happily random

Merry Christmas

I know, I know. I'm behind in my blogging again. What can I say but the holiday disrupted my best laid plans. I'll try to be better... yeah, right. Can you see why I don't bother making New Year's Resolutions?

Last night the kids opened their annual Christmas jammies. It's come so they expect it. Luke asked me three times yesterday, "Mom, are we getting new jammies tonight?" Obviously they have learned my secret. Tomorrow I'll go out to buy their Christmas jammies for next Christmas during the after-Christmas sales. That's definitely the secret; I paid $4 a piece for their jammies they're wearing this year as opposed to four times that amount. The only trick is to put them somewhere where the kids can't find them but where I can still remember where I put them a year later!

The funniest thing said during present-opening was from Tyler. When Tyler & Lucas opened their Lazer Tag set, Tyler exclaimed, "Yeah! More weapons!"

Joel surprised me with an external flash for my camera, and not the knock-off cheap-o one I had on my list. He got me a very nice Canon Speedlite 430EX II. It's fantastic! It's looking more an more like I need to start doing something more professional with this whole photography thing.

Our biggest blessing this day though was from Grandma & Grandpa: a Wii Sport for the entire family. We've spent the entire day playing with it, even Sammy. So much fun!

I love Christmas Day, especially after all the presents are opened. I just love hanging out with the family and playing together with our new toys. There is no where to go, no pressing errands to run or cleaning to do. We get to be together and goof off. It's 2 p.m. now and we're finally all dressed!

And those of you who are wondering, "Why didn't I get a Christmas card from the Dohertys this year?" I will tell you why: I decided not to. With the busyness of our family this year & the necessity of cutting back financially, I decided that the cards needed to be cut this year. So, sorry if you missed it, but I guess you'll just have to keep up with me on my blog & Facebook... or maybe even a phone call!

Merry Christmas!!

Kids say the cutest things...

Samantha, fresh from the bath, climbed into my arms and said, "Mom, I have the chokes."

"The chokes?" I asked.

"Yes, the chokes," she replied, a hiccup breaking through the middle of her sentence.

Aaaah.... the chokes.

Chicken Under Bricks

I posted on Facebook that I was making this and had several people ask me about it. Yes, you do cook it under bricks, or something else heavy that can handle 500 degree heat. So, here it is. It's very simple and makes very yummy chicken. Of course, this time of year you have to be one of those diehards that will barbecue in the snow... like me.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Grilling time: 45 minutes

Rub:

• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp granulated garlic
• 1/2 tsp granulated onion
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper

Other ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken, about 5 lbs
• Vegetable oil
• Your favorite barbecue sauce (for dipping)

Directions:

1. Turn gas grill on high, both sides and heat to about 500 degrees.

2. Make rub by mixing all dry ingredients into a small bowl and blending together.

3. Place chicken, breast side down, on a cutting board. Here's the fun part: using poultry shears, kitchen scissors or a really sharp knife, cut along each side of the backbone and remove it. Be very careful not to cut yourself, either with your cutting implement or on the rib bones. Make a 1/2-inch-deep incision between the breast & flatten the chicken as much as possible. For even cooking, make 1/2-inch-deep incision in each joint between the drumsticks & thighs. Trim & remove wing tips.

4. Season the chicken all over with the rub.

5. Place the chicken, skin side down on the grill, over INDIRECT HIGH HEAT, about 450-550 degrees.

Note about INDIRECT HEAT: What this means is turning on the grill, both sides, and heating it to desired temperature. When it comes time to cook your food, you turn off the side that the food is over, leaving the other side of the grill on.

6. Lightly coat the bottom the bottom of a baking sheet with oil. Place the baking sheet on top of the chicken & weigh it down with bricks wrapped in foil (or cast-iron pan). Grill until golden brown on the edges, about 30-35 minutes. This time may vary. Sometimes it takes 45-55 minutes for me.

7. Using pot holders, carefully remove the hot bricks & the baking sheet. Using a wide spatula carefully release the chicken from the grate, being careful not to tear the skin. Move the chicken over DIRECT MEDIUM HEAT, about 350-450 degrees, & grill until the skin is golden brown all over, about 5-10 minutes (watch for flareups).

Note about DIRECT HEAT: This means grilling directly over the flame. You can either move the chicken over to the side that is on or turn on the side that was off.

8. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board & let rest for 5 minutes before serving. As you can see, I didn't watch for flareups and burned the skin. If you like your chicken blackened, this works. It actually tastes good even charred a bit.

9. Cut the chicken into serving pieces. Serve warm with barbecue sauce for dipping (our favorite is Sweet Baby Ray's).

Tradition

Anyone else get the song from Fiddler on the Roof in their head when they think of that word? Maybe it's just me. A couple of weeks ago at church, our pastor gave a message about creating family traditions and being intentional about creating memories with family and friends. This got me thinking about traditions we currently have and ones that we're working on starting. Marking memories doesn't have to cost money; mostly it just costs you time. Having happy memories to look back on gives us something to hold onto when life is rough... which it will be.

I felt it was rather ironic that Pastor Mike would talk about making memories & marking moments when Shannon happened to be visiting that weekend. Shannon flew up here to visit me, but we intentionally planned it around the movie release of Twilight, one of our favorite books.This visit will certainly stand out in our minds with that to cement it in our memories.

A new tradition Joel has started is reading to our kids. Now we have been reading to our kids for years, mostly just children's books. Joel is making it more memorable by reading a chapter book each evening before bed, one chapter each night with everyone snuggled into the boys' loft in their bedroom. Currently he is reading Have Spacesuit, Will Travel, one of his favorite sci-fi books by Robert Heinlein. He has plans to read the Little House on the Prairie series next. It's quickly become a great time for all of them.

One of our Christmas traditions is new jammies. Every Christmas Eve, I give each of the children wrapped jammies as a gift. They always know what it is, but they enjoy it nonetheless. They're always matching, which the kids find fun too. I like it because from a photography standpoint, it makes for better Christmas morning photos. And as frugal as I am, this is one area where I can plan ahead. I bought their Christmas jammies for this year after Christmas last year; I paid $5 for each of them.

As a parent, I want to create memories for my kids that they can take with them into life. When they're adults, items or places will trigger memories of home that they can carry with them. That's better than anything I could ever buy them. For the most part it just takes time, which seems to be a very hot commodity nowadays.