Greek Food, I Love You

I love food (you know that). And I pretty much love every kind of food, without exception (Mexican, Italian, American, thai, Indian, etc. etc. etc.) But at the top of my list, hands down, is Greek food. Love it. LOvE iT. LOVE IT.

So I just had to share some recipes from a little greek medley I made last week. I was inspired to bust out some new recipes because:

a) making falafels has been on my "to try" list forever (give or take a few days)

b) we had tomatoes and cucumber out our ears from gardens of friends/family

c) and greek food always sounds good

Also, I've been trying to be intentional about adding some vegetarian dishes in this house. Like the black bean pizza, this meal left me totally satisfied. Meat? Schmeet. Health is wealth. Okay, I'm being ridiculous. You get the idea ;).

The menu: baked falafels with tzatziki on wheat pita (I didn't make my own pita - that was Huckleberry's job), tabbouleh and hummus (from Costco) and cucumbers for dipping.

The baked falafel recipe was found here (along with the cucumber sauce). See the "most helpful" review for the note about baking, not frying.

The tabbouleh recipe came from my lovely mother. The dicing/chopping takes a while, but is certainly worth the effort...

Combine:

1/4 c. bulgar wheat (cover with boiling water and let stand for 30 min, drain)

1 c. minced fresh parsley

1/2 c. minced mint leaves (or 2 T. dried)

2 stalks celery, minced

8 green onions, diced

1 cucumber, seeded and diced

3 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced

1/2 c. sunflower seeds

Dressing:

3 T. canola oil

2 T. lemon juice

1 t. cumin

1 t. corriander

1 1/2 t. salt

ground pepper

*Combine all ingredients, pour dressing and serve (if you make a ahead of time, add the sunflower seeds just before serving).

And yes, I'm sure our version of Greek food in America is but a small sliver of the goodness of the real thing. Which is why visiting Greece someday is at the very tip top of the list. Not sure it will ever happen, but here's to hoping!

Big Girl Bed

We've made the jump. Clara is officially in her "big girl bed" and out of the crib. She's been ready for a while (and asking about it often - since it's been sitting in our basement for months). We were the ones dragging our feet, wondering if our peaceful nights would be through and hoping the big jump wouldn't cause major problems on trips/nights spent away.

As far as the nights go, they've remained quite peaceful. She hasn't so much as put a toenail out of the bed without calling for one of us (severe threatening works well for her) ;). And as far as sleeping well without confinement on trips? We'll get back with you on that one.

Binky gone? Check.

Potty trained? Last week I would've said yes. This week, I'm not so sure. We're getting there.

Toddler bed? You'd better believe it.

She is just getting so big, so fast!

Now if we could only figure out how to stay facing in the right direction!

Twenty-Eight Weeks

It is kind of sad, really. This picture is the first pregnant picture that I've taken. Of course I have been in pictures since this pregnancy has started. I just haven't taken a pregnant picture (and against the blue wall at Sophia's jump & bounce party nonetheless!). You know what I mean.

I am twenty eight weeks. Seven months. Entering the third trimester. It has gone really fast. And really slow. All at the same time.

I have felt pretty good lately. Pretty good for being pregnant, that is. Most days I'm running on about 65% of my normal energy (I think. I can't quite remember what normal energy is like). I have to go to the bathroom all. the. time. I have heartburn pretty much every day. And I wake up about three or four times at night because of either a) trips to the john or b) leg cramps.

BUT, I am feeling good :). Not too humongous yet. Although there are days I feel enormous and can't imagine getting much bigger (Ha. I know I will). I can mostly still shave my legs and tie my shoes. Sometimes I run into things because I forget how much space I now occupy (and sucking in doesn't help - I try, out of habit, when attempting to fit through tight spaces). But mostly I am still in the "glory days" of mid-pregnancy.

And it's nice to be at the stage where strangers ask you when the baby is due, or whether you're having a boy or a girl. I have decided that a December due date may be the most awkward -when it comes to the summer months, at least. You're far enough to start showing - but spend the entire summer in the is she pregnant, or has she just gained some massive weight? stage. Which is really quite awful when wearing tank tops and swimsuits. But I guess it's just another opportunity we as mothers have to surrender our bodies to the joy/delight/suffering of pregnancy. You don't really have too much control of what is happening to your body, after all. And obsessing over it doesn't help. Not one bit.

I'm not sure I've fully wrapped my head around the fact that we'll be a family of four before the year's end. But I don't know if I will until it happens. I just know that we are so excited about this little life (all of us). Clara asked yesterday if we could "take the baby out" already. I told her that wouldn't be a good idea. He/she has a bit more baking to do in mama's oven. Hopefully about eleven-ish more weeks of cooking. We shall see ;).

Sophia's Birthday

Clara's cousin Sophia turns TWO next week and we celebrated her birthday in every two year olds dream fashion. Think bounce & party + pizza + cupcakes.

A good time was definitely had by all! (except when the really cool giant Mickey & Minnie Mouse balloons were removed from the room. And when Clara realized the presents were not, in fact, for her. And when Miss Sophia became a bit exhausted of the attention/noise level/insanity) ;)

But given the fact that there were ten-ish less than five year olds in one place for almost two hours, it was a raving success. And such a celebration for my sweet little niece. We love you, Sophia!

Goodbye Summer

We said goodbye to summer in near-perfect form: a picnic at the park with the symphony and some good friends (plus a few thousand other people). Jonathan grew up attending the Labor Day concert at the park each year, and I love the tradition. Hopefully it will always be as lovely an evening as it was this past year. We've had really warm days for September, and I don't think anyone is complaining - especially after our chilly early summer weather!

We picnicked with our friends the Blomgrens and Pickerings. David and Kelly were together here in Spokane for just a week after picking up sweet Evelyn in Korea. We were so thrilled to get to see them as a family of four before David returned to Germany (the day after our gathering). Kelly will follow as soon as the adoption is finalized. We are so happy for them and so sad for us!

Somehow Andrew was the only Pickering family member we managed to capture. Here he is in all his night before first day of Kindergarden glory...crown and all!

We were also joined by one of Jonathan's ninety-something year old patients, Miffie. She loved the music and watching the craziness of the six kids, I'm sure ;). If I can be as "with it" as Miffie at ninety, I'll be thrilled!

And so the summer of 2011 comes to a close. It was a good one, I tell you. But we have much to look forward to in the months ahead as well!

Blueberries

We picked blueberries on the way home from the lake. It was the end of the season and there weren't many berries left on the bushes. After about a half hour, I picked two pounds. Jonathan's bucket was empty. As in, not one berry inside. The culprit was this mischievous little girl...

I'm not joking. Her eating pace kept right up to his picking pace. Now of course I'm a faster picker than my husband ;), but he must've picked at least half of what I did. That means Clara consumed a pound of blueberries. Yep. And as you can see, she was thrilled about her berry picking experience.

Like any good has been teacher, I went to our library online, reserved Blueberries for Sal and picked it up this week. We're establishing "text to self" connections already ;).

Labor Day Weekend

We went up to the lake over Labor Day for one last summer hurrah. And what a lovely hurrah it was. The weather was great - hot even. And both our parents were able to be there for part of the weekend. I really didn't do much except relax by the lake and read. And eat. It's kind of ridiculous, actually. This is the first summer I've ever spent pregnant, and I really do miss the opportunity to run, bike, and adventure while at the lake. But I know I have many summers ahead to fill with activity. So I savored the opportunity to catch up on rest. And to dig a nice little hole for my belly on the beach. Oh, how I miss sleeping on my stomach! Here is a review of our very relaxing last weekend at the lake (sigh).

Like every year, we hate to see summer go. But we're also excited about the transition to fall. Schedule. Routine. Baking again ;). Jeans and sweaters. Football. Apples. Cool nights. And of course the fact that this little baby will join our family sooner with each day that passes!

Cupcakes

Clara and I walked to the new cupcake shop down the street this morning on the way home from the park. It's official: we can now walk to all the important places we need: a cupcake shop, an ice cream shop, a few coffee shops, and some great parks. What more could we want, really?!

Based on her ice cream picking strategies (pink or purple), I was sure Clara would choose something like lemon raspberry or pretty in pink. But she chose black tie.

When we got home and ate a good lunch (the qualifying activity, of course), she reached right for the chocolate and proceeded to gobble the entire thing down. She liked the peanut butter and jelly one as well, just not quite as much ;). We might just have a girl after my own chocolate heart around here...