"There's to much pepper in my Paprikash"

Not really . . . my Paprikash was actually quite perfect and the kids loved eating it as much as I loved quoting Billy Crystal's line. If you like Stroganoff . . . you will love this.

1/2 C plus 2 T flour
1⁄4 cup oil
6-8 skinless chicken thighs
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 T sweet paprika
1/4 t crushed red pepper
14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 large onion, minced
1 1⁄2 cups chicken broth
3⁄4 cup sour cream
1 lb package gnocchi vacuum packed or frozen
(I buy mine at Trader Joe's in the pasta aisle)
3 T unsalted butter
2 T finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 t chopped garlic
1/2 t kosher salt

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Put 1⁄2 cup flour on a plate; dredge chicken; shake off excess. Heat oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook chicken, turning once, until brown, 4-5 minutes per side.

In a seperate 4 quart or larger pot bring salted water to a boil for your gnocchi.

Set chicken aside reserving oil in the pan. Add paprika, the red pepper, tomatoes and onions; cook, stirring, until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add chicken and broth; bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, turning chicken once, until fully cooked, 12–15 minutes.

While this is cooking cook your gnocchi as directed or generally place in boiling water and watch for them to float up to the surface then cook 2 minutes longer and remove with a slotted spoon or strain in a colander. Melt butter in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat, add garlic, gnocchi and parsley, and cook, tossing occasionally, until hot, about 2 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tbsp. flour and sour cream; whisk in 3⁄4 cup of sauce from chicken pot. Then stir sour cream mixture into sauce in pot removing from heat. Serve chicken with extra sauce and over gnocchi if you like.

Make your spouse do the dishes as there are now several . . . and enjoy!

Why?

Here is a conversation I had with Zoe last night....

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Zoe: Mom Mom how come Daddy married you?

Me: Because he loves me.

Z: How come he doesn't love me?

M: He loves you, you're his princess.

Z: Then when will he marry me?

M: He can't marry you.

Z: Why?

M: Because he is already married to me and you are his daughter.

Z: Oh.

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It's nice to see that she does love her Dad, even though she is really good at aggravating him and pushing his buttons.

Do you promise?

A week or two ago Noah was very distraught about something and was almost in tears. When I asked him what the matter was this is what I got.

"Mom, Zoe is going to be someone else's girl forever and I don't want her to be someone else's girl forever."

He really wants to marry his sister and we have many discussions on why you can't. I explained that she will still be his sister, even when she gets married. And that he will be able to still visit and see her. Plus, when she has kids of her own, he will be their uncle. After giving that some thought, he came up with this solution:

"Zoe do you promise to tell your Dad where you live, so I can visit you?" "Please tell your Dad where you live, so I can see you."

Even though sometimes they fight it is nice to know that deep down they really love each other and would hate to lose each other.

Noah Timothy

When did my baby boy grow up?All of the sudden he has turned into a video game playing kid. His cousin gave him her old Leapster2. I can't complain as it is helping him with his letters and numbers; it is also improving his memory and matching skills.

Plus he is officially enrolled to attend Kindergarten and Cottonwood Elementary School this fall. He has Kindergarten Screening June 3rd, Kindergarten Camp August 27th, and his first day of school will be August 30th.

Where has all the time gone?

Snack Time

Grandma Sandi sent us home with this cool new gadget. It peels, cores, and slices apples, just by turning the handle.

The kids really love the results.

Sunday Picnic

After church on Sunday, we packed a picnic lunch and headed over to Green Valley park to enjoy some family togetherness.

Here is my brave girl in action. She taught herself how to climb the rock wall. We tried discouraging her, but she was bound and determined to show us she was "BIG" enough to do it.

Not to be out done by his sister. Noah had a go at it.

Running and more running in the grassy field at Green Valley Park. The swings at our 2nd park of the day, our own neighborhood park. Dad decided to give the swings a try and Noah thought he'd try to give him a push.
Zoe's turn....

The kids can't wait to do it again.

I Love to see the Temple

We decided to stop and show the kids the Sacramento Temple.....

....After they built this with their cousins the night before. Pretty good duplo block replica, don't you think?

Grandma Lynie

While in California we got to spend a day with Grandma Lynie. She happened to be in the Sacramento area attending a work conference with a friend. We decided to spend the day at the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town. It was nice to be able to share these childhood gems and memories with my own children.

The Front Gate. Noah the butterfly.
Mommy and baby Kangaroo.
Other highlights of the Zoo were the noisy Gibbons that liked to imitate car alarms, and emergency personnel sirens. We also saw a couple of chimpanzee's get into a little of a scuffle and knock each other out of their hammocks. Zoe's favorite animals were the Giraffes. Noah liked the Flamingos because they like to eat shrimp, just like him.

After seeing all of the animals, we headed across the street to Fairytale Town. The kids could of stayed here all day, maybe next time we will even skip the zoo. It is amazing how much of the park has remained the same over the years. I remember playing on the same slides and play structures, I think a few of them have been repainted, but it is still a very magical place to a child. I can't wait to go back.

Here is King Arthur's throne. A fun place to reserve for a birthday party. They even have a round table.

The Old Lady who lived in a shoe, or as Zoe refers to it the "Stinky Shoe" slide.
Inside the Tee Pee.

A Butterfly in the Sherwood Forest area.

Robin Hood and Little John's chairs.

Cinderella's Pumpkin Carriage. Jack and the Beanstalk. The Giants Foot and Beanstalk Slide. "The Cheese Stands Alone."

The Pirate Ship.

Mr. McGreggor's Alphabet Garden. Zoe over watering the letter "Z" or zebra grass.

Besides all of the cool things to play on there were sheep, goats, cows, pigs, chickens, and rabbits to pet. All in all in is a pretty cool place to spend the day. After all our adventures in Fairytale Town it was late lunch/early dinner at Fresh Choice and then we had to say goodbye to Grandma Lynie at the Sacramento Airport. The kids sure enjoyed spending the day with Grandma and having her spoil them with a trip to the Zoo, new books, and Zhu Zhu Pets. We can't wait to see her again.

Gone Too Soon

The following story started several weeks ago. It was all set in motion with a voicemail message received on Thursday, March 25th. The day started out just like any other Thursday, I got the kids up and ready to go to school, dropped them off, met with my visiting teachers, and then chatted with Dan on the phone while I was on my way to pick the kids from school. He mentioned that he had received a voicemail from his Grandma and Grandpa Woffinden, who were on their way to Oregon. We both instantly knew that this could be a good and exciting thing, or the extreme opposite.

When he finally got in touch with them we learned it was the thing we feared the most - they informed him that his birth mother had had a massive heart attack and was in the hospital in a coma. My first reaction was when are you going? After a very brief discussion we decided that even though he had never met her in person, it would be a good idea for him to be there with his younger brothers and grandparents. I told him I would throw some laundry in and start packing and that he needed to get in touch with his boss to get the time off. So, that's what we did and he was on his way to Roseburg, OR about 2 1/2 hours later. He spent the evening with his grandparents and brothers as they waited for reports from her doctors. Unfortunately she never regained consciousness and her organs began to fail. So on Friday evening (March 26th) Dan stood their with his grandparents, brothers, and aunts as they said goodbye and let her go.

It's been bittersweet for a number of reasons. Dan never got to meet her face to face, but had talked to her a hand full of times on the phone. I keep reminding him that it isn't because he didn't try. He gave her all sorts of options, just stopping short of showing up on her doorstep. She just wasn't ready. He has taken comfort in hearing from a number of her friends about how much she loved him and had decided to meet him, but her time ran out. Even though he never met her, so much good has come from finding her and learning of her. He now has a set a Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Brothers, and a handful of cousins, who have been so accepting of him and our family. He has also seen more people, besides his kids who look like him.

Here is a picture of his birth mother, Annette Woffinden Wilson, taken sometime in 1991.

A memorial service was held in her honor on Monday, April 12th. It was nice to get together with family and learn more about this wonderful woman, that we didn't get the privilege to meet in this lifetime. It was nice to hear all of their memories of a daughter, sister, mother, and grandmother who left this life too soon. I am so proud of Dan, for giving the Eulogy at the service. I take comfort and know that she is in a better place and is a much happier person. She is now free from all the pain and struggles this life dealt her. I can't wait to meet her in the next life and I'm so glad that we believe Families Can Be Together Forever.

The entire Woffinden Clan who were in attendance.

Art and Carolyn's Grand Kids and Great Grand Kids. (l to r Back: Andrew, Sean, Tyler, Tommy, Cameron, Alex, Jenn, Noah, Dan; Mid: Kaitlyn, Bannock, Ashley, Talia, Lindsey, Jason, Matt, Courtney, Maddie, Shauna; Front: Zoe)

Annette's Parents, Siblings, Children, and Grandchildren. (l to r Front: Zoe, Noah; 2nd row: Grandma, Matt, Kelly, Shauna, Dan; 3rd row: Charlynn, Jason, Grandpa, Cameron, Dennis, Jon)Dan and his brothers. (Cameron, Jason, Matt, Dan)

7 Years

On April 11th, Dan and I celebrated our 7 year Wedding Anniversary. I really can't believe it has been that many years, until I stop and think about all that we have been through, or have accomplished. Life just keeps getting better and better with the passing of time. This year we decided to keep things low key and as inexpensive as possible, for a number of reasons. In the end it was a good call on our part. So, all we had, or should I say kept on the original agenda was a dinner out without children and their many interruptions.

After ditching the kids with their Grandparents we headed to one of our favorite Old Downtown Sacramento hot spots - Joe's Crab Shack. Being a Saturday Night we had a nice wait, but it was nice to discuss recent happenings without the distractions of everyday family life. We both enjoyed our meals while they were still hot, coconut shrimp, coleslaw, and seafood fondue to name a few of the yummy dishes. I used this as one of my splurge nights, or excuses to depart from my "special diet". On the way home we also hit another one of our old favorites - The Cheesecake Factory, as a night at the Crab Shack wouldn't be complete without a piece of cheesecake. I was feeling pretty guilty about my dinner splurge so only took two bites of a yummy Chocolate Coconut Cream Cheesecake. Since being off of sweets for the past 2 months that was all that I needed to be satisfied. Needless to say it was nice to have several hours to communicate and remember what it is like to be a couple, not just parents.

We decided to get ourselves gifts this year. Granted they aren't very romantic - we tend to be too practical, but believe me they were much needed. After years of using out dated, hand me down cell phones, we splurged and got brand new ones. We updated the company, plan, technology, and local Nevada numbers. We have now entered the world of texting and I have come to love its convenience. Here is a picture of my brand new pink Samsung Exclaim. Dan has one just like it, but in white. I still haven't figured out all the new bells and whistles, but so far I am loving it.

I have to include this in our anniversary post.
Here is our first casualty, as far as wedding gifts go. One of the plates that we bought with our gift cards broke the other night in the dishwasher. Kind of sad, but I'm amazed it has lasted this long with little kids (they are glass plates).