Baby Pro

Meet my new friend, the Baby Pro babyfood maker. A fabulous gift from my mother in law.
This bad boy steams and purees fruits and veggies all in one convenient place. It makes making baby food easy. I've been itching to use it, but I don't want to wish away Brennan's babyhood either. Alas, he is turning 5 months old on Monday. So now that he seems to have cereal down, we decided to try apples. First though, I got him a new bib. Appropriate, no?
Although I think if it said "co-star" it would be better. Anyway, Monday night I peeled two apples (sweet, organic, Fuji's) and diced them up into 1/2 inch (approximately) cubes. I stuck the cubes in the steamer part after adding water and waited for the light to go off. After that, I transferred the now soft apples into the processor, pushed another button, and it pureed them to a nice little apple sauce. It was enough to fill an ice cube tray. I froze the cubes (it was late so I wasn't going to attempt to feed any to B that night) and decided we'd try apples the next day. So on Tuesday we did.
He wasn't too sure of them, but ate an ice-cube sized (thawed, of course) portion. Not much ended up on his bib-- which is great!
Wednesday he moved onto two ice-cube sized portions and liked them so much better. This weekend, I'm making pears.

And in co-star news, it's been gross here again so we're stuck inside. But Cate got to paint a puzzle.
That picture is deceiving though. We've actually been in long sleeves and pants this week. Cate just happened to have a tank top on at one point since the heat is back on at our house.

It turned out like this and is now her favorite puzzle to do.
Happy Weekend! Our sun is supposed to come back. Woo hoo!

~Melody :-)

Yoga Baby and Other Ramblings

We're only a couple of weeks into the New Year, so most people are still going strong with their New Year's resolutions. I know the gym parking lots at the several gyms near our home have been full lately. We don't belong to one though...so we don't have to worry about fighting the crowds.

I had another yoga class yesterday and really enjoyed it. This past week I tried to put in the things I remembered from my first class as I stretched and exercised. Yesterday's class was great and I think my friend and I are going to start going every week (although the beginner series ends next week and then we'll go to a stress relief yoga class on a different day instead).

Cate has certainly noticed Mommy's new exercises. She calls herself "yoga baby" when she does her poses. Yoga is definitely helping me with two of my resolutions: to be more present and to grow spiritually.

My other resolution-- learning to knit and sew more-- is also underway. I learned a new knitting stitch and am currently making this. Hopefully it will be done within the next couple of weeks so that I can actually wear it while there's still cold weather here. And while I've been knitting, I've been listening to a lot of this...also helping with the whole grow spiritually resolution thing.

I finished my first book on my Kindle...1000 White Women. I really enjoyed it and am now onto The Art of Racing in the Rain, which is good so far (I love that it's told from a dog's point of view).

And since I'm being a little random today, I have to share with you this yummy, homemade granola that I made yesterday. You can find the recipe here. It makes a TON!
I didn't have wheat germ, so I substituted flaxseed meal. I also ran about 1/2 tablespoon short of vanilla, so I used 1/2 tbs. of almond extract to make up for it.

It came out great.So tasty with milk (like regular cereal) or with yogurt or just a handful plain.

I have tomorrow off of school for MLK Day. Unfortunately I'll be spending the morning getting my first ever cavity filled. Fortunately, my hubby is also off work which means I get to cuddle with him and my sweet "yoga baby" afterwards.

~Melody :-)

Eye Candy

I made these yummy snow pops to take to Book Club tonight. They look (and taste) delicious. They weren't too hard to make, although next time I make them I will make sure my husband or someone else is here to entertain Cate. She watched a lot of Elmo's World while I made them. Wouldn't red, pink, and white ones be cute for Valentine's Day? I can see them being a good treat for Cate to bring to school on her birthday in a few years (let's not rush things, okay).
I think the vase makes for cute display, however it means that the other dozen or so will be arriving in ziploc bags and will replace others as they are eaten (aka: they don't all fit in the vase). If you want to make some yourself...the recipe is here (luckily I didn't have to add rolled oats).

And because no Eye Candy post would be complete without this girl:
Ahhh...I love me some blue-eyed toddler in brand new fleece sitting in a Cracker Barrel rocking chair drinking milk out of a sippy cup!
~Melody :-)

P.S. Our latest book club read: The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. Up next month: 1000 White Women by Jim Fergus (already downloaded to my Kindle...I love that thing).

First Birthday Fun: Part Three- The Big Party

Yesterday was Cate's big birthday party. It was mostly family and a few close family friends. But before the big party started, we took Cate to Portrait Innovations to have her picture taken in her dress from Bloomingdale's (thanks Jessie). She hammed it up with the camera and I wish I had hundreds of dollars to spend to buy each pose, but we picked the best one, bought a package (so we'd have pictures to hand out at her party), and the biggest print is already hanging in our living room (hence the poor quality below...it's a picture of a picture in a frame).
I'm big on tradition and my mom always made our birthday cakes...even the complicated ones (like my Rainbow Bright one). So of course, I had to make Cate's cake. I ended up making two since we were having so many people- one chocolate and one yellow. I think they turned out pretty well considering I'm not much of a cake decorator.
Cate certainly loved digging in.
And speaking of tradition....my grandmother (mom's mom) had cross-stitched birth announcements for all 5 of her grandchildren. Cate is the first great-grandchild and couldn't be left out of the tradition. Her birth announcement is beautiful! My grandmother had it framed and everything for us and it is now hanging above Cate's dresser in her room (we've been saving that spot for it).
Cate really cleaned up at her party too. Our family and friends are way too generous with her. She got some cute spring and summer outfits (sundresses, rompers, and my sister couldn't let a party go by without getting her something Polo- two shirts to be exact- I think she needs to take out stock in Ralph Lauren). She got some fun indoor toys (maracas, a cookie jar shape sorter, a phone that says her name, a little giraffe that prays with her) and some fun outdoor toys (a sand and water table, petite-size patio furniture, a big bubble wand, and a wagon). I'm looking forward to spring. We didn't put the patio furniture or the sand and water table together yet, but we did put together the wagon. Cate tried it out last night with Nemo (Eric's parents' dachshund). She loved it! We've also been wheeling her around the house in it this morning and are hoping to take advantage of the warm weather and get outside with it today.
Eric and I still can't believe that our baby is growing up. A year ago yesterday was our first night home from the hospital with her. Cate must have remembered what a rough night that was for her (she wanted to be held and thought it was daytime-- Eric and I took 1 hour shifts holding her while the other slept), because she woke up just before for this morning ready to play. Thankfully my husband is a champ and sat out in the living room with her for about 40 minutes until she started acting tired. He rocked his birthday princess back to sleep and she slept in until 8:30, we were almost late for church!

They really weren't kidding when they told us the time would fly by.

~Melody :-)

Wholesome Pizza Fun

So, as a family, we are starting to make a tradition of creating our own pizza's about once a week. We started off with Boboli crusts and while they are good, they are not altogether fresh. We found a fresh dough ball for pizza's at Fresh Market this week, and decided to give it a try. Stretching out the dough was fun (we even let Cate touch it)!


After a brushing of EVOO (Not the name brand, just generic) some garlic, Spinach, Goat cheese and some oregano and crushed red pepper, our family creation was ready for the oven. If you have not tried such an experiment, not only is it fun, but it tastes amazing.

We will most likely be continuing this tradtion, maybe not weekly, but definitely often. Here's to good food and good family. God Bless.

- Papa E

More Mommy/Daughter Time

Thursday was way too hot and humid (above 90) for Cate and I to do any outdoor exploring and when Friday ended up being hot and then stormy, we decided that a culinary adventure in our kitchen was in order. Those of you that know me, know that I can cook- it's just a matter of wanting to cook. Usually Eric does most of our cooking as he enjoys figuring out what random things go together and creating his own dishes. Lately though, I've been more inspired to try some new things. One of the things I appreciated growing up was that my family always sat down to dinner together- even when we got older and one of us might be missing because of work or practice or something- dinner was always put on the table and we always sat down to eat.

Eric and I have pretty much been in this habit for awhile, only occasionally trading in our sit-down dinners to quick and easy things we eat while we watch TV in the living room. Now that Cate is here, we're incorporating her into the routine, even though she doesn't eat at the table yet (she just sits in her Bumbo or her Papasan seat and joins us while we eat). I guess my sort-of goal for the summer is to figure out some new things I can make and that are fairly simple, but yummy, so that we have a variety of things to choose from when we shop each week for dinner. Earlier this week I followed my Aunt Lisa's recipe for meatloaf and then used a recipe out of "Kiwi" magazine for Caulitato mash (it's essentially potatoes and cauliflower mashed together. Yum! It all turned out great, and the meatloaf made for yummy sandwiches the next day.

Anyway...yesterday while Eric was gone, Cate and I made strawberry lemonade (simple, but wonderful for summer- though I'm not giving up my sweet iced tea):
I read a lot of random blogs- people I don't even know- and this particular idea came from the blog Flip Flops and Applesauce (linked at right). We're hoping to head to Findlay Market later this morning to get some more fresh strawberries since Eric and I have already downed about half of the pitcher. It's really easy to make- one can of frozen lemonade, 4 cans of cold water, and as many strawberry slices as you can fit in your pitcher. Let it sit in the fridge for an hour or so to soak in that strawberry flavor, and there you have it.

We (and I use this loosely since Cate's role consisted of jabbering away in either her exersaucer or bouncy seat while I cooked) also made banana bread with some over-ripe bananas we had sitting on the counter:
It turned out great and is super moist! Perfect for breakfast (or anytime really).

Finally, we spent all day making black bean soup. It really wasn't hard and is probably the healthiest thing I've ever made. Black beans are really high in fiber and if you're a Weight Watchers person, most black bean soups are only 1 or 2 points or serving because of all the fiber. I found a recipe online that essentially cooked everything in a crockpot (versus 5+ hours on a stove). This works out way better when you have a 4 month old who also wants attention and needs feeding, etc. It was a lot of chopping (but I'm a little OCD when it comes to how I chop veggies, usually avoid recipes with a lot of chopping, and know that this will go quicker as I continue to hone my chopping skills). Besides the black beans, there are tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, green peppers, carrots, brown rice and various spices in the soup. Serve it with sour cream and a garnish of green onions and it's delicious.
The soup also made enough to have it 4 more times, so we loaded it up in freezer bags to enjoy later on. :-)

If you're interested in the recipes for anything, let me know and I'll send them your way. And I'll try to post them on Emily's "For the Love of Cooking" Facebook group later this weekend.

I have to say, our culinary adventure was a success!

~Melody