Mushrooms

I'm not sure when it was that I decided mushrooms were yummy. I always thought they were gorgeous, a biology teacher in high school would make shitake tea every day that was a great break, and puffballs are still a treasured and hoarded find when on a walk. Eating them is a recent occurrence, though. Mom apparently doesn't like them so we never had them on the table and really, they look disgusting in any dish. So you won't be seeing any photos with this post. However, I have started to incorporate them into meals. They're inexpensive, filling, and an excuse to cook with butter and wine. They're also very rich, so when I tasted dinner tonight, I knew I had to share my semi-made up recipe. Basically, it's scalloped potatoes with mushrooms minus the rue I normally make. Here goes:

Preheat oven to 375
Butter a baking dish. I used my lasagna pan so it was a big one
Scrub and thinly slice potatoes. I left the skin on and I'm glad I did, but this was just a time saver. (You won't see many measurements here as I rarely measure even when using a recipe)
Thinly slice 1/2 onion
Slice 1 pound of mushrooms (or buy them that way)
In bowl mix 2 cans of cream of whatever soup (I used 1 mushroom and 1 chicken), bit of salt, pepper, scoop of mayo, few TBLS sour cream (that's all I had left), garlic powder, mustard powder, oregano.
Layer potatoes, onions and mushrooms. Spread with half the mixture, repeat. This filled my pan to the brim.
Melt 1/2 stick of butter and pour over top of potatoes
Cover with foil and pop in the oven until tender. Took about an hour. Then uncover, sprinkle with shredded cheese (cheddar and Parmesan) and bake until browned, another 5 or so minutes.
Serve and feel the pounds pile on. Don't forget the ketchup for less refined palates.

Second mushroom note: Trader Joe's (the bestest grocery store in the world) has been featuring a different cheese every few days. Sunday it was 3 cream Brie with wild mushrooms. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. That's all I have to say about that.

In unrelated news, Henri has added emptying the dishwasher to her list of chores she enjoys, an Ikea trip was extremely profitable (for both the store and us) and Henri is loving her new highchair, the guest room is becoming a functional space, 1/3 of the 5 pounds of fudge I made yesterday has mysteriously disappeared, I really dislike kids for any length of time extending beyond one hour, the countdown is on for VT (!), back pain seems to be plaguing this family, the house never materialized,  we're still having gorgeous weather, and Fear Factor makes me throw up.

In news related to Trader Joe's, their shopping bags currently have gift tags on the front and the side panels can be cut out to make a decorative paper chain. 2 bags were enough to make a chain for the front window and it's quite festive.

Not that I post too often, so I know you won't be concerned, but we're off to God's country soon and shan't return till the new year. Merry Christmas!

The way babies are made

God knew what He was doing when He designed infants. Obviously this applies to a lot more, but we'll stick with young 'uns for the moment. When first born, there's this weird rush of hormones that has you sitting on the edge of your hospital bed just staring at the rise and fall of your newborns chest, no thought of being tired even though you haven't slept in 3 days or nights. And then after day 5 you're full of paranoid thoughts that has you convinced, though you'd love to put her down so you could nap, that a giant eagle is going to swoop in and snatch her if you take even one finger off her (please tell me I'm not the only one who was sure this would happen). Just when you're about to crack from the lack of sleep and the fact that your arm has gone numb from holding this bundle for 2 straight months, she smiles at you. And then you spend the next 3 months doing everything you can to make it happen again. Finally, at 6 months of age, you've regained control of yourself. You know she's too big for an eagle small enough to fit through your window to lift, you know SIDS risk is greatly reduced, and you're desperate for a pedicure. Should be simple, right? Leave her with one of the many (very kind) folks that's been clammering to watch her for you and take off for a few hours. She won't starve, you won't miss a huge milestone since she's not due for any for a bit, and she won't notice you being gone because (according to baby-care books) seperation anxiety won't hit until age 9 months. HA. Maybe it's because she was so overdue when she finally made her appearance, but Henri has full mastery of that particular milestone. And while I fantasize about getting my hair done or even eating a full meal in more than seven minutes, I have to give credit to a pretty ingenious creation. God knew I would have left her at the firehouse a few times there, or been one of those moms (you know who you are!) who "forgets" to get their kid from nursery until the irate worker seeks you out. So while she's pretty capable of existing for a reasonable amount of time without me glued to her, the temptation would be there to stretch that time out. And God decided that babies need their mom for the first full year of their life.
All that to say, I'm hoping to leave Henri with my folks and all of her aunts (6 of them!) and uncle (the cool, semi-scary, tatted up one) for a few hours in the evening so that S and I can have a date when we go home for Christmas. I don't know what to do on one anymore, and I doubt we have anything to talk about, but that will be OK because I'm fairly confident there will be a phone call 30 minutes into it to tell me my daughter is having an epic meltdown.

Completely unrelated, but we're still waiting to hear back about a house in Waltham we offered for. I think temporary insanity hit both of us, and the chances of us getting it are extremely minute, but if we do....well, this blog is going to become more of a "before and after"...with the "before" tempting you to call CPS because we even dared to bring Henri through it on a tour. There will also be a new cast of characters including Chambers, the orange cat that clearly belongs to the house and thinks we belong to him, and the racoon currently residing in the attic. Also an ancient asbestos covered furnace, two rotted out bathrooms, unidentified 2-year old stuff in the freezer, moldy windows, curved walls, marble thresholds, an awesome offset fireplace, two (!) staircases, one with insanely gorgeous carved details, a possible pantry, the need for complete replumbing and wiring, a total paint job, hardwood floors to drool over once they get stripped, insulation to lay, four bedrooms to configure, an extra room that will hopefully become the library/music room (should I paint it a deep green or more of a neutral tan?) a huge garage and a small garden area. Now if it'd only come with a secret stash of 50K that we unearth we'd be all set. Should know by Thursday!

Miss Clingy Independence

Well, we are seeing the emergence of toddler attitude already. Now that she can pull to stand and cruise on everything, Henri thinks she's master of her destiny. Until she gets stuck somewhere. Or gets something taken away from her. Or I step out of sight/reach. She's still not a cuddler but now there's got to be contstant physical contact. And my child has turned into "that one" that nursery workers everywhere hate and dread. Some say, "Aw she's tired". Others say "I'm not really good with babies". But I think the truth was summed up by a lovely lady in NY who, after I was texted for the second time in service, said "She has quite the temper". Yup, tell me about it.
Lest you think she's all horrid, she does have some justification for the contant whining. She has two teeth now and I think the top are coming in as well. She still has her cold and is stuffy and dripping. She's certainly having a growth spurt because according to our scale she's gained two pounds in a month. And she's just discovering that her actions have the same sequele of consequences so she's doing her best to figure that all out which I imagine to be very difficult.
So we're getting through our days with lots of prayers for patience. And plenty of walking practice. And access to paper for chewing because it's fairly benign and keeps her quiet.

Feeling better

Chalk this up the apathy that follows completing a large project for school but I don't feel like reading another module on 3rd stage. So I thought I'd just pop on here and let my faithful reading audience know that Henri is doing much better. I woke up to a pounding on my stomach and a very delighted face appearing and reappearing somewhere near my chest region as she jumped on me. Though a  bit whinier than usual, we're pretty much back to normal here. Phew, since that lethargy really freaked me. She's still stuffy so she got steamed again while I took my shower but it doesn't seem to bother her. Just a few hacks this morning so the cough is better. AND she slept through the night again. I don't know if it's because she's sick or because the past two weeks have been because of teething, but I love it! Course it would have been better if I'd gone to bed at a decent hour, but I kept expecting her to wake up again. And after Biggest Loser comes on Parenthood and I might see that as my soap....Anyway, it was brought to my attention that Thanksgiving is in 8 (EIGHT!) days?!?!?!??!!!! So, I'm guessing there will be no cute outfit made for Henri. But I do have a month before Christmas and with only one person's presents complete, it's time to break out the needles. Hopefully Ravelry will not fail me. Happy middle of the week procrastinating!

Firsts. and ramblings

To start with, this being a mom thing really knocked me for a loop. For some reason I thought I was cut out for it and that I'd handle it with grace and ease and know the right answer at least half the time. Enter a crappy birth experience (I'll write about that some day when I stop crying about it), a hopsital stay for clots pretty much everywhere (ER docs comment? "In the olden days you would have been dead." thanks.), breastfeeding that felt worse than any torture you can imagine, giving myself shots twice a day and a really messed up batch of hormones (PPD is a very disconcerting thing) and just the general exhaustion/fear/newness that surrounds becoming a mom, I never started or got a baby book for Henri. Nowhere did I record the firsts or gush about each little movement she made. For some reason I was too focused on trying to stay alive myself (did I mention I might have had a major touch of whacked out hormones?) and keeping Henri in a reasonable state of wellbeing. I don't know how moms can get organized enough to have newborn shoots and post loving descriptions of gazing on their sleeping infant.

 So, 6 months out, I have finally started her baby book. And I found the perfect one. It's called "The first 1000 days" by Nikki McClure and is perfect for those who are a bit disorganized. Basically, it's a journal with small prompts and gorgeous woodcut prints.


 There's minimal space for photos or such, so that's helping a bit with the guilt that I never got her footprints taken (who forgets to do that sort of a thing?! see, not cut out to be a mom). Each month to 24 months has two pages to record, well, whatever, and then there are sections for adventures and songs and books and such. And firsts. This is what I've been recording lately because I can't remember what happened in month 2-4 (I don't think a whole lot did, but it would be nice to remember when she first smiled....).
This month's firsts?
*1st food: An apple slice. She loves them. Has now also eaten mango, banana, cream of wheat, prunes, sweet potato, winter squash, lemons, peas (not a hit), applesauce, and mum-mums.

*1st tooth. Bottom left. She had a stuffy nose for two weeks preceeding so I knew it was coming but was still suprised when I found it. Very sharp though just a little pin-prick in size, and she's loving the way it feels against her tongue. That coincides with

*1st bite while breastfeeding. You can probably imagine the reaction.

*1st ear infection. Sooooooo sad for her about this one. I've only had one, and I was 13 at the time, so I know how painful they are. She hasn't seemed in pain, just had a low grade temp and croupy cough for the past 24 hours. I refused abx cause the studies show they're not effective for ear infections and should be used sparingly. So while I know they don't help, I just feel so guilty not doing something for her. When she gets older she'll be able to take full advantage of that guilt. For now she's just getting all the cuddles she'll tolerate and a VIP pass to the boobs.

You can be sure it's all going into the baby journal. And now I'm going to go gaze lovingly at my sleeping babe. And check her breathing because I'm still a paranoid mess....

My puppy

Top reasons I'm convinced H is actually a puppy. Or sometimes a cat:

1) She retrieves. The grip is still a bit shakey so she'll chuck something in her exuberant arm swings, then scoot off to retrieve it.

2) Balls of yarn hold a fatal fascination. I'm trying to knit her (another) sweater but I have to keep pulling the wool out of her mouth.Pre-felted!

3) Garbage tastes good. Or at least the pillow I'm trying to throw away. and the onions....

4) She laps her (my) water from a cup. That tongue is getting quite a workout lately now that she's discovered it.

5) Feet, feet, feet. If it's been on it, is on it, should go on it or is it, she likes it. Yuck

6) Lastly (and in keeping with #4), H licks everything to show her affection. My face, my foot, my PJ's....we're well-loved here.

Trips home

Less than a month since I last posted! Wow, don't expect this become a habit. H and I just came back from a trip to VT to see family and the leaves and just have a break from the city. Unfortunatly H has become a confirmed homebody and her sleep went kaput. Might have something to do with dad not being there...anyways, we went and it was wonderful to breath some clean air and just hang. We'd recently purchased our first SLR camera and even on auto setting the difference is amazing. So, here's a few shots I grabbed between the rain:



She's got the army crawl down and is working hard on the all-fours one





Fuzzy hat from Old Navy; she loved to rub it

She loves her aunts and they're really good with her so it's a break for me and when I leave, it's a break for them =D I'm slightly regretting the trip only because I whined to Anna about how out of shape I am and that I still have a good 25 pounds to lose to get back to wedding weight (alomost 3 years ago!!!) and she's put me on a program. Day one almost killed me and I'm still sore. Embarrasing. But she has proven results (Papa looks AMAZING!) so I have hope of reward...maybe that baklava I'm planning to make on Thursday . Off to play with my attention demanding daughter. Who's developing quite the sense of humor and wants me to appreciate it at every moment...even 3am. 

Thankfulness

A whole month since last posting! Yikes, I'm obviously not going to win any awards with my blogging attempts....I'm sitting in front of Henri's swing while she's supposed to be rocking to sleep. She's started waking up bright-eyed and chattty at 0600 and while two big eyes peeping over the edge of a pack-n-play is always a cute sight, it still feels a bit too early to me. Also, it's not enough sleep for her and she gets cranky pretty quick but fights the nap soooooo....I'm sitting here in front of her swing so she only fusses herself to sleep and doesn't scream. I'm sure the neighbors appreciate the difference. Shall we get to the good things in life?

1) I live in a great apartment. No, there are no fancy ammenities, no soaking tub or in apartment laundry (adult fantasy right there) but it's warm in the winter, has an a/c unit for the summer, located fabulously for work and play and church and grocery shopping and exercise, the neighbors are decently quiet and the rent reasonable. I bring this up first because S+I started to look for a house and it quickly became apparent that what we really want and what we can afford is drastically different (trailer park, anyone?) and it's tempting to get discouraged. However, we're not living on the street, we're not in an eviction process, we were just looking because rates and prices are so low and it seemed to make financial sense. If the perfect place comes along, we'll move on it, but for now I think we're pretty content with our little 600 square feet of space.

2) That being said, the Ikea catalog came at just the right moment. Inspiration! H is still in our room, and I don't see a reason to change that any time soon since I (still) check her breathing a few times a night and just feel better having her near in case, say, a serial murderer broke in or a fire broke out or giant rats invaded and tried to eat her feet....yes, the hormones are still whacky. Anyway, we have a larger room than the one we three sleep in. It's called "the guest room" and it currently houses a full-sized keyboard, 2 overflowing bookshelves, a large computer desk, a computer tower with printer, a twin bed, a dresser, 6 economy boxed of diapers, two antique and falling apart chairs, my wedding dress, a large drying rack, a bouncy chair for H, a door-hanging bouncy for H, laundry in various states of cleanliness and foldedness, stacks of textbooks and notes, a shredder, all of S's clothes (in a closet) and two adult bikes. There is a tiny path to the closet, and no room to actually sleep on the bed. I have been guilty of tossing stuff in there and then slamming the door. Anyway, it would be nice to be able to use that space. Thus, the catalog. Since we're not going anywhere anytime soon (see #1) I have grand plans for conversion. Double lofted bed with the dresser and bikes underneath...or maybe a crib for H. Replacing our beloved second-hand smelly ripped out couch with a new pull out that will allow us to host couples. Maybe making the loft a twin so we can keep the really comfortable matress...a few more Billy's ($49 this year!!!!) because you can never have too many and because there are still books on the floor....basically just need a free weekend and a promise to buy S a cinnamon roll and we'll be in business.

3) Trader Joe's. Have I raved about this place here yet? Well, words fail. Suffice to say there is almost nothing I don't like about the place. Except they weren't selling sugar last time I was there.....

4) I love food, I hate spending money on it, so it's amazing to me that I just discovered Market Basket. I'd heard of it, but associated it with food stamps and grunginess. Might be true for some, but the one in Burlington is a real treat to shop at. Plenty of parking, and everyone is so friendly! And the workers actually tell you where stuff is and then ask if they can find something else for you!!! I was shocked (hey, I live in Cambridge! we're not known for being kind...) the cashier was nice, even made eye contact and my bagger. The planet will probably expire based on his efforts alone as each glass item was seperatly wrapped in plastic and then it was all placed in a paper bag. But who cares; my items made it home safe, he offered to take "my carriage" to my car and unload it for me (did I mention he was 80 if he was a day?) and he put like items with like. But the best part was certainly the price. 3 rotisserie chickens for $12! (I had 3 families to cook for....) I'm sure you super-savers out there are scoffing, but this made my day. I put the receipt on our table and poured over it, then made S listen to the whole thing as I read it off at dinner.

5) We'll end on an odd number. There are a ton of things I could be listing right now (crockpot pumpkin lattes, a negative pregnancy test, cooler weather, H being that fun age I think everyone meant when they said "enjoy this time" back when she was first born, these adorable little photo books from mypublisher.com I made of H to give to family, my eagerly anticipated pelvis and fetus model complete with uterus and detachable placenta, starting a new semester.......) but instead I'm going to gush about another product that has made life worth living with H: my lillebaby carrier. For those of you brainwashed into believing Ergo is best, please fight the propoganda. This little sucker is awesome! Less bulky and hot than the Ergo, it functions the same (front facing, outward facing, hip carry, back carry and newborn sling), is super comfortable (the weight is on your hip belt so no shoulder pull), a cinch to adjust (goes between S and I in seconds), comes in nice colors (brown!) and most importantly, H loves it. When I can't do anything else with her and naps just aren't coming I pop her in, place a paci and she is out. It keeps people from touching her hands and face (why do people do that?! Germs!!!) and she likes to be up where the big people are. Convenient pockets to carry my keys and phone when we go for a walk, and a hood to keep the sun off. It stays in the car and whenever I go shopping she's in it. Makes life a breeze =D
 see how nicely the baby sleeps? Kinda like how H is right now. Going to take advantage of that and snooze myself...nope, she just woke up. Argh.

Things I'm loving right now

This seems to be a common theme on other blogs, but it seems to like the only place I can think of to record this, and it's a good exercise in thankfulness =D

 My Medela pump. It's probably not OK to be in love with something inanimate, but if there was a fire and I could only take one thing (other than S+H, of course), it would be this. After three very intense months of agony (and I don't exaggerate when I say nursing is the most painful thing I have every experienced), hysterical meltdowns, innumerable google searches, galactogog supplementation, lactation consultations (I got asked to stop coming to group since I had too many problems), pediatrician visits (H was vomiting up blood that turned out to be coming from me), topical creams, potions and every old wives tale out there, and did I mention pain?, I can proudly announce that not only is Henri exclusively breast milk fed, there are three bags of milk in the freezer!!!! And I would like to attribute this to finally just doing what worked for H and I and going with my gut, which said "use the pump". She still breastfeeds one or two times a day, or more if we're out and about, but her latch remains horrid and really it's just not worth the fight to attempt to correct it at this point.
(so cute and portable and easy to use and fits everything I need.....am I gushing yet?)

Sleeping through the night. I'm not sure if I actually did this last night or not because when I got up H had her paci in her mouth and when I went to bed there was no way she could reach it and put it in, so I might have woken up and placed it. But I don't remember. So I'm going to say I slept through. And I actually had to wake her up at 9. And now she's napping. I know, I just jinxed it by writing this. And we're going on vacation so there goes schedule. But it was nice for the last few nights =D

The Price is Right. Normally H eats around 11 and this is on, so it's become a routine. Drew might not have the dapperness of Bob, but he has more fun and how can you not love seeing a whole crowd of people screaming in delight over a steam shower or a grill?

Taggie. For those that haven't seen these, it's basically two squares of cloth sewn together with a bunch of loops of ribbon all around to simulate tags. I got one at a shower and on a whim offered it to H last week. They've been inseparable ever since. She can now transfer from hand to mouth (and everything goes into the mouth) and with all the texture differences, it's like a dream come true. (do babies dream?) Only down side it that one side has glitter on it so now H sparkles. Very girly, right?

(a simulated image; hers is a bit smaller and has a push backing)


Pots de Creme. So this was discovered yesterday because of a chocolate craving that will not quit. Pioneer Woman had the recipe up and oh, wow. Something this amazing that takes literally five minutes to make? (I included the time it took to make a cup of coffee)....I'm in serious trouble.

Fitting into real clothes! Note that I did not say "fitting into my prepregnancy clothes". Oh no, that's still light years away. But I wore something without an elastic waistband/non-yoga last night and I felt amazing. Until I looked in the mirror. But until then I felt smokin', lol. The urge to shop is strong but realistically a waste of money at the moment since the weight is going down, and since H pukes on everything anyway so I might as well remain in crummy stuff. Fun to look, though!

Last, but not least, Steven. Best husband ever (no, he is not available) and the greatest gift I've ever been given. Not sure how I would be anything or do anything without him. xoxo. (I should probably mention that I love Henri as well. Just not the same, haha...)
 (H is a bit bigger now; 3 months! S is not. and I hope that I'm a bit smaller....)

Ta-da!

My first ever blog post. I actually have nothing to say, I just wanted to have this set up in case I ever did....watching Henri sleeping happily in her swing and we're loving being back in our home. She's certainly a home-body although we had a great time hanging with Gramma and Papa. Lots of smiles and chats, as well as a more mature cry that might just be a sore throat from screaming all the way home from VT. Nothing recent to post, but here's a pict of the star:

Awwww