Life of the Boyer Family: Living our Story: April 2014

Saturday, April 26, 2014

calvin & hobbes

A few minutes chuckling with Jack over Calvin & Hobbes has just made my day. I LOVE watching his sense of humor grow!!! I love connecting in new ways with my boy

Sunday, April 20, 2014

out of the mouths

"If Toys R Us sells toys, does Babies R Us sell babies?" --Luke

Saturday, April 12, 2014

jack had an ent appt on friday afternoon. i was not surprised when dr.k said that jack had some gunkies in his left ear---he had, afterall, spent a few days in the hotel pool and even with ear plugs tends to get water in his ears. the right ear looked GOOD! just some wax! few! what a sigh of relief!!! :) the left ear still had a small hole, and instead of having us wait to come back, dr.k was able to patch it right in the office with a small procedure. jack did great!!! he has quite a history in that office (LOTS of tears, screaming, broken blood vessels from crying, etc.) but he held his tears back, asked intelligent questions so he would know what was happening and was brave.

now jack has a small paper patch on his ear drum. we are hoping it heals the hole. this is not the first time we've tried..... here's to hoping it works this time!!! :)

sorbet

i attempted, for the first time ever, to make sorbet!!!

i tore the recipe out of a magazine at the ent's office ;) sheepish grin.

i had no raspberries or limes but i really wanted to try it tonight so............ i used frozen blueberries i had on hand (fresh michigan) that also had a few random frozen strawberries and necterine thrown in (berries/fruit i had cleaned and cut for smoothies)

so i followed the directions. i combined 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water, brought to simmer, and "melted" the sugar in. i then added the frozen blueberries, and stirred. i then pureed it in the food processor (two batches....big mess) and did NOT STRAIN IT. i am not afraid of a little chunk here or there and want to live on the wild side. :) i followed the directions from there by freezing until solid, then whipping in chilled bowl, then freezing again.

i am going to try with raspberries :) and lime.

the recipe also suggested: 1 cup frozen raspberries/2 cups frozen pineapple chunks or 2 cups frozen cubed mango with the raspberries.

fajitas

oh. my. yummy.

oh. my. yummy!

NEED:

Chicken Breasts--Boneless/Skinless

Peppers

Onions

poblano peppers (thinly sliced)

Tomatoes

Jalepeno (optional)

olive oil

grapefruit juice

lime juice (i squeezed fresh limes)

black pepper (fresh ground is best)

oregeno (i used italian blend)

garlic powder

salt (i used kosher)

chilli powder

cumin

tortillas

DO:

mix together in a big zip lock bag:

olive oil

grapefruit juice (about a half a small can full)

lime juice (i squeezed fresh limes--2 of them)

black pepper (fresh ground is best)--i used quite a bit

oregeno (i used italian blend)--about 1 T

garlic powder about 1 T

salt (i used kosher) about 1.5 tsp

chilli powder 1-2 T

cumin- 1-2 T

add chicken to bag and let marinade up to 5 hours--i had an hour so that is what i did

toss the veggies (minus tomatoes) with cumin, chilli powder, salt and pepper. let them sit on a board all ready to go

put tomatoes in a bowl so they are ready to go (1/4 to 1/8 of tomato chunks)

put some oil in a cup/small bowl so it is ready to go

preheat grill--turn one side to HOT and put cast iron skillet on this side. turn the other side to med-med high.

grill chicken breasts whole until BARELY cooked through on this side. when chicken has a few minutes to go, quickly dump the oil into the hot skillet and then throw peppers and onions in. Let "blacken" while you cut chicken on the bias. Add chicken to the pepper mixture in the skillet and let the juices all mix. when the veggies are almost to the texture/consistency you want, add the tomatoes and let sear. the skillet is hot so i put all the mix into a bowl to bring inside.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

What did we do? More Like WHAT didn't we fit into our five days :)

we took a vacation. VACATION! a real vacation :) our boys are 6 (yes almost 7) and 8 (yes almost 9) and we finally took them on a real, true, bonafide vacation :) More than 1 night away, not to a family function or to visit family, not to visit friends (which are all great)--hard to believe it is the first time they've stayed at a hotel (other than Great Wolf Lodge) and we took time away--the four of us :) plus grandma :)

where we stayed:
schaumburg, il-embassy suites 2 nights
chicago, il--hampton inn downtown--2 nights

highlights:

swimming in the hotel pools
visiting the legoland discovery center
attending the master building "class"
watching 3 "4D" movies--2 at lego discovery center (clutch powers and lego chima) and 1 at the shedd (sea monsters)
building building building with legos
watching the rainstorms at the rain forest cafe
eating the chocolate volcano
building our own "happy treat" jars at be happy candy shop
getting balloon "animals"--the hulk and a tree frog
new movies to watch in the car!!
exploring BIG cities!
deep dish pizza for mom/dad, and panera for jack :)
seeing the awesome star wars exhibit at the lego place!!!!!
exploring the woodfield mall--new hotsauce, new clothes from new york and company, playing glo golf, etc. etc. etc.
seeing mall security on segways.....with helmets :)
dinner at the weber grill restaurant--OH MY GOSH SO TASTY!!!!!!
visiting the shedd--the joy on the boys' faces :)
the aquatic show--seeing the sea lion UP CLOSE!!!!
running around the small children's garden by the shedd--watching the boys explore, jump, run and just enjoy being outside in the warm weather!
$33 for 2 hotdogs, 2 drinks, and a jello--oh plus 2 bags of chips! crazy chicago prices!
great big city coffee--from small vendors, panera, hotels, caribou
grand luxe cafe. MMMMM ENOUGH SAID!!!! cajun shrimp in a spicy tomato broth.....oh heavenly!
eating more food than one really should ever eat in a few days!
beautiful skylines!
did i mention swimming in the hotel pool every. single. day.?
the museum of science and industry--seriously i could type about this one for days--it was amazing!!!! the boys LOVED LOVE LOVED it--and so did the adults! we toured the U505 german u boat that was captured during ww2--which helped end the war earlier than it did, we explored TONS of weather things, toured the old time "main street", created our own gravitron "tops" when a completely robotic "factory", played in the idea factory, went through all kinds of farm "stuff", etc. etc. etc.
dinner out at ed debevics. if you have not gone--GO! old 50's style diner--complete with sassy, rude waiters. so much fun!!!!!
"old time" photos at the science museum!
did i mention swimming? :D the small water footballs i bought the boys helped them make pool friends :) fun to watch them conned with others.
the bean. oh my gosh did the kids love the bean. they raced around and just enjoyed the time there
purchase of several new lego sets.... :D
we attempted navy pier :) guess there's not much going on at 9:30 am at navy pier.... plus it was under MAJOR construction!!! we did go through the crystal gardens, explore the stained glass window museum, peak outside for a moment, and just wander. plus the boys got a crystal candy stick from grandma :)
jack's attempt at trying chicken fingers at EVERY place we ate!!!!

we could not have asked for a better 5 days. it was enjoyable, relaxing, exciting, fun, new, adventurous, and just plain ole memory creating! i am so glad we went :)