I cannot believe it's been a week since I last blogged. Honestly, it feels like last Sunday was last year! And yet, it was only 7 days ago - crazy to think about the last week.
1. The hubby and I (and of course the girls) had the week off work last week and it was FABULOUS. I wondered what we'd do to fill our days and yet each day seemed to whiz past us all. Monday I ran a bunch of last minute errands to get ready for our families festivities. I really enjoyed it. I grabbed a tea and just took my time and it felt indulgent!
Monday night the girls delivered cookies to our neighbors. I have to give them mad props because it was COLD outside and they did it with a smile on their faces.
Tuesday the hubby ran some secret errands while #2 and #4 helped me cook. Our Christmas Eve meal was so YUMMY! I told you I would give you my recipe for Venetian Shrimp and Scallops if it was good. Oh yeah, it was GOOD! I halved the amount of seafood called for below but left everything else the same.
Venetian Shrimp and Scallops...from Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals:
- 1/4 cup flour, seasoned with salt & pepper
- 1 T EVOO
- 2 T butter
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 large shallot, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup dry, white wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes (I hate chunks so I just used tomato sauce)
- 1/4 tsp saffron (get ready to bust out your pocket book for this one! pricey!)
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 pound sea scallops
- 12 fresh basil leaves, shredded
- 1 lemon, zested
- Hot, crusty bread, for mopping
Lightly coat the sea scalloped in seasoned flour.
Preheat a large skillet over med-high heat. Add oil and butter. When butter melts, add scallops. Brown for 2 minutes on each side, then remove.
Add an additional drizzled of olive oil and add the garlic, shallots, and crushed red pepper. Reduce heat a little and saute garlic and shallots 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add wine to the pan, reduce 1 minute, then add stock, tomatoes and saffron. When liquids come to a bubble, add shrimp and cook 3 minutes. Return scallops to the pan and cook all 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer to a warm serving dish and top with basil and lemon zest. Enjoy!
Here we are all dressed up and ready to go to church:
And here we were devouring our dinner!
Four of us stayed dressed up, one put on her PJs, and one put on his grubby T-shirt. I guess I can't win them all!
All in all, Christmas Eve was just delightful. We had so much fun just the 6 of us hanging out, cooking, watching A Christmas Story, and opening our Christmas Eve PJs.
3. Christmas Day was just as good! After we opened our gifts, our family room looked like this:
The girls played around with their new gifts for quite awhile - the littles with their babies and American Girl dolls, #1 with her laptop, and #2 with her headphones. After the day was done, I think I counted five movies watched. A Christmas Story, Sister Act, The Adventures of Walter Mitty, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, and Hunger Games (after the little girls were in bed). We actually left the house to go see The Adventures of Walter Mitty and all the kids liked it although it was a little over #4's head. But all in all it was a really fun day. I think I enjoyed it especially because this year no one needed naps, I didn't have to change diapers, and I really didn't have to entertain anyone - they took care of that themselves. It was just a good day.
4. The few days after Christmas were so nice - just very relaxed. And the best part of all? #2's BFF and her ENTIRE FAMILY drove up from Dallas! We absolutely love having Adeline around and this time we got to her enjoy her whole family as well. BONUS! Friday night we had them all over for dinner and then last night her parents took us out to dinner - sans kids. It was so fun! And of course #2 is in heaven. She and Adeline have little arguments, very similar to sisters, but they move right past them and onto the next thing!
Yesterday, since it was beautiful out, we all walked up to Sonic which is one of my favorite things to do in nice weather. I love getting out of the house and just going for a walk. And Sonic gets them every time!
Yes, apparently #3 thinks she's all gangsta.
The kids love Petland so we took a field trip up there as well. It was a hit.
Today we went to Target and they all spent their own money on odds and ends and Starbucks! So cute. Here's #2 and her BFF:
Aren't they so cute together?! They remind me of me and my BFF from high school - I was (am) 5'7" and she was (is) barely 5"!
Today, despite the negative wind chills, the girls all played outside for at least 30 minutes. The littles drove their new car and were so darn excited that it was FINALLY charged up! (Did you know you have to charge them for 12 hours at first? Yeah, neither did I and it about KILLED them!)
Of course I also spent plenty of time cleaning up and putting away Christmas decorations. It's always a little sad to see it go but also gives me a feeling of Ahhhhhhhhhh...
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5. I've been spending a lot of time on the computer in the past few days - editing and picking out pictures to finish up Project Life for 2013 as well as my December Daily album. I have all the pictures ordered now, I just need to pick them up from Costco. I'm so excited and so happy to be on top of it all this year! I honestly think it's just so much easier as my kids are getting older and older and I can slip away for an hour at a time.
I even got a wild hair and decided to go back and print out pictures for 2010. After all, I started doing Project Life back in 2009 (the year #4 was born), but then skipped 2010 and picked it back up in 2011. It just felt funny to have a hole in there. It won't be 52 weeks but it will at least be 12 months. And it's really fun to go back and look at pictures that are now 3 years old! Plus, the kids really get a kick out of looking at my Project Life albums so I am telling myself it's for them. Ha!
6. I tried a new recipe on Thursday night. It was SO DELICIOUS! So I'm sharing it here:
Salmon Tacos with Guacamole
- Brown rice with a little salt, cilantro, and lime juice mixed in (my own take here)
- Olive oil
- 1 avacado
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 1 T chopped cilantro
- 1 lb salmon
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- tortillas (flour or corn)
- Cilantro Lime Yogurt (recipe below)
Heat oven to 400*. Cook brown rice and when it's done fluff and add in salt, pepper, lime juice, and cilantro. (Amounts vary depending on the amount of rice.) Cover and set aside.
Meanwhile, make guacamole. Mash avacado, stire in lime juice, garlic, cilantro and 1/4 tsp of salt. Set aside.
Pat salmon dry. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and rub with olive oil. In a small bowl, combine coriander, paprika, remaining salt, and pepper. Rub onto salmon. Bake for 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
Wrap tortillas in foil and warm in the overn. To assemble, flake salmon into large pieces and place on warm tortilla with rice, guacamole, and cilantro-lime yogurt. So good!!
Cilantro Lime Yogurt:
- 1 container (6oz) plain, Greek Yogurt
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 1 tsp lime zest (I omitted)
- 1 T chopped cilantro
- 1/8 tsp salt
Mix it up!
And there you have it - the final Six on Sunday of 2013. I hope you had a fantastic holiday and a great New Year's! See you next year.
I suppose it's safe to post now:)
#1: Need = laptop and lunch box, Want = Beats headphones, Wear = KC Blazers (swim team) parka, Read = I can't remember?, Santa = Jewelry "tree" with some bracelets and necklaces hanging on it.
#2 Want = Beats headphones, Need = 2 pillow shams for her bed and lunch box, Wear = winter jacket, Read = I can't remember, either? Santa = vintage box of dominos, Yahtzee, and game of Life.
10 years?! Crazy!
Posted by: Suzanne | 01/12/2014 at 09:44 PM
What did the older 2 get for Christmas?! I love keeping up with the girls. It's so fun watching them grow up. I talked to Bob the other week and Emily is a FRESHMAN in college. I believe I met you guys my sophomore year. 2003....it's been 10 years. Crazy.
Posted by: Lacy | 12/29/2013 at 09:01 PM