Whatever, Bob, Just Crash it!

Our little man turned 1 on Oct 19. I can't believe how it feels like forever ago that we brought him home and tried to figure out how in the world to set up a pack-and-play in the middle of the night. It feels like yesterday, though, that I left him at school for the first time. A lot happens in that first year of life. Happy Birthday, sweet boy!


We did not go trick-or-treat-ing this year, but we did get G a costume. We also had pumpkins on our front porch. Luckily, they are mobile and can hang in the front yard. This is one of those posts that's really just some pictures. Happy Halloween 2010!

The 4th of July is a great holiday: food, family, fireworks! :) What's not to love? We indulged in all of them. I baked a red, white and blue dessert. This is my buttermilk pie, topped with whipped cream, strawberries and blueberries. It tasted as good as it looks, if I do say so, myself. My dad, who is always very sensible about eating, even indulged in seconds!! I was so proud.


We also took a trip to the local pool, where G took in all the sights and sounds there were to offer, and I assure you there were plenty. He did not cry and seemed to enjoy it. You can barely see in the next picture, but he did sport his red, white and blue to say Happy Birthday to our country. He is learning how to use a sippy cup. Still working on it, but he's getting better at it.



My parents came to celebrate, and G really enjoyed having them here. My dad and Travis spent the better part of the 4th making some improvements to our master bathroom. We now have some beautiful faucets rather than the less-beautiful ones that were there, and some gorgeous light fixtures that offer much more light. The holiday was wrapped up with some HUGE fireworks right in our front yard. The whole street was out there celebrating, with the possible exception of a little boy worn out. Happy Birthday, America!

Travis has been eyeing wanting a gas stove. I pointed out that we don’t even know if we have a gas connection to the stove. So yesterday we leaned the stove forward to try and get a peek. We could not see one, so we deemed it a lost cause. Then, upon leaning the stove back down to where it usually sits, a hissing noise began. Chaos ensued. Travis smelled it, we determined it was gas, I threw the cat into the sunporch and closed the door, grabbed G to take him outside, grabbed the phone and dialed 911, handed the phone to Travis who told them where to come and why.

Funny thing, if you call 911, they do come. We actually did call them back and told them Travis was able to turn the gas off outside at the meter, and they said they would cancel the call. But they showed up anyway, which, let’s face it, gives us better peace of mind. The fireman and Travis went inside, opened up the windows (we’d already opened the doors) and we were cleared to go back indoors by the time they left. While they were doing that I had called the gas company, since even if we stopped the leak by turning off the source, we would eventually have to turn it back on.

As it turned out, we do, definitely, have a gas connection at the back of the stove. It’s down at the ground/floor level, and it was uncapped with only a turn valve on it. When we leaned the stove back down, we inadvertently hit the valve and turned it on. The gas man came and capped the valve, Travis vacuumed behind the stove, I cleaned the sides of it, and G got some outside in the grass time as well as his afternoon nap. Oh! And we let Otto back out of the sunporch. He was grateful – it gets warm out there. All in all, a fine afternoon, with just a glimpse of chaos.

So I decided I wanted to sew our own wearable blanket. I say our because I would make it, G would wear it. I bought all the stuff, went back and forth to the store a few times until I got all the correct necessities, got out my grandmother's old sewing machine, called to see about taking it in for a tune-up (this is scheduled for "later" on the calendar), practiced on some fabric scraps, sewed a preliminary project (a fabric panel book - which he loves!!) to get used to sewing again, and voila! Got started on my project.

Step 1 - draw a pattern on some old tissue you have left from a Crate and Barrel wrapping kit.



Step 2 - Pin said pattern to your fabric of choice. Best to pin to it folded in half so you only have to cut once. Cut out the fabric so you have two identical panels.






Step 3 - Sew. Here is a shot of the zipper, as well as an action shot of stitching the sides together.






Step 4 - Well, step 4 should be finishing everything up, but I haven't yet finished up around the neck and arm holes. That will be completed some time this week or next weekend. So in this case, step 4 is, drum roll please, have adorable baby model said wearable blanket!! Ta-da!

So there's a new - new to me at least - woman on the food network and she has "bean night" at her house. Once a week, they have dinner with beans as the primary source of protein, rather than meat. Saves on money and calories. So last night was bean night at our house. I don't believe once a week would fly at our particular abode, but once in a while works out.


Enter the charred chile rellenos - and add some black beans! Voila, a delicious - and dare I say pretty - bean night entree! I served this alongside some Mexican brown rice. Probably too many starches on this plate, but it was tasty and filling. Not your typical battered, cheese-filled chile relleno, but this one is hearty, heart-friendly, and quite tasty if I do say so.

So this is in no way food-related, but how cute is he? Sometimes people say, "he's so cute I could just eat him up!" Therefore, I found this an appropriate post. :) And it had been too long...

Found another picture, so here you go! This was a healthy night. We had buffalo chicken strips presented in a salad nicoise style. I don't know what else to say - it was delicious! Great meal for those hot summer nights.

I know, I know, you all thought I gave up on the food blog. Surprise!

So this is my new favorite pie! Warm Apple-Buttermilk Custard Pie - I made it for Travis's and Neil's birthday celebration. I had to halve the recipe, so I have made it again. This time I will take it to work with me. I don't even know that my colleagues deserve it, but maybe karma will smile on me. Oh! And in the interest of this being my healthier blog, this recipe comes from Cooking Light. ;)