Halfway to Human

I am happy to report that Tabby had a much better night last night and I am not so much the zombie girl as I was yesterday. I have no idea how things will go tonight since she still seems to be having some mouth issues (still no idea what those are) but she only woke up a few times and that is a huge improvement over the previous night. She also slept all night in her big girl bed. Yay!

This week is shaping up to be pretty uneventful. I'm mainly trying to stay on top of things and get just a few more things done before Baby Boy arrives. We've been having pretty nice weather and since getting the garden ready is definitely on our list, I am thinking we should head outside this evening. Tabby can even use her new shovel and rake she got for Easter.

I also need to come up with a menu for the next week. Nothing too elaborate since I know things will probably be somewhat irregular, but I am finding myself bored with all of the usual suspects. I will have to pull out the cookbooks tonight. If this weather holds, I am thinking grilled. Ahh summer… I cannot wait for you to arrive!

Fingers Crossed

Tabby had quite the night last night. She was up and down A LOT. No one got much sleep … and at about 4 AM we decided… time to see the doctor. Of course only the ER is open at 4 AM so we had to wait.

Matt took Tabby to the doc's this morning. She is funny about going to the doctor's … she was excited to go and then freaked out when she got there. She did not enjoy her visit, though she did get a popcicle at the end of it and then the whole way to the sitters she told Matt over and over that she felt better (perhaps in a ploy to not have to go back?). Hehe.

Anyhoo … long story short, doc couldn't find anything wrong with her. Strep culture negative. Ears clear. Throat not swollen. No fever. Teeth looked fine too (though when we brushed her teeth tonight, she winced when we did the molars).

She seemed to have a better day and has gone to sleep with quite a bit less trouble tonight. Fingers crossed … we all need the sleep!

Happy Easter

Though this was her third Easter, this was the first one Tabby really got to enjoy. Friday she dyed eggs. Saturday she hunted them. Sunday she got a visit from the Easter bunny and then got to hunt eggs again. She very much enjoyed all of the special events, especially the chocolate and “can-ee.”

In general, it was a pretty Tabby-centric weekend. She got to play with her buds and eat Nepali food on Saturday. She got to go swimming on Sunday. All weekend long she got tons of QT with Mommy and Daddy.

Not only are we trying to enjoy our last days as a family of three, but Tabby is also having some troubles. Right now we're assuming it's molars coming in (lots of signs point that way), but with a little cough and some real trouble sleeping, we're starting to wonder if it's not something else working on her. It's been cranky days and unsettled nights and quite a few applications of tylenol.

We got a couple of things on the big to-do list accomplished, but mostly we just maintained the status quo and relaxed quite a bit. I can't complain.

Hope you had a lovely weekend.

A Link a Day

Just a few links I've collected recently that I had to share. Enjoy!

the case against breastfeeding is a great read for any parent
• stroller + bicycle = the Taga … and I want one!
• got a web cam? you can see if anyone's accessing your computer without your knowledge using ugolog
DIY self-watering planters … my herbs need these
• I finally found a reason to buy a Mac
• just in case you want time lapse photography of your garden, though I think it would be even cooler to set this up in your playroom
• love these lamps made from plumbing parts
geek pranks for next April Fools' Day
• these Sigg lunchboxes are pretty … but maybe just a tad boring … do they have compartments inside, I wonder?
• make gift bags from envelopes
• move over cupcakes! I pink-puffy ♥ cakesicles … wouldn't these be awesome for a b'day party??
• TLC's spring cleaning guide with cute graphics almost makes me want to clean my house … almost
• really enjoyed this article on marriage
• stop the presses! this very hungry caterpillar cupcake cake may have won my affections again
• I like the idea of sewing a new camera strap, but I'll probably just be lazy and buy one on Etsy
• now I know what to do just in case I need to develop film in an emergency … valuable life skill, that
• these sound wave-form bracelets are delightfully geeky
• I think master woodworker hubby could whip me up one of these rotating canned-good storage shelves
• next time I'm in The Netherlands, I'm totally sleeping in a wine cask
a lovely post on perspective and attitude

What to say?

Thanks for all the sweet comments on Tabby's new bed. I love for Matt to get kudos from people other than just myself. Then he keeps building this crazy stuff I come up with.

Unfortunately, Tabby has not yet gotten to try it out. I selfishly left her at her sitters in order to come home and guarantee myself an hour's nap and she did not get one at all (it's hard because it's such a crap-shoot anyhow) and ended up falling asleep in her high chair, mid-way through dinner around 6 PM. I'm such a good mom. 😛

Matt and our neighbor were able to at least move it into her room and while Tabby slept, Matt and I rearranged her room to accommodate all her furniture plus the crib. We have loved that nursery, so carefully designed for Tabby and it felt almost like desecrating a shrine to rearrange it. It is not quite as aesthetically pleasing as it was before, but it isn't bad. And it will hold two kids. And if those two kids do not share a room well, we'll figure it all out then.

Today felt like Thursday to me … all day long. How I hate that. We had a nice evening out last night, visiting our friends and having dinner. I did not stay up late, but for some reason I was a zombie today. I really need to get to bed so I am not bad again tomorrow. Gooood night!

UPDATE: My husband tells me that last night, Miss Tabby woke up at some point and after asking for her froggy (her favorite lovie), she saw her big girl bed next door (she was in her crib) and wanted to be put in it. Matt put her in there and she went right back to sleep and slept there all night. I guess we'll see what happens tonight.

Salad Nicoise

from: Matt & Jess

Ingredients
pasta (you choose what type)
pesto
chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
garlic
S&P
olive oil
parmesan (duh)

Directions
Get the water going for your pasta (salt!). Heat olive oil in a big ol' skillet and add the garlic. While that gets going, salt and pepper your chicken. Toss the chicken in and cook, turning every once in a while, but making sure to get nice browning on it. This helps chicken to not taste so much like chicken.

Put in the pasta ASAP and get that cooked. Mix the cooked pasta, chicken and pesto all together. You shouldn't need to heat the pesto unless your pasta's gotten cold. In which case you should probably heat the pasta too. Top it all off with a mini snowstorm of parmesan. Dang it's good.

from: http://phemomenon.blogspot.com/

Ingredients
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup lime juice (about 2 large limes)
2 teaspoons to 1 Tablespoon chili powder
2 large cloves of garlic, finely minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts), cooked and shredded
12 corn tortillas
2 cups of Mexican cheese blend, shredded (1 small bag usually is 2 cups)
1 14-oz can of green enchilada sauce (mild or medium, to your taste)
1/2 to 3/4 cup of heavy cream
nonstick cooking spray
1 Tablespoon of chopped cilantro, to garnish

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the cooked and shredded chicken in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. In a small bowl, place the honey, lime juice, chili powder and minced garlic or garlic powder. Whisk together thoroughly to combine. Pour this mixture over the chicken and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to marinate while you prepare the tortillas, 30 minutes or up to 1 hour, in the refrigerator.

Heat a large griddle till a drop of water skitters across (about 350 degrees F). Spray the surface with non-stick cooking spray or a oil it with a little bit of canola oil in between each round of tortillas. Heat tortillas about 20 seconds on each side till warm and flexible and some golden brown spots have appeared. Remove the tortillas from the griddle and keep them between a couple of paper towels until ready to use.

Spray the sides and bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish lightly with cooking spray. In a medium bowl combine the enchilada sauce and the heavy cream. Spread about 1/2 cup of the mixture in the bottom of the oiled baking dish. Add a large spoonful (about 2 tablespoons) of the chicken mixture to the center of each tortilla in a line. Cover the chicken with a large tablespoon (or big pinch) of cheese, then roll the tortilla up from one side to make a rolled enchilada – it will be more of an over lap on the seam side that rolled tightly. Place the enchilada seam side down in the baking dish starting at one end with the long edge parallel to the longest side of the pan so that you end up with two columns of six enchiladas each.

Repeat with the remaining chicken, cheese and tortillas. You will use about 1 1/2 cups of the cheese for the filling and set the remainder aside for topping the enchiladas in the pan. Add the remaining marinade mixture to the enchilada sauce and cream mixture, if desired. Pour this mixture over the top of all the enchiladas. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake the enchiladas for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly and starting to brown on top. Serve with sour cream, black beans, and rice or a green salad for a great meal.

from: Donna Hay Modern Classics

Ingredients
12 baby new potatoes, halved
10 oz green beans, trimmed and halved
14 oz ahi tuna steaks
olive oil for brushing
5 oz baby spinach leaves
2 tomatoes, sliced into wedges
2/3 cup black olives, halved (I used niçoise olives!)
salt & pepper
2 hard boiled eggs, quartered

Dressing
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp sherry or red wine vinegar
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
salt & pepper

Directions
Place the potatoes in a saucepan of boiling water and cook for 5 minutes or until almost soft. Add the beans and cook for 2 more minutes, until the beans and potatoes are tender. Drain and cool under running cold water. Next, brush the tuna with a little olive oil and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Grill (outdoors or on a grill pan inside) for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until the tuna is seared nicely but still rare inside. Set aside for five minutes and then slice.

To make the dressing, place the oil, vinegar, mustard, parsley, in a bowl with a little salt and pepper. Whisk to combine. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.

Place the spinach, tomatoes, olives, potatoes, beans, eggs slices and dressing in a big bowl. Toss to combine. Then, place the tuna slices on top, along with the egg quarters. Serve immediately.

Big Girl Bed

Dang Matt's good. Am I right? Many many hours + lotsa birch + blood, sweat and tears=Tabby's bed. Matt will be constructing drawers for it this weekend, but other than that, it's a done deal. So far Tabby has been really excited about it … I hope that extends into a desire to sleep in it.

So tomorrow we will move it into her room, leaving her crib for now, and see how she likes it. Fingers crossed.

In other news, my kitchen is currently free of woodworking projects. Yay! However, I expect this will last until sometime this weekend. Boo.

Sprucing Up

Stupid snow's got me down. So it's gone. From the blog included (yes, I am that powerful). Until 6 months from now when I miss it again. This is pretty non-specific since I don't know when I'll change it again.

Just another thing checked off on the old to-do list. I have big plans for this evening too.
• clean out our tupperware hole (hideous corner cabinet that holds our plastic storage containers)
• clean out the laundry closet
• get Tabby's toys all set up in the newly emptied media closet
• finish the headboard (thus making the bed ready for Tabby … but not for clothes storage)

It is actually starting to help that sleep is so bad right now that I can hardly be bothered with it until I'm at pass-out tired stages. Of course that is if Matt doesn't slip me something to knock my hyper ass out. I really wouldn't blame him one bit.