Skinny jerk

I didn't go to work today. It was lovely. Although the reason wasn't lovely (a death in the family of my home care for Natey), we had a nice day as a family. We went to breakfast and then decided that, to reward me for all of my hard work in the gym, I could get a few new things! The whole point of the trip to the outlet mall {danger alert} was to get a couple new pairs of jeans. After an hour in the Banana Republic outlet I managed to walk away with 7 new shirts, 3 camisoles and, oops, no jeans. Oh well. I'll put up with my too big for me jeans until I fit back into the 6 pairs I have in the next size down. Oh, you thought I was going to tell you that the next size is an 8, huh? I'm not falling for that.

I have been so good at keeping my commitment to the gym. I do 45 minutes of cardio (run or elliptical) on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, boot camp class on Thursday and then Tuesday and Saturday I go to the gym with my friendJoelle for weights. I rest on Sunday. Hey, even God rested on the 7th day. I am making progress but it still isn't going as fast as I'd like. Why is is so easy to gain 10 pounds and so painstakingly hard to loose it??

Well, since I didn't get to my work gym today, I coerced Joelle into going tonight for cardio. She hates cardio and, when I told her we had 45 minutes of it in our immediate future, I thought she might cancel on me. Luckily she is a trooper and we went, we perspired and we conquered the elliptical. I managed 5.13 miles and was feeling so good on my way home. I called the hubbs to see what he was up to and he had the cajones to ask me to stop at Newport Creamery and pick him up a hot fudge sundae!! Hey skinny guy that has never worked out one day in the 5+ years we have been together, don't ya know it is down right rude to ask your sweaty, workout attired, just busted out 5.13 miles wife to stop and pick you up a sundae????

Just to show myself what wonderful willpower I can have (sometimes), I got him his sundae and even said no when he offered me a bite. Why can he eat whatever he wants while I have to work out 6 times a week just to fit back into my clothes? Skinny jerk!

to sundaes

Wordless Wednesday

Oh, and sorry about the nostrils. :o)

I Heart {B & W} Faces

I have been seeing a lot of my bloggy friends post their favorite photos to I heart faces, and I decided that I would play this week. The picture I chose is Natey when he was 13 months old. I just love his expression and long lashes.

Click on the button or here to to check out all of the wonderful pictures!

Not Me! Monday

I'd be lying if I hadn't made a version of this speech before, I think I was probably eight years old and staring into the bathroom mirror. And this would've been a shampoo bottle. Well, it's not a shampoo bottle now! I feel very fortunate to have made it all the way from there to here. And I'd like to thank some of the people along the way who had faith in me, my friends and my family, especially my mum and dad, who are in this room somewhere. Dad, whistle or something, 'cause then I'll know where you are. (He whistles.) Yeah! (Waving to him.) I love you.

And I want to acknowledge my fellow nominees, these goddesses. I think we all can't believe we're in a category with MckMama at all. I'm sorry, MckMama, but you have to just suck that up! And, just to the Academy, thank you so much, my God! Thank you!"

Oh, shoot. Was I dreaming just now? Must have been waking delusions brought on by a lack of sleep. I guess I'll further embarrass myself by talking about all of the other things I dreamt about doing this week, but of course didn't do. I was dreaming remember...

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I didn't encounter a malfunctioning automatically flushing toilet at work. Said toilet did not flush 3 times while I was trying to pee, splashing my backside and causing me to jump up to avoid the spray. I did not feel like I wanted to go to the gym just to take a quick shower since I was so grossed out by the whole thing. Things like that are part of a nightmare, not real life!

My 20 month old son used the potty for the first time this week! I must be dreaming right? Would it even be possible to get him completely trained by 2 years old? I should be happy about this right? I am not one of those weirdos that, after emptying a #2 out of his little potty, decided that I would rather wipe his diapered bum than deal with cleaning that nasty thing out every time.

Natey did not spend the night at his grandparents for the 1st time EVER on Friday. This would be a dream come true, right?? The hubbs and I aren't so lame that we went out to dinner and then went to see Coraline 3D with another couple instead of partying it up all night long. No way did my husband fall asleep on me 10 minutes into the movie because he'd had red wine at dinner. We did not go to sleep at 12 and still wake up early even though the boy wasn't home.

What did you "not" do this week??

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On a different note, I am selling items in my Etsy shop to benefit the Cora Paige Playground fund. 100% of the profits will be donated to this wonderful cause. If you'd like to help out and get something cute in return click on my Etsy shop or the pink button in my sidebar. It will take you to all of the wonderful items people are selling to raise money for the memorial playground. I will be adding more items in the next couple of days and you can also request custom items that aren't listed. See this post for examples.

Holy Mole!

Having grown up in Southern California, I love me some Mexican food. Unfortunately I discovered rather quickly that the east coast is sorely lacking in authentic Mexican restaurants. Let's just say that the first "taco" I had out here reminded me more of sloppy Joe mix in a tortilla than the real deal. I figured if I couldn't go out for good south of the border fare, I would have to start making it myself. After some trial and error I came up with several dishes that satisfy the cravings I get for food that reminds me of home. One of my favorite things is a good carne asada taco. My sister is always asking me for recipes so I thought I'd share a few from tonight's dinner.

Carne Asada tacos with homemade guacamole and black beans and rice

Carne Asada Tacos
I use skirt steak for my tacos. It is a relatively inexpensive cut of meat and comes out so tender. You need ~1 pound of skirt steak and marinate it as follows.

Marinade
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/3 c. soy sauce
1/2 medium onion
1/4 c. lime juice (fresh lime)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. cumin
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbs. brown sugar


Put the skirt steak in a big Ziploc bag, add all ingredients into the bag, seal and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. I like to marinate it over night,if I can remember to do it in advance, which is pretty much never.

When you are ready to grill the steak, remove it from the bag, toss the marinade and slap it on the grill for 2-3 minutes per side. It cooks really fast. Don't overcook the meat or else it will be chewy. Slice the steak up and put it into a warmed (also on the grill) corn tortilla and top with guacamole (recipe to follow).

Guacamole
Nothing is better to me than some corn chips and homemade guacamole. It is a little time consuming but well worth the effort.

3 ripe avocados
1 lime
1 medium tomato
1/2 medium onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 small bunch of cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the avocados in half, remove the pit, slice a grid into the flesh (so it comes out of the skin in tiny squares) and scoop it into a bowl. Squeeze in the juice of 1 lime. Dice tomato and onion, mince the garlic and add to the bowl. Chop cilantro and add to the bowl. Add salt and pepper (usually one generous pinch of salt and a few grinds from the pepper mill). Stir until combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, pushing the plastic against the guacamole and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes, but it is even better the next day.

Black beans and Rice

It got his dish from my BIL's girlfriend. It is awesome!

1 c. cooked medium grain white rice

2 tbs. vegetable oil

1 medium onion diced

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

2/3 can of black beans, drained

1/s tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

1/2 tsp. Adobo seasoning

Cook rice, I use a rice cooker. While rice is cooking, saute onion in the oil for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 3 more minutes. Add cumin, coriander, and Adobo and cook for 3 more minutes. Drain most of the liquid from the black beans and add to the onions. Cook mixture for 3 minutes and then add the rice. Stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.

There you have it. A really good meal, if I do say so myself. All in all it makes roughly 4 servings. Que aproveche!

P.S. I hate Blogger's haphazard formatting!!! Sorry.

Peddling My Wares- Fashion Show

In my sidebar you can see the fun shirts I sell in my Etsy shop, but have you ever wondered how cute they look on the kids?? You have? Well, the wait is over! Check out the photos below of some of the gorgeous kiddos I've had the honor of making my creations for. Oh, and if you should pop by each of their mommy's blogs too, you'll be glad you did!

My son Natey (right) and his cousin Aidan in their matching onesies.

Aidanpod in his pea pod Christmas tree onesie.

Some recent girlie creations
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TemTem in her Asian inspired hearts.

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"Stuntman" and "Model" in coordinating ties.

**************************************** Brea & Brody in coordinating monkey business shirts for Brea's 3rd birthday party. More of Brea and Brody. Yes Alicia really likes my creations!!
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Jaxson & Mason in matching ties.
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The One Who Gets Away with Murder looking dapper in his tie!
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Of course it wasn't possible for me to get pictures of every munchkin that I've made shirts for. Here are some of the creations by their lonesome. If you like what I do, please tell a friend or head on over to my Etsy shop and check me out. Everything I do is custom made so even if it isn't specifically listed I can make it for you with any design in any size and any fabric.

Giraffe in Amy Butler striped fabric

"d" in blue retro fabric with matching Carter's pants

"Z" in Amy Butler Midwest Modern fabric

"L" in yellow birdie fabric

Not Me! Monday

Some people are of the impression that confession is good for the soul. Confession is good for the soul only in the sense that a tweed coat is good for dandruff--it's a palliative rather than a remedy. That being said, I prefer to deny, deny, deny. Apparently, so does MckMama. Hey, it's easier than coming to terms with some of the random happenings of life such as the following hypothetical situations...

I would never leave a meeting to "pee", run down a flight of stairs, speed walk down a hallway to my desk just to check if the Not Me! post was up, give a little woo hoo, and manage to get 10th on the list. Who does that? Some obsessive compulsive chick, not me, that's for sure.

I am also way to politically correct to stick shove my foot in my mouth by saying something looked "gay" to my homosexual co-worker. Who uses that word?? Bratty, ignorant teenagers, not a 30 year old mother and scientist!

I am not absent minded at all, ever. Who was that woman that walked out of her lab, with her lab coat and safety glasses on, and walked straight to the gym without taking them off and got half way through the door before she noticed she had them on?? That was some new girl, that hasn't worked here for over 3 years!

I am a seasoned mother. My child is coming up on 2 years old. He is not potty trained yet. I know what happens when an undiapered boy runs free in the house before bath time. He pees in your closet, that's what happens. Thank God I am not that stupid! I laughed at that mom!

What did you "not" do this week?

Happy Valentines Day! ♥

♥ Happy Valentines Day every one! ♥

It is funny how much a year means in the development of your baby. Last year Natey was just standing and learning to cruise (yes, at 8 months). He barely had any hair and was working on his 4th tooth. I was wondering if he was going to grow into those ears too!!

Now he is a running, talking machine. Last week when we were going to go to the Children's museum with my friend Joelle and her son Tyler I told Nathan and he was so excited about it. Now whenever I ask him where we're going he always says "museum". :o)

**P.S.** Please ignore the Yankees paraphernalia in the background. The logo on the shirt is not representative of the views of this household. GO SOX**

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

What's New?

Natey, you are 20 months old today. On one hand I wish you'd slow down since I feel I am loosing my baby but on the other hand I am looking forward to June so I can stop telling people your age in months! In case you were wondering, buddy, mommy is 364 months old, tee hee! You have changed so much this month. You are still my little cartoon, making some of the most animated faces but I can see the wheels turning and moving, past simple words into thoughts. Here are some of the latest and greatest:

• When we tell you we love you, you say "I loves you too".


• Speaking of your loviness, you now give unsolicited kisses and hug ums.


• You like to poke us and say, "tickle, tickle" and when we do it back, you giggle hysterically and say, "tickle me!"


• You like to lay on the floor and say, "floating" while you wave your arms and legs around.


• You can identify sounds and I swear you have super sonic hearing. When you hear a a siren you whisper, "listen..sound...ambulance". Half the time it is a whole 5 seconds before we can even hear it!


• You have started climbing A LOT. I really wish you hadn't figured this one out, and am thankful that you can't climb out of your crib....yet. Mommy is not ready for you to be in a big boy bed, so stay put buddy.


• You are getting really good with your colors. You still mix a few of them up but randomly you can identify aqua, seriously? I guess it is all of the colored pencils we use for drawing.


• Speaking of coloring, you can now manage to sit (mostly) still and color for 10 minute intervals. This only happens, of course, if I have the colored pencils out. I think you love making me give them to you one at a time.


• You are obsessed with monsters and dinosaurs. You run around yelling T-rex and growling all of the time. You like it even better if we pretend to be afraid and tell you you're scary.

• When I sing the ABC song you like to chime in on the letters that you know, like A, E, G, MNNO (LMNO) P, X, and Z. And you always chime in with the very end "wiv me".


• You know some songs now and request them all of the time. Your favorites are, "The Bus song" (Wheels on the bus), "Fu Fu song" (Little bunny Fu Fu), "Spider song" (Itsy bitsy spider) and the "Uncle B song" (Baby bumble bee). You know all of the motions to the songs and your favorite is when FuFu gets turned into a goon.


• You have started saying "Why?". Kid, you are way too young to be asking that already. I know you live life in fast forward, but really, you're not even two yet. can you save that for later??

• You really enjoy picking things up off of the floor and saying "garbage" while you go put it in the trash can. I have to watch you though because you have tried to put your sippy cup and bib in there as well.

• You are staring to understand that when you hit, it hurts and makes people sad. When I tell you no hitting, you frown and say, "Sowwy mama" and give me a hug and a kiss.

• Your hair is getting so long and curly. Every day I want to cut it and after I have that thought I look at your sweet curls and can't fathom chopping them off.

• Our favorite thing you are doing now is exaggerated thinking. When we ask you where something is you put your finger to your lips, furrow your brow and say, "hmmm" pause for a second and then say, "I know". It is pretty much the cutest thing I have ever seen.