Ho Ho Ho

A day late, but a 3 year old doesn't know that! I decided to try my sewing skills out on a homemade advent calendar, and boy, was it good practice! Please do not enlarge this photo and look at any of the stitches! I seriously almost FedEx'd my mom all the ornaments to sew for me because mine were laughable in the beginning. Even John, the most loving and supportive person in existence, could not suppress his smirk when I showed him my earliest ornaments I made. But..... I finished it and Sadie loves it! The ornament are pockets and inside are treats like mini candy canes, chocolates, hello kitty hair clips, jingle bell bracelets, etc. I thought it would be a good visual for her to know when Santa was coming and a good number game. Our cats have already tried to use it as a scratching post, and if those hairy beasts destroy this labor of love, we're taking a trip back to the Potter League (animal shelter for those who don't live here!)! Just kidding... kind of.... ;)

Take-Out At Home

I definitely have a pattern on this blog. Blog a lot, then start slacking and once I do that, I conk out on the blog completely. Then it just seems like a lot of work to write all that I had intended to write and I just end up goofing around on facebook or something. So I'll just write a quick post today to get back in the writing swing of things. A couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon a crockpot Orange Chicken recipe. The recipe was actually called crispy orange chicken but honestly, I have no idea how you manage to get a crock pot recipe to turn out crispy. Anyways, I love orange chicken and it usually is what I order when we get chinese food. It's just so damn good. And happy to say, this version turned out delicious. I have made a couple other orange chicken recipes and they all turned out bland and not worth putting in the "to keep" pile. But this one was different. It almost tasted like take out (just like the recipe said!) and was perfect served over rice and a side of broccoli. Cooker beware though- it burns easily! I cooked it on high for 3 hours and I burned the outside edges, so if you do try it, keep an eye on it. Check out the link, it's worth a cook!

Pumpkin Season

Pumpkin Pie Bites.

It's that time of year again... the most wonderful time of the year...... it's pumpkin time! This recipe I have had in the back of my mind since last fall. I read it on Bakerella's blog (you know her, the now famous cake ball creator) and have really been wanting to make it. I mean, really... pumpkin pie, in mini form??? It's right up this redhead's alley. You make them with pre-made pie dough and mini muffin pans, completely easy. And they are adorable and delish! It's not so much pumpkin pie filling as it is pumpkin cheesecake filling, and these little guys would be perfect with a dollop of fresh whipped cream....mmmm..... Might be taking them to a Halloween party coming up. Here is Sadie helping out. Ok, actually, I gave her some pie scraps to play with so I could finish up the recipe...

And we have finally decided on a Halloween costume- Thomas The Train! When asked what she wanted to be, Thomas was the winner, and here is the day it came in the mail. Pretty cute! She loves it and her bff Skylar is going to be the same thing.... Twin Thomas The Trains!

Wordless Wednesday: Tiny Dancer

Let's try this again

I warily made my way back to the sewing machine, after first popping a couple advil, downing them with a beer and saying some prayers, and to my relief, it went much better. No no, I did not actually wash the pills down with a beer. I was all out. However, even so, I found out I can now sew lines that fall much more into the "straight" category, except for sewing velcro, which doesn't count because that sucker is slippery and impossible to sew straight. Im-freakin-possible. I decided to make a travel diaper changing pad that can fit into a purse for a friend's baby shower. I had seen someone get a homemade one at the last shower I went to and thought it was a great idea, and a good place to start for a beginner sewer, since it was basically a rectangle. That's my speed. I love, love, love picking out fabric now and had fun designing what this was going to look and feel like. A girly, but not overwhelmingly girly outside, and a soft as a cloud inside. Here's what it looks like when you open up the crooked velcro. It has a pocket that holds wipes and a diaper or two, then it folds back up and secures with.... crooked velcro. And it is small so it can fit in a purse easily.

I had leftover fabric from the inside and was initially going to make a blanket for Sadie's baby doll, but as I was sewing, it turned into more of a pillow shape, so I stuffed it, and now it's her "cuddle" pillow, that she has slept with ever since! I am thinking about making big floor pillows now for her.

Time to start looking for the next project, I think I'm getting addicted.

Happy Birthday, Mama!

My beautiful mom in her teens.

My mom turns 70 today! Happy birthday to the most caring, nurturing, loving, all-forgiving, compassionate woman I know. You know how the Grinch's heart grows 3 times the size at the end of the story and it's huge? It's not even a fraction of how large my mom's heart is. I've learned a lot of life lessons in empathy and how people should be treated from her and I thank her so much for that. She has a strength in her most people don't know and something she herself doesn't give herself credit for. Mom, you are amazing and I'm so thankful for you. Love you with all my heart.

Wordless Wednesday: A Frosty Sculpture

Future modern art sculptor? I think so. It's clearly a political commentary 

on the state of the world today. Duh.)

Preschool Proud

All decked out in her Dora gear.

I am VERY proud of my girl for starting preschool today! It was a little rocky with potty training, so we weren't even sure if she would be able to go to preschool. But, she is potty trained..... enough. For half days anyways. :) She was super excited to be going to her big girl room this morning.... the preschool room! I know it was a little daunting to her to go into a room with 24 kids, instead of a room with only 10, but she did great. I did get the little puffed out bottom lip as I left, but we lucked out and she has a teacher she had last year, which really helped her transition into her new classroom. When I picked her up she told me all about the "new playground" she gets to play in, for BIG KIDS, of course. And how a girl named Allie was there and it was her birthday and they all got TWO oreos. And how she is now a new friend. :) She really is growing up so fast.

Modeling her new Preschool outfit.

WOW! Great job, Sadie! :) She was pretty excited about this!

Pre-Irene

Hurricane Irene is not even here yet, but as evidenced by the huge waves rolling in, she's a'comin. She is still in Virginia, but here is what we are already seeing in Newport. Our crappy camera doesn't do it justice. It's beautiful witnessing the gorgeous power of mother nature. Oh, and Sadie loved the "ocean baths" we got from getting these pics and videos. :) Luckily, we've got wine, corona's, homemade guac and salsa, and plenty of chocolate to get us through the storm! BRING IT, IRENE!

And we already did our "Hurricane Craft Project", before the hurricane even started. Sadie and I "designed" and decorated a new backpack for.... Preschool! We already had a plain pink backpack we used for daycare that fit her well, but it was pretty bland. So we took a Mama/Daughter trip to Joann Fabrics and she picked out her favorite felt iron-on appliques and we decided to put her name on it too. I decided I had better make it today since I needed electricity for the iron and Preschool starts Monday, and I wanted her to have it for the first day. She is also getting a present tomorrow- her new Dora lunch box, Dora water bottle and Dora sandwich container to take to her new big girl classroom. She is going to love it! She is so excited for Preschool!

Three Year Old-isms

What a ham.

Some recent sayings from our resident 3 year old.

On aging:

"What's on your forehead?"

"What do you mean?"

"What are those lines???"

... long pause.....

"Oh, you mean my wrinkles?"

"Hahahaha, YEAH!!"

"Would you like to know how I got them????"

(Just kidding on the last part.)

On a "blemish" Mommy had:

"Why do you have a nipple on your face?"

Subsequent peels of laughter.

On why she can't do what she was asked:

"I CAN'T, Mommy!"

"Yes, you can, please listen."

"No, I can't cuz I'm CHUFFING! I'm chuffing real fast!"

(continues to play with trains....)

(Mom still trying not to laugh over the term "chuff" and mentally makes a note that perhaps she is watching too much tv.)

On underwear malfunctions:

"Mooommmmyyy! Ow! I have a scrunchie!!"

(Translation: I have a wedgie.)

Riding the carousel, happy as a clam.

On growing up in the digital age:

"Can I play with Skylar today?"

"We can't today."

"Yes, we can! You just have to text Miss Nanette and ask her!"

(Seriously?! She also pretends to text on her own phone.)

On trying to get her way:

"I want M&M's!!"

"Not before din—"

"DADDDDDDDY!!!!!!!!!! CAN I HAVE M&M'S???????"

"John! Don't you dare....!"

On growing up:

"So when I get bigger my boobies will grow out of my chest?"

"Well, ya, but you need to be a LOT bigger, kid."

(Where does she get these things?! I think she will be the kid stuffing her undershirt with tissues, she is obsessed with boobies!)

Separate incident:

"Ha ha, Daddy has boobies!"

"Honey, boys don't have boobies (kind of a lie here), boys have?????"

"Penises." (said very matter of factly.)

(Insert John's jaw dropping and "What do you teach her?!)

Hey, I was expecting her to say "chests!"

I realize she is talking a warp speed here, she is saying "I'm a ferocious dinosaur! Rarrrrr!!!"

I Have A Problem

Ok, more than one. But this particular one is how I seriously can't be trusted to shop at Target. I may need nothing, but I always come out spending way more than intended. And those damn dollar bins and clearance sections. The other day Sadie and I were shopping there and I saw these on sale and started cracking up in the middle of the aisle, and said "I need to have these!" And Sadie agreed and threw them in the cart for me and we rolled on, both chuckling over our funny find (but only one of us getting it). So now, I'm home with my note cards and I realize that I don't actually write to anybody. Huh. Maybe John is right, I need a chaperon in that store. Who knows, you maybe be a lucky recipient of my new cards! God knows after a long day with a toddler, I do feel like I live in Crazyville and I still won't accept that the no matter the haircut, I still won't look like Keri Russell! As I say to John....... "but it was on sale!"

Going Bananas

..... over bananas, that is. I went to visit my mom for a week and she had NO working internet and this is the first time I've had a chance to post. More on that later. And for my first post in awhile, I am choosing to talk about how awesome bananas are. As a medium, not a food, really. Get ready for this. Did you know that if you lightly write on a banana with a toothpick, over the course of a day (or night), the writing turns brown and voila, your message magically appears! One of my favorite bloggers, The Bloggess wrote about it and I just about busted a gut laughing. Oh my goodness, I can't tell you how excited I was to try this out! At first I just did a cute one for Sadie to pack in her lunch for school. Cute, but boring. Then I went out and bought bananas purely for writing on them, with no intention of actually eating them, and wrote John messages to find. Very meaningful messages.

(This pic came out bad, it reads "U R a lucky guy", "Your wife is amazing", and "The wifey needs a vacation.")

Then when I went to my mom's house, I saw she had just bought a beautiful, unblemished bunch of bananas and let me tell you, it was a hard choice to decide what to write. She is very catholic and I thought about writing things like "sinner! repent!" or "the end is near!", but in the end, I went with this.

The thing with these banana messages is that you can go in so many different directions with this! I mean, I seriously just want to hang out in Stop n' Shop, prowling around the produce section and write ridiculous messages for people to discover the next day as they are about grab a banana for a smoothie. "Eat more apples", "I'm watching you", "This doesn't make up for the cheesecake", "I'm bananas about you". I think it would make people's mornings better, to discover their secret little banana notes. Try it, it's addicting!

Wordless Wednesday: A Future Flashback

Someday, 13 years from now, I'll look over at Sadie as she is learning how to drive,

and this is the only thing I'll be able to see!

I'm Sewing!!

My first pillowcase dress!

And..... the back.

I find that What About Bob? quotes work for many things in my life. Like, with sewing. Thanks to Lorraine, my mother-in-law, who generously gave me her sewing machine, I've been taking a couple sewing lessons at JoAnn Fabrics. And the first time I put two pieces of fabric together and successfully put them through the machine and sewed them together, I had a hard time keeping my giggles to myself during the class, because all I could think of was the scene in What About Bob? where he tries sailing- "I sail! I'm sailing!!" As he is strapped to the mast of the boat... Don't know what I mean, here's a clip. And for the love of Mike, please don't tell me you've never seen the movie. It's classic.

Anyways, that is EXACTLY what I thought when I first started sewing. I'M SEWING! Turns out, I have to do more than just strap myself to the sewing machine. Sewing, I have learned, is HARD! Ginny, if you are reading this, I had flashbacks to the time we took tap dancing in college together and everyone in the class had experience except us and the teacher kept having to stop class and explain things to us. Both classes I felt like I stepped into an Advanced Physics class or something, instead of sewing. And I sucked at physics in school. Reading a pattern, figuring out how something is constructed, is a whole new way of thinking. I made some pretty bad mistakes. Like, my first class was making a bag. I accidentally sewed the top closed and left the bottom open. In case you are wondering, yes, yes it is embarrassing to ask for help with that! The second class was making a child's pillowcase dress. Oh Em Gee. It took me 3 solid hours, and I had to start over twice. I think next time, I'm definitely bringing a flask of something with me to get me through the stress. It was so worth it though. To bring home something Sadie could wear, completely homemade. And she loved it! (I may have started crying if she did her toddler "I don't like it!") I am hoping that with experience and a little alcohol, I can overcome the stress and really start to understand patterns and construction..... and enjoy it. :) In the end, it was a triumphant feeling to show that cloth who's boss and, after trial and error(s), actually do it!

My "Hipster Bag". After using a seam ripper to open up the top,

and then close the bottom up. :)

Lazarus Plants

My official Bamato Picker. Do NOT try to pick these yourself. Someone may have a meltdown.

They are coming back to life! I guess that is what they needed- SUN. My cherry tomatoes, after a solid month or more of green fruit, is finally ripening. Mmm.... fresh tomatoes are the bomb. Sadie is loving picking all the "bamatoes", it's her official job. The basil is finally growing and I just started being able to pick it again last night. The parsley is doing so much better, much greener and really big now. Also, the pumpkin plants I transplanted, I honestly thought I had killed the heck out of, they were so wilted- miraculously are popping back up now and turning a lovely green. So, it's working! I love gardening, I can't wait for the day I can really set up a great veggie/herb garden. For now, this is great, thank you life giving sun!

The nasturtiums budding and blooming.

First cherry tomato of the season!

My love. Basil. Green and thriving.

D-d-d-d-Dora!

A present from Auntie Kelley to my Dora-obsessed tot! She loves it, thanks "Cahkey"! And thanks, wonderful Etsy!

Makes Me Melt

A short photo essay on the beauty of innocence, simple love and best girlfriends. Makes me smile and remember it from my own childhood. Thanks to a friend who recently sent these to me.

Wordless Wednesday: Annual Girls Nite Out!

The Salve Crew's Annual Girls Night! Love these gals. It's hard to believe we've known each other 15 years. Man, that makes me feel old!

Beach Bound

We are so lucky to live here. I've been here for awhile but I don't take it for granted and I hope I'll always appreciate the beauty and diversity of environments we have in Rhode Island. Beach, farms, great hiking, cities, towns. It's a small state, but one that is hard to top, in my humble opinion. As the weather has been so hot lately, we've been beachin' it as much as possible. Here are some recent videos and pics of our beach excursions.

Collin and Sadie's rendition of "Twinkle, Twinkle". Adorable!

Another sweet beach video!

Yoga poses? Sand crabs? Not sure, but they weren't having a blast!

I just love this pic, very candid and captures that moment of buddies having fun so nicely!

Practicing swimming!

No beach trip would be complete without a Del's!

Aww, sharing so nicely.

An approaching storm that skirted the entire beach, but never a drop of rain fell on us. Seeing as how much preparation it takes to get toddlers to the beach, not one of us left. Even after seeing the lightening. And good thing, the sun came out as soon as it passed!

If you know Sadie, you know she never takes naps! So you KNOW the beach must wear this energizer bunny out!

Garden Transplant

We've had a bit of a setback in the gardening department. As it turns out, I probably should have done a bit of research before just haphazardly growing whatever I wanted in the above ground boxes that were here at this apartment. I guess..... the plants I chose need..... sun. Who knew?? They just weren't getting enough. "Sun Dappled" wasn't cutting it and my little plant babies weren't going to make it. So I worked until dark last night performing award winning plant surgery and now all the plants are in individual containers around the yard in the sunniest spots. I hope this works. Every day I would sit and stare at my tiny basil plants, like waiting for water to boil. I kind of felt like Gollum and his "precious". Please sun, do your magic! I've added one other plant because I was inspired by my friend, Elaine. She has a wonderful garden (grrr....) and was sweet enough to give us a whole bag of delicious greens- kale, swiss chard, arugula, dill, oregano and..... nasturtiums. I had never heard of this beautiful, edible flower. It's totally spoiled me. I need these gorgeous things in my salad now. So Sadie and I took a trip to a local nursery and bought some. Apparently these things actually grow best with a little neglect. Wow, it's a like a match made in heaven for me!

Fresh from the ground salad with beautiful Nasturtium flowers. Yummy! We added sliced strawberries, toasted walnuts, a tomato from the garden (previously a container plant, so it grew), and grilled chicken. Delish!

During my resent google research on gardens (what the hell did I do before google), I found out that the spot I have for gardening is probably ideal for lettuces, arugula, swiss chard, endive, even beets and peas. So maybe next year it will just be a place for greens. Live and learn. A friend of mine has a local CSA at an organic farm on the island and had gone on vacation and let us pick up her weekly veggie share. In it had bok choy, swiss chard, kale, beets, salad greens, garlic and snap peas. Wow, it convinced us to get our own CSA next year. I never had ANY of those greens before and they are delicious. Having something like that makes you eat not only healthier but also completely broadens your food scope. Something we desperately need! We live in Food Rut City. Once again..... next year!

Come on, sun, revive my preciousess (what is the plural of precious?)!

Giggles

You know those days when everything goes wrong, every little thing stresses you out and you just basically want to cry? Well, I was having one of those days as I was racing to Providence for an appointment when I looked over and saw this car:

Of course in my frazzled state I immediately thought I was witnessing some terrible crime and my heart jumped, but luckily before I called 911, my brain kicked in and I realized that it was not a partially severed hand but a very eye-catching joke. I just laughed and laughed.... and all of a sudden I didn't feel near as stressed out anymore! So I thought I'd pass it on to give you all a little giggle. I did happen to notice other people in the cars around me pointing and laughing as well. I was very pleased when I happened to be stopped behind the girl at a red light and was able to take a picture. Your welcome. :)

Wordless Wednesday: Besties

Girlfriends. Same swim suit, sitting in the same chair, eating their sandwiches and juice boxes at the beach together. Doesn't get much better than this.

Am I Dreaming???

What is this, you ask? A completed potty chart!!!! I think this time it has finally clicked and we are on our way to being potty trained! Can I hear a big WOO-HOO??!! What did it take? Underwear and lots of Clorox wipes. She has to be potty trained by the end of August to go to preschool, so the pressure was on. And I always did work better under pressure! We started sending her to school in underwear and she did very well there. Week 2 and no accidents at school yet. We also try to keep her in underwear as much as possible at home and when we are out. And while yes, we do have accidents, she makes it to the potty much more than when she doesn't. It definitely has clicked. She isn't loving the potty yet, but she is very proud of herself and she DOES love her Dora underwear! Yay Sadie!! So proud of you!! (PS. I highly recommend this potty chart because stickers are given for pulling down their pants, sitting, flushing, washing hands, as well as actually using the toilet. So for us, where nothin' was comin' out for awhile, she would at least feel good about getting some rewards for just trying. Thank you, Amazon, once again. )

Summer Eats

Caprese Salad, complete with a drizzle of balsamic reduction, 'cuz I fancy like that.

One of my absolute favorite things to eat in the warm summer months is fresh mozzarella, basil, and tomato. In a panini, in a wrap, or just on a plate drizzled with olive oil and balsamic. It's that super simple dish where the flavors combine perfectly. So at a 4th of July bbq we went to, that is just what I brought. With fresh basil from the garden! Ok, so technically, the plant already had leaves when I planted it and I really just used those already grown for me.... but still, it totally counts!

An avid gardening enthusiast, Sadie is triumphant over those stubborn weeds. We both have gloves, kneeling pads, and tools. She loved it!

After some backbreaking weeding (the weeds seemed to win....) and some great help from Sadie, we finally have a little garden going. I've learned about potting soils, I've bought compost. I've learned that both are really freakin' heavy. I skip out to water my little lovelies every morning, I like to visit them. That being said, it's pretty small. We have very little sunlight back here so I just planted a few things to see if anything would even grow.

We are growing basil, parsley, eggplant, cherry tomatoes and our landlord gave us pumpkin greens to plant. I wonder if that will actually grow?! Also, a few geraniums for Sadie. I've been told they are super easy to keep alive. Which is good, because in the past I've not had much of a green thumb. Let's hope the days of my dried up, petrified office plant where one touch sends a flurry of brown leaf bits to the ground, are over.

I'm also growing a container of the larger tomatoes in another sunnier part of the backyard. So far this is what we have. Tomato mozzarella goodness, here I come!