Does Anyone Smell Bacon?

I was so proud to read in The Wall Street Journal this morning that my hometown, Kennewick, WA, was singled out on the list of shame for pork barrel projects in the new stimulus spending bill. Nothing like a little taxpayer funded earmark to make you feel confident that government is doing its job.

Bracketology

Along with warmer weather and flowers, spring brings one other cherished tradition: March Madness and the ritual of filling out brackets for the NCAA Men's basketball tournament. I'm not a huge fan of watching sports on TV, but I do like watching college basketball. The players are so fast and athletic and the games go by quickly, versus the glacial pace of other televised sports which will remain unnamed. Andy and I have to make our picks tonight and figure out what the winner will receive.

There are some opening round games being held in Dayton, OH, which is only an hour from here. We looked into getting tickets for a game, but they're a cool $150 or so apiece. Looks like we'll be watching from the cheap seats on our couch.

If you want to fill out your own brackets, here's a link to one you can print out. If you're really hardcore, websites like ESPN host online bracket contests where you can keep track of your score. Will you be filling yours out?

P.S. Go Aggies!

Spurts of Productivity

Thanks to pregnancy insomnia, it's 5:30 a.m. and I've been awake for three hours now. I thought I might as well do something productive with all this "extra" time, so after lying in bed awake for an hour, I've eaten breakfast (at 4 a.m.), checked everyone's blogs, updated my grocery list, and made my menu for the next two weeks. I think I'll pay a few bills next or go out and get the newspaper and probably fall asleep reading it.

Here's a delicious, simple recipe we've had a few times. It seriously is done in a snap and I love the Mediterranean feel of the salad. It reminds me of being in Jordan and Egypt where they serve you fresh tomato and cucumber slices with every meal. If, like Andy, you're hesitant to try the veggies in the salad, the couscous is also good plain if you cook it in chicken broth instead of just plain water. Either way, it's better with broth. Ben also likes the burgers because they're kid-sized.

Spiced Mini Burgers with Couscous Salad

Makes 4 servings
Time: 25m
This recipe is: No Cook, Quick & Easy

Ingredients
1 10-ounce box couscous
1 pound ground beef or turkey
kosher salt and pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 scallions, trimmed and sliced
4 Roma (plum) tomatoes, quartered
1 seedless cucumber, sliced into half-moons
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 8-ounce container hummus (optional)

Directions
1. Place the couscous in a medium bowl and pour 1 1/2 cups hot tap water over the top. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.
2. Form the beef into 12 small 1/2-inch-thick patties. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, the cumin, and oregano.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the patties and cook to desired doneness, 4 minutes per side for medium.
4. Combine the couscous, scallions, tomatoes, cucumber, lemon juice, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and the remaining oil in a large bowl. Divide among individual plates. Serve with the burgers and hummus, if desired.

Little Swimmers

To help break up the monotony of winter and prepare Ben for this summer, we decided to enroll him in swimming lessons at the YMCA. Thank goodness for indoor pools! Ben has taken one other set of lessons and is getting a bit braver in the water, although he is still pretty cautious when it comes to jumping in by himself. His teacher is wonderful and we were happy to discover that one of Ben's friends is also enrolled in the class. My goal for the session, besides getting Ben more comfortable in a pool: Arrive on time. Our last session I had the hardest time for some reason and always did the walk of shame past the other parents as we slinked in (or is it slunk?) at least five minutes late.

Above: Ben showing me how he can kick his legs by himself.

Other kids do the kamikaze jump where they actually get their faces wet. Not Ben. He signals for his teacher to move as close as possible and then he leans into her arms. :)

Their little floaty backpacks and rubber duckies they throw into the water and then "swim" after.

I Heard a Rumor...

Well, the cat's out of the bag. Andy couldn't contain himself any longer and has started telling people about our news. Yes, I am pregnant. 15 weeks to be exact and finally feeling better after a trimester of doing nothing much besides laying on the couch and puking my guts out. After getting so intimate with our porcelain thrones, I realized that I need to clean my bathrooms more often. The wretched sickness also temporarily cured my chocoholism and replaced it with an insatiable urge for salty, greasy foods. About six weeks ago, I made Andy take me to Pei Wei for dinner because I couldn't stop thinking about their noodle bowls for a week. Oh, the tyranny of pregnancy cravings.

We are very grateful to be expecting an addition to our family. After a miscarriage, year and a half of trying, an infertility consultation, and taking a round of Clomid while I was unknowingly pregnant, it's a relief to not have to worry about buying any more ovulation kits. The official due date is August 27.

Note: The horrible picture above is of me a week overdue with Ben in 100+ degree Arizona weather. It's the only one I had that showed how absolutely gargantuan my belly will get.

Desperate Times...

This morning Ben was playing with his train tracks and managed to get one stuck on his finger. I thought it wouldn't be a big deal to remove, since he obviously didn't have much trouble getting it on. But when I tried sliding or twisting it off, it wouldn't budge. Ben was crying and his finger kept getting more purple as the minutes went by. I tried butter and cooking spray to grease the track, but to no avail. I briefly considered taking him to urgent care, but then realized that they'd probably just do what I was considering as my next step. So out I went to the garage and pulled out our full-sized saw (we don't have anything smaller) and proceeded to have Ben lie on his stomach with strict instructions to not move as I sawed the track off his finger. Yes, you read that right. I hope no one from CPS is reading this and the thought crossed my mind of how I would explain using a saw on my son if any blood was spilled.

Thankfully, I managed to make small motions and within a few minuted had cut enough that I could then snap the side off the track and free his finger. I thought Ben would be relieved, but his first words were: "Mom, you broke my train track!" I guess he didn't quite understand that it was either a broken train track or a broken finger.

Before the procedure began. You can see the saw on the counter.

Poor red-eyed Ben after his beloved train track was amputated.

A fairly clean cut with no bodily harm done.

Feeling the Love

Sorry for being such a blog slacker lately, these pictures are only a week late. Quite an accomplishment for me it seems.

I love traditions and we don't have that many in our family, so I decided that this year we'd make heart-shaped pancakes. Since Ben has to have different ones, we dyed his red to add to the festive mood.

Andy's free-hand heart-shaped pancake. I started trying to make the pancakes in a tiny heart-shaped cookie cutter, but it was taking too long so we decided to free-hand it. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for a large heart-shaped mold for next year.

My feeble attempt at a heart pancake. Thankfully, Ben didn't seem to mind.

Mixing the batter...

Ben's haul from his first-ever school Valentine's Day party. I had a bout of nostalgia, getting excited for him to show me each different Valentine. Did anyone else love doing that in elementary school? Decorating your little V-day letter box or envelope then awaiting anxiously to see who would give you what card? My most memorable was in the fifth grade when I got an unsigned Michael Jordan valentine enscribed with the words, "I Like You." I spent the rest of the day looking around the room, wondering which boy gave it to me. I have my suspicions, but never found out the giver.