spring fest 2012

Over the weekend our neighborhood had a local fair called "Spring Fest". We went last year and had a good time so we decided to go again this year. The fair had a fun parade with clowns, marching bands from local schools, fun vintage cars, produce from our local market, an ice cream booth (cookies and cream for me and Mexican chocolate for David) from our favorite hippie ice cream store in San Diego, carnival rides and tons of booths of local vendors and such. I love our neighborhood. As I stood in the shade of the huge trees at our park watching the parade, I looked around at the hundreds of people and felt so good that these people were my neighbors. Everyone was so nice and happy. People are generally really good, you guys. When I get really worried about the state of the world (which is a lot these days while raising little boys) this kind of thing was comforting to me.

David's parents joined us and it was fun to have them there with us. William always has a great time when they're around. He did throw more than one or two tantrums as it was too close to naptime, but all in all, it was pretty cool. He enjoyed a root beer shaved ice on the front porch with Grandma after we walked back home in the hot sun.

Fritz just hung out in the moby wrap while I sweated to death. I'm in for a rude awakening this weekend when I go to Arizona for my nephew's wedding. If I didn't love my family I would never be leaving 70 degrees for 100 degrees . . . in May. Oh boy.

growing up: 6 weeks

I'm seriously in love with my baby. Sometimes I feel guilty about how much I love him but I know that's silly. It's amazing how holding him and kissing him and looking at him makes everything else in my life seem perfect. I sometimes wish I could have a million more babies so I will always have access to this feeling. But then I remember how hard everything else is about pregnancy and childbirth and sleepless nights (cause, you know, it's not that hard to remember last night) and it's evident that God gave us menopause for a reason.

Frederick is 6 weeks old and is smiling. Those smiles make my day. They make my heart skip a beat. They give me mommy butterflies and make smelling like throw up all day seem like not that big of a deal. Oh, how I love him!

By the way, look how much Frederick looks like William at the same age! It's uncanny! The only real difference I can see is their coloring. Will had red hair at birth and his eyes turned dark brown really fast. Frederick has olive skin, brown hair (though it has a tint of red) and it looks as though his eyes are turning blue. We'll see!

growing up: two and a half

I think we're out of the woods with the worst of the "terrible twos" with William. I love this age! It has its challenges as well (I'm about to start potty-training! Ack!) but generally he keeps me laughing and smiling with the funny and sweet things he does.

- most things he identifies end with "sun". So, it's not a book. It's a bookson. It's not a train. It's a trainson. It's not a truck. It's a truckson. And so on and so forth. It's actually quite cute-son. Har har.
- he calls everyone "honey". Several times a day he'll say things like "Here, honey" while handing me his cheese wrapper or "Good job, honey!" when he puts away his toys. I guess I say that a lot. :)
- somehow, somewhere, he learned how to snap and now he walks around the house with his little fingers snapping together and it makes me smile.
- I caught him sucking on his big toe while watching a movie yesterday. Sick.
- he likes to lick the top of Frederick's head - much to my annoyance. He's really interested in his tongue lately.

- he loves scaring people with his lion noise. He's scared more than one or two babies with said noise in church and other "quiet places". The other day he was laying on the back of the sofa while I was burping Frederick. He kept saying, "Rooooaaaaaar!" to him, hoping to get a reaction. Then he said, "It's OK. It's just a lion." I laughed really hard.
- new favorite show: Curious George. He also loves when I sing "George, George, George of the Jungle!" . . . just that one phrase and he's happy.

fritz's first smile

The other day I was doing my makeup and the baby was in his cradle in my room dozing in and out of consciousness. William wandered in and walked up to the baby and I observed him in the mirror as he took one of his tiny stuffed doggies and gave it to Fritz and said, "Hi baby" over and over again in a sing-song voice. He brought him toy after toy and wiggled them in front of him and as he put his face close to Fritz's, I watched my baby smile his first smile at his brother. My heart! I loved see this act of love between brothers. So far William has shown nothing but love for his baby. I hope this continues forever!

pasta with sausage, mushrooms, zucchini and tomatoes

This is a fast, easy recipe that you can do with lots of different ingredients - kind of what you have "on hand". It's one of my favorite ways to make pasta since I like pasta with lots of flavor but not heavy on "sauce".

Adapted from a Food Network Magazine recipe
12 ounces pasta (I used orecchiette but you could use almost kind - I also really like cavatappi for this)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces fresh sausage, casings removed (I used sweet chicken sausage but you could use chorizo, spicy pork sausage, etc.)
2 green onions (or spring onions), sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced (don't use white mushrooms here - you need the flavor)
1 medium zucchini, medium dice
1 medium yellow squash, medium dice
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until it begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the green onions and cook until softened, about 3 more minutes. Add the garlic, mushrooms, zucchini, squash, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste; cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms start to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook until they soften slightly, about 3 more minutes.

Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta. Add the broth to the skillet and cook, stirring, about 1 minute. Stir in the pasta and cheese, adding some of the reserved cooking water to loosen, if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Divide among bowls and top with more cheese and green onions.