SOO Much Cooking!

This weekend has been out of control in the cooking department. My poor husband got sick Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. So, instead of getting my Thanksgiving cooking started, I made him chicken soup. And then I made the spinach gratin and the turkey and the gravy and the mashed potatoes and the stuffing and the pumpkin crunch. Friday I made Turkey Soup. Saturday I made an enchilada casserole - quick and easy, way better than making individual enchiladas. Sunday I made a turkey salad with turkey, celery, dried cranberries, toasted almonds and apples with a dressing of plain yogurt and apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Then I got all Martha Stewart and roasted some butternut squash and cranberries with fresh grated nutmeg and blended it all up together in the food processor with GOAT CHEESE. mmmm. It's delicious and such a pretty color. What am I using this for, you ask? Ravioli filling. Don't worry, I'm totally cheating and making them using wonton wrappers. As if that weren't enough, I made more turkey stock and then made a turkey pot pie and used cornbread (from a box) as the crust. It turned out pretty tasty.

I'm just trying to use up all this turkey!! The extra enchilada sauce, the enchilada casserole, pot pie, turkey soup, and some of the ravioli are all in the freezer. It's my new thing. I love pulling something out of the freezer and having a delicious home cooked meal, even on the days when I'm tired and the last thing I want to do is go in the kitchen.

Tonight I plan on assembling more ravioli and cooking them in a browned butter sauce with fresh sage and pine nuts.

We are still eating Spinach Gratin and Stuffing and dessert too. Oh my goodness, the holiday season has begun!!

Oh, Lane!

I have two ornaments that spell the words NOEL and JOY. This is how my husband chose to put them on the tree.

Bring on Christmas, Baby!!

Are we supposed to eat these, Dad?


We are teaching Gabriela all about Christmas. She's listening to Christmas tunes, watching us bust out the Christmas tree and helping with decorating. So far, she loves this holiday almost as much as her mama.

Thanksgiving

Every year I fail to capture the deliciousness of our feast on film. This year we had some friends over who were staying in town. We had a potluck-style meal. Here's the one and only photo I thought to catch at the last moment.

So we had some cheese and meats and olives and shrimp cocktail for appetizers.

Lane and I took care of our thanksgiving staples - turkey with an herby onion mixture underneath the skin, sinful mashed potatoes and gravy, spinach gratin, and stuffing, which will forever be known as hippie stuffing thanks to my brother, David. It is my favorite part of thanksgiving. This year I used rosemary and olive oil sourdough bread, spicy italian sausage, toasted pine nuts and pecans, dried apricots, fresh cranberries, apples, onion, celery, fennel and portobello mushrooms with parsley and sage and thyme and rosemary, moistened with some unfiltered apple juice. mmm.

Alex and Matt brought some fabulous champagne, the shrimp cocktail, wine, a turnip mash and brussel sprouts and our friend Patti brought a roasted butternut squash soup and fresh, homemade cranberry sauce.

After gorging ourselves silly, we took a break and then feasted on Pumpkin Crunch, a recipe from Malia which has since become a Thanksgiving essential, and homemade apple pie and homemade vanilla ice cream, courtesy of Alex and Matt as well.

It was a fabulous day with good friends, laughs, and very full tummies.

Lane was very nervous about having enough turkey for leftovers and feeding everyone. So, he bought an 18 lb turkey (We were 5 adults). We only cut half of the turkey and only ate HALF of that! We are going to be eating thanksgiving for a while now, and we can't wait!

Gabriela, the little Mexican

Gabriela tried desperately to get a taste of some mole yesterday. It was hilarious. I was wearing her in her Moby and eating at the same time. Every time I put my bowl closer to me to take a bite, she'd reach her hand out toward my food and then bring her hand to her mouth. I wish Lane had been home so we could have taken a video for you!

Our Cutie Pie

Gabriela has been trying to master this skill for days and days. Every time she gets distracted by her thumb being so close to her mouth and she starts sucking that instead. Today her hard work finally paid off!

Gabriela is going to get tons of use out of this sweet hat this winter. Thanks, Ida!

Back to Worky Work

Here I am with all my Family Tracing colleagues. It's great to see them all again, but boy do I miss my baby girl!

Nov 20 - Four Months Old!

Gabriela is 4 months old. What a big month this has been for her! She had her first Halloween, helped her mom vote for the next president, started actually enjoying tummy time, discovered her feet, and *sigh* started daycare.

Gabriela LOVES to suck her thumb these days. She also drools like nobody's business ALL the time and sticks everything she can grab into her mouth.

She is sitting up very well in her little Bebe Pod - a chair that helps support babies who are learning to sit up themselves. She also holds her head up for a long time while on her tummy, and rolls over every chance she gets.

Gabriela interacts more and more each day - smiling and blowing little raspberries at us. She's also starting to get a little ticklish. She is so much fun!!!

More PIctures of Our Sweetheart

Nana, I love my Teddy Bear!
Strike a Pose, Gabriela!

Hi Grandma!

Gabriela in the Kitchen

We Made it Through the Day...

We survived:)

Yesterday was a big day for everyone. First, Lane started a new job at an architecture firm. He's still working on the Pentagon project, just on a different aspect of it with a different company. He's working with guys he already knows and likes, and instead of having meetings everyday at SIX in the morning, he doesn't even have to be at work until 8:30. And, his office is just a short walk from mine. The best part, though is that we are both going to work around the same time every day! This is huge! For the whole 8.5 years we've been married, one of us has been asleep when the other left for work.

I was especially glad for Lane's new schedule yesterday because it meant he could go with me to drop off Gabriela at daycare. I came with several extra things I probably didn't need to leave with her, including her Ergo Baby Carrier and yes, I gave not one, but two demonstrations on how to use it (in my defense, they were to different people), and as soon as it got close to time for us to leave, I burst into tears. Thank goodness I saw this coming like 50 miles away and made sure I didn't wear any eye make up yesterday. We kissed Gabriela goodbye, Lane got me some tissues, and held my hand and we went off to work together. I did it. It wasn't easy. at all.

I cried a couple more times at work, especially when people asked what it was like leaving Gabriela at daycare. I also called a couple times to check in on her. Each time they said she was happy, she took her naps and bottles without any fuss and she was playing. I had such mixed feelings about the reports I got. Of course I was relieved she was doing so well. But then I felt a little bad that she didn't even miss her own mommy. On the other hand, I would have been really upset if she had been fussy and crying all morning. AND, I hate to say it, but I also wonder if she was really as happy as they said she was. It's not like Gabriela is going to come home and tell me she cried her eyes out all day.

I felt like a little kid waiting for Christmas by the end of the day. I was practically giddy - I couldn't wait to see my baby girl!! As I walked from the metro stop, I felt like my feet just couldn't get me there fast enough. When I arrived, Gabriela was busily playing with another little girl and seemed very happy.

It felt normal to be back at work. Of course, I missed Gabriela like crazy. Sometimes I would kind of zone out and think just about her, or contemplate how many times is considered reasonable to call the daycare to check up on her. I think I can get back into the swing of things.

I am getting the hang of this whole pumping thing. I'm lucky we have a lactation room at my work. It's a special room with big arm chairs and curtains that you can close around you. There's a fridge for breastmilk and a sink and restroom, and even a TV and bulletin board with mommy stuff and pictures of the cutie babies.

I feel like I can get back into the work routine; but it's not going to be easy. I have to do this, though. The plus side is how excited I am to see Gabriela and how much I appreciate our sweet time together. She's going to make new friends and learn some Spanish at daycare, so that's good too.

I'm just glad today is Veteran's Day and we both get to stay home. It makes for an easier transition.

I think (and hope) it will get easier over time.

Thanks everyone for your encouragement!!

Tomorrow's a big day

Going to work tomorrow. **sigh** I plan to start out with a clean apartment (half way there), all the laundry done (some folding left), and a freezer full of dinners I made (check!). Still have to make dinner for tonight and finish gathering supplies for Gabriela's first day at daycare. Oh, man. Last night I finally faced it and burst into tears. It's going to be a hard day for everyone. Thank goodness Lane is working different hours and we can go to daycare together in the morning. I am getting teary eyed just thinking about it. Wish me luck being away from my baby all day, actually getting some work done, and mastering this whole pumping madness.

Gabriela's Latest Skill

To entertain Gabriela we often do the "motorboat" sound with our lips. Recently, she started trying to imitate it. She does a pretty good job, but hasn't quite learned how to contain all that saliva! Enjoy . . .

Gabriela on the Go!

Okay, not *quite* on the go, but she is learning. Here is some video of her scooching around.


As you can see, this is very hard work for Gabriela, and she sometimes gets a little frustrated. Poor Baby Girl! We tell her it's okay and know she can do it!

It's Voting Day!

Today, Lane and I headed down to the polls in our pajamas. Thank goodness our polling place is inside our apartment building. Unfortunately, the line was so long it went out the door.

We decided to return later in the afternoon, expecting to spend hours waiting in line. Thank goodness, there was NO line at all. We did our duty and are heading to an election party with some friends this evening.

Gabriela is so proud of her "future voter" status.

Gabriela was really excited about her first presidential election, so excited that she had to stay up until she confirmed that her candidate had indeed been elected...and that was pretty late on the east coast! Yay Obama!

Our Little Love Bug

Gabriela had a long day on Halloween. First she dressed up, hopped on the metro and went to the Pentagon to visit Daddy and meet all his co-workers.

Next, we got back on the metro and went to the Red Cross to crash Mommy's work Halloween party. I think it was too much laughing and cheering for her to handle after having already toured the Pentagon. She got a little fussy - probably too much stimulation and not enough nap time as she's used too. But she still got in some good visiting.

Gabriela's first Halloween was, as Borat would say, "Great Success!!!"