Decision Made.

Jack is going to have the ear tube surgery. Shortly after writing my last post I got a phone call from Jack's school telling me he had a 102.7 fever and needed to be picked up. He was in a great mood, had no other symptoms, and had just finished his last round of antibiotics on Monday. Could he possibly be sick again?? I got the last appointment with his pediatrician and with one quick look in his ears she confirmed what we already knew. She wrote him a prescription for the most powerful antibiotic he can handle and basically told me the only option left was to go with the tubes. I called the surgery center yesterday and scheduled him for the earliest available date, March 22nd - the poor kid will have to suffer through at least one more ear infection until then I'm sure. I'm nervous and anxious and of course assuming something will go wrong - but I've been assured we've got the best ENT in the area and Jack will benefit almost instantly from having the tubes placed.

On a happier note - I ordered Jack's first birthday present yesterday! I'll admit, I got pretty teary in the process. Almost as if by buying him the gift, I was encouraging him to grow up- when all I really want is for him to stay my sweet baby forever. I wanted to get him something special that he'll remember having and not just some random toy he'll either destroy or get bored of in a day. When I came across this, I knew I had found exactly what I was looking for. I know that it's not a toy he'll be able to fully use until he get a little bigger, but I saw it and just couldn't say no. What boy doesn't want a fire truck??

It's a model 1932 Ford Roadster Fire Engine pedal car. It's made from Ford steel and has tons of working parts including detachable ladders and a hose reel that comes out of the back hatch. I hope he enjoys this truck as much as I am going to enjoy giving it to him. And don't tell him if you see him, it's a surprise ;)

Ear Tubes and Cook Books

Decisions, decisions. No one ever tells you about the decisions you have to make as a parent. I know I'm extremely lucky for this to by my biggest concern, but it's worrisome none-the-less. Jack was recently treated for his fifth ear infection in four months. When we went in for his 9 month check-up last month the fluid had still not completely dried up and his pediatrician had had enough. She sent us along to see an ENT to discuss our options for really getting rid of this thing. I knew that meant having tubes put in his ears, but I didn't really think much of it. In my naivety, I assumed we would come in for a quick appointment, they would slide the suckers in, and we could go on our merry way. Not so much. Turns out having tubes put in is a legitimate surgery. After being put under general anesthesia, the doctor will cut small holes in his eardrums where the drainage tubes will be inserted (are you cringing yet?) The surgery only takes about ten minutes, and the recovery is short with only a mild painkiller needed. The effects of the tubes are practically immediate and he should be free of ear infections for the next year or so. The benefits seem to strongly outweigh the risks but I'm still absolutely terrified of the thought of my baby being put under general anesthesia. Maybe I watch too much Gray's Anatomy. The doctor is urging us to make a decision before another infection sets in - so we have lots of research to do in the next few days.

On a happier note - I've found a new obsession with Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook.

Again, we rewind back to Jack's nine month appointment. His doctor tells me he should start experimenting more with soft finger foods like pancakes and french toast. Pancakes and french toast???? I've been making homemade organic baby food for the last 4 months and now you're telling me to give him pancakes and french toast?? Enter Jessica Seinfeld and your genius cookbook. She's come up with tons of child friendly recipes that have fruits and veggies hidden inside. Anything from mac and cheese mixed with cauliflower puree to brownies with spinach puree. It sounds gross, but most of the veggies add moisture and better texture and you can't taste them, it's pure magic. I started with sweet potato pancakes because I already had a stock of sweet potato puree in the freezer. Jack demolished two full size pancakes and I'm sure would have eaten more had I allowed him. I've stocked up on cauliflower, beets, pumpkin, and spinach and can't wait to make more purees for some of these recipes. (note - these recipes are not meant to replace fruits and veggies from the diet, they simply make the usual kid favorites more healthy.) This weekend I'm going to give banana-squash bread a whirl. We'll see what our little food critic thinks...

Valentines Feast

I am not a fan of Valentines Day. I can't quite put my finger on why, but the whole concept just seems contrived. Johnny and I have never really celebrated the holiday with the traditional gifts/chocolates/fancy dinner (although he insists on buying me flowers... which hey, I'm gonna take what I can get!) and usually opt for something fun and low key. So last night we decided to treat ourselves to two of our favorite things - pizza and wings! In our house we try to follow the "why buy what you can make" rule so in this case, we thought it was worth a shot. Johnny is the wing king and makes the best hooters knock-off wings you've ever had (and no, it's clearly not because he's a frequenter of that establishment.....) and I took charge of the pizza. I used my handy dandy bread machine to knead the dough for 90 minutes, spread it onto a pizza pan and added our favorite toppings (classic peperoni for me, sausage and onions for him). Add a cheap bottle of wine, two gourmet cupcakes, and reruns of Modern Family (thank you, DVR) and that's our kind of Valentines Day! Everything was amazing and our first homemade pizza was a hit! Seriously, I plan on investing in a pizza stone and never ordering pizza again.... ok, maybe not never again, but much less frequently.

Adventures in Bread Making

This weekend was a lot of time spent in the kitchen! For my birthday a few weeks ago my sister bought me a bread machine. I have been so excited to use it and always forget one or two things at the store. Finally on Friday I got the last ingredient and was able to bust out my new toy on Saturday morning. After reading through my bread cookbook I was pretty worried about how my first loaf would turn out. The authors kept emphasizing how bread making was all trial and error and even the slightest mis-measurement can ruin your loaf. I made sure to triple check that all my measurements were exact and hovered over the machine for most of the three hour process to see how things were going. To my pleasure, the first loaf was a success!!! It was so delicious - no need for butter or jam. I can not wait to make a sandwich (or better yet, french toast) with some of this stuff.

Because all the precise measuring is a little tedious, I decided to pre-measure the dry ingredients for my next few loaves. This way, all I have to do is add water, butter, and yeast. 

Next weekend I am going to venture outside the white bread box and try some more adventurous recipes. Right now I'm thinking cinnamon raisin and cheddar jalapeno. We'll see. 

Sunday was an exciting day because one of my best friends Melanie had her first appointment to try on wedding dresses. She's having a rustic-chic barn wedding in November and I am so excited and lucky to be one of her 7 bridesmaids. We started the search at Leesburg Bridal and Mel (and the rest of us) fell in love with the very first dress she put on. She has a few more appointments at other places - but unless something else can top the elegant simplicity of dress #1, it looks like she's found her dress! Her color scheme is dark red and champagne, and both the bride and groom are huge Redskins fans so I couldn't resist this small engagement gift: 

I had these custom made by a seller on Etsy (aka - the greatest website to ever exist.)

After her appointment it was back home to the kitchen. I finally got the chance to make my Chicken Lettuce Wraps as my Dad and Patti were having us over for a Dim Sum feast and I volunteered to bring an appetizer. After an unhealthy amount of shrimp dumplings, spring rolls, and pork buns, we had to roll ourselves home to get ready for another long week. I leave you with this picture of Jack and his new tooth after bath time! Hope you all have a great week! (oh yeah... and happy Valentines Day!!!!)

Facebook Pet Peeve

Please excuse my rant for the day - and I apologize if you fall into this category. But it must stop. Over the last couple of days I have seen this several times, so I'm not sure if it's a rising trend or just a coincidence but nonetheless, it drives me crazy. When a husband and a wife share a facebook page by combining their names into one first and last name (example: MeaganAndJohnny Hawkins). There is absolutely zero excuse for this. What is the reasoning?? My only thought when I see this is that one person clearly doesn't trust the other to have their own Facebook account - and you're trying to cover that up by appearing so blissfully in love that you must share everything - including a pretend virtual persona. And the ironic part about this is that I would bet anything that one individual in the relationship controls the facebook page - which definitely makes me think that one person wanted a facebook page so badly but didn't trust the other so their workaround was to have this lovely joint page. GAG ME. If you don't trust your spouse to have their own account on the book then clearly you have bigger fish to fry then whose name should go first.

If you disagree, I would love to hear your reasoning.  Maybe there's justification for this ridiculous practice that I'm unaware of.

Cupcakes and Football = A Great Weekend

We had a great little weekend at the Hawkins house! Saturday morning Jack's school was sponsoring a community event and I volunteered to bring something for the bake sale. I flashed back to the days of elementary school bake sales and tried to think of what all the kids always wanted the most. It was a toss-up between rice krispie treats and cupcakes. Being the cupcake aficionado that I am, I felt that would be my best option. I went with a basic white cake recipe and topped them with butter cream frosting that I dyed a fun pink and topped with rainbow sprinkles. Really, what child can resist fluffy pink frosting and sprinkles? None that I know of. And they were a hit! Granted, I only brought a dozen (obviously I had to keep some at the house for our own consumption...) they were gone in a flash!

If you are at all as much into baking as I am, you must invest in one of these. The Martha Stewart Cupcake Carrier is probably the most used storage device in our house. Not only does it carry 24 cupcakes, the tray inserts invert to a flat surface for carrying cookies, brownies, sheet cake, or anything else you can think of. I love this thing.

So anyways the event at Jack's school went very well and it seemed like they had a great turnout. Washington Redskin Kareem Moore was there to sign little footballs for the kids (And to give the Dad's a reason to come...) and Jack got his very first autograph. I'm sure he'll have a collection to rival his Dad's in no time. Moore isn't the most well known Redskin, but some of you might remember his sick one-armed pick against St. Louis last year. Definitely one to watch.

After the event we headed out to Warrenton to visit Johnny's friend and his wife who just had a baby. Maycie Leighton was born about three weeks ago and she is absolutely adorable. It's so hard to remember when Jack was that tiny, and it was only nine months ago! Seeing a baby that tiny definitely gives you a little bit of the "baby bug". Lucky for us, the best cure for baby bug is having a cranky nine month old with a cold. The rest of Saturday was a lazy day at home :)

Super Bowl Sunday was another lazy day for us (the best kind of day, in my opinion.) We grilled burgers and watched the Steelers go down - GO PACKERS! There's not much more we hate than a sports team from Pittsburgh. So now we can enjoy the next seven months without having to hear a peep from the obnoxious Steelers fans out there (although we probably will, because that's just how they are.) Cheers to the Green and Yellow - enjoy your victory! (AND GO SKINS!)

First Annual Chili Cook-Off

A few months ago a co-worker suggested our group should have a chili cook-off. We've got some pretty competitive individuals (myself included) and we all love to eat, so it seemed like a great idea. After several weeks of discussing the proposed cook-off, we finally set the wheels in motion. We set a date and I put a sign-up sheet up outside my cube. Within a few days we had eight volunteers for chili and several others to bring cornbread, desserts, and all the fixin's (sour cream, cheese, fritos, etc). It was looking like our cook-off would be a success!

Rewind back to October. My friend Megan had us over for some Halloween festivities and she made chili for the group. It was the best chili I had ever had and I demanded she share the recipe. Turns out, it was a recipe from the Neely's; a southern couple who have a show on food network. They make some serious soul food - Johnny and I always watch their show and drool. I went home that night and printed out the recipe, where it then sat on my counter for a few weeks. Then the idea of the chili cook-off started to brew at work and I knew I had to make this recipe. I tried it at home first and it was a hit. Johnny is super picky about chili and even he said it was the best he'd ever had. (Then again, as my husband he's pretty much required to say that...) You can find the recipe for Pat's Famous Beef and Pork Chili here.

I love these two - and they really know their way around a southern kitchen.

This time around we happened to be house-sitting for my Dad and Patti while they vacation in Puerto Rico. We love staying there because they always have SO MUCH FOOD. I went through their pantry and spice cabinet to make a list of what I needed to get from the store for my chili. To my pleasure (but mot my surprise) they had every. single. ingredient. Really? Who has fresh red and yellow bell peppers just laying around? These two. They tend to stock-pile food as if we are entering a nuclear holocaust. So lucky for me, I was able to make my delicious pot of chili without spending a dime.

So the day has finally arrived and our chili cook-off was a raging success. We're hoping word will spread around the office and we can have other groups participate next year.

The Ballot I made for voting. Anyone who sampled all eight chilies was eligible to vote. They gave each chili a score from 1-10. They also voted for the one chili they thought had the most original recipe.

All eight chilies ready for the tasting! Who will be the 2011 chili champion??

 With bellies full and the voting complete, there was only one thing left do to - announce the winner! There was a two way tie for the most original recipe - between a super spicy turkey chili, and a more mild vegetarian version. They were both great! And the overall winner of the 2011 First Annual Chili Cook-Off was...... (drum roll please).... ME!! I know, seems ironic that the girl who organizes the whole thing also comes away with the win, but I had Keeney triple check the numbers to make sure. What can I say - Pat and Gina Neely know their chili! (And there's bacon in it... are you really going to try to compete with bacon? Didn't think so.)

The winning chili - made by yours truly :)

MaMa....finally!

It's official - Jack is finally, with full intention, saying Mama! He's been saying "Dada" for several weeks now which is adorable and heart warming  - but as the weeks went by without "Mama" to follow, it was pretty upsetting. Soon after dada came just about every other consonant besides M. He was saying gaga, nana, yaya... you name it. Then out of nowhere, last week he started rambling "Mamamamama" not fully directing it at me, but making the sound none-the-less. Just in the last couple of days he has been saying it directly to me when he wants to be picked up, when he's hungry or tired, or when he wants me to follow him somewhere. It is by far the most rewarding part of motherhood so far. He still can't quite say it on command, but I'll take what I can get.

On another note - it's another work-from-home day for me - woohoo! I really like my job and enjoy seeing my coworkers everyday but I must say, nothing quite beats getting to work from the comfort of your couch in your PJs! My favorite part of working from home (besides getting to hang out with little man, obviously) is getting to watch the Today show while I work - love me some Matt Lauer. This morning they had Candace Cameron on (DJ from Full House) and I must say, girlfriend looks GREAT. Her pudgy teen days are definitely a part of her past. She was actually on to promote her new book about her struggles with weight loss and dieting - Maybe I'll check it out.

As I finish typing this post - I look up from my computer and this is what I see (I took this pic with my blackberry, so please excuse its poor quality...)

The little stinker has finally discovered the stairs. And you can tell from that grin on his face he knows he shouldn't be up there. Guess it's time to give in and put up the baby gate :(