My new running partner

In the morning on the weekends I head out for my standard jog. This time, AJ wanted to go running with me. I told him sure. So he put on his "super fast" shoes and we headed out (just around the block). After we rounded the corner, he stopped and asked me to carry him. I said no and that we can walk. So he grabbed my hand and we walked together and talked about the things we saw in the neighborhood (little birds, flowers, etc.). Then I told him, let's run again. He agreed and said let's still hold hands. Off we went, jogging hand in hand down the street. Something about having a warm, plump, little hand in yours makes running fun again.

Be mine

We were able to get the boys in Valentine Day outfits, but my attempt at arts and crafts went sour again. I tried to get the boys to make Valentines with me. No luck. Although, they did think I was pretty funny because I attempted to cut out a heart, but I did it on the wrong side which left me with 2 halves instead of a whole heart. I guess I should now shoulder some genetic blame for their lack of arts and crafts gene. I used to think it was all Tim.

Now what to do couple style on Valentine's Day. It is always a dilemma. TJ and I aren't really the traditional roses and chocolate type. (I like plants and Tim doesn't really like chocolate.) Even though this year even though we actually have babysitters (woo hoo), we didn't feel like braving the crowds for an over priced meal. We decided to pick out recipes and cook a mega meal at home. We even had our friends Brian and Dina join us for dinner.

Here was our menu:

Thai Red Curry Mussels
Cornish Game Hens with Amaretto Stuffing and Honey Glaze

Farm fresh sugar peas sauteed with walnuts and basil (added later)

Bananas Foster

(Funny- all are dishes contained some sort of alcoholic component)

After we we dropped of the kiddos we went on our quest for ingredients. Who knew lemon grass, Cornish game hens, dried cherries, mussels, cherry juice, and bread cubes were so hard to find. Even Costco was out of mussels. AGH! After 3 stores we finally wised up and headed up to Escondido to Major Market. They had it all. Yea- even had farm fresh peas that we just had to have. Yum. Dinner was amazing and we paired it with a Roar Pinot. MMMMMM.

Here is the mussels recipe, that was to die for:

Thai Curry Mussles (based on a bobby flay recipe)

2 tbsp peanut oil (we used sesame)

1 stalk lemon grass (we crushed it)

3 tbsps Thai red curry paste

1/2 cup wine

1 can unsweetened coconut milk (we used the "light" kind)

2 tbsps fish sauce

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

2 1/2 lbs mussels (we used the new Zealand kind, meatier according to the fishmonger guy)

4 tbsp cilantro, chopped

4 tbsp basil, chopped

Heat oil in a large pot, add the lemon grass, curry paste, wine , coconut milk, fish sauce and lime juice and bring to a simmer, whisking. Add the mussels, cover the pot, and let steam until opened. During the last minute of cooking, add the cilantro and basil. Serve into individual bowls, discarding the lemon grass.

Mr. P and his eye appointment

Mr. P was very brave and went to his first in-office eye appointment in almost 4 years. Usually, he gets his eyes checked when he is under general anesthesia for his PWS lasering. He was actually excited to go and it went really well until they wanted to check him for glaucoma. P did not like the eye drops and liked the pressure meter even less. Poor resident Dr. had to struggle to try to do her job with a very angry and upset little boy who refused to open his eyes. The worst was after the glaucoma tests she had to put more eye drops to dilate his eyes. He was so upset with her and me. He told us that he did not like us and he was very mad at us. He even went to my purse and took my i-phone away from me as punishment. Poor guy.

Luckily, his Dr. said that everything looks fine and will not need to be seen until he is 6. When I told him this, he said that he was not going to go back to the eye doctor ever.

Twinisms

Look up in the sky, Mommy. It is Superman.

Selling it

In the morning while the boys are playing (typically with toy cars), I usually get their lunches and breakfasts made. Today, I could not for the life of me find their Cars themed lunchboxes. Then I looked in the freezer and saw that their little ice blocks used to keep their lunch cool were not there. Ah-ha! Tim must have not taken them out of his truck when he picked them up from school on Monday- ewww. However, Tim left early this morning in his truck for the airport to head out for the World of Concrete in Vegas. Double ewww.
Naturally, the boys were upset that their lunchboxes were missing (I messed with their routine- horrors). So I had to convince the boys that it was ok to bring a Vons plastic bag to school with both of their lunch food in it. I had to really sell it. I told them that their Daddy just lost his mind and he is just so silly! (They stopped crying) Then I told them that their Daddy will have a very stinky truck when he gets back from Vegas. They thought it was funny. (Stinky Daddy) So- I dodged the bullet on that one. Phew.
When we finally get to pre-school, the boys ask me when Daddy is coming home from Vegas. I told them tomorrow. And then they ask what day is that. I tell them Thursday. Then they tell me today is Wednesday and start to cry because it is show and tell day on Wednesday and we forgot to bring something to share. Real tears and everything- especially after I tell them that we are not going to drive all the way home to go get something. Luckily, their mommy is resourceful and scans her car for anything that they could be used for show and tell. (UGH- why did I clean up my car?) But then I did see that I had my pink umbrella in the car and told them how exciting it would be to bring an umbrella for show and tell. I also told them it would be so silly to bring an umbrella because it was sunny out. AJ thought that was pretty cool so he stopped crying, but what to do with the P? I crossed my fingers and looked into my trunk. Fortunately, there was another (slightly broken) umbrella in my trunk for him. The boys were very happy and proudly showed their friends their "super cool" umbrellas that they brought for show and tell. Double Phew.

On Wisconsin

This weekend I traveled to Milwaukee to help host my sister in-law's (SIL) baby shower for her twin babies. (A and P have named the girl Velma and the boy Freddy with Mommy and Daddy as respective middle names.) I had not been to Wisconsin in about two years so it was a lot of fun seeing everyone and catching up. It was pretty funny that many of Tim's aunts did not even recognize me at the shower. They just walked right pass me. Hmmm, I don't think I look that different. The boys must have really aged me.
Speaking of age, it seems that our Wisconsin Saturday nights have matured as well. On Saturday night, I got to go out on the town with my SIL, cousin in-laws, and their spouses. Back in college/ grad school, on a typical Sat night in Madison we would head out to a bar (no- really it should be bars), drink like crazy, play lots of darts, and on a good night, sing our hearts out karaoke style at the K-kid till the wee hours of the morning. It would be followed by a slow stumble home and maybe on the way we might have a swim in the lake or even in the fountain in front of the Engineering building.
This time, we all piled into Phil and Megan's minivan and headed downtown to eat veggie burgers and fried cheese curds (at Bella's Fat Cat). We even had not one, but 2 designated (pregnant) drivers in the mix! Then we stopped on the way home to pick up frozen custard (at Kopps-mmmm), headed back to Ron and Melissa's to drink delicious home-brewed beer and play virtual instruments, while singing our hearts out to rock band. It was really fun and I had a blast, but I am amazed at how wholesome we have become. We even found ourselves sitting around watching the results of a dog show- don't ask, we cater to the most pregnant one of the bunch. ;-)