Coming Soon: Senoritas and Margaritas

Mom and Lorraine's birthday is right around the corner, and we're planning a blow-out bash Mexican fiesta style. There will be tacos, taquitos, and flautas as far as the eye can see, and more than enough beer to go around. I hope those two senoritas are ready to party!

Welcome to Bergemuda

Bergemuda is officially open. Today, we celebrated Memorial Day with a giant barbecue. We invited many of our friends and family and enjoyed the day at the pool. Although the day wasn't super sunny, it was definitely warm and humid. Several folks even got in the pool - including Sarah (shocker)! :) The first game of battle pig was played. The first of many, many batches of hamburgers and hot dogs were barbecued. And, the first sunburn is being tended to. Welcome, summer!



Mom brought Tom a fabulous Bergemuda sign (check out the picture) that she made. The front is dry erase, and the back is blackboard. The front says Welcome to Bergemuda, and the back says BergeMenu - get it? LOL. It's a great sign and will certainly come in handy for a long time to come.

Visit our Picasa site for many more pictures of today's celebration:

http://picasaweb.google.com/tbergeman/May2009?feat=directlink

Meet Snake-e-poo

Sydney and I were walking on the W&OD trail today when we came across this little fella. He seemed harmless enough, but we still kept our distance because he was pretty long. Thankfully, I had my camera with us, so I took a bunch of pictures.

For Those of You Not on Facebook

As many of you know, Sydney's been walking for a while now. However, I just got around to putting together her walking video. It's already on Facebook, so for those of you not on Facebook: Enjoy!

Sydney's 15-Month Checkup

Going strong at 15 months! Today, we visited Doctor Plescia and received the following updates on Syd's vitals:

Height: 31.8 inches (95th percentile)

Weight: 22.6 lbs (50th percentile)

Head Circumference: 18.6 inches (85th percentile - still a proud member of the big head club)

Doctor Plescia was pleased with Syd's progress. She's walking and talking (single words) at 15 months, which is on or ahead of schedule. He was especially impressed with her ability to quickly determine how to disarm the babyproofing latches Tom worked so hard to install this weekend. She received three vaccines today and made it clear she was not happy about the needle pricks. Other than that, it was a routine appointment with no surprises. We'll be back again at 18 months.

Halibut with Zucchini & Garlic Mojo

2 1/2 T olive oil
4 -5 cloves garlic, peeled & halved
1/3 c chicken broth
salt
pepper
10 oz halibut fillet, about 3/4-inch thick, skinned
1/2 lb zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 c fresh cilantro, chopped
1 lime, cut into wedges

Place the olive oil in a skillet & heat over medium heat. Add the garlic & cook until light brown about 4 minutes. Remove the garlic to a small food processor or blender leaving as much oil in the pan as possible. Add the chicken broth, 1/4 t pepper & 1/4 t salt to the food processor as well & blend until smooth. Set aside.

In the same skillet bring the heat up to medium-high. Salt & pepper the halibut. Lay the fish in the hot pan. Cook the first side until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip & cook the second side another 2 minutes. The fish should give slightly to firm pressure. Put the fish on an oven safe tray & keep warm in low oven.

Keeping the skillet at medium-high heat add the zucchini. Cook until the zucchini is lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic sauce and cilantro to the pan & bring to a boil. Serve the zucchini & fish with the sauce over them.

This was dinner tonight, and it was good. Definitely don't forget the lime wedges - they make the meal.

Original source: http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com

A Fun Visit to the Nuthouse

This weekend, we had the pleasure of visiting the Nuttall family! We were invited for a traditional German meal: schnitzel and spaetzle. Alex made the entire meal, which was very good. Sydney especially liked her schnitzel. Syd got to hang out with her bud, Griffin. The two of them had loads of fun playing with Griffin's toys and climbing the deck stairs. Poppie the dog was very sweet and picked up any food that ended up on the floor after Syd and Griffin ate dinner.

I also got to meet Alex's aunt and uncle: Jim and Alice. Jim and Alice host the snowmobiling adventure that Tom goes on each year in Vermont. Jim and Alice were great. Alice read Sydney stories, and Jim was every bit the Major General of the National Guard.

Alex and Stacie have a beautifully decorated home in Herndon. Stacie is very talented with home decorating, and the place looked fabulous. We had such a good time; we're already looking forward to the next time we can get together!

Creamy Lemon Chicken with Roasted Potatoes and Artichokes

Serves 5

5 red potatoes, cubed, bite-sized
2 - 3 tablespoons olive oil
salt
pepper
1 (15-ounce) can artichoke hearts, quartered and drained
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
2 tablespoons white wine
1/3 cup cream
1/2 cup chicken stock
4 sun dried tomatoes, soaked in boiling water to rehydrate, and sliced thin
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss potatoes with olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Roast for about 25 minutes, stirring once, until beginning to become golden brown. Add artichoke hearts and roast an additional 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan over medium high heat, drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add the chicken. Saute for 6 - 7 minutes or until chicken to cooked through. Add wine and cook for 1 minute. Add the cream and chicken stock and let reduce for 3 - 4 minutes. Add roasted potatoes and artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, lemon juice and parsley and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Notes: I used three potatoes, and there were *plenty* of potatoes. Instead of using plain sun dried tomatoes (and then rehydrating them), I used marinated sun dried tomatoes. The marinade added good flavor. I also didn't have wine, so I substituted with more chicken stock. Even with all my changes, this meal was really, really good.

Original source: http://dinnersforayear.blogspot.com/

Spicy Shrimp, Sausage, and Spinach Fettuccine

This is what we ate for dinner tonight. Yes - Sydney enjoyed the spicy sausage, too. I only let her eat about 4 bites of it because I didn't want her to have a tummy ache. She would've eaten a bunch of it if I'd let her. Anyway, it was a huge hit. Tom claims he's going to take it to work tomorrow for lunch. We'll see if that happens (unlikely).

Serves 5

1 pound fettuccine
olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 links of hot Italian sausage, removed from casing
2 large garlic cloves
1 1/4 pounds of large shrimp (21 - 25/pound), peeled and deveined
4 large handfuls of baby spinach, about 4 cups loosely packed
1 cup corn
1/2 cup pasta water
1/2 - 1 cup Parmesan cheese
salt
pepper

Cook fettuccine in a large pot of water according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Set aside.

While the pasta cooks, heat a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and onions and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the sausage in small pieces and the garlic and cook until until the sausage is cooked and browned.

Add shrimp to pan and cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Add spinach and cook for 3 - 4 minutes or until it is slightly wilted. Add corn and pasta water to saute pan and scrape up any bits cooked on to the bottom of the pan. Add pasta and toss to mix. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place in a serving bowl and top with Parmesan cheese. Serve with extra cheese.

Source: http://dinnersforayear.blogspot.com/

Happy Mother's Day!

This picture just about says it all. I am so incredibly thankful to be a mom to my beautiful and healthy baby girl Sydney and to have the wonderful family I have. What a blessing!

What this picture does not show is the three grown men in the background doing just about anything and everything to get my beautiful baby girl to smile. My dad was playing with and demonstrating every baby toy he could get his hands on. Tom's dad was jumping up and down on his good foot trying to get her attention. Tom was trying to take the picture while making funny faces. In this case, there was a great picture behind the camera, too.

Spicy Redskins Casserole

6 cups loose-packed southwest style hash browns
2/3 cups butter -- melted
2 cups cooked ham -- diced
1 cups cheddar cheese -- shredded
1 cups milk
4 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt

Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish. Press hash browns on bottom of pan. Drizzle melted butter over crust. Bake at 425° for 25 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°. Sprinkle ham and cheese over crust. Beat eggs, milk, and salt; pour over ham and cheese. Return to oven and bake 25 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.

Source of original recipe: http://www.mrbreakfast.com/superdisplay.asp?recipeid=331

Happy First Communion to Sarah

What a weekend - it's only half over, and I'm already exhausted! Today was Sarah's first communion. The big event took place at Saint Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Purcellville, Virginia. Sarah did a great job. She had practiced with her class twice this week and definitely knew what she was doing. She looked great too. Her dress was beautiful. After the service, we all headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a "buffet." It was great to celebrate with all our family: Jodi, Jay, Sarah, Steve, Kerry, Lylla, Harper, Grandma Drumheller, Grandma and Grandpa Bergeman, Lorraine, Angus, Tom, Sydney, and I. We ate our way through the afternoon, while the kids played, and everyone had a good time. Congratulations to Sarah on this very special day!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Tonight we celebrated Grandma's 63rd birthday! How do you celebrate a 63rd birthday? With a pizza party - what else? Everyone came over tonight after work and school, and we enjoyed pizza, cake, and gifts. The highlight of the night was definitely Papa's gift for Grandma: a new laptop! That's right folks... get prepared... Grandma's going to have e-mail and Internet access soon. She'll be sending spam in no time!

Sydney Hits the Road

I finally summoned the courage to take Sydney on her first road trip this weekend. And, Syd and I managed to do it on our own! Daddy had to work, so it was a girls' trip (at least for the first half of the trip).

We left Friday morning for Bethany Beach, Delaware. The trip there was pretty uneventful. We stopped in Denton, Maryland, for lunch and a break, and arrived at Bethany Beach right around 2:30 pm. We were so lucky to be invited to stay with the Chabots! They own a beautiful home that's just minutes from the beach. They were more than accommodating. We enjoyed good food, great company, and totally baby-proofed surroundings! Friday afternoon, we even took Syd to the beach.

Saturday morning, we were on the move again. We left the Chabot's home around 10:00 am and arrived at Saint Mary of the Sea Catholic Church at 10:45 am - just in time to meet up with Tom for the baptism of Lylla and Harper. After the baptism, it was time to party. We hit the road for a quick trip to Steve and Kerry's home in Salisbury, Maryland. Steve and Kerry are expert party hosts. There was enough food and beer for a small army. Thankfully, there was no army nearby, so all the food and beer was for us! While we were partying, Syd was exploring. With the help of Hippo and Lola (the dogs), Syd was able to kick her fear of dogs. She waddled around playing with the twins' toys, chasing the dogs, and eating.

By 3:00 pm, everyone was exhausted. We left the party and headed home. Syd was asleep in the backseat within minutes of our departure. We made it home by 7:00 pm. Syd's first road trip was a huge success, and we had a blast! We'll definitely have to do it again soon.