3rd Month's A Charm

Today Lucy is 3 months old!
She celebrated by sleeping well last night, 8 whole hours! Love her! She is moving more and more, grabbing, trying to roll over, sitting up a bit. She is giggly, showing off her beefy laugh whenever she can. I know I say it every month, but she is just so darn cute!!

fAST fOOD fRIDAY

The Soundtrack: Regina Spektor, Begin to Hope.
listen to Fidelity here

The Meal: Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry
This costs about $10 for 4 people.
Use a bag of frozen stir fry veggies or select your own fresh ones.

what you need:
3 boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 bottle teriyaki marinade (I use Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Teriyaki)
stir fry veggies, about 1 cup per person (I'm using broccoli, red & green peppers, green beans, & carrots)
cooked rice

what you do:
marinade the chicken using half of the bottle for at least a half hour.
saute chicken in olive oil until no longer pink, tossing old marinade.
add veggies and remaining bottle of marinade, stir fry until veggies are tender.
serve over rice.

Enjoy!

Zookeeper For A Day

Today is one of those days when I kinda wish I had a 'real' job. My head is achy, I'm tired, my back hurts, I desperately need a shower (last night I told Todd I don't even notice the smell of baby barf anymore because I am constantly coated in a small layer of it). I've been in pj's since yesterday morning when we went to story time, only then did I trade in my bottoms for a half hour in jeans. I just noticed I have a boogie friend on my shoulder, god knows how long ago Lucy put him there for me to enjoy. I have dishes to do, a floor to vacuum, toys to (trip over) send to the basement. I am listening to 101 Dalmatians as I type, for the (kid you not) 3rd time in 2 days. I had Rex's leftovers for lunch: chicken quesadillas and Cheetos.

Right now I really want to trade all this stuff in for a good nights sleep and an exotic 9 to 5. I'd love to shower, put on something other than fleece and cotton, dust off my heels, and brave the morning commute. I want to stop at Starbucks and spend a small fortune on a ginormous coffee and a muffin, worrying if my selfish indulgence will make me late. I want to put my two cents in at a meeting, have lunch with a colleague, meet a deadline other than 5pm dinnertime. Ah, to dream...

Instead I will prod on in my current position: volunteer zookeeper.

After a morning spent cleaning cages, I have to give the small animals baths. Then I will have to find a way to get them some exercise, mentally stimulate them, and shower them with affection so they do not eat me alive. Eventually I have to feed them something healthy and in their meal plans. Before I can remove my stained, splattered, and soaked uniform I will have to launder all of their clothing so they will have fresh socks and pocket shirts for tomorrow. When I think I can sit back and relax, one of them will torture some other innocent living thing for no reason and I will have to diffuse the situation and prepare a statement for the bewildered spectators.

At the end of the day I am exhausted. My body is achy, I'm tired, my back hurts, I desperately need a shower. The work is hard and the pay is crap, but I've always loved working with animals. Even more than that huge vanilla late and blueberry muffin.

Getting the Quirks Out

Before I start with the Friday food thing, I want to share a little about how I operate in the kitchen. I can sometimes be a bit of a "food snob" and wanted to do some explaining before you start reading and thinking "WTF is she talking about now?" This may be totally unnecessary, but I'd rather you were aware of my quirks from the start.

1. Feelin' Fresh: I always use either fresh or frozen produce. I don't like canned veggies, it kinds freaks me out thinking of them submerged in water for countless months before I decide to eat them. I rarely ever use canned fruit either, don't like the extra sugars and syrups. If I get a good deal on fresh (or when we're picking it from the garden) I buy a lot and freeze it myself, especially with pricier items. If I'm adding a can into anything, it's because I haven't found a better way to do it yet.

2. Opting for Organic: I am so not committed to exclusively buying organics, but if they cost about the same as the regular stuff I always buy them first.

3. Dinner Anatomy 101: Lots of times I will eat something somewhere and like it so much I try to dissect it and recreate it. Sometimes my recreations turn out fabulous, sometimes we throw them out and order pizza. I promise to inform you beforehand if I'm working from scratch on a Friday.

4. 30 Minute Rule: I consider things quick if I can go from start to finish in 30 mins or less. This doesn't include baking time because I don't consider that work, but it does include anything on the stove top that is boiling, bubbling, simmering, sauteing. I take shortcuts when I can and try really hard to have my veggies and things precut.

5. This Is My Day Job: Since I don't work outside of the house I devote a lot of time to this food thing. Besides caring for the kiddos, making the food around here is my #1 priority. I spend a lot of time planning weekly meals, finding new recipes, and shopping for the goods. By the time I get to Friday I have almost everything ready to go. I'll try to give you as comprehensive a list as possible for what I'm using right away.

6. Unfinished Business: There are most likely a bazillion things I am leaving out. I'll let you know if goofy things come up as I go along. See you Friday!

Friday Forecast

I was trying to think of something to spice up the blog. Though I'm sure my rants and raves are enjoyable, there has got to be only so much any one person can take of my daily complaining. My cousin does some cool day specific things with her blog (Wedding Wednesday, Friday Five) and I've decided I am going to rip her off a bit.

Starting this week I'll be posting fAST fOOD fRIDAYS.

I'm a fairly busy person, despite being unemployed outside of the home, and preparing a dinner that's kid friendly, tasty and nutritious on the fly tends to be my day-to-day specialty. So, every Friday I'll tell you what I'm making, where I got the stuff, and (if I can remember) about how much it costs to put together.

My goal is to share some of the things that keep us running behind the scenes. Besides a bottle of wine here and there, listening to really loud music and chopping vegetables is the best way I've found to stay sane in this crazy family of mine!

A Letter to Phil

Dear Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators,

I am truly disturbed by your recent prediction. I do not now, nor have I ever understood what gives you the authority to proclaim whether or not we will have 6 more weeks of winter.

Do you understand what 6 more weeks of winter means to a person like me? What it means to my family? It means we have to remain prisoners of this dreaded season that much longer. My children cannot go outside to burn off the extra energy they have been storing all winter long because it is too darn cold out. I cannot open the windows to let the fresh air in and the stale, virus infested air out. We have to continue to worry about catching the flu at the grocery store, shoveling the driveway, finding missing mittens before we leave the house.

You are condemning me to carry around these 10 extra pounds of winter/baby weight that are just dying to be shed on a warm, sunlit trail in the forest preserve. You are forcing my husband to continue to brave the hellish winter elements warming up the car and searching for a parking spot long after the rest of the family is safely inside the mall. You are upsetting baby Lucy by making her sit in the dark, under piles of blankets, on every trip to and from the house because it is too cold outside for her to even briefly feel the harsh air.

Why Phil? Why? Why do you do this? Why do you make us wait, year after year for the warm days of spring? Is it because you are a groundhog, hardly more than common vermin? Is it because the National Climatic Data Center says you are correct in your prediction less than 40% of the time, while you profess it is 90%? Is it because those goofballs in Pennsylvania tramp on your home and parade you around like some circus animal?

I understand if you do not wish to answer, if you feel your actions speak loud enough. Just understand that I am not happy with this. I do not condone this sort of selfish behavior, nor do I feel you should take out your frustrations on the millions of us patiently waiting for spring.

I wish you the best, until next February of course, when we must do this again.

Karleen

Are You Ready For Some FOOTBALL?

It is Super Bowl Sunday and we are pumped.

For whatever reason the Super Bowl is the only championship sporting event we always watch regardless of who is in it. It's the one time a year when we will all sit around the TV watching the game,without flipping channels during commercials. We cover the coffee table with hearty snacks, load up on beer and soda, choose our bathroom breaks wisely. The kids get excited about placing quarter-a-quarter wagers with Papa for the winning team. (Of course this has more to do with bragging rights than anything else and offers some fun heckling during the game...) We talk candidly about the players on this years team, comparing each to the 85 Bears, hoping and wishing the best ones will be picked up by Chicago during the off season.

For whatever reason this has become our family football tradition. No parties and no guests, we politely decline both nearly every year. Instead it's just us. Watching football the same way we do every Sunday.

(Almost forgot...Go Steelers! I (heart) that Ben Roethlisberger.)