I’ve moved to my new site at Twinisms.com! If you forgot to update your bookmarks, here’s some more of what you’re missing:
Have a great weekend everybody!
Don’t Forget!
I’ve moved to my new site at Twinisms.com! If you forgot to update your bookmarks, here’s some of what you’re missing:
WTF Wednesday
Hey Friends! This page has moved to Twinisms.com. Click over for the WTF Wednesday!
Bite This
Hey Friends! This blog has moved to Twinisms.com. Please update your subscriptions and bookmarks! Thank you!!
Independence Day!
Hey Friends! This blog has moved to Twinisms.com. Please update your subscriptions and bookmarks! Thank you!!
It’s Independence Day, for me! Welcome to the new and improved Twinisms.com.
I’m on my own, the master of my domain you might say. (The first person to name that quote gets a FREE VIRTUAL HIGH FIVE)
Cue the FIREWORKS!!!
Subscribers, please update your subscription to twinisms.com. I will continue to post on both sites, but only for a little while. I get enough of doing things twice in my real life. So soon, this will be the one and only place to hear about the twinkies antics, teenage angst, dumb husband tricks, and everything you never needed to know about Alaska, stupid dogs, and bodily functions.
I bet you’re dying to know how much reindeer poop we brought home after this adventure…
Or why I’m letting this moose eat Jackson…
No, it’s not a parenting strategy, although it might keep him under control.
You probably want to know if the moose is a better kisser than Dallas…
Dallas has slightly better breath, so he wins.
I know you don’t want to miss all that.
So update now! Thanks for reading:)
Oh and Happy Birthday America!
How About That?
Hey friends! I’m posting early today because we’re working on a big announcement for tomorrow! I can’t wait to share with you guys the next big step for my little blog that could. How about that?!
I’m flying solo today because Taryn is still on her North American tour and John & Dallas are hiking out to a glacier. Pics of these adventures will be posted later.
Usually, when it is just me and the twinkies I skip church. I’m lazy. However, this morning they were so worked up that I decided church, and the accompanying hour of childcare/fun with other kids would be perfect. It would have helped if I had known there was no childcare today. Frick.
It wasn’t all bad. One of their little friends had his croquet game set up in the lawn. (Did I mention I go to a little hippie church? Yeah, it’s awesome.) We did that for a while. Then I thought I could actually catch some of the service so we went in to the “cry room.” This was clearly the dumbest thing I have ever done. (And I’ve done a lot of dumb things.) Even with the speaker volume turned all the way up (thanks to another parent-I was too stupid to do that) I could not hear one word. I did however get to watch the kids build towers and roads out of blocks and then knock them down. And then get upset over the destruction. Not too smart if you asked me.
I watched Jackson have a near-meltdown when “the baby took Lightening The Queen.” Once he got Lightening back he put him in his back pocket. So no dumb baby could steal it. Babies are like that, jerks.
On the way home I decided to be mother of the year and get them McDonald’s for lunch. Don’t judge, if my family can leave me home with the twinkies while they have fun adventures, I at least deserve a vacation from cooking. Also, they were completely starved.
Jackson actually grabbed my face, turned it toward his and said, “I’m STARVING MOMMY. And I’m hot (it’s 63 degrees). I want to go home right now!” Reese spent 10 minutes in the car having a conversation with himself about food. He does that, it’s kind of creepy.
Jackson ate one and a half chicken nuggets. Reese ate seven french fries.
They weren’t starving after all. How about that?
Saturday Photos
It’s been a slow news day around here. Reese and Jackson did some decorating. Apparently they didn’t like how I arranged the Thomas The Tank Engine wall stickers in their room…
That looks much better.
There was also a battle of good versus evil…
I won’t tell you who won. All that matters is the opponents ended the battle with otter pops on the porch.
Happy Saturday everyone!
My Poor Little Guys
This afternoon I took the twinkies (and John) to see Cars 2. I might have told them it did not come out until today in an effort to avoid the throngs of germ infested children opening week.
I took a little nappy poo. Totally worth the $7. Totally.
When I woke up I had a moment of realization with Jackson.
Spoiler Alert!! The following content may contain spoilers about the film Cars 2. If you want to maintain the element of surprise you should stop reading now. Also, if you can’t figure out or actually care how Cars 2 ends you might want to rethink your blog subscription.
So, I woke up, wiped the drool from the corners of my mouth and checked to make sure all my boys were still alive. I think I missed about 45 minutes. We were at the final scary moments with Tow Mater hanging in a clock tower, desperate to find a way to save Lightening McQueen. (Or, as he’s known around here Lightening The Queen.)
I looked at Reese and he was nervously shoving handfuls of popcorn into his mouth. I peeked at Jackson and he was panicked.
PANICKED.
He reached out and grabbed my hand.
It occurred to me that he was genuinely worried about Mater and Lightening The Queen. Worried that Mater might actually get crushed in the clock tower and Lightening might explode. Scared. They’re real to him.
He hasn’t seen every animated film made in the last 15 years. Twice.
He doesn’t know that the main characters are always ok. He doesn’t know that even though Cars 2 is only an average movie, there will be a Cars 3. It’s already written and budgeted.
I could see the concern on his little face. Feel him clutching my hand tighter as the pace picked up and the danger got closer. He loves Lightening The Queen. He loves Mater. He honestly did not know if they were going to survive.
He didn’t know and he was scared.
Poor little guy.
It reminded me of John when he was about this age. At dinner one evening we asked he and Taryn what they wanted to be when they grew up. Taryn said she wanted to be either a teacher or a singer. John said he wanted to be a Jedi Knight. Dallas said, “no, really what do you want to be?”
John replied, “I want to be a Jedi Knight.”
“Come on John, you can’t be a Jedi Knight. Star Wars isn’t real.”
John burst into tears. He was inconsolable. He really wanted to be a Jedi Knight, just like Luke Skywalker.
He did not know that Star Wars wasn’t real.
Poor little guy.
WTF Wednesday
On Wednesday mornings I usually run with my friend around a 4 mile loop on post. She cancelled last night, something about not feeling well. She’s also 178 weeks pregnant so I’m ok with her wussing out. Later, my friend Kay invited me on a bike ride. I planned to go, but then got the wild idea to take John and the twinkies (on their bikes) for a run around the loop.
The twinkies ask to ride their bikes every 30 seconds.
He looks pretty happy doesn’t he? The answer is no, not at all. This kid refused to take part. He pedaled so slow that I had to walk, and still keep stopping for him to catch up.
There was an old man with a brace on his leg and a crutch that lapped us. Seriously.
I was so angry that I gave up and turned around 1.5 miles in. It took Jackson and John another half mile to realize they had lost us. I tried yelling for them, but I think John had headphones on. (He denies this charge)
On the way back Reese started pedaling faster so I started to run. No joke, as soon as I started to run he slowed back down. Jerk.
WTF?
Also, the stupid dog peed blood again.
Bonus WTF moment.
This is not staged.
I have not words for this one. He really loves soccer.
Bite This
That’s it, that is the new title for this weekly segment. It has a bit more punch than Tasty Tuesday don’t you think? Big thanks to reader Rhaea for the title. Rhaea can be counted as an in real life friend, even though I haven’t seen her since the 6th grade. She was in my older sisters class in the little Catholic school I attended. It’s true, we were Catholic school girls. We even wore little plaid uniforms like Brittany Spears only more scrawny, small town Ohio girl than slutty, pop star. You get the idea.
Also new this week, I am preparing a recipe suggested by a reader! Heather sent me a few recipes to try. She also included a challenge (and recipe) to make rice pilaf from scratch. Thanks hussy, you’re awesome. (Relax, she’s a real life friend too so I can call her that. You should hear what she calls me!)
Rosemary Chicken & Rice Pilaf
Ingredients
Rosemary Chicken
Adapted from the Deen Brothers Braised Chicken with Rosemary & Potatos
4 Large Chicken Breasts, cut in quarters
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Black Pepper
3 Tbs. Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbs. Lemon Juice
1 Tsp. Rosemary
4 Tbs. Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces
Rice Pilaf
This recipe is from AllRecipes.com
2 Tbs. Butter
1/2 Cup Orzo, uncooked
1/2 Cup Onion, diced
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 Cup Rice, uncooked
2 Cups Chicken Broth
The original recipe calls for chicken legs and thighs. We do not eat chicken on the bone in this house. I also do not enjoy dark meat. Gross. Heather informed me that you need the skin on the chicken to get crispy or some other BS. I just added half a stick of butter. It worked, and I didn’t have to deal with nasty bird skin and bones in my kitchen.
Anyway.
Whisk together the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, lemon juice, and rosemary. Place chicken in a dish that is safe for both the oven and the broiler. Pour on olive oil mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle butter tabs on top. Let it sit for 10 minutes on the counter. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
In my family my Uncle Ralph is famous for saying, “MORE BUTTER” I tend to agree. There’s nothing that wouldn’t be better by adding more butter.
Put the chicken in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until it is cooked through. The time will vary depending on the thickness of your chicken hooters. To check the doneness of the chicken press on it, without puncturing it. If it bounces back it’s done, if not it needs more time. When it is close, turn on the broiler and leave it in for another 10 minutes.
The rice pilaf is very easy. I even screwed it up a little and it was still delicious. Let me say right now, I will not ever make Rice-A-Roni rice pilaf again. I will, as the twinkies say, “make it out of scratch.”
It’s easy. Melt the butter in a pan. Add the orzo and cook until brown. Add the onions and garlic and cook it for one minute. Add rice and chicken broth. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.
I browned the rice with the orzo (that’s how the box crap works). To make up for the starches that were released I added about a half a cup of water. No problem.
Sorry, I didn’t take pictures of the rice while I was making it.
I also made lima beans. I love them, so do Reese and Taryn. Buy the frozen ones, baby lima beans if you can find them. Cook them according to the package, but for crying out loud add some salt and pepper to the water while they are cooking!
Season everything, everything. Always. I put salt and pepper on turkey sandwiches. I’m not kidding.
Once they are cooked toss them with a few tablespoons of butter.
This was really good, like really, really good. I highly recommend you try it.
Who has a recipe for me to make next week?
Twinisms 