Toddler Talk

At lunch time today, I set the table and called the boys to come and eat. Drew came to the table right away and started eating. I called for Bryce a few times but he didn't come. This funny conversation followed...


Drew: "Bicie, come to da table and eat!"
Brcye: "NO!"
Drew: "Bicie, Mommy said come to da table and eat!"
Bryce: "NO!"
Drew: "Bice, PWEAS come to da table and EAT!"
Brcye: "NO! I'm pooping!"

They keep me laughing all day!

Family Food Faves

I receive a subscription to "Everyday Food" by Martha Stewart and I just love it. The recipes I've tried are always tasty and fairly easy.

This is a definite "make again" dish!

Cayenne-Rubbed Chicken with Avocado Salsa

Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 to 8 ounces each)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 Hass avocado, pitted and cut into chunks
Directions
In a small bowl, combine 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cayenne; rub all over chicken.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add chicken, and cook until browned on the outside and opaque throughout, 8 to 10 minutes per side.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine onion and lime juice; set aside. Just before serving, fold avocado chunks into onion mixture; season with salt and pepper. Serve chicken topped with salsa.

More Fun With Nana!

We also had a fun day at Silver Dollar City.

Nana went on rides with the boys...
Nana helped us babysit our triplet friends for the day!

We had fun making forts!
And had fun fishing indoors!


Nana, you are so much fun! We love you and miss you very much and can't wait for you to come back at Christmas!

They Milked a Cow!

Last night we took the boys to their first rodeo. They both love animals so the petting zoo was of course a huge hit! They got to see long-horn cattle, goats, baby chicks hatching out of their eggs horses, cows and geese. The little pony was so cute we just couldn't pass up getting their pictures taken!

Drew thought the pony was pretty cool...
Bryce wasn't quite sure what to think of it!

They even got to milk a cow!

Before the rodeo started all of the children received a free stick pony and cowboy hat and got to run all around the arena. How fun is that!

Nana LOVES the rodeo!

Way Back WHEN-esday

Dateline: March 2006

Bryce and Drew's Age: 4 days old

This was one of the happiest and proudest days in my life! I got to bring my 2 "miracle babies" home. After a long and very difficult pregnancy, it was such a relief and joy to bring our two, totally healthy babies home. And not ONE day spent in the NICU! Thank you God!


More on Bryce and Drew's amazing "story" to come!

My 100th Post!

Wow! I started blogging a little over a year ago (see why below!)

If you enjoy reading my blog and have NEVER said hello and left me a comment before, please do so! I know from my sitemeter that I have some loyal visitors from Oregon, Illinois, Washington, California, Texas, New Jersey, and lots of other areas. Please stop by and say hello. I would love to know who's reading "Doubly Blessed" and to make a new friend!

If I already know you and you enjoy my blog, would you leave me a comment too? Let me know what you like most about my blog?!

The Reasons I Blog...

When my friends Leilanni and Ginger started blogging, I was clueless. I had no idea what it was or how to do it. They both had babies my boys' age and I had so much fun seeing pictures of them and reading all about the cute things they were doing. We had just moved away from DFW and I was so lonely! It was a great way to feel "connected" with my friends. So, I thought I would give it a try.

1. The main reason I blog is to keep the grandparents and family updated on Bryce and Drew. All 3 sets of grandparents live in Washington state and all of our siblings and extended family live in different states as well.

2. We have a lot of dear friends that live all over the country as well. It's a great way to keep them updated on our lives.

3. It is a great outlet/hobby for me. I am a stay-at-home mom so it gives me a fun, creative outlet to pursue while chasing after the boys!

4. It is a great way to meet new people. I have met a lot of other blogging mom's throughout the blogging community, most of which are Mom's of twins and higher order multiples. It's been encouraging to be able to see the lives of families with multiples - their triumphs, their challenges, etc. We are here to encourage and help one another!

5. I love to cook and eat (mostly healthful foods!) and enjoy sharing recipes with others.

But, one of the coolest reasons I blog...

6. I didn't know until several months after I started blogging that you can actually turn your Blog into a book! Click here to learn more. Jimmy and I do a great job of photographing our boys. We have taken thousands of pictures of them. We also take a lot of video of them that Jimmy then burns onto DVD's but I am not good at keeping a baby book updated or photo albums for them. Several friends and family are awesome scrapbookers. They have made beautiful albums of their children but I'm just not patient or creative enough to do it...it actually makes me anxious! So, when I learned that http://www.blurb.com/ can upload all of my blog entries into a beautiful hardcover book, I was thrilled. Now I can post about holidays, vacations, visits from grandparents, things the boys are doing, etc, in chronological order and then turn it into a book for each of the boys. And, someday when they are grown and out of the house hopefully they will be cooking all of their favorite "Family Food Faves" recipes!

Thanks for reading my blog and keeping up with The Richardson's!

Don't forget to leave your comment!

More Fun With Nana and Papa R!

We had lots of fun when Nana and Papa R were here. Here's a few more pics of the boys playing and loving on them!

Check out our new scooters!


Look how tall we are!

The boys love to eat lemons!


While Nana and Papa were here Jimmy and I got to have a little anniversary getaway. We stayed in a beatiful, new hotel located in a really cool shopping area. With all of Jimmy's travels, he was able to use his Hilton points to upgrade our room (for free!) so we got to stay in the suite!It had 2 large, flat-screen tv's and large wrap-around porch that overlooked the shopping area and river.

We enjoyed lots of wonderful food, good R & R time together and lots of shopping for the boys' fall/winter clothing {more on that to come:(} Thank you Nana and Papa for babysitting for us!

We are so excited. Nana gets to come back tomorrow for another visit. She builds airplanes at Boeing and the employees are "on strike" so she will come spend some of her off time with us!

Y-IKE-S!

Last night was pretty eventful around here.

We felt the effects of Hurricane Ike all night long - 55+ mph winds and rain. It had such a huge force that the large trees in our yard were waving like grass! At one point we were preparing to bring the sleeping boys into our room because there were so many swinging trees outside their bedroom window. Thankfully, it began to die down.

We prayed all night long for safety and protection. God definitely answered our prayers! We woke up to a mess in our yard - lots of limbs, debris and leave, but no fallen trees.

Our neighbors were not so lucky. On our street alone there are over 10 huge trees completely uprooted and fallen. Jimmy and some of the neighbor men were up early cutting apart a tree that had fallen perfectly across the street. As we headed out for church Jimmy drove around to check on the other neighbors and an older couple had a tree crash down onto their home and through their kitchen! I'm not sure how, but they amazingly slept through the events! Jimmy stayed home to help him cut up the tree and remove it from his house!

Today is sunny and cool. Perfect weather for cleanup! I hope all of you that live in Ike's path are safe and sound!

Family Food Faves

If you are craving a creamy, cheesy, somewhat spicy comfort dish, give this a try. I serve it up with cheesy-topped refried beans and a tossed green salad. It's not too spicy - my boys love them!

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon margarine
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers, drained
8 (8 inch) flour tortillas (I only use 5-6)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a small bowl mix the soup and sour cream; set aside.
3. Melt margarine in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion and chili powder, and saute until tender. Stir in the chicken, chile peppers, and 2 tablespoons of the soup mixture. Cook and stir until heated through.
4. Spread 1/2 cup of the soup mixture in a 9x13 inch baking dish.

5. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas, and place, seam-side-down, in the baking dish.

6. Spoon remaining soup mixture on top, and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Fish On!

While Nana and Papa R were here we unfortunately had some pretty rainy weather - effects from Hurricane Gustav. We did get to enjoy one warm, sunny day together at a beautiful state park nearby. Our friends Jeff, Kristina, Maddy and Keenan were camping at the park over Labor Day Weekend and invited us up for the day.

Nana and Papa bought the boys their first fishing pole, tackle box and nets(in the "Cars" theme) for their first fishing excursion. This was totally Jimmy's "cup of tea." He frequently recalls some of his favorite memories as a child and they always revolve around the outdoors - camping, fishing, hiking, etc. He especially has fond memories of fishing with his grandparents, so this was a very special day for him.







Of course, at the very moment Bryce so proudly caught his first fish, my camera battery died! Argh! By the time Papa ran to get his camera, we missed the moment.

Here's a few pics of the boys with their PRIZE!


My favorite pic of the day...