Fun in Houston

Eden's Mamere and Pawpaw kept her last weekend and Thomas and I got farther out of East Texas than we had since Eden's birth- a whole 2.5 hours! It was a weekend all about food and shopping. We hit up Ikea, the Galleria, and Central Market; fueling ourselves in between at Nikko Nikko's (greek), some organic coffee shop place on Westheimer, Indonesia Grill, and La Madeline's. We even managed to get in a little education at the Natural Museum of Science where there was an exhibit on the Jewish roots of Christianity. It focused on providing context for the culture that was just before, during and after Jesus' time in and around Jerusalem. This was the most important time we shared together. Thomas is getting more and more serious about pursuing further education and possibly teaching old testament history. It's really important for me to share in that part of his life and I have a LOT of catching up to do. We had tons of fun with him playing teacher and me student (as always :) ).


Central Market provided wonderful treats for us foodies. Here's a list of some of our spoils:
* Gorgonzola Raviola
* Gnocchi (which Kroger in Nac is actually carrying now)
* Lemon artichoke pesto - used on the gnocchi
* Raw Hazelnuts
* Ciao Bella Bacio Gelato - a favorite memory from Italy, this is seriously the best ice cream ever
* Edamame
* Frozen cubed sweet potatos
* Naan
* Korma and Tikka Masala Sauces
* Five Spice Powder and Garam Masala Spice
* Peach Amaretto Jam - already used to make Jam Cookies - see picture above
* Blood Orange Juice - another favorite of ours from our Italy trip
* Black Pepper and some kind of aged cheddar - both fantastic
* Golden raspberries - same flavor but less tart- awesome

So I used the lemon artichoke pesto and gnocchi last night for a quick, delicious dinner. I cooked a few chicken tenders in a skillet with the fantastic Pecan Oil Thomas got me for Valentine's Day, and then sliced them into smaller pieces. I cooked the gnocchi in boiling water, removed them - reserving the water and adding to it asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces. Everything went into a big bowl and was tossed with the pesto and was served with a salad.

Setting the mood

We actually went on a date for Valentine's Day-ooohhh. Have we reformed our anti-valentine-day-ways? Nah- it was just convenient timing. We took Eden to Carthage and let my parents babysit for the evening and we went to a movie and then dinner with my brother and sister-in-law. We chose to see Coraline in 3-D which was awesome! Although it was a little creepy and we were sure all the small children in the theatre would need a little counseling afterwards- it was quite enjoyable. Dinner was.. interesting. We gave our name to the hostess at Johnny Carinos- one 40 minute wait and a call to 911 later we were sitting down to a meal that was interupted by police officers three times. No big deal- there was a wreck outside of the restaurant for which NO ONE STOPPED. Seriously people - STOP if you witness a wreck- the restaurant did not have a view of the road we could just hear it- so my police statements were frustratingly inadequate- but as the 911 caller I apparently still had to give one.

Although there has been a lot of cooking, I haven't blogged about it due to the embarrassment that I have met very few of my criteria- namely the cheap, healthy, and sometimes quick criteria (ok, so that's all of them). First it was the tomato and pesto tart which was a little expensive because of the goat cheese, pesto, and asparagus, had to bake for an hour, and was made only slightly more healthy by using a wheat crust. Next came the Indian feast (I even found flatbread in Nacogdoches!), which was at least quick- but most importantly fun. One of the prepackaged side dishes (chickpeas in curry, mmmmm) came with a CD of Indian Classical music- like getting a prize in a cracker jacks box. Admittedly it was annoying after about 3 minutes; however, I committed and kept it going through dinner.

That brings us to tonight- I will meet my goals!! I've made this one before and I know it's healthy, quick and cheap. It's quite tastey- enjoy!

Szechuan Pork Stir-Fry- from Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 6 ounces soba (buckwheat) noodles, uncooked
• 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
• 1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 2-inch strips
• 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce (such as Lee Kum Kee)
• 1 teaspoon bottled ground fresh ginger (such as Spice World)
• 3/4 cup red bell pepper strips (about 1 small pepper)
• 1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 3/4 cup (2-inch) diagonally cut green onions (about 4 green onions)

Preparation

1. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain.

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork, chili garlic sauce, and ginger to pan; stir-fry for2 minutes. Add bell pepper to pan; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add broth, soy sauce, and peanut butter to pan. Reduce heat to low; cook for 1 minute or until sauce is slightly thick. Stir in onions. Serve over noodles.

Cooking and Blogging...

Baking isn't happening so much... although I did manage to make scones for breakfast... barely. Yesterday we ate dinner at 6:30. I turned up the oven and popped some blueberry scones in just as I took out our baked pasta. We ate a quick dinner, while feeding the kiddo, and rushed to church (in time to catch a few hymns!). I really was listening to the service, but something Steve said made me think of breakfast, and then the scones, which were still in the oven. I jumped up from my seat, ran into the nursery where Thomas was with Eden, exclaiming I was rushing home to make sure our house wasn't on fire. The time on the car clock read 7:36 as I hurriedly dialed a neighbor. I was about 7 minutes away and figured a lot of cute baby clothes could burn up in that amount of time (seriously?! baby clothing is what I thought of). She called me back moments later saying everything looked fine and not to rush, scones would just dry out and blacken anyway. I was still thinking there would at least be a lot of smoke and a smelly oven waiting for me, but everything seemed ok.
And you know why?
The silly oven wasn't even turned on. That's right. I turned it off. They were half-baked because of the pre-heating. I managed to salvage them- probably shouldn't have. Who knows what health risks there are when one eats dough that was partially raw and warm for an hour, but meh, I'm already ill.
So there was that baking. And Thomas happily watched Eden a few hours this past weekend so I could make him cookies.


But there's mostly just been cooking. I've promised a few friends that I would start posting the dinners I make for Thomas and me. I've aim for quick, healthy, and cheap recipes (in that order) and am finding a lot through Cooking Light's 20 minute meals.

The following recipe gets Two Thumbs Up (one from Thomas and one from Katie). The sauce is pretty strong, but a good compliment to the shrimp. I served it over basamati rice cooked in chicken broth. It met the criteria of being healthy and quick, but isn't so cheap because of the shrimp and ginger (I bought bottled prepared ginger because it was faster). I'm pretty weary of cooking shrimp and found this to be super easy.
It made enough for our dinner and Thomas' lunch- so probably about 4 normal servings. Enjoy!

Shrimp and Broccoli Stir Fry

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon bottled minced garlic
• 1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups small broccoli florets
• 1 cup vertically sliced onion

Preparation

Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Heat 2 teaspoons canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add ginger and garlic to pan; stir-fry 30 seconds. Sprinkle shrimp with salt. Add shrimp to pan, and stir-fry 3 minutes or until done. Remove shrimp mixture from the pan.

Add remaining 1 teaspoon canola oil to pan. Add broccoli and onion to pan; stir-fry 4 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender. Add shrimp mixture and broth mixture to pan; cook 1 minute or until thickened, stirring constantly.

Look! I have time to play in photoshop, you know what that means...

... Eden feels better!

Sorry for taking so long to report back on the health and well being of our family. I'd like to use being a full time mom as an excuse, but um, we all know my blogging habits.
So when I last left you Eden's Dr. had recommended a diet change. I had serious doubts, but it worked! There are still a few mixed emotions about the switch, but Eden's disposition dramatically changed within 6 hours of the recommended course of action. It took her about a week to have a random crying spell, and they are still very few. Now we are trudging along on this path, not the one we intended to be on, but isn't parenting all about the unexpected and following your gut concerning what's right for your child?

Currently we are chilling in the living room. Eden is in her pack'n'play enjoying her pimped out mobile (every girl should be so lucky). She has just been contentedly cooing away, entertaining herself for about 30 minutes now. Life is so different!
Of course the tales of parenting are never without a few bumps in the road. We moved her to the nursery on Friday and the timing was perfect! I have come down with a bad cold (flu??) and coughed all Sunday night and would have kept her up- not that she needed any help- she went from her schedule of bedtime at 9pm, feeding at 3am, up at 7am - to 9pm, 11pm, 1am, 3am, 5am, 7am.... I couldn't sleep in between because I was coughing so much. Thomas, who had slept through the night, was excited to come home and relieve me. Unfortunately, that afternoon he had a bad reaction to some medication and was too dizzy/nauseous to do anything (this also happened last Thursday, but I wasn't quite as sick and had a better night's sleep). Luckily, we have wonderful family/friends who babysat for a few hours.

So thank you for all the prayers, we're all back on track now. Thomas' side affects are all but gone, my bad cold now feels like bad allergies and my voice is back, and Eden is back to her regular sleeping schedule (did I mention that she often likes to party after her 3am feeding?).

Oh and if anyone wants to have a good laugh, I finally got my Babies'N'Me Pilates video. Eden is now going to be downgraded from cute, cuddly baby to workout equipment. This should be amusing- she weighs 12 lbs!

Strike Three?

So, I like to keep my blog void of anything even bordering on personal. For one, I'm always shocked at the random people who I find out read my very infrequent ramblings about cookies and sewing and fear stepping on unsuspecting toes. Also, I fear that I will misspeak or leave out important pieces of information as one often does when communicating solely via computers. I'm not an eloquent writer (or speaker for that matter) and have become victim of this situation before. Not to mention all of the advice that I am "soliciting" simply by opening up to such a large crowd of people. Against my better judgment I'm deciding for tonight to set aside those worries (help us all) and type a bit about the challenge of Eden.

First and foremost a disclaimer in efforts to avoid point #2 from above. Not that any of you doubt this, but let me just say I love this little booger to death and she could be a terror and that wouldn't change. I am also not saying I have an extraordinarily difficult child. We are very lucky in many things. She came into this world well, she is free of any serious or life threatening issues, 80% of the time she only wakes at night to eat and goes right back to sleep, we do have some wakeful, happy times together, and I do not expect her to be that "perfect" baby. Ok, my disclaimer was long enough so I won't feel guilty about the following.

Eden cries a lot. I mean, a lot. She usually does not cry from 11 pm to 6 am unless she's hungry which is an enormous blessing. Other than that she cries about 45 minutes out of every hour and she rarely sleeps during the day.

Strike One- she was much much worse (cried at night too) her first week of life. Enter meds for reflux #1 and she started sleeping at night. YAY! However, she still threw up randomly and fussed while eating.
Strike Two- enter reflux meds #2- she stopped fussing so much while eating and no longer throws up. Has a few more happy periods.

At this point we threw in the towel- said, this is our child, we can deal with it, some babies are just fussy. We have tried two different slings, a swing, a vibrating chair, car rides, different beds, different white noises, different holding positions, etc etc etc.

I had decided this was her personality and am adjusting to it- although I'm a little frayed around the edges. It's difficult when your child cries so much there is no play time and there is nothing more of yourself to give to your spouse and definitely not friends and family. The experience has helped me grow more than any other- I'm getting better at accepting and, more importantly, asking for help from others. I'm easier on myself when nothing other than the absolute necessities of life get done.
I had prepared myself that the next four months (two months are already down) of our lives will be solely dedicated to pacifying this little girl and everything else could wait until later. Interstingly enough, her 6 month mark is my birthday :).

Then came her 2 month check up today. She had been doing her normal screaming fit for 45 minutes when the doctor finally came in. She heard Eden cry and stated something needed to be done for that baby in pain. *Lightbulb* - that was a pain cry! I've been listening to other babies cry for the past few weeks and kept remarking how different it was from Eden's and just assumed it was part of her fussiness. Let me just say that the realization that she is in pain and not just unhappy is not welcome- but- it holds promise because it's something with the potential to be fixed.

Long story short, we are trying a formula based diet for a few days to see if she is affected by her this and upping her meds a bit. Please pray for peace for our little one, a break from her pain, and guidance for us and our doctor as we try to determine what is best for her.

Good news! She is 10lbs 8 oz, 21.5 inches long, (both at the 50th%) - and her head is at the 75th%! No wonder she looks so much like her daddy :).

As promised, I am posting pics of the nursery and sharing a few of our favorite nursery items.
In the below picture you can see beloved item #1- crocheted mobile from Emily. This is hands down the most helpful thing next to another human holding Eden. It is one of the handful (yes, these can be counted using just 5 fingers) of things that make Eden really happy- like smiley, giddy happy. She is particularly in love with the butterfly. Next to the window you can glimpse a couple of nursery rhyme art boards. These were hand me downs from a friend of a friend and are originally from a gallery in New York, New York. They are dated from the 40's and are perfect in her nursery.

The monogram artwork above the bookshelf was a handmade present from Melissa for Christmas and totally made some of the pictures Jill took of Eden (well Eden made the pictures, the artwork helped :) ). It's hard to tell how great it is in this photo, but the lamp was a vintage hand-me-down from Abigail (from the Kinnairds, from their friend....) that I was tickled to receive.

Well, that's the nursery!

Speaking of babies - I can't seem to get off that subject lately - if you need a baby fix go check out the submissions for best newborn photo at The Babble. WARNING- Some of the pictures show newborns first attempts at nursing and some show babies before the nurses had a chance to clean them. Anyway, they're mostly cute, but don't say I didn't warn ya if you see something you wish you hadn't.

We're all growing..

I'm finding ways to hold a sleeping baby and STILL type with two hands--- there is hope for this blog yet :).

My sister Jill (http://jilliankayphotography.blogspot.com/) did a photo shoot with Eden after Christmas. Below are a few of my favorite pictures (it took me longer to narrow down "favorite pictures" than it did to write this blog).


Things at our house are still crazy and rightly so. I plan (we'll see how it goes) to do the next few posts over things that I'm loving right now- from our favorite baby items, nursery decor, gifts I found for Thomas' birthday, clothing, etc, etc. You can catch a bit of a glimpse of one of them in the picture above- a fuzzy giraffe rug thing Tommy and Melissa gave us. This little girl LOVES it's silky soft texture.



I love the way Eden still curls up her legs ...


Her gorgeous eyes...
And how much she looks like her daddy.

Which is easier to see in the following picture:There has been baking, although a baby sitter had to be obtained in order for it to take place. Somehow, I don't think they minded :). Thomas turned 28 yesterday. On that day 28 years ago, his father, was also 28 years old and meeting Thomas for the first time. Kind of cool the way that worked out. For the occasion Thomas got the same cake from last year- with a little bit of an upgrade. Instead of plain vanilla with buttercream frosting I added a layer of raspberry filling- quite simply the EASIEST snazzying up ever.

SNOWFLAKE CAKE- from
Ingredients
For the cake
3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs, separated while cold, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups buttermilk

For the frosting
1 cup unsalted butter, preferable a high-fat European style, at room temperature
1 pound sifted powdered sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk or half-and-half
Pinch of salt

For the filling-
1/2 cup raspberry preserves
10 oz frozen raspberries, thawed and drained

Make the cake
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with waxed or parchment paper. Grease and flour the top side of the paper, and set aside.

2. Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt, then lightly whisk and set aside.

3. In a stand mixer set on medium speed, beat the butter until creamy, about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and beat until light and nearly white, about 5 minutes. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, and beat until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the vanilla until blended. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk, in several additions, and beat until smooth and just blended. Scrape the sides and bottom.

4. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks just form. Gently stir one third of the whites into the batter to lighten it. Fold in the remaining egg whites until just incorporated and no large white streaks of egg white remain.

5. Divide the batter between the prepared pans, using a spatula to evenly spread the batter. Gently rotate the pans to settle and level the batter. Bake until the cakes begin to pull away from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let the layers cool in their pans. Gently loosen the edges with a thin knife before inverting the layers onto wire racks. Let the cakes cool thoroughly before carefully peeling off the paper. Cool completely before frosting, about 3 hours.

Make the frosting
1. In a stand mixer set on low speed, beat the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, milk, and salt until the sugar is moist. Slowly increase the speed to medium-high, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Beat until light and creamy, about 1 1/2 minutes.

Make the Filling-
Mix both ingredients together.

Assemble the cake-
Place one cake layer on a platter and cit off the top so that it is level. This also will allow the filling to soak into the cake a little. Spread the filling on this layer stopping an inch from the edges. You may not use all the filling. Top with second cake layer and frost.