GARRITY AND MOMMY'S BEST TURKEY RECIPE EVER --Thanksgiving Eve 2013 (Not sure why I never posted this?)

*** Not sure why I never posted this! I've used the recipe every single year since!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

Our favorite...making the star of the Thanksgiving Show: THE TURKEY x 2 this year!!!!

Grandma provided the turkeys! You and I cooked the turkeys! Below is a photo of the brining mixture!

Your favorite shown right now is The Pioneer Woman (The Cooker Show). So we decided to make our version of that brining recipe!

• My variation of The Pioneer Woman's turkey brine:
• In a brining bag I combined the following:
• 3 cups apple cider ( 1/2 gallon from the produce section at Wall-Mart)
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup kosher salt ( I used iodized table salt)
• 3 tablespoons tricolor peppercorns ( I ground mine)
• 5 whole bay leaves (fresh)
•  I used 5 x 1/2 t from a jar of minced garlic...1/2 t equals a clove if you wish to mince fresh garlic.
•  I used five little cuties...I peeled them over the bowl and pitched the peels in the brining mixture, and then quartered the little cuties and tossed them in as well.
• 4 fresh rosemary sprigs, leaves stripped off
• 
  

I couldn't locate brining bags at Wal-Mart, so I used Ziplock XXL bags (triple bagged to protect my fridge)

I put the ingredients into a large pan and brought to a boil. I removed the mixture from the heat and added two gallons of ice water.

I rinsed the turkey and removed the neck and little bag of goodies. Next, I put the turkey and brining mix in the bag, and placed the bag in the fridge overnight...or 9-10 hours.

You're asleep in our bed. I laid down to cuddle with you and baby Bingo has the hiccups!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING MORNING!

The turkey soaked all night, and when I woke up I remove she turkeys and disposed of the brining mixture.

I used a googled various methods of preparation methods and combined several..The Pioneer Woman's, A couple variations of "The Worlds Best Turkey Recipe" as well as a traditional turkey recipe...this is what I came up with.

I rinsed the turkey and placed it in a large roaster. 

I combined: 

• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 4 sprigs of chopped fresh rosemary
• The zest of one little cutie

I combined the mixture with a fork and smooshed  the concoction under the skin of the turkey.

2 large Granny Smith Apples

1 large onion 

I quartered two Granny Smith Apples and   1 half of a large onion; and stuffed them into the cavity of the bird.

Finally I placed the bird in the large roaster and poured an entire bottle of champagne inside and on top of the bird.

• 
  

I put the bird in a Reynolds turkey baking bag...and then took it out for fear of cooking something in plastic :/ 

***Bird was not cooked in a bag! I used tin foil only!

In my convection oven:

I preheated the oven (on speed bake)  to 300. I cooked the bird at 300 for 2 hours and 37 minutes.

I then took the bird out and tested the temp with a poultry thermometer...it registered about 150 at that point. So, I put another layer of tin foil over the existing layer and popped it back in the oven for another 1.5 hours at 400.

This is the end result:

The reviews were incredible! EVERYONE raved!!! Even people who are non- turkey people, LOVED this turkey!!!

Garrity-Lou-Who...and Santa

This Christmas was undoubtedly one that will forever live vividly in our hearts and minds! For some time now, Bo and I have been planning a Holiday Disney Cruise! This was to be the BIG present for the G's and a gift from us to them.

IF I had a rewind button, I would rewind and press play right about the week before break. Garrity participated in Grinch Day at school and that morning started off especially magical as the entire family gathered in Garrity's bathroom to watch me magically transform her from Garrity to Garrity-Lou-Who with the help of some florist foam and some florist pins! She looked AMAZING! (Even last night at PTO the officers and teachers were discussing her hair?!) That was the night that Santa and Mrs. Claus came to visit! It was such a wonderfully magical moment in our lives! Candice Moore came by for a visit and SANTA ended up stopping by just after she arrived! The G's were both mesmerized and nearly speechless! Garrity sat on Santa's lap for the first time EVER and she whispered in his ear the special gifts she'd like for her family :)

Even weeks later, if you ask Grantham about Santa... he says, "choo-choo." Santa brought Grantham a choo-choo train and Garrett a little fringe purse :)

Valentines Day 2016

I'm sitting here at the desk with a little 28 lb nugget of adorableness on my lap. Grantham is speaking in full sentences now... albeit mostly in an unknown tongue... but sentences nonetheless :) He has two band-aids on his index fibers and he is saying things like: hurt, owe-hurt, and Coco bark! Daddy just came back from getting donuts and now Grantham's saying, "donut." My all time favorite thing that Grantham says at this age is, "UH-HUH." Which is exactly his reply when Daddy asked if he'd like a donut.

We are supposed to be on our way to church right now... but Grantham's been sick all week with an ear infection, cough, and the stomach bug. So we are hunkered down at home to celebrate Valentines Day and have our own little Bible lesson.

The Valentine fairy... aka: ME... went to WalMart last night after everyone was tucked in bed, and bought little Valentines surprises for everyone: Inside Out movie for the van, the Joy console for G and a glow football for Grantham. The football was not a hit...I feel bad for not getting him a little toy. I will for sure take it back and get something more age-appropriate.

---Crying kids--- This may be as good as it gets for this post. :) 

Garrity and Grantham's FIRST Sleepover Guest

This week cousin Baylor and cousin Callan have spent the week with Grandma Madelyn. We decided last night that a sleepover would sufficiently add to our Christmas celebration! Cousin Baylor was totally on board!
The night was full of fun! We had late night snacks, a Christmas book-Elf on the Shelf... twice, and lots of giggling! The girls fell asleep easily and slept soundly the entire night! 7:11 AM and the sleepover was an official success! The girls tumbled out of bed and into the living room! Baylor's elf, Peter, and our elf, Snowflake had strung up a little repelling fun in our living room and the girls were ecstatic!

Grantham 5 months 17 days/Long Sleeve Weather

You are literally changing daily! This morning while I was getting ready for work, you were strolling/banging around the living room in your walker and the next thing I notice...is YOU! You had managed to toddle yourself into the doorway where I was getting ready! Our master bath is still under construction, so your bathroom is the only fully functional bathroom in the house. Garrity's is nearly done, but only the tub is functioning.

The weather has changed in the last two days and the days are cool! Yesterday I dressed you in a sleeveless romper with a fish on the side and Garrity in a sleeveless red and white striped number with denim shorts!? Today I opted for more weather friendly options and hopefully you two will be more comfy.

Last night your 6-12 month clothes arrived from J. Crew! Three little long sleeve onesies and one short sleeved onesie emblazoned with the phrase: THERE IS ONLY ONE. I knew when I saw it, I had to have it for you :)

Tonight is a home football game. Garrity loves the games (loves to socialize) so hopefully we will be able to enjoy the evening without foul weather...last weekend we tried to attend the game but never made it to our seat due to the threatening clouds in the west.

Life is good, you are sweet, and we love you so so much!

February 25/2015 - Grantham - 11 months

Eleven months...how is that possible? A year ago, we were just returning from state swim, and I felt like a baby boy would join our family at any moment! I might add that I was in fact STILL running too :) Fast forward to today. You are the fastest little walker in the world! You almost run! You have also learned, or are doing/saying the following:

Now that you've mastered how to walk/run, you are interested more in going UP! You crawl all over a Little Tikes table in the family room, and you love the Little Tikes slide! You've fallen many times, and only scream for a few seconds and gently place your little head on my shoulder, and after a few moments of cuddles with mommy, you're off again...ready for more adventure!

You're saying: Mamma, Dadda, What's that (DAT...DAT...DAT...accompanied with a pointing finger), you're still working on Thank You, but you totally say it and have the proper inflection as well! You're saying Dog, and kind of saying Cat...but not really just yet. You also like to mimic when we do the Sally; Uh Uh UHHHH...it's pretty cute.

We finally got the high chair on Valentines Day and you're getting more used to spending time in the chair. You love to feed yourself. You like to eat bananas, baby cookies, baby food- chicken noodles, you adore the little squeezable apple sauce and the raspberry banana yogurt, you love to hold them and you basically suck them dry and then throw the empty container to the ground and scream out for more!

You still sleep a few hours alone and then come to cuddle with me the rest of the night (which I love, of course).

You're still hovering around 21-22 pounds and we're holding out for a solid 22 lbs prior to switching you out of your rear facing car seat with the handle and base.

You love to clap and then make sure everyone else is clapping along with you for you!

You have also recently started fake-laughing when everyone else is laughing...you even bend over and slap your legs...it's beyond adorable!

You love bath time, and you balls! You love to play on your Thomas Train from Gowah and Grandma Pat, and you absolutely adore Garrity!

I am now preparing for your birthday! Such a wonderful first year with you in our lives! We all love you more than you can ever imagine...and then some :)

The Golf House Interior - BEFORE

Grantham: 18 months

This marks the wonderful half birthday of our little guy! I'm not sure how a year and a half has passed, but I certainly can't imagine our life without this bundle of energy and happiness!

Sweet Grantham,
I feel that first and foremost, I owe you an apology. The apology that I suppose all mommies make to their second child. You see...with Garrity, we sat around and kind of watched and waited for her to start doing things or hitting milestones etc. With you, we realized early on that you were not one to wait around and you were ready to hit the road running! This is exactly what we've done! I've been lax with the blogging bit, BUT I've kept your baby book 100% up to par ( I did not do this with Garrity so much...live and learn!?)  It seems that we've been so crazy busy since the stork dropped you into our world! So...while I may not have documented online when you got your third tooth...or when you started jumping at 15 months...but we've been living the life! You've done more in your 18 months than most people do in their entire childhood! You've ticked off major travel destinations--Disney World and Hawaii, and have been on more flights than most people will ever take...eight to be exact! You've frequented Royals' games, numerous overnight stays in KC, Silver Dollar City more times than I can count! You've lived a super full and fun 18 months...even if it has meant that mommy has been too busy living to sit down and document the fun on the blog ---I hereby promise to do better...even if it's only a few lines!

You weren't as excited to meet Mickey as you will be the next time around :)

So...where does this 18th month find you?

Well, you have been walking since your 9th month, you have cut all of your teeth with the exception of your eye teeth.

You can jump with both feet catching air!

You officially own your first pair of AIR JORDAN'S!

You loved baths until about a month ago...now you love them once you get in, as long as I'm not washing your hair :)

You love ice cream, hot dogs, and chicken nuggets(especially from McDonalds!)

You are moderately easy to get to sleep...two full 9 oz bottles of milk, and you are out! You sleep in your crib for the first 4 hours or so and then finish the night in bed with mommy and daddy.

You can say lots of words...but your faves are:

GOLF CART

momma

dada

sissy

wawa

maaah (milk)

nono

Gowah

Pat

Madelyn

Mouse

Bubble

Grantham 4 Months/Walt Disney World

My first word of advice on taking a four month old and a four year old to Disney world: DO IT! There are so many misconceptions about flying with an infant. One of those misconceptions is that they will cry and fuss and be a nightmare to travel with...this could not be farther from the truth, in my opinion. We traveled with Garrity by plane when she was just four months old, and had a perfect experience. The same may be said now about Grantham...perfect flight. Both kiddos nursed and slept from takeoff to landing.

Our trip! We spent the first night with Tom, he has a great condo on the Plaza, and it made for a less early, early morning. Everyone had a blast except Daddy. I had to run to get formula (for said flight...just in case the nursing failed...) it was pretty late when I went out, and for some strange reason Daddy insisted on keeping Grantham. Turns out that 9'ish was the witching hour and the dreams Daddy had of snuggling with his son on the couch watching sports or whatever, apparently wasn't part of Grantham's plan. After several text from Daddy insisting that I return IMMEDIATELY, I returned to a docile and sleepy Grantham, and a  fussy and grumpy Daddy.

The next morning was early and everyone was excited and still grumpy. STILL GRUMPY. Once we arrived at the airport, we were face with the dilemma of all riding the bus from the parking lot, or Daddy dropping us off and Daddy parking the car on his own while we waited in line with two suit cases, golf clubs, a double buggy, and oh ya, two kiddos. Guess which one we picked?!

By the time we made it to the ticket counter, after winding through Southwest Air crowd control maze among the hundreds of souls also too waiting to fly to their vacations scooting our two suit cases, golf bag, and double buggy one inch at a time actually several people felt sorry for me and helped scoot our luggage caravan ..Daddy finally made it back.

This flight was a breeze! Grantham slept and nursed the entire time! Garrity had some trouble with her little ears and kept shouting in the cutest loudest voice imaginable! It really was adorable! She kept saying, "SOMETHING'S GOING ON WITH MY EARS, GUYS, I CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING, GUYS!" Explain ears popping to a four year old! Other than that, Garrity busied herself with the iPad and DVD player. We rented a van vs taking a bus...much cheaper. However we had to upgrade from a town car to a van due to the double buggy and the golf clubs. The van was great and for a $10 fee, they stopped at a grocery store and we got some snacks etc. for the week! 

We arrived earlier than check-in. We opted for a town car to Downtown Disney. By the time we go to Downtown Disney, both babies were asleep! Daddy and I were at a loss! We ended up sharing a huge chocolate shake from Godiva! We walked around the area and spent a ton of time in The Largest Disney Store in the World...and finally had to start waking up kiddos!

The entire trip was as smooth as anyone could have EVER imagined! I was even able to take both kids to Magic Kingdom one day and we had a blast! Grantham was a champ and even waited in line for TWO HOURS to meet Anna and Elsa!

We enjoyed the parks and the wonderful Hilton resort. I wouldn't have changed a thing! Such a wonderful memory and a trip I will NEVER forget!

Grantham: 5 months

It's hard to believe that you are almost half of a year old! The time is flying by! You are such a wonderful addition to our family! You are so happy all of the time! This month you have really started to change! 1. You started eating solids on August 2, 2014, we started with single grain rice cereal. You didn't thrust your tongue out like most babies do, but you weren't totally sold on the idea of chewing your food :) 2. You started scooting around in your walker this month. You mostly go backward and bounce around and play with toys on the tray. 3. You started saying, "dadadadadadadadad" this month. It started on August 22-23rd, 2014 and followed being able to cough and mimic us with the little cough, and also mimicing a super high pitched squeal that Garrity would produce for you! While we cannot get you to mimic "dadadadada" at least you're saying it! 4. You can easily role from tummy to back and kind of use your toes to push yourself along a carpeted floor! Not really a crawl, but your wanting to move! 5. You started Sally's this month. You started on Friday August 15, 2014. It was one of the hardest days for mommy. It was a great day for you! You loved the kids and the action of Sally's house! 6. You enjoyed your first trip to Disney World in your 4th month of life! You were an absolute dream child on that trip! You loved to ride in the front carrier so you could see everything and really didn't seem to mind the 300 degree temps! 7. Finally on August 24th, you sat up unsupported for a few seconds, on our bed... it wasn't much but it was for sure sitting without help! So many changes this month! You are such a big little boy!