Up, Up, Up!

Ethan is standing!  Okay, so he has been standing for a little while now but I finally got around to getting it recorded on my camera and on the blog.  The first time he purposefully stood up without holding on to anything we cheered and clapped and jumped.  It's so fun to see him push himself up and then stand with that contagious smile on his face.  He was so proud of himself and I love it.  I love seeing that smile on his face, the smile he puts on when he knows that he has done something good.

Being a mom is the best.  This mini man is the sunshine of my life.

Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce

Butter.  Butter.  Butter.  If I let go of my self control, I would consume butter at lightening speed.  Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  You can count on it.  But then I can also foresee the near future of that irresponsible me laying under a tombstone with the words "butter overdose" written on it.  Sometimes images like that motivate me to eat healthy.  But every once in a while I still cook with butter.  By the stick.  And this is one of those recipes.  The original recipe calls for one whole stick of butter but I think that 6 Tbsp will do the work just fine.

{ Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce }

Adapted from allrecipes.com

6 Tbsp butter

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 1/3 cups milk

4 ounces grated Parmesan cheese

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Melt butter in a non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic, stir with a whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out any lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long. Toss with hot pasta to serve.

Grounded from Makeup

It's time for a project ten pan.  The husband would agree.  I'm going to be grounded from buying any makeup until I finish using (or hit pan on) these ten products:

I suspect that it will take a while so you probably won't be seeing any posts with newly purchased makeup.  However, this is not necessarily a bad thing because I'm going to turn to the stash of makeup that I already own and fall in love with some products all over again!

Ethan and I had a better day today.  The only misfortune was that we waited at a doctor's office for almost one and a half hours before we got to see him.  E behaved very well and I heard some interesting and educating stories about babies being sick from the other mommies who were also waiting to see the doctor.  All I have to say is that when you have a healthy baby, you really have no idea how many things could go wrong.  I'm so grateful for my healthy little boy.

After the doctor, we got us some chocolate as a reward and to re-inflate that flattened bum of mine from so much sitting in the waiting room.  This chocolate is amazing.  It has the magical power of turning any female's bad day around.

A Bad Day

The ingredients for a leg clinging monster baby are listed as follow:

First, start with a one year old.

Then add:

A traumatic procedure the day before

A night with only ten hours of sleep instead of the usual twelve+ hours

Two short naps

Teething, or two huge swelling spots on his gum with dots of white showing to be exact

An allergic reaction

I did, though, manage to put dinner on the table.  I think I deserve a round of applause.

Thank you.

And cheers to all you moms around the world with your very own leg clinging monsters setting up camp at your foot (or feet if you have multiple).  Tomorrow will be a better day.

VCUG

Daddy was trying to take a picture of E's anklet as well.

Ethan had his VCUG (Voiding Cystourethrogram) this morning.  I have been dreading it ever since his urologist recommended we have this procedure done.  Ethan was diagnosed with bilateral prenatal hydronephrosis when I was 20 weeks pregnant.  Hydronephrosis is a condition when there is dilation in the renal pelvis and/or the kidney.  Sometimes that happens when there is an obstruction preventing the urine to flow freely from the kidney to the bladder.  Other times hydronephrosis occurs when there is reflux, meaning there is urine backtracking from the bladder up to the kidney.  There was never an obstruction in E's urine system, so we were concerned that the cause of his condition was the latter explanation.  If that was the case, his risk for having damaged kidneys, even without us or the doctor realizing it, would be very high.

We did extra ultrasounds during my whole pregnancy to monitor his condition.  After he was born, there were more ultrasounds.  His dilated renal pelvises never fully resolved themselves so the doctor thought it was time for a VCUG.  A VCUG involves having Ethan catheterized.  The doctor (or nurse, in our case) then fills his bladder with an radiocontrast agent and watches for any fluid that flows from the bladder back into the kidneys.

The hardest part of the whole procedure was having to hold Ethan down while he cries because of the pain.  The doctor said that the VCUG is not going to hurt him but I know when my baby is in pain.  You think that after being his mom for a year, I wouldn't know whether my baby is crying because he's hungry, in need of attention, or because he's in pain?  I know his cries when I hear them like I know the colors when I see them, and he was in pain.  The most important thing I could do right then is to be brave and to try to calm him.  I've learned it's true that babies feed off of your emotions so I tried my very best to appear cheerful.  Luckily, everything went well and after what seemed like an eternity it was finally finished.  Ethan was very brave and stopped crying as soon as he was in our arms.  And the good news is that there is no reflux, meaning that his kidneys are safe and he won't have to do another VCUG ever again.

Disclaimer: I've never been professionally trained in the medical field.  The only thing that even come close is an infant CPR class that I took.  All the above information is what I collected and understand from talking to doctors and from my own reading.  Therefore, please don't quote me on any of it if you're currently writing a medical textbook.  Thank you.

iPhone Photo Collage

Flirting shamelessly with the cashier at Pottery Barn.

What he doesn't understand is that despite all the effort he put into it, mama still won't get a discount.

Let's see, which article should I read today as my mama-maid cook up my breakfast?

I love this boy.

A bag of clips from Ikea + containers = fun for at least 50 minutes while I make dinner.

Learning how to use a mouse.

Holding the door open for the arrival of our new fridge at the new house!

Watching the guys from Lowe's hook our fridge up.

Naughty naughty.

He passed out after getting four shots at the doctor's office.  Poor baby.

LOOK WHAT I GOT IN THE MAIL!!!

(I adore his face in the picture on the left.)

New hairstyling cape.  He did not like it.

Tai chi sleep.  

It's loads better than yoga.
Give it a try tonight.

We hope that you have a happy happy weekend!

Tortellini with Spinach Tomato Sauce

Did you know that if you view my blog on Safari that the pictures will look a hundred times better?  I don't know why.  Jake tried to explain it to me one time but all the technical words seemed to have gotten all jumbled up together and I don't quite understand it.  So I'll just credit Apple's ingenious engineering and design.

This week marks the sixth anniversary of Jake and I being together.  I can't believe that we started dating six years ago!  I sometimes like to read through old emails between Jake and me and I always laugh out loud when I read the very first email he has ever sent me.  It goes like this...

Right now I am sitting across from you in the library [...] I want to tell you that [...] I am glad that you are my friend.  I know you will do well on your economy tests.  Just study hard and don't worry too much.  I'm praying for you.  Talk to you later.

Hahahahaha!  I hope you're laughing as well.  He was a goofball, but I'm glad that I married him because a lot of wonderful things would never have come into my life if I didn't.  Ethan would be one of those; this recipe would be another :)  This is rather easy and quick to make.  Nothing fancy.  The original recipe calls for one cup of chopped spinach.  I followed the recipe when we made this the first time and you had to use a microscope to find the poor shrunken spinach.  Since Jake and I both really enjoy spinach I usually just pour a whole package of baby spinach (you can find it in the packaged salad section in the store) into the the saucepan.

{ Tortellini with Spinach Tomato Sauce }

Adapted from allrecipe.com

1 (16 ounce) package cheese tortellini

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion

5 cups chopped fresh spinach

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the tortellini, and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

While you get the tortellini going, combine the tomatoes, spinach, salt, pepper, basil and garlic in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir until the mixture begins to bubble.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, milk and cream. Stir this mixture into the saucepan along with the Parmesan cheese. Heat through, then reduce heat to low, and simmer until thick, about 2 minutes.

Drain the tortellini, but do not rinse, then pour them into the saucepan with the sauce. Stir to coat, and serve.

Sunday Outfits

Funny story:  I was blogging with Ethan on my lap last night when Jake came into the room.  He came over to the computer desk and picked Ethan up.  Just then, we noticed that E was slobbering copiously (think waterfall).  I looked down to see a pile of spit on the desk and I looked up to see slobber still running down E's mouth.  Immediately my mind thought of what happened earlier that day and I panicked.  While I was feeding Ethan lunch that afternoon, he refusing to eat and as he pulled his head backwards with a fast jerk, he bonked his noggin on the back of the highchair fairly hard.  Now I'm sitting at my computer staring at E's slobber that is still pouring out of his mouth endlessly, I'm starting to freak out and think hard if I've ever read anything about slobbering when suffering from a concussion.  Wait...  What's that in his mouth!?  I pried his mouth opened, stick my finger in, and out came a huge caramel with the wrapper still on it.  Apparently, he had sneaked a caramel out of a bag on the computer desk and into his mouth without me noticing!  What a sneaky little boy.

Anyway, I found a few "outfit" pictures on my computer.  You can tell how old the first one is because Ethan's hair is short and he just looks so young.

On me.  Top: Gap.  Skirt: Old Navy.  Shoes: gift from my mom.  Necklace: Gift from my sister.

On the mini.  Shirt: Target.  Shorts:  Polo by Ralph Lauren.  

Top: Gap.  Belt: from Nordstrom (I can't remember the brand and it doesn't say on the belt.)  Skirt: bought in Hong Kong.  Shoes: gift from my mom.

On me.  Cardigan: Zara.  Belt: same as above.  Skirt: bought in Hong Kong.  Shoes: Playlord.

On the mini.  Polo: Château de Sable.  Shorts: Château de Sable.

p.s.  Have you ever heard of Château de Sable before?  I found one of their stores in TST when we were shopping in Hong Kong and immediately fell in love with the adorable baby clothes they offer.  Check them out :)  The good new is, their prices are really reasonable when a sale is running.  

It's All About the Fonts

I've always had a fancy for fonts.  That's why I took all of the calligraphy classes my university had to offer when I was attending even though people say that economists are not obliged to have good handwriting (I beg to differ).  I just can't imagine Adam Smith writing crooked letters, if you know what I mean.  Plus, I strongly believe in engaging in activities that give one utility, so calligraphy classes I took.

Now that I'm a mom and have been introduced by my mother-in-law to digital scrapbooking, I'm always on the lookout for cute fonts.  And with how easy Apple has made it to download new fonts onto my computer, I find no reason whatsoever to deprive myself of some absolutely delicious fonts.  There are a couple websites I absolute love and thought I might let you in on my little non-secret.  My very favorite website is Lost Type.  Go check it out and you can see for yourself why I love it so much.  I've put in links for where you could download all of my favorite fonts :)  Happy typing!

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New Rules

Hi there!  I hope you had a good weekend.  Mondays are always a little hard for me.  I get used to having Jake's help around the house and with the mini during the weekends, and poof! off he goes to work at 7:30 in the morning.

I want to start this week with a post of some new rules for the blog.  I have decided that I will only blog on the weekdays from now on.  Blogging takes away a chunk of my evening every night with my little family and so I've made up my mind to reserve a couple special evenings to spend with two of my utmost favorite people in the world and take a rest from the blog.

Don't despair my awesome readers, I'll make up the lonely Stanfordwifeless days to you by posting all my pointless random thoughts, brain-cells-numbing sort of boring ramblings, and cute pictures of the babe on the weekdays :)

A Three Hour Nap

I read a quote once about how there's nothing closer to heaven than having a little boy fall asleep next to you.  In my humble opinion, lots of other moments in life come closer to heaven than a sleeping baby boy; giving birth to one would be a good example.  However, it is a sweet sight to see a little boy, who just a few minutes ago was running wild and bouncing on the bed to the tune of Star Wars, drift off to sleep laying right next to you.  I love watching my baby sleep.  Sometimes he wakes up happy and that moment when his chubby little face turns from drowsiness to a great big smile as soon as he lays eyes on you comes pretty close to a perfect mom moment.  Right then, I could feel something like heaven nearby.  Yes, pretty close.  Pretty darn close.

Ethan's Get Naked Project

Every parent has a dark, mean side.  And this is mine: whenever we dress or undress Ethan, I like to pause it all for just a second with the piece of clothing right at his head and laugh.  Sometimes I like to take a picture as well.  I call it the Get Naked Project.  I thought that I had quite a few of these pictures but when I was going through my library today these were all the ones I could find.  How disappointing...  I'm calling for phase two of this  project, starting today!

E's Birthday Thank You Card

You know Ethan's middle name isn't really Jacob and our last name isn't really Hunt, but with a first name like Ethan you just got to have a last name like Hunt.  Originally, I was going to order his thank yous from Tiny Prints but when I saw what the total came to, my thoughts directed me to an image of this über cute lamp shade that I really really really wanted to get for E's room.

So, I decided to make my own thank yous for E's birthday this year.  It's nothing fancy but I like it and the lamp shade that the UPS guy brought us a few days ago was very likable as well!  If you contributed to spoiling our mini on his first birthday this year, you should be expecting one of these in the mail soon.

I hope that you're having a good week!  

Letter to Ethan 9/11

Dear My Sweet Son,

On this day many years before you were born, something terrible happened and many, many people's lives were taken.  It was a tragic day.

Mommy can remember exactly what I was doing when I first found out what was happening in a faraway city on the other side of the world.  I was in my bedroom getting ready to go to bed when I heard your grandmother gasp and make a horrible sound from her bedroom.  I dropped everything I was doing, frightened, and ran into her room.  I saw her sitting on her bed with horror on her face staring at the TV.  I turned and saw it myself as well.  That night, I cried hard and couldn't figure out how this world could be so bad.

I remember going to school the next day.  Our school cancelled classes and held a special assembly in the assembly hall.  I remember all the students being called to arise from our seats when our principle and teachers entered the hall in a line, one after another, all with bowed heads and solemn faces.  I remember seeing our two foreign teachers, one from England and the other from the states (if I remember correctly), coming into the hall huddled together crying and I remember the stinging in my heart.

Little bug, I'm sorry to say that mommy still hasn't figured out why the world is so bad at times.  Sometimes bad things happen to good people and when you see things like that happen, there will be a sad feeling in your heart.  It's okay to feel that way.  Don't try to bury it.  Instead, do something about it.  Mommy believes that in the very middle of us, something is there to tell us what is right and what is wrong.  And when we see wrong in this world, that little something tugs at us, telling us that it should not be that way.  It is what we do about that feeling, what we do to right the wrong, that makes us different.  Mommy hopes that you will grow up to have the courage to follow that feeling right inside of you.  When you see someone sad, have the courage to comfort him and make him feel better.  When you see someone hurt, have the courage to help her.  When you see someone lonely, have the courage to be his friend.  Mommy promises that I will try my very best to do the same.  We are a team.  And the good news, mama believes, is that there are more people on our team than there are on the other.  I have no doubt that right will always win in the end.

Love always,
Mama

Ten Books

There's a blog I really like called Everyday Reading.  I think I like it so much because I can relate to the blogger Janssen: she is a mom of a little girl, she likes to make nutritious food for her family, but most importantly, she loves to read.  She does these Everything I read posts quarterly and when I'm ready for a new book I always go back to those posts to look for a recommendation.  I love her book lists.  Then I thought, maybe I can do something like that on my blog as well but then I crossed out that thought because by the rate I'm reading my quarterly book list would have only a handful of books on it and that's just a little pathetic.  SO I've decided to do a 10 Books I've Read post featuring the last ten books I've read and giving one- to two-sentence reviews on the books.

Are you ready?

Here it goes.

The First Husband by Laura Dave.  This was a meh for me.  I didn't really like it.  It was not a very good story with a few holes in the plot, and there were things the main character did that I really couldn't imagine that anyone would do.  So no I wouldn't recommend this book.

Small as an Elephant by Jennifer Jacobson.  I really enjoyed this book.  It makes me want to be a better mother.

Jefferson's Sons by Kimberly Bradley.  I liked this book a lot.  I wrote about it a little bit more in this post a while ago.  For me, it wasn't so much about whether Jefferson really had children with Sally Hemings, but more about the point that even people who so honorably fought for their own kind's freedom could be completely blind to their own fault at holding others in bondage.

Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt.  This was okay.  It was kinda funny but nothing amazing.

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty.  I loved this book.  The way the author led her readers to the truth one step at a time got me hooked.  Definitely my kind of book.  Read it.

Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross.  This was a very interesting book.  It was a little too long or maybe the story was too slow but a good read nonetheless.  I'm just glad that I was born in this day and age!

I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella.  This was fun but I wasn't in love with it or anything.  I don't even know why I still read any chick lit, they never wow or amaze me, but I guess there are just times when you want to read a light hearted book that doesn't require your brain to work too hard.

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear.  This was one of my favorites out of these ten as well.  It reminded me a little bit of the Number One Ladies Detective Agency series, but Maisie Dobbs is less witty and involves subjects that are a little more serious.

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer.  I think that when the vampire fairies or midgets or gnomes sprinkled their magic dusts over all the females in the United States that they must have missed me or something.  I just don't understand what's so mesmerizing about falling in love with a vampire or a wolf!  Seriously.  Maintaining a healthy marital relationship is hard enough even when you don't have to think about what you're going to grab and knock out your annoyed husband with so that he doesn't bite the noisy neighbors next door.

Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt.  Yes, I really liked this one as well.  It's fun and serious at the same time.

If you have read any of the books I've mentioned above, leave me a comment and let me know how you liked them!  Happy reading!

I'd Rather Not Believe in Baby Shoes

If you ever see a young and beautiful mommy frantically and efficiently rub hand sanitizer on her baby's feet at the grocery store or the mall or the library, don't judge.  (p.s. That young and beautiful mommy I just mentioned in the above sentence would be me, just in case you didn't catch that.)  I didn't believe in baby shoes.

And this is why...

You buy a pair of adorable baby shoes with ten percent of your paycheck, *it takes you 30 whole minutes just to stuff your baby's plump chubby feet in the shoes that you're already regretting buying; ten seconds after they're on, your baby grabs at them and pulls them off; you try to put them back on; he pulls them off again.  [Now go back to * and repeat reading the scenario in your head ten times]  300 minutes later, you give up, grab some duct tape to secure the baby shoes on your baby's feet.  You put your baby in the carseat and start driving.  When you look into your rear mirror, you find your baby having the time of his life chewing his heart out on those once cute baby shoes.  Sigh.  You think to yourself Why hasn't any company started making dishwasher-safe, baby-teeth-proof, and anti-choke baby shoes and market them as teething toys yet?  And then when you've arrived at your destination, you put the shoes back on your baby, and walk into the building.  As you approach the automatic sliding door, you see in your reflection that your baby only has one shoe on.  Somehow between your car and your final destination, he has dropped a shoe.  You go back to the parking lot, and find that the one-twentieth paycheck worth of baby shoe is smashed into the ground like a dead rabbit after being rolled over by a car.

The above story is only an imagined one, but I am sure every mother has experienced something quite similar when it comes to baby shoes.  That's why Ethan never wears shoes.  We sometimes put socks on him but most of the time just let him go bare feet.

Until now, that is.

Ethan has been standing for a while now.  He likes to stand on the benches at church, the chairs in the library, and the shopping carts in stores.  I wince when I think about all the... [gulp]... germs that he collects with his feet.  Thus the feet rubbing in hand sanitizer.  It's not rational I know but I can't help it. Anyhow, E is a little older now that I feel like we can try letting him wear shoes again.  And if we're going to spend so much on a pair of shoes, I'm going to make sure they're worth it, at least in the appearance department if not the functional one.

Mango and Black Bean Quinoa Salad

Quinoa and I first met in California.  The moment I met her, I knew that I would never want to live without her again.  Then I looked her up on Wikipedia and found out how awesome she is for my body so I decided that I would let her hang out at our pantry more often.  I just needed to find a way for her to make her way onto our dinner table.  That's why when I came across this recipe, I had to try it.  The salad was beautiful with all the different colors, and you know how I feel about mangos (YUM!).  However, the salad dressing was not my favorite.  It was way too strong.  Another downside is that this doesn't keep so you'll have to consume it all in one go.  This recipe reminds me though of another quinoa recipe that I used to make: it's a stir fry and it's yum-o-yum.  I'll have to post that sometime!

{ Mango and Black Bean Quinoa Salad }

From Mel's Kitchen Cafe

2 cups cooked quinoa (about ¾ cup dried), cooked in vegetable or chicken broth, at room temperature or chilled

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 medium mangos, peeled and diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

4 green onions, white and green parts thinly sliced

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

4 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Place the cooked quinoa in a large bowl. Add mango, red pepper, green onion, black beans, and cilantro.

In a small bowl combine vinegar, olive oil, and lime juice. Whisk until the dressing is smooth and pour on top of salad. Toss to combine and add salt and pepper (add more to taste if desired). Chill the salad for at least one hour before serving.