Chicken and Broccoli Teriyaki with Noodles

This is such a great recipe, easy, filling, and fairly inexpensive. All 3 of my kids LOVED it, which is so great- one meal that everyone is happy with. I found it in my 2001 Cooking Light cookbook. I adapted it a little, so I'm posting it the way I made it. If you try it, let me know what you think!!

1 reg. foil oven bag (or aluminum foil) 1 pound chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce 1 cup chicken broth
1 T sugar 2 t cornstarch
2 packages chicken flavored ramen noodles 1/2 t oil
4 cups broccoli florets ( I steam these for about 5 minutes beforehand so they will be tender, not crunchy)
1 pkg. mushrooms, sliced 1 8 oz can water chestnuts, drained (optional)

Preheat oven to 475.
Place bag (or roll out foil) onto shallow baking dish. Combine teriyaki and sugar in a plastic bag, add chicken, and marinate for at least 2 hours. Remove chicken, reserve marinade. Combine reserved marinade, broth, cornstarch, oil, and 1 packet of flavoring from noodles. Stir well. Break each noodle package into 4 pieces. Place noodles in bag/aluminum foil. Pour broth mixture over noodles. Add broccoli, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and chicken (try and spread this out- the thinner your layers, the faster it cooks and the more tender it is) Seal bag, or cover w/ more aluminum foil and seal sides. Bake at 475 for 30 minutes. Great with bread and fruit salad!!

haircuts

According to daddy, we were way overdue for some haircuts. So today, we headed off to get a new do for kindergarten (which starts in 2 weeks from tomorrow!) They are both a little shorter than I asked for, but I know they'll grow. Let's see what you think...
I just have to note that it is rare to get such a sweet picture of mr. man. He is generally most uncooperative when it comes to photo ops.
she looks 8 years old in this picture to me!

Pensacola Beach

My parents recently bought a place in Pensacola and we spent our first week there this summer. We had a great time. It is unique in that one side is the bay and the other side is the gulf- we had the best of both worlds! Below are some of our favorite pictures.she loves to hunt seashells- in fact she still has a bucket of them in our garage and she and J ride their bikes to the seashell store!
watching the boats in the bay (yes, he is licking the glass!)
eating spaghetti- this is his only picture b/c he got a fever virus the 2nd day and had to stay in the rest of the trip!
the HUGE hole they dug w/ daddy
hermit crabs from the bay
playing at the beach
isn't this sweet? my fave of all!
sunset from our balcony

A picture is worth 1000 words...

You know how I feel about reading. I don't know if there's anything sweeter than this...

boots

Tonight while I was bathing the boys, A was playing in my closet. When I came out, this is what I found...Those are my boots, and she had "fixed" her hair and found one earring. The hallway was her runway and she said, "when i get bigger, will you share these boots with me?"

birthday celebration, part 2

I have to start by saying that I was a terrible mother b/c I forgot my camera on 2 of her birthday adventures and the photo opportunities were priceless. Nonetheless, she had a GREAT birthday! She woke up to blueberry muffins and then she dictated our morning agenda- coloring, painting toenails, reading, and swinging were her activities of choice. After lunch, we went to Serendipity Sweets (new candy store by Cafe Iz for you locals) and she, J, and her friend each got to pick out a treat. Then because it was her birthday, they let her pick out an extra treat! She was thrilled. We then skipped rest time (a VERY rare occurence at our house) and went to the library to see Roger Day. He is a wonderful children's musician. Some of her favorites are "It's a no, no to kiss a rhino ," "mosquito burrito," "open up a coconut," and "monster face." (As a side note, he's on itunes!) Anyway, she got to sit with him after the show and he talked to her and then sang happy birthday to her (can't you just visualize the picture... I'm still not over it) Below is the parts of the day I did capture on camera. she had just rolled out of bed when the phone calls began. This is Virginia, Ms. Leigh, and JD singing "happy birthday!"
Daddy's girl at California Pizza Kitchen
b'day song and treat (our waitress is kneeling beside her singing to her!)
birthday present!
All dressed up in b'day outfits! This is from the night of the party as they opened presents they began wearing some of them!!

Happy Birthday, Abby!

7 months old- day you received bear bear!
a friend's birthday party (still some of your best buddies today)
meeting Jacob
our neighbor and best buddy! k-4 cowgirl!

spider ballerina April 2008

I can hardly believe that it was 5 years ago that God gave me one of the most precious gifts I will ever receive! I will NEVER forget the day you were born. It was honestly one of the most worshipful experiences of my life because it put into perspective even more what it meant that God, our Father, allowed His one and only Son to die for me. They laid you on my chest and you were so unbelievably beautiful. In that very moment I loved you more than I ever could have believed possible. You didn't have to do a thing to earn my love or affection- it was all yours! There is nothing I wouldn't do for you. For me to think that God would give His Son up for me was almost incomprehensible. As I held my first child- it became so much more real, the sacrifice He made.

You are such a fun, encouraging, and lovable little girl. You LOVE being a big sister and you have such compassion for your brothers that it challenges me sometimes. You love to dress up and today you told Roger Day that when you grow up you want to be a princess! I believe we officially own every princess costume available. Arts and crafts, books, and ballet are your other favorite activities. I would have to add in talking as well. There are days when I think it is humanly impossible for someone so small to talk so much (Nana and Pappa say it's my turn!) You are so excited about starting kindergarten this fall. I continue to pray for you my sweet girl that you will be" clothed with strenght and dignity, and can laugh at the days to come." You are wonderful my 5 year old girl and I love you!!

eleven

watching Abby and Jacob play outside!

11 months- oh those eyes!!!
Shower curtain peek-a boo- one of our favorites!! Where's Nathan?
There he is!!
practicing to be a goalie on Jacob's new goal
Memphis children's museum!

The Birthday Party

We did a combined waterslide party Saturday evening! We had a ton of friends, tons of food, and most of all, tons of FUN!!!

the backyard water park!
going up!
her Little Mermaid cake- thank you, Mimi!!
his firetruck cake!!
the singing

coming down!!
diving in!
the tunnel slide
some of the friends!
Mimi and the birthday girl!

birthday celebration, part 1

For those of you who may not know, A and J have birthdays 4 days apart in July. J is July 12 and A is July 16. We call this birthday madness at the Byrd house!! I will admit that it takes quite a bit of momentum to carry the excitement through and have her day as fun and special as his day. But, all that to say, here are some photos of his birthday night. He chose "the choo-choo train" restaurant (to those of you in B'ham, that would be Richards!) His top three reasons for choosing that 1.) mac-n-cheese 2.) salad 3.) the choo choo train!the family
the salad!
his meal- they brought him an entire plate of cucumbers- the child LOVES them- he ate all but 3 of them!
his batman big wheel ( summer, jennifer, and mom, you were RIGHT!!)
what better ending than a cupcake from Edgars? (the cake was coming the next day for the party. more on that soon!)

Roller Coasters and funnel cakes...

None other than Dollywood, in Gatlinburg, TN. When we were visiting my precious grandparents the first of June, we also spent a day at Dollywood. I grew up going here with my grandparents and it was a little nostalgic to go back with my 3 children. We had a fabulous time and I learned something about my daughter... She loves rides and roller coasters. I was a little surprised because we have spent the last year in what my mom calls the "fearful fours!" But, she hopped right on the adult swings (after gently consoling Jay that she didn't want to ride in a double swing with him) she did another version of the swings that rises to 70ft. off the ground with me (we were in a seat together and she wouldn't hold my hand!) and she and j even tackled the Bob and Larry roller coaster w/ their arms raised high! This gave me a glimpse into our future of amusment and water parks and oh what fun it will be (especially when I'm not sporting a baby bjorn and nursing in the toilet stalls!!) Thanks again, Mamma and Pappa. We had a blast!
In front of the locomotive, Cinderella. Our first real train ride! Holding the scooby dogs that a sweet couple won and then gave to A and J as we were walking by.
front seat on the roller coaster!
This was pure love for A to get on this bumble bee- it circled at a snail's pace and had none of the thrills of her other rides, but J really wanted her to ride with him!!

Three...

My little buddy, my first son... It was you who revealed that my heart had the capacity to equally love more than one child. There are so many things about you that I adore, and I love you more than I ever conceived possible. I love the way you say, "Mommy, wanna play some ball?" and the way you ask me to snuggle w/ you at bedtime (curling up beside you in your toddler bed is another post/picture in itself!!) You have THE BEST giggle- it is an automatic smile for anyone who hears it. You are fascinated with anything that has a siren, especially firetrucks, and you can spot a convertible or motorcycle on the road from a mile away. You love to give all your kisses to Mimi, just to make mommy jealous!! If there is a ball in the immediate area, you will find it and dribble, toss, kick, throw, and bat it for hours!! You do not get in a hurry- you are on your own timeline and often have your own agenda. You despise having your picture made and can make family photos a nightmare!! You are all boy- tools, diggers, balls, bats, worms, and all. We would be incomplete without you. Can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you this next year. Happy Birthday, buddy!

1 week old
4 months old w/ A and bear bear
helping in the dishwasher 15 months old
first snow 2 1/2 years old
loading digger- 2 years 10 months