Having fun=hard work

I don't know why, but whenever we try to have a fun outing for the kids' sake, it often turns out the opposite. We have no problem with having spontaneous fun, but as soon as it stops being spontaneous, the fun ends and the tears with screaming take over.

It took us some time to find a good day to go fly a kite which was gifted to Elijah for his birthday. We got into the car, drove to the park, found a perfect spot for running and practicing with kite flying. Turns out kids lost all the interest in doing what the whole outing was about and instead decided to run wild. Don't get me wrong, running wild is cute and fun, but with our two runners it means running as far away as possible, preferable in two different directions, with one of them being towards the busy street. That's where fun ends. Our begging and pleading to stay closer to us didn't do any good, then there was a good deal of fighting, tears, screaming and almost going home.

We gave up on the kite idea, partly because the wind was no good (or we were just lousy kite fliers), and partly because we needed to re-focus and have just a bit of fun before heading home so that we'd have something good to remember. Fortunately, playing hide-and-seek and catch left us with plenty of happy memories.

Looking through the photos makes it seem like the crying only lasted for 5 seconds and the fun lasted all night. Time will pass, and we will be telling our grown up children that we don't remember them acting up. EVER.

And had to add this cute little clip, makes me smile every time I watch it :)

Shiny new things

I've been enjoying using my new set of stainless steel cookware. I'm slowly getting used to using super low flame, which does the trick for me without burning the food, thus making my pots and pans almost as non-stick as Teflon coated pans that we finally got rid of. Good times, I have time for cooking (most days), I have fun cooking and I love the end result. Now I just need to write my made-up recipes before I forget them...

Disclaimer: I'm lousy at writing recipes, or following them for that matter. So if something sounds unclear, feel free to ask. Be aware that I don't measure, everything is eyeballed so don't put too much trust into my measurements, they are only given as guidlines. Start with less if you are not familiar with a certain spice, and keep adding more to your taste. In other words, have fun!

Lentil soup with Bulghur stuff(or whatever spelling you want to use for it)
4 quarts or many many servings

2 c green lentils (soak for at least 30 mins)
1 c bulghur wheat (coarse would give more texture, fine will make soup more creamy)

fresh garlic cloves, the more the better (5-7?)
1 medium onion chopped
dried or fresh mint (3T-ish of dried or medium store-sized bunch)
2t ground cumin
2t ground coriander - optional
1 t turmeric

1 can tomato sauce or 3-5 tomatoes pureed in a blender
vegetable or chicken stock
2-3 T lemon juice of 1 lemon squeezed (start with less and add more to taste)
salt/pepper to taste

baby spinach

Cook lentils for about 20 minutes in stock of your choice. When tender, add bulghur wheat and let simmer. Meanwhile...

Saute onions with minced garlic until golden brown, add all the spices and saute for another 2 minutes.

Add the spice/onion/garlic mixture to the pot, stir, add mint, salt/pepper and tomato sauce/puree. Stir and add lemon juice to taste. Throw in some baby spinach and cook for 2-3 minutes. Done.

Busy month

Eeeekk, I feel defeated by this birthday month. I did my best trying to keep up with birth-day posts, and believe it or not, they are all typed up and just need some editing, saved in drafts and waiting to be posted...

Until it happens, I won't use that as an excuse not to post anything else. The time line is already messed up anyway, right?

Last week Maya celebrated her birthday and I followed my impulse and made her a last-minute t-shirt that she requested in her last minute wish list. Here it is (the wishlist):

Puzzled? I'll decode:

Kindergarten Book
Game
P (she never told me, just said "let's skip that for now")
Art Book
Short Sleeve Shirt
New Crayon Set
Velvet Art Work
Wallet
Card (she revealed to grandma that she wants a DEBIT card)
Helmet
Decorations for Christmas

I know she requested a short sleeved shirt, but it was a week ago, when we still had 50s outside with rain and snow. Since I was using old t-shirts to make her a new one, the sleeves were 'pre-made' and I decided to keep them 'as is' until it got warmer. The applique was the time killer, took longer than the shirt itself. I'm still glad I did it, because I had upcoming Earth Day in mind.

Flashback

I was giving a quick pitch for Aden & Anais blankets tonight and realized that pictured would be worth more than a thousand words so I decided to make a quick post to show just how awesome those swaddling wraps are (and also how cute Anya looked when she was a newborn and not crying :) The two toned ones were originally white and I dyed each of them in two colors diagonally.

Need I say more?

Taming the Serger (AKA, my serger saga)

I'd wanted a serger for a long time and last fall, about 6 months ago I saved some money and after spending hours on reading online reviews, Brother 1034D was on the way from Costco. It arrived threaded with tiny sample spools of thread, I had fun serging scraps of fabric while trying to get a hang of the machine and then... one of the threads ran out. That was it. I agonized over the prospect of re-threading the beast on my own, after all, the book said that all the threading had to be done in strict order, otherwise machine would explode into my face...

Now I realize that I was a bit over reacting and feel quite silly that I kept hiding from my serger all these months without even attempting to thread it. Well, 2 nights ago I sat down, skipped the instructional video and brochure and went straight to the diagram on the inside of my serger. That was the most clear and easy set of directions on how to thread my machine. Three minutes later I was chaining off.

One good lesson that I learned, at least with the model of serger that I have, is that all the precise instructions and reviews that mentioned threading were quite paralyzing for me. Thanks to them I always felt like I had to SUFFER through the first few attempts of threading and then it would get easier. I didn't even think that threading a serger could be EASY even if the set of paths and holes is quite different from the sewing machine. All these months I kept thinking that I didn't have time to sit down and watch instructional videos in order to start operating the beast. In reality, all I used in the last 2 days to do my work on the serger was the threading diagram and the skimpy looking manufacturers brochure. Oh, and the best part? You DON'T have to thread those 4 paths in their strict order (upper looper, lower looper, right needle, left needle). Once you see how those threads fall into their paths, you can easily re-thread just one specific path. Sweet!

We are friends now, my serger and I. I finished leggings for Anya last night (Ottobre, Spring 09), made with old t-shirts. I'm quickly getting hooked on this machine. And it may not seem to be worth mentioning, but I had a long time dream of chopping a few of onesies and turning them into shirts. Now it's done and I'm amazed by the simple genius of this 'project' and how well it suits our needs.

We often make mistake of leaving folded laundry on the couch overnight. Then Anya gets a hold of it in the morning and I can't deprive her of joy of playing with our nicely folded clothes.

Where is my baby?

Something has changed last week. I looked at Anya one day and saw a toddler in her. The expressions, the meaning she puts into them, they are not baby grimaces any more. How could it happen so fast? She is not even 1 yet, technically she isn't for a little less than 24 hours. Yet, both Mark and I notice how every day she's losing more and more of her baby-ness, turning into a little toddler...

And now this. Walking... Unlike her older siblings, who waited until 15.5 and 14.5 months until suddenly and unexpectedly walking all over the place one day, Anya is taking a different approach, proving that she's her own little person, no matter how much we try to figure out who she's acting and looking most like. She's taking tiny little steps, sometimes it's just 2 or 3, other times it's 10. But she's doing it, giggling and squealing of joy, as if to show us that her toddlerhood is inevitable yet fun. We get it, we really do, even if we will always secretly miss baby Anya.

Tomorrow is her birthday, and there will be a special post dedicated to that, complete with birth story and video. I still don't want to wait a whole another day before posting a photo of cuddly little gift I made for Anya last night, while my headache wasn't letting me sleep at 3 a.m.

I know this is far from perfect, but what matters is that it's DONE 1 day before her birthday. What a miracle, since I'm always late with handmade presents :)

happy quiet Sunday

For some reason Sundays are rarely peaceful here, probably because we so want them to be. This Sunday was different, relaxing, lazy, even productive. Quick delicious lunch, afternoon sewing, then bright cheerful colors in the living room. Laundry folded, evening walk, kids in bed *on time*. Can it get any better? Only if it happens more often.

Eggplant curry (adapted and, yes, improved from this month's Real Simple)

1 medium onion chopped
olive or coconut oil
1 eggplant, cubed
1 T curry powder
1 T ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 can chickpeas
4 medium tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
salt/pepper to taste
1/2 c water

Sautee onion for a few minutes, add eggplant and spices, more oil if needed. Cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring often. Add chopped tomatoes, drained chickpeas, tomato sauce and water if needed. Cook for 3-5 more minutes. Serve over rice, buckwheat, or quinoa.