Chicken Cashew Lettuce Wraps

I made a quick easy version of chicken lettuce wraps and they were yummy.
Here is my recipe if anyone wants to try it. (Yes this time I wrote it down after it tasted so good.)

*Add more or less of ingredients to make amount you need. All my recipes are dump-in so feel free to adjust amounts, I am only guesing.

Rotisery chicken--Disgaurd skin & pick off chicken and cut into bite size pieces. (Depending on how much you want to make use all or some of chicken, I used less than half the chicken and there was enough for two persons.)
Four green onions-diced
Three or four stalks celery-diced
Half carton portabella mushrooms-sliced
Half carton of pea pods-diced
soy sauce
peanut sauce
generous handful of cashews
One head of lettuce--clean and carefully unwrap the large leaves using them for your wraps.
dash red pepper flakes
olive oil 2 T.

Put olive oil in deep fry pan add celery saute a couple minutes then add mushrooms saute another two minutes. Add onions & pea pods saute about another three to four minutes. Add chicken. Put in about 1 T. of soy sauce and 1-2 T. of peanut sauce. Add dash of red pepper flakes. Saute two minutes if needed...don't over cook...then toss in cashews.
Wrap mixture in the large lettuce leaves--roll and eat.

dinner & a movie

Last night Pilar came to dinner. I mixed up a concoction a bit like a meatloaf but with very different seasonings and made them into balls then I put a pocket in them and filled the pocket with Gorgonzola cheese then baked them. I also made a mashed potatoes of both regular and sweet potatoes. Then we watched an old favorite movie of mine, The Out of Towners. Pilar loved it and borrowed it to watch with Monica. During the movie we had cheese cake with strawberries and chocolate with coffee for desert. Big mistake! The coffee kept me up all all night. Pilar left at 12:30 a.m. and I stayed up until 2:30 because she forgot her phone. Which is her life line! I kept thinking she would realize she left it and come back. Finally I went to bed where I laid awake all night. At 7:00 she showed up to get her phone, I was sewing, luckily the dog heard her knock. Except for that we had a great night! I think we could talk forever (or at least a long long time) and not run out of things to say. Next weekend we are going to repeat but watch The Goodbye Girl!

By the way the meatloaf thing...was okay, interesting, but not great so as my Dad would say, "we'll have no more of that!"

new car curse

There must be a new car curse:

So many people have car accidents in the first few months-usually not their fault. Jess, Crystal, Shannon & Jon to name a few. (All accidents were being rear ended by another vehicle.)

Or you take your car out and park it in the farthest spot at the mall where no other cars are and yet...you get your first door-ding!

Or you have just finished washing, waxing and drying, it for the tenth time in a week and a pigeon poos all over it!

Or you are dying of thirst and even though you have a NO FOOD OR DRINK rule you relent and will be sooo careful...and then the "big slurp" you buy has a faulty bottom! Has it happened to you? It happened to me! (An X boy friends brand new truck...was he mad?...well he is an X boy friend need I say more.)

New Car Curse...moral of the story...buy used!

Ant dance

I have had ants in my kitchen. I have ants out side. I have heard of ants in your pants.
But this is the first time I've heard of ants in your mail. Yep, picked up my mail yesterday and ants were crawling all over it. I had to get the spray and give the box a good long coating. I had to spray the actual mail and make the ants dance before dying. Now we will see what the mail man delivers today. If he is eating chocolate and getting it on my mail...no Christmas bonus for him this year!

Random thoughts

Channel 11 on the big TV with DVR has the voices not matching the lips...I hate that so I came upstairs...thought I'd blog. This TV works fine.

Every one who reads this tell everyone you know who is having a baby to put the "Sleep Sheep" on their gift registry. That thing is a God Send. (Thanks Jess!) It plays water rhythms, whale sounds etc. Rylee has it attached to her at all times. When you try to calm her down to sleep you hold it and her and rock. When I put her down I set it right next to her ear and when the timer goes off I quickly turn it back on or she wakes up within a minute. I am buying it for every new mother I know. Love it!

I am doing something I never did when Shannon was a baby-no time I guess-putting pictures into a photo album. (I mean I did some but most of the photos are in a box.) This time I am going to do better. I might even scrapbook. God forbid, I swore I'd never do that, but that was before I was a new Grandma.

Angel is sleeping behind me and making weird little noises. I take it either she is running from a big scary dog or she is sitting in a big box of Cherios...eating her way out!

Tonight I semi cleaned the house. It isn't spotless but it is a lot better than it was. It wouldn't pass the white glove test but on the other hand you can't write your name on the furniture in dust.

Have a good one.............

Daddys

Mom 2 ET commented that Daddy's have their own special power especially with a little girl. It got me thinking...how true. I hope Rylee's Daddy will be the kind of dad mine was.

My Dad could pull off my band-aids with no pain. He could extract loose teeth with ease. Once when I got a fishing lure hooked by my eye I insisted he take it out himself rather than taking me to the doctor--so he pushed the barb through, cut it off with pliers and pulled it back through. Mom was horrified but I never even cried. More than once he sat by my bed while I slept, trying to swat a pesky mosquito that was buzzing around my head. In my teen years he would come and pick me up when I called and said "I got in over my head"...whenever and wherever, he never ask questions. He was the one I could go to, no matter what bone- headed thing I did. (And there were quite a few.)
He was my soft place to fall...........God, I miss you Dad.

Sweet Baby

Last night while babysitting, Rylee had an restless night. Her tummy was upset so I was holding her on my shoulder and rubbing her back. I she kept holding her head up and looking at me like why are you doing this to me??? Even in her obvious discomfort she was looking at me so sweetly I just kept thanking God for her. Then she had a blasting poo! After cleaning her up I thought she would feel better but it was not to be. About 30 minutes later her mommy and daddy came home and her daddy walked her and settled her down. So maybe it was his good mojoe or maybe she was feeling better but either way I hope she had a good nights sleep.

Observations

Shannon looks so great for being two weeks post delivery. I forgot how skinny she was. She is wearing her pre pregnancy capris and everything. She is looking completely back to normal except for the hooters of course and a bit of left over skin on the tummy that was stretched out to the max. Now if she wasn't still coughing and sleep-walking she might feel like her old self again.

I found out that Angel can be a good dog when she wants to be. She gaurds the baby, sleeps right next to her, and is attentive to her every move. She lets us know if we aren't paying attention. Rio on the other hand sleeps by the front door and gaurds the house. So both dogs are doing their job.

Being born during hurricane season must influence babies in more ways than one...because Rylee goes off like a hurricane spout when she wakes up and wants food. I hear stirring behind me now...winds will soon be in excess of 150 miles per hour--and that is one observation you can take to the bank! I can almost her her saying, "gramma get that bottle ready!"

The Night Shift

Rylee is not giving her parents the gift of a good nights sleep. So last night they finally took me up on my offer of the Night Shift. I came at midnight and let Shannon sleep. Rylee and I had a fun night and I got caught up on late night TV. She was very good as long as you had all night to devote to her. Then today I stayed until around 3:00 pm. Just a bit too long. I was there long enough to help Shannon clean up a blast of a poop that basically went--well, everywhere. (I managed to leave before blast #2 of #2 hit.) Then I came home to catch up on my sleep. I will get there early tomorrow morning and see if Shannon can get a morning nap in. Between the delivery etc. She hasn't sleep much for 10 days. After one night I admit it, I am going to fall into bed. I forgot how exhausting those first few weeks can be. Jon and Shannon cope very well...but then they are young. Thank goodness I can be here to help spell them a bit. If you don't have to do it all on your own...why should you! But for those who have to...more power to you!

One & One

One week and one day since my little darling, Rylee was born. She is what a little girl should be-Sugar and Spice. She is as sweet as cane sugar and as spicy as red pepper, she is purely herself. Shannon is such a wonderful mom (of course I knew she would be) and Rylee responds to her in the way a baby does only with their mommy. It is so special & beautiful to watch. Jon is such a capable dad just like Mr. Mom. I would have expected nothing less. I am just there to fill in the blanks and I enjoy every moment with Rylee, to all the wonderful days and special things we will do together...I can't wait!

Bed Buddies

I have slept with undesirable creatures in my time. (No not men.) But when I was a baby a weasel crawled in my crib and my mom almost had heart failure getting me out of there. Then there has been an occasional dog who got fleas in the bed. But last night topped it all...when I made the bed today a cockroach fell on the floor!
How excited do you think I am to go to sleep tonight?

Rosy Babies

This is a belated thought/question but isn't Florida smokefree? For places with food? Because when we went to Rosy Babies there was a couple guys with cigs.
Also did anyone else gets the "trots" that night besides Venessa and me? Too bad because I wanted to go back but not sure now...

Thoughts and observations

9/11
Happy anniversary Jon and Shannon!
Happy birthday to Pete back in MN.

I just thought of something...Shannon won her own money pot for the baby date, she was closest with 9/9! Good Job!

Rylee has a short fuse. As Shannon put it she goes from contented to pissed in under 10 seconds. (Doesn't sound anything like Shannon's temper, so who does that leave...humm?)

That is about it.

Time Out

Or should I say, time off. Today the new family was fairly rested and doing great so I made up a couple meat loafs and headed for home. I must have been more exhausted than I thought because I took a three hour nap, and it felt great.

I think Shannon and Jon are naturals and Rylee is so good and fun to be around that I wish she would have been twins! But I will settle for one of her. Today Angel met her for the first time and did remarkably well. She only barked a couple times and thanks to the Dog Whisper, we created a boundry around the baby and she didn't cross it. (However tonight she seems unusually sleepy so maybe she is getting sick again and the good behavior was only due to that. Only time will tell.)

Being a Grandma is as wonderful as I always knew it would be and it will only be getting better. Life is good.
Now sleepy time for Gramma....

T&T

Thrilled and tired! But not half as tired as Shannon and Jon. I can't tell you how great being a grandma is! Better than I even expected. Rylee is so sweet she mostly eats and sleeps but doesn't like being alone in her bed. She kind of shakes herself awake. Today I introduced her to the swing and although she resists the start up once she is in it for a minute she falls asleep. TGFSwings!
I should be in bed I am on call early tomorrow so nite nite!

I'M A GRANDMA!

Rylee Elise Polich made her debut at 5:12 pm on September 6th 2008. 7lbs 14 oz Mother and baby both doing fine!

Like most babies she came with quite a story--but that is for Shannon to tell. I am just getting this news out until she can post.

She is beautiful, right now her hair is med brown like Shannon's, her eyes blue, like all babies. She was very good last night while I was there mostly sleeping. But she did open her eyes a few times too. Mom and Dad think she is the only baby on the planet! Jon stayed there last night and hasn't had any sleep in over two days so I am on my way to relieve him.

More details to follow!

Long Night

Long night for everyone. This is the slowest hospital ever. They say they will be right back and then two hours later come in and say pretty soon now...I talked to Shannon around 8:00 and she was tired, hungry and her back aches but nothing else had happened. She thought they would be starting the drip soon and that should move things along.
Jon got some rest in the easy chair and Shannon said she rested but didn't sleep. Vanessa and Pilar kept me company until around 1:00 last night and then I laid on the couch and watched TV. I dosed around five for an hour. But mostly my mind was on Shannon and the baby. I felt peaceful though and I know soon both my girls will be doing fine!

This morning Pilar said that Ike wasn't going to hit us directly I must turn on the news and check it out. Shannon will be so happy if when she brings the baby home the electricity stays on!

Keep us in your thoughts....

Baby Back

Shannon is back in the saddle again. Or should I say stirrups again. Today the doctor saw her again and said there is no point on putting this off waiting for something bad to happen lets get that baby out.

We check in around 2:00 and they are just now, @7:45 coming to start the inducing of labor. The hospital is completely packed-people in the hallways. Thankfully we scored a room...long story for later...But they are super busy. At least Jon is sitting in a big chair and they have TV!

Shannon is starving she hasn't eaten in a long while, so she just had clear liquid whatever that was. She is relaxed, so far, and feeling fine and the blood pressure is good as long as she is in bed. It was a two flat pillow issue as they were out of pillows so I bought two pillows and brought them back. She should at least get pillows if she wants them! I will leave the other details for her to blog about. (If she ever has time to blog again.)

Tomorrow, MBP should have a real name and be so happy in the arms of her mamma and daddy! In the meantime--prayers welcomed.