Extra Mommy

“I’m going to take this dog to the doctor and then I am going to take my mom to the doctor because she has been sick and she doesn’t get any chocolate.”  McClaine rambled to himself as he wrapped his dog stuffed animal in a blanket.

I interrupted his train of thought and asked why I didn’t get any chocolate.

He looked at me, totally baffled that I would be listening to his monologue.

“You said that your mommy has been sick and she doesn’t get any chocolate.  Why don’t I get any chocolate?”

He cracked up, fell on the ground laughing, and in between the gasps for air, he said, “no, I was talking about my extra mommy.”

That is the stuff you just have to write down.  Otherwise you might forget that he calls an octopus, “Oppletuss.”

We had the cousins over tonight (this picture is actually from last weekend- but it is so cute, I couldn’t help but post it.), and they are so fun!  We love their mommy and daddy, too.  My three month old nephew, Zane, weighs only one pound less than my 11 month old daughter.  Check out that little bundle of cuteness with McClaine and Avery.

This is cousin Wyatt, and he wasn’t particularly interested in a photo session-

Reece is still petite, but she continues to chow down on her butter enriched diet.  And she did gain two pounds in the past six weeks.

 

I love seeing daddy feed his little girl from the same high chair that he once ate in… He is such a good dad!

Do you see that little scab above McClaine’s right eye?  Yeah, it so doesn’t look like a big deal- but it was.  He tripped over a vine, amongst some land that Caleb has been clearing, and a thorn broke off into his forehead.  It took me, Oma, Opa, a blowpop, and a pair of tweezers to hold the boy down, pull up his flesh and remove that thorn that was burrowed in his brow.  It is healing up mighty nice!

It is such a blessing to have a little Swiffer in our family.  I just put Reece in the grubbiest clothes and she army crawls all over the house cleaning up after her big brother, two sisters and Rogie, who has gotten terribly spoiled with the cold, wet weather…

And last but not least, here’s what I cooked up for dinner tonight.  It doesn’t have a name, and I won’t be doing step by step photos like PW until I am making money like PW.  And I just looked down and saw that it was 11:15pm, so this is going to be snappy, drop me a comment and make sure you leave your reply email, if you have a question.

 

Creamy Parmesan Pastabock 

Sautee’ broccoli and sliced red pepper in olive oil and about a tablespoon of butter,until crisp/tender. Season with salt and pepper.

   Make some shredded chicken- I’m not getting into that right now, 11:30pm EEK.  Here’s how you do it.

Pile broccoli, red peppers, fresh, uncooked spinach and shredded chicken in a deep baking dish.

Put a big pot of water on to boil.  Boil 1 pound corkscrew pasta until al dente.

Now make a white sauce.  Here’s how you do it:

1. Make a roux.  Put about three tablespoons of butter into a large pan (just for fun and sanity, use the same pan that you sauteed the vegetables in) and add about two tablespoons of flour.  Cook over low heat, stirring often for about three minutes to cook the raw flavor out of the flour.

2.  Add your liquid slowly, while whisking.  You may need to turn your heat up a bit to thicken the sauce and get the lumps out.  I used about two cups of milk and two cups of broth from my chicken.  You are going to want a pretty thin sauce, because when you add it to the pasta, it really thickens up from the starch.

3. Add about 1 1/2 cups of shredded or grated parmesan cheese and stir until smooth.

Drain pasta and dump it on top of the veggies and chicken.

Pour your sauce over it all and stir it up.  Then top with parmesan cheese.

Have a great weekend… And cook up something good for the ones you love!