Miss D's first sleepover.

We've had Ian with us all day today. I took him, Miss D, and K-Wiggles to the symphony this morning, then out to lunch at Noodles & Company (Miss D's favorite place). Then we came home and they all spent the day outside riding bikes and jumping on the trampoline.

Daddy-J came home in the middle, after spending the day with M-Moo, and he fed them dinner and put them all to bed while I went shopping and to the airport to pick up our house guests.

The above picture shows the floor of Miss D's room, where she and Ian are sleeping tonight (M-Moo and K-Wiggles are also in there... it's a party!).

WTG Ian for having three beautiful women in your bed with you!

Miss-D's birthday beading party.

I'm very proud of my efforts in the birthday party invitation arena this year! Which is my oh-so-humble way of introducing Miss-D's birthday party invitation...


We're both pretty excited about the party... especially me, now that I finally got things organized with the beading shop this morning!

Can't wait to see you all there... IRL or virtually! LOL!

Can you stand another food post?

Seriously? I don't know why I post about what we ate or cooked so often, but I guess we do it every single day, multiple times a day, so it's a big part of our life here at Casa Llamedos.

Anyway, tonight's dinner was Beef with Broccoli. I found a really simple recipe at Epicurious, modified it a little, and voila! 30 minutes from start to finish and all three girls pretty much gobbled it up! I think we have another winner that will be added to our repertoire.


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Quick Beef with Broccoli Gourmet | May 2007

Who needs takeout? You can make tender sirloin beef tips and broccoli in a velvety soy glaze just as fast yourself.

Yield: Makes 4 servings
Active Time: 10 min
Total Time: 10 min

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 pound sirloin beef tips, sliced against the grain 1/8 inch thick
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
10 ounces frozen broccoli florets, thawed
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/3 cup water

Special equipment: a well-seasoned 14-inch flat-bottomed wok
Accompaniment: rice
Garnish: fresh cilantro sprigs

Toss together cornstarch, salt, pepper, and beef in a bowl until meat is coated.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in wok over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then stir-fry beef until just cooked through, about 1 minute. Transfer with a slotted spoon to another bowl and keep warm, loosely covered with foil.

Add remaining tablespoon oil to wok along with broccoli and garlic and stir-fry over moderately high heat until broccoli is just tender and garlic is pale golden, about 2 minutes.

Add soy sauce and water and bring to a boil. Return meat to skillet and cook, stirring, until sauce is thickened, about 2 minutes.

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Next time I'd leave out the salt in the meat seasoning. I added some fresh ginger when I put the broccoli in, and I added some fish sauce to the soy sauce to make the flavor a bit more interesting. But it was quick and tasty and the girls ate it! What more can a busy mom ask?