Construction

So currently I am sitting here blogging while my street is being torn up for Lowe's (Thanks a lot). They just cut a hole in front of our house and are now putting the metal plate over said hole. Amidala is napping and by god if they wake her neither her nor I will be happy. So you may be wonder why I'm home today. Amidala had a fever yesterday and was sent home early from daycare. Her fever went down after we gave her some motrin but she still had a slight one today. So since she had to stay home from daycare I brought her to see Dr. Vonnegut. She will most likely be going back tomorrow unless her fever is over 101 again. So onto todays' post.

Amidala is almost walking, she took five steps about two weeks ago and has taken a few more unassisted here and there. It's just a matter of time and in the mean time Anakin and I are trying to baby proof as much as quickly as we can.

Here's the 101 in 1001 update

#72: Anakin and I had our second date, 5th overall since Amidala has been born. We went to the red sox game. It was the first game I had gone to since last August when I was very pregnant. I have to say being at a red sox game while pregnant is one of the worst experiences ever. I barely fit in the seat and was up every minute to pee so to say next time I am pregnant I will not be going to any games.

#55: Ok ever since fall came I have been a cooking machine, ok well not really. But I did try 4, yes 4 new recipes. The first was a home made sloppy joe. If most of you are like me the thought of this made me a little sick but it is surprisingly good. Amidala had them at daycare and loves, loves, loves them so I decided to try and make them. And they came out great
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/sloppy-joes-ii/Detail.aspx

Recipe #2 was an apple cider stew. It is as simple as the name sounds. Literally all it is is apples, potatoes, carrots, beef and cider in the crock pot. and IT is very good we made it again this weekend for friends. For a random find online it is very good.
http://www.familycrockpotrecipes.com/AppleCiderSTew.html

Recipe #3 is something special I am making today for Anakin. Anakin is a huge pumpkin fan and had said over the weekend he would like some pumpkin bread. A friend of mine mentioned on facebook she had made some with chocolate chips in it. Alas she did not a recipe so I found this one online and just added some chocolate chips to it. I have yet to taste it as it is just sitting in my oven for now. http://dcist.com/2008/09/30/eating_in_spiced_pumpkin_beer_bread.php

Recipe #4 was maple butter and it is exactly as you would as it sounds maple syrup and butter mixed together. We made it as a pancake topping and enjoyed it very much.

That's all for now folks.
Rachel

Somewhere over the Rainbow

Sorry for the recent month long absence but a certain nine almost ten month old has been terrorizing my world and lately at night I haven't felt up to blogging. Amidala is almost walking. She will stand on her own if you put her down, she is pulling up on everything imaginable include my self and Anakin. She walks around holding only one of our hands. Our world is about to turned upside down any day now by a certain cute munchkin. Anakin had posted 9 month pictures at www.everythingthelighttouches.com so go and check them out. Also a plug for him, if you want an pics done please let him know. There should be a new post up there soon as there is a current backlog of photos on our iMac.

Now for the updates:

#12, While you maybe thinking when did Rachel go to Europe, well I didn't, I'm changing this one. While I would love, love, love, love to go back and see some more it probably won't be in the finances for a bit here, so I'm changing it to just taking a vacation with Anakin alone, sans bebe. Hopefully it will be for our 5 year anniversary.

#41: This one was quite easy, I'll admit it. Since Amidala has been eating more and more of our food, it's easier to eat the table then anywhere else. Plus there are hard wood floors in the dining room and that means super easy to clean

#64: Amidala is slowing learning some signs, she does more and sometimes mommy. We try to use them as much as possible, its a start

#41: 2 more wines tries at a wine tasting at one of my favorite wine stores, Bon vivant in Randolph. They had a Portuguese White and a Merlot. So I tried both and they were both so delicious we bought a bottle of both.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Check back soon for more post!

Rachel

Back to Reality

Vacation is good. We just got back from visiting the in-laws in North Carolina and boy was it hot and by hot I mean at least 90 each day. It even got to 110 on Saturday and the AC decided to break that day as well but that was our last day. Anakin, Amidala and I all had such a good time and Amidala loved spending time with her grandparents and I'm sure they did as well. We found out our little girl is like a fish and loves loves loves to swim. So much so that she was putting her own face in the water by the end!!

Anyways, I didn't feel like blogging while on vacation and didn't have the time either because Amidala kept 4 adults running around. I did manage to get some of my 101 in 1001 done so that was good. So here are the updates.

#78. I finally made something that wasn't four sided. I made a flour to accent a hat for Amidala. I am also working on two hats currently, one for Amidala and one for the hospital.

#9. This is still in progress, Amidala likes to get her face wet and kicks in the water so hopefully we can do some classes this winter/spring coming up to help her out more.

#38. I tried two new wines while on vacation. One was a mixed pinot gris and a reilsing. It was very tatsy, a little tangy but so so good. I also tried a Sweet wine, which by it's name you can guess is sweet, it's a blush wine which I do enjoy as well.

#72. Anakin and I got to go on a date while we were there as well. We went to dinner and saw Inception, which was a great movie. It was fun to go out together but also good to go back and see our little princess.

#30. Amidala had her first play date before we left. We drove up to Meuthen to see Katie and her little boy. Katie is a friend of mine from college and we met when we pledged our sorority. Amidala had a lot of fun and we can't wait to see them again!

Thanks for catching the update!
Racehl

101 in 1001 update

Hi All,
Sorry for the lacking blog post, or none at all for a few weeks here. I've been busy working on my list as well as trying to keep Amidala out of trouble (she's crawling and starting to stand now). Anyways here is the update.

#19. I last cut my hair in January and I have decide not to cut it again, aside from trimming my bangs, until it is long enough to donate it locks of love. I've always wanted to do this but my hairs gets about mid back and I chop it off. So this time I will try very very hard to not cut it, plus I've never had super long hair.

#6. I have completed a blanket to donate to Sturdy Memorial Hospital.I did a new stitch that I learned by myself, the fan stitch. I need to make the hat still but I have never made anything that is not a blanket so I'm going to have my MIL help me when we visit.

#26. On Tuesday night since I had no TV to watch since it's summer and there is nothing on, I took an hour and entered all of the address from our address book as well as the lists from our wedding and the baby shower. Now all of our address are in one central place. A boring task but now it's done and Christmas cards will be so much easier to send out this year.

#54 and #55. On fathers' day I made Anakin dinner since it's his day he just got to hang out with the princess and I cooked. We had mac an cheese with chicken from a recipe I found online and I just added chicken to it. I modified the recipe as we did not have heavy cream or sour cream so I just put milk and a ton of cheese.

#38. I tired one new wine a Savigon Blanc, which I've never had, I usually stick to reisling or a beer so I had this one because a friend brought the bottle over and left it. While I didn't not like it, it was a little dry for my taste but at least I finished my glass.

#76. We are taking a family trip to visit some family. I have put a lot of time into planning so we don't forget anything and if we do I'm sure we can but it there as there will be stores.

#84. On Wednesday I finally finished a crossword puzzle without cheating and looking up the answers. I ususally do one during my lunch as a way to destress and just get my mind off of work for about 30 minutes.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed my update!!! Hopefully I will be getting a new layout soon so keep checking to see it.

Rachel.

Follow me on twitter R_Eaton

Blanket

First off I hope all you watched Glee this week. All I can say is that show is amazing, I probably cried way too much for a TV show, but that version of somewhere over the rainbow was great.

Secondly, watching the finale I finally finished Amidalas' blanket. I kept meaning to start one while I was pregnant but I could never find the time, and found I had even less time when she was here. I had my MIL teach me a new stitch when they were out here in May and that is the one I used for her blanket with just a simple border on it so it doesn't take too much tear from Amidala using it. I am now working on making one to donate to the hospital that Amidala was born at along with a hat. The hat will be my first non four sided piece, but hopefully it will come out well and I can make one for myself and probably everyone else for Christmas. Amidala's

Pictures of the blanket to come.

thanks for stopping by Rachel

I didn't mean to light you on fire....

So today's titles come from our dinner preparations. We were making quesilldas and were cooking the peppers and onions with butter and tequila. It was very yummy. But needless to say it was interest. Let me preface it with I AM FINE. I DID NOT GET HURT So during the cooking process Anakin put some more tequila in and in order to get them to soften quicker cover the pan. I was stirring the chicken on the back burner and all of the sudden my neck and face were engulfed in flames. Anakin then proceed to say oh shit, i didn't mean to light you on fire.

ALso on a more positive note today I was able to go though all of my clothes in the basement and organize them and I came out with a bag of clothes, shoes and bags to donate. I am very with happy with that. I did a big purge before we moved. It just feels good to do that.

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day and Remember those who have fought for us.

Rachel

Give Blood, Give Life

So on Friday I gave blood for the first time in about 5 years and it was fine. It was funny to see some of the people that were there from my work and just people off the street. The thing I liked about it was I got to see/meet some people that I didn't even know where in my building. On the other hand, I did get to see a grown man cry. Yes that's right there was a grown man crying the whole time he gave blood. It was quite comical. I'm not making fun of this man I'm sure he had his reason but honestly it's not that bad, maybe my pain tolerance is higher from multiple IV attempts while in the hospital for E or what. But this is the first of 5 times I will be donating blood over the next 1001.

Come back soon,
Rachel

101 in 1001 update

So an update on my 101 in 1001. I currently have a few of the items on my list in progress. I have to call the library tomorrow to see when I can drop off my donation of book, I am giving blood at work on Friday (1/5). I have to admit the second one was easy as I do not have to leave my building to do so but only go down 3 floors. Also I learned a new crochet stitch, the thistle stitch, I learned it and I'm going to start E's baby blanket by using that stitch. I started it in red but I found some baby yarn that was a more appropriate color.
Also E has started to say some words, dada was first but now we have baba and mama(finally!!) Check out L's site, www.everythingthelighttouches.com for some cute pics of E and just some awesome pics in general!

Stay classy San Francisco,
Rachel

It's Been a While

So it's been a while but I guess that is what happens when you have a 6 month old and work full time. Anyways a lot has been going on with me. My nephew was born last month and him and mom are doing well. Amidala is now sitting up on her own and learning to crawl.

As for me I have decided to start a 101 in 1001. I have a bunch of friends that have started it which got me interested and thinking that I have some stuff that I would like to do/finish. While I always have a new year's resolution list and an ongoing mental bucket list. What better than to put in writing what I want to do and give myself a time limit. Anyways, here is my list, keep checking back as I will be making a post for each one that I finish.

1. Finish Amidala’s baby blanket
2. Visit 4 new states (0/4)
3. Stop biting my nails
4. Don’t eat out for a week (0/7)
5. Get back down to my wedding weight
6. Make a baby blanket and hat to donate to a hospital
7. Go to church at least once a month for 6 months (0/6)
8. Plant an herb garden
9. Teach to Amidala swim
10. Try sushi
11. Organize and donate clothes that don’t fit
12. Go to Europe with Anakin
13. Make a picture album for Amidala’s first year
14. Run a 5K
15. Watch 10 movies I would not normally pick (0/10)
16. Offer my seat to people on the T for one week (0/5)
17. Visit a place featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives
18. Grow hair for locks of love
19. Donate blood 5 times (0/5)
20. Pay for person behind me at Starbucks
21. Host brunch 3 times (0/3)
22. Go to 2 different farmers markers (0/2)
23. Enter recipes into excel recipe book
24.Not watch TV for one week
25. Create a working address book in Excel
26. Take Evey to the zoo
27. Scan old pictures into Facebook
28. Do at least one blog entry per week (0/)
29. Take Amidala to 5 play dates (0/5)
30. Payoff 2 credit cards (0/2)
31. Go through framed photos and hang up
32. Consign Amidala’s clothes that don’t fit
33. Watch all 6 six season of Lost again (0/6)
34. Donate 10 books that I have ready to a local library or charity (0/10)
35. Learn a new crochet pattern
36. Not drink coffee for one week
37. Try 10 new wines (0/10)
38. Donate to Salvation Army bell ringers
39. Take family ice skating at the frog pond
40. Eat at the table at least 3 times per week for 3 months (0/36)
41. Clean up basement
42. Go to a Celtics Game
43. Go to a Bruins Game
44. Go to a Revs Game
45. Picnic on Castle Island
46. Learn a new craft/talent
47. Not complain about the snow for one winter
48. Get a new sewing machine and learn to use it
49. Go to the Big E
50. Go on a hike
51. Go for a walk 3 times a week for the summer (0/12)
52. Spend a day outdoors
53. Make a dinner from scratch for Anakin
54. Learn and make 10 new recipes
55. Go one weekend without a cell phone
56. Learn how to change a tire
57. Learn to use the grill and make a meal on it
58. Send 5 cards to friends to catch up (0/5)
59. Go to 3 museums (0/3)
60. Eat nothing after 8pm for one month (0/31)
61. Do Jillian Michaels DVD for 30 days (0/30)
62. Keep house clutter free for 1 week
63. Learn and teach baby sign language to Amidala
64. Learn to use chop sticks
65. Own all of the “Classic Disney” movies
66. Take a walk on the beach in the fall
67. Watch the sunrise
68. Watch the sunset
69. Get a new passport
70. Vote in a local/state election
71. Go on 5 dates with just Anakin (0/5)
72. Offer to babysit for someone
73. Learn to use the D40
74. Make Anakin breakfast in bed
75. Plan a family vacation
76. Take a trip on the train
77. Crochet something non square or rectangular
78. Start a savings account
79. Buy a paper shredder
80. Observe no meat on Fridays for all of one Lenten season
81. Drive the car at least once a week for a month (0/4)
82. Get 20 followers
83. Complete an entire crossword puzzle by myself
84. Build a snowman with Amidala
85. Go apple picking and a make a pie
86. Watch a film from the year I was born
87.1Visit Cooperstown
88. Keep up on Amidala’s baby book
89. Go to a midnight movie premier
90. Drink 8 8oz glasses of water per day for one month (0/31)
91. See a drive in movie
92. Run a 10K
93. Have dinner by candle light
94 Do a touristy activity in Boston
95. Learn to Edit photos that I’ve taken with the D40
96. Host a cocktail party
97. Create a Blog entry for each task completed
98. Go star gazing for one hour
99.Do something special once list is complete
100. Save $1.00 for each complete task
101. Save $5.00 for each failed/uncompleted task

Good Everyone!

Life with a four month old

So It's been a little while but I guess that's life with a four month old. Speaking of which Amidala rolled over this past Saturday from her belly to her back. She hasn't gone the other way yet but I'm sure it's coming soon. She is also starting to inch, not very efficient in the mode of traveling but it's only a matter of time for that too. Amidala has had a lot going on recently, teething is the new thing which we are hoping they come in soon since she has been miserable. She just cries and mopes for most of the day. This morning she seemed a little better and was happy when she woke up. Although I can't complain that she is sleeping all day because she is still sleeping all night long, but I haven't had to wake her in the mornings recently. Which is good because she like to play games to pretend she is still asleep which is too cute. That's all for now.

First Post

My name is Rachel, I'm 26 and from Boston MA. This blog is just my experiences. I have loving husband and beautiful new daughter. I was in a sorority in college and I currently work as a tax analyst and adjustment specialist.

My husband, Anakin just bought a new DSLR camera and while I do not know much about cameras, he does. My main concern was how nice his pictures would come out. After much debate and deliberation Anakin finally decided on the Nikon D300s, he previously used the Nikon D40. This was the camera that when he was debating over two I said just get the Nikon, you've always had good things to say about the old one. Now I am not camera or electronics expert. I just go with what I like and my tastes can be fickle at times when I flop from brand to brand. While I'm not one for spending large amounts of money at once, the sheer thought of it makes me sick to my stomach. I've been looking at this as more an investment in Anakin's future dreams and hopes rather than that we just spent that amount of money. Now that I have see some of the beautiful pictures he has taken of our daughter Amidala. The money was well spent, but how could he not take pictures of such a perfect little girl.