Sick

Me, not her. I'm sick today. She's just upset that I finally put her down.

Not quite sure what's wrong, but I started feeling nauseated last night, felt barfy all night and still feel so. (No, I am NOT pregnant! Just to get that out there. I think it's some kind of bug.) So, things that I am thankful for:

• children's programming on TV
• stacks of children's books
• having cleaned the kitchen last night before I started feeling really awful - I prefer to be sick in a clean space
• Cheerios - couldn't be easier and the kids love them
• kids who don't mind being in pajamas all day (UPDATE - except Viv who insisted on getting dressed)
  
  

This is Vivian upset because her sister wouldn't let her read the counting book the way she wanted to. Or something like that. Somebody was bossing somebody.

She stopped crying after I showed her all the pictures I took of her while she was crying. :)

Things I am not thankful for are super-foul diapers that I have to change while trying not to lose my (non-existent) lunch and a 9-month-old who doesn't understand that mommy is sick and really can't hold her all day. (UPDATE - she's sleeping now, thank heaven.)

I'm hoping Curtis gets home from court soon and might be able to let me get a nap in or something. Darn all those people who want to talk to their lawyer today. (UPDATE - he's home and just finishing up some work in the office before he takes over down here with the kids - double thank heaven!!)

While I do feel lousy, I remind myself I could feel this way in Haiti. Or even feel healthy in Haiti - either way, I'm grateful to be in my home.

Another Day

The kids begged for smoothies for breakfast again a few days ago. Amazingly, when you drink an icy cold smoothie on a February morning in Maine, sometimes you get a little CHILLY. The kids all made a beeline for the couch after they got cleaned up and snuggled all in together.

Later on, the girls decided they wanted to help clean and make things "shiny and new" as they put it. So, armed with damp cleaning rags (old washclothes) they scrubbed everything they could reach for a good 20 minutes. That's a long time for 3- and 4-year-olds!

Dex just decided he wanted to play with his sister, who he just loves.

He likes his mom ok, too.

Correction

If you want to try to catch Mary in her small screen debut, "The Good Wife" is on CBS, not ABC. My bad. Her episode will be on Tuesday, February 9, at 10 p.m. She said she is in the court scene, behind the prosecution, three rows back in the middle.

I'll let you know when the "Ugly Betty" episode will air (sometime in March). Mary said she is right behind America Ferrara (the star of the show, Betty herself) in a theater scene, so she likely will be seen. Yay!

Crack Soup (aka Tom Ka Gai)

This Thai soup is Curtis's favorite, hands down. We sometimes call it Crack Soup because it's sort of addictive. I made some on Tuesday for him and also because my mother (who is a big fan of the soup) was coming to visit for the day. It's a really simple soup to make, but it does take a bit of chopping, etc. Try it!

Tom Ka Gai
3/4 # boneless skinless chicken meat cut into thin strips crosswise against the grain
little bit of veg oil for sauteeing chicken (I use a spray oil)
2 (14 oz) cans coconut milk (lite coconute milk can be used, can also use a combo of reg and lite)(try to get some type of Thai coconut milk - more authentic than the Goya brand for this soup)
2 cups water
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
4 tablespoons fish sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric (not absolutely necessary - I think this is more for color than flavor)

sliced mushrooms (optional - one small package)

fresh pea pods (optional - a few handfuls)
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Sautee chicken strips for 2-3 minutes until chicken turns white. Set aside. In a pot, bring coconut milk and water to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and add ginger, fish sauce, lime juice, cayenne, turmeric, chicken and mushrooms. Simmer 10 minutes or so. In last few minutes, add pea pods.

Sprinkle with green onion and cilantro. I also like to have it with basmati rice, either on the side or right in the soup, like in the photo. Steamed broccoli on the side is good, too.

MOTW and molasses cookies

This is what happens when we miss the recycling for one week.

Yikes.

Please try not to judge the number of pizza boxes in here. We had company. Really.

And the Coke cans...those belong to my dear pre-diabetic husband (who just loves the passive-aggressive nagging bit...).

I decided to make cookies on Sunday afternoon after we got home from church and the two littlest ones were asleep. It was just me and the big girls (the three and four year olds - you know, big kids).

I found a great recipe from the Martha Stewart website and they really delivered. http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/chewy-molasses-spice-cookies Try them if you have a hankering for chewy/crispy and not too spicy cookies. They turned out really great, but I put a little ground ginger and cloves in as well.

Yo-yo garland

I finished the yo-yo garland for Valentine's Day.

I think it came out pretty cute, but for some reason I'm not as enthralled with it on the mantle as I thought I would be. I'm thinking I might actually add this to a baby blanket as trim or something. I'll have to see if it grows on me on up on the mantle.

We'll see.

Superstar

Isn't she gorgeous? For those of you who don't know, my lovely sister Mary lives in NYC and is trying to break into showbiz. In the last few weeks she's had a few opportunities that are pretty cool for her. She's worked as an extra on ABC's "The Good Wife" (http://www.cbs.com/primetime/the_good_wife/) and this week she's been working on "Ugly Betty" ( http://abc.go.com/shows/ugly-betty ) (one of my favorite shows, I can't BELIEVE they are cancelling it!!). I'm not sure when the "Ugly Betty" episode will air but "The Good Wife" episode will air (I think) on February 9. Mary plays a reporter but she says it's possible she won't even really be seen. Just keep an eye out for that red hair and beautiful face.

She's gonna take the world by storm!