Birthday girl

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Originally uploaded by fluteloop

It's Her Party!

bday
Originally uploaded by fluteloop

We celebrated Ara's Birthday today with family and friends. It was a wonderful day. Ara had a huge smile on her face the whole time and she ran around Peter Piper like she owned the place. With her family all around her she felt at ease and ready to explore. It is overwhelming to me to see how much happiness there is in watching your daughter grow. And in seeing how loved she is by her family. On this day in this hour it seems the world is a beautiful place and I am happy to be able to share her joy.

She is growing up!

Food stuff

Since I've been going low-carb healthy I have been trying some new recipes. I started with recipes from an Atkins cook book but then I started looking in a Mayo Clinic book we had and then.. I started watching the food network. I tried stuffed zucchini, low-carb lasagna, and a few other small meals. On the whole I have been pleasantly surprised with how non-horrible they were and Ara even seemed to like it. Feeling encouraged I have decided to try some of the dishes I have seen on this Italian lady's show on TV. Everything she makes sounds so delicious and I think I can alter most of the recipes' to be low-carb compliant. Anyway, it seems I CAN cook at a fairly competent level when I stay in the kitchen. I have been notorious in the past for ruining pans because I forgot I was boiling water. Yes, I have burned water haha. I have boiled spaghetti so mushy that it went through the holes in the strainer. So you can see that branching out beyond my Foreman Grill is a big deal! Yay me.

•••••

Recipes I want to try:

Grilled Chicken with Spinach and Pine Nut Pesto

2 boneless chicken breasts
2 cups lightly packed baby spinach leaves (about 2 ounces)
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 to 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Heat a grill pan on medium high heat. Lightly oil the grill pan. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Grill the chicken until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.

Combine the spinach, pine nuts, lemon juice, and lemon peel in a processor. Lightly pulse. With the machine running, gradually add 1/3 cup of the oil, blending until the mixture is creamy. Add salt and pulse. Put half of the pesto into ice cube trays and store in the freezer for future use.

Transfer the rest of the spinach mixture to a medium bowl. Stir in the Parmesan. Season the pesto with salt and pepper, to taste.

Spread the pesto over each piece of chicken and serve.

•••••

Crunchy Parmesan Chicken Tenders Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis Show: Everyday Italian Episode: Good Things Come in Small Packages

4 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 cup buttermilk 1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders (about 18) 3 large garlic cloves, minced 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar Freshly ground black pepper 1 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan 3/4 cup Italian-style seasoned bread crumbsPreheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Brush 1 tablespoon of oil over each of 2 heavy large lined baking sheets. Place the buttermilk in a large bowl. Add the chicken tenders and stir to coat. Let stand at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, mash the garlic with the salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in the vinegar and then the remaining 1/2 cup of oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with pepper. Transfer the vinaigrette to a small serving bowl. Stir the Parmesan and bread crumbs in a pie dish. Remove the chicken tenders from the buttermilk and dredge them in the bread crumb mixture to coat completely, pressing to adhere. Arrange the coated chicken tenders on the prepared baking sheets, spacing evenly. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over the chicken tenders and bake until they are cooked through and golden brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer the chicken tenders to a platter and serve the vinaigrette alongside for dipping. ••••• Ara and I went to a craft store today. I love craft stores. There is something about craft stores and hardware stores that fascinate me. I bought beads and Ara and we made ourselves some jewelry, she is so cute when she wears it. She says it is, "pitty". We also got the last few goodies for our party bags. Another $100 trip to Target and I think we are done spoiling her for her birthday... Tomorrow yay.

Postage Due

So I've been getting kind of annoyed that hardly anyone has called to coo over how adorable Ara's invitations are and to tell me that they are coming. Then I find out from my Sister yesterday that their invitation JUST came that day. I sent them over a week ago.. and it's the same city! Then my Sister points out that it came stamped, "postage due". I live in a hole I swear! I had no idea that postage had gone up, I've been using the same stamp book for a while because I pay all of the bills except for rent via internet. So now i have to either buy 2 cent stamps for the 4 .39 cent stamps that I have left over or I can toss them and buy a new book. You know what else I just noticed... I can't find the "cent" symbol on my keyboard. Actually now that I think of it I haven't used a cent sign in a really long time.

Where has the cent sign gone?!

Save the cent sign!

I am still working on the 'less trash' thing by the way. Is it working? It's hard to say.. if it IS working then it is a pretty small percentage. I still feel like I throw a lot of trash. I have been trying not to buy things with individual packaging and I have been using a water bottle instead of drinking from Dasani bottles. I had a brilliant plan to use cloth bags for groceries but I use those for trash bags. So then I would just use a real trash bag and I don't see how that would reduce the amount of trash. I have also been interested in "green" cleaning products. I would like to use more environmentally friendly (and Ara friendly) products in place of Windex, Pinesol, Commet... The only thing is that I really love the disposable Clorox sheets for cleaning the bathroom. After every meal Ara goes in there to wash her hands and she leaves food smudges everywhere. I pull out a sheet and tada the bathroom is clean. I am addicted to "easy" and I don't want to give that up. I'm a terrible person lol. I want to save the environment (as long as it does not inconvenience me too much). *sticks a hypocrite sticker to her forehead and wears it proudly*


Ara Update:

Ara has been singing a lot. I am amazed at how well she knows a lot of the songs I sing and listen to in the car. Time to start censoring the music selections!

"Nemo watch?" She is totally into Nemo and this is how she asks to watch it. How cute is she?

Ara knows all the scary parts in Nemo and when one is getting close she comes to me, takes my hand, steers me to the TV, and uses my finger to turn it off.

We have been painting every day this week. Water colors and finger paints. Ara has this intensity that is shocking whenever she is being artistic. I used to paint in water colors pretty seriously and I LOVE sitting down to be creative again.

"Dori, Momma's favorite" Ara says this to everyone who greets her in stores. She is apparently thrilled to know what her Momma's favorite is.

Ara says "Bless you" now anytime someone sneezes. Now, if I could just get her to say "thank you".




I'm excited about her Birthday party on Saturday! You would think it was my party with how much I am looking forward to it.

Post-A lot of Stuff

Mud Monster: Last Saturday was a... unique experience. Ara and I seemed to both be in fairly irritable moods that day. We went with Victor, Cali, and Joey who all seemed to have a good time. There were 2 really cool looking mud obstacle courses, one of which was being used for organized races between different military and service branches. I heard Air Force vs. Navy and got to see some of the fireman vs. the police. All of the trophies were items left behind at the last mud monster, which now that I think of it I saw was back in 1989 so I guess someone has been keeping an old muddy shoe for all these years? There was one mud pit that was about knee deep all along the edges and had a high ground area in the middle. The mud in this pit was THICK and once your shoes and legs were coated in it you felt like you had weights on. There were also several "kid wash" stations which were basically a volunteer and a hose. The resulting puddles from the wash stations were pretty impressive in themselves and this is where Ara and I spent most of our time. The mud pit was just a bit overwhelming to Ara, she was basically stuck until I would move her to another spot to be stuck. She seemed to have some fun dropping Nemo and Dori into the mud puddles so we pretty much hung out there. There were tons of people and I admit I do not like crowds. My Mom says it's a phobia I have. I've personally always just thought.. I don't like crowds. I have never felt faint or fear just a general dislike of people being in my space! However, with Ara so mobile and so the same color as everyone else (mud color) I felt a lot of trepidation. I had dressed her in some of Joey's hand-me-downs in bright orange so everyone thought I had a cute little boy and I stuck to her like glue. I would sometimes even have the urge to push people who could dare be so insensitive as to get between me and my kid. I didn't though, but I would :P Anyway, it was a pretty exhausting day with the sun and the mud and the crowds. I remember it so vividly from when I was a kid so I hope that I was able to give Ara some of the same kidories. I took pictures on my sisters nice camera, when I could while dodging muddy water. I left the card in the camera when I returned the camera so I will have to post mud pictures another day. Most are of Ara looking "complainy" though, which was her general mood throughout the day.

My old quintet, minus the bassonist met for one last get together on Sunday. Brandon and Kelly are moving to Iowa next month so they can be closer to family. Now that Brandon has 2 kids and we have Ara it isn't like old times at all. Early dinner, talk of daycare and nap times, watch the kids play, and go home before 8 pm so we can get the kids to bed. I bet Alison and Charles find it oppressively dull. I have to admit I miss old times some. I want to laugh until I can't breath, argue over articulations with sir, and then go out for frappuccinos at 11 pm. Parenting is serious business so it's a good thing Ara cracks me up so much.

I have been listening to the few potter pod casts that have come out post-book 7 and I am dying to discuss the book with Megan. The student that comes to my house on Tuesdays is a fan and I have to really hold back when she is playing a scale and an idea pops into my head. I'm like, "Nice scale or whatever.. SOOO what did you think of Molly Weasley??". It's bad.

U Tube flute player

Beat boxing flute player...

I am amused and in awe lol. One of my students kept telling me to check out u tube for flute. I've obviously seen a lot of u tubeness but it never ever occurred to me to look for flute related performances. It just goes to show that we live in an iWorld. Still, it's cool^^

Radiator and Mud

Ara and I spent all day at my Dad's house today while he put a new radiator in our car. That car has so many things wrong with it now, I think we are just barely prolonging it's sad life. The radiator was still under warranty so it was free but you do get what you pay for I guess considering it is the same as the one that lasted only 2 years. My Dad worked out in the heat for a good 7 hours. He is relentless, never coming in for breaks or even food. He always says, "I'll eat later" when I ask. I look forward to some day buying a new car, my Dad won't have to fix.

I am taking Ara to something call "Mud Monster" tomorrow along with my nephew; Joey and my brother and his girlfriend. I remember going to it when I was a kid. Something like this stays in a kid's memory forever! Basically at the largest park in out city there will be huge mud pits and mud obstacle courses. You take your kids there dressed in their play clothes and actually let them play in thick mud that is about thigh high (this is remembered from a kids point of view). I invited my cousin and her kids as well. I won't have to tell Ara "no" when she wants to get dirty! How liberating. Just yesterday, walking through the grocery store parking lot Ara discovered jumping in puddles. I let her for a while but then became grossed out with the water and coaxed her inside the store. I'm excited, it's too bad it means waking up early on a Saturday morning! It's worth it though for the great pictures alone that will make her Mamah (Grandma) cringe and laugh :P

"Curiosity"

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Originally uploaded by fluteloop

I've sent out the invitations to her party, I already have the decorations (Elmo), Ara's aunt is taking care of the cake (last year mine was a tiny bit of a disaster), and I feel cautiously prepared! Ara's new favorite character is Nemo, the fish. She has a Nemo and a Dory bath toy that she has started carrying around with her. It's so cute, in the car she sits there pretending they are talking to each other and swimming. I have to remind myself to drive and not watch Ara in her beautiful pretend world. A and I have been talking over how we are going to work his new work schedule into my Fall teaching. We would both be gone until after 6 pm which is later than most Daycares will keep kids. Plus the idea of my Ara sitting in a school until that time breaks my heart. So, it is with much regret that I have decided to pass my East side studio on to another lucky teacher. I feel sad about this, but I feel good about being there for Ara. I will be teaching 1.5, maybe 2 days a week now. I don't know why that scares me. Letting go, making change. Giving up something I worked so hard to build. Trusting the students I have grown to love to another teacher.

I miss the days when emotions were simple.
One emotion please.
It seems I feel "torn" about everything.
I feel sad about giving up my studio.
I feel good about the decision.
I want to be home with my daughter.
I want to maintain my sense of self and do the things that fulfill me. Blah blah blah.

My train of thought just ran out of track.

Hopefully I will be seeing some of my old quintet this weekend before Brandon "Horn dog" (a reference to his instrument not what you were thinking!) moves out of state. Also, if Megan's life slows down a little I might get to hash out some Harry Potterisms over lunch! /happy

Oh a side note... I think Safeway has started offering delivery of groceries in my area! A didn't seem to excited about this.. but I am! You click, click, click and if you spend over $50 you get them delivered FREE! Also, if you order before 9:30 am they will deliver them the same day. This is pure genius at work. Don't call me lazy until you shop with a 2 year old. Now.. if I could con someone else into going to the laundromat I would be content.

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Originally uploaded by fluteloop

We gave Ara one of her Birthday presents early (because we are like kids on Christmas morning when it comes to making her smile). It was an Imaginarium train set and she absolutely LOVED it. We sat there with tears in our eyes watching her make train noises and "fix" the tracks. Yeah, this won't be her only Birthday gift you can be sure of that!

Ara at my Mom's

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Originally uploaded by fluteloop

We went over to my Mom's for her Birthday. I just love that she looks so relaxed and happy in this picture.

First Impressions of the Hallows

Spoiler Warning: DO NOT read if you have not finished the book!


Pre-order you Harry Potter... pft.

I didn't get my book until 5 pm on the 21st, a huge disappointment to me. I could have walzed down to Safeway when I woke up and had a copy faster.

Anyway, I read all Saturday and Sunday night when I could (after Ara was in bed) and I finished on Monday. Since I have finished I felt strangely reluctant to talk about the book. Right at the beginning of the book I was devastated by Hedwig's death. When it seemed like Hagrid would die as well... I almost put the book down. If J.K. had killed Hagrid right then I was prepared to walk away.

Too much!
Too soon!
I cried about Hedwig. I cried (a lot) about Dobby. By the time Fred died I felt numb about it. I was so afraid that the twins would be ripped apart and they were! I really wish that she had included George in the epilogue... how did he cope? Did he go on with the business? Did he have a family and name his son Fred? I feel like I need to read it again. A lot of my questions went unanswered and I have to admit I felt a little cheated with some of the cheap plot tricks J.K. used. The ever so convenient chat Deam and the Goblin had right outside the tent. The "chat" with Dumbledore in King's Cross. The fact that the fire was, gasp one of the substances that can destroy a horcrux. Ron imitating parsletongue. Lalala. It may sound like I didn't like the book. I did like the book though. It's just that we waited with such anticipation to know answers and we cared so much about the characters that it was a let down to be left with so many questions. I am, however so happy that Harry, Ron, and Hermione lived and that they went on to have full lives. It was nice that in the end it wasn't just some stroke of luck that saved Harry. Or, for that matter that he didn't seem to all-of-the-sudden be some super wizard. I still miss Hedwig though.

HP Movie

Movie Spoiler warning:

We saw the movie last night and I was (as always) so excited and I probably had unrealistic expectations. None the less I felt disappointed. I really felt they missed the mark with a lot of important plot points. The end I felt, really blew by the grief we see Harry going through after Sirius dies which is an important moment for Harry and for the plot of the book. Also, Dumbledore is like "Sup, yo. Did I mention you have to kill or be killed and that is your fate?" "P.s. this info is why your mom and dad died". Could that conversation have been more casual and unimportant? The other part that really bothered me was the dual (that spelling looks wrong). I will have to re-read the chapter but I have a much more confident and in-control Dumbledore in my memory. I also thought that they left out some very important dual "smack talk" moments. Like when Dumbledore calls Voldy "Tom" which seems to un-nerve him. And when D tells V that there are things worse than death. This sends the message to V that D KNOWs about the things that I can't spell that start with an H! I DID like Umbridge's character and especially her little "hem hem". I liked the DA scenes! Centaurs were nice and scary. Did not like the modifications in the story when the DA is ratted out. I missed the music most of all I think though. John Williams themes seem crucial to me and the movie felt strange without them. Also, no Hedwig at all!? Oh and I really wanted to see more of the pranks the twins pulled when they left school. Particularly the swamp! My favorite scene.. when Ron and Harmione are setting up to stun each other and Neville gives him that male solidarity look! I am super tired for some reason. I will look up the spelling tomorrow when I can see clearly again.

Mostly Harry

The picture is just a weird bug I saw on the side of our house.

I can't believe I let the opening of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix sneak up on me! I don't have tickets to see it on the day it opens and I am officially bummed. I probably won't get to see it until the weekend and that is only if I can find someone to watch my little tornado or a toddler. Truth be told I am more excited about the book on the 21st. I have had that ordered forever now and I can't wait. As soon as Ara goes to bed I will be curled up in bed with my book, my ipod, and a big glass of ice to chew on. Ice is my new best friend and yes I KNOW it's bad for my teeth. I am on day 8 of eating 0 carbs and I need the crunchy. Ice keeps my mind off of other yummy things. Something new to read will be lovely though. There is nothing like having a book you like to climb inside. I am just sad that this is the last one. It was nice to look forward to the newest HP all these years. The last one came out the summer I was super pregnant and I cried and cried through the last 2 chapters. I don't know if it was that I was overly emotional or if I am just a shmuck. I guess we will find out with this book. I've read some of the predictions about Harry surviving. A couple forum threads and an article on MSN. My own personal hope is that Harry does survive but I am afraid someone else good will die. I think maybe the Weasly twins will have an important role, they are brilliant, daring, and visible with their shop in Diagon Alley. I will be happy as long as the whole Weasly family, Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid (and Fang) live. I think we will find out that Snape really was acting on Dumbledore's orders when he killed him and that Dumbledore had some plan for such an event. He does seem to be tied to the Phoenix and the bird does have extraordinary powers where death is concerned. I am curious to see how Draco's part plays out because I think that he is mostly show and possible not as bad as he comes off. A lot of the predictions foresaw Harry's demise and I think I would just feel cheated if that happened. All this time we have been watching him grow and develop I hope it was not so that we could also see him die. I plan to read this series to Ara when she is 11 I hope I don't have to send a howler to J.K. after this book is released!

So I was emptying the trash from the car then I came inside and thought I need to take this trash out too. Then I thought.. I'm tired of trash. Everyday there is trash. Why do we have so much trash? What is in the trash? How can I reduce the amount of trash we have to throw into the garbage can and then into the landfills? I think this would be a good goal for me. Trashless in 2007! No, thats not catchy...

Tired Thoughts

I woke up at 8 am this morning and I was sweating it is that hot. So after we dropped A off at work Ara and I stopped off at Walmart to get her one of those floaties that have a little seat in them and some spray on sunblock. Then we were off to my Dad's house to swim. As soon as we entered the neighborhood Ara says, "Jojo Pweeez". So cute. We had a nice mid morning in the pool. The new foatie worked pretty well. It gave Ara a little freedom and it let her practice blowing bubbles and kicking her legs. She still get so frustrated that she can't move around the pool like Jojo. It won't be long though. For now she settles for constantly counting to three and watching me dunk myself in the water.

I am tired and already forgot why I was talking about the swimming. I think I had a cute story in mind...

On an unrelated topic we are being invaded by super-poison-resistant ants. The are EVERYWHERE. In the bed, clean clothes, living room, bedrooms, kitchen, cat food container... We have sprayed the outside and dropped those ant killer traps around but they march on and on and on. I will be so happy to NOT spend another summer in this house. Nononono!

This is my 4th day back on super duper torture diet. I am completely cutting out grains, fruits, sugar, and caffeine. It's hard and I am getting pretty sick of salad with no dressing. Yuk! It's the strangest thing I have been craving cake above all other carbolicious things. You never get to eat cake unless there is a party. I want cake! Cake would make me feel happy. Oh with a strawberry milkshake. And something chocolate.

Ara's Birthday is coming up and I'm so excited! I can't believe 2 years old already. I need to look around for a place to have the party. Last year was Peter Piper's land of super-loud-kids. I can't take that level of noise again. I think I'll order a cake this time, last years cake fiasco still burns in my memory!

I'm tired. I'm going to set my ipod to sleep in 30 minutes and fall asleep to some Harry I think.

Dinner out

 

"Ara, what does a frog say?"
"Bibbit"

"What does a kitty say?"
"Me-wow"

"What does a dog say?"
"Wuff wuff shlooop shloop (licking sound)"

"What does a cow say?"
"Moooooooooooooooo"

"What does an owl say?"
"Who whooo"

"What does Daddy say?"
"..."

Dream house

My Brother has offered to help me make a playhouse/sandbox for Ara. He made one for Joey a while back and Ara loved playing in it. His original design was a super simple box made of plywood. Since I want to make one for Ara now I've sort of made it a tad more complicated. For starters I want the floor to slide out so that there can be a sandbox underneath (protected from cats who like to pee in sand). Also I made the roof a slope instead of flat and it is made of UV blocking fabric to allow for more airflow. One side I will leave open so that it can also be a stage for singing and dancing. I plan to have a curtain on the open side as well for dramatic effect. And, yes we will be painting murals on it!

Ara is my laundry helper!

"What?! I am your laundry helper today?"

"Working hard pushing the laundry card around and making car noises"

"Pink milk break while we wait for the clothes to dry!"

Computer dumb.

KCAL did an undercover camera investigation to which computer repair places were incompetent/scammers. They took perfectly working computers and just disconnected the cable from the hard drive to the motherboard, then took the computers to different repair shops to see what they said.

The results were varied and shocking:

Best Buy: Said needed a new power supply
Circuit City: $59.99 "The jumper was set wrong"
COMPUsa: Charged $119.99, their minimum charge, but correctly diagnosed and fixed the problem
Fry's: $69.99, fixed all good
Torrence Computer Repair (local): Fixed, at no charge b/c it was so easy
BM (local)I: $275 due to "power short," as the "main board" and "hard drive" were "bad"

Link to the video

catch that toddler!

Ara has been testing her boundaries lately. In the library we were sitting down building block towers and she walks slowly around the corner and then when she is just out of sight of me she breaks into an all out run. I get up and realize she is running towards the doors and sprint towards her. She very nearly made it to the automatic doors. Mere feet from the parking lot. It freaks me out that she has such little fear and I am not all together sure how to deal with this behavior. I want her to stay near me not the other way around. She is so confident that I will follow and keep her safe. She runs from me giggling when I follow like we are playing chase. What do I do? After the library I did some thinking about how to handle it. Later that day we all went to Barnes and Nobles because I wanted to look up potty training books. Ara had her Daddy's hand and leading him around looking at the children's section. Then she drops his hand and runs like a mad woman again. He looked surprised which I was a little glad to see. At least it isn't just me! We both chased after her and after we caught her I took her straight outside the store. Once outside I put her down and bent down to talk to her face to face. I explained that when she ran away I felt worried. I offered her a choice to return to the store and stay by me or go home. It was text book parent class technique. She didn't get it at all. The look on her face plainly said she didn't understand the choice I was giving her. Since she didn't choose to stay near me we did go home. Great. Fail. The logic is there I suppose, every time she runs I will immediately leave the store we are in. In this instance, and I suspect in future instances this consequence will be more punishment for me than for Ara. We talked about other possible solutions. The only other we could come up with is the "kid leash". I WOULD feel more at peace using a leash somewhere where I felt it would be dangerous for her to be separated from me. Like the Mall or places where she could get to the street easily. My worry is that the leash teaches her nothing. I want her to understand the why.

On another topic it is time to start potty training. I have been dreading this stage because I really don't know where to start. We got her a toilet a while ago but she mostly uses it to play. She thinks it is entertaining to put toys into it and then close the lid. I looked at some books at the store (before I was forced to leave) and the advice seemed sound. I am not sure she is really really ready. We haven't been taking about the difference between wet and dry and she really doesn't seem to know when she is going. One of the books suggested making a routine and putting her on a toilet every 2 hours. I will try that.. I guess.