Our Summer was terrific. I'm able to add a new role to my resume: Social Coordinator, 6/1/2013-infinity. It's truly a job in and of itself - the phone calls, the emailing, the texting, the driving, the arranging, the attitudes of our young when they come home having had zero sleep...
Matthew and Champ played baseball which was great fun (and tiring) for us all. Tournaments every weekend, practice every night, spend the nights frequently, out of town tournaments, parties several times each week for 5-6 weeks... I was exhausted by it all and I was merely a spectator. When baseball ended, that's when the social coordinator role really kicked in. They are at the ages where they want to be with their friends - be it at our house or friends' houses - all the time. I found it difficult this Summer to make all three of my kids happy with an activity or outing at once. The boys wanted to do things that Brooke was too young for and when I was making Brooke happy, the boys were bored. For that reason, I welcomed our end of Summer beach trip (where everyone is happy ALL the time) and the start up of school.
Recently I started working full time again! I was very happy in my part time role as working part time is, in many ways, like having your cake and eating it, too. You stay engaged in the professional arena, enjoy dressing up and commiserating with other adults... AND you get to wake up and fix breakfast for your kids and hang with them doing the stay-at-home mom thing, too. The down side to part time, as I found it, was that I was never fully engaged from a work perspective - and I was spending a lot of my time at home doing things like cleaning the house, laundry and errands.
Several weeks ago, an opportunity at work presented itself and long story short, I took it. I'm two weeks in and really enjoying my schedule and the kids seem really happy. We have two nannies, each is with the kids 2 days a week, and my mother-in-law takes the third day. My friend, Margaret, articulated the major advantage of having two nannies over one which is - no one is with my kids more than me. I love that! They also help with laundry and cleaning so that when I'm home, I can hang out with them. At this point, I'm really enjoying both my time at work and my time at home. I'll keep you posted on life as a working woman with three kids as time continues to unfold...
Speaking of Margaret, she and her family accompanied us to the farm and we had so much fun. It's a place where our kids can really run free... they run, they fish, they drive the four-wheeler, they ride horses, they hunt, they hike through the woods... It's good for their little souls - and for ours. I love it and it brings us immense joy to share that with others.
Here's the big question - have I been cooking this Summer? During the month of June, I'd have to say no, not really - with the exception of salads which doesn't really count as cooking. I made salads for every single party I attended. Now that school is back in, I've done better. And now that I don't have as much time to spend cooking, I'm constantly searching for quick recipes which don't take much time to prepare. Last night, I made turkey meatballs over pasta, spinach salad with strawberries and blue cheese and a toasted baguette. I'll share that soon. A few weeks ago, I made the Pioneer Woman's Beef Stir Fry and it was delicious and loved by all family members. This was in her 16 minute recipe section.
Super easy to prepare - lots of flavor and a dish that appeals to all eaters. Start with a nice cut of flank steak and slice it super duper thinly.
Mix together soy sauce, sherry, brown sugar, cornstarch, and ginger.
Pour half of this mixture over the meat and toss to combine. While that is sitting, add oil to your pan and add the snow peas. Stir for one minute and then set the snow peas aside. Add the meat to the pan and let that cook. (Might be a good idea to check the real recipe at this point).
Next, add the snow peas to the meat - toss to combine.
Put the rice of your choice into a bowl and add the meat mixture. YUMMO!
I would like to dedicate this blog post to my parents who have been married FORTY years today. Mom and Dad, I love you dearly and thank you for the life that you have paved for me...I feel so blessed and happy that you united many moons ago... Here's to many more!!
