Thursday, July 9, 2009

Domestic Engineer Checking In


I feel like I must document everything I do. Yesterday I finished camping kits for St. Francis Center, where we volunteer. I also baked cookies. Today I cleaned the Kid's bathroom, and wiped down our's too. On top of that, I have a load of laundry going, and I still want to mop the bathroom floor. All this before I go to work at 5!

Okay, I'm getting off my high horse. I'm just mad that I once again failed to get hired for a job that I really wanted.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Dessert of the Week: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Lemon Bars were a hit! For the 4th I baked my version of Red, White and Blue cupcakes. Vanilla cake with fresh blueberries, cream cheese frosting with fresh strawberries and blueberries on top. Here's a picture...


Today's dessert of the week is Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. My variation of a classic. I feel that raisins should be a stand alone snack, not one incorporated into baked dishes.

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3 cups oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
8 oz. chocolate chips (I like the mini ones)
Splash of milk

Preparation
Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add a splash of milk andmix. Add oats and chocolate chips; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time Time: 10 min


Sk8r Guurl

Ryan Sheckler has nothing on my kid. 19 months, and she's already learning to ride the board. Not only does she have the age thing on her side, she's a girl! Watch out boys, here comes a whole new breed of sk8rs!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Dessert of the Week: Lemon Bars

My dear Mister feels duped. He thought that when we decided that I would be a professional Mom, that I would turn into Susie Homemaker. But in reality, I knew that would never happen. My dinners are rarely edible, though I do vacuum every other day. I hate laundry, ironing and scrubing toilets. I don't get paid enough to do those things regularly anyway.

Last week the Mister came to me and said, "So and so's stay at home wife cooks him a gourmet breakfast every morning, and prepares him special lunches, and he has 5 star dinners on the table when he comes home. She even bakes for the office. All this and they have a 6 week old kid." My thought is either the guy is on crack or his wife is trying to compensate for something. I told the Mister that it ain't gonna happen in this house, so stop dreaming.

I felt bad about the whole thing, so every week I'm going to bake a dessert, as my effort to be Susie Homemaker. Last week I made Vanilla Cupcakes. Everyone loved them. The Mister did not. Today, I have Lemon Bars in the oven. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting
Pinch salt
2 sticks butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing

Filling:
4 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 2 1/2 small lemons)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch pan.

Make the crust by combining the flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter to make a crumbly mixture. Press the mixture into the prepared pan. You may need to dip your fingers into a little flour or confectioners' sugar to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers. Bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the filling, mix the eggs, granulated sugar, flour, and lemon juice. Pour this over the baked crust and bake for 25 minutes longer. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, if desired, when the bars are done.

The Mister



My Mister is such a stud. Sometimes I don't show it, but I love him so, so much.

Monday, June 15, 2009

It's not fair!

My friend Nicole's daughter, Allison, was diagnosed with Leukemia on Friday, June 12, 2009. I am absolutely devastated! My heart aches for the family. Check out the blog I started for them http://teamallisonz.blogspot.com.





Thursday, June 11, 2009

Monday, May 11, 2009

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Madison the Supermodel!

We had an amazing photographer come over to our house on Sunday to take pictures of Madison. Madison was having a not so good day, but Jaime did a terrific job catching Madi's good side! Thanks JLV Photography!!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Happy Birthday Mom!

Sonna and Mom



Madison eating a lemon.


Mom, Madison and Me


We celebrated my Mom's birthday at the Blue Water Grill in Redondo Beach. It was a fun time!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Thursday, March 19, 2009

My Favorite Photo of My Favorite People



What more can I say. I love my husband. I love my daughter.

Monterey Bay Aquarium







We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium March 13, 2009. We had a great time!

Los Angeles Zoo Favorites






We go to the LA Zoo almost weekly. My favorite animal at the zoo is the giraffe. Here a couple of pictures from a recent trip in January.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Friday, November 14, 2008

Reaffirmation

When things get tough or tight I question myself whether I should have stayed home with Madison. I question being a stay at home mom. But then someone says something to you that reaffirms what an amazing job I'm doing. No nanny, au pair, daycare or babysitter could do this job with the same love and commitment that I do.

We were at California Pizza Kitchen on Wednesday, and Madison was in her high chair. Two ladies sat in the next both over, and Madison waited until they looked at her, she waved and said "Hi." The one lady asked me how old Madi is, and I told her just 2 weeks shy of her 1st birthday, which Madison proceeded to show them her index finger to "say" one. Both the ladies were amazed. Again the one lady asked me if I am a stay at home mom. I said I am. Her response was "You can tell, she's far more developed than kids that are not with a parent." That made my heart smile.

After dinner, Madison proceeded to stop at each table on the way out and wave to each patron. No one was annoyed, everyone was super friendly. She even helped the hostess seat a family. My little social butterfly is a lot of work, but it's the best career I've ever had. I'm so glad that I did stay home with her.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

1 for 3, that's good in baseball

For those of you that have seen my status on Facebook, I've been dealing with "kidney stones" since Thursday. Apparently I was very much misdiagnosed by urgent care.

I went into the emergency room last night. After urine tests, blood tests, and ultrasounds, we come to find out that I'm pregnant. But it's a tubal pregnancy. I went in for emergency surgery around 1:15 a.m., and they removed my left fallopian tube. I'm at my IL's now, just chilling, trying to figure things out. First thing I want to know how I got pregnant if I'm taking (not anymore) birth control and using a condom! On top of that, I can't take care of Madison for a few weeks. So I have been pregnant 3 times in my life, with only 1 successful outcome.

I am thankful that I decided to go to the ER last night, because the tube was on the verge of rupturing. On top of this, we're "homeless." We're about a week and a half behind on the remodel, so half our stuff is at my mom's, and the rest at IL's. Now we need to decide where to stay for the next 2 weeks. Oy vey. Say a prayer for us, please.

On a happy note, Madison got another tooth in (that's 7) and she's now almost 23 pounds. She's amazing as always, and is very excited to share with everyone that she's going to be 1 next month.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

So not motivated

So here I sit on Thursday just after noon. Madison is in her crib screaming her head off. We're trying to get her to sleep in her crib by using a modified cry it out method. Oh Lord, give me strength. It worked last night, so I'm hoping it works for her nap too.

I'm so not motivated about work. Sure I have the luxury of working at home, but I have no motivation to even open up my e-mail to check it. I just don't have the heart in it anymore. What should I do. I'm definitely at a crossroad.

Madison is 10 months old today. She's got 6 teeth, and is walking. On top of that she's about 22 pounds. Have mercy.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Oh what a night!

It's been a long couple of weeks. Madison's congestion grew to be a full fledged ear infection. A week ago she woke up with a fever of 103.9. Then Friday 104.5. Saturday I took her to the doctor and he put her on 10 days of amoxicillin. It took her a few days to start feeling better. And when she did, she started walking too. On top of that, her 4th tooth broke.

This is all happening while Matt is in Morristown NJ on business. I miss him.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Sigh

Poor Madison is congested. I hope it's not a cold, rather a symptom of teething. Her right top front tooth is about to break. Poor thing, she hates it when I suction her nose or wipe her snot ridden nose.

Matt is getting me a fountain Pepsi right now. Yay! It's been that kind of day. I'm still nursing my sprained pinky toe too. Ugh.

On a happy note, Madi's pro pics came yesterday.




Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Break Through

OMG! Madi's top left tooth FINALLY broke through yesterday. What a rough couple of days it has been. Going through STTN, to waking up constantly. Poor thing screamed most of the morning yesterday, and then the afternoon she did much better. Not only that, she slept 7 1/2 hours last night. Yay. Maybe she's had the break through she needed.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Short Lived

Sunday morning I woke up refreshed. Madi had slept 6 hours straight, which was a first for her. I was so bloody excited. Well, that didn't last, the following night she was up every 3 hours, and last night every 1 1/2 - 2. I'm grumpy.

Yesterday we went to the pediatrician and thank goodness, no shots! Madison is 28 3/4" (73.02 cm) tall and 20 lbs 1/2 oz. (9.299 kg) She's growing like a weed. The pedi thinks she'll be walking within the next 2 months, oh my! Madi is starting to sign back to us, and knows "eat," "more," "hi/bye," and she claps (at the right moment). She's a great eater, and is starting to show signs of sleeping through the night. What's great too is that she is understanding both English and Polish and responds appropriately to both languages. I just have to remember to speak Polish to her constantly.

They also did a hemoglobin test to check her iron. That came back as 11.0, the cut off being 10.5. We're supposed to increase green veggies and start red meat. Also, the pedi was concerned about Madi's hips. The right one is the one in question, and we had to go have her x-rayed. That was definitely not fun. My poor baby girl screamed and screamed. We'll know what's up by week's end.

I'm also planning her 1st birthday party, and have created a save the date postcard...

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

The Knot, a sick addiction

I was interviewed by the New York Times for this article. My quotes weren't used, but it is an interesting phenomenom.

Monday, August 18, 2008

The MOJO Wire

Oh yeah, if you loved the amazing voice of Monique Powell of Save Ferris, you'll love Monique even more in her new band The MOJO Wire!! Check them out now!

Tutu Crazy


We started to plan Madison's birthday party. It's going to be on Saturday, November 22nd at the new house. It's a cupcake theme, and I'm looking at renting tables and chairs and stuff. I know she won't remember, but the pictures and memories for us will be wonderful. So many people love her, that I don't want to leave anyone out.

Now here's the crazy thing, I've decided that she should dress in a rock star outfit, with a tutu a cute top and some converse. I don't want to buy the thing, so I'm going to attempt to make one. LMAO. I definitely don't have a creative bone in my body, but I will try. And on top of that, I'm going to bake carrot cake cupcakes for the party, and plan on catering it myself. What else can a stay at home mom do?

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Napping


So it's been a hairy 8 months.

Madison has never been a good sleeper. Last night she actually slept 4 hours straight in her crib without waking! Whoo hoo! And guess what? She's in her crib napping right now. Unbelievable! I'm so proud of my monkey. Maybe I'll get a full nights sleep soon!

And here I am typing away on my blog, procrastinating my work. I guess I better do that now, while the little one sleeps, and Matt is at work.

BTW, I should mention I LOVE MY HUSBAND SO MUCH!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

I'm Back...

...Well I never left.

So I had my baby, a girl at the end of November 2007. She's amazingly wonderful, even though she doesn't sleep through the night. Since giving birth, I have become a stay at home mom and wife. God bless Matt for that! I will attempt to post my motherly and wifely intelligence here!

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

We've got the beat!

Today Matt and I heard the Blip's heartbeat. It was a little difficult to find it at first, which caused me a bit of anxiety, but she found it. Those doppler things do not feel good rolling around on your belly.

Blip's heartbeat sounded like train's in Poland going over the tracks. That's the only way I know how to describe it. It was pretty cool.

On the way home Matt said that he hasn't had that eye opening experience of "Wow." I can totally relate to him. I am probably the worst pregnant woman out there. This isn't enlightening, or amazing or anything. I just feel like I have a medical condition at this time. The whole idea of pregnancy still totally creeps me out. What the body goes through is just crazy.

And I'm turning out to be one crazy bitch anyways. I'm always yelling at other drivers, and swearing at them...well, my version of swearing (e.g. effin', freakin', etc). It must be quite comical to watch me in the car. Maybe it's my protective motherly instinct, or just the ranging hormones. Who knows, but I don't like me much right now.

Monday, April 30, 2007

It's Tough

It's tough to go through the first trimester. The insane pregnancy sickness, which is followed up with headaches, tiredness and insomnia! If it's not one thing, it's something else. Every day I wake up with the outlook of "This will be a good day."

Yesterday I was looking at infant care. OMG! It's so expensive. Between $1075-$1200 a month. Granted we don't need it 5 days a week, but we have to cover all the what-ifs. Decisions will have to be made soon enough on what we're going to do.

We leave for Italy in a week and 5 days. Yay! Something to look forward to. Something to create fantastic memories!

Monday, April 23, 2007

Happy Graduation Day Blip!

My embryo is a fetus today! Holy moly!

Not only that but the Blip is an inch long. A whole inch, that's huge!!

My friend Mindy is in the hospital right now in labor. I hope that baby comes soon, as to not drive her completely insane from laboring! Go Mindy!! You're almost there!

Monday, April 16, 2007

Thump, Thump, Thump


We got a heartbeat today! Baby Blip (named by Daddy) is there, with a flickering heartbeat, swimming to his heart's content. Yay! I had an internal ultrasound, and there it was! Wow!

I guess the lungs are forming, nervous system is developing, and eyes are forming. I bet the baby will have blue eyes. I bet the baby will be beautiful. I bet the baby will be a handful, just like Daddy!

Monday, April 9, 2007

Favre #4

So Matt must be super excited about the baby. He ordered a Brett Favre #4 baby jersey in a 18 month (which is a onesie) and a 3T. Both arrived over the weekend, and they are absolutely to die for! Matt puts it up to himself and asks if it'll fit him. Too cute.

I can't wait to see Matt and Baby in their matching jerseys on Sundays watching football. That's something to really look forward to :-D

Saturday, April 7, 2007

What a week!

It's been a long hard week for me. Last Friday it started with a headache and nausea. I made it through half the day at work and hauled my butt home. I ran in the house and headed straight for the bathroom....bleh! It's all gone. I lost my cookies!

I spent the afternoon napping. And the weekend for the most part.

Monday started Passover, and let's just say Kosher food for a Catholic pregnant girl, doesn't agree. I just wanted to hurl for 3 days straight. Finally the nausea and the headaches passed. But....not before spotting began.

And that's where we are again. Almost a week of spotting. It's a good thing and a bad thing. I just keep hoping it doesn't turn into red or pink.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Caffeine

8 oz of Snapple's Peach Ice Tea has 21 mg of caffeine. I bought and drank a 32 oz bottle yesterday, which means I ingested 84 mg of caffeine. I seriously thought that Snapple isn't really tea based like most of those drinks. I thought it was juiced based.

I had cut out caffeine completely out of my life, until this revelation! Matt says because I didn't get a caffeine high, the kid didn't get one either, and we're both probably fine. But I feel terribly guilty!

So I continued to do my research, because I love Arizona Green Tea and was sipping on it. To my disappointment 8 oz of Arizona Green Tea contains 7.5 mg of caffeine. I'm so sad. What am I supposed to drink now?

Matt suggested water...but I can only take so much water!

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Bleh!

Backaches and pregnancy sickness. Bleh!

Come 4ish in the afternoon, my back starts hurting and my stomach starts turning. But nothing comes up! I'm thankful for every ache and pain and nausea! Last time I didn't have any of this.

My favorite foods are proteins and carbs. Bring on the meat and bread. As much as I love salad, it just doesn't sound appetizing at all. Not even an Olive Garden salad.

This week apparently the heart begins to beat for the kid and blood flows through it. However, I won't know until April 16th if there is in fact a heart beat and if the kid attached. So here I am, 5 weeks 2 days along and have no idea if I'm actually "along."

Thursday, March 22, 2007

3 Men & a Pregnant Lady

Alright so Joe and Darryl arrived safely from Kansas. Good. Now the fun begins...

The boys came to see me at my work to try to get me to leave early for Happy Hour. Instead I left at 5 p.m. and headed to Cabo Cantina. As I sat down on the barstool, Kim, our waitress took my order..."A lemonade, no alcohol, please." Darryl proceeded to ask me why I'm not drinking. My response, "I gave up alcohol for Lent." What a good Catholic girl I am.

I can imagine their thoughts..."She must be a real drunk to try to give up booze for Lent."

I followed that up with boneless buffalo wings, 4 more lemonades and 5 waters. I have a hollow leg apparently, so I can store liquids.

After the bar we headed home to meet another one of Joe's friends, Adam. I begged Matt to take them to eat and get them all out of my hair because well, I was tired and gassy! He did, God bless his soul. I hurried up and went to bed!

So the saga of 3 men and a pregnant lady continues tonight, with the comedy club.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Could it be?

The backaches were killing me. The funny cramps were annoying me. I was starting to feel helpless as cycle 3 after my miscarriage was quickly coming to an end!

Because the boys were arriving from Kansas on Wednesday, I decided to make a quick market trip before the Rod Stewart concert with mom. I picked up milk (duh!), Arizona Green Tea, Raspberry Lemonade for Matt and a generic Kroger home pregnancy test. I got home, and went to the bathroom to pee on a stick. What have I come to, I'm peeing on a stick again! This time I put the cap on it, and flipped it upside down so not to see the result. How many minutes do I have to wait? 3. Three effin' minutes, which turned out to be like 3 hours of SAT taking in high school. After about 90 seconds I flipped that sucker up and BOOM....the positive pregnancy test. So bright and lovely, saturated with my pee.

A stupid grin overcame me. My first thought was, damn those sperm are potent! Let's hope this time it sticks and I don't have to go through the drama of a M/C again. I figured I better break the news to Matt. Instead my stupid grin (think "Oops I farted and I'm in a board meeting grimace") continued. I walked back into the kitchen and went through the formalities of introducing the idea of pregnancy to my husband. Very nonchalantly he congratulated me and kissed me on the forehead. Hello! Where the hell is the pomp and circumstance? Oh yeah, we're laying low.

So I ended up going to the Rod Stewart concert. It was so hard to keep my mouth shut, but I did! She offered to buy me a glass of chardonnay and I declined politely. Then I was accosted to be a designated driver, which I guess for my current state isn't a bad thing. I rocked out to Rod Stewart with mom and had a wonderful evening.

If you happen to read this blog and you know me, please don't ask me about the pregnancy! Once I announce it to everyone officially, this is my way of getting things off my chest. So be a doll and keep it to yourself!

I think I'm due Monday, November 26th, 2007. Exactly a year from the day I miscarried my first. The kid will most likely be a Sagittarius, which I hope it means that it is compatible with a Leo and a Taurus. And he'll be born in the year of the Pig (according to Chinese culture).

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Better Blogging

Why can't my blog be as good was other people's? I suck at this!