that we're pregnant. And that would explain why I haven't been blogging. I've been puking instead. Forgive me. I'd rather be blogging. I'm 15 weeks along. Don't hurt yourself...I'll do the math. That's 3/8 of the way through my pregnancy. Oh, sorry, you probably don't care about that calculation. My due date is February 16th. I'm known to deliver early though, so I'm planning on the beginning of February. In case you are wondering, I detest, yes even hate (a word I don't use casually) being pregnant. I know it's a strong word, but pregnancy and my body don't get along. With Sadie I had horrific hives. With Deklan I had shingles. And with both I was nauseous for over half of the pregancy. Poor Erik. He's had to hear every day how I'm never, ever, ever, ever, never, never, ever, ever doing this again. Never. I know I sound like a brat. I know there are people out there who would give anything to be pregnant. People keep saying it's worth it in the end. Believe me....this I know or else I wouldn't be pregnant.
And now for the sweeter side of Stephanie. I love labor and delivery. It's true. I look forward to it. I'm even a little sad when the whole labor and delivery thing is over. In fact, I'd rather go through labor/delivery a dozen times if I could forgo the nine months of misery. That tells you two things. Either 1) I have really easy labors (TRUE) OR 2) I have really miserable pregnancies (TRUE).
Sadie wants a girl so bad. She is preparing herself for disappointment. She said to me, "Mom, if you want a boy then just say you want a girl. If you want a girl, then say you want a boy. I really really really bad want a boy". Deklan wants another "stister" probably because that's all he knows. I want a girl on most days. But having a boy would give Deklan a playmate...something I take into strong consideration on a DAILY basis! Especially now that Sadie is in school. And my cute little sister is 7 weeks ahead of me, pregnant with a little boy. How fun would that be to have little rugrats together? And Erik just is happy that I am willing to go through nine months of hell to have another baby.
Gotta run. Erik is coming through the door with my jalapeno poppers and diet coke. Yummy!!!! (believe me, that's the pregnancy talking!)
What's for dinner?
How many conversations have you had with your friends about trying to come up with something new for dinner? Yeah, yeah, we all know the story....pizza, spaghetti, chicken nuggets, macaronni and cheese...yada, yada, ya. Well, I love to cook and even though not every new recipe ends up being a keeper, I've had two successes in a row. Whoot whoot!So here they are....
Baked Scallops
1 1/2 pds. sea scallops, rinsed and drained
4 T. butter, melted
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 scallions, chopped
3 pinches of ground nutmeg
salt and pepper
1/2 c. bread crumbs
2 T. olive oil
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1. Preheat oven to 400*
2. Pour the melted butter into a 2 qt. casserole dish. Distribute the scallops evenly over the butter.
3. Combine the remaining ingredients. Sprinkle the mixture over the scallops.
4. Bake in pre-heated oven until scallops are firm, about 20 minutes.
On the side we had mashed potatoes, green salad, and french bread. Delish!
Knock out #2:
Country-Style Pork Tacos with Tomato Salsa
Paste:
1 T. kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp. granulated garlic
1 1/2 tsp. chile powder
1 1/2 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pds. boneless country-style pork ribs
Salsa:
1 1/2 c. roughly chopped ripe tomatoes
1 large ripe avocado, finely diced
2 to 3 green onions, white part only, finely chopped
1/4 c. finely chopped fresh cilantro (Can I just say how much I L-O-V-E cilantro!!)
2 T. fresh lime juice
Kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
flour tortillas
1. Make the paste. Trim excess fat from the pork and then rub the paste all over. Cover and refrigerate the pork for 2 hrs. (or as long as 8 hrs.).
2. Make the salsa.
3. Allow the pork to stand at room temp. for 20-30 minutes. Grill over Direct Medium heat, 12 to 15 minutes. NOTE TO READER: GRILL WHENEVER POSSIBLE IN THE SUMMER TIME IN AZ. WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WANTS TO USE THE OVEN??!!!!!
4. Warm tortillas. (Can wrap in foil and place on grill for 2-4 minutes or use the microwave).
5. Cut the pork crosswise into very thin slices. Serve the sliced pork wrapped in warm tortillas with the salsa.
Serve with refried beans and fresh pineapple as your sides.
Sorry no photos of the food. Come on people, if I had to stop and take pictures, my kids would already be full on goldfish, fruit snacks, pretzels, oreos, bread and whatever else they could sneak out of the pantry. I swear as soon as I start cooking dinner they suddenly become ravishing and wither from starvation as I'm madly whipping together the ingredients. I promise they are Yum!
Sweet Sadie
Anyone who knows Sadie, knows that I am truly not that biased when I talk about how amazing she is. She turned 6 last week and so I've spent a lot of time thinking about how quickly the past six years have gone and how my life would be so empty and meaningless without her. Today marked her last swim meet of the summer. It turned out to be a HUGE commitment but so like Sadie, she never complained about getting up at 5:30 a.m. to get there on time. At the end of the hour long practices I could tell she was completely wiped out, but she would do the conditioning drills with the biggest grin on her face. She was definitely the smallest on the team and I think I worried more about her age/size/ability than she ever did. In fact, at one of the meets she was thrilled to finally win the pink ribbon (8th place) because she didn't have that color yet. Ahhh, someday I'll long for those days when she grinned about 8th place. She has come so far this summer in her swimming abilities and is so much fun to watch. I could go on about the other things that she does....like make all of our beds in the morning, picks up after Deklan without me asking, is so kind to everyone, tries everything on her plate and always compliments me on the meal even though I know she detested it.....alright, I'll stop and just post the pictures of our little fish. Man I love her!!!!!
Summer lovin'
You just have to know that blogging is not a priority in my life.....
Having said that, I think I am now recovered from our annual summer trip to UT/CO. We have spent the past week reminiscing and wishing we could return to cooler weather, greener surroundings and mostly to our families. Isn't that backdrop gorgeous?!!!!
So Erik's favorite part of the entire trip was our float down the Green River at Flaming Gorge. We had two rafts carrying 15 passengers. Not bad when only 5 of them were kids and then 10 adults. Which made me question the sanity of my parents and my aunt and uncle (20 years ago was it???) when they took 11 kids and the 4 of them down the Colorado River, which had many more rapids than the Green River. What were they thinking?!? O.K., they weren't, but none of us are in therapy over it and look, I took my kids, so they must have had it all under control, right? Anyway, it was a two hour float and we had fun getting in waterfights, laughing, manuevering the rapids, and for Erik.....fishing.
Notice Erik...fishing. He caught a Brown Trout (not the kind you're thinking Mr. Case) a German Brown Trout and was very excited. I think this experience convinced Erik once and for all that lake fishing is just not that exciting and river fishing is where it's at!
And there are my cuties and Jorgen with their Papa. When can we do this again?
For Sadie, the best part was riding her cousins' kid-sized quads. They let her drive all by herself and of course she was a very poised and careful driver, until you saw her pull into the driveway and give herself whiplash. It was a sight to see!
When I asked Deklan what his favorite part was, he of course copied what Sadie had said. But as a boy after his daddy's heart, he did enjoy the fishing. Concentrate buddy.......you never know when one of those fish might take a nibble. Oh wait, you don't have a hook on your line. (I don't think next year I'll get away with that safety mechanism.)
And my favorite part? Hands down, it was spending time with my sisters. I absolutely adore them and definitely need the constant laughter I experience whenever I am with them. Thanks girls for admiring my skinny arms and for playing detectives.....I miss you!
And no, I won't wait another six weeks to post.........
Can it be? My baby is three?!
In my three year old’s world:
A ladybug is a “leggybug”.
A screwdriver is a “screwdriver-er-er-er-er-er”.
He has mastered the sound of a video game gun. “Pew, pew, pew!” Better watch out or he will “pew you”. When the sun shines in his eyes he asks me to “Pew the sun, mom!”
Sadie is his “stister”.
On Wednesday evenings we go to soccer “prastice”.
I say, “You’re my boy”. He says, “You’re my girl.”
When anything leafy, green, or highly nutritious appears on his plate he says, “Mom, I can’t like those.”
He gives the best hugs, kisses, and snuggles. He forgives within seconds.
His new favorite phrase is “not yet”.
“Let’s go to bed Deklan.” “Not yet.”
“Should we go get Sadie?” “Not yet.”
“Do you need to go potty?” “Not yet.”
He loves balls, cars, and fishing.
The sound of the garage door opening brings forth a loud, “DADDY!!!!!”
I now use the back door and walk around to take out the trash in the middle of the day.
Yesterday is "yesday". The other day is "yudda day".
"Deklan, let's take your medicine".
"I all-yeddy did yesday".
"Let's pick up your room."
"I did it yudda day".
I told him last night that Jesus loves him. He said, “And daddy loves me and zana loves me and grandma loves me and grandpa loves me and Sadie loves me and Zoe loves me and you love me and papa loves me and Stacey loves me and Karston loves me and EVERYBODY loves me!”
I like his three year old world.
I told him last night that Jesus loves him. He said, “And daddy loves me and zana loves me and grandma loves me and grandpa loves me and Sadie loves me and Zoe loves me and you love me and papa loves me and Stacey loves me and Karston loves me and EVERYBODY loves me!”
I like his three year old world.
Cinco De Mayo!!!
"I'm having a party!" It was a fair warning that I issued on April 21st upon my return home from a work trip to California. Maybe it was the evenings I spent alone in my hotel room that gave seed to this idea....brilliant idea I might add. Lest you think I only came up with ONE idea during my three days away from home, let me clarify that I actually made a list. But a Cinco De Mayo party toppped the list and how can one throw a party when the backyard is only partially finished? So landscaping the backyard pushed the party idea to task #2 on the list. That gave us two weeks to prep the ground, dig trenches, lay the irrigation, plant trees, bushes, etc., add the rock (10 tons!!!), stake the trees, mow lawns, in other words, break our backs. But I'm not whining. It looks great! And we finished just in time for our Cinco De Mayo party where 26 adults and 37 kids gathered for festive food and fun!
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