Grandma Still Lives Here

Life really must be slowly transitioning to something resembling normalcy because I just landed smack dab in the middle of photo week for dance. Last year the world shut down just before photos could be taken, so there will forever be a gap in the dance yearbooks.

This year's will stand out in its own way. The studio that the girls attend is, fortunately, aligned with my expectations for safety, so masks are required for group photos. They're doing some other things to make sure everyone stays safe even as "normal" tries to resume. For that I am grateful. Personally I think that it's important that we capture this past year as it has been - masks and all. I've seen lots of group photos from various kids activities with masks removed and it seems ... contrived. It's like we're trying to fake a reality that doesn't exist, and we're doing something that we know isn't safe to get there. So, mask up! And take photos!

Let's just hope this is the only time in the girls' lives that they'll be wearing masks for safety while around other people. FINGERS CROSSED.

Anyway, despite missing a year of dance photos, I fully remember how much I hate them. I especially hate them for Mila's age because it's way too high maintenance of a situation. First there's making sure her hair is done, then there's gathering all of the pieces of her costumes, and then there's the dealing with alllllll of the other dance moms as they care far more than I do about the outcome of said photos. And I say that way on the other side of hindsight. Alexis has been dancing for 12 years now and I have zero regrets about any of those early photos - none of them matter. Some years her hair was a mess. Some years her costume wasn't quite right. NONE OF IT MATTERS.

So I refuse to change course for Mila. Her photos will matter just as little when we're on the other side of life. It's not like there aren't 209247698234713 photos of that child.

But! Photos didn't suck this year! Because Alexis is THE BEST! Alexis student teaches her little sister's classes, which is magical on a weekly basis, but it was extra EXTRA magical for photos because she -wanted- responsibility for hair and costumes and the whole nine yards. As in, she literally called dibs on the right to be in charge for the day. I'm not going to argue with that.

So Alexis braided Mila's hair and let her have a few dabs of makeup and it was perfect. Except, I didn't know how it all turned out until I went to pick the girls up at the end. So, there was this moment where I was like, "Did your sister let you have makeup?" because Mila was a little extra sparkly and I'm pretty sure there was a dab of mascara on there.

Mila, of course, was delighted to report that she did indeed have fancy makeup on. But just a little. There was a little back and forth before Alexis, she who I have referred to as "Grandma Alexis" for over a decade, blurted out, "Mom, you should have seen all of the hooker plaster on some of those girls."

Hooker. Plaster.

I mean, she's not wrong. I've seen how many pounds of makeup some of those moms put on their tiny dancers, BUT STILL.

That grandma thing is just as true now as it has always been.

Joie de Vivre

I've said it before, and I'll say it again and again. I wish I could bottle up the joy that Mila carries around with her so I could hand it over to other people when they need it.

She is just so damn magical.

Easter is SO AWESOME, per Mila, which makes sense because candy shows up and things get hidden and what's not to like about Easter if you're 3-feet tall and made of joie de vivre? She spent the week leading up to Easter talking about how excited she was. Of course expectations were exceeded because the Easter Bunny is highly motivated by that happy little person.

Speaking of the Easter Bunny, he brings a very special gift every year. Somehow, urban legend has grown over the years and there's this thing where nobody is allowed to wake me up on Easter morning? Don't ask me. I don't know how it became a thing. I just know that both girls believe it with all of their hearts. So, Mila wakes up, sees Easter eggs in plain view (the Easter Bunny can't hide things for real because these particular children can't find their own heads while they're attached to their necks), and has to wait.

And wait.

And wait.

What? You thought I would be considerate and wake up early for the girls? Yeah ... no. Alexis in particular has spent a good portion of her life waking me up for no reason so I will absolutely make her wait for HOURS one day per year. Revenge, y'all. Revenge. I believe in it.

That means Mila has time to walk around the house and spot as many eggs as she can. By the time I do wake up and roll out of bed, she is BURSTING and ... it's the best. She floods the world with words and rambling and so much excitement. And then I tell her she can GO! and start collecting them and it's such a hurricane of chaos.

And then comes the basket hunting. Again, these particular children can't find ANYTHING, even when highly motivated by chocolate, so it's a whole production. Mila is still little enough that the Easter Bunny thinks it shouldn't be too terribly difficult, so she'll walk past an OBVIOUS bulge in the curtains or bump in a misplaced blanket or some other nonsense. She eventually wins the game and then explodes with joy as she discovers the little things tucked into the basket.

Peeps, man. I still say they aren't food, but my children disagree. Mila thinks they are the ultimate in Easter treats. This year she HUGGED the Peeps. HUGGED them.

Alexis is old enough that the Easter Bunny gets a bit more creative in hiding her basket. This year it took her over two hours to find it, which was HILARIOUS because she was pissed and annoyed and frustrated and Mila was absolutely enjoying every second of the torture. She's an evil little thing at times, so she legit taunted her sister with, "Oh, you don't have your basket yet? I have mine," and "Wow, maybe you don't have one because you were mean to me," and it was fantastic. She laughed and cackled and really, I wish I could bottle up some of that joy.

Get you a Mila. It's worth all of the frustration because every once in a while, you get to swim in joie de vivre.

Cheap and Easy Japanese Hibachi Style Noodles

This recipe from 2014 has quietly become the most viewed page on this website. Don't ask me how, but the last time I looked it had been pinned on Pinterest literally thousands of times, which adds up to ... lots of page views.

I still don't have analytics installed. I only vaguely know how many page views because the ads I run on the side are linked to analytics way behind the scenes. If I knew my password to go to that dashboard, well, that would be wild. I could know stuff and stuff.

ANYWAY.

I make these noodles all the time, all these years later. Given that I plan to share space with strangers at a table in Japanese restaurant in about sixteen years (thanks for ruining one of my favorite things, COVID!), I'm really glad I took the time to figure out how to replicate hibachi anything.

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One of my favorite places to go when we eat out is anywhere that has the name "Japanese Hibachi" in the name. The only problem is that I think "Hibachi" roughly translates to "charge much money for cooking on big surface." It's nearly $50 for the three of us to eat dinner out at Soba or Ichiban or the like, which CRAZINESS.

It rarely happens for that exact reason.

But for a long time now, I've watched the cooks at the various hibachi places and known that they aren't really doing anything fancy. The fried rice is simple, the vegetables/tofu seemed simple, even the noodles seemed like something I could do.

Well, I finally put my money where my mouth was and starting making Japanese Hibachi style foods for dinner. It worked out REALLY well.

I obviously don't have a giant hibachi grill in my kitchen, so it involves messing up a whole bunch of pots and pans. The results aren't exactly the same, but WHO CARES BECAUSE HELLO SESAME NOODLES!

It's stupid how easy these turned out to be. Absolutely stupid. But they're SO good. The best thing is that since I'm making them myself, I can have double noodles without parting with a bunch of dollars. HOORAY!

The "real" thing is most likely made with soba noodles. I was going for CHEAP with these shenanigans, though, so I tried plain old spaghetti noodles. I hereby declare them close enough. Seriously. SPAGHETTI WORKS.

You should try it.

Japanese Hibachi Style Noodles (On the Cheap)

1/2 box spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame seeds (check the spice aisle -- they're buried with the small bottles of spices)
Soy sauce to taste

1. Cook the spaghetti. I know I told you to do that in the ingredients list, but I'm just making sure we're clear. Cook it, drain it, blah, blah, blah.

2. Toss the butter in the largest skillet you own. Heat it over medium high heat until it starts to melt then throw in the spaghetti. Toss in the sesame oil, garlic, and rice vinegar while you're at it.

3. Flip and stir those noodles every few seconds to prevent burning. Cook them for about 5 minutes, then add the soy sauce and sesame seeds. By the way, I end up using about 1/4 cup of soy sauce, but you may want to use more. I currently am in sodium avoidance mode.

4. That's it. Seriously. Kind of crazy how easy they are, right?

(FYI--the vegetables and tofu are also fried in a pan with the same ingredients. Just leave the sesame seeds out that time.)