zebra bday party

My little girl recently turned two. We invited a few people over where we ...

Ate some cake.

Played some games.
I was dealing with two-year-olds and 4-year-olds. I needed the games to be simple, but entertaining. I first gathered some treats and prizes and separated them into separate baskets. 

I then blew up 10 balloons with a slip of paper inside that either had a 1 or 2 on it. Each kid, and adult, had to pop the balloon with a pin or their body to get the paper out. Which ever number they got, that was the basket they got to chose from.

The second game was apparently THE HARDEST game the kids had ever played! The goal was to get the bean bag into any of the targets. Once they made it, they got to choose from the opposite basket they didn't get in the balloon game. I started out all strict and wanted the kids to stand behind a line that wasn't that far away--so I thought. I had an "ah-ha" moment and let the kids stand where ever they wanted to make the basket. The two-year-olds stood above the targets and the four-year-olds were about a foot away!

And opened presents. 
Jovi got spoiled and I'm okay with that. It's her birthday and she should get a special day were she gets treated a little different.

**I need to take pictures of people!

happy birthday jovi

 I went into labor with Jovi around 4 a.m. and had her around 8:30 a.m. She came out scowling and hasn't stopped. And has been full of sass and attitude ever since.

It has been a love/hate relationship between these two. At least I have proof that deep down they really love each other.

Happy Birthday Jovi!!

recipe: gyozas

Last week was Joe's birthday. We invited some of his friends over and fed them gyozas and Thai noodles with jerk chicken.

Holy smokes. I LOVE gyozas! One of my brother-in-laws, who learned from his Japanese grandmother, showed me how to make them when I visited them a long long time ago. I've only  made these little bad boys a handful of times because they take FOREVER to make! This time, however, we recruited the help of Joe's friends and made them earn their keep by wrapping all 3.5 pounds of meat! I'm the best hostess ever!

Want the recipe? Umm... okay.

Gyozas
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork --I hope it's obvious that I doubled the recipe for our friends.
3 stalks green onion, chopped
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 TBSP garlic (powder OR actual vegetable)
1/4 cup corn starch
Sweet Chili Sauce (I use Mae Ploy)
Square Wraps (I use Azumaya. This time I found them in the organic section of my grocery store)
**Over the years that I've made these, it has been hit and miss on the stores having the chili sauce and the square wraps. I usually find the sweet chili sauce in the oriental section of the grocery store. The wraps are usually refrigerated and found in the organic section of the grocery store. Good luck! And happy hunting!! 

1. Mush together pork and beef until well combined.
2. Brown meat with chopped green onions and garlic IF using the actual vegetable, NOT THE POWDER.
3. Drain fat.
4. Sprinkle soy sauce so it coats the entire top of the meat. --The meat turns a dark brown.
5. Sprinkle corn starch over meat until thickens. --This could take more or less than a 1/4 cup.
6. Remove from stove and let cool.
7. Place small spoonful of meat in middle of wrap and seal. --The trick to sealing the wraps is to have a small bowl of water. Dip your finger in the water and wet two sides of the wrappers. Make sure and seal the wrapper so it doesn't fall apart when frying in the oil.
8.  Fry gyozas in heated oil.
9. Serve with sweet chili sauce. --I usually make ham fried rice with this.

Does this recipe make sense? I'm super good at following recipes, but I'm not that great at making them. If you try them, let me know how they turned out!

happy happy birthday

My man is in his 30s! 

Happy birthday to the greatest husband, friend, and papa! Love you lots.

corban is 3

This year we celebrated only Corban and my mom's birthday. I made cupcakes and put stop signs and cars on top. On his actual birthday, I took Corban is first movie at the movie theater. He got scared while we waited for the movie to start and I thought I was going to have to get our money back. I played a game with him with our popcorn. He sat on my lap until the movie started and then was pretty well set. Sadly, this is the only picture I got from his birthday.

jon bon jovi

For my birthday this year Joe took me to a Bon Jovi concert! It was a blast but keep in mind I'm 5 1/2 months pregnant and still a little sick. While most people were rocking out standing, I was bobbing along in my seat! I didn't mind. I could still hear everything!

(I stole this from the Salt Lake Tribune)

happy birthday

Corban is 2 years-old! We celebrated with Lily and my mom because their birthdays are all one day apart.

Our theme was polk-a-dots. We had sprinkled and M&Ms cupcakes, played a treasure hunt with the clues in plastic eggs, and played guess how many skittles.

I can't believe Corban is two already. He's definitely not a baby any more, but a little boy.

birthday boy

My baby boy turned one on September 8!

He has eight teeth, is 30 inches tall, and weighs 22 pounds. He says mom and shakes his head no. He waves and blows kisses, but not on demand. He's mostly crawling, but will take a few steps on his own. He wakes up mostly happy from naps and sleeps through the night!

He loves blocks and cars. He separates mom's and dad's shoes, none of them can be by its pair. He is the modern-day godzilla, destroying anything taller than an inch. Corban loves bath time and even the occasional shower.

We love our little guy! We're looking forward to many more years with you!

birthday

Does anyone get this photo? I didn't in real life. It is apparently off of an "Office" episode. Anyhoo. Yesterday was a great day after I got over a migraine. We went to Sizzler and then had people over for ice cream (I hate cake). I ended up getting some money, "Twilight", some new rocketdogs, and some candy. 

Thanks everyone for a great day!

birthday pics

What cheezy faces on both of them!

happy birthday old man

Today is Joe's 27th birthday! He's basically an old man. I kept asking him what he wanted to do today, where he wanted to eat, etc. And he told me he'd think about it. Think about too long and you'll have to wait for next year. I did make him a sign and cupcakes with robot paper cups. I also got him two surprises. In fact, I'll tell you what they are since he never reads this blog any way. I got him a new shirt and a lamp (he doesn't like studying in our office because it's too dark). Practical presents, but I hope he likes them.

Today is also my brother's, Jeff, birthday. 

Happy Birthday to two great guys!