I Jinxed it

10:25pm- Wes cries out for no apparent reason but falls immediately back to sleep. maybe he never woke up? luckily we were still awake so no real harm done.

1:00am- Wes wakes up and cries...I think he's going to fall back to sleep so I leave him alone for 5 minutes...when the cry starts to escalate I get out of bed and the moment I open the door he's asleep- ugh! (Jeff never woke up)

6:30am- Wes wakes up for a feeding (he'd been skipping this one so I thought we might be through), typically he falls asleep after this one and will sleep in until 8:30...no such luck- up for the day!

Though I'm feeling tired I am riding a high knowing I will get to sleep in tomorrow! Wes is spending his first weekend with my parents...fun for him, fun for them, and FUN for us (though I'm sure we'll miss him terribly)!


The picture above was taken by my friend, Julie. She got to witness first hand mine and Wes' cuddlefests....he gives me kisses, which ultimately means he slobbers all over my face and then rubs his own face in it until we're both a wet mess and we love it!

Delancey by Night, Besalu by Morn

Talk about a banner 14 hours...Delancey with my Gough brothers and sisters, baby free, what a treat! I truly am so blessed to have married into such a fun family with all of us "siblings" being within 7 years of each other and honestly enjoying, no, cherishing, spending time with one another.

The burrata and the pizza was A-MA-ZING! My only complaints (and I wouldn't be me if I didn't voice them) were that a) it was VERY noisy and with our large-ish group I couldn't really hear or interact with everyone b) they can only cook 2 pizzas in the oven at once so everyone kind of ate at different times...this baffled me at first since pizza is the only entree on the menu, but it turned out to be not so bad because it didn't take too long and I got to nibble on some of Rebekah's! c) the cookies were over done for my taste...which was actually fine because it allowed me to tell my Mom that her version were better (and those I can taste more often...hint, hint). All in all it was a lovely time and the pizza, oh, the pizza was worth it....and the burrata...I've got to figure out how to order that for myself.

Then this morning Wes and I got up and headed out for breakfast at Cafe Besalu...can I just tell you how much I love my neighborhood! I enjoyed a vanilla latte and a delicious ham & cheese pastry...I could seriously eat one of these every morning! I should also note that Wes has been sleeping through the night the past 3 nights...8:00 ish to 7:45- hooray! Talk about a banner 14 hours...

Book Report :: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

As a lover of both the Wizard of Oz (I played a Munchkin in our school play in 1st grade) and of the fantasy genre in general (Lord of the Rings, Legend, Willow...to name a few) I thought that Wicked would be a slam dunk.

Truth be told, several years ago when some of my coworkers were going to New York and said they were going to see Wicked, the Broadway musical, I oohed and ahhed like I knew what it was...assuming it was some hysterically funny (get it? wicked?) show. Little did I know at the time that it was a retelling of the Wizard of Oz from the witches viewpoint...but the original storyline only comes into play in the last 50 pages or so and the 250 pages prior tell the story of Elphaba (the witches name), the misunderstood green girl.

I didn't love this book, in fact, it's rather hard to get into...but once I got going it kind of moved along in a way that was intriguing enough to continue...but ultimately, the heroine isn't very likable and the writer tries too hard to be shocking and frankly it's just too much.

I would not go out of my way to recommend this book, but if you're at all interested then I wouldn't tell you to avoid it completely...and I obviously like it well enough if I went ahead and bought the second book (yep, it's a trilogy)...but I am kind of a finisher, so it might not say much for the story!

Ouchie!

Our little Charlie Chaplin. Crawling means exploring, exploring means taking risks, risk does not often mean reward...in fact it's been quite a week...things falling on the little man's head, face plants on the base board...and just yesterday- fistfuls of dirt in mouth from our avocado plant (now residing upstairs).

I will say that Wes has perfected his fall- butt first now- and always manages to smile. I just hope he doesn't do any permanent damage.

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner!

I can't believe it, but I won a giveaway...whoohoo!

I was going through my old bookmarks and happened upon mummysam, a talented lady from upstate New York...she was hosting a giveaway and the timing was right!

can't wait to get my hoop number in the mail soon.

funny how a little thing like this can really brighten your day!

Book Report :: A Homemade Life

Just finished reading this last night...
My first thought was that this book might be a tad overrated...if I wanted to read blog entries I'd just read her blog...but then I tried a couple of her recipes (banana bread with chocolate & candied ginger and burg's french toast) and I'll admitt it, I was hooked. I also love how this book is such a lovely tribute to her father and how she obviously is smitten with her husband.

I can't wait to try their restaurant next week! Oh, and I'm also looking forward to baking her famous chocolate cake...perhaps I'll skip the cupcakes for Wes' birthday (she did say it froze easily)!

I'd definitely recommend this book, a little for her stories, but especially for the food.

Happy reading/eating!

Crawling Buddies

Are you ready to do this?

Okay, here we go!

Gee, this is fun!

Wait, I did NOT sign up for this...

10 on 10 :: September :: Half

Homemade Applesauce

I posted this last year, while I was pregnant, on our front porch blog (now out of commission)....so, I thought I'd share here for those who've asked. ;)

There's just something about applesauce...a light snack with great flavor and when made from scratch leaves your home smelling like Christmas morning. (Jeff was lucky enough to wake up to this scent, as I started it at 5:00 this morning..ahh pregnancy insomnia rears it's ugly head)

Several people have asked for this recipe so I'm giving it up here AND along with any future orders from our shop (written on a Front Porch recipe card!)



Homemade Applesauce

In a large Crock Pot on the 4 hour or high setting add the following:

- 8 peeled, cored, and eighthed apples (variety is the spice of life...but I used HoneyCrisp this morning because they were on sale AND they are delicious)
- juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 pinches ground cloves

Stir every 30-40 min. Apples should begin to fall apart around 2 hours. Continue to cook for remaining 2 hours. Serve warm over vanilla ice cream or keep in refrigerator for a light snack.

Enjoy!

I'm not ready for it...

...it being Autumn. Sorry, I love you Autumn....but not this year! Not when I have an exploring baby boy who enjoys a good romp outdoors, not when I'm a mommy who hasn't been able to properly enjoy the sun (picture a blended mint limeade, a page turning book, and a couple of hours to rotate from back to front every fifteen minutes, perfecting a bronze glow, similar to that of a perfectly roasted marshmallow, with the help of Alba's tanning oil- it just smells so darn good)...no, not yet!

So, what do I do to try and pull myself out of the rain enduced, bed-ridden, fetal position I found myself in? I cook, I bake, I sew!

First on the list....baby food! Wes has finally figured out how to swallow chunkier bits without gagging so I'm thoroughly enjoying creating meals for him. So far I've made lamb w/ lentils & rosemary, asparagus w/ millet & dill, and today I created another lamb dish (i had lamb to burn people...purchased at the Ballard Farmers Market). It is so yummy I thought I'd share. And for other Mom's who have a 1st born and are completely overwhelmed about what to make their baby, I totally recommend this book.


Lamb Pasta w/ Spinach & Tomatoes

- 1/3 lb. ground lamb
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 8 campari tomatoes- halved (sub. any small tomato that isn't cherry)
- 8 oz. penne pasta (sub. any pasta that isn't long)
- 8 oz. frozen spinach

*heat oil in large skillet on medium heat, brown lamb and add dried basil to release flavor. while lamb is browning, place tomatoes, cut side up on baking sheet and bake at 375 for 30 min. to the skillet add: 2 1/2 cups water, pasta, and frozen spinach. cover and cook, stirring occasionally until pasta is al dente (add water in 1/2 cup increments if it dries up before the pasta is cooked). when pasta is cooked add roasted tomatoes and stir to combine. put all contents into a blender and pulse until desired consistency is reached.

-I think this could be a great dish for adults as well, but would add garlic and onions once lamb browns and serve with salt & pepper and parmesan or feta. I also think it would be much more appetizing if you left the blending for baby food!

ok, now off to bake some triple citrus cupcakes (I'm testing recipes for Wes' birthday- fast approaching), but I think I'll leave the sewing for tomorrow since the weather doesn't seem to be cooperating, to say the least...

Holiday 2009