The little one is down,  and I am  laying here in bed relaxing, catching up on friends blogs and wishing I had a delicious treat. A macaroon, an easter treat, a white cupcake, peppermint ice cream with hot fudge anything will do. Instead I will just dream about it. 

The girls and I went for burritos and nachos at a taqueria in Alameda. It was good! We talked about boys, movies and babies. I love those girls to pieces. I hope they continue to grow up making the right decisions in life and staying close to the Lord. That is what will bring them true happiness. Being a teenager in inner city Oakland is a tough job, I wish them the best and always keep them in my prayers.

Another random love for the day: my new cozy super fleece jammie bottoms that I got for Christmas from my papa B. I have worn them every night since I got them!

Life in Oakland

I woke up today, again happy that my little man slept through the night. I think he might actually have this down for good. Although, honestly it didn't really bother me that he woke up at 3:00am. I am usually up any way with all the sleeping disorders that I have. I'm up going to the bathroom or getting a drink what is an extra 5 minutes to spend feeding my adorable little son.

I looked out my big window from bed this morning and it looks grey and cold. I thought how great it would be for Athen and I to stay in our jams all day long cuddled up in our cozy beds. Although it was a great idea, it wasn't going to happen. I realized that I have to pick up the girls tonight at 5:30 for dinner. What should we make??? Or should we just go out to dinner? I think maybe we will go out, the girls will like that. 

Last night I made a very delicious recipe. I have been looking for a good cheesy scallop potato recipe and haven't come across one yet. I can go for hours and hours reading through the ingredient lists in cook books. If I don't like what ingredients are on the list I won't try it. Most of the potato recipes I have come across have flour to thicken it, that turns me off. I'm not really a fan of flour and corn starch in recipes. This one didn't so I tried it and it was delish. I sauteed some shallots, garlic and red pepper flakes in butter. I then added heavy cream and milk. I then sliced up some red potatoes and added them into the saute pan and brought it all to a boil. I then added some Italian sausage (I cooked separately first) which was not in the recipe but sounded good, and I had some left over from my lasagna the other day. Once it cames to a boil I add to a baking dish. I then added Swiss cheese or Gruyere and Parmesan. Baked for 45 minutes. It was so creamy and cheesy - yummy! We had some chicken with it as well but the potatoes stole the show.

PS - I love my gold All Clad bakeware set. It is the best! I have had it for about 6 or 7 years now. I hope it lasts forever.

A few days ago I made lasagna. I didn't make my normal made up recipe, I tried a new way. I have this delicious bolgenese  sauce recipe that I like to make. I thought I would try that with lasagna. I cooked up some hamburger, Italian sausage, garlic and onions. I then added a can of Italian style diced tomatoes and let simmer for a while. I then took off the heat and added heavy cream and fontina cheese (the cream and cheese are what make the recipe so rich and delicious). I then layered the sauce with lasagna noodles and cheese - fontina, parmesan, mozzarella and cheddar. It turned out great. Rick told Athen that he would love his mother's lasagna when he got older. I think Rick liked this lasagna better then the red sauce one I make, but then again who doesn't like a good creamy pink sauce. As you can see I LOVE cream in anything. 

I also made some homemade chicken fingers with a parmesan breading. I baked them on a baking stone rather than frying them. We also had cheese fries with it. I was practicing some meals for when Athen gets older.

The potatoes last night were delicious, however, I think my little man doesn't get along so well with white cheeses. I know he doesn't like Camembert and I think he doesn't like Swiss cheese. He has been pretty fussy today. He seems to get that way when I eat Swiss. Cheddar doesn't really seem to bother him much and neither does cream - lucky for me. It's going to kill me not to eat all those left overs in the fridge. The things a mother must sacrafice for a happy boy. 

The little man was so fussy we had to get him out of the house. I put him in the Bob and we went for a walk. I love walks and runs with this little guy. I love that instead of working in the city, I get to take my cute little guy on walks. Instead of driving a few miles down to the beach, I decided to walk around our neighborhood. We do live in an interesting place. I brought the camera along and decided to take a few pictures of what we see. There are so many more interesting things to see close by but I'll just take a few each time. Today we saw:

The Oakland marina. We live a block from the water's edge. We like to walk the path along the water. 

Livingston Lofts. Rick and I looked at living here before we found our place. They are really nice inside but the location was a little too artsy for me.

The Sara Lee Bakery. This is a block from our warehouse and there are several reasons why this is a great thing. The wonderful smell of fresh baked bread that creeps down our hallway in the early morning and the night time. We can smell the bread as we pull into our parking lot at night - yum! Another reason is they have a bakery store with super cheap bread. You can buy a Sara Lee loaf of multi grain or sunflower bread for just $1.25 instead of $4.99 like they sell it at the grocery store.

Here is a picture of our lovely warehouse which we may be leaving in the next few months. We love this building, it has been great to us. While we were on our walk the other day Rick said that when we came to look at this building for the first time (before we were even engaged. I was looking for a place of my own) he felt that this is where our first child would be born. He was right. However, I thought well why didn't you just propose then wasn't that a good clue??

This is the hallway in our warehouse. I like it. It is painted a light yellow color and is bright, happy and very wide. It is perfect for moving large furniture in and out of. It makes me happy every time I walk down to our door. Our door is the one on the left right under the sky light.

Random love for today: I love it that every time I put a onsie over Athen's head he laughs out loud because he is ticklish. Happy Day!

Life is Good

We had a wonderful weekend this weekend, nothing special just time together as a family. Friday night Athen and I headed over to Gram's house to visit and play. I then left Athen to play and I picked Rick up from the Dublin Bart station. The night was ours. We both needed an escape together. Rick has been working long hours and often misses Athen at night time before he goes down for bed. 

We decided to do some shopping so we headed to Babies R Us, if you can believe this is what we decided to do on our date night. We bought Athen some sun glasses for all the summer time fun we are going to have together(I damaged my eyes from the sun and will some day have to have surgery on them I am sure, so I don't want my little man to damage his). We also bought him some teething toys. I'm not sure if he is starting to teeth or not but he does suck on anything and everything and is constantly drooling. His shirt is soaking wet by mid day. He doesn't really have age appropriate toys that he can suck on and play with so we bought a few. He has had a few fussy days here and there so we are wondering if he is starting to teeth or maybe he is still too young and has just had a bad day or a soar tummy. 

After shopping for about an hour I called home to see how Athen went down for Grams. He usually goes right down for us with out a noise. Grams said he cried a little so she picked him up and has been cuddling with him on the bed ever since. I guess he can be spoiled by his grams every now and then. I'm pretty sure it was more that my mom wanted to cuddle with him and hold him than Athen not wanting to go to bed. 

We then headed down to Main St. downtown for a late night dinner. We went to Strizzy's. It was good. We ordered Italian Nachos as an appetizer. It was delicious. It was fried lasagna noodles (fresh, raw lasagna noodles deep fried and made to look like a tortilla chip, tasted like one too), with cream sauce, parm cheese, fresh tomatoes, artichoke hearts, a few different kinds of olives and jalapenos. It was very creative and good. We then had some Chicken Cajun risotto with mushrooms. It was good but a little on the vinegary side rather than rich and creamy like Rick's risotto (by far the best in the world).  

On Saturday morning our little man had slept through the night (Yeah). Rick got up early to play around with his kites while Athen and I slept in until 9:00. We then headed over to Donut Star down the street from our warehouse. It is a donut and a fast food Chinese restaurant all in one. Only in Oakland can you find that. The donuts are actually very tasty. It was fun and something we thought would be fun to do with our kids in years to come - Saturday morning donut runs that is.

We then headed to West Oakland to the kite swap. Rick loaded up the Subaru with a bunch of kites, kite gear and surfboard in hopes that he can get rid of some of his gear and get some new stuff (he has 10 kites now, way too many! In fact if anyone is interested in an old kite to use the material to make recycled grocery shopping bags let us know, we would be happy to give one up) Unfortunately the kite swap wasn't what he had hoped it to be. However, it was right across the street from some of our favorite girls. We walked over and took them down the streets for donuts. Yes that is right donuts two times for us on Saturday morning. This donut place was called Donut All Star, not only did it have donuts and Chinese food but it also served burgers, fries and breakfast - eggs and pancakes. 

Saturday afternoon was a beautiful day so we decided to put Athen in the Bob and go for a family walk down to the beach. The beach is a few miles from our house. We started our walk at 7-11 with some slurpees (banana and blackberry lime mixed, it was the perfect mix) then headed over the Park St. bridge to down town. We walked in a few stores and browsed around. We picked up my favorite Easter treat at Walgreens, checked out some books at Borders and finally reached the beach. We walked along the jogging path and then started back home. On the way home we stopped at the local bakery for some treats. Rick got a Portuguese donut and I got a macaroon. Our walk was probably pretty close to 6 miles and was very enjoyable. We have been enjoying a lot of walks together lately. 

We got home, gave Athen a bath, prepared for early morning church, put the little man to bed and then played a game together. Sunday morning we got up bright and early to get ready for ward council at 7:45. We had to wake Athen up to feed him, dress him and head out. After church we had linger longer and a baptism that Rick had to go to, so we were pretty much at church from 7:45 until almost 3:00pm. Needless to say, Athen didn't get much of a nap. Straight from church we headed over to Livermore for a big family BBQ. Some relatives were in town so we all got together. It was fun but the poor little man was so tired. So tired he could not get himself to sleep. 

Sunday night we got home and put the little man to bed. He had been crying and was fussy from lack of sleep but the second we put him in his crib he was silent and quietly put himself to sleep. What a good little man he his. Again he slept through the night (10-12 hour nights) for the fourth night in a row. 

After the little man was down it was time to relax and enjoy the rest of the evening. I opened my computer and continued to read NieNie Dialogues which I discovered a few days ago. This girl is amazing and inspiring. As I laid in bed crying and reading her story it made me think of how wonderful my life is and how lucky I am. I am constantly thinking about how lucky I am and how wonder life is but this just brought tears to my eyes. I shared some of her story with Rick which started our pillow talk. I love having pillow talk with Rick. He is such a wonderful husband and I love him to pieces. Our pillow talk last night taught me a few new things about him and about our relationship and marriage. He is a wonderful man and I love him to pieces. 

I woke up this morning to my husband getting dressed in the bathroom, then giving me a kiss on the forehead and saying our morning prayers together. Once again, I was happy that my little man had been sleeping since the night before. I quickly fell back asleep only to wake up a few hours later to a happy baby playing, cooing and laughing in his bed. I look over at my 30 foot window next to my bed and I see a gray sky, the leaves on the trees slowly moving back and forth and a slight mist of rain. As my little man naps next to me on my bed (for almost 3 hours) I lay cuddled up in my King size bed on this cold lazy morning reading NieNie's story. A young mother who has the perfect life and children, someone who is happy as can be and then one day her life changes. I think about my life. I am as happy as can be and am living that perfect life (that see once had) with my little family. I couldn't ask for anything more (ok, well maybe a house). It is inspiring to see that she takes her accident or her trial in life and turns it in to a different life that is still happy and good. She has inspired me not necessarily to think about all that I have and how luck I am because I feel that I do that often but to write it down. She is a good example of someone who loves the small and simple pleasures in life. 

I feel like I have been one to love the small and simple pleasures in life. My dad taught me that growing up. My dad is a pretty simple guy, not flashy at all, enjoys the experiences in life much more than the possessions life has to offer. We spent a lot of our weekends growing up doing something fun together usually out doors, and where ever we were at or what ever we were doing my dad would always say "If I were a millionaire, this is exactly where I would be and exactly what I would be doing." Meaning there is nothing better in life than looking up at all the stars in the big black sky in Sierra mountains, or laying in the hot sun on the beach or hiking in the mountains picking huckleberries. Money can't buy those experiences. 

In my single days, my friends and I would have a different theme each year. A theme that we liked to live by to remind us that life is good (even though we weren't married with children yet) and enjoy it. One year our theme was "If I was a millionaire....." That year we lived life to the fullest and enjoyed every minute of the simple things life had to offer. Every where we went we would say "If I was a millionaire... and we would think about all that we were blessed with.

As I lay cozied up in my big, soft, king size bed I think about all the small and simple things I am thankful for and the list goes on and on. I am thankful for all the moments I have with Rick and Athen. 

Athen :

Watching Athen sleep. He is just so precious.

Athen's hair on the back of his head (the little he has left that hasn't been rubbed off) sometimes gets fuzzy and sticks straight out. I love it. It is so cute. 

When I wake up in the morning to a happy boy making sweet noises in his crib. 

When I say "Athen, I love you. Mama loves you." and he gets a big smile on his face.

When we lay on the floor together and read stories.

When he is done eating in the evening and it's fat dog time, he just lays there in my lap in the rocking chair and I sing him church hymns. Not only does it help me learn the words to the songs but he gets to hear his mother's voice (which not many people get to do) and the wonderful words in each song. His big eyes just stare into mine like his is trying to tell me that he loves me. 

When I take long hot showers each day and I peak my head out and see Athen sitting in his bouncer chair with a big smile on his face.

When I feed him and he stares into my eyes.

Playing with him for hours and hours every day.

Rick:

Cuddling up to him each night and falling asleep in his arms.

Pillow talk.

All of the romantic moments we share together. I love that he is so romantic and always doing nice and thoughtful things.

Listening to him speak, giving a lesson and sharing his testimony. His words are always so powerful, uplifting and filled with the spirit.

Watching him feed Athen at night, or watching him sit next to Athen's crib and stare at him or listening to him sing to Athen. Watching Rick with Athen is always a precious moment. 

Saying I love you. Rick tells me he loves me every day and more. 

I love the sound of crashing waves on the shore, birds chirping in the morning time, the sun light coming through my window in the morning, getting into a warm car after church, the lights of a city, the smell of fresh air in the mountains, the light of the full moon reflecting off the lake, white snow covering tree branches, the feel of water on my body, nature and many many more things. My little man is starting to wake up so I must end this post now.

If you actually finished reading this very long post, I would love to know what you love and what you are thankful for.

Happy Day!

from BillyBob

Food

Food - who doesn't love food? I know I do. I use to cook all the time and I loved it. Over the years it seems I get busier and busier and do less cooking, and since I've been married even less. Our schedules the last two years have been crazy. Leave at 5:30am and get home at 9:00 a lot of the nights. My poor new husband didn't get many home cooked meals. However, now that I am retired and a mom and house wife cooking is in site.

Lately we have had some delicious meals. I have spent some time looking through my 100 cook books for some new recipes and have also done a little experimenting of my own.

Orange Tilapia and Rice
Tonight I decided to experiment with some fresh tilapia. I put some extra light virgin olive oil in to my stainless steel skillet along with some butter, chardonnay (which we usually have on hand because Rick makes the best risotto in the world with it), fresh garlic, orange zest and the juice from a fresh orange. I placed the tilapia in and simmered it all together until the tilapia was cooked. I then put some orange zest into my rice cooker and made some basmati rice with a kick of orange. We placed the fish and the left over sauce from the pan over the rice. It was delish!

Italian Meatloaf
I typically don't like meat loaf but I found a recipe that looked pretty good so I attempted to make meatloaf for the first time. The recipe called for ground sirlon and ground veal (you don't have to use the ground veal) instead of ground beef - much more flavor. You add all the seasonings and fresh herbs to the meat and then lay it out like you would cinnamon rolls. You then cover the meat with procuitto and provolone cheese. Then you roll it up into a log or loaf and bake. The meat loaf had swirls of goodness in it - procuitto and cheese. It was full of flavor and very tasty for meat loaf.

Ham & Asparagus Calzones
My Williams Sonoma pizza cook book had a great recipe for pizza dough. I combined a calzone and pizza recipe into one and came up with a ham and asparagus calzone. I put small chunks of asparagus and chunks of ham with fontina cheese into the calzone and baked it. No sauce. The fontina cheese is so creamy and moist that you don't need the sauce. It was delish!

Hawaiian Meatballs
I made a quick and easy Pampered Chef recipe that had ground turkey, red peppers, green onions, pineapple and teriyaki sauce. It was simple and flavorful.

Shrimp Scampi
Shrimp scampi is always one of our favorites and so easy to make. The part that takes the longest is boiling the linguine. While the pasta is boiling you melt butter, lemon juice, garlic, fresh parsley and red pepper flakes and then add shrimp and cook for a few minutes. So simple and so delish!

Blueberry treats
Have you tried the new Kellogg's Blueberry special K cereal? It is fantastic. The other night we decided to use it to make marshmallow treats. Instead of rice krispies we used the blueberry special K and it was great. We ate it right out of the sauce pan.

Ever since I have been a stay at home mom I have made Rick lunches. The great thing about cooking dinner is you have left overs. We haven't always been the best at eating left overs but now I can put them in Rick's lunch. It saves a bundle and I have a happy husband. The other day he came home and thanked me for his lunch. He said, "I feel like I am eating a gourmet lunch each day." That day he had shrimp scampi & french bread, camembert cheese with toasted pecan wheat crackers, and fresh strawberries. Also, I put an adult gummy vitamin in his lunch each day to keep him healthy. He likes eating his gummy vit each day. I'm happy he likes my lunches.

If you haven't checked out my last post with my easter eggs, you should. It's fun.

My friend Angel sent me a link to a blog that has instructions for dying easter eggs with silk ties. Rick wasn't willing to give up any of his old ugly ties (he thinks Athen is going to want them when he is older, we will see) so we drove down to the Goodwill together to find some cool silk ties on Saturday. A few eggs didn't turn out (apparently hand made silk does not work, no pictures) but overall I was happy with how my easter eggs turned out.

This one was my favorite. It turned out so sharp and vibrant, along the yellow color doesn't really come through in the picture.

Here is the link to the instructions if you want to try it out yourself:

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/03/silk-dyed-eggs.html

Let me know if you do and how your eggs turned out!

Athen and I are laying around in bed this Saturday morning and I see Ricky laying out his kite all over the wooden floors. Oh great, it's kiteboarding season, you know what that means.... Many months of sandy wooden floors, a sandy bed, and a sandy shower filled with wetsuits and booties.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Everyone else posted cute pictures of their kids in green so here is mine! He is a cute little rock star huh??

They say once you have kids it's never the same. You have to pack a million things around with you and it slows you down. It looks like he's packing a lot of stuff but not much of it looks like Athens. He definately hasn't slowed us down. we headed to Alameda beach on Sat. Rick did some kiteboarding while Athen and I laid in the sun. When Athen played in his peapod tent out of the sun while I laid next time.

This week had our play group at the pool. It was Athen's first time swimming. He isn't allowed to wear sunscreen yet so I was a pretty protective mom and blocked him from the sun. I wasn't well prepared - he wore a regular diaper, a cotton onsie to block the sun and didn't have a floaty toy. I will be more prepared next time. This weekend we are getting him a rash gaurd (instead of cotton) swimmer diapers and a floaty. He liked it and was a good boy. I'm sure it will be even more fun with a floaty.

Good Night

I woke up this morning to the morning sun shinning through my 20 foot window. I then realized my little man hadn't eaten since 7:30 the night before. I walked over to his crib and sure enough he was just laying there wide eyed with a smile on his face. I guess he was happy to get a full nights sleep. What a good little man. I hope he keeps this up, not that I minded getting up at 3 or 4 to give him a quick feed. He always looks so precious in the middle of the night. I love this kid to pieces. He is a DCT!

Everyone else has cute blogs so I decided to make a few changes to ours just to change it up a little. I have added a lot of new pictures along the side. Hope you enjoy. Here is a pic of our little man just because.