Shrimp and Spinach Salad

The girls are napping and I've been browsing Pinterest and getting ideas for dinner this week.  I get excited about food and have been enjoying myself at the dinner table lately.  Let's just say that there is a coffee-crusted beef tenderloin and sweet potato pancakes with peach butter on the menu for this week.  I've just got to get to the store! 

We got home yesterday afternoon after a weekend with Adam's family in Indiana.  We celebrated his mother's birthday.  It ended with a zero, so it was a big deal and we all had a good time hanging out. Grandpa and Grandma Huhnke came, too.  The girls got to swim at the hotel, show off their singing and dancing skills, and got spoiled by all.  We met at a halfway point in Columbus, Indiana.  It was only a four hour drive, but on the way back, the girls about had it.  Moral was low.  Adam was tired from driving, there was a stinky diaper and some whining coming from the backseat.  We pulled over and fixed the problems and switched drivers, but moral didn't seem to rise much.  Thankfully, Adam's seat gripping rendition of "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins got the whole car singing loudly.  We then popped in Disney's Greatest Hits (volume 1, of course) and let it rip.  The second crowd favorite was "Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid.  Aubrie had the sha-la-la-las down and Emilie and I had the yeah-yeahs going.  Adam has every lyric memorized to every Disney song ever made.  And according to him, he sounds "just like them."

singing happy birthday

chatting up Gaga

playing bible dominoes with Granny

bedtime story with Tia

Special thanks to Aimee Drabyn for watching Petey while we were gone.  That's always a difficult task.  I actually had a flashback as I was giving Aimee directions on how to care for Petey.  One year Steve came to town to run in the Country Music Marathon and we had a volleyball tournament in Atlanta that weekend.  So Steve stayed at our house and watched Petey while he was in town for the marathon.  The morning of the marathon, he had to get up pretty early and he let Petey out, but Petey refused to come back in.  Steve spent a good ten minutes chasing his furry behind around our backyard trying to get Petey back in the house.  Then, after Steve ran a FULL MARATHON and got his tired legs back to our house, he walked in to find that Petey had chewed about a dozen dvd cases and destroyed about six dvds while he was gone.  Steve calmly picked up the mess, went upstairs and showered, then came back downstairs and got down on all fours and looked Petey in the eye.  They then had a wrestling match and both let us some aggression.  I had this flashback because this weekend was the marathon here in Nashville and we had a Drabyn watching Petey.  Lucky for Aimee, Petey is more mature and the dvds are locked up in a cabinet. 

Good friends.  Good memories. 

I made this shrimp and spinach salad several weeks ago and never shared it.  So I thought I would share it now.  It's definitely one of my favorites.  You can change up the dressing if you'd like.  If you do a bacon vinegarette, it would be just like Applebee's shrimp and spinach salad. 

Shrimp and Spinach Salad

from Bobby Flay

12 ounces large (21-24) shrimp, peeled, tail-on, and deveined

1/8 cup soy sauce

1 limes, juiced

1 teaspoons honey

1-inch piece fresh ginger, finely grated (I just sprinkle in ginger powder)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/8 cup canola oil, plus more for brushing

Prepare shrimp and set aside.  Make marinade and add shrimp to the marinade.  Toss and cover in a bowl and leave in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. 

Place shrimp on skewers and salt and pepper them.  Brush with canola oil to prevent from sticking to the grill.  Grill for 2-3 minutes on each side.

For salad:

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

8 ounces baby spinach

1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts

Toss spinach with some of the vinegarette and mound on a plate.  Place shrimp around and spoon on more dressing and sprinkle with peanuts.  Enjoy!!

Oh!  And good news!  Adam found the key to the tahoe!  It was....

drumroll please...

in his pants pocket. 

Yes.  You would think he would have checked there.  Well, he did.  But he kept checking the wrong pants pocket.  He hung his pants up next to a pair the same color.  So on Friday before we left, and after I have logged two hours of my life searching on the kitchen floor and closet floor on my hands and knees as well as walking around the backyard crouched over...he said, "I bet I know where it is!" and walked straight to the other pair of pants and found it.  I LOVE HIM!  I'll now take bets on whether he goes and gets a copy made...

Love to all!

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He holds the key to my...tahoe.

Adam lost the key to the tahoe.  He broke his key around January.  He broke the part that attaches to the key chain.  I suggested that we switch cars right away, and I take it in one day while the girls are at school and get a copy made at a dealership.  "No.  It will be fine.  I won't lose it.  I'll keep it in my pocket." 

He got up this morning to workout (4:45) and I can hear him moving stuff around in the kitchen.  Then he comes back to our bedroom and I hear him shuffling stuff around in the closet.  I knew right away that he's lost his key.  I figured he found it because I hear him leave for the Y.  After he is home and showered, I hear him in the kitchen and it sounds like a ravenous raccoon is out there nosing through our kitchen cupboards and trash can.  The whole house is up now. 

Emilie usually shrugs off Adam's noise in the morning and rolls back over.  But I found out later that she threw her pacifiers out of her crib and wasn't happy about it, so she didn't go back to bed.  Aubrie handles being woke up earlier than usual pretty well.  She breaks out into song.  I can lay in bed all morning and listen to her sing.  What is fun is she is starting to make up silly words for songs.  She also likes to tell you something in a singing voice.  Tonight it was, "I was a lady bug and I went trick or treatinggggggg!" Very random. 

Adam came in the room to kiss me goodbye and asked if he could take my key to the tahoe.  After he left, I began to wonder where it was. This is the second time he's lost it.  First time wasn't bad.  I was able to find it in the front lawn in a matter of seconds.  He was out there looking for 5 minutes already.  He comes home from work, hands full of his computer bag, lunch, oatmeal bowl, and coffee cup.  "Oatmeal bowl?" you ask.  Yes.  Every morning he makes his oatmeal here at home and has time to eat it before he leaves, but insists on eating it in the car on the way to work.  So every day he comes home with a bowl that has dried up oatmeal in it and half the time the spoon is stuck to the side of the bowl and it requires some soaking before we load it into the dishwasher. 

So about the key, I know what you common-sensers are thinking out there.  Just take your key, Kellie, and go make a copy.  Not so fast.  Our keys registered our settings.  When I put my key in the ignition, it says driver 2.  It automatically puts the radio on whatever station I had it on last at whatever volume I had it on.  It will also adjust the seat to my settings (but it doesn't.)  So these aren't just regular keys.  Let's call them smart keys because I don't know what they're called.  Ideally, we would like to find his key.  And when we do, we can go straight to the dealership and make a copy that he can attach to his key ring. 

Let's talk about the Pros. 
He drove home last night with his key, so it has to be somewhere on our property. 

But let's talk Cons. 
It could be anywhere.  He came home late and went straight outside to play with the girls because I was grilling.  He and the girls went straight into their race game.  They start at the top of the yard and Aubrie will pick how the race goes.  It will be something like this.  "I say go, run to the slide, go touch mommy, jump over Petey's toy, do two jumping jacks, touch the swing, shoot a basket, and give mom a boom shocka (high five)."  So Adam will yell go and they all take off to do the race.  It could have fallen out of his pocket during these activities.

Another con.  Emilie is into throwing things away.  A couple of days ago I found her playing lipstick in the trash and later that day I found Aubrie's juice cup in the trash.  I now find myself walking past the kitchen trash and just lifting the lid and scanning what has been thrown away lately.  I have a feeling my sunglasses are next.  She hunts for them in my purse or diaper bag and will play with them until I bust her. 

This key is a mystery.  Just like how Adam is able to rip holes in the elbows of his work shirts, or get ink stains on the cuffs.  Just like him insisting on eating oatmeal in the car.  Just like him saying that he'll just keep the key in his pocket and not lose it!!  But BACK OFF ladies!  He's mine.  I love his quirkiness.  I love the way he thinks.  I love that he's leaning on those spreadsheets so hard while at work that ink is getting on his cuffs.  He may be throwing bows at the printer while at work just so he can get done on time and get home.  I love how he comes home from work and sprints through the front door to save me from my hungry growling children so that I can finish cooking dinner.  I wouldn't trade him for anything.  So if we have to be risky and just go with one key to the tahoe, that's fine. 

But if you see it, let me know.

Love to all!
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Her is my friend

These are my girls.  A lot of people think I'm crazy for having my children so close, but this is why.  They are best friends and they enjoy each other every day.  And I enjoy them!  They are so fun to watch or listen to.  The other day we were driving down the road and Aubrie's really into me telling her about how she was once a baby in mommy's belly and then how Emilie was a baby, and now mommy has a new baby and we have to wait to see if it is a boy or a girl!  Then Aubrie said, "I like my baby sister.  Her is my friend." 

Now, about people thinking I'm crazy for having them close.  Who cares!  Don't tell me about how you feel.  Can I go back and change it?  Nooo.  I'm all in and I love it. A young hostess a couple of weeks ago saw Aubrie and I walk in and she said, "Wow!  You're going to have another one!?"  I said, "Yep!"  Then Adam walked in with Emilie and she said, "OH MY GOD!  You have another one???!!!!"  (Really loudly) 

What do you say to these people?  One day it will be her turn.  She'll be the flustered mom whose kid is not cooperating in public and some random stranger will come up to her and give her unwanted comments or advice on how she can do different.  Hahaha.  I think that might be the hardest part about becoming a new mom.  It was looks and comments from strangers.  But don't worry new moms.  You learn how to roll those comments off your shoulder and smile at the glares. 

We had a wonderful weekend.  We got to celebrate Reese's birthday at the zoo (even though the weather was not cooperating) and we got to go on a date last night while Adam's sister, Amanda, watched the girls.  Today Adam worked really hard around the house.  He mopped the floors for me because it is really hard on my back.  He also mowed the lawn.  As a reward, I made a bland chicken and noodle casserole for him.  hahaha.  He and Aubrie are game for a chicken and noodle casserole.  Aubrie especially loves her Grandma's casserole (which I enjoy as well, especially when I've been sick!).  Emilie and I like a little spice.  We tried a new recipe, but it didn't do it for us.  But Adam and Aubrie liked it, so they get to enjoy it for leftovers.  :) 

I also gave him a haircut.  He hates going to go get his haircut.  He doesn't like a stranger that close to his personal space.  So ever since he found out that I used to cut my cow's hair when I showed cattle (and after a little convincing that he was no different than a hot blooded brangus), I gave him his first haircut in June of 2009, right after we got married.  He remembers we used a wedding gift card to go buy the clippers.  I enjoy cutting his hair and I also enjoy that it saves us about 13 bucks a cut!  I also like to mess with him.  He likes to sit in front of the mirror and watch what I do.  So I'll all the sudden make "big eyes" when I'm working on the back of his head or behind his ears to make him think I made a mistake.  It works every time.  :)

I mentioned this recipe the other day.  I found it on Pinterest.  Since shrimp was on sale, I went ahead and made cilantro lime shrimp even though I made cilantro lime chicken a couple nights ago.  It turned out great and I hope you give it a try.  I paired it with a good ol fashioned tostada.  A tostada is a hard (fried) corn shell with refried beans on top and taco toppings.  I also made some guacamole to go on the side or on top.  It made a wonderful meal!

Cilantro Lime Shrimp

from www.skinnytaste.com

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 lb shrimp, shelled and deviened
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 lime
• salt and pepper 

Heat a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Add oil to the pan, when hot add shrimp. Season with salt and pepper. When the shrimp is cooked on one side, about 2 minutes, turn over and add garlic. Sauté another minute or two until shrimp is cooked, careful not to overcook. Remove from heat. Squeeze lime all over shrimp and toss with cilantro. Serve hot.  Enjoy!

I hope everyone else enjoyed their weekend!  Love to all! Pin It Now!

Cilantro Lime Chicken

I guess I've been in a cilantro lime kind of mood lately.  Tonight we had cilantro lime shrimp with tostadas (which I'll share later) and a couple nights ago we had cilantro lime chicken.  It's my favorite way to BBQ chicken.  Although, the Huhnkes always grill BBQ chicken when we are at the lake and it is pretty good as well.  I just love cooking on the grill.  It makes a mess outside and then I get to hang out outside and watch the girls play while everything cooks. For Adam's birthday, he wanted a garden and apple trees.  While his parents were here, they helped us work in the yard and spruce it up for spring/summer.   

 Our front yard has a lot of bushes and it looks like I have gerbera daisies that are perennials??  I don't know.  Either that, or our winter wasn't harsh enough to kill them and they came back.  It also looks like I have hostas coming up in the lower right of the corner.  The large purple flower is dianthis and it is pretty fragrant. 

Our backyard beds are starting to look good.  Everything is coming up nicely.

Here are the raised garden beds that Adam and his dad built.  Aren't they great?  We planted lots of peppers, sweet and hot, zucchini, corn, cilantro, basil, romaine, tomatoes, and corn of course. 

Cilantro Lime Chicken for Grill

from my mom

mash 1 Tbsp of chopped garlic with
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp of grated lime (about 2 limes)

You'll need 24 pieces of chicken and 24 sprigs of cilantro leaves.  Take a pinch of your mashed garlic and lime and spread it under the skin of the chicken.  Then stick 1 cilantro leaf under the skin and set aside.  After you have done each piece, you'll need to make the sauce/marinade.

3/4 cup melted margarine
6 Tbsp olive oil
6 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Brush the chicken with sauce and place on grill.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Keep brushing the chicken with sauce as you grill.  Enjoy!

****You also might see in the picture above some jalapeno poppers.  I LOVE jalapeno poppers and I probably ate all but 2.  All you do is cut them in half, take out the seeds, spread some cream cheese in the middle, wrap it with half a piece of bacon, and stick it with a toothpick.  Throw those babies on the grill until the bacon is fried.  SO DELICIOUS!!

We enjoyed sweet potato fries with our chicken.  I think they are good if you chop the potatoes yourself and then I pour some coconut oil on them before baking.  They taste SO good with the coconut oil. (Candice Burtner taught me that)

The yard crew with one of our new apple trees.  I can't wait to take their picture with this tree as both the girls and tree get bigger. 

We had a lot of fights over the rake.  We need another mini rake to prevent someone from getting a black eye.

This picture is a blur, but she was busy moving dirt from the apple trees to another corner in the yard.  My daughters really like dirt. 

We had a wonderful Sunday at church today.  I played in the bell choir and the girls wore their Easter dresses since we weren't here for Easter.  They are so fun to dress up.  It looked like their dad fluffed them extra poofy.  :)  I hope everyone enjoyed their Sunday as well.  Oh!  We also had a special treat on Saturday!  We got to meet Miss Anna-Sophia (Andrew and Ashleigh's daughter).  She was just precious and acted like a sweet angel.  I enjoyed holding her and look forward to watching her grow up.  :)  I better get going, we just baked some chocolate chip cookies (for the Sundstroms) and I now have to go beat Adam at a game of Canasta. 

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Home Again

We made it back to Nashville safely.  I wish I could say sanely, but traveling with two little ones (and being pregnant) is not comfortable.  Our returning trip was much easier, though.  We had to stop in Houston this time and had to get off the plane.  So we had lunch, let the girls run CRAZY and then got on our last flight.  Neither one would settle for a nap.  On our final descent, Emilie finally rested her head on my chest and passed out.  She only got to sleep for about ten minutes while we taxied, but it seemed to be enough.  When she woke up, she started to clap and said, "Yay!  I did it!"  I thought, "me too!"

Luckily we had great flight crews who were patient and sweet.  We also had friendly passengers that didn't seem to mind our kids.  Aubrie could be occupied with Dora on the IPhone but Emilie just had to be moving around, doing something.  Mostly doing the Mexican Hat Dance on my belly.  At one point she grabbed my shirt to pull herself up and my whole right side was exposed.  Luckily, I was sitting by the window and nobody saw it.  It wasn't one of my best moments.  Like I said, traveling with two little ones is tough.

Overall, we were so happy to be in Texas to visit family.  I enjoyed spending time with everyone and the visit was just right.  Here are a few pictures to share.

Aubrie, Lindsey, and Emilie all helping Poppy feed the horses.  I cannot get enough pictures of the cousins together.  They were so much fun to watch.  If Aubrie was slacking at a meal, we would just tell her she better hurry so she can go help feed Duke and she would finish eating.

The girls hanging out in the trailer, waiting for their turn to ride the horses.



Gram and Robbie.



Dad had two arena events for us (except me).  One was barrel racing, but you could not go faster than a trot.  Dillon won that event.  The second was ribbon roping.  You had to go untie a ribbon off of Pedro (the donkey) and run back to the starting line.  Mom and dad were the winners of that event. 

Last we had a foot race for the younger kids.  One would ask, "Kellie?  Is your mom really taking off in a full sprint and going to beat all her grandchildren instead of letting them win?"  The answer is yes.  She smoked them and didn't seem to care.  :)

Here are all the cousins.  The older boys, Dillon (left) and Dalton (right), were so good about playing with the girls.  They were so patient and sweet.

There was a lot of love being passed around.

LOTS of love.  :)

Here are the girls on Easter morning.  They were ready to hunt eggs!

Here is the family.  We have Gigi in the front row with the girls.  Robbie and Kasey in the back left.  Dad and mom in the center.  Troy, Tammy, Dillon, and Dalton in the center.  And me and the big guy on the right.

Cousins. Aubrie wouldn't smile. 

Here are my two handsome brothers.

On our last night, some huge Thunder heads rolled in and I loved watching them come in and the smell of rain.  I miss the mountains and the sunsets.  And after being here, I miss being able to watch a storm coming towards you.  :)  But it is good to be back in Nashville.  We came back to green grass, leafy trees, beautiful flowers, a spoiled dog, and some great friends.

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Happy 30th Adam!!

Today my dear husband turns 30!  It doesn't seem to bother him any because I'm 8 months older and he finds great joy in that.  We've celebrated his birthday in Nashville with his parents.  They were in town for their spring break.  His mom made his favorite cake and for his present he wanted a garden (two raised beds) and two apple trees.  I haven't gotten around to taking any pictures, but I intend to when we get back to Nashville and I will share it with you.  

Now we are in Texas visiting my parents.  Before children, we rotated Christmas and Thanksgiving with our parents.  Now that we have children it's too difficult to spend that much money on tickets and travel back to back, so now we rotate Thanksgiving and Easter.  This is our first Easter at the Walker house since we have been married.  My brothers are on their way here right now and I can't wait to see them, their sweet wives, and my niece and nephews.  Also, my Grandma (Gigi) came for this get together, so I'm in heaven!

Our flight here went smoothly.  We were on the plane for 4.5 hours.  We had to make one stop in San Antonio and Aubrie got mad when we didn't get off the plane.  Emilie started getting fussy as we got closer because it was her nap time.  Adam was fussy as well because his meal times were off and he had only slept 5 hours the night before because he was up late doing work and got up early to do work and meet deadlines.  He slept for 10 hours his first night here.  I'm glad he's getting his rest and I hope he's enjoyed all the birthday festivities.  We had his favorite food, Chimichangas and guacamole, for dinner last night.  He also had an apple pie for his birthday cake.  Then we had a pinata for him and it was the girls' first time seeing a pinata being hit. 

Apple pie birthday cake.  Adam blew out one candle and let the girls blow out the rest.

My brother Troy and his wife Tammy gave the girls Christmas presents and they've been here at the house since Christmas so they opened them yesterday.  They got baby dolls and it has been a HUGE hit!  Emilie's is baby Betty and Aubrie's is Alice.

Here is Aubrie riding Duke.



Gigi and Emilie are riding Duke and Poppy and Aubrie are riding Slick.



Adam and his pinata.  Dad had a blast pulling the pinata out of the way for the big guy.

Emilie fussed the entire time we did the pinata.  She didn't care and wanted to be doing something else and I had to hold her the whole time.  But as soon as she saw candy come spilling out, she yelled "CANDY!" and jumped out of my arms to go get some. 

Poppy got the grandkids a red wagon and they were pretty excited to see it.  It gets rode in a lot.  Even the dog, Lady, jumps in.  In the background is mom's truck when she was a teenager.  It's name is Greener.  It's a 1958 Chevrolet.  One time dad asked me to move it from the house down to the barn.  I asked Adam to ride with me and he said he'd rather walk.  So I started it up and the brakes stopped working.  I wasn't going fast at the time, so I just opened the door, and yelled out to my dad, "The brakes aren't working!!"  He just yelled, "Well, hold on Sis!"  So I shut the door right when it started heading down a short hill and was picking up speed.  I was headed for the barn, a gate, and a fence with no seat belt.  So I gripped the wheel and hit the gate which snapped open and then I was in the pasture headed down a bigger hill but luckily, if you head downhill, you've got to go back up!  So as soon as it was time to go back up, I cranked the wheel and turned it as I headed up and luckily that slowed us down and stopped us.  I don't think I've EVER seen Adam's eyes that big! 

Watching the horses eat their grain.

Aubrie feeding Alice a bottle.  She's a good little mama.

Tickling Poppy.

Coloring Easter eggs using Aunt Jackie's cups.  Aunt Jackie made these cups for mom and dad when they got married. 

Of course, we've had french toast.  And of course, Aubrie has to help stir.

Emilie carrying the grain out to the horses.  Look at the skinned up knees.

Aubrie handing the grain to Poppy, but not without tasting some first.  :)

I hope everyone else is enjoying their Easter.  I hope I get around to posting more, but if not, when I get back to Nashville, I'll catch you up!  Love to all!

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