ABC Chicken

The fact that Sadie is walking is old news by now. The fact that she's talking is pretty old news too. Everyday she just gets funnier and funnier with the words she's saying. She has this word "day-soo," we have no idea what it means. I assume she uses it when she wants to know what something is, or she knows but can't say it. She says it a lot and we say it back to her sometimes which brings the giggles.
When I brush her teeth I always sing the ABCs just to sort of distract her while I'm poking around in her mouth. Now, because I have done it so many times, she starts singing the song when I say "do you want to brush your teeth?"
She also sings the ABCs pretty much any chance she gets. It's really quite funny because she's saying the letters but not in any particular order. Sometimes, if you don't sing along with her, she'll just sing louder and louder until you start to pay attention.
We've made some friends in our building and have gone to story time at Barnes and Noble, played at the park and been swimming a bunch. Sadie is really funny around other kids. She gets real quiet and just sort of stares. It's always confusing to me. She's crazy loud at home and when we're out together but once someone her own size comes near she freezes!
I recently upgraded some of the toys in the house. I could tell Sadie was getting a little bored because she kept getting into everything. The house was a crazy mess, I was starting to drown in my chores.
I bought a little basketball hoop and basketball for her to play with. Each time she slams the ball into the basket, she jumps and claps and turns around so that we can clap and cheer for her. Sometimes, she even does a little dance when she makes it in the basket.
I also bought a baby stroller so Sadie could push her baby around. She doesn't really push baby around though. Mostly, she stacks our shoes in it and pushes those around.
Another thing we got for Sadie is sidewalk chalk. Not only is it more fun for mommy to play with it, it is really, really messy. It always starts out under control and then before we know it, chalk EVERYWHERE!
I tried giving Sadie some crayons. She's slowly coming around to them. At first she just pounded on the paper and broke a lot of them, but now she's starting to become more aware of what they can do.
People laugh at me because I ask Sadie a lot of questions. She says "yeah" and "no" really well so I usually trust that she knows what she's talking about. For instance when getting dressed, I hold things up and she she says "yeah" or "no" to them. This makes for some pretty awesome outfits, I must say. Sadie likes to rock the dress over the jeans look. One of my favorites for years. It looks better on Sadie than it does on me, but I don't care!
My dad took us to a plant show in SF a few weekends ago so that we could buy some succulents. There were so many cool things there. I scored a bunch of new plants. Our patio is looking so good! Now that the weather is getting nice, we spend a bit of time out there on the weekend. Peter and Sadie like to enjoy their coffee out there. In the mornings, Sadie and I water the plants together. Well, I water, she tears the leaves off. :(
Not having cable or a tv for that matter really hasn't been a problem for us. Until recently, we didn't let Sadie watch much tv. Occasionally, we would show her some Pocoyo on Netflix. Once that started to really grate on the nerves, I found a few Yo Gabba Gabba! episodes online that we could watch for free. Those too started to grate so we finally broke down and downloaded season 1 from Itunes.
At first, Sadie didn't seem to be that into them. She kind of only liked the episode with Jack Black from season 2. Then all of a sudden, she started singing the songs and going crazy when DJ Lance would come on the screen. Now anytime we say the words "shake" "jump" "wiggle" or "dance" she goes nuts and dances around in circles.
The other day my mom and I were in Toys R Us with Sadie and she was going crazy over the Yo Gabba Gabba toys they had there. Every time we pushed Brobee's foot and he started singing, she danced in a circle.
We even have a Yo Gabba Gabba book we read at night. Sometimes Sadie is so crazy for DJ Lance she refuses to put the book down and ends up sleeping with it!
Now that we've been watching a bit of tv (can I call it tv if it's on a computer screen?) with her it's just amazing to see how much she's absorbed. She says so much now and does even more!
My birthday was last weekend and Peter taught Sadie to say "happy birthday." They both came into the bedroom to wake me up and Sadie said "hap-pee buduh" then the rest of the day she just kept saying "hap-pee, hap-pee!"
Most of her words end in "ck" whether they have that sound in them or not. At times it can get a little tricky when out in public. Especially with the word "fork." It always sounds like something else...........

enjoy!
xoxo

june 2009

Springtime flowers and "for lovers only"

I just HAVE to share these photos with you. I forgot how beautiful the flowers around town are in the spring here in Emeryville. The entire perimeter of Pixar Studios is covered in pink roses. There are lemon trees, jasmine blooms, roses, snap dragons, peonies, poppies, you name it.
I of course, always forget to bring my camera with me when I go out for a walk with Sadie. Luckily, my phone takes pretty decent pics.
Here are some photos I took the other day while walking home from the dry cleaners. The colors were absolutely amazing. So bright and fragrant were the flowers, it just warmed my heart and put a big smile on my face. I just love flowers. In the ground and in my vases at home. I try to act tough and say that I don't care to be brought flowers but that's just a lie. I love them! I want them! I need them! Any old occasion will do too. Wednesday, Saturday, Mother's Day, Veteran's Day, pretty much any day, for any reason is just fine by me.


Now on to some food..........
When I was a kid, I used to think crepes were "for lovers only." Don't ask me why, I have no idea. It's just what I thought. I thought that crepes were something you made for your lover in the morning. Coffee, crepes, fresh squeezed OJ all eaten while in a silk negligee with matching robe. Where I got this idea I really couldn't say.
As I got older and went out into the world I realized crepes weren't just for lovers but for anyone who cared enough to eat one. I had no idea they could be savory either. In my mind they were always filled with fresh fruit, a sweet cheese and whipped cream. Maybe a little chocolate sauce drizzled over the top.
My first job out of culinary school we made chocolate crepes. It was there that my love for making crepes began.
I loved to put all the ingredients into the blender, buzz it up and let it chill in the fridge until ready to use.
Carefully, I would coat my pan with non-stick spray and gently ladle some batter into the pan, tilting it ever so slightly, keeping it just hot enough to cook but never letting it get too hot. Quickly, I would flip the crepe over, cook the other side and dump it out onto a piece of wax paper. On to the next and the next and the next.

There are so many things you can do with a crepe. Ham and Swiss, Brie and spinach, peanut butter and jelly, fresh fruit, whipped cream, or my personal fave Nutella and just about anything with it!

A few weeks ago, Tracy and Ian came over for vegan brunch. I love to experiment when they come over. Partly because they eat everything I put out and partly because I just like to experiment.
Usually, I just make plain crepes, ap flour maybe a little sugar if I'm doing a sweet one. This time I decided to step it up and make buckwheat crepes. Half of the crepes were made savory and the other half I added some sugar too so that we could fill them with fruit, chocolate ganache and Soyatoo whipped topping.
I was so overjoyed when everyone went crazy for my crepes! They were so easy and really tasty.
I have a crepe pan. I've used it for many years. I believe it was my mom's before I took it. I ahve since learned to use a small non-stick frying pan or skillet which I find is sometimes easier.

BUCKWHEAT CREPES WITH POTATO MUSHROOM SPINACH FILLING AND TAHINI-DILL SAUCE
makes about 10-15 crepes depending on the size of your pan
Adapted from Veganomicon, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero
***the crepe batter has to chill overnight******
You will need:
1 1/2 +2 Tablespoons soy milk
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1 Tablespoon arrowroot flour
1/2 tsp salt
non stick cooking spray
softened non hydrogenated margarine
a silicone basting brush
small offset spatula or a butter knife
wax paper
baking sheet lined with foil and lightly sprayed

Filling (can be made the night before as well)
1/2 pound Yukon gold potatoes
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 small onion, diced finely
1 tsp carraway seeds (optional but really taste good!)
1/4 pound mushrooms, any variety, thinly sliced
1/2 pound spinach, cooked, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Tahini-dill sauce
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 cup water
1 glove garlic, minced
juice of one lemon
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp paprika, the spicy kind
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup light packed fresh dill
a blender or immersion blender
a sauce pot

First make the crepe batter
combine all the ingredients in a blender, scrape the sides and blend well
pour into an airtight container and chill overnight

when you are ready to make the crepes:
cut a bunch of squares of wax paper to place the crepes on in a stack
(this prevent sticking)
Heat your pan over medium-high heat.
lightly spray the pan and brush with margarine
pour about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the crepe batter into the pan and tilt in a circular direction until the batter has spread out.
as the batter is setting, hold the pan slightly off the flame so you don't burn the batter
once there are no wet spots and the edges begin to lift, take your spatula or knife and gently run it around the edge
carefully slide under the crepe and flip it over to the other side
*you can set the pan down and use two hands for this*
cook just a few seconds more
lay onto wax paper, continue

Make the filling:
peel and coarsely chop the potatoes
boil them in a pot for about 20-25 minutes, drain set aside
cook spinach, drain, set aside until cooled and chop
in a large skillet heat the oil over med-high heat
add the onion and saute until translucent
add the caraway seeds and mushroom
saute until very tender and most of the liquid has absorbed
add the potatoes and spinach
season with salt and pepper
remove from heat, set aside to assemble the crepes

Heat your oven to 250-300*F.
lightly spray a foil lined baking sheet
place one crepe down on the sheet and spoon about 3-4 Tablespoons of filling just off center of the crepe.
Gently fold over so the seam is on the bottom
continue until all crepes are made
place in the oven (if you have cooked the crepes so that they are a little crisp, brush with margarine or spray, so that they don't dry out)

Make the sauce
if using a blender-place all ingredients in a blender, puree and heat in a saucepan until warm
if using an immersion blender-place all ingredients in a sauce pan, heat and puree

Place crepes on a place and ladle sauce over the top.
serve warm.

*if you want to make sweet crepes - omit the salt, add 2 Tablespoons sugar and some vanilla extract if you like.

enjoy!!!
xoxo

Are you my chicken?

We went down to San Diego a couple of weeks ago to visit my family and to celebrate my granny's 80th birthday. Of course Sadie loved all the attention and was on her best behavior. She was also completely attached to my mom leaving Peter and I with a bit of time on our hands. We were able to go down the beach, walk around and have some lunch just like the old days. During that time Sadie really turned a corner in the walking department. She kept following my mom everywhere, walking behind her like a little duck.

Now that she's walking it seems like she's turned into a completely different person. She's talking a bit and mimicking what we say a lot which is just plain creepy. Over night, she went from starting to walk to going full speed ahead! We even had to buy the kid a pair of "real" shoes. Girl is into everything now, and I mean EVERYTHING.

The shoes that Sadie was wearing before she really started walking were this really cute pair of mary jane sneakers that I found at Target. Once she really started going we realized they were too small. We had two pairs of Vans waiting for her at home. One pair was a hand-me-down with pink flamingos on them. The other pair are black with red and white trim and a skull and crossbones on the ankle, they were a gift from Jana. Unfortunately, I think the poor kid has my skinny feet and the things wouldn't stay on. So we picked up a pair of red Converse with laces for her. My parents bought her a pair of light pink Salt Water Sandals. They are the cutest things ever. My mom still has my first pair. Sadie keeps pointing to her "soose" and saying "sigh". Which means "mom put on my damn shoes and take me outside!"

On Memorial Day we went to Children's Fairyland. I used to go there as a kid and have very fond memories of it. When Peter and I first lived together we lived on the other side of the lake from the park. I was very excited to take Sadie there. Sadie was really into the little plastic key they give you to put into the boxes. She wasn't that interested in the what came out of the box once the key was in, but she kept going up to each box and trying to put her key in. She was sort of overwhelmed by most of the things at the park and was too small for a lot of the rides. She did enjoy seeing the animals and didn't know what to do when the pony came over to her.
It was a nice day but Peter and I decided the park may have seen better days. The only way I could think to describe the place was like a drag queen the morning after. Once sparkling and beautiful now just tired, dirty and faded. The kids running around the place didn't seem to mind, so I guess that's all that matters.
That night we grilled some corn on the bbq. It was quite tasty. At least I think it was. Sadie ate my entire ear of corn and part of Peter's! She thought it was just the neatest thing.
BTW-if you want to know how fast your kid's digestive system works, let them eat corn-on-the-cob.

Sadie's started playing dress up with my clothes recently. While I'm in the shower I usually lay out some clothes for her to play with in the bathroom. This keeps her occupied and away from the toilet (which she can flush). She used to make a ton of noise in the bathroom, now she just babbles and tries to put all of the clothes on.
I never know what she's going to have on upside down and inside out when I step out from behind the steamy shower curtain.
The other day she had on my tank top. She even put it on correctly. Later, I gave her a belt, bracelet and purse. She thought this was just the funniest thing ever. Another time, she kept going into the closet to get my bra and put it around her neck.

Today, Sadie had her 15 month check-up. She is in the 75th percentile for both height and head circumferance, but only in the 15th percentile for weight. Skinny Minnie this kid is! What's funny about that is that she eats ALL THE TIME. When it's not mealtime, she's snacking on something. I don't know if it's because we don't feed her cow's milk or what. She definitely eats. During our visit to the doctor, Sadie was her usual self, flirty and giggly. She made everyone laugh and fawn all over her. Little ham.
The nurses kept saying, "oh I wish all the babies could be as happy as this one!" One of the nurses stood outside our door, while we were waiting for the doctor. She kept saying to any doctor or nurse passing by, "oh you gotta come in here and see this little girl, she's so happy!"

enjoy!
xoxo

may 2009

Babycakes NYC brownies

I have had the hardest time finding a good vegan brownie recipe. I've tried a lot and they all seem to either be too cakey or just plain yucky tasting. A lot of times they turn out great and then the next time I make them they don't work out at all.
The best brownie I have ever made was a recipe from the back of the King Arthur Flour sack. Not vegan.
I'm not vegan which is always funny to me. I just love the challenge of vegan baking. I've also been hit with a bad case of the guilties Ever since I took an interest in all things vegan and vegetarian, I haven't been able to use eggs, milk or regular butter.
It would be so much easier if I could. But, I can't.

Anyway, there's a little bakery in NYC called Babycakes. They are an allergen-free, vegan bakery that is very popular.
So popular, in fact that Erin Mckenna, the owner of the said bakery has just published a cookbook.
Now, I haven't actually been to the bakery. Once on J.Cro's birthday a few years ago, Kate brought some cupcakes from the bakery to try. I don't even really remember what they tasted like. But, I was intrigued by the fact that this bakery was vegan. Not just any old vegan-type place. These baked goods were being made with ingredients I had never thought to use.

When I heard that a cookbook was coming out, I placed it on my Amazon wish list. (my birthday is June 21st FYI) :) :)
I've done this before though, placing a book on my list, buying it and then coming to find that the recipes suck. Too lazy to return the book, I tuck it under other cookbooks that I don't use much and say "I'll just come back to this one." I usually never do.

After reading the Babycakes blog one day I saw that Erin was on The Martha Stewart Show making her chocolate brownies.
I quickly did a search for the episode online and printed out the recipe.

I went to the store, bought my ingredients, and skeptically mixed everything together.
Carefully, I placed each tray of brownie bites into the oven, trying to time them just right so as not to over bake them.

What I ended up with was pretty good brownie. A little, cakey but very tasty.
Peter ate 3, and that's major for him. He hardly ever eats my treats. Not because they suck (well sometimes because they suck) but because he's not much of a sweets person.

Don't be alarmed by the Garbanzo/Fava bean flour. I was only able to find Garbanzo Bean flour. I decided to mix Garbanzo bean and All purpose flour together just for the hell of it because I don't have any food allergies and can use AP flour.

I guess, by going after vegan baking, what I'm trying to do is just find a healthier way to indulge. Experimenting with new ingredients, textures and techniques is just an added bonus!

You can find the brownie recipe here.

If you're interested the Babycakes cookbook can be found here.

enjoy!
xoxo

Walking Chicken

Here's some videos I uploaded to YouTube recently.
They aren't the best quality, but at least you can see Sadie in action.


Sadie is walking!
We saw her take a few steps here and there a couple of times while sitting in the living room. Then one morning Peter and I were talking in the bathroom and all of a sudden here comes Sadie walking down the hall!
She's still hanging on to crawling for dear life but she's walking more and more everyday. I kind of thought by the end of last week, she would have been over crawling and completely walking, but I was wrong.

Sadie is very cautious, which I have been told, so was Peter as a kid. She's constantly looking around to make sure someone is there to watch her or that it's safe to go forward with her plan.
When we were at the park the other day, Sadie finally got up the nerve to climb up the play structure so that we could slide down the slide.
She would only climb the steps if I was behind her and she didn't go to the top until I was there waiting for her.
We slid down the slide together a few time and then we started going side by side which was so much more fun!
I still can't get over how much she hates the swing. Cries and yells every time I put her in it!

I was always teased by my family for talking a lot when I was a kid and I think Sadie is going to have the same problem. It's so exciting when we hear a word we recognize.
Here are some of her words-
Mana = banana
Meenow = a cat meowing
Pop Pop = started out with Hop on Pop, when I would say "hop on pop" she repeated "pop pop pop" Now she points to her Pop Pop in a picture and says his name
Gassess = glasses, which she hates and rips off our faces any chance she gets.
zis = what is this?
Dayee = daddy
mama = duh!
sayee = Sadie
bah = ball
She repeats what we say and knows her body parts too. What a smart chicken! (I know, I know, all babies do this, but ours is better than yours, didn't you know?)

After I get Sadie off of crawling and on to walking I think we're going to go for potty training.
She's already sitting on her potty before a bath and some other times. Lately, though
she's been going over to her rocking chair and sitting in it when she has to poo.
This is funny and worth mentioning because, she will suddenly disappear and we can hear her grunting from the corner. It used to happen in the corner by the door to the patio. Then she discovered her chair.

When we were in Arizona, my great aunt and uncle gave Sadie a stuffed monkey. It has been by her side ever since. She added a giraffe into the mix and for a long time she had to have each one in her grip in order to go to sleep.
Until one morning. I went into get her and she was yelling at the giraffe. I don't mean talking loudly, I mean YELLING. She handed me the giraffe and said "no" while shaking her head and using hand gestures. I thought she was just talking crazy so I put the giraffe on her chair for later. Once out of the crib, she threw the giraffe off the chair, shook her and waved her hands while saying "no." And that, my friends was the end of that. Giraffe has not been allowed in the crib since.
We have no idea what happened. There were a series of replacements, most of them just rebounds. Baby joined the party about a week ago and looks to be holding strong. Monkey remains the steady, steady though. Sometimes we have Brown Bear, sometimes we have Pop. There have been times when I am trying to rock Sadie to sleep either for a nap or at night and there are so many dolls on top of us. To top it all off, we have to have her pink blanket somewhere there too.
In the morning, we can hear Sadie talking to her dolls. It's pretty much one of the only times where she will actually play alone for an extended period of time.

Both Peter and I read to Sadie all the time. She has books all over the apartment. At night we read together the three of us. Peter is way better at it than I am because he makes funny voices and ad-libs. I tend to read the stories as they are written and all my voices sound the same even if I'm trying to make them sound different.
We have several books in heavy rotation and let me tell, I think we can recite almost ALL of them with our eyes closed. Sometimes I start to fall asleep while reading to her. After the third time reading through a book in a row, it's sort of hard not to!
It's always amazing to me when Sadie remembers a sound or part of a book before we turn the page to that part.



enjoy!
xoxo

april/may 2009

Vegan Cholent - An old Jewish stew that's not traditionally vegan

I was raised Jewish. Both my parents are Jewish, I went to Sunday school and I had a Bat Mitzvah. Now compared to others we really weren't that Jewish. I mean, we went to temple on the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I don't remember my parents ever fasting on Yom Kippur, I've only done it once or twice. Occasionally we went to temple on Shabbat, but hardly ever and we really never celebrated Shabbat. As kids, because we went to Hebrew school on Sundays and then on both Sunday and Wednesday, we celebrated almost all the Jewish holidays or were at least aware of them.
Traditional Jewish foods were served mostly during holidays. Once-in-awhile my mom or grandmother would make a kugel or matzoh brie (my family calls it "fried matzoh") on a random day. Brisket or chicken was a given at all family gatherings as was lox and bagels (yes, I know that's not really "Jewish cuisine" per se).

During Passover I started looking around for interesting recipes that maybe I could incorporate into our family Seder next year.
I came across a recipe for Cholent in both Veganomicon and my granny's old "Jewish Home Beautiful" book at the same time.
As I have mentioned in previous posts I am just fascinated by old cookbooks. This book in particular is interesting to me because not only does it have old recipes for dishes I am familiar with, it also has some recipes I have never heard of and an interesting introduction and fore ward about how a "Jewess", yes a "Jewess" always keeps a beautiful home and displays a beautiful table no matter how fancy or casual it may be. There are even pictures of how your table should look for each holiday!

Now maybe my mother or one of my grandmothers have made Cholent for me before and either didn't call it by it's name or I just wasn't paying attention. Who knows.
The name "Cholent" doesn't exactly make one's mouth water upon first glance either.
But when I came across the recipe in both books I thought it may have been fate or at least a sign that I needed to read the recipe.

Traditionally, Cholent is a beef stew that is slow cooked in the oven over night. It is prepared Friday before Shabbat begins and eaten Saturday afternoon. Women put eggs in their shells into the mixture to let them hard boil, the juices and flavorings seeping right in. Before serving the Cholent, the eggs were eaten.
You can read more about Cholent here.

The following recipe is from Veganomicon with a few changes made. The original recipe calls for TVP chunks but I used ground soy. I also didn't have lima beans so I used the butter beans and kidney beans that I had.
This is the kind of stew that just gets better day after day. It's a cheap and easy way to eat a filling and healthy dinner all week without having to cook every night.
Serve with a small salad and some crusty bread.



CHOLENT
adapted from Veganomicon
serves 6

You will need:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, cut into medium dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp tarragon
1 tsp caraway seeds (if you don't have them, 1/4 tsp fennel seeds, rye seeds or leave them out all together)
1 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup red cooking wine, water or vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup French lentils, rinsed (I used 1 cup)
1 cup peeled, sliced carrots (about 1/2" thick)
4 medium sized potatoes (1 1/4 pounds +/-), peeled and medium to small dice
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce (just a nice plain tomato sauce)
3 cups water
1 cup TVP chunks (I used ground soy)
1 cup frozen or canned and drained lima beans (I used butter beans) *if you hate lima beans, use green peas or any other big bean that you like
1 15 ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
a large soup pot
crusty bread
a salad

In a large soup pot heat the oil over medium heat
Saute the onion until translucent.
add the garlic, tarragon, caraway seeds, salt and pepper
saute until the garlic is fragrant
deglaze the pot with the red wine (or water, veg broth...)
add the bay leaves, lentil, carrots, potatoes, tomato sauce, water and TVP or ground soy.
Bring to a boil
cover and simmer 30 minutes until the carrots and potatoes are tender
add the beans and simmer until the stew has thickened and the beans are heated through.

serve warm.

enjoy!
xoxo

Madge strikes again.

Where to begin?
I am totally slacking on recipe posting and life blogging. It's not that I don't have any delicious recipes to post or sweet stories about life with Sadie the chicken, it's just that I have been busy. WE, have been busy!

Ashley came to visit at the end of March. It was nice to see a sista, get a haircut and have some girl time. Naturally, what do you do when a friend is in town? Margaritas and nachos at Puerto Allegre followed by an attempt at shopping on my part and some major hanging out, of course!

My parents took Sadie and I on a day trip out to Livermore to do some wine tastingduring that first heat wave we had. Peter took that day off and enjoyed some "man" time.
We had so much fun. Some of the wineries are just so beautiful. Towards the end of our trip, Sadie and I met a really cute English Bulldog that further confirms our intense desire to have one of our own. They're just so damn cute!

We attended a birthday party for Peter's bosses daughter Maddie at their warehouse in SF. They had one of those inflatable jumpers in the driveway. I thought for sure Sadie was going to go nuts inside and bounce all over the place. But alas, she just sat there looking at us like "what the hell am I supposed to do with this?"
So I'll just put that in with the swings and slides at the park. Can you believe a kid doesn't like to swing????
After the party we hit up Lanesplitter Pizza for a few beers and some pizza.
Peter showed Sadie how to drink out of a straw (water of course). Later, Sadie got up on the table and danced on the pole. This is the only time dancing on the pole will be cute and funny.

This year we celebrated Passover with the Weintraubs and my parents. Sadie played with Lennon and Calla. Lennon was so sweet with Sadie. Of course this freaked Peter out. "No boys, ever." is all he kept saying. It's really quite funny. Naturally, Lennon is more like a cousin to Sadie since our families have been so close over the years. This makes it even more funny when Peter says "no boys, ever."
I was in charge of dessert and made a delicious trifle consisting of a lemon coconut bundt cake, vanilla pudding, fresh fruit and whipped cream. The entire thing was vegan and kosher for Passover. I need to post the recipe. I'll get to it, I swear I will.
I came up with the idea after flipping through my granny's old "Jewish Home Beautiful" cookbook that I took from her house after she died. It is from the 40's I think. I just love old cookbooks. The thing that I love most about this book is that my grandma made notes in the margins, marked recipes and had a bunch of newspaper and magazine clippings inside.

Shortly after Passover, Sadie and I both came down with colds. I don't usually get sick but since Sadie was clinging to me day in and day out, open mouth breathing on me and snotting all over me, it was bound to happen.
As painful as it was to see my baby feeling less than perfect, I sort of enjoyed the long cuddly naps we took during those two weeks of sickness. Poor Peter had to sleep on the couch a couple of times because Sadie just wouldn't sleep alone. She kept rolling all over me like a cat, falling asleep and rolling off. Then she would wake up, roll all over me again, fall asleep and roll off. My most favorite moment was one afternoon we laid down for a nap and she curled up in my neck. Later after she had rolled off and slept on her own, I turned over on my side so that my back was to her. As I was dozing off, Sadie crawls over to me curls up, puts her hand on my shoulder and her head into my back and goes back to sleep. Just melts my heart!

For Easter we had planned to go on a picnic but ended up staying home because we were still feeling pretty bad. Instead, I planted some veggies, put together some planter boxes and cleaned the apartment. It may not have made me feel better physically but it sure did wonders mentally.
Just as we were really starting to feel better, another heat wave hit and we have been on a roll ever since.
The pool is heated to a wonderful 80 degrees, it sparkles and shimmies as the sun shines and the breeze blows. Over the weekend, we made some friends at the pool. Sadie scored a super cool floating chair from a lady we met. I've never seen her so content. She just sits in the water, legs crossed holding her toys and giggling. This is really the first time she's been swimming or out in the sun. Last year she was so little she just sort of sat there like a lump in the water.
Sadie is quite the sunbather too. The first day we were out at the pool, Peter and I were laying on lounge chairs and Sadie was right there with us, reclining and relaxing, just soaking up the suns rays.
Madge is back too!
You all remember Madge from last year, don't you?

From sadie week 17

She was with us Sunday. Sunglasses and sun hat on full display for all to enjoy.
It's nice to see you again Madgey!

Still no walking but getting close!

enjoy!
xoxo

march/april 2009