Just keep spinning...

Dear friends. The life span of an average hamster is 1-2 years. I know this because I inherited one from a dear friend from school. And I knew nothing about hamsters when I naïvely agreed to inherit my new furry buddy. 

His name is PJ (Percy Jeffrey). He was one year old when he shuffled into my world. We instantly bonded. And by bonded I mean he escaped from his hamster ball in a chaotically unorganized pre-k classroom I was putting together last summer. There was panic. Mostly on my end (I assume). And some screaming. (Definitely on my end). Turns out, PJ feels right at home balled up in a kiddo cubby. Who knew?

PJ was supposed to live at school. But I felt bad for him during the weekends so I brought him home to Bee and Turtle. 

Clearly the air-head in me thought this thru. Yes, he will have a calm, relaxing, quiet weekend at school. Let's take him on vacation every Fri-Sun at a place where toddlers HURL things across the room and shove sharp objects in small spaces. (Don't believe me? I just found toddler silverware in our AIR CONDITIONING VENT in the kitchen).  Let's do it. PJ put on his game face. And sure enough, his poor cage was over turned in less than an hour. 

He survived. And persevered. And in fact, he is still alive and kicking. Literally. (He has learned some hamster defense moves since moving into our living room). 

And shockingly, he may only eat once or twice a week- I tend to forget he needs sustenance....only sometimes. Often. Whatever. He stashes food. And he still lives!!

Elmo, cat king, has established quite a relationship with him also. One would think a small rodent being in the presence of a morbidly obese feline would tend to shave months off of the small being. Adherently no. It's almost extended his life. I mean, he is now on THREE years. That's fantastic! Elmo talks to him daily.  I'm currently researching hamster vitamins. 

I end this rant with a wheel. A hamster wheel. I am convinced cardiovascular health is the key to PJ's longevity. No matter how rough his day, I hear him hauling his hind end off on that blasted hamster wheel. Seriously he runs it like he is in fire. If PJ were a person he would be competing in Ironmans and Olympic activities. I know the toddler snacks my Loves 'gently' shove in his cage aren't pills of youthfulness. It's gotta be the wheel. 

Now I'm thinking. I know, hold into y'all's seats. Can I get a hamster wheel? How does one go about inheriting a person sized wheel?? Would I break my collar bone (again)? How fast could I go? What if my t-rex arms can't support me if I start to spin with the wheel? Maybe it's best I leave the wheeling up to PJ. After all, it's keeping the old guy alive!!!

What other animal toys can I use??

XOXO Summer

Wordless Wednesday

What's your nightmare?

XOXO Summer

Stir-Fried Leeks w/ Salt & Pepper Shrimp

Oh Ya'll!  This dish was SO GOOD!  And SO SPICY.  My poor babes enthusiastically munched down the shrimp until they could barely handle it and ended up with yogurt and milk to soothe their poor mouths.  Even I thought it was too spicy.  So here's what I did, feel free to omit or add what you want to change the heat factor.

Stir-Fried Leeks w/ Salt and Pepper Shrimp

For Shrimp:

2 tsp sesame seeds-- toasted (I didn't have any so I skipped 'em)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp red pepper flakes-- seriously skipping this next time!

1/2 tsp sugar

1 lb large shrimp, peeled (I took the extra five minutes to yank the tails off each one as I was rinsing them) *Aldi's grocery store sells a 1 lb bag of these raw babes for under $10.  Good quality!!

For Stir-Fry:

2 TB peanut oil (I used canola)

2 tsp ginger (I had dried...)

6 cups sliced-- thinly-- leeks (I just bought a 'bunch' which was 3 stalks)-- finally found them at Super Target...no one else has them in yet...

1/4 c diced red bell pepper

1/4 c chicken broth

2 tsp soy sauce

For shrimp:

Toss cleaned shrimp in mixture of salt, pepper, & sugar.  Stir fry in pan of 2 TB oil until firm.  Cooking shrimp takes literally 2 minutes.  Pink on outside.  Firm to touch.  DONE.  

Remove shrimp from heat, set aside.  

Take a minute to start to boil some water for some minute rice (in another pot).  Stir fry your leeks and red bell pepper and ginger in another 1 TB of oil (in same pan shrimp were in).  When the mixture cooks down and soaks up the moisture, add the chicken broth and soy sauce.  YUMMY!  I let my leeks cook way down in the broth, this took about 10 minutes.  Perfect for the rice to cook and be ready at the same time.

Plate it out and enjoy!

What are you eating tonite?

XOXO Summer

Thanks so much, Cuisine at Home for your delish recipe!  You never fail me! 

Pizza! Pizza!

Poptarts. Pizza. My rambunctious Bass Babes are quite particular in certain things. It is definitely safe to say that my 1 1/2 yr old is as much of a foodie as I am. He eats sushi and edamame for crying out loud. 

Our newest obsession? Pizza. Any way, shape, or form. If Turtle sees it on a billboard whilst car riding he screams bloody murder until he is konked out or sees a bus. (God help us, busses are also a big deal....)

One night I toiled and slaved away over a twenty minute dinner-shocking I know- and we sat down to eat. My husband said, 'Bubba, do you want pizza?'  And that was it. I had a flailing, screaming, MAD toddler on my hands that wanted nothing to do with the dinner I presented him on a plastic, toddler sized platter. He refused to eat because it was not pizza. And he wouldn't eat anything else we had at home. He loves pizza just that much. 

Bubba doesn't care how steaming hot the pizza is. He doesn't care if there are gross veggies on it. He doesn't even require ranch dip. The kid simply wants crust and cheese with tangy marinara.  

A sweet friend took us out for lunch a few weeks ago. I had to order two kids pizzas (6 slices each, mind you), and both of my children scarfed the entirety of pizzas in less than 15 minutes. Like a hyena on a wildabeast.  Not my proudest mommy moment. 

I suppose I should be grateful. Three months ago the obsession was poptarts. He had it bad for poptarts. 

One time, on the way to church, I had to pull over to the nearest gas staton to buy the boy a poptart because we didn't have time to eat one before leaving the house. He was shaking he was so distraught. Then as soon as the sweet pastry was in his grasp he LITERALLY KISSED IT before demolishing it.  

I wonder what the new food craving will be soon. Hopefully not steak and potatoes. Or lobster bisque. Or baked Alaska....

What are you craving?

XOXO Summer