We are having a little trouble deciding which of these should be McKinley's Halloween Costume. Please let us know in the comments which one we should choose!
A Lady Bug
A Lady Bug
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| A Cow |
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A Bunny
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| A Giraffe |
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| An Angel |
1st Birthday
It has been one year since we added a little ray of sunshine to our home! McKinley wanders around our house smiling, talking, singing and generally brightening whatever corner she may wonder into. She loves to follow around her brothers and greet Mom and Dad with a big hug.
Click here to see the post from a year ago today.
Click here to see some of the 460 pictures we have of her.
Click here to see MORE of the 460 pictures we have of her.
We are so glad she's been here for a year and we look forward to many more years and smiles in the future. We wish all of you (near and far) could enjoy McKinley on a daily basis as we do. Here is our little video of pictures in order from her actual birthday to her 1st birthday.
Truman's Profile
Name: Truman Young Duryea
Nick Name: Choo Choo
Birthday: May 15th 2004
Height: 3 feet 6 inches'
Weight: 40 lbs
Eye Color: Blueish Green
Teeth Count: 20
Binky: Never
Favorite Hobby: "Go to Sleep" and "Play Soccer"
Favorite Food: "Cookies"
Favorite Parent: Daddy
Secret Passion: Finding Cute Clothes for McKinley to wear
Most Embarrassing Moment: "When everyone stares at me"
Favorite Drink: Chocolate Milk
Favorite Game: Football
A Presidents' Blog Preview
Your speakers need to be on for this to make any sense. Grab some popcorn and enjoy a little trailer for our upcoming blogging event.
Curried Chicken Salad with Spiced Chickpeas and Raita
Brian came up with the idea of trying something fun we have never made before. Here is our attempt at Curried Chicken Salad with Spiced Chickpeas and Raita. The website described it as an easy mid-week dinner, to which I say, do you have any kids? But for a weekend activity it was pretty fun and manageable.
I also discovered a spice section of Smith's where you can buy whatever amount of the spice you are looking for instead of spending the big money on a whole bottle you may never use again. So I spent $0.06 on the teaspoon of turmeric I needed - awesome.
So the end result was delicious and we are planning on making it again when Abby comes cause she likes this kind of food, so be prepared!
Here is the recipe in case you want to try it...It is from epicurious.com
For curried chicken salad:
1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced peeled ginger
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 medium tomatoes, chopped (1 cup)
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons cilantro
1 rotisserie chicken, meat coarsely shredded (3 to 4 cups)
1 cup red grapes, halved
For chickpeas:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (19-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed, drained, and patted dry (2 cups)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
For raita and topping:
1 cup plain yogurt
1 seedless cucumber, peeled, cored, and chopped (2 cups)
2 tablespoon chopped mint
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Equipment: 4 (16-ounce) wide jars or containers with lids
Preparation
Make curried chicken salad:
Cook onion, garlic, and ginger in oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add curry, cumin, and 1 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and stir in yogurt, cilantro, and chicken. Cool to room temperature.
Make chickpeas:
Heat oil in cleaned skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then cook chickpeas, stirring, 1 minute. Add cumin, turmeric, cayenne, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring to coat, until skillet is dry, about 2 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
Make raita:
Stir together yogurt, cucumber, mint, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Assemble jars:
Divide grapes among jars and layer curried chicken, raita, chickpeas, and almonds on top.
Cooks' notes:
•Curried chicken salad and spiced chickpeas can be made 1 day ahead and chilled separately. •Assembled jars can be chilled up to 6 hours. Serve at room temperature.
Racing Day, its Racing Day.
When Lincoln was a baby Brian would say that he could not wait until he was big enough to really play with. Now that he and Truman are finally getting about that big it is really fun to see what games Dad comes up with that are as entertaining for him as they are for them.
One of his many hidden talents is making up fun games out of nowhere. King Seats, Bridge 10 and Robot 10 are three that frequent our living room. While I was grocery shopping yesterday he entertained them with yet another fun game involving racing around the house. This one was inspired by the Olympic fanaticism that has infected our home.
Here is some of the footage shot by our apprentice camera men...
Olympic Fandom
It only seems appropriate (being all named after presidents) that we brainwash our children into loving the Olympics and team USA. One way to do this was to shave USA in the back of Lincoln's head. He loved the idea and feels pretty cool about the whole thing. He now sits and watches the Olympics and updates us on the scores every few minutes. He is genuinely distraught when they are losing and ecstatic when they win.
Below is the transcript of our Interview with him.
"Lincoln, what do you think about the USA being shaved in the back of your head"
"I don't like you guys calling me USA head. Truman called me that becuase you guys called me that."
"I am sorry, but are you happy it is there."
"Yep."
"Why do you like it so much"
"not that much...I just like it because its for like the USA team. I like 'A', its my favorite letter."
"What is your favorite sport in the Olympics?"
"Swimming"
"And who is your favorite swimmer."
"The guy who is really good."
"What is that guy's name?"
"I forgot, can you tell me?"
"Michael Phelps."
"Yes, that is it."
"What is your next favorite sport in the Olympics?"
"Diving...two people diving off the same height thing."
"Why do you like that one so much."
"Because it is cool...I don't have a third one that I like."
"Thanks for taking the time to talk to me."
"You're welcome."
As you can see, we still have some work to do.
