Bergalicious ~ Keeping Life Delicious Two Kiddos at a Time

Bobe Betty’s Tuna Shells

2012-01-23T21:22:00.001-08:00

I’ve been eating this lower carb variation of tuna noodle casserole as long as I can remember. My mom modified it from her own mom’s own twist on fish casserole when my mom was a little girl growing up in Mexico City. It might seem like an odd combination of ingredients but to me they equal a quick, healthy-ish comfort meal.

The original recipe called for red snapper but my mom, often referred to as Bobe Betty on this blog, is a little squeamish (rightfully so if you ask me) about butchering and cooking a whole fish so she replaced it with canned albacore. This modification is a major time saver and is what makes this dish into an easy weeknight meal instead of a special occasion meal for guests.

My grandma cooked with a pinch of this and a pinch of that. I’ve done my best to approximate amounts but you may need to add a little more seasoning or tomato until you get it just as you like it.

This recipe feeds our family of four with the occasional extra “shell” for my lunch the next day.

INGREDIENTS:

3 -7oz cans of tuna, drained

1 yellow onion, chopped finely

1 can tomato paste OR a can chopped tomatoes OR 2-3 fresh chopped tomatoes (I use paste since my son recently decided he no longer likes picking out the chopped tomatoes and it gives the dish some additional sweetness)

1-2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (I buy the frozen chopped cilantro at Trader Joe’s, awesome shortcut freezer staple)

a generous pinch of salt or chicken bullion

approximately 1/4 cup sour cream

1/4-1/2 cup shredded cheese, preferably shredded Mexican blend

panko or bread crumbs for topping

6 Scallop Shells or ramekins. I got my shells many years ago at a local fish market. I’ve seen them at Pikes Market and other seafood stores as well as on occasion at Cost Plus or Pier One

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat a large sauté pan or cast iron over medium-low heat. Add a little olive oil or butter and cook onions until translucent and soft,. Add tuna and tomatoes, stirring well. Once tuna and tomatoes are heated thru, season with cilantro and chicken bullion then let cook down for a few minutes ~ this is where the flavors really come together.

Add sour cream and about a quarter cup of shredded cheese to tuna mixture and stir until well incorporated. Taste for seasoning.

Place shells on a large foil lined baking sheet and spray with nonstick spray. Put a generous scoop of the tuna mixture into each shell and sprinkle with some panko or bread crumbs and a little additional cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 10-15 minutes.

Serve with rice and something green, usually green beans or broccoli in my house.

Buen Provecho!

Meal Planning | January 22nd

2012-01-21T21:08:00.001-08:00

Last week we were snowed in – ALL week – and for the most part we ate from the pantry and freezer. Let me tell you, I’ve never been so glad to have a fully stocked pantry in my life. Had I not done a huge Costco and grocery run the previous week, we would have been eating peanut butter and jelly on tortillas for dinner… I’m still struggling with the timing of dinner with Matt’s new longer commute so I’ll be relying a little more heavily on my crockpot until I can get a better handle on the situation. Thank you Pinterest for once again giving me so many wonderful ideas!

SUNDAY ~ Sweet Chili Salmon, steamed rice, green beans

MONDAY ~ cheeseburger meatloaf, roasted zucchini and red onion

TUESDAY ~ tuna shells (yes, we do eat this almost every week)

WEDNESDAY- Matt has a business dinner, the kids and I will probably do pot stickers and quinoa and broccoli

THURSDAY- crockpot goulash ( make ahead freezer meal!)

FRIDAY-crock pot French dip, sweet potato fries

SATURDAY- Matt’s grilled honey mustard chicken, green beans, potatoes

SUNDAY- Dinner play-date at a friends home

Pinterest Saves My Sanity–Snowmageddon 2012

2012-01-17T21:46:00.001-08:00

We’re in the midst of our first major snowstorm of the season and for the most part, it’s lived up to the hype. Snow started falling Saturday morning and has not let up since. We’re on day four of being essentially stuck at home. Matt attempted to take Jamie to a birthday party Saturday afternoon and gave up before even leaving the neighborhood. Yesterday, I was able to get out in the afternoon for a much needed haircut and to stock up on some last minute groceries. Good thing I made it to the store, looks like we’ll be home for at least another day or two, if not longer.

This is what our neighborhood looked like on Saturday afternoon after four hours of snow…

…by this afternoon, things hadn’t changed much.

While the snow is beautiful and we’ve had a wonderful time (carefully) walking the neighborhood and sledding down the hill in the park across from the house, we are also getting a little stir crazy.

This is where Pinterest comes in. Since joining the site a few months back, I’ve been amassing a collection of pins on my Crafty Fun board. Matt finds my ‘obsession’ with Pinterest amusing but I can hands down say that it saved my sanity today. By the time Zoe went down for her morning nap at 945am, the kids had already trashed the playroom and the family room as well as having logged more than the usual number of hours in front of the TV (thank you Jamie for getting up at 5am today, sigh). Usually while Zoe naps, Jamie and I will have snack, he’ll watch a show while I do a little laundry or tiddying up, then I pry him away from the couch for some quality time. With the amount of time we’ve been spending at home, I’m QUICKLY running out of things for Jamie and I to do.

Today, while he watched his show, I pulled up my Crafty Fun board and decided we’d do THIS, colored mini-volcanoes.

squirt a few drops of food coloring into soup spoons

Place a matching number of clear containers (I used ramekins) in a roasting pan. Fill each ramekin about 1/2 to 2/3 with white vinegar. Don’t skip the roasting pan, it’ll save you from a super mess and speed up your clean up process.

Fill each spoon with baking soda. I prepped the whole project while Jamie was watching TV so he had NO idea there was color in the spoons, it added a major element of surprise.

Have your kiddo mix the food coloring/baking soda into the vinegar and watch the fun begin.

Unfortunately, I was almost out of white vinegar so our ramekins didn’t quite have enough vinegar to make colored bubbles but it was fun none the less. He liked discovering what color was at the bottom once the bubbles settled.

When we were all done and there was no more fizz to be seen, I had Jamie practice his colors by mixing them to make new colors.

Lastly, I poured the colored vinegar into a spray bottle and let the him“paint” snow. This project was incredibly quick to set up, relatively quick to clean up and bought me an hour of special time with Jamie.

Tomorrow who knows what we’re going to do…I can only build so many snowmen and snow forts.

Meal Planning ~ January 9

2012-01-08T15:07:00.001-08:00

We made a HUGE Costco run last week so we have a nice variety of proteins in our freezer right now allowing me to mix it up a little bit in our meal planning. However, my job has me extra busy these days and Matt is still figuring out his schedule with his new job so our dinner schedule is a little out of whack. At least our new nanny starts this week to help me out with Zoe on my work days so hopefully I’ll be a little less frazzled when I “sign off” from work in the afternoon. Here’s to another week of transitions in Casa Berg.

Tonight /Sunday – Slow Cooker Beef Stew (I didn’t get around to making it last week)

Monday – Tuna shells, rice, something green

Tuesday – Spinach Artichoke Pasta Bake, thank you Pinterest!

Wednesday – Turkey Sloppy Joes from Dinner a Love Story

Thursday – Chicken Fajitas using the new (or at least new to me) pre-chopped bell peppers from Trader Joes.

Friday - Vegetable Soup

Saturday – Matt and I are going out!

Sunday – TBD

Zoe’s Year in Review

2012-01-03T20:37:00.001-08:00

Our little girl turned one yesterday and I’m still having trouble accepting that I no longer have an infant but an almost toddler. Inspired by the blog of one of Matt’s college classmates, I created this collage chronicling the last year. The pictures were all taken in the same chair with the same doll on the 2nd of each month.

It’s been absolutely amazing watching our little preemie grow into such a wonderful, super fun little lady. I’ll post a full birthday post this weekend after we go for her 12 month check up later this week. Happy 1st Birthday Miss Zoe Rose! Mami, Daddy, Jamie and Einy love you very much.

Meal Planning for the New Year

2011-12-29T15:41:00.001-08:00

While we Jamie has been recovering nicely from his surgery last week, neither Matt nor I anticipated how tiring and stressful the whole process would be on us. Add to that a teething baby, my trying to squeeze in a few hours of work and some additional stress busting workouts and suddenly it’s already Thursday and I’m just now meal planning for the week, oops. At least I’ve collected lots of inspiration and new ideas from pinterest; hopefully it’s as tasty as the pictures make it all seem.

With two little ones we’ll be spending New Year’s Eve at home. Normally, we have a bunch of family friends over and do a kid friendly East Coast NYE but with Jamie still on the mend and my mother in-law and sister in-law in town, we’ll be keeping it extra low key. My sister in-law loves to cook as much as I do so we’re going to have some fun making us a fancy, intimate dinner at home while my MIL and Matt are on kiddo duty.

Thursday - pan fried chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli or spinach

Friday - Slow Cooker Kansas City Sue's Chicken, rice, green beans

Saturday (New Year’s Eve) – blue cheese crusted filet mignon, Smitten Kitchen’s simple potato gratin, oven roasted Brussels sprouts, individual chocolate soufflés (super simple yet impressive)

Sunday – Matt and I are going on a date!!!!

Monday – My baby girl turns 1! We’re having family over for a little lunch party so we’ll probably go out for a celebratory dinner.

Tuesday – Red wine braised short ribs, polenta, oven roasted veggies

Wednesday – Dinner a Love Story’s split pea soup

Thursday – Mexican Albondigas

Friday – Slow Cooker Irish Beef Stew

Getting Crafty II–A quiet, recovery day activity

2011-12-24T11:46:00.001-08:00

I'm posting this from my phone, sitting on my bed where my little man is half sleeping, half watching a show while recovering from getting his tonsils and adenoids out.

For the most part, lounging is all he wants to do but he does get little bursts of energy and for when he does, I have the perfect activity - a rice garden. I read about this craft on a preschool-homeschool blog a few months back and even bought all the supplies but didn't put it together until earlier this week when it popped up on my pinterest feed.

Matt thought I was crazy rushing to get this together before Jamie's surgery but it's been a great, non-active creative activity for when he wants to get off the couch.

I used three two-pound bags of rice split into six gallon ziplock bags. In each bag I added 3-4 tablespoons white vinegar and about 10 drops food coloring. Zip closed, mix well then leave bags open over night to dry.

Pour rice into a large plastic bin, I used an under bed storage bin since its shallow and was on sale. Add some sand toys and any other gardening type toys ( I found felt bendy flowers in the target dollar aisle!).

Be sure you put an activity mat or shower curtain beneath the bin so rice doesn't get everywhere then let the kids at it.

Oh and keep far from the nearly crawling 11 month old who wants to climb in the bin and eat all the rice :) When they're done playing for the time being, simply cover and put away until the next rainy, indoor day.

Attempting A Play Group Holiday Picture

2011-12-22T12:25:00.001-08:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, my camera has been acting up a bit recently. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize all my pictures were coming out blurry until well after the moment had passed. I took eight or nine pictures of the bunch but this is as good as it got…

(L to R, Natalie, Allie, Jamie B, Katelyn, Zoe, Cody and Jamie A)

Let me tell you, it’s really hard to get an eleven month old, a sixteen month old a handful of three year olds and a six year old to sit still and look in the same direction…

We haven’t had many play dates this past year, but these kiddos always have a blast when we get together and its amazing to see how they’ve grown and changed.

2010 Playgroup Holiday Picture

2009 Playgroup Holiday Picture

2008 Playgroup Holiday Picture

Back Log | Zoe Rose is 11 Months!

2011-12-22T12:05:00.001-08:00

We’ve been having technical difficulties with our camera, all pictures were coming out blurry, and in the time it took me to figure out there was something wrong with the camera, I realized I’m closer to Zoe’s birthday than to the 11 month mark. In the end I decided to just use one of the blurry images taken on the correct day and call it done.

Since I’m posting this nearly three weeks late, it’s hard to remember exactly what Z did before her 11 month mark and what is new in the last three weeks (she’s been very busy). I can say that we had a wonderful Thanksgiving which included four days in the Bay Area with my parents and four days in the LA area with Matt’s family. Zoe, as always, is a wonderful traveler though we’ve noticed she’s becoming more and more a creature of habit and has a difficult time sleeping in places other than her crib or the Ergo. She is not a fan of the pack n’ play so our regular sleep schedule was way off.

Zoe had a wonderful time playing at the park in Pasadena with our friends Grace and Patti.

first time in a swing!

Playing with my parents dog, Tapi. Zoe is a total doggie lover!

Crawling still isn’t happening but she’s getting stronger and stronger on her feet and starting to try and cruise. Matt was on delayed paternity leave for most of November and Zoe loved (finally) getting in some serious daddy bonding time.

It’s hard to believe out little lady will be one so soon!

Watch me grow! 10 months, 9 months, 8 months, 7 months, 6 months, 5 months, 4 months, 3 months, 2 months, 1 month

Meal Planning Monday ~ December 19th

2011-12-18T20:43:00.001-08:00

Wow, where did 2011 go? As we head into the last two weeks of the year, I’m at a total loss and in total disbelief that it’s Christmas and Hanukah this week. In fact, in my original menu planning, I completely forgot to put latkes on the menu, oops. Jamie is getting his tonsils out this week so who knows how well we’ll keep to the menu plan, hopefully he’ll feel like himself with a whole new appetite in a day or two. Kids are resilient, right? At least, hopefully more resilient than his daddy was when he had his tonsils out a year ago…

Monday ~ Café Borone style turkey-avocado melts, tomato soup

Tuesday ~ We’re going on the Ride the Duck Holiday Lights tour so we’ll be eating out somewhere in Seattle (first night of Hanukah)

Wednesday ~ crockpot BBQ chicken, latkes, oven roasted veggies

Thursday ~ (surgery day) turkey meatloaf, sweet potatoes

Friday ~ Swedish meatballs, broccoli, more latkes or mashed potatoes

Saturday ~ “Carrie" Chicken, roasted Brussels sprouts

Sunday ~ tuna shells, rice green beans (or out for Chinese, depends on how Jamie is doing)

How will you be celebrating the holidays?

Meal Planning Monday ~ December 5th

2011-12-04T21:25:00.001-08:00

Sorry I didn’t post last week, it ended up being a total hodge-podge of meals; exactly what I aim to avoid by meal planning. I guess that’s what happens when you grocery shop on your phone, in the car on the way back from the airport at 10 o’clock at night the day after Thanksgiving.

This week Matt is on his last week-long international trip of the year. It’s always interesting when he’s gone and my mom is here to help. On the one hand, I can make whatever I want but at the same time, its hard to not just eat junky toddler meals. I’m fortunate that for the most part, my kids will eat whatever I put on the table for them, at least some variation of it.

Monday ~ tuna shells, green beans, rice

Tuesday ~ Butternut squash soup, grilled ham and cheese sandwiches

Wednesday ~ Turkey Chili

Thursday ~ Crock-pot honey chicken, quinoa, broccoli

Friday ~ turkey meatballs (from the freezer), spaghetti

Saturday ~ Matt and I are going out!

Sunday ~ TBD

What are you eating this week? How do you keep it healthy and easy when it’s so cold out that all you want is comfort food casseroles?

Taking care of ME!

2011-11-16T20:58:00.001-08:00

I wrote a guest post over on my trainer’s blog this week, head on over to read about my postpartum fitness journey…

Don’t Call Me Fragile

The last time I wrote about taking care of myself, was around Jamie’s first birthday, nearly three years ago. After Zoe was born, I decided it wouldn’t take me a full year to take better care of myself. It’s not even about putting myself first but more about taking better care of myself so I can be a better mom, spouse and friend. Anyway, pop over to Julie Michaelson Training and learn more about this fantastic mom owned and operated, mom friendly program.

Meal Planning ~ Monday, November 14

2011-11-14T09:41:00.000-08:00

It’s a short week for us, we’re taking off for Thanksgiving on Saturday…

Monday ~ Matt will be making chicken apple sausages, pasta, and broccoli

Tuesday ~ turkey sliders, sweet potato fries

Wednesday ~ IKEA meatballs, mashed potatoes, sautéed spinach

Thursday ~ out, Jamie has swim and the last two weeks when we’ve tried to get home after class for dinner it’s been disastrous.

Friday ~ either crockpot teriyaki chicken or pan-fried chicken (we’ll see how healthy I’m feeling), quinoa and green beans

Halloween 2011

2011-11-06T21:20:00.001-08:00

Halloween 2011 with Francesco’s Pit Crew (from the movie Cars 2) and our little chickie.

Jamie was over the moon excited to go trick-or-treating this year and even more excited to take Zoe out with him.

We had a wonderful time wandering the neighborhood with our friends and neighbors and it was great to see how big all the kids are getting. I remember two years ago, Jamie was just barely walking when we went out, last year he was just getting into running and this year, he was leader of the pack. I can’t wait to see Zoe running after him next year…

Puzzling…

2011-11-06T21:10:00.001-08:00

Every week when we go to music class, Jamie asks if he can buy a toy from the lobby of the music studio. The brilliant ladies who run his music program keep the lobby FULL of great, educational toys and my son wants them ALL. Some weeks, if he’s been exceptionally well behaved, or if he’s gotten all his magnets on his chore/behavior chart I consent. I do my best to keep to the smaller, less expensive items but every once in a while I get just as excited about the toy in question and he gets an extra special treat.

This week, Jamie is finally back to sleeping all night long in his bed and waiting for his “light” to turn on letting him know it’s ok to come into our room. That calls for a big prize. What did Jamie pick out? A 100 piece pirate puzzle.

It took Jamie less than a week to complete his puzzle. By the end, the only way to be able to reach the center section was to climb up on the table.

Clearly, puzzles are best done in pajamas while wearing an eye mask as a headband.

Meal Planning Monday ~ November 7th

2011-11-06T11:05:00.001-08:00

When Zoe was born ten months ago, Matt was in the middle of huge project at work and unable to take time off for paternity leave. It' wasn’t too big a deal, being our second kid and all we had a better idea of what we were getting into and it’s not like he could be too helpful in the middle of the night since we don’t bottle feed. We decided it would be best if he put off his paternity leave for later in the year when we could all enjoy some fun family time and Zoe was more interactive. Originally we planned on him taking off the month of July but work got in the way so he’s finally taking his leave now.

What does this have to do with meal planning? It means Matt is going to be doing A LOT more of the cooking (I’m picking up some extra work to take advantage of the “free child care” ) so you’re going to see a slight shift in our menus to reflect more of the foods he prepares. Weather permitting, I’m guessing there will be more grilling going on… For now, we’re going to start with Matt making dinner on Monday when I work out of my Seattle office and prepping Wednesday nights when I tend to be my busiest at work.

Since I do work out of the office on Mondays instead of from home, I’ve changed our grocery delivery from Monday to Sunday which is why our meal plans start on Sundays now.

Sunday ~ pretzel chicken, quinoa, roasted Brussels sprouts

Monday ~ Tuna Pasta

Tuesday ~ Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Wednesday ~ oven baked or grilled salmon, couscous, spinach

Thursday ~ crock-pot BBQ chicken sandwiches

Friday ~ something from the freezer (I have lots of premade meals right now, yay!)

Saturday ~ take out

Zoe Rose ~ 10 months

2011-11-04T21:43:00.001-07:00

Is it me or do the last few months of the year tend to pass more quickly than the first half of the year? It’s almost like as soon as Labor Day passes, the rest of the year goes by in a blink. This is certainly how I feel about Zoe’s last couple of months. I mean, how is it possible that my baby will be a year old in two short months?

Our little lady became a transcontinental traveler this month. Her passport now boasts stamps from Mexico, Germany and France. Zoe probably handled the time changes and flying best of all of us, spending the majority of our trip, including the five flights, snuggled closely in the Ergo carrier. She loved the food in France and now refuses pretty much all pureed foods, even those that are supposed to be smooth like yogurt or apple sauce. Most nights, Zoe easily out eats Jamie at the dinner table.

Zoe’s personality is starting to really shine thru. She’s very bubbly and friendly but do not get on her bad side or she’ll let you have it. Her scowl is mainly reserved for her brother when he takes back one of his toys that she’s playing with or for me when I take something away that she isn’t supposed to be chewing on or eating.

Believe it or not, our daughter is still a toothless wonder. Zoe’s teeth are certainly taking their sweet time in coming in but if you look in her mouth I think once they do cut thru she’ll be getting a whole bunch in short succession. Another milestone she has yet to conquer is crawling but the girl is determined to get moving. Once on her tummy she does this funny inch-worm type movement pushing her tush up as high as possible then wiggling her toes in an attempt to propel forward. her favorite motivator for crawling is whatever Jamie is building with his Legos or a laptop computer.

If you look closely at the pictures from this past month, especially our trip (I’ll post about that soon, promise), you’ll notice that Zoe’s hair has completely grown in and is starting to get long. I was able to put her hair up in a Pebbles Flintstone style ponytail last week and she now wakes up with tangles in the back from moving around in her sleep. I must brush her hair every time she wakes up. Accessorizing her is is incredibly fun and now required since she can’t see if I don’t do something with her hair. Although her brother got his first haircut at this age, she won’t be going to get a trim for a long time.

I’m starting to think of how we should celebrate Zoe’s birthday and am wondering if any of you have holiday season birthdays? Did you prefer to celebrate a few weeks late, after the holiday hoopla passes or celebrate on the actual day and add to the holiday chaos? But seriously, how is it almost her birthday!?!?!

Meal Planning Monday ~ October 31st

2011-10-30T20:48:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween everyone! I am so excited to take Jamie and Zoe out tomorrow night. Halloween has become exponentially more fun since I became a parent… Before heading out to canvas the neighborhood, we’ll be ~~enjoying~~ scarfing down some hearty beefy mac 'n cheese and salad. Hopefully that will fill Jamie’s tummy enough that he won’t eat his entire stash of candy while walking from house to house. What do you do for pre-trick or treating meal?

Monday ~ Michael Ruhlman’s beefy mac ‘n cheese, green salad

Tuesday ~ Pioneer Woman’s pot roast with roasted root vegetables

Wednesday ~ Matt will be out of town so something quick and extra kid friendly. Probably hot dogs, quinoa and broccoli or carrots

Thursday ~ Take Out, Matt will still be gone and Jamie has swim lessons

Friday ~ Lasagna

Saturday ~ This Week For Dinner’s roasted butternut squash (yes, I found yet another wonderful family food blog!)

Sunday ~ take out or breakfast

Meal Planning Monday | October 24

2011-10-24T16:15:00.001-07:00

This is my first time posting from my phone, hopefully it works... I'm not assigning meals to days this week since I'm not sure how jet lag and timing will affect our cravings. All I know is that by the end of the week all these meals will have been eaten. The only for sure will be pizza Saturday night for our football viewing get together.

Monday - chicken palliard, black beans, sautéed onions and rice

Dinner A Love Story's turkey chili

BBQ chicken potatoes

Michael Ruhlman's beefy mac n cheese

Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches

Pho takeout

Meal Planning Monday ~ 10.10.11

2011-10-09T21:11:00.001-07:00

It’s going to be one of “those” weeks…then again, when is it not around here? With the change in the weather, it’s definitely Fall now, and our upcoming trip I’m going comfort yet quick. Again, what else is new, right? Also trying to re-up the protein and green stuff, we’ve been slipping on our healthy eating a little. What are you eating this week?

Monday ~ Taco Salad

Tuesday ~ Carrie’s Chicken, roasted Brussels sprouts

Wednesday ~ Minestrone Soup (from the freezer)

Thursday ~ turkey meatloaf, green beans

Friday ~ Family Date Night (we leave the next day for our trip and I’d like to attempt to leave a clean kitchen)

Zoe Rose is Nine Months!

2011-10-08T20:25:00.001-07:00

Height: 27.75 inches

Weight: depends who you ask…approximately 16.5lbs

The scale at the pediatrician’s office is definitely off, according to them Zoe weighs 15.5lbs, there is NO WAY. Our scale at home clocked her over 16lbs last month. I guestimate she’s closer to 16.5-17 pounds.

This has been a wonderful month for Zoe! She’s finally sleeping thru the night again, about 7pm to sometime between 7 and 8 am as well as taking two glorious two hour naps a day (though the last few days it’s only been one three hour nap since we’ve been on the go). She’s still really easy going and happy the majority of the time. Zoe out eats her brother most days and we’ve yet to find any foods she doesn’t like other than kiwis.

All that said, Miss Z has developed some separation anxiety which is no walk in the park, especially since I’ve started working out of my boss’s home office one day a week. She’s still not taking a bottle/sippy cup of pumped milk or formula but she eats so many solids that it’s not too big a deal.

Lots of travel going on, as always. We did a quick whirl-wind 45 hour trip to the Bay Area to see my sister and next week, we leave for a week in Berlin and Paris.

Meal Planning Monday | September 26

2011-09-25T20:24:00.001-07:00

The next two weeks are going to be a real handful. The big, huge conference Matt has been planning is less than seven days away and I expect really long hours for him in the days leading up to his trip; it is also the Jewish High Holidays book ending his conference. With that in mind, plus the changing weather, this week’s menu is simple, celebratory and hearty.

Monday ~ My mom’s tuna shells. This is a variation on tuna casserole but in individual servings and no pasta.

Tuesday ~ Apricot chicken, quinoa, green beans. Usually, we’d eat this on Erev Rosh Hashanah but both Matt and I have crazy days on Wednesday and I won’t get the chance to make it…

Wednesday ~ Crock Pot Chicken tacos

Thursday ~ Rosh Hashanah dinner at a friend’s home

Friday ~ Going out. It’s the last night before Matt leaves town for eight days… I usually prefer to have Shabbat dinner at home but I’m not going to pass up a chance to get out of the kitchen and enjoy a nice meal out.

Saturday ~ stand by kid’s favorite, pot stickers, quinoa and broccoli

Sunday ~ dressed up Trader Joe’s mac n’ cheese (I take the frozen “fancy” mac n’ cheese, add peas and chicken-apple sausage).

Zoe Rose is Eight Months!

2011-09-05T17:14:00.001-07:00

Weight: 16.2 lbs

What a month! It’s been a wonderful, very busy month full of milestones. In the last four weeks, Miss Zoe:

Mastered sitting (though she still FREAKS if she knocks over in an attempt to reach something)

Learned to drink thru a straw

Got her ears pierced

Has almost entirely outgrown her 6-9 month clothing

Started laughing when “socially appropriate” (if she hears one of us laughs, she laughs)

Still refuses to drink breast milk or formula from a sippy cup or bottle

Eats anything and everything we put in front of her (lasts night’s dinner was THREE chicken pot stickers, broccoli and tofu).

Discovered grass. She loves sitting on grass and just running her fingers thru the blades.

Evening sleep is still eluding us. Zoe takes two 90 minute to two hour naps and occasionally a third half hour nap but during the night she’s up every two and a half to three hours.

Watch Zoe grow: seven months, six months, five months, four months, three months, two months, one month

Meal Planning Monday | September 5

2011-09-05T14:38:00.001-07:00

It seems like forever and a day ago since I’ve last posted our meal plans, but I swear I’ve been planning. If you’re ever curious, or need inspiration, message me and tell me to post my meal plan. Sometimes, I need a nudge to post…

Tonight (Monday) ~ City Mama’s Yummy Balls and pasta.

Tuesday ~ Matt is gone for dinner so I picked up some Trader Joe’s frozen mac n’ cheese. We’ll add some sausage and probably peas to it to hearten it up.

Wednesday ~ Grilled turkey breasts, asparagus and quinoa (giving quinoa another try, we’ll see…)

Thursday ~ Santa Maria tri-tip, grilled zucchini, mashed potatoes

Friday ~ turkey burgers, corn on the cob, sautéed spinach

Saturday ~ Matt is out of town and we have a late afternoon birthday party so we’ll pick something up on the way home.

Sunday ~ Again, Matt is away (yes, he’s been gone a bunch lately) so we’ll be having frozen TJ’s pot stickers and steamed broccoli. Both the kids love this simple meal but it’s not at the top of Matt’s list. A solo parent weekend dinner winner!

Getting Crafty

2011-09-01T17:33:00.001-07:00

Jamie and I have been doing lots of arts and crafts of late. I’ve found that as Zoe becomes more active, Jamie and I are having less and less “Jamie & Mami” time so I try to make the most out of Zoe’s morning nap for him and I to have “our” time. During this time I pick activities for him to do that he can’t do while his sister is awake; those types of things that require two active (non baby) participants, little pieces, adult supervision, etc.

While our mutual love of baking is no secret, I’m trying to be a little better about my nutrition so we can’t make cookies and cupcakes every week…Well, I suppose we can but I have a finite amount of will power and it can’t handle a house full of fresh baked goods (I say every week because I make a conscious effort for us to have one “home/Zoe nap in her crib” day and one “adventure/Jamie do something active” day, aside from the weekends and Jamie’s three school days).

I recently discovered this blog, The New HomeEc, over on one of my favorite parenting websites, Babble. I'm certainly not as crafty as the moms that write over there but they have definitely inspired me.

This week, we made our own play dough. Yes, we have a dozen or so Play-Doh containers laying around but the point was to “cook” something. I followed my friend Julie’s recipe:

1 cup. flour
½ cup salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 T. oil
1 cup warm water
Food coloring

Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until desired consistency. Do not double recipe.

(It doesn't say this in the recipe, but Julie says her mom would always take the dough out of the pot when it balled up and then knead it back and forth between her hands and as a kid it would always amaze her to see her mom handling the hot dough. Jamie thought it was pretty cool too!)

This dough is a little stinky but I’ve been told that you can add a little pumpkins spice or vanilla extract to mask the odor. Another added bonus is that it doesn’t crumble or stick as much as store bought Play-Doh.

Last week’s craft was dying pasta with food coloring. This is actually a two day process but it was really fun, entertained Jamie for hours and cost us nothing since we had all the supplies already in house.

Wednesday night after dinner, I had Jamie divide out a bunch of pasta, about 20-30 pieces per bag, into four zip lock baggies. We used some rotini and penne since it’s what pasta boxes I had open at the time. Then we added 1-2 teaspoons of white vinegar into each baggie and a few drops of food coloring. After I made sure the bags were nicely zipped up, I let Jamie have at them – rolling between his hands, squishing, shaking, etc until all the pasta was good and coated in the color mixture.

After Jamie went to bed, I spread the pasta out on a foil lined baking sheet to dry over night. The “recipe” I followed says you can dry the pasta in the baggies but I wanted to make sure it was really dry and not mushy.

The next morning, Jamie spent about an hour or so playing with his pasta...

A little string, craft glue and here’s what we made:

Sorry there are no pictures of Jamie in action. These days, he’s a little camera shy. A phase I hope passes sooner rather than later.

Another project I want to do is a Jell-O sensory bin. This is the PERFECT rainy day activity. It’s similar to these Jell-O Aquariums but on a much larger scale. Essentially you fill a big plastic bin with Jell-O, bury bath toys and let the kids dig.

I also want to make one of these awesome tents, but seriously who am I kidding, I’m not that crafty.

Meal Planning Challenge | August 21

2011-08-21T21:03:00.001-07:00

This week, Matt challenged me to feed our family with what we have in the house. Most weeks I order groceries thru AmazonFresh. However, last weekend we were running low on a number of bulk items plus we needed a few items I can’t get thru AmazonFresh so we hit the grocery trifecta – Costco, QFC, and Trader Joe’s. That means our pantry, refrigerator and freezer are stocked to the brim… Challenge accepted!

In an attempt at full disclosure, I’ll even tell you what items are fresh, frozen or even instant. Also, we almost always have fresh fruit for dessert and I actually have enough in house to get us thru the next few days so I’m not going to bother listing that out.

Tonight (Sunday) – mustard and brown sugar glazed salmon, sautéed (frozen) spinach with (frozen) shallots and garlic, (instant) mashed potatoes.

Monday – pasta with rotisserie chicken and (jarred) tomato sauce

Tuesday – Trader Joe’s fondue, (frozen) French baguettes, sausages, (fresh) veggies, (fresh)apples

Wednesday – Tuna melt sandwiches, (frozen) sweet potato fries

Thursday – turkey burgers (frozen ground turkey and frozen buns), BBQ baked beans, (canned) green beans or (frozen) broccoli

Friday – (frozen) chicken apple sausages, polenta or couscous, something green from the freezer

Do you think you could feed your family for a week with what you currently have “in stock”? I’d love to hear what your favorite, stand-by, can always make meals are.

Sitting!

2011-08-14T21:17:00.001-07:00

Miss Zoe can now add sitting up to her list of tricks! It’s so exciting and she is so proud of herself. She still falls over after five to ten minutes or if she get too excited but we’re all very proud of her.

Zoe knows she’s doing something amazing. Anytime she is sitting and sees a phone or camera come out, she breaks out into this HUGE grin.

She knows she’s “so big”. If you say, Zoe how big are you? She’ll hold her arms out for you…a fun little trick she learned from one of the older boys who’s mom works out with me…

Between figuring out sitting and her mastery of solid foods, comes the high chair when we’re out at restaurants. At home she's been sitting in a high backed high chair for some time but now when we’re out, no more slings for the car seat or sitting on my lap. Time to start carrying those disposable placemats and bibs again!

My Son the Tiger

2011-08-06T21:54:00.001-07:00

This afternoon, at a friend’s third birthday party my son had his first face paint experience. For a relatively squeamish, wiggly little boy, I’m surprised at how well he stood still and got his tiger face put on…

At first he wasn’t so sure about the whole thing so he started with an arm “monster”

A little while later, he went back for the full face treatment.

ROAR! Tiger Jamie!

Zoe Rose is Seven Months!

2011-08-06T21:33:00.001-07:00

Weight: about 15-16lbs, our scale is busted so I can’t be sure but there has definitely been a growth spurt

When Matt came home from Hong Kong with “creepy” Minnie, as my sister in-law dubbed her, I thought she’d be perfect to use as a prop to watch Zoe grow. Now, Minnie seems so small…

Miss Zoe started eating solids last month and this girl has yet to come across a food she does not like! Unlike Jamie who liked solids but they were more of an amusement than a nutrition thing, Zoe LOVES to eat. She gets three ‘solid’ meals, heh, a day in addition to still nursing like a champ. Also, there are no purees or mushed up baby food jars in this house, Zoe is gun-ho about the real deal. Two weeks ago, she reached onto Matt’s plate and grabbed a chunk of turkey burger, no looking back now.

With the eating solids has come some amazing hand-eye coordination. Zoe can easily maneuver food or a toy or her pacifier from her tray to her mouth, accurately. We’re still working on sitting for more than a few seconds a time and have yet to see any crawling but she really wants to. Almost every time I put Z on her tummy she tries to scoot forward and gets incredibly frustrated, almost to the point of tears.

It was a rough month sleep wise. I’m not sure if it’s the teething or all the travel or just good ole ‘regression in the face of progression’ but Zoe went from sleeping 11-13 hours a night to being up every 90 minutes. Can we say rough? In the last three nights we’re finally starting to get longer stretches but I am one tired mama. Although nights are difficult, Zoe has maintained a nice routine during the day, taking two 45 to an hour naps and one two hour nap a day. The predictability allows me to schedule our days a little more and some days I’m even fortunate enough for both kids to nap at the same time.

Another exciting milestone is that Zoe now signs when she wants to nurse!

Watch Zoe Grow: six months, five months, four months, three months, two months, one month

Happy Early Birthday to Me!

2011-08-04T21:25:00.001-07:00

My birthday isn’t until August 11th but I think my mom was a little excited about my birthday present and couldn’t wait to give it to me. Two days ago, Matt, Jamie and Zoe were playing in the front yard when Jamie came running into the house to tell me that UPS had just dropped off a big box for me and can we open it NOW, please?

In the box was a lovely bright red ice cream maker!

Both Jamie and I love ice cream. I often tell the story of how when I was near the end of my pregnancy with Jamie, I would make Matt take me out for or bring me home ice cream, I didn’t care that it was the dead of winter and snowing. This mama wanted ice cream and my love of the creamy, frozen treat has definitely been passed on to my kids.

My favorite flavor is banana and it is very difficult to find in stores or at an ice cream shop. I am incredibly excited to try out this recipe from Happy Go Marni, a childhood friend of mine. Jamie’s favorite flavor is strawberry so that is what we made first. I almost wonder who this gift was really for… I wish I could have gotten pictures of him making ice cream but I was too busy supervising and trying to keep Zoe from jumping out of her bumbo seat and diving into the bowl of fruit (the girl will eat anything!). I adapted this recipe from my sister in-law Tammy and it turned out amazing. Because she had trouble getting the whole mixture into her machine and I didn’t have much whipping cream in the house, I halved the recipe. The only other change I made was to pass the berries thru a sieve to maximize the berry juice. Oh, I also had Jamie cut the strawberries into small pieces instead quarters. Yes you read correctly, Jamie cut up the fruit. Don’t worry, he was using a plastic IKEA knife.

You can truly taste the difference between fresh, homemade all organic ice cream and store bought. Even the purest, most natural store bought products still have junk in them. This is SO good. Thanks Mami for the fantastic gift!

Zoe Rose is Six Months Old!

2011-07-08T21:24:00.001-07:00

Weight: 14lbs 1/2 oz (10-25 percentile)

Height: 25.5 inches (50% percentile)

Happy half birthday baby girl! You’re sitting up on your own for a few seconds at a time and love to be on your feet ~ in the door bouncer, exersaucer or if we hold you up. You now have a stamp in your passport and have been on double digits worth of flights. If you got miles for sitting on my lap you’d be well on your way to a free ticket…

We started you on solids two weeks ago and while you love the idea of food, pushing the spoon towards your mouth, for the most part you’re still impartial to everything you’ve tried. So far, your favorite is pureed zucchini with minced shallots; peas run a close second. If anyone can tell me how to get you to take a bottle, I’m all ears.

We graduated from our parent-baby program and you now come with me to the gym three mornings a week instead of two. You’re teething up a storm though nothing has cut thru yet. Jamie can make you smile and giggle like no one else can and your cheery disposition continues to amaze me.

Matt and I finally got rid of the old king bed that was taking up most of Zoe’s room allowing me to put my super comfortable rocker in it’s place, hence the new picture background. Zoe’s room is slowly but surely coming together, it still needs a bookshelf and some art or décor for the walls. Hopefully, I’ll finish it before her first birthday…

Watch Zoe grow: five months, four months, three months, two months, one month

When Summer Gives Your Rain…Bake Brownies!

2011-07-07T21:59:00.001-07:00

After a week of fantastic sunny summer weather, we woke up this morning to cloudy, dreary skies (a typical Seattle area spring day). Going to the park or playing in the yard was not going to happen. By lunchtime, we had already played trains for a few hours, painted up a storm and played bubbles in the kitchen sink. When I start to run out of creative ideas and don’t want to turn on the TV (Jamie had enough TV last week to last him all month), we bake.

Jamie and I have a new baking assistant. So far, all she does is sit there and chew on our tools… We didn’t make anything fancy, just boxed brownies but fun and delicious none the less.

Happy Birthday America!

2011-07-07T21:42:00.001-07:00

Having just gotten back from an emotionally, physically and mentally exhausting trip to Los Angeles we didn’t have any plans for the Fourth of July. Did I mention that I flew to LA with the kids by myself?!?! Yeah, I don’t plan on doing that again anytime soon. Anyway, back to America’s birthday ~ our wonderful friends invited us over last minute for a BBQ and we are SO glad we went, it was just what we needed.

After dinner, the dads took the big kids out to do firecrackers in the driveway and watch the firecrackers set off by the neighborhood teenagers.

These pictures pretty much sum up the entire fireworks experience ~ Jamie was fascinated and Alli was a little freaked out. Both couldn’t wait to see what Jason would blow up next…

Best friends since they met at seven weeks old, these two will randomly hold hands and exchange the most sincere hugs. They ran after all the debris and thru all the smoke bombs hands entwined, encouraging each other to keep going.

It was Matt’s first time setting off fireworks too, he was having just as much fun as the kids.

Jamie’s summertime freckles are coming back…doesn’t take much sun for the bridge of his nose to look like it’s flecked in caramel colored sand.

Zoe SLEPT ! thru most of the fireworks then hung out in the Ergo while we wrapped up the fun. Sadly there are no pictures of me, as usual I was behind the camera.

As a side note, taking pictures of running toddlers and fireworks is not easy when you have a baby strapped to you.

May Your Memory Be A Blessing Papa Allen

2011-07-07T21:12:00.001-07:00

As many of you know, Matt’s father passed away last week.

Around eighteen months ago, Allen was having some trouble swallowing food and after a few tests, doctors discovered that he had a cancerous tumor at the top of his esophagus. After intensive treatment and amazing care at the City of Hope, the tumor shrunk which allowed Allen to go back to eating the food he enjoyed. Unfortunately the treatment’s success was short lived and the cancer spread to many parts of his body, including his brain. It might not have been obvious, but Allen had been going through intense chemotherapy beginning in early 2010 up until a few weeks before his death. Although grueling, the chemotherapy was effective until recently and we are grateful it prolonged Allen's life as long it did.

During the past year and a half Allen tried to enjoy life as much as possible. He celebrated Jeremy and Melissa's engagement, attended Tammy's graduation from graduate school in Washington DC and made it to Seattle for his Jamie's third birthday and his Zoe's baby naming.

About a month ago, Allen begun having debilitating headaches and seizures which landed him in the hospital. He passed peacefully in his sleep on June 28th around 2am.

Matt and Jamie spent Father’s Day with him prior to his final hospitalization and we’re fortunate to have seen him often in his final months.

Our Version of A Water Park

2011-06-04T21:42:00.001-07:00

Kiddie Pool + Kiddie Play Structure = Hours of entertainment for Jamie (and Einstein)

Our backyard is pretty shady by late afternoon so the water was ice cold but it didn’t stop either of my boys from splashing around until teeth chattered and it was time for dinner.

Usually in anticipation of a hot day I put the pool out the afternoon before so it warms up with the morning sun but I didn’t get a chance to yesterday. Straight from the faucet cold water clearly didn’t stop either of them from having tons of fun.

Zoe was much smarter and just hung out on the deck playing in her carseat then exersaucer. It won’t be long before she’s joining her brother in his wild adventures…

What A Beautiful Day for a Ball Game! (take II)

2011-06-04T21:27:00.001-07:00

We’ve been itching to take Jamie to a Mariners game all season. With weather predicted in the mid-to-high 70’s for the weekend, we figured it’d be the perfect way to spend the afternoon. Turns out, we weren’t the only ones who thought that way and when Matt tried to buy tickets this morning, the game was sold out! Luckily, a few folks thru Matt’s work weren’t able to use their tickets and we were able to swoop them up. Thank you Microsoft Ticket email alias!

We could not have asked for a better day. It was already in the low 70’s when we got to the stadium and we quickly had to retreat from our sunny bleacher seats to the upper deck shade.

Jamie had a wonderful time though he cared much more about the food than the game, much like the last two times we’ve taken him. The highlight of the day for him was hands down a blue cotton candy. He’s holding it in pretty much every picture we took!

Zoe enjoyed the game too, we think. She was pretty cranky when we first got to there but once we settled into the shade she fell asleep for a nice nap, nursed then watched a few innings with us. The only sour note to the outing was that the Mariners lost, oh well.

Zoe is Five Months!

2011-06-02T21:47:00.001-07:00

Unofficial Weight: 13.5 lbs

Check it out, I’m actually posting on the correct day!

At five months Zoe’s now wearing six month clothing! This little lady isn’t so little any more. She happily sits in her bumbo chair at the dinner table salivating and mouthing, wanting to taste everything. The exersaucer keeps her more entertained than laying on the activity mat, and she can almost sit on her own. Unfortunately, she’s still spitting up A LOT but I keep telling myself that it’s her way of telling me she doesn’t like what she, or I, am wearing.

Since Zoe is such a wonderful sleeper, and I did not want to go down the route of expensive overnight diapers with her like we did (are) with Jamie, I started cloth diapering her at night a few months back. Yesterday, we made the jump to cloth all the time. Her little bum looks so cute in cloth and the additional laundry really isn’t that big a deal, about two extra loads a week. Not to mention how exciting it is to never have to buy diapers (for home) again…

Not much else is going on, I feel like the month of May just flew past. I never even got around to filling out Jamie’s wall calendar or taking many pictures of the kids. Matt was gone a good chunk of the month and I was in survival mode with the help of my mom. We’re looking forward to the arrival of the sun this weekend so Zoe can start enjoying the beautiful parks in our area and just getting out more in general.

The Exersaucer Returns!

2011-05-30T21:08:00.001-07:00

Jamie helped Matt and I put together the exersaucer this weekend. Zoe loves it! She’s having a blast exploring all the different toys and sounds. I think it took me the last two years to get all the obnoxious songs it plays out of my head…Oh well, here’s to another year in exchange for all the giggles and smiles it gives my kiddos. So far, Zoe likes it much more than Jamie did, he was more of a bouncer kid. I was able to put away all the groceries and clean out the fridge before she got frustrated/bored/tired. Best part, after all that playing, she took a monster 90+ minute nap.

After looking at this picture, I realized I have the exact same picture of Jamie at the exact same age. Here he is a few days shy of five months. Where has the time gone?

Back Log | Zoe’s First Trip

2011-05-21T21:48:00.001-07:00

Back in March, we took a quick trip down to Southern California so Zoe could meet Matt’s dad who was unable to fly up when she was born. It was a great excuse to get some badly needed sunshine, visit with friends and spend time with Matt’s extended family.

Yes, we are those crazy people who put our kids on an airplane first chance we get…Miss Z was 10 weeks old for her first flight (Jamie was seven weeks) and as expected was fantastic on the plane.

All three of my kids in the car ready to go…

No, Einstein didn’t come with us (this time) but we did drop him off at Doggie Day Care on our way to the airport.

^{Zoe meets Papa Allen}

Nana Danna took advantage of having Jamie in town to put her ice cream maker to use. They made us a delicious chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips

Goofing around with Great Grandma Lillian (Allen’s mom)

Four generations of the Weiss family ~ Matt, his mom Nana Danna, Great Grandpa Fred, Zoe and Jamie

Daddy and one of his oldest friends, who is also named Matt

Matt’s wife Kim, their son Jake and Jamie

While Matt and I took Zoe to make the rounds and meet various friends, Uncle Jeremy and Nana Danna took Jamie down to the Long Beach Aquarium. We let Jeremy take our camera and he came back with nearly 100 pictures from their adventure…Jamie had a wonderful time.

Uncle bought Jamie a stuffed shark, aptly named “Sharky”

Making shark faces! Jamie and Jeremy have a crazy, fun relationship.

Petting the sting rays with Nana Danna

Checking out the starfish

Enjoying a post-aquarium treat

Another day, we met up with Matt’s college roommate Tom who took us for a spin on his boat on Westlake Lake.

Captain Jamie

We finished up our trip with a quick day at the Happiest Place on Earth.

In line for the Toy Story ride, our only family picture from the park. Yes, Zoe hung out all day in the Ergo. For the record, taking a 10 week old to Disneyland is TOTALLY easy.

Taking a ride on Daddy’s shoulders outside of It’s A Small World, or as Jamie calls it, “the singing boat ride”.

On the Disneyland train

Before dinner at the ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney with a two of my closest college girlfriends, Dina and Patti. We’ve all been going to Disneyland together for nearly 10 years now.

Jamie and Patti’s daughter Grace. Though they’ve only seen each other a handful of times, they absolutely adore each other.

Finishing out the night on the Tea Cups

Overall, it was a wonderful, whirl-wind trip. Our kids are champion travelers!

Zoe is Four Months Old!

2011-05-10T15:24:00.001-07:00

My smiley little lady is already four months old!

Weight: 12 pounds

Height: 23 inches

Our smiley little girl is super easy going and a total joy. We moved her from our room to hers right after we got back from Maui, on the day she turned four months. Zoe loves to play with her toys and has started interacting with them. She is especially fond of a peacock that hangs from her car seat and anything that has music and lights up.

Zoe is my little rock star side kick. On Mondays and Fridays she accompanies me to drop Jamie off at school then we head to the gym for my one hour MILF (Mom’s in Love with Fitness) class before heading home to get some work done. While I work, she happily plays on the floor practicing her rolling or sits on my lap while I type away. On Wednesdays we go to parent-baby class, Thursday is Jamie’s music class and Tuesdays we have fun sibling time. It is truly amazing how easy, go-with the flow she is.

Zoe has rolled both front to back and back to front a few times but still doesn’t do it regularly. Her core and neck strength continue to improve and I expect by next month she’ll rocking the excersaucer, jumper and bumbo chair.

As with Jamie, Zoe is a model flyer. She’s already been to Southern California and Maui. In June she and I will be going to Mexico City and in July there’s another California trip on the books.

Zoe is three months, two months, one month old

Back Log | Jamie is Three!

2011-05-10T14:55:00.001-07:00

Jamie’s first tie ~ worn to synagogue for Zoe’s baby naming during his birthday weekend

Height: 38 inches

Weight: 28 pounds

We celebrated Jamie’s third birthday in typical Berg Family fashion with a weekend long extravaganza of family, friends and food! The weekend included a large family Shabbat celebration, a party at his music class with all his friends, special group time and fruit skewers at school then cake and more presents during the first Pesach Seder. I still don’t know where the last three years have gone and am so proud of the little man my son is becoming.

the only picture of the three of us from the whole weekend! There is no picture of the four of us…

Jamie loves to joke and has an incredible imagination. His verbal skills are way beyond those of a typical three year old and I am often shocked by the complexity of the sentences that come out of his mouth. He is also an incredibly sensitive and caring boy who fortunately isn’t terribly aggressive or rough. That said, like all toddlers, he definitely has his moments.

Jamie is deeply in love with his sister and loves to ‘play’ with her and comfort her when she’s upset. Not a day goes by when he doesn’t ask to hold her and smothers her in kisses (sometimes he squeezes a little too tightly!).

One of the funniest things Jamie does is make up songs. He remembers the melodies/tunes/beats of the songs from his music class and gets a total kick of making up new words then laughs hysterically. Jamie also has a big love of water and is learning to swim on his own. The boy has no fear when it comes to the pool or ocean. Lastly, he is obsessed with all things transportation. All car rides include detailed descriptions of the different vehicles that we see on the road.

As I’ve said during his last two birthdays, I cannot wait to see what this coming year will bring! Sorry there is no photo montage this year, I’m having a horribly difficult time keeping up with my blogging and would rather hang out with my kiddos than sit at the computer and write about them :)

Jamie turns two, Jamie turns one

Meal Planning | May 1, 2011

2011-04-30T20:43:00.001-07:00

We just got back from a last minute trip to Maui – we booked April 5th and left the 24th! - and after eating out lunch and dinner every day for a week I’m ready to get back into the kitchen. The last few weeks have been a total blur; we celebrated Zoe’s simchat bat (religious baby naming), Jamie’s third (!?!?!) birthday, and hosted a Pesach Seder for nine - on top of trips to Los Angeles and Maui. I promise to post pictures of all those momentous events, plus our recent trips in the near future.

Have I told you how much I love Amazon Fresh? For those who are unfamiliar, it is a grocery delivery service affiliated with Amazon.com that is being piloted in some Seattle area neighborhoods. It’s fantastic! I can place an order up to 9pm and have it at my doorstep by 6am the next day for no delivery charge. For a nominal fee, they will deliver same day. They guarantee that their delivery people are so quiet you won’t even notice they came and they seriously are THAT quiet, my crazy dog doesn’t bark at them. Since they’re part of Amazon.com and we’re so close to their general warehouse, I can also order diapers, gifts and pretty much anything else Amazon stocks locally. The prices are comparable to the grocery store and they often run bulk promotions so it saves me on the occasional trip to Costco or Target. Granted, I do miss wandering the aisles and my tasty (usually naughty) impulse buys but the convenience is like none other. Oh, and they do their best to be environmentally friendly. They deliver in reusable totes that they simply pick up when they drop off your next order or the next time they are in your neighborhood. No more grocery bags! Anyway, on our last day on Maui, I pulled out the laptop, made a quick meal list and was able to get my groceries ordered for delivery at the same time that we’d be arriving home from our crazy red eye flight. Brilliant. I ordered my groceries from 3,000 miles away and we were able to eat all three meals at home today.

~ Tonight ~ Michael Ruhlman’s Macaroni with Beef and Cheese, butter lettuce salad. After a week of grilled fish and warm weather, the chill in the air begs for comfort food. Plus, it makes a double batch so I can restock the freezer :)

~ Sunday ~ grilled chicken, baked potatoes, grilled zucchini and onion

The rest of our meals haven’t been assigned a night. I’m going to slowly transition back into working as of Monday so it’ll be interesting to see what I have time to make.

~Albondigas (I know this has been on the list for the last few weeks but I still haven’t made them)

~ Tuna shells, rice, something green

~ Carrie’s Chicken adapted to use grilled chicken and in casserole format

~ Brisket chili (for probably the last or second to last time before the weather calls for it again in the Fall), corn bread muffins

Back Log | Zoe ~ Three Months

2011-04-21T20:39:00.001-07:00

I know, I know she’ll be four months in two weeks but better late than never…

She’s around 11 pounds (no official weigh in this month) and has the best disposition ever.

2 months

1 month

Meal Planning Monday ~ April 11, 2011

2011-04-11T17:36:00.001-07:00

We’re eating extra quick and easy this week. In addition to Passover starting next Monday, we’re also hosting 11 family members over the weekend for Zoe’s Simchat Bat (religious baby naming) on Saturday and Jamie’s birthday party on Sunday then the first Seder on Monday (menu to follow). Yes, I know I’m crazy, and as stressed out as it makes me; I also love it. We’ll be eating out Friday, Saturday and Sunday since it’s just not feasible for me to feed 13 people dinner four nights straight.

Monday ~ Trader Joe’s fondue, baguette, carrots, apples, pickles, sausages

Tuesday ~ PF Chang style Chicken Lettuce Wraps from Babble’s Family Kitchen blog. These turned out AMAZING and are so easy and light. I add chopped mushrooms for a little more veggie/bulk and serve them over rice.

Wednesday ~ Matt’s tuna pasta

Thursday ~ taco salad

Friday ~ let the festivities begin…Family field trip to Palino’s

Saturday ~ Pizza night (must get in all those fantastic doughy carbs before Passover starts)

Sunday ~ another meal out, at Oobas.

Meal Planning | March 28, 2011

2011-03-29T16:54:00.001-07:00

I have been meal planning since I posted that I was getting back to it a few weeks ago but haven’t had the opportunity to post… I’m taking advantage of both kids napping at the same time (!) in their respective beds (!!) to spend a few moments on the computer. I’m averaging cooking five nights a week, going out one night to a restaurant and we’ve been fortunate to be invited to people’s homes about a night a week for a while now. The challenge for the most part is planning meals that can be made in advance, while Jamie is either at school or naps. I still haven’t mastered cooking while baby wearing and toddler wrangling…Rotisserie chickens are my favorite time saving secret right now. We rarely eat ‘just’ the chicken but I incorporate them into at least a dish a week and use the rest of the chicken for lunches.

Here’s what we’re eating this week:

Mexican albondigas, rice, tortillas, green beans

Potato Soufflé (layered potatoes, sour cream cheese, thin sliced deli turkey). Not very healthy but oh so comforting and yummy!

Turkey Sandwich Melts

Chicken Fajitas, rice, beans, tortillas

Chicken Divan Casserole

We’re going to synagogue Friday night so we’ll eat out after services and Sunday is Matt and I’s wedding anniversary so we’re going on a date! Jamie will stay home with his favorite neighborhood babysitter and Miss Zoe will get to come along to El Gaucho, lucky girl.

What are your favorite time saving recipes? I’m SO open to suggestions right now, really need to mix it up a little.

Zoe ~ two months

2011-03-06T15:49:00.001-08:00

We have been at the pediatrician weekly for the last FIVE weeks, twice a week for two separate weeks. At least this Friday’s visit was for a non-illness; Zoe’s two month check-up…

Weight: 9lbs

Height: 22 inches

Miss Zoe is growing like a weed. She’s in the 30-50% percentile for both adjusted height and weight. If you don’t adjust her statistics, she’s in the 90% for height! Who’d of thought I would have tall/long kiddos?!? While Jamie weighed more at this age (six extra ounces), Zoe is certainly sturdier and chubbier. She shows no signs of having been a preemie while we were still waking Jamie to eat and supplementing him at this point. Her digestive system is still a little immature, lots of farting and spitting up but a wonderful eater regardless.

In the last month Zoe has survived her first cold and slowly started settling into a nice sleep pattern. Most nights, Z goes to bed around 10pm and only gets up once (around 3am) then sleeps until 8am. Naps are still inconsistent and mostly taken in someone’s arms or the car seat.

The pediatrician thinks that by the time we see her next at Zoe’s four month check-up, Zoe will be rolling over and drooling up a storm. We never truly baby-proofed with J since he was so slow to be mobile…we are so screwed with Zoe. There is no plopping her quickly in the swing or bouncer to do something. She must be strapped in otherwise she squirms so much she might fall.

In the last week Zoe has started smiling socially and following us with her eyes. Jamie loves making silly faces at her and trying to make her smile. This week, she’ll be taking her first airplane trip, away we go.

Playing Tourist

2011-02-20T18:03:00.001-08:00

The weather is totally teasing us this weekend – beautiful blue skies, mild temperatures, sun shining brightly. Makes one think spring is just around the corner… With a day as beautiful as today, there was no way we were staying inside. After Jamie’s swim class this morning, we took Auntie Tammy into the city to check out the Space Needle.

Tammy has come to visit us Jamie on a number of occasions but it’s always during cruddy winter weather so we’ve rarely ventured out. With today’s beautiful weather, it was time to show her why we love the Northwest. What better way to see how gorgeous Seattle is than from the top of the Space Needle? I haven’t been to the top of the Space Needle since I came to Seattle with high school and Matt hadn’t been up since being a Microsoft intern.

So sunny out!

Waiting patiently to go up. Jamie was a rock star, we weren’t the only ones who wanted to see the sights…

Taking in the view

Smiles all around (before the epic pre-nap meltdown in the car)

Baking Cookies with Auntie Tammy

2011-02-20T17:41:00.001-08:00

It’s no secret that Jamie loves to help out in the kitchen. This weekend, Matt’s sister Tammy, who also loves to cook and bake, came to visit and meet Zoe. I decided this was the perfect opportunity to introduce Jamie to home baked cookies.

In our quest to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie, we decided to try out the recipe on the bag of Trader Joe’s semi-sweet chocolate chips. They turned out amazing, from now on this is my go to cookie recipe…moist and chewy in the middle yet nice and crisp on the edges. Also, the batter was really tasty…Jamie couldn’t get enough.

stop taking my picture and let me bake already!

Do we really have to bake the batter? This is SO good straight from the mixer.

I love my Auntie Tammy, I’ll even let her have a lick…

A Return to Meal Planning… Week of February 14th

2011-02-13T21:58:00.001-08:00

I’m a little embarrassed to be posting this week’s menu but so many of you asked me what we’re eating that here you go…

Matt is at back-to-back conferences this week, starting today and will only be home for dinner Monday and either Tuesday or Wednesday and hopefully Friday. With that in mind, along with still adjusting to being a mom of two AND Jamie having a nasty cold we’re keeping it simple this week.

Sunday ~ Corn dogs and tater tots. When Jamie is sick he doesn’t eat much and when he requested this for dinner, I couldn’t say no.

Monday ~ Chicken mole (from the freezer), rice, tortillas

Tuesday ~ PF Chang’s style chicken lettuce wraps from Babble’s Family Kitchen blog. The recipe claims these are table ready in under a half hour, we’ll see if it’s true.

Wednesday ~ Beecher’s frozen mac n’ cheese, with some peas or broccoli and sausage added to ‘beef’ it up

Thursday ~ breakfast for dinner or Asian noodles (Top Ramen) and Trader Joe’s chicken pot stickers we’ll see what I am in the mood to make/Jamie wants.

Friday ~ bacon wrapped meatloaf, again from Babble’s Family Kitchen blog.

Saturday/Sunday ~ my sister in law will be in town so hopefully with an extra pair of hands and someone who also really enjoys cooking around we’ll whip up something delish (plus extras for the freezer) or go out.

Zoe ~ One Month Old

2011-02-07T15:42:00.001-08:00

Friday morning, on the day that was supposed to be my due date, we took Zoe to her one month check-up. My little ~~piranha~~ champion nurser gained nearly a pound and a half (!) in two weeks.

Weight: 7 pounds (exactly)

Length: 20 inches

When looking at her adjusted statistics, she’s in the 50% percentile in all categories which is very exciting. Zoe has started to outgrow some of her preemie and newborn clothing and is truly thriving. She’s also starting to hold her head up a few seconds at a time and can roll herself from her back to her side (preferred sleep position).

Sleep wise, we’ve gotten a few five to six hour stretches but for the most part, she’s on a very regular 3 –4 hour schedule. I can pretty much count on the four hour stretch coming in the early morning, after 4am meaning I can get up at 7am with Jamie and spend a good hour or so with him before Zoe starts her day.

Unfortunately, Zoe is what the pediatrician calls a “Happy Spitter” meaning she spits up many times after almost every feeding (as well as having LOTS of dirty diapers) but she doesn’t seem to mind. We’re hoping that as her digestive system matures, oh the joys of a preemie, she’ll grow out of this horrible habit.

I can’t believe I’ve been a mom of two for over a month now. In a strange way, it feels like Zoe has always been with us. We are truly complete now.

Back Log | Jamie’s ‘Big Boy’ Room

2011-02-03T15:21:00.001-08:00

We moved Jamie into his ‘big boy’ bed way back in July but it took me until this past Monday to photograph is ‘new’ room. Since we didn’t want to paint over the beautiful Grand Prix mural already on his wall, we continued on with the car theme.

To see what his infant room looked like, check out my post from back in the day...

Jamie’s bed still has no frame, we’ll get there…eventually.

Our boy is a voracious reader. His bookshelf is overflowing and there is another bookshelf downstairs full of his books as well. In the evenings if he’s not listening, our most effective discipline is to take away stories before bed. We usually start with the potential of up to four books and end up with two or three.

Across from his bed is his former changing table, now dresser, and all the stuffed animals Jamie has received over the years. I just finished decorating a calendar that will hang on the wall so Jamie knows what days are school days, swim days, music days etc.

Lastly, there is a growth chart next to his bookshelf, by the closet. In the top left corner, above the closet, is the infamous ‘Jamie Cam’.

Zoe’s Newborn Photo Shoot

2011-01-26T21:02:00.001-08:00

The amazing hospital I delivered at provides you with the opportunity to have newborn portraits taken before you go home. Unfortunately, they only give you ten to fifteen minutes notice before the photographer arrives so I was not dressed or picture ready. If we’d had more notice, it would have been great to have Jamie there so we could do sibling pictures too. Regardless, we got some amazing pictures of Miss Zoe. I can’t post all the shots but here are some of the highlights…

Introducing Zoe Rose ~ a birth story

2011-01-07T16:04:00.001-08:00

We are very excited, albeit a little shocked to introduce our daughter, Zoe Rose. Zoe made her grand entrance Sunday, January 2nd at 35 weeks, 2 days gestation (exactly one week earlier than her big brother).

*** This post is a little long and detailed. If you’re male, squeamish about labor details or just not that interested – the short version is this: Zoe was born after less than two hours of labor, all is well and she come home with us after a quick check up in the NICU ***

Since Jamie was born at 36 weeks, we anticipated that Zoe would either be really early like Jaime, or really late to make up the difference. I had a doctor’s appointment on Thursday morning and expressed my concerns about being early. In good humor, I was basically told to go home, enjoy New Years and that they’d see me in two weeks for my next appointment. Later that day, Matt noticed that my stomach had ‘dropped’ and ordered me upstairs to pack our hospital bag. I told him he was being paranoid but indulged him anyway thinking that if the bags are ready to go, I was certain to not go into labor for at least a month…

Just like with Jamie, I had no idea my actions in the days leading up to going into labor could be considered ‘nesting’ until I look back on what was going on. I spent the latter half of the week, doing as much laundry as possible, cooking up a storm and even hosted a New Years Eve party!

We took it pretty easy on New Year’s Day; Jamie did us a favor and slept “in” until 7:15am then we went to go play in the snow at a friends house. After a quiet afternoon and evening at home, I took a long bath to soothe my aching back. As many of you know, my back and hips were extremely painful from about the time I was 20 weeks pregnant on. Matt and I went to bed close to 11pm (late for us) and Jamie woke me up at midnight because he was having a nightmare. Once I got him back to sleep, I was never able to get completely comfortable.

Around 1:20am I woke up with extreme back pain which I chalked it up to over doing it the night before. I just couldn’t get comfortable and stayed sitting up for a few minutes. This alarmed Matt who asked me what was going on. I told him I thought I might be having back contractions and as the words came out of my mouth, a contraction quickly and fiercely wrapped around my belly. Being much more aware of what labor signs are this time around, Matt asked me if he should call the hospital. I wasn’t convinced it was labor but said to go ahead and call the hospital just in case. In the few minutes it took him to get the phone number and call the hospital, my contractions became very quick, intense and severe. The labor/delivery nurse wanted to talk to me, not just Matt and when I couldn’t get thru our conversation because the contractions were so strong, she told me to hurry up and get over there.

Bags were thrown into the car, Jamie was woken up and we were out the door in under 10 minutes. Luckily, the hospital is only 15 minutes away so we were checked in a little before 2am. My nurse decided to check me in triage before setting me up in a room and was shocked to find me already 8+ centimeters dilated. After rushing me to my room, another nurse offered to take Jamie to walk around and distract him. In the few minutes it took Matt got Jamie settled and I was set up for an IV, I was ready to push. I was asked if I wanted an epidural but my body was telling me there was no time. I honestly wanted to try for a drug-free birth but didn’t think I wouldn’t be given the choice. The doctor arrived just as I rolled onto my back and my water broke. Three quick pushes later, Zoe made her grand entrance. Between the second and third push, I was in such agony and so frustrated that I actually asked the doctor to just “pull her out already”. I don’t remember exactly what he responded but Matt claims I responded to whatever he said with, “fine, I’ll do it myself”, then grabbed my ankles and out she came - 3:16am, January 2nd, 2011. Under two hours from first contraction to baby!

Since she was born before 36 weeks or what is considered ‘full term’, we were told Zoe needed to be whisked up to the NICU for some brief monitoring. We asked if they could wait until I was fixed up and cleaned up so that Jamie could come in and meet her and after her initial in-room exam they said yes. Jamie was instantly smitten. He loves holding her and giving her kisses. He was very upset when they took her up to the NICU and wanted to go be with her to make sure she was ok. We tried to get Jamie to lay down and rest with Matt for a little bit but by 6am it was clear he was too wired to sleep. Matt graciously offered to take him out of the room for a while and let me rest.

Zoe’s NICU stay was very brief and went very well. One of the bummers of her going up to the NICU is that we missed her first bath and did not get to ask for a copy of her hand/foot prints. However, in the grand scheme of things, it is not that big a deal. Initially we didn’t think we’d get discharged until Tuesday afternoon since we needed to receive the results of her blood tests but were pleasantly surprised to be sent home mid day Monday. Her APGAR scores were fantastic and is a nursing champ.

Now, we’re just settling in and trying to figure out new routines as a family of four. Thank you everyone for your warm wishes and good thoughts. I’ll update more on her progress soon…

2010 Play Group “Holiday” Picture

2010-12-27T15:11:00.001-08:00

Our fabulous play group has, until recently, been getting together on a weekly basis since our kids were about 3 months old. For the last few years, we’ve gotten together to take a holiday picture next to one of the family’s beautiful Christmas tree. Since they have a fake tree and thus doesn’t change sizes, it’s a wonderful way to catalog just how much our little ones have grown and commemorate our friendship.

This year we weren’t able to get a picture next to the tree, but we were able to get a picture on our playroom couch.

Jamie B., Natalie H., Aspen V., and Alli L.

Sadly, we’re missing three in the picture ~ Jamie A. and his older sister Katelyn were unable to come play today due to the nasty stomach bug that is going around and Alli’s little brother Cody was mid-diaper change while we took the picture.

Seriously, when did they get so big?!?!

2009 picture ~ Natalie, Alli, Aspen, Jamie B. and Jamie A.

and 2008

It was amazing, for the first time we were able to tell the gang to sit on the couch for a picture and all nicely obliged. Notice that everyone is sitting still and looking at a camera (we had multiple cameras going at once). They even serenaded us with the alphabet while we snapped away.

I look forward to next year’s holiday picture where we’ll be able to have Jamie’s sister sitting with them as well.

Meal Planning Monday | November 14, 2010

2010-11-15T07:14:00.000-08:00

If it were up to my husband, all we’d eat is Mexican food. Normally, I’m all for it. Most of my family’s Mexican recipes are simple, easy to make, and incredibly satisfying. However, Bergita doesn’t seem to care of Mexican food. Just the thought of Mexican makes me queasy and I get instant heart burn. So, we compromise – a few nights of Mexican/Mexican-inspired for Matt and plenty of cheesy carbs for Bergita, well me.

This week, I’m not assigning meals to specific nights. I’ve found that recently I have to cook what I feel like making that day/whatever is left in the fridge/what I have the energy to make, not what is predetermined. There are days when I just CANNOT eat whatever I’ve previously assigned. This is only a problem as we get to the end of the week but by then, I can sometimes talk Matt into takeout…

Chicken Mole, rice, tortillas

Chicken Divan casserole

Greek Avgolemono soup

City Mama’s Yummy Balls (baked meatballs), something green

Trader Joe’s Fondue

Matt’s Chicken Apple Sausages, couscous, green beans

Beef and Barley Soup

Back Log | Bergita’s Ultrasound Pictures

2010-11-14T18:21:00.001-08:00

I suppose this is the story of all second (or third or fourth) children, they don’t quite get the fanfare as our firstborn. No less loved and we are no less excited to meet them but we parents just don’t have the luxury of time when documenting their impending arrival.

It took until Jamie’s teacher asked me to come speak to his preschool class about being pregnant to scan Bergita’s ultrasound pictures. Since I don’t want to risk one of Jamie’s classmates ripping my pictures or getting grubby finger prints them, I scanned the images which have been safely tucked away in my pregnancy journal until now and printed out duplicates to show them.

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Here’s the little lady at my ten week scan

20 week scan | Either sucking her thumb or itching her nose, not sure which…

Two different profile images

The little miss was quite uncooperative during our scan, she was facing in (towards my back) and head down for the entire 45 minutes the technician was taking measurements and trying to ascertain gender. By the end of the appointment, which went longer than most because it was hard to get many of the head measurements, the technician announced that she is 90% certain Baby Berg #2 is indeed a girl.

This pregnancy has been incredibly different which leads us to think that the tech’s 90% belief that this baby is a girl is correct. My heartburn started MUCH earlier and is much more intense, I’ve been much sicker, nauseated daily well into my second trimester and even now occasionally in my third trimester, the back/hip pain is significantly more intense and I’m much larger. Many clothing items that I was able to wear thru the end of my pregnancy are already short and tight across my belly.

Hopefully Bergita will stay put and ‘cook’ a little longer than her older brother but if she decides to come early I’m determined to be ready. Her ‘estimated arrival’ date is February 4th, if she comes at 36 weeks like Jamie she’ll be born on New Year’s Eve. Matt and I have already started the process of turning the guest room into a shared nursery/guest room and I spent this weekend washing preemie and infant clothing plus planning decor. I hope to get picture up of the completed nursery before she’s born. Unlike with Jamie where my mom had to do most of the work after he was born since we were completely unprepared.

Meal Planning Monday ~ October 25, 2010

2010-10-25T16:14:00.001-07:00

This is a crazy week at Casa Berg - Matt is out of town on business for the ENTIRE week (left Saturday, back Friday), Jamie got his first really bad cold/flu of the season and Hotel Berg is double booked thru the coming weekend. Thank goodness my mom is in town to help me, she is hands down my savior!

Monday ~ Split Pea and Barley Soup

Tuesday ~Tofu and Broccoli with Pan Fried Noodles, adapted from Epicurious.com. We ate the original version of this recipe (with beef and snow peas) a few weeks back and it was super fast and easy. I can’t wait to have it again!

Wednesday ~ Butternut Squash and Bacon Pasta Bake (from the freezer)

Thursday ~ take out Indian food (taking advantage of Matt being gone!)

Friday ~ Mom’s Night Out!!!! My parents, Jamie and Matt will have my adaptation of Texas Beef Brisket Chili and corn muffins (see recipe below*)

Saturday ~ out, we have a birthday party.

Sunday ~ something festive and seasonal. Haven’t decided what yet…What will out eat before heading out to Trick-o-Treating?

Since so many of you have asked for my Chili recipe, I decided to repost it for easy access. This is an amazingly quick and flavorful recipe. Even better, it tastes best re-heated and tastes WAY fancier than it is!

*Sharon’s Version of Bon Appetit’s Texas Beef Brisket Chili

Serves 6-8

a few tablespoons chipotle chili paste (depends on how smoky you want it)
6 oz bacon, diced (turkey bacon works too but it’s not as good)
1 1/4 pounds onions, chopped (about 4 cups)
1 5-pound flat-cut (also called first-cut) beef brisket, cut into 2 1/2- to 3-inch cubes or flank steak or good ole stew meat
Coarse kosher salt
6 large garlic cloves, peeled
1-2 tablespoons chili powder (depending on how spicy you like your food)
2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
1 small can fire roasted green chilies
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 12-ounce bottle Mexican beer
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro stems
1 can chicken or beef broth (approximately 2 cups)
2 cans drained black beans

Preheat oven to 350°F. Sauté bacon in heavy large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat until beginning to brown. Add onions (if using turkey bacon you’ll need to add some oil/butter). Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle beef all over with coarse salt and pepper. Add to pot; stir to coat. Set aside.

In a blender, combine chipotle chili paste, garlic, chili powder, cumin seeds, chicken broth, fire roasted chilies, tomatoes and 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt; blend to puree, adding more broth if very thick. Pour puree over meat in pot. Add beer. Stir to coat evenly.

Bring chili to simmer. Cover and place in oven. Cook two (2) hours. If eating that same day, uncover, add beans and cook until beef is almost tender, about one (1) hour.

If making in advance, pull out of oven before adding beans. Cool one (1) hour uncovered and either refrigerate for up to two days or freezer. To reheat, add beans, simmer over medium heat for about an hour.

Serve with shredded cheddar, sour cream, avocado and corn bread or biscuits.

Meal Planning Tuesday ~ October 12, 2010

2010-10-12T20:23:00.001-07:00

I did it! We ate all of our dinner home last week. I often buy food to eat home six or seven nights a week but we rarely make all the food. The food doesn’t get wasted, the meals tend to get bumped into the following week but this time we did it. If you include all the lunches and breakfasts we ate at home, it comes out to nearly 20 meals home over seven days. That said, last night we did get delish Claim Jumper take-out, just what ‘Bergita’ ordered.

Here’s to another week of eating at home…

Tuesday – Mexican style Caldo de Pollo. Recipe adapted from HERE (and of course years of eating this at home). I found this website when I searched for “Caldo de Pollo” and am excited to try out some of her other recipes. Excellent Mexican food blog!

Wednesday ~ Costco’s Korean Bulgogi, steamed rice, green beans or broccoli

Thursday ~ out. It’s Jamie’s back to school night and we have to be at school by 6:20pm.

Friday ~ Trader Joe’s awesome Beer Fondue with various dippers including chicken sausage, apples, veggies and French bread. This is a really fun meal for toddlers. TJ’s only sells this particular Fondue in the Fall/Winter months so I have to take advantage and stock up when they have it.

Saturday ~ Chicken Noodle Casserole (from the freezer)

Sunday ~ Chicken Milanese, oven roasted potatoes and City Mama’s awesome balsamic glazed Brussels sprouts. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, even if you don’t like Brussels sprouts, you’ll like these…

Monday ~ Pizza Casserole

What are you eating this week? I need inspiration, please share!

Meal Planning Tuesday~ October 5, 2010

2010-10-05T14:25:00.001-07:00

Once again I’ve let a LONG time pass between postings, my apologies. We had a rough July; Matt was gone most of the month for work conferences plus we had a wedding in Los Angeles, my sister visited from New Zealand and sadly, my Bobe (grandma) passed away. Since then, I haven’t felt much like writing. It’s strange, I usually find writing therapeutic and cathartic but for some reason just haven’t been feeling like it.

There have been lots of changes and exciting developments in Casa Berg since my last post. First and foremost, Jamie is going to be a big brother! We are expecting Baby Berg #2 the last week in January/first week in February. The ultrasound technician is 90% sure we’ll be balancing the gender divide. A girl will be a whole new adventure for us! Until her birth, she’s being referred to as Bergita.

This pregnancy has been pretty rough on me but more than half way thru I’m finally ready to get back into the kitchen and start whipping up some fantastic fall dishes. This might be overly adventurous of me but today I picked up enough food to cook every night this week and many of these dishes freeze fantastically well so I’ll be able to restock the freezer!

Tuesday ~ turkey burgers, roasted butternut squash and fingerling potatoes, salad

Wednesday ~ chicken apple sausages, couscous, green beans

Thursday ~ beef and barley soup, crunchy French bread

Friday ~ chicken fajitas

Saturday ~ probably ordering in pizza (SC plays Stanford at 5pm and we’re having friends over)

Sunday ~ City Mama’s Pasta Bolognese

Monday ~ Butternut Squash and Bacon Pasta, adapted from Cooking Light by Definitely Not Martha

Play Group Goes to the Park (backlog)

2010-06-30T14:11:00.001-07:00

Last Monday it was my turn to host play group but with a decent weather day predicted, I decided to pack up the kids’ snacks and off we went to one of our favorite local parks… All was going great and dandy until the kiddos discovered a large mud puddle and decided to literally muck around. Suddenly, the other moms and I looked over and my son had been properly splashed in the face!

He was so happy and could have cared less! In fact, he was a little upset when I cleaned him up. Gotta love little boys :)

Another (traumatic) Haircut

2010-06-28T10:55:00.001-07:00

We took Jamie to get a badly needed haircut yesterday. He’s been getting his haircut, every six weeks, give or take a few weeks, since he was ten months old. For his first four or five cuts, he did fantastic, sitting patiently and interacting with the stylist. Then suddenly, something changed and it’s been all down hill from there. I think it might have something to do with some random drama that happened at the salon right before his appointment the first time his experience became traumatic but I’m not sure. Very long story short, they double booked the woman who (used to) cut Jamie’s hair and the other family thru a major tantrum so we let them have the appointment and the woman who ended up doing Jamie’s hair was very impatient and unfriendly. Not to mention she nicked his neck a little… We’ve since switched salons to the fabulous Bella & Max in the Bothell Country Village and while the new salon is much calmer and kid friendly, Jamie still isn’t a big fan.

We spent all week hyping him up about getting a haircut, even playing a little barber shop and letting him pretend to snip our hair with his fingers. After your appointment at Bella & Max they give you a pass to ride the train around the Village so we kept telling him how he was going to get to ride the train after his haircut and how Uncle Jeremy was very excited to go with him for his big boy haircut (my brother in-law and his girlfriend were in town for the weekend). All was calm and great until the stylist put the cape around his neck. The moment she fastened the Velcro, his lower lip stuck out, started to quiver and the water works began.It became very clear, very quickly that this was not going to go well. All plans to take his hair up really short for the summer went out the window. There would be no clippers or buzzing going on.

He ended up sitting in my lap, sans cape, for the haircut while Matt and Uncle Jeremy did everything in their power to entertain and soothe him. After three suckers, countless tears, two stylists working on him at once and lots of funny faces and sounds, our little guy got over three inches chopped off and looks super grown up.

The moment Sandi said she was done, Jamie hopped down, said thank you and even gave her a hug good bye! I’m hoping next time will go a little better. Matt bought him a smock at IKEA yesterday that he can use for painting and playing at the water table. I think I'll bring it with us next time we go for a cut so he can use his own smock and hopefully avoid the drama.

*sorry for the low resolution pictures, they’re from Uncle Jeremy’s camera. I’ll post high-res versions once he sends the full size images over :)

Jamie Riding His Bike

2010-06-21T09:46:00.000-07:00

Matt’s parents, known as Nana and Papa to Jamie, came to spend Father’s Day weekend with us. This is always a big weekend in the Berg family since Matt and Nana’s birthdays are the week prior and then we add Father’s Day to the mix and it’s one big celebration. Nana and Papa got Jamie a bike for his birthday and during this visit they gave him a cool accessory to pimp his ride - a bell. Now the whole neighborhood knows when Jamie is out and about.

We had one mercifully nice day this weekend and Jamie didn’t waste a second before asking if he could take his bike (and bell) out for a spin. He can not only reach the pedals now but is also coordinated and strong enough to push himself along (with a little steering help).

He was very excited to take his bike down to our local water reserve to see if there were any ducks hanging out…

If you’re having trouble seeing this video, go HERE.

Swimming ~ Part III (?)

2010-06-20T21:16:00.001-07:00

Jamie just wrapped up his fifth series of swim lessons this week and it is absolutely amazing how much he has learned and the confidence he gained. During the last few weeks of class, we’ve been working on reaching out to grab a parent’s ‘anchor’ arm and what to do if you fall into the pool. Since we can’t stand on the side of the pool and push kids in to simulate falling, part off the way we’ve been teaching this skill is by jumping into the pool to either the awaiting parent’s outstretched anchor arm or having the kids jump in then quickly turn around and grip the wall. From there we progressed to going down a kiddie slide to an awaiting parent or ‘running’ down a floating mat to the parent. Matt and I totally didn’t think Jamie would be willing to participate in this exercise but to our surprise he LOVES it. He even likes to practice jumping at home, much to our displeasure.

I took a great video of Jamie going down the slide then “swimming” a few feet to Matt’s anchor arm at last weeks class but for some reason I can’t get it to upload* . Luckily, Matt’s mom captured this great jump while we were at the pool yesterday. Check out how enthusiastically he jumps into the water. Amazing to believe that a year ago he wasn’t even walking and now he’s almost swimming!

* I was able to get it to upload to facebook, not YouTube so if we’re friends on FB, you can view it there.

Meal Planning Monday ~ Memorial Day 2010

2010-05-31T20:34:00.001-07:00

Tonight ~ grilled teriyaki salmon, steamed broccoli, white rice (all from Trader Joe’s, except the salmon). their new teriyaki sauce is FANTASTIC, I highly recommend it!

Tuesday ~ turkey burgers, corn on the cobb, grilled zucchini

Wednesday ~ out, Jamie has swim lessons

Thursday ~ Chinese Chicken Salad

Friday ~ balsamic chicken with sautéed onions, mushrooms, and zucchini, red quinoa. This will be my first attempt at quinoa, I really hope we like it, the nutritional value is impressive…

Saturday ~ Mommy’s Night Out!

Sunday ~ teriyaki chicken, rice (or quinoa depending on how it goes over), veggies

What are you eating this week? Are you starting to eat differently now that the weather is changing? We certainly are…much lighter with more fish/poultry and significantly less beef. Also, LOTS more fresh veggies and less canned/frozen since so much more is available at the market now. Provecho!

Meal Planning Monday

2010-05-10T14:48:00.001-07:00

Yay me, I’m actually posting my meal plan on a Monday, woo hoo! Though to be honest I did shop and plan on Saturday but whatever.

Saturday, after a fun family swim and lunch at our newly re-opened farmers market, we decided to go check out the new butcher shop in town. I’ve been fairly excited to go see this place. All the meat is locally sourced AND organic. We were pleasantly shocked to see a line out the door to go up to the counter. Good signs that Bill the Butcher will be sticking around for a while but not a good sign when you have a cranky, ready for nap toddler with you. Lucky for us they plied him with sausage and local cheese samples and had plenty for him to look at while we waited. Matt was in theoretical grilling heaven. He kept asking, should I make this or this???? We settled on some ground beef for Mother’s Day burgers, tri-tip for later in the week, some sausages for who knows when and a couple of pieces of jerky. Who can pass up homemade beef jerky? SO good. They also carry all sorts of rubs, marinades and other high end goodies similar in style to Oakville Grocery (without the gourmet deli counter and wine).

Sunday ~ beef burgers (meat from Bill the Butcher) topped with blue cheese, grilled artichokes, rice a roni

Monday ~ whole wheat pasta, tossed with tomato sauce, grilled chicken

Tuesday ~ hoisin glazed halibut, sticky rice, steamed broccoli

Wednesday ~ out, Jamie has a swim lesson in the early evening

Thursday ~ CPK/Cheesecake Factory style BBQ Chicken Salads

Friday ~ Tri-Tip (again from Bill the Butcher), mashed potatoes, grilled zucchini

Saturday or Sunday ~ pesto chicken, starch TBD, artichokes

Simple Pleasures – Cereal

2010-05-02T15:29:00.001-07:00

I worked a crazy schedule last week – between a major deadline and a co-worker taking an untimely vacation I feel like I spent very little time with Jamie. While I really dislike working as much as I did, it did allow me to realize just how much I value my time with Jamie and it made me enjoy the few moments we spent together even more.

We rarely have cereal with milk for breakfast, instead trying to give him something a little more substantial keeping the cereal for snacks but the house was almost barren so we shared a bowl of rice krispies and milk at his toddler table Friday morning. So much fun!

BIG bite!

Think I’ll use Mami’s spoon…

…Nah, my hands work even better.

Meal Planning Sunday

2010-05-02T15:11:00.001-07:00

Last week was absolute chaos and I never made it to the market (great way to save money!). We only ate out twice, one of which was already planned and the rest of our meals came from our very well stocked pantry and freezer. Yesterday afternoon I went to the store and replenished the panty and got us ready for the coming week. While I certainly don’t plan on working 40 hours again this week (or anytime again in the near future), I made sure to plan for a few meals that can be made ahead then re-heated. Also, these two dishes, brisket chili and Mexican albondigas, always taste better the second time thru so it’s a win-win. I currently have the brisket in the oven and albondigas simmering on the stove- time to relax for a few minutes before the little man wakes up…then we’re going to make banana bread!

Saturday ~ open faced turkey sandwiches, minestrone soup

Sunday – pesto chicken, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli

Monday ~ Mexican albondigas and rice

Tuesday ~ BBQ chicken baked potatoes

Wednesday ~ out, Jamie has swim

Thursday ~ chili, corn bread

Friday ~ Matt’s tuna pasta

Jamie Landon Is Two!

2010-04-25T15:43:00.001-07:00

A very happy (belated) 2nd birthday to our lil' monkey!

We spent your 2nd birthday weekend in Southern California at “Mickey Mouse House” with Bobe, Zeide, Nana, Uncle Jeremy and Auntie Tammy then visiting Papa Allen.

You are a total chatter box and have the vocabulary of kids a year older, in both English and Spanish. While very observant, you’re also starting to be much more of an explorer and enjoy climbing on play structures at the park and all over the furniture. We spend countless hours reading; you have books in almost every room in the house. Jamie, you have a voracious appetite; on “hungry days” and will devour anything and everything -especially fruit and diary products. You have also developed quite the sweet tooth, constantly requesting pops (lollypops or frozen fruit popsicles), cake and helado (ice cream).

Thanks to your appetite, you now weigh 25 pounds (10-25%, up from the 3% you’ve been the rest of your life) and are between 34 and 35 inches tall (50-60%). We still consider you our skinny mini yet you no longer show any signs of having been a preemie.

You are enjoying discovering your independence, picking out your own clothes and love EVERYTHING transportation and animal related. We love going to playgroup, music class with Miss Anna and swimming with Miss Jocelyn.

This past year has been the best adventure yet and can’t wait to see what the coming year has in store for you…


1st Birthday ~ Woodland Park Zoo	Birth Day ~ Evergreen Hospital

Meal Planning...uh Wednesday?

2010-04-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

We are back from Disneyland for Jamie's second birthday (pictures to come soon, promise) and getting back into our new routine...

Tuesday ~ Chinese Chicken Salad
Wednesday ~ out, Jamie has swim class from 5:30-6pm.
Thursday ~ beef burgers, grilled zucchini, corn on the cob (first corn of the season, we'll see if its ready, if not potatoes)
Friday ~ panko crusted tilapia, sticky rice, steamed broccoli (LOVE the steam in a bag broccoli from Trader Joe's, so easy and tasty!)
Saturday ~ Carrie's Chicken (casserole style), salad
Sunday ~ Albondigas with rice
Monday ~ either sandwiches and soup or brisket chili (depends on what I have time to make on Sunday and if I can make it to the store Sun/Mon for fresh bread and deli meat)

Meal Planning Tuesday

2010-04-06T14:56:00.001-07:00

Since I started my new job six(ish) weeks ago, I've been having trouble finding the right time to go to the grocery store. Also, since Matt is in charge of (at least prepping) dinner on Monday nights, I have to make sure that what I plan for that night isn't too labor intensive or time consuming. With that in mind, I'm (finally) making it to the store today. I normally shop try to alone but our fridge is EMPTY and it's the end of Passover tonight so I have no choice but to take Jamie with me.
I am one of those people who really enjoys going to the market, seeing what new produce is in, what's on sale, etc. When we lived in LA, My sister and I used to have a standing grocery date- we would go to dinner then hit the store around 9pm on a Wednesday, guranteed to be crowd-free and fully stocked (many grocery stores stock on Tuesdays after the weekend rush).When you take a toddler with you, leasure is not an option. You need to come extra prepared and make it thru the store in record time. Not only did I write out my grocery list (two freaking pages long) but I even mentally walked thru the store and wrote the list in order of where I can find things. No doubling back allowed.

Tonight ~ We're breaking Pesach with glorious chametz filled pizza!
Wednesday ~ Having company over for grilled turkey burgers, zucchini, baked potatoes
Thursday ~ Matt has Guy's Night Out, Jamie and I will improvise
Friday ~ Tortilla soup
Sat or Sun ~ Italian Style Crispy Baked Chicken, steamed broccoli, rice-a-roni
Monday ~ Hoisin glazed halibut, steamed green beans, sticky rice
Tuesday ~ Yum Sugar's Creamy Asparagus Pasta

What are you eating?

An Early Birthday Present

2010-04-02T22:05:00.001-07:00

Jamie has been BEGGING for a bike for about a month now. Anytime we see a kid on a bike/trike/scooter it’s temper tantrum central. If the other kiddo is nice enough to let Jamie see their bike, when it is time to give it back the hysterical waterworks start, complete with kicking, screaming and whining. A few weeks ago Matt managed to capture the scene on video and sent it off to our families asking them to please remedy the situation for Jamie’s birthday (for the sake of teenage Jamie, I’m not going to post the video). Just imagine the worst stereotypical tantrum ever, with my kiddo crying “bike, bike, bike! Jamie bike! PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE BIKE!”

Earlier this week, a large box arrived from Target.com, Jamie figured out pretty quickly what was in the box but we decided to not open the box until Nana Danna got into town yesterday. We’re being pummeled with a nasty spring storm so Jamie had to test drive his bike around the kitchen. Matt and Danna did manage to take him outside for about five minutes but the weather was too wet and cold to be out for long. Of course, the temper tantrum kicked up again as soon as they came back in. I think the bike is going to have to live in garage hiding for a while.

Thanks Nana and Pappa Berg!

Meal Planning...uh Wednesday?

2010-03-24T12:30:00.001-07:00

Tis the week before Passover which means time to clean out the pantry and rid ourselves of all our chametz. It's also a wonderful opportunity to eat from the freezer and get rid of all our leftovers. I'm always slightly embarassed at what I find in my pantry when I purge pre-Passover. I have found that I'm great at keeping an accurate inventory of the fridge and both freezers but when it comes to the pantry, it's a free for all. Maybe it has something to do with my pantry actually being a wall height cupboard with three DEEP shelves and not a walk in pantry. Even with baskets and one pull out shelf, its really hard to keep track of what is in there. Someday, when I've won the lottery (which I don't play, uh problem), I'd like to knock out the wall behind our pantry and create a walk in pantry by taking over the back half of our (unused) coat closet. A girl can dream, right?

Ok, on with what we've been eating/will be eating...

Monday - beef and barely soup from the freezer with left over grilled zucchini tossed in (great flavor enhanser)

Tuesday - Mole (again from the freezer), rice, refried beans

Wednesday- It's in the high 60's today! Time to grill!!!! turkey burgers, grilled veggies, couscous

Thursday - bacon-squash pasta (from the freezer), salad

Friday - ????? we're having people over, really need to figure out something. Can't grill, it's supposed to rain...

Saturday - Going to an early Seder at a friends house.

Sunday - pasta with tomato sauce, steamed broccoli and sausages (we were supposed to have this last week and never got around to it).

Monday - First Seder at a friend's house

Tuesday - Second Seder on our own, honey-soy broiled salmon, roasted potatoes, asparagus

Wednesday - My mom's potato/cheese casserole. Definitley NOT healthy but so yum, salad

What are you eating this year for Passover?

Embracing Daylight Savings

2010-03-15T22:09:00.001-07:00

Adjusting to the time change is never fun but one thing we always look forward to after ‘springing forward’ is post-dinner walks. We usually eat around 6pm and are up from the table, dishes done by 7pm. Recently, Jamie hasn’t been going to bed till 8:30pm making for a long time to entertain him on non-bath nights.

When the weather cooperates, we love to go out and explore our neighborhood. I’ve found that Jamie sleeps better on the nights he spends time outside before bed instead of playing with his toys which tend to wind him up instead of down. Some nights Jamie rides in his stroller, others he rolls in his wagon, occasionally he even walks along with us (making for a VERY long walk and a very impatient dog)…Tonight, he decided he wanted to PULL his wagon.

apologies for the crappy cell phone picture

Check out the flaming rain boots Jamie insisted on wearing even though it was 65 degrees out.

Jamie wanted to pull Teddy during our walk.

He even used Matt’s spare key to “start” and “drive” his wagon.

This is our neighborhood at 7:30pm! I love the late light! By the middle of the summer, it’ll be this light out at almost 10pm. Not that we plan on having Jamie outside at that hour but it’s so much fun to have another opportunity to get some fresh air.

Meal Planning Monday

2010-03-15T11:56:00.000-07:00

Sorry for another big gap between postings. Matt has been traveling quite a bit (again), I started a new job, we've been dealing with some family health issues (more on that later), and Hotel Berg has been host to my parents on two seperate occasions in the last three weeks as well as our friend Maggie for a quick night... I'm still making good on my promise to eat at home more and healthier, I just haven't had the chance to post about it.

Here's what's I'll be making this week:

Monday ~ YumSugar's (vegetarian) butternut squash lasagna

Tuesday ~ panko crusted talapia, (left-over) rice, green beans

Wednesday ~ Foodmaniac's meatloaf*, mashed potatoes, balsamic glazed brussel sprouts (yes Mom, I'm making brussel sprouts and you're going to like them).

Thursday ~ TAKE OUT! My parents leave for the airport right after dinner so we'll be doing take out to speed things up... I'm thinking Chinese.

Friday ~ whole wheat pasta with Smitten Kitchen's basic tomato sauce tossed with broccoli and sausages

Saturday ~ dinner at a friend's house

Sunday ~ Matt has a business meeting so Jamie and I will probably just eat left overs from earlier in the week or breakfast for dinner. Jamie is really into "helping" me cook, i.e. hanging on my hip while I'm at the stove so if I can't make it in advance and Matt or my mom aren't around to distract him, cooking has become incredibly challenging.

*I usually make a Tom Colicchio's meatloaf but I have some rolled oats that are taking up space in my pantry and I'd like to mix it up a little bit. I'm not the biggest fan of the oregano in his recipe...

A Valentines Day Snow Trip

2010-02-23T21:23:00.001-08:00

This is our fourth winter living in the Pacific Northwest and the first time we haven’t had any snow. NOT A SINGLE SNOWFLAKE. Thank you (?) El Nino. Winter in the Puget Sound has been shockingly mild; temperatures are almost 10 degrees above normal, it’s barely rained and it hasn’t snowed. Being from California, Matt and I still get excited at the prospect of snow and have been really bummed out by the weather this winter. Don’t get me wrong, I love being able to go play in the park without a parka in February but it’s strange.

Now, there might not be any snow in Redmond but there is plenty up on Snoqualmie Pass, less than an hour from our house. The Sunday of Valentines Day we decided to pack up Jamie and Einstein and go play in the white. We were excited to expose Jamie to snow. Although he got to see it last winter, there was so much and he was so little that he didn’t really get to play in it. We all know how much Einy loves the snow…

Although it doesn’t look like it, Jamie really did have a good time. He liked being pulled around in his little sled and throwing snow balls at Einstein. He even found the snow to be pretty tasty.

All bundled up and ready to play.

He wasn’t a big fan of the snowsuit. Luckily Bobe Betty had bought this outfit at Gap, the snow bib I got Jamie at Target is already too small. Major growth spurt in the last weeks.

taking it all in

“Mami GO!!!”

Jamie much preferred my ~~dragging~~ leading him around over Matt. Maybe because that way he got to see Einy and Daddy playing?

Looking for ????

When my mom saw these pictures, she was reminded of the first time she and my dad took me to the snow. I was about the age Jamie is now…

Sharon late 1982 or early 1983 (pre-Liora)

Clearly, I was not a fan. The picture isn’t the best quality but can you see the expression on my face and see how similar it is to Jamie’s unhappy scowl?

A Really Yummy, Healthy and Fast Dinner

2010-02-23T20:47:00.001-08:00

Matt is unexpectedly out of town throwing my entire meal plan out the window. I didn’t make it to the grocery store on Monday and have been making meals from my (very well) stocked pantry. Ever since we got snowed in last year, I make sure to keep our pantry full of last minute meal ingredients as well as having a protein/veggie filled freezer.

Tonight I made Smitten Kitchen’s Peanut Sesame Noodles. I didn’t have most of her suggested veggies on hand but I did have peas, carrots and baby corn. This is AMAZING. It’s not exactly cold/room temperature salad weather but the dressing is so thick and hearty that it was satisfying on this wet winter night. Upon tasting the sauce I could instantly tell it’ll be really delicious and refreshing in the summer with some cool cucumbers. It’ll probably make a good dipping sauce too…

Best of all, Jamie LOVED it. I made this for us once before when he first started eating peanut butter a few months back and he’s definitely a fan.

my apologies for the crappy cell phone camera picture

You can see the mess a little better in this picture. Jamie is enjoying a big bowl of vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Due to the shadows you can’t really see it but the kid is covered in peanut sauce. He was shoveling noodles like I’ve never seen. Hopefully the shirt is salvageable, its currently soaking in a sink full of Oxy.

Meal Planning Monday

2010-02-21T20:25:00.001-08:00

Monday ~ panko crusted tilapia, couscous, asparagus

Tuesday ~Bon Appetite Honey-Lemon Chicken, rice,and broccoli (both rice and broccoli steamed in my new cooker, that I hope to buy Monday)

Wednesday ~ Taco Salad

Thursday ~ whole wheat pasta with either Smitten Kitchen’s fantastically easy tomato sauce

Friday ~Mommy’s Night Out

Saturday ~ Bon Appetite’s Halibut with Hoisin and Ginger sauce, sticky rice, something green (probably broccoli again)

Sunday ~ minestrone soup, roast beef sandwiches

Meal Planning Monday

2010-02-15T21:04:00.001-08:00

Thanks to everyone who provided meal ideas thru facebook! I’ll be incorporating some of your meals into my schedule in the coming weeks… I was inspired to start meal planning by Stefania over on CityMama, I encourage everyone to check out her site. She’s a wonderful inspiration and I often borrow recipes from her and her readers. So tell me, what are you eating this week? Please share in the comments!

Monday ~ Matt’s secret sautéed chicken-apple sausages, whole wheat pasta with butter/parmesan, steamed broccoli

Tuesday ~ French’s onion crusted chicken, mashed potatoes, romaine salad. I’ve been seeing commercials for this recipe over and over again and it looks so damn good, don’t judge me... I hope it lives up to the hype. Seriously, why do they have to show food commercials while I’m at the gym?!?!

Wednesday ~ turkey melts, French onion soup

Thursday ~ BBQ salmon, rice, grilled asparagus

Friday ~ Mexican turkey albondigas, rice, calabacitas

Saturday ~ panko crusted tilapia, couscous, zucchini

Sunday ~ out

I’m proud to say we ate home eight nights in a row after we got back from our trip! Matt surprised me with a night out on Sunday but otherwise we’ve been trying really hard to eat in so we can have better control over what goes into our food.

Big Boy Haircut

2010-02-13T21:38:00.001-08:00

My kiddo has a lot of hair. He got his first haircut at ten months and for the next year or so we got his hair cut every couple of weeks, buzzing it down close to his scalp. Not only did it get expensive but somewhere along the line, Jamie started hating the process. It got so torturous and embarrassing that we decided to grow his hair out. I trimmed above his ears and the back of his neck a few times but other than that, it was buh-bye to the buzz cut.

This is what nearly six months of growth looks like:

Recently, his mane was getting a little out of control – falling into his eyes, over his ears and looking scarily close to a Billy Ray Cyrus mullet, circa Achy Breaky Heart. It had gotten to the point where I was considering conditioner, we were already putting product in there to attempt to control the calics keep it out of his eyes. YIKES.

Saturday, we took Jamie over to Bella & Max at the Bothell Country Village to clean up the mop. They did a wonderful job and turned my baby into a little boy.

Mami’s Little Helper

2010-02-13T20:57:00.001-08:00

Jamie decided to help me with my chores Friday afternoon. It was especially nice considering that he is the main source of all the ~~food~~ dirt on our floors. Well, him and the dog but dogs don’t sweep, do they?

Friday night, while I gave Jamie a bath, Matt decided to have a little fun with our very understanding and patient dog…

…yes you’re seeing that correctly. Einstein is wearing Jamie’s shirt. Apparently they wear the same size. I guess if he can’t sweep, at least he can pose.

Our Little Beach Bum

2010-02-12T21:43:00.001-08:00

Jamie’s love of the water has been well documented on this blog. Getting Jamie out of the bath or pool is always a struggle, why did we think the ocean would be any different?

The entire week we were in Puerto Vallarta, it was painful to drag him away from the water up for his afternoon nap. Every time he woke up he BEGGED for the ocean and pool. If we told him he had to wait, he’d go to the outside patio and look down wistfully at the water until we said it was time to go. I’ve never seen him be so cooperative at getting dressed as the times we’d tell him to go put on his swimsuit.

At first he was a little leery of the sea, not sure what to make of such a big body of water.

Once he got his tiny toes in the water he was hooked. Constantly braving a few steps further into the surf until Matt or I had to hold him up right making sure he didn’t get knocked over by the waves.

He even went wave jumping with Matt a few times. The one time I got all the way into the ocean with them, we were out so deep, I couldn’t reach the bottom and a wave knocked me under. Instinct led me to hold Jamie up high above my head, hoping he didn’t get pulled under with me. When the wave rolled passed and I came up, I found Jamie grinning from ear to ear, laughing hysterically and asking for more.

Unfortunately, Jamie’s partner-in-crime, Alli was not nearly as enthralled by the water as Jamie and wanted nothing to do with the ocean. She’s much more of a pool girl than a beach bum. More on those two and all their high-jinks later… For now, I leave you with one of my favorite pictures from the trip. Jamie lounging by the pool, ocean behind him, wearing my USC visor.

Meal Planning Monday – 02.08.2010

2010-02-07T21:03:00.001-08:00

We’re back from our vacation (more on that in the next few posts) and I’m re-inspired to cook healthy, creative meals for my family. While on vacation, Matt and I realized that somewhere during the last year, we started tailoring our meals to Jamie’s nutritional needs instead of ours. As the parents of a ‘skinny-mini’ (non-scientific term meaning a light but not medically underweight kiddo) we always try to load his plate with simple carbs, protein, veggies, fruit and the occasional sweet. Problem is, we’ve been putting the same on our plates. At one point or another, both Matt and I have struggled with our weight and have family histories of weight issues. We’re both comfortable with where we are weight wise but can stand to shed a few pounds and eat healthier in general.

I made a huge shift in my eating habits back in 2002, eliminating carbohydrates in order to better control my sugar intake. Once my system was regulated, I gradually reintroduced carbs and can honestly say they are my total and complete weakness. Matt lost a huge chunk of weight in late 2005 using Weight Watchers’ online program. Over the years, we’ve learned to combine both eating styles to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Jamie is not underweight or unhealthy by any means. His pediatrician is happy with his weight and continually impressed with his steady gain. He has been in the third percentile since the day he was born. This does not mean he is a light eater - as a growing toddler he eats A LOT, sometimes more than his normal weight friends. The doctor has always urged us to feed him whatever we’re eating and not make him special “high fat” meals even though that’s what the physical therapist ~~forced down our throat~~ suggested. We eat lots of low-fat proteins and cheeses and don’t cook with butter which along with Jamie’s low birth weight can factor into his skinniness. Regardless, we still find ourselves feeding him a little higher fat meals, extra desserts, etc. then eating off his plate, oops.

As of this week, it is our pledge to eat less simple carbohydrates (white starches) while eating more fiber and continue with lean proteins (less beef, more chicken/turkey/fish). I’m also going to make an effort to go meat-less one day a week and incorporate a weekly fish meal. On the nights I make extra-lean or low-carb dinners, we’ll have to supplement Jamie’s calories with a little ice cream or dessert (along with his usual fruit), lucky guy.

Since we got back on Friday night, my plan started on Saturday…

~ SATURDAY: Eating Well’s honey-soy salmon, couscous, steamed broccoli. This was excellent! I've only recently started eating salmon and was worried about the smell but it was a non-issue and VERY fast (on the table in under 20 minutes)

~ SUNDAY: whole wheat pasta tossed with shredded rotisserie chicken, balsamic roasted onions, mushrooms and zucchini (more chicken and veggies than pasta)

~ MONDAY: brisket chili (more beans, less meat)

~ TUESDAY: PF Chang’s style chicken lettuce wraps, steamed bao buns from Costco (impulse buy)

~ WEDNESDAY: beef and barley soup (barley is a great source of fiber and protein and this recipe is chock full of veggies)

~ THURSDAY: turkey burgers, grilled asparagus, rice-a-roni

~ FRIDAY: Mexican style molletes - French bread with bean spread and melted cheese (this week’s meatless dinner, also the unhealthiest)

~ SATURDAY: whole wheat pasta bake

~ SUNDAY: Valentines Day TBD, it’s Matt’s year to plan…can’t wait to see what he has up his sleeve.

So there you have it, the shift is going to be subtle but significant. Many of the meals are from my usual recipe book but tweaked a little bit. Lastly it goes without say, we’ll be having smaller portions…

Meal Planning

2010-01-05T13:58:00.001-08:00

Last night we had a pot pie/shepherd’s pie combo ~ I had some ground turkey as well as left over biscuit dough so I made shepherd’s pie but with a biscuit crust. YUM!

Tonight ~ fried rice (have some leftover rotisserie chicken to use up)

Wednesday ~ breakfast for dinner

Thursday ~ Smitten Kitchen’s basic tomato sauce and pasta. You have to scroll down a bit, she uses the sauce to make lasagna with homemade noodles. We LOVE City Mama’s Pasta con Burro e Pomodoro but it can be a little rough on the tummy so I’m excited to try another delicious yet simple recipe

Friday ~ grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup

Saturday ~ I’m finally going to try my hand at Julia Child’s infamous Beef Bourguignon.

Slide + Ball Pit = FUN!

2010-01-02T21:52:00.001-08:00

Thanks to some holiday gift certificates to Toys ‘R Us, we got Jamie a really fun indoor/outdoor climbing toy. We’re hoping this toy helps him continue to improve his climbing skills, something he’s still a little behind at.

It didn’t take long before Jamie figured out that he can combine two of his new toys…

I guess if he’s going to flip over when he gets to the bottom of the slide (or go down head first because we know that’s coming) it might as well be into a ball pit.

What I See Most of the Day

2009-12-30T08:17:00.000-08:00

Jamie LOVES his new tunnel! It only took me four stores to find this thing…apparently it’s a very popular gift.

One of his favorite things to do is have me crawl in one side and play peek-a-boo thru the other opening. We also hide toys and books in the middle and send Mami on a treasure hunt to find them or play chase (Jamie crawls in then makes me follow him, tickling when I catch up).

What A Difference A Year Makes…

2009-12-29T21:02:00.001-08:00

Last year, our wonderful playgroup took this fantastic picture in front of Carrie’s Christmas tree. Sorry, I’m too lazy to find the original file to re-post it, just click on the link to see our adorable eight month olds.

We still meet weekly for two hours of snacks, gossip, sippy cup swapping and fun as well as monthly for desperately needed Mommy’s Night Out. These ladies are my sanity-keepers and their kids are Jamie’s best friends. As his vocabulary continues to explode, he now asks for Appy (Alli), Nannie (Natalie), MeeMee (Jamie) and Ah-pen (Aspen). When we get in the car Tuesday mornings, Jamie gets super excited when we turn onto everyone’s respective streets.

The schedule just happened to work out that we met at Carrie’s house again shortly after she put up her tree. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me, but here is a great picture Katie took.

The kiddos aren’t sitting in the same order but at least they are all:

a) sitting nicely

b) semi-looking at the camera

c) NOT crying (every other group picture we’ve taken over the last year is a bunch of bawling toddlers!)

Aren’t they super cute? What a difference a year makes…

Meal Planning Monday

2009-12-29T15:56:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! We’ll be finishing out the year gluten-free. No, we’re not making any major dietary changes – c’mon, there’s no way I could give up pasta or potatoes, or bread. It’s just that Matt’s folks will be in town…

Monday ~ Butternut squash pasta bake (I made a double batch a few weeks ago, froze great!)

Tuesday ~ Borone style turkey melts, Costco French onion soup

Wednesday ~ dinner out (in-laws fly in this night)

Thursday ~ New Years Eve at a friend’s house. We celebrate on East Coast time, great for the kiddos!

Friday/Saturday/Sunday ~ not sure when we’ll eat what but here’s the gluten-free menu

~ mushroom and chicken risotto

~ grilled Kalbi flank steak, rice, zucchini and onions

~ Chinese chicken salad (yes, I know this is summer food but…) and egg drop soup

Sorry there haven’t been many Jamie updates lately. I somehow managed to take NO pictures of my parents trip up here…

Who Cares What Is In the Box!

2009-12-16T09:17:00.000-08:00

One of Jamie’s Hanukkah presents arrived while he was napping yesterday afternoon. I didn’t get a chance to take the box up to the guest bedroom where I’m hiding all his gifts so he spent the afternoon playing ON the box.

Check out my newly perfected climbing skills!

Getting ready to stand up… I didn’t get a picture of Jamie standing, I was too busy ~~making, asking,~~ helping him sit down.

I like it up here, I’m going to set up my wooden bridge and play cars and trains.

Hopefully he’ll like what’s IN the box (an overstuffed kid’s chair from Land of Nod) as much as he likes being ON it. I’ll keep you posted…

Back Log | Jamie’s First Tailgate

2009-12-15T21:10:00.001-08:00

I’m just now getting around to downloading all our pictures from last month… Among the pictures I downloaded were some from our Thanksgiving weekend trip and Jamie’s first USC tailgate.

Matt and I used to be fixtures at Ralph and Patti’s fantastic tailgates and were so excited for Jamie to join in the fun. We decided that taking him to a 7pm game would be a little too much for him (and us) so we had Matt’s sister Tammy join us for the tailgate then take Jamie home in time for dinner and bedtime. The sheer number of people and noise was a little overwhelming but for the most part, Jamie LOVED the chaos.

The Spadas always set up camp near Leavy Library which means there was a BIG fountain that Jamie was constantly trying to get into, lots of people to say hi to and tons of food to ~~steal~~ munch on (yes, we caught Jamie trying to mooch food from someone else’s tailgate!). We even let him stomp on some kid’s bruin bear that he was dragging around behind him (did I mention this was the USC vs. UCLA tailgate?).

This is my 12th season of football fun with Kristy, yikes!

She loves Jamie but he was too distracted to give her any love…next time Kris, promise.

with Dina and her fiancé Mike

stealing the chips, Jamie didn’t want to share.

Fight On Aunt Tammy

I can’t believe we didn’t get a picture of Grace and Jamie together…oh well, there’s always next season, and the one after that and the one after that. Fight On!

Meal Planning Monday

2009-12-14T10:58:00.001-08:00

I’m feeling a bit under the weather today so we’ll see how much of this actually gets made. Hopefully, I’ll feel back to my regular cooking self by this evening, tomorrow at the latest. Otherwise, our take-out bill is going to be quite high this week…

~ Definitely Not Martha’s version of Cooking Light’s Pasta with Squash & Bacon (you have to scroll down a little into the post to find the recipe)

~ Albondigas

~ oven fried panko crusted tilapia (from the freezer section at Costco), couscous, something green

~ turkey burgers, rice-a-roni, veggies

~ homemade fried rice

~ sopes (we never got around to these last week)

~ homemade pizzas. I buy the premade dough at Trader Joes and then we each top with our favorites.

What are you making this week?

Meal Planning Monday

2009-12-06T21:10:00.001-08:00

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted my meal plan. Although I’ve been planning, I keep forgetting to post…sorry. Here’s what we’re eating this week:

~ Beef brisket chili, corn bread (the last of my freezer stash)

~ Carrie’s chicken, casserole style

~ lasagna

~ Trader Joe’s fondue. I saw this advertised in the Fearless Flyer and decided it would make for a fun, random dinner. We’ll see what Jamie thinks of one of our favorite foods

~ Chicken sopes, rice and beans

~ pan fried chicken, latkes and something green (Brussels spouts maybe?)

~ Go Out For Dinner!

Brave Little Duck Photography

2009-11-27T20:40:00.001-08:00

One of our best college friends Patti recently started a photography business. As soon as we planned our Turkey Day trip, we booked a photo session with her. Patti’s pictures are absolutely stunning and she’s incredibly talented.

We spent our early morning at the Piece College Botanical Gardens playing on bridges, blowing bubbles and climbing over tree trunks. We can’t thank Patti enough for the wonderful experience and fun morning. I know Jamie wasn’t in his best mood but knowing Patti’s skills, I’m sure she still got some good shots.

Check out the sneak peek on her website, Brave Little Duck Photography.

Julia Update

2009-11-08T13:40:00.001-08:00

Thank you to everyone who reached out and showed concern about my parents dog, Julia.

They were able to find her a home at the Brandon Farouche Canine Communications Center (doesn’t that sound fancy?), where she’s going to go thru a rehabilitation boot camp then assist in their training program.

Graduation Day!

2009-11-06T21:50:00.001-08:00

Jamie officially graduated from his physical therapy program today!

Last Thursday we had Jamie’s 18 month well-baby check up with the pediatrician. She was amazed with his progress and we mentioned that we didn’t really feel like he needed to continue his bi-monthly physical therapy sessions. To our surprise, the doctor agreed and suggested we call the lead therapist and request an exit evaluation. The rest of his appointment went great; our little man is still in the third percentile for weight, 50th for height and 90th for head circumference. He also has the vocabulary and comprehension of a two year old.

I was able to get an appointment for this afternoon and soon after arriving at the house, the therapist was beaming ear to ear, nodding enthusiastically at Jamie’s mobility. Within 20 minutes, we were done. Jamie showed off all his ‘latest’ skills – climbing up and down stairs, jumping, getting on and off the couch, throwing balls, etc. You know, the usual 18 month old antics. He even has a few tricks that most children don’t exhibit until 22-24 months, yeah Jamie. His trunk and abdominal strength could still get a little stronger but he’s definitely not weak enough to require continued treatment.

We can’t thank the wonderful staff at Kindering Center enough. In the six months that we worked with them, Jamie made huge strides and improved his life immeasurably.

pictures by Patti Spada

Helping Find Julia A New Home

2009-11-05T15:45:00.001-08:00

I’d like you to meet Julia. She is a two and a half year old aussie-shepherd/black lab mix (we think).

My parents adopted her from Puppy Pound Rescue in Palo Alto, California 18 months ago when she was a year old. Prior to my parents, she had lived in FOUR different homes.

Although it was not disclosed to my parents at the time of the adoption, we have reason to believe she was abused and neglected in at least one of her previous homes (the agency has recently admitted to being aware of her previous abuse). She had indentations in her skin/fur where she had been wearing a harness too tightly for too long and was very skittish, edgy, and weary of strangers.

She immediately formed a tight attachment to my dad and is incredibly affectionate with my mom. She is an absolute doll of a dog who thinks she’s small enough to be a lap dog and loves to play. My 18 month old son has also formed a tight bond with her and she’s fantastic with him.

In her 18 months at my parents’ house, she’s graduated from puppy training classes at Petco and has had considerable additional training by a private trainer. Julia is kennel trained and stays at the Petco Hotel in San Carlos, California when my parents travel where she is loved by all the staff.

Unfortunately, all of her training has not resolved all her issues and she still has anxiety induced aggression resulting in three biting incidents. One of the incidents was when Julia was playing with a visitor at my parents’ home and was startled; the other two took place on the street where she was surprised by a runner and other dogs on the street.

At this point, the City of Palo Alto has given my parents until Monday, November 9, 2009 to either find her a new home outside of Palo Alto or they are declaring her a dangerous animal who will not be allowed out of the house, even for walks. The Puppy Pound Rescue adoption agency is refusing to take her back claiming they do not have an available foster family for her. Their solution is to either have her teeth pulled or euthanize her.

Although it breaks all of our hearts to do so, we are trying to find her a no-kill sanctuary. If Julia stays with my parents, she will be miserable. This is a dog who LOVES to be outdoors- chase squirrels, run after balls and go on long walks. Being confined to a backyard is not a humane life for this animal.

Can you help us out? Please help us find a new home for this adorable, lovable dog. If you know of anyone or any place who can assist, please contact us.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Meal Planning Monday

2009-11-02T21:18:00.001-08:00

Tonight we had Cafe Borrone style turkey melts. SO good and nostalgic. Not to mention quick and easy.

I’m not sure what order we’ll be having the rest of these meals but none the less, here’s this week’s list. All the meals are warm, hearty, comfort foods to match the weather. It’s always an adjustment at the start of fall/winter but once we’ve been at it for a month or so it doesn’t seem so bad.

~ Gordon Ramsay’s Shepherd’s Pie with turkey instead of lamb. I saw him make this on an old episode of “The F Word” and have been wanting to make it ever since.

~ Beef and Barley Soup from my high school friend Marissa

~ Carrie’s Chicken, casserole style

~ BBQ chicken baked potatoes

Oh, for those who are wondering, the Brussels sprouts turned out AMAZING and we’ll definitely be having them again soon.

Meal Planning Monday

2009-10-26T21:21:00.001-07:00

Matt’s on the road for the beginning of the week so it’s just the Little Man and me. Anyone else find it harder to cook for just yourself and the kid than the ‘whole’ family? I don’t know why adding or removing one person from the meal makes such a difference… I’m relying heavily on premade components this week. We have a new Trader Joe’s in the area and they have some great premade items.

Monday - dinner at a very generous friend's house. Thank you Lee Family for opening your doors to Jamie and me. The night off from cooking/cleaning was a BIG help.

Tuesday - pot stickers, jasmine rice, frozen veggies

Wednesday - pasta with TJ's frozen turkey meatballs

Thursday - panko crusted tilapia, couscous, brussels sprouts (my first try at BS, wish me luck!)

Friday- Mexican tortilla and chicken soup with all the fixings

Saturday - tortellini with butternut squash and prosciutto

Sunday - dinner at a friend's house.

Pumpkin Patch 2009

2009-10-18T14:14:00.001-07:00

We took our annual trip to the South 47 Farm pumpkin patch last weekend. Since moving to the Pacific Northwest, going to a farm to get our pumpkins has quickly become a family tradition. When you have so many wonderful farms so nearby, it seems wrong to pick up a pumpkin at the grocery store.

I’m really glad we went last weekend since the weather has been absolutely miserable since then. Looks like we might have gone on the last day of good weather for 2009…

Jamie had a wonderful time wandering around all the pumpkins and even bestowed a kiss on his pumpkin of choice. That’s his new “thing” – giving ‘love’ to his toys and friends. Super cute and endearing!

Unfortunately, we weren’t the only ones who went to the farm that day so there are lots of random people in the background of our pictures. It was nearly impossible to get a picture without miscellaneous people hovering in the back. Also, it was so busy we didn’t get a chance to visit the petting zoo, go on the tractor tour (looooooooooooooong line) or wander the corn maze. Guess there is always next year…

arriving at the patch in style…also helpful to haul our pumpkins

last year, Jamie sat on the pumpkins to see which one he liked, this year he drummed on them.

giving his “puppy-kin” some love

obligatory attempt at a family portrait. Jamie was super distracted by the tractor driving by and we couldn’t get him to look at the camera. No, we don’t match on purpose. Matt and I have the uncanny ability to coordinate our outfits unintentionally - it makes for good pictures.

wandering around, taking it all in. Our trip to the pumpkin patch made me realize just how big Jamie is getting…

I’ll take them all!

buh-bye!

Meal Planning Monday

2009-10-11T14:40:00.001-07:00

The weather definitely screams fall/winter and this week’s menu reflects that change. It’s time go put away the grill and get out the big soup pot…

Sunday ~ butternut squash ravioli, peas, butter sauce. served with heirloom tomato and mozzarella salad.

Monday ~ meatloaf, veggies, mashed potatoes

Tuesday ~ grilled sandwiches, tomato soup

Wednesday ~ dinner out with friends

Thursday ~ brisket beef chili, corn bread

Friday ~ Mommy’s night out, Matt is on his own.

Saturday ~ dinner at a friend’s house

Sunday ~ pasta con burro e pomodoro, pan fried chicken sausages

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-07T20:22:00.001-07:00

I finally have a picture worthy of ‘wordless Wednesday’

Greer Park, Palo Alto