Baby puke


Is this a cute smile or what? Hmmm, I'm saying it's a "what" because this is the face he often makes right before he pukes. You know what though? Babies are awesome pukers. The kind of people you want to be around after they puke. They're not like the annoying drunk chicks that spill out of 2-Me at 1:45 am, screaming "Jenny...hold my hair back! Bleeechhhh!" Then they ask you if you think they're pretty. Boring! After babies puke, they're cheerful and ready to move on. "Hey mom. What's next? Another round of this little piggy? Whoa. Is that my HAND?!"

All the love


It's not all missed meals and sleep. Baby Ira is total precious times, too. This weekend, the kid has started smiling at us! I know, big milestone. Well, it is! Instead of paychecks, this job as mom pays me in cute things like this. Week of no sleep? He smiles and it's like I slept 8 hours. It makes it all worth it. So far the smiles are pretty unpredictable. I can't figure out what's funny to him. Last night it was his aunt's super high-pitched baby talk voice. This morning it was Leon's Superbowl Shuffle rap. And this afternoon he did it while he was nursing. I'm so excited about this smiling thing, I'll be spending all this week trying to earn more of them. I better learn that Superbowl rap.

Getting hyphy with baby


Oh man is it hard to blog (or do anything else really) when you have a newborn in your arms. Here's a photo of Ira getting ready to get hyphy in mommy's scraper. That kid loves to move. Whether it's rolling in the stroller (6 inch rims!), going dumb with the gas break dips at stop lights, or doing a 3 am slow dance by the night light, he loves motion.

He's almost 5 weeks old now and doing great. He's holding up his head for longer periods of time and becoming more and more alert. Little dude is getting a lot bigger, too, which is precious because his little face is filling out with the cutest cheeky jowls. I can't wait for when he smiles at me.

Most of my days are pretty much the same. I stay in bed (note, I didn't say sleep in bed) until around 9 am, get up and nurse Ira in the chair, then I attempt to make myself some breakfast. Sometimes I get the granola made, but by the time I get a chance to eat it, it's long gotten soggy. Then it's time for Ira to eat again. So I feed him and then hope he naps afterward. If he does, then I can do laundry. Babies make a lot of dirty clothes, so I'm usually washing diapers or outfits and blankets any given day. While I've got laundry going and if baby is still sleeping, I try to pick up around the house, do dishes, wash bottles, make the bed. Then baby is ready to eat again, so we nurse. More recently, he's not always napping in between feedings, so sometimes I hold him and we make googly eyes at each other for an hour or so, while I watch Tyra, Rachel Ray, Oprah or Tivo'ed Sex & The City out of the corner of my eye. Typically between 2-4 he'll nap again and that's when I make my lunch. Sometimes I can get a burrito made and eaten before he wakes again, but other times I just have time for a handful of tortilla or pita chips, a chunk of cheese and a glass of juice. Then around 5-ish, Leon comes home and by then I'm pretty much spent. But then there are still chores to do and laundry to finish before I make it to bed and start all over again.

OMG! I can't believe I just spent my baby break (Ira's just starting to wake up) blogging instead of getting something else done.

Bourdain watch 2006!


Can't wait until Wednesday's Top Chef when Anthony Bourdain will be guest judge!

Okay, more about food and cooking. I finally agreed to have my family over for Thanksgiving this year. Initially, I didn't think I'd be able to put together a huge meal with the new baby and all. But mom & dad have agreed to make most of the food and help clean up, so that's better. I have insisted to make the stuffing (my mom thinks that Stove Top cornbread stuffing is acceptable for some reason) and a vegetarian gravy. The stuffing recipe I used was taken from the Bee last year. I can't find the archive of it online, so here it is, spelled out below so that when my printed copy is lost or destroyed (they always are), I can find it here. Seriously, it's the best!

Sourdough Stuffing with Sage, Thyme and Marjoram
1 hour

12 tablespoons butter or nondairy alternative (c'mon! use the butter!)
3 medium onions, finely diced (ow, my hands!)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 red bell peppers, finely diced
3 tablespoons minced fresh sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
2/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 rounds of sourdough from Paragary's (they bake it fresh every morning), cut into 1 inch cubes and left out overnight, uncovered
1 to 1.5 cups of vegetable broth

Preheat oven to 400 F

In a large skillet, melt the butter over a medium-high flame. Add the onions, garlic and bell peppers and saute until tender, about 6-8 minutes. Add the sage, thyme, marjoram, parsley, salt and pepper and cook another minute. Remove skillet from the heat.

Place the bread cubes in a large bowl. Stir in the vegetables. Pour the broth over the bread and vegetable mixture and mix well.

Transfer the stuffing to a large, lightly oiled or buttered (again, use the butter) casserole dish and bake 25 minutes. Uncover and bake an additionl 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving.