Quinoa

Pronounced "keen-wah"

Quinoa happens to be featured in "The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth" and it has a star - meaning it's extra good for you.
I can't remember exactly how I found out about it - maybe from that book, but it's a staple at our house. We love it!

Here are some quick facts:
It's actually a seed, not a grain.
Gluten Free
Low glycemic index
One of the best sources of protein in the vegetable kingdom.
Provides all of the 8 essential amino acids.
High in iron - more than any other cereal grain.
It's as versatile as rice - cooks up light and fluffy - can be substituted for rice in any recipe.

So fluffy!

I found this brand at Costco.

You can find it at any health food store, and some grocery stores carry it.
*Cook it as a side.
*Cook it for breakfast with milk, brown sugar and some blueberries.
It's delicious and healthy ~ If you haven't tried it already, try it!

Tiny Baby Grapes, Rocks, and a little Ingenuity

Look at these tiny grapes! They are called "Champagne Grapes" and I got them from Bountiful Baskets last Saturday. They're like the size of peas and came in a little package like berries come in - just a little bigger. They were all tightly bunched together, and actually, a little hard to eat, since they're so small.
(the picture pretty much represents actual size, so go ahead and put your fingers up to the screen and imagine plucking one of them off :).

But what a little novelty! :) We got to eat tiny baby grapes! They were so sweet!

And perfect for chicken salad! About the same size as my little celery dices.

Now - about the rocks.......

I'm annoyed because no matter what I tried, I couldn't get this picture to upload right side up!
Lauren is really into rocks lately. She picks them up everywhere she goes. They don't have to be cool or pretty or unique. Just rocks.
So one day, I decided to make a daddy rock, a mommy rock and a baby rock. I drew faces. But of course, it didn't stop there. Lauren wanted a turn with the marker. They got colored all over with black squiggly lines.
It kept us busy for a while.
Hmm........Rocks. Who knew.



Now this.......

It's always nice to have a little ingenuity around.

That's where Dave comes in.

He was working from home today and got sick of hunching over his computer.

(We're concerned about posture around here).

So he got up and went straight to the garage to create this 'laptop stand'.

It took him about 30 min.

Then back to work.

He's so amazing.

Not sure what to name this one....

So, I'm usually pretty aware of my posture.
I try to concentrate on being pulled up, with a long, straight neck, shoulders back, stomach and rear in. (ballet background)
But when Lauren is sitting on my lap and voluntarily cuddling and laying into my shoulder, my posture goes out the window.
Who cares about posture!?
I want to just curl myself around her and cushion her little head against my shoulder, lay my head on her head and revel in the moment.
It doesn't get much better......
I love being a mom.

A Good Laugh

A day at the beach. A yogurt. Stylin' sunglasses.

Look! A friend!

Here's a little taste.

And a little more.

Here! Take the whole thing!

Eghhhh!

See ya later!

A bit about Lauren Kate

Loves clips - any clips - in her carseat, other carseats, her bike trailer,

and clearly, on a life jacket too.

Loves water! On the Lake. Family reunion in July.


.....She's the joy of our life.

*She loves to play "peek-a-boo". Every time we get in the car and she has her blanket with her, it takes about 5 seconds and we hear her say, "Yauren go?". She pulls her blanket over her face and waits for us to respond with, "oh no! Where's Lauren? Did we leave her at Grandma's? Is she swimming with fishies? Did she hide under the seat?, etc. etc. And then she'll pull the blanket down and say "peek-a-boo" with a big smile on her face. Then the whole thing repeats as many times as we can stand it.

*The absolute cutest phrase is "oh my goodness!" She actually says "ah my ginness" and will randomly say it on her own. We can't stand it, it's so cute.

*She loves books.

*She has started recalling and singing songs on her own:
"impsy, impsy sawber....down washed sawber out"

"jumping on bed....bonk head (sad voice) no no jumping bed"
"ABCDE"
I started teaching her "Jesus wants me for a sunbeam" and it was so cute as she repeated the words with me..."at home...at sool...at pay". Now she'll sometimes say, "Jesus....beam"

*She pretends a lot. She likes to say, "wrap banket - which usually means spread blanket- and then she'll lay out all her dolls and stuffed animals out to "rest".

*She's in kind of an aggressive pushing stage right now. heh... that's tricky. I have to watch her constantly when we're with kids smaller than her. I don't know how many times I've said, "we don't push - look she/he's sad. Pushing makes people sad."
She's also really possessive. I guess that comes with being the only one at home and always having everything to yourself. But she does know the word "share" and she knows what it means. Practice is always harder than theory, right?

*She sleeps 12 hours and night and usually 2-3 hours for her nap!! I am so lucky! She is an awesome sleeper! I am so grateful!

*She remembers to say prayer before we eat! Sometimes I'll quickly get her lunch and before I've had a chance to remind her, she'll say "payr" and tuck her little hands under her chin.
And at night, when we say bed time prayers, she'll say "kneel".

*She repeats daily, "taya batized!" (Makayla, her cousin, got baptized) and then she'll say "Jesus batized! Mommy batized! Daddy batized! and even sometimes, banket batized, pillow batized" :) We remind her that only people are baptized :)

*I am so impressed with her comprehension and retention! And I am humbled and amazed at how she absorbs information like a sponge!! How crucial it is to expose her to goodness and truth every day!

My love for Asian food is growing

I found this recipe in a Pampered Chef Cookbook - Wow!

The secret is the Thai Peanut sauce, which I was a little hesitant to buy - not sure I would like it, and it would just get wasted. But I'm so glad I tried it!

It is pretty spicy, but if you have plenty of milk or water on hand, to alternate with bites, it's bearable :)

Since garden green beans are plentiful right now, I added those in the mix (and omitted the baby corn, since I don't really like it)

"Thai Peanut Chicken Stir-Fry Salad"

2 small carrots, peeled

8 c. chopped romaine lettuce

1 1/4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I actually used breasts, since I had them)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 TBSP veg. oil

1/4 c. dry roasted peanuts

1 can (15 oz.) baby corn, drained

1 med. red bell pepper

1 med. red onion

4 garlic cloves

1/3 c. Thai peanut sauce (I used peanut satay sauce- it was all I could find)

1/4 c. chopped cilantro (optional)

Julienne carrots (or cut them however you want) and arrange them on plates over the lettuce.

Dice chicken into 1-inch pieces and combine with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a skillet 1-3 min. Add chicken and cook until slightly browned and cooked through.

Meanwhile, chop peanuts (if you have a Pampered Chef food chopper, it's handy) and set aside.

Cut baby corn in half cross-wise. Slice bell pepper into strips; cut strips in half. Slice onion in to 1/2 inch thick wedges. slice garlic (I used my garlic press)

Add vegetables to chicken in skillet. Cook until vegs. are crisp-tender. Remove from heat; stir in peanut sauce.

Spoon stir-fry over salad, sprinkle with peanuts and cilantro.

*In the future, I think I'll just add more ingredients to make it a little larger dish and add the whole jar of peanut satay sauce - you're supposed to use it within 3 days of opening. And, the sauce seemed a little sparce when I originally made it.

*Oh yeah, and I didnt' actually eat it over romaine lettuce. We used rice. We didn't have lettuce when I made it, but I definitely want to try the salad. I think it would be so good.

*And I served it with baked potstickers and those other little tubes you see are just leftover wonton wraps dipped in water and cinn/sugar, rolled up and baked.

Silver Lining

I was preparing hard for a much anticipated, promising event at my house.
I painted patches on walls - painting that should have been done months ago.

I hung curtains on 3 windows.
I cleaned and organized my kitchen, family room and laundry room.

Dave totally scoured the guest bathroom.

I hand delivered over 80 invitations to said event.

No one came.

It was a sad night.

But look how much I got done! And my house still resembles the "show ready" state it was in over 3 days ago.

That feels good. I'm over the disappointment and it makes me happy to look at my curtains and my clean kitchen.