Children's Sakura Party-Isabella Turns 10

Isabella turned 10 over the weekend. She is so excited to be in the double digits. I'm not sure why but she thinks that double digits makes her a bit more grown up. I am encouraging her to not grow up so fast--wish me luck!

Isabella loves Japan. I am not surprised. Her dad speaks Japanese because he lived there as a kid and again as a young man. She is currently learning to speak Japanese herself. She wants to go to school in Japan.

Her theme this year is centered around the cherry blossoms that Japan is so popular for. We have seen the cherry blossoms bloom in Washington DC that were gifted to US on March 12, 1912.  We are going to Portland in March to see the Japanese Gardens and waterfront trees, and hopefully, view the cherry blossoms during their blooming season.

The party was easy to plan.  The things I did to decorate were fairly easy to assemble at home or purchase from your local craft store.

To get the party started, I used a free online evite to send the parents emails. This allowed the parents to RSVP, ask me questions, and I was able to send out  thank you cards after the party. This is a simple and efficient way to handle the invites.


I made:

1.  A center piece of Cherry Blossom sprigs. I bought these from two different stores. I used a glass vase that I purchased on clearance at a local store in town. Inside the vase I added beach glass and shells because our home is a beach themed home. I bundled the sprigs together and placed them in the center of the vase and poured the class and placed the shells around it to hold it up.  I separated the sprigs so that the fanned out and made a beautiful focal point for our table.

2.  I made origami (paper toys) to scatter at the base. We are working on our 1000 crane project and this was perfect for the party.

3.  I made the gift bags. I bought plain white bags (10/1.00) and cherry blossom stickers.  Each bag had a few on the outside. We bought Japanese themed goodies to go inside: chopsticks, ramen, candy,  and a panda rice paper balloon.

4.  I made cupcakes.  I bought the pink flowers at a local craft store. This was a project that we did together so that Isabella felt a part of the party plans.

The things I bought:

1.  I bought a Japanese curtain with cherry blossoms and puppies. I cut this in half and used it to decorate the tables as a table runner.

2.  I bought Japanese sodas from our local Asian market (gotta support local businesses).

3.  I bought a dozen hot pink lanterns.  These were much cheaper than buying balloons. I used fishing line to attach them to my ceiling fans and lights.

4.  We bought chalk, origami paper for a craft project, and the goodie bag items mentioned above.

What we did to entertain the girls:

1.  I taught the girls to make some origami toys: a piano, kimono, and the crane.

2.  Cory taught the girls to speak to ten in Japanese.

3.  We let the girls play outside and ride bikes, jump on the trampoline, and use chalk in our driveway.

4.  They sampled a few foods from Japan.

5. They watched Kiki's Delivery Service. A cute film about a young girl becoming a witch and setting off on her first big adventure.

The party was simple.  Several of the girls stated,"this was the best birthday party ever".

Now that feels good as a parent when you can provide a wonderful experience for your child's friends.

Sweet Potato Tacos

Mini tacos are the best.

I bought these 4in round corn tortillas from Fred Meyer and can't stop using them. I thought for sure they would be too small but the reality is they are just right.  

Sweet Potatoes make a great alternative filling to meat.  The sweetness countered with any spice you add to your taco sets the tone for a yummy experience. 

The sweet potatoes can be baked the day before and reheated for a quick and easy dinner on the go or midnight snack.  School keeps me up at night and midnight snacks are once again something I contend with. 

The cool thing about tacos is they can be layered with a variety of toppings to create a variety of flavor profiles.

Some of my favorite toppings are: avocado, lettuce, onion, tomato, Chalula, jalapenos, black olives, and cheese.  (Use vegan cheese if you need to.)

Overall, the mini's are just fun!  They look cute on your plate and are just the right size to hold.  A couple of bites and your done. On to the next one. 

To prepare my sweet potatoes I preheated the oven to 400 degrees.  Cubed them about all the same size and tossed them in a bowl with: oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder.  Baked until crispy on one side. My oven took about 45 minutes.

The tortilla's I heated on my cast iron griddle for a few seconds on each side. No oil needed.

I precut the toppings and grated our favorite cheese.

We each made our own taco's using which ever toppings suited our fancy at the time.

Then, we went back for seconds.

Another easy dinner idea and option for busy parents and families on the go.

ENJOY!

Sherron

Sushi Bowls

My Sushi Bowl all messy and stirred together.
I like eating mine this way because each bite is a party to my taste buds.

Our family has discovered a new family favorite. Sushi Bowls are a great way to use up stuff in your fridge, especially, if you made sushi a few days ago and have left overs--like we did. Visit link to see what we used.

We make rice every day. This is something we have done for years. The kids love it and it's a great easy meal when we are in a hurry. The sushi bowl starts off with a bowl of white rice.  I open the refrigerator and notice I have pineapple, mango, and asparagus left over from the night before. I grab these. Then things just rolled from that point. I reach for a sheet of seaweed and using my scissors, start cutting the tiniest strips. I grab a few green onions, throw a handful of Panko crumbs, and make a small batch of Sriarcha Mayonnaise.  My bowl takes on a life of its own.

My belly says thank you.  That was yesterday.

Today, I make another Sushi Bowl.  

Tomorrow I might make a third Sushi Bowl. 

These sushi bowls are easy. Too easy for a formal recipe.  Use your imagination to create the perfect bowl of UMAMI for your desired taste buds. 

I used: rice, soy sauce, red bell pepper, pineapple, mango, red onion, cucumber, asparagus, sesame seeds, strips of nori (seaweed sheets), and my imagination.  Use what you like. If you don't have any dietary restrictions then this will open up a few more options that our family does not do.

Cory and the kids made it home from our nieces wedding all safe and sound.  That night we sat down to watch a movie while the kids were also settling in for the night.  We thought Isabella had gone to bed but she surprised us with a gentle knock and opening of our bedroom door. She could not sleep.

We turned the movie off until she was tired. We talked for a few minutes about MLK's birthday on Monday.  We watched his speech  from 1963 and talked for about 30 minutes on an important subject.  I wrote this on my Facebook page and took a picture of it. I didn't think I could remember it all again. Overall, it was a valued few minutes to help her understand some important social topics of our time and those of our past.  My role as her teacher never ends. I don't punch a timecard. Moments of learning and teaching can happen at any time and I hope that I am always ready and able to use that time wisely. 

We made hot chocolate mix earlier in the day. Finnley is quickly turning into a little kitchen helper. She wants to help and I am excited to have her help. Our kids all work in the kitchen and I love this about them. They love to help cook, prepare, clean-up, and create. Cooking is a wonderful tool because it allows us to spend time with our kids, it gives us an opportunity to teach them something fun, we are able to make memories, and they are learning something that they will use their whole lives. Cooking opens doors to communicate, to laugh, and to share.  I wouldn't trade those minutes spent in the kitchen with my kids for anything; priceless moments with the returns of eternal blessings.

I hope that you each have a week filled with intention, purpose, and joy.

Sherron

Drake heads to Oregon State University

Wintery only begins to describe the scene this morning as we took Drake to college.  The roads were filled with water, slush, and gravel.  We have lived in Oregon for almost a year and a half and this is the first winter that snow has been a part of our vocabulary.  And not just a little bit of snow, but lots and lots of white fluffy flakes falling from the clouds.

To be honest, I wasn't sure we were going to make it this morning. The forecast was calling for ice. We waited until the afternoon and left when we thought the roads would be plowed and cleared. We were right and ventured over the Cascade Pass and down into Corvallis with little problem.  The trees were dusted with white piles of fresh snow.  Each tree a different shade of green.  It was as if we were driving through a picture.

Arriving on campus was thrilling for me. I could tell Drake was filled with anxiety as the day approached and even more so as we drove pass the stadium.  His reality was becoming more and more confirmed with a decision that he was still grappling with-college or no college.  Arriving we found ourselves parked out front and ready to move into his dorm room.

With key in hand we set out to open his floor door.  With each attempt we saw red, not green.  UH-OH.  Something was not right.  After a few exchanges of cards we were told that we would have to be patient and get assistance each time he wanted on to the floor.  His dorm area is brand new and they were experiencing some technical difficulties.While he ran between the buildings trying to figure out the key, Finnley and I waited with his stuff.

He brought the bare minimums.  Maybe it's a guy thing.  I'm not sure how he is going to manage with so little but he will figure it all out soon enough.  His room mate was out.  It felt weird to drop off our stuff and run but that's what we did.  We still had to buy him a bike, some last minutes stuff, and take him to his job to get his key to open on Monday morning

Against his will, he posed for a selfie of the two of us. I was all smiles and he was over this whole day.

The weather continued to warm up but we were still anxious to be on our way back to the beach in case the roads were icy once the sun went down.  He was anxious for us to leave.

He has been patiently waiting the last four months for this next chapter of his life to start and today it did.  He took the leap and is plunging into college life.  I didn't want to leave.  The energy and vive of the campus is amazing!  The kids were all nice, helpful, and full of life.  I could have stayed there in his place.

He walked me to the car. Said goodbye to his dad. We drove away.

I never looked back. I don't know if he stayed or turned away and went inside.

I know that he is going to have an amazing experience. I'm glad that he made the decision to go to college. Who knows, maybe we will graduate at the same time. I will be a student there this time next year.

He better tell me when parents day is too--I'm coming in all my orange glory to celebrate in his accomplishment of becoming an engineer at Oregon State University.

GO BEAVERS!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year friends!

It's been quite a year for our family with lots of changes and adventures.  As we start this New Year we have a long list of "honey-do's" in mind.  The top three are finishing our garden plans outside, finally completing Cory's office, and completing Isabella's room.

The garden is off to a great start. We bought the Square Foot Garden book, our seeds, and have scouted around for a variety of container gardens and greenhouses.  Now we are reading all things garden related in the hopes that our brown thumbs turn the most vibrant green this summer.

Isabella's room finally is not a kitchen.  When we bought our home we were short a room or had too many kids..LOL  Either way we found ourselves using our second kitchen downstairs as a bedroom for our adorable third child.  We added a door this past summer and yesterday ripped out the counter tops.  YAY for progress.  This summer we will paint, do the floors, and finishing the base boards.

Cory's office is our second garage.  Gotta love our creative resilience to make our beach house work no matter what!  Well, after a year we have decided that he likes his office in the garage and now we need to make it more office like.  This will require some, okay a lot, of ideas that insist I think outside the box.  I am excited to step right into this project.

BUT...first,

I need to finish my next semester of school.  Can you believe its been a year?  Holy cow where did the time go.  I still love it.  I did really well with 42 credits and all A's.  Not too bad for a girl who thought her whole life she wasn't smart enough to go to college.  Never give up on your dreams!

Our kids are great.  We finally had a bit of snow this past week.  The little girls loved it and the big kids had to drive in it.  That was a love/hate relationship.

We got a couple of cats!  Saki and Oreo.  They are awesome.  Except for Saki refused to take a selfie with me--what's up with that?

Oreo, well, she is our princess cat.  She is an older cat that we rescued and her days are spent finding the warmest place in our home and laying there for hours. Rescue animals are the best!

Tomorrow we drive Drake, who also turned 20 last week, to Oregon State University.  CRAP--when did that happen.  Rye is now a manager where she works.  Isabella quit gymnastics and jumped into ballet with zeal. Finnley started preschool.  Our little family is growing up.

I'm hoping to write more on the blog this year.  Nothing fancy or planned out in advance. I simply don't have time for that with 16 credits this semester. I started this blog as a way to document our life for my kids. I need to return to that style. With that in mind, it will be filled with pictures, random thoughts, our daily adventures, and my ups and downs as a mom, student, wife, and pagan.  Expect to see a bit of everything this year.

I cook every day. Our plant based diet is exciting and I have learned so much with this new journey into preparing our meals without meat, dairy, cheese, and eggs.  Are we perfect yet?  Hardly.  It's still challenging sometimes, especially when we travel.  But you know what,  its okay.  We are moving forward with our goals and doing our best.  We still live by the 80/20 policy and find that our tummies are full and happy.

I'm not sure how many readers I have left but thank you to those that are still finding their way to our little bit of paradise at the beach.

Happy New Year!

Sherron

Cheesy Couscous and Broccoli Casserole

This was our sunset tonight-GORGEOUS! 

This is going to be quick because I am right in the middle of a huge homework assignment.  I made this in my typical rushed Chopped fashion.  I took out what we had from the refrigerator and gave myself a time limit and created this creamy and cheesy casserole for the family. My husband and kids were my Alex, Chris, and Aaron.  I'm pretty sure I would have gone home with the $10,000 dollars.

Of course, I didn't write the recipe down as I went because , well, you just never know if it will turn out or not. 

It turned out and we gobbled it up. I snatched up my phone and grabbed some quick images and immediately sat down and whipped this short post up.   I believe its that good to share right now, plus, I may or may not have needed a break from crunching numbers for my math assignment.

Now back to my homework and studies.

Recipe: Cheesy Couscous and Broccoli Casserole

2.5-3 cups of cooked couscous
1 large can (22.6 oz) of  Cream of Chicken soup or 2 regular cans
2 cups of sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded (save 1/2 for the topping)
1 small onion, diced small
2 gloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of Ghee or oil
1 cup of milk, used to thin soup
salt/pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon Curry powder
4 small heads of broccoli, steamed and in pieces

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Prepare 9X13 pan or Le Creuset pan with a light spray of favorite cooking spray.

2.  Steam broccoli pieces.  Prepare Couscous according to package directions. I used my left over couscous from the night before (this dish is great to use up leftovers).

3.  Saute onion and garlic in ghee until clear and tender. This takes about 4 minutes.

4.  In a large bowl add soup, curry, salt, pepper, onion, garlic, 1/2 of the shredded cheese, and couscous.  Stir until well blended. The sauce is thick.  Add milk.  Start with 1 cup and add more if still super thick.  It should be like thick pancake batter.  Gently fold in steamed broccoli.

5.  Add mixture to your prepared pan and top with remaining cheese.  If you need or want more cheese-add it!  Bake for 30 minutes.

6.  Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Our Favorite Soup Recipes

Our weather is quickly changing from warm and sunny to "brrrr, it's cold outside".  Here are some of our favorite soups that I have shared on the blog over the years.  ENJOY

Ham and Vegetable Soup

Ox Tail Soup

Easy Black Bean and Sausage Soup

Tortellini Soup

 Clam Chowder

Crab Bisque

 Tomato Soup

Minnesota Wild Rice and Spinach Soup

Purple Potato Soup

Asparagus Parmesan Soup

Chicken and Dumplings

Kraut and Brat Soup

Beef Noodle Soup

Cascade Head Hike #Oregon

I want to start sharing a few areas in my neck of the woods that are pretty awesome.  We have lived in Oregon for one year.  Our time here has been spent hiking, kayaking, walking, exploring, and looking for the next exciting adventure.  I recently learned that over 1,000,000 people visit Newport Oregon each year.  That's a lot of people!  I think that maybe they might need a few things to do outside of shopping and eating.  Our town is small but is packed with adventure.

Adventure always awaits!

I'm not sure if we will ever get around to everything we want to do while living in Oregon but we are definitely giving it our all.  Every weekend we make it a point to go out exploring and discovering this beautiful state.

Living at the beach has been an amazing experience.  I never knew how much my heart would fall in love with the sound of the waves and the feel of sand in my toes.  It has impacted our family in the best way.  The coast is visually stimulating to our minds.  The beautiful beaches never let us down.

This particular hike is not located in Newport.  It actually is up by Lincoln City which is a 22 mile drive north on Hwy 101.  It is in my county though.  I feel that this hike is close enough to our home to spotlight it for those who visit Newport.

 We happened to pick a very warm and clear day for our hike.  You can see for miles from the top.  Just look at the photo below.  Eye candy for miles and miles.

The Cascade Head hike is a tourist dream for seeing the Oregon Coast from an advantage point. High above the seas with miles and miles of the prettiest blues and greens in sight.  You start out with a wooded trail through private lands and this slowly leads you out from under the canopy of huge Cyprus Trees.  At first you think you may never see the sky again and then with a burst of brightness, it's right there--sky and ocean as far as the eye can see.  The coastline, the river, and the peaks of small islands floating in the sea.  The trail appears to lead you into the ocean only to wrap around and have you climbing from 500 feet to 1300 feet in about a mile. Huffing and puffing we made it to the top.

This is a great link to find out about the trail system: Cascade Head Trail Hike
Oregon Hikers Map link is HERE.
Parking is at Knights Park.  There are no fees or special permission associated with this hike.

That last mile is a killer!  I won't lie.  My butt was on fire (in a good way, of course).  We had to bribe Isabella with a free school day in order to convince her to go the last leg.  She made it.  We all made it. We were all dripping with sweat but wore our smiles proudly.

The feeling of accomplishing something tough is empowering.  I wanted Isabella to understand that she is capable of doing hard things.  She did it and loved it.  In fact, as we came down the mountain, she mentioned several times to hikers going up that the trip was worth the hike.

We originally thought the whole hike was 3.5 miles. HA! That was one way.  We completely understood when we returned to our car and read the sign why we all felt like we had been to hell and back--it was hot, dusty, and at times, a challenge.  Honestly, if we had known that it was that long we would not have attempted the hike with a 2 and 9 year old.  With that being said, we did do it and I will do it again.

I carried Finnley 5 of those 7 miles on my back.  She walked the stairs up and the steepest part of the last mile.  The kid slept all the way down.  Can you blame her?  The girls were so dirty.  Cory and I were dirty too.  You might want to bring bug spray, sun screen, and wear good shoes.

Overall the hike is a must if your are physically fit enough to climb steep terrain, climb about 200 stairs (I'm guessing but there are a lot of stairs), carry a back pack, and have great balance.  There are no bathrooms on the trail.  At the staging park there is one--go before you go on the hike.  Take plenty of water.  They have a strict NO DOG policy too.   The trail is wide in the beginning but narrows as you climb the last mile.

The view is worth the hike.  GO!  Get out there and test your limits.  Push yourself.  These two little girls did!

There is a back way that allows you to park closer to the top and hike about 1/2 a mile.  We met several families doing this route at the top.  Next time we might drive around to this site to check it out.  FYI: this option is closed from January to July.

I can't wait to hike this trail system again!  You can see from the smiles that life is good.  Isabella got a blister but she wants to go back and hike the trail again.