while sitting on the couch
E: Get your feets off my foots!
W: What?!
E: Your feets are touching my foots!
W: You have FEET, 'Wijah'!
E: NO I DON'T! I have foots!
wearing the capes Grandma sent
W: I'm gonna be a super-hero!
E: Me too!
W: I'm Superman!
E: ...
W: No, wait, I'm Batman!
E: ...
W: Who are you gonna be 'Wijah'?
E: I'm a cuuuute chicken!
W: ...
Me: (giggles)
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy Heart Day
This is how parents celebrate Valentine's Day.
Step 1: Feed the kids pizza; then have them and their friends leave the table.
Step 2: Set a corner of the table with candles and flowers.
Step 3: Cook something delicious. And quick.
We had pan-seared salmon, shrimp fettuccine, stuffed crab, roasted broccoli and garlic bread. And we almost got through the whole meal alone.
Happy Valentine's Day, Jay. You make my heart happy.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
it's a soup kind of day
It seems just last Thursday I was making a big pot of soup because it was rainy and cold and yucky and blah.
But at least I had purchased everything I needed from the store.
Today, it's sleeting. Or maybe it's freezing rain. To be honest, I'm not sure which. Anyway, it's yucky and cold and blah. Are you sensing a pattern?
Well, today I made soup again. With whatever I could find.
Heh.
I was going to make potato soup, but I usually make it with bacon and scallions and all kinds of cheesy goodness, and I didn't have any bacon. Or scallions. And the cheesy goodness is not exactly on my "diet" right now.
Here's what I did instead.
I decided to remove the casings and sautee´some turkey sausage (maybe half a pound left over from the jambalaya I made) in a tablespoon of oil in a big pot. I then added your basic mirepoix (better known as the "trinity" in LA), and while the vegetables sweated, I looked for a can of tomatoes. Nada. What I did find was a jar of spaghetti sauce. Since it was seasoned with onions and garlic, I figured I could make it work; I would just need to balance all that sweet with some heat. I emptied the jar of sauce into the pot followed by a jar of water and let the veggies continue to soften. A little Tony's, Tabasco and chili powder balanced the sweet and gave it a warm kick. I then added as many vegetables (canned and fresh) as I could find: potatoes, green beans, corn and peas, and continued to play with the seasoning, adding garlic powder, thyme, basil, salt & black pepper. I also threw in a handful of elbow macaroni. Why not? I let it simmer for a few minutes while I made grilled cheese sandwiches. The result? A big pot of yummy! I put a handful of baby spinach in the bottom of my bowl and wilted it with the soup. It was kinda like minestrone or pasta e fagioli... minus the beans only because I didn't have any. Yummy!
If you are in a pinch for something to cook and you think you have nothing to make... think again. You might be surprised.
But at least I had purchased everything I needed from the store.
Today, it's sleeting. Or maybe it's freezing rain. To be honest, I'm not sure which. Anyway, it's yucky and cold and blah. Are you sensing a pattern?
Well, today I made soup again. With whatever I could find.
Heh.
I was going to make potato soup, but I usually make it with bacon and scallions and all kinds of cheesy goodness, and I didn't have any bacon. Or scallions. And the cheesy goodness is not exactly on my "diet" right now.
Here's what I did instead.
I decided to remove the casings and sautee´some turkey sausage (maybe half a pound left over from the jambalaya I made) in a tablespoon of oil in a big pot. I then added your basic mirepoix (better known as the "trinity" in LA), and while the vegetables sweated, I looked for a can of tomatoes. Nada. What I did find was a jar of spaghetti sauce. Since it was seasoned with onions and garlic, I figured I could make it work; I would just need to balance all that sweet with some heat. I emptied the jar of sauce into the pot followed by a jar of water and let the veggies continue to soften. A little Tony's, Tabasco and chili powder balanced the sweet and gave it a warm kick. I then added as many vegetables (canned and fresh) as I could find: potatoes, green beans, corn and peas, and continued to play with the seasoning, adding garlic powder, thyme, basil, salt & black pepper. I also threw in a handful of elbow macaroni. Why not? I let it simmer for a few minutes while I made grilled cheese sandwiches. The result? A big pot of yummy! I put a handful of baby spinach in the bottom of my bowl and wilted it with the soup. It was kinda like minestrone or pasta e fagioli... minus the beans only because I didn't have any. Yummy!
If you are in a pinch for something to cook and you think you have nothing to make... think again. You might be surprised.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
the unexpected
You know some days just don't turn out the way you expected at all...
Like EVERYONE sleeping in till 8:30 because it is cold, dark and rainy outside...
And your husband staying home from work because he inhaled fiberglass insulation the day before at work, causing a nasty cough and aprobable possible infection in his lungs...
And the littles not taking (much needed) naps, in spite of threats and bribes...
And it raining buckets the entire day long when you need to go to the grocery store because your family is in danger of being served canned beets, ketchup and sundry items from the back of the pantry if you don't...
And braving the weather to do the grocery shopping and returning home looking like a drowned rat, soaked to the skin, cold to the bone and needing a hot shower and dry clothes before you can go on...
And your husband's truck getting stuck in the side yard...
And then a complete stranger's truck getting stuck while trying to get your husband's truck unstuck...
And holding, feeding & diapering an adorable, uber-friendly, red-haired seventeen-month-old who has never seen you before in his short life but was asleep in his daddy's stuck truck and woke up hungry...
And having people in and out of your didn't-know-company-was-coming house...
And being grateful to have a big pot of hot vegetable beef soup to offer said people...
And having friends and friends of friends willing to come help you when it's so nasty outside...
And having a friend take the time to call you back and tell you, "Thanks, that's the best soup I've had in a long time."
Yeah. Today was full of the unexpected, but as usual, God can use the unexpected to bless you and allow you to be a blessing to others, or at least a shelter from the rain.
Like EVERYONE sleeping in till 8:30 because it is cold, dark and rainy outside...
And your husband staying home from work because he inhaled fiberglass insulation the day before at work, causing a nasty cough and a
And the littles not taking (much needed) naps, in spite of threats and bribes...
And it raining buckets the entire day long when you need to go to the grocery store because your family is in danger of being served canned beets, ketchup and sundry items from the back of the pantry if you don't...
And braving the weather to do the grocery shopping and returning home looking like a drowned rat, soaked to the skin, cold to the bone and needing a hot shower and dry clothes before you can go on...
And your husband's truck getting stuck in the side yard...
And then a complete stranger's truck getting stuck while trying to get your husband's truck unstuck...
And holding, feeding & diapering an adorable, uber-friendly, red-haired seventeen-month-old who has never seen you before in his short life but was asleep in his daddy's stuck truck and woke up hungry...
And having people in and out of your didn't-know-company-was-coming house...
And being grateful to have a big pot of hot vegetable beef soup to offer said people...
And having friends and friends of friends willing to come help you when it's so nasty outside...
And having a friend take the time to call you back and tell you, "Thanks, that's the best soup I've had in a long time."
Yeah. Today was full of the unexpected, but as usual, God can use the unexpected to bless you and allow you to be a blessing to others, or at least a shelter from the rain.
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