Spring...finally

Finally the beautiful weather has arrived in the Midwest.

We had a solid 85 degrees on Saturday, and took full advantage. Liz got up early and ran nearly 8 miles on the Monon, which is just a few blocks away from our house. She was home in time for me to go play basketball at 8:30 for a few hours, and then we played soccer as a family for a while before going to Penn Station for lunch. I must say, their cheesesteaks are some of the best I've tasted since we lived in downtown Philly (although I didn't appreciate the attitude of the girl working when I told her to hold the pizza sauce. Listen, chick, you don't PUT pizza sauce on a steak--so don't give me attitude when I tell you to hold it).

We then went on a family hike along a stretch of the Monon where Liz has found a Red Fox vixen and her kits, but they weren't there (they were probably deep in their den because of the heat). We ran a few more errands, then came home for a barbecue with hot dogs, corn on the cob, and watermelon. We fished in our backyard pond and caught a few bass, including the fattest one of the spring so far that Joey reeled in (kind of). Not a lot got done around the house (okay nothing got done), but after such a brutal winter, we just couldn't help ourselves.

The previous night, Liz and I went to dinner at Mama Carolla's in Broad Ripple, which was excellent, and had dessert at Oberweis Dairy. When we came home, we asked the babysitter how the kids were and she said they were fine--even when it came time to go to bed. Now, our kids are really good at going to bed, but we do have a 5-year-old who tends to explore his limits. So if mom and dad are home, there are no shenanigans, but he usually tortures any babysitter a few times before staying in his room for good. Therefore, we were a little surprised that she said Joey never came out of his room at bedtime. When Liz left to take her home and I went into Charles' room to tuck him in, I discovered why. Apparently he is past the 'testing' phase and into the 'stealth' phase of his development. (and yes, they were reading "Who Pooped in the Park"--actually a good book and nowhere as crude as it sounds--and a book about bugs).


Tori on the Monon, looking for the foxes.


And Tori today after church, in a dress that Liz recently made for her, smelling the tulips...

...and posing by the flower pots we planted last weekend.

The boy loves to read

A common ocurrence around our house--finding Charles somewhere quiet with his nose in a book. In this case, the stairs.

He just can't get enough of reading. Recently he had a read-a-thon where people could sponsor him for some amount of money per pages read. I advised them it would be a much safer bet to agree to a set donation. He ended up reading around 500 pages in 5 days, and he wasn't even really cognizant of the competition. In fact, we had to remind him to count up the pages he read each day. He might be a space cadet sometimes, but he is constantly learning--and it's not always something like "Star Wars--Epic Battles"

Growing up

A new milestone at Chez Kewish--our first kid loses his first tooth. He was increasingly nervous about it over the past few days, but was pretty brave and trusted his dad. Finally tonight when I was helping him floss, I just reached in a popped it out. It was so funny to see his brain processing everything: "wait, what was that? was that what I thought it was? wait, DAD IS HOLDING MY TOOTH IN HIS HAND! OH NO!!! Wait....it doesn't hurt. So that means Dad was right all along. Hey, now I have nothing to worry about. Wow, a huge weight was just lifted from my shoulders..."

Then the goofy smile comes across his face. I love that smile.

Happy Easter 2009

Great Easter here at the Kewish household. We had a fun and busy Saturday getting new tires for Jenny B (the van), lunching at Paradise Cafe, coloring eggs, and eating sushi. The Easter Bunny brought us all lots of nice things. Tori was very excited about all of the different shades of pink in her basket--something that both Liz and I never thought would be the case. Joey, our sensitive one, summed it up best as I was putting him to bed when he said, "Dad, I'm going to miss Easter..........and I can't wait until Christmas."

Here is a link to some photos:

Conference Sunday

We are back in the Eastern time zone and remembering what it's like to have our church's General Conference on so late. This morning we had a window of time before the storms rolled in to go for a family walk. We walked around the ponds behind our house and along the farmer's field directly behind us. Then, in a small pine tree at the edge of the cornfield, I noticed some straw poking out of one of the low lying branches. It was only about two feet off the ground, so we didn't think it was a bird nest. When I moved the branch, a little deer mouse jumped out and ran up the trunk of the tree. Here is a picture of the mouse nest:

And here is the mouse trying to hide against the trunk of the tree.

Our weather window closed on us before we got back to the house, and we ended up running the last 200 yards in a hail storm. Charles was giggling like a maniac, but Joey was not happy.



Once back home, we all gathered to the kitche to make our traditional Sunday morning Conference crepes.

And here they are ready to attack the spread. We had a good indication that the boys were excited when we found them drawing pictures of crepes and all of the different things they were going to put in them earlier in the day. They must have each eaten a half-dozen crepes, filled with every combination of fillings imaginable.

Ask And You Shall Receive

Ever since Joe posted the picture of the Sweet and Savory Chicken I have been meaning to post the recipe since several people requested it. Here it is, I hope you enjoy.

Serves: 4 Edit

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Total Time: 30 min

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup(s) lower-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup(s) bulgur
• 1 1/2 pound(s) chicken-breast tenders
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) pepper
• 1 tablespoon(s) olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup(s) chopped pimiento-stuffed olives
• 1/4 cup(s) chopped prunes
• 1 teaspoon(s) capers, drained and chopped

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Directions

• 1. In 2-quart saucepan, heat 1 cup broth and 1 cup water to boiling. Stir in bulgur. Cover and simmer on low 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
• 2. Meanwhile, place chicken tenders between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. With meat mallet, pound each to 1/4-inch thickness. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
• 3. In 12-inch skillet, heat oil on medium-high. Add chicken and cook 4 minutes or until no longer pink throughout, turning over once. Transfer to plate; cover and keep warm.
• 4. Add onion to skillet; cook on medium 5 minutes or until beginning to soften, stirring occasionally. Add olives, prunes, capers, remaining broth, and juices from chicken on plate; heat to boiling, stirring. Boil 1 minute. Serve chicken and sauce over bulgur.

Blog Give Away

A few weeks ago my sister in law Holly hosted a give away on her blog. I was one of the people who participated, which means that I am having one too.

Here is how it works:
1. The winners will be the first three people to comment on this post.
2. You will win something made by me.
3. Now it's your turn to serve someone else. You are supposed to do the same giveaway on your blog.


Here is a picture of the adorable little skirt that she made for Tori. Don't hold your breath for something like that on my give away but I will try not to disappoint.



This Give Away is closed. Thanks Mom Kewish, Jen and Holly for playing. I will try to get creative and send you something soon.