Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Dessert of the Week: Nothing


LOL! No I'm not quitting my dessert of the week endeavour. I baked more lemon bars on Sunday, because we have an abundance of fresh lemons on the tree.

In other wonderful bloom news, our tomato plant is sprouting! I've counted 3 Polish tomatoes so far. I called my Babcia and told her the exciting news. She was so proud. We also have cantaloupe starting to bloom.

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!