Highlights, lowlights
(No, I'm not talking about hair!) As with any other day of life, yesterday was filled with highlights and a few lowlights as well. Here are just a few.
First the lowlights. A BIG lowlight actually. Our oldest child ran away yesterday. It was kind-of traumatic. I'm talking about Chase, by the way. In his 4 years of life, this dog has never run away from us. Sure, he is easily distracted when he goes outside by sights and smells, but he is usually incredibly good about knowing his boundaries, thanks to Chris' training. But yesterday in the midst of our guests leaving, and the garage door open, our silly boy just left. And after just a few short minutes he was GONE, nowhere to be seen. I started walking around looking in neighbors backyards, asking everyone I saw if they had seen him. Chris came home from work and drove around everywhere he could think to look for him. We couldn't find him anywhere. I'll admit, my first thought was just being mad. He knows better than to take off. I thought, fine, if you're going to run away, then you deserve whatever happens. Then, after a half hour of him being gone and not being able to find him anywhere, reality started to sink in and the lump started to form in my throat. Anyone who owns a family pet knows what I'm talking about. The truth is, this dog is DUMB when it comes to cars. He just doesn't get that they could kill him. What if he got hit? That was one fear. Another, that someone would snatch him up and take him home. At one point, while asking a neighbor if she had seen him, I actually had to fight off some tears. I mean, this horse of a dog, for better or for worse, is such a HUGE part of our family. He is the one who filled a huge void for us while we were trying to have children. He is the one who is loyal and wags his tail frantically every single time he sees any one of us, no matter what our moods happen to be. He is the one who is gentle (regardless of his massive size) and kind with our children and has been from the day they were born. He is the one that is truly Kaiya's best friend. She would be devastated if something happened to him. That reason alone was killing me as we tried to find him yesterday. And truthfully, even though he drives me crazy sometimes and sheds like a bear, I really, really love this snuggly big ole guy. He is a special dog and our family wouldn't be complete without him. So, yeah, this was a big deal. We have a neighbor across the street who has dogs and well, basically is just a really kind human being. She understood how big of a deal it was. She immediately walked off, helping us look for Chase. Then, she jumped in her car with her daughter and off they drove to continue looking for him. Awhile later, she comes walking into the house, holding tightly onto a big, brown horse and I swear, I think she was just as emotional as I was! She said she found him walking down the street toward our house. It was as if he was saying, "what's the big deal, I knew where I was all along!" And just like that, Chase was back in our family, back home where he belongs. I scolded him good, but I think he knew I wasn't really mad. Just grateful that he was back. And then I gave him some big snuggles and scratches on his belly. Kaiya never even knew what had happened. All was well again! Silly dog!
Another lowlight was having to say good-bye to our guests. We got to have Chris' brother and his family come stay with us for a few days as they made their move to a new state. We always have so much fun with them when they are here and our kids really, really adore their kids. Kaiya would seriously follow her cousin Katie around all day every day if she could. She is enamored with her!
But there were definitely highlights to the day as well. One of my favorite parts of the day was when Kaiya was "putting me to bed". She loves to play this. She brings out her pillows and blankets from her bed. She tells me to lay down. Then tells me to lift up my head so she can put a pillow under it. Then she piles all the blankets on me, making sure my toes are covered too and that the blankets are snug under my chin. Then she gets her stuffed animals and piles them around my head, so I'm not lonely while I sleep. Then she gets her sippy cup and gives that to me in case I get thirsty. Then she kneels down next to me and puts her face right up into mine and gently brushes my eyes closed with her hand. I'm always surprised at how gently she does this. Then she leans over and gives me a soft kiss on my cheek and whispers, "night night mommy". And a huge smile comes over my whole face because I am so in love with how sweet and gentle she is. If she catches me with my eyes open (and I like her to catch me, so I'm sure to do it when she is looking), she comes back over and kneels down again and then gently brushes my eyes shut and says, "close your eyes baby" and gives me another gentle kiss. You could not meet a sweeter little girl. She is just pure kindness! Definitely a highlight!
Another highlight I should mention, the dinner we had last night. I tried a new recipe and it's too good not to share! If you like steak tacos, you MUST try this recipe!! It was really, really good and a keeper for my recipe box! Here it is:
Grilled Steak Tacos with Mango Salsa
Marinade:
1 1/2 - 2 lbs. flank steak
1/4 c. orange juice (juice of 1 orange)
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. honey
1 1/2 t. orange zest
1/2 t. salt
2 T. vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. chili powder
1/4 t. pepper
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 t. oregano
Mix all the marinade ingredients together. Score steak in 1 inch intervals. Place steak and marinade in resealable bag and marinade in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
Remove steak from bag and discard marinade. Place on grill over medium heat and grill 10-15 mins per side (or until desired doneness). Remove from grill and cover for 5 minutes to lock in moisture. Cut in thin slices against the grain.
Place steak in flour tortillas. ***I have to insert my opinion here. You must use the raw, uncooked tortillas. They really are the best. I mean, any tortilla would work, but if you want optimal yumminess, use the raw tortillas (just be sure to cook them before adding the meat :)) Load the taco with all your favorite fixings. We used diced avacado, sprinkled lime juice and pepper jack cheese. Be sure to add the salsa (listed below) too.
Mango Salsa:
1 mango diced
1/3 c. red onion, finely diced
juice of 1 lime
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
salt, pepper to taste
YUM!!
First the lowlights. A BIG lowlight actually. Our oldest child ran away yesterday. It was kind-of traumatic. I'm talking about Chase, by the way. In his 4 years of life, this dog has never run away from us. Sure, he is easily distracted when he goes outside by sights and smells, but he is usually incredibly good about knowing his boundaries, thanks to Chris' training. But yesterday in the midst of our guests leaving, and the garage door open, our silly boy just left. And after just a few short minutes he was GONE, nowhere to be seen. I started walking around looking in neighbors backyards, asking everyone I saw if they had seen him. Chris came home from work and drove around everywhere he could think to look for him. We couldn't find him anywhere. I'll admit, my first thought was just being mad. He knows better than to take off. I thought, fine, if you're going to run away, then you deserve whatever happens. Then, after a half hour of him being gone and not being able to find him anywhere, reality started to sink in and the lump started to form in my throat. Anyone who owns a family pet knows what I'm talking about. The truth is, this dog is DUMB when it comes to cars. He just doesn't get that they could kill him. What if he got hit? That was one fear. Another, that someone would snatch him up and take him home. At one point, while asking a neighbor if she had seen him, I actually had to fight off some tears. I mean, this horse of a dog, for better or for worse, is such a HUGE part of our family. He is the one who filled a huge void for us while we were trying to have children. He is the one who is loyal and wags his tail frantically every single time he sees any one of us, no matter what our moods happen to be. He is the one who is gentle (regardless of his massive size) and kind with our children and has been from the day they were born. He is the one that is truly Kaiya's best friend. She would be devastated if something happened to him. That reason alone was killing me as we tried to find him yesterday. And truthfully, even though he drives me crazy sometimes and sheds like a bear, I really, really love this snuggly big ole guy. He is a special dog and our family wouldn't be complete without him. So, yeah, this was a big deal. We have a neighbor across the street who has dogs and well, basically is just a really kind human being. She understood how big of a deal it was. She immediately walked off, helping us look for Chase. Then, she jumped in her car with her daughter and off they drove to continue looking for him. Awhile later, she comes walking into the house, holding tightly onto a big, brown horse and I swear, I think she was just as emotional as I was! She said she found him walking down the street toward our house. It was as if he was saying, "what's the big deal, I knew where I was all along!" And just like that, Chase was back in our family, back home where he belongs. I scolded him good, but I think he knew I wasn't really mad. Just grateful that he was back. And then I gave him some big snuggles and scratches on his belly. Kaiya never even knew what had happened. All was well again! Silly dog!
Another lowlight was having to say good-bye to our guests. We got to have Chris' brother and his family come stay with us for a few days as they made their move to a new state. We always have so much fun with them when they are here and our kids really, really adore their kids. Kaiya would seriously follow her cousin Katie around all day every day if she could. She is enamored with her! But there were definitely highlights to the day as well. One of my favorite parts of the day was when Kaiya was "putting me to bed". She loves to play this. She brings out her pillows and blankets from her bed. She tells me to lay down. Then tells me to lift up my head so she can put a pillow under it. Then she piles all the blankets on me, making sure my toes are covered too and that the blankets are snug under my chin. Then she gets her stuffed animals and piles them around my head, so I'm not lonely while I sleep. Then she gets her sippy cup and gives that to me in case I get thirsty. Then she kneels down next to me and puts her face right up into mine and gently brushes my eyes closed with her hand. I'm always surprised at how gently she does this. Then she leans over and gives me a soft kiss on my cheek and whispers, "night night mommy". And a huge smile comes over my whole face because I am so in love with how sweet and gentle she is. If she catches me with my eyes open (and I like her to catch me, so I'm sure to do it when she is looking), she comes back over and kneels down again and then gently brushes my eyes shut and says, "close your eyes baby" and gives me another gentle kiss. You could not meet a sweeter little girl. She is just pure kindness! Definitely a highlight!
Another highlight I should mention, the dinner we had last night. I tried a new recipe and it's too good not to share! If you like steak tacos, you MUST try this recipe!! It was really, really good and a keeper for my recipe box! Here it is:
Grilled Steak Tacos with Mango Salsa
Marinade:
1 1/2 - 2 lbs. flank steak
1/4 c. orange juice (juice of 1 orange)
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. honey
1 1/2 t. orange zest
1/2 t. salt
2 T. vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. chili powder
1/4 t. pepper
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 t. oregano
Mix all the marinade ingredients together. Score steak in 1 inch intervals. Place steak and marinade in resealable bag and marinade in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
Remove steak from bag and discard marinade. Place on grill over medium heat and grill 10-15 mins per side (or until desired doneness). Remove from grill and cover for 5 minutes to lock in moisture. Cut in thin slices against the grain.
Place steak in flour tortillas. ***I have to insert my opinion here. You must use the raw, uncooked tortillas. They really are the best. I mean, any tortilla would work, but if you want optimal yumminess, use the raw tortillas (just be sure to cook them before adding the meat :)) Load the taco with all your favorite fixings. We used diced avacado, sprinkled lime juice and pepper jack cheese. Be sure to add the salsa (listed below) too.
Mango Salsa:
1 mango diced
1/3 c. red onion, finely diced
juice of 1 lime
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
salt, pepper to taste
YUM!!
posted by Chris Grover at 8:05 AM
6 Comments:
This recipe sounds so yummy....I'll try it when we get home...even though, I do not plan to cook again for a very long time...such a dream!
I instantly thought Kaiya had run away. Silly me!
I will have to give that recipe a try, of course making a few tweeks, and using corn tortillas. thanks for sharing!
What a sweet neighbor you have to help you search for your dog. Everytime the door opens our dog runs out and it is so dang frustrating. I am so glad that you found him. Your recipe does sound good and one I will try on my family.
Now believe it or not--I actually had tears in my eyes reading the "run away" story. Who would have thought....
Would Kaiya like to do the "good night GRANDMA" game??
That recipe sounds tasty! And thank goodness you found Chase! It's so scary when they get away.
yum, i am going to give that recipe a try. thanks charles!!!
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