don't worry...

...you can't catch germs from a blog.

i must inform you, dear readers, that i had a lovely week of blog posts planned

all in celebration of our sweet baby girl

who has really kicked off toddlerhood with a bang.

...it was supposed to be a fun "bang"

however, at 4am on march 1st...

e woke up crying and just didn't seem herself

eh, sometimes she does this--

i've not been able to pinpoint if she has a bad dream

or gets a leg cramp or something (i get those frequently during the night)

and i could've sworn she smelled like...

puke.

after calming her, she quietly fell back asleep

for a few minutes...

then she really did puke.

i didn't fret too much--thought she had a touch of a stomach bug*

and we already had a 9am appt. with the doctor for her

"well baby check"

*"touch of a stomach bug" is something that a mother

who has never had a child with a stomach bug would say.

after getting to the doc

they took her measurements (21 1/2 lbs and 30" long)

and things went downhill so quickly that i don't even know her percentiles or anything

she decided to make it a "sick visit" and skip the shots and the developmental stuff

the doc thought it may by rsv...

my mom gut said no.

then the doc realized we'd not had flu shots...

so she tested her "since we were already in the office"

ok... why not?

well, whaddya know... POSITIVE...

at the very last second and about as early as possible to detect it!

...i'll skip some of the gorey details...

e didn't care for the tamiflu or the icantrememberthename anti-nausea meds

...well, it wasn't that she didn't care for them, she couldn't keep them down

she. was. pitiful.

my spunky kid acted like a wet noodle.

and ended up with worse symptoms from

THE stomach bug.

it appeared to be a 24 hour bug...

that weakens you for a good 24 hours after its over.

its violent. and fast.

not sure where eden picked it up, but i'm sure glad to get rid of it.

she was sweet enough to share it with her daddy, her kiekie and her grandaddy barry...

...her mama is too superstitious to say anything else.

i've cleaned up the 3 day storm of toys, blocks, foam letters, dog toys, bath toys, towels (there was ALWAYS one in arms reach--more like a "catchers mit" if you catch my drift.), and a sweet pallet made up of a boppy pillow fleece blankets and some quilts... all this in preparation for the sweet little cleaning lady who has no idea what she's getting herself into tomorrow.

...ya know, i forgot what color my carpet was. ha!

lee is sleeping upstairs tonite--just in case.

and i'm SO looking forward to the cleaning lady to come tomorrow.

i even sat down and derived a plan to sell the house, furnished, as is...

just to get out. of. here.

so, with all that being said,

the party is a go for sunday...

and gosh doggit, we have even more to celebrate!

WE'RE ALIVE! hahah

and the best part is that my sweet silly spunky eden has returned to her good ole self!

gosh, i missed her!!! i don't know where that other kid went, but i don't wanna see her again

...well, except when i want to snuggle. :)

and you know, nothing ever happens when there's nothing going on (profound, i know.)... but, let me plan a birthday party after a BIG sale at work and have a busy week of party supply shopping and planning and delegating and several other commitments--and then the stomach bug joins us. go figure.

i'm a little sad because i don't have any pictures of my girl on her birthday

...but i will make up for it sunday. stay tuned!

and a big blog shout out to kiekie!

...she's really stepped it up for her typically stellar job...

she's endured many hardships and struggles explosive diapers and upchuck

and we can never repay her for her sacrifices

and time spent at our house in the warzone this week

and one more shoutout...

this one goes out to clorox wipes

i love them so much, i'm snuggling with them at night while lee's sleeping upstairs.

shhh, don't tell him.

at this point, i'm breathing such a sigh of relief that your hair probably just blew back and you're thinking of offering me a tic tac

...where ever you're reading this from.

that's all for now... i'll post more interesting stuff later.

our sweet, sweet girl.

wow. what a year. i really don't even know where to begin.

...from our tiniest little miracle at 3 lb 12 oz...

who showed us so much personality and spunk from the very beginning

into a blonde headed, spunky, sassy, bundle of energy who loves

being outside and swinging

squealing and blowing kisses

eating bananas & kiwi (and about anything else you put in front of her)

riding in the car

... and lord have mercy... PLAYING IN THE TUB!

who is 1 today!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEET EDEN

we love you so much and have enjoyed our first year with you!

you have taught us so much about love and have had so much fun...

thank you for being YOU!

you are a blessing to everyone you meet and bring a radiant light to an empty dark room.

your smile and kisses are the highlight of my day. every day.

love,

mama, daddy & nershi

strong women:

may we know them

may we be them

may we raise them

a fantastically busy day!

e woke up extra early this morning* (not great at the time, but really worked out for the best!), so she took an earlier nap... i had to wake her up (after an hour) to head on to church

*thanks for waking up with her, lee... dad of the year. seriously.

she played with some of her buddies and then as she rubbed her eyes, we headed home for another nap...

i took the opportunity to clean out the clothes she's outgrown

to make room in her "downstairs closet"

...filled up a laundry basket of clothes...

then i went upstairs to bring down her clothes

i've accumulated on clearance and with gift cards and

several hand-made hand-me-downs...

and WOW. e's got an entire new wardrobe!!

tick tock tick tock... e's still sleepin'!

welp, i had to wake her up again...

we were going to michael & kimberlee's house for a party

have i mentioned how pretty the weather was today, yet?!

80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky!

hung out with them & their family and e played on the swingset and with owen...

so sweet! love those two together!

i did manage to snap another one of my favorite pictures of eden today.

do yourself a favor and "click to enlarge"...

yes, she's only wearing one shoe.

the surviving shoe is the one she couldn't manage to pull off in the car.

after we hung out for a while, we packed up and headed home

for a quick dinner, extended bath time

and...

at long last...

BED.

this weekend was so much better than this weekend was a year ago ;)

y'all buckle up...its going to be EDEN OVERLOAD THIS WEEK!

exciting news

we got a PUPPY!!

...against my better judgement.

she's so sweet and we've not named her yet

what does nershi think?

well, so far so good... he's a bit apprehensive,

but the new puppy hasn't bothered with any of his toys yet.

and she's not big enough to jump on the bed--so, that's a plus.

she's very good with eden and loves following her around

she has the cutest little bark and is already doing well when she's on her leash

...here's to hoping she's that easy to house train, too!! whew.

and i'm assuming you want to see a picture?

HAHA... thanks for the great birthday package aunt steph & uncle kevin... eden has been dragging this pooch around all night and hasn't put down her rubber duck! the bath toys will be put to good use tomorrow night :)

a "feel good" feast

after a fantastic grocery trip today and again picking up some "new stuff" to try... i scratched tonites plans for eggs & toast and branched out a little bit and made my first piece of FISH!

lee had hinted around that he wanted some more avocado salad for dinner--so, i mixed it up a bit and added to the recipe that i made last time ...this time i added finely grated red onion, scallions, corn, and olive oil to the already delish mixture of cilantro, black beans, tomatoes, cukes, avocados and lime juice

now... onto the fish... the highlight of my day... a new endeavor!! and it couldn't be easier!

SAVORY TILAPIA (i'm working on a better name...i dunno...chili lime tilapia?)

in a shallow dish, i combined:

1/4 cup of melted butter

1/4 cup of soy sauce

1/4 cup of lime juice

i also tossed in some fresh scallions and cilantro with a bit of crushed red pepper flakes and some ground ginger

lay the tilapia in the dish, then flip 'em over to coat them... let it sit for 10 minutes or so...(turn your oven on while the fish is hanging out in the sauce--put the broiler on high)

lay the fish on a roasting pan (and i piled on the cilantro and scallions--they had been coated by the butter and soy sauce, too!)... then put them in the oven for about 5-6 minutes on each side

i'm pretty sure i made this in less time than it takes to make a grilled cheese (not to mention less time than calling in chinese takeout). and for all you "dish haters", i used 1 roasting pan, 1 casserole dish and the same cutting board that i'd just used to make the avocado salad. and i got 'em all in the dishwasher (well, everything except the roasting pan) while the fish was in the oven...boom!

and i had a nice little mixed green salad with ginger dressing on the side.

my first experience with broiled fish and i can ASSURE you it won't be my last.

seriously delish. and guilt free.

kiwi queen

enjoy.

happy wednesday

a thing of the past

tonight, while lee and i were dining on the B.E.S.T. pasta on the face of this earth** (no seriously, we might have it tomorrow for dinner, too.)

**its SO good, we don't eat it with sauce. just a drizzle of evoo... that's it. no salt. no pepper. no sauce. no cheese. just the plain pasta. (they sell it at costco, too for all you costco lovers out there!)

i looked over to see that lee had opened a can of... oh no, don't say it...

caffeine free coke.

oh, i wanted it so bad. water suddenly seemed so... well, watery.

i asked him... ever so politely... if i could have 1 sip.

he replies, "no... because then you'll want the whole thing"

he was right...except him telling me that made me want it EVEN WORSE... oh, hurry up already--change your mind and pass that can over here... i just want ONNNNNNNNNE SIP.

[insert noise of a slow "enjoy every morsel" sort of slurping noise]

gross. disgusting. way too sweet. here ya go. [handing it back to him]

it didn't taste the way i'd remembered it a few short weeks ago. it tasted so..... wrong.

i've scribbled through that one on the "treats and splurges" list... not worth it and no longer tastes good.

you DO have the time

i'm quickly learning that in the time it takes to

a) go get something to-go and come home...

OR

b) cook something not-so-good for you...

you can make a delicious home cooked meal and have the dishes done! not to mention how much better it is for YOU...

there's a few things required to get to this point... organization and planning... which leads to a little bit of prep work.

on sundays or saturday night, i get most of my planning done. i sit down and jot out when lee's working late, what meals i'll be cooking, what groceries do i need, etc. i even found a cute dry erase board in the back-to-school clearance this past fall:

sometimes this becomes "the grocery list" and we forget the cute little days (that you can BARELY see) on the left...

anyhoo... once i get my groceries, i go ahead and clean the produce (thanks for the tip, rachael ray!)... this in itself saves lots of time!

and if i'm 1/2 way conscious when i head out the door in the morning, i'll set the non-refrigerated/frozen stuff out on the counter before i leave work! that'll shave 2 or 3 minutes of your personal record.

generally, i'm roasting or sauteeing veggies (and the occasional "boil")... so while my oven is preheating or pan is getting hot (or pot boiling), i cut up the veggies... (time saver!)

then, while they're cooking, i go ahead and do what dishes/cleaning i can do... cleaning cutting boards, knives, putting stuff back in the fridge i didn't use... you get the idea. (time saver!)

and although i don't always live by this next rule, but once dinner is on a (paper) plate, i try to do the rest of the dishes first*... and then, if you're time's running close (if it took you two hours to cook.), you can enjoy your dinner while you enjoy your nightly tv...

*if not, i can get 'em done during commercials! :) and its SOOO MUCH faster when its a "family activity" ...my kitchen sign says it best:

OH! and the wayyyy up-side? we're on the cusp of vegetable, home cooking, fresh food perfection... SUMMER!! hello, grill!! i've missed you... i hope you didn't rust when we left the cover off of you all winter.

disclaimer...

now, don't get me wrong, i love eating out (and am also learning to make better choices when doing so) and i do sometimes pick something up when lee's out of town or working late. i'm working very hard on making the eating out a treat. a reward. the dangling carrot.

and a lot of its psychological (i beat myself up over this from time to time)... if you want to make it work, you will. if not, you'll just keep doing what you've been doing.

cooking at home certainly has its own set of "ups" and "downs"...when we're extra busy at work, i can sometimes fall off the wagon... but its a learning process for all of us... i enjoy reading your tips just as much as i enjoy sharing... this whole "food challenge" thing has really spurred lots of conversation... i love it!! i'm learning so much, not only from my own reading/research, but from you and your tips and recipes... others have inspired me and i'm hoping to inspire others... VIVA LA REVOLUCION... ok, maybe not quite that extreme.

a moment of weakness

after a busy day at work (i got a chance to eat 1/2 my lunch at 2pm) and some stress triggers this afternoon-- and by "stress trigger" i mean "as soon as i walk in the door from work, my dog darts down the street like a bullet out of a gun to growl and bark at all the other neighbors" there was a small piece of me that wanted to ditch my naked (no tortilla) vegetarian art vandalay from moe's (yeah, i know, i had qdoba yesterday--i'm still deciding which one i like better.)... and go get something meaty from somewhere that fries everything they cook... and then get it dipped in chocolate.

but i didn't.

instead, i enjoyed my fresh dinner... and i didn't feel guilty about what i ate... and in a few minutes, i'll dive into my lastest addiction...

i know strawberries aren't in season right now... but that milk is like a thawed out vanilla milkshake... and you don't need the first granule of refined, granulated sugar. my head may very well explode in culinary delight when those strawberries are from jus' down the road this summer!

and yeah, that bowl of strawberries... that's pretty much what my bowl looks like when i make it... "uh, hannah, would you like a little cereal with your strawberries"

in fact, lee's been gone and traveling and working nights so much lately, that i look into the bowl... and its like... love. some sort of love.

i know i've mentioned this cereal before... so why have you not tried it yet? what are you waiting for?!?!

which brings me to my next dilemma... i'm rapidly approaching the bottom of the cereal box.... so what now? do i try another cereal? or get more of what i love... a lot of this "food challenge" was about trying new stuff and stretchin' my neck out... so, perhaps i'll try something different... maybe i'll even open the box while i'm still in the grocery store to make sure i like it... if its not love at first bit, i'll be back to the ole reliable!!

[insert creative transition here]...back to the food challenge on more of a general level... after talking openly (to those who ask) about my "thing" with meat... i've decided the best way to explain it is that i think of meat like i do alcohol. we don't drink alcohol at every meal, well MOST meals... and now the same thing applies to meat. i'm somewhat of a "social meat/processed foods eater" and i'm selective about the meats i'm eating... and in general, trying to avoid processed foods all together.

eh, that's all i gotta say today... now, i'm off to enjoy some cereal & strawberries.

melt my heart...

this is short... but i just wanted to tell y'all that my sweet little girl has melted my heart...

we walked in* from kristin's house today, i set eden down to change clothes so we could get outside and go for a walk with "aunt" shellie... and my precious gift, eden, started blowing nershi kisses. y'all... i wanted to cry. i love it when my babies love each other.

she later blew me kisses when we were getting out of the car, when she was eating her dinner (smearing applesauce up to her eyebrows), when she was in the tub (cleaning off said applesauce in eyebrows), and when i set her in her crib for bed... she freely blows kisses to almost anyone...

but there's just something about her blowing kisses to nershi that really got to me...

*i often wonder what nershi does when we're gone and he's got the house alllll to himself... surely he doesn't sleep ALL day... well, maybe he does. but, today, when i walked in the house... on this BEAUTIFUL 70 degree, breezy saturday, somehow he managed to open the backdoor (that was probably left cracked) and spend all day in his backyard kingdom--frolicking in the fresh air and chasing helpless birds... and come in for water and a nap on our bed whenever he felt like it. hmph. no wonder he's been zonked out all afternoon...

...i think i'll go join the dog in my bed. g'nite y'all.