My Funny Boys

I forgot to mention that the boys had a mini check-up at the beginning of the month. Jackson is 34.5 inches tall and weighs 26.4 pounds. Cullen is 35 inches tall and weighs 27.4 pounds. They're both still in the 25th percentile (as always) for both height and weight but I was surprised to see how much they'd grown since their last check-up in January. They've each gained about 2 pounds and grown nearly an inch in just 6 months! A few months ago I thought Jack's arms were freakishly skinny. They still might be, but he's definitely looking better. It's weird how you don't notice all the little changes and then, all of a sudden one day, you realize you're looking at a completely different kid! Sometimes I'd like a pause button on life.

Anyways, here are some funny stories from around our house lately:

- Yesterday the boys brought their legos bucket over to play with. When they took the lid off, I was instantly assaulted by a FOUL smell. I held my nose, peered inside the bucket and saw white gunk all over the legos. "What is that?" I asked them. They got real quiet and walked off (this is their typical response when they know they might be in trouble for something) but I quickly realized it was rotten milk! Apparently one of them had decided to pour an entire cup of milk out over the legos in the bucket, close the lid, and let it sit for a few days. Yum. You know that smell when you open a sippy cup of milk that your kid stashed under the couch for a week? Well, it was like that, but stronger. And please don't tell me I'm the only one who's had that happen. Because it's happened quite a few times... Anyways, in case you were wondering how in the world to clean up a gross, rotten mess like that, it comes right off  if you soak the pieces in bleach water overnight and then individually scrub and rinse them for an hour. That's how I spent nap time today!

- The other day, Jack asked to watch a Thomas movie. Actually, he specifically requested Thomas and the Jet Engine but I was too lazy to switch the DVDs and didn't think he'd actually know the difference anyway. Boy was I wrong. The only thing that was on the screen was the menu when Jack suddenly melted down, shrieking "NO! NO! NOOO!" I asked him what was wrong and he threw himself down on the floor and sobbed "Not that one! Watch Thomas and the Jet Engine!" I was just standing there in disbelief wondering why it mattered and how he even knew the difference in the first place. He may be watching too much Thomas...

- Cullen fell off the couch the other day and started crying. When I asked him if he'd hurt himself, he nodded, pointed to his bottom and said "Mommy, kiss the bottom."

- Lately, when I change their diapers they'll tell me "There's a big poo poo in there." Awesome. If a kid is old enough to tell you exactly what's in their diaper, aren't they too old to be wearing diapers at all????

- Cullen is using his slightly larger size to his own advantage and turning into quite a little bully. Last week, during naptime I heard a crash and then loud crying. I ran in and found Jack on the floor with blood all over his face. After I cleaned him up, I saw that it was only a bloody nose and fat lip. I asked him how it happened and he said Cullen had pushed him off the bed. When we went in to ask Cullen if he'd pushed Jack off the bed, he told me Jack had fallen off. I'm still not sure if he was lying about throwing his brother off the bed or if they were really just saying the same thing in different ways. But I've started separating them for naps if it sounds too rough in there.

- A few weeks ago at bedtime, Brandon asked the boys what they wanted to pray for. Jack replied that he'd like to pray for God. Then we said "No, we don't pray for God. We pray to God." Jack said, "Oh, two Gods! Two!" We're still working on that one with him...

-Today Cullen was pretending to stir something in a bowl. Jack came over and tried to play with him and Cullen said very matter of factly "No Jackson. Go away. I working."

- They can translate for each other. We were in the car running errands and passed an ambulance, which is always a highlight for the boys. Five minutes passed and Cullen started whining something that I couldn't make out. I told him I didn't know what he was saying and that he'd have to use his big boy voice. He continued to whine. Then Jack piped up "Am-bu-hance (Ambulance) come back! Cuhen, Am-bu-hance back!" I don't know about you, but I'm pretty amazed they can understand each other so well!

- They love talking about how they're going on an "airpwane" to Idaho and "Cowie" (Cali- I tried to get them to say California but it wasn't pretty). They keep asking if we're going "after nap?" I really need to learn my lesson and stop telling them anything more than 24 hours in advance. Otherwise I hear about it endlessly until it actually happens- in this case, for weeks!

- They're really good with directions. They tell me which way to turn, whether I should go, slow down, or stop at upcoming traffic lights, when we're about to get on the freeway, when we're about to pass the tractors and construction equipment on the freeway, when we're getting close to Daddy's work, they even announced that we were at Target the other day as we pulled into the parking lot. I seriously think they might have a better sense of direction at 2 than I do at 26.

Pentagon Visit

I had the surgery yesterday and it seems to have gone smoothly. It only took a few hours from start to finish, we picked up some Chipotle on the way home (my favorite fast food, yum!) and I've been resting with my foot elevated ever since. It's pretty swollen and painful but I've got some strong painkillers and it's worth it for the sense of relief I have that the surgery's over and my foot can finally start healing once and for all. It's in a splint for now and next Friday I get my cast on for 4-5 weeks. I already can't wait to get it off though!

Brandon's home for the holiday weekend and Sari flies in on Monday night or Tuesday so I've got plenty of help caring for the boys and keeping the house in order. Praise God for letting the surgery go well, for providing practical help for us, and especially for protecting Brandon and I so well when the accident happened. As much as it sucks to have a broken foot, I am always mindful of the fact that we easily could have been seriously injured or worse. I am so thankful He's watching over me and holding us in his hands. I needed a reminder of that!

Changing the subject, a few weeks ago, Brandon told me he could take me into the Pentagon and give me a tour. I was pretty stoked because I've always wanted to go there but after 9/11 they stopped giving public tours. Now you have to know somebody who works there to get in. I told him how excited I was to finally see it and see his office.
Brandon: "Oh, I'm not taking you to my office."
Me: "Why not? I want to see where you work."
Brandon: Silence
Me: "Is it because you're embarrassed of me?"
Brandon: More silence

He went on to explain that it's because he's just an intern and is trying his hardest to make a good impression and not seem unprofessional. He said he wasn't even sure he was allowed to bring anybody in there at all, even during business hours. I understand but I can't keep myself from teasing him about being embarrassed of me. Especially after he asked me to email him instead of calling his office during the day ;-)

Anyways, the boys and I met him there after work a few weeks ago and he took us inside and gave us a tour. The first thing that surprised me was how big it was! It's probably the biggest building I've ever been in I don't have many pictures because you're not allowed to take any inside. There are signs everywhere outlawing phones, laptops, iPods, pretty much any electronic device inside any of the rooms. All of the rooms are like triple-locked with several different types of security and Brandon couldn't get into any of them anyways so all I really saw were a bunch of non-descript hallways. But since photos aren't allowed anywhere inside the building, I didn't even get any photos of those.

Brandon did walk me by the door of his office. He said there are a few different locks and he has this futuristic ID card that he has to scan that keeps track of where he goes in the building and what he does on his computer. Creepy! I guess you really can't take security too seriously these days, though. The highlight for me was walking through the hallway where the offices of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are and seeing all the crazy security measures. I've only ever seen stuff like that in movies. The boys love to talk about how they went to the "Pent-da-don" with Daddy. It was certainly a hit with them.

In the courtyard

Kitchen Experiments

Well, my jam making adventure was a success! It was a lot messier and harder than I thought it would be, though. I used a cooked jam recipe (as opposed to the easier freezer jam recipes because I don't have enough room in my freezer) and I had so many berries that I ended up making two batches. I used the recipe on the back of the pectin package I bought which was simple but had a TON of sugar in it. The directions said not to reduce the sugar or else the jam wouldn't set properly so I didn't risk it, I went ahead and used the full amount. It turned out delicious, but a tad sweet for my liking so the next time I attempt to make jam, I will definitely use a low-sugar recipe. Plus, doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of making your own jam as opposed to buying sugary store-bought jam? Yes... but I didn't realize how much sugar I'd be using until I was already underway. And I made 8 big jars for a grand total of around $4. So I'm happy overall. I've since discovered a few canning blogs that have some amazing looking recipes and I'll probably use one of those in the future..

I had to use a skillet to cook the jam in because I only had one stockpot which I used to process the jars. Unfortunately, the jam recipe barely fit into my pan and resulted in a big sticky mess all over my stove and counters. It probably didn't help that I also don't have a funnel and had to ladle the jam right into the jars. And I will also definitely invest in a pair of those jam jar tongs to take the jars out of the pot next time. I used regular tongs this time and the jars kept slipping and splashing my arms and shoulders with boiling water. Not fun. But hey, no pain, no gain right? At least I got a ton of dirt-cheap jam out of it.I also got the immense satisfaction of making my own jam, something I've always wanted to do!

This week I also tried to make homemade yogurt and, to my great surprise, it actually worked! I used this recipe here and was totally convinced it wouldn't turn out because I either wouldn't follow the directions perfectly, used 2% instead of whole milk, or because I don't have a big cooler to incubate the yogurt in. Instead, I put the jars in my oven with the pot of boiling water underneath and added more boiling water a couple times. I could not believe my eyes when I realized it had actually turned out!

Brandon asked me what that "white stuff" was and looked at me like I was crazy when I told him. Then he gave me the same look later on as I jumped for joy that my milk had actually turned into yogurt. He's a little suspicious of it, but I've used the yogurt all week and nobody's gotten sick yet, so I'm chocking it up as a huge success and will definitely keep making my own yogurt in the future.

Anyways, the whole point of this post was just to brag about my canning and yogurt-making skills! Mission Accomplished. I hope you all are as impressed with me as I am! Just kidding ;-) If I can do it, anybody can! Also, I've heard that if you strain yogurt using a cheese cloth, it turns into Greek yogurt and then eventually cream cheese? I'll let you know how it turns out if I actually try it...

Summer Break

Brandon's finally finished with school for the summer! He has one month off entirely and then after that only 9 months until he graduates! I am already counting down the days! He also got good grades last semester and gets to keep his scholarship for being in the top 20% of the class. That alone is reason to celebrate!

His last paper was due at 11:59 pm on Friday night and he turned it in early... at 11:56 pm :-) Then he promptly came downstairs with a grin on his face, plopped down on the couch and said "This is the first time in over 10 months that I haven't either been studying or feeling guilty for not studying." Have I mentioned we're both soooo glad he gets a break?

On Saturday we enjoyed the entire day together as a family! We went blackberry picking in the morning and then to a park near the airport to watch the airplanes land, one of the boys' favorite things to do. I was super excited to find a place over here where blackberries grow wild and we could pick them for free. After growing up in Washington and enjoying the luxury of picking perfect blackberries by the bucketful, I could not bring myself to pay $5 for a 6 oz. container at the grocery store. So we just did without. But then I heard about a park nearby with wild blackberries growing, and less than 12 hours later we were out picking them! Well, Jack and Cullen only picked a few (none of which made it into the basket of course) and then tired of it quickly so Brandon played with them while I picked for a couple hours. By the time I finished, I was sweaty, a little sunburnt and my limbs were so scratched up it looked like they'd lost a fight with a weedwacker, but I'd say the 10+ pounds of free berries I picked were well worth it! This week, I'm going to attempt to make jam for the first time. Wish me luck!

Anyways, here are some pictures of Jack and Cullen, which I know is the only reason people visit my blog in the first place ;-)

Enjoying a popsicle on the front porch. It turns out our AC was actually broken during the heatwave last week. Figures. So we spent a lot of time at the pool and ate a lot of popsicles.

No he's not sharing his popsicle with the flowers. That would be silly. If you look closely, you'll see he's actually sharing with Bob's ceramic bunny ;-)

Helping Daddy cut the grass. He loved this! He was incredibly proud of himself and likes to talk about how he helped Daddy with the "lawnmower."

Eating blackberries of course.

All three of my boys took a long nap together after berry picking and Brandon took this picture when he got up. I think they're so cute when they're sleeping... maybe because that's the only time they're peaceful.

Brandon taught them how to throw a frisbee. Jack's a pro already!

Running to tell me that an airplane's coming!

Give Them Grace

"You're a Christian parent, but is your parenting Christian?" - Give Them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson

Being a mom is hard. Especially for a selfish, lazy, immature girl like myself. I love my kids and want a big family but I often start re-thinking this after a particularly long, hard day with the boys. At least once a day (sometimes more if it's been a tantrum and tear-filled day) I find myself at my wit's end thinking (or sometimes yelling out loud) "Why can't you just OBEY ME?! That's all I want- just obey and BE GOOD for once!" Really I'm saying that I am the center of my own little universe, I want a stress-free, enjoyable day, I want perfect children who don't complicate life for me, and I deserve to have all this happen.

Of course I want my kids to grow up as Christians and believe the gospel, but I am beginning to realize that I am most concerned with the outward evidences of this rather than what's actually in their hearts. I am putting the most work into producing good, obedient children and am getting extremely frustrated when they don't behave perfectly. Why? Because I am a sinner. I sinfully idolize having compliant, obedient kids whose behavior is complimented by strangers. I am not focused on what really matters in parenting: sharing the gospel with my kids. Yes, they're only 2. And yes, they can barely speak. And no, they can't really understand big concepts like the gospel or that they're sinners too. Probably won't be able to for a long time.

But rather than pointing them towards moralism or legalism from a young age, shouldn't I be raising them to know the grace of God? Instead of using Scripture to explain why they have to obey me, "because God says so," shouldn't I be sharing the real message of the Bible with them? Shouldn't I be laying the foundations of the gospel in their lives now so that when they're older they will already be familiar with it and hopefully respond to it in faith?

I'm not taking the opportunity to confess my sins to them (like when I lose it and just start yelling at them), or to really explain why they should love their brother and share toys with him, or demonstrating real forgiveness towards them. Instead I'm lazy and say "You can't cry every time you don't get something you want. That's life, we don't always get what we want. You're being selfish, so stop right now." Then when he inevitably doesn't, I put him in time-out. All this teaches, though, is that tantrums are bad, you'll be punished for them, and once you pull it together and start acting good again, you'll be released from time-out. Great parenting on my part, huh? If I were trying to raise little hypocrites, I guess I'd be doing a pretty good job.

Well, I just finished reading Give Them Grace and I have to say, I think it's the best parenting book I've ever read. But it's not really a "parenting book" in the sense that it gives you a list of good Christian things to do that are sure to produce good Christian kids. All it does is remind parents that the best thing they can do for their kids is to give them grace, just as Jesus did for us. Do this on a daily basis. Share the gospel with them when disciplining, talk to them about how they're sinners and need a Savior, confess to them that you're a sinner too and that's why you do bad things, demonstrate real forgiveness, don't convey to them that they're "good" kids just because they obey outwardly (that last one was a novel concept for me). Having good, obedient children is not the goal. Raising your children to know they're sinners and need Christ's righteousness in order to be truly "good" is the goal.

If my parenting is truly Christian, I will be sharing and living out the gospel with the boys on a daily basis and relying on God to help me do it. I won't just be setting down the law and punishing them because they can't live up to it. I won't be consumed by legalism and telling them they have to obey or be good just because the Bible tells them to. I won't be conveying to them that whether they are "good" or "bad" depends entirely upon their behavior that day. I'll be living out the gospel for them- or trying to at least. But even my trying (and usually failing) to do this is demonstrating the gospel, though, because it shows them that I am just a sinner in need of a Savior, just like them.

And, most importantly, I need to remember that it's not up to me. There is no magic formula that will produce good, Christian kids- not even sharing the gospel with them perfectly at all times. God is the one who saves, not me, I can't really do anything to control my childrens' hearts- or their behavior for the most part. I love how at the end of the book, they pointed out that before the proliferation of parenting books in recent decades, Christian parents had only the Bible as their guide. So what did they do? They simply loved their children, disciplined them and told them about Jesus. They recognized that God was in control and they were just called to be faithful parents who told their kids about Jesus. "When we make parenting more complex than God has made it, we afflict ourselves with burdens too heavy for us to carry, and we are unintentionally presuming that the good news of the gospel is insufficient." I don't know about you, but when I read something like that I breathe a big sigh of relief. God calls me to be a faithful Christian parent, but what a relief to entrust my boys to His loving hands knowing that He's the only perfect parent.

Sorry for my long, rambling post but if you struggle with the issue of how to parent Biblically, like I do, then I really can't recommend this book highly enough. My friend Jessica also posted an interview Elyse gave about the book that is incredibly helpful and encouraging. You can find it here. I kept getting interrupted and had to listen to it in 3 separate parts but it was well worth my time. And the book is less than $10 on Amazon, you can buy it here.

Hot Hot Hot

We've had the AC on since 7 am, but I'm not sure it can reasonably be expected to keep up with this crazy heat. It's 94 degrees outside but with the heat index the temperature is actually 109! It's been close to 100 all week and it's not supposed to cool off until the weekend. That's just ridiculous- no wonder my plants are dying! We're heading to the pool as soon as the boys wake up. I'm just hoping we don't suffer from heatstroke on the walk over there!

Other than lots of swimming, I've been keeping busy with the boys and Brandon with his classes. This summer term has been terrible for Brandon. I didn't think it was possible for him to be busier than he was during the spring, but I was wrong. He's out in just 3 more days though and then we can finally enjoy a normal summer- for 4 weeks at least! Friday can't come soon enough!

Here are some recent pictures of the boys:

At Chik-fil-A on Cow Appreciation Day, one of our favorite days of the whole year! The boys and I did this last year with my sisters in California and I'd been looking forward to this year's free meal ever since!

The closest Chik-fil-A to us is inside a mall food court. As we were walking into the mall, Brandon was desperately looking for somebody, anybody, who was also in a cow costume. When he didn't see anybody he said to me in a panicked voice "If this doesn't work, I'll never forgive you." He later acknowledged that it was well worth it and we're counting the days until Cow Appreciation Day 2012!

At the pool with their friend Amelia. Isn't that hat to die for?!

I love Cullen's expression in this picture, like he's thinking "Get your cootie hands off me, Amelia!"

Fourth of July. Unfortunately our car was broken and Brandon had to study all day/night so we stayed home and watched the fireworks on TV. We did take a walk to 7-11 for a slurpee after dinner though. Now every time we drive by that 7-11 the boys ask for more "burpee."

At Amelia's birthday party last weekend, Jack and Cullen kindly volunteered their present-opening services to her. They also repeatedly asked Amelia's mommy (or any other grown-up within earshot) for cake from the moment they arrived until it was finally served.

Cullen trying to walk off with the birthday girl's musical card

I'd been hearing a lot about the new "sprayground" in our town from all the local parents so we finally went yesterday. It was free, it was a super fun way to cool off, and it was only 5 minutes away. In other words, it was AWESOME! I think it's safe to say we'll be going back a lot this summer.

Some Favorite Recipes

I already spend way too much time thinking about food but in my dream world I'd spend hours and hours each day looking at food blogs, cook books, and food magazines and then make any recipe my heart desired. Since this is a dream world, I'd also not gain a pound ;-)

Anyways, I just thought I'd share a few of my favorite recipes. These are all tried and true, and approved by all four of the O'Malleys, even our picky kids:

Balsamic Chicken Risotto - A lady from our church made a "dirty risotto" once when we were over for dinner. It was so good that I came right home and set about making my own version. I had never made risotto before so I googled a few recipes but none of them seemed like "the one," so I made up my own. Once I got it right, I wrote it down and I now make it regularly because it's one of Brandon's favorite dinners. My sisters also request it every time we're together. It's pretty darn good if I do say so myself. By the way, you really can't mess this recipe up, I almost never follow it exactly, I just used the measurements as guidelines the first few times I made it. You can add more or less wine, more balsamic, leave out the worcestershire sauce, you could even use regular white rice if you wanted (although you wouldn't get the delicious, creamy texture of arborio). Oh and I've also started adding about 8 oz. of finely chopped mushrooms to it and it's even better! If you use the mushrooms, add them with the onions.

4-5 boneless, skinless chicken THIGHS (you could use breast meat, but the thighs are sooo good in this recipe, why mess with a good thing?)
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp. olive oil
4 cups chicken broth (more or less, as needed)
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
2 cups red wine
1 tbsp dried rosemary (2 tbsp fresh rosemary if you've got it)
3 tbsp. cold butter, diced into small pieces
1 cup parmesan or romano cheese, grated

1. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper and cook over medium-high heat until done. Slice into strips, set aside.
2. In same skillet, reduce heat to medium, heat the olive oil up, add onion, season with plenty of salt and pepper, and cook until soft and translucent. Add rice, stir to coat in the olive oil, and cook for a couple minutes. Add 1 cup of wine and stir; once it's been absorbed, add the second cup and the rosemary and stir again. Once all the wine is absorbed, stir in 1 cup of broth, the balsamic vinegar, and worcestershire sauce, stir well again.
3. Keep adding some broth to the risotto (about 1/2 cup or so each time), stirring continually, and once it's been absorbed, add some more. Continue this for about 20-25 minutes, until the risotto is creamy and has an al dente texture. Use more or less broth as needed to cook the risotto.
4. Turn off the heat, stir in butter and parmesan cheese. Then mix in the chicken and serve! Roasted asparagus or sauteed green beans go perfectly with this.


Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce - Besides my beloved Ina, Pioneer Woman is my second favorite go-to lady for when I want to eat something delicious. This is beyond delicious. I don't use the pine nuts because they're too expensive and I sometimes substitute half and half for the cream - but only if I'm out of cream and I have to, because everything's better with real cream! And (aside from the cream of course) it's pretty healthy. I serve it with whole wheat pasta and the boys always want second helpings. This is a good, sneaky way to get picky kids to eat a serving of vegetables! Oh and I always add a teaspoon or so of red pepper flakes because I like my food spicy, but it's delicious as-is too.

Mango Chicken Curry- This is delicious, healthy and incredibly easy to make. About once a week, I bake a few chicken breasts and then dice or shred them to use for quick dinners later in the week. So I just pull a bag of pre-cooked chicken out of the freezer, dice up some mangos, mix up the sauce and let the rice cooker take care of the rice. I can have this on the table in 15 minutes, it's delicious, the boys love it! This is a recipe from an old Better Homes and Garden cookbook I have (called BHG Healthy Family Cookbook). The only changes I make are to double the sauce, it's so good and I like to have extra to flavor the rice.

- 1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
- 2 tbsp. lime juice
- 2 tsp. finely shredded lime peel
- 2 tsp. brown sugar
- 2 tsp. curry powder
- 1 tsp. cornstarch
- 12 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tsp. cooking oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup sliced red onion
- 2 cups chopped, peeled mango (or papaya)
- cooked rice for serving

1. In a small bowl, stir together the broth, lime juice, lime peel, brown sugar, curry powder, and cornstarch. Set aside. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, set aside. (Like I said, I usually use pre-cooked diced chicken and add it at the very end so I skip these chicken steps)
2. In a large wok or skillet, heat oil until very hot. Stir-fry garlic for 30 seconds, add onion slices, stir-fry for 3 minutes. Remove onion and garlic from wok, add chicken and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Push chicken from center of wok.
3. Stir sauce mixture and pour into wok, cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Return onion to wok, add mango and stir all ingredients together to coat with sauce. Cook 2 minutes more until heated through. Serve over rice.



Southwestern Quinoa Salad - This salad is really easy, healthy and delicious. We all love it! I try to plan at least one or two dinners each week without any meat and we often eat quinoa on those nights. I used the same basic dressing I always use to make a southwestern green salad but just made it with quinoa one day instead- because Brandon likes his dinners to be more substantial than a meatless green salad. If you want a quick and light dinner, this is perfect! I often make it on days when we'll be out running errands in the afternoon and I won't have time to cook dinner, we just pull it out of the fridge and eat!

- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 2 cups black beans (or one can)
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 large tomato, diced
- 1/2 cup cotija cheese (you could also use feta, grated cheddar, pretty much any cheese that sounds good to you)
- 1/2 cup lime juice
- 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tbsp. adobo seasoning
- Salt and pepper to taste

1. Rinse and drain quinoa. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add quinoa, cook until lightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Pour in chicken broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer until quinoa has absorbed all the broth, about 10 minutes. Cool quinoa in fridge at least 10-15 minutes in a pie dish or some other shallow dish.
2. Mix together all the other ingredients in a large salad bowl, stir in quinoa, season with salt and pepper. Chill for at least 30 minutes, and serve! (Note: I usually leave the cilantro and cheese out if I'm going to refrigerate it all day and toss them in right before we eat)


Chipotle BBQ Chicken - This is a recipe from Rachael Ray's magazine. The first time we tried it, everybody pronounced it a keeper! Chipotle chiles are one of my favorite ingredients to cook with, they are delicious in anything!

- 3 tbsp. butter
- 6 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1/4 cup chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 3 tbsp. cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
- 8 chicken thighs (bone in, skin on)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. In a skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, about 3 minutes. Remove the garlic and set aside. Add onion to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally until golden, about 8 minutes.
2. Add the chipotle chiles, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, worcestershire and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Using tongs, coat the chicken in the sauce and place skin side up on the baking sheet. Bake until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes.


Grilled Lemon Chicken Salad - This is from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. You wouldn't expect something this simple to be so good, it literally has like 5 ingredients. But it's one of my favorite salads and we eat it for dinner a lot in the summer. Leave it to Ina to make something so good out of just a few basic ingredients I never would have thought to throw together. I gave it to the boys a few weeks ago as we had a picnic dinner in the backyard and they LOVED it! Anything that can get my picky two-year-olds to eat raw bell peppers and snap peas is a keeper for sure! Oh and the chicken is also delicious as a main dish so I usually make a double batch of grilled chicken and we'll eat half of it for dinner one night and then use the leftovers to make the salad later in the week.

To make the chicken:

- 2 lbs. of boneless skinless chicken breast
- 3/4 cup lemon juice
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
- 1 tbsp. minced fresh thyme leaves (1/2 tsp. dried thyme)

Whisk all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Place chicken breasts in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight. Grill (or broil) the chicken until just cooked through.

For the salad:

- 2 lbs. grilled lemon chicken
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup raw sugar snap peas, stems and strings removed
- 1 red/yellow/orange bell pepper
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Slice the chicken, toss it in a bowl with the other ingredients. Refrigerate until chilled.

Hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we do!

Marching!

We watched the Jungle Book last week and ever since the boys have been obsessed with marching like the elephants! They march to the park, the pool, the mailbox... They love all the animals in the movie, but those marching elephants are the clear favorite. Prepare yourself for a ridiculous amount of cuteness!