'Bow wow wow'

Our little puppy dog says, 'bow wow wow!'

Sabotage

Martha Stewart, I love you.  I really do.  I have your books, I subscribe to your magazine, and I frequent your website.  But I am convinced you are trying to sabotage me.  Last week, I had a craving for cookies, and fitting with my resolution to only eat junk food that I make myself (thank you Michael Pollan), I decided to whip some up.  I have always used the same chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I had just finished thumbing through a copy of Everyday Food where I came across a recipe for 'Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies'.  So I decided to give it a whirl.  I really should have known better.  What did I think was going to happen when you bake 1/4 cup balls of dough at 375 for 15 min??  Not good.  Would have been better off just eating the batter-that part was good.  Then, this morning I decided to try out her recipe for quinoa breakfast cereal (like oatmeal, minus the oats, plus the quinoa).  I've really been on a quinoa craze lately and I really liked the idea of quinoa for breakfast.  I followed the recipe to a T.  According to Martha, my quinoa breakfast cereal should have been ready in 15 min.  Nope.  35 minutes later, I settled for al dente quinoa.  It's a good thing quinoa is a complete protein, because by that point my blood sugar was really low and I was really crabby.  That's not to say all her recipes turn out this way...her rigatoni with chicken sausage, spinach and cream tomato sauce and her buttermilk banana pancakes are absolute family staples of ours.  So, I have created some guidelines for following Martha's recipes.  First, only attempt a new recipe when I'm in the right frame of mind.  That would be the 'oh, wow, failed again. That silly Martha!' sort of mood.  Second, wait to entertain with a Martha recipe until it is been tested and the kinks have been worked out.  Lastly, keep in mind that this is a dysfunctional relationship and just accept it.  All that being said, Martha I still love you...but I am watching my back. 

mmm....Peas!

This child is a pea lovin' fool.  Here is a (short) clip of one of many (very long) peafests. 

Where's your Monkey?

A Snowy Day

We really haven't had much snow this winter.  I'm pretty sure our friends in Greenville have had more snow than we have actually.  Today we had an awesome snowfall.  It was such a gorgeous day: big fat snowflakes falling from the sky and relatively warm outside.  Arie had been working on his references for dissertation (i.e. a butt load of references) all day as was starting to lose his ability to articulate basic sentences, and I had been working around the house cleaning, cooking and doing bunches of laundry.  We decided to take a break and go for a hike in Hickory Hill Park, which is literally right across the street from our house--it's so great!  Here are a few of the pics from our snowy outing.

Getting a ride on daddy's back

No one was more excited about the fresh snow than Khairie

Peeking at the white stuff below

Love this picture!

Snowy hike

Not sure what Khairie is doing here...but I'm pretty sure that's her butt in the air!

Khairie checking in on Divya

Eskimo baby

Snow bunny

'OK mommy, my butt is getting cold!'

4 Months Later...

It's been 4 months since my last post, and that literally seems like a lifetime ago.  We've been down a pretty crazy road and back.  Last semester I tried to take a full load of classes while working 20 hrs a week as a TA and RA, all while still figuring out this whole mommy thing.  It was nuts.  It was WAY too much.  It took a lot of support from Arie, my family and my closest friends to get through it.  Get through it we did, but as most challenges in life do, it made me (and us as a family) re-evaluate what our priorities are and how to best move forward.  All that being said, I am still pursuing a PhD but I am slowing things down by taking one class at a time to finish out my coursework. I am super grateful that I have the opportunity to continue with my program, while being able spend lots of time with Divya and enjoy watching her grow.

It just amazing to me how much D has changed in 4 short months.  She is such a riot these days.  She is learning how to walk (totally uninterested in the whole crawling thing) and becoming pretty proficient at cruising along furniture.  All she wants to do is walk with a little help from mommy or daddy...all day long!  She is 'talking' more and more every day.  A few of her favorite words right now are 'mama' (when she's upset), 'dada' (when she's happy) and 'cat' (when she's trying to play with the animals--cat or dog!).  Although our favorite was when she said, 'momo.'  She can identify objects like her monkey, the cuckoo clock, and...cat (yes, she really loves the animals).  For the last 2 months, she has been exploring the world of food, which has been especially fun.  Being Ms. Independent, she never wanted to be fed, so my visions of making all varieties of organic baby food purees quickly went out the window.  So now, she pretty much just eats what we eat.  She loves bread, beans and pasta and cannot get enough veggies.  She could eat peas for hours on end.  It's crazy!  Fruit not so much, she definitely does not have a sweet tooth--which is good!.  She has no teeth (yes, we call her 'toothless'), but she can chew like it's nobody's business! 

Saying something...and making a funny face as a result

'I love beans!'

'...and butternut squash'

Crib entertainer

Serious face off for the cat ball

There's lots more to get caught up on, and I promise to be better about keeping up with the blogging.  Not another 4 month hiatus...I promise!