Memorial Day 2010

For Theodore's first Memorial Day, he got to check out the pool! He didn't like it at first, but came to like the cool water after a while.

It quickly tired him out after a few minutes.

The flowers finally started blooming!

And daddy got the grill out. It was a great day!!

With Some Friends!

Some More: 3 months

Recent Shots: 3 months old

First Mother's Day!

I forgot to post about Mother's Day, but wanted to mention that we had a great one!

My son (and his daddy) took me to Ole Tapas for super! It was great like always. Our old waitress who served us both the day I told Brian we were expecting (our 3rd anniversary), and for my 25th birthday, came over to meet Theodore. It was cute that she remembered us. And the food was as good as ever.

Baby also gave me a card he signed (foot-printed), a beautiful orchid, and a jewelry box I've been wanting so I can actually organize and find all the pieces that daddy has given me over the last decade. :) It was a very sweet day.

Saturdays

So our weekends look a lot different than what they used to before we had Theodore.

Today we headed to Babies R Us first thing in the morning armed with coupons, and bought 408 diapers. That should last him through next month.

Then we headed to Main Street, so we could try one of the TWO new burger places that Newark is getting (we're also getting a Chipotle, and recently got a Cheesecake Factory, so the restaurant situation here is really looking up). Main Street Sliders was okay, between us we got five sliders, drinks, onion rings, and old bay fries for less than $13. It wasn't the best ever, but a cheap alternative to Jake's Hamburgers, which is about the only other option around here.

We also stopped in Bing's and got some desserts. Always a fun place to go.

Then we came home and took a ton of pictures for Theodore's three-month birthday tomorrow. See the next posting for those...

Spiced Lamb Chops with Peppers and Couscous

This is one of my favorite Rachel Ray recipes.  Making these was when I realized how much I liked couscous. Not like, I love it!!

Ingredients:8 lamb loin chips
Coarse salt and coarse black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 green bell peppers, cubed
1 large yellow onion, cubed
1 cup cherry tomatoes
½ cup fresh parsley
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ cups chicken broth
1 ½ cups couscous
5-6 sprigs of fresh mint, chopped
3 tablespoons pine nuts

Directions:
Cover the chops with wax paper or plastic and whack each chop with the heel of your hand to flatten it out. Season the chops on both sides with salt and pepper. Combine the cumin, coriander, and paprika and sprinkle evenly over the chops. Pat the spices in place, and let stand for 15 minutes.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add two tablespoons of the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the peppers and onions. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper and cook together for 5 minutes, then add the tomatoes and continue to cook until their skins begin to burst. Add half of the parsley to the skillet and toss. Transfer the vegetables to a platter and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Do not wash the skillet.
Place a tablespoon of olive oil in a small pot for the couscous. Heat the oil over medium heat and add the garlic. Sauté for 1 minute, then add the chicken stock and bring it to a boil. Add the couscous, remove from the heat, and cover the pot. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Return the skillet you cooked the veggies in to the stove and add another tablespoon of olive oil. Add the lamb chops and sear for 2 to 3 minutes on each side for medium rare, 4 minutes on each side for medium well. Arrange the chops on top of the peppers and onions.
Fluff the couscous with a fork and stir in the mint, the remaining parsley, and the pine nuts. The couscous makes a nice bed for the veggies and lamb to catch all the juices.

Sewing Pile

So on the bottom of my to-do list for the last year or two, has been "sewing pile". While I've been home on maternity leave it has been moved to the top of my to-do list. I decided that I couldn't make any more baby items until I finished the old stuff in my pile. So, I've made good progress on that goal. I've done the following:

-make a mini-taggie blanket
-finished the binging and hangers on a fall quilt
-fixed a pair of maternity pants
-fixed the pocket on my winter coat
-made a reversible bumper for baby's crib (picture coming soon)
-made a crib skirt (picture coming soon)
-finished the binding on my patriotic/summer quilt


I am most proud of the last item, because I finally took the time to do a binding correctly. I learned how from a tutorial here, and though it took a little longer than machine stitching, it was definitely worth it to have a nice finish.


Now, if someone can teach me how to do mitered corners perfectly, I might be pretty good at quilting.

Smiles!

Uncle #2, Uncle #3

New Play Things

I had a lot of fun making this taggie blanket and baby loves to grab a hold of it.
He has also figured out how to shake his rattle.

And loves hitting the hanging ball and mirror on his play gym.

Sinful Eats

A few of our recent meals...

Brian's recipe for barbeque pork ribs.
And a new way we're making homemade pizza. With whole-wheat pizza dough.

Vera Bradley Outlet Sale

My first time to the sale proved to be an experience, to say the least. We went on the last day, and I was pretty impressed with the selection. I went for a wristlet. I don't have the room to always carry around a full purse anymore, so I wanted something small to use. I found one, among other things. When we got in line, we were looking pretty good at getting through in less than an hour. Until we realized the line was not moving at all. For quite a while. They finally announced that the computer systems were down so they couldn't check anyone out.

A long story short, we walked away a couple hours later with: One free item (mine was an $18 purse), a free coin purse (retailing at $18), a $10 discount, and a free whiteboard! It was pretty awesome!

Then, when I was writing this post and looking at my receipt, I realized that they didn't charge me for TWO of my items!?! A lanyard and the wristlet! I'm not sure how that happened, but they were in such a rush checking out customers that they must have missed a couple things.

My finds:
$11 Morgan purse in Puccini (retailed at $63)
$8 Patchwork Coin in Espresso (retailed at $18)
FREE! Saddle Up in Mediterranean Blue (retailed at $65)
FREE! Mediterranean Kisslock Coin Purse (retailed at $18)

$7 Medium Bow Cosmetic Mod Floral Blue (retailed at $30)

$7 3-Ring Binder (retailed at $18)

FREE! Write Away (retailed at $16)

$4 Zip Sunglass Case Mediterranean White (retailed at $22)

$3 PJ Pants Peacock (retailed at $38)

$3 PJ Pants Pink Elephants (retailed at $38)

?? Wristlet Yellow Bird (retailed at $25)

?? Lanyard Cupcakes Pink (retailed at $10)

Grandma's Graduation

With both his great grandmas!

Visit to the Farm!

Checking Out Great Grandpa

2 Months Old!

Ocean Themed Nursery

So I finally started really working on the nursery...
Brian's mom put together this awesome "under the sea" quilt, and it went perfectly with the green and blue baskets I already had, so I decided to go ahead and try and get more color into the room, using those shades. The chair is temporarily in the space where the crib will go when we eventually get it.
I had these old white (Billy) bookshelves just sitting in the closet taking up space, so I decided to go ahead and get them out and utilize them. They were ones I had used in my first apartment. We matched the paint to the blue and green on the quilt, and I love how they turned out.

I have been collected books ever since I decided to become a teacher. Since my ideal grade to teach is 5th, most are upper level chapter books, but I collected a good deal of picture books while in my 1st grade internship. I also have a goal to collect every Caldecott winning book, and many of the honor books, so I have those as well. Poetry books, the fairy tales of both the Grimm brothers and Hans Christian Andersen round out my collection. My next goal is to get more ocean oriented ones to go with the room, that we can start reading to Theodore.

This side of the room is still pretty much the same as it was before.

Our next big step will be buying the crib. At the rate baby is growing, it will probably be sooner rather than later. I haven't been able to find any crib skirt or bumper that I really like, so I decided to go ahead and make my own. They will hopefully be completed in the next few days. This fabric is for the skirt and one side of the bumper. And this fabric will be for the other side of the reversible bumper. Hopefully they turn out well!