Stress relief of the day

Care package from Japan

I had one of those days - feeling tired, stressed, mopey, blue - not a good day. But I got another box of care package from my parents today, an "express" version of care package which means the box contained some good Japanese breads. The box was filled with goodies, treats for kids, clothes for kids, some easy-to-make Japanese meal stuff, of course, the good Japanese breads, and most of all, a lot of love from my parents. It's funny I felt so much better after I opened the box and ate a few of those yummy sweet bread sticks made with molasses. Thanks, Mom!

Big brother and Little sister

This picture has nothing to do with post, but captures their loving relationship as big brother and little sister.

This evening, I had a work meeting. I made Tacos for dinner and left home as soon as my husband walked in. And this is a story he told me when I came home.
As usual, I asked "How were kids? Were they good for you? Did they eat dinner?" kind of questions. He told me that baby K was mostly happy, but he became inconsolable (is baby K teething? We are not sure, but he has been cranky during the day this past few days). So, he put the baby down in his crib before they started eating dinner. As he came down stairs, he realized that kids were very quiet. He peeked around the corner, he found J saying a prayer. J carried all the food, dishes and everything out from kitchen, made tacos for him and his sister, and blessed the food, while Mommy was out and Daddy was taking care of baby. What a big brother!!! I was very proud of him. It kind of reminded me of my childhood with my big brothers.

Good food, good company, and a good time

We had dinner with our family friends. Kids played outside while my friend and I cooked in the kitchen. My hubby was in his grilling duty while sitting under the sun and reading a good book (her hubby was still on the way home from work). My friend brought marinaded chicken and potato salad (with smoked paprika. Yum!). After I thought what I could do, I decided to try on a couple of new things - homemade pita bread and roasted red pepper hummus. Oh my goodness. The pita bread was DELICIOUS! I could not believe they just came out of my oven!! I made with half whole wheat flour, cooked a little longer than the recipe called. Out of 10 good size pita breads, I have about 1/3 piece left. Four adults and 4 little kids, counting those kids didn't eat much. So, yeah, that good! Homemade pita bread with grilled chicken, homemade hummus, and alfalfa sprouts. Oh, it was so good. Just plain pita with honey butter was also a hit too. To top it off, we had a double chocolate cookie topped with whipped cream and strawberries (sorry, no picture. I didn't have enough patience to take ones before I ate). Mmmm! Mmmm!! Mmmm!!! Good food, good company, and a good time.

Housekeeping strike

Instead of doing housework, I decided to make more pot holders this afternoon. I call it housekeeping strike. Sometimes I just need to escape from the reality of my life - a piled up dishes, dog hair balls and dust bunnies, smeared muddy foot prints on the kitchen floor, just to name a few.
But, aren't they cute? Or are they crazy!? Or am I crazy? I thought they are fun. Thanks to Aimee for letting me scavenge her scrap fabric. They gave me a few hours of non-housework time.

Addendum: my husband just walked in. I told him that I'm on housekeeping strike. He said, "Then I won't be a scab. I won't cross the picket line." Maybe, we'll have macaroni & cheese for dinner tonight...

I love this man

My hubby and J - summer 2009

Yesterday, I woke up with a noise of kids screaming, a good kind. Then I heard my husband saying "Here I come, ready or not!" Hide-and-go-seek was my alarm yesterday morning. What a good husband and father.
Today, after dinner, he yelled at me, in a very loving way, for touching dishes. He cleared the table and rinsed dishes for me. He helped kids picking up toys and changing to their pajamas. He He read books to kids. He even had some discipline talk with kids, firm but yet very lovingly.
When I was sick last week, he came home during lunch break to feed kids lunch so that I didn't have to. He gave me a phone by my bedside table so that I can call him in his cell phone if I needed anything. He told me that I was not allowed to come downstairs at all, again, in a very loving way. I slept, and slept, and slept.
He loves me so much. How lucky I am. I love this man.

Mommy and daughter time

I went out for a Mommy-and-daughter time tonight. Having 3 kids, one being a baby, and one being a very curious 5-year-old who just can't wait for school to start, my 3-year-old daughter who is now a middle child has been needing a little more attention. She never complains, but I noticed that she tends to spend time quietly alone, while her older brother talks like a machine gun and tries to get Mommy's attention every second of the day, and the baby brother, well, being a baby. But us going out alone this evening was my husband's idea. "Why don't you two go out and have fun? Don't worry about time. I'll take care of the other two." (Have I mentioned enough that he is a wonderful man?) So, off we went. Where? Shopping, of course. Well, not like fancy dress shopping spree type of thing. It was more like getting some milk and checking out a craft store. Still, it was our special time together. We found some good looking strawberries, and she decided to buckle the container of strawberries so that she can keep an eye on them. She enjoyed looking at pretty beads at a craft store, and told me that she wanted to wear pretty beads earrings like Mommy. To finish out evening, we went to our local diner for some milkshakes. I asked her, "Strawberry shake, or chocolate shake?" She said, "Chocolate!" Yes, she loves chocolate, but also she loves pink, so I got one of each to see which one she picks. Sure enough, she decided to drink PINK shake. I guess color matters more than taste in her case. After we came home, she was happily telling Daddy how fun it was. It was really fun. Thanks, honey. You are such a wonderful Daddy and a husband.

Me and my daughter - Summer 2009

My latest creation and not-so-latest creation

This is my latest creation - pot holders. I was invited to a bridal shower. But no gift registry yet. I heard that she doesn't have much, and also she likes blue, green, and brown. Hmmm... So I decided to make pot holders out of scrap fabrics. These fabrics look familiar?

That's probably because of this.

This is my not-so-latest creation - a baby quilt for our baby K. I had perfect number and size of squares left from this quilt to make those pot holders. I am very happy about the results. I hope the bride doesn't mind they match to my baby's quilt.

In sickness and health

Today was my first day up and moving after being sick for several days from a suspected food poisoning (from funny tasted apple juice, I believe). How grateful I was this morning to be able to eat and not feeling pain! How wonderful it was (but also kind of painful, but in a very good way) to feel the hunger! I could not believe how happy I was to be able to just eat food and taste without feeling pain! It was almost like after the first step I took after weeks of recovery from a knee surgery many years ago. Showering, packing kids up in a car, and other rather dragging routine seemed like a joyful privilege. Taking kids to a park and sitting in a sun was such a treat. Visiting friends and watching kids playing joyfully was delightful. Being able to stand in the kitchen to make dinner...oh my! I can't even describe. And the food tasted so good!! I didn't know how the flavor of garlic and olive oil and asparagus and bacon and Parmesan cheese would taste that good. I am very very thankful for my health. Sometimes we take granted too much. Life is good.

Oh, by the way, I love my husband. He did so much for me. But I probably should make whole another post about just about that. It shouldn't start by "oh, by the way..."

Creation of the day

Not the best picture, but I am very happy about the look. I'm going to try them on tomorrow (my work day) with my recent purchase of $2.67 short-sleeve turtle-neck sweater from Goodwill.

A whole new world of cooking

I made Tabouli for the first time this week. While I was taking a break from chopping vegetables (I was making for 60 servings), I wrote an e-mail to a friend saying, "I am making Tabouli. I have no idea what I'm doing, but you are going to eat it tomorrow." I guess she got a good laugh out of my comment. It turned out it was a hit (or at least those girls were nice to me). So I decided to post my version of Tabouli recipe on my food blog (which has not been so active. Shhh.). This is based on 2 different recipes with some adjustments and tweaking. Oh, and the measurement there is totally "guestimated" amount. My husband tells me that he never gets tired of my cooking because it tastes different every time even if it's a same dish.
Now I want to try making pita bread and humus. I was really tempted to start making something, but I realized that it's past 10 pm. I'm going to bed. Maybe tomorrow. Pita and humus can be part of Easter dinner, right? Happy Easter.