mother's day - 2011

mother's day gave me the chance to reflect on being a mom and how much i love my new job.  i wouldn't trade being a mom for anything in the world.

it is truly amazing how one little person can change your life.  this weekend i kept trying to get him to say "ma, ma, ma... or mum"... or anything resembling mom; only to get "da, da, da" in return.

each time JD would chuckle and look down trying not to rub it in on my 1st official Mother's Day.

On my Mother's Day we:
1. had a special b-fast prepared by JD
2. hit up an edible plant sale
3. went to the playground
4. had "real" Italian pizza for lunch
5. then played at home.

it was a good day.  my diet didn't like it much, but boy was that tirimisu good.

Beckett your mommy loves you.

I'm so addicted - Sookie Stackhouse

i seriously have a teenage reading level.  

it's not that i can't read more distinguished classics; it's that these damn books are so much fun.  i can't put them down - seriously.  i find myself making dinner stirring with one hand and reading with the other.

i'm not talking Twilight here either (although i was addicted to those too!) i'm talking the Southern Vampire Mysteries, and Sookie Stackhouse. 

i finished the third book last night....and made myself stop before starting the fourth.  maybe i'll get something accomplished after Becks goes to sleep.  who knows.

anyway here are the books... i heart Eric and Alcide! 

1.

   

2.

 

3.

 4.

Out and About

We were out and about a few weeks ago... momma and baby.  

I love my Becks.

Homemade Baby Food

in the past few months i have become a baby food making aficionado!

seriously i have attacked making food for Beckett with a verve and dedication.  i decided to go the home-made baby food direction for several reasons.
1.  no perservatives
2.  i know exactly what's in the food
3.  he just plain likes it more
4.  MUCH, MUCH cheaper... LOADS.

truthfully it is worth it just for reason #4.  Let me give you a quickie example.  Mostly i buy organic fresh produce from a local farm stand but... sometimes especially in winter diversity is needed.  So, i bought a bag of frozen organic peas on sale for 1.88 and cooked and blended them to make something like 32 cubes of baby food.  Each cube is about 2 Tlbs. i figure about half a #2 size jar... if i did the math correctly that would put peas at 11 cents a "jar" full.  Most baby food is something like 75 cents to 1.24 a jar.  woot woot. 

anyway he loves it... and i know he is getting the good stuff.  don't get me wrong we still have some jars for those times on the go but making his food has been fun and a big savings.  (Especially when he is eating 14 cubes a day!)

Eating In - Asian Noodle Salad with Toasted Sesame Dressing

 Asian Noodle Salad with Toasted Sesame Dressing

We made this the other night and it was good... so good we are going to make it again and hopefully soon.

Salad:

• 1 8-ounce package of soba noodles
• 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons tamari or shoyu (soy sauce)
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon hot pepper oil

Optional Additions:

• Fried tofu
• Chopped red cabbage
• Blanched broccoli

Preparation

Cook soba noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse in colander. To toast sesame seeds, place in a dry skillet over medium heat. Keep seeds moving until they release aroma, pop and begin to change color. Remove and set aside.
Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl; whisk together. Place drained noodles in a large bowl. Add dressing, cilantro and sesame seeds; toss gently. Add optional chopped vegetables and toss again.

We added the red cabbage and some scallions too.  We also grilled up some steaks and marinated them in some extra dressing we prepared... mmm mmm good.  I wish I would have taken pictures but we chowed down too quickly.  
Go.  Try.  Love.


xoxo
wren

I'm not promising anything

but i do miss you guys...
so i thought i'll just pop in when i have a spare minute and let you know what we have been up to.

it has been a wild several months but we are feeling good and hitting our stride.  there have been several challenges we have had overcome and i'm sure more we will have to.  but it has been some of the best months in my life.

i realized i miss telling you all (if there are any of you) about the stuff we have been doing.  believe it or not we tried out a few new recipes last week and i must share with you my gourmet baby food concoctions!

here is my little man...  god i love this kid.

i should get running.  i don't want to tire myself out.
megan... this come back is for you.  i know you missed me!  ha.

xoxo wren.

when the parents are away, the puppies will play

after a week in the hospital we came home to 

1 eaten leather couch

&

2 bad puppies.

even though Rainier and Baker had all sorts of friends staying with them, and taking them for walks while we were in the hospital they wanted to voice their frustration in our absence.  I believe they sensed that their lives were about to change and decided to take it out on the couch.  I'm sure that Baker, Baker the trouble maker started the whole mess, however I have no proof.

so we walked in the door with our new bundle of joy to a pile of ripped leather and foam.  they ate the couch down to the springs.

my parents came into town to meet their newest grandson and promptly set to work helping us finish up a few projects (which included the couch)

we started with replacing the damaged foam.

then we worked on applying new fabric over the torn leather.  everyone got involved.  here my dad is stapling the new fabric.

we then stretched the fabric

 and applied fabric brads to secure the fabric

 my mom took care of the ends

 

 and when it was all complete we had a couch that could be used again.

i think we did a really nice job.