Christmas at Grandma and Grandpas

Let's start by the best Christmas present ever! Jay came home from work on the 19th and Edward was sooo excited to "pick up daddy!" I think it was the first time he actually understood what I meant when I said daddy is coming home. He flew into Denver and we were waiting for him with Grandpa in the terminal. It was a great time to be there because of the holiday season there was a guy playing the piano and singing Christmas music to entertain Edward while we waited. After each song E would request the next one be "ABCs!"  Poor kid didn't have a chance :) 

Edward has already had so much fun with daddy. Activities include "Edward scissor hands" training...quite the scary sight!

Tree decorating:

Jumping:

And cookie frosting:

Of course we have done a lot as a family as well...Edwards godfather Shawn came to visit one night and they had a lot of fun chasing each other around the house:

Making cookies with mommy, grandma and grandpa:

Waiting is the hardest part buddy:

Finally got to frost some:

And the best part - eat them!

I even made it in a few shots during another day of decorating! It's a rare occurrence :)

He looooved being the Sprinkle Master:

One more taste test:

On Christmas Eve we remembered to sprinkle food for Rudolph and the other reindeer on the front lawn so they could find the house! It was a cool mix of oats, cinnamon and glitter:

Then before bed we left cookies for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph. I was worried he would want to eat the cookies but he was good and left them alone :)

Santa came after we all went to sleep. It was a small Christmas this year because anything we bought or received we had to fit in the car or in our luggage. It all worked out great having him this young because he really didn't care. He was just excited to wake up in the morning and see that Santa came!

In fact, he was more concerned with the piece of carrot that Rudolph left. Don't tell Santa, but I think he likes Rudolph best ;)

Some of his gifts this year included pajamas, a Percy train, a Dora coloring set (for the long drive to Kansas City tomorrow), some cars, books, and little things like Dora toothbrushes and a toothbrush travel case like mommy and daddy have. It's fun how simple things like that can be more exciting than what we may think are the big exciting toys... His Rudolph Pez was also a huge hit!

After gifts and some breakfast (traditional orange and cinnamon sweet rolls then eggs and sausage later), Edward started getting cranky. His 2-year molars are coming in and I knew it was making him grouchy. As soon as I mentioned the ergo he snapped out of it and said "back" then pointed outside. This always works and we had a nice little walk together looking for stop signs and Chrismas decorations. Notice he's in his pajamas still and wearing his new slippers (like daddy!):

A little later the whole crew loaded in the car to the nearby park for some fresh air. 

Three generations:

He loves his grandma and grandpa - we have spent over a month together straight and it has been great bonding for them!

The park is less than 2 miles away so I didn't really think about bringing a change of clothes or anything (we are doing great at potty training but poop is still an issue in public). Soooo speaking of poop he's standing still at one point and grandma thinks maybe he pooped...I check and yup. And we don't have anything to clean it up with! Jay runs home to get something and we keep him standing and entertained while we wait. A family of middle-aged people shows up at the park and we say "Merry Christmas" to them. They say hi to Edward and he just looks at them and says "poop" with a look of disappointment on his face. Haha. The looks on their faces were priceless :) 

We had a great afternoon nap and then for dinner we had filet mignon, cheesy hash browns (family favorite), green beans, and carrots. Edward ate nearly half of my filet! We are so proud of what a great eater he is and tonight he didn't disappoint!

What a great Christmas! Among all the crazy changes I think we made it as special and memorable as we could for Edward and can't wait to spend it as a family of FIVE next year! *gulp*

Tomorrow we leave early for a loooonnng drive to Kansas City to see Jay's brother and his family. Continuing our adventure!!

(And now that I figure out photos I think I am even more likely to keep this up!)

From Our Kitchen: Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day this year, we decided to replicate a burger from Kuma's Corner that we didn't get to try while in Chicago last month. If you forgot how amazing these burgers were, that post is here.

Anyway, before I get to that, let me tell you that when I got home from work that day, Jay greeted me at the door & led me to a drawn bath. I soaked in a bathroom adorned with candles while Jay prepped the meal. And, to top that off, he came in & gave me a foot scrub/massage in between chopping & sautéing!
I know - I am one lucky girl :)

After the bath, I joined Jay in the kitchen to help prepare our delicious meal. We decided to replicate the burger called "Lair of the Minotaur" from the menu here. He started by cooking up some pancetta in the cast iron pan.

Then the burgers were seasoned & ready for the grill:

One of the key ingredients to a meal at Kuma's is their delicious homemade ketchup! Jay found the secret ingredient - Gardiniera - at our local Italian deli & I helped mix up a batch!

The burgers were topped with the crispy pancetta, pears cooked in bourbon, caramelized onions & brie. We used challah bread for the bun. 

I think it looks just as delicious as Kuma's and we didn't have to wait for a table!

And the taste? Can't be beat. It was drip down your arm delicious! 

Thanks honey for a very special Valentine's Day! 

Date Night: Posh

We have made it a tradition of going out for a nice dinner before Jay goes back to work. We were going to go back to Coup des Tartes (see post here) but decided to try something new.

I was flipping through Phoenix Magazine and reading out ideas to see what peaked Jay's interest. After reading this...

"Unique in the Valley, this sleek restaurant serves up 'improvisational cuisine.' There's no menu; just tell Chef Joshua Hebert what you like and don't like, and he'll invent knock-your-socks-off dishes like uni panna cotta or popcorn soup." 

...we were intrigued...so Posh it was.

They start by giving you a "menu" that is a list of all the available proteins for the night. Everything from NY Strip to Halibut to Frogs Legs. You cross off anything you absolutely do not want them to serve you. You also decide here how many courses you want. We decided to go big & picked 7. Jay added the wine pairing to his list as well. Then, there are a few lines where you can write things that you are allergic to or that you really like so the chef can get a taste for what you like. I wrote in that I was allergic to nuts & soy and didn't like mushrooms, mayonnaise, mustard and bleu cheese. I don't think Jay wrote in anything!

Here are the main components of our dinner - at least what we could remember after all those courses:

Amuse-Bouche

Cinnamon Caviar with fried taro root

1st Course

Amie: Salad with red onion, radish and tatsoi

Jay: Salad with chicken liver, sherry dressing

2nd Course

Amie: Raw tuna, cucumber caviar

Jay: Fluke (aka flounder), mushrooms, bok choy

3rd Course

Amie: Monkfish, cucumber

Jay: Breem, mushrooms, parsnip puree

4th Course

Amie & Jay: Bruleed foie gras, fig, pomegranate seeds, mango puree, apricot chutney

5th Course

Amie: Duck, carrot/ginger puree, beets

Jay: Frog legs with horseradish

6th Course:

Amie: Venison, chick peas

Jay: NY Strip, cauliflower puree

7th Course: 

Amie: Deconstructed s'more, espresso beans, edible flowers

Jay: Panna cotta

Everything was really delicious. My favorite course was the 5th and Jay's favorite was the 4th. We had a really fun time guessing what was next and the service was very good!

More importantly, we had a wonderful night together. And in my attempt to make it even more perfect for Jay, we checked the Husker's score a few times on my phone & I resisted from "always taking pictures everytime we go out" - hence the lack of a photo. Next time, I'm having the waitress get paparazzi on us when he's not paying attention :)

a WONDERful St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day isn't what it used to be. For me at least. I mean, back in college it was Taking Beer In Your Coffee Mug To Class Day. Either that or Spend The Day Drinking Green Beer At The Bar Day. I'm not sure if we celebrated this way because we were all a bunch of Irish Catholics or if that's just how everyone did it, but all I know is I'm way too old for that now. 

And if I'm too old for that, Jay might be too. (I'm just sayin')

Anyway - my grown-up tradition has been to enjoy Corned Beef & Cabbage for dinner on St. Patrick's night. If Jay got as excited as I do about it I'd probably try making it myself, but he could take it or leave it so I just get take out instead. AJ's is a fancy-schmancy grocery store here in the Phoenix area & they always put together a great meal that I pick up on my way home from work. It's way better than going to a crowded bar & waiting for an order to be ready. Or even worse trying to find a parking spot. 

Jay had to work until about 6:00, so I enjoyed most of this meal by myself before he got home. I pretty much inhaled the first few bites of the meat because it's oh-so-good and I only have it once a year. All that fat - delish! There was so much of it that even after Jay had a few bites, we had some left over for Thursday night. 

After dinner, we enjoyed a nice mid-week date & caught the new Alice in Wonderland in IMAX 3D. 

It was on the biggest screen in Arizona - towering a full 6 stories high! Pretty cool! I hadn't seen a 3D movie since I went to Disney World back in the '90s so it was quite the experience. Expensive popcorn & soda was the icing on the cake.

Of course we had to get a picture to document our H-O-T glasses (Jay suggested the serious pose):

Well the weekend is here and we're both home AGAIN (!!!!) so stay tuned for another fun-packed weekend update! 

xoxo

Weekend Update: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

I've decided to split this Weekend Update into a few sections since I don't feel like sitting down for the whole evening to write my normal long post! Plus, breaking it up will be fun, don'tcha think?

Friday night was part two of my wonderful Christmas present. Jay took me to ASU's Gammage theatre to see Broadway Across America's Mary Poppins. We got there way too early (we thought the show started at 7, but it was actually 7:30), so we embarrassed entertained ourselves a bit:

I don't know about you, but I think Jay pulls off a male version of Mary quite well. Practically perfect in every way...

The show as a whole was entertaining, but we both were a little disappointed in how much they changed the story (especially compared to Annie which, though it strayed a little, had most of the original story in place). There were also 7 brand new songs which for lack of a better way of saying it...was just weird. I don't know why they spent the time & effort creating new songs when the original version had so many great ones (and is probably one of the reasons most people wanted to see the performance?!).

The effects in Act 2 and a quite enjoyable tap sequence to "Step in Time" did make up for most of the disappointment in the other stuff.

I'm obviously not a professional theatre reviewer, so if you're interested in going, here's a review by the New York Times that I think sums it up nicely.

Let's just be honest though - it could have been a horrible show put on by amateurs and I still would have enjoyed every bit of my date night with Jay. (Disclaimer: I'm currently questioning myself in this statement as he has the movie "Cool as Ice" playing on the tv right now - not enjoyable. at. all.).

xoxo

From our Kitchen: A Christmas Tradition (does that rhyme?)

One of my favorite Christmas traditions growing up was cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. I'm not completely sure of the origin of the tradition, but I do know that those lovely Pillsbury Sweet Rolls my mom baked up were quick & easy on mornings when the usual focus of food switched over to what Santa brought.

The past few years, I've been able to hold onto this tradition in my new family. This year however, Jay wanted to make them from scratch! I pointed out to him that the whole point of the cinnamon rolls was (besides their yumminess) how easy they were to make, but he wouldn't have any of it. We made Martha Stewart's Truck Stop Cinnamon Rolls several years ago & he pulled out the recipe.

In order to expedite the process in the morning, I spent some time on Christmas Eve measuring out everything we'd need. I wish I took a picture because I just know you'd roll your eyes. Everything was measured & labeled & ready to go. I was very careful to have it all measured just right because we cut the recipe in half (which worked fine, but next year I think we'll make the whole batch & give some away).

Jay had been up for about an hour or so by the time I dragged my butt downstairs. He had already mixed up the dough and it was rising nicely.

Once it was ready to roll, we rolled it out nice and thin & sprinkled on the melted butter, cinnamon & sugar. If you make this recipe yourself, it will seem like a TON of sugar & cinnamon (and it is), but use it all. Trust me on this.
After it's all sprinkled, roll it up nice & tight and then slice it up. We cut it into 8 equal portions.
Don't they already look delicious?? Just you wait - it gets better!
Then you put the pretty little rolls facing up on a buttered cookie sheet, cover & let rise for a little longer.
Put them in the oven & smell your house fill with the most beautiful, mouth-watering scent imaginable. They look like this when they're done (ok, maybe next time we'd cut a couple minutes off the cooking time).
Now, whatever anyone tells you, DO NOT stop there! Even if the recipe says they're ready to go (ahem, Martha) and even if someone (ahem, Jay) says they look good as they are.

Make the glaze.

Just make it. I know, it is a lot of sugar, but it is just not a cinnamon roll without it. I didn't use a particular recipe but you can if you like. Or just eyeball it: mix up some confectioners sugar, a little milk and vanilla until its the right consistency. Then you just pour. it. all. over.

Let it soak into all the nooks & crannies until they look like this.
Now they are ready to eat. And it may be lunchtime by then, but that's ok too.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

I thought of the perfect title for a blog post yesterday when I was coming home from work. Ready to hear it?

"No Christmas Tree, No Christmas Tree"

Isn't that clever? You see, it was December 11th and we were treeless. I was to the point where I had come to terms with the fact that we weren't going to have a tree this year. My lovely new computer and desk were now in the only space we had for a tree in our living room. I was thinking of picking up a tiny potted tree to use instead, but never got around to finding the right one (you see, Christmas trees, no matter what the size, must be real in my book).

It didn't really matter though. I came home from work to this beautiful sight:

This 2009 photo ornament (it's our tradition) was tucked inside:

Photo Source

I was so happy that I cried tears of joy. Anyone surprised? Jay sure wasn't when I called him at work to thank him. :)

I had the tree decorated and lit up before I went to bed. And here I sit peeking over at it every now and then, reminded of how simply sweet my husband is.

Weekend Update: Celebrating 7 Years and More...

What a whirlwind of a weekend at home!! We started it off by rooting for the Cornhuskers at our local Nebraska bar on Saturday afternoon. We don't really want to talk about how the game ended, but the good thing was that I was sporting my new red Nebraska t-shirt that I have been waiting for YEARS to get! I ordered one for myself and surprised Jay on Saturday morning. I finally felt like I belonged in the sea of red!

Saturday night, Jay surprised me by taking me out to dinner at Chompies.

It was such a special date because 7 years ago Friday was our very first date there. I wish I had a picture of us back then, but instead I'll tell you that he asked me out for soup. Not for dinner, or a drink, but soup. And I said yes and the rest is history. And now here we are all happy and married! I can't believe how time flies!
And now for the food pictures because what is our blog without food pictures? Jay insisted I try something new so I had the Monte Cristo sandwich. It was good but a bit too sweet for me - at least for dinner. I think it would be a great breakfast because the bread was actually french toast....and you dip it in strawberry jam!
Jay had two appetizers for dinner - the chopped liver with bagel chips and the stuffed cabbage roll. Can you believe those are appetizers? Their portions are huge!! Lots of leftovers for breakfast Sunday morning though and apparently the chopped liver was even better in the morning. *ick*
I don't know why I didn't take pictures of dessert because it was delicious! Jay had a fruit tart and I had a mini eclair & a mini cannoli. You gotta love Jewish delis - delicious food and even better pastries!

Thanks, honey for a wonderful surprise!! I love you!!


On Sunday, we headed to North Scottsdale to celebrate Tara's 30th birthday. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings and enjoyed beer, wings, and friends! It was so much fun and the birthday girl had a great time! Here she is with Kate looking rather serious:
The girls - Kiera, Me and Tara
I had to get some good Kate time in. Kiera got her to smile at just the right time!
And for those of you who know about Jay's 6-month rule, he finally got to hold Kate for the first time - way past the 6-month mark. Better late than never!
I just had to post this one because look how sweet she is all cuddled up to her mommy!
Tara and I needed a break from the football, so we went next door and got some gelato. MMMmmmm it was so good!
After the games, we headed over to the movie theatre and watched "Couples Retreat". It was really funny and we all laughed - especially at the other "show" we saw while the movie was going on! All I have to say is our 12-year old daughter will never go to the movies without an adult! Holy Moly!


We have some very special guests coming this week, so look out for another fun-filled post soon!! xoxo