Spicy Magnolia

Reliving Great Days

Aren’t there just some days you wish you could replay over and over again?  I mean, not like to the extent of what was portrayed in Groundhog Day.  No way.  That would drive any normal, sane person insane.  Sorry, Bill Murray.  But every now and then, there are days that are so delightful, you wish you could relive them.  I’m humbly thankful to say that since last Friday, I wish I could relive almost each of those days.  Except for most of Monday, in which I was in a bad mood, and hubby and I found ourselves in the midst of petty "discussions”.  All “a-o-k” now, but it made half of Monday a bit of a bummer day.  And since Monday was an extra day off, to have wasted half of it in our paltriness added to the bumness of it all.  However, there are the delightful things I’d like to relive (including parts of Monday) that I will take a moment to briefly share with you:

Friday:  The beginning of a long weekend.  Who can dispute the amazing feeling of a long weekend that is at hand?  For dinner, I made a shrimp pasta dish that was quite yummy.  Not as good as when my friend made it, but still tasty.  After putting Brennan to bed, hubby and I started watching Father of the Bride Part II.  It had been a number of years since we’d last seen it, and having experienced childbirth now ourselves, there were a great many laughs to be had watching it.  I heart Steve Martin.  We were too tired to finish it, so saved the rest of it for Saturday night. 

Saturday:  The four of us got in a morning walk before Brennan’s first nap (which comes by 8 a.m. these days because he’s usually up between 6-6:30 a.m. that dear boy is, or 5:45 a.m. which was the case today.  For. Cryin’. Out.  Loud.)  We did a few chores and got ready for our date day!  My parents drove up from San Antonio to watch Brennan for us, and we thoroughly enjoyed lunch at Potbelly’s and then a few hours at the Austin Wine Festival.  All of the Texas vineyards were featured (there are a good 20 or so) and each person could choose up to 10 wines to have a small taste test.  There was live music, a splendid array of food (if we’d known that beforehand, we would have just eaten there), and cooking demonstrations.  Neither of us are big wine drinkers; Matt always has to finish my glass (and even my tastings for that matter), but it was a pleasant day to meander outside perusing the vendors.  Our most favorite:  White/Black Spanish by Dry Comal Creek Vineyard.  Love it!  We left just in time before a huge downpour.  At home waiting for us were three lovely faces and one precious furry face, home fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and bread and butter sandwiches.  Pops and Meems said watching Brennan was the best part of their weekend, and we are so grateful that 1) they live close enough to come up for the day to be with them and 2) that they love babysitting our baby boy!  We greatly enjoy their company.  Matt and I were giddy to get out.  Thanks, Pops and Meems!!  In bed, we finished watching Father of the Bride II.  We still got some laughs from the last 1/4 of the film, but I was mostly a reminiscent mess thinking about the day Brennan came into the world.  I was a blubbering momma.  And Matt just thought I was a riot and laughed more at me than the movie.

Sunday:  Pops and Meems wanted us to call them Sunday morning when Brennan woke up, just for fun.  We forwent the call when he woke up at 3 a.m., then 4:30 a.m., and then 5:45 a.m.  I don’t think they minded.  Not sure how we mustered the energy to make it to church, but we did.  It was the third time taking Brennan to the nursery.  First time I said, “Goodbye” to my little boy and he burst into tears <heart breaking in two>.  And the first time getting paged out of church to come pick up my boy.  While all the other babies were relaxed and sleeping, he was the only one crying.  I knew I was pushing it a bit to put him in the nursery because he skipped his morning nap, and sure enough, once I stepped outside with him in my arms, the kid was out.  He even took a two hour nap at home later that afternoon (he better have after not sleeping at all the night before!), and me and Matt weren’t gonna miss out on nap time fun ourselves.  How two hours can go by so quickly will boggle my mind forever.  But it was bliss!

We all woke up in time to make it to our neighborhood Memorial Day picnic.  Since we’d RSVP’d a ‘maybe’, we were pretty lame and only brought Tostitos as a side dish.  You shoulda seen what I tried to whip together to take at the last minute.  If you think Tostitos is lame, well, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!  Let’s just say I rummaged our freezer and the best thing I could find were snow peas.  I finally just had Matt run down the street to pick up the chips.  As we were introduced to the social chairman with our bag of chips in hand, I wanted to be sure she saw Brennan so she knew I had a young buck at home and that’s why I didn’t make something fancy like watermelon pico de gallo like some other put-together person made.  It was dang good!  We hung out by the pool watching all the big kids swim until Brennan’s bed time.  We started another movie but wish we hadn’t as it was horrible.  Turned it off before it reached half-way and watched Brennan videos in bed to fall asleep to something more wholesome on our minds.

Monday:  We’ll skip over what we did from 7 a.m.-3 p.m., sad to say.  After a nap, I was much better and ready to play.  We had our friends, Chris, Jill, Harrison and Haddie over to our neighborhood pool for a swim, snacks and pizza.  Brennan went swimming for the second time.  It took him a little longer to get used the water. I think it was cooler than the other pool, more crowded, and he got splashed more often which startled him.  But he still did great!  I was a bit more self-conscious wondering if all the other mommas were wondering what I was doing with a little baby in the crowded pool, without a shirt to cover him up from the sun no less!  Oh, that I would worry less about what other people think of me and be comfortable in my own skin as a mommy.  One day.  One day it will be so.

Tuesday-Thursday:  It’s taken me three days to write this post because my days with Brennan have been full…full of fun, laughs, squeals, and joy!  They’ve been some of my most favorite days as a mommy ever!  My brother texted me with a great idea to take a picture of Brennan laying up against Molly every now and then to compare how much he’s grown.  The first picture we took of him like that was for his birth announcement at 3 weeks old.  The one I took this week was at 18 weeks…my baby boy is not listening to me when I tell him to stop growing!

  

Brennan’s hair was tousled because I did this to it beforehand, just for kicks:

Nice Mohawk, baby boy!  You’re one cool dude! 

Here are a few glimpses into our favorite moments this week:

  

 

Thanks, Chunky Monkey, for some very special days that I will forever replay in my mind.  While I wish they wouldn’t pass so quickly and we could relive them over and over again, I wouldn’t want to miss out on the days yet to come to spend together, ‘cause I know they will be something wonderful!

Little Piggies

 

Why do you need toys,

 

 

 

when you have toes?

 

Go Away, Writer’s Block

Staring at the bright, white screen.  What do I write?  I want to blog regularly so badly, and yet, I seem to have writer’s block. 

Staring some more.  Dang, it’s a bright screen!  Do I dare write free-flow?  If I did, I’d probably scare half my readers away.  And Then There Were None.  Hubby declared last night, “We have spent 24 hours watching 24 this season, was it worth it?”  Hmmm.  Now we’ll have to wait another 8 months before we find out whether Jack lives or dies.  He’ll live.  <sigh>  Now I won’t have to spend a whole day of my life watching Jack try to save the world.  But I will.

Last weekend was blissful.  We had nothing to do except have a newly engaged, newly college graduated couple over for dinner.  Boy, we felt old.  Again.  I avoided making chicken, and went with something safe:  tacos.  Then we joined our friends, Jim, Beth and their precious little girl, Amelia, for breakfast at an Austin hole in the wall restaurant called The Omelettry.  Stuffed myself with 2 over-easy eggs, a handful of bacon, and two huge buttermilk pancakes with chocolate chips.  And I could’ve eaten at least two more pancakes.  Held the syrup though.  That would’ve been too much sugar.  After posting what I’d eaten for breakfast as my status on Facebook, I had two friends, one whom I’ve known since I was 13, and the other whom I spent 3 months of my life with at a school overseas but haven’t seen or spoken to in 12 years, both comment, “You always have loved your chocolate/sweets”!  At least I know what one of my legacies will be.

So our little Chunky Monkey turned 4 months old on Saturday!  It was a cool, stormy day here in Austin, so our family of four snuggled up and did absolutely nothing but play, nap, and enjoy a walk after the clouds cleared.  Same thing on Sunday, with an order of combo fajitas that me and hubby picked up to go for lunch after church.  Basically, this is what our weekend looked like:

   

We also watched Slumdog Millionaire last weekend.  I was a bit hesitant to watch what I knew was going to be a difficult movie to see, but I’m so glad I did.  Had to close my eyes sometimes, but it was well worth it.  Hollywood actually picked a good film to take Best Picture.  Go figure. 

Brennan had his four month doctor’s appointment Monday, with four shots to go with it.  He weighs 15 lb. 12 oz. and is 26 inches long.  He’s such a thoughtful observer, looking around so intently that the doctor even said, “Little boy, you don’t have to be so serious.”  I’m afraid he’s already gotten that from his mother.  The serious part, that is.  And of course, immediately after the doctor said that, I thought, “Oh, no, I’m already rubbing off on him negatively!”  Keep the smiles, giggles and squeals comin’, little one; they are the best part of my day and I love seeing you filled with joy! 

He does have a mild case of flat head (my phraseology).  I feel as though we’re always doing tummy time and he still hates it, but I guess this momma is going to have to crack down on it.  By the time we got to the mall with Daddy for a bite at Chick-Fil-A, I was too distracted and concerned about 1) his head and 2) my seriousness rubbing off on him that I couldn’t enjoy lunch.  Woman, get a grip!  After lunch, I brought my baby home, fed him, and held him in my arms pretty much all afternoon giving him the extra TLC that both of us needed after his shots.  Last week was really rough on the two of us with interrupted, shortened naps; being out of sync; whatever developmental/growth changes were going on; and emotional stuff I was working through.  So I gladly jumped at the excuse to do nothing but hold him yesterday afternoon!  No dinner made, no chores were done.  Just holding.  Just loving.

I am very hopeful that the upcoming Memorial Day weekend is going to be another great, low-key weekend.  Pops and Meems are coming up on Saturday to babysit for us.  We’re thinking about catching a movie, but neither of us really know what’s playing these days that is good.  Any recommendations?

Well, it seems as though I’m hitting writer’s block again.  So I’ll go ahead and close for the evening, dear Internet peeps.  I’ll leave you with my new favorite picture that Beth took at breakfast on Saturday.  Matt was trying to get Brennan to smile, forgetting that he wasn’t the one facing Brennan…that’s why his smile is so huge.  I love it!  This picture makes me smile every time I see it!

 

Foodies Beware: Cherry Breakfast Strata

This was one of the recipes I made for my Momma’s Mother’s Day brunch.  If you want to lose weight, don’t eat this.  If you don’t want to delve into something delicious, don’t make this.  If you don’t want something new to crave, don’t make this.  But if you don’t mind the occasional indulgence, then make this.  Or if you want something delectable to serve as a treat for company, then try this.  If you simply want some comfort food, then this is it. 

Eat your heart out, baby!

Cherry Breakfast Strata

*12 cups day-old Italian bread cubes (1/2-inch cubes)

1/2 tsp almond extract

8 ounces cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar, divided

1/2 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup chopped pecans

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups half-and-half

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Cherry Syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Put 8 cups of bread cubes in greased 13x9x2 inch baking dish.  In mixing bowl, combine extract, cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar and beat until smooth.  Stir in cherries and pecans.  Spoon over bread.  Top with remaining bread.  In bowl, whisk eggs, half-and-half, cinnamon and remaining sugar.  Pour over bread.  Bake, uncovered, for 35-40 minutes or until browned.  Let stand 5 minutes and top with warm Cherry Syrup before serving.

Cherry Syrup

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) sour cherries, undrained

1 cup sugar

3 TBSP cornstarch

1 cup light corn syrup

1/2 tsp almond extract

Combine all ingredients but extract in saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in extract.

* Italian bread is more commonly known as French bread

Recipe, by Hazel Turner, published in the February 2009 issue of Texas Co-Op Power

Finally…A Post!

How’s it going, Internet peeps?  Or in the words of my hubby, waz up?  Don’t ask me how a week can pass since my last blog post.  It’s mind boggling to me. 

We are officially, already…and sadly, in the dog days of summer.  This was our weather last week: 

And pray tell me, what do I do with a 4 month old during sweltering hot days? 

Speaking of dogs, I am shedding like a dog.  Seriously.  I am losing hair by the handfuls and it is absolutely disgusting!  All the hair that my body held onto during pregnancy is now finding its way onto anything but my scalp.  I have found myself more annoyed with the post-pregnancy body issues than the ones I had while pregnant.  Grrrr.

On another note about dogs, we had to buy Miss Molly a new dog bed.  But the pet stores I went to didn’t have what I was looking for:  a 1) large 2) dark 3) zippered (so I can wash the cover) doggie bed.  So I did a little searching online and found an awesome new bed for our spoiled puppy at L.L. Bean:I’ll confess that I have laid on it…well, just my head…and it’s pretty comfy.  I think it’ll be to her liking.  If not, too bad baby girl.

One reason I haven’t blogged recently was that I spent one full afternoon last week getting pampered.  <grin>  <BIG grin>  Thanks to Matt and his folks, I enjoyed an afternoon at the salon with a friend getting a massage and a pedicure as my birthday present!  It was fantastic!  My friend, Jillie, went with me and we left the salon rejuvenated, refreshed, and ready to go home to our precious families.  Kudos to our hubbies for taking care of our kiddos while we played at the salon, grabbed some fabulous cupcakes from Hey Cupcake!, and chatted while sitting back in the rocking chairs outside at The Domain. 

Hubby and I also had over a young lady who will be Brennan’s first ever babysitter (aside from our families)!  This was a big step for me!  But amazingly enough, I think we hit the jack pot…and on our first attempt, no less.  Calling the young gal about a babysitting job was the oldest I have ever felt in my whole life!  Seriously.  She should just be my peer, right?  It doesn’t matter that I am 14 years her elder, right?  And why was I so nervous talking to her?  For goodness’ sakes!  I felt ten new grey hairs pop up as soon as I dialed her number.

I had a most special first Mother’s Day weekend!  I drove down to San Antonio after MOPS on Friday afternoon (Matt came later that evening) to take Brennan to my Momma’s school to introduce him to all her teacher friends.  I was surprised at how much the middle schoolers paid attention to him.  Brennan’s eyes bulged at seeing all of the colorful posters in the classrooms and hallways.  It’s hard to imagine he’ll one day be a big boy walking the halls of his school.  Time, please be generous to me.

The weekend was tremendously relaxing.  We enjoyed scrumptious meals, pleasant evenings outside, afternoon naps, lively conversations with lots of laughter.  We were going to go to Sea World, but all of us felt more like staying around home and taking it easy than facing the crowds.  Probably the highlight for all of us:  taking Brennan swimming for the first time!  The fella was a champ!  We took it slow and easy, gearing him up for his first dunk.  He enjoyed the continual movement of me walking around the pool with him, and he took the dunking very well…no tears, ya’ll!  He felt so accomplished afterward.  <grin>  I can’t wait to get in the pool with him again. 

Our beach bum chillin’ wearin’ the sunglasses and hat from Pops and Meems.  The hat says, “No pinching allowed”.

My pool buddies all ready to go

  I survived.  I did it.  It feels oddly familiar…wasn’t I in something like this just four months ago??

I made a Mother’s Day brunch for my Momma on Sunday and have a very tasty recipe to share for Cherry Strata, so look for that and the Chicken/Artichoke casserole recipe that my Momma made for Easter brunch later this week.  For my Mother’s Day gift from Brennan and Matt, we’re going to have some family portraits taken!  For those in the Austin area, any photographers to recommend?

Alrighty, folksy-shmoksies, it’s certainly not as grand as Brennan going swimming for the first time, but by golly, I sure do feel accomplished postin’ somethin’! 

Fast Forward 52 Weeks

Not only (as of last Friday) is my baby boy 15 weeks old, but a year ago today is when we were flabbergasted to find out we were pregnant!  Pulling the pregnancy test out of the trash can to find myself staring at not one, but two pink lines, left me stunned with disbelief.  Fast forward 52 weeks later and now the precious child of mine is a reality that I get to touch, kiss, and with whom I purely delight!  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the last few weeks and some fun milestones, observations, and what-have-you about my Chunky Monkey.

He’s becoming much more coordinated.  There have been a couple of times I’ve found him with one of his hands in his mouth while at the same time playing with one of his feet with the other hand.  And although he still puts up a big fuss when it comes to burping, he has found great amusement in helping hold the bottle…with both hands.  I guess it’s his way of making sure it stays in his mouth, trying to avoid the burps.

One of his favorite games is to babble back and forth with us, and he’s making more noises using his tongue.

A couple of weeks ago, he had his first giggle while playing under his play mat.  He’s full of smiles, but sometimes he is just a hard sucker to crack!  It takes him a little while to flash his smile at other people.  However, a slew of smiles is guaranteed when we go into the bathroom and play in front of the mirror!

When both me and his Daddy are standing in front of him, he gives his undivided attention to just one of us at a time.  Sometimes it’s Daddy and sometimes it’s Mommy.  Such undivided attention is priceless though:  it’s filled with the most precious toothless grins, so whomever is the chosen focused recipient feels like the most special person on the planet!

He’s more ticklish on his feet.

He enjoys going on walks, particularly when he’s faced forward in the Baby Bjorn.  He loves being outside!   

My baby boy is an observer, a serious observer.  He loves social activities and discovering new things, new people and new places.  He studies everything with intent and purpose.  He has a mommy who is a pure home-body, and I have a feeling this mommy is going to have to emerge from her natural cocoon for the sake of her “social butterfly”.

He’s just about ready to roll over; it will be any day now.  He spends half of tummy-time loving it propped up on his arms and half the time despising it.   As a side note, I learned yesterday that I have to, and I mean have to, vacuum at least two times a week!  With the wetness of his drool and tears during tummy-time, he ends up looking like a furry monster if he ventures off his play-mat because of all the Molly-hair!

He has become fascinated with Molly, watching her every move.  And I must say, Miss Molly loves her baby brother!  

He loves putting soft things in his mouth, particularly any number of his fingers.   

He’s still sleeping through the night:  7:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. and taking 2 naps during the day.  Naps are the more difficult ones to get him to go down peacefully or not wake up too early. 

I’ve started keeping track of my favorite moments with him.  A couple of the most recent ones have been 1) a lunch date we had at Chick-fil-A the other day (by the way, I heart Chick-fil-A!).  While I gobbled my lunch, he looked admiringly at me, babbled and smiled the whole time.  He was probably amused at how his famished momma was stuffing her face.  2) When I whispered sweet nothings into his ear the other day while playing, he became still and quiet, taking in all of the love.  It was a moment when time stood still. 

He and his Daddy finished their first book together:  C.S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew.

Every night, hubby and I find ourselves speechless as we hover over Brennan in his crib, falling sound, sound asleep.  It’s indescribable.