One Day Left...

Tomorrow sometime after 7:30pm and by 9:30pm Dan will be home on leave, my father in law, and my dad with my brother should all be here. I'll be the only girl. Wish me the best.
We'll be celebrating Dan's short break with us and Cyrus's birthday. My father in law will be taking pictures which I will share... My dad and brother will be helping us with some projects around the house. Dan will be relaxing- he is currently sick from a complete lack of sleep so hopefully he gets better while home- and hanging out with family.

I am excited...

Now I need to go vacuum.

Found this great quote on this blog:

If you observe a really happy man you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his son, growing double dahlias in his garden, or looking for dinosaur eggs in the Gobi desert. He will not be searching for happiness as if it were a collar button that has rolled under the radiator. — W. Beran Wolfe

I find this to be true for my husband and for our boys...

Monday Menu Plan

Yesterday we had Black Bean Soup with Shrimp Scampi on top- very yummy.

Monday: Shrimp and veggie stir fry with brown rice

Tuesday: Beets with Greens Borscht [we ended up having leftovers instead of making this Saturday]

Wednesday: Leftover Borscht soup

Thursday: Chicken Noodle Soup with Zucchini in it...

Friday: Flank Steak with mushroom sauce on top, salad, and baked Sweet Potato Fries. Apple Pie for dessert.

Saturday: Happy 5th Birthday to Cyrus! Pizza and ice cream cake from Cold Stone!

Sunday: Hamburgers, salad, baked beans, and some other veggie.

For more menu planning ideas, go over to Org Junkie!

Long overdue haircut at the Barber's [of course Solomon requested the "Army Haircut" aka High and Tight.


Let Mom take a picture to document new haircut and the pretty day in one shot.


Solomon seems to be saying "Mom I am too cool for you to take this many photos..."

I can't help it- they are so cute!

Menu Plan

I mentioned last week that we are trying out a diet of no dairy. I have been having some stomach issues that may be related to cheese- dairy and I have always wondered how Solomon's skin sensitivity and [mild] asthma would fare if there was no dairy in his diet. Dairy is probably the number one allergy.

Monday: Anniversary Sushi dinner with Solomon and Cyrus

Tuesday: It was sunny and warm today making me crave a salad so I made Pan-cooked chicken breasts in Oregano, Cumin, and Garlic over green salad with garbanzo beans, and roasted red-bellpeppers. The dressing was a simple salsa mixed in with a little olive oil. Even Cyrus is eating this [Whoo hoo!]

Wednesday: I found this Vietnamese Inspired BBQ Pork Salad recipe that I want to try. I probably will use beef instead and not as much as the recipe calls for.

Thursday: Moo Ping: Skewered Marinated Pork With Lemon Sauce [with beef or chicken instead of Pork] with a Carrot, Orange & Mint Salad

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Beets with Green Borscht with bread

Sunday: Thai Crab Salad or Shrimp Scampi Pasta served with sauteed greens.

I found that Asian recipes were often dairy free which is how most of my menu ideas came about.

420

Today is our 7th Wedding Anniversary!

Us, May 2005

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, -- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! -- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Love you Dan...

Living Lovely

Milestones.... How do we celebrate milestones such as acheivements, birthdays, graduations and well milestones? That was the question posted by Mt. Hope Chronicles in the latest of the Living Lovely With Family series:

Birthdays: We live away from family but it has happen with great frequency that someone [family and or friend] comes to visits around/during one of the boys' birthdays.
Here is a special birthday occasion:

This was during Dan's first deployment and he came home for his two week leave and we celebrated Cyrus's first birthday.
And because 1st birthdays are so cute:

Solomon has yet to have a birthday party because it is around Labor Day and many of his friends are away vacationing one last time or super busy getting ready for school so we'll be doing something extra special for his birthday in lieu of a birthday party. I am halfway tempted to give a kid party one last shot for mid-September this coming year... So we usually celebrate both of their birthdays with just family.

Acheivements: Dan puts his acheivements on the fridge and for other less tangible acheivements we celebrate with nice homemade dinner or we go out. Praise and high fives seem to work well for the boys. My acheivements are usually an end result of something: making dinner, making or doing something, etcera so usually I get the "I love yous" and "Thank yous" which works for me since I am thankfully not working in a 9-5 job with a boss and that rocks. My greatest acheivements are my marriage to Dan and our two boys which I get to enjoy everyday...

Graduations: So far we have only celebrated Solomon's graduation from Preschool. It was a lovely affair of pining homemade butterfly wings so that the kids could soar in the upcoming year and cake/ice cream. Dan is still only 3 classes shy of his college degree and I'll let you know what we do when that is finally done! Graduations from diapers to being potty trained was a nice stash of cool underwear- Batman, Superheroes, Transformers, Sharks, etc

Cyrus believes that everything should be celebrated with ice cream which is why an ice cream maker is on his birthday wishlist and then cake or cupcakes but we usually mark the milestones with words of love and affection...

"You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world's happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime."
Dale Carnegie

Monday Menu Plan

My favorite recipe from last week was the Split Pea Soup. My mom doesn't like peas so I didn't eat it very much growing up and most ham and split pea soups are too salty for me so it was absolutely delightful when I tried this version. I use Organic Chicken Base Better Than Bouillon which is absolutely the greatest way to make stock. I put in more carrots and added garlic to my version simply because I have a lot on hand.

Monday: I got Lobster Tail on sale instead of lamb and never made an Easter dinner- we had a large lunch or rather Linner that we didn't want to eat a dinner on top of all the food we ate during the day yesterday so tonight it is Lobster Tail, rice, asparagus, and salad.

Tuesday: Grilled Chicken over green salad for lunch. Carrot Soup for dinner with some bread.

Wednesday: Happy Tax Day! Deviled Eggs, salad, and leftover carrot soup for lunch. Cuban Black beans, Pineapple Salsa [recipe at end of post], and possibly Grandma's Rice all wrapped up in a tortilla.

Thursday: Kids' pick for lunch. Using the leftover beans in a Tortilla Soup for dinner with cornbread.

Friday: Leftover soup for lunch. Pasta with Carrots, Risotto Style with salad. Tonight's dinner will be the last dairy we'll have for a month so we can see if we do and feel better without it.

Saturday: For dinner we'll have Smoked Salmon over green salad and a cup of Lentil Soup.

Sunday: Out for lunch. Shrimp and veggie stir fry.


Pineapple Salsa Recipe:

1/2 medium pineapple, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
Reserved pineapple juice
1 small red or green bell pepper, diced
3 medium green onions, thinly sliced
1 habanero pepper, seeded and minced
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tbsp agave nectar (can substitute honey, molasses or sugar), to taste

Mix all ingredients, including reserved pineapple juices, in medium bowl. Cover and let stand at least one hour at room temperature. Serve. Recipe courtesy of friend Cheryl.

For more menu planning ideas head over to Org Junkie!