My Big Girl

Yay for the weekend. I know I don't have much merit in saying that while being a stay at home mom but I enjoy getting to spend time with my family. Amidala is now officially a big girl. She sleeps in her big girl bed, starts day care again on Monday, and has no more binky. At her new day care they are not allowed to have in the two year old room so upon reading that, we decided to take it away so it was a non issue when she needed to transfer up to that room. We started on Monday and she has been doing great! With some incentives of course. She go a new Nala and a doodle pad for being a big girl. We went to visit her new school on Wednesday and stayed for about an hour and a half, so she could get used to it and meet the new kids. A couple of the kids had binkies and Amidala pointed at them and said babies mommy. She is such a good goober.
Today is exciting because I have a phone interview and this will hopefully lead to an in person one next week. More to come on that.
Since we were so busy before we moved I didn't have time to update my 101 in 1001. So here is an update since we have been in the south.

#42: I had a goal of cleaning our basement while we were in Quincy but since we had to move it was cleaned in the packing/sorting and trashing. So I do have a clean/organized basement, I just don't get to use it.

#52: This summer Anakin and I have been taking Amidala for nightly walks in Crown Colony before we moved. It was nice to get out get some fresh air and exercise and let Amidala burn some energy before bed.

#72: Anakin and I went on a date with my friends Jen and Evan. We went to Rio's in Quincy which is an all you can eat Brazilian BBQ. It was delicious and I definitely ate way more than I should have.

#91: Drinking enough water is hard, especially while working. Anakin and I found these water bottles called Camelbak's and they are great. I can honestly say I drink a ton of water with it.

Hope you all enjoyed this update and hopefully I will have some news on the job front soon!
-Rachel

The Big Move

So from the short post earlier this week, you probably have figured out we are now living in NC. We drove down over the course of 2 days, 20 hours in the car with Amidala in our car and the cats in my inlaws. It was a long drive that was rerouted due to Hurricane Irene. All in all the drive was not too bad, we saw some beautiful scenery in New York State and Central Pennsylvania. The mountains out there are beautiful and so peaceful.
On day two we began our treck from central PA, through West Virginia and Virginia for most of the day. We even went through South Boston, VA. And the last leg of the trip was North Carolina, which was about an hour and our first run in with rain.
The family and I are happy down here and doing well. Anakin started a new job two weeks ago and I am still on the hunt but have a promising lead from Fidelity. Since I am not working I have the pleasure of spending my days with Amidala. She is quite the artist and we are accumulating quite the surplus of art at age 2. Hopefully everything works out and I get a job soon.
Speaking of Amidala, she will be two in 5 weeks!!! Where does the time go. It seems she was just turning 1!!
That's it for now. If you would like an Amidala original please let me know, I hate to get rid of it.
-Rachel

New Start

So the family and I moved down to NC three weeks ago and are finally settled. I have a big update to post probably tomorrow. We are all fine!

We come together no mind of the weather, We gonna love each other til the end of time

A lot has happened in the last month for us. Amidala is now 1.5 and running amuck amuck amuck.She also got her tubes put in and we have seen a huge improvement in balance and speech. Her vocabulary has exploded and she repeats everything.
On a not so light note this past Wednesday a series of tornados went through my home town of Springfield, MA. There were two confirmed touch downs, one going right up main street and one closer to the Wilbraham border. My family is fine and is my grandfather's restaurant. It was very scary trying to get ahold of my sister and mother not knowing where they were and if they were ok. Thankfully I heard from my sister quickly via text that she was ok. My mom texted back that she was ok about a half hour after and I was so relieved that she was ok.
My thoughts and prayers go out to those also affected by the tornados and hope everyone is safe and recovering

-Rachel

Happy Mom Day

This is how was greeted by Amidala when she awoke from her nap with some help from dad. It was the cutest thing ever. If this kid could get any cuter she did here.
This being my second Mother's day it was great. We were planning on make homemade donuts for breakfast but after Amidala spent the better part of the morning getting sick we decided it was best to stick to cheerios. Poor munchkin had some bad post nasal drip that resulted in her getting sick.
After a laid back morning and lunch we took Amidala to the playground near us again. She loves it there and had a ton of fun on all the slide. We had to cut the trip short due to some parents not watching their older children who decided to climb up the slides. Since it was no longer safer for little miss to be on them, we came home where Anakin made some great curried pineapple chicken! And we ended the day with ice cream cake!
Here's a picture from the park

-Rachel

Now there you go again you say

What a long and emotional month it has been for me. I know May has just started but it has already been super busy and eventful. Amidala needs to get ear tubes. We went to a pediatric ENT last Friday. She had been on new medication for 5 days and still had a bunch of fluid in both ears and one was still infected. They did a hearing test, she is fine and her hearing has thankfully not been affected by the frequent ear infections. The doctor we saw was more than nice. She said she would highly recommend the tubes but said we could wait out the summer if we wanted. We decided it was already long enough for her to be in pain and on a ton of medication. She will have the procedure done a week from Friday.
We also went on a family vacation to visit family in NYC. It was a great time, I was nice to go and see some site and enjoy a new place with family.
the lack of post has not been with out cause, I've been busy with Amidala, had a vacation, had a lot of sorority volunteer events going on and of course working on my 101.
Here is the update:
#2: We visited NYC, I know I have been before but it was for less than a day plus I didn't do much other than be on the bus to and from. We had a ton of fun, got to see a lot of iconic sites, relax, spend time with family and each other. NYC is so different from Boston. It's hard getting around a city I didn't know and sharing a room the size of my bedroom with 2 other people.
#16: Anakin and I watched Tron:Legacy. I have never seen the first one and thought this looked so stupid. We didn't even give it thought to see it in the theaters. I was good, engaging. It has made me want to see the original at some point.
#27: Take Amidala to the zoo. While in NYC we went to the Central Park Zoo. The original plan was the bronx zoo but the ride would have been way too long. In the end the Central Park Zoo was perfect. It was small enough to not be all day but enough animals to hold her interest. She loved it. Her favorites were the snow leopard, and fire fox.
#29: Person #2 for the hand made challenge is done. They are not here yet. I made some things for some friends who are expecting in July. Pictures to come once I have given them the gift.
#55: Learn to make 10 new recipes. Anakin and I made our own pizza dough. It was not the one I grew up making with my grandfather. I only know how to make that one on an extremely large scale. We also tried to recreate the risotto we had from the Lodge in Williamsburg. It was a Vegan risotto with caramelized onions and apples. It came out great and will be made again soon.
#60: Visit 3 museums. While in NYC we went to the MET. It was huge. It reminded me of the Louvre, there is so much you never feel like you see all of it. We really enjoyed the Egyptian and Renaissance wings. Amidala loved this blue hippo and said "hippo" every time she saw it.
#66: Own all the Disney Classic movies. Anakin and I have been buying the classics as they are released from the vault and are up to current on them. I'm not sure that there are anymore classics to get gotten.
#89: This is one of the first Lenten seasons where I faithfully abstained from meat on Fridays and holy Days for the whole time. While it was challenging when we just wanted to order out but it was not that bad.
Check back soon to see how Amidala's is doing and thanks for stopping by. Also look for some more photography by me soon.
-Rachel

It took so long to feel so right

So if you think you recognize the title above a song lyrics, you are right. It's from Christina Perri's "Jar of Hearts" I am completely obsessed with this song right now. Even Amidala loves it! A lot has been going on for us. Amidala has another ear infection, her 7th. We are going to see a pediatric ENT specialist at Mass Ear and Eye/Children's Boston. The poor little kid, she hadn't had one in a month. There is clearly something up other than cold and flu season causing this. I just want to be able to help her. I by any means do not want her to have a procedure just to have it. But if in the long run she will stop getting ear infections I'm ok with that. How healthy can it be to keep giving her anitbiotics and tylenol/motrin for the pain. So we are going to go in and see what they have to say and hopefully help our little munchkin.
Other than that Amidala is doing great, talking more, running, doing more sign language. One good thing is her doctor said her speech has not been slowed by the ear infections and in fact she is speaking more/better than most kids her age. She is a gabber and is still a parrot. When she plays with "her" iPhone she says hi and then oh ok I gotta go. So cute!
Anakin and I have started to diet a bit. I want to get back down to my wedding weight. I have already lost all of my baby weight, I did that over a year ago! It helped that I lost 23 of the 27 pounds I gained when I left the hospital. I'm not loosing weight with the goal of being thin. My goal is to be healthy and active. I have the goal of my wedding weight because it seems attainable and then I will see and go from there if I want to loose more. We are doing a modified south beach diet. We are not doing the 2 week cleanse, as it is too drastic and we don't have the time to commit to it. Also since Amidala eats the same as us, I would be making her separate meals which is crazy. I will keep up on the progress we are making.
So here is also an update for my 101!
#4:We finally went a week where we didn't order food for dinner one night. This one was much harder than it seem but we did it and it was nice to save some money.

#30 I took Amidala to play date number 3. As I mentioned in some earlier posts I was in a sorority in college that I currently help advise. A lot of the girls have had children and we try to get together every month or so. So the kids can play and we can talk mommy. Amidala and I made the drive out and got to meet some new friends. She had a lot of fun and went to bed at 7!

#55: I made and served recipe #6. For Anakin's birthday I always make him a cake either boxed (when we were in college/first married) or from scratch(more recent years). This year's was a lemon cake with a chocolate ganache frosting. Let me tell you the frosting was delicious. The cake was good too. Amidala was not a fan, I think she preferred the cupcakes I made for when family came over the Sunday after his birthday to celebrate. Here is the recipe:
Lemon Cake with Chocolate Gloppy Frosting
Recipe courtesy Alex Guarnaschelli

Prep Time:
25 min
Inactive Prep Time:
30 min
Cook Time:
45 min
Level:
Intermediate
Serves:
makes 1 (9-inch) cake


Ingredients
Cake:
1 stick butter plus 1 tablespoon for greasing the pan
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain, whole milk yogurt
3 eggs
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Chocolate Frosting:
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon and a few grates of zest
2 to 3 grates whole nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
9 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon almond extract
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch square cake pan with 1 tablespoon of the butter.
For the cake: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or an electric hand mixer, or by hand), cream the 1 stick of butter and granulated sugar together until smooth, 5 to 8 minutes. As you are creaming the butter and sugar, scrape the sides down with a rubber spatula so you are sure to be combining the butter and sugar as it mixes.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
When the butter and sugar are integrated, blend in the yogurt. Add the eggs, one by one. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the dry ingredients. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake, undisturbed, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes before inverting it on to a plate and allowing it to cool for an additional 20 minutes.
For the frosting: In a small saucepan, combine the water and granulated sugar and bring to a simmer. Stir to make sure all of the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl to cool. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir to blend. Set the syrup aside to cool.
In a small saucepan, heat the cream. Place the chocolate chips in a medium bowl. When the cream simmers, pour it over the chocolate chips. Whisk to blend. Set aside to cool.
In the bowl of the food processor, combine the confectioners' sugar, butter, and almond extract. Pulse to blend. Continue blending for about 30 seconds until the ingredients are mixed together. Use a rubber spatula to scrape every bit of the chocolate mixture into the processor and mix again to blend. Transfer the frosting to a bowl and allow it to sit a little before frosting the cake.
Transfer cake to a serving platter. Use a pastry brush (or spoon) to put some of the syrup on the cake. Do not make too wet or the cake will be soggy and fall apart, use just a little bit here and there. Carefully spread the frosting over the cake starting in the center and working it to and around the edges. Make sure there is enough frosting to coat the top and sides of the cake. Serve.


Check back soon for more updates!
-Rachel

Just waiting

So Amidala had an appointment with her doctor today to check her ears again. He said since the weather is getting nicer, he thinks her ear infections should stop. Which is hopefully what happens. She still has fluid in her ears but no infection which is good. Also her speech is not impaired, and he thinks she is talking very well and clear. This morning she even asked Anakin, "Where is you iPhone?". Hopefully little miss is done with ear infections, if she does get another we will be going to see a specialist that her doctor recommends.

Hopefully another post this week.
-Rachel

oh oh oho, oh oh oh, oh oh oho, the right stuff

Thought it would be nice to start it off with some old NKOTB.
So a lot has happened since my last post. Amidala has another double ear infection. She got it 2 days before her 3 week follow up to check her ears to see if they were draining. So clearly they are not. So we got another Z-pack and it is working well. This is after the doctor we saw said they don't work....hmmmm I wonder why they would even make and prescribe them if they didn't work. Sorry for the sassy comment but I do not like the doctor we saw on Wednesday. This is the same one we saw when Amidala ended up having a bronchial infection and needed to go to the hospital to figure it out. Ya, a big thanks for telling me to wait it out with my, at the time, 11 month old. Who by the way was miserable and I missed 4 days of work.
So onto to happier notes, as you may or may not have guessed, Amidala is singing the above song. We do parts, i do the first and she the second, and so on. She loves to sing and dance. She can even do happy and you know it along with the actions at the appropriate times. She also loves Evacuate the Dance Floor. She shakes her little booty to it all the time.
Amidala is getting so big and so smart. She understands too much sometimes. But she is a good goober. She learned two new signs at day-care recently, please and thank you. Such a polite little munchkin. Potty training has halted a bit, she likes to sit on it and still tells us when but that's about it. At least she is keeping up with telling us and is aware what is going on. She even woke up the other night and eventually got me up to tell me she had to go. I told her it was too early to use the potty and it was alright to just go. But I thanked her for letting me know she had to. She snuggled for a few and went right back to sleep.
If anyone has some potty training tips I'd appreciate it. She's a little young, only 16 month, but she is interested and strong willed.
I've also been working a lot on my 101. It's nice to just be able to work on it when I want but I like that I put some long term stuff on it, gives me something to do long term. I have quick update!

#16: Angels and Demons. Anakin and I watched this a couple of weekends ago. He has read both book and I've only see the first movie. It was a good movie.

#55: Chicken Soup. I made the family some chicken soup when Anakin had the horrible stomach bug that was going around 2 weeks ago. It was just the one off the chicken broth box. I've made soup before but just kind of did it as I went. This one was extremely good and I would make it again.

#29: So as part of my 2011 handmade challenge. I have finished one item. I will not say what as I have yet to send it to the person who it is for. I want to take some pictures of it before I send it. I kind of made up the pattern for it and I'm really proud of myself for being able to do that. I just hope they like it.

#21. On Wednesday, when I was home with Amidala we had to go pick up Anakin from work since we had the car for the day. I usually stop and get him coffee before I get him. So we stopped at Starbucks to get the usual order. Feeling in a nice mood and since there was a line a mile long at the drive through. I decided to pay for the person behind me. The cashier was extremely surprised by my gesture. She even commented she had heard of people doing it but never witnessed it. So I'm not sure if the car behind me decided to pay it forward or not , hopefully they did. And if not at least they got some free coffee.

That is all for now. Hopefully another post after this weekend.
-Rachel

Long Short Week

What a week it has been. Everyone in my house is sick but me. Amidala has another double ear infection and may have had a stomach bug on top of it this past weekend. Now Anakin has the stomach bug. I hope I'm not next. Amidala finally seems to be getting over this most recent ear infection. The poor little kid, it's her fourth double ear infection in two months. So we have to go back to the doctor in three weeks here to see if her ears are draining or if she needs something to help her. They had originally talked about some nasal spray that they found to be doing wonders. I don't know about any of you but I think trying to get a 15 month old to do that will be not so successful and I will probably get to do it once and that is it. The next step would be tubes in her ears. They had talked to us about this in January but at the follow up her ears seemed fine so they didn't proceed with them. Also this go around the antibiotics didn't agree with Amidala so after a weekend of horrific diapers we took her back and they wanted to just start back up on it. I insisted they give her something else, so we got a Z-Pac and it seems to be good. Tomorrow is our last day on it so I guess we shall see.
So with everyone being sick, I have been a cleaning machine, trying to keep the house as clean as possible.
On a brighter note from this weekend, Amidala used the potty 3 times. She's getting so big. She went into the bathroom and took her pants off and said potty so I put her on and she did go a little. Since she has been wanting to use the potty we got some training pants. Not sure how successful they will be, but we figured it was worth a try. One of the only things I don't like is they are Dora. I know most people think its a great bilingual show, but personally I find it annoying. I think it's silly of pampers to put the character on the pants. Amidala doesn't even watch TV so she has no idea who this character on her pants is. She says pretty when we put them on but I'm assuming that because they are pink. She also says this about the overnight diapers and points to the purple top on them. So this weekend we will use her potty pants and see how it goes. She also tried at school but just sat there.
I've also been able to use the camera more which I am happy about. I mean we have them so why not learn to use them. That way there will be some picture of Anakin and Amidala for once and they won't be from my iPhone. I also got to take some pictures of Anakin in his new suit and give him the edgy treatment. Check out blog.everythingthelighttouches.com to see them.
Lastly a small 101 update:

#59: I sent out 5 cards today to friends. So keep your eyes open to see if you get one in the mail. They are nothing big but something to make them smile. Who doesn't like to get non bill mail. I know I do.

Hope Everyone has a great weekend and sickness leaves our house.
-Rachel

Sick Baby is no fun

From the title you probably figured out that Amidala is sick since she is the only baby in my life. Unless you thought of my first babies, the kitties. She has another double ear infection but the little kid has been a trooper and was her happy little self. She even finger painted for the first time at home with the Crayola color wonder paint. I have to say it is an awesome product. It really only gets the colors on the paper. She was a little hesitant at first but once she got into it had a blast. I will have to have her paint again tomorrow and take some pictures.
So Anakin and I have decided that after the mess of a diaper she had this morning that she needs to go back to the doctor. She has always been a bit off when on the Amoxillian but today was just horrible. I mean it was soup(sorry for being graphic) but I almost threw up on my child again(another story for another time).So after this we called the on call nurse, who seemed a little unfase and said to just skip a dose and fill her up on carbs. I know she felt like crap the past few day but hardly ate today. She didn't even want mashed potatoes so I know she felt bad. But hopefully tomorrow's appointment will be productive and she will feel better.
Also tomorrow Anakin is letting me take pictures of him in his suit so keep an eye out for pictures of him here and on Everythingthelighttouches. Sorry if you don't recognize him as he is beardless(sad sad day in our house). He did this while Amidala was asleep so she may or may not freak out tomorrow.
Here is a short update for the 101. I had planned on working on a bunch of ones from my list but with Amidala not feeling well it got put on the back burner for the time being. Maybe my little helper will be back tomorrow.

#38: Last night some friend came over for some drinks after they went out to dinner. I had picked up some wine at Rite Aid on Friday(I know it sounds horrid, but they have a great selection). I got Asti, Reisling and Sweet Red. They were having a sale of 3 for $20. Clearly I enjoy the Asti and Reisling. The Sweet Red was somethign enw for me. I don't usually like reds but I decided to give it a try beacuse it looked more like a white. It was really good. I would buy this one again. It was a tad bitter but it had wonderful notes of raspberry, pommegrante and cherries.

Have a great extra day off tomorrow everyone
-Rachel

Amidala can moo, can you?

Amidala has been learning new animal sounds at school as this month's theme is animals. She also got some puzzles for her birthday and when we do them I make the sounds. She will pick up the cow and I'll say oh do you know what sound the cow makes? He says moo. So since starting this she now knows what the cow and sheep say in addition to the kitty. Before everything said meow. So since she learned this I decided to try and read Mr. Brown can moo, can you? The first night it was a no go she threw the book on the floor and said bed please, so I put her in the crib and she laid back with her dolly, blankie and my teddy. So last night I picked up the book again and we read it with her turning the pages faster than I could read or make the sounds. The sounds I did make got a laugh and smile which is nice to see.
Amidala has been doing great with her words and using them when she chooses but her vocabulary has gotten huge and is at the point where Anakin and I spell things in front of her and find ourselves editing ourselves because we don't want her to repeat what we say. Last night for Valentine's Day Anakin brought home some chocolate covered strawberries which are my favorite and Amidala wanted one. So I got it out and brought it to her and said "I'll hold it". As really didn't want it all over my kitchen. She responded to me by saying, "No mom. I'll hold it." I was surprised and shocked she said it so I gave to her and said ok.
She's getting so big but so much fun!
This weekend was a busy one for us, Anakin and I celebrated Valentine's Day and we did a lot of work around the house. I did get to work on my 101 this weekend which I was excited about. I have put some crocheting on hold for right now. I made a ton of stuff for my cousin's baby shower and just need a break. In a bit I will be working of some gifts, starting my 5 handmade items for the 2011 handmade challenge, and a new hat project. If you love cute baby hats let me know. I'm planning on making one that is a bunny with ears on it. Amidala hates hats so I don't know if I'll get any pictures of her in it. So onto the 101 update( I was busy so we have a lot).

#11: I had gone through my clothes last year after I had Amidala and again when I brought my winter stuff out. I had the stuff just sitting in my basement waiting to me donated. So last night when I made a run to the grocery store after Amidala went to bed I dropped the bags off at a donation bin for the American Red Cross. It was two full (and heavy might I add) trash bags full of clothes and shoes. It felt nice to get this one done and I'm sure I'll have more again soon.

#16: Anakin and I watched RED on Sunday night. We bought this because it was on sale at target for $13 for the blue ray. It looked ok but I didn't really know what it was about so I said sure to watching it. It was a good movie and quite funny. A lot of big name actors so I don't know why I'd never heard of it.

#33; FINALLY! Amidala had about 10 boxes of clothes in our basement. I know my child, I don't know how she amassed so much clothing. So Saturday night I brought them all upstairs and sorted them by size. I am horrified to say there were more than 10 things with the tags still on them that I do not have reciepts for so I will just keep them. This took a couple of hours to just sort and fold them. I also got rid of some things, like the sleep positioner we got and never used since it is considered a "pillow" and could not be in the crib. I also got rid of the bottle warmer which had seen many a better day. If I need another one in the future I will just buy one. So then I decided to finish this on Sunday as it was 11pm and all I need to do was get some bins and put the clothes in them. On Sunday we headed over to Lowe's and got some bins and while Amidala was napping I started to put all the clothes in them and label them with the sizes. As I was about to be done with this I found ANOTHER BOX of clothes in my basement. I think I will be having nightmares about finding random boxes of baby clothes everywhere. So this is done and now I just have to move clothes down as she out grows them.

#35: When I dropped off my clothes last night I also donated about 25 books that I had read and was not likely to read again. These went to a local book charity the donates the books to libraries in need. I would have just go to my local library but the timing was not happening.

#72: Anakin and I went on Date 4 for Valentine's Day while my SIL watched Amidala for us. We went to Aquitaine for lunch and it was delicious, best meal I've ever had. After this we wandered around the shops at legacy place before heading over to La Novita for a couples massage. Which was wonderful and extremely relaxing. This was the best Valentine's Day I've ever had.

That's it for my update for now. Hopefully I'll get some more done here. I am going to try to blog some more on this blog too. So check back often!

-Rachel

Won't you come out to play

#85: I found this title fitting as we took Amidala out to play in the snow for the first time in January. Last year she was too little and too bulky to take out in the snow. So with the snow freshly fallen on the ground free of footprint we all of bundled up on a Saturday morning. 45 minutes later we finally made it outside and stay out for 15 whole minutes. Amidala was not a fan of the snow too much she just kind of stood there and waited for one of us to pick her up. I think part of it was her snow suit was too bulky but she was warm in it. This also let me to take the opportunity to complete something off my 101 list. While we did not make a huge Frosty, we made a mini one for her. It was easier and the snow was not ideal snowman snow, more powdery than wet. We all had fun no the less and we got some great pictures from it.

#89: Since Amidala has started at her new school this week she is still getting used to the new schedule and had been going to bed earlier than usual. I know this will change but for now I have been working on completing her baby book for her when she is sleep. This Tuesday I put the finishing touches and some more pictures in it and I can now say that it is done. I will be putting it away for her when I pick up some storage options for our basement.

#38: Also this past weekend while at my cousin's baby shower I tried a new wine, Sparkling White. I was very good, a bit like champagne but the bubbles were smaller and more delicate and it had a bid of a Riesling taste. Overall I would have it again.

Thanks for stopping by and hopefully I get some updates done soon!
-Rachel

It's our god forsaken right to be loved

We had a very busy weekend. A lot of my crocheting got shown off which made me proud. Firstly I made my cousin and his wife 2 blankets and 2 hats as part of her shower gift. I thought back to my baby shower and thought of what I like best for gifts. I loved the blankets people made for me, so I made them some. I'm happy to say she loved them and I got a lot of complements from my family and other shower guest. It felt nice to know that someone liked something I made and wasn't just being nice to make me fell good. Also get her a big bin full of diapers because you can never have enough. We did a diaper raffle at my shower where everyone who brought a pack was entered into a raffle to win a huge gift basket. I didn't have to buy diapers until Amidala was in size 2!
I also completed one of my 101. Today Anakin and I drove to Attleboro with 2 purposes. ! buy a new printer since ours is now in printer heaven. RIP Kodak7200. You printed 200 pictures. Secondly, we went to Sturdy Memorial Hospital so I could donate 2 of the blankets and a hat I made to the maternity ward. Amidala was born there 15 months ago. It brought back a lot of memories and a lot of emotions going back there. Thinking about how scared and exited I was all at the same time. A mere 12 hours after we arrived we were parents. So I went though the maze of halls to find the volunteer office to drop them off. They were very nice and said my blanket were beautiful. I know some new mom will love them.
On a funny note, I was telling them how Amidala was born there 15 months ago. They then said, how can you have a baby you're only in high school. I thanked them and said no I'm not but thank you. Good to know I still look 16.

-Rachel

101 in 1001 Update

So this past week I have been busy with finishing a second blanket for my cousin's wife for their baby shower tomorrow. Still working on it right now but taking a quick break to post here. I had been working on my 101 a lot and have forgotten to update it here. With that and the holidays and having Amidala running around causing terror, I had forgotten what I had done until I could take a minute to read my list and make notes on it.
So with out further adieu here is the update.
#30: Amidala went to her second play date this October,actually we hosted it here. Two of my sorority sisters came over with their daughters. There were 4 little girls here in total only Amidala and my friend Shelby's here mobile enough to fun around and somehow manage to take every toy out that was available including dumping out all of the blocks. Shelby's youngest and Kelly's little one just kinda hung out. Amidala got to check out the babies too.
#32. Anakin and I had gone through our photos down stairs when an unfortunate event of finding out we had water in the basement forced us to empty those boxes. We decided to put them on the shelving that is in the basement and to get 16x20 prints of Amidala's miles stone ages and hang those up. So we have her 3, 6, 9, 12 month photos up along with one from Halloween.
#38. I also tried two new wines over Christmas one was on Christmas Eve which was a merlot, I found it too dry for me but everyone else seemed to like. On Christmas day I tried a perseco which was good, bubbly white wine and I hardly have disagreements.
#64. I starting teaching Amidala baby sign language at 6 months. I just wanted to teach her simple things like more, milk etc. She learned and used more very quickly and still does. It was nice for her to have tell us she was still hungry when she couldn't say the words. She also recently started doing the sign for milk. She 's such a smarty.
Check back soon for some more pictures and posts.

-Rachel

Two posts in one week...

Wow this is rare, two post in one week. Must be all the snow we have gotten and will be getting over the next few days :p Oh living in New England. We were supposed to get hit pretty bad but only got a couple of inches and some rain. I also have some more updated from my 101.
I gave blood for the second time. Anakin had originally scheduled one for my when the Red Cross called because they said it was at John Hancock. I found out later it was not at my build and I was not walking 4 miles to donate so I waited. There was one at my work last Friday so I went down during my lunch I even got a free pound of dunkies coffee, score since we were out..
We also hosted our annual pancake social in October it was great for all of our friends and family to get together and we got see Bill and Tara's little one for the first time. Amidala got very jealous when I held him, I can still remember when she was that little.
Our family also voted in our local and state election right before Amidala's birthday. We took the 5 minute walk over to the American Legion. WE were the youngest people there by 50 years but it felt good. I'm also glad to see the boy scout learning about civic duty and trying to sell me stale popcorn as I'm leaving.
Anakin also got to go on a midday date over Thanksgiving and we got to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1. It was nice to see a movie and have lunch together.
I have also watched two movies that I would not normally pick. Both were picked by Anakin and I have to say I really did like them. We watched Predators and Kick Ass.

Hopefully more posts this week as Amidala is in bed by 8 now yay!

-Rachel

Hobbies

So we all have hobbies and they can come and go. One of my newer hobbies is crocheting, my MIL originally taught me while were there on vacation in 2007. After I learned I made a couple of blankets, scarf, basically anything square. I only knew how to do single and double crochet never mind read a pattern from a book. So one year for secret santa low and behold I receive a crochet book, and I then got a couple more for christmas. I never made anything from them when I got them. I kept thinking this stuff is way to advanced for me.
My MIL came out to visit when my Nephew was born, I had wanted to make Amidala a baby blanket while I was pregnant but I never could find the time or concentration. So on this visit I asked if she would help me read some pattern so I could make a blanket. I do not have pictures of Amidala's blanket as she sleeps with it every night and is very protective of it (I can hardly even take it for a washing unless I sneak it away.
After this I became much more confident in my patter reading abilities and eventually make a blanket for my nephew, one for a friend's baby shower. I even made one to donate to a hospital along with a hat (my first non square thing, and I found and followed the pattern myself) I was so excited when I finished it and it looked like a hat
On our most recent trip to visit my In laws I learned how to make and Edla blanket. My MIL made a pink and antique white one for Amidala when she was born and it is beautiful. This pattern was given to my MIL by a now former co-worker who's mother made the pattern. This woman had a bunch of them from when her mother passed and would give them to people but never made one. I'm not sure if it was because she didn't crochet or the pattern wasn't written in its entirety. But she gave it to my MIL to try out, so now my MIL has made one for my daughter and nephew. I have made one to give to my cousin and his wife for their sun.
Also I have an update for my 101.
Since Anakin has gotten into photography I have wanted to learn more about it. I decided I would learn to use the camera. I went with him a couple of weekends ago to a wedding shower as a second shooter and I have to say I picked up a lot and my pictures didn't look to bad. So I took some pictures of my crochet tonight and did the editing myself with Anakin looking over my shoulder. Here are some of my shots.

Baby Hat


Detail shot of Edla's Blanket


This is the full size of the blanket.


Full detail shot


Edla's Blanket


Shell pattern blanket in blues and white to be donated to the hospital


Detail blanket shot.


My first baby hat!

Thanks for stopping by everyone and I hoped you liked my pictures! I had a lot of fun taking them.

-Rachel

It's been a long long time

Well the last 3 months have come and gone faster than i know what to do with. Amidala is now 1 and is running and talking up a storm. She started walking about 3 weeks before her birthday. Anakin was playing blocks with her one day and all of the sudden was walked over, took the blocks and went back to the block container. She has also been talking and repeating everything. Her latest is Good Girl and I want it.

Due to last of posting I've been working on my 101 a lot and have gotten a lot more done.
#6: I finally made a baby hat. I will have Anakin takes of pictures, or maybe I will since we are shooting a wedding shower together this weekend and I need to learn to use the camera.

#24: I finally entered all of our recipes after Amidala decided they were a toy and was pushing them off the keyboard shelf and throwing them around the office.

#47: I can now make baby hats, yay for non square thing. I'm also going to tackle booties sometime in the near future.

That's all for now. Come back and look for some pics later this week.

-Rachel

Also Anakin, I and some other contributors have started another blog, it's all about electronics and tech related things so go check it out at:
www.electronicchronicles.com

Also check out: blog.everythingthelighttouches.com for some of Amidala's first birthday pics