Things that make me happy right now...

*Whenever I see Josh with the Snuggie on.....CRACKS.ME.UP!!

I love this guy!!

(I got it to wear as my Halloween costume, but chickened out...)

Here he is demonstrating how easy it is to talk on the

phone and stay warm and cozy at the same time!

*Natalie's smiles!!! She smiles A LOT. Especially at

daddy when he comes home, whoever gets her out of her crib,

Grandma and Papa when she sees them on skype, and

anyone who will look at her when we're out and about...

*And seeing these two together!! I love it! =-)

Also on the list:

*my slippers (even though Josh says they look like grandma slippers)

*Trader Joe's chocolate (always on the list)

*watching Natalie copy something we do (so cute!)

*looking forward to seeing everyone at Thanksgiving =-)

Thursday's Recipe Rodeo

I found this recipe through Yahoo recipes and it is a favorite in our house!! For more wonderful recipes visit my friend Nini's blog every Thursday. This week's Tortilla Soup is particularly delicious!!

Marinated Tomatoes with Linguine

1 lb linguine (or other long pasta)

6-8 small tomatoes

1 clove garlic (chopped or crushed)

1 T chopped basil

6 oz grated fresh mozzarella

olive oil to cover

salt and pepper

Bring a small pot of water to boil and submerge tomatoes for 30 seconds, then remove. Slit the skins with a knife; they should slip off easily. Halve the tomatoes and remove the pulp and the seeds. Chop the tomato flesh.

In a large serving bowl add the tomatoes, basil, garlic, and olive oil, salt, pepper to taste. Allow to marinate for at least 30 min, longer if possible.

Cook the pasta until al dente in salty water. Drain and add to the tomato mixture along with the grated mozzarella. Toss well and serve immediately. Serves 4.

Blog help please!

I just realized that the last post has an error and I can't figure out how to go back and fix it. Any help would be appreciated!

Oh, and the chicken recipe that I posted last time needs to be changed...the first ingredient should be GREEN ONIONS, not green beans. Must have had green beans on the brain. =-)

Thursday's Recipe Rodeo

My friend Nini posts a new recipe every Thurday and has encouraged others to join in - so here we go! Make sure to check out Nini's blog for some amazing ideas (and pictures of her adorable children!!) and think about joining in the recipe sharing! Let me know what recipe's you've been enjoying.

I got the following recipe from a Weight Watchers Cookbook and changed it just a bit. I love it served with a bit of rice and some garlic sauted green beans. Yum!!

Grilled Szechuan Chicken

1/2 cup chopped green beans

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce (reduced sodium)

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon garlic

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon fresh ginger

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

4 (6 oz each) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Combine first 8 ingredients into a large ziplock bag. Add chicken; seal. Marinate in fridge 8 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.

Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade.

Grill approx. 5 min on each side or until done.

Serves 4

Enjoy!

Job Description

I was just joking with Josh about something that was in my "job description" and he told me that should be my next blog post. So here you go.....

Job Description: Mother and Wife

Must know how to:

*cook (at least better than your husband)...and not just cook, but plan out meals and grocery shop as well!!

*clean

*separate, wash and fold laundry (preferably before husband casually asks "are there any clean clothes?"

*multitask (this is a must if you want to get ANYTHING done!)

*sucessfully pull off the carseat to crib transfer (I finally pulled this one off today!)

*differentiate between "I desperately need your help" crying and "I'm exhausted and need to go to sleep" crying (actually, this is also in the job description for husbands. it is essential in dealing with a woman!)

*improvise!!

*shake off "helpful suggestions" from random people in public

Must not be embarrassed to:

*change a baby's diaper WHEREVER necessary

*talk like a complete idiot in order to keep baby happy

*walk out of the house with slobber/spit up/drool on your clothes (because lets face it, if it's not on your clothes already, it will be soon)

*know the entire 26 min of Baby Bach (and be able to hum along...)

*refer to yourself as "mommy", even when the child is not present

*accidentally refer to your cat with your child's name or vice versa (NO, I've never done this. Why do you ask!?)

What am I forgetting?? =-)

Look who's coming to visit!

"Auntie" Julie is coming to visit this weekend and we can't wait to see her!

O'Neill Catamaran

Josh and I were able to spend to Saturday afternoon on the O'Neill Catamaran with Josh's coworkers. The weather was PERFECT! I mainly relaxed on the net/mesh area on the front of the catamaran that is directly over the water. It was so relaxing and the views were amazing!! I hope to get the chance to do it again someday. A BIG thank you to my sister for taking such good care of Natalie for us! Enjoy the pictures.

Hanging out on the front of the catamaran

(You can see the netting behind us)

You can see a ton of birds diving into the water in this picture...

must have been some yummy fish in the area

Beautiful setting sun

We went directly past the Boardwalk. It was

so fun to see the whole thing from the water!

The lighthouse as we were coming back into the docks.

The usual self-portrait!

Talk like a pirate day

So, last Saturday was "Talk like a pirate" day - yes, it's a real day!! Josh's brother was in town, so we got a babysitter and headed over to a pirate themed mini-golf place! (Oh yes, and we also saw "The Informant" with Matt Damon - a personal favorite of mine. The movie was AWESOME!!)

The duel

Shark attack!!

Climbing up to see the pretty starfish

(aka looking ridiculous)

Turtle and Fish

as interpreted by Josh and Nathan

"Hey! Take your hands off of the booty!!"

I was the big loser of the game =-(

Did you do anything special on "Talk like a pirate" day? =-)

Beautiful day at the park

This morning Natalie and I headed to a local park to play and explore. We had a great time hanging out on the sand (on a towel...I'm not ready to deal with sand in the mouth...), playing on the swings and walking around. I even got a quick video of Natalie laughing on the swings! And to top it off - we got to meet up with Josh for lunch! It's been a great Monday!

Tonight I'm attempting to make fresh Vietnamese spring rolls. (I'm cheating just a bit though - since I bought the dipping sauce from a local restaurant.) We'll see how it goes. =-)

Bath time

Natalie still loves her baths!! She only cries when we take her out. Hopefully she'll love the pool just as much!

Playing with her ducky

In the monkey towel Aunt Jennie made

Rice Cereal!

Today we decided to give Natalie her first taste of rice cereal. She seemed to enjoy it since she kept moving toward the spoon as it came near her. Not a whole lot actually stayed in her mouth, but it was a start!! It was so fun seeing her experience this for the first time. =-)

The joys (and guilt) of mommyhood

So, I normally keep this blog pretty light, but I've been thinking recently of all the guilt that can come with being a mommy. I'm sure most of you have been through this. There are days when I wonder if I have played with Natalie enough, if I should have read her more books, talked to her more, held her more. At the same time though, she is perfectly happy hanging out on her playmat - just talking to herself or grabbing her feet, and I love that she is able to entertain herself! But then there are times like this when I'm sitting at the computer or doing chores (that I'm sure could wait...) and wondering if I should be down on the floor with her. Does it mean I love her any less? Am I a bad mommy for not playing with her as much as I could be? Will she be emotionally scarred later in life because I didn't play with her all the time when she was a baby or not "smart enough" because I only read her 2 books today? I know it seems silly, but that is what is going on in my head. And I don't want you to think that I just ignore my child all day - we talk A LOT throughout the day, I play with her and read books to her. We sing silly songs and listen to music together.

Despite all of that going through my head (and all three of us being sick) the past couple of days have actually been really fun for me as a mom. Hearing Natalie talk, watching her rough house with Josh, hearing her laugh and explore everything around her is amazing!!!

Here are a few shots of Natalie enjoying the beach:

Bonfire

Our friend Scott was in town and invited us to stop by for a bonfire! It was Natalie's first and she seemed to do really well. I just realized that we didn't get any pictures with Scotty. =-( Scott, if you're reading this - we had a great time and look forward to hanging out again...hopefully soon!

Josh is apparently trying to tell me something...

perhaps he was a bit annoyed that I kept asking Scott to take pictures of us...

Hanging out in the bumbo and gumming her toy! =-)

Family picture - not sure what Natalie is looking at

You can see a helicopter in the background. They have been around

quite a bit - bringing water to the nearby fire. We can actually see them

from our kitchen window. The fire is 68% (?) contained now and it is

a lot less smokey here today. Maybe we'll venture out for a walk after

little miss wakes up! Have a great Monday.

Growling and new toys!

I never realized how fast kids go through toys - which is why I'm glad I discovered the used children's store (for used clothes, toys, furniture - not actual used children....)!! Here is Natalie enjoying her latest toy and demonstrating her growling. She is quite loud - although the video doesn't do her justice!

Almost 4 months

Natalie is almost 4 months old! Here's what she likes to do:

*ride in the stroller like a big girl (no carseat)

*talk, talk, talk. She is usually the loudest one at our mommy groups, just hanging out and babbling away!

*laugh in the bouncy chair while daddy spins around and around

*wake up in the middle of the night! (WHY NOW???)

*sit up while supported (on the couch, holding onto mommy and daddy's hands)

*chewing on her fingers

Here are a few pictures of her doing what she likes!

Talking up a storm

Here's our little Natalie talking away....she's usually not this quiet, but she's a bit too young to learn how to use her "inside voice!"

PRETTY. DARN. CUTE. =-)

Um, yeah! We think she is pretty darn cute!! =-)

Enjoying the Boppy

Look at her cute feet crossed!!

SUPER cute! Enough said!

Mommy/Daughter Photo Shoot

For Josh's first Father's Day I wanted to get some photos of me and Natalie for Josh to have at work. My awesome neighbor Nini was kind enough to take some beautiful pics of us!! Thanks Nini! =-) Here are a few of my favorites. I love the pictures of Natalie with the sunglasses she got from Daddy on Easter.