Shopping, Toddler Projects, and Play Group

I feel like it is such a weird type of Wednesday. The week is crawling at a snail's pace and going super fast at the same time...doesn't make sense at all.

Anyway, a little round-up of what we have been up to this week and a few random bits from last week as well.

Last Friday we went to a Japanese playgroup at the Unitarian Church on the UWS. When we walked in, we were surprised to see that it was Mia's teacher from the school that shut down. Mia was excited to play with her baby friends and see her teacher!

But the activities weren't really holding her attention very well. This goes the same for the other kids her age. They were running around the church and exploring every inch of it. When we asked the teacher if the lessons could maybe be made a little bit more challenging/interesting for older kids, we were met with what I believe is a rather typical Japanese answer. The material is fine...we just need to encourage our kids to sit through it and we ourselves need to make sure that they are engaged....hmmm....I only half agree. Anyway, the class is going to be moved to Mondays at a friend's apartment for the rest of the summer. We won't be able to make it since Mia has her gymnastics/pre-nursery program that day. Actually, I'm not too disappointed though since I've felt for the past few months that this Japanese class just isn't cutting it anymore. I'm hoping we will be able to find something better in the fall :)

Monday we went to Mia's new summer class. It was really amazing. First, the kids got to play on the obstacles that were set up which included things like a balance beam, tunnels to climb under, and so much more. They then practiced their stretches, played on a sensory board with scarves, and did trampoline work. Mia had a pretty good time.

After that, we headed to the class room where they ate their snacks while listening to a story, made an art project, had free playtime with toys, and then ended with puppets and songs. I so wish I would have taken some pictures, but I was sent an email before the first day of class talking about how cellphones/cameras weren't allowed. However...everyone was snapping pictures during class...so I will too next time! I was glad though that we could just focus on the class for the first day.

Mia's Cat Puppet...coloring by Mia and I helped with the face of course.

When we got home, Mia was pretty tired from all of the activity. So, I had time to make a roasted chicken and warm potato salad. They both turned out pretty good. Yum! 

Let's see...yesterday we spent a lot of time at both the library and the park. We got lots of great books! I should really post some of the great stories that we are reading right now. We also did some sensory activities with rocks and water. Some other activities that we did yesterday were playing with pipe cleaners and water bottles as well as filling up the bathtub with 200 balls for bath time! Lots of fun. I actually took pics, but they are on my camera. 

We are always doing lots of little games/projects at home during the weekdays. Mia loves them and it prevents her from destroying the house too much. Anyway, so I am going to try to do a better job of blogging about some of the projects that we do. That way she can look back in 20 years and say....oh that is how I spent my baby/toddler days. 

Mia in a duck headband we made one day...notice the crayon in her teeth.

Lastly, this morning we went shopping to buy some things for more fun activities at home.

Two packs of stickers (cats and bees), letter magnets, chevron buttons, glass bowl, food coloring, play dough, puddy, glitter, glass rocks, slinky, squidgy caterpillar, peace signs, and ocean beads. Lots of fun things.

We also headed over to Walgreens to pick up a few things we needed for home/crafts.

Freezer bags, giant thing of hair gel (for projects), mouthwash, and Aveeno Moisturizer. I didn't take a pic of things we got for Ten's Father's Day gift :)

Plans for the rest of the day include projects with Mia, possibly ordering my planner for next year, and checking out another DVD of Big Love from the library...LOVE that show!

A Visit from Nemo

No, not that cute little clown fish. I'm talking about the blizzard that we just had here on the east coast. I find myself talking more about our experiences in natural disasters than anyone should have to.

However, this one was really quite fun. I LOVE winter and snow. If you ask Ten, he will tell you I love every season though...which is so true. I love all of the unique foods, smells, colors, holidays...just everything that each season brings.

On Friday, Mia and I headed down to her Japanese class. We had to battle ice, snow, and rain to get to the subway. The whole time I was thinking, this is so not worth it...turnaround and go home...but I continued on...because I mean the class was already paid for. We hopped on the train....and it stopped....for a good ten minutes...once again...I was feeling the regret. But, we made it down there and back just in time for Ten to call and say that he was coming home early because of the snow. 

On Saturday, we looked out our window and saw this...

I was so excited! After 1:00 (and the blizzard winds had subsided), we headed over to Riverside Park to play. Hopefully, this picture gives you some idea of how much we got. Wonderful!  

How did Mia like her first big snow? See for yourself.

Didn't crack a smile...haha. I think we will have to give it a few more tries.

Anyway, so I made snow angels while Ten pelted me with snow balls...you know...family bonding and all. No, but we had a really good time.

You know what is also good....cafe mocha after. We made our own home version...there are probably way better ones out there...and if you know of a good recipe...please share.

Here is what I did though:

1 tsp of instant coffee and half a package of hot chocolate mix...pour in hot water and add a dash of milk....seriously good folks.

Weekend Roundup

I really wanted to post this yesterday...but it feels like my weekends kind of spill over into Monday. I think that weekends could potentially be the busiest time for housewives. Everyone is home all at once so there is more to take care of...so Tuesdays during Mia's first nap are my first moments of peace...anyway I digress from the main purpose of this post...to share our fabulously average weekend.

My New Year's Resolutions are still going strong, so I wanted to find something we could all do together to start the month off right... so we planned a trip to the Children's Museum of Manhattan. Here is a picture of Mia making foam pieces fly around with her hand. She had  great time, but the baby area had a bunch of kids who I believe were nearing junior high running around...so we had to play bodyguard most of the time...not fun for us.

...and peeps....this place charges $11 per adult...so that you can sit in an overcrowded room with half broken exhibits....so I'm glad we checked it out on the free night... would have been so not worth the money....but Mia had fun, so it was worth the 20 minute walk there and we will probably take advantage of it again next month.

Anywho, Saturday we headed to swim class...here is me...not showered... with our little swim champ...haha

I actually got to chatting with a very nice mom...and I'm hoping this could potentially be a mommy friend....still testing the waters...but looks promising...fingers crossed.

Sunday we had to go shopping to buy clothes for baby girl...like the outfit? .... clearance items.... :)

On Monday, we went to story time where Mia actually played with the other babies now that she can officially crawl...it was fun...but sometimes I wish the nannies wouldn't hover over all of the kids.... can't they just play? Do we always have to make every experience a gateway to Harvard kind of deal... I highly doubt it beneficial to announce to a 10 month old that they are playing with a dairy cow...where we get milk and who eats grass and lives on a farm... and is a subspecies of blah blah and whose normal gestation time is...okay I may be exaggerating but come on people.... let's just let them play.

I then rushed home and started a yummy beef stew. I absolutely love this recipe. I kind of always regret putting it on the menu but then remember that I'm feeding my family a healthy, home cooked meal...and that makes me smile.... this was followed by the beginning of the week cleanup... after the weekend...the home needs a bit of extra TLC on Monday.

Anyways folks, that's what we were up to. Busy in a good way.

P.S. let's hope if and when we have another baby, it is a girl... cute clothes like these don't come cheap :(

Baby Minestrone

Yes, it has once again been a good long while since I've been on this blog here of mine....and I have no good excuses....hehe.

Anyway, so when Mia turned 6 months old, it was time to start solid foods. The doctor recommended rice cereal, followed by Level 1 foods...blah blah blah. I was a little bit disturbed by the fact that I was indeed recommended to feed my little baby all processed foods. I mean have you ever tried baby food? It is completely disgusting and rarely tastes like the food that it is named after...and why are the bananas pink?? If you have to turn it pink to preserve it...then no thank you...Rant finished.

So, here is one of our favorite baby food recipes for a 6 month old. (I'm assuming that from the above blurb...everyone can assume that we are making Mia's food...as we make our own. I am a housewife...so I do understand that I have the "luxury of time?" on my side.)

So, here it goes. Cut up some cabbage, onion, carrots, and potatoes (a couple of tablespoons of each) and add about 200 ml of water. Boil this lovely veggie mixture for about 10 minutes.

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the next step...but it's simple...remove vegetables from the liquid...reserve the cooking liquid since this is now a vegetable broth...how easy.

Next, you need to mash up the vegetables. I use a wooden mortar and pestle...no fancy baby bullet required. I also had a steamed piece of broccoli left over so I mashed this up to on its own to add with the other veggies.

Spoon some of the vegetable broth over your mashed vegetables..and you have a tasty soup...even tastes good as an adult I must say...though I would prefer it to be a little chunkier...haha. By the way...the white stuff is a rice porridge.

I guess I should add...be practical...you are feeding this to a baby...so of course this is NOT a soup served hot!

Does anyone else have any good baby food recipes??

Hurricane Sandy

Our view of the Hudson River on Monday morning. This was the only picture that I could take before we got to about zero visibility.

I really hate to disappoint those looking for a dramatic tale...well actually maybe not...but for us Sandy was a huge wind and rain storm. Unfortunately I can't say the same for those in lower Manhattan and other areas of New York...but hopefully things will be up and running again soon.

Before Sandy got here...we did our absolute best to prepare (lessons learned from the March 11 earthquake). Ten was out getting some canned goods, stocking up on our normal groceries, getting water, buying matches, and doing all of the laundry... great guy yes I know!

The subway was closed, so he was forced to work from home while me and Mia did our usual activities. Things were pretty calm during the day...and after Ten was finished with work...we decided to try to make the atmosphere as light as possible.

We had a simple lunch of taco rice... yes... even though we aren't in Japan we still eat this. If you can't guess what it is...it is taco seasoned chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, black beans, salsa, and shredded cheesed served on rice...yumm.

Later in the day...we decided it was pumpkin carving time! It was so much fun with our little helper....but pics of Jack later.

After carving, we of course roasted the seeds...and Ten loved them. I coated them in olive oil, seasoning salt, and cayenne pepper before popping them into the oven for 45 minutes....yummmm.

Anyway, we aren't sure when the city will be fully up and running yet...and once again I want to emphasize how lucky we really are...I mean so many people are without power and some are stranded in flooded areas... but until we are off of house arrest here...we are going to carry on as usual.

Food from the Commonwealth

So, I decided to switch things up a little bit last night for dinner and attempted to make fish and chips, and I must say that it turned out quite well.

Now, this is something we definitely won't be eating every week or in fact every month....and maybe not even every 6 months....because it is deep fried....so not the healthiest thing...but it was nice for one evening.

Here is the very easy recipe that I used from the BBC.

If you don't feel like clicking on the link, here is what I did. It is slightly modified from the BBC.

Ingredients

3 Potatoes

Vegetable Oil

250 grams of flour

500 ml of water or milk

4 fish fillets

salt and pepper to taste

To Serve

Lemon

Tartar Sauce

Directions:

1. Wash potatoes and cut into strips or wedges. Dry and set aside.

2. Make batter using milk and flour. Add salt and pepper to season.

3. Heat the oil for frying and then add the potatoes. Cook until browned and can pierce with a fork. Remove from oil and place on paper towels.

4. Dip the fish in the batter and then fry in the oil for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.

We also served with some peas....I mean have to have some vegetables right.

Christmas Come Early

Christmas in Japan can be quite....well...I guess you could say disappointing. You have to kind of go hunting for the Christmas spirit. It just isn't in the air here like it is back home. So, we have to do the best with what we have.

Today, Kahori came over to watch some Christmas DVDs that she had sent over from Canada.

Do you remember these movies?...classics

We actually didn't watch the movies, but they did make for good background noise while we caught up and planned for our trip to Disney....haha.

We also ate a ton of food...oh the doctor will not be happy at my next weigh in...but that is a story for another day.

Jalapeno pizza and a cheeseball that I made...recipe will follow at the end.

  

Also, I told Kahori that I needed a human pic for the blog...hahaha...I didn't want it to be myself...because well...did I mention the weight gain...It's not like I've gained 100 pounds or anything crazy...it's just that I'm not used to it yet....haha

And of course a gift exchange...I "accidentally" saw through the bottom of the plastic....so I think I know what it is....but I'll wait to open it....oops. (but dear Kahori...I love it!! Thanks!)

A nice way to start the Christmas weekend.... :)

Anyway, for anyone interested in making this super easy cheeseball....here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1 package of cream cheese

Shredded cheddar cheese (amount that you like)

2 pineapple rings (cut up into small pieces)

1/4-1/2 of a small onion (chopped)

a dash of salt

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Crushed walnuts

Directions

Let the cream cheese sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Add all of the ingredients (minus the walnuts) in a bowl and mix/fold well.

Refrigerate over night.

About 30 minutes before serving. Mold the cheese into balls. I made two, but you could do one big one or bite-sized ones. Then simply roll the balls in the walnuts until coated. Serve with crackers.

Really easy...and usually people love these things.

Saturday

Our doorbell was ringing non-stop today!! All in preparation for the holidays....kind of...First, we received a package of food from Ten's mom. This had to be the most random assortment of food that we have received...a bag of sugar? hmmm....Also, we received yet another giant bag of rice. We are now up to about 15+ kg (30+ lbs) of rice. We seriously have no idea what we are going to do with all of this rice....no idea....we are also a little bit confused as to why Ten's mom keeps sending these massive amounts of rice....very nice of her though...and we won't go hungry this winter....haha

Oops! One package is upside down...oh well.

Literally five minutes later, the bell rang yet again. This time we got.....

...our new futon set. I have no idea why I am so excited about this. I love new futons....just love them. I wanted to rip it open and take a nap, but Ten reminded me that it wasn't even 9 a.m. yet....I should also mention that Ten's mom ordered this especially for my family's visit to Japan....extremely nice of her!!

Finally, maybe two minutes later...the postman was back at our door (kind of wonder why so many people from the same office deliver the boxes...can't they just consolidate it??). Anyway, Ten and I had no idea what else we could be receiving....but....

...yay!!...our Christmas gifts from the U.S. The packages say from Santa....but maybe, just maybe...they are from my mom. Ten immediately started eating the deer jerky that she sent...yes, that is right...deer jerky...did I mention I am from the Midwest? But, it is the best thing ever!!

There were so many cute packages in the box...and so many good snacks....we can't wait until Christmas gets here...and yes, we will wait...one year, we opened it up the day we got the box...Christmas Day was so disappointing after that...hahaha.

Now completely changing topics...lunch today...a taste of home...hahaha. We haven't eaten anything BBQ style in a while...so pulled chicken sandwiches today...really easy and so good.

I cut up 4 cloves of garlic and a small onion and threw them in a pot with two chicken breasts along with a cup of water and a cup of BBQ sauce. I boiled it for 15 minutes and then shredded the chicken while continuing to boil the sauce. Threw back in the chicken and boiled for 15 more minutes....Done!! Also, I wish I would have taken a pic of the awesome baked pork Ten made today....I'm sure we will be eating it again this week though....so until then....

Finally, (another change of subject....) I did a bit of shopping. The drug store is one of my favorite places to shop....hahaha

Eye masks and face masks...Ten kind of complained about whether it was necessary to get them...but then I quietly reminded him of how he secretly (well not so much now) uses them too...silence....hahaha

Anyway, just the highlights of our Saturday. Kind of long, but I figure it makes up for all of the days when I didn't type anything...haha...and as I am scrolling back through this blog entry, I must say that we are both lucky to have the parents that we do...we never have to go without...even as we are nearing the end of our 20s... :)

Cookbook Challenge

Okay so today right before dinner I decided that I will definitely cook my way through a cookbook. Why? I have no idea. However, I bought the book and therefore should use it. So...here is the cookbook...that I bought way back when....

It might be kind of cheating because I already know how to make most of the stuff in here, and I'm not following the exact recipes, but it still counts...and I'm sure I will stumble across new things. So tonight I didn't try anything new, but I was able to check off two recipes.

And here are my versions....

Carrots added for the sake of eating more vegetables.

...and pumpkin

I did learn from this though that we might want to think about investing in more adult looking dishes....hahaha...but will probably continue procrastinating on that one.

Food from Fukuoka

So, this morning we received another package!! Yay!

I was quite surprised by how much stuff was put into this small box. Here's what we got...thanks again to Ten's mom :) .....

Croissants.... 

Egg Drop Soup

....and lots of vegetables and fruit!!!

We are trying to avoid eating food from around our area as much as possible (because of that pesky radiation)...and it can get expensive buying stuff from other parts of Japan...so Ten's mom was nice enough to send us this box of vegetables....lifesaver.


Also, I have been wanting to eat "American-style Chinese food" for a very long time now...so today...I decided to make my own....

Can you tell what I'm making?

How about now?

Crab Rangoon....yummm

Oh my god!! I am in heaven because they surprisingly taste just like the kind at restaurants....This may become a weekly thing until I get it out of my system. If anyone is interested in the recipe...just leave a comment, and I will do another post!!