion and sage gratin

2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 large sweet onions
3 tbsp finely chopped sage
4 large idaho potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 cups heavy cream (I always cheat and use whole milk)

1) Preheat over to 375 and butter a 9 inch baking dish
2)heat oil and butter in a large saute pan. Add onions and cook until soft and caramelized. Stir in sage
3)Place a layer of potatoes on the bottom of baking dish. Top with 1/7 of the onions and 3 tbsp of cream. Repeat for 7 or 8 layers. Press on top to submerge potatoes in teh cream. Place dish on baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil.
4) Bake for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake for another 30-45 minutes.

YUMMY

Another Summer time success... the splash park in Okotoks! LOVE IT!!! We went last wed with some friends and have now decided to make it our Wed ritual. Jaxon LOVES it... owen not so much... but he will get used to it. I was actually quite shocked how much Jaxon enjoyed it. Normally he doesnt like splashy water. but he was all for this!

owen sat on my lap the entire time... wearing my shades no less. I was hoping that tomorrow would be a better time for Owen... but today he burnt his soles of his feet on our deck box... so he cant walk on them.. so I think it will be another snuggle with mommy day.

jaxon was running every where. He LOVES this picture of his running... "Im super fast mom"

Yeppers... we Love summer!

Introducing....

MESA MONDAYS!!!!
   Ok... so here is the back story to my latest and greatest project that I am super excited about! In April I went on a girls trip with mom and Rachel to Las Vegas. LOVE LOVE LOVE VEGAS! It was a blast! We did so much fun stuff and since you know me and my love for food (which is shared by my whole family) you can only image how much I stuffed my face... I gained 5 lbs in a week... yeppers it was awesome. One place that we didnt get to go eat, which we really wanted too, was Mesa in Cesears Palace. For those of you who dont know, Mesa is one of Bobby Flay's restuarants. So needless to say I was a little bummed that I didnt make it to Mesa.
   BUT.... I was on the library website searching for books and I found this awesome cook book called "Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill cookbook" I was super stoked to read it! as I flipped through the recipes there was TONS that I wanted to try and so I invented Mesa Mondays. I am going to try a new recipe from the Mesa Grill cook book every monday... maybe Ill get a taste of what the restuarant would have been like!
  By the way I think this is a much better idea then how my mom spends her Mondays... Meatless Mondays... Bleck!
   So then I thought Maybe someone out there wants to play along with me... So Ill post the recipes Im going to try before the monday I try them... then if you want to try them too you can! FUN FUN!
   To start off I needed a recipe that I had all the ingredients for since I had spent out June grocery budget!

Yucatan Chicken with Peanut-Red Chili BBQ sauce

*in the book they make these as chicken skewers...but Im way to lazy to do that... so Im leaving it has breasts

1/2 cup fresh Orange Juice

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

2 Tbsp canola oil

2 Tbsp Ancho chili powder

3 cloves garlic, coursely chopped

4 Chicken breasts

1)In a large shallow baking dish, whisk together everything but chicken.

2)Add chicken to marinade. Allow to marinade for at least 1 hour, or upto 4 hours.

3)Preheat the grill to high

4)Remove chicken from marinade and grill for 4-5 minutes on each side, until just cooked through.

5) Serve with Peanut red Chili BBQ sauce

Peanut Red Chili BBQ Sauce

1 Tbsp canola oil

2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger

1 1/2 cups BBQ sauce (they use their special BBQ sauce... again too lazy to make it up and then add to this sauce)

2 Cups chicken stock

2 Tbsp Soy sauce

1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1)heat oil in a medium sauce pan over med. heat. Add the ginger and cook until soft, 1-2 minutes. Raise the heat to high, add the BBQ sauce and stock and cook stirring occasionally until reduced by half.

2) Whisk in say sauce and peanut butter and cook over med heat until thickened, 12-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

*this can be made up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated. Reheat before serving.

THANKS SO MUCH BOBBY FLAY! Im not looking forward to mondays!

Who out there wants to play with me?

Jaxons Preschool Grad

Last week we had a big day in our house. Jaxon had his last day of three year old preschool. I am super excited for summer... but Jaxon is already asking when he gets to go back to school. It may be a long summer... or I will be exhausted from planning Tons to keep him Busy. Jaxon loved Leap n Learn so much. We are excited to start with them again next year.

Playing cars on the circle mat

Music Time

He just got his certificate and is about to Jump!

jaxon and the lovely Miss Sara. Jaxon adores her and will miss her very much. he tells me every day how much he loves miss sara!

Welcome Summer

I live for Summer. Yes I know I live in Calgary and I know that I will only get summer weather like 3 weeks of the whole year... ok thats an exageration but its close. but i live for the sun and warmth. All my friends know... Amanda HATES winter and cold and rain and wind... I like to lay in the sun and burn and sweat and yeah.... SUMMER.
   Today it was summer! After days and days of rain the sun came out and spread some love! YAY! To celebrate we had an awesome friend get us into Lake Chaparral. Its a glorious thing! but the down side is it makes me miss all my chaparral friends like mad... how I wish I lived in chaparral! Anyways... Thanks Brooke for the super fun morning! My kids and I both had a blast! I wish every day was and beautiful as today. It just makes me happy!
  Another fun warm weather activity that my boys love is water guns. these Pics were taken a few weeks ago... but hey... why not share them right..

owen shoots all gangsta style with his gun all tilted to the side... cracks me up!

Jaxon likes squirting me... I try to convince him that getting the grass, or car, or fence is way more fun the getting mommy... but so far he doesnt believe me

Owen loves his slide.

Oh and an added treat! I have an ice cream maker... LOVE IT! I was lacking the ingredients to make ice cream... but I was craving some soooooo bad... so I looked around and I thought... sorbet would work and I have everything I need for that!

 So I made Peach Starberry Sorbet... yep it is even better then it sounds... and its crazy simple

here is the recipe

Peach Strawberry Sorbet

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups peaches

2 cups strawberries

make a simple syrup by heating the water and sugar in a pot until the sugar is completely dissovled. then add the cut up fruit. (I used frozen... fresh would be fine too) Allow the fruit to simmer in the syrup for a fwe minutes until the are really realy soft and mushy. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Blend mixture until smooth... I used my blender... but an immersion blender would work too. Then refridgerate for 3 hours... or over night. then just pour into the ice cream maker and press start... Mine took only 10 minutes! YUMMY!!!!!

  

Tub Fun

I have decided to be crafty this weekend. I have far too many projects on my to do list. So I am determined to get some of them done this weekend. In order to motivate myself I have decided to post one of the last crafty things I did.... yes I made them a while ago... thats why Im so ready to do some more crafting...
Felt Food! I love felt Food! Here are some green apple slices I whipped up one day for Jaxon and Owen. They love felt food. It doesnt always get played with how it was meant to be but they do love it none the less!

Now that Owen has stopped peeing in the tub... or rather now that Jaxon has stopped noticing Owen peeing in tub... we can convince the boys to have bathes together. Its awesome! Cuts Tub time down by alot! YAY! They have so much fun!. They splash and dump water on each other. And the scream and scream and scream!

owen loves the tub... well all water actually and always cries when its time to get out!

Day Out with Thomas

Ok So I know it was over a month ago that we went to Day out with Thomas. But I finally have gotten around to blogging about. It was such a fun day! Both the boys love Thomas the Tank Engine. Owen is the biggest fan Ive ever seen. He LOVES Thomas. He cries when we turn it off and he knows all the engines... yep my 18 month old knows the Engines by name. Its super awesome. This year for Owens birthday I am planning a Thomas the Train party. Its going to be great.
  Jaxon always has a blast when we go to Day out with Thomas. Owen had fun too... but I think there was a bit too much noise and people for him. He stuck pretty close and snuggly with Tim and I. But he was still smiling most of the time.
  I cant wait to go again next year. Its a great family tradition!

Playing trains!

Owen Loves playing trains!

Owen got a James Tattoo

Jaxon got a Thomas Tattoo. Both boys were so sad when they washed off!

On the train!

THOMAS

Off to have fun

Owen figuring out the little Maze

Jaxon did the maze like 10 times in a row... as fast as he could!

Jaxon even got to drive a model train!

Wicked

I am so thrilled! I am going to see Wicked the Musical in July! YAY! So to prep for it I read the book Wicked. It was awesome! I love books that give you another point of view. As I read this book I found myself totally feeling for The Wicked Wtich of the West. I was almost completely on her side. I felt bad for her. her life SUCKED. but then Id have to shake my head and say she is the WICKED Witch of the West!  WICKED! but I still would get super annoyed with Glinda and thought she was an obnoxious twit. Weird. But reading the book has made me even more excited for July to go and see the musical and I am also going to read the second book in the trilogy... Son of a Witch... about Liir the Wicked Witch's son.  Cant wait!

  Speaking of things that are Wicked... my boys are going to either kill me or kill each other. Owen is now just over 21 months... and his brother has given him his first nose bleed. Nice. I totally watched it all happen from the kitchen window.... I had left them in the care of their daddy... was that my first mistake??? But as I glanced out the window I see owen sitting on the edge of the monkey bars... and Jaxon grabbing his legs and pulling him off.... awesome... at least it was just a nose bleed... I guess it could have been a lot worse!

BACK

Wow It has been way too long since I updated this blog. I dont know where the time went... but it did. I have decided to consolidate my two blogs into one... because I dont have time to run too! So if you are looking for updates on the family... here they are... if you are looking for my latest craft projects and recipes... here they are. Simple right! Lets hope it helps me stay on top of keeping things up to date! I should have known Id have a rough time... I never was very good at journal keeping!
Tonight we had a happy dinner time! FINALLY!!! Don't get me wrong. I have taught my boys right and they love to eat. But they are grazers. Meaning they would rather eat 10 snacks through out the day then sit down for a meal. Dinnertime is normally filled with whines and tears and screaming and TIME OUTS. But tonight it was peaceful. I thank Spaghetti and Meatballs! Jaxon Loved slurping the long noodles and ate way more then I thought his little tummy could hold. Owen loved the meatballs and the Cheese Bread. It was heavenly! Here's hoping the peace lasts. Any tips on how you get your kids to eat???
So I had to share this little tidbit with you. As many of you know, I have been on the hunt for barstools since we moved in 2 years ago. While we finally had success there too. We finally found ones that 1) I love and 2) were in our budget! YAY! So Tim being the sweet husband he is stayed up one night and put them together. They Look fantastic. I am thrilled with them. The boys love them too. Jaxon and Owen and I often have out lunch 'sitting at the counter' Owen loves that he can climb up and sneak his soother (which we normally hid on the island) But as you all know. My boys are all boy... they climb, they jump and they cause trouble. One morning I was brave and decided to leave them downstairs while I went up and had a bath. I left the door open so I could listen for sounds of trouble. It all sounded nice and quiet. So I took my time and really enjoyed the nice quiet bubble bath. After 20 minutes I come downstairs and find this....

Yep... Owen hanging from the island with out a barstool in reach... how he managed that and how long he was hanging there is a mystery... he wasnt crying or yelling or anything... just snuggling with daddy's paper... Could thing my little monster has some serious upper body strength, that would have been a long drop!
I'm thinking I may have to build an ark. It has been raining all week. It Sucks! The worst part is its not even warm rain... its cold. If it was warm we could at least go puddle jumping... but we are inside way too much these days. Ive been looking for things to do around the house... Fun things... not cleaning things. obviously I turn to my craft room. Yesterday I scrapbooked and today I returned to Felt Food. For those of you who dont know I went on a massive felt food making spree right before christmas. Now I figured the boys needed more food. Well ok... I wanted to be crafty but my craft budget was all spent for this month so I had to use what I had... and I found felt!

Kiwis... what do you think?
Jaxon tells me they look pretty good... But he also has to live with me so I think he knows how to flatter me!
Suggestions on what to do tomorrow in the rain?

My Little Monster

   Owen Keeps my on my toes. I am constantly shocked and amazed at how is little mind works. I love him and Im sure Ill laugh at this one day... but for now its a trial!
  Here is todays story; Normally I have the kids watch TV while I make dinner. That way they stay out of trouble and I can just focus on cooking. But this afternoon Jaxon watched way more TV then I liked so all things with screens were on break until after a good dinner was eaten. So of course I am being hounded by the little guys while I am cooking. I suggest they color a picture. Jaxon has now out grown crayons and insists on using markers ALL THE TIME. which is fine for him, but owen now refuses to use crayons too. He has to be just like Jaxon. So I get them both coloring and all is well... then the door bell rings... I leave Owen at the table (jaxon is now off playing cars) and I think to myself... "The markers are washable what can go wrong in the 10 seconds it will take me to get the door" yeah I know... BIG MISTAKE. At the door is two guys from Elections Canada wanting to make sure we are registered to vote. They have a few questions for me and for some reason I know Owen is coloring but I am thinking its with crayons so all is well... After about 2 minutes they leave and I return to check on Owen....

Yep... he filled up his paper and moved onto the table... and to top it off..WASHABLE MARKERS ARENT REALLY WASHABLE

Owen now loves sitting at the table because he has his own artwork to look at... I have scrubbed and scrubbed... its a little more faded but still very much so there! ARGH