Disintigration of a Photo Shoot

The other day, I took some photos of Noah and Jane in their corresponding "Big Brother" and "Little Sister" shirts. When I looked back at the pictures, I had to laugh, because it started out so well but quickly went downhill.

The first photo is stinkin' awesome. I love this. It's a framer.
I love that it shows how much they really do love each other.

Uh oh. Jane is still smiling, but Noah is fading.

Noah's look says, "I'm smiling because you told me to, but my eyes are not in it, Mom."
Poor Jane is long gone.

And Janey rallies!
But Noah is leaving us.

Aaaaand we're done.

Lauren's Chicken Salad with Grapes

A few years ago, I discovered something: I love chicken salad in the summer. I could eat it all the time. It's so fresh and cool, yet it's satisfying. Pair it with a large glass of iced tea, and I'm a happy girl.

There are so many ways to eat it, too. On a sandwich or over a salad are the ways I like it best, but why not spread it on crackers? Why not stuff some celery with it?

I have to say, also, that my favorite chicken salads include red grapes and pecans. I love the sweetness of the grapes and the crunch and the flavor of the pecans. And I also think of those two ingredients as very Texan additions to chicken salad.

So when I went to make some of my favorite summertime treat today, I was sure to include grapes and pecans. I also added just a bit of apple cider vinegar; I noticed that this was an ingredient in Trader Joe's chicken salad and really liked the way it added both a little tang and a little sweetness, so I added a bit to my recipe, and it came out well. I also prefer to use shallots rather than green or red onions because they're milder. I'm going to serve my chicken salad both with salad greens & poppyseed dressing and with some homemade bread so that my dinner guest tonight will have an option of how she'd like to eat it. And I think I'll also have some thinly sliced apples, which I think would go well in either a salad or a sandwich.

I thought I'd go ahead and post my recipe, but there are probably a myriad of variations. In fact, I'd consider my version a work in progress; I'm sure it could use some tweaking. If you are a chicken salad aficionado, what do you like in it? How would you do it differently? (I could go for a little more mayo, myself, if I weren't more waistline-conscious.) Anyway, enjoy!

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Chicken Salad with Grapes

2-1/2 lbs. white meat chicken, cooked and shredded
1-1/2 stalks celery, diced
2 cups red grapes, halved
3/4 cup pecan pieces, toasted
1-1/2 tablespoons shallot, minced
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a large mixing bowl, combine the chicken, celery, grapes, and pecans. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the shallot, mayonnaise, vinegar, and salt. Pour the mayo mixture over the chicken mixture and stir to coat. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Sittin' Pretty

Jane sat in the Bumbo for the first time the other day. She did really well keeping her head up, and she seemed to enjoy it! I took some pictures, and I couldn't decide on just one or two, so I'm posting several. She's too cute for just one or two, don't you think?

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Happy Birthday, Dad! Too bad the kiddos didn't cooperate for a better picture, but they're still cute!

Late Night Reflections on Moving

So when is the last time I let a week go between posts? Probably never! Maybe over Christmas, but I don't think it was that long even then. I enjoy writing on this here blog, so my lapse just goes to show you how busy I've been!

Truly, I'm doing something from the moment I get up until I lie down at night, with the exception of about an hour late in the evenings when Nathan and I sit down to be brainless together while watching TV. I even need to make it a point to start getting up earlier, because there are some things that I just cannot fit in before both kids are up right now, and if they don't get done first thing in the morning, they ain't going to get done at all.

Other than just keeping the basic things going (and I do mean basic; I have only cooked one meal in the last week, and we are getting sick of fast food), I have been unpacking and organizing our house. But I'm sad to say that, honestly, if you walked in right now, you wouldn't think that anything is organized. There are boxes everywhere in the living room (which has no furniture at present), and although a couple of rooms have nearly everything put away, they still look very unfinished. Noah's room needs curtains, a lamp, and a rug; Jane's room hasn't been touched, since she is still sleeping in our room; the den/dining room is the most put together but is still cluttered; and I don't even want to talk about the master bedroom. It just takes a long time to get everything out of the boxes and where it belongs, especially when you need to wash all your clothes (we had moths in our last place).

However, the biggest holdup is just having two small kids. Being an infant, Jane needs attention very often--eating, being put to sleep, rocking, changing her seat, etc. And if she doesn't need something, Noah does. So the constant tending of children really makes the unpacking process go slowly. Today, Nathan and I were laughing as we listened to my parents try to field both Noah and Jane while my dad fixed something on Noah's bed. Noah was just constantly all up in his business. Nathan and I looked at each other and chuckled, agreeing that now my parents understood why we asked them to come over to hang out with the kiddos today so we could get stuff done.

The pantry is probably the only part of the house that is completely done. I have to say that I've been blessed with two amazingly large pantries--this one doesn't have a window in it, like my last one, but it is still ridiculously huge, and for that I am very thankful. Anyway, because it's all organized, I walk in there and feel a little sigh of relief. For a brief moment, the world is right. The spices sit in nice rows. The cake pans are lined up in a lovely way. There are no boxes. There are no toys. There is no dirt. There is nothing that needs to be picked up or moved or put away or cleaned. I love my pantry.

I must go to bed now. More later. Sleep. Is. Required.

Moving

Moving is a lot of work.

Except when you have two kids. Then it is actually hardly any work at all, because you can't even get to unpacking because you're constantly tending children. ;)

So between unpacking, driving back and forth from my parents' house to our house, the kiddos, and a daily trip to Target to get yet another thing I realize I need, there hasn't been much time for blogging. I'll be back, my friends. I have a ton of pictures on my camera that I want to post. There's probably a smorgasbord entry coming up.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Three Months Old!

Sweet Jane is three months old today!

Jane remains one of the sweetest babies I know. She is always willing to give you a sweet smile, and if you just sit and talk to her, she'll almost always talk back. Plus, she's darn cute. I've heard "she looks like a doll" many times when we're out and about.

Jane and Noah love each other already, a fact for which I am very thankful. In our little car, their car seats are right next to each other, and on more than one occasion I've discovered that Noah's holding her hand and she's grinning back at him. How sweet is that?