Valentine's Day

Today was a food day, which means more to me than it would normally because I was feeling well enough to cook! For the last two months I've been exhausted and feeling crummy pretty much all the time, so preparing food has become my enemy. :( That's probably one of the reasons I feel like pregnancy robs me of who I really am; one of the downsides to growing a human. Thankfully, it seems like it's on it's way out when I have days like today! Granted, if given the opportunity I would have laid down and rested, but it wasn't like I had to rest, which has been the case MANY times.

So lunch was more like a breakfast lunch with scrambled eggs and bell peppers and onions and chicken sausage.

Dinner was the main meal I spent the day preparing for. I was really looking forward to having a Valentine's meal with Jake. He was scheduled to arrive in Sacramento at 5:30pm. Then a mechanical on the plane he was flying happened and they had to deice in Minneapolis. :( This meant Jake was going to miss his connecting flight and consequently not arrive to SMF until 8:30pm. I was so bummed. To lighten the blow, I shared some of the left over chocolate mousse (I had made for dessert) with Isaac. He was very happy to be part of my coping.

I didn't realize it at the time, but Jake had ordered me flowers AND chocolate (what a splurge)! He clued me to check the front door and there was the gift. So sweet.

Even though I'd like to be, Jake and I aren't naturally very festive, so doing anything special on holidays is pretty exciting. The flowers were beautiful and the chocolates surprisingly good! (I'm always a little weary of chocolates not purchased from See's or another reputable chocolate shop.) Sadly, as my life would have it, when I left to get Jake from the airport, my animals worked together to get the chocolates off the counter and ate about two-thirds of the box. Thankfully, no throw up and everyone is acting normal. I'm still bummed not to have the chocolates, but better for my health, right?

So before Jake got home I prepared salmon from a grilled salmon recipe, fingerling potatoes, and green beans. As soon as we got home from the airport, I put Isaac down and Jake put the food on the grill. Even though it doesn't look super pretty, it sure tasted good! Success!

Then for dessert, we had and a small red velvet bundt cake (mmmmm) and chocolate mousse with strawberries and whipped cream. YUM!

So it might have ended up being a late night, but it was wonderful to end it with my forever Valentine. :)

1 Year

Today marks Isaac's FIRST rotation around the sun!

It's amazing that one whole year has gone by since this little man graced us with his presence. We had a pretty mellow day: went to Music Together, opened a couple presents from Grandma and Grandpa Springsteen and Ike got his FIRST true dessert- a chocolate cupcake with cream cheese frosting. 

Betty did the flower on the top :)

Mmmm. The cupcake is actually not that unhealthy; it has carrots in it (that has to count for something)! 

Isaac was not impressed and  a little unsure about the cupcake at first...

Then after exploring it some...

he decided it was quite a yummy treat!

It's been really nice having Jake's parents here and Ike has enjoyed the attention!

Ike tuning his first guitar

Ike loved his card!

I often think I couldn't love him any more and then I wake up to another day. Thank you, God, for continually growing my heart more than I could ever imagine.

Happy Birthday, Ike

Happy Birthday Ashlie!

Today was my sister's 34th birthday. She is a fantastic woman through and through.

Even though I was not with her on her actual birthday, I was able to drive to San Jose on the 4th to make a birthday eve dinner and dessert. Isaac did great hanging out and playing with all of the Feffer's toys and I enjoyed cooking, visiting with my sister and playing with her girls. I also got to see my brother-in-law, Adam, which was a treat since the last couple times I've been with Ashlie, he has been working.

So dinner was Ina Garten's Spring Green Risotto with rosemary parmesan rolls from Trader Joe's (those rolls pair with everything!) and for dessert I made a Tiramisu Chocolate Mousse and got a double chocolate bundt cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes. Deliciousness!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHLIE! 

I am SO thankful that God blessed me with you as my big sister!

Friday Feffer Fun Day

Today I was blessed by having my sister and her fabulous daughters come over for the afternoon. I tell you, sisters are a gift from God! They arrived while Isaac was taking his morning nap, which was a perfect time for us to paint pumpkins! I saw a blurb on Facebook about painting pumpkins a teal color to let parents know that you will be offering something other than candy so that if their child has a food allergy your home is a safe place to go trick-or-treating (here's the link about it). Whereas I love the idea, I am not a crafty person, so this worked out to be the perfect thing to do with my nieces and sister. And I even ended up having a good time painting my pumpkin (it was a team effort)!

Once Isaac woke up we had lunch and Eleia allowed Ike to hold her arm as he ate. He LOVES to touch, squeeze, shake something/someone when he eats, so it was nice of her to oblige.

To maximize our time together, I made Ratatouille and a quinoa salad before they arrived so we could have that for lunch while they were here. While cutting up the eggplant for the Ratatouille, I found this little friend...

I don't mind spiders, but I still prefer them outside, so he was promptly moved!

Ratatouille is one of my absolute favorite healthy, easy meals. So for those interested, here's the recipe passed down from my mom:

Ratatouille ("stew" or "soup" in French)

1 large onion

1 green pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large eggplant

2 medium zucchini

3 tomatoes, chopped 

         OR

5 tablespoons tomato paste

   & 3 tbsps water

1    tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 clove fresh garlic, minced

Dice eggplant into 1-inch cubes and slice zucchini into 1/2-inch rounds.  Chop onion coarsely and cut green pepper into squares.

Use a heavy-bottomed saucepan with a lid.  Saute the onion, garlic, and green pepper until they are soft;

stir in eggplant and zucchini and saute a few minutes more.  Add tomato and seasonings.  Cover and 

simmer gently for about 30 minutes or until all the vegetables are well cooked.

Uncover and turn the heat up to evaporate some of the liquid.                                                                    Serves 6 to 8.

After lunch I played hide and seek with the girls and then Ashlie and I shared some PG Tips tea and yummy dark chocolate pumpkin spice salted caramels. If you have not had these- yes they sound just as good as they are. YUM! I really enjoy eating special treats with someone, so it was nice to share them with her. It was nice to be able to sip on some tea while the kids played in the other room. Isaac was so captivated by his cousins. It's fun to see them together.

Lastly, I got to read to the kids before they headed back on the road to San Jose (2 1/2 hours- not a short drive!). And because I can't help myself: here's a video with the pictures and a little video from our time together!

Thanks for coming and hanging out Feffers! I love you to the moon and back!

Life and Humpback Whales!

Today has been busy, busy, busy. The first item of the day was Isaac's 6 month appointment with the pediatrician. He is a skinny boy in the 30% for weight, in the 80% for length and 85% for head circumference. So we continue with a long and lean smart child. ;) The pediatrician was not surprised at the numbers since he is moving more and therefore burning more calories. Isaac is meeting all of his milestones, so all is well! He also got three shots today. Thankfully he does not cry long and pretty much goes on with the day like nothing happened. He's such a trooper. The pediatrician also mentioned that now he shouldn't have to get anymore shots until he's 1! I love knowing that his immune system is getting nice and strong and I am so thankful for the advances we have in medicine to protect us at such a young age.

He really liked the pediatrician's watch

After his appointment we grabbed a coffee and drove to Port San Luis to check out the humpback whales- SO COOL! I love wildlife.

Isaac watched the whales in his dreams :)

I love getting to hang out with Jake. Just getting to sit and laugh and watch the whales together was enough to completely make my day.

Later I made a yummy dinner of roasted root and winter vegetables (parsnips, celery root, turnip, garnet sweet potato, carrots, and butternut squash) and an Orecchiette pasta dish with sausage and arugula. Thankfully both were very yummy. The only downside was that at one point my hands were oily from putting the vegetables on the cooking sheets, Isaac started crying and my phone was ringing with a girl that I was suppose to have a little meeting with about doTerra. It was all a little stressful, but in the end worked out ok. And I am reminded that this is, after all, the life of being a mom.

Isaac Weekly Update: Week 27

This week has been pretty uneventful (that's a good thing)!

Maybe that's not entirely true, since he did have his first boo boo from falling over (the first of many I'm sure)! He is sitting up more and loves to grab things and babble and laugh. He is also letting out a few more squeals lately, which are not my favorite. He still loves his bouncy chair and even though he's not eating a bunch, he does enjoy sitting with us at the table. So far we have tried avocado, peach sauce, carrots and applesauce. Peach sauce has definitely been his favorite, but I still can't say he's really eating the food- more just playing. He has a sock monkey that one of my Sweet Adelines made for him (she makes one for each of her great grand children and she has made MANY)! I think they look a little creepy, but he loves it. very cute.

Today Jake came home. We had to drive to Santa Barbara to pick him up, but it was a beautiful drive and of course it was worth it! Isaac needed to sleep, so it worked well because he sleeps wonderfully in the car. Once we picked up Jake, we found a spot I could feed Ike before we headed back to San Luis Obispo. Isaac thought having Jake back was great fun and ended up doing many of these poses to look at Jake instead of focusing on the task at hand.

It's a little frustrating, but how can you get mad at that adorable expression?! Once we got home I had a little spread waiting for Jake.

I made some smoked salmon spread (a recipe from who else but Mrs. Ina Garten) and had some crackers to go with it. Ina always has something beautiful for her husband when he's returning from work, so this was my shot at doing something "lovely." It might not be as beautiful as her layouts, but it sure was tasty! It was a great way to wind down after a long day and a fun way to welcome him home.

Roast Chicken

The main events in my day are cooking, walking, feeding Isaac and simply hanging out with Isaac. Today was no different. Yesterday I got a new roasting pan and it's a little goofy how excited I am about it. I recently saw a recipe for a roast chicken and tried my hand at it and it was delicious! What was even more exciting was how good the vegetables were that I roasted with it. 

The recipe called for fennel, which made me nervous since it smells like anise (not my favorite), but roasted it was very tasty! I love it when trying something new ends positively. I also made some white bean and roasted eggplant hummus which also turned out yummy and lastly, I made some pecan bars (YUM!). 

After Isaac went to sleep my mom and I shared some coffee and one of the bars. mmmm...

Isaac was mostly pleasant today, but started to fall apart around 7pm. Here are a couple pictures of the little man: