First Communion Rehearsal

Our youngest is about to have a wonderful and special event in her life, her first Holy Communion.  As Roman Catholics, this sacrament is another step closer for to be fully initiated in our Church.

Last night we went for rehearsal and it filled me with joy to see the other 50+ children who were so excited to be part of this event.  This is only one group out of four groups this year! 

Super bonus for Z.  Since she has Celiac, she has to consume a special host that is very low gluten, and therefore she gets to be first!  Never thought that would be an advantage!

Her service is on Saturday and we are excited to see her fully participate in mass with us. 

Weekly Menu Plan for End of April! (already??)

Wow - this month is almost over!  I can't believe it went by so fast.  Ok - I can, but it always amazes me.  April flies by with birthdays, Lent and Easter every year.

This weekend, my wonderful hubs is out camping with my son at Scout camp.  He didn't have to, but he did it because he is just a great dad.  He is also an AH-MAZING husband, who does the weekly menu planning, food shopping and most of the cooking!  Like I said, he's AH-MAZING!

So I am going to surprise him this week with my own menu plan (I'm a little out of practice).

Weather is completely wonky this week.  Cold and rainy on Saturday morning and it will be in 90's by Tuesday!  So a mix of slow cooker and grillable items are in the mix.  The Mahi Mahi is last for a good reason.  It comes frozen and will last all week until I need it.  Much better than buying fresh chicken and letting it sit all week.  *For those who are new, we don't cook on Fridays - so I never have a meal plan for it!!*
All gluten free of course, but delicious for everyone!  Enjoy!

Sunday
Slow Cooker Paprika Chicken
Rice pilaf
salad

Monday
Korean Beef Bowl
Broccoli
Rice

Tuesday
Tacos al pastor (buying premarinated meat from Stater Bros)
Mexican rice
salad

Wednesday
Grilled chicken (Goya marinade)
Crockpot mushroom risotto
Grilled veges (bell peppers, zucchini)

Thursday
Honey lime grilled Mahi Mahi
Coconut rice
Grilled asparagus

My Birthday Was On Good Friday...Good Grief

April is another wonderful month where we get crazy.  This month, my oldest daughter had two sleepover birthday parties, her karate Sensei had a birthday, as well as myself, my nephew, two uncles, my father and my brother is yet to come!   Exhausting.

Thrilled as I was to get my birthday on a Friday, it fell on THE Friday.  The holiest Friday of the year, the day we remember Jesus dying on the cross for us.  As Catholics, we give up meat on Friday's during Lent and we also fast on Good Friday, as small reminder of what Jesus sacrificed for us.  So birthday celebrations were slightly belated this year.

Hubs surprised the next night by me by taking me to The Crow Bar in Corona Del Mar.  Simply awesome!  I've wanted to go for a few years, so it was perfect.  We splurged on their "Black Label" burger, which is almost too decadent to mention.  Almost.  (proceed with caution, this is good..)

The burger is made from a prime cut of rib-eye that is aged for 21 days.  Once grilled to perfection, it is topped with caramelized onions and butter made with bone marrow.  My side was fresh cut french fries that were fried in duck fat and served with a wickedly good side of truffle aioli and homemade ketchup.
We added a tall, cold frosty draft of Pliny the Elder beer.  Ahhh...and there you have a perfect dinner.

For dessert, we treated ourselves to the delicious and amazing Butterscotch & Salted Caramel Pot de Creme. Salted caramel is a total weak spot, and this one did not disappoint.  Trust me on this.

(please note, while The Crow Bar offers and marks gluten free items on their menu, we opted for a birthday treat since we were with no kiddos :) )

Easter was great, and I have recipes coming that are perfect for any special occasion brunch!

Lucky me!  Dinner and a cute date!

Growing the Family: Doggy Style

Oh my goodness!  It's been weeks since I've had a chance to talk about all the happenings.  Ya know, you start a blog to start recording precious memories and ironically you get too busy to stop and put any of them down!  However, this time I have a really adorable reason why!

We were lucky enough this past month to add a wonderful new member to the family.  Meet Milo the dog.

Milo was adopted from The Pet Rescue Center in Aliso Viejo.  They rescued him from a kill-shelter and found the poor guy covered in matted hair and with a wound on his side, most likely from being hit by a car.  He's some kind of poodle-maltese-bichon mix.  Not really sure and Milo is not telling.  All we know is he stole our heart the moment we met him.

We prayed for years for a good dog for our family.  We waited until the kids were old enough to help with doggies duties and be responsible for one. I grew up with great big sloppy kissing labradors, so this little guy is a whole new kind of dog for me.  Adopting him has been almost as time consuming as bringing home a new baby.  (although this one came house trained already!)

Here is Milo's first month:

We adopted him

Got to know him

Played with him

He slept

Got his first haircut!

Briefly considered renaming him "Falcor" after the haircut (you'll have to Google that one)

He supervised reading time with Grandmom and Z

Escorted our daughter to a sleepover

Had his first vet checkup

Had his first bath from the kids

The bath was not a favorite "first"

And he slept some more

Yep, this dog hit the doggy lotto with us.  Three kids and four adults to love him and care for him.  Let me tell you about him:

• What we love about Milo is his love for everyone in the family.  If someone new comes in a room, he always goes to them to show his affection.  
• As the month has passed, he has warmed up even more.  He gives the kids lots of kisses on their face whenever they are on the ground with him.  
• He loves playing with his stuffed toys.  
• He loves to be on his leash for a walk, and he loves to defecate on everyone else's lawn but ours (don't worry, we clean up after him!).  
• Milo barks like a big boy at the boxer next door.  (that dog thinks he is nuts)
• His is protective of "his" place and people, but he is super friendly to other dogs when he is walking on a leash outside.  
• Milo is good boy in his crate at night and likes to do a big cat stretch when he gets out in the morning.
• If you rub his belly, you might be one of his favorite new people. 
• I might have to put a bell on him, since he likes to stand right behind you in the kitchen as you cook, set the table or go to the fridge!  We've had several close tripping calls!  
• And after this month, he has started to whimper or cry anytime his "people" have left the room, even for a few minutes.  So adorable that Milo!

With all these wonderful qualities, maybe it is us who hit the doggy lotto????

Well, it has been a whirlwind month for the family....I will post all the OTHER stuff we have been doing later.  If you are looking to adopt a new family pet, consider a rescue doggie!  By adopting a dog, and not a puppy, we were able to avoid all of the extra work associated with those cutie pies.  Not that I wouldn't want to do that work, but since we work and have three kiddos with full activity schedules, it wouldn't have been fair to a puppy.

For more information on The Pet Rescue Center, please click here!!!!

Milo the Dog