Sunday, June 28, 2009

Summer Days

Long time no post, I know. It's summertime, and that means more time outside with the kids and less time at the computer. The kids have been spending time playing water balloon baseball and running through sprinklers and zooming down the neighbor's Slip n Slide. We've been to a couple cook-outs, visited my parents and sister in WI, and just in general, been - well, busier!

Pictures coming soon... Lots to share!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Birthdays and the Poop Deck

Saturday was Ethan's 7th birthday! He was so excited to open his presents, but was majorly bummed out that it was so cold and rainy, and it didn't let up all weekend. He did go to a friend's house on his birthday for a party they were having for their 5-year-old, and then he chose McDonald's for his birthday dinner. (Surprise surprise!) On the way home we stopped to pick up some cheesecake because he wanted that instead of a traditional cake.

Here are a couple of pics from his birthday! :)

Note the pained expression on Kibby's face. She wasn't a bit upset that all of the presents were for Ethan! ;)



Here Kibby is trying to get the present away from Ruby. She is saying, "No Ruby, that's ETHAN'S!!!"




Here is Ethan with 95% of his presents. Note how they are mostly outdoor gifts. Whoops. Didn't know it would rain all weekend long!


Yesterday was my birthday, and although I am used to it raining on my birthday (when I was a kid, it seemed it always rained on my birthday, and it even flooded our street a couple of times - which was actually fun because all the kids went out to play in the water!) However, I didn't care much for the 50-degree temps! A bit chilly for June, even in the northern midwest!

We decided at the last minute to go out to eat, and piled the kids in the car and went to Carlos O'Kelly's. (It was either that or Applebee's, and since there wasn't a parking place left at Applebee's, Carlos O'Kelly's it was!) We pigged out on chips and salsa (I love their salsa!) and I have enough leftovers from my meal for lunch today. Love that.

A man at a nearby table must have also been celebrating his birthday, because suddenly the waitstaff was surrounding his table and clapping and singing to him... Ethan caught my eye and then looked at Seth and asked something about if they were going to do that for Mommy. Well, at the end of our meal, Seth announced to our waitress that it was my birthday, and she asked if we wanted the singing, that that was how you could get the free fried ice cream. I kinda shook my head and said, "not really..." and then Seth piped up that it was Ethan's birthday yesterday, and they could sing to him instead. So they did, and Ethan ended up being the one who was embarrassed! :) Ha! So much for trying to "get" Mommy! We all shared the fried ice cream, and headed back out in the rain to go home.

Then we decided to torture our bellies again an hour and a half later and have some more cheesecake.

Maybe today should be a salad day.

Nah.

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Here we have...


...a picture of Kibby's "pet" Mourning Dove. He or she sits on our deck serveral times a day, for long periods of time. Kibby has come to think of the bird as her little feathered friend. I am starting to think of our deck as the "poop deck." Also, this particular picture reminds me of some of the illustrations from Mo Willems' books, "Don't Let the Pigeon _______". (Yes, I know this isn't a pigeon, but there is a strange resemblance, no? Do you see it?)

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Beef Salad

I don't typically post recipes on my blog, but since I love food, and I know lots of other people do, too... well, I decided it was high time to post a recipe on here already! :)

This one is technically my hubby's specialty. It's one of our favorites and is great for the Summer grilling months!

Beef Salad (Cambodian - style)

1. Grill up some steak. Don't overcook it.


2. While steak is grilling, slice up your veggies. (Or maybe you could have someone else slice them so your steak doesn't burn. Um, not that that has ever happened to us.) ;) We use cucumber, red onion, green, red and/or yellow bell peppers, tomato, mushrooms, fresh basil and cilantro. Put veggies aside in a large bowl.

3. Make the sauce. My hubby always does this part, so I don't know exact amounts, as he never measures. Play around with it till you get the taste you like. He sautes some finely chopped garlic in a bit olive oil, then turns off the heat and adds a bunch of fr
esh squeezed lime juice and some fish sauce. You'll want enough sauce to marinate your cooked steak and to coat your veggies just a bit. (*Note: If you're not used to fish sauce, yes, it will stink when you pour it in. Do NOT sniff the bottle! Ha! But trust me, you need it in there, and it makes the dish so yummy!)

4. Slice up your steak into thin strips and marinate for 10+ minutes in the sauce. Add all (including sauce) to fresh veggies, stir to blend, and serve with Jasmine rice. (If you like it spicier, as my hubby and his brother do, you can add some of those little tiny red or green asian peppers - I don't know their real name, s
orry - thinly sliced, but be warned that they add quite the kick!)

5. ENJOY! :)







Monday, June 1, 2009

Speaking of speaking...

Ruby has been working on her talking skills lately, so I thought I'd share some! I don't think I could make a complete list of all the words she says now because there are so many! But here are some:

nose, baby, Bibby (Kibby), Heetan (Ethan), Mommy, Daddy, aw done, eat, yay, wow, uh oh, Bumpa (grandpa), Nana (Grandma OR banana), Bobbie, eows (ears), chitchen (chicken), appo (apple), chees (cheese), go, bye, cheets (cheeks), shoos (shoes), socks, Pooh, peek, no, nigh-nigh (night night), bow (ball), doos (juice), nice, beebo (belly button), to-ees (toes), guh guoh (good girl)...

**Edited to include: Peas (please), tankoo (thank you), muk (milk), book, cookie, too-tee-foe (two three four), cackaw (cracker), bubbosh (bubbles), potty, Ewmo (Elmo).

She is also trying to say phrases like "Where are you?" which usually sounds like "ay-aw-you?" all blended together like one word. When she wants to know where someone is, she asks, "ay (name of person)?" Everyday she says something new, and to be honest, I think I forgot how fast they pick things up because Kibby didn't talk until she was nearly 2! (Ethan, on the otherhand, has always been a chatterbox!) :)

Speaking of Kibby, I've been trying to call to schedule her Early Childhood Evaluation / Screening, and whenever I do, nobody answers, and there is no voicemail, so I let the phone ring about 20 times and then hang up. Frustrating! I'm going to do a little research online today and see what I can find out. And I'll keep calling! Eventually somebody has to answer, right? Once I get her evaluated I'll post how it went and what (if anything) we find out about her language development!

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Here is my Ruby, the big talker herself, eating raisins and acting silly!



So photogenic! :)