Happy Birthday Caitlin

Yesterday was my sister's birthday. I talked to her on the phone, but I wasn't there. She lives in a different state with her own family and her own life, as I do here in the Far North. And it is all for the best, except that I miss her. A lot.

For a few brief years after she graduated from college, we lived in the same town. She was there (I mean, really there) when Porter was born, and she helped me through the first two years of being a new mom. Having family around when you have small children is a luxury that not everyone has (I know this all too well now), and I really appreciated it. She watched Porter once a week while I worked, for free, even when she worked the night shift and got three hours of sleep. She always helped me when I needed it, even at the last minute. And I think that Porter and Caitlin have a unique bond that goes beyond her just being his aunt. Plus, she often came over bearing the coolest children's books and six packs of beer.

Now Caitlin has a baby of her own, and it makes me sad that I'm not around to help and listen and get to know Ava in the same way. Caitlin just gets me in a way that I'm not sure anyone else really does, she shares my seriously exact same sense of humor, loves to sit around at restaurants drinking wine, and I just miss sitting around with her and talking about nothing and everything.

So, happy birthday Caitlin! We all miss you so much. And you are so totally in your late twenties now.

I'm Cooking: Over the weekend, I made Orange and Ginger Chicken and Barley Vegetable Pilaf. I've only ever really made soup with barley before, but this was a really yummy alternative to rice. I had to use more water and time to get my barley to cook enough, and I used zucchini and carrots instead of all root vegetables. Lots of room for improvisation here. But yum. The link to the pilaf includes a chicken recipe too, but I didn't make that part of it.

I have also been making inroads into my breakfast issues. The kids are lukewarm on the whole thing so far. More tomorrow.