For all of you Fashionistas!

Oh my this was fun!  I hate shopping, kinda hard with three curious and loud munchkins.  So this is the next best thing....

Please go Macys Fashion Director:  to make your dream outfit like I did.  So what do you think of my Hip Mommy on the Go outfit?  I know the shoe is upside down... it flip when they posted it into Blogger, oh well you get the idea.

P.S.  send me a link in the comment section, I would love to see other fabulous outfits :)

Ja matta ne,
Little Mochi

When Life drops off a Truckload of Lemons ....

Stop by 5 minutes for Mom , A Lot of Love, and Live and Love Out Loud for more  Wordless Wednesday.

Ja matta ne,
Little Mochi

Post It Note Tuesday

Ja matta ne,

Little Mochi

Little Mochi Family

My second embroidery project is done, all that is missing is a frame!  While hopping around some crafty blogs I noticed a family done in embroidery and I thought , insert thought bubble here," I can do that!"  The following week I set out to do a Little Mochi style person and included our fuzzy four legged babies.  With this project I decided to go with my Awesome stick figure-ish  people.  It took a day to sketch out the people on paper and then it took another day or so to get the doggies to come out just right.  Once my creative consultants were happy with their dress design, I traced the whole thing onto muslin.  A little trick if you do not have a light box, tape the sketch to a sunny window with the fabric on top and voila! Now that  the hard part is over on to the easy part, the embroidery. The girls loved having a say in the colors used.  I am happy with the outcome and Hubby provided his standard "that's cute".  I love that we are all holding hands and I even stitched on wedding bands for Hubby and I. Silly, right?!!?

This project proved that I finally stumbled upon something challenging and fun to do while the munchkins are dreaming of castles,unicorns and pixie dust.  I just might do one for my sister and her little family, now how to draw a uniform and baby?!?!? (see, challenging!)

Ja matta ne,
Little Mochi

Sunday Citar

Be the change you want to see in the world.

Mahatma Ghandi

Philosophy

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body.  

But rather to....

skid in sideways,

chocolate in one hand,

red wine in the other,

your body thoroughly used up,

totally worn out and screaming,

WOO HOO WHAT A RIDE!!!

Enjoy Your Ride!

p.s wish I could take credit for this but when I saw it it spoke to me as a reminder about life.

Ja matta ne,

Little Mochi

Circle Time with Little Mochi ~ Monkey and the Crab

While jumping around the blogosphere (not sure if this is a real word but for now it works) I found a terrific post at a children story blog.  I think it was kismet that we came across this on a day when Mommy School was not done due to my lack of motivation.  So why not get some of our Japanese lesson in with this cute little story.  There are no subtitles which is why I have added this English translation.  It seems that there are different versions of this tale, as usual with all Fairy Tales and other stories passed down orally - personally I like the anime's ending.  Oh,  here is a link to find a really cute coloring page for your  Munchkin to complete after they listen to this story.  Pumpkin was so happy to color her little kani san!




Thank you for stopping by and seeing our first installment of Circle Time with Little Mochi.  We hope that you come back again to see what new story we have in store for you.

Ja matta ne,
Little Mochi

Wordless Wednesday - Princess Pea?!?

 Pumpkin making the most of her lost sofa privileges and her little protector.

Stop by 5 minutes for Mom for more  Wordless Wednesday.

Ja matta ne,

Little Mochi

My First Post It Note Tuesday

Why bother wasting your breath, spewing verbalness ... when you can simply sum it all up in one neat n tidy little post it note.

Ja matta ne,
Little Mochi

Yawata-Maki

When I moved out on my own my lovely Mom was worried about my cooking skills so while on a trip home to Okinawa, prior to the BIG move to Texas, she had me in the kitchen and sent me a great little cookbook. 

Unfortunately it was lost in the mess that life brings to a house and I recently unearthed it with delight!  The first thing in it that I knew that I wanted to try was Yawata-Maki.  Steak wrapped around asparagus and green onion pan fried in teriyaki sauce, all things that the munchkins and Hubby love.  YUM!

Okay here we go!

What I love about this dish is that it has simple ingredients and is easy to put together.

The butcher did not slice it thin enough for me today, no worries, I will just half the slice so when I roll it will not be enormous. Be sure to do a tad better job of slicing off the extra fat.  I used just one steak with an onion all the others were with asparagus spears, which the girls loved.

Oh, just a little note.  See how my toothpicks stick out?  Okay, not so great when you get it into the pan. It will not be able to roll around and brown on all sides. I had a mid cooking adjustment on these suckers.  Lesson learned :)

All in all it turned out beautiful and YUMMY!  The girls and Hubby agreed that this is something that Mamma could make again and again.  Love how my little adventures have tiny hiccups but 97.9% of the time they end up with smiles and full tum tums :)

Yawata - maki

adapted from Japanese Cuisine for Everyone

1 lbs thinly sliced beef sirloin or tenderloin

asparagus, steamed

Teriyaki sauce

2 tbs Veggie oil

Cut the veggies to the same lengths as the width of your beef slice and place at one end of the slice.  Roll up the beef slice and secure roll with toothpicks.  Saute beef rolls in oil, shaking the pan to evenly brown the meat.  Once brown pour on the teriyaki sauce; cover and cook on low heat till done.

Teriyaki Sauce

2 tbs grated fresh ginger

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tbs sake

1/2 tsp sugar

1 clove garlic crushed

Mix all the ingredients together and set aside.

Ja matta ne,
Little Mochi

Sunday Citar

Snowflakes are kisses from heaven.  ~Author Unknown

 

Spring is here and yet we wake up to a beautiful winter wonderland this morning.

Ja matta ne,

Little Mochi

Spring is FINALLY here !

 Wordless Wednesday

Ja matta ne,

Little Mochi

Scrappy to Snazzy

All over the internet you see lots of posts on how to make little flower rosettes and such for hair clips so I thought why not!?! Now, please bear in mind that I am not a craft expert by any stretch of the imagination. We have little scraps and strips of fabric left over from the quilts that I made at the end of last year that I could try to do something with, someday.  Well, Squirt was asking for some new pretties for her hair and that lit the fire to get one (two or three) done.

For the first one we did I took one of the girls tea set plates as a template, yup a plastic tea plate.  The girls decided we should fill it in with a circle and heart.

The other one was just simple circles within circles from felt and fabric.

What do you think of Squirt's display of her new lovelies?  And yes, she wore all of them the rest of the day.

Just as I warned, not very crafty or original just used what we had and NOT perfect.  It reminds me that I am not doing these things to impress anyone out there.  I do this to give little lovelies to my girls that they will enjoy, perfect or not.


Ja matta ne,
Little Mochi

Bundled Up

Bundled Up  Week 11


I am not a professional and just started to play around with photo editing and this photo is all but perfect but I love this picture.  So sweet of Peanut to take a second  from her snow day fun to kinda smile for Mommy.  Do not forget to visit iheartfaces to see all the other wonderful photos.

 

Ja matta ne,

Little Mochi

Sunday Citar

"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles."

~Audrey Hepburn


Prior to having girls I would have had to AGREE with this but now with three little girls in the house how can you NOT BELIEVE?!?! 

Hope on over to Freshmommyblog.com to see other quotes for inspiration and motivation.

Ja matta ne,
Little Mochi

Sweets for the Sweet

Okay, I know that this is not the first time that someone has thought of this but Why Not post the wonderful treat we whipped up.  IF you are looking for something pink, sweet, and yummy keep reading. 

First make a batch of your favorite cookies, chocolate chunk is the house favorite.

Find some jumbo marshmallows that you have on hand in your pantry.  

 

Place cookie  upside down on a plate with one marshmallow on top and heat in microwave for about 15  seconds.  Just until the little guy puffs up.  

Take another cookie and top the marshmallow, Voila! You have your own cookie sandwich,  kinda reminds me of a Moon Pie sans chocolate coating.   

 

 

Last but not least Enjoy while warm and giggle along with the gooey fun.

Super sweet and gooey the combination's are up to you! The Munchkins decided that we should try peanut butter cookies with chocolate marshmallows next. Peanut butter and chocolate how can you go wrong?!?!?  Nothing like experimenting in the kitchen with the girls, we might need to break out my old lab coats for this one instead of the aprons.

Ja matta ne,
Little Mochi

Bedtime Stories

All this week at the girls school there is a Book Fair and the theme  in every classroom is Bedtime Stories.  So I thought Why Not post what we are reading as our bedtime story.  With girls 7,5,and 4 they have somewhat outgrown, I should say have memorized, Dr. Seuss for a night time story and I usually end up reading two or three. I know, can we say push over?!?  That is when I decided to read them a fairly large chapter book, you know something that would take a few weeks to get through.  For the first one we  picked out The Sisters Grimm The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley.  Pumpkin and I picked this up at the library and since they loved it so much  I broke down and bought the paperback for our Little Mochi library.  We have made it to chapter four and the girls love it!  It is a tiny bit scary for Pumpkin and there are parts that are "make me laugh out loud funny"!  It is so much fun for me to see the girls when I use "my" British and Grandma voice, they think it is great and it really brings them into the story a bit more.  I am so happy with this book it has sisters, fairy tale characters, mystery, and an eccentric Granny. Come on!  What more can a little munchkin want in a bedtime story.  The one thing that I LOVE, four girls snuggled into a bed giggling and getting a little frightened as we follow the Grimm Sisters on their adventure.

Ja matta ne,
Little Mochi

Mommy can we chase some rainbows?!?!

I just love the girls and their imaginations! One thing that Pumpkin asked one day after watching Curious George was to catch a rainbow.  Seeing that it was winter and very cold outside I suggested we make some then she can catch them.  Easy peasy request and a great way to work in a bit of a science lesson to.  I am sure that you have heard of the Sneaky Chef right? Well I would like to think of myself as a Sneaky Teacher when we are not doing something that is part of her "Mommy School" (more on that later).

So off she went to find the little prism we had and I fetched, boy I have been in the South too long, a jar and a glass to fill with water.  Part of the Sneaky Teacher lesson was a practical living lesson, pouring from one container to another, she even filled the water bottle herself.  Gotta love hearing "Mommy!  I can do IT!!" as the chair is squealing across the kitchen floor.

We compared the difference between the light shining through the smooth mason jar and the drinking glass which was angled.  Then cam Pumpkin's favorite part the prism.  We briefly went over how the light is separated as it goes the prism similar to the way it did with the water!  From here she had the opportunity to play with the prism and jar.

Mission accomplished!  Pumpkin was able to create, catch her own rainbows, and meet Roy G. Biv.  This is a wonderful mnemonic to help remember the color spectrum; Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet.
Here is a little treat, a  video about a man named  Roy G. Biv  by They Might Be Giants. So this St. Patrick's day be sure to go out there on a rainbow hunt and let us know if you see Roy G. Biv!


Ja matta ne,
Little Mochi

My Family

Oh my Goodness!  I think I have found a new hobby and I am soooo excited.  Wanna know what it is ?!?!? Hand Embroidery.  This is something that I found after trying quilting, crotchet, and knitting.  To this day I remember my Mom making the most amazing creations when she crotchet or knitted in the evening.  I wanted to have this little tradition of sorts for my little Munchkins as well.  They call it "needling" and love to see it go from a sketch on my paper to a finished project. The internet has provided instruction, patterns, and ideas for my projects.  The first one that I completed was an idea taken from plaques that commemorate the year of your marriage with a Little Mochi twist.  I love that this project forced me to explore sketching, which is something that scared me.  I mean I can draw one awesome stick figure but to make a rendition of Hubby and I was daunting.  I took my inspiration from kokeshi dolls and this is what I came up with.

So what do you think?!?!  I have a new project in the works right now.  It is one of the whole family and I can not wait to get it completed and framed.  I will post it once it is complete.


Ja matta ne,
Little Mochi

A Messy Kitchen is a Happy Kitchen

 "Mommy Can I heeellllp?!!?"  Is what I hear every night when I start dinner.  This is music to my ears and I have finally gotten to the point that I do not go bananas with the mess or the inconsistent size of the chopped veggie.  I have grown to love this family activity, especially when we get all covered in flour!

The best three dollars I have ever spent was on this little beauty, My Safe Cutter from Pampered Chef .  The girls are able to help me chop veggies while I am doing the meat and all the while we are chit chatting and dancing to the music in the background.

I can go on and on about the wonderful benefits of cooking with your children in regards to their education ,Sneaky Teacher time, but what I love about it is that you see their little personalities in they way they approach the task, sisterly compassion with the turn taking and encouragement they show each other, and just the fun that we are having in that moment.

Oh, and the pride they show when the task is done and dinner is served is Priceless!  So Why Not have the kiddos get in there and do some chopping and mixing.  I promise the mess that is created is short lived but the memories of making it will be forever with your Munchkins.  

Ja matta ne,

Little Mochi

Sunday Citar

 

The work will wait while you show a child the rainbow, but the rainbow will not wait while you do the work.

Patricia Clifford

  Please visit Fresh Mommy to find inspiration and motivation in her Sunday Citar.

Bento box Little Mochi style

Squirt and Peanut have never had a school bought lunch and to keep them interested in their home made lunches I thought I could jazz things up with a Bento box.  I love the little bento box idea and I am short on cash so what is a girl to do?!?!  You use what you got and improvise, so here is my take on a Bento box.

Sandwich container + silicone liners = cute Bento!
We were using these containers already for their sandwiches since Squirt requested we do our part to help the landfills and I agreed to help our pocketbooks :)  The little butterfly silicone cupcake liners were found in the Dollar Section at Super Target and I am still on the hunt for some more!  The liners are the perfect height to fit in the sandwich container and when the lid is placed on the items do not fall out so nothing is touching that shouldn't.  I place a sandwich cut into little shapes, "sushi" as in the photo, chicken nuggets, or little onigiri (rice balls) in the larger section and we use the liners to hold their fruit and treat.  Pumpkin usually requests what her older sisters have for lunch, which makes it easy on me.  All she has to do is open the fridge at lunchtime and it is all ready.  Now how easy is that?!?!

Not your everyday salad

I am very excited to be posting my first recipe on my blog and thought it would be fitting for it to be a favorite of mine that I have finally got up the nerve to make on my own.  So here goes hope you like it .....

   Your cast of merry characters

Now this is Salted Seaweed Stems you will be able to find this in an Asian market near you... the brand I picked up is Korean but seaweed stems are seaweed stems, right?!?!?  Following directions when it comes to cooking is not something I do very well but believe me when I say that rinsing the stems three to four times then soaking then overnight in the fridge is the way to go. The next day rinse it again and drain well.  Cut the strands if they are too long or thick.  I personally skipped this step.

Konyaku is made from Yam and very very Yummy.  Oh, and there are ZERO calories in this stuff it is my new best friend!  Slice this into thin slivers.  Just a hint to save time use the noodles.  It will smell fishy but have NO fear just take some salt and wash the konyaku with it.  Yes, pour some on, rub it, rinse, and repeat.  It really will with the scent.  Another one of those hints that only Mom could provide!


Now that was the hardest part...

Get the cast together by the stove top and heat the oil in a pan and then cook the konyaku for about 3 minutes on med to high heat then add the stems and all the other ingredients.  Easy right?!  Stir this frequently and keep going until the liquid is all evaporated.  Place into a container, chill and enjoy ;)


Phew!  Think that does it, hope you go out there and try this or another dish you were always scared to try.

Do one thing everyday that scares you. ~ Elenore Roosevelt

Okinawan Seaweed Salad

By Littlemochis.blogspot.com

Ingredients

1 pkg Seaweed Stems

2 tbs Salad Oil   (any mild oil like Canola will work)

1 pkg Konyaku (noodles or cake)

¼ cup Soy Sauce

2 tbs Mirin (Japanese Sweet Rice Wine)

2 tbs Sake

2 tbs Sugar

¼ tsp dashi-no-moto (soup base granules)

Optional add ins :

1 6 oz pkg Gobo tempura fish cake slivered

10 oz Tofu (firm and well drained)

Rinse seaweed stems several times and soak overnight.  Next day rinse very well and drain. 

In a large skillet, heat the oil.  Saute seaweed stems, fish cake, and konyaku for 3 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients; except tofu.  Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, until liquid evaporates.  Chill.  Cut tofu into strips and add to salad; toss lightly. 

6 small servings