Tequila Lime Chicken

I’m always looking for new ways to make chicken, so when I saw this recipe in the Pioneer Woman’s new cookbook, I knew I just had to try it out!  As with most of my recipes, I made enough just for my husband and me, so if you are making this for more than 2 people, you’ll want to adjust the quantities.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 3 limes
  • 5 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 jalapeño, sliced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
  • 5 tbsp olive oil
  • 3/4 cup tequila
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

This marinade quantity can be used for up to 6 chicken breasts.  Since I only had two, I poured what I needed and saved the rest for next time.

Start by slicing your limes in half.  Squeeze the juice of all the limes into a food processor or blender.

Add the peeled garlic.

Slice your jalepeño, with the seeds and membranes intact,

and add it to the blender.

Next add cilantro and olive oil.  I forgot to take a picture of the cilantro.  Oops!

Now it’s time for the tequila!!!!!  It’s amazing how much flavor this adds.

Blend until thoroughly pureed.

Add chicken to a Ziploc bag and pour the marinade over it.  Seal and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

When your chicken is done marinating, grill over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes on each side.  I’m a big fan of only flipping your meat once, so make sure you cook it long enough on the first side before you flip it.

Look at those beautiful grill marks!  And you can still see some of the green marinade in the cracks!

Once your chicken is done cooking, remove it from the grill and let it rest for a few minutes before slicing it into strips.

Serve along side some Mexican rice (recipe to follow), refried beans, and some warmed flour tortillas.  I added some freshly grated cheddar cheese on the side as well.  You could also include some pico de gallo, guacamole, and sour cream.  Hope you enjoy!!

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20 Weeks Old!

UPDATE:  I’m happy to report that this blog post and my 20 weeks comparison picture of Grayson has been pinned 183,732 times on Pinterest!  Thanks to everyone who thought this picture was worth pinning. 🙂

I think in my 26.5 years on this earth, this past year has definitely flown by faster than any other year.  Since September of 2011, I’ve found out that I was pregnant, learned I was having a boy, turned 26, gave birth to my beautiful baby boy, flew to CA with my husband and son, and watched my little man grow up before my eyes.  And today, Grayson is 20 weeks old!  That’s 140 days! Or more precisely: 4 months, 2 weeks, and 3 days!

Since I have an ultrasound from when I was 20 weeks pregnant with him, I thought it would be fun to do a comparison:  20 weeks in my belly, and 20 weeks in the outside world.

If someone had told me, then, how much love and joy this little boy could bring into my life, I don’t know if I would have believed them.  But I can tell you now that I have never felt a love like this before.  I love my husband with all my heart, but there is just something so special about a mother’s love for her child.  I would do anything for him!  I look into his eyes and I can see how much he loves me, too, even though he can’t say it yet.

He has stolen my heart……and I don’t want it back. ♥

**UPDATE: Since this post is so popular, I thought I’d share my second son Oliver’s 20 week comparison here!

20 week comparison | southerndaisy.com

Tummy Time and Rice Cereal

Normally Grayson despises tummy time, so when he was actually smiling I had to snap some pics!

Notice our Saint Bernard, Kaylee, in the background getting a whiff of Grayson’s tushy.  Yum!!!

This kinda looks like one of those old school photos where they had you look off into the distance.  Haha!

Such a little cutie!

Kaylee is always so concerned about Grayson.  Always coming over to check on him and give him a quick sniff to make sure everything’s ok.  They’re going to be best buddies as he grows up!

This past week Grayson had his first taste of rice cereal!!  My little boy is growing up too fast!  He was a little unsure of it at first, but soon he got the hang of how to eat from a spoon.  He’s only getting one small serving of organic brown rice cereal about an hour before bedtime for now, but as he gets older and his appetite grows, we’ll start adding some other foods little by little.

On Saturday we took a video of him eating cereal for the 3rd time.  He did much better than the first time, and was actually able to keep most of it in his mouth!

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, We’ve Got a Roller!

Grayson has figured out how to roll over from his tummy to his back!  He did it for the first time last week when Steve’s parents were here, but unfortunately, Steve didn’t get to see it, and since I wasn’t expecting it at the time, I wasn’t able to get pictures or video of it.

Well, he did it again today, and I just happened to have my camera handy!!  I was taking pictures of him on his tummy to show how well he can hold his head up, when he just rolled over!  And of course I snapped away!

I’m so proud!!!

Then when I put him back on his tummy, his buddy Lazarus decided to join him!

Lazarus: “Hey man, what’s up?”

Grayson: “Not much, just doin’ some tummy time.”

Lazarus: “Sweet!  Mind if I join you?”

Grayson: “Not at all!  It’s nice to have some company.”

Lazarus: “Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have any leftover milk would you?  That stuff is delicious!”

Grayson: “No, and how would you know what it tastes like?”

Lazarus: “Ummm…..Hey, what’s that over there?”  *runs away*

(At least that’s how I think the conversation went)

Grayson also went for a walk in the big boy part of the stroller this week!  For 16 weeks old, he did great!  And he loved being able to look around at the scenery as we walked through the park.

Smokey House Rehab: The Finished Product!!!!!

After over a YEAR of procrastinating working on this house, I am happy to announce that it is finally FINISHED!!!!!!!  Between getting married and having a baby, this home rehab was really put on the back burner, but I’m so glad that it’s complete and ready to be put on the market!

It was quite a project, from all the trash we had to remove to the smoke damage that permeated the very bones of the house, there was so much to do!  If you are a new reader, or you need a refresher on what this house looked like when we started, I thought I’d show you some before and after pictures.  The transformation is amazing to say the least!

The Living Room:

Before

After

We removed the stinky, smoke filled carpet and replaced it with pretty laminate flooring.  We also painted all the trim and the fireplace with at LEAST two coats of white paint.  In some cases it took priming and then painting two coats to cover the yellow stained trim.  Steve painted the ceiling, and we hired a painter to paint all the walls in the house since some were several feet high.  We also replaced all the light fixtures in the house, including the outdoor lights.

The Kitchen:

Before

After

Before

After

At first we tried to salvage the white cabinets by scrubbing them with a bleach and water mixture.  While it looked like we were making some great progress and were really getting them clean, once the painter painted the kitchen, we realized that there was no way we’d be able to keep the existing cabinetry.  Against the white paint, the cabinets were quite yellow.  I’m so glad we replaced them, though, because the new cabinets and counters are beautiful!  We also installed brand new stainless steel appliances.  The stove still even has the protective blue plastic covering the stainless steel.

That vinyl floor was awful, and the new tile floor is beautiful and modern.

The Entryway:

Before

After

Unfortunately I didn’t take a picture of the entryway before we ripped up the flooring, but you get the idea.

The Hallway:

Before

After

Ugh! That yellowed trim around the door still haunts me!

The Hall Bathroom:

Before

After

This bathroom probably required the least amount of work.  Don’t get me wrong, it was still grody, but compared to the rest of the house, I feel like it cleaned up pretty well with not as much effort.  We removed the vinyl and replaced it with tile, cleaned up the cabinets and counter and replaced the hardware, painted the walls, and of course CLEANED!!!

The Master Bedroom:

Before

After

The Master Bathroom:

Before

After

We basically did the same thing here that we did on the hall bathroom, but on a larger scale.

The 2nd Bedroom:

Before

After

The 3rd Bedroom:

Before

After

The bedrooms were pretty straight forward.  Clear out all the junk, rip out the carpet, paint the walls, ceiling, and doors, and replace the baseboards and the window screens.

The Bonus Room:

Before

After

This room above the garage (for any repair work call the expert garage door repair and installation in Arlington Heights who are the best in this field) could either be used as a bonus room or as a 4th bedroom.  It has an attached bathroom and closet.

The Backyard:

Before

After

There were two huge cedar trees that had to be cut down, and the lawn had to be completely dug up and replanted, since it was basically just overgrown weeds and vines.

The Front:

Before

After

We got rid of the vines hanging down from the roof, removed all the bushes, replanted the grass, and repainted the garage doors and front door.  Look at that curb appeal!

I can’t believe it’s finally done!!!  Thank you, Jesus!!!

3 Months Old!

I can’t believe how fast the time is going by!  My little boy is already almost 3 1/2 months old!  Of course, on his 3 month birthday we had to do a photo shoot with his stuffed puppy dog to show how much he’s grown.

Looking back on his 1 and 2 month old pictures, I can’t believe how big he’s getting!  He’s such a little person now!

He’s starting to “talk” a lot, and he’s getting better at lifting and supporting his head.  I took this video this morning during tummy time.

 

He is such a happy baby, and Steve and I are so blessed to have him in our lives!  I can’t wait until he can actually communicate with us with words!  Until then, I will just enjoy the fact that he always smiles when he catches me looking at him and when he hears my voice.  There truly is no better blessing than being a mommy.

 

2 Months Old

Holy smokes!  I have a 2 month old son!  Where has the time gone?

Didn’t I just take his 1 month pictures??  Look how much he’s grown in just one month!  He’s starting to look more and more like a baby instead of a newborn.

He’s even started sleeping longer at night.  Two nights ago he slept 8 hours and 50 minutes in his first stretch, and then slept another 3 hours after that!

I think the time is coming soon where he’ll be able to sleep in his own room!  I don’t even want to think about that, because that means my little boy is growing up!!

One of his favorite things to do is “talk” to the puppy decals on the wall.  He could literally lay there and smile and coo at them for an hour if I let him!

I think when he gets old enough to really play with them, he’s going to absolutely LOVE our dogs.  (As long as Camelot doesn’t knock him down in excitement).  I know Kaylee will be great with him.  She’s already put up with so much from Lazarus!!

Here’s a video I took this morning of Grayson “talking” to the doggies on the wall.  He’s becoming so vocal, even though he can’t really form words yet, I know he thinks he is carrying on conversations. 🙂

Love my little boy!!!

Grayson “Talking” to Mommy

My little man turned 8 weeks old today, and I took this video of him talking to me this morning.  He is always happiest and most talkative in the mornings, and it’s such a joy to share those moments with him!  It makes waking up a whole lot easier when I have this precious boy to greet me.

 
http://www.facebook.com/v/579590290641

Now if that’s not cute, I don’t know what is. 🙂

How Our Lives Have Changed

It’s an amazing thing to say that I’m a mother.  Steve and I are parents!  I never thought this day would come, and now my son is about to turn 8 weeks old.  Where has the time gone?  Our lives have changed in many ways since little Grayson Russell came into the world.  Lack of sleep is one of them.  The first 3 days of this week in particular were difficult.  Grayson slept pretty good for the first stretch of sleep (from bedtime at 8pm until about 1:00 – 1:45am), but after that he was up every 45 minutes to an hour on the dot, and since it would take me at least 20 minutes to fall back asleep every time I would put him back down, I was only getting 30 minutes of uninterrupted sleep at the most.  After the 3rd night of this, I wasn’t sure how much more I could take, especially since I wasn’t going to bed, myself, until around 11pm or midnight each night.

Luckily, two nights ago, Grayson slept the longest he has ever slept in one stretch — 7.5 hours!!!  I couldn’t believe it when I looked at the clock.  I actually woke up once when he started fussing a little, made a bottle for him, and by the time I came back in the room he had fallen back asleep, and stayed asleep for another hour and a half!  And last night was probably his best night ever.  He slept from 9pm to 4:10am, and then, after he ate, he slept again until 6:30am, ate again, and then slept until 7:45am.  That has never happened!  Even the night before when he slept 7.5 hours straight, he was still up every hour after that!  This is just one of the ways that I know that my little man is starting to grow up.  He is not the tiny newborn baby he was just 8 short weeks ago, when he would only sleep for 2 hour stretches at a time!

Since his birth, we have celebrated Steve’s first Father’s Day, as well as our first wedding anniversary.  My, what a difference a year can make!  Grayson can now pretty much hold his head up by himself (although we still support it just in case…..he’s still a little floppy at times).  He’s starting to “talk” to us as well, and always greets us with a huge smile every morning.  Mornings are definitely his most happy time of the day!  He even gave me his first laugh this morning.  I can’t wait to hear him laugh more and more!

Our kitty, Lazarus, absolutely LOVES Grayson.  Whenever Grayson is laying on the floor, Lazarus always has to come and lay right next to him.  I know they’re going to be best buddies for several years!  Our other two kitties, Lacey and Fancy, are good with him too.  They were only curious for about a day, and now they either completely ignore him, or just treat him like another member of the family.  It’s still a competition to see who can take up Mommy’s lap the most, though.

Grayson absolutely loves bath time.  Whenever he’s grumpy in the evenings, bath time always calms him down.  He could probably splash in there for an hour if I let him!  We’ve made it part of our nightly routine, and he knows that after his bath, it’s time for bed.

When he turned a month old on June 24th, I made sure to take lots of pictures.  This one is my favorite from that day.  Such a happy boy!

We also celebrated his first 4th of July!

I think he’s starting to get used to having a camera in his face, and it’s a good thing, because I don’t plan on putting it down anytime soon!

He even poses for me occasionally. 🙂

Steve is a wonderful daddy, and Grayson sure loves him!  He gives him the biggest smiles whenever Steve picks him up.  And then of course, if he gets fussy again, he gets handed back to me.  Haha!

Another thing that calms him down if he’s being fussy is being burped.  He doesn’t even have to get anything out, but just the sitting up and patting his back will usually instantly calm him down.  Of course, nothing calms a fussy baby like a nice bottle of milk. 🙂

We’ve been out to eat at a restaurant twice with him, and both times he did great!  We try to time things perfectly so we know when his happiest time of day is, and then try to do most outings during that time.  It’s worked for us so far!

I can’t believe our little man is going to be 8 weeks old tomorrow!  I hope the rest of his life doesn’t go by this quickly, or we’ll be in real trouble!  I’ve tried to take as many pictures, and even videos, as I can so that we’ll always have lots of memories to look back on as he gets older.  Slow down, Son!  You’re growing up too fast!!!