Addy and the stairs

I'm sorry - you'll have to forgive the sideways-ness of these again. These also look like they've been taken by a drunken sailor (not that I really know what that would look like, but I'm imagining) with as much as I move while filming, but I thought that they were cute anyway.

Addy has been navigating the stairs without much difficulty (in her cute little way) and I wanted to make sure that we captured it before she's walking them normally. She's never turned over the way she did in the first video, but Dad was below me and then walked away and I think that she wanted to see where he was going. The second video is the rest of her descent down the stairs.

I know - another LOL cat...

...but I thought that this one was particularly good!

Orange chicken and The Business of Being Born

We've tried a number of new recipes since I last posted... I don't know where to start! I guess we'll start with orange chicken. I'm a huge fan of Panda Express' orange chicken, but Panda Express no longer exists anywhere near us anymore, so I thought that I would try making my own. The recipe really does get pretty close and is pretty good. It will definitely hold me over until we get to a place where Panda Expresses exist!!

As for the movie, we didn't watch this movie while we tried this recipe, but we can pretend, right? =)

The Business of Being Born - hmmm... I was really excited to see it. It's a documentary about the way that we give birth. It's produced by Ricki Lake and is very pro-natural birth and pro-midwife. The topic is one in which I'm very interested and I thought that this movie would be right up my alley. I told Adam numerous times that he really didn't have to watch it with me if he didn't want to, but he said he was game and so we watched it. I had been concerned about the graphic nature of it all, but that part was actually handled pretty tastefully. (Having said that, I still wouldn't watch the movie on a first date or anything like that...). However, I was still rather disappointed with the movie. It did a lot of handwaving when talking about specific problems in the doctor-driven birth system today and hard numbers were rarely given to support most of the statements made. I was left wondering if the picture that was presented was really accurate and I questioned some of the over-arching statements that were made. Still, it's probably worth watching if you're interested in the labor process... but I wouldn't expect to be won over by it's convincing arguments. Anyway, ratings (out of 5) follow below.

Orange Chicken
Prep Time: 40 Minutes
Cook Time: 40 Minutes
Ready In: 3 Hours 20 Minutes
Yields: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
Sauce:
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Chicken:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
1. Pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and cool 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Place the chicken pieces into a resealable plastic bag. When contents of saucepan have cooled, pour 1 cup of sauce into bag. Reserve the remaining sauce. Seal the bag, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

3. In another resealable plastic bag, mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Add the marinated chicken pieces, seal the bag, and shake to coat.

4. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken into the skillet, and brown on both sides. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels, and cover with aluminum foil.

5. Wipe out the skillet, and add the sauce. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Mix together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water; stir into the sauce. Reduce heat to medium low, add the chicken pieces, and simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Ratings:
Movie - Adam **1/2, Melanie **1/2
Chicken - Adam ***1/2, Melanie ****
Note: The chicken is very orange-y. I think that next time I would reduce the orange juice and zest by half. I think doing that would make this recipe a solid **** for Adam.

Talking Addy

So, I'm not sure how to rotate this, but it's not that important anyway, since the noise is what I was filming. =) This is how Addy spent the last half of the flight home from Pueblo - just talking away. You may have to turn the volume up a little to hear her over the airplane noise, but she was heard probably fairly well by those on the plane (but at least she wasn't crying!). She's often talking - I guess she takes after her parents! =)

Addy swims

This is actually from last week, but I wanted to post it anyway. Addy loved her little pool at Grandma and Grandpa Johnston's house!

Make ahead meals

I was looking for some good freeze ahead recipes so that I could take some meals to a couple Moms who have just had babies and I ran across this blog. The food looks good and, best of all, the site includes exact instructions for heating before eating (most of the sites that I found only mentioned that certain recipes were great for freezing and eating later, but they didn't include re-heating instructions). After finding this site, I may look into the 'once a month cooking' idea. It's given me the guts (and a little know-how) to freeze some of the meals that I already make!

We're back

After a week away, we're 'back home againnn in Washingtonnn'. (I guess that probably makes more sense if you know the "Back Home Again in Indiana" song... of course, it also might make more sense if we actually lived in Indiana too.) =)

Anyway, Adam had a conference in Florida last week, so Addy and I decided to go and see Grandpa and Grandma Johnston in Pueblo during that time. This actually worked perfectly, as Jackie (one of my best friends from childhood) had just had a baby the week before, so we got to love on little Baby Brandon too while we were home. We also got to see quite a bit of family as some members of the Johnston side were in town for a get-together as well. We had so much fun!

With only minor scrapes at the airport (and really nothing to complain about at all), we all arrived at our destinations and then, back home again complete. Adam had been able to go through security with us in Seattle, as our planes departed at about the same time (which was super cool), but in Denver, Addy and I learned how to go through security with each just other, a car seat, a stroller that had to be folded and put through the X-ray , a diaper bag, shoes and belt (that both had to be taken off), gels and liquids (in their plastic bag), etc. Addy even charmed the gate agent into letting us use her car seat (in an empty seat on the plane) on the ride home - which made the trip better for both of us. Adam made his 30 minute connection in Houston on the way to his conference and then found out that it is possible to fly without a photo id on the way home after losing his wallet somewhere in Orlando. Then he had to wait for Addy and me an extra couple hours at the airport, as our plane was delayed by that much. However, we were just thankful that after the United decision to cancel several flights while we were away, we still had a plane to get on! We arrived home with an excited-to-see-Dad Addy and of course an-excited-to-see-each-other hubby and wife too. After some good sleep on all our parts, we're now officially home and back into the swing of things. So, all-in-all, I'd say it was a successful trip for all of us. We all had fun while we were away! And now we're home. =)

I'll post more pictures of our adventures in the coming days on Addy's blog. (Oh, and something super exciting that came from the comfort of home - Addy's pacifier is no more! We had heard that taking it away after a trip was a good time to do it, so we did - and (fingers crossed that this continues) with only a little crying the first couple naps and the first night. I never knew how exciting something like this could be... but I'm sure that there are other Moms out there that understand!).

Anyway, now that the computer is back to normal and we're back to normal, I hope that blog posts will be back on a normal schedule too. We'll see. =) So, until next time...