:-( LOL

via imgur

Gold Flatware

For the first several years of our lives my sister and I were the only grandchildren.  This was a situation that came with many perks....heaps and heaps of presents for Christmas; multiple easter baskets with giant chocolate rabbits; Saturday nights spent with my Grandma Brown at the bingo hall, being tucked into my own cozy twin bed at her house; and countless hours of enthrallment as my Grandma Reifsteck taught us about makeup and style and being a lady at her special dressing table; but one of the biggest perks was being included at the grown-up table for holiday dinners (a privilege which I fear I will never regain as the cousins have become numerous, and we all seem to be having our own children...making the idea of all being at one table very improbable!)  My Grandmother Reifsteck had a special set of gold flatware, she only had a few place settings, but my sister and I coveted them.  We would beg her to show them to us when we would come over and she would open the special drawer they were stored in, and take out the special felt bag they were wrapped in and unfurl it to reveal the sparkling fairy beauty of those special utensils.  We were never allowed to touch them, but then....then at holiday dinners my sister and I would arrive and find our places amongst the Aunts and Uncles because the gold flatware was just at ours, and joy of joys, not only did we get to touch them, but we got to eat with them!

This Almaco Gold Flatware is a beautiful modern take on the traditional set I loved.

Healthy Cookies

Bowie was watching over my shoulder while I was writing that last post and wanted me to also report on the cookies we made today. He also wants me to tell Aunt Sarah that we are saving some cookies for her, and he wants to make sure that she reads about our dinner. So I hope you read this Aunt Sarah, or I can just tell you about it when I see you later.  Anyhoo....these cookies are [cane] sugar free (though I do add honey, and of course the nana) and gluten free as long as you use gluten free oats.  They are based on this recipe from 101 cookbooks. We have made them several times, with varying degrees of success. I always add more salt then she calls for and I just put the cinnamon in willy-nilly.  I like the flavor the honey gives them, though next time we make them I am going to try it without again. The recipe also calls for shredded coconut, but we were out. I did add some ginger and I have to say this is the absolute best these cookies have ever come out for us, B agrees!

PS I use treats as a bribe in BB's lunch.  I put veggies on one side of a lunchbots tin and these on the other side.  If B doesn't eat the veggies as well as the cookies he doesn't get the "treat" the next day.  Since all of the treats I pack are good for him I never really worry about him eating them....I'm just trying to get him to eat variety, even when he is not with me.  90% of the time this trick works for him.

PPS One day B asked me to send extra treats with him to share with his friends. It was the first and least successful batch of these cookies (good, but bland, and the bananas weren't quite ripe enough) but I sent along extra anyway.  B shared one with everyone at his table.  That evening I asked him if his friends liked the cookies....he said "not really" so I asked him if they ate them, and he told me that mostly they threw them into the trash.  I don't think they would toss this batch, but they certainly are not the sugar laden treats I think a lot of kiddos are used too (I believe his lunch partner usually gets candy for dessert).  I guess I am that mom (and proud of it!).

PPPS As long as I am reporting on our food this weekend, we also made this dip courtesy of another fave Pinterest discovery, Raising Foodies. We ate it with blue corn chips, but B said the lemon made it a little too spicy.

"This is better than jam on toast!"

Sesame Noodles with Scallions & Roasted Broccoli

That's what B said about tonight's dinner.  Sorry for the bad phone pic with a few bites already gone, but I had to do something to preserve the memory of this historic dinner.  It came about as a series of happy accidents and odd substitutions. Friday I made Chicken Satay or Chicken on a Stick as B likes to call it.  I used this recipe because it seemed simple.  I made some liberal changes.  I'm not so sure it can even be called "satay" since I really just grilled the chicken without marinating it (I wanted to make some avocado chicken salad for myself).  I also discovered that I didn't have any soy sauce, so I substituted Worcester sauce (dark brown, salty, anyone?) but stayed true to the other spices.  I haven't been keeping any sugar in the house, so I used honey, and they say not to use natural peanut butter (?) but I ignored that and it seemed to work just fine.  However, this recipe made a LOT of sauce!

B liked the chicken all right (and I liked the salad okay, not great, no crunch, next time I am trying Martha's version) but when I tried to pawn off the same meal on him the next day for lunch he said the sauce was way too sweet (which it really was after sitting in the fridge overnight) but I had all this sauce to get rid of!  I froze half of it and then picked up some soba noodles today and made another batch of the marinade (still with the Worcester), and added it to the left-over peanut sauce with a little water to thin it out.  I also tossed some broccoli that was starting to look a little wilt-y in the marinade and then roasted it while I cooked the noodles.  I chopped up some green onions, which B likes ever since the kids from his old school discovered them growing wild in the park.  The kids all munch on them like candy....not sure what is in the soil of that park, but it really can't be worse than what's in the pipes at the house......I digress, back to the meal.  B loved it, he said "Yum!" a few times, he asked for seconds (I don't remember when the last time that happened!), he ate all of the broccoli, and the ultimate compliment, I already mentioned.  What's more I loved it!  I think this is the first time in B's lifetime (or at least since he quit nursing) that we both enjoyed a meal equally.

We are definitely making this again....in fact I still have some sauce left over so another night this week.  I am still planning on the creamy avocado pasta for tomorrow though.

New Blog Crush (es)

Creamy Avocado Pasta by Tina Jeffers

Have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest?  I am sure there are copyright issues, and I hope I am not putting up anyone's pictures who doesn't want them used this way (please tell me if I have! and what I can do to fix it) but all of that aside.......this site inspires me.  B and I have been cooking all weekend (as I type this I am dehydrating sweet potato chips) I am cooking because there are only like a gazillion things I want to eat on pinterest or on blogs I discover through pins, and 99% of them are really pretty healthy.  I have a few new total blog crushes, the above picture is from Tina Jeffers at Scaling Back and I seriously want to make just about everyone of her recipes.  I pinned the link for this creamy avocado pasta and within hours it had been repinned over 70 times, and it is still getting repinned.  I mean CREAMY AVOCADO PASTA!  We are having it for dinner tomorrow (with quinoa pasta, my new favorite thing, since B and I are trying to go gluten free)  Can't wait to see if B goes for it.

Tina also posts at Blissful Blog, which is another new discovery for me. I love, Love, LOVE Mrs. French's style picks (her I heart Monday posts are the best)  I also found Fig & Sage, which makes me want to try out about a gazillion products, and I love that they all look safe.  (I am a bit of a product junkie, though lately I have toned it down a lot.....broke and trying to only use natural products)  I want to try everything from Vapour, but especially their skin perfector (only question does it have any SPF?

Anyhoo...these are all the things wasting time on Pinterest has led me to this weekend.....I'll keep you updated on that pasta!

Goals for my 38th Year

I was looking for a picture of me to post, this one at 19 sitting on my friend's bed in the dorms at Barnard, but I can't find it right now.  That picture is me before my life began really, before I found what being an adult really was, but  I had an idea of what my life would be, and an idea of how to get there back then....I have to say about 75% of that plan went awry, but the two most important things happened.  I am a designer and I am a mother.
I turned 38 a few weeks ago, and while there are a few things I am happy with (my delicious son!) I am not so happy with my life.  I spend a lot of time stressed out (especially about money and my relationships) and feeling insecure. I would like to stop doing that.  The big difference between me at 19 and me now is a plan.  Even if some of my plans failed I was moving forward.  Lately I feel so paralyzed by fear of my past mistakes that I can't step forward.....There are a few goals I have for this year and I thought if I wrote them down it might help me get there.  I want to write down things like "lose 20 lbs" or "make more money" but those don't seem very concrete, so I'll start with a few small things that will get me going. Here goes:

Enroll B in a school he likes.
File for sole proprietorship & get my resale #
Post at least one project on line per month
Jump rope at least once/week.
Do Tracy at least once/week.
Drink only 2 cups of coffee/day.
Stop eating after 8PM.
Wear sunscreen everyday.
Have B pick up his toys every night before bed.
Do the dishes before bed every night.
Listen to NPR every weekday morning.
Send before and after shots of Caribou to Design Sponge.

I might give some updates on this as I go along, but here is what I am aiming for. 

B-Boy lost his first baby tooth!

 

Unfortunately he seems to have lost it while eating peanut butter on a rice cake and I think it is now in his belly.  B seems unfazed by that, but was a little upset he wouldn't have a tooth for the tooth fairy.  I told him the tooth fairy would accept notes of explanation.  We have to write one ;-)

Pesto Madness

At the end of every week I open my fridge to find unconsumed leafy greens.  I have been turning it all into pesto, or at least some version thereof.  Last week it was almonds and cilantro, the week before I had tons of parsley left, and this week I had cashews and arugula.  Throw it in with some garlic and olive oil and it makes everything good for the week:  eggs, love 'em (especially how I had them this morning over a baked sweet potato left over from last night); veggie burger, devoured; quinoa & roasted veggies, went back for seconds.  Seriously, it all tastes better with pesto!

(Of course B hates it.  Oh well, you can't make everyone happy)

rubber toy storage bin

That is what I just googled, this is where I got.

Vintage Eames Rocker

Like this rocker, wondering if it is not overdone, or if the vintage fabric makes it a more original idea?  Or does the discoloration on the fabric just make it look dirty? Hmmmm

What I did today:

Do you think mid-February is to early to take down our Christmas tree?  I know this is so sad, but I just stopped noticing it was there.  I think this is earlier than I got it down last year.

B was sick all day.  I don't think he got out of his bed except to go to the bathroom, poor guy.  He seems to be feeling better, but I just read him books and tucked him in.  I had intended to do laundry, go to the grocery, clean house, but instead I sat around in bed with B and played on Pinterest. I did make these cookies.  Delicious, not too sweet.  They were inspired both by my sweet tooth and lack of butter (or just about any other groceries in the house).  This is one of the reasons I love the internet, anything you want, any question, any recipe, any ingredient, any product.....a well-worded google search and you have your answer!  This method of research suits my lazy, home-body ass perfectly.  Also, due to our lack of groceries, I made a very bland veggie soup with everything that was about to go bad, including some bib lettuce (probably part of why it was bland).  I'm going to freeze the rest to use for stock, but I served it over some quinoa, with a little bit of grated Romano and the last of some parsley pesto I made last week and it wasn't half bad.  On the other hand I am truly out of food, if we were for some reason trapped in our house for any long period of time, we would starve after the vegetable stock runs out.

I hope my wee son is all better tomorrow, but it was a rather nice day of cuddling with him in bed :-)

Poor B-Boy :(

B had a great time this weekend at his first sleep-over (without Mommy) play-date at BFF's place.  Unfortunately he is a little sick today so we are just hanging out with the bed folded out in our little living room watching netflix.  I'm still obsessing on pinterest.

Real or Replica & Pinterest

Pinterest has renewed my love of surfing the net, it is a way to organize stuff that I GET, which seems to have also renewed my desire to blog.  Just another quick note about est, the real or replica is a regular feature.  I'm on the second issue, and I am not certain that I absolutely love the magazine (the interiors are a little stiff for my taste) but if it has features like this every month I will eagerly await each issue!

Est Mag

I used to be a design mag addict (Domino anyone?) and I still am, but I don't have to spend an arm and a leg on all of the European Mags I used to get (and the only ones worth looking at anymore!)  I can spend that money on local, organic fare for my wee son (gees that stuff is expensive some days) and get my fix for free online.  A new discovery for me is Est Magazine.  I liked this feature on the Eames classic shell (the DAW chair, who knew?).  I spotted the real one right away, but you know I wasn't quite aware exactly why it was real.  This was brief, but super informative; also, loved their styling of the Eames chair.  Check it all out here.

Symmetry in an unsymmetrical world

I am always on the look out for clever ways to deal with odd doors and windows since almost all of my work is in New York City, and every space is small and quirky. Enter this room from Susanna Salk’s summer cottage (via Rue). While not exactly my style, the beautiful mustard curtains behind the sofa and low slipper chair dividing the entry from the living area and then echoed on the other side of the room, give this room a cozy symmetry and sense of depth, despite the architectural detail.

Daily Candy

Photo by Robin Blair Riley

Daily Candy Conference Room.

I am trying to start putting up some of my own work here.

Designed in 2004.  All of the furniture in this shot was painted/altered by me (except the chairs)  I had my carpenter build the structure above the conference table to suspend a series of IKEA lights from, and lower the feel of the ceiling to make a small room with a tall ceiling feel a little more intimate.

My love/hate relationship with the experts

I recently have changed my son's diet, we are now trying to go sugar and gluten free, totally.....We are struggling with some things at school, and I am looking at a lot of different perspectives to figure out how to best help my boy.  Here's the thing though....there are so many things, opinions, expert opinions, trends.  Sometimes, I am exhausted.  Is it just me, do I lack trust in experts, am I so pretentious as to believe that I know better than everyone?  I do sometimes, do I really think I am that smart?  No I don't, but when I have different experts telling me different things, and well-meaning educators trying to help, but ignoring the substance of what I am saying, I am left standing on a precipice trying to figure out where to go and what is best for this tiny person I am responsible for.  I know this wee one better than anyone, which doesn't prevent others from having insight, but when they lack insight and I am left alone to find the answer I feel mired in information.  Is gluten free just a buzz word?  will it really help my son, or am I just torturing him?  I've seen the effects sugar has on him, they are immediate and can be disastrous, but how do I fight that in a world that shoves it in my child's face?  He has been stealing candy from a candy bowl that the teacher keeps as a reward.....of course my sweet boy tells me all about it, but I have to tell him that stealing the candy is bad....when will that lead to him no longer telling me what he does?  I want to tell him positive things.  I want to help him with the things that matter, right now that is learning to control his body, but instead I am stuck teaching him why candy is bad, which I don't even think it has to be bad, when given in moderation and not filled with artificial junk and coloring, and not at school as a reward.  This is a pointless, rambling paragraph, but it goes along with my head and my son right now.  I can't fight every battle for him, but right now I am sending him somewhere every day that is a battle for him.  He is being teased, and I am dismissed when I say that is happening.  He is left alone in the hall, and even though I know this is bad, beyond any reason, his teachers are insisting that it is the only solution and a good solution.  He doesn't trust the grown-ups there to listen to him, because they don't.  They don't listen to me, why would I believe them when they tell me they listen to my boy?  My son has some heavy stuff on his plate right now.  I just want him to be happy, to learn to love learning, to make friends.

Caribou Design in the Press

eclectic other design

Jen from The Haystack Needle posted about the vintage soda pop crate wall display I designed for Caribou over at Houzz, beautiful photos! Thanks for the design shout out.

Small Furniture Crush

Always on the hunt for great, small space solutions and I love this bunk from AVA Room!  At 63.5" long and only 53.5" high it would work really well in a low ceilinged room.  I also like that the ladder is contained within the frame of the bed so that it doesn't take any extra footprint. Of course I don't think it is available in the states, le sigh.

Family

People think that B looks like me...and then they see him with his dad and they realize it is just the blue eyes.  I think that B is the best of both of us. 
What is a family anyway?  Sometimes I think that the only 2 choices are to be a couple, or to be a bitter ex-couple with your child in the middle.  I refuse to believe that these are my only choices, they are certainly not the choices made by my parents and step-parents for my sister, brothers and I.  I believe that A and I made a commitment to each other and our son the day we had him, and that commitment has nothing to do with our status as a couple.  We are a family.  Our future may be our own road, but it will always end in us being a loving family.

What I am going to do about food at my son's school

I realize that this has been my personal blog, and that, beyond my mom and a few friends, I really have no readers, which is fine, it is my life.  However, I am overwhelmed at the issue of what my son eats at school.  He is less than 2 weeks in and his pooping has already changed from eating processed food, he is pooping less regularly and instead of being a good consistency it is either hard and painful for him or runny and gross.  It never really smelled disgusting before and now it does.  I have noticed the difference in his poop and children who eat processed food before, this does not seem like a good direction.  (I'm sure my few readers wanted to discuss poop, at least B would think it was hilarious) On top of that I already see him struggling with impulse control, especially with hitting other kids, either for attention or because he doesn't know what to do with his emotions.   This is always a struggle for him, but I have noticed many times the correlation between him consuming sugar (juice counts!) and these issues.  He has enough trouble with it, I don't want to set him up for failure by giving him juice and a "bagel" pocket with jelly first thing in the am.  This is not a good snack for him or any other child and I find it appalling that I didn't even know he was getting it.  This snack was not listed in the school's menu, nor was the fact that they give children a morning snack mentioned...in fact when I asked about this snack, which my son had described to me very accurately, and I described as a bagel pocket filled with jelly (exactly what it was) at the first PTA meeting, school officials told me he must be talking about bagel pizzas (I won't even start on the problems I have with that!)

However, all of that being said, I know that this school has the best interest of the children at heart and they do many things that I respect, and more that I am sure I will learn about as the year progresses.  I know that school lunch (and breakfast, and snacks) are truly needed by some students, and may be the only meals those children eat in any given day.  I just found this out last week, but my son's school recieves title 1 funding, which means lunch (and breakfast and snacks) are given to all students based on the community's income level.  On a practical level this means I can pack all the food I want for my son, but I can not control wether he chooses chocolate milk or the schools pbj for lunch over what I packed.  I have asked him to choose regular milk, and have explained to him why and so far he seems willing to do that, but I know that won't always be the case.  It seems unfair that I can help my son make these choices, but some children won't even know what choices they are making.  I even brought up some of these concerns with my sons pediatrician at his 5 year checkup and she was under the impression that food at schools was getting better.  It is not.  Unless we are all educated as parents, as educators, as citizens about these issues nothing will change.

I wanted to wait to begin speaking out at the school for issues I see as important until I understood the structure and routine of the school, but this is too pressing a matter to wait.  What we feed our children is just as important as any book they read.  If we are filling their bodies with things that will make it harder for them to concentrate, give them terrible sugar crashes, put them at risk for awful diseases, how are we helping them learn?  I will be speaking out at the very first public opportunity I get.  In addition I foresee all sorts of problems with convincing administration to look at these issues when they have so much else on their plates, and little money to address such concerns.  I will be using this blog to record research and links as I start to compile information about these issues.  I am also going to start a non-profit organization, specifically aimed at supplementing the cost of fresh, real food and trained staff to plan and prepare meals in public schools.  I know that this will not be easy, but from here on out this will be my good work, for my son, for all children, for the future.

This ends in tears

Went to the NY Ren Faire this weekend with BFF & family, + old friends.  Fun was had by all, but several sword battles (at the end of a long week of new schools for both boys) led to a few tears, but they certainly enjoyed it while they enjoyed it.
Have I mentioned how much I love these boys?

On another note, I switched B to a different kindergarten class in the same school, this is a french immersion program that I only recently found out existed and they somehow had a space in the class, so B is in.  I am excited about this, but not so much B and he had a very hard time at drop off!  and a bit of a hard day in general.  BUT while this was rough it is par for the course, HOWEVER I was there to see the kids get a morning snack that I didn't even know they get, some sort of processed bagel pocket filled with jelly and juice.  I found out from one of B's friends that B was hitting him all day.  They are pumping my kid full of sugar at the beginning of the day and of course he is going to have an impossible time.  This sucks.  I don't know what to do.

Pirates on the Hudson

B and I took the ferry back from IKEA after an emergency trip on Sunday, lo and behold, there was a pirate ship!  I'm sure that this is some vessel with a specific name and purpose, but B and I watched the sunset over Manhattan and watched for boarders.  It was a nice day.

B goes to Kindergarten

The first day was chaotic, the school seemed unprepared and they offered us very little info and prep as parents, so that we would know what to do, but B has already made a friend and the second day, when I knew what to expect, everything went much more smoothly.  We are definitely not in Kansas, or at least a tiny montessouri school in Williamsburg, anymore.

This will be an adventure for both of us, I'm sure one with plenty of trials and tribulations, but hopefully an opportunity for my son to grow (me to) for us to be part of a community, and to learn together.  The first PTA meeting is next week and I am def going to that!  There is actually one at 9am and one at 6pm....I might go to both, just to get the lay of the land.

Great adventure ho!  First stop work with Bowie on hand-raising, so he won't get in trouble.

Love you my big boy!

Happy 5th Birthday my Beautiful Boy!

Today you turned 5.  The last year has been a crazy one for us my little one, your mama went back to work in earnest and I didn't get to spend as much time with you this year.  I feel every missed minute, but you are turning into an independant little soul (though you still want me to put on your clothes for you, and sit with you while you fall asleep, even if you sleep in your own bed)  There is no question about your talking or your charm, you talk to anyone who will listen and charm them as soon as they stop.  You like to use big words like cumbersome and despicable.  You make me laugh, even if most of your jokes are about poop.  You like to play video games with your daddy and do puzzles with me.  You are so good at memory, though I don't think you get the competitive nature of the game since you always tell me where my matches are.  We got to spend a lot of time with your grandparents this summer, and boy do you love your grandma and grandpa.  Your mama is a nervous nellie and sometimes you are to, but don't ever be afraid to do new things or jump into some amazing opportunity, because you think you might fail.  There is always failure, but you can't reach greatness without a few failures along the way.  You are as beautiful as ever, smarter then I could imagine, and kinder then I could wish for (even if you sometimes knock your friends to the ground)  You think of the ones littler than yourself, and do nice things for your friends.  You kiss your mama unasked and tell me you love me.  Baby boy you are my center, you bring me back to life when I fall into the depths, you teach me to be a better person and a better mama every day.  I can not imagine a life where you weren't born.  The last five years have been the best I have ever had.  Thank you.  I can't wait to see what the next year holds as you start kindergarten, a new chapter for both of us.  I love you, my Bowie.

Thoughts of Margaret

My friend's mother died last week, she was 56. I have known his family since I was 15, and I sat with them for two days while they watched her slip away from this life, on the third day she took a breath and not the next.  Have you ever had something happen that is so sad that you think you will never stop reeling....but it is not your sadness and the person you ache for is not yourself, but you feel it so strongly that it threatens to eclipse your own life for a moment?  I never knew Margaret closely, but I loved her because I loved her son.  In fact it would be impossible to care about Jason and not his mother, so much were they a part of one another's lives.  She was strong, she fought breast cancer to the end, a three year battle and when I saw her in July she was talking about going back to work in a few weeks after she got past some complications, even 2 weeks ago she was fighting to stay here. As I sat alone in a chair outside her room moments after her death, I watched the family she has held together all these years go in to say goodbye to her.  I can not help but cry for her sister, who spoke to her every Sunday and her mother, who never expected to bury her child, and her 2 granddaughters who will barely remember her, and I mourn for her sons, who had a mother who loved them above all else.

20 years ago I moved to NY, I dreamed of being famous, of success, of riches and earthly delights, but all my grandiose schemes have gone and I have a quiet life with my own son, a sweet, charming boy whom I love above all else.  If I could be like anyone, in this moment, I would choose to be like Margaret, to raise my son to be a good man, to send him out into the world and spread a little of me to those he meets.  Margaret can not disappear from this life, her two sons will always carry her within themselves and in this way anyone who knows them will know her and admire her.

Daily Lunchbox

I am re-committing to my blog, and what better way to start than with B's lunch!  Today the lunch is packed in the fabulous and light weight stainless steel container from Lunchbots, courtesy of the baby and kids store I designed, Caribou Baby.  There are a gazillion great products, I am slowly making my way through product testing! Anyhoo, today's lunch contains the following:
organic graham crackers
strawberries
a pear
and a sweet corn, arugula, & cheese quesadilla on a spinach tortilla (left over from dinner)

I am also re-committing to my son's lunches.  I must admit that the last several months lunch has been an OMG affair, with many a stop at one of our fave coffee shops (RIP Boneshakers) on the way to school.  I miss thinking about his lunch, and I am afraid my wee man has not been getting enough fruits and veggies.  He is a picky eater at the best of times, and without patience and creativity on my part I'm afraid it is nothing but apples and peas for this little boy (not that there is anything wrong with apples and peas, but come on! Let's get some leafy greens in there!

What we have been doing....

I have been working...A LOT.....and missing my BBoy like mad.  Here we are this fall on the IKEA ferry....which is appropriate since I have been taking B there like once a week!  Luckily he loves it, but let's face it, he is my son, and what is not to love about a place that sells good 'ol swedish style and has a giant ball pit?

Anyhoo, if you want to see the store I designed check out their blog or look at all of the grand opening madness on Treehugger.

My New Baby

As per usual I have disappeared for a while...been busy (and managed to smash my camera) but this is what I have been busy with....this picture up above. Fellow Brooklyn Mom (and friend) is opening a store and classroom space for babies and parents and I am designing it. It's taking up most of my time right now.  See some more pictures of the interior, and read more about it at the Caribou Baby blog.

Uncle M

When B was little my friend M would take us out to eat,  just B and M and I.  The hostess would invariably look in confusion at my blonde, blue-eyed boy and then at my dining companion and ask M if he would like a highchair for his son?  always with the question mark.  I got a good laugh out of it.  On the day these photos were taken my parents were visiting and we were around the corner from M's house so I called him up and asked him if he wanted to grab lunch with us.  He showed up in a matching outfit to little B.  Well, I do aspire for B to get his Uncle M's style sense, so I guess we we are on the right track.

Baby Boy School of Karate

More video goodness from my sister's library.  This is from our vacation on the North Fork over the summer. (PS we go from sweet kisses to karate chops and throwing sand....this is what boys grow into.  I can only hope that I teach my boy that both his exuberance and his kisses are important.)

BB and BFF...LIVE!

Working from my sister's house today, and got distracted by her photo library.  Sheesh, she has done a way better job of recording my son's life than I have (I think I've been too busy trying to keep him alive!) Found these videos and couldn't resist posting. 
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I LOVE these boys!

Reincarnation.

RB_Makers_Santigo_7
Originally uploaded by Adam Aleksander Presents

I used to be a bartender, (and a waitress, and a bar manager, and a busser, and even a dishwasher) I have worked in restaurants most of my life....in fact I loved it in a lot of ways. It is a mini-economy of beautiful simplicity, it is social, you meet incredible people, and you don't have to take your work home with you (though for years my anxiety dreams were always about a dining room full of people who's orders I couldn't take fast enough!) I also hated it, there is not a lot of respect from your managers, no matter how experienced you are, it is hard on your body, the lifestyle can consume you....too many drugs....too much drinking....(hey mom! just to clarify, I never did any drugs, they are just all over the scene, but def drank enough for 3 lifetimes)

I miss it though, sometimes. I was good at it, especially once I began to move into management. It kept me on my toes, required quick thinking, excellent people skills, it was fast-paced, with something new everyday, plus I got to do the bookkeeping and inventory, which, though I know it is weird, I love!

I have this amazing friend of 17 years, he is a lawyer, a home chef extraordinaire, one of the best friend's you could ever hope for, plus handsome and smart and kind...oh and he can knit! Well he and his equally amazing girlfriend recently started a cocktail club called EVOE! to shine a light on the history and deliciousness of the cocktail! They have been invited to create the cocktail menus for some amazing events, and every now and again I come out of retirement to work with them.

Here I am tending bar at the Red Bull/Makers Faire event (put on by Adam Aleksander Presents) and at the Michelin NY 2010 release party (from their facebook page). Thank you M and N for a few great evenings of fun and the reincarnation of previous self!

Been Gone...

I'll post some new stuff soon...have a camera full of abandoned shoes, houses i'm obsessed with, B's birthday and school and lunches and BFF.....business has conspired with technical difficulty and blog has been temporarily abandoned....will come back.

Dear Aunt S......

Besides being one of the smartest and most stylish people I know, you are wise and kind, empathetic and entertaining, loving and lovable.  You are amazing, one of those people that everyone wants to know and talk to.  I can't believe how much I lucked out being your sister.  You are my most dear friend, my most dependable ally, and the best Aunt I could hope for to my little B.

Just thought I would take a minute tonight and tell you how much I  love you and appreciate all that you do for us and are to us, to me.

Love you sister.

Happy Fourth Birthday Baby Boy!

You have filled my life with such joy. I remember the day you were born...I knew you would come that day and I waited, so eager to meet you.  You were late, past your due date, but as with most things, once you decided to come out you were quick about it.  Dr. David delivered you to me (a million thank yous Dr. David) and he set you in my arms and you were beautiful, sort of pink and yellow all at the same time, with such tiny perfect limbs and fingers.  I couldn't bear to be away from you after you were born, I took you with me everywhere, cuddled up next to me in your carrier.  As you got bigger we would chat.  You always liked people and would smile and coo at everyone we met, they always smiled back at you.  You were such a beautiful, round ball of a delight as a baby.  Babies grow into toddlers, and eventually you did too.  You took a long time getting around to walking too, but one day you just walked, but you still liked me to carry you.  You would walk everywhere in the park though, and still you liked to talk to people.  Eventually you started to speak in sentences, with your little lisp.  You would say "otay" whenever I asked you to do something....bigger still you would kiss me and tell me that you loved me.  I love you to my boy.  You are good at puzzles, and you like to play games.  You love superheros, and I love your theories.  Maybe superheros did live with the dinasours....they are all extinct now.  You are in school now, and I miss you while you are gone, even though I rush about trying to work.  My favorite time of day is 3 o'clock, when I pick you up and you run to me.  You were so tired tonight..it was a long day of birthday...you fell asleep before we got to your third book.  I finished Little Bear all by myself.  I love you my sweet four year old!  Such a big boy you are, and so handsome and clever.  Sweet too, we keep talking about plans for your birthday party next week, but you just keep telling me about all the gifts you want to get for your friends.  I can't wait to see what you grow up to be, but I hope you take a long time getting there, because I love every day I spend with you now.

You are the most dear and best thing that has ever happened to me.  Happy Birthday my sweet sweet boy.

I love my son

Just sayin'.  He is the sweetest, most beautiful, delicious boy thing that has ever existed.  I didn't get to spend much time with him today and he is asleep now.  Asleep in his own bed...lately he has been wanting to sleep there.  I worked for months to get him to sleep there and give us some room back in our bed, but now I miss his warm little body, I miss hearing his breath.  I still have to get up in the night to make sure he is breathing....I used to check like a 100 times per night, but now just a couple.


I love my son. So inadequate for this feeling.

Daily Lunch Box

This is actually a lunch from last week, before my camera died and I couldn't find the charger.

Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, on pumpernickel bread, with a drizzle of olive oil
Raisins
Snap Pea crisps
Tomatoes (they are in season, and all of their deliciousness is to be found at the Farmer's Market! I am thinking of some gazpacho I want to make!)
Edamame

This lunch was a bit of an experiment...and one that didn't really go well.  B has decided that he does not like tomatoes!  Alas! Alack!  Who is this son of mine?  Surely this is only a phase and he will come to his senses soon!  He also didn't eat the edamame or the cheese!  The edamame I can understand, but why my son refuses delicious Mozzarella cheese I could not tell you, especially since he eats every other kind of cheese imaginable!  He did eat the bread though.

Pea & Basil Soup and Thunderstorms

I had the most delicious (and healthy) dinner tonight.  Pea & Basil Soup over some quinoa, with a swirl of basil pesto....mmmmmm...I want more just thinking of it.  It was actually very simple to make...some onion and garlic in olive oil for about a minute, added the peas (I used frozen ones that I wanted to get rid of, but would be even better if they were fresh...) cooked for a few minutes, until the peas were bright green, added about 2 cups of water and some salt and pepper then covered and let it simmer for about 5 or 6 minutes.  Blended in a handful of fresh basil with the immersion blender, poured it over the quinoa and added a spoonful of some delicious pesto I made this weekend (also very easy to do, something I did not realize until very recently) 

I would have taken a picture of it, but the charger for my camera has been missing for about a week now, instead here is another picture from our vacation.  My Mom and Baby Boy were watching a thunderstorm out the window of her house.  There was actually a tornado warning in the city this week!, but I didn't even realize it until the next day. Obviously we are all okay! In Kentucky, where I grew up, tornados are common, and every spring you have to watch the weather carefully.  I used to love the storms, the sky would go from bright to dark in minutes and then the rain would start coming down in sheets.  Our whole family would sit on the front porch, watching the rain, ready with blankets and food to dash down to the basement should the storm get dangerous... it was nice in the basement too, we would play card games and wait for the storm to blow over.  I'm glad B got to watch a storm with his Grandma.

PS  Happy Birthday Grampa!  I was going to post a picture of you and B from our visit, but you seemed to avoid my camera all week.  Love you though!

I love these boys!

Was going to post about our vacations, but after a morning of laundry, a full day of fun with BFF, and dinner with Aunt S, I'm too tired.  So here are some pics of the boys hanging out.  Really what is there not to love?  and they love each other so much....nothing sweeter!