Family Alive

Brian, Kristine, Analise, and Josiah Toone


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One more What’s Cookin’… Honey Hoisin Chicken (slow-cooker)

23rd March 2007

Honey Hoisin Chicken
Super easy slow-cooker chinese!  I made this earlier in the week for the first time, and it turned out fantastic.  Better than chinese take-out!

*4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
*3 T soy sauce
*3 T honey
*3 T hoisin sauce
*2 T dry white wine
*1 T fresh grated ginger (I used about 1 t dried)
*1 t ground pepper

Put
everything in the slow cooker for 4-6 hours on low. Halfway through
cooking, turn the chicken breasts to recoat with sauce.  Just before
serving, remove the chicken and slice into strips. Serve with sauce
over fluffy white rice, stir fried veggies (or steamed) and top with
toasted sesame seeds.

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Spring Break

22nd March 2007

z

I am on Spring Break this week, and since the kiddos have been sick all week, today was the first day we really had a chance to do anything as a family. We went to the zoo and then Analise and I played in the backyard for a while on the newly remodeled swingset. Thanks Poppa!

Earlier in the day, we went to the zoo and had a great time. I’ve included pictures below from our fun trip.


I don’t think this guy ever moves. This is the same spot he was in when Steve and Corrie went to the zoo with us in August.


Lots of new animals in the zoo. Here is one of them — a "spectacle owl chick".


Here is a young Kimoto Dragon, another new animal at the zoo. He has 55 kinds of bacteria in his mouth,
seven of which are deadly! He had a really long tongue and was probably about 4-5 feet long.


This guy posed for a really good picture hanging on the rope after I took this one,
but unfortunately I couldn’t get the camera to focus on that one. Still these guys
are one of my favorites in the monkey exhibit.


Big Hippo!


First time I’ve ever seen an elephant get a pedicure!


Here is the baby giraffe, about 8 months old.

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What’s Cookin’… Chili Mac

20th March 2007

  • 1 lb. ground meat (we always use ground turkey, just personal preference)
  • 1 can tomato sauce or diced tomatoes
  • 1 can whole kernal corn, drained
  • 1 can kidney beans, undrained
  • 1 package of chili seasoning (French’s makes one called Chili-O that’s great)
  • 8 oz. cooked elbow macaroni (I’m a big fan of Barilla Plus multi-grain pasta, enriched with protein, fiber and ALA omega 3 fatty acids)
  • shredded cheddar cheese

In a large skillet, brown the meat with some seasoning (onion flakes, garlic, salt and pepper).  Drain, return to skillet, add tomato sauce (or tomatoes), chili seasoning, beans and corn.  Bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the cooked macaroni.  Top with shredded cheddar cheese. 

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What’s Cookin’… Turkey Spinach Burgers

20th March 2007

  • 1 lb. ground turkey
  • 1/2 box chopped spinach, thawed and squeeze-dried
  • 2 T Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1 t minced garlic or garlic powder
  • 1/2 t ground pepper
  • Tastefully Simple Onion Onion
  • 1/2 c oatmeal or breadcrumbs

Mix together, and form into patties (makes 5-6).  Cook on the George Foreman grill or a grill pan until cooked through (5 minutes??).  Top with swiss cheese and lite ranch dressing, lettuce and tomato on a whole wheat bun.  YUM!

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He’s getting hotter…

20th March 2007


Here is Brian in the break in the far-right of the picture.
The guy on the far left won the race. Brian got 2nd.


Here is the start of the sprint finish. Brian’s helmet is shown
in the top-right. The guy in red placed 5th in the sprint.

Last weekend we chased Brian around Murfreesboro, Tennesse for a road race on Saturday.  It was a great race for him, and he did REALLY well.  Without the long story – which I’m sure he’d love to post for those interested in the details, he got 2nd in the Pro/1/2 category.  He got beat by a pro, and won an extra bonus for being the top category 2 rider in the race.  Yea, Brian! 

We drove up Friday and spent the night with Brian’s cousin and his family.  Richard and Christy have 2 kids, Luke (2) and Lily (almost 5).  Analise was really excited when we told her we were going to visit them.  She’s only met them a couple times, but she remembered all the Little People they had, and she talked about going to Luke and Lily’s house non-stop until we got there.  She really enjoyed having a "big sister" to play with, and she and Lily played really well together.  Luke got a little left out of the mix, unfortunately.  I got some cute pictures that I’ll have to post later today, if I can get to it. 


Here is Lily and Analise getting ready for bed.


Here are Josiah and Luke playing together.


And here is the one picture we got of all four together.

Analise woke up kind of sick on Saturday, with a terrible sounding cough.  She was a trooper for the 3 hour bike race, plus the 1 hour-each way drive.  Thank goodness we had Brian’s parent’s car with a DVD player to keep her entertained!  It was really cold too – 29 degrees at the start of the race, and it wasn’t even 40 degrees by the time it ended.  We went back to Richard and Christy’s house after the race while Brian raced in a time trial (also a fun story… I’ll let him share the details). 

We got back on the road at about 6:30 Saturday evening, but Analise was getting sicker.  Both kids crashed and slept all the way home, but Analise was feverish and coughing the whole way.  Brian took Josiah to church on Sunday, while I took her to the doctor’s office on Sunday, and she’s got a sinus infection.  Even after 3 doses of antibiotics, she’s still coughing terribly and not seeming any better this morning.  Last night was particularly bad as she coughed all night.  To top it all off, Josiah spiked a fever during the night, so now I’ve got 2 sick kiddos.  Some way to spend Brian’s Spring break!  And we had a fun trip to the zoo planned for today.  Hopefully, we’ll feel better enough to go tomorrow. 

We’ll check in later!  

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Here come the photos!

15th March 2007


Beautiful sunset sky from a hill in our neighborhood.


Josiah and Kristine smiling at each other on the couch.


Josiah is tired after a messy meal.


Kristine found Josiah playing under the piano the other day.


Josiah’s latest favorite food has been blueberries … yummy, but messy!


Here’s one from the training race on Sunday. I like my teammate’s comment so I’ve included it here:
From: Jacob  … I love this picture. Brian looks like Johan Bruyneel. Or a Jedi Master:
"Young DP, you ahve grown strong in the ways of the Jedi!"


Kristine was busy taking care of Josiah, handing me water bottles during the race, and cheering
really loudly … so we didn’t get any pictures from the Knoxville race of the race itself, but we got
a few good ones of Josiah. Here Josiah entertained himself for almost an hour in the driver’s seat.


Here’s Josiah showing the love for one of our primary sponsors.


We had a rough night in the hotel with Josiah being quite unwilling to go to sleep. Perhaps its because
we let him crawl around explore the room for a while before we tried to put him down. Here he is
demonstrating that he is child prodigy in the area of plumbing. All looks good down here, mom!


Here he is AFTER we put him down to sleep.

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Spring is in the air… my little ones are growing so fast!

14th March 2007


Not much new here. I’m just trying to get caught up on some things around the house. We’ve had a quiet week, which is lovely after the busy weekend. No home church tonight, and though we miss meeting together with our friends, it was a relaxing evening at home.

I’m catching up on loads and loads and loads of laundry. We did some more consignment sale shopping at the Big Sale (in an old grocery store – with racks of clothes as long as the food aisles would be – I’m not kidding!) on Monday. Now I’m trying to get things washed and get winter and outgrown clothes put away. This seems like a perpetual process with growing kiddos!

Josiah, my Muffin Man

Oh, funny moment of the day… I made Sweet Berry Muffins this morning (I posted the recipe earlier!)
Anyway, Analise and I were enjoying them in the kitchen, and Josiah was
begging pieces off me. I took Analise to get ready, forgetting her
paper plate and last half of muffin were still on the step stool… I
came back to find Josiah covered in muffin, licking his lips. I wish
I’d gotten a picture… "Do you know the Muffin Man?"

I think I’ve
figured him out… he’d much prefer real food to baby food. He’s eating nearly everything I’m giving him lately… little pieces of any kind of bread, mashed potatoes, peas, cut up frozen blueberries, strawberry pieces, avocado, grape pieces, even couscous! I hope this keeps up! He’s starting to get spoiled by the "real" food, though and he’s turning his nose up to baby food. He’s getting tooth #7! At this age, I think Analise probably only had 2 teeth!

He turned 9 months old on Friday! I can’t believe it… where has the time gone? 9 months that has gone 10 times faster than the 9 months I was pregnant with him! He’s napping really well… a solid 2 hours around 9:30am and a couple hours again at 2pm. And thankfully, he’s going to sleep on his own pretty well. Yeah! Now if we can just progress to sleeping through the night again… Please, Lord… Yesterday, he was not quite ready to nap in the afternoon, so I held him on the couch for a while, and he fell asleep on me. There’s nothing I love more than to have my baby asleep on my chest. It’s such a sweet feeling.

At his 9 month check-up on Tuesday, he was 22lbs, 6oz (50th percentile) and 28.5" long (50th percentile). His head was 18" (75th percentile). He’s right where he should be. Hard to believe with all his soft baby fat, but I guess that’s what they’re supposed to have right now!

Analise moments
What do you do when you’ve used up all the patience in your arsenal and you’re faced with a 2-year old tantrum in the midst of getting ready for bed? You step back and watch your amazing husband take over for you with sweetness and grace, making her laugh in the midst of geting the duties done. I’m so glad God gave me someone to share this parenting adventure with!

After being woken up from her nap after only an hour and a half by a crying Josiah, I said to Analise, "Sweetie, did Josiah wake you up?" "Yes, he sore did." It’s so funny to hear adult phrases coming from my little girl!

Our current favorite book – and song – is Over in the Meadow. We’re listening to lots of fun songs that my mom sent us.

Ok, I had some more memories to capture about Analise, but they’ll have to wait, as I’ve just realize it’s 11:30. Gotta sleep!

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What’s Cookin’… Swiss Chicken with Stuffing

14th March 2007

Another *super easy* crockpot recipe.  There aren’t even any measurements for this one!  You can make this with turkey tenderloins or boneless pork chops as well. 

Swiss Chicken with Stuffing

  • boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • swiss cheese
  • can of cream of something soup (mushroom, celery, chicken…)
  • water
  • box of Stove-Top stuffing

Spray the inside of the crockpot with non-stick spray.  Place chicken breasts on the bottom.  Top with swiss cheese.  In a separate bowl, mix soup and stuffing together.  Add one can of water (or chicken broth).  Place in crockpot on top of chicken and cheese.  You can also top this with parmesean cheese before cooking.  Cook on high for 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

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What’s Cookin’… Italian Chicken and Parmesean Potatoes

14th March 2007

I haven’t tried this yet, but I just found the recipe, and thought I’d include it. Couldn’t be much easier, and it sounds great!

Italian Chicken and Parmesean Potatoes

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 cup parmesean cheese
  • 1 cup italian salad dressing
  • 4 medium baking potatoes

Wash, peel and cube potatoes. Place chicken breasts in bottom of crockpot. Drizzle with 1/3 of salad dressing and sprinkle with some of the parmesean cheese. Pile potatoes on top of chicken. Pour the rest of the salad dressing on top of the potatoes and top with the remainder of the parmesean cheese. Cook on low for 8 hours.

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What’s Cookin’…Crockpot Chocolate Cake

14th March 2007

Sounds unbelievable, but you won’t believe how amazing it tastes, especially topped with some vanilla ice cream!

Crockpot Chocolate Cake

  • 1 package chocolate cake mix
  • 1 cup sour cream (don’t use fat-free)
  • 1 package instant chocolate pudding
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup oil
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup water

Spray crockpot with non-stick spray.  In a medium bowl, mix by hand all of the ingredients.  Pour into crockpot.  Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.  Serve hot with whipped cream or ice cream.

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