Mommy, there are Alligators in my Muffin!

Says Rory as he spots a shredded zucchini in the muffin I tried to use as a vegetable vehicle. Damn...even muffins are going to have to be disguised now.

Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde

My poor little girl is a true Gemini and this weekend was a great depiction of that. My parents came up for a visit this weekend and we had a lovely Saturday at the farm despite some rain...apple picking, pumpkins, petting zoo, and all that. Shelagh cooked in the kitchen with me and my mom on Saturday afternoon, the kids played and got along great. All in all a lovely day.

Sunday, all hell broke loose. Tantrum in the AM before my parents left. That afternoon we did our return trip to Baby Loves Disco in Boston and I could tell the rest of the day wasn't going to be easy either as Joe had to pick her up to drag her out of there. Lo and behold, tantrum in the PM. These were not just any ole tantrums either...we're talking at least an hour long on the PM one. She screamed so hard and so long that she actually lost her voice last night and into today. I finally got her calmed down and in bed a little big early at least and lay with her for all of the 120 seconds it took her to fall asleep. I just stared at her and felt so sad for how out of control she must feel. There is no way she has control over her emotions at that point...she was a complete tornado. I'm frantically reading The Explosive Child. I have got to catch her earlier in her tantrum process and try to help her prevent the spiral downward. Poor thing was so exhausted by the time she fell asleep and Joe and I were officially spent.

Exhausted

Thank God my parents are almost here today. I just speed cleaned the whole house and I am going to collapse. For the first time in a long time, Shelagh napped for an hour and I got so much done. But, now that I'm past the halfway mark of Pregnancy #3, what the hell am I doing? I can't clean my whole house in one shot!! Certainly I can't be expected to do one more thing today. Dinner, mom. Rory's full diaper right now, mom. Entertaining Shelagh, mom. Picking me up off of the couch eventually today, Joe. I'm officially out for the day.

Old Lady Shoes

Yesterday, while getting ready for work, I put on a lightweight pair of corduroys that I had from Babystyle...really soft and a giving waistband without the big preggo belly cover. I realize that I have no "everyday" black shoes. For the summer I wore just flip flops, for the most part. So, I wear sandals with my corduroys and decide to hit DSW during lunch.

I approach DSW with warp speed, skipping the aisles of pumps and dress shoes (who wears those?) and going right to flats, clunky shoes, clogs, non-athletic sneakers, etc. I know what I want so I skim really quickly and start to see a pattern between the shoes I stop to look at...Aerosoles, Clarks, Hush Puppies, Naturalizer...Holy Crap! The only shoes I'm liking these days are all old lady shoes!! I ended up with good old cheap MUDD brand for $29. But, seriously, where did my funky and fancier side go who loved Steve Maddens with huge block heels and Nine West dressier shoes. Who the hell knows.

Music Cards

My kids love them. My mom sends them for every bday and my kids walk around with them for months afterwards (until I sneak them into the trash when they are asleep b/c they've annoyed me to no end by then). We have Shrek, Star Wars, Sleeping Beauty, etc. So, Joe got one with the voice of Michael Scott from the Office for his bday today (Steve Carrell). Apparently, Rory doesn't care if it's music or just talking. After asking us who it was talking, and Joe replying that it was Michael Scott from a TV show we like, he walked around the Dining Room this morning saying "I listenin' to Michael Scott. I like the first part." Which says, by the way..."People ask me if I'd rather be feared or loved. The answer is easy...both. I want people to fear how much they love me". Of course I asked Rory this morning if he'd rather be feared or loved and, alas, he didn't understand the question.

Cream Cheese Frosting Causing Major Baby Swimming

This poor kid is having a sugar shock right now. Last night I made the carrot cake for Joe's bday coming up tomorrow and the Cream Cheese frosting tonight. A full carrot cake is too much for the 4 of us, so I made 2 single layer cakes instead and will bring one to work tomorrow. The frosting is made of 16oz cream cheese, a stick of butter, some vanilla, and 4 CUPS of confectioners sugar. Yes, you read that right. 4 CUPS! Of course I licked the bowl, the spoon, the hand mixer attachments, etc. Shelagh and I almost had a fist fight over the spatula.

Here is the cake...

Here are the kids trying to "calm down and relax" after licking frosting and running around the house in circles. Shelagh was trying to teach Rory how to sit "criss-cross-applesauce" or "Indian-style" as we used to call it. It might as well have been advanced yoga for him. He just gave up and flopped down on his back.

No One Likes Getting Peed On

Let's add Shelagh to that group! Rory has backed off of screaming and yelling whenever anyone gently suggested that he might want to try using the big boy potty. Every night before bath he pulls the little stool up, puts the toilet seats up and thrusts his little pelvis towards the bowl. No success yet, but at least he's open to the idea of it. I'm sure it helps that I offered him a bribe of buying him a Mack toy (Cars movie) and lots of car and train underwear once he actually tinkles in the potty.

He often turns and talks while he's doing it and so an accident was really just bound to happen. After brushing his teeth last night, he turned towards Shelagh and weeeeeeeeeeeeee, he peed on her legs. It was truely hilarious, but she didn't find it at all funny. In fact, she completely melted down, screamed that it burned her knee, and could not be consoled. Joe and I were both trying so hard not to crack up. God forbid Rory thinks he's entertaining us and decides to use that thing as a weapon!

Mommy Massage

Joe and I went to Foxwoods in CT this weekend for a 1-night getaway to celebrate our birthdays and to have a quick hurrah before Baby #3 grounds us for several months. It's amazing what 24-hours free from meal planning, tantrums, and early waking can do to rejuvenate you! That is until you return and the kids scream in the car all the way home from grandmas house and on until bed time. Then, you just order a pizza and put them to bed at 645 and hope they don't wake up at 430am for the day.

We stayed at the new MGM Grand at Foxwoods and had a really nice time. The hotel is beautiful. The room, while small, was really nice with a huge comfy bed and great view. We went right to the spa and each had a massage and relaxed at the pool. I went to the outdoor pool which was uber-heated and read my book (which I will talk about later...super-intense). It was heaven until this early 20's group of 5 VERY loud people sat right behind me and then cannon-balled right in front of me into the pool. Nice, huh? I enjoyed my prenatal massage and hope for a couple more before the pregnancy is over :)

We went to Shrine for apps and a drink - I actually had a Shirley Temple and it was so yummy. I forgot how good those are! We had lobster rangoons and Shrimp Tempura maki there and both were delicious. It was SO hard to stop. I easily could have kept ordering and eating. Instead, we played in the casino for awhile and then head to Craftsteak for dinner. This is Tom Colicchio's new restaurant (of Top Chef judging fame). I was so pumped to go here since we watch Top Chef and love him. It was a typical steakhouse type of place...beautiful decor, 4 tables of large, all-male, bachelor party types around us, etc. Joe got a dry-aged sirloin and I got a bone-in rib eye. We were both not so impressed and had expected to be, but they were generally good. They were served in these beautiful little individual copper pans and cast-iron pans that I loved. The sides were delicious - brussel sprouts with porchetta (a ham/bacony type of meat) and fingerling potatoes with a smoked bacon vinagrette. I could have just eaten sides. Surprisingly, everything needed salt. For anyone that watches Top Chef, Tom C's biggest criticism every week is that things aren't seasoned well. So, I was really shocked to have to ask for salt. Hmmmmm. Anyway, we skipped dessert and went back to play.

No, we didn't win. For some odd reason, I bring back luck like the tiki necklace Greg Brady wore in Hawaii (do-do-do-do-dooooooo) before he wiped out surfing. Joe always loses when I'm anywhere near him playing blackjack. It's unbelievable really. Since I blew through my little $-amount in slots in about 10 minutes, he had no choice but to struggle through his play with me, the albatross, hanging around. Poor guy. We played again in the morning, together this time, though and despite not winning again, we had fun.

Meal Planning wk of 9/21

Stuck with last weeks plan...it's nice to be cooking new things again. The Shepards Pie was great, liked the mushroom sauce with tortellini and just made the pork/broc stir fry which was good but a little too orange-y. All good recipes. It's Joes bday on Thursday so I'm going to try a braised short ribs recipe with the crock pot while I'm at work. Hopefully it will work!! He loves carrot cake and I have a great recipe for one, but not sure I'll have time for that. I'll try!!

Sunday - Pork Roast or whatever is hearty in the supermarket when we shop Sunday afternoon. Maybe some roasted carrots to go with it.

Monday - Leftovers

Tuesday - Tortilla Espanola - This is a potato/egg frittata kind of thing from Food & Wine, I think, but the recipe isn't on the site. There was an article about Mario Batali's new show on PBS travelling through Spain. Looks yummy...We'll call this Circle French Fry Pancake for the kids.

Wednesday - Chicken cutlets maybe.

Thursday - Joe's Bday! Braised short ribs in the crock pot from Bon Appetit under the family meal column. Probably with some buttered egg noodles and a salad. It's mac & cheese night for the kids so I'll sample some of this on the side for them. Carrot cake is Joes favorite cake... I use the cake from 1 Bon Appetit recipe and and the frosting from another.

Friday & Saturday - My parents are here so I usually leave the menu to them and whatever they have extra of from their cooking classes.

Dyson: The Results from 1 Area Rug

So disgusting...This is from vacuuming just my Living Room Area Rug which I think is a 9 x 12. I can't wait until Friday when I can do the whole house.

the Container Store & my New Dyson

I LOVE IT! I've always loved organizing, but walking through a store like this really just does it for me. I spent some time there yesterday working with a closet specialist to design some closet shelving for Shelaghs room. With the baby coming, Rory will move into Shelaghs room, but we don't have room for any more dressers and hers is full. So, we have a guy coming in today to widen the closet doorway for us. I went to the Container Store to figure out the Elfa shelving inside the closet so I can fit both kids stuff mostly in the closet (and then hopefully get rid of or replace Shelaghs monstrous long, low dresser with something better suited for the space in her room...eventually). It was so easy to figure out and it looks beyond easy to install (remind me I said that later). I'm not going to put doors on it, but rather got some curtain panels and a curtain rod to put up instead that match her current window treatments. Poor Rory will be surrounded by pink!

Also, I ordered a new Dyson vacuum and I'm insane waiting for it to arrive. I purposely haven't cleaned so that I can do amazing things with my new vacuum. Dyson is a client of my company so I get 45% off which made this an affordable option. I'm so pumped. A friend at work got hers, vacuumed with her regular vacuum and then vacuumed with her Dyson and had to empty the container 4 times!!! You should see the dust bunnies floating around my house and accumulating in corners (on my stairs, under the radiators, cat hair everywhere!).

Shepards Pie & Molten Chocolate Cakes

Obviously, I did meal planning on a cool, rainy day and wasn't thinking of the hot, sticky day on which I'd be heating up my whole house baking. Oh well...it was worth it. The Shepards Pie was delicious...not exactly the consistency I prefer, but the flavor was so yummy. It called for Bison ground meat which my store and 1 other store didn't have for the first time in who knows how long. I used regular beef and combined it with the sauteed mushrooms and onions - this was perfect. The mashed potatoes were actually a combination of potatoes and cauliflower with parmesean and were really pureed, whereas I'm used to them being all potatoes and stiffer in texture. I was skeptical, but the flavor was really nice. Finally, I'm used to corn as the veggie and this recipe called for peas and carrots. Joe had 3 bowls. I finished mine wishing I had thought to grab a big french bread to lap up the sauce in the bowl. After MUCH complaining, Shelagh put the tiniest little bit in her mouth of the "mushed up french fries" and alas "I like it. I do". Thank you, Sam-I-Am. Rory, on the other hand, spent the rest of the night and into this morning grumbling..."I no like Shepards Pie. That's not good for the environment".

I followed this up with the Molten Chocolate cakes with Peanut Butter filling from Food & Wine. These were really easy to make and rich and yummy. I did overcook them a bit and I would probably try to make the peanut butter filling a little creamier so that it would melt a bit more (like the middle of a Lindt truffle with peanut butter where it just drizzles out). These would be a great dessert to serve when having people over as they are baked in individual ramekins and served warm. It was fun to spend a few hours working on these dishes with my helper, Shelagh, who happily crunched along with carrots and cauliflower and helped me stir and clean veggies.

No pictures unfortunately...My 1 yr old camera has a "lens error" which probably means it will cost more to repair than buy a new one. Newman.

Meal Planning wk of 9/14

Haven't done this for awhile...I've been seriously slacking on the cooking front and the kids are on a crap kid food rotation that just has to stop. Here's the plan for the week...a few new recipes in the mix too finally.

Saturday - Joe's golfing so I'll wing it for me. Shelagh requested Squash, Corn, and Broccoli. She's so good :) Who knows what I'll give to Rory.

Sunday - Bison Shepards Pie (not online yet - from Bon Appetit Sept 08) & Molten Chocolate Cakes with Peanut Butter Filling (Food & Wine). My bday is Tuesday so I want to try these cakes as my bday cake since I work on Tuesday. And, of course I'm making my own bday cake :)

Monday - Shrimp & Polenta Cakes (Cooking Light). Kids: Sausage, Polenta cakes (we will call them small dinner pancakes and see what happens!), peas

Tuesday - Tortellini w/ Porcini Mushroom Sauce (Bon Appetit). Kids: Scrambled egg, ham, and cheese scramble

Wednesday - leftovers

Thursday - Broccoli & Pork StirFry (MS Everyday Food). Kids: Mac & Cheese night.

Friday - leftovers, whatever

Playing Dr & a Handsome Haircut

I took Shelagh to the Dr yesterday to check out her 3-month old cough/throat clearing thing. The nurse, at a previous appt, had suggested that maybe she had allergies. I'm thinking it's probably that I've not cleaned out the air conditioners, but that's just a guess. It could also be Squeaky, the worlds most dander-y cat. After we came home, Rory decided to do some doctoring. He listened, administered shots, checked temperatures, and used tweezers. Shelagh was a very patient patient.


I cannot get enough of his cute little man haircut. You know when you have a haircut appt scheduled and your hair looks GREAT the week before and you waffle about whether to cancel it or not even though you are way past needing one and won't be able to go again for weeks? Rory was like a shaggy, adorable rock star the week before his cut...little curls popping up in the back, shaggy on top...so cute. We proceeded with the haircut, despite this adorable week, and it's so trim and neat he's like a little man! I love it!

TV: Fringe & Sons of Anarchy

We watched both new shows this past week and were pleased with both. Fringe is JJ Abrams new show, so I had a feeling this one would be pretty good. I loved his older shows like Alias, continue to like Lost and enjoyed Cloverfield as well. Never watched Felicity. I like the main female character and was thrilled to see Joshua Jackson finally find something new to do (I missed you, Pacey!) It was kind of X-Files-y, music sounded like Lost, and mysterious enough to gte me back for more. There was a little much suspense of reality for my taste, but I'll continue to watch.

Sons of Anarchy I just taped b/c it's on FX and they tend to do a good job with racier shows. We love the Shield, I used to love Nip/Tuck, Damages was good, Rescue Me has been better but is still better than most other crap. So, it was worth a shot and nothing else was on last night. We both liked it! It was kind of bad-ass, kind of racey, kind of feel-good. I'll watch again.

Sneezing & Pregnancy Don't Mix

Let's just say that if I don't have time to brace myself, it can get ugly. Need I say more, ladies?

Triangular Meatballs

Why can't I make a round meatball? I'm comfortable with the recipe, but I cannot seem to keep them round. I've tried a regular pan vs a non-stick pan. I've tried a drier vs a moister mixture. What the hell???

Off to buy new sneakers for the kids...Fingers crossed that we don't have a tantrum in the mall. It's been that kind of day.

It's a ....

GIRL !!

Unfortunately, the kids couldn't come in and see on the UltraSound. They didn't have my appointment in the computer so I had to drop them off and Joe and I went back. However, on the way to dropping off Joe at the train, we ran in to tell her while she was at school. I handed her the U/S pics and Joe said "That's your little sister!" It's good he said it b/c I had a huge lump in my throat. She showed her teachers the pics and seemed pretty happy about it.

Joe articulated finding out this time perfectly a few days ago. No matter what it was going to be, it would be so exciting and we'd be so happy. But, since we have both, you can't help but have a little nugget of sadness for not having the other. I have loved so many things about having a girl and about having a boy and what he said makes perfect sense to me. I do think a girl brings just the right mix into our family. I feel like Rory will be the more sensitive one about having a new baby in the family. He worships Shelagh and spends a lot of time with her friends who are more girls than boys. I think he'll be more comfortable nurturing a little girl than boy.

I was totally nesting this weekend and spent several hours in our storage room going through the 0-3 and 3-6 clothes from both kids. I had a lot of stuff that we didn't or wouldn't use so I managed, out of those 2 sizes, to get 3 bags for the Salvation Army. It was so much fun going through and folding up all those little onesies and stuff.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Way back when my mom made this for me and every once in awhile I remember to make it for us. I've been buying this fresh pasta at the grocery store lately - Giovanni Rana - it's in the cheese section of a few stores I've been to lately. It is SO delicious. We've had the Spaghetti, Tagliatelle (like Fettucini), Paglia e fieno (Green & White Fettucini), and the Giant Mushroom Ravioli. It's not really cheap compared to regular boxed pasta like Barilla (I think $2-3 for less than a pound), but it is so worth it. I've been buying a bag each week and I can't get enough of it. I'm not usually crazy about stuffed pastas from the grocery...I do get Mama Rosies cheese tortellini or ravioli, but it's just cheese and pretty good. The Mushroom Ravioli were so great...I just browned some butter and chopped sage and drizzled it on top and it was a huge hit. I'm going to try the artichoke ravioli next.

So, last night I made the Roasted Red Pepper sauce over the spaghetti...yum yum. Here's what I did...

3 Red Peppers
Tbl or so of olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
maybe 1/8 to a 1/4 cup light cream

1. Roast the red peppers in a 450 degree oven. I usually do this for about 45 minutes total, turning them now and then.
2. Once cooled, peel the peppers and tear them into strips, removing the seeds. Sometimes I roast them one day, put them in the frig and peel them the next day. That gives the juices time to really soak out.
3. Put the peeled peppers and juices into a mini-chopper and blend until mostly smooth.
4. Warm some olive oil and the garlic over medium heat in a medium saucepan.
5. Before the garlic browns, add pepper puree, add some salt to taste and cook for a few minutes.
6. Add the cream and cook for 1-2 minutes more and then turn off the heat.
7. Toss the pasta with the sauce in the pan so it's all coated.

Of course I ate it too fast to take a picture...

Shelagh, the Mother Hen

Shelagh is such a good big sister. I was getting ready upstairs this morning with Rory. Shelagh came upstairs with a cup of grapes and this conversation ensued...

S: Rory, you want some of my grapes?
R: Sure, She-wah. Thanks! (then pops one in his mouth and reaches for another one)
S: Wait, buddy. Finish chewing that one first. It's really big....Okay, now you can have another one. Good job, buddy.

She talks to him in such a gentle, sweet voice. It's really precious.

On the way to drop off Rory this morning he chimes in with "Hey Mommy, can I listen to Eye of the Tiger?". It's on a mix CD the kids have and I can't believe I have to listen to this crappy song again. Hearing it when it came out originally was bad enough.

"That's Not Good for the Environment"

is Rory's favorite new phrase. In response to everything. This morning it was "Rory, don't throw books." Which he followed with..."Mommy, THATs not good for the Environment". Joe pointed out that it isn't good for our mental environment, so Rorys not totally out of context. I guess he said it all day at day care yesterday and was cracking up a couple of the older kids at his home care. I can't get enough...he sounds so serious when he says it. I'll have to think of a few more out of context examples.

Shelagh is chiming in too now...I asked her to close a drawer she left open and she replied with "Mommy, it's not good for the environment to leave drawers open". Oh well. At least they are thinking about it!

Smart Week

I'm having a really smart week at work. Sometimes I get into a rut working and get to a place where I'm just doing this b/c I have great flexibility (3 days/wk, 6-7 hrs/day) and I like the people I work with and that the work just isn't so bad. Other times, like this past week, I get really into the work itself and feel super-smart. Then I remember that I am truely a smarty-pants at heart.

And, No....

I did not watch the premiere of the new 90210 last night...

I can't imagine it's going to be ANY good. It pains me to see Michael from The Wire go from an awesome, intense drama to something so frivilous. Plus, that SUPER annoying girl that ruined Nip/Tuck this past season is playing some character on this show that will prevent me from even trying.

And, YES, I did LOVE and always watch the original 9.0. I loved Young David Silver. Not just David Silver, but Young David Silver. I can just hear it now... "Donna Martin Graduates! Donna Martin Graduates!" Yes, Betsy...I'm thinking of you now :)

The Shield started last night. It's on at 10pm, though, and at 9:30, I was tired and bored of crappy TV leading up to it. Much to Joes annoyance I went upstairs to read instead and got all caught up in Breaking Dawn. Hopefully, tonight for the Shield!

Speaking of Fall TV, Whitney from Pop Candy linked to this awesome printable calendar of the Fall 2008 TV Schedule. Happy programming!

Lazy Summer

For the 2nd summer in a row, we tried not to plan much of anything. I think we had friends over 1 time the whole summer. Other than our 1 week in Canada and a long weekend in NJ with family, we planned nothing else in advance. We spent most weekends enjoying family time at home, a few birthday parties, and at the pool with only 1 beach visit this year and not much park time either. I don't know where the summer went, but I'm relaxed and excited about Fall now.

I have to say I haven't cooked anything interesting lately either. It's been all go-to meals and lazy kids meals. I feel a new recipe frenzy coming up...