I feel pretty

Whenever we stay with the Sanders in Portland, Madeline wears one of Emma's gorgeous dresses just because, "Yeah, whatever, we're just kind of messin' around and I put this on because it looked comfortable and then I didn't feel like changing." And then she wears it the rest of the weekend, acting very disinterested in it, unless you catch her walking by a mirror. It is essential that we act just as nonchalant, other than a very casual "You look very pretty in that dress" comment now and then.

So her graduation from elementary is coming up and I suggested going dress shopping. Her immediate reaction was, "Awwwwww. I have to wear a dress?!"

I played it cool. "No, of course not. But I thought you might like a dress like one of Emma's to wear since it's your graduation and all. What do you think?"

She played it cool right back. "Yeah, I guess that'd be alright."

And about 12 seconds later, "I think I'd probably need new shoes too."

So yesterday we had a girl day with a little dress and shoe shopping (forgive my terrible photos. I love everything about my phone except the camera.):

Followed by lunch at the Nordstrom cafe for our favorite tomato soup.

And dessert of course, because no shopping trip is complete without chocolate.

I had such a fantastic time hanging out with Maddie for the day. It's fun to see her growing up, having opinions and preferences, and feeling a little girly. I mean comfortable. These dresses were not girly dresses. They were comfortable dresses.

Almost guiltless pleasure

I am so making this tonight. With peanut butter. Which will make it two ingredient ice cream. (I wonder if I could add kale? Haha. Kidding. But you know it crossed my mind.) I might even throw in some mini chocolate chips.

Banana Ice Cream

I'm sure it won't compare to the Butterfinger ice cream which has been calling to me from my freezer for the last three days. (Sometimes I respond.) But I'm counting on it to keep me out of said Butterfinger ice cream.

Follow-up: Did they eat it?

No.

Cricket

About a year ago Madeline decided she was going to save up her money for a TV for her room. Six months later we convinced her it was just not an option (no cable outlet, no Xbox or similar for streaming movies, which is what she wanted it for, etc.). So she has continued to sock her money away and refused to spend it, sure that she would come up with something she wanted. Every time she would say she wanted something (a motorized scooter, a new bike, etc.) I told her she had the money to buy it herself, and she'd say, "Well, I don't want it that much."

Six weeks ago she came running out of her room, "Mom! I got it! Can I use my money to buy a leopard gecko?" Kolby and I told her that if she proved to us that she was a responsible pet owner with the three pets we already have, then she could. So she was an angel about scooping poop, feeding the dog, letting the furry things out and back in, etc. (always making sure we knew that she was doing these things). And in the meantime she checked out every book her school library had about geckos and leopard geckos, read up on it on the internet, and made lists of the supplies she would need.

And we finally gave in. We found a listing on Craigslist where someone was selling all of their supplies for their leopard gecko. And after picking up the supplies, we stopped by the pet store and she picked out her new friend.

Meet Cricket (named after her food--"you are what you eat, right Mom?") These photos were taken about a week after we got her. We woke up one morning and Maddie said that Cricket's color was looking more dull so she was going to start shedding. Sure enough, when Maddie got home from school Cricket had shed most of her skin, with just some stubborn pieces left on her feet and head.

Look closely in the photo below--you can see her licking her eyeball. What a talented leopard gecko!

And this is her set-up. The weird rock thing is two halves with magnets--so it gives her a good "hide" but we can pull the half off the outside of the terrarium to take a peak without disturbing her. This is very important to Madeline because she's afraid Cricket will drop her tail if she wakes up to a cat staring in at her. (I'm sure she wouldn't. She doesn't seem too concerned about the weird lady with a camera pointed at her).

So much for my "no more pets" rule.

About five minutes after I posted this blog entry, I heard Madeline screaming at Mango for sleeping on top of the terrarium. I love cats.

Did they eat it?

Is it totally uncool to steal a blog post idea from someone? Well I'm 'onna do it. Just to be polite and give credit where credit is due, I'll tell you that I got the idea here. And since I'm small potatoes and have only four readers I don't think it should be an issue.

So hopefully this will be a regular topic on my blog. I'm always trying out new recipes or making up my own, and sometimes they fail, sometimes they work. You'll get the reviews here.

Behold. Two new meals I made in the last week.

Chicken Provolone

Last week I needed to go grocery shopping but had no time. I had chicken, ham, provolone, and asparagus in my fridge, and these ingredients all sounded like they'd be good together. Kind of a variation on chicken cordon bleu. Sometimes when I have random ingredients in my fridge I'll do a search online with all of those ingredients and see what comes up. I saw some recipes with the main ingredients, so I figured it was safe to try. I also had beets in my fridge. Beets did not come up in any search with the above ingredients. I threw them in the salad instead.

2-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts sliced thin into cutlets

1 bunch of asparagus

8 oz. sliced provolone

8 oz. sliced ham or prosciutto

bread crumbs or flour

egg,

salt and pepper

olive oil

fig preserves (I like Dalmatia fig spread--it's a staple in our fridge. Yummy with cheese and crackers)

Trim the cut ends off the asparagus. Toss asparagus with some olive oil and kosher salt, and place on a cookie sheet. Bake in oven at 350 degrees while you are doing the next few steps.

Dredge chicken in egg first, then in flour or breadcrumbs seasoned with salt and pepper. Cook chicken cutlets in a skillet with olive oil over medium heat for about 3 minutes each side, until done. (I had to do this in batches).

When the chicken is finished cooking, remove asparagus from oven. Should be crisp-tender. Turn your oven to broil. (If your asparagus isn't quite done you could broil for another couple minutes.)

On a cookie sheet place your cooked chicken cutlets. Put a slice of ham or prosciutto on top of each cutlet. (I kind of bunched it up because my ham was thin and it looked prettier than laying it flat.) Spread with a healthy spoonful of fig jam. Place 3-4 pieces of asparagus on top of this. (Depending on size of your cutlets, you may need to cut asparagus in half. You do want the asparagus sticking out on each end though. Now place a slice of provolone on top of that.

Broil for a couple minutes until the cheese is melted. Serve with extra asparagus (because we're asparagus lovers), a salad, and pasta.

Did they eat it?

Amelia: This is the best thing I've ever eaten. The asparagus and ham even trick me into eating the chicken. You need to make this every day. But the beets in the salad taste like dirt.

Madeline: Pretty good. It's not a nutella sandwich, but it'll do. Amelia, do you want my asparagus?

Kolby: Mmmmmmmmm. Are you going to give me credit for suggesting the fig jam?

Jami: Even better as leftovers the next day.

Cauliflower and Kale Casserole

I've not been shy about my love for kale, but Kolby says he feels too much like a rabbit when I make a kale salad. So this was my attempt at sneaking it into an acceptable form for the family. I found this recipe somewhere on the web, but can't remember where. And I tweaked it bit to make it my own.

1 head of cauliflower, cut up into bite size pieces

1 yellow onion, sliced thin

1/2 head of kale, center ribs removed, leaves cut into bite sized pieces

2 cloves of garlic, minced

olive oil

salt and pepper

1 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1-2 cups cooked chicken or ham, cubed

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheese (your choice--I'll discuss options in a minute)

Preheat oven to 350.

In a skillet, saute onion in olive oil for 3 minutes. Add kale and garlic. Saute for another minute and then add chicken broth and cauliflower. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and allow to simmer for 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat and toss chicken or ham into mixture.

Pour mixture into a casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese. (I did provolone and parmesan with chicken last night. I think sharp cheddar and ham would be a great combination and I'm trying that next time).

Bake uncovered in oven for 20 minutes. Allow to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

I served with couscous, and drizzled the juice from the bottom of the pan onto the couscous.

Did they eat it?

Amelia: This couscous is really good. I'm not a fan of what you did with that cauliflower though.

Madeline: Aren't you putting anything else in that couscous? You don't usually let us just eat couscous without putting stuff in it. The cauliflower is okay. Can I make a ham and mozzarella wrap? Did I tell you we started our sex and puberty unit in science class today?

Kolby: This is really, really good. I don't know how to add this to my food journal for my fitbit.

Me: Mmmmmmmm. Kale. Did Madeline just bring up the "maturation program" over dinner?

I will definitely be making both dishes again. The Chicken Provolone really was fantastic. Kolby and I both loved cauliflower casserole, but sometimes my kids need a little coaxing. Neither girl likes chicken very much, so I think making it with ham and maybe dicing the onions to disguise them more will do the trick. I might also try it with the colored cauliflower (purple or orange) to make it more colorful for them.

Mother's Day

Every time I pull out my powerdrill to fix something, I think of my Grandma Coons who taught me that power tools are for girls, and that if it needs fixin' there's no reason a boy can fix it better. Every time I power up the saw in my garage, the smell of sawdust takes me back to her woodshop and I am guiding a block of wood through the blade with Grandma standing beside me reminding me to keep my fingers safe.

Every time I fold up a piece of aluminum foil to reuse later, or rinse out an empty sour cream container to save for storing leftovers, I remember my Grandma Eldredge doing the same thing while cleaning up the kitchen after a holiday dinner, recycling when it was called "frugality" instead of "earth friendliness." I smell that smell that was distinctly Grandma Eldredge, and feel the texture of her red polyester dress, and see the way she moved around the kitchen, and I am happy that she is with me in my own kitchen.

Everytime I hug the love of my life, I'm hugging the product of the wonderful woman who raised him and who welcomed me wholeheartedly into her family 17 years ago.

And every time I make cookies with my girls, push the pedal on the sewing machine while they guide the fabric through, go on a field trip to watch them interact with their classmates, teach them to clean the bathroom floor the right way (instead of just "pushing dirt around" or "making mud"), show them the difference between seedlings and weeds, sort raspberries for raspberry jam, or wrangle their Girl Scout troop through yet another badge meeting, I channel my mom, who did all of these things and so much more, teaching me through her love and laughter how much fun it is to be a mom.

Thanks to all the moms in my life. Especially my own. Mom, I love you and thank you for all the love, lessons, and sacrifices you made for me. But more than anything I thank you for teaching me how to be a mom.

Confucious say

"Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life."

I am half way through my senior practicum at Seattle Children's Hospital, and despite being completely perplexed about when to sleep and eat, I am absolutely in love with my "job." I've been working twelve hour night shifts twice a week with my nurse preceptor. Last night, for the first time, the all-nighter did not kick my butt. I'm sure that was because I managed a full 6 hours of sleep during the day yesterday thanks to my new friend, Ambien, and my favorite person, Kolby, who worked from home to make sure Gabby did not bark and wake me up. I've heard enough Ambien stories to know that all it would take was an ill-timed barking episode from Gabby and I'd be mowing the lawn in my underroos.

I'm sure that Kolby is tired of hearing me say "I love this so much!" But I do. My senior practicum has been an amazing experience. I adore these little patients. I love their families. I love going into work and learning something new every second that I am there. I make a list of goals for each shift, knowing full well that none of them may be achieved since I have no idea who my patients will be until I arrive at the hospital. And yet most of the time I've been able to achieve them. I've had an ongoing long-term objective to practice a list of skills I've either not done IRL (that's in-real-life for ya'll not in the know on language the kids are using now'a'days) or skills I haven't had much practice with (or completely messed up when I have). When I made this list, I thought I would be happy to check off three or four of these skills by the end of my practicum. I have checked off all but one of those skills in the last three weeks, and I've added several new skills to the list (by watching other nurses do them) that I didn't know I could do. Lab draws, tube feedings, suctioning, inserting tubes thru noses, inserting urinary catheters (TMI? Ha! I'm full of internet acronyms today!), and just the opportunity to frequently assess little people who would rather do 100 other things than let me listen to their hearts and lungs. Every patient is a new challenge, and every shift I feel like I'm improving my assessment, critical thinking, and psychomotor skills.

None of this has improved my blogging skills though. Over a month since my last post? Sorry 'bout that.