Busy Mamas

The other week we decided to have tacos but I didn’t feel like making the usual pre-packaged rice mix we usually do (Near East Spanish rice is awesome for a quick side dish).  I found this recipe in one of my many cookbooks (I have a cookbook problem - I have so many of them that I’ve got half my stash in storage right now).  This recipe comes from Dear SOS: Thirty Years of Recipe Requests to the Los Angeles Times by Rose Dosti.  The rice turned out great and I thought it was very interesting to cook it in the oven rather than the stove.  I’ll definitely be making this one again, especially since Dr. DreamyMcSteamy raved about it and I liked how it was much healthier than a packaged mix.

Acapulco-Los Arcos Mexican Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion
• 2 cups long grain rice
• 2 ounces lard or chicken fat (I used olive oil)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup tomato juice
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• Dash ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Dash white pepper

Directions:

Saute onion and rice in lard until lightly browned, 6 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly.  Turn into baking dish or casserole.

In large saucepan, combine chicken broth, tomato juice, tomatoes, parsley, garlic, cumin and salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Add broth mixture to  rice mixture.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or until rice is fluffy.  Use fork to fluff rice.  Let set 15 minutes before serving.  Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Tags: Acapulco-Los Arcos restaurant, Food and Recipes, los angeles, mexican, recipe, rice

Since there’s only a few weeks left before Halloween I figured I better start thinking about what kind of treats to give my daughter’s Kindergarten class.  I’ve found a number of great links while surfing the web and thought I’d share it with the other busy moms out there.  We’ll be taking a trip to Dallas soon and won’t get back until the day before Halloween, which means I don’t have much time to pull something together.  Eeek!

• Halloween Treat Pencil Pops by Skip to My Lou
• Halloween Treat Pouches (my favorite) by Savvy n Sassy
• Alternative Treat Ideas posted by Allergy Moms
• Sticks Mix by Better Homes and Gardens
• Spider Cupcakes (of course I had to mention my blogging partner Karen’s old post!)

Tags: class favors, halloween, holiday, ideas, School

Tags: bath time, shriveled, toes, wordless wednesday, wrinkled

Do you ever wonder about your kids’ little quirks and eccentricities?  Those things that they like to do all the time but for the life of you, can never figure out why (or if they’re just plain nuts)?  My son has this thing where he likes to smell me.  And I’m not talking about just a quick whiff while giving me a hug.  Whenever he gets the chance he’ll climb onto my lap and plant his nose on my neck or face and start sniffing away like a bloodhound at a crime scene.   Sometimes the sniffing is as loud as a Hoover and I have to push him off my lap because I have things that need to get done, and because, well, it’s enough already.  Besides, I don’t want this to become a regular habit.  I can’t imagine friends and future girlfriends indulging his olfactory obsession.

This quirk was something that always gave me chuckle but I never thought much about it until I read Kailani’s post at An Island Life about her daughter’s penchant for lining things up in a precise and orderly fashion.  It got me thinking about all the other cute but odd things kids do that must have their parents wondering “What the hell?”

The whole subject also reminded me of this site that I found through Fractured Toy (not that I’m saying our kids are neurotic).  Pretty funny stuff there.  Though it make me wonder how many of those things are posted by the same person.  Yikes!

So now, I’d like to know, do your kids have any quirks?

Tags: behavior, eccentricity, kids, odd, quirk

I recently received a bar of Bethesda Sunscreen Soap through the Family Review Network and was quite anxious to try it out.  According to the manufacturer, Bethesda Skincare, this product is an all-natural multi-vitamin soap with the added bonus of sun protection.  Simply washing with the soap will leave a residual layer of sunscreen (SPF 10) on your skin, protecting you from everyday exposure.  How cool is that?

This product appeals to me on so many levels:

• Living in Hawaii, we are constantly bombarded by the sun.  This means I should be applying sunscreen on the kids and myself (Dr. DreamyMcSteamy is old enough to fend for himself) before we leave the house every day, even if it’s just to go to school or work.  Unfortunately, I never do and I always feel guilty about it.  Okay, not always, but sometimes.  When I remember.  Which is never.  So even more so, I need this sunscreen soap!  Of course when we go the beach or park I’ll slather the kids with SPF 956, but for everyday use this is perfect.
• The ingredients are all-natural.  Which means no phthlates or weird stuff.
• The soap contains tons of vitamins and minerals including vitamin A, C and E, selenium and zinc.  All great for promoting healthy skin and doesn’t dry out Lizard Boy’s scaly hide (the pediatrician has suggested nothing stronger than Cetaphil or Dove and this works perfectly for his sensitive skin).
• It smells great.  If you love that spa aromatherapy scent, this is the soap for you!  My daughter thinks the smell is “delectable” (yes, she said that).  But then what can you expect from a Drama Queen Princess with champagne taste?  You can bet her father is very worried about the teen years.

Tags: bethesda, family review network, review, soap, sunscreen

Alright, I know what you’re thinking - this is yet another mention about Tooth Tunes.  What can I say, I really like the product.  Dr. DreamyMcSteamy and I even gave them as favors for our daughter’s 5th birthday party last week.  That’s what you can expect going to a dentist’s kid’s birthday - oral hygiene products.  At least it wasn’t a case of floss or something!

This post will be short because we have another Tooth Tunes toothbrush to giveaway!  This time it’s their newest Turbo version with improved sound technology.  Like the original model, the Turbo toothbrush plays 2 minutes of music while you brush, encouraging you to brush longer and (hopefully) better.

Post a comment here telling us what kind of toothbrush you use right now (just because I’m curious) by October 13th and a winner will be randomly selected.

Related Posts:

• Tooth Tunes Junior
• Tooth Tunes Toothbrush

Tags: giveaway, high school musical, tooth tunes, toothbrush

Talk about a quick and simple meal - it doesn’t get any easier than this! I was running late from picking the kids up after work so I called Dr. DreamyMcSteamy to see if he could start dinner.  Although he knows his way around the kitchen, he doesn’t cook very often.  He cooked quite a bit when we were dating, but it’s funny how once the courting and wooing stage is over the men seem to forget how to turn on the stove. I wasn’t expecting a lot of progress by the time I got home, but told him the ground turkey was thawing in the fridge and the recipe was in the Dear S.O.S: Thirty Years of Recipe Requests to the Los Angeles Times cookbook by Rose Dosti.

Would you believe that in the time it took me to drive 15 minutes, get the kids upstairs (with one meltdown along the way), get changed out of my work clothes, and get my son onto the potty, dinner was ready? Of course it’s not fine dining pasta, but it was fast, cheap and tasted pretty darn good.  Especially since I didn’t have to cook and there was only one pot to wash!

Skillet Spaghetti

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef (I used turkey)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce or enchilada sauce
• 3 cups hot water
• 7 ounces spaghetti (I used whole wheat spaghetti)
• 1 (1 1/2-ounce) package spaghetti seasoning mix

Directions:

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown beef, onion and garlic in oil, stirring now and then.  Add tomato sauce, water, uncooked spaghetti and seasoning mix.  Cover and simmer 30 minutes, or until spaghetti is tender, stirring occasionally.  Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Tags: easy, Food and Recipes, los angeles times, pasta, recipe, spaghetti

Tags: beach, hawaii, oahu, sandy beach, sea creatures, tidepools, wordless wednesday

This afternoon, after I picked my daughter up from Kindergarten, she asked me “When I have a baby in my tummy, how is it going to get out?” First of all, why are we even talking about a baby in HER tummy? After I gulped a couple of times and wiped the fine layer of sweat that gathering on my forehead I said the first thing that came to my mind: “Hmm?  What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”  I thought about stalling a little longer, or playing the dropped cell phone card with her (What?  What?  Sorry, you’re breaking up.  Let me call you back!), but figured that’s not what a good parent would do.  Plus, she’s not stupid.

She repeated her question again then added, “Does the doctor take the baby out through the tummy?”  I was relieved.  “Yes, sometimes the doctor has to cut the tummy open and take the baby out.”  I tried to change the subject but she persisted.  “So the baby doesn’t always come out through the tummy?”  Drat.  “No…babies come out through the tummy when there is a problem and the doctor has to get the baby out right away.”  (Please… change the subject, change the subject.)  “So if it doesn’t come out the tummy, how does it get out?” Damn. Layer of sweat pops up on the brow again. Flashes of Karen’s tunnel answer zips through my mind. “Ummm, the baby comes out through the vagina.”  “What’s a bagina?”  After I explain to her what a “bagina” is I hear hysterical laughter from the back seat and she says, “How does a baby come out of THERE?”  “Umm, the mommy pushes and it just pops out.”  “Like making doo doo?”  (what is it with her and doo doo?)  “Yeah, sort of.”

Thank God that was enough to satisfy her curiosity.  I wanted to ask what got her on the subject to begin with but felt it was safer to leave well enough alone.  I certainly was not ready to answer the dreaded “How does the baby get into the tummy?” question. I’m planning to be out of town when that whole sex-ed extravaganza occurs so daddy can field the Q&A session.

Tags: birth, explanation, kids, pregnancy

We recently received a Flame Angelfish SeaPals for my son and he was thrilled (partly because it was a fish, and partly because, well, it was a toy).  If you haven’t seen them in the stores lately, SeaPals is a line of web-interactive plush sea creatures that is perfect for the budding marine biologist.  Much like Webkinz, each SeaPals comes with a secret code that allows you to log on to the website where you can create a virtual aquarium for your plush pets.  You can personalize your tank, feed your creatures and keep their home nice and clean.

What I like about the SeaPals site is that when you get bored with your tank you can take your creature out for a swim in the open ocean to play games and learn about the different marine life and habitats you encounter.  It’s a cool educational toy and a great way to teach the kids about the ocean!

Tags: gifts, review, toys, web interactive