Driving down Riverdale into Olive Branch, my weekly excursion to my mom's house began like any other.
After crossing Stateline I was startled to see a brilliantly hot pink head of hair just 100 yards in front of me. This pink lollipop crown belonged to a skinny, shirtless white boy who was sitting in the back of a maroon (I just love this color combination.) pick-up truck.
Facing me and cradling someone who appeared to be his girlfriend (let's just say, I hope she was his girlfriend), he had a very protective air about him. Said GF seemed to be passed-out asleep in her lover's arm.
Being very curvaceous, her opulent chest rose and fell with every bump and curve. With all of this fluid moment came a price. The hand which hung from the arm encircling Sleepy Beauty had to, at regular intervals, reach down and pull up on the front of her shirt.
It appeared to require much effort on the part of Pinky, but he was equal to the task. Sleepy must always rest well in the arms of her love, knowing no danger may befall when her Pink Knight is near.
Sadly, my phone device is a sad camera device and I was unable to obtain a picture of this beautiful moment.
You will just have to believe me.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Affection
We are an affectionate household. Josh and I both come from kissy, huggy families. The Edwards are even slightly European, they kiss hello and goodbye.
It goes without saying, therefore, that Isaac was destined to show his love. He follows his friends around, trying to hug their backs (this tends to cause baby fights) and play with their hair (mostly jealousy, I think - don't worry my bald 16-month-old, you are also destined to eventually have way too much hair).
A few weeks back, we went to visit Aunty AJ at Gus's Fried Chicken. I like to throw that around. Yeah, my sister works there.
Here's a picture of Isaac with one of his favorite people in the world:
Oh, wrong picture. Here's one where's he is kissing her (although it looks more like he's trying to take a bite of her face):
Back to affection and Gus's Fried Chicken.
Josh and I stood outside of the restaurant with some good friends and our babies. Isaac noticed a cute little 4-year-old-ish girl standing with her parents just a few feet away. Unexpectedly, he took off running towards her, arms outstretched, lips pursed, eyes wide.
This poor, unsuspecting little girl immediately started backing up towards her mama.
Her daddy started laughing so hard, he appeared to have no plans of coming to the rescue.
Mama, pitying Isaac's vulnerable position (we are running behind him, coaxing him not to kiss strangers, you know, because we are responsible parents like that), held her daughter's shoulder and gently told her it was okay, he was just a baby and that he wanted to say hi.
Well, little girl was not having this. She continued to walk backwards, in circles, as Isaac chased her, in circles. Honestly, they looked more coordinated than some dancers I've seen.
After a few moments of this routine, Josh stepped in between Isaac and his victim. Kindly, but firmly, he let our toddler know that he was not to chase strange girls in this manner. It was just never going to work out for him, now or in the future.
This event followed another kissing event just a few days before.
Grocery shopping is never a blast, but I find it to be less frustrating before 8 am. No people, no lines, no run-ins (don't pretend you don't know what I mean).
On this certain morning in Kroger, Isaac was feeling particularly friendly. We got to the check-out line and our favorite checker-outer was there.
His name is Elvis. Or at least that's what his name tag says.
Elvis was conversing with Isaac (when do people start talking to you again?) while I ran my debit card, entered my PIN, then put my wallet back into my purse.
I thanked Elvis for his help then told Isaac to say goodbye.
He pursed his lips and leaned his little body towards our faithful Kroger clerk.
See the hard part here is knowing your child has good intentions. It's not difficult to tell him "no" when he wants to do something he shouldn't, something that might hurt him, or play with something he could break. But in this scenario, my heart is just a little sad. I have to tell my son not to be as nice to someone as he wants to be. Seriously?
I laughed nervously and waved as I walked away. I pretended my son wasn't straining his neck, convinced I'd forgotten to let him kiss Elvis goodbye.
We have since been practicing blowing kisses. I'm not going to say it's instinctive yet, but we are getting there.
But seriously, who can resist this cowboy?
It goes without saying, therefore, that Isaac was destined to show his love. He follows his friends around, trying to hug their backs (this tends to cause baby fights) and play with their hair (mostly jealousy, I think - don't worry my bald 16-month-old, you are also destined to eventually have way too much hair).
A few weeks back, we went to visit Aunty AJ at Gus's Fried Chicken. I like to throw that around. Yeah, my sister works there.
Here's a picture of Isaac with one of his favorite people in the world:
Oh, wrong picture. Here's one where's he is kissing her (although it looks more like he's trying to take a bite of her face):
Back to affection and Gus's Fried Chicken.
Josh and I stood outside of the restaurant with some good friends and our babies. Isaac noticed a cute little 4-year-old-ish girl standing with her parents just a few feet away. Unexpectedly, he took off running towards her, arms outstretched, lips pursed, eyes wide.
This poor, unsuspecting little girl immediately started backing up towards her mama.
Her daddy started laughing so hard, he appeared to have no plans of coming to the rescue.
Mama, pitying Isaac's vulnerable position (we are running behind him, coaxing him not to kiss strangers, you know, because we are responsible parents like that), held her daughter's shoulder and gently told her it was okay, he was just a baby and that he wanted to say hi.
Well, little girl was not having this. She continued to walk backwards, in circles, as Isaac chased her, in circles. Honestly, they looked more coordinated than some dancers I've seen.
After a few moments of this routine, Josh stepped in between Isaac and his victim. Kindly, but firmly, he let our toddler know that he was not to chase strange girls in this manner. It was just never going to work out for him, now or in the future.
This event followed another kissing event just a few days before.
Grocery shopping is never a blast, but I find it to be less frustrating before 8 am. No people, no lines, no run-ins (don't pretend you don't know what I mean).
On this certain morning in Kroger, Isaac was feeling particularly friendly. We got to the check-out line and our favorite checker-outer was there.
His name is Elvis. Or at least that's what his name tag says.
Elvis was conversing with Isaac (when do people start talking to you again?) while I ran my debit card, entered my PIN, then put my wallet back into my purse.
I thanked Elvis for his help then told Isaac to say goodbye.
He pursed his lips and leaned his little body towards our faithful Kroger clerk.
See the hard part here is knowing your child has good intentions. It's not difficult to tell him "no" when he wants to do something he shouldn't, something that might hurt him, or play with something he could break. But in this scenario, my heart is just a little sad. I have to tell my son not to be as nice to someone as he wants to be. Seriously?
I laughed nervously and waved as I walked away. I pretended my son wasn't straining his neck, convinced I'd forgotten to let him kiss Elvis goodbye.
We have since been practicing blowing kisses. I'm not going to say it's instinctive yet, but we are getting there.
But seriously, who can resist this cowboy?
He's Got the Moves
Some of Isaac's beginner moves from this spring.
He also enjoys classical, hip hop and Latin rhythms.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Ghost In This House
I got the bright idea to polish off Isaac's first-year photo album tonight. This required my entering his room to get the album so I could remember what pictures I had last ordered.
I sneaked in at 8 o'clock, 55 minutes after I'd put him down for the night. Turning the door nob quietly, bouncing softly of the balls of my feet, I was sure he slept undisturbed. After retrieving the aforementioned album, I turned back towards the door.
My heart skipped a beat.
I began to reason with myself like a child scared of a shadow on the wall: its his bear, its a blanket sticking up strangely. It's not him, that's impossible!
I saw a white blob with eyes peering motionlessly over the bumper pad at me. Too still to be my son, or anything else alive for that matter.
I inched towards the bed, still arguing with myself. "You're so stupid, you'll see, its just one of his animals."
My heart was beating wildly.
I reached the bed. Forcing myself to bend at the waist, I moved my face down closer to the "blob." A blink.
All the curse words that chased each other around in my head somehow managed to stay there. "Go to sleep, love Joe. That's right. I love you."
I shut the door quietly then ran like a banshee for the well-lit living room.
This time the french flowed from my lips as I shrieked out the story to Josh.
He, of course, laughed at me for moment before he turned back to his book.
I have an over-active imagination. Isaac's first-year album is now complete. At least I'm not overly dramatic and unproductive. Right?
I sneaked in at 8 o'clock, 55 minutes after I'd put him down for the night. Turning the door nob quietly, bouncing softly of the balls of my feet, I was sure he slept undisturbed. After retrieving the aforementioned album, I turned back towards the door.
My heart skipped a beat.
I began to reason with myself like a child scared of a shadow on the wall: its his bear, its a blanket sticking up strangely. It's not him, that's impossible!
I saw a white blob with eyes peering motionlessly over the bumper pad at me. Too still to be my son, or anything else alive for that matter.
I inched towards the bed, still arguing with myself. "You're so stupid, you'll see, its just one of his animals."
My heart was beating wildly.
I reached the bed. Forcing myself to bend at the waist, I moved my face down closer to the "blob." A blink.
All the curse words that chased each other around in my head somehow managed to stay there. "Go to sleep, love Joe. That's right. I love you."
I shut the door quietly then ran like a banshee for the well-lit living room.
This time the french flowed from my lips as I shrieked out the story to Josh.
He, of course, laughed at me for moment before he turned back to his book.
I have an over-active imagination. Isaac's first-year album is now complete. At least I'm not overly dramatic and unproductive. Right?
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Deceptively Delish!
My mom just recently bought me Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook, Deceptively Delicious. I am in love! Every recipe has at least one vegetable and/or fruit puree hidden in the mix. Although, so far, everyone loves their veggies here, I like the option of adding another serving of vegetables to whatever we might be eating.
I was feeling a little bit experimental yesterday. I took the Blueberry Oatmeal Bar recipe and took away as much sugar as possible. It turned out amazingly tasty!
Servings: Makes 12 bars
Ingredients
* Nonstick cooking spray
* 2 cups old-fashioned oats
* 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup of honey instead)
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 3/4 cup Balance trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread , chilled
* 1 cup low-sugar blueberry preserves (I used 1 cup of smashed-up fresh blueberries)
* 1/2 cup spinach puree
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°. Coat an 8" x 8" baking pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar/honey, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and vanilla and stir to mix well.
Add the margarine and cut it quickly into dry ingredients with two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal and is no longer powdery. Do not overmix—bits of margarine will still be visible.
Set aside about half of the oat mixture; press the rest firmly into the pan. Bake until lightly browned at the edges (but not fully baked), 13 to 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the blueberries with the spinach puree in a small bowl. It will be very green, don't worry, it turns blue during baking.
Spread blueberry mixture over the partially baked oat layer, then sprinkle with reserved oat mixture. Bake until topping is slightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Set the pan on a rack to cool completely before cutting into 12 bars. (Once it's completely cooled you can't taste the spinach AT ALL.)
This is a healthy, filling, slightly sweet food. Perfect for breakfast!
Sadly, I didn't document my time with pictures, the picture you see here is the one from the book. Enjoy!
I was feeling a little bit experimental yesterday. I took the Blueberry Oatmeal Bar recipe and took away as much sugar as possible. It turned out amazingly tasty!
Servings: Makes 12 barsIngredients
* Nonstick cooking spray
* 2 cups old-fashioned oats
* 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup of honey instead)
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 3/4 cup Balance trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread , chilled
* 1 cup low-sugar blueberry preserves (I used 1 cup of smashed-up fresh blueberries)
* 1/2 cup spinach puree
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°. Coat an 8" x 8" baking pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar/honey, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and vanilla and stir to mix well.
Add the margarine and cut it quickly into dry ingredients with two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal and is no longer powdery. Do not overmix—bits of margarine will still be visible.
Set aside about half of the oat mixture; press the rest firmly into the pan. Bake until lightly browned at the edges (but not fully baked), 13 to 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the blueberries with the spinach puree in a small bowl. It will be very green, don't worry, it turns blue during baking.
Spread blueberry mixture over the partially baked oat layer, then sprinkle with reserved oat mixture. Bake until topping is slightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Set the pan on a rack to cool completely before cutting into 12 bars. (Once it's completely cooled you can't taste the spinach AT ALL.)
This is a healthy, filling, slightly sweet food. Perfect for breakfast!
Sadly, I didn't document my time with pictures, the picture you see here is the one from the book. Enjoy!
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