Saturday Morning Scene "Playtime"

Linking up with Katie over at Loves of Life a little SMS today.

There's a tiny tummy bug going on around here, so we're just hanging out doing some playing!

Peek-a-boo!

I found your pregnant worm pillow! 

And it's a blast to drum on! 

What are you up to? Happy long weekend everybody, and God Bless the USA!

 

Friday Fun (Real Quicklike Ok?)

Thanks again to  My Life in the Men's Room for passing this along. Let's see if I can knock out this post before The Sheriff wakes!

TODAY:

Outside my window... Hot. Enough said. Can't go outside for a minute without sweating. It's only May. Ok, enough complaining. The sun is shining; the grass is green; the patio fans will be blowing; the white wine or ritas will be flowing; it will be a great summer!

I am wondering... if Cowboy changed my blog fonts???? 

I just bought... a cuu---ute summer dress from Target! See!!! See!!!

I am wearing... said summer dress. 

I am loving... when I can use "said" as in "said summer dress" and "sans." This is a terrible love. Terrible. 

I appreciate... my blogger friends who make me laugh, give me great artsy craftsy ideas, and offer complete GREAT wastes uses of Sheriff's naptimes (yes, should be folding clothes, working out, cleaning the kitchen)! And I love you too, Google Reader, who makes it all possible!

From the kitchen... can you say muffins? Stay tuned this Tuesday! 

One of my favorite people... My momma! Thanks for listening to me (and in the future too!) talk about how the world is ending because the little guy had a tummy bug. You never made me feel bad for being new at this mommy thing.

I am grateful... for a three day weekend! 

I am thinking about... the chore it will be to go through my inbox this afternoon/tomorrow/Sunday/it-better-be-done-by-Monday, and answering, deleting, or archiving emails.

I am praying...for Joplin families! 

Shrimp... has busted out some new dance moves. I will have to capture these on video and try to put up soon. 

Planning for the weekend.. The Sheriff, the pool, the Cowboy, the oven, the grill, the neighbors, the ducks, some crawfish and friends, and three days with ye ole fam fam. 

But more importantly, remembering our veterans and praying for our current troops and their families for God's protection, blessings, and peace as they make the greatest sacrifice. 

Two picture thoughts I am sharing...

#suburb winning -- cart dodged

Have a wonderful weekend!

Oh the Cowboy...

He says things like this:

When are they going to make The Real Housewives of Engineers?

Hmmm.. Could be interesting dear. Housewives plotting clutter schemes to stir up some engineering OCD drama! Or perhaps a team builder (wives included of course), consisting of ping pong and darts? Sure to be a winner!

But does things like this:

Soooooo Big!

Yes, cue super cute pictures of The Sheriff emailed when on my girls' trip to stand in for that Saturday's Morning Scene. I can't believe I haven't posted them yet. How cute, right?!?

And put this in the baby book. It's also his first full fledged gangsta' move!  Gotta love that baby and his daddy!

Seriously! Linking Up

Linking up here today simply because I had a couple of "seriously" moments to share!

Seriously, I cried (not just a single tear down the cheek) but CRIED watching the A.I. finale. What has parenthood done to me? I think about my own kid winning or my own kid being the runner-up and just lose it!

Seriously, has anyone SERIOUSLY read the back of the BabiesRUs 20% off one item coupon? 

I have. It goes a little something like this:

Excludes ALL toys,  baby food, diapers, formula, wipes, 

Ameda, Aprica, Baby Brezza, Baby Jogger, BOB, Britax, 

Bugaboo, Combi, Cybex, ERGObaby, Maclaren, Mamas & Papas, 

Maxi-Cosi, Motherhood Maternity, Nap Nanny, Pediped, Peg Pérego, 

Phil & Teds, Quinny, Robeez, Tommee Tippee, Under Armour, electronic 

learning toys, netbooks, tablets, video game hardware, video games, 

Apple products, FAO products, RobotGalaxy, Buyer Protection Plan, 

gift cards, photo studios, phone orders, Special Orders, assembly 

fee, breast-pump rental fee, delivery fee, and shipping & handling. 

In store only. One coupon per guest. Not valid with any other “R”Us 

offer for same item or on prior purchases. 

Coupon must be surrendered at time of 

purchase and value is forfeited if item is 

returned. Void where prohibited. 

Seriously BRU--why do you think we are going to your store? 

Seriously, people sell BabiesRUs coupons on ebay? Sorry if that's you and you are now offended. Now that's extreme couponing! 

Seriously, our kitchen overhead light has been burnt since Tuesday, and by burnt I mean disco flashing burnt. I have seriously tried to turn it on today at least 8 times and been disappointed each time it did not come on.

What's got you thinking "Seriously" this week? 

Tie Tying 101

Well, looky here!

I am now fully prepared to help Wyatt dress up for his first school dance, job interview, or maybe just a First Communion. This Momma now knows to tie a Windsor knot thanks to Tie-a-Tie.net. Reason for learning? Sit tight and hold your skirts; you'll find out soon! I still have some work to do as it came out a little crooked, but I'm well on my way.

And because I don't have enough to do while The Sheriff takes a monster morning nap, I decided to make my own tutorial.

(Side note--Pia is by far the greatest singer this season! You're welcome. --signed Captain Obvious)

Step 1 -- Put the tie like this. Yes, my instructions are very precise. Meet Big Part (BP) on your right and Little Part (LP)  on your left.

Step 2 -- Cross is like this. That's BP over LP.

Step 3 --  Pull BP up under. (Putting it on top of your head is not part of the process. Just needed to show ya what was going on.)

Step 4 -- This pictures sucks! Sorry friends! Pull BP down next to LP.

Aha! A better pic of step 4!

Step 5 -- Swoop BP over to the side.

 Step 6 -- Pull BP up under it all.

Step 7 -- Pull BP down over the top and tuck into the "knot" as seems logical.  :)

BOOM!

Confused yet? Hey, I posted the original instructions at the top. You're set! Don't say I never gave you anything!

But maybe there will be a giveaway in the future! You want it? You want it?

This Pic Needs Words Wednesday

Went to put a bottle of wine I bought this weekend into the icebox yesterday to cool down for last night. Found it here later in the day. Rice Krispies and white wine anyone?

Guess I'm just glad I found it early enough to still get it cold! 

Top Five Tuesday

Not setting a Tuesday precedence. I don't have that kind of memory to keep it up. I'm already thinking, "Well, June is coming. That's 6 months into the year. I better re-look at all the NY Resolutions I proposed."  So anyway, here's my top five tonight:

1. Watching The Biggest Loser. I just love this show! There are some seasons that I've missed, but I'm glad to be back. I love how life-changing the ranch is. These guys look a-mazing! Dan and Don? What?!?! These were the pansies on the show. Guess going home ended up working out quite alright. I think they had a bit to prove though.
But I digress. I can't imagine the new life these guys and gals and now have. So inspiring. (Austin looks fantastic! Wait--so do Sarah and Deni.)

2. I need to do some baking. I'm craving that kitchen time where I can take my time, enjoy the aromas, not rush to get something on the table to fuel our busy lives. I asked Cowboy to take some time with the Sheriff in exchange for sweet treats. That deal wasn't even a question in his mind! I have a ton of recipes bookmarked but do you have any recs? Come on; give a girl some chocolate hints!

3. I'm planning Sheriff's first birthday, and let's just say that it might be more involved than planning my wedding. Where's my mom when I need her?
I kid, but there are a ton of great ideas out there, and this crafty Momma is going to try as many as she can. More hints to our theme to come, and there will be an entire this-is-what-I-did post to follow.

4. Cowboy repped (is that the word I'm looking for?) a blog post of mine on fb. This secretly makes me super happy. Ok, not so secret anymore.

5. Check out this cutie patootie's pics from her crafty mom! I love this idea and will hopefully have a baby girl some day to make it happen. It seems more of a baby girl project to me.

Night, night readers!

Dear I-10

Yes, we have a love/hate relationship.

You lead me to those I love. You are my excuse for listening to music way too loud and singing even louder. You are freedom. You are adventure. You are icees, Cajun food, and an excuse to buy Hot Tamales (candy, not Mexican dish). You are holidays and bumpy, car naps. You are long chunks of time made useful by grading research papers.  For these, I love you.

BUT, you are my patience's kryptonite. You are road closures and 18-wheelers on fire. You are "Road Work Ahead" and "Left Lane Closed." You are anywhere from an hour to three hour delay. You are a should have gotten gas/brought an ice chest/stopped to use the bathroom/taken a flight.

The lights in the middle? ROAD SHUT DOWN!

For these, I, well, don't hate you. I need you for all those things I love, so let's just agree to get along, ok. For me this means getting my patience in check before we leave. For you, well, just go ahead and keep those bigs trucks safe and doing what they are supposed to be doing, and while you are at it, let's just avoid construction for a few years. Riiiiighhht..

Sincerely,
C. Cowgirl

Tuesdays at The Table -- "Grilled Chicken With Flava'"

Quick.
Delicious.
Grilled Summer Goodness.

Try it!

Cowboy found this Chipotle Lime Grilled Chicken from epicurious and whipped up a batch a couple of weekends ago. It was super tasty and great for a second day meal. See the recipe and what I did with out leftovers after the jump.

Calling Baton Rouge

A few weekends ago, I "manned up" and left our sweet Sheriff to meet my Louisiana girls for what used to be an annual girls' trip.  Along come pregnancies, babies, jobs, you know, real life, and it's harder and harder to meet up.

But we managed it, AND didn't talk about our kids (future kids) the entire time. Just most of the time. But in our defense, we hardly get to all catch up, and it was fun (and informative) to share experiences, trials, successes, hopes, dreams, and how to keep our sanity!

We found a way to catch up "high school gossip" by flipping through our friends list on facebook to see what we knew about our old stomping ground partners.

The weekend? Well, it was...

Pizza and pajamas
White wine and margarita glasses
Staying up too late but sleeping in
Baby talk and red velvet cake for breakfast
Sushi and a chick flick
River watch!
No responsibility but lots of laughter
And don't forget that Lee turns into college!

Love you (and yours) sweet friends

And then I came back home to this guy. Who found his way into the cabinets. Hi precious.

A Mom Moment -- Baby Food Recipe That Works/ed

So I thought today that instead of giving The Sheriff some tiny cubes of cheese to munch on, we'd make some homemade mac n' cheese.  I've done it before with orzo pasta which he likes, but then remembered my favorite new baby site to peruse, and after realizing I didn't have all of the ingredients for her cheesy pasta sauce, I stumbled upon a recipe that I figured I would make, he wouldn't eat, and I would be a bit disappointed. BUT, my friends, it worked. At least today. I am 95% sure that I will try it again in a few days or tomorrow even and he won't enjoy it.  We'll see.

But for those of you looking for new ideas to impress the babies/kids/heck, yourself, let me introduce you to....

Cheesy Pasta Stars
(also called Cheesy Pasta Orzo around here, but I just bought some stars today)

Ingredients
**Let me start by saying that I don't typically measure in grams so my measurements were a bit off, and the dish ended up quite cheesy. (Hence he ate it perhaps!) But I've listed hers below
**I also used one carrot and one tomato, so I cut the butter amount as well.
**And, as you've read, used orzo instead of stars

25 g(4 oz) carrots
30g (1 oz) butter
3 medium tomatoes (ripe, skinned, de-seeded, and chopped)
50g grated Cheddar cheese
2 tbsp pasta stars cooked until soft

Directions
Cook pasta according the instructions on packet. Do drain, BUT be sure to reserve 1/2 c to 1 c pasta water.
Steam the carrots for 15-20 minutes until tender. Warm butter in a separate pan, add chopped tomatoes and saute until mushy. Remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted. This is where the pasta water came in for me. I used it to help melt the cheese in. I've also done this making regular mac for the kiddo because I haven't ventured into using milk yet.
Mash cooked carrots together with 3 tablespoons of the liquid from the bottom of the steamer and blend together with the tomato and cheese mixture. Finally stir in cooked pasta.

I don't have a pic. Sorry, Cowboy, BUT he really did love it. I gave him tastes right out of the cooled pan and he couldn't get enough!

Saturday Morning Scene "I'm Back"

In more ways than one!

After about a two week hiatus (thanks partly to traveling and partly to my boycotting ye ole blogging due to Blogger's issues which halted posts and then lost posts), I'm back this Saturday (evening albeit) linking up with Loves of Life for a SMS.

Why else am I back?  Take a look and see, my friends. Why hello running shoes! Solo. No jogging stroller (not until Monday). Thanks for hanging with The Sheriff, Cowboy, so I could get out for a bit. It was only 15 minutes or so, but it was nice.

And that was supposed to be my SMS photo. Just the shoes.

But then along came this guy.

This is what happens when "Moose" is on tv. I can't compete. The duck (also known as "quack" can't compete). Moose for the win!

Lucky for me, Moose only lasts for 5 minutes. Then I get this face back.

And then...The Afternoon! I know, I know; it's just supposed to be Saturday MORNING Scene, but I couldn't resist.

Big pool day! This is our typical pool face. Love it!

Can we go tomorrow? Can we, can we? 

I had to go to the grocery, but Cowboy stayed home to enjoy this sweet face waking up from a great post swimming nap. 

Happy Weekend Y'all! What were you up to? Link up here!  (But I'm still pissed at Blogger.) :)

 

Bites for Baby -- Cauliflower and Carrot Couscous

And some alliteration to boot!

The Sheriff is only 10 months, but it seems like the transition to "table food" is just that--a transition.
He can put things into his mouth, even tiny pieces, but I guess it's a texture thing with him because he will attempt chewing/gumming and often spit out whatever he's eating, so we try again often with me putting the partially chewed item back in his mouth or on the tray for him to grab. The second attempt is often successful.

Back to the recipe. So I tried this couscous out. He had trouble with the first bite from the spoon because it isn't as mushy/consolidated? (for lack of better terms) as baby food. I mixed it with a bit of his corn casserole (baby food of course) and he ate quite a bit. I'm guessing I can do less and less baby food and more and more couscous as we practice and soon the texture will be just fine.

Anyway, I thought it was delicious so wanted to share for the adults and petites out there looking for some good eats.

Mother's Weekend Part 2

I was blessed with a full weekend of love from my two favorite boys! Here's our story in pics.

Some mommas like brunch and some breakfast in bed. This Momma wanted a patio picnic AND to cook my own Sunday meal without interruptions from a 10 month old crawling up my legs!

The Sheriff learns to take off his hat. Oh this begins a fun Houston-is-already-in-the-90s battle.

So on to our Saturday afternoon picnic, a Spicy little trip back to Sonoma. An odd menu? Maybe. But a delicious one for us!

Sourdough and olive oil

Pears and Pecorino Romano

And BOUDIN!

The Sheriff was on his best behavior with a pizza crust in hand. Just the crust.

Sheriff: Happy Mother's Day!
Me: Thanks Wyatt!
(He said that. I'm serious.)

Do they get any cuter?

And that was only Saturday! On Sunday The Sheriff took Daddy to get me breakfast tacos, we went to a crowded mass, and came home to open some cards and presents.

The pressure is on for Father's Day, Cowboy! Thanks for making this first day such a sweet one! You make being a Momma a piece of cake. Well, ok, at least so much easier and a whole lotta fun!

Tuesdays At the Table - I Cooked On Mother's Day

And it sure was worth it! I love Tuesdays at the Table because it gives me the opportunity to try (and then write about) new recipes. This week's adventure--PIZZA! And if you told me that I'd love a pizza without the heaven sent red sauce that typically adorns it, I'd call you on it. But this one turned out delicious!

I will have to put up one of my "tried and true" gems soon, but for now, whip up this Springtime Pizza from Yum Sugar, and grab a beer or a glass of your favorite white wine and grab a slice, and change the way you feel about non-marinara pizza forever! (Ok, that's a bit of hyperbole for your Tuesday morning/afternoon/evening, but really, it was yummy!)

 And let me just tell you a few things before you carry on.  Read on...

Mother's Weekend Part 1

While I couldn't spend the day with my M<3M, I definitely want to take a moment to share all that she is to me.

In her arms I first felt love; in her eyes, acceptance.
Her smile was my comfort, and her hands kept me safe.

She steadied me through and through
and carried me when I needed her to.

I know God gave me my mother's unwavering love
that still holds me this day.
Her strength, patience, and gentleness craft my soul
to be a selfless mother to the loves of my own.


These are the "fanciest" pics of us so don't get mad Mom! But they definitely capture the love that we feel from our M<3M!

Saturday Morning Scene "Little Gym Style!"

Linking up with Katie over at Loves of Life as she's getting ready to celebrate her sweet baby's first! I can't wait to see how the party turns out! 

We love our time at The Little Gym, and well, the little guy IS growing so we tried out the "Birdies" class that The Sheriff will move into this summer. Oh, they are spoiled as "bugs!" This class has triple (at least)  the number of babies/toddlers, and because it was a Saturday, both sets of parents attended for many of the children. I think it'll just take some getting used to, and give him another month to work on his newly acquired ambulatory skills, and he'll be good to go.

I forgot the camera in the diaper bag so with Daddy's phone we captured his usually enjoyable parachute ride and then his peek-a-boo playing with Momma behind one of these wheel wedges.  (I am almost certain that is NOT the term for it!)

 Perhaps the best part of the morning (well, maybe afternoon, I'll be honest) was the Puffs container somehow opening when The Sheriff was playing and spilling everywhere. He could not have been happier, and I have already noted this effect and will not hesitate to accidentally spill some should we have a day where joy is hard to be found. Again, sorry about the quality. The camera that I left in the diaper bag at TLG was also out of juice. iPhone it is again!