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Well, the last two weeks were a disaster from a food prep perspective. We were already scheduled to be busy, but it seems like nearly every moment has been filled with something.

On top of that, mom started the annual tradition of a pre-summer respiratory issue. It seems like as soon as the weather warms up and we're geared up to play, one of us (usually mom) celebrates by getting some sort of cold/flu funk. Dad started with red, itchy eyes last Saturday and has since progressed to a full-blown cold. Last but not least, Mason woke up in the middle of the night last night with a slight fever and a cough, signaling the beginning of his turn. We're keeping our fingers crossed that it doesn't turn into bronchitis for anyone like it did for me last year. That was decidedly not the best way to ring in the summer time.

So for the next couple weeks, we will be finishing off the majority of the meals from our last bi-weekly stock-up first. We still have the ingredients for the Chicken Pasta Toss and Chicken Tortilla Soup to save from the depths of the freezer before we continue. Depending on how the weather and our respective colds pan out, I may either use the soup as comfort food or hold onto the ingredients because they are easy to keep on hand for a "quick fix" or when nothing else sounds good.

The new additions to the lineup are as follows:

Fire Station Sloppy Joes
Pork Roast with Red Potatoes and Carrots (no recipe, just slow-cookin')
Thai Chicken and Broccoli Wraps
Spicy Pepper Steak Packets ( just a note, this recipe makes a TON of food)
Crunchy Chicken Fingers and baked fries


Fire Station Sloppy Joes
1 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 C. ketchup
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 can condensed Chicken Gumbo Soup
2 tsp. mustard

Brown hamburger and onion. Drain moisture off and add rest of ingredients. Simmer until well combined and heated through. Serves four. Way better than Manwich!



Thai Chicken and Broccoli Wraps (by Parents Magazine)

3/4 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
2 C. broccoli-slaw mix
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
3 10-in. whole wheat tortillas

Peanut Sauce
3 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp. hot water
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. ginger

Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt. Coat a large skillet with cooking spray. Cook chicken over medium-high heat until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside. Re-coat the pan with cooking spray. Add broccoli slaw and ginger. Cook until crisp-tender and set aside. Mix peanut sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly until smooth. Spread tortillas with peanut sauce. Top with chicken and broccoli slaw. Roll each and cut in half. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

I got this recipe from Parents magazine some time last year, but I can't find a link to it, so here you go. This recipe is simple, quick, and relatively healthy. We like it because it's really different than a lot of the other stuff we eat, and it's a good way to sneak some broccoli into Mason's diet.

Spring Fever Strikes Some More

Alan introduced me to a fantastic website today. If you ever need any fun ideas for ways to get your little ones out and about, go visit Today's Mama. You can set it to a variety of regions, so no matter where you live I recommend it. Some of the activites are free and others cost money, but it's a font of knowledge at a glance. It also features some important sort of "support your local mama" things that are fun to read and see other women accomplishing their goals.

Wanted : Variations of the Alphabet

As is probably evident through some of my posts, Mason is learning the alphabet. What does that mean as a parent? It means I have sung the "ABCs" more times this week alone than I can count without a calculator. It means that if I hear the Leap Frog Fridge Phonics singing it's refrains, I put my hands over my ears. It means that we have invested more time than ever pointing out random letters and watching the slide shows at Starfall .

I'm not complaining about these things, really. I'm happy to do something educational for him. It's also WAY easier for me to draw on command when he's asking for letters instead of trains, cars, or pictures of Daddy.

I know repetition is often the key to successfully teaching things like counting, alphabets, and the like. What I don't know is this: are there other alphabet songs I could sing so I get some variety? Are there other websites or short videos anyone can recommend? I am not above mild costumes, dancing like a fool, or making something (I'm working on ideas for one of those awesome "ABC" books, it's just a matter of compiling the goods to do it). And I would be so very appreciative of some insight!

Book Review: If I Am Missing or Dead...

This book is advertised as being a "Sister's Story of Love, Murder, and Liberation". I was off the mark as far as the contents. I had seen the story of Amy Latus' death on the murder/mystery-style show that I believe is a sub-category of Dateline, but don't quote me on that. Ultimately, I thought it was a sad and classic story of an abused woman who met an untimely death at the hands of a man who was supposed to love her.

This is true for the last portion of the book. However, the author can't write about what she doesn't know, and her sister had kept the whole family in the dark about the nature of her relationship. So, Janine opts instead to write a story of the history of domestic abuse she and her sister allowed into their lives. She begins from childhood forward, and it quickly becomes clear why Janine allows it to happen, and why Amy does, too. The reasons behind it are similar, but their experiences were a different. Janine faces a pattern of sexual abuse that is both somewhat graphic and vague, depending on the source. Their dad is a smarmy creep who engages in a series of inappropriate things, but none of them could be classified as sexual assault. As described by Janine, it's a look he gives or a comment he makes. Amy, whose parents divorce when she is starting high school, is simply looking for someone to love her, and makes allowances of physical, emotional, and mental abuse when she believes she has found someone to love her in her alcoholic husband. Both sisters eventually leave their unhealthy relationships. Janine is barely on her own, her divorce just beginning, with a young daughter to support when Amy is reported missing. Amy has been on her own for several years, and put her trust in the wrong man again.

Looking back, and through Janine's narrative, the problems that exist are clear. It's no surprise when Amy is missing, but it's still heartbreaking. I kept hoping for a different ending, even though I knew how it had all played out.

This book is a journey with this family through some very difficult times. It made me more grateful for the family that I have and the things I have never had to deal with. It helped me understand how strong, beautiful, intelligent women get sucked into relationships and why they stay. Above all, I pulled out rooting for the writer. I hope wherever she is, she is happy and healthy, and her life is all the better for leaving such an unhealthy realtionship and unhappy life behind. I hope the cycle is broken in her daughter. And I hope that her sister, wherever she is, is now at peace. I gave this book four stars at Good Reads, but if I had the option, I think it would have been 3 1/2.

Two Little Monkeys Go to the Zoo

We took advantage of the sunny, warmer weather yesterday by taking our first trip of the season to the zoo with Joey, Nate, and Alex. The big hit of the day was the playground, where Mason successfully made it up the rope climb for the first time. Otherwise, the zoo wasn't quite ready for the influx of people dying to get outdoors. Several of the monkeys were still inside for the winter, as were the zebras (which was a huge a disappointment). They are working on adding a large carousel, which will be open later this spring, and it's location means we also couldn't see the tortoises or kangaroos, much to the general dismay. For just $5000 or more, you too can sponsor an animal on the carousel complete with your name on a plaque at their feet. Let's get all these sponsored so we can have the kangaroos back!

Mason's favorite part of the day was monkey-watching. I think he was trying to come up with ideas to emulate later. The orangutans made a huge mess out of their cage with large paper bags (I'm sure they had tons of fun doing it), and that was what he later chose to report to dad about the outing ("Monkeys make a mess. Yeah, a big mess."). He was also fascinated with the spider monkey, which I'm sure is carryover in part from the spider he discovered on the kitchen floor the other day and eventually harrassed into a safe hiding place. He's all over anything including the term "spider" these days. Tacking on "monkey" just makes it all the more attention worthy.

In other news, I learned it's a pretty good workout to lug a toddler-loaded wagon up and down all the hills at the zoo. We're talking somewhere around the 65 lb. mark overall. Mad props to Joey who occasionally did stroller duty and assisted with the wagon-ing.

I also learned that I need to watch my language a little more closely in the car. This lesson was received about the time I had a toddler chanting "Dirtbag! Dirtbag!" in the backseat after a near miss with a non-looking lane-changing other vehicle.

I sure hope that other kid climbed off the bottom of the slide already. Otherwise, my feet are coming to get him.

Man, I have THAT much more to go?!

Come on Mase... let me help you. We can do this faster than we have been.

One Little Monkey Jumping on the Bed

If we needed proof that snow in May is evil, we can certainly point to exhibit A. It's total proof of what happens when a) you have a highly active, imaginative, and unafraid two year old boy, and b) that boy has been cooped up for what feels like months on end. Mason loves jumping on his bed, despite the warnings from mom about all the monkeys who "fell off and bonked their [his] head(s)". At least he's still in a toddler bed, so it's not too far off the ground. And those rails are for holding on to while you jump, aren't they?