life, currently.

well, i'm now a stay at home mom. feels weird to say. it's my goal to blog more often, or at all, now that i'm not working.

i'm currently doing that from the top stair, outside micah's room. because that's how my life is right now. oh, and i'm serenaded by a mix of crying and climbing and talking and singing.

just so you can glimpse into my world, here's my night/morning:

8 pm: micah to bed in new room.

1030 pm: micah crying. put micah to bed again.

115 am: micah PLAYING. and unable to fall back asleep, even with both of us trying, until 3 am.

730 am: micah walks out of room. and i get up. and decide no swim lessons. because we'd be leaving at 8 and i just can't.

8-1230 pm: play. sing "let it go" about 20 times. say "no" to the request for cookie, outside (it's raining), park, zoo, veggie tales (about 1000 times), etc. go to the OB doctor, hold him while listening to baby's heart beat (really.)... have him offer guacamole to everyone he sees... yelling loudly every animal and animal sound he can think of, then alternating with counting and abc's. get home, handyman is waiting to fix the siding on our house that's falling off. change a big poopy diaper. feed lunch. 

1 pm: naptime = fight time. try to get him to relax and sleep. he just wants to play. i give up, leave room, shut door to him climbing and yelling "mommyyyy" in his silly voice.

ah, how life has changed. no more teaching elementary. no more baby... other than the one growing inside. and that baby boy is always kicking me to make sure i know that i've got round two coming soon. 

all of the sudden, we've got a full-blown toddler who touches his wee-wee in public and talks about it and throws a fit when he doesn't get cookies whenever he wants them.

all that to say, life is good. 

here are pictures to prove it.

our life in recent days!

first up, micah's first trip to the zoo!

moving on up, no more high chair: we all sit together like a civilized family. but one of us eats with his hands mostly.

speaking of civilized. lemonade straight from the pitcher. i don't know.

matt and i still love each other, so that's good. tigers game double date!

petting zoo. hand in goats mouth. whatever. 

pick your battles, right?

pool time with micah's pal, graham. i know. they look thrilled.

but really, they love pools!

first ice cream cone. i think the eyes are closed from pure delight. fast forward 5 seconds: running everywhere, YELLING "hi, hi, hi, hiiiii!" to everyone he saw.

ah, the big boy bed. someday, it will be less stressful. someday.

not pictured: lots of fun parties, dinners with friends, time with family, my brother getting married (we don't have the pictures... ah! need to get them ASAP!), end of the school year with students. etc.

and one recipe for you... a great one!
basil pasta with sundried tomatoes!

ingredients:

sundried tomatoes

basil pesto

pasta (we use the shell kind for this one!)

mozzarella cheese

parmesan cheese

asparagus

chicken (optional)

eggs

normally, you'd eat this right away, not in pyrex... 

what to do:

• mix asparagus and olive oil/salt on a baking sheet and roast in the oven until crisp, then cut into one-inch pieces
• cook up the pasta (and chicken, if you want)
• mix in a big serving bowl as much pesto as you like as well as the sundried tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese.
• add in the asparagus and mix
• then, if you're brave, fry an egg (over-medium or so) and lay it on top--the yolk acts as a juice for the pasta, too. we normally only do that if we didn't add chicken--a great meatless (thus cheap!) dish.

fun. and food. and fun food.

first, fun.

 micah taking a bath. sir splash a lot.

oh, so many jokes that could be made.

so little time.

let's just say... he loves all sorts of milk jugs.

i apologize. i just couldn't help myself. he walked into that one, right?

 matt's an m.d. and has a cool white coat.

i got micah an art table. 

for an amazing price at a resale shop... 

even though it was brand new.

bam.

and i made an art piece for our living room!

lyrics from come thou fount.

one of my favorites... and we had it in our wedding!

i stenciled each letter on the canvas. 

one by one, taping them down.

with regular acrylic paint and a sponge brush.

you should make one.

but, beware, it takes a while.

now, food.

two new things...

1. baked fajitas.

so good! from here.

2. chocolate chip cookie bars.

i forgot to take a picture.

but holy cow... they're good. and a huge perk of cookie bars? one batch. so much easier than a bunch of batches of cookies!

i got the recipe from here.

last, but not least... fun food.

matt randomly got a night off. 

instant reaction: babysitter!

apparently, the restaurant is known for fried pickles.

i know.

but how could we not try them?

turns out... they're delicious.

but be warned. you will bloat. it may not be pretty. but it will be worth it.

 the burger we split?

topped with pulled pork, cheese, and coleslaw.

say whaaaat.

 as it turns out, life as a stay at home mom can be pretty grand.

phew.

a few new eats.

i have cooked a little in the new kitchen.

here are a few delicious new ones.

honey sesame chicken.

this one is straight from pinterest.

except i didn't have enough honey... so just know that it can be good with less honey.

i got the recipe from here.

it's a crock pot recipe. as it turns out, many crock pot recipes don't actually allow you to work all day and let things go at home. this one only cooked for a few hours... i'm still not sure how that's all supposed to work with crock pots.

but i digress.

 and peanut butter oatmeal cookies.

these were GOOD.

check it out. from here.

i've eaten more than any one person should.

but hey, i'm breastfeeding.

the more calories, the better. right?

enjoy!

catching up.

our life has gotten crazy.

we're moving.

but we don't know where... so we're trying to buy a house? 

maybe? if we can?

or rent. either way... houses are taking up a lot of time.

plus matt's crazy schedule.

and mine.

and a baby.

so, here are some snapshots from what's been happening in the ebright household.

shrimp scampi.

basically, about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter, along with a clove or two of garlic. saute that and add shrimp, a teaspoon or so of oregano and maybe even 2 teaspoons basil. squirt in a bit of lemon juice, too.

cook it through and add a bunch of cooked pasta. 

mix in 1/2 cup parm.

reallllly great!

 quinoa pizza bites.

1/2 c. uncooked quinoa.

1 egg.

1/2 cup mozz

1 teaspoon garlic

1 tablespoon basil (i used freeze dried, which acts like fresh)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

a little salt.

optional ingredients: pepperoni or ham (we used ham.).

cook the quinoa, mix everything together, put into muffin tins and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

tips: double this. for two people, we were still a bit hungry after. also, make sure to spray the tins--these little guys stick a lot. dip them in pizza sauce, too. yummm.

other things in my life?

this child of mine is growing like crazy. and sharing chairs with bailey the puggle.

giving up and giving thanks.

here in the ebright household, we're making a few dietary changes for lent.

and focusing on thanking God for what we have.

thus, we aren't able to make a lot of the foods we normally eat. 

so, recipe central.

best fajitas everrrr.

actually got chicken blackened to perfection.

here's the process 

(you probably already know this, but it was shockingly new to me. judgement-free zone. like at planet fitness.)

1. create this seasoning in a bowl: 1 tbsp cornstarch, 2 teaspoons chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon cumin.

2. put peppers in a ziploc with a little olive oil and mix around... then add a little seasoning and mix around.

3. cook those suckers up!

4. put chicken in another bag with olive oil and mix around more seasoning.

5. take the veggies out, put chicken in, cook and then combine.

6. check out the blackening like a restaurant, love your life, and put it in a whole wheat tortilla with lots-o-veggies.

7. love your life some more.

"peanut butter cup ice cream"

not really. most of that name is a lie.

2 frozen bananas, 1 tablespoon natural crunchy peanut butter, 1 teaspoon cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk.

emulsify that sucker.

i made three batches and put it in a container to be scoopable later!

or, eat immediately as a smoothie.

either way, delish.

breakfast "cookies"

... more like baked oatmeal in cookie form!

this one is straight from pinterest... i can't take credit. 

but i will add my opinion--really good, as long as you don't go into this thinking "cookie."

3 bananas, 1/4 cup almond milk, 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1/2 cup raisins, 2 cups oats (i did old fashioned steel cut, not quick oats), 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. mix it all together and scoop it like cookies on a baking sheet.

bake at 350 for 15 minutes or so.

**a few notes: 

spray the pan. with no butter, these suckers STICK. also, flatten them to cookie shape... they don't change shape one bit while baking :).**

you could also add nuts or other fruit in these easily!

last recipe...

cheesy chicken quinoa

simple and delish...

cook 1 cup of quinoa, one chicken breast and a bit of broccoli

mix it all together, add 1 teaspoon salt and a bit of cheddar cheese and 1/4-1/2 cup soy milk.

mix, put in a baking dish, cover with a layer of cheese and bake at 350 for 10-15 min.

easy and great!

enjoy!

becoming fatties...

our love for food may be unhealthy.

but we do. oh so much.

once metabolism slows down, we're going to be huge.

check out these recent finds:

philly steak green pepper:

basically, just saute roast beef with garlic, put a piece of cheese in the pepper, then the beef, then the cheese on top!  

bake at 400 for 15 minutes or so.

 sweet and sour chicken:

chicken:

-cut 2 chicken breasts into small cubes

-coat each piece with corn starch (i put the pieces in a ziploc with about 1/4 cup corn starch to get them coated)

-dip in egg (i used 1 beaten egg and actually poured it into the ziploc and mixed it around).

-heat 1/3 cup oil and cook chicken, sprinkling a little salt on it

-put in baking dish, cover with about 1/2 the sauce, and cook at 350 for 15 minutes. then mix it up and bake for 15 more minutes.

sauce:

3/4 cup white sugar

4 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon salt

about 1/8 cup apple cider vinegar

about 1/8 cup rice vinegar

(this makes double sauce, half to pour for the baking time and then more to use for dipping!)

we also had asian green beans (just cooked with rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and olive oil) and rice. 

one of the better things i've ever made!

also, i forgot to take a picture, but i made some decently good 

apple oatmeal muffins...

here's the recipe:

mix 2 eggs, 3/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup applesauce. stir in (just a little) 1 cup flour, 1 cup quick oats, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon cinnamon. add in 2 cups of apples (no skin). 

divide into greased muffin tins, bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.

eat it up.

calories, smalories. right?!

FOOD. our favorite.

these days, i'm a working mom.

so, meals have to be delicious (because we hate boring), not be something that later micah will scream about when he gets his part, and be quick.

check out these new ones:

 taco pockets. 

basically, biscuits wrapped around taco meat and cheese. 

surprisingly delicious! and oh so easy.

 baked tilapia tacos.

breaded the tilapia with bread crumbs and lime juice, then baked the fillets for about 12 minutes at 350.

the slaw is red cabbage, white balsamic vinegar, lime juice, and a little bit of mayo mixed together.

it would be best with a fruit salsa (like pineapple?) on top, we thought.

but still pretty dang good.

 baked salmon.

fresh salmon, salt and pepper, oregano, lemon juice, rubbed with a little olive oil.  cooked in a foil packet at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.

lemon dill sauce: about 1/4 cup miracle whip, about 1 teaspoon or so of lemon juice, about 1-1 1/2 teaspoons dill weed (i used dried, so much more if it's fresh), and about 1 1/2 teaspoons dijon mustard (make sure this is done to taste, because it could be overwhelming if you get too much).

holy yum.

other meals as of late:

ham and cheese made delicious by putting it into a croissant and into the toaster oven. so easy. so crazy good.

bbq chicken pizza: we discovered that with a little red onion and cilantro and a multigrain crust (added to the pineapple and chicken), it becomes ridiculously delicious.

eat it up.