I Heart this hair-do

Those of you with little girlies and those of you who like a twist on up-do's please bookmark this blog. It is a blog dedicated to hairstyles that are not your typical braids and pony tails. Most of them are for little girls, but in my opinion, if you use a little less hairspray and make it look a little messier some of them can work for adults, too.

I decided to try the "messy bun pig tails" (I admit the title alone screams "I'm 5 years old!", but whatever). Though hers is not messy at all! I love that the finished product is 2 hearts on each side ... so cute. I made mine overly messy and that's the way I prefer it. I also didn't make my pony tails even so it looks like a wave of hearts across the back. More avaunt guard. It took a lot longer to do than I would have thought (about 10 minutes and a couple of tries), but this is harder than it looks to do on your self. I'm sure if I did this again it would take less time. Worth the time if you have it and fun for Valentine's Day. You don't need long hair to do this style either so try it out.

Moroccan halibut with carrots

I have been trying to cook all new recipes lately. I have also been trying to cook recipes that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. That is just prep time ... cook time I don't care about so much. Cooking with a toddler around requires easily and quickly prepared food. I made this tonight and Joe loved it!

Ingredients:
2 5-ounce 1-inch-thick halibut fillets
*I used Tilapia since the store I went to didn't have halibut. It was just fine.
1/4 teaspoon (generous) ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon (generous) cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, divided
1 cup 1/4 x 1/4 x 2 1/2-inch sticks peeled carrots (cut from 2 large)
*Make sure the carrots are thin so they will be able to cook though in 5 minutes. Mine were too thick so it took extra time.
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation:
Sprinkle both sides of fish with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then with half of cinnamon and cayenne. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy medium skillet over medium high heat. Add fish. Sauté until brown and just opaque in center, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer fish to plates. Remove skillet from heat and wipe out. Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter, carrots, lemon juice, and lemon peel. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and remaining cinnamon and cayenne. Toss to blend. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until carrots are just tender, about 5 minutes. Mix in mint. Mound carrots on fish and serve.

That's it. I served mine with rice pilaf and by the time the rice was done cooking so was the fish and the carrots. This can be prepared in 30 minutes.

Clean it up and move it out

I am an organization person. I make lists for my lists. The neater .... the better. One of the first apps I got for my iphone was a grocery list and to do list. I have a goal that would be amazing, though somewhat obsessive, if I could do it. I want to have every drawer, closet and cabinet in the whole house free of clutter and only keeping things that I actually use. If someone was to walk into my house I would want to feel confident that they could open any drawer and not cringe that they would randomly choose "the shove drawer". Sounds easy in theory, but as humans we hang on to a lot of crap!

I hope to get rid of my "shove drawer." You know what that is .... it's the drawer that you have unconsciously designated to have all the crap on your counter top or floor shoved into it when someone stops by on short notice so the area appears clean. The shove drawer .... we've all got one. Ok well I have one and will be rid of it before this post is over!

Before I tackle the shove drawer I decided that I would start with the upstairs closets. I keep my beading supplies in my yoga room closet and my sewing supplies in the guest room closet and I shove all the random stuff in the armoir. It's a big mess, I can't find anything I need when I need it and it drives me insane to have all this clutter in every room of the house. I gave myself until March to do it, but I was able to pretty much get it done in 2 nights after Devon went to sleep.

Before ....


After ....

I know this picture doesn't look THAT different, but I organized all my gift wrapping stuff and found a place for my beading lap board.

Before ....



After ....

Empty (except for the stereo). Just the way an empty bedroom closet should look.

I even got that AWESOME painting hung on the wall that my sister, Elizabeth, painted for me last year for xmas.


Before ....


After ....

The left side is all my beading stuff and the right side is all my sewing stuff. It all fits nicely in one cabinet instead of 3 closets. Needless to say I threw out about 4 garbage bags of crap that was either unusable, actual garbage or outdated copies of Yoga Journal from 2005. Each of the black trays is labeled and contains and entire tray of the same color beads. Makes it easy to find what I'm looking for.

So go through you house and choose a place to start that needs a little attention and let the de-cluttering begin! If you do one cabinet a day or one area a week your ENTIRE house can be organized in about a month. That is unless you live in the real world (and have a toddler following you around un-doing what you just did) by the time your month is over you probably have to start again ;) At least you know it will only take a few minutes to straighten it up and not a whole day.

P.S. The "shove drawer" is no more.

Couldn't help myself

There is a phenomena that occurs when people are in groups and a "crisis" happens. A crisis could be a vast and wide array of events so I use the word crisis very loosely. It could be a murder, watching someone hit a parked car and leaving the scene or an argument. It is called "the bystander effect" or the "Genovese syndrome" (sounds like jen-o-veece). It basically means that people assume that someone else will "take care of it" (ie: call police, help them, etc) so everyone who viewed the event essentially does nothing. It was named after Kitty Genovese, a woman who was stabbed, raped and murdered in a hallway of her apartment building. As she was being attacked a woman shouted to the attacker,"Leave her alone!" but didn't call police and went back into her apartment. He left her in the hallway to die only to return 30 minutes later to stab her repeatedly, rape her again and take $49 from her wallet. A few minutes after the 2nd attack someone called police, but she died a short time later. Approximately 38 people in her building heard the attack, but took no action.

The only reason I shared the Genovese story is to let you know where the syndrome comes from. Despite what we may think about our individual character, the majority of us are MORE likely to do nothing if other people in the group do nothing as well. What I'm saying is if you think something wrong is happening YOU have to take it upon your self to do something about it. Don't assume that someone else will. Don't worry what others will think of you because when you're doing the right thing that doesn't matter anyway.

So .... I went to a movie last night with some girlfriends. It was with Gerard Butler and Jamie Fox. It was called, "Law abiding citizen." In spite of how I describe it it was actually a good movie. It is rated R, however, and is very graphic. There is a brutal home invasion, stabbing, execution .... there is a lot of violence and there are F-bombs. It is pretty graphic to say the least and one scene left me feeling a little queasy watching my LITERAL worst nightmare play out on screen. I know I said that I liked the movie in spite of all the bad stuff I just mentioned, but it was one of those movies that you couldn't figure out what was going to happen so in that way ... I liked it.

About 15 minutes into the movie, out of the corner of my eye, I see a mother, her 2 year old daughter, her 4 year old son and 6 year old son get up and leave. What the WHAT!!!??? WHY were they in that movie in the first place? They left the theater so I was just glad for that.

They returned a few minutes later apparently back from a bathroom break.

My friend sitting with me was equally appalled, but it didn't seem to bother anyone else. Why wasn't anyone politely (or flat out yelling at her) to take her children out? Why did they sell her tickets in the first place? There weren't any children's movies playing so they couldn't have bought tickets and then gone into the R rated one. I just didn't get it.

They settled into their seats just in time for a very graphic stabbing attack. I was sick. My face was hot and I. Was. Furious. I am definitely not one of those "this-is-how-you-raise-your-children" parents. I have my opinions and will offer them if the parent asks me, but generally keep them to myself. We can't do everything right all the time. We all make mistakes and take missteps as parents. I get that. But taking your 2, 4 and 6 year olds to a violent R rated movie just seems an obvious thing to NOT do.

I got up, found a manager and described the situation.

SIDEBAR: Apparently after 6:00 they do not allow children under 12 in rated R movies. WHY that rule only holds after 6:00 is beyond me. Like the time of day should make a difference.

I told her that I was not trying to be a bitch, but now that she had the information she could do with it what she would.

I was so proud of her because she followed me into the theater and promptly escorted them out. She also saw yet ANOTHER family of 3 equally small children sitting near by and escorted them out as well.

I know that it will probably not change this woman's mind that subjecting her children to this kind of thing is not healthy. And God knows what they see at home, but at least they will think twice about dragging their little ones to a movie at that theater in the future.

16 months: Devon (January)

Devon is just hysterical. I mean .... really hysterical.

I started keeping track of Devon's milestones at the beginning of the month. When they happened I jotted them down on the 'ole bloggedy blog that way by the time the end of the month rolls around it's already written. Easy peasy. He is doing so many new things I must have re-written this 6 or 7 times to keep up with all the changes.

He has now figured out how to get himself up on the couch all by himself much to my dismay. Within a few days he has learned to get himself down as well, although, I still have to make sure he doesn't face-plant-off-the-couch so I have to be within arms reach most of the time. I put all the couch pillows down on the floor just in case ;)He is becoming SO independent he will play by himself for about 15 minutes at a time. He will cruise around the living room playing while I make dinner or empty the dishwasher which has been such a big help.

He has started his "Movers and Shakers" classes again twice a week and he is not into them yet. He is such a shy kid ... not one to really venture away from me so it takes him a few weeks to get the hang of it and actually have fun, but when he's into it he loves it. We go to the gym 3 times a week and he has a blast there with all the new toys and the teachers positively doting on him.

Now that it is warming up I try to get him to the park a couple of times a week so he can wander around and play in the sand. Joe made a little sand box in the back yard so we'll go out there when mom is too much of a "hot mess" to go out in public ;)

He has discovered pickles and loves them. I give him a home made orange juice popsicle with dinner and he LOVES them. He calls them "pop".

His new words are cheese, duck, nana or nanana(banana), cracker, shoes, cat, car, blue, baby, baloon, bubble, peacock and shirt. Though about half of the time "shirt" ends up sounding like "shit" and peacock just sounds like "cock" and we all have a good laugh. There are TONS more that I have heard him say, but he only said them once so I don't count those. He says "pa" for cup "ba" for bottle and my favorite "What's that?" as he points to every thing around him. So curious ....

On Tuesday (a few weeks ago by the time this posts) he could "tell you what the cat/lion" said with a distinct meow and growl. By Saturday of the same week he can can do sounds for dog, owl, fish, cow and my personal favorite "bee" to which he makes a "zzzzz" sound and shakes his head side to side. Adorable. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly kids learn at this age. He makes a "funny" face (sucks his top lip in and pushes his bottom lip out) and makes "fishy" faces. He positively loves "twinkle, twinkle little star" to no end and has me sing it to him as I rock him to sleep each night, while he eats, while he plays, while we drive .... pretty much all the time. He loves books and can't get enough of them to the extent that he would rather have me read him a book than play with his toys. He still loves peek-a-boo and I am happy to oblige him in this neverendingly sweet game.

Pork tenderloin en croute + herbed potatoes = yummmm

I got both of these recipes from one of Emeril Legasse's cookbooks. It is all the best recipes from his restaurants in one book. The recipes are anything but quick and simple, but they are great for that special ocassion. I have found that if you do a little prep work ahead of time the actual cooking time isn't that bad.

The first couple of times I made it I found it to be very time consuming, but once I figured out how to time time things (ie: put the potatoes in the oven first then start the pork) it didn't take much more time than anything else I make.

The secret to perfect, herbed potatoes is this .... do NOT stir them while they cook. Cover them with herbs and oil and let them cook for 45 minutes at 400 and walk away. Being in one place on the pan gets them crispy .... turning them makes them soggy.

I was going to make this for a fancy Xmas Eve dinner, but we got home too late. Then I was going to make it as a fancy Xmas day dinner, but we were too exhausted. So this became the Day-after-Xmas-fancy-meal. It is pork tenderloin covered with a Cajun mustard, mushroom saute, and wrapped in puff pastry. The potatoes are SO good in just olive oil and fresh rosemary, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Absolutely cravable.

15 months: Devon (December) Xmas and food

What a crazy month it has been! 3 weeks ago Devon would walk until he fell then he would crawl the rest of the way. 2 weeks ago he would walk, fall, slowly stand back up and stagger around like Frankenstein with his arms out. 1 week ago he he would slowly walk without falling (for the most part) and now he is just cruising all over the house. It is the cutest thing to see him so mobile and the look of pride on his face as he "runs" from one room to the other. He tucks his little arms up like wings and he just goes!

I have a baby gate for the upstairs, but I need to get 2 more gates since there is a set of stairs going up and a set going down to the laundry room from the main floor. We are working on his stair climbing and descending abilities, but he's not quite there yet so the hideousness that IS a baby gate is needed. His favorite things to say are: cat, Dada, spoon and the most recent (and my favorite) is,"What is that?" It comes out more like,"Wass sat?", but 2 days ago it came out as 3, separate words,"What is that?" It was hysterical. He loves pizza (thanks Dada), salmon, fig newtons and pears. He is figuring out how to use a fork and spoon (a boom, boom, boom as he calls it)and is becoming so independent. It is so cute to watch him play and use his imagination. He is stil taking a 3 (sometimes 4) hour nap and is getting back to a regular sleeping schedule after weeks of staying up late.

My Monkey Bread was quite the labor of love. It took me from 8am to 5pm to let it raise, fold, raise, mix, raise, raise, raise, raise and though it looked beautiful it wasn't the "sweet sticky bun" I thought it would be. Joe's family seemed to like it and even said that they liked it "not so sweet", but I thought it was a huge let-down considering all the time it took. I don't think I would make it again since it took so much work, but at least now I know I can make it if I needed to.

I wanted to post this picture because I have discovered a great gadget. (the clear hourglass on the far left with the handle) I am not one for gadgets in cooking .... it's cheating in my opinion. I have a toaster, a Vita Mix blender, a mixer, an electric can opener and that's it. I don't have a food processor, though I may cave since one-handed-chopping is damn near impossible with a baby on your arm. I do love this little chopper though. I saw that my Mom had one of these and when I saw it at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $7 I scooped it up. It chops nuts either fine or coarse depending on which way you turn the crank. Plus, the bottom part is a measuring cup so you no longer have to chop then measure it out. Very helpful.

We spend Christmas with my family, but Christmas Eve with Joe's family. They always do a full dinner and then we open gifts. It is so much fun for me to see all the kids opening their gifts and watching them react to what I chose for them.


Devon has hit that age where he hands you stuff until he is out of stuff then he takes the stuff away from you only to give it right back. Everything around Joe was handed to him by Devon. Notice in the first picture what is in Devon' hand. Then the 2nd picture Joe has it.

Devon handed Joe pretty much all the stuff that is laying around him and Joe thought it was just hysterical. I am so happy to have caught Joe's boisterously, wonderful laughter on film.

We did Christmas morning at our house in the morning around 8:00am. Devon sort of just had a birthday and he's only 1 so I didn't feel inclined to get him lots of gifts. I did, however, get him some wooden alphabet blocks, some wooden puzzles and a pop up toy. One of those "thingys" with 5 animals in a row then you hit a button and they pop up. He had a great time playing them before passing out for his afternoon nap. I got Joe some accessories for gadgets that he has gotten over the year (ie: Kindle, ipod, etc). He got me an iphone and the "Big Top" cup cake and 3D cookie cutters where you make the pieces and assemble them so the cookies can stand on their own (sort of like paper dolls in a way). The Big Top cup cake is basically a cake mold in the shape of a cupcake that is a little smaller than a basketball.
I made this big fuss about it when I saw it on TV so he got that for me. I would never have thought to get myself an iphone, but I have to say that I love it. It is so great. I love the "apps" that I've gotten so far and it really has allowed me to be more organized which I am all about. I got apps for grocery shopping, Epicurious (gourmet cooking recipe site), to do lists, baby games, and an app that helps me keep track of how much water I drink. That last one may seem funny to you, but I could literally go all day and only drink one cup of tea. Not so great for my kidneys among other things. This helps me make sure I am getting what I need.

Christmas at my Mom's was amazing this year. Maybe I was in a good mood, maybe I had enough sleep, maybe I just enjoyed watching Devon truly enjoy his first real Christmas (he was only 3 months last year), but I had a great time. There were lots of people there and it was loud and chaotic and great.

I call this one "Makin' out with Aunt Jane."

I got this funny little vest at Savers and thought it would be fancy for Christmas. My Dad square dances so all of the kids got him bolo ties to wear when he dances. My little sister got him a "Sherriff" star, but it was little kid size .... hysterical.

My Dad put it on Devon and it totally completed his outfit.
These are the bolo ties I got him.

All in all it was a great day and it was full of all the magic that Christmas can have .... if you're lucky.