Pinday: Ham & Pineapple Fried Rice

This week's Pinday recipe was quick, easy, and delicious!  It stood out to me because Elias loves both ham and pineapple, so I thought this would be a great one for him...  But we all loved it!  I unfortunately didn't have enough ham when I was making it (DUH!), so I just sauteed some bite-sized pieces of chicken breasts, and those were delicious too.  Can't wait to try it again with HAM.  (Rolling eyes.)  The only other thing I did differently from the recipe below was that I used minute brown rice instead of white.

Pin here, original recipe here.

This is my Chicken & Pineapple Rice.  Still tasty!

Ham & Pineapple Fried Rice

• 2 cups white rice
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
• vegetable oil
• 2 cups diced ham
• 2 Tbs. soy sauce, plus extra to taste
• 20 oz can pineapple tidbits, drained and reserve juice
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1-2 cups frozen peas and carrots
• salt and pepper to taste

Cook the rice according to the package directions.
Cook the onion and garlic in oil  in a large skillet till soft.  Add the ham, 2 Tbs. soy sauce, 1 Tbs. pineapple juice.  Cook for several minutes till the ham is hot.  Pour the eggs into the skillet and cook, stirring frequently.  Add the peas and carrots and heat through.  Stir in the drained pineapple.  Add the cooked rice, stirring to combine.  Add soy sauce, pineapple juice, salt and pepper to taste.  I added about 2 Tbs. each of soy sauce and pineapple juice.

Rollin' on the Trike

We had a brief week of really great weather between the HOT of summer and the COLD of fall.  (It's supposed to warm up again next week, but this week it's been dang cold and I'm a huge weather whiner.)  During that brief idyllic time, though, we played outside as much as we could to take advantage of it!  One thing Elias has really gotten into recently is actually riding his tricycle instead of just pushing the buttons the way he has always done.  Justin will often take him out and go rollin' with him.  He does great with the pedals, but as you'll see, he's still getting the hang of steering...

It's long, but I kept the very end because you can see where I tell him to turn right, and instead of physically turning the wheel, he pushes the right turn signal.  Ha!

Spanish Colors - ¡Aquí!

Elias has a subscription to Highlights High Five magazine, which he absolutely loves.  (Thanks, Nana!)  Each month, there is a story that features some Spanish phrases, and last month's used Spanish colors.  It was about a girl named Isabel picking out colorful clothes to wear to school.  By reading this over and over, Elias learned several Spanish colors, and he really likes using them around the house.  So I started playing a game with him where I ask him in Spanish, "Where is the blue one?" and he'll point to it and say, "¡Aquí!" which means "Here!"  He thinks it is so much fun, and I'm glad he loves learning languages - he'll need that skill!  :)

Disclaimer:  I haven't had a Spanish class since 6th grade, so I'm sure my grammar and pronunciation aren't good.  I also know I'm wonky with the genders, but I just used the genders that are in Isabel's story.  I figure he's learning something even if it's not exactly right!

HI, KITTY!!!!!

As I mentioned in the previous post, Elias is REALLY HAPPY to see his kitty, Mrs. B, when he gets home from school.  He's only been apart from her for 3 hours, but it must feel like a lifetime considering how extreme his joy is at their reunion!  He spend the entire rest of the day holding her, and occasionally shouting "HI, KITTY!!!!" accompanied with a huge cuddle.  Here he is diving onto the couch to cuddle her and say hi yet again.  :)  (The white paw scrunched under his face belongs to her.  He's also happy to see his Pound Puppy, Buster, but Mrs. B always comes first.)

Reunited and it feels so good...

Starting "School"

I was going through pictures to see if I had any that hadn't been posted on my blog yet, and I realized that although I put it on Twitter & Facebook, I didn't put Elias' first-day-of-school photo on here!  How's this for an adorable big boy?!!?!

Look at me with my big kid backpack!

Dropping him off on the first day

He's been at school for two weeks now, which means he's been 4 times.  It seems to be going well!  He never fusses to be dropped off, although he usually is very glad to see me (and his favorite stuffed cat!) at the end of the day!  His teacher has confirmed that he does have trouble following directions or staying on the right task, but we knew that would be the case, and it's part of why we have him in school!  He really seems to enjoy it, though, and he is definitely learning things...  All the time we hear him talk about things that they must be doing at school because we have no idea where it came from!  Proud of this fella.

Pinday: Rachel Ray's Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia

This week's Pinday post will be very simple, because it was a very simple recipe that turned out DELICIOUS!!!  The pin on Pinterest is here, and the recipe is here.  I'm always looking for good fish recipes, because both my boys love fish, and I love the IDEA of fish, but haven't been able to eat it since I was pregnant with Elias.  (The texture makes me gag.)  I discovered last summer at a restaurant that I enjoyed fish on a salad, but that's still a pretty limited way to eat it.  So I saw this recipe for Rachel Ray's Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia and thought it showed promise for allowing me to finally be able to eat fish OFF a salad.  I followed the recipe exactly (except I forgot the lemon wedges to serve with it), and it turned out great!  Victory!  Here's my photo and the recipe:

Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia 
4 Servings, Prep 10 min, Cook 10 min
10 10 20

Ingredients

• ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 4 tilapia fillets (about 1 pound total)
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a shallow dish, combine the cheese with the paprika and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the fish with olive oil and dredge in the cheese mixture. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until the fish is opaque in the thickest part, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve the fish with the lemon wedges.

I served it with this baked tomato recipe, and brown rice with chicken bouillion and peas.

Pinday: Tomato Paella Recipe

Unfortunately, for this week's episode of Pinday, I'm posting a Pinterest recipe that didn't quite work.  It did end up being delicious, but it didn't happen the way the recipe said.  Before we go there, here's the link from Pinterest, and here's the recipe and image from the original blog:

Tomato Paella
1. Preheat oven to 450. Warm 3 cups of water or broth in a saucepan. Slice 1 pound of tomatoes into wedges and toss with plenty of salt and pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.
2. In a cast iron skillet, sauté one sliced onion and a tablespoon of minced garlic in some olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add a tablespoon of tomato paste, a pinch of saffron threads, and 1-2 teaspoons of smoked paprika. Add 2 cups short grain rice (I use arborio) and stir for a minute or two until shiny. Add 1/2 cup white wine until it is absorbed, then add the water or broth, and stir.
3. Arrange the tomatoes on top and drizzle with the juices from the bowl. Put the pan in the oven and let roast for about 15 minutes. Check to see that the rice is tender and dry; if not, let it roast for another 5-10 minutes, or until done, adding a small amount of water, broth, or wine if needed. When done, turn off the oven and let sit for 10 minutes or so.
4. On the stovetop, cook the paella over high for a few minutes to develop a tasty crust. Sprinkle with basil and/or parsley, if desired. Enjoy!

Way yum, right?  We're eating a lot more vegetarian these days, and so I'm always looking for new meatless recipes.  Plus, this used saffron, which Justin brought some of back from Turkey because it's WAY cheaper there.  So I jumped all over this when I found it on Pinterest!

Alas, it once again confirms the conclusion I've come to before in my cooking life: I CAN'T COOK RICE.  I am a master at minute rice, but any "real" rice recipe I've EVER tried NEVER works.  The rice just doesn't cook.  I can't tell you how many recipes I've fed my poor guys with crunchy rice, which is edible, but doesn't leave your tummy feeling all that great later.

I've never used arborio rice, so I thought that might be one that would cook properly according to directions.  No, it didn't.  If you look in step 3 of the recipe, you'll see the rice is supposed to be "tender and dry" after roasting in the oven for 15 minutes.  NOT!  I don't think it had soaked up ANY of the liquid at all!  It was crunchy rice soup.  So at that point, I just put a lid on it and simmered it on the stovetop at medium for about 8 minutes.  That DID cook it, and it ended up being delicious, but it's always a bummer to ONCE AGAIN not have a recipe work.  Here's what mine looked like:

So it may have been my fault for using a stainless skillet instead of a cast iron one - but I don't HAVE a cast iron skillet, and they're both oven safe!  Sheesh.  (I didn't take the time for a pretty foodie pic since I was already running behind due to the unforeseen recipe alterations!)

It was very tasty, though, and I probably will make it again.  Next time I imagine I'll just do it all on the stovetop.  My step 3 will be: "Arrange the tomatoes on top and drizzle with the juices from the bowl.  Turn heat to high until mixture is boiling.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer on medium low for 20 minutes."  I'll just cut out step 4, which I didn't do this time either.  The saffron and white wine gave it fantastic flavor, although if you're not into cooking with wine, I'm sure you could substitute with broth and still get a very tasty dish.

So there's my dubious Pinterest story for the week.  Happy Pinday!

Labor Day Adventures at Lake Pomme de Terre

Since Justin had the day off from work today, and since the weather was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT, we decided to take an adventure to Lake Pomme de Terre, about 30 minutes from home.  Although we've lived here for 3 years, we've never visited this recreational area, and we've been missing out!  It's beautiful with lots of picnic areas, hiking trails, playgrounds, and even a nice sandy beach!  We made the beach our first stop.

It was a little too chilly for all-out swimming, but we did wade in the water and Elias had a great time throwing rocks and sand.

 

Justin also spotted a bald eagle flying over us, which was awesome because we didn't know to expect bald eagles there.

Then we hiked a 1/2-mile trail to Indian Point Lookout, which was gorgeous.

I was too nervous about Elias being near the open cliffs that drop down to the rocks below to enjoy myself too much, but I'm just an overprotective worrier.

In this picture, Elias is throwing a walnut off the cliff into the water.  He LOVES seeing things splash!

We did see another bald eagle flying here too, so that was neato.

Then we found a picnic shelter with a beautiful view and ate our packed lunch overlooking the lake.  There was also a playground next to the shelter, so we hit that up for a while after lunch.

Finally, we drove by the marina on our way out of the park, and discovered that they have a floating ice cream shop out on the dock!  Can't pass that up!  So we stopped for a little more sunshine, lake view, and a tasty treat!

You'll notice that Justin & I are smiling at the camera, but Elias is not to be distracted from his ice cream. If I can say one thing about this kid, he's got focus!

 

It was such a neat time, and I'm so thankful Justin had the idea to take us there today!  If the weather holds, we just might go back again this fall!

Pinday: Ziploc Painting with Elias

My friend Angie has begun a weekly meme called Pinday, where we write about inspirations we have found on Pinterest.  Seeing as Pinterest is like the best thing ever, I thought it might be neato to post about things I've found on there and since tried.  Not only will this be a great way to share new ideas and recipes, but maybe it'll convince my doubting sister how awesome Pinterest is.  This week's will be a fun activity I did with Elias, found on Pinterest here.

It is so simple it's ridiculous.  Just put a small amount of paint in a gallon-sized ziploc bag.  (I used about 1/4 cup of blue finger paint.)  Lay it flat and spread out the paint so that a thin layer covers the whole bag, and then zip closed with as little air inside as possible.  Done.  Let kid play as desired.

Elias loved drawing with his fingers, and also drawing with cotton swabs, which he'd never really played with before.  I think his favorite thing, though, was making hand prints in the paint.  We also used the cotton swab to write his name, which you'll hear him spelling in the video below, and you could also use it to practice shapes too.  We loved this, and I'll definitely do it again!

One of my favorite things about it was that there was no mess to clean up!  This is not usually the case with paint.  And it's reusable, which is also not usually the case with paint.  Win!

You'll note at the end that he picked it up and looked through it - made me wonder if some kind of stained-glass thingy might be possible with this technique...  I don't think Elias is ready for that yet.  I'll file that away in my "maybe someday" list.

So if any of my blog readers are Pinterest users (and I know there are some!), then consider doing your own Pinday post and linking up on Angie's blog!  The more the merrier!  It doesn't have to be something you've actually done from a Pinday inspiration...  Even just an idea that you like or want to do someday.  Her linky will be open til the end of the week, so blog about something awesome you found on Pinterest.  Every Tuesday - be there!

Parenting a Fallen Soul

As Elias grows, I always say that he gets more fun to parent because he's learning how to express himself and communicate better, his level of understanding is always increasing, and his personality blossoms as he begins to discover his likes and dislikes.  However, something I've really been grappling with this week is that as his personality strengths blossom, we also begin to see his weaknesses and flaws.  Now, before any doting grandparents protest, I have a wonderful, brilliant, beautiful child who I'm very proud of.  BUT he is still a human, and he DOES have flaws.  Some of them are inborn in his personality, and others were made by the environment he has grown up in.  Most are a combination of both.

What has had me really worrying about them right now, though, is next week he starts "school," a Mother's Day Out program at a local church that he'll go to for 3 hours two days a week.  Being an only child who has always been at home with Mommy, he doesn't have much exposure to other kids, or even adults for that matter, and he desperately needs the social instruction that a school environment will give him.  However, I'm concerned about how he'll do, and I'm just afraid it's going to be a difficult adjustment for his teachers and classmates to teach him the appropriate ways to behave in the classroom setting.  Elias isn't a difficult or disruptive child, but he just wants to do his own thing - play by himself his own way.  So we'll just have to see how long it takes for him to get that he's supposed to listen to the teachers, do what they say, and treat his classmates with respect.  I can tell him all day long that he needs to do those things, but it won't mean anything to him until he's put in the situation to actually put those principles into practice.

So worrying about how he's going to do in the classroom has brought to my attention a lot of his selfish and disobedient tendencies that Justin and I have learned how to cope with at home, but his teachers may not be ready for.  I've been fretting about what we could've or should've done differently to raise him better or teach him better, to work harder to get him used to playing with other kids, to teach him about respecting other people.  But the fact remains that he is who he is now, and nothing I do in the next week is going to change how his first day at school goes.  So fretting is clearly not the answer here.  But I believe there is also a deeper issue here, and that's what I'm really trying to grapple with now.

The truth is that my son is a human soul, born sinful and fallen just like the rest of mankind.  Without the redeeming power of Christ and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, he WILL be selfish, disobedient, and sinful.  Justin & I can (and will) teach him about the proper way to behave as a functional member of society, but even more important than manipulating his behavior is discipling his heart, teaching him about sin and his need for a Savior, and introducing him to the marvelous hope of God's grace.  Before he was born, we read the book Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp (read my first review here), and I'm working on reading it again - although it was instructive the first time I read it, I can actually put it into practice now.

I recognize that only God can save, can actually change Elias' sinful nature and instead give him the mind of Christ, can actually cause Elias to WANT to be good, kind, respectful, and generous.  On the other hand, it is Justin's and my responsibility as his parents to teach him what is right, to train him in the way he should go, to teach him the truth of the Gospel, and to model for him the Christian life.

Honestly, I'm pretty overwhelmed at the thought.  I often still struggle with my own selfishness, so how on earth am I going to teach Elias that he shouldn't be selfish?  Truly, I don't have much of an answer to that besides lots of prayer and relying on God's grace.  The gravity of the responsibility of being a mother has just become heavily real to me this week, and I'm just sharing about it here.  Motherhood is becoming much less about teaching him basic survival and instead teaching him eternal truths.  That's a big deal, and I just want to do it well.

Piggyback Rides

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before that Justin is the best dad ever.  Justin roughhouses more than I do, and Justin is stronger to be able to lift and carry Elias in a way that I barely can anymore!  Elias loves taking piggyback rides, and Daddy is especially fun.

They like to stand in front of the mirror and look at themselves with E on Daddy's back - you can tell from their faces that they enjoy doing this!

They always say "That's such a nice picture!" when looking at themselves, so I availed myself of the opportunity to snap one!

Sinister Fudgesicle Face

Elias ate his first Fudgesicle off a stick last week, so I thought the photo opp was pretty good anyways.

But then his fudgy "goatee" made him look so sinister I couldn't help but laugh!  Ha!

Little Quack

While we're talking about books Elias loves to read, we have in the past couple months discovered the Little Quack series by Lauren Thompson.  We heard the first book in the series at a library storytime, and Elias talked about it for weeks afterward.  So we borrowed the book from the library and discovered there were several others in the series.  It seems that there are two that really stand out as Elias' favorites, though: Little Quack's Bedtime and Little Quack's New Friend.  What's really funny, though, is that he seems to have developed a rule about who can read which book to him.  Apparently ONLY Mommy can read Little Quack's Bedtime and ONLY Daddy can read Little Quack's New Friend. 

Mommy's book

Daddy's book

If either of us tries to read the other book, he'll definitely point out that something is amiss, often grabbing the book out of our hands and running it over to the proper reader.  This is definitely not the first time I've wondered where he comes up with this stuff!!!

Toddler Bible

Elias has a Toddler Bible that he absolutely loves to read!  Well, he loves to read certain stories - namely Adam & Eve and Baby Jesus.  He reads them so much he has them completely memorized!  I had forgotten all about this video I took several months ago until I saw him reading his Bible today.  (Side note: We really love this Bible - it's just perfect for preschoolers!  It also came with a DVD of the Bible stories that Elias enjoys too.)

He's even better at it now than he was then, and he also has the story of Noah down too.  But this is still pretty good stuff!  We're so thankful to have a child who loves reading and knowing God's Word!

Finger Painting

With the weather being so hot, we can't do much playing outside, so I'm having to get creative with figuring out things to do with Elias!  I'm not creative at all in that department, and generally I avoid anything that might make a mess.  But desperate times call for desperate measures.  One day last week we pulled out the finger paints, and it was actually a REALLY good time!

Elias isn't artistic enough yet to actually try to create something with the paint, so he was just smearing and glopping it randomly on the paper.  He thought it was HILARIOUS, though, when I would say "GLOP!" as he put it on the paper.

It's the simple things, ya know?  (Side note: I didn't realize Justin was filming here - I thought he was taking still photos.  I was trying to mix and red & blue to make purple...)

We still have those paintings proudly on display, though, and Elias still enjoys looking at them.

It was his idea to draw the Bob & Larry - he still gets a big kick out of having them on our door!  :)

Playing in the Sprinkler

I posted a picture here of Elias playing in Nana & Granddad's sprinkler when we visited them in Kentucky last month.  Nana had actually bought a play sprinkler specifically for that purpose, but it had a difficult connector and we couldn't get it hooked to their hose.  So their lawn sprinkler filled in and did just fine.  However, since it wouldn't work at their house, they sent the play sprinkler home with us, and thankfully, we COULD get it to work on our hose!  So now we have a fun sprinkler to play in at our house, and that's awesome with the weather being so hot!  We're getting a lot of use out of it, so for that we're thankful it didn't work at Nana & Granddad's!  :)  Here's video of Elias' first time playing in it:

Thank you, Nana!

Kentucky Vacation, Part 4: Undocumented Fun

We also had two other special elements to our trip that I have almost zero photo documentation of... because I am a photographic loser.  We spent two days in Georgetown at my parents' house because my sister and her family were also visiting, and it had been several months since we had seen them.  We actually spent the Fourth there.  We grilled out burgers, made homemade ice cream, and even lit our own sparklers!  Here are my two nephews with sparklers - I stole the photos off my sister's Twitter feed!

It was a lot of fun seeing Elias play with his cousins - he's finally starting to catch up to their play level even though they're a few years older than he is.  So I can't wait to see the way their relationship can develop through the years!

Then Justin and I also took a little getaway while we had some free babysitters!  We left Elias with Nana & Granddad and took a night at a bed & breakfast in Paducah.  We saw a movie (Larry Crowne), went out to eat at several really neat places, and had a great time just the two of us!  I have absolutely no pictures of that, but we enjoyed ourselves, and Elias did really great with Justin's parents.  So that was a blessing.  Great times with great family!  :)

Kentucky Vacation, Part 3: Family Fun

I may have mentioned it before, but the older Elias gets, the more fun he has when we go to visit family.  He remembers them and is glad to see them!  So he had a great time playing with Nana & Granddad.

Driving "Terence the Tractor" (a Thomas character) with Granddad

Drawing a stick man with Granddad

Nice hugs for Nana

Nana had the most adorable little hooded towel that Elias used after his bath...  What a cutie!

Then for July 4th, Justin took Elias to the gravesite of Matthew Lyon, a local Revolutionary War hero.

You can read Justin's blog about it here.

Kentucky Vacation, Part 2: Water Fun

The weather was so hot that we spent as much time in various water play as we could.  One day we went to the nearby recreational beach at Kentucky Lake, and this was Elias' first real beach experience!  He wasn't too sure about the water until we inflated this little car float that Nana had, and then he wanted to stay forever!

Nana & Granddad also had an inflatable pool that we put in the shade of the carport, and we all enjoyed that!

He really dug this little toy water gun he got in a Burger King kid's meal...

... even when he shot himself in the face with it!

Nana hooked up the sprinkler, and that was the first time Elias had played in one of those too.  Such big fun for the buddy!  At first he wasn't too sure about getting sprayed in the face, but he got over it.  :)

Kentucky Vacation, Part 1: Lake Fun

At the beginning of July, we took another trip to Kentucky, just to spend time with family and have some summer fun.  We spent the bulk of our time at Justin's parents' house on the lake, enjoying the water and the peace.

Elias LOVED the wave runner!!  He wanted to go "Faster, faster!"  He even bonked his head once on a rough bump, but he cried more over Daddy wanting to go home than the pain from his goose egg!

We also went out on the boat (more my speed!), which was fun for the whole family!

Helping Daddy drive

Such fun!