Happy to You!

It was a happy, happy birthday for Sydney! We had a spectacular Abby Cadabby birthday party with crowns and wands and boas - oh my! Sydney welcomed all sorts of guests and enjoyed a particularly fancy dinner of pizza and salad. She especially enjoyed her Abby Cadabby cupcakes. She even did a great job of blowing out her candles. Happy Birthday, Syd!

Abby Cadabby Cupcakes

Loving it while she gets her very own Happy to You song


Blowing out the candles


Eating her cupcake without getting her fingers dirty

Grandma and Grandpa win the prize for the most exciting gift. Welcome home, Dorothy!

"Bless you, Mama"

This morning, Syd and I were sitting at the table eating breakfast when I sneezed. Syd turned her head, looked right at me, and said, "Bless you, Mama!" That's just about the sweetest thing ever. Happy birthday, baby!

Birthday Preparations Continue...

Happy Birthday Eve to Sydney! Tomorrow is the big day. It also happens to be the day we plan on hosting her Abby Cadabby birthday party. A special thanks to everyone who has offered to help out with the preparations. The realization that I'm 30 weeks pregnant and exhausted is just now setting in. I'm sure tomorrow will be a huge success. We can't wait to see everyone and help our baby celebrate.

Cole Thomas at 30 Weeks

Here's this week's update from babycenter.com:

Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and he weighs almost 3 pounds - like a head of cabbage. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him, but that volume will decrease as he gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. His eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after he's born, he'll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day. When he does open them, he'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means he can only make out objects a few inches from his face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

Syd Builds a Bear!

This past weekend, I had to judge, and Tom was out of town, so Jodi and Sarah were nice enough to take Syd to Build-a-Bear Workshop! For those of you who aren't familiar with Build-a-Bear, it's a neat shop that enables kids to build a bear from scratch. They get to choose the bear and then follow a series of steps to stuff it with love and other redeeming character traits, bath it, and provide it with a birth certificate. Anyway, the girls had a blast, and here are the pictures to prove it:

Syd adding friendship to her bear


Syd "stuffing" her bear

Good times!

Syd and "Pinky"

Sarah and her new "bear"

Cole Thomas at 29 Weeks

Here's this week's update from babycenter.com. Only 11 weeks to go, folks!

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

Cole Thomas at 28 Weeks

I figure I'll squeeze this one in before Monday (which marks 29 weeks).

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Emeril's New Orleans Pasta

Everyone knows that my favorite restaurant food is Sweetwater Tavern's jambalaya pasta. Anyway, I've been attempting to recreate their recipe. Here's the best copycat so far!

1/2 cup boned, skinned and julienned chicken breasts (about 4 ounces)
2 1/2 teaspoons Emeril's Original Essence
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 ounces chopped andouille or chorizo sausage
1/2 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coarsely grated fresh Parmesan cheese, in all
1/2 pound fettuccine

Toss the chicken strips with 1 teaspoon of the Essence.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the seasoned chicken and cook, shaking the skillet occasionally, for about 1 minute. Add the andouille and cook, shaking the skillet and stirring, for 1 minute. Add the shrimp and the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons Essence and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the green onions, garlic, and cream and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the Worcestershire, hot pepper sauce, salt, and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan and simmer for 3 minutes.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain in a colander. Add the cooked fettuccine and toss until the pasta is heated through and thoroughly blended with the sauce, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Makes about 5 cups.

To serve, allow 1 1/4 cups per portion in pasta bowls. Sprinkle each portion with the remaining Parmesan, 1 tablespoon per serving.

Makes 4 main-course servings.

Tasty Onion Chicken

So - a while back Syd and I were at Costco, and they were passing out their samples. Usually, I skip the samples, but this time, they were offering mashed potatoes, so I went for it. The mashed potatoes were great, and they topped them with French's fried onions. Anyway, they totally got me. I bought the mashed potatoes and the fried onions. So - now - I have an enormous bag of fried onions, which I've never really used before in recipes (it could take years to go through the bag if I only use them to top mashed potatoes). I was looking for something to do with them and came across this recipe. It was delicious! Definitely a new addition to our regular rotation.

1/2 cup butter melted
1 tbls. Worcestershire
1 tsp. ground mustard
1 large can french fried onions
1 1/2 pds. chicken tenders

Combine butter, Worcestershire, and ground mustard. Place french fried onions in a large zip loc and crush. Place in a separate bowl. Dip chicken in butter mixture, then coat with onions. Place in a pam sprayed casserole dish and drizzle with remaining butter mixture. Bake uncovered at 400 for 25-30 minutes.

Spicy Verde Chicken & Bean Chili

Our very favorite chicken chili... really good on a day when you're expecting oh - like 30 inches of snow!

2 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 cups Swanson® Chicken Stock

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 can (about 15 ounces) small white beans, undrained

1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chiles, drained

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon jalapeño hot pepper sauce

Shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Melt the butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic powder. Cook and stir until the onion is tender.

Stir the flour into the skillet. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Gradually stir in the stock. Cook and stir until the mixture boils and thickens.

Stir in the chicken, beans, chiles, cumin and hot sauce. Heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low.

Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve topped with cheese and cilantro, if desired.

Sydney's Going to School!

Well, today was the big day. After visiting several schools, finally deciding on one, and waiting in the parking lot on application day, Sydney is enrolled in preschool! She'll begin school twice a week for almost three hours each day in September! I am so incredibly thankful that we got her in the school that was our first choice and on the days we wanted. I think she'll really enjoy the new opportunity for socialization and learning. We'll keep you posted!

Cole Thomas at 27 Weeks

Here's this week's update from babycenter.com:

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with his legs extended. He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if he were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother him, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.