Crock Pot Chicken, or Crazy Tuesday!!!!

Today has been a day of change and surprises, which makes life so very interesting. Especially with kids. We woke up in a cuddly mood and stayed in bed for about an after after having awakened (and after I retrieved 2 milk cups to stave off the horrible hunger that haunts our house). Then we finally got up and ate some apple sauce and some mixed berry jam yogurt, while seat-boogying to Pandora kids folk songs. Seeing that the twins were covered in milk drips, yogurt crusts and little tiny specks of apple, and needing a shower desperately myself, I decided it would be a family shower day! So I turned on the shower and undressed both babies, and pt them into the shower. I received a phone call just as I was about to join them in the shower. The PG&E man was calling to say he was 10 minutes out from our appointment. WAIT! what?? Today is TUESDAY??? Oh my goodness, did I forget the appointment? So I jumped in the shower and quickly washed the necessary. As quickly as possible got dressed, and called Moose out of the shower. I dressed him feverishly, and as I was done and about to call Ana out, the phone rang again! So I pulled her out and left the shower running while I rushed to open the door. I apologized profusely and ran back to my room, turned off the shower, and dressed her in 1 minute flat! All the while he went about his business looking at the heater, and checking it out. When I was done, he had his assessment ready: the filter was absolutely filthy! So replacement will be very very necessary.

As soon as that was finished, I carried our wash down to the car with twins in tow and dropped off the promised gas money to Ray's car. Then we went on our way to Burlingame to work. Today was our first day of Milo's new schedule, since he officially moved up another bracket in his swimming (YAY!). His practice is now at 5:15 instead of 4:30. So after wrangling with the boy over how much homework he must finish, and discovering his desperate need for a snack through his strikingly rude attitude, we got to the fun times of playing. Then suddenly it was time to go! So I packed up everyone and everything in the car (with a surprise visit from the Christians bearing Milo's forgotten Valentines), and dropped the kid off at his practice. Then I rushed home trying to beat both the traffic and the financial planners to our house!

When I got home I rushed over to check on the chicken I had previously coated with Italian seasoning and salt and pepper, as well as covering with water, and placing on low. It was very well done, so I turned it off. I quickly cut up some potatoes and placed them into some water to boil, and steamed some kale at the same time. The phone rang alerting us that the planner was here and we let him in, along with his boss, who happened to be with him! Strange, but nice, as they both are very lovely gentlemen. As soon as the potatoes were done I mashed them up with a little yogurt and garlic powder and cut up 2 stalks of kale, and fed the kids. Ray and I ate as soon as our meeting was over. I think I turned the chicken on too early, and that I under seasoned it for the time period, but the meal was delicious!

I am absolutely exhausted from a day of change, which not only I am not exceptional at dealing with, but also throw the twins off and make them even more silly and cuddly than normal! The storm is starting to rage outside, or at least the wind to blow heavily, so I think I'll stop now, and go finish the dishes, before the power goes out and this post is useless! Nos pars.

PS. It appears I was an idiot and completely forgot to press "POST" on the last two posts, so now they are up as well, however needing pictures, which is what I suspect I was waiting for. I will edit in the morning. Thanks for being patient!

Fondue, or Date Night with My Honey

Today was a crazy crazy day! We started it by getting everything ready for our big commute to Kelly's house, via mass transit! Having had no car throughout my college career, I am actually very good at taking public conveyance, but I have never taken the twins and was feeling very nervous. We gathered all our supplies and piled the twins into the stroller and off we went. First we walked to the big bus stop up a stop light on ECR to catch the express bus. We got on the low deck bus with no problems, and two very nice people popped up and lifted the seats for the stroller to park in the wheelchair area. Our driver had a propensity for stopping VERY quickly and the twins were very scared on the bus at first. After about 10 minutes though, they relaxed into the experience and started noticing all the people INSIDE the BUS with us, and it got to be very fun! As soon as we got to the train station, we disembarked from the bus and hurried into the station. After having gotten some coffee for mama and some lavendar cake for the babies, we grabbed our tickets and went under the tracks in the tunnel to the proper side. This is where I started to get very nervous. Most of the trains require you to climb up 5 stairs to the seating area, and have very little areas for wheelchair users, and thus would be very very hard for a stroller. I was not excited about the prospect of getting each kid out and sticking them individually up on the train then grabbing the compacted stroller and STUFF and then finding a seat, so imagine my delight when a low deck "baby bullet" train pulled up to our station for the "every stop" schedule! With the help of two very lovely people I got the twins onto the train in stroller very easily. As soon as the next stop was called, a couple vacated their seats providing us with the golden opportunity of a 4 seater all to ourselves. I quickly unbuckled the twins and unburdened the stroller and collapsed the stroller down, moving everything swiftly to our newly acquired seats! Soon enough it was time for our station to be called, and I repacked the gear with the kids and we disembarked from the train! To the sounds of our yelling goodbye and waving, the train pulled off, and we walked to Kelly's house.

My brother in law generously offered to watch the twins for me while I went and got my hair done, and as soon as they were fed, and diapers changed, and happily playing in the back yard, I left! I got my highlights, my semi-permanent all over color and the most fabulous cut ever!

Then after a little chilling with my babies and my sister and her family, I got all dolled up and went to meet the hubs at the Melting Pot. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal. It started with a shrimp cocktail, then some cheese fondue (Wisconsin Trio with crab, bread, green apples and veggies), then a loverly salad with a raspberry vinegarette, followed by the main fondue of coq au vin with lobster, steak, duck, pork, shrimp, chicken and veggies. The entire meal was accompanied by copious amounts of a California sparkling wine, and was finished by a delightful dark chocolate raspberry fondue with mixed deserts, including strawberries and cheesecake! Ah my mouth is watering and my stomach full just thinking about it! I'm typing this now as I am seriously ready to pass out. I will not be able to post again until Monday as this weekend is jammed pack and I need a tiny break! I'll chat with you all again in the new week! Nos pars!!

Kelly Makes A'Spicy Pasta Dish, or Make Up Post Number 1

Today was a gorgeous day again, so we went for a walk to Starbucks to pick up Daddy a coffee, and some chocolate milks for the twins and take it to Daddy's work for a little chat. Then we went for a nice long car nap, ending just in time to go and pick up Milo from school. After I picked up Milo, we all went back to his house to finish up his homework and play around. As soon as Kelly got home, she jumped out of her car, and Milo and I jumped into it, leaving the twins and Kelly at home. Then I dropped Milo off at swim practice and headed alone to the nail salon to get my beauty on.

I picked out my shellac color and got the nail polish to match for my toes! After having luxuriated in the washing, scrubbing and massaging, I had finished 2 mind-candy rags and was ready for my brow shaping. When we were all done, I paid up and walked on my slippery feet back to Kelly's car to drive myself home. This had taken much longer than I had anticipated and it was now 6:40. When I got back to Kelly's house at 6:45, I still hadn't eaten and decided to not go to BLAST class, as much as it pained me. I didn't want to miss my great exercise, but I hadn't eaten since 10 am, and really didn't think I could get by with no food or shovel it down fast and not throw up!

I sat down to a lovely meal with my husband who had also shown up late. Kelly had started with some ground meat (I think it was beef) and added a touch of Italian seasonings to the mix. Being Kelly, she boiled two boxes of pasta because "there is no way one box is 8 servings"! I personally think that you should always have too much pasta, and not too little, so that no one has to go without, and you can always use the rest later! She added some jar sauce and for the adults, a little red pepper. Oh my goodness was it good! It had a whole mess of flavor and just enough heat on the back end to perk it up!

At the end of all that pasta, we decided to walk down and get some ice creamy stuff at BR. Moose and Ana got mini cones with soft serve, that Moose ate upside down. Kelly got some sorbet, and Ray and Milo, ice cream. I was still way too full from pasta to even THINK about anything more to eat! Then we walked over to grab some allergy meds at Walgreens, because this beautiful weather has all the plants twitterpated, and it is driving our little family up a wall with itchy eyes and runny noses! So having completed our tasks of finding sweet and drugs, we finished off our chilly night walk and headed back to Kelly's for jammies and drove on home. The twins are in bed, and I am soon after. Nos Pars!

Supermarket Meal, or How Terrible it is When I Forget to Prepare

I read an article today that really disturbed me. Strokes in younger people are rising dramatically. While I walk with the twins every day, and run 2-3 days a week and go to BLAST class 2 days a week, I still eat a fairly high fat diet. Our plan was to start by eating mostly whole foods and creating our meals at home, while simultaneously increasing our activity level. Then we were going to take a hard look at what we cook and begin substituting healthier options for the ones we were already working with. We are doing really great at eating whole foods at home, and rarely eating out now. We are doing fairly well at the increasing our activity level. I walk every day and attend my BLAST class, but I am finding it hard to keep my running up. Ray goes to the gym every morning, but has skipped some days when the night was hard.

With this in mind, when I got home from work with the twins, knowing that Ray had an after work meeting and would not be able to join us for dinner, I realized I had completely failed to appropriately plan! I had NO protein-substance thawed, hadn't set up anything to cook while I was gone, and had nothing except some beets, apples and oranges in the fridge! So I piled my cranky pants into their stroller and walked us over to the local supermarket. Saying that I was disappointed at the utter LACK of anything healthy and prepared would be a major understatement. My twins were hungry and I was running out of time! I had to find SOMETHING to feed them that would be already ready to go! The only food they had prepared were aisles of cookies, cupcakes, cakes and other sweets, loaves of bread, mayonnaise-y salads that looked mildly questionable, and deep fried pieces of dead animals and root plants. After circling the market and grabbing a can of organic no-salt mixed vegetables, a slab of cornbread, a box of tissues, and some more of the "delicates" detergent, I ended up back at the "deli". With dissatisfaction, I ordered 5 very over cooked chicken strips, as they were the only thing I thought both I and the twins could eat. I am utterly appalled at the lack of healthy prepared food at the supermarket!




Whole Paycheck, er I mean Foods, while protentious and overpriced, has a great selection of not terrible for you prepared foods. However, being across town, it is not an option I can really entertain. I suppose my best option is going to be overcooking a few meals and freezing them myself, so that all I have to do is pop them into the microwave, into the oven, or onto the stove to have a real meal to feed us. This however is going to take a great deal of planning, and a little time to set into order. Small price to pay for not eating to kill us.

I must end this post rather abruptly as the twins are showering each other with cornbread they grabbed off the counter, and it is quite obvious that it is time for this single-for-the-night mom to put these two to bed. Nos pars?

Shrimp Alfredo, or A Day Gone From Nightmare to Pleasant Dream

Today started out fairly bad again, with everyone in one big bed again after screaming fit and coughing and running noses all night long. I once again had a pounding headache, a sore throat, and to boot, my arms were beyond sore precisely where I had worked them out the night before! Figures! Ray gave the twins a quick breakie while I laid in bed bemoaning the world and all its inhabitants, especially whatever it was that had put me in this state. So once again, as soon as I could I loaded up on Claratin-D, ibuprofen and peppermint tea!

Ray came home at lunch to eat and gave me just a little more time to get ready for the day. I quickly got ready (bless those Aura Casia people and their aromatherapy shower fizzers!) and rushed the now crying twins out the door. In my haste, I evidently forgot to lock our door (nothing taken, whew!). As soon as we pulled onto the road the sweet sounds of toddler snoring began in the backseat! I drove straight to hell and comfort: McDonald's. I ordered two cheeseburger, two plain cheeseburgers, and a LARGE caramel mocha, please. And yes my order IS correct on the screen, thank you. I pull around the corner to park and eat my delicious comfort to ease my pain, and there are only two plain cheeseburgers in my bag. I whip around, and carefully try to keep the sleepers sleeping as I take them INTO the restaurant. I get my two cheeseburgers, put my gigglers back in their seats, distribute the plain cheeseburgers and proceeded to cry in the parking lot, right into my caramel mocha.

As soon as I got to my sister's, I felt so much better! My head had finally stopped pounding, and the soreness in my throat had become bearable. My neck still ached, but repeated lane changes had stretched the muscles out very nicely indeed. Milo was a true gem today, being silly and sweet on the walk home, wonderfully cooperative in getting snacks for himself and the twins, and doing his homework with out even a pout! And the twins, they only caused mild distruction today, and played ever so nicely with each other, even laughing histerically together at Ana's ability to produce snot bubbles on command!

Needless to say, when I got home (after having picked up some goodies at the mail room!!!!), I was ready for some good old fashioned comfort food with my hubs. I put the big pot full of water on to boil and the steamer all set up. First I cut the rough ends off the asparagus, then cut them in half so they'd fit into the steamer. Setting them on to steam, I de-tailed the shrimp them threw them into a frying pan with a little olive oil and some finely chopped garlic (about 6 cloves). I sauteed them until the garlic became soft and slightly translucent. Then I added a whole box of cream cheese (I am seriously trying to rid myself of these!) As I stirred, Ray shredded some parmegianno into the pan, because cheese is just that good! The water in the big pot was boiling so I added the thick spaghetti noodles to the water and set the timer for 8 minutes. As soon as the timer went off, I drained the noodles and threw everything into the pot together! Nummers!

I feel so much more relaxed now, with the twins lotion-jammied-milked-storied and in bed, listening to my husband giggle from our bedroom and the neighbors walk around upstairs. I will be downing a nice BIG glass of OJ before heading to bed early, because I do not need another morning like this. So to you all, good night, sleep tight and do NOT let the bed bugs bite! Nos pars.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Salad and Bread, or Day Two of the Gym!

Today started out very bad with two toddlers who were incredibly needy and runny-nosed. I had a sore throat and just was feeling terrible. Ray went into work and as soon as he could see that he wasn't needed he came right home and allowed me to take a little nap, a few pills, and a wonderfully hot shower with a peppermint effervescent aromatherapy tablet. After another nap at noontime and a few more ibuprofen, I felt pretty dang good to go! So to work we went, and it being Monday, it was my night to cook dinner for our families and I must do it meatless for my sister's family!

First I cut the butternut squash into quarters and peeled about 8 cloves of garlic and boiled them all for about 2 1/2 hours in plain water. After the flesh was soft I put 6 cups of the water I boiled them in aside and drained the squash and allowed them to cool to the touch. I then scooped all the flesh off the skins and put it into the now empty pot. I added back the garlic and mashed it well. I added 1 pint of plain soy creamer (and sometimes I blend this with a chunk of wet tofu) and 3 tablespoons of curry seasoning. Then I added about a teaspoon of red Hawaiian sea salt and stirred the soup until it was well blended. I take the 6 cups of boiled water and add it back to the soup until it reaches the right consistency (never actually the whole six cups, but more like 3 or 4). I place the soup back onto low-medium heat to warm up again.

Then I took 4 small-medium tomatoes and cut them into thin wegdes. A large red bell pepper I chopped into 1/4 inch pieces, and shredded the radashio finely. Then I took a bunch of mint and loosely chopped just the leaves, then added about a cup of raw sunflower seeds. I left now to go to my class and the boys (Gavin and Ray) sliced the bread, and washed and chopped the lettuce.

As I sit snarfing down my food, post workout, the twins are being whiny and everyone else is watching something that appears to be supremely hilarious. I have a mini cannoli sitting next to me waiting and a warm feeling that I know will be a delicious soreness in my arms tomorrow, and I am so very glad to be able to eat this delicous food and work out vigorously in order that I may enjoy it for many years to come! Nos pars!

My Mom Cooks Dinner, or Cleaning Out The Storage and Making Some Marmalade.

Today was a day spent at my mother's house for the most part, at least. We did go to Michael's for ribbon, Famous Footwear to get the twins and mommy new shoes, and to Target to get another bag and LOTS of tissues for the allergy afflicted amongst us. Then my mother and I stayed behind at the house while my stepdad went to work, and my dad picked up my sister and husband to do the first load of clearing out the storage unit.

We picked some oranges off of our good neighbors tree (so very very delicious let me tell you! If you have a chance to get some California oranges this year, I would recommend it!) and set to work making marmalade! First we used a vegetable peeler to peel half of the well washed oranges, and one of the lemons. Then we peeled the citrus as well as possible, trying to get most of the "white stuff" off. I cut each of the fruits in half then used kitchen scissors to snip the hard white skin off of the middle of each of the slices, then chopped them all up and seperated the slices throwing it all into a big bowl and keeping all the juice that slipped out. While I was doing this, my mom took the rinds that I had peeled and put them into a pan with some water and baking soda and let them boil for 20 minutes. I got the three biggest remaining oranges and juice them, getting almost exactly 2 cups! We put the oranges, the juice, the rinds, the pectin and 11 cups of sugar into the big pot to boil for about 10 minutes, then as I left to go clean out the storage unit, my mom ladled the marmalade into the prepared jars and fixed the lids, turning them all over to seal.

At our storage unit it was discovered that a large amount of water had entered the unit during our extreme rains earlier in the rainy season, and much of the contents of our unit were not sporting some not so great spots. Mold. Luckily it appears that we had gotten to the unit early enough that the mold had not spread far, and we immediately threw out the offending objects.

After my dad, sister and I finished cleaning out the unit and returned to my mom's house to drop off all the stuff, my dad left to go rest his aching back at his own home. My mom went inside to mind the kids, and make dinner, while the rest of us sorted through the massive pile o' junk on the front lawn, putting things that we wanted to keep into my stepdad's barn, and throwing the rest of it into a big pile for Ray and my dad to take to the junkyard first thing in the morning.

My mom made us pan cooked sausages and potatoes, steamed seasoned Brussel's sprouts, and a lovely salad with carrots, lettuce and cabbage! A basic meal that fed the starving hearty crowd that had just worked all day!

As I sit in my mother's room, typing away on her computer, listening to the random chatter and the sounds of children playing, I am very thankful for a day full of accomplishments and work well done. I love to be with my family and love to be able to laugh and joke with those closest to me. I am so very blessed to be able to share moments like this with my parents, moments where we can work side by side to accomplish what we alone could not. It is something that I look forward to doing with the twins as they grow up, and I am looking forward to each and every day! Nos pars!

Black Bean Shepherds Pie, Or Heading Down to Hanford Tonight

Today was a busy day that saw me doing last minute things to prepare for our trip to the Central Valley for my dear cousin Sorelle's baby shower! She is expecting a girl in early April, and we are just so excited! I can't wait to meet my new little niece! So laundry had to be finished, and put away. Beds stripped and allowed to breath, then remade. Food had to be cleared out. Kitty boxes needed to be cleaned out. The trash and recycling needed to be taken down. Bags must be packed and the car cleaned out. And all while taking care of the twins! Luckily, Milo had a play date after school, and so I need not drive to Burlingame! Sweet!

For our quick dinner before heading out, I put the black beans in to soak the night before, then pulled them out around noon to start boiling. I placed them into the large stock pot and covered them with water and just let them boil stirring every so often for about 4 hours. I put about 10 new white potatoes on to boil, cutting them into 1/2 inch cubes first. Then I took two cubes of muffin sized chicken broth, the kale finely chopped, an onion finely chopped, and some Celtic gray sea salt and black pepper, threw them into the pot, along with a bag of frozen peas that had been sitting in our freezer and really needed to be cooked. I stirred the mix frequently. As soon as the potatoes were ready to mash, I turned the oven to broil and pulled out the last of the cheese curds and a half a stick of butter and mashed the potatoes in their pot. I made sure the "stew" was laying flat in it's pot, then covered the entire pot with the potatoes (making sure not to let them mix, but cover the stew). Then I stuck the entire pot into the broiler and left it for about 8 minutes. It was all ready to serve.

While Ray dipped up the plates, I cleaned out the pot I used to boil the potatoes. As soon as we finished this meal, of which the twins ended up eating the bean and peas out of only, we quickly cleaned all the dishes and changed the twins into their night clothes. Off we went!

I am actually blogging this well into Saturday because I was so incredibly exhausted when we got to my mom's house that there was no way I was going to be able to be coherent about what I had done that day. Perhaps I should have posted last night; probably would have made for a fun read any way! Off to finish cleaning out our storage unit! Nos pars!

Kelly's Delish Italian Dish, or Carb Loading For Our First BLAST Workout!

Today was a beautiful day for sure and we couldn't stay inside so we went for a nice long walk after getting some work done early. Then we went to lunch with daddy at his work. Then drove to Burlingame, and when we arrived, we took a nice long nap in our warm car in Kelly's driveway. Is there any better way to spend your day? I most certainly challenge you to find one! We even walked Milo to swimming, and stayed to play on the bleachers!

Tonight was Kelly's night to cook the family dinner. First she put some linguini in to boil, setting the timer or something (I wasn't home yet, so I have no idea, but it was perfectly cooked!). Then she took cubed breasts and thigh meat, mixing the two because we both prefer the taste of thigh and the nutrition of breast, and sauted it with Frontier Italian herb seasoning and olive oil. As these were cooking, Gavin sliced crimini mushrooms, added them to the chicken pan and allowed them to soften up. As soon as the mushrooms were soft and the juice had started to boil off, we added about a cup of sliced grape tomatoes to the pan, followed quickly by some premade pesto sauce. We then stirred in some spaghetti squash that she had previously gutted, allowing everything to heat up and mix well. We then mixed the pan ingredients with the linguini in two bowls because we made far too much of this deliciousness for one bowl to contain. Oh man, the name of this dish is not a misnomer! Not by far! The heartiness of the ingredients coupled with the strong aromatics of the seasonings and sauce created a superb meal! Superb, I say!

Beginning this week, every Monday and Thursday Kelly and I will be attending Anatomy Personal Training Studio's BLAST class. This is a small fast paced group training class that incorporates cardio and weight lifting in quick intervals. It was amazing. The time flew and I worked up a good sweat without feeling like I was working. I felt myself cheering for the others in the class and wanting to push harder and harder. And when the class was over, I wasn't feeling like I was done! I could do this for sure!

As I sit in Kelly's living room, after having walked back and stretched, I am still feeling warm in my core and loving that feeling. Good food, great family, and a wonderful workout; what more could a girl want? Nos Pars!

Tuscan Family Dinner, or Just An Early Spring Day in the Neighborhood!

Today did not start well with Ana waking up at 5 am whining and crying. After trying for about a half hour to figure out what was wrong with her, Ray had to start getting ready for the day. So he announced that he was going to go grab his breakfast. Ana jumped down from my arms in bed, ran down the hall gleefully shouting "BREPPUST!!" Our poor little girl had been starving and we had no idea! After a little while of sitting staring at the children as they played and crawled on me, I woke up and decided that the day was best started on my end by eating a stack of Denny's pancakes. Yes, I know, not the healthiest, but sometimes you need some comfort. And I will testify before congress that they most certainly must put an addictive substance into those delicious disks of delight, the way that I just can't say no!

Our day continued with our normal routine of picking up Milo, watching him do his homework, driving him over to swim practice and heading home (somehow always much more complex than that simple assessment). I started as soon as I walked in the door by immediately filling my two big pots with water and placing them onto the big burners to boil. I pulled out the artichoke, trimmed them quickly and stuck them into a pot to begin cooking. Next I preheated the oven to 350 degrees. After, I pulled out the chicken breasts, sliced them into 1 inch strips, sprinkled some of my proprietary Italian seasoning on them, then stuck them on the forman grill. As soon as the other pot of water began to boil, I poured an entire box of penne pasta into the water and set the timer for 11 minutes (I always set the pasta timer for 1 minute before I want to take it out so that I have a minute to come back to it). Making sure that the artichokes were flipped and all sides were cooking, I grabbed the white cake mix, stirred 3 eggs, a cup of oil, and a cup of water in a bowl, and put the whole mix into a greased cake pan. Sticking the pan into the preheated oven, I set the other timer for 40 minutes. In the few minutes I had as everything was cooking, I washed a few dishes, pulled out a bottle of 2006 Buena Vista Ramal Merlot, the parmegiana and cheese grater, and a jar of premade-homemade pasta sauce. As soon as the 11 minute timer went off, I drained the pasta, returning it to its pot and adding in the sauce. The chicken was smelling perfect, so I pulled it off the grill and put it aside as well. I grated some cheese into the pasta, then checked and removed the artichokes from their pot.

Ana liked the Artichokes.

Terrence did not, although he did enjoy the pasta and sauce immensely.


After dinner was over the cake was finished, so we pulled it out of the oven and placed it on some towels to the side. We heated up a little milk and mixed it with some softened butter, and made some chocolate frosting. As soon as the cake was cool enough, we slathered on the frosting and served it up! Nothing tastes as good as fresh.

As I finish my third glass of wine, and this blog post, I am thinking about my friends and family in the Midwest who are being inundated with a shocking amount of snow. I hope that soon enough you all get the wonderful sunshine and beautiful blossoms that we got to experience today. May spring come swiftly and calmly, and may it bring you it's wonders in ways that inspire the child in you! Nos Pars!

Crock Pot Pork with Purple Mashed Taters, or How I Learn (Frequently) to Cherish Every Moment

Today was another busy Tuesday, as they always seem to be! I had to go by the bank, then to Kaiser to pick up prescriptions and have a blood draw, stop by Ray's work to say hello, then head up to Burlingame to pick up Milo from school at 2. And of course, I woke up grumpy this morning with a real need for some tylenol and a massage. The twins were rambunctious little anklebiters today, running around screaming and tackling each other. When it was time to get dressed and get us out of the house to go running our errands, they fought like crazy to not have to get diapers changed or clothing on, which is very unlike them. And I still had to put the ribs into the crock pot to cook for dinner! So I grabbed the ribs, 2 small onions and the corno di torro pepper out of the fridge. I placed the ribs onto the bottom of the pot, sliced the onions and pepper onto the ribs, place two muffin sized frozen chicken broth cubes on top, then covered the entire mix with just enough water to fully submerge. I turned the crockpot to low and placed the lid back on it! Finally, delayed a few minutes in our departure, we made our way to Campbell, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, back home to Mountain View, then up to the Game.

Milo was surly to the max today as I was picking him up, even yelling at me twice. He was very upset because his dad had been delayed in his flight home from India by the storms back east, and was therefore unable to pick him up from school as scheduled. After a small lecture on not hurting bugs because you are bigger than them, we took a little "cool down" time before starting in on homework, with a small mishap that resulted in a briefly bloody nose for Ana. And right as we were almost finished, the taxi door slammed closed out front. Out the door Milo ran! Here is Gavin carrying Milo back into the house.



When we got home, I cut up the purple potatoes (about 8 small-medium) and put them into a pot of water to boil, also filling a smaller pot with water and starting it to boil. I filled the steamer basket with one each of red, purple, and orange carrots sliced and peeled. I then grabbed the 4 sugar beets out of the fridge, peeled and sliced them and added them to the basket, then stuck it on the boiling pot and placed on the lid. I removed the meat and peppers from the crockpot then transfered the juice into a frying pan and turned it onto medium heat. I grabbed my trusty sifter and some flour, along with a wire whisk, and began sifting flour into the frying pan and swifting whisking the gravy until it thickened just enough. After it was starting to thicken, I turned off the heat and allowed it to cool and thicken more. As the carrots and beets were done, I took them off the heat. The potatoes finished just about the same time, so I drained them and poured them into a bowl. I added some black pepper, Celtic grey sea salt, and about 1 cup of yogurt (finishing off the jar!) to the potatoes and mashed them to perfection.

As I listen to Ray and the twins rough-house in the living room I am so happy to have our entire family together and that he has never had to be away from us for more than a night or two. It warms my heart to think about how much Milo loves his dad, and how nice it was for them to be back together again after a week and half apart. I will strive to never take any of my family (especially my husband and sisters) for granted and cherish them with all of my heart. Nos Pars!