A long week ends well

Owen's birthday is today. It has ended well after some drama this week. One of the dudes cleaned out Owen's wallet while he was visiting last week. It was full of iPad savings. Owen was devastated. We figured out who it was and the kid was sorry after coming clean. He returned every penny.

Today Owen was able to combine that savings with money he received for his birthday and we ventured to the apple store. Then all he wanted to do was go home and play on his new iPad mini. Makes life easy.

We got him the full collection of 007, 22 DVDs in all. He is a happy camper.

It just reminds me not to sweat the small stuff.

Dudes

On Wednesday night Owen asks to have a couple of friends spend the night.  There was no school on Friday so we are talking Valentines night.  He will be 13 in a week and a half and I make him swear that they won't be up all night.

I get home from work on Thursday afternoon and suddenly there are like 6 dudes in my basement.  I don't even recognize my own sons voice...

I always wondered when his voice would change and it happened yesterday.  I pretty much shut them up in the basement and then Sean spent a few hours cleaning down there today. 

Little dudes are cool but messy.  Other than that and a broken fan blade, I think it went rather well.

Easy stir fry

This comes together quickly and it's Anne's favorite.

 

Cook 2 cups basmati rice in 3 cups of water on high, boil for one minute, turn down and cover until water is absorbed...about 20 minutes

Add oil (sesame or olive oil) to hot wok

Add broccoli Fleurettes, shredded carrots, snow peas, bell peppers, mushrooms, cabbage (...and whatever you like in your stir fry) stir until slightly coated with oil, add 2-3 tablespoons of water and cover to steam a little, once steamed but still firm and crispy add soy sauce or tamari and coat...remove from wok.

Add more oil to wok, add eggs and scramble up.  Now add your cooked rice, stir to distribute the light coating of oil, add soy sauce or tamari and sprinkle with ground ginger and stir around until it looks ready...add the veggies back in and stir again.  

Clearly I was out of many of the veggies today, much to Anne's dismay.  All I had were the carrots and broccoli but it is still yummy and heats up nicely the next day for lunch.

Broccoli Pie and Salmon

What to do when Broccoli Pie has been requested but it's not the favorite for the other two?  Cook up some salmon as well.

Looking for a delicious snack?

Costco just started carrying this and you will not be disappointed. Very satisfying!