Fried Twinkies

I'm not actually going to blog about twinkies, except to tell you that I did try one two weeks ago and I thought it was disgusting. For 150 calories and 5 grams of fat, I want something tastes good! And a fried twinkie? Just gross upon nasty.

Actually, what I wanted to blog about was our preparations for our move to Egypt. I'm trying to be more pro-active with the girls this time. My strategies include, showing them pictures on the computer, talking about it with them and letting them help us decide what goes and what stays and working through the sorting process with us.

Currently, our "Egypt Box" is in the living room. This is filled with the most of important items we have been gathering to take with us. Among the list: new coloring books, wash cloths (apparently, Egyptians don't have them), new socks, Ranch dressing mix, children's tylenol, bandaids, pencil erasers (can't have too many of those), school books, new puzzles, new "jamas" for the girls.

Speaking of new 'jamas, evidently, I have a thing for new pajamas. And I just realized this. I buy new pajamas for the girls for every momentous occasion. Move to a new state = new pajamas. Christmas = new pajamas. Birth of a sibling = new pajamas. Move to a new country = new pajamas. Interesting.

Anyway, we talk about moving to Egypt a lot.
     --- Savannah is obviously catching on because twice she has asked me, "Mommy, are we in Egypt yet?" humph.
     --- They are excited about not taking car seats with us, I am less so. And not for the reasons you think. I should be worried over safety issues, instead, I'm worried about making everyone sit still and not fight over the window...
     --- Emily is worried about walking too much. When I told her we wouldn't have a car, she asked me if we could fit their bikes into the suitcase. Then she wanted to know if we could pack a stroller for her.
     --- I asked them what the most important thing to take with them would be: Emily: "Why can't I take all my friends?" Savannah: "I need to take my happy duck and my mad duck. Even though mad duck is mad, he needs to come with me."
     --- We were getting ready to run errands last week and Savannah started begging me for mad duck. Me: "Honey, why do you need mad duck? You have happy duck." Savannah: "I need to take mad duck to Egypt with me!" Me: "Sweetheart, we aren't going to Egypt today, just to Target." Savannah: "Ok, Mommy!" and off she ran.

Its fun to talk to them about it, they have such fun perspectives. And we also have to deal with the worries as well. Yesterday I asked Emily, "Honey, what are you worried about about our move to Egypt?" Emily, "Oh, nothing. *pause* Nothing except being killed." Me (concerned because I have no idea where this came from): "Honey, Mommy and Daddy are going to keep you safe, but why are you worried about being killed?" Emily: "Oh, I don't know. I just don't want to die." You just never know what is going on inside those little heads.

Last time we all painted our toe nails, we talked about what colors we wanted to take with us. We sorted through our favorite colors and what we had duplicates of. I think the sorting and packing process is going to be important for the girls to be involved with. Not just of their stuff, but ours too. They need to see that we are leaving stuff behind too.

And that it isn't all about stuff. Stuff is nice to have and we want to be wise with what we fit in our limited space. But what is important is that we are all going to be there together.

Nothing!

There is nothing quite as wonderful as a cool drink of water when you are hot and thirsty.
Nothing quite as satisfying as a good home-cooked meal when you are hungry.
Nothing near as beautiful as the sight of home to the weary traveler.
Nothing near as sweet as a baby cooing to you.
Nothing near as precious as a child's hug.
And nothing quite as happy as your favorite person sitting on the couch next to you.

And that, my dear friends, is right where I am. Brian has been traveling the past several weeks and there is nothing quite as lonely as an empty place at the table or pillow in the bed. I'm past happy to have him home for the weekend and to know he gets to stay in town next week. Life in general and in the specifics is so much better when the man is in the house! 

My sweet girls!

This is my Emily, holding my Sophie. Emily is 5 years old and is the smartest kid I know. She loves anything pink, be that clothes, toys, food, crayons, books, anything. Just so long that it is pink. She also loves to read... books, signs, anything. She recently has become interested in anything karate and I love seeing her try "new moves". We started the Sing, Spell, Read and Write program about a year ago and my girl has blossomed. In January she got her glasses and now, it seems strange to see her without them.  She has a sweet, reserved personality and I think she is gonna be something special.

This is my Savannah, holding my Sophie. Savannah just turned 3 this February and she is very proud of her three-ness. She has the spunkiest personality I've met in a person this small. She is also, the busiest little person... always into something. She loves to help me or her daddy cook. She loves everything pertaining to baby Sophie, although her love is a little violent. She loves to dance and boy, can she make that body move! Savannah also likes the color pink, but not to the degree that her sister does. She also enjoys bright colors, her current favorite being a bright green. Savannah is quite an amazing person.


I never pictured myself as a mother of all girls, but evidently someone did, because here I am, three little girls later. And I tend to think I have adjusted quite nicely. Although if I complain too much about all the emotional drama associated with raising three small girls, Brian always gives me a knowing look. I'm not quite sure what the look means, but I have a general idea.

Ross King's new cd "Words that Rhyme with Orange" has a song that talks about how much we love our kids. One of the lines is: "I love you more than all the water in the ocean, more, than all of my other emotions..." When I first heard the line about emotions, I thought it was silly. But the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. Of course, I love them more than how frustrated I can get... or how stressed I am... or how tired I am... or how much I would love to have just 45 minutes of uninterrupted time with their daddy... or how crazy they are. I love them more than I love clean floors or unspilled milk or cheeto-less fingers or me-time.

And most of the time, they make it easy, because after all, they are my sweet girls.

Recipe: Chicken Vegetable Stir-Fry

I found this recipe in an old Quaker's Oatmeal cook book my mother-in-law passed along to me. I thought it would be good to try because you make your own breading for the chicken. Knowing how to do this might come in handy when we are in Egypt when ready made products are not easy to find and are incredibly expensive!

This was an easy recipe and everyone in my family enjoyed it. Next time I will make more sauce for the veggies because the rice was a little dry and I will use more broccoli.

Chicken Vegetable Stir-Fry

¾ cup Quaker oats
½ t ground ginger
¼ t garlic powder
¼ t salt
1 ¼ pounds skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch strips
3 T oil, divided
2 cups broccoli flowerets
1 cup bell pepper strips
½ cup sliced green onions
1 t chicken flavor bouillon
1 cup hot water
1 T cornstarch
1 T soy sauce

Place first 4 ingredients in blender or food processor; cover. Blend about 1 minute, stopping occasionally to stir; pour mixture into plastic bag.
Place chicken pieces in bag; shake until well coated.
In large skillet, heat 2 T oil over medium-high heat.
Stir-fry chicken about 6 minutes or until evenly browned and tender. Transfer to serving plate; keep warm.
Heat remaining 1 T oil in skillet; add broccoli, bell pepper, and onions; stir-fry 3-4 minutes or until crisp-tender.
Dissolve bouillon in water. Combine cornstarch and soy sauce, mixing well.
Add broth and cornstarch mixture to vegetables. Cook 1-2 minutes or until sauce is thickened and clear. Spoon vegetable mixture over chicken.

Serve over rice.

Not Me! Monday

It really was not me who backed the car into a tree last Saturday and scratched the bumper. I don't know who that was!

It is not me who has gotten way too much enjoyment playing Albertson's Monopoly game while visiting my mother. It was not me who googled to discover that I do not have an Albertson's within 50 miles of me, so I can't grocery shop there.

Have any Not Me! experiences? Feel free to leave a comment!

personalities

My two older girls, Emily and Savannah, went to a garage sale with Granny this morning. She told them they each could pick out one toy.

I have always found sibling dynamics interesting, especially how it relates to getting stuff. I always expect Savannah to pick out and want exactly what Emily picked out. But, Savannah marches to her own drum and will pick out her own thing, typically different than what her sister chose. Sometimes, Emily will decide that she wants what Savannah chose and mimic her younger sister with her choice. I find that interesting.

But at a garage sale, you can't each pick the same thing. And there are limited choices.

Savannah came home with a 2.5 foot long sword.
Emily came home with a fishing pole.

Indicative of personality? I think so.

Savannah is outside riding around on her tricycle, dragging her sword along with her. Emily is swinging on a swing, fishing.

Kids are so very funny.

Favorite Recipe: Oven Beef Stew

My current favorite recipe is Oven Beef Stew. You can easily throw it together while your baby is sleeping in the morning and then put it in the oven. Right at fussy time, dinner is ready! I like to serve this with bread rolls.

Oven Beef Stew

2 lb. beef stew meat, cut into 1 ½” cubes

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 can beef broth

1 cup red wine or water (I use about 1/4 to 1/3 cup red wine and fill the rest of the cup up with water)

2 cups cubed, peeled potatoes

1 cup chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery

6 carrots, cut into 1” pieces

½ cup flour

1 tbls Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried marjoram leaves

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp. pepper

Heat oven to 250 degrees. In ovenproof dutch oven, combine all ingredients; mix well. Cover. Bake for 5 hours or until beef is tender.

Not Me Monday!

It was Not Me who took a nap this afternoon instead of cooking dinner for my family....

It was definitely Not Me who called her husband and asked him what he wanted to do for dinner, hoping he would suggest Skeeter's or Cracker Barrel... (he didn't, but he offered to cook, so I'm good:)

It is so Not Me who carries around a Diet Coke in the diaper bag, just in case...

It is so Not Me who is letting the girls spend way too much time on the Wii so that I could pack in peace this afternoon...

 

 

Hello

Welcome to my new blog, Crayons and Camels. Join me as I start a new personal era in blogging. I hope to be more interactive with friends blogs and you with me vs. just personal rantings.

Do you know how hard it is to pick a blog name? It was quite the challenge. It seems that you are almost "profiled" by your blog name and it defines what you post.

Some of the things I have seen in other blogs and hope to implement in mine include "Not Me Mondays" and "Wordless Wednesdays". Due to my interest in all things children, I plan on doing reviews of music, dvds and various other things that we do. I also hope to post a recipe that we have cooked that week.I will, of course, also keep you updated on our travels as our plans for our future come to fruition.

But for tonight, I have played enough on my new blog and I need to go answer my husband's challenge to some wii bowling!