Spaghetti Squash

I've never been a fan of squash. But, I've heard such good things about spaghetti squash that I thought I'd give it a try. I looked through AllRecipes for inspiration (and to learn how the heck to cook a spaghetti squash), found a recipe I liked, and then changed it to something I'd like even better.

It was delicious- even after the second day of eating it for lunch! Plus Bella loved it, which is a major bonus.

Tong refused to eat it (hence why Bella and I got 2 days worth of lunch), saying, "It's not bad... but it's squash." Pbthbthbthbthbth.

Anyway, here's the recipe:

Spaghetti Squash Saute

1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise
2 small chicken breasts, sliced thinly
1/4 lb carrots, shredded (I used baby cut carrots, because that's what I had)
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, shredded
3 Tablespoons butter/margarine
1/2 teaspoon dried italian spices (I used Mrs. Dash Italian Medley)
Salt & Pepper
Chopped parsley

1. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray, and place the two halves of spaghetti squash cut-side down. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until squash is tender. Set aside until cool enough to handle.
2. While squash is cooling, saute chicken with the italian spices and a little bit of the butter (or use olive oil, if you prefer). Set aside.
3. In the same pan, saute onions and carrots in the remaining butter until tender, adding garlic in the last minute or so. At the same time, shred squash flesh from the rind with a fork.
4. Add squash and chicken to onion mixture, cook until hot, stirring often. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Spring Picnic and a Big Fall

We went to an Easter Egg Hunt/Picnic on Saturday, hosted by CCM. It was a lot of fun, and a lot of people showed up! My contribution was fruit salad. I spent a good 2 hours cutting up pineapple, tangerines, strawberries, grapes, and apples- and the end result was freaking delicious if I do say so myself [although, at least some people agreed because it was all gone by the end ;-)].

Bella had a blast playing on the playground, and picking up candy-filled plastic eggs. She was very excited to get to have hot dogs- she ate two of them! o.O Plus two mini cupcakes, which ended up all over her face and sweatshirt. They had games, most of which she didn't quite get... but she did take an egg from the egg toss, smash it with a stick, and start 'cooking' it right there in the grass. LOL! They had one of those big parachutes with the handles around the edge; she had fun both holding the edge and moving it up and down, and sitting under it. Then someone busted out the bubbles, and that's where she stayed for the rest of the day. She loves to blow bubbles, and chase them! She was pretty shy around the other kids, but the next day she wouldn't stop asking to go back and play with her friends. Sweet girl!

(click on the picture to see full size)

That afternoon when we got home, Bella took a tumble down the stairs. :( I was in the kitchen and heard a thump, and I looked at the stairs expecting to see a toy that had been thrown down... but instead I saw her rolling. o.O I ran up there as fast as I could, but she was going slow and managed to stop herself about halfway down, before I got there. Poor baby was so scared, but luckily she only suffered a busted lip and some little bruises on her arms and legs. I had a mild heart attack when I saw all the blood in her mouth, but I must have hid it well because she thought it was pretty funny. What a goofball! The best I could get out of her was that she was carrying a little box with her teddy bear, and slipped because she wasn't holding on to the railing. :( She has been extra cautious on the stairs ever since though, thank goodness.

Wisdom Teeth

So, I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth pulled on Monday. Fun times. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be though! I was lucky in that none of them were impacted, so they only had to be pulled- no gum cutting or **cringe** digging out tooth fragments involved. Which is making for a fairly easy recovery, so far no swelling or extreme pain (*knock on wood*).

I originally wanted to do it awake, because I'd never been put under before and the whole idea freaked me out. But, because it was all four teeth, they would only do it with me being put to sleep- and in the end I'm glad of it! (I only say that because it went well.) It was the strangest feeling though, he told me he was putting the drug in the IV and told me to take some deep breaths. Breath 1, I was thinking "OhmygodI'mgoingtodie", breath 2 I was thinking about how the oxygen tube they put by my nose was cold and smelled funny, breath 3 I opened my eyes and somehow it was 40 minutes later, my sweatshirt and glasses were back on, Tong and Bella were standing in the doorway, and my mouth was numb as hell and stuffed full of gauze. We-eird! I'm almost positive I was dreaming while I was asleep, but I have no idea what about. I was pretty out of it until that afternoon- I only remember bits and pieces of the car ride home and I slept for a good 2 hours as soon as I hit the couch.

Bella has done really well with it all, and seemed to understand my simplified version of what was going on (Mommy has some teeth waaaaay in back that aren't supposed to be there, so the doctor is going to give her a shot to make her sleepy and take those teeth out, and it will hurt for a while, but then it will be all better). T told me later that Bella was super worried about me the whole time they were sitting in the waiting room. She kept asking about me, where I was, if I was ok, etc. I guess the nurses thought she was just the sweetest little thing (but who wouldn't? LOL). When they came back to see me, Bella ran up to the chair and gave me a hug as soon as I woke up. Later when we were at home, she came up to me, put a hand gently on my cheek, and said, "Ohhhh, Mommy, I sorry you have owies in your mouth. I go get my doctor kit and fix them for you?" And then today, T had to go back to work so I was tired and a little cranky, and by Bella's bedtime I was just beat, and snapped at her when she wasn't listening. She walks over to me, gives me a hug, and says, "It's ok Mommy, I understand you're tired." Gah! I practically burst into tears right there! How on earth did I get so lucky to have such an sweet, understanding, amazing little girl??

Middle of the night snuggles...

I went to bed late last night (3am), because I was at the end of a really good book and wanted to finish it. When I crawled into bed, a sweet little voice perked up, "Oh, you comin' back, Mommy?" I asked Bella what she was doing awake, and she said, "Nothin'." Then I asked her why she wasn't sleeping in her bed, and she said, "Ummmmm, nothin'." LOL!

So then, instead of going right back to sleep, she started telling me a story. I'm guessing it was something she was dreaming about before I came in and woke her up. She told me about a big tower, where the walls were super tall, and the fan was so high up that you couldn't even reach it! And there was some yucky, sticky tape way up high on the ceiling, hiding behind the fan. So she had to climb up there, way up high to the fan, so that she could get the baby butterfly that was stuck to the yucky, sticky tape. But then she got stuck, and didn't know how to get back down! Luckily, Mommy came to the rescue and helped her, and she got down safe and sound. Then she went to the window to set the butterfly free, so he could go and find his family. His mommy and daddy were so happy! It ended up being a good day in the super tall tower. ;-)

And then, right before we went to sleep, she snuggled up to me and said, "Mommy, I so happy you're my fam-a-lee."
Awwwwwww, just melt my heart, why don't you! :)