Mother's Day and Fried Rice

It's Mother's day, and I will see if Sasha wants to do a guest blog today, but before that, I will sing her praises and how the day was special.

First off, it was a busy day that started off with a bath first thing for Alya. Her potty training usually gets her through the night, but last night was not one of them. So, I woke up with her and got her washed up right away and let Sasha sleep as long as possible.

Unfortunately, Marcus woke up soon afterward and they were both in quite a state. It's the kind of situation where one parent can handle them - but not in a quiet manner. Soon Sasha was out of bed and we all trooped downstairs for breakfast and a little viewing of Tinkerbell.

First Mother's Day moment, Alya and I came upstairs. I had her decorate Sasha's card, while I prepared coffee and cereal. Then we brought that all down for the enjoyment of Mommy. Yes, a very simple breakfast, but that's because....

We went to take a walk over to the park. This isn't a habit for us, but one that should start. It's a slight hike with the strollers, but the kid's playground at Brown Deer Park is a lot of fun and we don't go there enough. Plus, being there at 9 AM on a Sunday guarantees we have the place to ourselves.

The next thing was that we were meeting my Mom out for brunch at the Crocus Polish restaurant. We arrived at 11:30, with both kids having fallen asleep 10 minutes before arrival - early for nap time, but the park had tuckered them out. This is enough to make any parent nervous.

The food, while heavy and coated in lots of butter, was super delicious. Potato Pancakes that were slightly crispy and loaded with butter. Perogis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierogi) with various savory fillings and served with a little applesauce. A breaded pork chop that took a little to grow on me, but brought memories of weinerschnitchel. And a stuffed cabbage roll that was filled to the brim like a Polish egg roll. Wow was the food good.

The kids clung onto all three of us at one time or another throughout the meal. My Mom enjoyed having her grandchildren hanging on her - as all good grandmas do. I did my best to keep Sasha relatively child free, so she could enjoy her meal and Johnny Walker on the rocks. That's what Mother's Day is about, right? And I would say that our fears of misbehaving kids were for naught. And I'm good with that.

We came home and three of us crashed out to sleep. In order it was, Marcus, Alya (after some coaxing, as she said she didn't need a nap) and then Sasha. This happened between 1:30 and 2 PM.

Since we had a TV producer scout our front yard for shooting the remake of Little House on the Prairie, I decided that this would be the best time to get that done as well as clean up some of the weeds floating around.

(Although I had to buy off of iTunes the Incredibad CD - if you watched Saturday Night Live last night, you'd have an idea of the why. Look for the Digital Short for Mother's Day. Incredibly wrong, but incredibly funny.)

By the time I finished all that, I came inside fully expecting to find some family members awake. After all, it was 4:15 PM, time to get up. But not this day. All three were still snoozing.

5:00 PM - I was starting the prep work for dinner - beef fried rice - and Sasha woke up to say hi, followed shortly by Marcus. Alya really stretched things out.

(Interlude - "What's the theme of your 3rd birthday? Princesses?" "No, cake." - Sasha and Alya just now during Alya's bedtime routine. Franpa - you better be ready to dress up like a princess since that will be expected of you.)

Recently, I've been on a Chinese food kick - making, not buying - and it's been pretty fun. I made a dish that turned out a little poorly, but then I made pork fried rice and that went well. Tonight, I made beef fried rice, and it was really good - for fried rice. Once more and that recipe will fall into the locked position - I will be able to make it fairly easily.

The best part about fried rice to me, it's a leftovers meal. The trick is having leftover rice, but everything else is supposed to be stuff that is hanging around in the fridge. Fun, flavorful, and economical!

While I thought it was good, the judges really had to decide on the quality of my work. Sasha thought it was great. Marcus was reluctant at first, but soon started chowing down big time. Alya.... Well, Alya said she didn't like it right off the bat. So it never passed her lips and she had Kraft mac & cheese instead. Such is life.

Favorite quote "Alya, put on your underwear and come to dinner." BSers in action.

That's it for now. But I'll get some pictures up soon.

Be seeing you,

Jon