Clouds In My Coffee

Let It Snow, Let It Snow...

2009-12-18T12:49:00.004-05:00

In our area, tomorrow, Mother Nature is planning on dumping a whole lot of snow. Possibly up to twelve inches! For my friends and family up North and out Mid-West that doesn't seem like a lot...but for us Eastern shore folks it's quite a bit. I HATE to drive in the snow. BUT I LOVE being stuck inside safely with my hubby and little boy.

I've decided to do some cooking this weekend since my house is nice and clean, and we'll be stuck inside anyway. I wanted to make a soup... so I think I'll make my Lobster & Crab Seafood Bisque. This with shrimp appetizer, some bread and cheese, and possibly even a little glass of wine will be the perfect dinner for a snowy night!

Bobbi’s Lovely Lumpy Lobster & Crab Bisque Soup
Serves about 8.
3 cans of Bookbinder’s Lobster Bisque Soup
3 tablespoons of butter
3 - ½ cans of milk
¼ cup of light cream
3 lump crab cakes any flavor, chopped up into small bits
1 dash or two of crushed red pepper flakes
1 dash or two of parsley flakes
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Directions: Add three cans of soup, butter, milk, cream, red pepper flakes, parsley flakes, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper together in large saucepan. Heat but do not boil. Once warm, add the crab cake bits. Allow to simmer for at least one hour.

For variation: Cook 2 cups of Rice (directions on package – do not use instant), after it has finished cooking stir in a tablespoon of butter to keep from sticking. Spread cooked rice on plate, server warm bisque overtop.

Also - I sometimes like serve it alongside a nice grilled cheese sandwich - DELISH!

Lighting Up The Night

2009-12-11T13:08:00.005-05:00

I am so proud of my husband. Each year he sets out to make a holiday light display that is bright and festive - but also looks nice. He works really hard getting them all up, and making sure everything is not only working right, but looks good, and is secure for whatever the seasonal weather may bring. In other words...we don't just slap on some lights, throw some blow up "decor" on our lawn and call it a day. We plan it out, and each year we create our own decorations using wood, paint...and power tools! (This year's theme was Charlie Brown's Christmas - cute right!!) The light count this year came in just over 17,000!!! Amazing!
While I do have this picture to share with you...it doesn't do the lights justice. I had to stand across the street in my neighbors' garden just to get in most of the house and lights. Tony's already joking that next year we'll have to set up the camera on a tripod on the neighbor's roof just to get it all into a picture. I'm pretty sure he's joking...but I guess we'll have to wait and see.
We had a nice little party last weekend with pizza and coffee, hot chocolate and cookies, where good friends of ours came with their kids and we enjoyed turning the lights on for the first time - all together. It's a great night, and I am so happy to share it with them.

I'm really very proud of my Tony. The house looks amazing honey...great job once again!

Fun Wintry Decor

2009-12-07T06:54:00.005-05:00

This year I wanted to decorate my home to look like a natural winter wonderland. Of course I couldn't go too wild with the theme since I have a little munchkin running around the house, but I really like the way the interior of our house turned out.

During the summer and fall Tony collects the large branches that fall from the trees surrounding our backyard into a pile. I decided to take a bunch from that pile, spray paint half with white glitter paint, and use these branches as a way to bring the outside in! Also - we cut down a small tree in our yard, so I used the branches from that to also decorate with a little extra green around the house. The pictures don't do it justice. With candles lit and the lights turned low, it looks quite festive and pretty.

I placed little baskets of cheer all over the house, which added an extra little sparkle!

Originally I planned on putting out my Christmas village on the shelves above our entertainment center...but once I got started with this year's theme, I just rolled with it. I created the "lanterns" in the middle out of paper using tape, funky scissors, and a hole punch. Tommy and I made white lanterns for the dining room table using the same idea, and dipping the bottoms into glitter. I love the way it turned out and they look so pretty when the battery-operated tea light inside is glowing.

I carried the "natural" theme to our Christmas tree this year. I hung ornaments in silver and gold, and white lights. Then Tommy and I painted pinecones which we collected at a local park and let dry (GREAT Toddler art project!) and we hung those as well. I LOVE the way the tree looks.

The last thing I made this year was my interpretation of a decor idea that I saw in the Better Homes and Gardens Magazine. I LOVE the way it turned out...so simple to make too!!

The above welcome lantern is just outside on the landing to our front door. I also hung some holly branches to our porch lights...another easy thing to do which took about two minutes but added a little extra festive touch! More on our outside decor and lights in the next blog. ;)

Halloween....yeah, I know I'm late.

2009-11-30T19:41:00.003-05:00

I know I know... but I wanted to make sure I shared these pictures. They are my favorites from Halloween. The first ones are Tommy...he went as Spongebob this year and LOVED knocking on doors for Candy. I made Tony take the candy into work...no need for that sort of temptation! :)

The other pictures are from the wedding we attended on Halloween night. I LOVE this black and white one I took...wish it hadn't been so fuzzy. Congratulations again to Pat and Anastasia...we had a wonderful time...the dessert table was AWESOME!! (Couldn't totally avoid temptation when they had tiramisu AND every cake I could wish for!!) Yikes!! YUM!!!

Hope I'm Not On The Naughty List

2009-11-30T19:05:00.008-05:00

I have been a very bad blogger lately. I always WANT to update my blog, but with the precious minutes I get to myself, it has just been easier to update facebook (I've even been behind in that). *Sigh* At some point I'll catch up. I'm planning to update more during december...some fun things are in store this upcoming month!

I missed most of November, and on this - the last day... I's like to share just a few pictures from this month. In the beginning of the month I took some pictures of Tommy and his little friends playing in the leaves in our backyard. I liked this one of Tommy.

Also - my parents adopted a new little puppy. Scooter is so so cute!! He's always on the move and loves to climb all over you....he certainly matches his given name. Tommy absolutely loved scooter, as did I... Mav, well - not so much, but it is funny to watch scooter chase Mav around.

I took Tommy to a local park one day. It was such a beautiful day I had to take advantage and get some pictures of him exploring. He's getting to be such a big boy. He's using more and more words everyday, growing taller by the week, and losing the last of the "baby" face. It's bitter sweet for us. We love that he's growing up, communicating with us and making minor decisions for himself. He's such a character - loves to be silly and will do anything to make others laugh. BUT - I miss my cuddly chunky little baby.

We had a bit of a scare the week before Thanksgiving. One day Tommy went to bed with what I thought was dry skin across his lower back, by the following afternoon he had begun to get hives across his belly...which then spread to his entire body. We aren't 100 percent sure what he had, we're thinking it was an allergic reaction to something new he ate...but there is no way to be sure unless I reintroduce it...and I don't plan on doing that ANYTIME soon. It was scary for all of us. He couldn't sleep, he wouldn't eat, and was obviously itchy. The hives lasted about 4 days, and finally the last of them faded away the day before we went to Virginia for Thanksgiving. Doesn't this picture break your heart? Poor baby.

Thanksgiving we spent in Virginia Beach with my sister and her husband. He had a great time visiting. Tommy really loves his Aunt Carrie and Uncle Brett. We were thankful we could spend some quality time with them.

The sunset on the drive down.

My little pilgrim and his daddy. Tommy painted his hat himself!

Getting ready to feast.

Tommy and I on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Ghoulia Child Cooks Here!

2009-10-17T23:26:00.004-04:00

That title is for my Book Club girls…cause they’ll “get” it. Plus, I thought it was cute for Halloween.

It isn’t always easy to find the time to cook and bake like I’d like too. At least, not while Tommy is so young and needs our attention focused on what he’s up too. I’m not complaining though, because when I do get the time to cook or bake, I truly enjoy it.

We’ve had a lot going on both in our little family life and socially, since the beginning of the month. I find it’s nice to take a break from all the thinking, planning, and “doing” of things when I force myself to find a recipe that sounds interesting and to make it. So that’s what I’ve been doing. Fall always feels like the perfect time to try something new, or try a different recipe for a familiar comfort-food recipe. I’ve made a few different things from soups to meats to desserts. I thought I would share a couple with you. I don’t have pictures for all of them…but trust me – they were delish!

My supermarket had butternut squash on sale so I decided to make soup out of it. I’ve only had BNS soup once, but I remembered enjoying the taste and texture. I found this recipe from Food Network, and after reading the reviews decided to change things up a bit and make it my own. Here’s my recipe:
Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
1 butternut squash, peeled
Nutmeg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and pepper
1 onion, chopped
1 Red delicious apple sliced
4 cups chicken stock
Directions
Cut squash into 1-inch chunks. In large pot melt butter. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add squash, apple and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until squash is tender. Remove squash chunks with slotted spoon and place in a blender (or food processor) and puree. Return pureed squash to pot. Stir and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Serve.

* Note: I learned the hard way how hard it is to cut fresh squash…the tip from my friend Tana to you: Poke holes in the squash (like you would a potato), and put into the microwave for a couple minutes. This makes the squash more tender and easier to both cut and peel. Thanks T!!That night I grilled up some cheese sandwiches and served them along with soup. We all enjoyed it…Tommy even began to dip his sandwich into the soup before he ate it. Yum!!A few days later I wanted to make baked macaroni and cheese, but use the recipe for “Smart Mac.” The recipe is not as cheesey as some others I’ve had and light too – I didn’t feel stuffed after indulging in a bowl of it! We use Barilla Plus elbow macs, so tasty! Here’s the recipe I copied from the Ronzoni site:

Macaroni & Cheese

Ingredients:

1 pkg ELBOWS

3 tbsp margarine or butter

3 tbsp all-purpose flour (I use unbleached)

2 1/2 cups milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/4 cup minced onion

8 oz shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions: Cook ELBOWS according to package directions; drain. Preheat oven to350°F. In a medium saucepan, melt margarine. Stir in flour. Graduallystir in milk. Cook, stirring constantly over medium heat, until saucethickens. Stir in salt and pepper. Add onion and cheese; stir untilcheese melts. Stir cheese sauce into ELBOWS. Spoon into a greased 2quart baking dish. Top with bread crumbs. Bake 30 minutes.

Since I clearly could not leave well enough alone…and I had book club the evening following the one where I made the mac n cheese…I decided to mix some of the BNS soup with some mac n cheese, and bake them in the oven together for a bit. The mac n cheese took on the sweet taste of the squash, and I LOVED it. Tommy and I had it for lunch the next couple of days. A great way to include a vegetable of the season into a comfort-food staple I’ve always loved. Sorry…no picture, just trust me – its good! Btw…I named my new dish: Squashed Mac n Cheese…get it! I know, I crack myself up!

I usually make dessert for Book Club meetings, and since we had just completed reading about the Julie/Julia Project (and no, I don’t recommend the book) I decided to create my own version of a mini tiramisu. Some mascarpone cheese mixed with pumpkin spice and some coffee, layered in between butter cookies and topped with chocolate sauce…and here’s what you get. Believe me…it tasted as good as it looks! Oh, and I even hand made my own whipped cream to dollop on top! Cute, right!

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk October 18th

2009-10-08T13:26:00.003-04:00

On October 18, 2009 we will once again participate in the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes in support of the Gandy Family who’s son was diagnosed with type 1 (Juvenile) diabetes in January of 2008. He was five years old. His pancreas does not produce any insulin. Without insulin, glucose (sugar) builds up in the body and causes severe damage. There is no cure and it is not a condition he will outgrow. For this reason, Matt's Wipeout Gang was established.

Matt is an amazing and brave child. He is now seven years old. For almost two years we have watched him struggle to prick his finger to check his blood sugar and take insulin shots at least 6 times a day. In July, he started using an insulin pump. An insulin pump is attached to the outside of the body using a small needle and must be worn twenty-four hours a day. He continues to check his blood sugar multiple times a day, and must sometimes be checked while he is sleeping. After he eats, we program the pump to deliver the amount of insulin the body needs to process glucose. It is not a simple calculation. Everything he does factors into his absorption rate. Matt's pump injection site must be changed every other day, or more often, as needed. There have been too many times that he has had to stop playing with his friends and teammates because his sugar was low. The treatment used to correct the "low" can take at least 15-20 minutes to kick in. When he starts to feel better, he rushes back to join his friends. He will not give up.

We need your help. On October 18, 2009. Matt will lead his team, Matt's Wipeout Gang, on a walk around Cooper River Park. We are walking to raise money to find a cure for Juvenile Diabetes. Every dollar we raise will go directly toward research to help find a cure. No amount is too small. Each donation is tax-deductible. On behalf of the Gandy family, we greatly appreciate your support.

To donate please visit my walker page... (CLICK HERE PLEASE)

(Us At The JDRF Walk 2008)

The Battle With Infertility

2009-10-05T18:56:00.003-04:00

This evening I was thinking about several couples we know who are currently in the midst or beginning to discuss options with their doctor's about Infertility. It is something that is becoming increasingly common, but still so many couples are either afraid to discuss their anxiety about it, and sometimes are too embarrassed to even bring it up. I'm here to say - DON'T BE - YOU AREN'T ALONE. Just because it was easy for friends or family members to get pregnant.... that doesn't mean that getting pregnant IS easy.

Not being able to get pregnant can be stressful on both partners, and can affect your relationships with not only your spouse, but friends, family, and can even affect your job. Which in turn causes MORE stress. It's a crazy emotional roller coaster that sometimes spins so fast you're afraid you may lose yourself and fall off. We found it most helpful when we could reach out and talk about our infertility battle while we were going through it with others who had not only been through it, but were in the midst of it as well. I don't know if my cousin and his wife even know just how much of a comfort they were to us during this time.

I know, it sucks not being able to get pregnant when you want...I've been there. Unless you yourself are going through it (or have gone through it), there is no real way to understand...though I can say from experience....even while going crazy and gaining weight on hormone treatments - it was nice to know I was still loved. And yes, I did know I was loved...I was just so miserable and frustrated, felt so helpless about the whole situation, that I couldn't get past it and feel the love all the way.

BUT I am also lucky enough to know the joy of finally seeing the words "Pregnant" on a silly little pee stick. Shock and surprise when seeing a tiny little heart beating for the first time on an ultrasound. Of feeling my child moving around in my stomach, even kicking me in the ribs. And going through the hell that is labor. It's worth it. It's worth ANYTHING to try and have a baby. And its worth learning to have patience about your situation.

I read an article today, that I found really insightful. If you're battling with infertility...or trying to get pregnant and want more information about your cycle, etc. I highly recommend http://www.pregnancy.org/. It's a great site.

Falling For Autumn

2009-10-05T07:14:00.007-04:00

Like most weekends, this one was here and gone in the blink of an eye. We didn't think we had a busy weekend planned but, somehow we managed to stay out of the house for most of it. After Tony got home from work on Friday he set about giving the grass a good cut...which I'm hoping will be one of the last times he'll have too, until next summer. Tony and Tommy don't get to spend a lot of time together during the week, and much of that time is spent with us cooking dinner. So as soon as Tony gets home from work on Fridays, Tommy wants to do nothing but spend time with "Dadgy." Unfortunately, there are so many things that also need Tony's attention, that sometimes that isn't possible. We try to find a way of having Tommy get involved in the various projects around the house so that they'll get to spend that time together. Tony cutting the grass is no exception. We sat outside watching Tony cut the grass. I distracted Tommy by having him point out the trees, birds, squirrels, etc. and Tommy even "helped" Tony a little. Afterwards we set up our Halloween decorations at the front of the house, I LOVE the way it turned out this year.

Saturday morning we got off to a late start. Tony wasn't feeling himself, and Tommy's still teething...oh, and my jeep wouldn't start...AGAIN. Hopefully Tony fixed it for good this time. Once we DID get moving, we stopped over at the Haddon Heights corvette car show and flea market. We attended the event last year as well. And just like last year we were able to spend some quality time with my Godparents Wayne and Karen, who own a classic corvette and entered it into the show. Station Ave, where the event is held each year has a variety of really cute little shops. Whenever we are there we make sure to stop into The Cheese Shop where we picked up some of my favorite cheese - which just happens to be Spanish - called Manchego - it's smooth but bold, a little buttery, and seriously delicious. I love to snack on it with a glass of wine. It's quite expensive ($17 a lb), but since we only treat ourselves to it a couple times a year, worth every penny. We had to leave early due to rain (and it being Tommy's nap time), but we really enjoyed spending time with W&K.

That evening it was rainy and gross, and Tony still wasn't feeling well, so Tommy and I worked on an art project. It was something I had made with my little guys in Daycare this week...so we made one for friends of ours whom we had plans to visit with the next day. I love using bits of nature in art projects with the kids. It's even more fun now that I can do a little more with them without the fear that they'll put whatever we're working with into their mouths. They get so excited about the art projects we make in school...it gives me motivation to be more creative while educational. Win/Win for all!

Sunday we visited with our friends Lauren and Bryan. Bryan is in a band called Mr. Pink and is also a teacher (as is Lauren). The band practices in L&B's basement...so when we stopped over, they let Tommy check out some of the instruments. I'm pretty sure my boy is going to be a musician when we gets older. He had the time of his life playing the drum set and guitar. The amazing part for me was watching him pick up those drumsticks and with only a little direction started to play like he was born to do it. My kid's got rhythm!

One Of My Favorite Places

2009-10-01T18:57:00.005-04:00

I took Tommy on a picnic Monday. To a local historic farmstead close(ish) to where we live.

When I was trying to get pregnant, I would go there sometimes to walk the trails. Its a quiet, beautiful place that you can lose yourself in while you do some soul searching. Whenever I am there, I feel calm, restful, and happy. It's just THAT kind of place for me. I would love to live in the community surrounding Barclay Farmstead...maybe someday we will.

I've been wanting to visit the farmstead and take Tommy to see it for some time now...but there never seems to be enough time to see and do everything one Wants to do...time goes by so fast. The weather was so beautiful Monday morning that I knew I had to "seize the day!" And so I packed us a little lunch, and we headed over. Aside from a few farmers tending their plots of land (you can rent plots in an area of the farmstead to grow flowers, veggies, whatever...some plots are truly breathtaking in the late summer/early fall), there was no one around. We sat on an autumn inspired tablecloth I have, and shared our lunch. Then we stowed our things back in the car and walked around exploring. We had an absolute blast with the bonding experience. I know how lucky I am to have Mondays off and to be able to do something just to two of us. The day was filled with love and laughter, it is a memory I will always cherish.

I highly encourage any and all parents to look into their local history. It's a fun and cheap way to have an adventure with your kids. Have a picnic, or just stop by somewhere and explore!

http://www.barclayfarmstead.org/

Everything, All The Time

2009-10-01T17:44:00.011-04:00

Some weekends we think we have "nothing to do" and the weekend ends up going by in a blur. Then there are the weekends where we have so much going on that it seems we don't have a moment to sit still. This past weekend was like that.

On Saturday we attended Tommy's school friend's first birthday party at Johnson's Farm, in Medford, NJ. Neither Tony or I had every been there before, but we had expected a small farm with maybe a picnic table or two and a couple farm animals. We were WAY off. Johnson's Farm is HUGE, and bustling with activity. There was a large animal farm feeding area, the party pavilion (which had about 5 other parties taking place during the two hour time slot we were there), tractor/hay rides, fields and fields of produce - you can pick your own apples, a huge market area, and even a little rag-time band. Seriously, the place is enormous.

We had a great time celebrating the birthday, and were excited to participate in the hayride, pumpkin picking, and animal farm activities. I especially loved watching how much fun Tony and Tommy had picking out Tommy's pumpkin, and snapping pictures of the beautiful fields. Before leaving we stopped in at the market for the ever-popular apple-cider donuts. Somehow, even with the wafting smell of cider and spices filling the car, we somehow managed to wait until we returned home to munch of the delicious confections. Seriously - they are melt-in-your-mouth good. If you find yourself at Johnson's farm you HAVE to buy one...or buy the half dozen, they come in a convenient bag all ready for you! http://www.johnsonsfarm.com/

As if that wasn't enough activity for the day, we decided to catch a local high school marching band competition that evening. Tony and I were both involved in our high school's marching bands (he played quad drums, I was in the colorguard - colorguard and rifle captain my jr and sr years). Tommy really loves music, and the competition was about five minutes down the road from where we live...so we bundled up, grabbed an umbrella, and headed over to watch for an hour. Tommy LOVED it. He was clapping and dancing! We had a great time, and even had a chance to stop and say hello to our Pastor and his wife who were there to support their daughter's marching band. A great time was had by all.

On Sunday we were up WAY too early because the munchkin is teething...seems those pesky molars have finally decided to make an appearance. I have been told that if adults had to go through the pain of our molars coming in, we'd have to be on morphine. Needless to say, the little guy is having a bit of a rough time. He's cranky crank cranky, and we don't blame him...after all, anyone who's going through that pain may be a bit of a bear. So instead of being on time for our friends' twins' baptism, we arrived in time for the celebration afterwards. Our poor lil guy was a bit of a handful, but we were able to catch up with some friends we haven't seen for a while, so that was nice. Afterwards, we arrived back home to an astonishing site...there was a brief break in the rainy weekend, and a lovely rainbow appeared in the dusk sky. A magical way to end a busy busy weekend.

Feeling Berry Orange

2009-10-01T10:03:00.005-04:00

Although I can hardly believe October has arrived, it is finally starting to feel like autumn. The leaves have begun to change, and we’ve starting working on new display decorations for our Christmas lights. I’m anxious to delve into some “fall” recipes – including a tasty looking one I found for butternut squash soup. (I’ll post pics and the recipe next week.) I love when October arrives. It is the first of three full months of themes! I love when events, etc, are themed. I already have my planner all set up with a ton of cute Halloween and autumn art projects to do this month with the little ones I’ve been watching in my daycare. I even decorated the playroom a little, just to get myself, the kids, and their families into the excitement. I made leaves for the tree using the kids hands! This week’s theme was leaves (I may repeat the theme in November, since we had such a good time with it.) I took the boys outside and we picked a bunch of leaves. I pressed them in one of my cook books overnight, and then we made wreathes using the pressed leaves, construction paper, and with a bit of sparkly glue (I watered down school glue and added some glitter – we used paint brushes to adhere the leaves to the construction paper, and brushed on extra of the glue/glitter mix to add sparkle and longevity). I think they turned out really cute! Very toddler-friendly - perfect! I enjoy looking through decoration magazines. When I see something I think I could recreate…I challenge myself to do it. With a toddler running around touching everything, trying to stick things in his mouth and up his nose, and pulling things down (he can reach the stove now – scary!!), I decided to only set out a few country-chic decorations this year. I found fall berry vines at the craft store, and they became the “theme” for all decorations in the kitchen, dining, and family rooms. Here are a couple things I came up with. The little jars of berries are set in threes all over the kitchen. They are small so I have them set out of the way and not using up counter space. The Vase with flowers and berries, etc. is on a table in the dining area. The fall basket is in the family room, and the broom I made and attached to the front door. Also – We decided to make our own Halloween decorations this year. I didn’t want to make anything scary or gruesome…so instead I came up with these. They were easy to make. I drew out the figures on plywood and Tony cut them out with a handsaw. Next I painted them using paints we already had (from our Christmas collection), and polyurethaned them so they’ll stand up to the rain and wind, and we’ll be able to use them again. We haven’t finished setting up the front yard yet…Tony is going to attach stakes to the back of these, and along with some mums, and some corn stalks…well…you’ll see once we’re all finished.

Down By The Bay

2009-09-19T21:03:00.005-04:00

Last weekend we had a wonderful time down the shore (LBI, NJ) with friends of ours. We did some shopping, some sight seeing, and most of the time we spent laughing and truly enjoying their company. The picturesque landscape was enhanced with lingering stormy weather, and it was beautiful. Thanks again T, F, and A! We heart you!

See you in September

2009-09-18T14:26:00.011-04:00

Hi, we're back! Had a brief hiatus, and a broken computer, and so I decided to take the summer off. I think it's nice to take a break once-in-a-while.

The summer went by in a flash. Suddenly it's September! While we've been encountering cooler weather and rainy days for most of August...the date (and the return of the kids to school) really seems to finalize yet another seemingly short summer's end.

Being the parents of a toddler is fun. Tommy is such a clown. He likes to do things just to get Tony and I laugh. And once we're laughing he does them over and over again....just to keep us going. He's our little comedian.

Tommy is such a big boy now. He's begun to use the kid potty (or "Pot Pot" as he calls it). He's doing surprisingly well with it. We're taking it slowly though since it is rather early - what with him being a boy and boys having a reputation of starting later and taking longer with their potty training. I have been sending text messages to my family whenever he "goes" not only because I'm so proud of his progress, but also because I can't quite believe we're into that stage! It seems like only yesterday I changed his diaper for the first time, and now I can almost see an inkling of the 'end of diapers' light at the end of the tunnel. He's been doing quite well with feeding himself, at least with a fork. He's still working on using a spoon, but he'll get there.

He talks and babbles more and more every day, and also repeats (or tries too) everything Tony and I say. I can't wait to have a real conversation with him. It's still frustrating when we try to get him to understand why he can't do something, or why we want him to do as we ask...but we know this is a stage they all go through, and some day he'll get it. His favorite saying is "uh oh" and he likes to sometimes say this right before he gets into mischief.

Tommy is very affectionate with us. He likes to play games and sing songs with me, and is doing really well with sharing his toys with his daycare friends. We still don't let him watch a lot of television, but he does watch Spongebob with Tony. He yells "BobBob" every time that little yellow square pops onto the screen...and it's funny to see how animated he gets about the show. I like watching the two of them sitting together while watching their show. Tommy is usually hugging Tony or sitting on his daddy's lap while they share in a half hour of fun and laughter.

What Up Dog?

2009-06-29T20:04:00.003-04:00

Happy 4th Birthday Maverick Bear!!

He couldn't wait to get to that mound of peanut butter! And for the record...I did not sing to him! Thanks for being my loyal pup!

Bonding, Bands, and Birthday Dinners

2009-06-28T20:54:00.008-04:00

Wow, what a wild and wonderful weekend it was.

Tommy and I were on our own Thursday, so we spent the day bonding. We lounged around the house in our pjs, played outside for a while, and laughed laughed laughed! He's such a clown, I love it. I am happy to report he is no longer sick, and has gotten his full appetite back. I am so relieved.

It was a hot and humid day here in New Jersey, so during Tommy's afternoon nap I decided to set up his new sprinkler pool. The set up took me about 35 minutes (the pool was a little heavy and I couldn't seem to hook the hose up correctly). Once Tommy was up from his nap it took me another 20 minutes to lather him up with sun block lotion, get on the special swim diaper, and get his bathing suit on. Finally after the hour or so set up we were outside, the little pool was all filled up and ready to go and Tommy happily stepped in to play. At that exact moment, the sun - which had been shining since earlier that morning - slipped behind some clouds, and the chilly water coming out of the hose attachment became less inviting than it had a few moments earlier. Never-the-less, we spent a nice 5 or 10 minutes in the little sprinkler pool with the sun peaking out once or twice. The time it took setting up and cleaning up afterwards, was totally worth it. Tommy loved the little pool, and I enjoyed being a part of something that made him so happy.

Friday night my MIL stopped over to babysit for us so that we could see my favorite band in concert. 38 Special, Styx, and REO Speedwagon were together at the Borgata, and I was beside myself with excitement all week. I had missed the last show when Styx was here in 2008 due to mandatory bedrest just before giving birth to Tommy in April. I know I was hormonal last year, but I was truly upset at having missed the concert...so Tony and I immediately purchased our tickets for the "Can't Stop Rockin'" tour the morning they went on sale. We arrived early to the show and met up with a friend for a drink (I had the strongest Mojito EVER at the Gypsy Bar...yikes!), then proceeded to the show. 38 Special were pretty good. It was my first time seeing them. They had a lot of energy, and you could tell they were enjoying themselves. Next came Styx. I had worked my way up to the "second row" (standing room only, but you get the gist) by the time they came on. I proceeded to have the time of my life. I sang as loudly as I could, danced, and even caught a large mesh Styx logo bag which was thrown out into the crowd (and yes, I already used it, today in fact, when I stopped over to pick up groceries - Go Green!). Too quickly their part of the show was over, and to my surprise (and great luck), the man standing in front of me left and I moved up to the front row just before REO Speedwagon came on. REO was wonderful as well. Dave Amato's microphone was in front of where I was standing, and he was kind enough to throw me some smiles, and a few guitar picks (FUN! Thanks Dave!!). During the last song of the night both Styx and REO performed "Can't Stop Rockin'" together. It's a great song, and the perfect ending to an amazing night. I truly do not think I could have had a better night...well no I'm lying...it would have been even cooler to meet them...perhaps some day. Anyway, I Loved It, and I highly recommend getting out to see them during this tour (ahem...this means you Kristy!!) If I can find a way to see them again during this tour, believe me, I will! It was fantastic! I will post a few of the pics I took...the rest are on my facebook page.

Styx

REO Speedwagon

Styx and REO together...check out the latest video on Styxworld.com

Most of Saturday we spent laying around and recovering from the previous late night (no such thing as late nights anymore with a 14 mo old in the house! haha). Thankfully we were able to get ourselves cleaned up in time to enjoy a delicious birthday dinner in honor of one of my closest friend's 40th birthday. We had a great time celebrating with her and the other guests. Happy Birthday Tana - I still don't believe you're 40 years young...you don't look a day over 25!!

Today we relaxed and spent some time doing the boring yet necessary household stuff we'd neglected the rest of the weekend. We had such a great weekend, truly one of the most fun we've had in a while. Tony and I really needed the adult time out and about, though it was also very nice spending some time with our Tommy.

You can see just how tired I look in this pic (I also think I look like I'm twelve, haha). Tired, but so so happy - and how cute is my Tommy??!! Life is good!

Roseola Infantum

2009-06-23T09:29:00.002-04:00

Since midweek last week Tommy has been sick. At first we just thought he had a cold, then diarrhea began, then a wicked high fever came on and he stopped eating and drinking. We took him to the doctors but the best they could tell us at that time was that he had "a virus." Tony and I don't normally allow Tommy to sleep in our bed with us, but we were so freaked out by his lethargic behavior and him not eating that we held him cradled between us all night Thursday and Friday night. He lay clinging to my chest all night, with one hand clutching Tony's shirt, my poor sweaty baby. On Saturday, we had high hopes that he was beginning to feel a bit better, he ate a little breakfast, and his fever was not as high... but then all of a sudden we noticed a rash had begun to appear... three days later (yesterday) the rash had spread all over his stomach, chest, neck and face. Luckily his fever was gone by Sunday... but the rest of his symptoms have remained. We ended up taking him back to the drs yesterday afternoon and found out he has roseola infantum. It is a virus that many infants/young children get... but is one of the lesser known viruses. It is highly contagious, and there is no medicine for it. It can last up to three weeks!!! Hopefully, Tommy be back to himself (at least eating) by the end of this week. Here is some information for those interested. It's just one of the articles I've found on the virus. I found it most informative. http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/threedayfever.htm

How Does A Big Boy Spend His Day?

2009-06-17T13:48:00.007-04:00

How does a big boy spend his day?

He wears polo shirts and giggles a lot,

He makes funny faces, just like PopPop.

He reads many stories from ole' mother goose,

Then sits on his bum to drink all his juice.

He practices eating at the big boy seat,

And at the end of the day...makes sure he has clean feet!

Six Lovely Courses

2009-06-15T17:29:00.006-04:00

I talked about the six course meal we enjoyed on our anniversary, but didn't get a chance to post pictures earlier... so here they are. I truly had a wonderful relaxing evening with my husband. And the food was truly delicious.

Course #1 - Sauteed mushrooms with arugula served over a crusty tuscan bread with cream cheese.

Course #2 - Potato leek soup with bacon and carrotsCourse #3 - Pesto pasta with roasted tomato and asiago cheese

Course #4 - Raspberry sorbet with blueberry champagne drizzle

AND a quick wine tasting

Course #5 - The entree's. Mine: Filet mignon with spinach and truffle macaroni and cheese

Tony's: Shrimp and sea scallops with roasted fresh vegetables

Course #6 - Salad with sliced red grapefruit and cracker with blue cheese

Dessert - cause I just HAD too! Vanilla and chocolate tiramisu with a cappuccino

"A June Bride Is A Bride For Life" - Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, 1954

2009-06-15T10:03:00.024-04:00

This past Friday was our fifth wedding anniversary. Originally, we wanted to go away for a long weekend somewhere tropical, but neither of us wanted to leave Tommy for that long, not to mention we're trying to be smart with our money in this economy and not be too frivolous - just in case. Instead we did something we've been talking about doing for years. We looked up a few wineries on the way down the shore, and off we went on a wine tasting and touring adventure. We didn't have a game plan per-say, which was different for us...we almost always have a plan.

On the road we chose the first of three wineries we were to visit that day. Sharrott Winery http://www.sharrottwinery.com/ located in Winslow, NJ is a newer winery, and has only been open for a couple years. Despite this, they are already masters of the grape (ahem - and the blueberry)! Upon arrival, we were immediately greeted with a welcoming smile from the owner, whom is a wealth of information - and university trained. He not only served up his best wines - the smooth and breezy award winning un-oaked Chardonnay being my personal favorite, along with the delicious apricot noted Vignoles - but also taught us how to properly "taste" the wine (using both your nose and your mouth), the importance of the right wine glass, and some interesting facts about sugar. By the time we left the winery I had been able to correctly guess the hidden flavors found in several varieties of wines. We truly enjoyed every moment at Sharrott Winery, and I will be practicing my "vino nose" for future quizzing! We hope to go back and visit them again soon.

We had such a great experience at Sharrott, that we decided to immediately head over to Tomasello Winery for another tasting. Tomasello has been around for more than fifty years, and I had heard several accommodating references from people whom had been there for weddings and other special occasions. Immediately upon arrival we noticed a big difference from our first winery experience. The air seemed somehow stuffier, the customer service colder, and the whole place had more of a corporate feel. They were not rude, per say, but we could tell that no sooner had we arrived than the woman who served us two or three tastings could not wait to usher us back out the door. She was a true saleswoman who told us the price of each wine we tried, and not much else. Needless to say, we did not stay long. We did however try their Vidal Blanc Ice Wine, and ended up purchasing a bottle with friends over dessert sometime soon.

Lastly, we arrived at Renault Winery http://www.renaultwinery.com/ - a resort boasting a wonderful gourmet restaurant, two pools, a bar, and a golf course. The grounds were lovely, and the room we rented for the evening was spacious and comfortable. We spent the rest of the afternoon on a relaxing and informative tour and tasting with our personal guide Richard. He knew so so much about wine, the history of not only the vineyard but also nearby Atlantic City, and during the tour encouraged us to try several different wines at once so that we could try and taste the differences in them. Our personal favorites were the Fresello and the Royal Rouge - since you can only purchase Renault's wine at the winery itself, we made sure we picked up a bottle of each for some time in the future. Admittedly, we were feeling quite loose by the time evening rolled in, so we quickly went back to our room, changed, and went for a delicious six course dinner at Renault's gourmet restaurant. The food was amazing. The only thing we chose was our entree, the rest of the courses were at the discretion of the chef, and I found it to be delightful anticipating what mouthwatering surprise dishes he would serve. One after another, we were not disappointed. We spend the walk back over to the resort talking about just how much fun we had during dinner, how truly delicious the food was, and how happy we were to have chosen to spend the day as we did for our fifth wedding anniversary. It was perfection.

Babies and Book Club

2009-06-11T16:24:00.007-04:00

I wanted to say a big congratulations to Julie and Mike on the birth of their twin girls, and another congratulations to my cousin Christa and her hubby Alex on the birth of their new daughter. Lots of love from our family to yours, welcome little ones!Tonight is the first annual book club @ my friend Tana's. We read Diane Chamberlain's Before The Storm, and are getting together tonight to dish about the book. I'm really looking forward to it. Everyone is bringing something to drink or a little nibble. I, of course, wanted to bring a dessert - cause its what I do. haha. I wanted to make a chocolate torte...but in the end changed the recipe and frosting choices around about a million times, and made this scrumptious strawberry dark chocolate layer cake.

The cake part is actually a dark chocolate brownie recipe, I added an extra 1/2 an egg to give it a little more of a cake consistency. The filling is mashed strawberries (with a little extra surprise inside), and the frosting is homemade chocolate whipped topping, which I garnished with twilight dark chocolate shavings... that I just HAD to sample while making...and fell instantly in love with it. Here's the cake pictures... doesn't it look delish??

Quick pic before I start layering...Layer #1 complete...and oh so appetizing...Layer #2...I think the dark chocolate really adds a little pizazz....Close up of the layers...I'm salivating!YUM!!! Can't wait to dig in!

Time flies when you're having fun!

2009-06-09T20:23:00.008-04:00

We were hardly home this past weekend. Between visits and baby showers, and a quick trip down the shore - the weekend positively flew by.

In "School" (my daycare) on Friday, Tommy tried a brand new food - chicken nuggets. As I'm sure you can guess, he loved 'em. I gave him a peach on the side, and he was a happy happy boy. Truth be told, I haven't found a whole lot of foods that he doesn't like.

In fact, that night we ordered pizza in... and he made sure to let Tony and I know that he wanted some!

On Saturday morning my mom stopped over to hang with Tommy for a little while. He doesn't get much time to spend with others without Tony or I around, so it was nice that he enjoyed spending some time alone with Gramma. I took these pictures after we got home, they were taking a nice walk together in our backyard. It warmed my heart to see him walking through the grass holding onto his grammas hand.

On Sunday we drove down the shore to catch a car show, I especially liked this truck...Tommy looks so tiny next to it. Hilarious.

Since we were already down the shore, we decided to stop over at Long Beach Island for lunch, and to take Tommy on the beach. He was ok with the sand and the beach... until we got closer to the waves. I think he was a little scared because the waves crashing were so loud.

Betcha Can't

2009-06-03T21:25:00.002-04:00

Betcha Can't Help But Smile When You See This Post!!
Gotcha!
For Tana, cause she encouraged me to blog more often, and for Kayla and Jenn...thanks for the smiles ladies!

Tommy dancing, talking, and signing!

2009-06-02T20:29:00.008-04:00

Tommy had his first slice of pizza this past weekend. It was sausage, he knew exactly what to do with it as soon as I put it on his tray...and he Loved it!

On Friday I put some Led Zeppelin on for Tommy. He loves Led Zeppelin, especially "Immigrant Song." He dances and sings, it's hilarious. This video made me think of my sister though...I think she'll know why. Hey Carrie...what movie does his dance make you think of? Hahahaha.

My sister and her husband Brett came up for a visit this past weekend, so we stopped over my folks house to visit with them, their dogs, and my Mom. It was a nice little lunch, I enjoyed spending time with them all. Tommy is having major separation anxiety though, and he wasn't as friendly as usual. I hope he outgrows this stage soon. When we got home we spent some time outback. He loves to just sit and relax in his swing, so I took a couple more videos of him responding, talking, and signing. He's been doing really well with learning his signs. He can communicate to me (sign language)"more", "yes", "no", "eat", and "all done." We're working on "thank you." He is also getting better at saying words, especially colors. His newest words are "purple", "orange", and "jump." Other words he's known are beginning to sound clearly like the actual words. It's really amazing being able to ask my child a question and have him actually respond to it. He knows what he wants, and is just as eager to learn as I am to teach him. I'm loving this.

Relaxing Long Weekend

2009-05-28T13:15:00.006-04:00

Despite the serious humidity over Memorial Day Weekend, the weather was beautiful. The sun was shining, everyone was in a good mood about having three days off, and the air was filled with music and the smells from friend and family barbeque's. I know it isn't the official start of summer, but to me this past weekend has always felt like it. My mind has constantly been thinking about what outdoor activities we can do next, when I can break out the baby pool and play-sprinkler for Tommy, and what else we can grill. This past weekend Tony and I made burgers stuffed with our favorite cheeses...mine was blue cheese, and his cheddar. They were sooo tasty! I'm going to make up some more for this upcoming weekend.

Tony and I having been spending many quiet evenings sitting outside enjoying our fire pit. We spent so much time during the day and nights outside that I'm not even sure we turned the tv on at all this past weekend. I've been making some changes to the sitting area under our pergola, soon it'll be a nice little outdoor retreat - earthy and quiet, which is exactly the look I'm going for. Yesterday Tony and I picked out three large round tree logs that we're going to preserve so we can use them as end tables outside. I have a look in mind, and hopefully after this (or next) weekend it'll all come together...and all come in under this year's "outdoor" budget....Yay! Can't beat that!

I did some baking this weekend. My girlfriend Tana sent me this amazing looking recipe for Reese Peanut Butter Cups Cake http://www.parents.com/recipe/chocolate-cakes/peanut-butter-fudge-cake/... I decided to change up the recipe a little (as per usual), and also make cupcakes instead of the cake. It turned out AMAZING. We brought the cupcakes to a bbq at a friend's house which was a great idea...not only were they well received but also, if they had been left in our house, I guarantee we would have eaten them all before the weekend was over. They were truly THAT good. Seriously...if you like chocolate and peanut butter, you owe it to yourself to try this recipe. Just so ya know, I used Hershey's light syrup instead of the dark chocolate the recipe calls for, and also - you may want to refrigerate the peanut butter cups (I used two bags of them...it takes some time to unwrap them all, and serious will power not to nibble a few) before chopping...it helps them to chop easier. Oh, and if you're wondering, what else can I do with the leftover frosting (if you have any) - I chopped up an apple the next day and used a bit of the leftover frosting for dipping...it was like heaven.

Because They Make Me Smile

2009-05-21T21:49:00.006-04:00

Some pictures I thought I'd post, because sometimes, even if you're having a hectic week, it's nice to take a moment and appreciate what truly makes you happy.

Wishing all of you a fun-filled, bbq packed, holiday weekend! I can't wait to grill up some good eats!

Tommy loves his Da very much.

Silly dog after his bath.

The roses I bought myself today, just because. Aren't they pretty?

Because I love being able to enjoy walking around outside in the sun with my son, and getting some great exercise too!

Catching Up

2009-05-19T09:22:00.008-04:00

Tommy truly is the class clown of my little daycare. Sometimes I'll catch him doing something just because he saw me laugh at him one time.

As he approaches 13 months, Tony and I have noticed that he mimics us a lot more, even if its just with sounds and not necessarily clear words. He's also begun to ask for his juice, milk (which he still calls "Bah"), and answers us when we ask him questions by shaking his head no or yes, but also making gestures. For example, if I ask him if he'd like more cherrios he will make the American Sign Language gesture for >more<.

Over the Mother's Day weekend we took him to Toys-R-Us. We had wanted a wagon for his first birthday gift, so we went to pick it out. He had a ball in the store, and remarkably, we left with only what we came in to buy. For stories I've heard from other parents, I'm guessing that is not always the case. We also went down the shore to meet Tommy's new little "cousin" Angelo who was born to our good friends Lori and Dano at the end of April. Our other friends Rich and Michelle must have woken up Saturday morning with the same idea we had, because they went to visit then too...so all of us were there together with our kids. We laughed at how different life is now than it was when we were running around the campus of Immaculata during our college years.

My Mother's Day was wonderful. Tony bought me two Azalea bushes, then planted them next to our front stairs. He also made me a wonderful breakfast of eggs benedict, and made grilled shrimp stuffed with crab for dinner! I was able to spend most of the day just doing nothing at all, and it felt Great! I haven't done "nothing" in a very long time. Next year I may even sleep in! Ha!

Tommy-Saurus

2009-05-11T09:23:00.008-04:00

I am so sorry it has taken me so long to post pictures from Tommy's birthday party. I sprained my right wrist the day after the party (I am right-handed), and while I'm still having pain and trouble using my hand/wrist. I didn't want to wait any longer to post pictures. Also - while it may not seem so from these pictures I am posting, I do not have that many from that day, so if anyone took pictures, could you please email them to me. I'd like to have them for Tommy's scrapbook.

Now, without further Adieu...

The night before. Carrie and her friend Nicolelynn drove up for the party. They arrived late Friday night to help Tony and I with all the party prep, and to spend some quality time with Tommy. I baked two white cakes, two chocolate cakes, and a marble cake Thursday night, and stored them in the fridge until we were able to decorate them Friday night. Friday night after we put Tommy to bed we set up as much as we could, then it was on to creating the huge dinosaur cake. Tony's one request was that I make a huge dino cake. And so...I did! I carved out the cake by hand, then Carrie and Nicolelynn helped me frost and decorate it. Thank you ladies! I had a great time making it with you!

Tommy checking out his dinosaur cake and hanging out with Aunt Carrie the morning of the party.

The dinner entree tables, and Tommy's gifts. Thank you to everyone who brought a dish to share & for those who helped with decorating before the party, we truly could not have pulled this off without you! We had a great spread of food, lots of variety. Each one labelled with its own special dinosaur name...like Tyrannasaurus Rex Chicken Nuggets, Lava Meatballs, etc...I had a blast thinking up, and creating all the little extras to make the party as kid-friendly as possible and all dinosaur related.

Tent City - Tony sent up a huge tent outside since they were calling for rain the entire week, and weekend. Miraculously, at about 1pm...just two hours before the party was set to begin, the skies cleared, and the sun came out. It was sunny and warm and all-around lovely for the rest of the day/night! We decorated the entire area with paper mache volcanoes (which I made and painted myself!), green and orange plastic tablecovers, green and orange balloons, mini neon bubbles and dinosaurs, large blown up dinosaurs, chocolate dinosaur lollipops, and had a table full of appetizers and snacks - each one complete with a dinosaur named food label. Unfortunately, I don't have any other pictures of the decor, but I think everyone enjoyed the dinosaur atmosphere, and I think I used the space wisely enough to not make the dino-theme "overused" and gaudy.

Pinata Time (Thank you for taking these pictures Jules!!).

We were so proud of ourselves and happy we were able to throw a big party for our little man.

Cake Time, Tommy loved the chocolate cake I baked for him...especially cause he could make a huge mess!

Me and Jane

Sticking his finger up Aunt Carrie's nose.

Carrie and I have to take at least one "self-portrait" of ourselves...its tradition.

Kisses For Mommy

I love him so much.

"Mem" AKA Mommy To My ONE Year Old!!

2009-04-28T09:44:00.009-04:00

I feel bad for having not written for so long. Things have been crazy busy here at our house. Tommy's more and more active during the day, I now care for children in my home daycare four days out of the week, and every weekend seems to be packed with exciting outdoor activities or Spring home improvements! We’re getting prepared and excited for Tommy’s big 1st birthday bash this Saturday. It’s family, extended family, and a few of Tommy’s “school” friends. Unfortunately, the weather isn’t looking very promising, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that it won’t affect our party plans too much. Tommy turned 1 on Tuesday the 21st. He had a pretty bad cold, and ear infections in both ears, poor little guy. He was cranky and slept for most of the day, but still enjoyed his first cupcake, visits from his Gramma and his Abuela, and a couple cool toys from Mom and Dad. We got him a little red swing which we attached to our pergola so that he has something to do while we enjoy the outdoors, and also a giant rubber ball which I picked up at Walmart for $2! I love how children his age are entertained by the simplest and most in-expensive things. For Tony and I, the first birthday is very very special – so we decided to go all out. We don’t plan on throwing a big party every year, in fact this year’s party – with its expected 85 guests…will most likely be the biggest party Tommy has until his wedding! Ha! We’re making most of the food and decorations ourselves…so when we’re not hanging out with the munchkin, we’ve been spending our "free" time preparing things and the house, for the party. I don’t want to put too many pictures up yet…because I want our guests to be surprised by everything we’ve got planned – not that it’s a lot…but presentation is key! I promise to post a ton of pictures afterwards for all to see. It’s going to be a great party, we’ve truly outdone ourselves this time!
We still feel so blessed that we were not only able to conceive a child, but that he is now a healthy, and happy 1 year old little boy. The year was a big one, a lot of learning and new experiences for all of us. We’re a small happy unit with wonderfully supportive and loving extended family and friends. I’m so grateful, and glad to be able to share some of our lives with them…even if it’s mostly through periodic phone calls, visits, and blog updates.

Little McTommy Had A Farm E-I-E-I-O

2009-04-10T19:04:00.008-04:00

We’ve had a great start to the holiday weekend. Last night I met up with a couple girlfriends to get pedicures, then appetizers at a local restaurant. I loved the girl-time, and my toes look pretty now too! Then I woke up this morning to a sunny warm day, and a happy baby who cuddled up to me this morning when I retrieved him from his crib. After his morning nap we were off to the local grocery store in search of our Easter ham. Along the way I stopped when I saw a neighbor getting ready to leave some kids’ toys and things out for the trash. He had a huge “practically new” kitchen playset (apparently his kids never played with it and it was taking up too much room), a toy workbench, a little bike, and a tricycle/bike thing. He asked if I wanted all of it. To which I said “absolutely!!!” I wasn’t able to fit it into my jeep, so he loaded up his truck, drove over to our house (about 8 houses away) and unloaded all of the stuff for me. That was so neighborly and nice! Next, while we were at the grocery store, a woman saw me looking at yogurt and mentioned she had an extra coupon if I would like to have it she’d give it to me! We chatted about the baby for a moment or two, then she handed over her extra coupon and we were on our way. So on top of the other coupons I already had…I was able to save an addition couple dollars! Love that! The rest of the afternoon went by quickly, and by the time Tony got home the weather was so lovely we decided to go for a nice long walk, then we played out in the backyard with Tommy and Mav for a while. It was wonderful! I took a bunch of pictures of Tommy and Tony playing together in the grass, and a couple of Tommy playing on the tractor, some with my cell phone so they don't look as good. Tommy was wearing these overalls that made him look like a little farmer. Hilarious! I hope everyone is having a great Friday too, and that you all have a great weekend with a very Happy Easter!

Tommy's Soooooo Big!

2009-04-06T17:26:00.009-04:00

I had to share this picture from this morning of Tommy playing "so big." He cracks me up because each time he lifts his arms, he bends his head back so far that he he almost falls backward. Its hilarious! Our little class clown. You can thank his Aunt Carrie and his Gramma for teaching him this little gem. Until recently he would only play "so big" with them, but I finally won him over!

He's getting so much better at balancing himself when he's walking. Still he can only take about six steps before pitching forward, but he's very brave and tends to take off toward what he wants with little or no encouragement. It's fascinating to watch him transition from baby to toddler. He is always talking and singing, and sometimes the words are quite clear. He likes to say "Ma" now, continues to say "Dada," and does well with identifying with everyday objects (those he is use too) and activities - especially things starting with a "B." His favorites being "Bah Bah" (bottle/sippy cup), "Bayh" (Bath, he heads towards the stairs going up toward his bedroom and gets really excited when we turn the bath water on), "BawrBawr" (BearBear - our dog) and "Bawl" (Ball). He also REALLY loves when I ask if he would like some Juice. He starts calling "Dus." It's so cute. I can't wait for him to learn more words, it’s nice to communicate with him and actually know what it is that he wants. We're working on saying “Duck” now (just in time for Easter!). He has always been a big fan of Ducks, he plays with two rubber ones in the tub every night, has a couple small stuffed animal ducks, and we got him a cute little book about ducks for his Easter basket (we won't be doing candy Anytime soon...or ever if I have my way, except maybe peeps...I love peeps, all that sugary awesomeness).

Anyway, Tommy has pretty much transitioned out of drinking a bottle. He drinks “milk” (formula) three times a day, the only one he drinks out of a bottle is his nighttime one…so we’ve definitely made some excellent progress. He has only ever drank his juice out a Nuk sippy cup (it has a super soft rubber top but only comes in 5 oz cups), which I think helped him with the transition of his other bottles.

We spent much of this past weekend indoors working on home improvements, baby-proofing, and household chores. It was so windy and rainy (still is) this weekend that we really didn’t have any choice. Now that Tommy is more mobile and has better balance on his legs, he’s begun to explore more of his surroundings, including trying to open all of the kitchen cabinets and drawers, trying to bust out of the baby gates, and climbing up stairs. We thought we were pretty well baby-proofed…but we thought wrong. Just this weekend Tony had to purchase yet another baby gate for the stairs in the playroom, and add special child-proof hooks to all of the cabinets and drawers within Tommy’s reach. It’s worth the time, effort, and cost to keep him and the other children I care for safe.

I repainted our backdoor, and most of the window and doorway trim throughout the powder room and laundry room over the course of the weekend (during Tommy’s naps and at night). I was trying to win tickets to see the Allman Brothers Band, so I had lots of classic rock tunes playing while I painted everything a crisp white. The biggest improvement has to be the backdoor, it looked almost gray…now its stunningly white. I love it! (bad picture, sorry) BTW…I didn’t win the concert tickets, which stinks, but what can you do! At least I gave it a good try! We stopped over at produce junction to pick up some fruits and veggies on Sunday, and I saw some flowers I just HAD to have. A beautiful Orchid which I got for $8! I have no idea how to take care of it, so hopefully I don’t end up killing it (I don’t have much of a green thumb). I also picked up two yellow Begonias, and was able to plant them by our front steps outside in between rain storms. I want to plant all yellow flowers this year, so that our front lawn looks bright and sunny and welcoming. I fell in love with the Begonias. They are so pretty. The only had two of them in the yellow…so I might stop back and try to find them in another color, for my pots in the backyard. They were only $3 each, which is a steal for something so lush and colorful that’s also easy to care for! I can’t believe this upcoming weekend is Easter! I’m looking forward to attending church services (we took Tommy to church this past Sunday for Palm Sunday – one of my favorites – and he did really well…charming all the little old ladies!). We’re also going to spend some time with our families – including Tony’s cousin and his family (they have a son who is 3 mos. younger than Tommy), so that will be really nice. After this weekend I’ll be in full party-planning mode to get things set for Tommy’s big 1st birthday bash. The invitations are being mailed tomorrow (or Wednesday)…we’ve invited somewhere around 100 people (yikes), so hopefully the weather is decent and we can enjoy our spacious backyard…I don’t even want to think about trying to stuff 100 people into our house. Don’t get me wrong, our house is plenty big for us, and for various parties we’ve had in the past…but I’m not so sure it’s 100 people big! Hahaha…lets hope for sunshine!

Walkin'

2009-03-31T16:30:00.004-04:00

We just got back from a nice walk (what a great work out!) around the neighborhood. I had to post these pictures - they really made me laugh. The third one I took with my cell phone and sent to my friend Tana. We've been out walking almost every day. I love this nice weather!

Tommy Says...

2009-03-31T14:04:00.007-04:00

Tommy just wanted to stop in and say hello

Oh... and here are some pictures of him learning to walk in brand new pajamas...size 18 mos! He's getting to be such a big boy!

Spring Fever

2009-03-29T17:43:00.004-04:00

We decided to officially welcome Spring today by taking a nice walk around our neighborhood in the lovely afternoon weather. I'm so glad Spring has arrived, my daffodils are blooming, my tulips are on their way, and everything is beginning to turn lush and green! I can't wait to plant some flowers!

I know, I know...

2009-03-24T20:59:00.003-04:00

I know that I haven’t written in a while. We had a death in the family, and honestly…I was just feeling too melancholy to write. Tommy has been growing by leaps and bounds – he’s 11 months old now and has three teeth! He took his first steps on March 15th, and enjoys pushing his little fire engine around the room all by himself. He sometimes will say “uh-oh” when he drops a toy, and will play “so big” – but only when he’s in the mood to participate (otherwise he just looks at us like “I don’t think so”. He’s so funny. He loves to climb up onto one of us, then do a belly flop so that he lands giggling into our arms, or onto our stomachs. I truly love this age. Just yesterday he had his first father/son catch with Tony. They sat on the floor in the playroom and bounced the ball to one another. It was too cute to see Tommy lift the big rubber ball up and then launch it towards Tony. They were enjoying themselves, very much.
Tommy is starting to look less like a baby, and more like a little boy – the time has gone by so fast. We’re in full party planning mode now for Tommy’s first birthday. I am printing invitations today in fact, so that I can address them, and mail them out by the beginning of next week. We’re sticking with a dinosaur theme. I found this cute little Apatosaurus (the dinosaur formerly known as Brontosaurus – the long necked one) cartoon on the internet and decided to incorporate that picture into as many party things as I can for the party. We’re also making paper mache’ volcanos for centerpieces on the tables, some delicious food, and some fun dinosaur themed games planned (like “Digging For Dinos.” There are lots of ways we hope to incorporate the dinosaur theme into the party. We plan to hold the party in our backyard…so hopefully the weather cooperates. Some of the food we’ll make ahead of time and freeze…that way it will be one less stressful thing to do the day of. Its so much fun planning the party for Tommy. This truly is the year of baby girls. Out of about 6 or 7 couples whom we know are having babies this year, only one couple is having a boy! This past weekend I attended the baby shower for my dear friend Julie, whom along with her husband Mike are expecting twin girls! Twins!!! Tony and I are so so so excited for them. Tommy loves that he’s getting a ton of new girlfriends too! It’s starting to make me feel the baby itch…just a little.
Instead…we’re planning on repainting/decorating the upstairs bathroom and changing things up a bit in the living room. Every so often I get tired of my surroundings and need to change things up a bit, so that’s what I’m going to do! Now to decide on paint colors!

March The Lioness

2009-03-09T10:12:00.007-04:00

Weather-wise, last week was really strange. It snowed Sunday into Monday. We ended up with about 7 inches, maybe a little more. It was the kind of snow where everything gets icey and driving conditions are not good. So Tony took a half day, and we had some family fun out in the snow. Tommy actually enjoyed himself for the first time, I think its because all of us (including Mav) were outside having fun. I laughed and laughed while playing photographer, and Tony pulled Tommy around the backyard in his sled while they chased Mav around. By the end of the week, and throughout the weekend the weather dramatically changed. At one point it was as warm as 70 degrees! It made for a beautiful weekend. We spent the entire weekend visiting with friends and family, including our good friends Rich and Michelle who just had their first daughter this past Wednesday (the 4th). Madeline Brigette is 6 lbs of cutie pie. Hearing her tiny little cry brought back a flood of memories for Tony and I. Tommy is in love with his new little girlfriend (he kept kissing her tiny little forehead).

I took a few more pictures so you can see Tommy’s teeth coming in. We have had a few rough nights this past week, including last night. He has been handling the pain really well during the day, but at night it seems that he just can’t get comfortable. I can’t wait for this third tooth to pop through so he has some relief from the teething.

Also – here is the picture of my vase after it was fired and glazed this week. Tony bought me a bunch of flowers to put inside it. Such a great hubby. While you can definitely tell I’m an amateur, it still turned out really nicely, and I can’t wait to go make more pieces.BTW - For Kimmie and Lauren (and anyone else looking to read a romantic chick-lit book) I just finished reading Love Walked In, by Marisa De Los Santos. SERIOUSLY GOOD! I highly recommend it!

Color Me Mine

2009-02-27T20:33:00.005-05:00

I had a wonderful time last night with some girlfriends at the pottery painting studio/store called Color Me Mine. I've been wanting to go there for years, but for one reason or another, just had not gotten there yet. So we planned a girls night complete with some light appetizers, a bottle of wine, and a nice iced coffee for me (decaf so I wouldn't get the jitters). I chose a tall rectangular vase, and designed a grape vine on one side. I painted the outside tan, and the colors of the grape vine/grapes are in a dark brown and olive green color. It has to be glazed and fired up in the kiln, so I won't get to see it completed until next weekend, but I have a feeling its going to look good, and I already know this'll be a hobby I can get hooked on. I'll be sure to post a photo of the finished product when I get it next week, but for now, here are a couple pictures from last night (you can see the design I drew up before I went...and next to it is how it looked after I was done painting and while it was still drying.) The colors will really "pop" after the firing and glazing. Anytime you want to go, count me in ladies - I had a blast!

Tommy now calls our dog Maverick "Bear" (which is Mav's middle name) and the dog will go to him when called. It's pretty cute. They are constantly playing tug-of-war, with Mav taking a "time out" once in a while to lick Tommy's face. Tommy just giggles the whole time.

Tommy's really starting to get the hang of standing too. He managed to stand for almost a minute today. I know that doesn't sound like a long time, but to us its amazing. His favorite thing the past couple of days is to stand up then screech and throw himself onto Tony or I. He then rolls away and laughs hysterically. Tommy has begun clapping too. He claps especially when he thinks he's done something good. Today he stood up for a couple seconds, and upon landing started clapping for himself and saying "Yay!" It was adorable. Of course its totally infectious behavior, so the minute he starts to clap and cheer, Tony and I can't help ourselves but to join in!

Soup That Feeds Your Tastebuds...And Your Soul.

2009-02-23T09:13:00.006-05:00

Every Sunday I have been trying to take a few hours to cook up Tommy's meals for the week...it can be anything from coming up with interesting fruit blends to steaming fresh veggies. Making a pasta or rice mix or mushing up meats for his dinners…I’ve really been trying to make it fresh, make it tasty, and make it as healthy as possible for our little man. The biggest upside is that I get to try out some of these food blends myself while I enjoy a little time on my own cooking and blending foods together – it inspires me to cook healthy foods for Tony and I as well…and serves as a reminder that just because its healthy does not mean it isn’t delicious. It’s also been great for Tony and Tommy. They get the time to bond and just “be the guys.” Sometimes, Tony and I will both be cooking (he is a master at grilling – especially seafood), and Tommy will sit there beside us in his high chair, munching on fruit or veggie puffs, and watching us with his always observing and curious eyes.
Here he's helping Daddy put his toys into one of his new toy boxes, and one of him laughing while playing with his fire engine ride-along.On Saturday morning, we stopped over at the market for some much needed weekly necessities (I needed soy milk for my coffee!), and I was inspired to pick up some veggies to make a really tasty soup. I know several people who can make one soup or casserole, really really well (like my Mom’s Tuna Casserole – I LOVE it!!). A signature dish that when thought of, immediately makes you think of them, of sharing a nice meal together, and of family/friendship. Well – I WANT that! Ha Ha. I’ve been searching for a soup that screams ME. Something I can make in bulk and freeze for some individual meals, to pull out when I’m in the mood for some comfort food, and a recipe I can call my own to share with the people I love.

Often I’ve been to Panera Bread and have had their broccoli and cheese soup. I’m actually not a fan of Broccoli…something about the texture turns me off…but when it comes to that soup, I just can’t get enough. So…I used the ever handy internet, and searched for a few related recipes, then I came up with my own version. I spent about 3 or 4 hours from start (getting all the ingredients together & cooking veggies) to finish making up a double batch of this DELICIOUS recipe. So…I hope you give it a try, even if you aren’t normally a fan of broccoli, carrots, or of soups in general. I promise, you will not be disappointed.

First off let me give some Luv to fresh vegetables. I know its takes a little more time to cook and prepare them…but when you decide to take the time to do it, I truly feel it adds a little something extra special to the finished product. If you’re like me, and (for convenience sake) aren’t use to cooking fresh veggies…I’ll explain what I did with them. I am sure there are other ways…but since I like to figure things out on my own…here’s what I did to prepare the broccoli and carrots before starting the soup.

Broccoli: I picked up two big bunches of broccoli. I took them home and rinsed them really really well, then laid them on a paper towel to dry. I set up my steamer with about an inch of water (it’s a large metal pot with a separate steamer pot that has tiny holes on the bottom and rests inside the larger pot – great for steaming veggies and crab legs!). Once the water in the steamer was boiling, I put the broccoli bunches into the steamer pot, and that into the larger metal pot, covered it with the glass lid, then I set the clock for 4 minutes. While they were steaming up, I grabbed a large bowl which I filled with ice water. After the timer chimed, I picked up the entire steamer part of the pot with the broccoli inside, and dunked it into the bowl of ice water three times (each time for about 5 seconds). The reasons I’ve heard for doing this is to help the broccoli keep their brilliant green color, and also to ensure they will have a nice crisp crunch. Next, I dumped them onto a giant cutting board, and removed ALL of the stems. If you like broccoli you may not want to go to this extreme, but I don’t normally like it, so I wanted it to be in small enough bunches that I would not be biting into the broccoli stems. (I thought it would be nice if all of the veggies in the soup sort of disappeared into it, making a flavorful and thick mixture, without clumps in it.)

Carrots: I carefully added about 3 cups of hot tap water into the still semi-boiling pot I had used for steaming the broccoli. While I waited for that to boil, I removed the outside “skin” of the carrots with a potato peeler, and cut off the ends of each one. Once the water was boiling, I put the carrots into the pot and let it simmer for about 10 to 15 mins. Once they were fully cooked, I carefully pulled them out of the pot, and chopped them into ¼ inch cubes. The recipe called for julienned carrots…but the ¼ inch pieces worked just fine…they were so tender that you didn’t even notice them in the soup – it blended really well, and added an extra bit of flavor!

(NOTE: Since I made WAY more carrots than I needed for this recipe, I set some aside to make babyfood for Tommy, and some aside for a nice pork tenderloin roast I will be making later on in the week. Several great meals out of fresh vegetables! Can’t beat that!)
After the veggies were all prepped and ready to go, I set the rest of the ingredients for the soup out on the counter, and got started. Here are the directions for my adaptation of the various recipes I researched (and some notes). It’s a keeper!

Bobbi's Broccoli and Cheese Soup

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter with 1/4 chopped onion
(I used a red Spanish onion for a little color)
½ stick of butter – cut into tbsps/
1/4 cup flour
2 cups fat free half-and-half cream
(could probably have used Soymilk)
2 cups chicken stock (or 1 can if you don’t have any one hand)
1/2 lb fresh broccoli
1 cup carrot, julienned (the ¼ chunks worked just fine)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
10 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese - I used Kraft.
(It actually calls for 8 oz. but I thought it needed that extra bit.)
Salt and Pepper to taste (I used 2 tsps of salt and 3 tsps of pepper.)

Directions
1. Sauté onion with butter on lowest setting so that the butter does not overcook. Set aside.
2. Cook ½ stick of butter and flour using a whisk over low heat for 3-5
minutes. Stir constantly and slowly add in the half & half.
3. Add the chicken stock. Simmer on Low/Medium-Low for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
4. Stir in nutmeg, salt, and pepper, mix well.
5. Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over LOW heat 25-30 minutes.
6. Serve with your favorite crusty, dunkable bread and enjoy!

Other adaptations: Several recipes I found online also included 1 cup of fully cooked, minced cauliflower, and several recipes called for serving the soup in a bread bowl. I plan to add the cauliflower into the mix the next time I make this soup.

Since I made a double batch we were able to freeze a few containers full of soup, plus we each have a couple containers to enjoy throughout the week.

Oh…and in case you’re wondering…I mixed some of the carrots with a little bit of the broccoli in the blender for Tommy – he LOVED it. I have glass jars [reusing babyfood jars] full for him of the carrots and broccoli mix for this week. I also made a fresh mango/orange puree, and baked up a butternut squash for him this week. He had a bit of the mango/orange puree with his oatmeal this morning – and he said “mmm” after each bite. So Cute!)

Tapas and Teeth

2009-02-20T20:35:00.006-05:00

I had not realized just how long it’s been since I updated the blog, until a friend mentioned she wanted to check it out and see some updated pictures. Ooops… sorry. The days have been slipping by with lightening speed. One day it’s the beginning of the month, then in the blink of an eye it’s almost the end of it! Wow!We’ve had some ups and downs this month. The biggest up has been that Tommy finally has teeth! Yep, that’s right, I said teeth – plural. His first tooth emerged amongst many a sleepless night, nasty diaper, and crankiness on the 11th. Tony had collected Tommy out of his crib that morning when he noticed that first pearly white! Within days the whole process began again, and just this week tooth number two finally emerged. We are excited to reach yet another milestone of the many Tommy’s had this year, but also it’s a little bittersweet. It means our baby is growing up! He will be ten months old tomorrow. It’s astonishing to me that we are beginning to plan his first birthday bash! I can’t wait. It’s going to be such a fun party. We’ve decided to go with a dinosaur theme. I’ve been jotting down ideas, and coming up with ways we can throw a great party while still keeping within a fairly tight budget.

Here is a picture of Tommy while teething...even while crying and cranky, he still takes time to smile at the camera.

In this picture you can almost see Tommy's tooth - it's glinting from the flash of the camera. Last weekend my sister and her husband came up for a visit. Tommy was able to spend some quality time with them, and I know he loved it. They and my parents watched Tommy for his very first overnight! I cried the entire way to my parents house, not because I didn’t think they would do well with him or anything…he loves them, and they love him too…it was ALL me. I couldn’t stand being away from him. It broke my heart to drop him off, and I felt incredibly guilty, but I am proud of myself for taking that first step. We also had our first Tapas party last weekend. A tapas party is basically like having a bunch of small meals, sort of like appetizers, but with a Spanish flair. We had everything from Potatas Bravas to Albondigas, Tortilla Espana, and my personal favorite Calamari Frito, amongst other things. We washed all of the great food down with some Spanish wine and Sangria (Tana, you make the best Sangria!!). I even made up a couple small desserts including three little heart shaped coconut angel food cakes. The evening was a great success, and we had an absolute blast with the two other couples who joined us. It’s definitely something we hope to do again soon. (This pictures shows just SOME of the Tapas we had, there was so much food! Picture below: Albondigas [Spainish meatballs], Gambas A La Plancha [pan fried shrimp], a hummus platter, An appetizer platter featuring Spanish olives and Manchego [a Spanish cheese] and other things, Tortilla Espana, Patatas Bravas, and Pollo Con Ajo [chicken thighs fried in olive oil and garlic])The end of this week, Tommy has begun to try and stand on his own. Soon, he’s going to learn to really balance…and it will only be a matter of time before he takes that first step toward walking! We think he’ll be running around chasing after his friends at his first birthday party.I’ve also discovered something new about Tommy. He’s still really into music…in fact just today he was rocking and singing along to a Steely Dan song which came on the radio this afternoon. But to my great surprise, I’ve learned just how much my child likes books!! SO EXCITED!!! He’s always enjoyed it when we read to him, but lately he has been getting really (REALLY) upset at the end of the story, when it is time to close the book and put it back onto the shelf. He tends to grab the book and try to open it again. We hope to encourage his love of reading as much as possible in the hopes that it will help him learn to read words a lot easier, and we also believe that encouraging a love of reading will eventually help him with his schoolwork. (In this picture below, he pulled all of the books off the shelf then sat and looked through them.)Next week I am meeting some friends for a relaxing Girls Night at a local pottery painting shop. I can’t wait. It’ll be my first time doing something like this. I plan to make something I can use in my kitchen that will tie in the pretty browns and tans of my dishes and the lovely olive green colors of our walls. I’m thinking something with bunches of green grapes or a grapevine will be pretty. We’ll see what happens!

It’s snowing…again. I think I’m over it. Or maybe I’m just cranky.

2009-02-03T14:43:00.004-05:00

This weekend was a long one. Not in the relaxing sense of the word, but in a “ugh why isn’t it over yet” kind of thing. You see…I finally made some “me” plans for the weekend. Friday night I was set to meet up at a nearby restaurant for a girls night dinner, Saturday I had tickets to see Jesus Christ Superstar, and Sunday I was hoping to get out of the house and go for some coffee…either by myself or meet up with a girlfriend. Also this weekend Tony needed to find a new vehicle since his has been broken since just before Christmas.

I should have known something was up on Thursday when I woke up with a stomach bug. Fortunately for me…it only lasted for about 24 hours…maybe a tad more…BUT…just as soon as I started to feel better – WHAM – the bug got Tommy. My poor little man couldn’t keep anything in. So, since Friday, he’s been a mess (Its Tuesday and he’s still not himself). Thankfully – he’s been in a pretty decent mood….but we couldn’t risk taking him anywhere (and we didn’t want him to catch something else while out, possibly getting sicker.)
So…I cancelled my plans for Friday night, and Sunday. I wasn’t about to miss JC Superstar…as it was my early birthday present from my parents (Thanks again for taking me Mom!). Tony spent much of the weekend on the car business (and it was warm enough for him to finally get the rest of the Christmas lights & things put away.). He also had a touch of the stomach bug…so I was on baby duty. I tried really hard to enjoy myself at JSC…but the thought of my baby sick at home, the awful seats we had (selling seats where you can’t see part the stage should be illegal – its just so wrong), and the fact that I had not had time to eat yet Saturday…sort of ruined the experience for me. Don’t get me wrong…the performance was excellent. Ted Neeley, who portrays Jesus in the movie version of JCS was headlining…and the man who played Judas was amazing. But my thoughts were more on my empty stomach and sick little man, than the musical.

I’m not usually such a downer. When things come up, I can usually just roll with the punches…but I had a mild case of cabin fever going on, and really – I just needed to do something other than just being “mom” for a couple hours. It wasn’t Tony’s fault…and he was very supportive while I blubbered and felt sorry for myself on Sunday – so I made sure he did not cancel his plans to meet up with his guy friends for the Superbowl (friends he hasn’t seen in a while, and a game I didn’t care to see). He also managed to find a new jeep, and sell the broken kia!

I’m really hoping I can find the time to do something later this week or over the weekend…I’d love to go to the movies or do something. So we’ll see.
Since we’re stuck in the house today (ugh...snow and ice), I decided to give the whole Vegan baking thing a try. I made banana nut bread…and somehow managed to keep myself from dumping milk chocolate chips into the batter. I am very proud of myself for that last bit. It’s cooling as I write this (Tommy’s napping)…and I’m anxious to try it out. If it tastes as good as it smells (my house smells soooooo yummy right now) I’ll post the recipe…if not…well…you won’t hear about it again! I’m not Vegan. To be honest, I don’t even think I could be a Vegetarian. I LOVE me some beef & pork products…but… I’ve been incorporating some Vegetarian & Vegan (soy milk instead of cow’s milk, etc.) dishes into my normal diet…and it’s nice to try something different.
There’s always an awesome carnivore-friendly dish out there for me to rave about though…(gotta be fair to both teams right?? - I know Jaqi will disagree. Sorry Jaqi.) Here’s something Fantastic that Tony made this weekend. For his friend’s superbowl party on Sunday, Tony braised some mild Italian sausage with onions and green peppers…he then let is simmer for about 4 or 5 hours in a garlic, oregano, and butter sauce. His friends enjoyed it like a sandwich on rolls… but we decided to throw the leftover mixture in with some angel hair pasta…and it was DELICIOUS. I am bummed we ate it all last night for our dinner, because I would really really like to eat some more of it today.

And "Thank You" to Cindy D., who suggested I try giving Tommy some frozen mini-bagels to help with his teething...wonderful idea! As soon as he's feeling better...that's what I'll be doing!

January Milestones

2009-01-26T20:59:00.003-05:00

This was the weekend for milestones. Tommy had his 9 month appointment at the pediatrician’s office on Friday. Apparently he is slightly underweight and shorter than most 9 month olds. The short part didn’t surprise me…after all he does come from a short family, and I’m sure he’ll have growth spurts. BUT – the weight thing??? REALLY??? I mean…have you seen the pictures of our little meatball? This child can eat! I was angry about it at first (protective instinct kicking in)…but then tossed it up to doctors not knowing everything. I know Tommy eats (A LOT) so I’m not worried.
Here is a picture of him trying Spaghetti for the first time. I let him play with it a little bit…mostly just to see what he would do.

Here are some other pictures from last week and this past weekend. He loved hanging out and having fun with his Daddy on Saturday. He wore Daddy's hat, and played hide and seek with him.Tommy’s crawling skills have greatly improved, and he’s becoming more and more brave, and you wouldn’t believe how fast he can get from one end of the room to another. We think he could start to take his first walking steps within the next month. Which is completely blowing my mind. He’s really starting to lose his baby-ness.
Tommy did two things on Sunday. 1st – he fed himself for the first time. He was sitting in his highchair munching on the little star shaped peach puffs and making a wonderful mess. This is more funny than anything else, and Mav appreciates the ones that are thrown to the floor. Tommy gets so excited about food! He’s been able to pick them up for a while, but usually they end up getting stuck (and mushy – Gag) in the middle of his little fist. Yesterday however, as I watched he began “pinching” the stars between his thumb and first two fingers, and shoving them in his mouth. Believe it or not, this is a HUGE milestone in a baby’s development, and it was thrilling to watch. Of course I cheered for him…and encouraged him to keep trying…next we’ll see if he can pick up his cheerios. So exciting!
The second milestone Tommy hit was that he stood on his own. It was only for about 5 to 10 seconds at the most, but he did it. I couldn’t believe it…and to be honest…it was hilarious. He pushes himself up from the sitting position on something (couch, large toy, or one of us) and leans up on his tippy toes (he looks like a triangle). Next he plants his feet flat and extends his arms. Lastly, he slowly stands up until he is balancing, and holding on with just one hand. Within moments he lets go, and balances standing all on his own for a few seconds before falling onto his bum or grabbing back ahold of whatever object he was using for balance. It’s amazing to watch, and I find myself holding my breath with silent excitement as he does this ritual over and over again, teaching himself how to stand. Here he is standing up…about to let go. I didn’t snap the picture after this one fast enough to actually catch him in the act. We think he may finally be teething. Tommy was a little out of sorts yesterday, and today he’s been completely miserable. Unfortunately as a parent all you can really do is comfort them and wait, which is extremely hard to do when you can see pain and confusion in their eyes. I have heard of the whiskey thing, and orajel…the first is out of the question. The second we may try, but only as a last resort. I just keep handing over his teething toys, and giving him lots of hugs. I guess we’ll see what happens within the next few days.

Tommy and Mav are getting along great. Here are a couple pictures of them playing tug-of-war with an old sock. Whenever Tommy would let go of the sock, Mav would give it to him, he also drops his ball in Tommy’s lap whenever Mav wants to play catch. It’s so cute.

It's Brand New Day America, Anything Is Possible.

2009-01-20T14:53:00.003-05:00

I love being a witness to history. I sat crying tears of joy while watching the inaugurations today. Tommy sat on my lap as we joined millions of others in celebration of change. If you missed President Obama’s speech… google it! It was powerful. Congratulations Mr. President, I’m proud to call you my leader.
Lets talk food…
Here is a picture of the cake I made for my girlfriend’s baby shower over the weekend. For an amateur, I think I did a pretty good job of carving and decorating it. I had an idea of what I wanted to do…and achieved that goal. Go me! For those who have not yet tried Minute Maid’s Pomegranate Lemonde…you should get on that. It is both delicious and refreshing. YUM!! I found a great slow cooker recipe. I have never been a fan of pork. In fact…the only reason I make pork at all is because I’m determined to have variety in my life. BUT…that has all changed!!! I had a pork tenderloin, and didn’t have a clue what to do with it… so here’s the recipe I came up with after searching for a few online. I thought it was FANTASTIC!!!! Tony and I have been eating the leftover pork in sandwiches and for lunch. So good.
Slow-Cooker Pork Tenderloin Recipe
1 pork tenderloin
1 package dry onion soup mix
1 cup red wine (I used a Chianti)
2 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tsp basil
2 tsp oregano

Mix all ingredients and pour into slow-cooker (crock pot). Slow cook for 4 hours (until super tender and meat easily falls apart – like pulled pork). I turned the meat over after every hour, just to make sure it cooked all the way through & the flavors were dispersed evenly. You can use the “cooking liquid” as an au jus gravy over the meat. I served it with mashed potatoes and a side salad.

Also – I made baby food! I took 3 half ripened medium sized bananas, ½ cup of blueberries, and 1 cup of applesauce (organic) and mixed them together in our blender. Not only does Tommy LOVE it… but it was great mixed with our cereals (oatmeal) yesterday, and as a light (but filling) snack for me today. There’s enough for us both to snack on the fruit mix all week – its healthy – and it saved me money since I didn’t have to purchase extra fruit mixes of baby food.

It snowed here yesterday. I loved watching the snow fall, but hated the fact that Tony had to drive home in it last night. Here’s a couple pictures. Tommy is definitely not a fan of the snow.

25 Random Things

2009-01-19T13:44:00.002-05:00

My cousin Beth started this…so I thought I would post mine. I’m hoping my readers will post their own…I’m always interested in learning new things about people.

Here they are in no particular order, 25 random things about me.

1. I prefer the colors blue and green because they remind me of the ocean.
2. Styx is my favorite band – their music is the soundtrack of my life, and I think it’s awesome that people text or email me when they’ve heard a Styx song on the radio (because it made them think of me).
3. I would like to be an author – not famous – but to make enough money to live off my writing.
4. I would remarry my husband in a heartbeat and have had dreams of renewing our vows many times over the last (almost) five years.
5. I think wearing shoes and socks are overrated, and wish I could go around barefooted everywhere. Preferably in my pajamas, like Hugh Hefner.
6. I love to bake and cook. I’m good at it, but hate doing it when someone ungraciously expects it of me.
7. I secretly wish I played guitar in a rock band...or at least knew how to play. I am thrilled Tommy seems to love music as much as I do.
8. I like to listen to others tell me stories of their lives. I wish I could bottle them up, to be poured out like a fine wine when I am in need of entertainment, inspiration, or guidance.
9. I am terribly afraid of big dogs, the dentist, and people wearing masks.
10. Tommy has made my life complete. I know I was meant to be his mother, and am thrilled each and every day that I get to spend with him.
11. I think we (Tony and I) could be good friends with Sebastian Bach (ex Frontman of Skid Row) – he seems down to earth, intelligent, and funny – who doesn’t like a friend with those qualities?
12. My struggle with infertility issues changed who I am, and I am glad my openness about it helps others to know they aren’t alone. Tommy has made it all worth it, and then some. I truly believe in miracles.
13. I think tattoos are sexy, artistic, and a personal choice – one which I embrace whole heartedly.
14. Someday I’d like to own a home on a lake in Colorado, and spend my days surrounded by nature.
15. I really enjoy going to my church and feel at peace whenever I am there.
16. I have panic attacks when I drive in the rain.
17. I can’t wait to go on vacations with Tony and Tommy. We love to travel, and can’t wait to show Tommy the world.
18. I’d like to go back to the body I had in my early twenties, but not go back in time – it was fun and all, but the past should definitely stay where it is.
19. I truly love my family and friends with every beat of my heart – I see something wonderful in each one of you.
20. I am against the mistreatment of animals, especially for entertainment purposes.
21. I wish for a better life for Tommy than I had – and I have had a pretty awesome life.
22. I love the rare times when Maverick curls up on my lap so I can scratch his ears & belly.
23. I love fried food. Especially fries, mozzarella sticks, and calamari.
24. I believe magic is real, and can be found everywhere.
25. My idea of romance is sitting in front of a warm fireplace, wrapped up in a blanket, sipping a glass of wine, while listening to music and the crackling of burning logs.

Okay…those are mine… now its your turn!

Annnnnd We're Back!

2009-01-15T11:29:00.003-05:00

Ahhhhhh! I know I know, I’ve been terrible about blogging lately. Sorry ‘bout that!
Like most people, I’ve started the year off with some plans, ideas, and wishes I’d like to see happen in my life throughout this year. I have three big resolutions. The first is to get myself in shape. There are a few areas I’d particularly like to tone up, and a few more pounds I’d be very happy to lose. My plan is to work out at least three times a week…hopefully more. But I don’t want to overwhelm myself. I know me…if I think it’s too much of a hassle…chances are, I just won’t do it. And I need to for both now, and my future health. I know that if I start being proactive about all aspects of my health now, I can avoid some of the typical problems I’ve seen some of the older generations dealing with. So that’s resolution no. 1.
Another resolution is to take time to do things for myself. Whether it’s to go get a pedicure (or a haircut), buy myself something new (clothing, etc.) or just to go out on my own to visit with and reconnect with my friends. It’s very easy as parents, especially new parents, to forget who you are both as an individual and as a couple. Sometimes I do feel like I’m Tommy’s Mom, and Tony’s Wife…but the ME gets a bit fuzzy. So, I’d like to try and reconnect with myself too.
My last resolution is actually one that is going to be quite hard for me. Patience and Forgiveness. You see, when it comes to children, I have all the patience in the world, adults are another story - especially ones who are much older than I, but still (and possibly will forever be) far less mature. It irks me, and many I time I either do not want to be in the presence of these individuals, or I am quickly annoyed and therefore not patient with them. So I plan to do better with this, for my sake, and for my relationship with them. This comes to the second half of resolution #3 - forgiveness. I need to learn how to be more patient yes…but also I need to be better at forgiveness. This applies to myself, as well as the forgiveness of others. It is hard for me still to forgive certain people who truly hurt me while we were going through the infertility process. I am done with holding grudges. I’m not good at it, and it doesn’t make me feel good to hold one against someone….so I have no choice but to forgive. I can’t promise I will forget, in fact, I don’t think I ever will, but I can forgive and in doing so let go of the ugliness I feel inside toward these people.
I think three resolutions is a good way to start off the new year, don’t you? We’ve been keeping pretty busy. For starters, Tommy has begun to crawl!! Can you believe it! I hardly can. It took about a day of him rocking back and forth on his hands and knees to taking that “step” of moving both his arms and legs in synch. Once he got that down…he was off! The first official crawling step happened on the 9th, and he hasn’t stopped moving since. I will turn away for a moment, and all of a sudden he’s across the room. It’s amazing and wonderful, and terrifying. Hahaha. I’m in constant fear now that he’ll get into some sort of mischief, that he’ll collapse and hit his chin or nose on tile floor of our kitchen, or that he’ll smack his little head into the coffee table. I know all kids do this, but when its your own, and its your first…I suppose its natural to be a little over-protective and worrisome. Tommy will be 9 mos old next week. Which is such a shock to me. He’s exploring more and more of his world, and he’s really getting into eating regular food! He loves cherrios, and I’ll give him bits of the food I eat in small little pieces. He’s done really well, my little eating machine. We've been watching language videos together, and I'm hoping he's absorbing some of the Spanish and Italian so that its easier for him to learn other languages. I know I am! Soon I’ll be planning his first birthday party…the time has gone by way too fast for my liking. My baby will not be a “baby” for too much longer.
We’ve got some exciting things coming up. Two of my closest friends are having their first children soon, the first of which we’re having a shower for this weekend. It’s not a surprise…but I don’t want to give away all the details, in case she reads this…so that will have to wait until next week. We’re also going to meet up with one of Tony’s cousins this weekend. We don’t know many of Tony’s family, since most are in Spain – so it will be great to get to know them. Amazingly enough, they had their first child, a little boy, in June…so Tommy and his second cousin will be very close in age. I think that is just wonderful! Lastly…my sister is coming up for a visit in February, and I can hardly wait. I just love spending time with her. She warms up a part of my heart that is quietly chilled when she is not around. I can’t wait to see her.
I hope the beginning of everyone’s year is going well. I’ll get a video up of Tommy crawling as soon as I can. (Those on facebook – there’s a couple up already)

Buh Bye 2008

2008-12-31T14:40:00.006-05:00

It's been an amazing year, and we will have many wonderful memories from 2008. For any that are venturing out tonight, please be as safe as possible and avoid driving while under the influence. Otherwise - We hope you have a ball!! When the clock strikes midnight, we will be thinking of you and wishing you many blessings for 2009!

Anyone have any really unique and fun activities planned for tonight? We're staying in this year. Tommy will (hopefully) go to bed around 8, then we'll enjoy a nice quiet dinner with both a cheese fondue and a beef broth fondue I found recipes for online. We've got a nice assortment of meats, veggies, and bread, as well as a bottle of wine we haven't opened yet. It's sure to be a scrumptious and romantic way to ring in the new year.

It snowed for a couple hours today, so I thought I'd post some pictures of us out in it. Tommy was ready for his nap when we took him outside (I had a feeling it would melt away by the time he woke up and I was right)....so he was a little grumpy, but I think he still had a pretty good time. Maverick LOVES the snow, so he was racing around Tony and I while we played with Tommy in the snow and pulled him on his new sled he received from Uncle Mikey and Aunt Nicole for Christmas.

Pheww… looks like we all survived the holiday craziness. Good for us!

2008-12-30T17:19:00.008-05:00

We had a wonderful holiday. We started out Christmas Eve at my MIL’s house, enjoying a lunch of shrimp & my personal favorite cheese – manchego. It was a quick lunch then we raced around back at our house while Tommy napped, getting ourselves ready for the annual Christmas Eve party spent at my cousin’s house along with most of the family from my father’s side. It was the first time many of them met Tommy, and I was proud to say he was a very good boy throughout the late afternoon and evening. He did get a little fussy towards the end of the night, but apparently he was tired enough to pass out in Tony’s arms. It was adorable! We learned a valuable lesson once we arrived home later that night, and we will do our best to never again miss the baby’s bedtime routine hour. YIKES. No sooner had we arrived home when Tommy was wide awake and ready to play the night away. Finally he went to bed around midnight…only to wake back up, and go back to bed (eventually) at 5 AM. Finally all were up at 7:30 for Christmas morning looking exhausted but ready to celebrate! We each received very nice, and sometimes surprising gifts. Amongst Tommy’s favorites was a brand new hot rod pedal car – a special gift from his Daddy. He spotted his hot rod the minute we brought him downstairs Christmas morning, and was practically leaping out of my arms to get to it. He enjoyed his other gifts including the clothes and socks Santa Claus left for him, but so far the peddle car is his favorite…he’ll eventually reach the floor when sitting in it. For now he’ll have Tony (and me) to help push him around the house…lucky guy. I also received a really great gift…a Nintendo NES – yeah that’s right the old school one – complete with Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt and Tetris. This gift, from Tony, was one that I’ve wanted for some years now…it brings me back to my childhood playing it now. Good times people, good times. Christmas morning my folks stopped by to deliver some great stuff for all of us, including a little plastic snow globe which Tommy loves. It has his favorite character, Tigger, inside along with Pooh Bear and Piglet. They are surrounded by swirling snow. Of course, Tommy tries to eat it every time I hand it over to him. We spent most of the rest of the day with Tony’s family at his Mom’s house. We always get together for a delicious Christmas meal of eggs benedict, homemade fried potatoes, sausage, mimosas, and lots of cookies. By the afternoon we were all exhausted from all the partying, eating, and gift opening, so we made some frozen pizza for dinner, and everyone went to bed early. Friday I ventured out to Bed Bath & Beyond to pick up part of my Christmas present. I had been wanting new dinnerware. So for Christmas my parents gave me one set of four place settings (and some great extras like a giant serving platter), and my MIL gave me money to go and get the other set of four. Lets just say I learned my lesson about the day after Christmas shopping. O.M.G. YIKES!!! I will never do that again. A ride that usually takes me 20 minutes at the most (with traffic) took me over an hour to get there, and about a half hour to get home. The only silver lining is that I now have enough place settings to sit 8 people at my table with my brand new adorable dishes, that I love love love so much! Saturday day and night I worked on my culinary skills by attempting my own twist on a recipe I saw Giada De Laurentiis make for Stuffed Portobella Mushrooms. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/grilled-and-stuffed-portobello-mushrooms-with-gorgonzola-recipe/index.html
I am not a fan of mushrooms, so instead I served it on slices of yummy French bread…though I did fry up some mushrooms to put on top of a few of the ones I gave to Tony. I also put some spinach on mine and they were excellent. I’ll admit…they could have looked a little more appetizing, BUT for my first attempt at making something a little outside the box (at least for me), I think it was smashingly good! Saturday night I threw a nice dinner together for Tony, his mom, and my SIL Diana. A delicious slow cooked ham with potatoes augratin, and some yummy buttered green beans, all served up on my brand new plates! For desert we had a chocolate cake with chocolate icing in the shape of a castle to celebrate Tony’s birthday. Sunday, I met up with my girlfriend Tana for coffee at Starbucks (the iced pumpkin spice latte was EXCELLENT – I highly recommend it) . In the afternoon we has some friends over to watch the big Eagles game (I enjoyed some girl-talk with our friend Danelle), were Tony grilled up some ribs, and we all enjoyed cheesesteak stromboli, along with leftover cake and holiday cookies. Tommy received a really nice Christmas gift...check it out. It's a Flyers jersey (ice hockey for those who don't know). The back has our last name and the numbers #08 for the year Tommy was born. Cute, right! Needless to say it has taken me a couple of days to wind down from all of the holiday craziness, sort through the hundreds (yes, hundreds) of pictures I took on Christmas day, and to get my house back in working order….just in time to think about how we’re going to celebrate the end of a wonderful year!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

2008-12-25T19:35:00.003-05:00

Merry Christmas From Our Family To Yours!

We wish you many blessings and sweet surprises, today, and always!

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

2008-12-23T19:19:00.005-05:00

Santa rode by our home tonight with a little help from the local fire department. So here are a couple snap shots, and a video. Also, we were asked by a few people if we had video of our house all lit up for the holidays. So here it is!

Waiting for Santa

Santa's Wild Ride Video

Posing and Waving

Our House Lights

8 Is Gggggrrreeeaaaattt!

2008-12-22T09:24:00.009-05:00

Tommy is 8 months old now! I can’t believe how big our little man is getting! He hasn’t quite gained the confidence to start crawling yet, but Tony and I feel it will be any day now. We were laughing as we explained to friends of ours how exciting it was when he began to crawl/turn in a circle last weekend, and that every time he gets into the crawling position, whatever activity we were involved in is immediately forgotten as we drop to the floor, to encourage Tommy to crawl for the first time.
He amazed us last night. First, I should tell you that lately he has been trying to play with all of Mavericks dog toys – including trying to put Mav’s chew bone in his mouth. (Yuk!) So there we were on the floor with him during belly time. We saw him staring at Mav’s dog bed, but really didn’t pay any mind to it. Next thing we knew he reached over and tilted Mav’s bed so that the chew bone which was lying inside fell out and into his arms. We laughed and marveled at how “brilliant” our little guy was, as Tony tucked the chew bone near himself, and away from Tommy’s reach. Amazingly enough…Tommy was not giving up so easily. He proceeded to first turn himself so that he could try to reach for the chew bone again, then when that did not work, he rolled himself over towards Tony – and right to the chew bone! He were laughing hysterically. Of course, we couldn’t let him have his prize, but we clapped for him and tickled his belly. He was being silly this morning, so of course, I had to video tape him!

He’s too funny. Sometimes I’ll see him stop and stare at something, and I swear he is just trying to figure out the mechanics of the thing. He’s just like his daddy – soon he’ll be taking my furniture apart just to see how its put together!
Tommy has also begun to do a sort of bop dance whenever he hears music that he likes. So far his favorites are Styx (yay!), Led Zeppelin, The Who, and the song “Frosty The Snowman.” He also has two musical toys that he’ll play over and over and over again. We picked up a little toy piano as part of Tommy’s Christmas gifts, and we know he’s going to love it (though he may drive us nuts with it hahaha)!
He’s also learned to love bathtime. The last time I gave him a bath in our kitchen sink, he splashed so much that there was water Everywhere! It was all over the floor, all over the counter, and all over me (see pic below). Luckily…he did manage to get himself all clean with his splashing too. We’ve since began to bathe him in the big tub in our upstairs bathroom. In there he can splash as much as he wants too! Right now he only has a little rubber ducky to play with while in the tub, but come Christmas morning he’s getting a little bag full of little tub characters to play with.

The last of Tommy’s recent accomplishments, is that he is really trying very hard to communicate with us. Whenever someone talks with him he watches their mouth, and then tries to mimic the movements they make. He can make some noises, but the best has been him saying “Dadadadadada” “Duhduhduhduhduh” (Doggie), “Bahbahbahbah” (Bottle), and once in a while he’ll even say “Mamamamama,” which melts my heart and makes me so proud of my little guy. He can also shake his head “yes” and “no,” though I’m pretty sure he’s not completely aware of their meanings yet.

Of course, with all this positive growth….comes…well....something not so great. Temper Tantrums. Yikes – is all I have to say to this. To be honest, I’m still trying to recover from the gigantic one he had last night, it was horrible. Not only do these tantrums include kicking and crying, but screeching, hair pulling (his own), and a super runny nose. Last night it took me giving him a bath just after midnight in order to finally calm him down. If there is one positive thing about the tantrums, its that my son know’s what he wants, and won’t give up until he gets it! All in all, he’s a really happy and sweet little guy. Always smiling, and very loving. He’s grown so much in these last 8 months, and I just can’t wait to see what else he has in store for us.

Christmas Craft!

2008-12-19T14:13:00.002-05:00

If you are looking for a creative and fun project to do with the kids, I’ve got a great one for you – make your own holiday ornaments! I went to the craft store this week and picked up a set of six clear glass ornaments… I think they were right around $1 for the pack. Next I went to the $1 store and picked up stickers, finger paints, glitter glue (comes in a pack of three: red, gold, and silver), a package of holiday scented potpourri, and some red ribbon.

I sat down and cut out pictures from our holiday cards (we send out picture ones), and taped them to the inside of the glass ornaments. This was NOT very easy. I had to roll up the photos, and squish them through the tiny round top…then attach tape using a pencil so that the pictures would stick to the side. So you may not want to do that…it requires a lot of time…and patience. Good luck if you do!

Anyway… your kids can decorate the outside of the ornaments with the puffy glitter glue, finger paints, and stickers. Then with your assistance, they can fill ornament with the potpourri (you can also use tinsel...as seen in the picture above). Once you get the top back on the ornament (it just pops on), just simply tie a ribbon around the top of the ornament and there you go! It’s a fun holiday craft that can also be a unique gift!

Tommy and I are having a blast with this, and now I’ll have a little ornament from his first Christmas to cherish! Sorry - not ready to post any pictures of OUR projects yet! :)

Holiday Shopping...A Nice Experience!

2008-12-18T14:59:00.004-05:00

I can’t remember ever having a more pleasant experience holiday shopping than I did today. Tommy and I ran to the mall this morning to pick up a couple Lenox ornament charms. I think they are just lovely, and I make sure I buy one every year for our tree. This year I picked up one for Tommy, a little star.

Before arriving at the mall, I also wrote up a Santa letter from Tommy to drop in the mailbox at Macy’s. This year Macy’s has set up Santa Mailboxes for the little ones to drop off their letters to Santa. For every letter they receive in the mailboxes, they will be donating $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. (For more info here’s the website: http://www.macysbelieve.com/)

Anyway, at the mall Santa waived at Tommy from his comfy chair while we rode down the escalator, and we were able to catch a few minutes of someone doing a reading of Dr. Seuss’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas. There were a ton of parents with their kids, and many many strollers littering the hall. It was a cheery site, and the storyteller had a great reading voice. Tommy’s attention span is not quite long enough to sit and listen to a story (that is…without him being able to see the pages), so we only stood to the side for a few moments before moving on. Every where we went people were greeting us with “Merry Christmas,” and the people at Macy’s were lovely. A couple ladies even made comments as to how cute Tommy looked when I helped him put his letter to Santa in the mailbox.

Then we left and went to Dunkin Donuts where those friendly folks greeted us with smiles, and someone slipped a couple munchkins in a bag for Tommy (which I thought was just so sweet!). And as usual, Tommy flirted with the ladies who work there.

Lastly, on our way home from DD, we were stopped at a Police check point. The cop had me stop so that he could let someone coming the opposite direction turn, so we exchanged a “Merry Christmas.” I arrived home filled with the holiday spirit. It was such a nice outing today.

Birthday Wishes

2008-12-17T14:45:00.001-05:00

Wanted to send out a great big "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" to my Mom, from me, Tony, Tommy and Maverick.

We love you and wish you a wonderful day!!

Santa Picture

2008-12-16T07:39:00.003-05:00

Here is Tommy's "official" first picture with Santa Claus. (I was finally able to scan it into the computer). He is too funny...looks like a little beefcake in this photo.

My Oatmeal Cookies

2008-12-09T14:15:00.005-05:00

I am attending a cookie swap (So Excited!!) this upcoming weekend, so I thought I would share the recipe for the oatmeal cookies I will be making, with you. I am making quite a few batches on Saturday morning, so I'll be sure to have Tony take a picture of me with the cookies all over our kitchen.

Bobbi’s Semi-Homemade Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1 Package Betty Crocker Oatmeal Cookie Mix
1 Stick (1/2 Cup) Butter
1 Tbsp of Water
1 Egg
1 Tsp Nutmeg
1 Tsp Brown Sugar
½ Bag of Milk Chocolate or Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Follow directions according to package (Step 1). Next - Add the nutmeg and brown sugar to cookie mixture, and mix well. Gently fold in the chocolate chips. Continue following directions for Steps 2 and 3 according to package.

**Note: You can also add a cup of dried cranberries or walnuts for that extra bit of holiday cheer!

And here is a picture or two of Tommy eating a sugar cookie from the batch I made over the weekend (he didn't really eat it, more like squish it in his fingers and ALL OVER his highchair... but he sure knew what to do with it when we gave it to him!) You can see how red his mouth and fingers got from the red sugar crystals.

I love the holidays

2008-12-08T13:33:00.004-05:00

Yesterday afternoon/night we had friends over for our annual holiday dinner party. Unfortunetly, with all the catching up, cooking, and attending to the munchkin, I forgot to take pictures. We had a wonderful time seeing everyone. The food was excellent, especially Julie's homemade Mac n Cheese, Jaqi's vegan cupcakes, and Jenny's appetizer cheese dip. Tony as always, made a deliciously juicy turkey, and I made the mashed potatoes & stuffing. Lots and lots of yummy food! I was particularly proud of the tablescape I put together. I took these shots earlier in the day after I set the table. It turned out exactly as I had hoped, and was all festive. I love that carnations come in so many colors. I feel like they are always a nice way to add some fresh flowers to the table, without spending a lot of money. I love the way they smell too.

Last night after everyone left we relaxed with Tommy and watched a little tv. I just took a couple pictures of Tony and Tommy. I fell in love with this first one, so I thought I'd share it with you... oh and the two others made me laugh. Tommy is such a little camera ham.

Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Lights

2008-12-06T22:07:00.007-05:00

Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Lights
How You Brighten Up Our Night
Strung Across The House And Yard
For Folks To See Both Near And Far
Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Lights
How You Brighten Up Our Night

Cute, right.... I just made that up.

Tonight we had friends over (along with their families) to officially light up the house for Christmas. There is something special about witnessing the sparkle in children's eyes when the lights burst to life. We had a wonderful time, and it even began to snow when we were outside! It was a truly magical evening.

Here are a few pictures:

Our House. (I had to take the picture from our neighbors lawn across the street)

A Close-up Of The House.

Me and Tommy

Family

Tony, Tommy, and the Disney Characters

The Arches

Nativity

Some Toy Soldiers

The Big Big Tree (Tony had to climb the tree to get the star on top).

My Maverick Bear

2008-12-03T09:28:00.004-05:00

With the little bit of free time I had this morning, I decided to spend some of it with my Maverick. During the month or so I was home on bed rest before Tommy's arrival, I spent a lot of time with him. After Tommy's arrival, I have been trying to give him some "Mommy Time," but there are days when I hardly remember to refresh his water and food bowls, let alone take the time to sit down and cuddle with him, or go outside to play fetch. Its hard to know what he could be thinking, I often feel guilty for not having enough time to do and be everything for everyone....but most of my guilt with him is that I'm afraid he'll feel abandoned.

I know I've done the best I can. I include him in as many activities with the baby as I can, and he absolutely loves Tommy. But.... we never get time to just hang out together.

So for the past hour, while Tommy is napping and I've spent some time catching up on blog readings, and looking up recipes for something in the comfort food dept., he has been asleep on me. At first he was asleep on my lap. Curled up in a little ball, snuggled up in his red Christmas sweater, feeling soft and warm (he's the "comfort food" of my soul, he truly is). Then, he moved up to my chest. With his little back legs resting on my lap he laid his head on my shoulder and his cold, wet, little nose nestled into my neck. It was very sweet...that is until he started snoring so loudly I thought my brain might start to rattle in my head. So now he's back on my lap, with half his body resting on my arm, snoring away. It's harder to type with my arm constricted....but its just so nice to be able to cuddle up with him, that I don't mind it a bit.

Our Christmas Tree

2008-12-02T20:59:00.007-05:00

Yay!! Our Christmas tree is all decorated and looking fabulous! Here it is! I decorated this year in all reds, whites, greens, and golds. Then I added our special ornaments, and some pretty bows. I just realized that Maverick is sitting in the same spot for both pictures hahaha. The first one was AM, the second PM.

Also - here are some other random pictures I took today.

Tommy being his cute little self (I made this onesie with a cool iron-on transfer).

My bowl of Christmas cheer.

My coffee this morning... spiced to perfection with a touch of egg nog and nutmeg (again...blogger turned my picture sideways and I know not why).

Our new family ornaments for 2008. Cute Right!

Tommy "reading" his dinosaur book to me. Melted my heart.

Stuffed From All The Good Eats!

2008-12-01T13:47:00.006-05:00

Finally, a moment to catch my breath, drink a cup of spiced coffee, and blog.

(BTW... I have not fit into these jeans since I got preggo last year!!!! Woohooo!!!!)

We had an amazing Thanksgiving weekend. Lots of great food, and the comfort of spending a long weekend with Tony's family. We had a lovely roasted turkey with andouille (super spicy sausage) corn bread stuffing, homestyle gravy, and My MIL made her famous potato salad, which has all sorts of yummy veggies in it, so there was no need for me to make extras. The only other things I made were some biscuits and a delicious apple spice bundt cake. I could not have imagined a more perfect day. The baby even went down early so Tony and I were able to finish off our day with a nice glass of wine. Going back to last week…Date night was great!! My MIL watched Tommy for us which was so nice, especially since he has been having a hard time being separated from me – so all he did was cry and be fussy for her. We did dinner and a movie with our friends Tana and Fab. We popped into Fudruckers (a greasy deliciously-bad-for-you burger place in town) for a quick bite to eat and some lighthearted conversation. Then it was off to the movies to see Twilight, an excellent movie. Tana, Fab, and I had read the book prior to seeing the movie, which is something Tana and I often like to do. The movie stayed pretty close to the book, which does not often happen in the movies. And the actor who played Edward was fantastic. I’m hoping to go and see it again this week, it was so good. Tommy had his first visit with Santa Claus. It was really cute. After Tony placed Tommy onto Santa’s lap, Tommy just sat and stared open-mouthed at Santa. The ladies running the photo booth were eventually able to distract him long enough to get a cute picture (he looks like a little beefcake), but he just kept staring at Santa – he didn’t cry at all! Surprisingly, there were no lines when we went, we just walked right up, snapped a few photos with our digital camera, collected the “professional” one, and were on our way. I wanted to include a copy of the picture here…but we’re having issues with our scanner… so when I get it working, I’ll be sure to post his Santa pic. (This shirt is so cute... it has a guitar on it and says Santa Rocks)
The day after Thanksgiving has become a tradition at our house, to finish disgarding any leftover fallen leaves, and spend the rest of the weekend preparing for Christmas. Tony spend all of Friday, and all of Saturday outside setting up the lights. I was able to help during the times when Tommy was napping, but otherwise I took care of Thanksgiving dinner clean up, decorating the inside of the house for the holiday season. On Sunday we were suppose to have our friends over for the official “lighting of the house ceremony” but as of Sunday morning we only had 8000 of our 15000 lights up, and the weather had turned south. Since it would have been dangerous for Tony to be out in the sleet and rain to finish setting everything up outside, we rescheduled the lighting “ceremony” for next Saturday. I can’t wait to see it all done. I just know its going to look amazing.

Tonight, I’m hoping Tony and I can pop in a movie, perhaps sip some wine, and finish decorating our tree. We were going to get a real one this year, but thankfully, we decided to put up our fake one instead. I know the trees are grown specifically to be cut down for the holiday decorating, but I personally don’t want to pay $80 + to kill a tree. It’s just not my thing. Maybe in a couple years we’ll have a real tree so that Tommy can have that experience…but I’m happy to have my no-fuss, allergy & maintenance free tree up and my yankee candles lit to imitate that comforting Christmas tree smell!

Turkey Day 2008!

2008-11-27T12:41:00.004-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone! This year we are thankful for so much. As always we are most thankful for our friends and family. We are so happy to be sharing this holiday and the beginning of the Christmas season with you. Blessings to you and your family. We're hoping you all have a safe and delicious day!

Yay Disney!

2008-11-25T21:49:00.004-05:00

I just finished up the Disney character lawn decorations for our Christmas display. I was too excited to wait until tomorrow to post pictures of them.... here they are!

(For reasons I can not figure out, blogger keeps turning Mickey & Minnie, and Donald even though that is not how they are saved to my computer...I can't figure out why... so you'll just have to look at them sideways...sorry.)

Mickey & Minnie Caroling

Donald Duck (He will be wrestling with lights wrapped around him once we set him up outside)

Baby Mickey

Baby Pluto

Will post more about our weekend tomorrow... including Tommy's visit to Santa, and our Double Date Monday night.

Flurries & Coffee & My Cute Little Munchkin

2008-11-20T16:46:00.005-05:00

Tommy will be 7 months old tomorrow! I can't believe it! Time flies when you are enjoying every moment of your life.

Yesterday was a great day. I had an interview with someone interested in the MMM program (crossing my fingers because I think it went really well!). Early in the evening Tommy and I got into our pajamas and watched a Baby Einstein movie. He's really into the ones with animals...it will be interesting to see if he continues to be fastinated by them. I know he loves his dog - maybe he'll be a Vet someday?! Last night, while I waited for Tony to return home from work, I was working on crawling with Tommy. I got him to push himself up on his hands and knees, but he was confused as to how he got there, and what he was suppose to do next. It was cute.

Tommy is having a bit of separation anxiety. I know that this is normal for the age, but I feel bad. He just crys and crys whenever someone other than Tony and I are holding him. It's heartwarming that he wants his Mommy and Daddy, but frustrating as well. We went to a Beef and Beer Benefit this past weekend, and all Tommy did was cry and cry and cry for my poor Mom who was watching him.

I'm getting pretty psyched. Twilight comes out in the movies tomorrow. It's a vampire saga which is a popular novel series amungst teens, but many adults have been enjoying the books as well - and I am one of them! I'm going to go see it on Monday with my girlfriend Tana, and possibly our husbands... Yay! Double Date!?! :) I am so excited!

It flurried today for an hour or two, so I sat with Tommy watching the little bits of snow falling while I sipped a Mocha Spice Latte from Dunkin Donuts (YUM!!!)... it reminded me that we are getting ever closer to the holidays...one more weekend to prep for our light display then our Christmas 2008 extravaganza can begin!!

"Baby, It's Cold Outside!"

2008-11-17T09:38:00.007-05:00

I can't get that song out of my head. I must have heard it a dozen times over the weekend. (We have Christmas music tuned in our radios).

Can you believe Thanksgiving is the end of next week?? That’s crazy! I have a couple projects lined up to do with Tommy and his friend Christopher, who I have been watching once or twice a week. Tommy really likes having a friend around, and I’m enjoying having Christopher here too. The two boys are learning to play together, and Tommy doesn’t seem to mind sharing toys with his buddy. I think Tommy will learn a lot from Christopher. Already since I’ve been watching him, Tommy has begun to try and hold his bottle just like Christopher does, and he’s trying more than ever to learn how to crawl. I think it’s only a matter of time before he does. This past week I did some Christmas shopping, but mostly I was looking around for decoration ideas. I found a tablescape online that I really love, so I’m going to mimic it…of course I’ll add a thing or two to make it my own, but basically this is how it’s going to look. Pretty right!
Tony and I started working on another set of display items for our outside decorations. As many know, we are really into those twinkling lights, and we go over-the-top every year. This year we are adding a small Nativity scene we bought at the end of last year, we’re also adding a collection of Disney characters we began making over the weekend. I drew out the characters on plywood, Tony cut them out using a saw (or something…I know nothing about tools), and I’ve been painting them during Tommy’s naps, and when he’s in bed at night. I really like the way they’ve been coming together, and I can’t wait to see them completed. Last night I mentioned to Tony that I thought it might be cool to sell things like this… but I’m not sure how much demand there is for these sort of things…especially in this economy. I think they will look fantastic in our front yard!! I’m so excited! This is me painting Mickey & Minnie (they are caroling), we also have Donald who’s wrestling with lights, Baby Mickey playing with a toy train, and Puppy Pluto wearing antlers. I’ll be sure to post pictures of them once I finish.
While Tony, Tommy, and I were out and about Christmas shopping and whatnot this week & weekend, I came across the best Santa Claus book I have ever seen. If anyone is looking for a unique gift to give a young reader (or family), I highly recommend it. It not only talks all about Santa, but it has long descriptions of his home, work shop, and even information about the north pole. It’s a lovely book. I got it at Target for $25, but I just saw it on Amazon for $14. The authors have another book on the Reindeer too, but I haven’t read that one yet. http://www.amazon.com/Santa-Claus-Rod-Green/dp/1416927581/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226931614&sr=1-1 We were out looking for a stocking for Tommy, but haven’t found one we like yet. We did pick up a Santa Hat though. It is slightly big on Tommy but absolutely adorable. We finally picked out an outfit for Tommy for Christmas. I pieced it together from items I found from several different stores. I was disappointed in the selections at most stores, especially Babies R Us. They had really cute dresses and other things for girls, but when it came to cute outfits for boys they were lacking. Everything was black, brown, and navy blue with some hints of green. Not what I would call Christmasy. I did find a couple cute sweaters that I’m adding to Tommy’s pile of presents (he doesn’t have many clothes for 12 mos +). I’d like to think I’m done buying things for Tommy for Christmas…but we’ll see…there are still many shopping days left.

I remembered this morning that I wanted to thank whomever gave Tommy this little football rattle. Whenever I put Tommy into his highchair for meals, be throws a fit. Loves to eat, hates the highchair. BUT ever since I’ve been handing him this football rattle, he seems to be doing so much better. He distracts himself long enough for me to put his meals together which is such a relief. It’s quite difficult to keep your head and heart in check while putting together a meal, when your baby is crying his eyes out. So thank you, thank you, thank you, to whomever gave him this!!

And Congratulations to Nicole and Jeff of the birth of their second daughter Julia this past week. She's a cutie! Tommy can't wait to meet his newest little girlfriend!

Nothing Constructive To Add...My Head Is Pounding

2008-11-11T10:26:00.006-05:00

I'm not feeling well. I am pretty sure I've caught that stomach virus that seems to be spreading like wildfire. I'm nervous Tommy will get it too, thankfully he's doing just fine so far.

My cousin Jason and his family leave for China tomorrow. I am so excited for them. Not only is it wonderful to experience a different culture, but they are also realizing their dream of being parents to a little girl, Jaiden, whom they are adopting while abroad. I know how long this journey has been for them, and I'm so happy they will get the happy ending they deserve. I can't wait to meet Jaiden.

That's about it for me today. I need to go lay down while Tommy is napping. My amazing husband is coming home early from work to hang out with the little guy so that I can rest. Thankfully this virus seems to only be hitting people for a couple of days, so I should feel like myself again by the end of the week.

Here's are a couple pictures from this weekend. We had a nice romantic dinner on Saturday night after we put the baby to bed (pan fried shrimp "gambas a la plancha", grilled tuna steaks, Tuscan bread, & wine). And here's a couple pictures of our silly duo... Tommy eating his Daddy's head, playing on his mat (I think he looks like my SIL Diana in this picture) and Mav lounging in his little bed.

For My Girlfriends...

2008-11-07T08:39:00.002-05:00

Because this reminded me so much of the conversations I had with my girlfriends this weekend @ Girls Night In.

I luv you guys & can't wait to see you again soon!

Monday Morning Moms

2008-11-06T16:01:00.007-05:00

I know I hinted at it before, but I never did explain why I was looking for kids toys, etc. I am starting a day care out of my home with the help of an organization called Monday Morning Moms. http://www.mondayam.com/

They help Moms like me who love to teach (Am NJ certified teacher, First Aid/CPR certified, have had teaching experience, etc.) but also want to be home with their children - to have the best of both worlds. It’s a great organization, and a wonderful opportunity for me to incorporate two of the things I love into my everyday life. So far the people I’ve spoken with and met are great and I know I’m going to enjoy working with them. I’ve had a lot of fun transferring our second Family Room into a sort of “classroom” for Tommy and others to play in. There is so much more I could do with the room, but until I get a few little people to watch I didn’t want to go overboard.

For now, I only want to take in two or three kids – infant to 3 years most likely – at least until Tommy is a little older and able to do more on his own, then I may take on one or two more. Tommy will get great social interaction & I get to teach again! The MMM program really is for any couple who is looking to have their child in a smaller environment (more one-on-one) than the typical daycare or preschool. I’m just so excited for this adventure to begin!

Here are a couple pictures I took of Tommy playing in the room, I went to the craft store yesterday and picked up some baskets and other things, so its organized a little differently, but at least you can see what the room looks like. I'm proud of it. Also… I shared these pictures with a friend on mine who’s having twins. It made me think of her. Here, Tommy was playing with the “other” baby in the mirror. It was adorable.

Election Day!!

2008-11-04T07:55:00.009-05:00

Don't forget to get out and vote today!! Tony and I took Tommy to the polls at 6:30 this morning...we cast our vote, and now we wait to see if the right man wins! Tommy and I had a great day together yesterday. He started playing with his brand new shapes toy we got him (instead of candy) for his first Halloween. He absolutely loves it. Basically he (and I) played with it all day. We went over colors, shapes, and motor skills (I showed him how to pick up the pieces and drop them into the bucket, once he masters that, then we'll work on putting the right shapes through the cut out holes.). I highly recommend this toy. It's by Fisher Price, and its good fun. Here's a little video for your enjoyment. Tommy wants to crawl so badly. We put him down in front of Maverick and say "Go Get Your Doggy" and this is what he does. Tony and I were almost peeing our pants we laughed so hard last night. You can sort of see Maverick sitting to the left of the screen - he was lying on his back sprawled out like "You can't get me kid," soon, very soon, he won't be so lucky! Hahaha

Wait where did October go??

2008-11-03T09:08:00.007-05:00

Hellloooo November!!

Our little guy has been on the best schedule. He's been going to bed at 7:30 at night, and waking at 7 in the morning. This has been going on for about 2 months, maybe more - and I'll admit, I've been getting a bit spoiled by it. I'm sad to report that has all changed. Daylight Savings really screwed up Tommy's schedule. Now, instead of waking at 7am (thus giving me time to get up and get showered, etc.) he has been waking at 5am. Yes that's right - 5 AM! There isn't enough coffee in the world to awaken me out of sleep so early... its been a rough couple of mornings. I'm hoping that Tommy will get back on schedule by week's end.

On Saturday morning Tony discovered a local radio station that is ALREADY playing Christmas music. Can you believe it!! So... if you live in the Philadelphia area and are inclined to do so...tune to 97.5 for some fun Christmas tunes (warning: they play a lot of repeats).

We're already super pysched for Christmas. We have been planning out this year's light display (and a little something new we'd like to add to it), and I've been coming up with some cute craft and decoration ideas. I've been looking up some images online, flipping through old holiday magazines, and collecting pine cones out of my neighbor's trees. We always put a lot of thought into our holiday decorating, and this year is going to be spectacular!

I love thanksgiving and can't wait to decorate the house for Turkey day... BUT if it were up to Tony and I, we'd already be starting our Xmas holiday decorating. The only thing stopping us is that we don't want to be THOSE people....at least for a few more weeks!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T11:22:00.003-04:00

Happy Halloween to Everyone! Hope you tricksters and you treaters stay safe and warm!

Here are a couple pictures I took of Tommy today. Really I took about 100...these are just a few of my favorites. :)

Makin' Mischief

2008-10-30T14:18:00.003-04:00

I caught a couple pictures of Tommy this morning while he played in his crib...and he caught me taking his picture. hahahaha

Oh yes, he's my kid.

Immaculata

2008-10-28T15:38:00.000-04:00

They’ve made a movie about my college Alma Mater Immaculata College (now a co-ed University) and the coach who led our famous basketball team, The Mighty Macs to win the first national women’s championship in the 70s.

It made me proud and nostalgic to watch the opening scenes of this movie, called Our Lady of Victory. Yes, some of the girls in school with me were That perky, and yes… that’s exactly how the nuns talk To you, At you, and Around you.

Immaculata will always hold a special place in my heart. With my four years living on and off campus, I had the pleasure of meeting some amazing people. Some have been my best friends from the moment we stepped foot on campus, some from the first few days of pledging O Pi E together.

I have so many wonderful memories of Immaculata: from jogging around campus on the chilly winter nights, to grubbing in the cafeteria in my pajamas. 8 AM classes I barely woke in time to make, & hanging out with my sisters doing pretty much anything and everything we could amongst IC’s “haunted” halls.

I loved every moment of my college years at Immaculata & I am so excited for the April 2009 release of this movie. Feel free to check out more information, and to watch a clip: http://www.ourladyofvictorymovie.com/

Paella For You, Paella For Me

2008-10-27T11:06:00.003-04:00

Seriously, how good does this look??? It’s a Spanish dish called Paella. Which is chicken, peas, peppers, clams, mussels, shrimp, scallops, and I’m sure a few other things, all mixed in a rice & cilantro sauce. My mother-in-law makes excellent Paella, and the way she presents her food dishes is just beautiful. Tony and I got some leftovers to enjoy for lunch today, and I can’t wait to eat it!! Tommy wanted my Paella so badly. He just kept reaching for it the whole time I ate dinner. It was hilarious. We had a wonderful time with the family & celebrating Mikey’s birthday.

Looky What I Can Do

2008-10-24T15:49:00.003-04:00

Look at what Tommy did while we were in the waiting room at the doctors office today. We couldn't believe it! He only stood holding on for a about 30 seconds, maybe a bit more, but we are so proud! :)

He also had a good time crinkling the paper (and trying to eat it), while we were waiting for the nurse to give him his shots. He was a brave little guy. Took them like a champ with a little crying but was fine once we gave him a little juice afterwards.

Taking a moment during nap time.

2008-10-24T12:09:00.004-04:00

I may have gone a little overboard at ACME yesterday. All of the Gerber Stage 2 baby food was on sale 10 for $10 … BRILLIANT!! So, because I am an awesome mom who wants her little boy to have the best variety of foods available…I took advantage of the sale. And then some. Supposedly, he will be on his Stage 2 foods for about two months… I think its safe to say I have enough food now to last the entire two months, perhaps with some extras. It’s neat to see some of the combinations they have – like Apples & Blueberries and Apricot & Mixed Fruit. It sounds delicious. I can’t help but feel as though I could make these things myself. I have a baby food processor, does anyone have any *easy* baby food recipes? I’d at least like to make something myself for him. For those who are getting an early start to their gift giving this year – Toys R Us is having a big sale today and tomorrow. So you may want to head over there and check it out if you have kids to buy for. http://www.toysrus.com/This week was a big week for us. We had Maverick fixed on Tuesday. It was time. I wanted to get it done before Tommy got big enough to crawl after him. Mav needed to rest for a couple of days, which I think would have been nearly impossible with a crawling baby. On Tuesday, we also had our carpets cleaned. We cleaned them ourselves when we first moved into the house a couple years ago, but we never felt they were truly as clean as we wanted them to be. We had the ChemDry guys give the carpet a deep cleaning (extra $$) & remove any excess dog odor from the family room (the old owners never cleaned up after their dog). You should see the difference in the carpet. It looks amazing, smells clean, & feels comfy. Definitely worth the time and money to have the carpets thoroughly cleaned. They are like new! I can’t wait to fix the room up this weekend and start hanging out down there more. Today we are taking Tommy for his 6 month check up. He’s going to get more shots & have his flu shot… poor baby. We feel so bad when he has to have his shots. It’s torture to see him in pain and know that you had at least some part in it – even if it is necessary to ensure he won’t get some sickness we could prevent. We’re trying to figure out where to take Tommy for some portraits. Does anyone go to Sears or Target or some other such place for theirs? Do the pictures look alright? I would normally shy away from a place like that…mostly because I don’t like pictures that look so posed, but I’m also not willing to pay an arm and a leg for a picture of my kid that I could probably take myself if I had the time. Any advice?

The Big 6 Month Old!!

2008-10-21T13:24:00.005-04:00

My baby is 6 Months Old Today!!! I can't believe how fast time has flown by!
Look at the cute little ghosts I made... I know, we don't have much set up outside for Halloween, but that's okay... wait until Christmas!!! Just a couple old white t-shirts, some ribbon, a marker, and scissors... its that easy!!

Whirlwind Weekend!

2008-10-20T06:47:00.007-04:00

Wow, it was a whirlwind of a weekend.

First, I just wanted to say “thank you” to my Folks, the Wolfgangs, and Nora for your generous contributions to the Juvenile Diabetes Walk To Cure. We truly appreciated your well wishes and support. (Thanks again Mom for watching Tommy while we were at the walk!) We spent this very chilly, very windy weekend outdoors. First, we traveled with Tommy to Cape May for their Victorian Weekend, stopping just inside the town to visit our good friend Mike at his parents’ lovely house. Tony and I absolutely love Cape May, so it was nice that we had a day to take Tommy down for his first visit. Along with walking amongst the lovely homes, and reliving the sights and sounds of this relaxed historic atmosphere, we also took Tommy to the beach for the first time. The walk from the boardwalk to the water was a bit difficult. One of us had to hold Tommy while the other lugged the stroller and diaper bag (Note to new parents: strollers sink into the sand!). It was worth it to see Tommy’s face while he watched the waves rolling in for the very first time. We’ve only ever been to Cape May while the area was twinkling and trimmed for the Christmas holidays, it was nice to see it all spruced up for the fall season too. Though I’m sure it’s very nice during the summer months, I really enjoy the quiet, welcoming community feel of the “off-season” months. While we were there, we walked down Washington Street (the main street with a variety of stores and restaurants) stopping in to get a Christmas ornament from Winterwood (huge store full of holiday ornaments – its awesome!!), my favorite candy bar Flake bar from the Irish store, and a nice hot espresso (warm bottle for Tommy) to warm us up after the chill of the windy streets. We’re hoping to get down there for a long weekend some time next year. I can see us retiring there someday. Sunday was the Walk To Cure Juvenile Diabetes. The 4000 person walk only took about an hour and a half, but the memories of the day will last a lifetime. It was great to see so many people in support of those they love to help fund the JDRF in their struggle to find a cure for this devastating disease – especially to the vendors who provided musical entertainment, warm drinks, and yummy snacks free to support the walkers. My body is aching today, but I don’t mind at all, because it was for Matt. I’d have walked much longer than the 3 ½ miles if that is all it would take to help find a cure for Diabetes. I’m glad I could be a part of Matt’s Wipeout Gang & I’m proud to be a supporter of this great cause.

JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes

2008-10-14T11:40:00.002-04:00

I'm writing today to ask for your support in a very special cause. This year, I'll be taking part in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Walk to Cure Diabetes along with a half-million other walkers across the country. Our close friends’ 6 year old son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in January of this year. We are walking in support of Matthew, and his family.

Type 1, or juvenile, diabetes, is a devastating, often deadly disease that affects millions of people--a large and growing percentage of them children. Many people think type 1 diabetes can be controlled by insulin. While insulin does keep people with type 1 diabetes alive, it is NOT a cure. Aside from the daily challenges of living with type 1 diabetes, there are many severe, often fatal, complications caused by the disease. That's the bad news... and yes, it's pretty bad.

The good news, though, is that a cure for type 1 diabetes is within reach. In fact, JDRF funding and leadership is associated with most major scientific breakthroughs in type 1 diabetes research to date. And JDRF funds a major portion of all type 1 diabetes research worldwide, more than any other charity. I'm writing to ask for your support because now more than ever, EACH of us can be a part of bringing about a cure. Each of us can make a real difference Together, we can make the cure a reality.

If you are interested in joining us for the walk - it is this Sunday - October 19th @ Cooper River Park in Pennsauken. The walk is 3.5 miles, at 9AM.

Please visit my Walk Web page if you would like to donate online, or become a part of our walking team: http://walk.jdrf.org/walker.cfm?id=87240701 Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for your consideration in donating to this great cause.

Happy Columbus Day!

2008-10-13T06:47:00.005-04:00

In celebration of Columbus Day today, I thought I would share the new website for the golden replicas of Columbus’ three famous ships. These ships were hand crafted by my Father-In-Law Antonio, a goldsmith who worked on Jewelers Row in Philadelphia. The three Golden Ships are scaled down replicas of the originals made from the blueprints of the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria.

http://goldenships.com/index.html

It’s been 19 years since Antonio first began construction of these amazing ships. While he was still alive, I was privileged to see them together and fully constructed. I can tell you from experience that they are remarkable. When you are with them, it is as if you can feel the presence of greatness. You can get lost in the detailed work Antonio put into them and the glow that seems to emit from them. I’ve never seen anything like the three Golden Ships. There will never be anything else like them.

It’s been three years since Antonio passed away. I miss him and think of him often – but especially today. Today, I celebrate not just the life of the famous explorer, but also of my Father-In-Law who touched so many lives and dedicated part of his own life to honoring the history of these three ships.

The Nina

The Pinta

The Santa Maria

For Aunt Mari

2008-10-11T07:04:00.004-04:00

Thanks for all the pjs and onesies! "Hi!"

"Almost got these things off my feet.""Wait A Second... What Am I Wearing?""Does Dad know you dressed me like a Cheesehead??""So Silly"

Such a happy little guy.

2008-10-10T09:41:00.005-04:00

Just a few pictures I thought I'd share from this week (most were from yesterday, he just kept laughing and being silly all day). I love him so much.

"Mmmmm Green Beans"

"Hi Mommy"

"I Got It!!"

"Truffle Shuffle""Wow Twinkling Lights"

Poopymonster

2008-10-07T09:34:00.008-04:00

Don’t forget to watch the debate tonight!! Be informed so you too can “Rock The Vote!”

If you are in the middle of eating or can’t handle stories about dirty diapers… you may not want to read the end of this particular blog entry (last paragraph). You have been warned!

This weekend went by in a flash. It all began with Carrie’s arrival on Friday evening. She stopped over for a while on her way to our Folks’ house to spend some time with Tommy. It’s nice to see them together. Tommy is comfortable with his Auntie and I know Carrie’s going to be a great Mommy when she’s ready. It’s nice for me too when my sister is here. All we do is laugh and have a great time. She’s such a comedian. Who knew you could do so much on a Saturday?? We started out in the morning by attending the Haddon Heights Fall Festival, an Annual Fall Craft and Corvette Show. We met up with my Godparents Wayne & Karen, who were there with their Corvette. Together we walked around spotting the different cars and looking at all of the various crafts from the vendors who attended. It was a lot larger than I expected…several blocks long, with live music, local mascots (*shiver*), various types of food, and lots of Corvette’s all proudly displayed by their owners. There was truly something for everyone. We were able to purchase a half pound of our favorite Spanish cheese Manchego – expensive but worth every penny – at the local Cheese shop. Tony, Wayne, and Karen enjoyed gourmet pulled pork or sausage and pepper sandwiches from Anthony’s restaurant, I was able to buy the cutest little stone (sodalite) bracelet, and someone even gave Tommy a little red balloon. We could have spent the entire day just walking around and purchasing Christmas Gifts. I would like to go back again next year, I truly enjoyed myself.
The afternoon I spent with my cousins, Alina and Lori, as well as my Mom and Carrie. It was a lot of fun hanging out with them… crazy, silly girls! Lots of laughter ensued! Once I returned home we stopped over at my MIL’s house to spend a couple minutes with Josefa and DD. It was just a quick visit, but it had been a while since I’d seen my MIL, and I missed her a lot – so even a short visit was nice! I’m hoping to stop by next weekend and see her a little more. Then, Saturday night my “cousin” Becca and her boyfriend Bill stopped over for a couple drinks after the baby went to bed. It was great to talk about weddings, and babies, and vacations with them, while sipping a glass of wine (or two). I don’t think we’ve done so much on a Saturday in a long time. Thankfully… we mostly sat around in our pajamas and did some chores on Sunday. The only time we left the house was to visit Walmart. We found Tommy’s Halloween outfit, and stopped at Burger King for dinner. (I know, I know… but we haven’t had junk food in SO long!) While we were eating our dinner Tommy kept trying to grab my cheeseburger. I wonder if he remembered the smell from when I was preggo and I craved were fast food burgers. (And I wonder why I gained so much weight during the pregnancy lol). I think Tommy would have eaten my burger if he was able to digest meat… well, that and chew.
Yesterday was rough. The baby was cranky ALL DAY. He hardly napped at all, and when he was awake he was whining and crying. I felt so bad. He hadn’t pooped much all weekend, and I think he was a little constipated – Ah the joys of introducing new foods! So… last night Tony and I had to take turns passing the baby back and forth to one another while we ate dinner. Just after we ate dinner we decided to start his bed time routine early. Tony went to pick up Tommy who had been sitting on his lap, when his hand sort of “slid” on Tommy’s back. He turned him around and we immediately saw why…. Tommy (who usually grunts to let us know he’s pooping, but failed to do so this time) had diarrhea. It was DISGUSTING. We rushed him upstairs, stripped him down and proceeded to give him a bath. I have never seen so much poop before. We were both gagging while we cleaned him up. Poop was Everywhere! Tommy went to bed shortly after the bath, but Tony and I were up for several hours afterwards feeling sick to our stomachs. Even now I feel a little sick writing about it. I’ve seen some pretty disgusting diapers before…but this one was just wrong.

Hair-tastrophe

2008-10-02T15:22:00.003-04:00

So um... does this look like "Ultra Natural Blonde" to you? I looked cool enough on the box. Just a shade more "natural" blonde than my hair already was.. ya gotta go darker for the fall right?? Well... after about 10 minutes on my head the goop started looking a bit purplish. The instructions had me waiting 10 minutes more, before I rinsed it out... and when I did... this is what I got. It actually looks worse in person than this picture shows. When the light hits it it has some brown, some purple, and some grey going on. YUK!! I'm not sure what I'm going to do... other than keep washing it. Ugh... you try to save a little money and do something yourself... and you end up with "Eggplant" hair (Thanks Tana hahaha), an itchy scalp, and wrinkly wet fingers. On a brighter note… Tommy can sit on his own!!! I’m so excited!!! I thought maybe it was a trick that I wasn’t really seeing him do it, but last night I showed Tony and its true. He can’t hold himself up for more than about a minute before he starts falling to the side or to the front… but he’s got the basic concept. I took a picture. He started falling to the side just as I snapped it… but here it is. Tommy was so happy to see his Daddy last night. I think they really missed one another. I’m happy Tony’s home too. Love you honey. We had very special visitors today. Elliot and his Mom stopped by. Tommy kept staring at Elliot and smiling. Elliot's a couple months younger than Tommy. It'll be so cute to watch them play together when they are a little older. Tommy found the other baby fascinating. He’s too funny… at one point he picked up Elliot’s hand and tried to put it in his mouth. I swear my kid will eat anything lol!

“Buzz Your Girlfriend…Woof!”

2008-10-01T11:33:00.003-04:00

That’s right, me and the babes were Home Alone. Tony had to go to Virginia for work. I really hate sleeping in the house by myself. I admit it…I am afraid of being home alone in the dark – especially with a five-month-old. To save me from being totally pathetic and whimpering all night, my wonderful sister-in-law stayed over. She’s the best!! Thank you D-D!!
I am in a good mood. It’s October!!! While I am not a fan of the cooler weather, I do really like the color changes of the leaves, and I really look forward to three months of “Holidays”!! I can’t wait for Halloween to arrive. I don’t like the idea of people dressing up…my Girlz know about this particular fear (it’s the masks). And I don’t care about the candy. BUT I LOVE decorating, I LOVE scary movies, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fact that Tony and I are going to start thinking about how we’re going to set up the house for Christmas.

I can’t wait for Tommy’s first Christmas. I might have to keep Tony (somehow ha ha) from getting the 10 foot tree he wants to fit into our living room… but otherwise we’re going to go all out and really make the house festive (both inside and out). It’s nice that Tony and I are both into setting up the Christmas lights and making the house twinkle for the holiday season. I always look forward to driving down our street at night and seeing how all of our neighbors are just as into Christmas lights as we are. It’ll be extra special this year. I can’t wait to see Tommy’s eyes light up when he sees the twinkling bulbs.

Speaking of my Girlz… a Girls Night In is in the works and I am so excited for it. I agree with those who say that sometimes you just need some time alone with your Girlfriends. The girls in particular I’m talking about are those I met in college (though I luv all my other girlfriends muchly too!). Most are my sorority sisters. Whenever we get together, much silliness and laughter ensues. We reminisce about Immaculata, and both the random & delightful experiences we’ve had together since. I get together with them and enjoy every moment, then I go home and feel like a part of myself has been refilled with the luv and sisterhood I get from these amazing ladies. I am really looking forward to seeing them.

Monday Monday

2008-09-29T15:12:00.003-04:00

We had such a good time on Saturday night. We were able to meet up with a ton of Tony’s fraternity brothers. I had fun hanging out with the other ladies who were there as well. It made me long for our annual Thanksgiving Dinner… guess we’ll have to get on planning that!

Here’s a couple pictures from Sat. night with Monkeybus. It was great to see them up on stage again. Thanks for a fun night guys!! (And thank you to my Mom and Dad who watched the baby so we could go out!)

I have to post this picture. It was from this morning. I went in to check on Tommy and this is how he was sleeping in his crib. Seriously adorable!!!

New Blog Name

2008-09-26T13:36:00.003-04:00

Yes - you've come to Bobbi's World... only... its not going to be called Bobbi's World anymore. I've decided to change the name of my blog... change a bit of the page...and just try something a bit different. I hope you like it!

Get On The Bus

2008-09-25T15:37:00.003-04:00

I am SO EXCITED for Saturday night. It’s the Monkeybus Reunion @ Bootleggers in Woodlyn, PA!!! Thanks to my folks, we’ll be able to see Bus for a couple hours and enjoy a late night trip back down memory lane. (Not use to those late nights anymore, I’ll have to take an afternoon nap!) A few of the original members left a couple of years ago… so Tony and I (and our friends) have been patiently waiting to see if they’d get back together some day. Well we need wait, no longer! I can’t wait to see the guys up on stage again. The current line-up for Bus is playing during the first set, but the “Old School” gang will be around and will play sets two and three. It’s been so long since I’ve seen Bus not to mention seeing the inside of Bootleggers. Lots of fun memories from my heydays at that bar. (Michelle & Jane – remember when we saw Vanilla Ice!! Hahaha) Anyway, its going to be a great time…so if you’re a local and you haven’t got anything to do… come see Monkeybus. Here’s their website in case anyone’s interested in going: http://www.monkeybus.com/

I’ve been struggling with trying to figure out exactly how much cereal & 1st foods to feed Tommy during his AM and PM feedings. Those wonderful people at Similac must have been reading my mind because they sent me a package in the mail, which included a chart on feedings! Fabulous!!! It says that between the age of 4 to 6 months, Tommy should be getting two tablespoons of cereal, and two tablespoons of 1st foods twice a day. Thank You Similac!!!!! You are “brilliant!” Tommy absolutely loves to eat his 1st foods. So far, all he’s had were different kinds of fruits. While he enjoys applesauce and peaches, pears seem to be his favorite. That’s actually no great surprise to me since that’s one of the cravings I had – a lot – while I was preggers. He’s not really a big fan of the bananas though, not that I can blame him. I dipped my pinky in to try the bananas one day because so many people have said it is delicious. To me it tasted like liquified banana bread, and I did not enjoy it at all! Yuk. I think I’m going to start Tommy on the veggies next week, and we’ll see how that goes.

Tommy and I were watching the VH1 classics channel on Tuesday. Usually I’ll put it on for a little background music while I’m doing things around the kitchen and Tommy’s in his jumper. Well… there we were watching/listening to the Monterey Pop Festival from 1967 when I looked to see what was coming on next. And to my great surprise it was – STYX – In concert!!!! It was the 2006 concert with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra, and it was awesome. I just luv luv luv Styx, Tommy was enjoying the music too, which made it even better. It was a great coincidence that truly made my day. I taped it so now Tony, Tommy, and I can enjoy it over and over and over again! Oh how I luv my DVR.

Handouts Anyone??

2008-09-20T15:06:00.001-04:00

I’m looking for some handouts for a new “venture” I am beginning this fall. I don’t want to give too much info away just yet but…If you are getting rid of kids’ toys – around toddler / pre-school age – please save them for me! I’m looking for age appropriate toys (the more educational or creative the better), books, puzzles, puppets, blocks (or large legos), and furniture (i.e. tables and chairs, bookshelf, beanbag chairs or the like, bins, etc). So if you are in the Philadelphia / S. Jersey area and want to get rid of these things please let me know.
Thank you so much for your help!!!

E-A-G-L.... oh forget it.

2008-09-18T16:40:00.006-04:00

It’s that time of year again. And while I’m not a huge football fan, I will watch a game or two if it happens to be on my tv…and there’s nothing else better to do. Tony enjoys it though, so for the game this past week we had dressed up our little guy. We only watched about 5 minutes of the game… it cut into our nighttime routine, but he looked so cute all decked up in his Eagles gear. Don’t worry my “Cheesehead” relatives…I’ll be sure to dress him in Packers gear too. MMMM – the only reason I like football season is for this ice cream. I remember eating like whole tubs of this in about two sittings while I was pregnant. Ahhhhh the memories. I miss the time when I ate anything I wanted and didn’t care about the calories! Hahaha. I am seriously in love with these pajamas. It was part of a group of 6-9 mos clothes Carrie’s BFF Kelli gave me for Tommy. Thank You Kel!!!! They are made by Old Navy, and I can’t wait to get my hands on more of them. I think Old Navy’s kids clothes are so adorable. I also have some cute outfits, hats, and cute little sandals from Old Navy, but its time to pack them away with all the rest of Tommy’s smaller sized clothing. My baby is growing up so fast. Doesn't it look like he's doing the Twist in the second picture. Last but not least – a little something for the Mav. My trusty sidekick and Tommy’s little buddy. He is too cute. He follows us around the house, kisses Tommy to cheer him up when he’s crying, and still comes to bed with me at night. I have a feeling that in a couple of years, my faithful pup will be crawling into bed with Tommy.

PS... this is my 100th Post!! Wow! Fun!