Menu Mondays

In true Becky form, I'm not going to start my "Menu Mondays" with a dinner recipe...no way...no sir...no how! There is plenty of time for those. Now a COOKIE recipe on the other hand....OH YEAH!!!!!!!!!!

Our current favorite cookie to make and most importantly EAT is called The Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookie. Okay kids, you and I both know that any cookie recipe that starts with "the" has got to be good. I mean it's like a title for the actual cookie for heavens sakes! And boy oh boy, do these babies deserve to be recognized...this recipe only makes 12, that's correct ONE DOZEN cookies because you must use an ice cream scoop of dough per cookie! Do I look like I'm joking people? TWELVE, that's it!

You know what they say, "Everything's bigger in Texas" including our family's favorite chocolate peanut butter chip cookies! Now let's get started:

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

2 Sticks UNSALTED Butter, COLD & cubed

1 1/4 C. Sugar

2 Eggs

1/2 C. Quality Dark Cocoa Powder (Dutch)

2 1/2 C. All Purpose Flour, scant-that means easy people don't pack the stuff in!!!

1 t. Vanilla

1/4 t. Kosher Salt

1 t. Baking Powder

1 C. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 Bag, Reeses Peanut Butter Chips

* 1/4 t. Baking Soda, maybe-- See IMPORTANT NOTE below

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper. Cream the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer until fluffy, now this will take awhile as the butter should be cold when you begin. So sit back grab a cup of milk and don't get antsy! It should lose it's grainy consistency before moving on. Add eggs one at a time and beat until well incorporated, then beat in vanilla & cocoa powder. Mix in flour, salt, and baking powder. Gently fold in remaining ingredients: 1 C. chocolate chips & one full bag of Reeses Peanut Butter Chips. Transfer dough to work surface and gently mix by hand to make sure even distribution of chips. Divide dough into 12, 4 oz. portions - roughly an ice cream scoop per cookie. Make sure you put only 6 cookies per cookie sheet and don't worry about them running because they won't! Bake for 16-18 minutes at 375 (depending on how raw'ish you like'em) We find that 17 minutes is about right for a set center, but still chewy! Allow to cool on parchment and store in air tight container. To refresh them simply nuke for 10 seconds and they are "out of the oven" warm and melty again!

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you don't live in a thriving metropolis like us and don't have regular access to William Sonoma (oh be still my heart) then you can substitute good 'ole Hershey's Cocoa for the Dutch Cocoa. Use the same amount, 1/2 C. Hershey's Cocoa, but you MUST ALSO ADD 1/4 t. Baking Soda to the dry ingredients in order for the cookies to turn out correctly.

Once they are cooled, pour yourself another glass of milk tell the kids that they're NOT quite cool enough yet, so they'll run off and play some more! Proceed by grabbing yourself the biggest, chocolaty, peanut butter chippiest cookie on the rack. Then bite...faint...bite again & faint!

This weekend we celebrated our SEVEN year anniversary! Lucky #7. Looking back it doesn't seem like we've been married for seven years...it seems like more, but not in a bad way, because HOW could we possibly have squeezed all that fun into just 7 years? Let's just get down to the nitty gritty here. We dated for 5 years before we married so we've been a BIG part of one another's lives for a whopping total of 12 years! When you put it like that, its kinda amazing...and to be quite frank there is not one single person who I'd rather have spent more of my time with than Steve.

So here's some things about us in 7's:

Seven places we've travelled:

1- Napa Valley

2- Cancun

3- Oahu, Maui & Kauai

4- Germany

5- France

6- Ixtapa

7- Italy

Seven T.V. Shows we both like:

1- C.S.I. Las Vegas


2- Without a Trace


3- Cold Case


4- Dancing with the Stars


5- Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives on Food Network


6- Everybody Loves Raymond


7- Seinfeld




Seven things we've accomplished as a couple:

1- Backpacked overseas together for 1 month & came home STILL on speaking terms

2- Biked Mt. Haleakala, 22 miles

3- Hiked to the top of Diamond Head, Oahu

4- Had our sweet Cade

5- Walked the beaches of Normandy

6- Purchased 2 homes together

7- Had our sweet Gracyn

Seven things we like to do in our spare time:

1- House Projects

2- Bake together

3- Go to the movies

4- Shop

5- Nap :)

6- Wait a minute...we have spare time???

7- Watch Throwdown with Bobby Flay

Seven Ways God has blessed us:

1- Awesome Families

2- Amazing Friends

3- Jobs we like

4- Healthy and Happy Kids

5- A safe 4 year Army tenure

6- A church that feels like a home

7- Finding each other

Seven of my favorite things about Steve:

#1 I love the way he seeks to know more about Christ and the Bible and challenges me to do the same

#2 I love how optimistic he is, Steve always, always, always sees the good in everyone and in every situation

#3 I love the way he does voice impressions that make me laugh till I cry...seriously hysterical!

#4 I love the way he gets excited when I think of yet another home project for him to work on

#5 I love the way he lets me do all the planning for our trips AND make out an itinerary :)

#6 I love how he always asks me where I want to go eat instead of picking himself, he is so good at putting me first

#7 I love how he provides and works so hard for his family & how he can rough house with Cade and yet be so tender with Gracyn...there are so many more things that I could list here about the man I love but suffice it to say that he is still, after 12 years my favorite person to be with and my best friend. My favorite part of the day is when I hear that garage door at 5:30 pm and then hear my son say "Mommy, Daddy's home!"

This year he planned an awesome night out for us at a restaurant called Cheeves. My sister and her fiance were down this weekend for a wedding that he was participating in and volunteered to watch the kiddos for us so we were footloose and fancy free for the night! WOO-HOO Thanks Manda & Cody!! When they seated us guess what was waiting for me at our table? A HUGE bouquet of roses that he had sent to the restaurant! Yes, at that moment I think every guy in the restaurant hated him and every girl wanted those beautiful roses at her table...it was so very sweet. We feasted on a cajun crawfish appetizer, lobster bisque & french onion soup, steaks and creamed spinach. We were so stuffed that we ordered their cheesecake romanoff to go! It was fun to sit down and rehash the evening with Amanda and Cody over that delicious dessert. Thanks for a wonderful evening baby and I am looking forward to 7 X 7 more years together! I can't imagine what the good Lord has in store for us in the future, but I can't wait to continue the journey with you by my side!

Enjoying Texas Land & Cattle, March 1999

Nine Years Later at Cheeves, June 2008

FUN Friday

Drum roll please.....as ALL of you who voted guessed....photo #1 is CADE and photo #2 is GRACYN. Good job everyone, ya'll sure know my munchkins. Is it not amazing though how much they DO favor one another?!? It looks like the same baby almost, in the first pose he's not smiling and in the second she is.

I decided today that when I write a Friday post I would pick something around my house that I Reeeeeally LOVE, to share!!! Today I decided to share my feet's favorite summer time accessory, besides a pedicure of course, REEF flip flops!

Now I know, I know they ARE more expensive than say your...run of the mill Old Navy flip flops, BUT they are so worth it!!! I too trudged around MANY summers in $5.00 Old Navy thongs for years & years, but my feet were always stiff, sore and worn out after wearing them all day long and honestly girls....who needs that? Reefs on the other hand are super comfy, actually have an arch support and come in black which matches every one's summer wardrobe! I have worn them ALL DAY for several days in a row with no aches and pains what-so-ever people! I'm beginning to realize that in the flip-flops department you get what you pay for! And hey they show off that great pedicure you paid $20 bucks to get! Reefs.....go forth and get ya some before they're all bought up by the zillions of people who read this blog! HA!! May your feet have a merry summer :)

And In The Pink Corner...

Weighing in at 15 lbs. & 13 ozs. at a height of 25 inches is our six month old...Gracyn Avery Alaniz a.k.a. Munchkie! We visited the doctor today for her 6 month check up and she is as healthy as can be and is in the 50th percentile for both weight and height. After receiving a dose of Tylenol, she endured 3 vaccinations and a dose of liquid meds for prevention of rotavirus. Needless to say, she only cried for about 10 seconds until I picked her up off the table and then stopped immediately AND hasn't been out of sorts the rest of the day!! THANK YOU LORD :)

Two words to describe her: joyfully happy! Gracyn is full of pure joy! Seriously...she loves to smile and laugh and is SO content just to "be". She does all the things six month olds do: rolling over everywhere, up on all 4's rocking back and forth, blowing raspberries with her lips, eating new foods, and doing her "happy" scream and yet it's hard to believe six months ago we were meeting her for the first time at the hospital! She actually likes to ride in her carseat and has a smile for everyone she sees...especially her big bro CADE. Her new fave foods include bananas, carrots and squash! Miss Gracyn does tend to be a messy eater though because she likes to suck on her two middle fingers between bites! HA! She falls asleep easily, on her own, in her crib for 3 daytime naps and continues to amaze us with her 12 hour marathon night sleeping. She also switches easily between nursing and taking a bottle from Mommy or Daddy if we are out and about. Gracyn loves to entertain herself on her play mat or chew on toys while roosting in her high chair like a little Queen. I am sure she will pay us back for all this easy stuff the day she turns 16!

My Ouchies!

Don't worry...I'm doin' great!

Now in the BLUE CORNER we have:

THE CADER-RADER

At a solid 37.5 pounds he's 100% pure All American, Texas bred, fun-lovin', bug-catchin', Grave Digger drivin', meat and potato eatin', blankie lovin', game playin', baseball hittin', training wheel bike ridin', "wuv you" sayin', picture paintin', apple juice drinkin', plant waterin', dish loadin', car crashin', train conductin', Diego watchin', Lemonade popsicle lickin'...

B-O-Y.

And we love all these things about him and more .

The First of Many

Our sweet baby girl spoke her very first words yesterday morning sitting in her high chair! She has been really listening to our voices and watching our mouths A LOT lately and sure enough

"DA-DA"

materialized yesterday from her precious lips. I found myself a little teary-eyed as I recorded this special moment down in her baby book! Time passes so quickly (can I get an AMEN), and I know that the next time I turn around I will probably be recording her first sentence!!! Oh my heavens, tissue please!! I pray that I will savor these moments, that they would be engraved on my heart to remember for as long as I live...How blessed am I that our Lord would find me capable to care for not one, but now two of his most precious little ones. My cup runneth over...



May I choose daily to use my words to bring HIM glory and honor.

Two Peas in a Pod

Steve and I really think that Cade and Gracyn favor each other quite a bit at this age...in just the LOOKS category because in the personality category they are night and day...and I think the following pictures might sway all of you the same way!

SO, who is who?

Let us hear from you...drop your vote in the comments section and we'll revel the answer on my Friday post!!!

Picture #1

Picture #2

57 Years Young

What a weekend! We actually pulled off a great surprise dinner for Steve's Dad's 57th birthday this year!!! And that is a feat because he is not an easy man to surprise, let me tell you...he always seems to be in the know about everything...

So here's the set up!

We headed to Dallas on Friday morning early to spend the day with Nani and Papa! We played, napped, ate YUMMY I'Fratelli pizza, and visited the day away!

Steve made reservations at Bucca Di Beppo for all of us, but Orlando (Steve's Dad) was only told that Steve's younger brother Phillip and Orlando's parents would be joining them for a birthday dinner...so we got our crew there early, (A first for us in about 4 years) check in, get to the table and wait. Cade kept running over to the corner to check to see if Grandpop was coming. I told him that when Grandpop came in we were all going to say, "Surprise...Happy Birthday." He promptly informed me that he didn't need everyone to say it, he could say it by himself thank you very much! He reminded me that he was "free and a half" years old and that "free and a half" year olds don't need help saying that. Awh...3 year olds...it's the new 2 you know. Anyhow, they arrive just as scheduled and SURPRISE!!! We pulled it off. As you can see he was overjoyed or is that a little overwhelmed...

We spent the rest of the weekend at the Alaniz's home and had a great time swimming, grilling, and hanging out all the Alaniz Crew, Mom & Dad, and Amanda & Cody. Gracyn got to spend LOTS of time with her precious Gigi and Pops (great-grandparents)! She loved every minute of it. Thanks to everyone for making the trip over to see us!

Happy 57th Orlando, we hope you have many many more...AND...we GOTCHA'