Lilypie Fourth Birthday tickers
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Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Thankful Thursday




So thankful Thursday came a little early this week. I am so so so so so excited. We finally had someone come and plant plants in our backyard. It looks so beautiful and all of the plants are drought tolerant and will grow well in our hot,dry climate. I cannot tell you how blessed I feel to have a yard that I now can enjoy spending time in. Before, our yard was nice(grass,concrete,patio cover) but it lacked so much foilage, and me being a plant person (semi-professional horticulturalist), I just could not relax amongst dirt and rocks. It is so peaceful back there now and we just got a beautiful fountain for X-mas so tonight I sat back and listened to water trickling. It was such a special treat. Can't wait to fill my bird feeders and really get in crankin out there, Summer BBQ's here we come! A second and just as important thing that I am thankful for this week is that I just found out my friend is expecting her second baby. I am so excited for her. To know that she was able to add to her family, when so many people who try are not able to, is such a blessing. On a side note, we always joked and said we would be pregnant together, so I guess we'll see what happens................In any case, my biggest wishes of love, happiness, and health for her and her family. I will post pics tommorrow on the yard.
Have a great weekend!
Windy

Hannah and her Animals


I have been taking Hannah to a place that I like to call the "Ghetto Farm" . It is simply a dairy farm here in Lake Elsinore but it is not in the most savory part of town. In any case, we are finding out quickly that Hannah loves animals. As soon we pull in to the driveway there she starts screaming to get out of the car. She has all her own sounds for the animals and has even managed to learn some of their names (duck,dog). Anyway, here is a pic of her feeding the animals and I am going to try to also attach a small video.
* update - i could not figure out how to do video yet. I will definitely post a vid later.
Have a great weekend!


Thursday, February 21, 2008

Hannah Pics






As promised to Grandma's and relatives here are new Hannah Pics



Thankful Thursday

I have seen this on others' blogs and wanted to include it every week, if possible, on mine. I am thankful for so many things in my life right now, but most importantly, for my husband Ryan. He is the most awesome husband ever. He works an 11 hour day, everyday, and comes homes immediately after work to take care of our daughter Hannah. He is the most selfless person I know. While he takes care of her, I usually go upstairs and read a magazine or a book while taking a bath. For those of you who don't bathe, you are missing out on the most relaxing experience possible. If you think you have tried to take a bath and you didn't like it, please try again. I know what you're thinking. I won't get clean in the bath, it's too hard to get in and out, I don't like dirty water. Here is my solution(water conservationists, close your eyes). Take a shower in the morning and a bath at night. Don't do both everyday, but for those of you who do not like cleaning in the bath just use it to sit and relax and relieve tense muscles. My husband does not even know how much I look forward to this time and I didn't even really know how much it meant to me until he went away for a weekend for work. I missed my bath soo much. Of course I still took it after my daughter was in bed but it wasn't the same. I have said before I don't know how single moms and dads raise children alone, but both of our moms and my dad did it, so I know it can be done. I just want to say how very thankful I am to have someone to do it with and also to say now to our moms who did it alone - you ladies rock and we would not be who we are without you.


Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Eggplant Rollatini Recipe - just like lasagna

You need:

1 large eggplant (2lbs)
cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch think slices

Coarse salt & pepper

1 cup marinara sauce

1/2 cup part skim ricotta

1/2 cup grated parm cheese (plus more for topping)

2 large egg whites

1 garlic clove

crusty bread - to serve with meal

Season eggplant with salt & pepper. Arrange in a microwave-safe dish with a lid. Microwave on high for about 6 min until eggplant is tender & pliable. With a fork, transfer the eggplant to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and blot dry. Dry dish and put 1/4 cup of sauce on the bottom of microwave dish. Set aside. In a small bowl combine the ricotta, parm, egg whites, garlic, salt & pepper. Spoon ricotta mixure on the middle of eggplant slices and roll up. Place seam side down in a single layer in prepared dish. Top with marinara sauce and then mozzarella and remaining parm. Bake for 25 min at 375. enjoy!

This meal is meant for 2-4 servings only.

It's The Neighborly Thing To Do



Okay so, everyone has a dog on their street that incessantly barks to the point of no return and perhaps you ignore it... or perhaps, like me, you picture yourself jumping a ten foot wall and putting a nuzzle on the animal and bringing it over to your house where it will be properly cared for. You all know who this dog belongs to. It's not hard to tell. It is your neighbor that has 5 children or perhaps the one with the newborn baby, you know the family that has absolutlely no business getting a dog in the first place. No, not to be mean but it is simply because they have neither the time or concern to care for it . Let me tell you a story .......Picture it, Sicily .. (sorry, had to for the Golden Girls fans-all 2 of them). Actually, it was this afternoon and Hannah was down for a nap, so I decided to do one of my favorite things, which is to garden. I know it sounds wierd but I love the idea of thinking about nothing and caring for plants. It's sort of like the whole bird-watching thing. You either get it or you don't. Anyhow, here I am ready to get my peaceful thing on and, as soon as I kneel down, I see a car pull out of the driveway across the street. Not a mintue later it starts. BARK! BARK!, BARK! BARK! BARK! BARK! . At first I think that it is because the people just left, but no, it continues the entire time I am gardening so instead of thinking of beautiful blooming succulents I have masochistic visions of what I want to do to this poor animal, scratch that, these poor owners. You see, you know your dog, you know if you can leave your dog in the backyard and if it will not bark when you go. If you don't know this please leave your house immediately and walk down the street and see if it barks. Because while you are peacefully going on your morning jog, or sipping a cup of coffee at the nearest Starbucks, your dog could be ruining the 30 peacful mintues your neighbor has today. I hearby declare the day of February 20th, national Give a S**t About Your Neighbors Day. On this day, owners please give a s**t about your dogs(scratch that -neighbors). In the words of Deval Patrick, I mean Barack Obama, "Ask not what your neighbor can do for you, ask what you can do for your neighbor". Words, just words.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Good Times


Today a couple of friends and I went to the Wild Animal Park in Escondido - it will be referred to simply as WAP. Four friends and four babies all under 2 years old. AHH! What were we thinking? It took us about 2 hours to get to the WAP with several stops along the way including, but not limited to, carseat base changes, lunch preparations, and the ever present and fatefully looming "poop out". If you are a mom you know what a "poop out" is. For those of you who don't, it is where the diaper basically fills up to the point of the baby being covered on both sides by poop. It is not for the "weak of stomach". As every mother with a teething baby knows, if your baby is going through a loose stool spell, you wake up in the morning hoping that your child will have their "poop out" before you leave the house. It, of course, does not happen until you have clothed your baby in their finest WAP duds (Baby Gap anyone?) and you are exactly halfway to the WAP, driving in the front seat of the car with a crying baby in the back. Helpless in the front seat and not really sure what is wrong, you drive and proceed to your destination knowing that just one more stop will make you even later than you already are and your ultimate goal was to take your 1 year old to see the lovely Zorse or Hebra that they will never remember when they are 5 right? You eventually arrive at your destination only to realize that the reason they cried halfway through the drive there was because they were sitting in a clay mud bath of poop and now you get the lovely task of laying them in the back seat of the car to change them into one of the 3 outfit changes you brought (since you knew this would happen), all the while holding in your own urine to the point where you are actually considering stealing one of their diapers to pee in. This fortunately was not me, on this day, but it was my dear friend. I hope she doesn't mind me using her example of "a day in the life of a mom". By the way, for anyone wondering, a Zorse or a Hebra is actually an Okapi but we renamed it today based solely on it's looks. Also - cute legwarmer/footless tights on it!

Blog Name

Okay so to first explain why I chose to name my blog abstinenceinthecountry. It basically originated from the name for the hugely popular tv show Sex and the City. A couple of weeks ago at lunch me and a close friend of mine, who also has a baby, decided that on a Saturday when our husbands were out of town we would take our babies to the farmer's market. My friend's mother was also there and said that it should be a fun time for all four of us. I replied with a comment that it would be alot less Sex and the City and way more like No Sex in the Country. To further explain, my friend and I are both stay at home moms and we often daydream back to the days of wineries and day spas that we traded for poopy diapers and sippy cups. Although we would not trade our lives for anything else in the world we want to know if there is a place where Boppy's and Bumbo's fit in with Cosmopolitans and Jimmy Choo's. On a second note, everyone seems to think this is a crazy idea but do you think anyone would go to a business where you could get a mani & a pedi with a cocktail or a non-alchoholic drink while your child is being cared for by a nanny in the back and you could watch your child on a monitor while being pampered? There is probably way too much of a liability if people drank and drove babies home, so in that case what about a voluntary taxi service working off of tips only? Just a thought....... : )