The Sweetest Days

Sometimes I feel as though the sweetest days that I have with Sydney are those when I have nothing planned and the day just unfolds before us.  Today was one of those days.  We had a music class scheduled for this morning, but there has been a huge outbreak of Hand, Foot & Mouth disease amongst kids here in Vancouver, so I thought that we might skip it just to avoid coming into contact with any kids who might have the virus.

I kind of woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, felt crabby and edgy and was being a bit short tempered with Sydney for really no reason at all.  So, like most times when I'm feeling close to the end of my rope, I called my Mom to whine a little.  I felt better once I'd gotten off the line with her, she has a way of grounding me like no one else in the world!

So I decided that Sydney and I would have a day of doing nothing, so we did a lot of this:

And this:

Sydney loves to "read" the newspaper just like Mommy, for a good twenty minutes today she and I sat at the island in the kitchen having a drink and reading the paper side by side.

Then, just as she was starting to climb the walls a bit, the sun miraculously came out and started streaming through the windows, so I threw her in the stroller and off we went up to Dunbar for a walk.  It was just what I needed to really snap me out of my mood, some fresh air and exercise and a few friendly, smiling faces from my Dunbar neighbors.

So we managed to have a great day together, me and my girl. We even tried a new recipe for dinner, Whiplash Chicken (named that for two reasons, one it's super quick to make and two, it's super spicy, see recipe below!).  There was a moment in the middle of making dinner, when both Syd and I were in our matching Mom and baby aprons that I thought to myself, "these are the days I'm going to remember twenty years from now."  I really think that's true, it's the little moments, not the big events, that somehow have a way of settling into your heart and being the memories that you cherish and think back on in the years to come.

It was one of the sweetest days with my girl, I can only hope for many more.



Whiplash Chicken  - From Best of Bridge Grand Slam Cookbook

1 large onion thinly sliced and separated into rings
1 green pepper, cut into thin strips
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 TBSP water
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp garlic salt or 1 clove minced fresh garlic
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1 - 14 oz can tomatoes
2/3 cup peanut butter
2 tsp instant chicken bouillon
3 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces

In a large saucepan, combine onion, green pepper, mushrooms, water, oregano, red pepper, garlic salt and hot sauce.  Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until veggies are tender crisp.  In a blender or food processor, combine undrained tomatoes, peanut butter and bouillon.  Process until smooth.    Place uncooked chicken in a large casserole.  Top with veggie mixture.  Pour tomato mixture over all.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.  Serve with rice.