The girly side

Mia plays in the mud.  She colors pictures of dinosaurs and trucks.  Sometimes *gasp* she wears green.  She wears blue shoes and plays with golf clubs, balls and a baseball bat.  She has a Woody from Toy Story sippy cup.

She also has a play "kitchen" in her room.  She plays with baby dolls. She has a Disney Princess sippy cup.  Although, I will say she pretends to feed her baby doll then usually sticks her in the play oven afterwards.  Who knows what that means...hmm.  Anyway, point is...we try to give her a balanced viewpoint of "girl" things and "boy" things and try to not categorize them as such.  

But, I'm here to say, that this post is not balanced.  This is all about the girly side.  The unabashed, hot pink girly side. Summer seems to bring it out in us, I guess.

Every girl needs a pink bikini.  Just ask her nana who bought it for her :)

Mia calls this her "princess" skirt.

 

Sometimes, it's good to be a girl. Tomorrow we play in the mud.

Teriyaki Kabobs and a New Wall

I am SO homes and gardens today.  A recipe AND a new decorating tip?!?  Wow. 

So, we all know I LOVE to cook...my cooking idol is Ina Garten and if I had my way, I'd cook all day everyday and make millions of dollars from my ingenious recipes.  But, I live in the real world and the work and kid thing means the food I make has to be very quick, easy and mostly toddler friendly.  I try very, very hard to feed Mia the same food JC and I eat every night, for two reasons:

• It's a pain in the ass to cook a separate meal
• I hope it will help her become a "healthy eater"...kids mimic their parents, so if we eat good food, she'll eat good food.  And only have ice cream 3 times a week, instead of 5.

But sometimes you can't always do that.  Sometimes you just need to eat something that's spicy, has a "grown-up" sauce on it or is fish or fish-related.  None of those (in my experience) are very toddler friendly foods.  I'm here to tell you that this is one of those recipes:

Teriyaki Steak Kabobs

•  Chop up a yellow and orange bell pepper (if they're on sale, otherwise use the gross (but cheap) green kind), one yellow onion and a piece of steak. Throw in some button mushrooms and  skewer them on kabob sticks.

• Season with Lawry's salt and black pepper and drench them in Teriyaki marinade.

•  Let them marinate for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator and then put them on a HOT grill.  Make sure the grill is HOT enough that it sears the meat and locks in the flavor.

DELICIOUS? Yes.  Toddler friendly?  No.  At least not for my toddler.  But no worries, we had plenty off side dishes and fruit for her.  She did not go hungry.  Here's the little bugger playing in the yard while the kabobs were grilling...red-face and all.

In other news, I played decorator last weekend and re-did a wall in my kitchen "nook."  I have found that I am very fond of collages so I made a third one in my house.  What can I say, I like em.  Each one is special though, the one in my dining room is filled with pictures that I took in Europe, the other one in my dining room is pictures of JC and I when we were younger, pictures of my brother and I when we were younger, and just fun things that mean something.  This one, is no different.  I made this collage with framed sheet music from the 1920s that I bought at a consignment store in downtown McKinney, Texas.  How awesome is that?  Maybe one day it'll be worth enough to pay for Mia's college education.  Kidding! Kind of.

Dislike

THE MOMPETITION ROCKS!!! And here is why...

I'm not crazy. Really.

And...here's another reason why I'm not crazy.  Someone else says it too. Someone else goes crazy at their job on a more regular basis than they like to admit.  Someone else still has a very awful pit in their stomach most of the time because they aren't with their kids all the time, aren't around when they wake up some days and ask for "mommy", and  mostly because they can't really, completely focus and be 100% present with their child because there is that awful nagging "work thing" going on in the back of their brain ALL. THE. TIME. Someone else realizes that while "Yes, women CAN have it all" it's really very very very hard to have it all.

Someone said this A FULL YEAR before I did, nonetheless.  So, I guess it is true that there are no unique ideas left.  And...this is another reason why I can never be a good blogger, because this is what we have to live up to! Read on for an excellent post...

Grass: Greener

Also, I bought Mia a car last week.  

Ice CEAM!!!

No, that's not a typo.  That's what Mia calls ice cream.   ICE CEAM!  She had her very own ice cream cone for the first time tonight at Baskin Robbins.  Let me tell you, she loved it.  She just sat there with wide eyes, licking the cone very silently and then every few minutes would yell, "ICE CEAM!" then try to share with everyone in the shop.  Hilarious.  See? Those eyes are KILLER, aren't they?

JC also bought a new lens for our camera and it takes the coolest pictures.  Here are a few from this weekend.  Here she is playing with her daddy...doing who knows what.  

Also, here is one I like to call "Mia-God"...for obvious reasons. 

And NO, I wasn't watching "Keeping up with the Kardashians" either.  Kris Kardashian must have been on PBS or CNN or something...

Here's what I know.

I have many friends who blog.  Most of them have kids and use their blog as an outlet just like I do.  A way to let my creative side go to a place that doesn't have anything to do with my work and is focused on what I want my "real" life to look like.  Ha! Someday soon I promise to live my real life.  Where I do nothing but be a hippy stay at home mom with at least 2 more kids who grows her own food and never wears shoes.  Hey! You have your dream, I have mine. 

Anyway, many of my friends have shared their "things I couldn't live without as a mom or this is the best way to do things with your kids" blog posts and I think it's high time I shared mine.  Because we ALL KNOW, my opinions count the most.  Haha, just kidding, but seriously...here is what I know...meaning, here is what I've learned about caring for a baby and now, raising a toddler.

#1 - Elmo is your friend.  Elmo is EVERYBODY'S friend.  He's cute, sweet and can always be counted on to send a good message to your child. Equality and love for everyone!!! Also, I credit Sesame Street TOTALLY for Mia being able to count to ten at 19 months old.

#2 - Let your kid play in the mud.  Always.  It will keep her/him occupied for so much longer than anything else and all you have to do is strip her/him down to a diaper and get out the hose once they are done.   Plus, you can totally use the pictures you take of her covered in mud as a baby at their high school graduation ceremony.

#3 - Playtex sippy cups are the ONLY sippy cups to buy.  And I'm serious.  Don't get lured in to the cutesy ones with their names on them (I'm looking at your Babys-R-Us checkout line sippy cups) or the ones with straws or anything like that.  They are the only sippy cups that I have found that don't leak and can withstand being dropped over and over...and over and over.

#4 - Take away the pacifier before 15 months.  I didn't do it and now Mia is more attached than ever.  She only has it when she sleeps but I have nightmares about the day we take it away.  2 is our absolute cut off and that'll be here before we know it.

#5 - Invest in Stride Right shoes when they are starting to walk.  They really are great for their feet and you will have less falls. Meaning less scraped knees.  Meaning less meltdowns from scraped knees in the grocery store.

#6 - Walmart Garanimals clothes are the best baby/kids clothes out there.  As much as Walmart sucks for many reasons (sexual discrimination against women being the latest reason), those $3.50 shirt and short matching sets are just TOO GOOD to pass up. 

#7 - Buy a magic bullet, make your own baby food and freeze it in ice cube trays when your baby is first starting to eat solid foods.  We saved so much money and it's good for the kid. 

#8 - Schedule, schedule, schedule.

#9 - Once Upon a Child and any other used baby store is where you should buy....everything.  After your baby shower hoard dries up, head to the nearest used store, get yourself a punch card and buy everything there.  Mia's high chair, bouncy chair, Cozy coupe car, most of her shoes, clothes and books come from there.  If you are a non-believer...take one trip to Gymboree and see how much they want you to pay for a pair of shoes or a sunhat and you'll change your mind real quickly.

#10 - The bottom line...all kids are different and what works for me, might not work for you.  And just when you think you know everything...the baby #2 proves you wrong.  Mark my words.

Friday List of Wonderful Things

Wonderful Thing #1 - We're going to Austin! Just for a night, but I'm SURE it will be full of debauchery and crazy.  Why? Cause that's what people do in Austin.  That and  be hippy liberals, which of course, is another plus for me. Mia has an overnight weekend with Uncle Bad (Brad) and Aunt Cici (Courtney).  I think all parties are excited.

Wonderful Thing #2 - I am now part of the Mom-SUV club.  Well, we got a "small" SUV, a Chevy Equinox to be exact.  As much as I love my little Honda Civic and it's out of this WORLD gas mileage and low carbon footprint, trying to pack Mia's stuff and our stuff just for one trip away is ridiculous. 

Wonderful Thing #3 - Mia plays hide and seek now and here is what she says everytime...

This whole conversation happens in a whisper:

Mia - "Shhhhhhhhhh" (with a finger to her lips)

Me- "Oh, yes...Shhhhhhhhh, I'll be quiet."

Mia - "Happened?"

Me- "What happened?"

Mia - "Fall off."

Me - "What fell off."

Mia - "Broke it."

Me - "What did you break?

Mia - "Shhhhhhhh." (with a finger to her lips)

Wonderful Thing #4 - Mia peed in her potty.  I think it's a total fluke because the second time we tried it, she walked away and then peed on the floor, but boy did we scream when that happened.  We bought a potty last weekend to have in the bathroom to talk about and play "potty" on with the intent of being serious about potty training early this fall or right around when she turns two.  She tells me when she goes poopy and she often goes and hides when she does which is a beginning sign she is ready.  How did the baby years go so fast?

Umpa Tem

Is the title of this blog a sign that I've finally hit my crazy stage?  You must be thinking, this poor girl with a crazy full-time job shoved into part time hours and a fuller-time toddler has finally hit her wall.  Well, no.  I mean, sometimes yes, but mostly no...not yet anyway.  When we throw a new baby in the mix (no I'm not pregnant but someday soon will be) I will definitely hit the wall, so to speak, and this delicate balance will all go to hell in a hand basket. 

So, what is Umpa Tem?  Well, OBVIOUSLY...it's Mia code for Uncle Tim!  My brother, of course.  He is a Captain in the US Army and Mia LOVES to point to his pictures on our refrigerator and say UMPA TEM or (Uncle Tim).  It's the cutest.  Then she says "B!" (which is what she calls her Aunt Brandi, Tim's wife).  He's in the middle of a year tour of Iraq and we couldn't be more proud of him.  We miss him and can't wait for him to come home soon.  And when he gets back he can come down here to Texas and do some babysitting and give his sister a vacation.  :)

But for now, we have this...

Balsamic Pasta with Asparagus, Tomatoes and Mushrooms

Holy cow this recipe is good.  I swear, I make the best meals when I'm throwing together what I have and don't really plan it.  I'm gonna stop buying cookbooks (except for Ina Garten's cause she's the bomb.)

Anyway, here's the recipe:

• Chop 1 bunch of asparagus  into three sections so the spears are about 2 inches long
• Slice one package of button mushrooms
• Halve 1/2 carton of cherry tomatoes and 1/2 carton of sunburst tomatoes. Don't know what the heck a sunburst tomato is?  Well, good thing I had my camera handy when I chopped them. They're the yellow ones.

•  Put about 1/4 cup of olive oil and 2 HUGE tablespoons of garlic in a saute pan and heat until aromatic and simmering but don't "fry" the garlic.  Cause burnt garlic is worse than a $2 bottle of red wine.
• Add the mushrooms and asparagus to the simmering olive oil and cook for about 5 minutes with the lid on.  Add about 1 tsp of course sea salt and some pepper.  As much as you want, I guess.

• In the meantime, cook 1 box of angel hair pasta (broken into halves) in some salted water, then drain and set aside.  (Do I need to make a big deal out of cooking some angel hair noodles?  No, I don't.)
•  Make some balsamic vinaigrette.  For those not familiar, that's equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar with some salt and pepper, then whisked until mixed thoroughly.  Need a picture?  Fine. I whisk with a fork.

•  Once the asparagus is fork tender, add the angel hair, balsamic vinaigrette and your halved tomatoes and toss.  More pepper and probably another turn around the pan of balsamic vinegar if you really like it.  I happen to love balsamic vinegar so the more the better.

 De-licious and vegetarian if you're into that.  Perfect for summer when it's so hot all you really want to ingest is cold beer and maybe some ice cream.  Is that just me?  Anyway, I had two helpings so that should tell you something.

Summer sure sucks for a kid...

I mean, all you do is eat popsicles...

And blow bubbles with my dad...

And then accidentally stick the bubble wand in my mouth...

And play in my pool...*sigh* (this part sucks the worst)

See? This is my sad face...

And eat fresh carrots out of the garden...

And get as many kisses as I want...

Summer life is the toughest when you are a kid.  But I guess someone has to do it.  Might as well be me!

Garden Tomatoes

I got tomatoes.  Not many, but I got some.  To be exact, I've got three and I shared one with my brother-in-law.  They're little and VERY rustic looking.  Just like I like it.

My dad told me I had to make bacon and tomato sandwiches with my first tomatoes.  They were heavenly and perfect.  I add avocado to mine and it definite improves it.  Who can guess which tomato is from the garden and which is from Kroger?

Gardening sure is a pain in the ass right now because it's a million degrees in Texas, but these tomatoes sure make it worth it. 

The TV show of my life.

Somebody broke into my house and filmed JC and I while we were living our great lives as new parents to our adorable little Mimi.  Then they put it in a new show on NBC.  And then I turned in to Christina Applegate! 

Guess who is DVRing THIS in the Fall...cause let's face it, if it's on earlier than 8pm, I won't be watching it.  I'm too busy telling Mia that Elmo has went night-night and we can't watch him again for the 18th time that day.  

 

$14 worth of FUN

It's 104 in Dallas.  Not exaggerating. At. All.  Literally, Mia and I make a 15 minute trip to the store and she's red-faced and sweating.  Not much we can do here outside in this heat and keeping an 18 month old toddler cooped up in the house all day means more Elmo and Mickey Mouse than any person should be forced to consume.  

So, I guess we could go to the pool, right?  Wrong.  Not on a Saturday! You couldn't pay me.  No weekend pool time until Mia is old enough to push those stupid kids back in the baby pool.  Monday, I can do because there aren't as many kids. Saturday during crazy kid day? Nope.

So, this weekend, we spent $14 and bought a whole lotta fun!  A baby pool in our backyard! 

Oh, she loved it.  She played with at least 3 buckets and a million different kinds of cups (we're really into pouring water in and out of things now) and she probably played in it for an hour and a half.  Two sunscreen and one bug spray application later, we were pooped and done with the pool.

I foresee a lot of "pool" time this summer.  Right in the safe space of our  backyard with no grubby 7 year old stealing her bucket and knocking her off the steps to the water slide.  Monsters.

RANTS FROM MOMMYLAND: Domestic Enemies of the Work at Home Mom

RANTS FROM MOMMYLAND: Domestic Enemies of the Work at Home Mom: "We've had a lot of requests for this post so you can imagine how happy we were when our friend Carolyn sent it to us. Here's a little bit ab..."

TRUE THAT!!!!

Lemon Chicken Picollini

Oh....picollini! What a cute word! Right?  $20 to anyone who knows what it is!! Any guesses??

Okay, so it's pasta...just a smaller version of Farfalle. Okay, so it's tiny bow-tie pasta, enough with the fancy words. This weekend was killer for me...and I mean that in a bad way.  Lots of working at night and then getting back up at 5am to work some more.   Let's just say I didn't spend my weekend planning my weekly menu or anything, okay?  Anyway, today was a busy Monday (most are) so I had to throw something together.  And what I came up with, is pretty darn good!  Although Mia wouldn't take a bite of it.  Nope, not one bite.

The inspiration for this meal?  I had to use the 5 day old fresh broccoli crown in my fridge before it went bad.  Here's the end result (sorry for the crappy Blackberry pic)...

Lemon Chicken Picollini:

• Boil water, add some salt and bowl some picollini pasta until al dente.  Drain and set aside.
•  In a separate skillet, heat some olive oil and 1 heaping tablespoon of garlic until fragrant, add 2 cut up chicken breasts and cook until 1/2 cooked.
• Add one whole broccoli crown, cut into bite-size pieces and 1/2 container of mushrooms.  Put lid on the skillet to "steam" the broccoli until mushrooms are soft and broccoli is fork tender.
• Move broccoli,  chicken and mushrooms to a separate bowl and set aside.  
• Add 2 tbsp. of REAL unsalted butter to the warm skillet and melt.  Add 1/2 small container of heavy whipping cream and stir until simmering.  
• Zest 2 lemons and add zest to cream mixture.  Squeeze the juice from one lemon into the cream mixture and add salt and pepper.  Cut the remaining lemon into slices.
• Cook lemon and cream mixture for about 2 minutes.  Add chicken, broccoli and mushrooms to cream mixture and stir.  Add cooked picollini and stir. 
• Chop some fresh basil and add to pasta mixture, top with fresh lemon slices and......SERVE!!

Although Mia turned her nose, I loved it. JC loved it.  But it could have used more salt.  When you are using real cream...the rule is....YOU CAN NEVER USE ENOUGH SALT!

Father's Day Pizza

Well, we had just a marvelous Father's Day.  Except we didn't get to talk to my dad because he was working, but he got a picture of Mimi and I think he was happy.  We, of course, watched the US Open as we do every year.  Well, JC, his dad and brother watched it, while I sat there pretty darn bored.  I'm sorry, as much as I try, I just can't get into golf.  BO-RING.

We usually do steaks and stuff for dinner after the golf tournament, but this year I protested.  Why?  Well, here is how it usually plays out when the three of them get together.  The US Open gets over around 7:00pm and they want to grill the steaks after that so they don't miss the tournament.  That means at 6:00pm, I am working on doing the sides and marinating the steaks while trying to feed and bathe a little girl who is beginning to get the bedtime crabbies. Also, it's a pain in the ass to make a whole separate meal for Mia than the one we're eating and there is no way she can wait to eat until 7:30 or 8pm.  Nope.  Marinating steaks and making sides with a whiny baby on my hip makes for an unhappy Jill and while I'm trying to do it all and the dads are relaxing on Father's Day, I'm giving my husband the "Why don't you help me?!?!" evil eye.  Not exactly the Father's Day we had in mind.  Seriously, this happens every time. 

So this year, I proposed something better. Homemade Pizza! These two pizzas had just enough "specialness" to be okay for Father's Day, but not so much "specialness" that I was going out of my mind.  Here is what we (I) made:

Margarita Pizza:

- Pre-made crust (Yup, I went there)
- Sliced tomatoes, with juice squeezed out (that I spent $4.99 on because, well...it IS Father's Day)
- Sliced, fresh mozzarella (not from the bag)
- Fresh basil from my garden

Seriously...just add the sauce, slap on the toppings, cook for ten minutes and viola.  It was delicious. But the real show stopper was this....

Apple Gorgonzola Pizza:

-  Pre-made crust (Let's face it, I would just burn the crust anyway)
-  Sprinkle some Monterrey Jack cheese on the bottom...just a little
-  Add chopped green apples
-  Add a few sliced red onions (thinly sliced)
-  Add a few handfuls of walnuts
-  Sprinkle Fresh rosemary over the top
-  Top with shredded monterrey jack cheese and lots of gorgonzola cheese

Bake for 10 minutes and eat the crap out of it.  Seriously, I could eat that pizza every day of my life and be happy as a clam.  Add a tossed salad with homemade ranch dressing and some chocolate brownies with caramel and sea salt and the boys were in Father's Day heaven.  Super duper easy and no fussy Jill to be found.

Well, that was mostly because my hubby cleaned up the kitchen afterwards.  That helps. 

The best daddy. Ever.

In honor of Father's Day coming up...I just have to say it.  Mia has the best dad...my husband.  Wanna know why?  Here's one photo I snapped while they weren't looking.

See? Told you.  

It's not my birthday...but I'll eat your cake if I want to...

A week ago, Mia went to her buddy Hugo's 2nd birthday party.  The reason why I'm blogging about it NOW is because since, she got sick with some kind of virus and we've been recuperating (ie...not sleeping much).  Anyway, we're back (except for some bad allergies nonsense) and here are the pictures of Mimi before the party.  HOW CUTE IS THIS DRESS?!?!?!

Sad story is I can't find the dress and and I think we left it there after we played in the baby pool with the other kids.  Boo. She ran around the party like it was HERS and tried to open gifts and even eat the birthday boys' cake because he didn't want it!  The girl wanted cake and she didn't see why she couldn't have his, I guess. He didn't want it and it was rainbow-colored.  How could she resist, really?  Okay, just kidding...I drug her away from the cake kicking and screaming.  We left shortly after. 

At the party, people could not believe that she is only 18 months because she is so vocal.  She probably says over 50 words (seriously) and now puts 2 words together ie: "Read it" "All done" "I do" etc.  She is even starting to make certain words plural when they need to be ie: when there is more than one ball, she says "balls."  She knows her name and last name if you ask her.  Smart cookie.

At her 18 month check up this week, they did the test to see how well she played and if she knew what certain objects were.  They gave her a car, a doll and a few blocks.  They asked if she could stack the blocks and "feed" the doll.  So, she pointed to the blocks, said "blocks", stacked them, knocked them down and said "Uh oh."  Then she pointed to the doll and said "baby" and fed her the bottle and then she said "car."

They stopped the test and said, "Yeah, I think she's good." She's a show off and its awesome!

The best thing I ever...grew

Okay, so I didn't grow ALL of this, but I did grow the basil...right out of my garden.  I know, I know...basil is the easiest thing to grow ever...but I don't claim to be Ina Garten.  I wish. Who doesn't wish they had the foresight to add coffee to every chocolate recipe they make? 

Alright, back to the task at hand.  First of all, fresh basil clipped straight from the ground is WAY more potent.  And way more rustic.  See?

No pretty, single leaves in a plastic container here, folks.  I wish you could smell it.

When I went to Europe a few years ago, I had the best Caprese salad EVER at a small cafe on the streets of Venice.  (I know, I know...sounds pretentious, but it's the truth) This salad, seriously, was the best thing I've ever eaten.  It was so good, that I took a picture and have it framed on a wall above my dining room table.  Don't believe me? Fine.  Here's the proof...

The basil was muddled and I think steeped in olive oil and sans balsamic vinegar...but oh man, it was so delicious.  Being 5 months pregnant and in Italian food heaven might have been a factor, but regardless, I STILL dream about that salad. 

So, here is my take on the classic. Get some tomatoes.  (These came from the store, the tomatoes in my garden are still green)

Clip some basil.

Open a beer.  Wait... what?

Grab some fresh mozzarella cheese and assemble the salad as so...

Super delicious, and perfect for summer.  Add some avocado and prepare to have your mind BLOWN!