This is How I Entertain Myself.

Sad I know, but they are just so fun and cute. The little boy chatters at the red dot, but you can't hear it in the video. The dog cracks me up, she herds them and mouths them like they are her puppies. Nothing but fun here!

Kitten Update

Here is a much better picture of Izzy.

She is doing good, running around and playing with everything like kittens do. This afternoon she was playing with a box of Kleenex. She could hook the tissues with her little claws and pull them out. That was fun for awhile, but then she ran out of tissues. So she needed to take a closer look and stuffed her whole head in the box. When she could not get her head back out of the box she went into kitten panic mode. She was running around the living room and thrashing about like a crazy cat - only backwards. It took me awhile to catch her so that I could pull the box off her head, mostly because I was laughing so hard. Next time I hope the camera is closer so I can video or at least take a picture!

Here is my T-man with his Johnny Cat.

Johnny was not having such a good day. He seemed to be sleepy while his sister was running in circles (backwards ones) around him. So I decided that since I was planning on taking them to the vet to get them checked out anyway - maybe now would be a good time. Sure enough the vet found that he had a temp of 104. So while it is probably a viral kitty cold that he picked up while he was in foster care, we went ahead and started him on some antibiotics just in case. He did run around with his sister a little bit tonight, so I hope that means he is feeling better. And I really hope that Izzy doesn't get it too, or that if she does the vet is running a 2 for 1 special.

Mandi is completely smitten with the kittens. Tonight Mitch gave her a rawhide chip and she was happily munching on it in the dining room. Johnny Cat came up to see what she was chewing on and she gave it to him. Just handed over her raw hide like she was sharing a cookie with her buddy. Now I am not sure that I want the kittens eating raw hides, but what a dog. And I was worried she might eat the kittens!

Our house just grew by 8 feet.

Well technically they are 8 paws.
Today we adopted Izzy:

and Johnny:

Their names were originally Bella and Edward since they are from Forks, but the boys wanted to pick their own names for the new cats. They are 4 1/2 months old and not from the same litter, but were bonded in foster care. We have been playing with them all evening, they are so cute and playful. We introduced Mandi right away, and it is going pretty good. The kittens are not afraid of her at all. Mandi keeps trying to grab them by their scruffs and wants to carry them around. I guess that is the Mom in her.

We are keeping the kittens in J-man's room for a few days until they get used to everything, and give them some space from Mommy Mandi. I am also hoping that the kittens bond with the boys, instead of me, for Mandi's sake. Poor girl, I hope she doesn't think she's been replaced.

This is the kitties tunnel, complete with faux mice. They love to run through it and Mandi loves to try and catch them coming out. It's going to be pretty entertaining around here for awhile!

My Favorite Dinner

We just had this the other night and it is my (and Mitch's) absolute favorite dinner - Cranberry Chicken. The original recipe came out of the Portland's Palate cookbook. I have modified the recipe a bit and will share how I make my favorite dinner.

First of all - I think everyone needs a cookbook holder. My sister in law gave this one to me for Christmas. Love it!

You will need:
1 Tbs. Butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 Tbs. Cider vinegar
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen Cranberries:

These guys - no craisins or any of that nonsense, the real thing fresh from the bog. And give them a good rough chop.
Take your butter and your onion and put them in a 9x13 baker in a 400 degree oven until the onion is starting to get translucent. Then just shove the onion over to the edge of the pan and plop your chicken thighs in the pan. Bake the chicken for 25 min. While that is baking you make your sauce:

Mix the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar and dry mustard with your cranberries.
After your chicken has been in for 25 min, take it out of the oven and scoop out those onions and put them in your cranberry sauce. Mix it all up and pour it back over your chicken. Now put the chicken back in the oven to finish cooking for another 25 min or until the chicken is done. You will have something that looks like this:

Only your pan will still be full of chicken. This is hard chicken to keep in the house though - because it is really yummy!We have this a lot when we have company coming for dinner. So invite your self over and I'll make some. Mitch makes sure I always have plenty of cranberries in the freezer!

Winter Fun!

So the boys, and a few of their friends, have started ski school. Mitch takes them up and he gets to ski while they are taking lessons. They are all having so much fun, and look forward to the next lesson.

T is in the red, E is in the pink and J-man is in the brown.

T and J-man are waiting for class to begin.

J-man has mastered the ski lift and is going down the slopes.

T is still on the rope tow, but will probably try the lift next weekend.

And me? What am I doing while my boys are all off skiing? Me and my little girl hang out. And go to the dog park. And go to Starbucks. And it's quiet.