Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Raw veggies

As much as I love grilled veggies, I know it's important to balance your diet with raw foods as well.   Summer seems like the perfect season to experiment with new recipes while there is a wide variety of fresh local produce, so I've been experimenting with some new recipes.... 

Asparagus Bean Salad

1 can white beans, drained & rinsed
1 batch of asparagus
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 english cucumber
parsley
olive oil
salt & pepper

Remove the bottom stalk of the asparagus and cut into 1 inch pieces.  Peel and cut cucumber into cubes.  Mix beans, asparagus, cucumber, and red onion.  Chopped parsley and add to taste.  Add olive oil slowly until you have an even coating but not too heavy.  Salt & pepper to taste. 

I served it the first night over a bed of fresh lettuce from the garden and had the leftovers solo for lunch the next day. 

Monday, June 25, 2012

Monday...

“A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.”

~Steve Martin

6.22.12

Someone is 4 months old already!!  Do you think she's starting to look more like Daddy....

 

 or Mommy?



Reflections & Motherhood



A heartbreaking but inspiring essay about dealing with terminal illness of a friend as a Mom.

The possibilities of being a high powered career woman and a mother in the Atlantic.

And the follow up interview with the author on Fresh Air.

Alanis Morissette talks attachment parenting.  

Will this get your kids asking for Claritin for Christmas?

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Letters from Riesling

Dear Friends & Family, 


I finally did it!  I figured out how to roll over.  I have kind of known how to get from my belly to my back for a little while now but I wasn't very good at it and sometimes my arm would get stuck.  But now I have it down for sure.  I can get from my back to my belly with no problem.  I was hoping I would master it while my Papa was visiting but he missed it by one day!  I woke up in the middle of the night and was tired of sleeping on my back, so I used all my strength and rolled myself right over to my belly.  My mom woke up in the middle of the night and freaked out because I was all sideways and upside down in my bed.  Sorry Mom didn't mean to scare you, but it was pretty funny.  

Watch out world, next step crawling....


Love always, 
Riesling

Monday, June 18, 2012

Monday...

“What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.”

~Mother Teresa

Happy Father's Day

Jim wanted a lazy, relaxing family day complete with sleeping in, lounging by the pool, basking in the sun, and a man size grill feast at the end of the day.   It did turn out to be cloudy most of the day, but otherwise Riesling and I were able to comply with his request.  Little Miss was tired of waiting for Daddy to celebrate the day and started getting a bit loud around 9:00...that's sleeping in to parents though, right?!  She was just excited about his presents. 

Jim and I agreed on an inexpensive & simple gifts and handmade cards for Mother's & Father's Days.  Riesling and I coordinated our efforts this year.  I ordered him a batch of live ladybugs to help control garden best, Riesling got him a LadyBug Girl book for them to read together and together we made him a pretty bright red card to fit the theme. 



For his man feast, we started off with caprese salad with fresh basil from the garden, followed by salmon (and a lobster tail for Dad!) & zucchini on the grill and yummy sweet potato fries.  Delicious! 

Riesling even got to ride on Daddy's shoulders for the first time.  I think she was a little confused at first but ended up being really excited about the whole thing.  What a perfect day to be a Dad....




Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Random thoughts on a Wednesday

Smoking on a motorcycle seems like it would be difficult.

Dr. Seuss really gets stuck in your head....Knox in box. Fox in socks. Knox on fox in socks in box.

I can't believe I didn't like coffee while I was pregnant.  Hormones make us ladies do crazy things.

Growth spurt! Riesling has been eating ever two hours like it's been days since her last meal.  

She takes a nap and an hour later she wakes up with a thousand more hairs and, if possible, a cuter little chubby cheeked face. 

I love her.

Do you think a cheeseburger from a Greek restaurant would be good?

Everything on our Netflix queue is "Very Long Wait".  Since when did we start watching the popular shows?

Strawberries & Papa

 Strawberry picking on a beautiful Saturday morning.....


Riesling loved her first trip to the strawberry patch.  With the exception of the first 15 minutes, she pretty much snoozed the whole time.  It's hard to believe that last year she was working her way into existence but we just didn't know it yet. 

The cropped didn't seem as abundant as last year but we still got enough to make a batch of jam for the upcoming year, as well as two batches frozen.

The rest of the weekend our little cutie pie spent giggling and laughing for her Papa....

  It's just so fun to watch them together.....



Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Letters from Riesling

Hello Friends & Family,


Things have been a little crazy and busy around here.  My mom went back to work two weeks ago, which meant getting used to a new routine.  It's pretty cool though because I get to go to her office with her a few mornings a week. All the patients love me and are so excited to see me.  In the evenings I have a babysitter.  Her name is Sheila.  At first I wasn't sure about the whole situation but it is starting to grow on me.  Sheila plays with me a lot and reads to me after my bath, but I still want to wait up until Mom and Dad are home before I fall asleep.

Over the weekend my Papa came to visit.  I was so excited to see him!  I haven't seen him since I was a week old.  So much has changed!  It was so much fun to have him her for 4 whole days.  He has white stuff growing on his chin and makes so many silly faces.  We went strawberry picking and played by the pool.  He even found my ticklish spot and made me laugh and giggle sooo much!  I miss him already but he said he will be back in a few months.  I even slept in my the crib in my big girl room by myself for half the night while he was here.  I wanted him to know I'm a big girl!  But it was a little lonely in there so I think I'll go back to Mom and Dad's room for a little while longer.  Maybe I'll start taking my naps in the big girl crib.  We'll see....



  Love always,
Riesling

Monday, June 4, 2012

Monday...

“You only live once, but if you do it right once is enough.” 
 
~Mae West