25 things I've done so far this summer...

1. worked chat reference a ton, earned the title of biggest "answerer" in May!
2. celebrated lots of birthdays - parties, cake and ice cream :)
3. met up with some old friends via Facebook
4. already paid for our zoo pass in visits
5. had a Mother's Day pedicure
6. went on a picnic
7. ate a Monte Cristo at Melt
8. became a little obsessed with Crocs
9. attended baseball games - Indian's and the kids' coach pitched
10. ate tons at a Father's day breakfast and then a bbq
11. got a Sam's Club membership
12. taking a quilt class at Stitch Cleveland (still not finished!)
13. met our possible future neighbors at a West Clinton Block Club meeting
14. look forward to Tuesday story time and swim lessons
15. applied for temporary health insurance
16. cut carbs from our diet, lost 12lbs!
17. kissed WFR after he hit his head on a driveway/sidewalk
18. let my locks grow long and become very frizzy
19. put up with terrible tenants for too long
20. spent money at the Tremont Yard Sale and Farmer's Market
21. put a few miles on the stroller by walking the neighborhood
22. feel like I go to Giant Eagle almost every day
23. felt under dressed at a City of Cleveland Architecture Review Board meeting
24. Roller Derby!
25. finally replanted the jade plant

Egg Hunt

Happy 1st Birthday William!

An entire year has gone by in a flash. On one had I can barely remember WFR as a newborn, it seems so long ago. On the other I can't believe he's already walking, starting to talk and getting into a lot of trouble. On to the birthday....

Since our apartment is pretty small we only were able to invite our families. This ended up being about 20 adults and 6 kids - the place was packed!

The menu:

BBQ and Carolina Pulled Pork - I used this Baking Bites recipe for the BBQ and referenced these 2 for the Carolina. Both turned out really good!

Four Cheese Macaroni from Allrecipes.com. I have never made mac and cheese from scratch before so I just picked the recipe that had received the best reviews. Everyone seemed to like it but I wouldn't make it again. I think I would go with a recipe that started with a bechamel sauce so it would be creamier.

My mom brought coleslaw and my mother-in-law brought her manderine orange salad. I also made a huge tray of tater tots - the kids (and I) love them.

I kept going back and forth about making or buying a cake. There are so many places that sell delicious cakes!!! But my mother guilt kicked in and I decided to bake one. Martha Stewart to the rescue! I made a practice cake the week before to make sure it wouldn't be a total disaster. The cake is what started the monkey theme - then came the invites, few strings of bunting to decorate the house, and his monkey shirt.

Gasparilla Weekend

We left our cold, snowy, Cleveland last Friday. The three of us hopped on a plane and went to Tampa to visit the sun and the Schweiterman Family. They are great hosts!

Friday - Got up early to make our 8:50am flight. WFR refused to nap and was a little cranky on the plane. Gregg picked us up and the boys quickly got the car seat installed. We went to their house, regrouped, did some prep work for the Boat Parade on Saturday and had a late Mexican lunch out. The college roommates stayed up way too late and had a bit too much fun. I know it's hard to believe but Baby Caiden is cuter in person than she is in her pictures!

Saturday - Cleaned ourselves up and headed to the Gasparilla Boat Parade. It took a few tries to get onto Davis Island but we made it! Lots of boats and people to look at. Left the parade and headed toward the after party at the SS Schwieterman. The small gathering turned into a pretty big get together. We ate Low Country Boil and watched babies play. Lovely company.

Sunday - Ian, WFR and I took a trip to Clearwater Beach. We had lunch at Crabby Bill's, walked on the boardwalk and then strolled down the beach. It was cool but sunny. I was amazed by how many people were laying out and how tanned they were in February.

Monday - The Schwietermans rented a cabana (aka Chickees) for us at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. We loaded up the babies, bags of toys and the sunscreen for a day of relaxation. We lived like rock stars for a few hours and loved every minute of it. I only wished it was a cabana boy instead of a cabana girl. The pool was heated but still wasn't warm enough to take a dip... the temperature didn't seem to bother WFR who loved splashing and kicking in the water. We took him out when he started shivering!

The weekend was really great. We had a wonderful time visiting with Liz, Gregg and Caiden. We talked for hours - about the past, how our lives have changed and the future. They are really great friends.

Children's Museum

Tuesday my friend had the day off so we went to the Children's Museum. I can see us spending many days there over the winter, especially when William gets a little bit bigger. He enjoyed playing with the musical instruments and having Sadie drive him around town.

Shipwrecked

I made a casserole the other day. It sure is casserole, crock pot, dutch oven weather around here. The leaves are starting to cover the ground. We turned on our heat and took our fleece jackets out of the closet. My nose and feet are cold when I go to bed.

This casserole surprised me. Honestly, I chose it because of the name and the fact I could use my food processor to slice everything up. It's easy to make and can be a really healthy dinner if you use brown rice and lean turkey. There are a bunch of versions online but this one is from the book Hot dish heaven : classic casseroles from Midwest Kitchens by Ann L. Burckhardt. I found it while browsing the library shelves after story time. (btw, why is story time only 6 weeks long? As soon as the parents and babies start to recognize each other, it's over. Don't worry...the next session starts in January! Really, does it take that much work for the children's librarian to get together a 20 minute program for babies once a week? If it does, someone please tell me why!)

Back to the food. I prepared all the ingredients and brought out my round 2.5 quart casserole dish. I started the layers and decided there was was way too many fillings to stuff into this dish. The recipe calls for one 2 quart dish. I ended up using two round dishes - a 2.5 and a 1.5. Another option might be using an 8 1/2 x 11 glass dish. I am pretty happy though because now I have a casserole in the freezer for another night.

Shipwreck Casserole

1 medium onion, chopped or sliced thin
2-3 medium potatoes, diced, grated or thin sliced
2 carrots, grated or thin sliced
1 lb regular or lean ground meat or turkey, raw, crumbled
1/3 c. uncooked white or brown rice
1-2 ribs celery, sliced
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste
1 can tomato soup
1 c. water

Heat oven to 350 degrees. (325 for glass casserole)
Layer the vegetables, meat, rice and beans in the order given in a 2 quart casserole, seasoning each layer lightly with salt and pepper. Stir soup and water together and pour over the layered ingredients. Cover and bake for 1.5 hours. Use a fork to test vegetables for doneness.

my baby eats!

Over the past week we have had some big milestones. Not only did William start eating solids he also got his first tooth! So far he's eaten rice cereal and pumpkin. You're supposed to wait four days before introducing a new food so that if the baby has an allergic reaction you'll know what it's from. Tommorow he gets to try something new...apples? bananas? avacado? It's so much fun watching him taste things for the first time. So far he's taken to it like a champ. Below are the frozen pumpkin cubes he's been eating.

finally!

I ordered My So-Called Life from the library weeks ago and it finally came in! I know what I will be doing for awhile - reliving junior year in high school.

Tybee 2008

We went on vacation over Labor Day to Savannah, Georgia and stayed at probably the greatest, biggest beach house on Tybee Island. We have been planning this trip since before William was born and the anticipation was starting to get ridiculous.

The trip consisted of 5 couples from...Tampa, Charleston, St. Louis, Chicago & Cleveland. Each had a baby in the past 6 months and St. Louis also has a 2 year old. Add a Savannah couple and their 9 month and 2 year olds. That's a lot of babies!!!



We flew in Thursday night. We got our car, put the car seat in and drove to the Savannah couples' house and then downtown to check into the hotel. We hung out at the pool there and then went out to dinner. That first night it was only 3 couples. The Dads went to The Rail to re-live some SCAD days while the moms (and sleeping babies in strollers) sat in the hotel bar/lobby area and chatted.

The next day we got some food and drove around looking at the dads' old college apartments and talked about much the city has changed over the years. We then headed out to the beach house and picked our rooms. The rest of the weekend we swam in the pool, ate, drank, talked loud, floated on noodles and laughed a ton. That was pretty much it! We didn't even make it to the beach. All the babies were gorgeous and sweet and perfect. We are all such lucky parents.


Monday we stopped at River Street for some oysters and shrimp before we got on the plane home. It was a great trip and it was so wonderful to see our friends and their babies. It was a little sad to say goodbye but now we know we can still keep the vacation tradition alive - even with an army of kids! We will just need to rent a small town or something.

Calico Beans

I made these beans for William's Baptism and a few people have asked me for the recipe. My mother-in-law cut it out of the Plain Dealer a few years ago. The only thing that we do differently is cook the bacon seperately from the ground meat. If you don't, you just end up with some chunks of bacon fat in the beans.

Calico Beans
1 pound ground beef
1 pound bacon, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
2 cans Bush's baked beans , 28 ounce/any flavor/undrained
16-ounce can lima beans , drained
16-ounce can butter beans , drained
16-ounce can kidney beans , drained and rinsed
16-ounce can black beans , drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup water
1 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons dry mustard

Cook's notes: The recipe calls for simmering in a crockpot and overnight refrigeration. If time is limited, skip the overnight step and simply serve hot the day it's prepared.

Brown the meat: In a large skillet, cook beef, bacon and onion until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Set aside.

Combine, simmer ingredients: In a large crockpot, combine all ingredients. Start on high until ingredients are hot, then reduce heat to low, and cook for 6-7 hours. Refrigerate overnight.

Reheat: When chilled, remove any fat from the surface. Reheat on low setting for 3-4 hours.

Presentation: Leftovers freeze nicely.

pork loin

"Rick the Butcher" talked us into buying a 10lb pork loin. That's a lot of pork. I hacked it into 8 pork chops and 2 roasts. The chops were grilled and a roast was put in the crock pot last Sunday. The roast came out DRY but was turned into pulled pork sandwiches on Monday and tacos on Tuesday. One roast left in the freezer. More pork dishes to come.

Baptism

William was Baptized last Sunday. We had lunch for our family and friends afterwards at our house. The skies were grey that morning and looked like it was going to storm. Luckily it cleared up and all our guests were able to sit in the very sunny backyard. I have no idea what we would have done if it rained. There's no way 40 people would have fit in our apartment.

We ordered chicken and rigatoni from Carmino's. The menu also included brats, potato salad, fruit salad, pasta salad, coleslaw, watermelon, deviled eggs, calico beans, a huge veggie tray, kolachki and cake. Lots of drinks but not enough bottled water!

My friend Jodie was William's Godmother. She came over early to get him dressed and did a fantastic job helping us all day.

Peninsula Farmers Market

Erin, William and I drove down to the Peninsula Farmers Market on Saturday. We didn't get there till 11am so there wasn't much left to buy. I did get a bar of ginger & grapefruit soap from Lazy Bee and a peach apple pie from another vendor. Unfortunately, the pie crust wasn't baked all the way through and the middle was raw :( Next time we have to get there when it opens, bring a cooler and not forget the baby's hat. That way I can put him in the carrier instead of lugging him around in his car seat.

3 months later

During the last 3 months I have...

• changed many, many diapers
• ordered lots of take out
• read "A Walk in the Woods" by night light
• been spit, peed and pooped on
• stopped using an alarm clock
• realized that a trip to Target is now considered going "out"
• felt very lucky to be married to my husband (if you're reading this...I love you!)
• started wearing a glow in the dark watch
• wanted to pull all my hair out in the car
• rocked, swayed and bounced in all possible directions
• shed tears of frustration and joy
• lost 40 pounds and got back into my Luckys
• watched seasons 1-6 of Sex and the City (and the movie)
• used an entire bottle of Shout
• been amazed by our baby every single day

The new man in my life

William Francis
Monday, April 7, 2008
9lbs 6oz 21.5in

foodie babies

Very cute onsies for food lovers at Fig Leaf Baby

bad condiments?

How often do you go through your fridge and throw away condiments? I came across this today. Off the top of my head, I see that I need to throw away a bottle of fish sauce that I bought when I tried to make pad thai. The smarter me now goes to Siam Cafe when I have a craving.

Aren't you supposed to replace dry spices after 6 months? I feel like I need to pitch them all and start from scratch.

Nancy Pearl

Nancy Pearl is coming to Cuyahoga County Public Library next week. Details can be found here. Yes, I do have her action figure - it was a gift!

Film Fest update - films I have actually seen:
Return of the Cuyahoga
Jump
The Planet (I napped a bit during this one)
Ben X
Gone with the Woman
And I will see American Teen on Sunday

Baby update - I am 37.5 wks today. My doctor said I could have this baby any day now. She actually thinks the sooner the better because he/she is getting BIGGER by the day :)

Film Festival

The Cleveland International Film Fest has started! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to volunteer for the opening night festivities. Last night was also my last day of work at one of my jobs. I'm going on maternity leave till fall. How crazy is that? People were asking me if I was sad. Heck no..I am thrilled! I will continue working at my other job till the baby comes - but that means I'll only be working every other day till then. Lots of time to lounge on the couch (dr's orders) and "nest".

Since the film fest falls during Spring Break I have the entire week off! I will be volunteering for the FilmSlam program and then seeing as many movies as I can handle.

Tickets purchased so far...
Return of the Cuyahoga
One Bad Cat
The Pixar Story
Kidz in da Hood

Market Cafe & Wine Bar

Douglas Trattner describes your first experience at the Market Cafe perfectly in his Free Times article..."Where do we start? What do we do? Help!" That's exactly how my friend E and I felt when we walked in yesterday at about 11:50am. It was already very crowded and a bit overwhelming.

We decided to both get our lunch from the same station so we wouldn't lose each other. The burger/grill station was our pick! All the burgers, meat and kabobs were in a cooler, like at the grocery store, and then made fresh to order. E was being healthy and ordered a rosemary chicken breast, baked potato and green beans. I (not being so healthy) ordered a cheeseburger and side of pesto pasta that had chunks of cheese tossed in. We also each had a chocolate chip cookie.

Really, everything in the place looked delicious. The longest line was at the soup/salad station so that's where I want to head to next time. There are booths and long tables for seating - we sat in the middle of a long table with a bunch of other people because it was quite busy by the time we got ourselves and our food together. You can also very easily get anything to go.

We really liked it and I'm sure will be back for lunch again soon!