Leah meets her idol

Well it finally happened, Leah met Dora yesterday at the Columbus Zoo!

We were all soooo excited!

It's Time for a Fiesta

The big bad Three year oldOpening Dora presentsThe whole family together for the fiesta

We kept asking Leah what she wanted to do for her birthday and being very into Dora this year ofcourse whe wanted a Fiesta it was. I asked her several times were she wanted to have her fiesta and what exactly was at a fiesta...... Well she wanted it to be at PaPaw's house, there had to be cake and Uncle Justin was going to be there.... because ofcourse... "Justin Likes a good fiesta" Those were her exact words!

Well we werent able to make it to PaPaws house for the fiesta, Luckily Nanny's place was her second choice and Nannys house is a great place for a summer birthday party! She's got a big pool and a swing set and a boat, and all kinds of fun things!

It was a great day, and we wore everyone out , still its hard to believe that my little girl is 3!!!

I do your nails Momma?

I bigger Momma

I big "nough do your nails

.....K???

I doing gooder job right momma???

I did it Momma... your nails are all pretty now!

Summer Olympics

We decided to celebrate the opening of the olympics by having a chinese themed dinner and watching the opening ceremonies up at my Mom's house. I dont normally brag about my cooking but OMG, I made this Honey Chicken that was to DIE for!!! It was a recipe from PF Changs! YOU HAVE TO TRY IT!!! IT is worth the extra effort!!!

The night before, Alex and I whipped up a batch of fortune cookies... they weren't Exactly like the ones you get at the resturaunt, but they tasted SOOOO good and we even put our own fortunes inside. We found inspiration at a website and my favorite one was
"HELP! I'm being held prisoner in a chinese bakery!"

Here Leah, Ethan, Alex, my nephew Garrett, and my step dad Ken all watch the drums. You see the World Map in the background, during the parade of nations the boys would try and find each country on the map. See we snuck a little learning in when they weren't expecting it!

Leah loved the fireworks.... Do ya see that Garrett?

Here's the reipe for the HONEY Chicken:

P.F. CHANG'S CHINA BISTRO CRISPY HONEY CHICKEN

FOR THE BATTER:4 oz. all purpose flour2 1/2 oz. cornstarch1 egg6 oz. water1/8 tsp. baking powder1/8 tsp. baking soda

FOR THE CHICKEN SEASONING:1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into medium size chunks1 Tbsp. lite soy sauce1/8 tsp. white pepper1/4 tsp. kosher salt1 Tbsp. corn starch

FOR THE SAUCE:1/2 cup sake or rice wine1/2 cup honey3 oz. rice vinegar3 Tbsp. lite soy sauce6 Tbsp. sugar

TO COOK THE CHICKEN:Vegetable oil for frying (plus 2 tbsp for finishing sauce)

TO FINISH THE SAUCE:cornstarch slurry (1/4 cup corn starch mixed with 1/4 cup water)1 Tbsp. minced garlicred bell pepper and/or scallions, julienneTO SERVE:Crispy noodles, rice or egg noodles or steamed rice

TO MAKE THE BATTER:Mix ingredients for the batter together till just combined. Let rest in refrigerator for a couple of hours.

TO PREPARE THE CHICKEN:Coat chicken well with seasonings and marinate in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

TO PREPARE THE SAUCE:Combine sauce ingredients, mix thoroughly and reserve for serving.

TO COOK THE CHICKEN:Pour vegetable oil into fryer or heavy bottomed sauce pot. Heat slowly to 340-350 degrees. Put 1/4 of the marinated chicken in a clean bowl and pour enough batter over to coat. Remove a few pieces at a time from the batter, using slotted spoon or large fork. Shake off excess batter. Carefully lower chicken into the hot oil. Suspend the chicken until the batter "sets," 20-30 seconds. Chicken is done when golden to light brown and crisp. Remove to platter with paper towels to drain. Repeat for all the chicken. Remember to check the oil temperature, it must remain hot.

TO FINISH THE SAUCE:Heat the reserved sauce in sauce pan, bring to a boil. Add cornstarch slurry, a little at a time. The sauce will thicken, let it come to a thickness of "loose honey." Let cook for a minute or two.Heat the remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in a wok and add some minced garlic, red bell pepper and scallions and stir-fry briefly. Add 1/3 to 1/2 of the chicken (depending on pan size) and stir-fry briefly. Add enough sauce to just coat chicken. Stir-fry again briefly.

Daddys helper

I know it's kinda hard to see this video, but It's so darn cute!

Theo cleans the chairs almost every night after dinner and he finally got a helper! ( I'm just glad it isnt me!!! ) Ethan also likes to run the little dust buster vaccum. We have a real one and a play one. The kids take turns helping clean up. The dust buster was Theo's fathers day gift this year with the promise that the kids would use it to clean up after themselves and the kids are actually doing it! Who cares about child labor Laws! If Kathie Lee can do it, so can I!!! ( I know I'm not right!) Next I plan on teaching Alex how to do the laundry and Leah's old enough to clean toliets right? Now if we could just get her using one!

I did it by myself!

I put Lips on all by myself!!!

Proclaimed Leah Proudly!!!

2008 McCord Family Reunion

This past weekend we helped pull off the first McCord Family reunion in over 10 years. My Mom and her husband Ken have the perfect house for hosting parties and this was NO exception! It was perfect and close to 50 McCord Family members came. McCord is my mother's madien name. Both of my Mom's parents are gone but her Dad's brother Claire came and her Aunt Freida, seriously we had so many people there. All of my cousins and their families and some of the cutest darn kids I've ever seen! We went swiming, on the boat, played hillbillie golf, went on the slip and slide, busted open a pinata, threw my mom in the pool fully clothed.... I actually didnt get to help with that one but I did get to see if up close... now I just need the pictures...
It was really a great time and I loved seeing each other without having to go to a funeral as well. There was nothing dead except a bunch of beer can and lots of food!!! SOOOOO Good! It was a lot of work pulling all that together, and My Mom is so crazy she wants to do it EVERY year. So we're trying to talk her down to everyother year atleast! She just loves having people over! Especially the family! I'll start hounding my sister for some pictures! Believe it or not I didnt take ANY!!! I know what the heck I ALWAYS take pictures I was just having too much fun!