Hooked on Cracks

Sarah loves crackers these days. She loves the independence of carrying them around with her as she is on the move, and taking her own bites as she pleases. Crackers are a marvelous invention!

David and I have taken to calling them "cracks." We like to say, "Gee Sarah, you sure are a cracks fiend!" or "You need to manage your cracks addiction!" I know it is stupid and kind of bad to make drug-themed jokes about your infant, but what can I say. This is just the kind of sense of humor David and I have. :)

An illustration of Sarah's love for "cracks." This afternoon, I'd given Sarah 3 crackers as a snack. I'd left the pack of crackers out on the kitchen counter because, well, I am lazy sometimes. She was happily eating her cracks, as far as I knew, so I was a few feet away on my computer. Suddenly I hear the sound of plastic packaging smacking the ground. I look and Sarah has managed to pull the cracker package off the counter and she is sitting on the floor of the kitchen double fisting her cracks! She just can't get enough cracks. :)

What Have We Been Up To?

I realized yesterday its been 2 weeks since my last post! Yikes! Its so easy to get out of the habit of doing this a couple times a week. To be honest, I have also gotten out of the habit of taking pictures every day, but I have taken a few and I realized that the pictures I do have illustrate pretty well some of the things that have been going on in our life here the last couple of weeks. So, what have we been up to?

Let's start with Sarah. She is still very much into sitting in things these days--her toy box, laundry baskets, etc. In this case, she brought the 2-liter Pepsi bottle in there with her. Just for kicks. :)
She's also VERY into climbing. She can climb onto the sofa, and even on to the back of the sofa, all by herself. Mom is overjoyed. Seriously. But she LOVES climbing, the higher the better. I spend a large proportion of my day trying to keep her from injuring herself.
We've also dealt with another leaky pipe in our laundry room. This is the third time this year. And by year, I mean 2010!! As of today, its all fixed. How long till another pipe bursts? I am taking bets now. 2 weeks? 6 weeks? I know, I am a little cynical about this. Pray for me. :)
Sarah and I have been going on walks most afternoons. My favorite place to go for a walk is a nearby campus where David used to study language. Recently, all the trees were in bloom and it was absolutely breathtaking!!!
I know Sarah doesn't look too enthused in this picture, but she actually really enjoys these walks! She sings to herself and swings her feet back and forth in the stroller. She loves all the animals we usually see. Like this rooster:
And these puppies! We saw these just yesterday, and I just had to whip out my camera for some photos. So cute!
Just look at this little guy. I was seriously, seriously tempted. Doesn't he just look like he wants to go home with me? But I exercised restraint. Plus, it was starting to rain and Sarah and I had to book it home, fast! We literally just got inside our apartment stairwell when it started to pour! (Praise the Lord for the rain, by the way--it was the first in over 7 months!!!)
And here is the cash we used to buy our place tickets home to the States this summer! Woo Hoo!
Yes, that is a serious stack of cash. Don't worry, we actually got a pretty good deal on our tickets. But the largest denomination of currency they have here is basically a $12 bill. So, imagine buying 2.1 (2 adult tickets and 1 infant ticket for 10% of the full fare) international plane tickets with $12 bills, and you are looking at quite a wad of cash!

So, those are some of the things we have been doing these days! What have YOU been up to?

Mischief

Is this sweet little angel capable of creating mischief?
You'd better believe she is! Sarah has entered a whole new stage of development--apparently the stage where everyday she comes up with new ways to cause trouble and wreak havoc.

For example, ripping pages out of mom's parenting book . . .

Squeezing herself into tight little places, like in between the couch and the end table.
Here she is realizing maybe it was not such a good idea to squeeze herself in between the couch and the end table:

Playing with household cleaning objects. Here she is with the broom and dustpan (fairly inocuous), but today I caught her playing with the pledge can, which I literally have no idea how she got a hold of because I keep all the cleaning products locked up . . .

The broom and dustpan make her very, very happy apparently.
Other recent mischievous acts include splashing in the toilet water and, my "favorite" (quotes=sarcasm), gagging herself. She learned how to gag herself on David's birthday as I was busily working on making a nice dinner to celebrate and she decided she was not getting enough attention. She'd stick 3 fingers down her throat, gag and then laugh hysterically to herself. Over and over. Yesterday she was finally "successful" in making herself vomit up her breakfast. She found this hilarious.

Thankfully, all this mischief sure does make for a sound napper these days!!
My little angel. :)

Soccer Girl

This is the cutest thing!

David just walked in, so excited to tell me that the U.S. is the current front runner to host the World Cup in 2022. He told me the last time the U.S. hosted was in 1994, he was 13 years old, and his dad took him to one of the games.

He asked, "Do you know how old Sarah will be in 2022??!"

Thirteen. Daddy's soccer girl. How cute that David's already dreaming of the things they will do together!

Doner Kebab

So, David and I have been in a serious dinner rut recently. I cook here quite a bit, though not every night, but recently we've just been tired of my old stand-bys. This past week, I tried 3 new recipes, and 2 came out amazing, and one just OK. Anyway, tonight I made something new that was particularly easy and particularly outstanding, so even though I don't usually put recipes on here, this one I just had to share!
When we were in Thailand this year, our good friends who were vacationing with us, Graham and Ashlei Warren, introduced us to the deliciousness that is the Doner Kebab. You can buy doner kebab on the street in Thailand at touristy places like the beach. It is sooooo good. Now, you might be thinking, from what I just told you, that doner kebab is some sort of Thai food. You'd be wrong. From what I can tell on the internet, it is originally from Turkey, but possibly perfected by the Pakistanis, to become currently the #1 most popular fast food in Germany. And since those Germans, and so many other Europeans, have such a fondness for vacations in Thailand, the doner kebab is of course available there.
I have only ever tried the Thai version, which is, I am sure, very bastardized. The real thing, from what I have heard, uses lamb which is slow roasted and I am sure it is incredible. The version I have had uses chicken, but it is still crazy good. Also, I am using tortillas to wrap these in, but the real thing uses pita (Turkey) or naan (Pakistan), so use those if they are available to you. Also, no sticks involved. :) Anyway, this is definitely going to become an easy-dinner staple in the Dean household!

Doner Kebab

Serves 4

1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2-3 chicken breasts, uncooked and chopped into very small pieces
1 fresh tomato, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup chopped lettuce
mayo
8 small/medium sized tortillas

• Combine first 7 ingredients in medium size bowl. Add chopped raw chicken and stir to combine. Marinate in refrigerator one hour.

• Put 2 skillets on range or use a griddle. Heat one skillet to med/high heat. Add chicken and marinade and sitr-fry 4-5 minutes or till chicken is cooked. Spray second skillet with cooking spray and heat to med/high.

• Spread a tortilla with 1 tsp mayo. Add a spoonful of cooked chicken, some lettuce, tomato and onion. Fold tortilla to form a little packet and place in heated skillet seam side down. Cook 1-2 min on each side or till gold brown. Repeat to make 8 kebabs.

The marinade I adapted from this recipe on RecipeZaar. The rest I just copied from watching the way they made them at the little stalls in Thailand. Anyway, fellow doner kebab lovers, let me know what you think of my version!

The Best One

Today is my wonderful husband David's 29th birthday! For those of you who know him, you know that means he is now two years beyond what he always thought would be the "best age of your life"--27--when he was growing up. But from my standpoint, David is a fine wine that is getting better and better with age, and our life together only gets better as the years go by! So, this is my tribute to David, my soulmate and best friend. Just a few things that I love about him:

• His sense of humor. David makes me laugh every single day. Whether its his nearly daily creation of a new ridiculous nickname for me or Sarah, or showing me the latest funny you tube video or stand-up comedian, or simply saying something hilarious, David brings so much joy and laughter to my life. Let's face it, life can get really serious sometimes but David always brings an element of fun to everything he is involved in.
• His intelligence. All of you who know David know I married a crazy smart guy. Crazy smart. David is a very analytical thinker, and there is no end to the interesting and engaging conversations (debates?) you can have with him. He reads voraciously (mostly on the internet, but still), so he is generally very knowledgeable on everything from current events to what kind of reviews the latest movie or video game is getting. He also has an amazing vocabulary, so whenever I don't know what some word actually means I can count on him to explain it to me. Seriously, the guy is like an SAT prep book incarnate.
• His integrity. David is a man who absolutely sticks to his word. If he commits to something, he considers it a done deal and never even considers backing out. He is probably the one person most committed to keeping their promises that I have ever met.
• His authenticity. David hates any sort of false pretention and has no desire that anyone see him as anything other than who he really is. When he is struggling, he will be the first to tell you. No sugar-coating, especially when it comes to himself. I think this is something God has blessed him with, especially in ministry, as people find him approachable and relateable.
  
• He's a wonderful Dad. David has the most tender, loving heart when it comes to our precious daughter. She is the apple of his eye, and he just lights up whenever he is around her. But he also manages to be extravagantly loving, but not indulgent. He can firmly show Sarah where the boundaries are, but always with utmost patience and kindness.
• He's perfect for me. Where I care way too much about what others think, he helps me take that less seriously. When I am anxious and over-stressed and worried about something, he helps me gain perspective. When I want to compromise or give up, he is uncompromising and persistent. The yin to my yang. :)

Did I mention he is cute too? Happy birthday my love! I am so thankful that you are the one God has given me to spend my life with.

13 Months

Wow, its been a while since I have posted! Guess I got out of the habit on vacation, and then our internet was not working for over a week, but now everything is back on track, so hopefully my blogging will get back up to speed as well.
Today as I was watching Sarah eat her lunch, I thought to myself that I really need to record what Sarah is like these days. Very soon all of the new little discoveries she is making every day will just seem old hat, and I really want to remember the wonder and interest that she is showing in her world at this stage. Thirteen months is a really fun time!!
Sarah is discovering that the sounds and noises around her come from somewhere, so its been fun watching her try to figure out when something is coming through the speakers. When we were on the plane the other day, every time the flight attendant came over the P.A., she would look up to the speaker as if asking, "Is there a lady up there?" Today, similarly, at lunch she was dancing to the music coming through the speakers at McDonalds, but also continually looking up in the direction the music was coming from trying to find the source. So cute!!
Since she started walking a month or so ago (yes, I have video of this and, yes, I plan on posting some!), she has gotten really into sitting on things. Ironic, I know, but I guess until you can stand up and walk over to something on your own, you can't really sit on it. So these days she sits on her toys, sits on boxes of wipes, sits on books, pulls pillows off the sofa and sits on them. Similarly, she likes standing on all of the same things, which is problematic for me because she is learning the concept of a stepping stool, and she's reaching things I wish were out of her reach.
Also, Sarah thinks stairs are the coolest thing in the whole world. She can't go up or down on her own, which she thankfully knows, so every time she sees stairs she wants me to hold her hand and help her climb up and down, over and over. So fun!

Sarah's not really talking, in terms of saying actual words besides "Mamamama" and "Hieee Daddeee!!" But, she is talking her own little nonsense language, and it is adorable as can be. She'll look at you and say a whole bunch of different sounds strung together with the same inflection as a normal sentence, and you just know she is telling you something, though no telling what it is. She also sings. Usually its when she hears some music playing around her, or often when she is in her crib before she's fallen asleep for a nap, but sometimes she just randomly starts singing for no other apparent reason besides happiness. :)
Sarah loves dogs. Every time she sees one she catches her breath, points to it, and stares fixedly at it. Then she will usually make some kind of high-pitched noises, which I say is Sarah trying to talk to the doggies. We don't usually let her get too close to them, but one time on vacation I was holding Sarah and let her pat a puppy. Before I realized what had happened, she had grabbed the hair on the puppy's back and picked it up and was "patting" the puppy on the face. Thankfully, the puppy was as stunned as I was and didn't react to Sarah's aggressive love, but I learned my lesson! For now, Sarah and dogs have a "look but don't touch" relationship.

Wow, there are so many more cute things that she is doing these things that I absolutely love, but this is all I will post for now. I am so blessed!!!