If my children were song lyrics

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Evie – “Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone”

I think anyone who as met Evie would agree about this. She’s such a ray of light that it’s just not the same when she’s not there. She hits the room like a whirlwind of energy, and bubbliness, and sound. She can’t help but dominate any social situation.

Oliver – “In the midnight hour, [he] cried more, more, more! / With a rebel yell, [he] cried, more, more more! / More, more, more!”

This one is perhaps more literal, but I sing it to Oliver all the time. When he wants something – particularly food, but it could be more book, more mama, more anything – he just says, “MoreMoreMoreMore” in this rising and falling klaxon voice and he doesn’t stop until he gets whatever he wants. Oliver must bring out the hidden Billy Idol fan in me (I hate Billy Idol!), because we’ve also co-opted White Wedding into “Hey, little Mister…”

If Sara wrote this one about Oliver, she might pick something different, such as The Cure: “Why are you so far away? [he] said / and won’t you ever know that I’m in love with you?” The boy loves his mommy! Two inches is too far away, as far as he’s concerned.

I decided to extend this a little and do Sara too. This was a lot tougher, but I finally settled on some lyrics from Ben Folds:

Sara – “You’re really good at all that stuff / The nuts and bolts of living”

I’m not saying I couldn’t survive without Sara, but she is certainly the force that keeps me sort of upright and moving in the right direction. Whether it is finances, cooking, scheduling, being a responsible citizen of the Earth, or raising children, I think it can be said with great certainty that Sara is very good at the nuts and bolts of living.

Quote Monday has no chance of survival

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Evie: “Did we bring our dish to passover?” – To be fair, it was a potluck at a Jewish school…

Evie: “Mama, I’ll sit in your lap until I’m nineteen. Actually, I’ll sit in your lap when I’m ten-teen! That’s one more.”

Sara: “He survived Iraq, but he’s not going to survive me. I’m going to kill him.”

Evie, forced to have accursed mint toothpaste: “My mouth is getting cold!”

Today’s the day!

/ Shane / 1 Comment

Congratulations to my mom on her wedding day! You’re a welcome addition to the family, Ron! I would say you fit right in, but I don’t know if that would be a compliment or an insult.

Artichoke and Walnut Pesto Pasta

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The Reason:

Well, we really just needed something that was as different from pancakes as possible. This is a nice, summer-y sort of pasta salad that we have found extremely useful for potlucks.

The Journey:

I’d say one of the best parts about this recipe is that it has a lot of greens in it. Throw in whole wheat pasta and walnuts, and it’s decently healthy. Just look the other way when you put in the oil and parmesan cheese!

I’m a guy who loves me some pesto, but this pesto is really nothing like what you would traditionally consider pesto. It’s very thick and pasty, and it isn’t a basil-based pesto, so it doesn’t have that distinguishing taste.

We often make it with spinach instead of arugula, but I think the arugula does add a little more flavor. Of course, you might want to chop it up a little bit if it is too big for a bite.

This recipe makes a lot of pasta. Even when it’s gone over pretty well at potlucks, we still have a lot of leftovers afterwards. It works pretty well cold though, so it works well as something a little extra in your lunch.

The Verdict:

To be honest, I think it could use a little something extra. It doesn’t have a lot of flavor, which is maybe surprising considering how many delicious ingredients you put in it. Looking at that list, you’d expect it to be pretty flavorful. On the other hand, you have a lot of healthy ingredients in there too, so it’s a pretty good way to get a lot of greens! (parsley, arugula and artichokes)

The Recipe:

The recipe is originally from the “Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats” cookbook.

1 lb whole wheat spiral or penne pasta

4 oz. walnuts
15 oz. artichokes
1 clove garlic
zest from 1 lemon
1/4 cup parsley
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
black pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 cups arugula (or spinach)

Cook the pasta. Combine all the rest of the ingredients except for the arugula into a food processor until a thick paste forms. Combine the warm, drained pasta, pesto and arugula into a large bowl (arugula will wilt slightly). Add pepper to taste.

And that’s when I knew…

/ Shane / 2 Comments

We were at a school function for Evie, and the kids were singing some songs.

Suddenly an old man tottered to his feet, swaying slowly in front of them. He looked like he was not a day over 200. His back was hunched, his limbs were gnarled. His few remaining hairs were white and wiry, and the top of his head was bald and shiny, long since given way to age spots. He could manage only a shuffling step or two, and looked like he was about to topple.

I clutched Sara’s arm. Was he going to die? Did he lurch to his feet because he was having a heart attack? Would he fall and shatter into a million brittle pieces?

His arm slowly lifted, and you could almost hear the joints creaking beneath the sleeves of his worn suit. Ever so slowly, he extended the arm and…snapped a quick picture with his iPhone.

That’s when Sara and I realized, we truly were the last people on earth without a smart phone.