Not much is really going on in our world, so I thought I would post some pictures to give you something to coo about until his four month update in a week or so! Enjoy!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Photos...until something interesting happens
Not much is really going on in our world, so I thought I would post some pictures to give you something to coo about until his four month update in a week or so! Enjoy!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Bar of the Month Club - a monthly feature
For quite some time, I have been considering starting a food and cooking blog. I absolutely love to cook and love to share recipes, and I love to read other people's blogs about cooking. But I also know that my reality is such that I barely make the time to keep up one blog, much less TWO. So, I am going to start by occasionally sharing recipes and such on this blog.
When we first started dating (on our first second official date), I made Vince Oatmeal Freckles for his birthday. I contend that this is the point at which Vince fell madly in love with me. (Perhaps he would tell a different story.) Regardless, he made it clear that he loved my cookies. After a while of dating and then marriage, I stopped regularly baking for him. And so for Christmas 2008, I gave Vince a "Cookie of the Month" Club for part of his Christmas present. Once per month he could pick any cookie recipe that he wanted, and I made those cookies. It was a lot of fun, and I got to cook and be creative.
To shake things up a bit, this past Christmas, I gave Vince the "Bar of the Month" Club. Now that sounds like we'll be drinking a lot, but I thought the name "Brownie of the Month" sounded too limiting. I offered to make him any bar that he would like. In January he went for Cream Cheese Brownies. But I had not yet thought about posting these on the blog, so if you want the recipe, email me! And just when he was deciding on what he would choose for his February selection, we got a Cooking Club magazine in the mail with "five decadent bar recipes." Score! And thus he chose for February: Chocolate-Caramel Crispies.
Chocolate-Caramel Crispies (Makes 16 bars)
6 Tablespoons of water, divided
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 (11oz) bag of caramel bits or 40 unwrapped caramels (from 14oz bag), divided
25 marshmallows (not miniature)
4 cups crisped rice cereal
4oz 60% to 62% bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1. Line 9in square baking pan with foil; spray with cooking spray.
2. Bring 1 tablespoon of the water and 2 tablespoons of the butter to a simmer in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in half of the caramel bits until melted and smooth. Add marshmallows; stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; stir in cereal until well-combined. Spoon into pan; pat into corners. With well buttered fingers, smooth top.
3. Bring 4 tablespoons of the water and remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to a boil in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate until melted and smooth. Cool to room temperature. Drizzle over bars.
4. Microwave remaining caramel bits and remaining 1 tablespoon of water in small microwave-safe bowl 1 minute or until melted and smooth, pausing ever 20 seconds to stir. Drizzle in larger bands over bars. With tip of knife, swirl caramel and chocolate into decorative pattern. Let stand until set. Remove from pan using foil; cut into bars.
*Note...I have yet to really figure out how to take good pictures of food, so hopefully, as these features progress, so will the photography.*
Also, use more cooking spray than you think you need. The caramel in the rice crispies makes this recipe extra sticky!
When we first started dating (on our first second official date), I made Vince Oatmeal Freckles for his birthday. I contend that this is the point at which Vince fell madly in love with me. (Perhaps he would tell a different story.) Regardless, he made it clear that he loved my cookies. After a while of dating and then marriage, I stopped regularly baking for him. And so for Christmas 2008, I gave Vince a "Cookie of the Month" Club for part of his Christmas present. Once per month he could pick any cookie recipe that he wanted, and I made those cookies. It was a lot of fun, and I got to cook and be creative.
To shake things up a bit, this past Christmas, I gave Vince the "Bar of the Month" Club. Now that sounds like we'll be drinking a lot, but I thought the name "Brownie of the Month" sounded too limiting. I offered to make him any bar that he would like. In January he went for Cream Cheese Brownies. But I had not yet thought about posting these on the blog, so if you want the recipe, email me! And just when he was deciding on what he would choose for his February selection, we got a Cooking Club magazine in the mail with "five decadent bar recipes." Score! And thus he chose for February: Chocolate-Caramel Crispies.
Chocolate-Caramel Crispies (Makes 16 bars)
6 Tablespoons of water, divided
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 (11oz) bag of caramel bits or 40 unwrapped caramels (from 14oz bag), divided
25 marshmallows (not miniature)
4 cups crisped rice cereal
4oz 60% to 62% bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1. Line 9in square baking pan with foil; spray with cooking spray.
2. Bring 1 tablespoon of the water and 2 tablespoons of the butter to a simmer in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in half of the caramel bits until melted and smooth. Add marshmallows; stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; stir in cereal until well-combined. Spoon into pan; pat into corners. With well buttered fingers, smooth top.
3. Bring 4 tablespoons of the water and remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to a boil in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate until melted and smooth. Cool to room temperature. Drizzle over bars.
4. Microwave remaining caramel bits and remaining 1 tablespoon of water in small microwave-safe bowl 1 minute or until melted and smooth, pausing ever 20 seconds to stir. Drizzle in larger bands over bars. With tip of knife, swirl caramel and chocolate into decorative pattern. Let stand until set. Remove from pan using foil; cut into bars.
*Note...I have yet to really figure out how to take good pictures of food, so hopefully, as these features progress, so will the photography.*
Also, use more cooking spray than you think you need. The caramel in the rice crispies makes this recipe extra sticky!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Three Months Old
We can hardly believe that Julian is now three months old! He is so much fun and is growing his personality. And we love it! We are one of the lucky ones to have a baby with such a sweet disposition who is a great sleeper as well. Here are his three month Jedi shots.
Julian is also rolling like a madman. We thought it was a fluke at first, but he has proven to us that rolling is now his specialty...at least from his tummy to his back. On this video he rolled twice, but then he went on to roll about ten more times and even rolled to his other side. This kid cannot be stopped.
Where he once hated tummy time, he enjoys it a lot now because he can get a better look at the cats and the dog.
And just for fun, he does sometimes make funny faces...
Julian is also rolling like a madman. We thought it was a fluke at first, but he has proven to us that rolling is now his specialty...at least from his tummy to his back. On this video he rolled twice, but then he went on to roll about ten more times and even rolled to his other side. This kid cannot be stopped.
Where he once hated tummy time, he enjoys it a lot now because he can get a better look at the cats and the dog.
And just for fun, he does sometimes make funny faces...
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Updates
Life is good with Mr. JB. He's rolled from belly to back twice. Although he is categorically denying the paparazzi access to this act. We'll get it on video at some point. He's becoming quite chatty and smiley, which warms our hearts each time.
I'm back at work this week, which has it's pluses and minuses, and JB officially starts day care next week. We'll get to that more in a later post. For now, enjoy these videos. Disregard my silly, high-pitched mom voice. The post-bath video is fun because he loves taking baths, but he loves the lotion massage the best. He makes the funnest noises.
And comment so we know you are out there!
I'm back at work this week, which has it's pluses and minuses, and JB officially starts day care next week. We'll get to that more in a later post. For now, enjoy these videos. Disregard my silly, high-pitched mom voice. The post-bath video is fun because he loves taking baths, but he loves the lotion massage the best. He makes the funnest noises.
And comment so we know you are out there!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Julian at Two Months Old
Julian turned two months old on January 9, and we took his monthly picture with Yoda.
He was really unhappy at first at having to take a picture.
But then I cuddled him long enough for him to fall asleep.
But he was still a bit fussy.
But a pacifier took care of that problem.
JB was wearing his elephant outfit (Thanks, Mike & Amy D) in honor of the University of Alabama's win over Texas for the national championship in college football. Roll Tide!
He was really unhappy at first at having to take a picture.
But then I cuddled him long enough for him to fall asleep.
But he was still a bit fussy.
But a pacifier took care of that problem.
JB was wearing his elephant outfit (Thanks, Mike & Amy D) in honor of the University of Alabama's win over Texas for the national championship in college football. Roll Tide!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
The Holidays (In Review)
After much hard work, I finally got the lights on the Christmas tree. It only took three weeks to finally get it done. This was in the days before Julian started taking long naps in the afternoon. I swear, I had to watch White Christmas three times before I finally finished. We decided to pass on ornaments this year. If it took three weeks to get the lights on, think how long it would take to put on ornaments...or heck...take it all down.
Our stockings are looking quite lovely in a row. Everyone (four-legged family included) has one. Julian's was made by our dear friend, Barb. She even read my mind about what I wanted. I was planning to make one for him myself that had his name on it and was decorated with snowpeople. Great job, Barb!
(Stockings L to R: Vince, Julian, April, Gumbo, Dora, Luna)
My family came up for Christmas from Texas and Louisiana. My brother Jake, his wife Robin, and their dog Maggie drove from New Orleans to Jackson, MS to pick up my dad, and then they all drove up to Chicago. They brought 20lbs of satsumas too (a Louisiana citrus fruit compared to a tangerine, but better)! Our fantastic downstairs neighbor Kim was going to be out of town for the holiday, so we had two apartments, which worked perfectly.
(Uncle Jake and Julian...chillin')
Jake and Robin took great care of JB, so that Vince and I could have a baby-free night on the town. We went to Davis Street Fish Market (YUM!) and then to Barnes and Noble for browsing and coffee. We chatted and worked on our list journal. (More about the journal in another post.)
(Aunt Robin and Julian spent a lot of time bouncing.)
Dad made some delicious picnic chili, which we munched on for days. And we all worked together to cook a delicious Christmas dinner with Jake making turkey, Dad making dressing, Robin making brussell sprouts, and me making Eller beans (fancy green beans), pies, and cranberries.
(JB and Bubba...my dad)
(Vince reading one of JB's favorite books...my favorite line: "Don't meander, salamander!")
It was great to have them all here for JB's first Christmas. Here's a picture of JB in an outfit from his Sweetie (my mom).
Santa's favorite, indeed!
And an outfit from his GG (Vince's mom).
JB's grandpop (Vince's dad) is a firefighter afterall.
A few days after Christmas, my coworker and great friend Jonathan and his girlfriend Meghan came over for Jonathan's birthday. We had homemade meatballs in a tomato gravy with radicchio, gnocchi and a great cake that Meghan got at a bakery near their home. It was a great time!
(Ready to blow out candles)
Look at that beautiful carrot cake!
Julian and me before the IWJ holiday party
Our stockings are looking quite lovely in a row. Everyone (four-legged family included) has one. Julian's was made by our dear friend, Barb. She even read my mind about what I wanted. I was planning to make one for him myself that had his name on it and was decorated with snowpeople. Great job, Barb!
(Stockings L to R: Vince, Julian, April, Gumbo, Dora, Luna)
My family came up for Christmas from Texas and Louisiana. My brother Jake, his wife Robin, and their dog Maggie drove from New Orleans to Jackson, MS to pick up my dad, and then they all drove up to Chicago. They brought 20lbs of satsumas too (a Louisiana citrus fruit compared to a tangerine, but better)! Our fantastic downstairs neighbor Kim was going to be out of town for the holiday, so we had two apartments, which worked perfectly.
(Uncle Jake and Julian...chillin')
Jake and Robin took great care of JB, so that Vince and I could have a baby-free night on the town. We went to Davis Street Fish Market (YUM!) and then to Barnes and Noble for browsing and coffee. We chatted and worked on our list journal. (More about the journal in another post.)
(Aunt Robin and Julian spent a lot of time bouncing.)
Dad made some delicious picnic chili, which we munched on for days. And we all worked together to cook a delicious Christmas dinner with Jake making turkey, Dad making dressing, Robin making brussell sprouts, and me making Eller beans (fancy green beans), pies, and cranberries.
(JB and Bubba...my dad)
(Vince reading one of JB's favorite books...my favorite line: "Don't meander, salamander!")
It was great to have them all here for JB's first Christmas. Here's a picture of JB in an outfit from his Sweetie (my mom).
Santa's favorite, indeed!And an outfit from his GG (Vince's mom).
JB's grandpop (Vince's dad) is a firefighter afterall.
A few days after Christmas, my coworker and great friend Jonathan and his girlfriend Meghan came over for Jonathan's birthday. We had homemade meatballs in a tomato gravy with radicchio, gnocchi and a great cake that Meghan got at a bakery near their home. It was a great time!
(Ready to blow out candles)
Look at that beautiful carrot cake!
Julian and me before the IWJ holiday party
Monday, January 4, 2010
Nap Time
I do have some pics and whatnot from Christmas, but I'll have to upload those when I have more time. But this was my experience today:
JB and I were a bit off our schedule today, but he was still super sleepy. I put him down in his bassinet, not quite asleep, and hoped he would settle down. He was squirmy for a couple of minutes and then he settled down. So, I went in to check and make sure he was asleep. And this is what I found:
No nap for me, Mama.
How could you resist this face?
JB and I were a bit off our schedule today, but he was still super sleepy. I put him down in his bassinet, not quite asleep, and hoped he would settle down. He was squirmy for a couple of minutes and then he settled down. So, I went in to check and make sure he was asleep. And this is what I found:
No nap for me, Mama.
How could you resist this face?
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