Science Rules!

And no we did NOT make dry ice bombs. The boys (husbands) were rather disappointed. In other news we learned that Miller enjoys laughing at his cousin's fear of exploding baking soda volcanoes. Sympathy is not his strongest development right now.

HoliDAZE

I used to fight panic attacks whenever the holidays crept up. Silly, useless, unworthy stresses. Money was tight... time with families would be stretched... growing up and the battle to feel "so adult"... watching cracks charge through a surface that I'd spent all year covering up...

Maybe it's having Miller. Maybe it's miscarrying before him and finally allowing myself to feel disappointment. Maybe it's simply finding a home in the man I call my husband... whatever the cause, I no longer let the stress of the holidays own me.

Instead I crave it. I crave the longing to see my family and watch cheeks pink from the glow of a fire. I crave the frenzy of finding the right gift to communicate how special sincere hugs can be. I crave the regret after sharing butter, chocolate, wine and less sleep.

A day is only 24 hours. And this year I plan on stretching those hours, those stresses, as long as possible.

Mmmm, Coffee...

It's only been 2 nights. 2 nights comforting a crabby baby every hour from 11pm to 8am. But those 2 nights have been exhausting. Maybe he's sick. Maybe he's teething early. Whatever the case, by 2:30am I'm loudly sighing and ready to let him cry alone on the back patio.

Daylight creeps in and he's nothing but smiles. How quickly he forgets and forgives that I called him a jerk at least 4 times a few hours earlier.

Happy 4 Months

Miller went to his four month checkup today and took more shots like a champ. His pediatrician even gave the go ahead for him to start solid foods. Be prepared for messy cuteness in your blog reading future...

soaking up the sun

A trip to the zoo, apple pie and rocking out. Is there a better way to spend a weekend with visiting relatives?

Another delicious soup recipe if I do say so myself

Evan and I finished off a baguette and a bottle of wine with this bad boy last night. Quite comforting now that the temperature is a chilly 72 degrees. Enjoy!


kick in your mouth corn chowder:

on medium heat:
melt 2 T unsalted butter in a large pot
add 1 diced white onion & 2-3 cloves crushed garlic; saute until onions are soft
add 1 small bag of frozen corn; salt & pepper
add 4 cups chicken or veggie stock
add softer veggies like zucchini or diced "al dente" cooked potatoes (optional)
simmer for about 15 minutes
in blender, food processor, or with a hand blender process about 50-100% of the soup until it's the consistency of your liking. (we did it about 75%. just enough to be creamy yet still had whole bits of veggies throughout.)
while stirring, add about 1-2 cups of cream (milk, half & half, heavy cream; whatever your personal diet and thighs allow for.)
add 1/3 t red pepper flakes, 1/3 t dried parsley, 1/4 t cumin, 1/4 t paprika (preferably smoked, but regular hungarian is fine), 1/8 t coriander, 2 t chopped fresh basil; salt & pepper to taste.
simmer for another 15-20 minutes until all the flavors are infused.
(optional) garnish w/ green onions and chopped bits of bacon.

Traditionally Autumn

For the third year in a row we headed north to San Luis during the fall with our dear friends Andrew, Summer and Jack to appreciate some apple orchards, good bbq, world famous clam chowder and cheap happy hours.

It's interesting that all my favorite traditions involve food and drink...

Besides looking at my San Luis Obispo pictures, what are some of your favorite fall traditions?

What's your current love (obsession)?

I have been in love (obsessed) with Lisa Leonard jewelry and her beautiful blog for the last year and a half. Luckily (unfortunately), another blog I love loves her too and is offering readers a discount for the month of November. I'm not sure I can justify purchasing something for myself so close to Christmas, but maybe you can. Until then, I'll just have to be satisfied with adding it to my Christmas list for Santa (Evan).

What's on your list this year?

Halloween

If Miller is anything like his parents, it's only a matter of time before he's protesting what we want him to wear on Halloween and probably every other day of the year.

Luckily, we dressed him twice this year to make up for years to come.

Wondering what to call this hairstyle?

Mulhawk? Mollet? Mulstache?

(100) Days of Miller

Day 1:

Day 100:
What an awesome, exhausting, blessed, joyful, sometimes frustrating, amazing and beautiful past 100 days it has been! Never in 100 years would we have been able to predict how much we truly love this now 14 pound little man.

it's deep into autumn and it's 95 degrees outside

One of my younger sisters came up last weekend to visit and commented on (well, really poked fun at) my lack of Halloween decor. So last week as it became dreary and stormy outside, I wore a hoody 2 days in a row and nestled into the harvest season by setting out an orange and red tablecloth, a few orange/brown candles and made some chicken noodle soup. Two days later the sun washed away the gray clouds and it's back to tank tops and flip flops. Two days later we were still eating soup.


At the request of a few soup loving pals, here is my (what Evan and I consider DELICIOUS) chicken noodle soup recipe:

• Heat 1 tablespoon unsalted butter & 1 tablespoon light olive oil in a pot. (You can do one or the other; I think the butter and oil combo gives the soup broth a good overall texture in the end.)
• Add 1 cup each chopped carrots, celery and white onion; salt & pepper; minced garlic (portion depending on how little or how much you want.)
• Saute until onion begins to soften.
• Add diced cooked chicken- portion to your own liking (I used leftover meat from the night before's store bought rotisseried chicken).
• Mix in 1 tablespoon "Herbs de Provence" (my favorite poultry seasoning because it has a touch of lavendar. You can add oregano, parsley, basil, or whatever you want instead.)
• Add 4 cups of chicken broth or more depending on how brothy you want the soup to be. (I like the lower sodium broths best so I have control over how much salt the soup needs.)
• (Here's where you can add softer veggies if you feel like it. I sometimes add peas, corn and/or diced tomatoes. I also like to add about 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil.)
• Salt & pepper to taste. Simmer until all veggies are cooked and flavorful. (At least 15 minutes.)
• Once cooked through, you can add your cooked pasta choice directly into the soup or you can portion noodles into the soup bowls and ladle soup over it. (I like keeping the noodles seperate since I usually have leftovers and it keeps the noodles from breaking up and getting overly soft.)

ENJOY!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE making soups and will most likely add more of my favorite soup recipes as autumn and winter progress. Hopefully this will start to happen soon...

This whole lack of lengthy sleep thing is really doing a number on my social skills and memory.

Perhaps it's the fact that I talk about myself in third person all day long to a three month old, but lately I feel I've lost the ability to hold a decent conversation with an adult. If you have spent time with me in the last few months and have been victim to my social awkwardness, I do truly and sincerely apologize.

In other news: The other day I spent at least 5 minutes trying to recall the name of "Project Runway". Once "Auf Wiedersehen" and "Top Fashion Designer" were rejected, I finally felt sane again. A half hour later I was humming Christmas carols while rocking Miller to sleep, because "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" was too difficult to recall.

I should seriously consider taking some extra vitamins.

Enjoy some more cuteness while I drown my (hopefully) temporary stupidity with some Zinfandel.

Looks like I'm not the only one procrastinating

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWhUeAy35qc&feature=player_embedded#

p.s. who can teach me how to upload the actual video and not just cut and pasted weblinks?

It sure is fun procrastinating when I've got this to look at

Needless to say, the dishes, the laundry and my writing are slowly being processed. It's all in my effort to teach patience.

You're welcome.