Blog working, comments working

I got two emails this week about issues with the blog. First that some Windows users where getting errors when logging in from http://gattusofamily.com and second that someone else couldn't post a comment. The first I take blame for and are due to some behind the scenes changes I made. The details of which are quite boring. The second I blame on google. I set the comments to open in a new window (which is one of the options) and that seemed to break it so I reverted back to keeping the comments on the bottom of the post. As I design and development web applications for my day job it's quite embarrassing to have a blog that isn't working quite right... ah well such is life, both are fixed now...

*Update* A pox on the house of Internet Explorer 7. Some silly incompatibility between a feature on the blog and IE7 causes IE7 to throw the error. I reset the blog layout until I have time to resolve it.

Helping Out

One of the best things about the age that Izzy is right now is that she wants to help out. Not only is she good at putting things in the trash or, you know, fetching the remote but she especially loves standing on the step stool and helping out in the kitchen. Tiffany seems to think I make the best chocolate covered strawberries (let's be honest, it's all ego stroking so I'll do it, it's not as if there's any thing complex about dunking fruit in melted chocolate).

Tiffany had convinced me that I needed to make the "acclaimed" treat so Izzy and I headed to the kitchen. Initially I burnt the first round of chocolate, so that batch went straight into the trash. The next batch came out fine. With our bowl of melted chocolate and box of strawberries Izzy and I took turns covering them in chocolate. It turns out that the skill set for creating this treat is fully contained within an 18 month old child. Izzy mastered the art quickly and even included the common kid strategy of one dip for the strawberry and one for me. Pictures and recipe follow:

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Ingredients / Items Needed

• 1 box of strawberries


• 1 bag of chocolate morsels / chips


• Clingfilm/wrap


• Aluminum foil (optional)


• Baking tray


• Bowl - Cereal bowl size

Direction

• Clean and dry Strawberries thoroughly (they must be dry for the chocolate to stick)


• Line Baking tray with aluminum foil


• Optional: line bowl with clingwrap - helps with clean up and reducing wasting the chocolate


• Fill bowl with chocolate chips and microwave on medium for about 45 seconds then stir


• If not melted microwave for another 15 seconds and stir, repeat until just melted


• Dip strawberries and place on baking tray


• When finished place in refrigerator


• Leave out for about 20 minutes prior to serving

That's it.

Happy Valentines

Hope you are all enjoying valentines day. Here's Izzy with the glasses I got her.



Here's Izzy just hanging out. She is growing up so fast.

Snowed Under

Cincinnati was hit with a pretty big snow and ice storm last week. It was so bad they even closed the office down for two days (which never happens!). We made the most of it by getting out and having fun. We dressed Izzy up in a snow suit and boots that were 2 sizes too big and headed outside. These first 6 pictures are taken in chronological order, Tiffany pointed out that Izzy's enjoyment level slowly deteriorates as the morning wore on. It turns out Izzy wasn't a huge fan of sledding down the hills despite my encouraging words. By the end she was relived to go inside and warm up by the fire.















Sadie (or "lay-lee" to Izzy) made her own fun in the snow. We always knew she liked to run between her kennel and the kitchen door frequently but seeing how quickly she made this trail was a little surprising.



We got so much ice that the some of the trees were struggling to stay upright.

It's a what?

So we never did post a response to the last poll. Here's Izzy to fill you in on the result (like you didn't already know).

Out West

We headed out Jan 4th to Salt Lake City. I had a work convention in Las Vegas so we used this as an excuse to catch up with Tiffany's family in Salt Lake and Skiing (ok, so I went skiing whilst Tiffany, being 5 months pregnant, visited with her family). It was a very quick stop in Salt Lake staying only 2.5 days. Here I am on the slopes with Matt and Beatty, (Ryan was running the camera).



Meanwhile, Tiffany and Izzy were catching up with her Grandparents

Here's Nan and Earl and the girls at one of our favorites, Cafe Rio.



To her credit, Grandma Beck is unfazed by Izzy's little anxiety attack while posing for this snap.



We did manage to catch up with Tiffany's brother and Sarah too



We spent just enough time with each other to take this winter shot on our way to the airport where we went our seperate ways. I headed off to Vegas and Tiffany and Izzy headed to her cousin Megan in Denver, Colorado. As we all know, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas so I have no pics, but we pick up on Tiffany's trip to Denver.



Izzy loved the opportunity to relax with her favorite Wild Wild West Elmo episode on the flight out. It gave Tiffany a few moments of peace and quiet before landing at the airport and....



....trying to get Izzy, the stroller, the bags, the car seat and herself and bubs 2 out of the airport.



Izzy had fun playing with her second cousins (or cousins twice removed, or something) Joshua and Jacob. They were gracious enough to share their toys and space with Izzy and Tiffany.



Tiffany had a great time in Colorado catching up with the Balli's and the Acker's, It was the first time in 2 years that Tiffany and Megan had a chance to get together which is always a dangerous combination (thanks Aaron for giving up Megan for 3 days, I owe you one!)



It was good to get this quick break but we were relieved to get home again and be back together as a family (I, of course, missed Tiffany, Isabelle and Bubs 2 terribly whilst we were apart).