The Best Medicine

Last night my dashingly handsome husband walked in the door with a brand new iPad. Sometimes there is an occasional perk to being a high school teacher, because his school distributed iPads to all of the teachers to familiarize themselves over the summer. It sort of felt like a Christmas gift in May, and since we are not an iPhone family, we were slightly over the moon about the whole thing. What are all of these things? Apps? Face time? Games? OH MY! Word on the street is that kids these days are using iPads in high school. You know, as opposed to paper & writing utensils. Children, what happened to good old fashioned glitter pens and mini personal pencil sharpeners?!

Anyway, we fumbled around for awhile and eventually came across the "Photo Booth" program (or is it an app? who knows...) and had some quality family photo shoot time. You guys- I have never, EVER laughed so hard in my life. Or if I have, it's been years. I was out of control, tears streaming down my face, belly aching hysterical over the twisted & distorted photos we were able to take of ourselves. I mean, really. Can you look at these pictures and not laugh out loud?

Yes, I'm aware that I resemble some sort of evil cartoon villain.

This is the one that sent us all into level 2 hysteria. Look at my sweet, beautiful baby! She looks insane!

After the laugh-fest was over, it took me some time to recover. Honestly, it was physically taxing expending all of those tears and giving my abs a much needed workout. And when I was ready to move on the the regular duties of the evening, I felt like I just took a one week cruise around the world & back. Exhausted, but so full of happiness for the memory we had just created.

God bless the iPad. Amen.

Shrimp, my Savior

Image via Wikipedia
Today is one of those days. This house has fallen victim to the "worst season of allergies we've ever seen" (welcome, Spring!) and I'm in a ridiculous antihistamine-induced fog, barely able to keep my eyes open. This is bad news when it comes to the "bewitching hour", as my Mama refers to it, also known as "what in tarnations shall I make for dinner tonight?" Seriously, if I had a dime for every time I've asked myself this question....

Good thing I have some delightfully easy recipes stashed away for days just like this. Amongst them all, there is one that takes the prize for being the most low-maintenance dinner in my repertoire, while still being one of THE MOST delicious. Enter the brown-rice shrimp bowl! It's one of those meals where you put it all into one bowl, and simply commence eating. No side dishes necessary. I haven't officially calculated this, but I'm pretty sure it hits all the main food groups, so it's also a very smart dinner.

You should probably make this tonight, even if you aren't on allergy medication and on the verge of tears because you're so tired and your children are miniature Energizer bunnies. It's a tasty, healthy, fast, easy dinner and your taste-buds will insist on writing me a thank-you note for sharing it with you.

Brown Rice Bowl with Shrimp, Snow Peas and Avocado (Adapted from Everyday Food, Jan/Feb. 2008)

2 cups water
1 cup brown rice (**Alternatively, and much more efficiently, we use 2 packages of Trader Joe's Organic Brown Rice, found in the freezer section. Each "packet" takes 3 min. in the microwave, and it comes out absolutely delicious-- a true staple in our house!)

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1-2 lemons)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil (can use olive oil instead, depending on preference; we just like that slightly toasted/smoky taste)
1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp (again TJ's sells these guys frozen, already peeled & deveined, thanks be to God)
8 oz snow peas, ends trimmed and halved on the diagonal
1" long piece fresh ginger, peeled and diced small
1 avocado, cut into chucks
1/2 bunch green onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tsp. sesame seeds (optional)

In a large saucepan, bring 2 cups water to a boil - add rice and salt (to taste). Cover, reduce heat and cook until water has been absorbed, anywhere from 35 to 45 minutes. (**Or just make your 3 minute TJ's organic brown rice.....)

In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, lemon juice, vinegar and sugar.

In a large skillet, heat sesame oil over medium-high. Add shrimp, snow peas, green onions, garlic and ginger - season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Cook until shrimp are opaque throughout and snow peas are bright green, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Evenly divide rice among four bowls. Top with shrimp mixture and avocado. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Drizzle with the soy mixture or serve on the side.

Makes 4 servings.

Birthday Prep

I love carrying on family traditions. One of mine from childhood is when someone in the family is celebrating a birthday, they 1) do not have to make their bed, 2) get to select from any of the typically forbidden "sugar cereals" from the grocery store, and 3) get to choose their own special birthday dinner, which Mama will cook upon request, and serve with lots of love. This is the background information that led to the conversation I had with Ben today, whose 5th birthday is less than a week away.

Me: Ben, I want to talk to you about your birthday dinner. If you could have anything, what would you like me to make for you? I can make you anything you want! It could be tacos, or I could make you a special pasta dish, or we could have homemade pizza. What do you think?

Ben: Hmmmm. Well, how 'bout you just make me some McDonald's? Okay, Mama?

Me: Ouch.

Ben: What?

Me: How about you sleep on it, and we'll talk about this again in a couple days.

Ben: Okay. But I want a toy with it too, okay Mama?

Spring-ology

Photographic proof that spring has absolutely sprung around here:

A visit from these two, for starters! Dan's folks made the long (1,046 miles, to be exact) drive out from New Mexico to spend spring break with us, arriving the day before Easter. I don't know who had more fun- us or them. It's heavenly to have an extra set (or two) of hands in the house, helping us with the kids, ready to give countless hugs, share jokes, read books, and help with the everyday business that this house incurs. We all just soaked it in and relished in the cozy family time we'd been missing.

Here, "Opa" is reading to the kiddos, who are quite busy trying to find that impossible Goldbug . Sometimes I wish I could take the energy my father-in-law has, and bottle it up. I'd take a small dose of it everyday after breakfast. The man is 81, but I'm fairly certain he thinks he's still 50.

Easter morning! I realize they both look less than thrilled in this picture, but here they were that morning, moments beforehand shrieking with delight at what the Easter Bunny/Angel left for them. I think they were both irritated that my picture taking was interfering with jelly bean consumption.

Ella learned a lesson in accessories. Here she is with her first pair of sunglasses, and matching necklace/bracelet set. (Thank you, Target $1 section!) Since receiving these on Easter morning, she commented a few times, "I can't see! The sun is hurting my eyes! Need my sunglasses, Mom!" The "jewelry", however, has not been as popular; she vacillates between wanting to wear them while playing dress-up and wanting to stretch them to the point of destruction, hoping to watch the beads go flying everywhere.

My first lemon meringue pie of the season! It was an Easter sweet treat success! (Also, why do people say this is such an easy pie to whip up? I found it a bit complex, actually. Meringue? Lemon curd? Pie crust? Don't burn the meringue, but get the curd cooked all the way through, but also make sure the pie dough isn't raw, all at the same time? Sheesh). It was fabulous and consumed by all in one evening.

These two lovebirds clearly have Spring Fever. And a bit of a California tan, wouldn't you say? Alright, fine. It's just the "warmify" photo editing effect I applied to our skin tone. But isn't my husband handsome? And for the record, I absolutely have SOME form of fever called, "I can't wait for summertime to get here so we can co-parent and potty train that crazy daughter of ours, ASAP."

It must be Spring, because this kid has some major preschool senior-itis. It's the last few weeks of preschool, before he graduates and practically becomes an adult overnight. He is literally one week away from turning 5 years old. FIVE YEARS OLD!!!! If Dan & I had made a 5 year plan when Ben was born, it would already be time to move on to another 5 year plan, THAT'S HOW GIANT OF A BIRTHDAY THIS WILL BE! This boy has an imagination you would not believe. Example: he woke up at 4 a.m. this morning, convinced that bugs & snakes were crawling all over him, and even though he was awake and talking coherently, he would not believe me when I told him it was all a bad dream. "Mama, you don't understand. You weren't here, you didn't see them. They were huge snakes, and they probably went to hide under my bed when they heard you coming." Oh, dear.

Spring = warmer weather, which means family ventures out to new parks, hiking trails, etc. Last weekend we took the kids to Dennis the Menace Park for the first time (a park I went to visit on field trips in elementary school!), and it was as if we took the kids to Disneyland. In fact, we probably should have just told them that's where we were.....Anyway, the older Ella gets, the more the 2.5 year age difference shrinks between the two of them, and the more they learn to play together. Ben is so preciously protective of her, and wants to help her with everything, and she is sassy but affectionate with him, and the fact that they are holding hands in this picture while exploring a park from my very own childhood melts my heart into a puddle of butter. Mmmm, butter.

Speaking of this girl.....good gracious. I don't remember having this much fun with Ben at 2.5. I also don't remember being this exhausted with him. This girl is hilarious and ridiculously independent and passionate and a huge fan of major tantrums, and silly and loving and insists on wearing a tutu to bed at night. She's still a huge thumb sucker, and has brown crazy curls, and the most wonderful toddler tummy you've ever seen. We are enjoying her and falling in love with her all over again in a way we didn't see coming.

Yet another sign of spring: per my demands, lemonade has infiltrated our house for the first time this year, even in various forms! This stuff is just so darn delicious, and after some hard playtime, nothing else seems to quench our thirst. Also, it's delicious with vodka....

And then there's this; the ultimate sign that spring has sprung. Hang-dry laundry time has returned! I don't know what it is-- maybe it's seeing all of those beautiful colors up for display in the confines of our yard, or perhaps knowing that we're saving a couple bucks by doing so-- it just brings me so much joy to bask in the spring sunshine, hanging up wet laundry, listening and watching the kids run around while they play and destroy our backyard.

Notice how I did not mention "spring cleaning" as one of the signs that spring has sprung around here. I'll get around to it....maybe.