A few small moments in these first days...

GOODBYE BELLY...

HELLO BABY!!!

Thomas James born August 17th at 9:33pm

8 pounds 21 inches

We are in LOVE with him!!!

The last real meal...made by me

at least for a while, I think. I was more motivated to cook b/c Jody said to take a picture & give her the recipe so how could I disappoint the girl who always fulfills my requests? I couldn't.



So just like 'The Pioneer Woman Cooks' here is a shot of all the ingredients you need. In the bag on the right is the albino chicken tenders tossed in flour.

You cannot make this recipe if you do not own a mini strainer for the capers. (Maybe for my next post I will share all the necessary mini things you should have:)

The work in progress...

and walah! You have a dinner that 2 out of 4 girls (under the age of 7) enjoyed.

Chicken Piccata with Capers

1 1/2 pounds of chicken tenders

1/2 C flour

2-3 tsp Lawrys garlic salt

1 tsp pepper

2 T oil

1/2 stick of butter
1 C white wine
1 C of chicken broth
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 C of capers
Shake chicken in bag w/flour mixture

In skillet over med high heat, melt butter & oil & brown chicken on both sides until browned (about 4 min. each) Remove chicken to platter.

Leave frying juices in the pan, add the cooking wine, lemon juice, broth, 2 Tbs butter & bring to a boil

Place chicken back in pan to simmer for 10 to 15 min covered. Add the capers the last 2 min.

This recipe came from The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner.

Since this is the one and only recipe I've posted I expect all two of you to make this & give me your review.

WHAT I WISH...

that my kitchen sink could look like this after every meal

but instead it usually feels more comfortable looking like this...

Fourth pregnancy is a breeze...(ahem)

Now I may look like a drunk pregnant woman in this picture but since I don't know photoshop & how to replace a face, this will have to do. Tammy said...'just take a picture like Suzy did' well my cameraman captured my moment while talking & half blinking. Nothing like Suzy's which was cute and classy in her last month of pregnancy...oh well, I did add a bronze tone to try & diminish the drugged out look

I have a few pictures to prove just how easy pregnancy can be with four kids...

Tessa is in charge of folding all laundry & putting it away

Eliza does all the pick up and vacuuming

Summer washes all the dishes before she is allowed to go to bed

Amelia must scrub the toilets every other day

Sisters are in charge of nurturing & caring for eachother throughout the entire 9 months

and when small jobs come up like washing down the van...they better get their buns to work before I have to ask

What else is a mom supposed to do when she feels like she's 10 months pregnant!? So maybe I'm only 8 months along but I'm finally at peace with being pregnant during the summer, swollen feet and all (hopefully I can hold on to that feeling for another month)

So close, yet so far away!!!

Let's go Swimming!

6 weeks of swim team & all three of them are ready for the Olympics! Okay so maybe it's just cute to see them swim as slow as snails & after every meet Tessa tells me she is so excited to get her first place ribbon...umm, we're still waiting.



just keep swimming!!!


and look who stands patiently while the sun goes down watching her sisters compete

(she has a very strict diet & workout routine of lollipops & Pilate's to keep her buns so cute)

Baby Shower Surprise

I took these pictures for Carrie so that she would always have proof of how loved she is but I now post them for myself to prove to Lori that she really can keep a secret. It's always more fun to throw a party for someone else so I told Lori I would do the house & food if she would cover the invite list & I didn't even clue in when she told me people were volunteering to bring everything from drinks, main dish & dessert (I figured she didn't like my menu) So when the time came to welcome everyone...I did and then Alma took over & thanked everyone for 'coming out to Zana & Carries baby shower!' I think I was more surprised that I was surprised...Carrie is due a month before me (I'll get over being jealous around the end of August) & is having a boy as well so it was more fun opening presents sitting next to her. Now our baby boy won't be caught wearing any pink b/c we got over 20 outfits, lots of onesies, cozy blankets & the essential bath robe:) I admit...new stuff really does make it more fun!!!



The next morning the girls reopened everything with lots of "oooo, it's sooo cute"


(Alma, if you get around to reading this by the end of the year, I have sisters bugging me to bug you for your enchilada recipes & yes I'm dying to make them for myself, BEST BABY SHOWER FOOD EVER!)

Just a quick drive to Virginia

I didn't pull out the camera much, probably b/c Jody & I were hiding in the middle of the day trying to watch a BBC movie/miniseries. Don't judge...we've got priorities! We only had 3 days with them but it was totally worth it, wish we could have had more evening walks on the golf course that just sits right out in their backyard & my girls wanted more time with Bryn & Garrett b/c they are more fun than Disneyland (true statement since they haven't experienced D.land yet) Ahh, a 14 hour drive is a drop in the bucket, let's do it again!



Here is a picture of our little photogenic Brynie, she looks cute from any angle!

Settling into summertime

Sewed these towel skirts because I like to do whatever my friends are doing (I'm a follower of cute projects) the girls loved them for the first week and now they would like to request towel dresses! So Eliza says in her ever so polite & understanding tone..."I know they will take a lot of effort Mom but they will be really cute when you're done" If I do get around to making towel dresses, I'm going to make them wear them to church to make it worth my 'effort'!

Summertime haircuts!

Uplanned Staycation

So we had a little change of plans for our typical weekend b/c Friday morning James went down to the basement & found an indoor pond. We decided not to swim in it b/c soon realized our sewer pipe needed a little fixing (Just minor repair like cutting into our front driveway & digging a massively deep hole & threatening to take the life of my favorite tree in the front yard, I'd rather keep the tree than have toilets that flush)We stayed in a Hotel for two nights, ate junk food & sat around in princess jammies...they thought it was the kind of life they should always live (as if life is rough for them at home!)
Then Sunday our friends offered their basement for us to move into but first we had to catch the snake hiding under the back porch so that it wouldn't make it's way through the fireplace & try to snuggle into our beds. Then Amelia let one of the boys hamster run free & for 5 minutes she called out "chipmunk, where are you?" The hamster was found an hour or two later so all was well.

Finally Tuesday at 3pm our pipe was fixed and I never thought I would enjoy doing laundry so much! I thought I would also remember to appreciate being able to wash dishes again but...nah, not so much.