I have always been one of those people that has to get at least 30 minutes of exercise each day to get to sleep at night. Ever since Loulie started walking, that has not been the case. Instead I find myself collapsing on the couch at 8:00 and by 8:30 I am watching the clock to see when it will strike 10:00 so that I am not going to bed at an embarassingly old lady hour. I don't know if exhaustion is a result of raising a rambunctious one year old or just one of the many symptoms of thirtysomethingitis. Regardless of the reason, our packed weekend was no exception.
Mom and Dad (aka Lovey and Grandaddy) were in town to celebrate Mom's birthday with us. I headed out to Sullivan's Friday afternoon to spend some time with Mom. We went for a sunset bike ride, Mom taught Loulie to kick a soccer ball, we had dinner and got Loulie ready for bed.
I headed home to get ready for Mom's birthday dinner. Bert and Bridget were out shrimping. Loulie went straight to bed so I enjoyed the house to myself. I played my music, took my time preparing all the food for the next night and read through an entire gossip magazine (unheard of). If you had asked me two years ago what an ideal Friday night would be I would not have named the above but things change and I must admit--the quiet was a little nice!
I woke up Saturday pretty impressed with myself for having dinner ready and bags packed to head out to the beach for the day. But God always encourages humility and it wasn't 30 minutes after we arrived that I realized I'd had a serious blonde moment and forgotten the Bug's diaper bag. Thank goodness I married MacGyver. We made do with some weewomp diapers and a makeshift sippy cup. Loulie didn't seem to mind too much...
It was a great afternoon of football, family and food. Between games, Meredith and I took Loulie for a long walk on the beach and caught up. The boys did manly things that I don't understand--I think they are fixing a shrimping net here...
Mom played with Loulie and enjoyed not being the one to cook dinner. I kept catching her with a big smile on her face, sipping wine as Meredith and I scurried around. It's okay--I think she deserves a break once a year ;)
Dinner was great. I have to say I've come a long way since I first quit work to become a stay at home mom. I could hardly microwave cheese grits. AT least now I can prepare an entire meal without smoke and fire alarms involved. The rule at the Owens house is the cook doesn't clean so here is the clean up crew...
I think Mom enjoyed her birthday dinner and having all of us together. We topped off Sunday with a first birthday party for one of Loulie's friends. I wish I had pictures from it. Loulie now hugs and pats everyone on the back when you tell her to say hello to her friend. There was a lot of Loulie love at the party. With Loulie being an only child, it is nice to see her being so loving and open to other kids. I love that in the midst of temper tantrums and food being thrown and requests being ignored, the Lord will give you a moment where you feel like you might actually being doing something right as a parent--enough to encourage you to keep trucking along and just loving each stage for what it is.
Okay, it's 10:30--I'm going to bed. Bert is shrimping again in the hopes that he will come home with a boatload and I can stop buying the frozen stuff from Japan. Before I go, here's a recipe for the pork I made Saturday night. It was really good and a nice switch from the regular. I don't know about you but I get sick of the same things over and over.
Honey & Sesame Seed Pork Tenderloin
1 lb whole pork tenderloin
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp of fresh ginger
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/4 cup honey
2tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp sesame seeds, slightly toasted
Combine soy, garlic, ginger and oil in a plastic bag with tenderloin overnight.
Remove and pat dry. Mix together honey and sugar in a shallow plate and pour seeds in a seperate plate. Roll tenderloin in honey and then in the seeds. Roast in pan for 20-30 minutes at 375 or until thermometer reads 160*.
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