Pin It - Did It!

It's been awhile since I tried anything I pinned on Pinterest, so I thought I would try a few recipes this time.  I tried two so far this week, and one was pretty good and the other one wasn't.

First, on Sunday I made these Sesame Garlic Green Beans.

I'm trying to get Madeleine and myself to eat more vegetables. Actually, I'm trying to get Madeleine to not only eat, but like vegetables.  Me, I'm trying to at least tolerate them - I don't think I'll ever actually like them.  Part of my problem, is I don't really know how to prepare them well, so I started looking for recipes.  I once had some green beans at a tapas place in town that weren't too bad (high praise from me), and this recipe reminded me of them.

The verdict - Bill and I ate them, but we didn't really like them.  How did Madeleine like them?  Well, she popped one in her mouth and then promptly spit it out.  I'm not exactly sure if I did something wrong or not, as the recipe did not have exact measurements.  Maybe I put two much of one thing or not enough of another, I don't know.  It tasted very nutty to me. 

We won't be having these again.  I think the green beans I enjoyed at that restaurant might have had a ginger sauce on them, and not sesame like these.  They definitely had an Asian flare to them - hopefully I'll figure it out.

On to recipe number two...

Last night we made Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce. 

As you can see, I'm trying to make healthier choices at meal time.  I love pasta, but usually always eat it with thick tomato or cream sauces.  This looked like a lighter option that would be good for these warmer months.  I loved that it was made with such fresh ingredients.  I felt so healthy chopping up the tomatoes and herbs (I did a course chop of everything and then put it in the food processor).  I told Bill I was going to call this "Summer Spaghetti".

The verdict - I really liked it.  It tasted fresh and light just how I hoped it would.  Bill liked it too, and asked if we could eat "Summer Spaghetti" in the winter.  Madeleine, however, hated it.  Seriously, she started crying at the table when I tried to get her to eat more of it.  She loves pasta, so I didn't think it would be a problem.  I could see her, over time, liking this dish too though.  The best part about this dish was that it was super fast - it's seriously only a 15-20 minute meal.

So, I guess (not counting Madeleine's tastes) we had a 50% success rate with these new recipes.  It's been awhile since I tried some new recipes, so I'm glad we found at least one that we'll make again.

The Name Game

When we decided to name our son "Seamus" I was a little worried that we would get some flack for it.  I was mentally preparing for lots of "You named him what?" type of comments.  Surprisingly though, everybody has thought it is really cool which was a big relief.  I am surprised though, by the number of people that don't know how to pronounce it.  It's pronounced SHAY-mus not C-mus.  I always tell people to think of the name Sean (as in Sean Connery) - the SEA in Gaelic makes the SH sound.

It's so intersting how/why people decide on the names for their children, so here's our story.  It starts way back in 2010 though when we first learned we were pregnant with Madeleine.  We actually had our names picked out almost immediately.

Basically, I loved the name Madeleine Rose.  I actually came up with it when I was a teenager.  Madeleine sort of came from two sources.  First, I love the children's book Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans.  I love all things French, so a story about a little French orphan girl and her adventures always appealed to me.

Secondly, at some point in my youth, I was watching movies like Young Frankenstein and Clue and fell in love with the actress Madeline Kahn.  I just thought she was so funny and beautiful.  It was around this time that Madeleine went on the list.

I thought that a three syllable first name should have a one syllable middle name.  I chose the name Rose as my confirmation name in high school, and it just clicked - Madeleine Rose.

I played around with the different spellings for a long time (Madeline, Madelyn, Madeleine) and decided I liked the French spelling best.

So, when we found out we were pregnant I told Bill if it was a girl I wanted to name her Madeleine Rose.  I loved it so much, that I didn't even give him a chance to say "yes" or "no" to it.  I basically struck a deal that if he gave me the name, if it was a boy he could name him whatever he wanted.  Bill wanted something very Irish, and chose the name Seamus.  I will admit I wasn't a huge fan at first, but a deal's a deal so I agreed.  I think we might have come up with Alan as the middle name together.  It's my dad's name, and it just sort of fit.

Then we found out it was a girl, and I was so happy I would have my little Madeleine Rose.

We always knew we wanted another child after Madeleine, so we talked a lot about when little Seamus would come.  So, I basically had three years to get used to the idea of the name Seamus, and eventually fell in love with it too.

Incidentally, there were a few other names on the short list for both of them.  I also really liked the names Alice and Agnes for girls, and Liam and Richard for boys.  Bill's girl name was Saoirse (SEER-sha).  I thought it was very pretty, but I was really scared of the spelling.  So, I'm very happy we got a Seamus and not a Saoirse.

We also get asked about nicknames a lot.  I thought for sure we'd call Madeleine, Maddie - but it's just not her.  The few times I've called her Maddie it sounded awkward and forced, so she's always been our Madeleine.  As for Seamus, we do call him Shea quite a bit.

So, there you have it.  That's how our baby names came to be. 

I've Lost Something...

and that something is...MY SENSE OF STYLE!

Here's how the story goes.  In my twenties, I think I had pretty good style.  I tried to find a picture to prove this, but it seems I only took headshots back then - or I'm wearing a coat.  So, you'll just have to trust me that I dressed well. 

Then, between 2006 and 2010 I gained about 35 pounds.  I'm not proud of it, but it happened.  Then I had babies, and my body changed again.   

SIDENOTE - I did lose the baby weight with Madeleine, but not the additional 35 pounds.  I have about 11 pounds to go from this last pregnancy yet.  I have a goal to lose this last bit of baby weight, plus the 35 pounds I gained - but that's another post.

What I'm trying to say, is that I don't know how to dress my current body.  I don't know my size.  I don't know what stores to shop at.  I don't know what looks good on me anymore.

In addition, psychologically, I still expect to see the "skinny" me in the mirror.  So, when I'm out shopping and trying things on I automatically think I look fat because I don't see the body I used to have.  It's not the clothes though, I am fat.  Not morbidly obese by any mean, but overweight, yes.  The term pleasantly plump comes to mine, but it's not feeling so pleasant.

Shopping for clothes is no longer fun, but frustrating and emotional.

So, that needs to change.  I am going to continue to try and lose weight, but I can't put my wardrobe on hold in the interim.  It's pitiful how little clothing I own anymore.  (I only take up about two feet of space in our closet)  I love fashion way too much to give up on it.

Before I go shopping though, I have to figure out what my style is now.  First off, my casual look.  Unfortunately, I have very little reason to dress up anymore.  I always loved buying cute dress clothes for work, but recently they started allowing us to wear jeans everyday.  Even when I was thinner I didn't have much of a casual wardrobe, so I've been lacking in this department for some time now.

Television is one of the best places to look for style inspiration.  Right now, I'm really loving the wardrobe of Ellie Torres (played by Christa Miller) on Cougar Town.  I think she does casual chic just awesome.  She is almost always dressed in jeans or khakis, but her tops are usually silk, have lace accents, or are nice knits (lots of color block and stripes).  She also rocks lots of blazers.  So, even though it is casual, it comes off as very sophisticated and professional.  There's a bit of a masculine quality to her clothes too, but she always softens them up with jewelry, color, and the fabrics.

 

So, next time I go shopping, I'm going to keep my eye out for "Ellie" tops.

All images above from Possessionista.

The Best Laid Plans

You can prep and plan all you want, but sometimes the universe has other plans for you.  Like when your water breaks in the middle of the night a MONTH before your due date!!

Yup, that's what happened, and why I've been MIA for the past month.

So, without further ado, I present SEAMUS ALAN!

He had a bit of a rocky start, and had to stay in the NICU for the first week of his life for some lung issues, but we've been home now for three weeks and everybody is doing great.

March - To Do

March is here...onwards toward Spring.  We sold our house!!!  The baby is coming soon!!!  So, much to look forward too.

Key Dates
March 22nd - Brother-in-law's Birthday
March 17th - St. Patrick's Day
March 31st - Easter

Take Pictures of the House - Since the house is still all nice and clean from our open house, I want to go through and take pictures of all the rooms to remember the place.
Make Video of the House for Madeleine - I also want to take a video tour of the place, so I can document a few things like where Madeleine first crawled and did this or that.
Send Birthday Card to Brother-in-law
St. Patrick's Day - Since Bill's Irish, we usually do something.  Not sure what we're going to do this year though.
Easter
- Color Eggs - I think Madeleine is really going to enjoy doing this this year.
- Prepare Breakfast - We have a tradition in our family of doing a cold breakfast Easter morning.  I love it, and have to go around to all my little shops to get everything we'll need.
- Basket Blessing / Church - After I have everything for the breakfast, we put it in a basket and have it blessed by our church.  I'm pretty sure it's an Eastern European thing - my family is Polish.  We also have to make sure we actually go to church on Easter.  We've definitely become Lapsed Catholics over the years.
Start Packing - closing is not until April 25th, but whatever we can pack, move, or sell now I want to get started on.
Have This Baby!! - I'm not due until April 7th, but with the plethera of birthdays we have in our family in April, I'm kind of hoping for a March baby.  Plus, I'm done being pregnant already.  It actually went by really fast, but now that it's so close I just want to meet my baby boy!!

P.S.  I didn't have to put give Banshee her meds on the list because Bill did that already this morning!!

February - Status Update

Well, February completely flew by, but it is the shortest month of the year.  I think I got everything done on my To-Do List.

Give Banshee her meds.  I completely forgot, but thankfully Bill remembered.
Send birthday card to Brother-in-law.  Done
Valentine's Day.
- Do something crafty or bake something fun with Madeleine.  It wasn't much, but I found some break and bake Mickey Mouse Valentine cookies at the grocery store.  She loves Mickey right now...or just the "Mouse" as she calls him.  I thought she would love them, but I don't think she really cared, and they actually weren't very good.  So, this one was a bit of a bust.
- Get Valentines & candy for Madeleine's daycare group.  I picked up some Valentine's and lollypops from Target and put these together on time.  
- Date night with Bill.  Madeleine's daycare had a Parent's Night Out on Feb. 16th, so we had free babysitting from 4-8pm.  We went to the movies and saw The Hobbit.
Finish any outstanding House Fix-its.  Done.
Find a plumber.  Done.
Continue the Big Purge.  Done. 
Put the house up for sale!!  Done.  It's been up about a week now.  We had quite a few showings, a successful open house, and got an offer!!  We countered and are waiting to hear back.

It's been a very busy month, but we accomplished a lot.

I didn't take any pictures, but for Valentine's Day we also got Madeleine some candy hearts and chocolates.  Bill sent a lovely boquete of flowers to my office, and got me some candy.  I gave him a card, and as a joke put $5 in it.  I told him he could spend it on whatever he wanted.  Seriously though, are wives supposed to get their husbands something for Valentine's Day?  I'm always happy with flowers, so there's really no male equivalent to that. 

Then, something that wasn't even on my To-Do List that caught me completely by surprise was Mardi Gras!!  It was so early this year, but I remembered the Monday before.  I usually like to get us a King's Cake for fun, but I forgot to order one.  A quick trip to the grocery store though, and we had ourselves a little celebration.

I was going to take another picture of the cookie without her hand, but this one is much cuter and more accurate as to what was happening while I was trying to take a picture.

We all enjoyed the cookie, it was actually really, really good.  Madeleine kept singing "Happy To You" which is how she sings "Happy Birthday".

So, essentially, that was our February.  How was yours?  Did you do anything fun for Mardi Gras or Valentine's Day?

Book Reports

One of my "hobbies" that I do not get to do enough of anymore is reading.  Picture me using my fingers to make quote marks when I say hobbies because I sometimes think reading is more of a personality trait than a hobby.  I think there are readers and non-readers out there.  I'm definitely a reader, and have been my whole life.

Last year I had hoped to get through at least 24 books, but only ended up reading 16.  Besides not having enough time, my choice of book sometimes slows me down too.  There's usually a non-fiction book here or there that I like to read, but although they're interesting, I don't usually devour them like I do fiction.  Then, on the fiction side, I like to occasionally read a classic here or there, and they also tend to take me awhile to get through.  So, I kind of felt bad that I did not even come close to reaching my goal, but I'm trying not to worry about it too much.  This is definitely one of those things that should be quality over quantity. 

It's funny too, the differences between readers and non-readers.  When I mention to each that I read 16 books last year the reader response is "only 16?" and the non-reader response is "wow, 16 books!!"

So, here we are in 2013, and although I didn't make a formal resolution to read 24 books again, it is my unofficial goal.  I'm three deep so far.  This is what I've been reading:



Bossypants: by Tina Fey

I thought I would kick off the new year with something light and fun.  I have been meaning to read this book forever, and as I had to do that 3-hour glucose test at the hospital one Saturday morning I downloaded it to keep me busy.  I finished about 90% of the book during that 3-hour span, and then finished it up a few days later.  So, it is definitely a quick read.  I was expecting it to focus more around her childhood/struggling young adult stages, but a lot of it was actually her more current SNL/30 Rock stories.  There were also a few parenting and relationship stories as well.  It jumped around a bit more than I thought it would.  That's not a bad thing, it just wasn't what I was expecting.  It was all very funny and well-written though which is the important thing.  I gave it 3 out of 5 stars, which for me equals "I liked it"

 

(1 star - didn't like it, 2 stars - it was okay, 3 stars - liked it, 4 stars - really liked it, 5 stars - loved it)

 

Next up was another non-fiction...

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking: by Susan Cain

As a self-described Introvert, I was drawn to this book when I started seeing it pop here and there.  It took me a month to get through it (like I said, non-fiction sometimes slows me down), but it was super interesting.  I think everyone should read this book.  It discusses Introverts in all sorts of various settings, and looked at them from all different scenarios.  For example, in the Introverts in business section it touched on the "extrovert boss - introvert employee", the "introvert boss - extravert employee", and the "introvert boss - introvert employee" scenarios.  It talked about the best environments for Introverts to work in and how each of these types of bosses could get the most out of their introvert/extravert employees.  There's a section like that for teachers, parents, and relationships.  The parents and relationships sections were the most interesting to me.  Bill is definitely an extravert, and I'm thinking Madeleine is following suit, but it's hard to decide that quite yet.

 

It also describes how none of us are really 100% one way or the other, and how Introverts can literally flip a switch and be extraverted if the situation really calls for it, but how it drains them and eventually they'll need to retreat to their natural Introvert state. 

 

I just found the subject matter fascinating, and helpful.  If you're not an Introvert, you know someone in your life who is; so I think the information pertains to everyone.  I definitely recommend this book.  4 out of 5 stars.

 

Finally, I just finished up my first fiction book of the year...

Gone Girl: by Gillian Flynn

This book, essentially a missing person/murder type mystery novel, had me hooked from the beginning.  It's broken up into three parts.  I devoured the first third super quick...then the major plot question gets answered.  After that, it slowed a bit for me, but I kept reading part two with more of an "okay, where is this going?" frame of mind.  Then, that question got answered.  Part three kept me intrigued as I really wanted the satisfaction of a certain ending, but then that didn't happen!!  It actually ended so abruptly that I was literally flipping the pages going, "wait, where's the next chapter, this can't be it."  But it was, to which I said "boo."  I definitely liked this booked; I just wished it had ended differently.  So, only 3 out of 5 stars for this too.

 

That's what I've read so far this year.  I have no idea what to read next, so send me recommendations!!