June 2012
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Yummy Detox Salad
This was lunch today!
Yum, right?
I found this over at Iowa Girl Eats this morning. I had everything I needed at home, except the kale. But since we were heading to Target to have Maria’s puffy goopy eye checked, I was able to get kale, while we waited for her prescription for pink eye.
So yeah, detox salad. A great way to reset after you go off course with your eating. Nothing wrong with that. But I know for myself, it can be hard to redirect back on course, so something yummy like this is perfect! I did make a few alterations based on the fact that I’ve never had much kale, so I eased in with just one large leaf. And oh, yeah, no almonds, since I’m allergic… And I made it from memory and I forgot carrots (I will add these next time)
I highly recommend you read the original recipe though, because she does a GREAT job of detailing out the health benefits of all the food in this salad.
Yummy Detox Salad
Kale
Baby Spinach
Shredded Cabbage (I used a handful from a bag of cole slaw mix)
Olive Oil
Raspberry Vinaigrette
Blueberries
Sliced Cucumbers
Raspberries
Sliced Strawberries
First start with cleaning the kale and baby spinach. For the kale, I took one large leaf, washed it, rolled it up in a paper towel, and then just rolled it back and forth in my hands to tenderize it. and then tore it into bite size pieces.
I then tossed the kale, spinach and cabbage with a drizzle of olive oil and fat-free Raspberry Vinaigrette.
I then transferred it to a large plate and covered with the remaining ingredients. Then I devoured. YUM!!
Grilled Cheeseburger Wrap
I made these for dinner a couple weeks ago. And everyone loved them! I used a dairy-free cheese for Maria’s. And for the kids, I diced up the tomatoes to better disguise them in the wrap. Also I added mustard to the beef mixture, because we are all fans of mustard in our house! Very easy to prepare the ground beef the night before.
Source: skinnymomskitchen.com via Jane on Pinterest
Grilled Cheeseburger Wrap
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 1/2 teaspoon mustard
1 tablespoon grated parmesan
1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 sandwich wraps (I use Flatout Wraps)
sliced or shredded cheese (I used cheddar and dairy-free cheddar)
2 roma tomatoes, sliced (or diced for fussy eaters)
1 cup of romaine lettuce
Additional ketchup (optional)
Additional Mustard (optional)
Directions:
- In a medium to large skillet coated with cooking spray cook the beef on medium till almost cooked through but still a little pink (about 7-10 minutes). Break beef up as it cooks. (I prepared the hamburger in the Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker, 4 minutes on high, break up, then an additional 2 min on high)
- Add worcestershire, ketchup, grated parmesan, dried onion flakes, salt, and pepper to the beef. Mix together until thoroughly combined.
- Continue cooking until beef is cooked all the way through and is no longer pink.
- Preheat grill plan or indoor grill.
- In the center of the wrap place cheese and 1/2 cup of the beef mixture. Add tomato and lettuce. Then if you are using, add some more ketchup and mustard.
- Roll the wrap and place seam side down on grill. Once there are nice grill marks turn over. Grill for another 2-3 minutes then remove.
- Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the rest of the wraps.
Memorial Day Weekend 2012
I LOVE 3 day weekends! We spent a lot of time together as a family and got a whole lot of fun in, even with a sick kid and a fever. We rallied and had a great weekend.
Saturday was rainy, but Maria had a friend coming over for a playdate. Unfortunately Maria wasn’t feeling well and I found her lying on her bed while Abby was playing with her toys at lunch time. She spiked a fever after a nap, so Chad and I cancelled the babysitter we had lined up and stayed home. After a 2nd nap, Maria’s temperature was back to normal and even ate a little before bedtime.
Sunday, Maria was feeling much better so we didn’t have to cancel our plans to have brunch with Chad’s parents and brother’s family and then to Teddy Bear Park. We had a great time, even though Maria and Charlie were probably the sweatiest kids there! After the park, while Charlie napped, I snuck out for a pedicure.
Today, we took the kids to a park, ate a picnic lunch there and then stopped for frozen yogurt. Yummm.. The afternoon we were starting to experience a crabby 5 year old and things were a little rough for a while. But after Charlie’s bath and Maria’s shower, we were calmed down enough, that I gave Maria a new piano book for her toy keyboard. She was so excited and I got a big hug! And she settled in to practice her piano with only a few interruptions from Charlie.
Charlie sat in this “boat” and said “HO-p Me. Mama, HO-p me!” He wanted me to help him move it. 
My Five Year Old Girl
Maria turned 5 on May 18th. Incredible! I can’t believe the girl that she has become. She makes us soooo proud. Right now she is all about figuring out reading and writing. She loves when we read her chapter books at night. Her favorite is Beezus and Ramona. She loves Charlie dearly, whether she admits it or not, he’s her bestest bud. She is going to preschool 3 days/week and will continue through the summer. She starts Kindergarten in September and will go all day, every day. Something our district is switching to starting next year. I have no hesitations about her being one of the younger ones in her class. I completely feel like she is ready!
Maria is also quite the talker. In fact, if she isn’t around, we’re always surprised how much Charlie talks! She has questions about everything. Well that isn’t completely true, she has answers for a lot of things too. Her own made up answers. She asks a question and then responds with the “answer”. Sometimes it drives my crazy, but other times it’s cute and other times her answers are down-right funny.
We started the birthday celebration at school on the 17th. The next day, we all stayed home from work/daycare. I took the kids to the zoo. It was a warm day, so we took swimsuits to play in the sprinklers. We saw a lot of the animals up pretty close. One of the best days I have been there. After the zoo, we came home so Charlie could nap. Maria played on her new LeapPad. Late afternoon, we headed to her friend party at a nearby Community Center. I think all the kids had a great time!
Saturday morning, both kids were up early, but luckily both went down for naps before the party with the families. We had an Olivia themed party. Maria wore a red dress (Olivia’s favorite color) and I ordered a cake from Target that we put some Olivia characters on. We had a pinata and the weather was beautiful so all the kids got to play outside.
It was a great weekend and we had so much fun celebrating!
with her friends
with her cousins
pulling the pinata strings (with her “Rapunzel” hair)
Math Whiz
While watching Dora today, Charlie said “Two” when she asked how many more bananas she needed. She wanted to have 10, but she only had 8. Smart boy!
It may have been coincidence, since he can’t even count to 10 consistently.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book was interesting. It was a bit slow for me. A bit hard to follow. It all came together in the end (as much as it could). The story is of a boy who’s father dies in the 9/11. And his father’s parents both survived WWII bombings in Germany.
And it seemed weird, but then again, I’ve never lost anyone close in a war, let alone as an innocent casualty, and I can’t even imagine what that would be like or how I would have reacted, especially if I had been 9.
I’m not sure if I recommend this… that would probably be a sign to not read it. I am fairly certain I won’t see the movie.
