P.F. Chang Ain't Got Nothin' on me...

Well yeah they do. I am notorious for making TERRIBLE homemade Chinese food. TERRIBLE.
I think it's because I try to make them low-cal/low-fat and you just can't do that with Honey Seared Chicken. (This is also why Brownies and I have a bad relationship. Don't use the 'lower fat' recipe on the side of the box- they are BROWNIES for goodness sake, they're supposed to be bad for you!)

Ok, so here is a recipe for P.F. Chang's Lettuce Wraps that is lower fat/cal and it's delicious! I left out the Peanut Butter/Peanuts since Avery is allergic to the glorious stuff- soy nut butter would have been a good sub, but I was out. I'd also add some finely chopped mushrooms and maybe some Hosin sauce, but maybe I should just stick to the recipe considering my history with Chinese food recipe modifications...

I also made Nutella Cookies- only 4 ingredients, and you can tell. Not too super in my opinion, funny texture. Avery LOVES them, so I might make them again in a pinch. Personally, I'd rather have a 9 ingredient cookie (i.e. Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip)

P.F. Chang Lettuce Wraps on a Diet

1lb ground chicken breast (I ground my own, thanks ;) )
1/2 medium onion, minced
salt & pepper, a dash of each
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 inch knob fresh ginger, peeled & minced
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
2 1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon natural peanut butter
1/2 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce (or more if you like it hotter)
dash of fresh pepper
3 green onions, chopped
1/2-8oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained & chopped
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped
10-12 large butter lettuce leaves, rinsed and patted dry

Directions:
1. Heat a large, non-stick skillet on high. Add chicken, onion, salt & pepper, and cook until chicken is nearly done, stirring often to break up the meat. Add in minced garlic and ginger, and continue cooking until chicken is no longer pink.
2. Meanwhile, in a microwave safe bowl, combine sesame oil, soy sauce, water, peanut butter, honey, rice vinegar, chili garlic sauce and pepper. Microwave for 20 seconds, then stir until smooth. Add into the skillet and stir to combine.
3. Add green onion and water chestnuts into the skillet then cook for 1-2 minutes until the onions are soft and the water chestnuts are heated through.
4. Scoop into lettuce and EAT!

Nutella Cookies

1 cup Nutella
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Blend all ingredients together well. Form into 1″ balls. Place on a cookie sheet. Press down firmly with the bottom of a glass dusted with flour. Bake 7-8 minutes or until set. Cool.

Never Underestimate the Four Legged Family Member

Tanner....Tanner, Tanner, Tanner. This guy comes from humble beginnings (Can you tell?). He was marketed to me as an Australian Shepherd rescue, clearly he is not. As a sweet new husband, Blake drove me to Ward, Arkansas to see this so-called Aussie rescue. Blake and I already had one dog. One very nutty dog. An Aussie named Lou. Lou, lovingly dubbed Lucifer by one of our friends, was completely dog poo crazy. She had some social anxiety, she was a total racist, and had a particular affinity for biting Blake's family members. But, she needed a little buddy and after some begging and empty "I promise I'll pick the poop up out of the yard", Blake agreed to get me that sweet little rescue. He already came with a name Tanner, we added Ward as a little joke- one of my best friends, Jill Tanner married Alan Ward, making her Jill Tanner Ward. And when she recently had a bouncing baby boy I asked her if she was going to name him after my dog. I'm sure she gave it some strong consideration, but I'm sorry to tell you Jones, you didn't get named after my loyal beast.


Then Blake left for a month to do a medical school rotation. I called him the first night crying, "I hate this dog! Why did we get this dog?". I can't tell you how many times we called the rescue group, but they never answered or called us back. I can't tell you how happy I am that they didn't.

Tanner has got to be one of the most calm, loving, dopey dogs you'll ever meet. He grins this giant toothy grin every time he sees us, and every time he does something wrong. He's obedient. He's loyal to a fault. And I like to think he's got a pretty good sense of humor.

Tanner also has the unfortunate diagnosis of canine epilepsy. He's had it for a little over a year and he has to take 6 pills a day. His seizures are less frequent now that he's on meds- maybe 1 every month or so.

Tanner is my go to man when something spills on the floor. Like a Roomba, but more effective. He's my nightwatchman when Blake is on call. And some days he's my therapist. Tanner doesn't mind a few tears shed on his soft ears. His calm, loving demeanor reminds me to not sweat the small things and relax.
So, to show my unending love for this goofy hound dog, I'll ramble a few of my favorite Tanner stories....




Puppy Tanner LOVED to go over to our neighbors house. They kept treats for our dogs and were our go to guys when we went out of town or needed some help with the dogs. And I think it was a little like going to your grandparents house- unlimited eat anything you want, stay up as late as you want. They loved it. Tanner loved them so much that one day while we were all gone he slipped under the fence, went in the CAT door, and just spent the day there. And he may or may not (may) have pulled every single one of their pillows out through the CAT door into their backyard...

As above story mentioned, Tanner slipped under the fence quite a lot. On one occasion he seemed to tear a small hole in his side. Oops. Big oops, buddy. Blake is in a surgical residency. This constitutes practice. Nothing a few stitches on the back patio furniture can't fix. Oh, did I leave out lidocane? A real man doesn't need anesthetic.




And some of my fondest memories are of gentle Tanner and my crazy Avery. He loves her. He really has to. He has been her pony, sticker book, patient, and food taster.







I love Tanner so much that I completely forgot his birthday this year and the "If found, please Call" tag on his collar has too many numbers is in. And sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and realize I forgot to feed you dinner. I'm sorry, Tan, you deserve better. But every night, you're there beside my bed waiting patiently for me to remember you're there and hoping I'll give those soft ears a scratch. And every morning you quietly leap on to my feet for a few peaceful minutes before the chaos starts. I know you're just a dog buddy, but your my sweet dog.

We love our teachers...especially if we're related

I decided to do a little something for our MDO teacher- who also happens to be my favorite sister. I saw this craft on Pintrest. My newest obsession!

Here's the process...













Pretty simple and I think it turned out cute. I'm planning on putting it in a frame. Maybe sending some of her favorite candy...we want her to stay on for the fall :)

Never use a broiler that isn't your own and heed the weight warning on a silp-n-slide

So, we didn't take a real summer vacation this year- for obvious reasons: Blake works all the time and we have a 'new' baby. We did find a little weekend to scoot on up to Lake Norfork to spend a little time at the Phillips lake house. It was really pretty uneventful, but we had a great time. Will was only 6 weeks old, so we figured the boat was out of the question and the water level was so high there was no beach area for Avery. (She started this "I want to go to the beach" thing, we aren't sure why- she's only been when she was a tiny baby)

We really enjoyed ourselves.....

I tried out some new recipes.



Just hung out by the pool.



Enjoyed the outdoors.



Caught up on some sleep.




Some things I learned: Never trust a broiler that isn't your own- it will take your delicious S'mores Bar Cookie from 0 to engulfed in flames in less time than you think.
Always read and respect the weight warning on a slip-n-slide. Blake got a little too excited about our redneck water park that he ran, took a dive, hit the bump, and broke the slide. They just don't make them like the used too.

Well, it wasn't Seaside but it was fun. And very relaxing. Oh, and did I mention we all shared a king size bed (not that there aren't nine other beds in that house)

Maybe next year Avery.

Light and Yummy Lemonade Pie

I'd post a picture of this delicious pie...but it seems like we ate it all. I've been craving something SUPER lemony and this was perfect. After an unsuccessful batch of not so yummy lemon bars I was determined to make something so lemony it would make you pucker.

I kinda made it up, so I think I'll call it Lemonade Pie

1 3 oz pkg lemon jell-o (I used sugar free to save some calories, and you could use any flavor you like!)
2/3 c boiling water
1 pkg Fat Free or 1/3 less fat cream cheese (Again, save a few cals here too)
1 pkg sugar free or lite Cool Whip
1 9 in Graham Cracker crust (homemade or store-bought, I used reduced fat store bought)

Mix 2/3 c water and jello, whisk for 2 minutes or until dissolved
Blend in cream cheese and cool whip until creamy, pour in crust...I did top it with a little extra cool whip for good measure. Stick it in the fridge for a few hours...

Num yummy!!!! Not super fancy, but a nice, cool, light summery dessert!

Did I really just say that in front of a cute guy?

I think that probably phrase probably crosses my mind too many times, but I just can't help it. My thoughts are like freestyle rap coming out of my mouth, I talk too much.

One fine example...

Blake and I were doing the usual evening feed-bathe-put-the-kids-to-bed-dance that takes up most of the evening, then there's "Did the dog go out?", "Turn on the alarm", "Wait, turn it off, the sprinkler is on", "Did you brush your teeth" (I'm like a two year old and need to be reminded) And THEN we flop down in bed. And here come the dreaded words..

"Hurry up, let's watch Swamp People before I have to pump (milk, that is)" What? What did I just say that? Blake just looked at me and laughed "I never thought I'd hear those words from my blushing bride!" I don't think he really thought any more about it, but I did.

Blake and I are just about a month shy of our 5 year wedding anniversary and after these incredibility sexy words flew out of my mouth I started thinking about life five years ago. Evenings were spend doing whatever we wanted to be doing, dinner at anytime we wanted, weekends sleeping late, spending hours at the gym, etc. All these memories rushed through my mind and I look over at Blake, five years older, five years later, five years wiser. And already asleep at 9:00 PM. And I realize again how lucky I am.

Blake works 14-16 hour days. Every few nights on call, up all night. He doesn't elaborate on work much. When I can pry a story out of him they are mostly sad, difficult situations, with iffy outcomes. But when he walks in the front door he's all Daddy. He puts his keys down scoops up an excited Avery and jiggles one of Will's chubby little feet, and then listens to Avery and I babble on about the 'important' details of our day...how long we were at the pool, the rude lady at the grocery store, you know- 'important things'. He plays with Avery until dinner is ready or eats dinner in five minutes if he's missed eating with us and then he plays with Avery until bath, he takes Will and plays with him while I get Thing One cleaned up, then to Avery's room where we read books, say her prayer, and tuck her in. Then he usually spends some time reading about the surgeries for the next day.

I sit there and look at him- he has one hand on Will, who is dozing beside him. Even in slumber, he's all about his family. There is a tiny part of me that longs for those carefree days when we were closer to 20, not about to turn 30. Night owls because we wanted to be, not because we had a sick child, or our epileptic dog who has to get a midnight bath after a seizure. Those were the days right?

They were then, but I think they would feel empty now. I love Blake more today than I ever could have imagined five years ago. The things I fell in love with are all still there- his happy, smiling eyes, his happy-go-lucky attitude- but now I have so much more to love him for. I wonder how all the memories between now and twenty years- fifty years will make me feel. Better everyday...I wonder what things will fly out of my mouth then that he'll laugh about while I'm sitting wondering where my thought filter went...

A few picture through the years.

My 24th Birthday



Early married life


Honeymoon in Jamaica (this one always make me laugh)


Halloween..embarrassing.


Medical School Graduation



Our first baby is born..


Avery turns two!


And we welcome our second child, William Blake.



I love this guy, and the life we have together and I know it's just going to keep getting better.