I was so excited to successfully make Pad Thai for dinner last night!  Here is the recipe.  I made a few substitutions and we had peanut sauce on the side.  I used two eggs, soy sauce instead of fish sauce, white vinegar instead of tamarind, whole package of rice noodles, left out the dried chili powder (for Kaits sake), banana flower, peanuts and preserved turnip (eww).  I found the recipe here.

1/2		lime
1		egg
4	teaspoons	fish sauce
3	cloves	garlic, minced
1/2	teaspoon	ground dried chili pepper
		ground pepper
1		shallot, minced
2	tablespoon	sugar
2	tablespoon	tamarind
1/2	package	Thai rice noodles
2	tablespoon	vegetable oil
1/2-1/4	lb	shrimp	Optional
1/2		banana flower	Optional
1/3	cup	tofu – extra firm	Optional
1-1/2	cup	Chinese chives – green	Optional
2	tablespoons	peanuts	Optional
1-1/3	cup	bean sprouts	Optional
1	tablespoon	preserved turnip	Optional

Soak the dry noodles in lukewarm water while preparing the other ingredients, for 5-10 minutes. Julienne tofu and cut into 1 inch long matchsticks. When cut, the extra firm tofu should have a mozzarella cheese consistency. Cut up Chinese chives into 1 inch long pieces. Set aside a few fresh chives for a garnish. Rinse the bean sprouts and save half for serving fresh. Mince shallot and garlic together.

Use a wok. If you do not have a wok, any big pot will do. Heat it up on high heat and pour oil in the wok. Fry the peanuts until toasted and remove them from the wok. Add shallot, garlic and tofu and stir them until they start to brown. The noodles should be flexible but not expanded at this point. Drain the noodles and add to the wok. Stir quickly to keep things from sticking. Add tamarind, sugar, fish sauce, chili pepper and preserved turnip. Stir. The heat should remain high. If your wok is not hot enough, you will see a lot of juice in the wok at this point. Turn up the heat, if it is the case. Make room for the egg by pushing all noodles to the side of the wok. Crack the egg onto the wok and scramble it until it is almost all cooked. Fold the egg into the noodles. Add shrimp and stir. Add bean sprouts, chives. Stir a few more times. The noodles should be soft and very tangled.

Pour onto the serving plate and sprinkle with peanuts. Serve hot with the banana flower slice and a wedge of lime on the side and raw Chinese chives and raw bean sprouts on top.

As always, in Thailand, condiments such as sugar, chili pepper, vinegar and fish sauce are available at your table for your personal taste. Some people add more pepper or sugar at this point.

So despite the journey home my trip to Texas was wonderful.  I was so blessed to be able to go introduce the girls to my family (last time I was in Texas I was pregnant with Kaitlyn), see my brother Chad again after almost nine years and be speak at my parents Bless the Givers reception on April 24th.

It was an amazing trip.  I feel like I am still processing my time there.  Naturally everyone loved seeing the girls, especially Chad.  It was a blessed and wonderful time.  I really feel that it is too special to blog about.

But I do want to say THANK YOU to those who made my trip possible.  Know that I am praying God will bless you 100 fold for your generosity and I am humbled that you would be so willing to make the weekend happen.

Thank you!

The day started off great with pictures by flowers and a last meal at Chick Fil A.  But from there it went south.  I had nausea, a wheeled bag, an over sized tote bag, a purse, a baby strapped to me and a toddler attached to one hand.  The first flight was great until Kaitlyn said “I need to go pee.”  Well no problem I thought, she’s in a diaper.  So much for diapers.  It leaked through and this was the one time since she was born that I did not have a change of clothes in the diaper bag!  Her clothes were in the bag that they gate checked.  I took her pants off, changed her diaper and we became the white trash row on the airplane as I hung her pants on the tray table and she sat in her diaper.

As the flight landed I knew I had 30 minutes to get to my next flight.  In that time I would have to get my bag, change Kyra’s diaper and go to the bathroom.  Which in itself would be a feat with a toddler, a baby strapped to me and my bags.  Thankfully Kaitlyn’s clothes were mostly dry.  I found out that we were arriving at the B terminal and my next flight left from E.  Hmmm….that didn’t sound too good.  I asked the guy at the counter how long it would take me to get there.  “Seven minutes walking,” he replied.  I waited for my bag, Kyra was securely strapped on, we were good to go.  I could go check in and then find the closest bathroom.  I was getting desperate but knew the flight came first.  I made it past two gates and decided I should have them call me a cart.  Thankfully the counter was clear so the lady quickly called a cart.  As she was calling I felt a warm substance flood down my leg.  Not trickle, flood.  It was like the diaper dam had broken.  Kyra was soaked.  The carrier was soaked.  And I was soaked.  My heart sank and I felt nausea.  I quickly unstrapped Kyra only to find that because of the way she was in the carrier I now looked like I had wet my pants, which I felt like I may do at any moment.  I changed Kyra’s diaper right by the counter but didn’t have her change of clothes as it was in the bottom of the carry on and I didn’t have time to dig for it.  So Kaitlyn was in clothes with mostly dried pee, Kyra was just in a diaper and shirt and I looked like I had wet my pants.

The cart came and I told the guy that I needed to go to E83 and I thought my flight was boarding.  He asked for my boarding pass but it was in my purse which he had stashed upfront with him.  No worries, he’d look at it when we got there.  It was a LONG ways to gate E.  There is no way that I could have made it on my own.  We got to a sign that said E with a flight of stairs under it.  Hmmm.  Didn’t look good.

“This is as far as I can go, you have to go downstairs to get to the E gates.  I don’t need to look at your boarding pass since you’re in a hurry.”  I thanked him and gathered up Kyra, the carrier, the two bags and my purse.  I didn’t have a free hand to hold Kaitlyn so I was directing her to stay close and run!  Thankfully there was an elevator but as the doors at our level opened three things happened.

1) I saw an extremely crowded room and panicked about how I would get through with my babies and gear.

2) Kaitlyn darted out without me.

3) I heard a page: “Marianne and Kaitlyn Krauss, this is your final boarding call.  Marianne and Kaitlyn Krauss, this is your final boarding call.”

I yelled at, and scared, Kaitlyn but she came back to me, then I gathered everything and switched to China crowd mode and started pushing through trying to keep the bags balanced and Kaitlyn close.  I couldn’t see the gate numbers but finally saw Gate 68.  I had to go to 83.  PANIC!  The people around me probably thought I was crazy as I was mumbling “They paged me, where’s the gate?  Kaitlyn stay close.  Kaitlyn run!” over and over.  The bags fell twice but at least it wasn’t the babies.  A guy helped me get them back together and I stumbled my way to a gate and asked where gate 83 was.  Around the corner.  Thanks I yelled as I stumbled and ran.  We ran over an airport employee but she was cool about it.  We made it to the gate.  The doors were closed, it looked empty, but there was a lady at the counter.

“I’m Marianne Krauss, I was just paged.  I’m here!”  I yelled.  She smiled and pointed me BACK three gates and yelled at the lady that I was there.  So I ran/stumbled over.

“You’re Marianne?”  she asked and then handed me boarding passes and said, “You made it.  Go down to door 34.”

What?  Wasn’t I at the gate?  I gathered up my gear and we headed through the door.  Sure enough it was a corridor with doors and the door across from us was 22.  Twelve doors to go.  I was exhausted.  I was about to cry.  I still had to pee.

So I took a deep breath and said, “Come on Kaitlyn, lets go to our plane!”  My arms were shaking.  Two doors down I saw a guy with a wheelchair dropping an old lady off at her plane.  As he came off I asked if I could put Kaitlyn and a bag in the chair to go down to Gate 34.

He told me to sit in the chair and he’d take us all.  I didn’t think it would work.  It was one of those skinny wheelchairs and I didn’t see how me, a wheeled bag, a big tote bag, my purse and the two girls would fit.  He did though.  He stuffed the wheeled bag under the wheelchair.  He carried the tote bag and I sat with Kaitlyn, Kyra and my purse.

“No worries.  My name is Ivar, I am from Russia.  Is this your first time to Salt Lake?  Do you like it?”

“Sure, thank you.  I think my flight is about to leave, it’s door 34.”

“Okay, no problem.”

Ivar was great, especially with his long skinny braid and crooked teeth but he wasn’t the quickest.  Door 34 was a long ways down the corridor.  I was very glad Ivar was there.  We rolled up to the plane.

Of course they took my bag to gate check.  So once again no clean clothes for the girls.  Ivar went with me on the plane and carried my other bag all the way down to the last row of the plane past every packed seat of every person who had waited for me to get there.  I put Kaitlyn in front of me and carried a pant-less Kyra and the wet carrier and my purse and tried not to hit anyone in the head.

We made it to our seats which were the last row next to the toilet.  I peaked into the toilet trying to see if I could fit in there, go to the restroom and hold Kyra at the same time.  No way.  Unless I left the door open and I didn’t think the couple across the way would appreciate that.  The stewardess came back thinking I was looking for a changing table; which made sense as Kyra was pant-less and we all probably smelled of pee.

I told her my predicament and she said “Well once we close the doors let me ask the captain if we can delay take off a minute and I’ll come back and hold the baby so you can go to the toilet.”  I hoped no one else had heard because I had already delayed the flight but I really had to pee.

“Okay, thanks.”

A few minutes later she came back.  Kyra let her hold her and didn’t cry and I was finally relieved.  The rest of the flight was pretty good but I was so tense that I think it will take a few more days for me to really unwind.  When Tim met us in Spokane I said, “We all need a diaper change!”

He laughed the whole way home while I tried not to cry.  I was so relieved to be home.

It seems that every where we live the people there claim that their weather is the weirdest or most extreme in some way.  I have come to believe that weather in general is just weird.  It doesn’t matter where you live the weather is going to be weird.  Today Spokane got the award for weird weather.  This morning it was sunny, then windy, then overcast, then warm and sunny, then overcast and windy, then warm and sunny, then overcast, then SNOWING and HAILING, then sunny again.  The girls and I played outside before lunch and then during nap time it was actually hailing.  That is some weird weather.

What kinds of weird weather have you experienced?

I watched Food Inc again last week.  This time it was with a group of women who are starting to see a problem and are eager to make a change that will effect their families and their community.  It was pretty funny listening to everyone talk.  It was as if we were all preaching to the choir.  I felt a little sorry for the one lady who was new to the topic and got bombarded by all of our news and views.  She kept asking questions though.

I am encouraged that there are other mom’s out there who want what is best for their children, the environment and their communities.  I learned a lot by talking with them and I am excited about getting together again and learning more.  One woman in on the board of directors of Main Market downtown, another is a chef and another worked with a congresswoman and is very knowledgeable about the political issues involved.  We’ll start our own food revolution right here in Spokane.  Let me know if you want to be apart of it!

I do not understand all the TV shows these days about crime and hospitals and the office.  Aren’t those the places most people want to stay away from?  People usually want to watch TV to relax and unwind.  How can you do that if you are watching crime and violence and emergency situations?

There are some good shows on TV though.  One that I am very excited about is starting on Friday.  There was a sneak peak last night and I can’t wait to watch more!  It’s Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.  It got my little food activist heart beating even stronger.  It isn’t organic but it’s healthier and a HUGE step in the right direction.  I also love that Jamie visited a church and met with the pastor.  The pastor is an advocate for healthy eating and honoring God with your body.  I am excited about the show and I hope it brings about change not just in West Virginia but across America.

And what’s on TV right now…Dancing with the Stars.  Lets see if the moon walker can dance with the stars.  Although I still don’t believe anyone has been to the moon.

Over the years I have started writing books.  Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, autobiographical -I’ve started them all.  But none of them got very far.  Well after having children and reading hundreds if not thousands of childrens books I’ve started writing childrens books.  The only problem with choosing this genre is that it is probably the most flooded and most difficult to get into.  I seem to like to choose the most difficult thing or the most expensive item.  Good thing I married a millionaire.

Anyway, I need some help.  Does anyone have any resources they would recommend about publishing or writing?  And most importantly I’d appreciate your prayers as I start this new venture.  Thanks!

I heard on the radio the other day that several companies are taking high fructose corn syrup out of their products.  I’m glad that they are taking out the HFCS but sugar is still sugar.  America needs a complete diet makeover.  It is very depressing when I go to the grocery store and I see cart after cart filled with absolute junk.  And the carts of people with kids are filled with the most processed, sugary, artificially flavored filled stuff.  I sometimes feel nauseous.

I have to concede that the food industry in America has a remarkable marketing team.  And a fantastic relationship with government.  I can’t believe some of the claims that food make.  Aren’t there labeling laws?  Obviously the bad products are not required to tell the truth and the good products are required to state that “there is really no difference” between their good product and the bad product.  It truly is ridiculous.  Just look at the cereal aisle.  How can Lucky Charms claim to be a good source of Calcium and Vitamin D and have a Whole Grain guarantee?  IF you drink it with whole milk then I believe it gets calcium and vitamin D.  And it may have some whole grain BUT it is 41% SUGAR.  Ugh, they should be ashamed to be marketing that to kids.

Most kids in America have the WORST breakfasts.  Sugary cereals served with hormone-laden milk. Hmm….that will get your day started right. *sic*  Don’t kids have enough to face in their day, shouldn’t they get a good start? At least let them feel better.  I truly believe that if we would change our diets we would change our lives.  Body, soul and spirit are all connected.  We need to be wise and take care of each part of ourselves.

Sure you can’t go all organic but at least take one junk thing out of your diet every other month.  I would recommend sodas as a start.  I think that there are a lot of people who are addicted and would have much happier lives if they could break that addiction.

Kyra is cruising.  She is really good at it too.  I no longer feel the need to rush over to her or catch my breath when she wobbles.  She can squat and reach to pick things up and stand back up.  Not hands free yet but she is working on it.  Yesterday she was holding on to me and then let go and stood on her own for a few seconds.  She looked at me like “hmmm…this is different” then she put her hand on my knee again.  She is such a cute little adventurer.

Kaitlyn continues to say the cutest things.  Last night she didn’t want to go to bed and she said she didn’t want me to leave because then she would be alone.  I told her that Jesus was with her and she had her blanket (bink) too and she needed to go on to sleep.  “But mommy,” she replied, “if you leave, me and bink and Jesus will be alone.”  I didn’t have too good a reply for that one.