Wiped beyond belief

Tags

exhaustion, family visits, postaday2013, writing

I am so wiped from this weekend, I feel as if I ran a marathon; in between walking Jack a mile six times a day, helping my mother and my sister with the Mother’s Day celebration. My mother and I made two quiches both with caramelized onions and leeks and prosciutto de parma and when we got to my sister’s, we helped her with chopping and mincing the herbs and vegetables for the frittata, and setting the table. We even shared my Mother’s Day gift of cheesecake with my sister and her family. The two and a half days of making sure that Jack didn’t have any accidents and the walking plus with the helping, makes me one exhausted lady today.

As for my gifts, my hubby indulged me on my love affair with handbags with my newest acquisition that he picked out himself. He picked a beautiful and interesting handbag, I love it. My babies for the first time went to the mall and picked out my presents, just the two of them, and bought them without being reminded by their father. They were so happy and proud of themselves, they touched my heart, my babies did with their thoughtfulness. Being a mother is the greatest challenge that gives the greatest rewards, everlasting unconditional love.

Our cousin is visiting

Tags

dinner, family visits, memory lane, postaday2013, sleepovers, visiting

Our wonderful cousin Nancy is visiting with us for a few days. She is my hubby’s cousin on his father’s side and we love her to pieces. She and I clicked the moment we met, we talked and talked about everything. She is a very talented artist; she does sculptures and three dimensional paintings that are whimsical and poignant. We are lucky enough to have a few pieces of hers that we proudly have displayed on our walls.

My hubby thought that Larb would be something different for dinner. He nailed the menu choice because it definitely was a hit. Larb is a Thai special salad; it’s sautéed ground pork with chopped mint, cilantro, scallions, shallots, ground red pepper, lime juice, fish sauce and ground toasted rice to bind it all. It is served in lettuce leaves with extra mint and cilantro. It is one of my hubby’s favorites and Nancy really enjoyed it as well. What I like about it is that it is light, healthy and full of different flavors with every bite. The sautéed pork melds beautifully with all the herbs and the mildness of the pork allows the herbs to shine with their refreshing brightness. The lime juice and fish sauce lend a citrusy saltiness that keeps you eating even after you are full. The lettuce provides the eating utensil while not taking away from the overall flavors and complex tastes. I find that not only is it delicious, but also so much fun to eat.

A wonderful visit with my sister

Tags

family visits, nephews, nieces, postaday2012, sisters

Now that my baby girl is off at college, I don’t have to worry about getting someone off to school on time or fill out all the first day of school forms that all schools love to send home to parents just in case the parents feel left out or something. Those days are over for me, it does feel a little strange seeing all the hustle and bustle of the first week of school and I am no longer part of that ritual.

My sister invited me to come and visit the new house. She is finishing the last part of her internship in her nutritional degree program and she doesn’t go back until next week. So this week was ideal to spend time with her, my brother-in-law and my niece and nephew. I get to relive the back to school ritual for a fourth grader and a kindergartner vicariously through my sister. She is diligently doing her parental homework as I type, the lunch for tomorrow is made, the teeth have been brushed and all school age children are in their beds.

I am missing my two little ones, the ones who live in my memories, but I think that it is the romanticized version that all parents keep in their heads to cuddle with when you miss them as you see them older and more independent, moving away from you and your help.

The freedom to come stay with my sister is great and I am having a lot of fun with my niece and nephew, we played monopoly this afternoon, I was on my best behavior. I played without bending a single rule, I notoriously ruined  monopoly for my little sister when we were younger, I made it so I always won, no game is fun when you always lose. I was so bad. My niece and nephew and I had a lot of fun playing and we are going to continue tomorrow.

 

Tonight before going to bed, we all played Sleepy Queen, a card game. My sister won fair and square and with that, everyone ready for bed. Today was a full day, the train ride to New York, picking up my niece from school with my nephew and my sister, playing games. I have become a light weight, lol.