#160 - Get your carrots

Baby O loves carrots, the baby organic carrots from Costco, but especially when his Aunt Kar dresses up as a carrot.

#159 - Dinner with the Ambassador

I did something tonight, I never thought I would do . . . I had dinner with the Ambassador of Argentina at his home. And bonus . . . it supported a cause near to my heart . . . MS.

ps....did you know today was World MS day?

pss...they had the best empanadas ever! I love Argentina.

#158 - Best Cities

via here

Made it into the top 10 . . . not too shabby.

#157 - hugging my legs

I love when Baby O does this.

#156 - O's green friend

Baby O has a new friend. They've got a lot in common:

*bald with a few stray hairs
*short
*look good in green
*ears...that are adorable

#155 - Costco Hand Dipped Ice Cream Bar

I read about this and had to try it myself. Costco's hand dipped ice cream bars are delicious! They are so big, that I have to share with Pepe. (and I can only eat them once a year)

#154 - mail

#153 - Georgetown in the Rain

I took this photo when we were in Georgetown a week or so ago.

#152 - Answers

Baby O is really a daddy's boy, he loves his dad . . . so of course that was his first word.

Whenever we used to say anything to him, he would respond, "Wa?"

Now, a more popular response is, "du." I like to think he is saying duck.

And honestly, I don't think he really knows what is coming out of that mouth of his, but it's fun to pretend he knows.

#151 - Harvest Grain 'N Nut Pancakes

Pepe is finished with his masters...yeah! We went out to celebrate. He chose IHOP. I ordered Harvest Grain 'N Nut Pancakes with Blueberries. Delicious! And, they were pretty healthy too. Here's a knock off version if you want to make them at home:

3/4 cup Quaker oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (might be able to leave this out?)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (do you know a good/healthy substitute for this?)
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I'd use olive oil or walnut oil)
1 egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons finely chopped blanched almonds
3 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts
I'd add blueberries, maybe a cup? Or even bananas are good too.

1. Lightly oil a skillet or griddle and preheat it to medium heat.
2. Grind the oats in a blender or food processor until fine, like flour.
3. Combine oat flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
4. In another bowl combine buttermilk, oil, egg and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients, add nuts and mix well with mixer.
5. Ladle 1/3 cup of the batter onto the hot skillet and cook the pancakes for 2 to 4 minutes per side or until brown.

5/25/09 - I made these today and added about 2-3 tablespoons for ground flax seed. I also used olive oil instead of vegetable oil. They were so good!

7/30/09 - Made these again and I added almost double the nuts (some of it was walnut butter (meaning I ground the walnuts so much they turned into a paste)). We also added thin slices of bananas because we ran out of blueberries and that was delicious.

#150 - Walking with a Stick

If Baby O is outside, he has to have a stick to walk with. I guess he takes after my mom.

#149 - My crafty Mother's Day Project

I came across a website selling a kit, with a canvas & paint for $14, so that you could paint your kid's feet, stamp the on the canvas and have a nice piece of artwork. I decided to just head to the craft store and buy these items for cheaper.

I bought an 8x10 inch painter's canvas (gallery wrapped, as I had no intent of putting this in a frame, I like that look) at Michael's - on sale for 50% off, I think it came to $3.50.

I then used the 40% off coupon off one regular priced item (you can find this in their ads) to purchase the acrylic paints (it came with the brush), cost $3.00.
Then one evening, after Baby O feel asleep in my arms, I (with the help of my sister) pulled out the paint and coated his hand in a vibrant shade of blue (fitting for a baby boy).With the help of my sister, I quickly (because the paint dries fast) stamped Baby O's hand onto the canvas in different places (you have to recoat with paint for each hand print). I know he looks covered up in this photo, but he could breath. We did it so he didn't hit himself in the face with the painted hand. Also, not sure why I was wearing a white shirt, I never wear white, but I did this day, go figure.After I was done with his right hand, I used a ton of wet wipes to clean off both our hands. Then for the left hand, I went with a brown paint (which turned out a little reddish.)

I bought 2 extra canvases, so that I could make a couple for his room or repeat when he gets older. I also think this would be fun to do with footprints, especially when a baby is brand new.

I have enough paint, I could easily do this hundreds of times, no joke. I think it would be fun to mix the paints and make my own color combos.
Other color combos I think that would look cool:
forest green/pea green
navy blue/sky blue
red/yellow
two shades of brown
black/grey/whiteI wrote his name in white paint with the date in one of the corners and then put a special note in the wood grain on the back of the canvas. Then shipped it off (via my brother) to my mom.

I know this idea is probably not original, but it was a huge crafting hurdle for me.

ps...Pepe and I got engaged 5 years ago today (on a Tuesday). I am just writing this because I always forget this day and I didn't today.

#148 - Free Mother's Day Flowers

As we were driving around yesterday, we saw all sorts of people/stands selling flowers. We then drove by one corner, and there was a little girl with a bucket of flowers (picked from a bush next to her house). We turned around, we had to buy flowers from her. I'm a big supporter of kid entrepreneurs. As a kid I sold apples in front of our house and not one person stopped to buy one. I then started selling candy, that's where the money was. Back to my story >>>

As we pulled up, we noticed the sign said, "Free Flowers Happy Mother's Day".

Me (double checking I wasn't going blind), "How much are they?"

Little girl, "They're free, which color do you want?"

Me, "Either, you pick."

Little girl, "How 'bout both?"

As she handed me the flowers, I said, "Can I pay you anyway?"

She said, "Sure".

What a smart business woman!

#147 - First Words

So, I think Baby O is saying some words. Or at least it is the proud mom in me that thinks he is.

Can you guess which word he said first from the ones above?

Can you guess which word is his favorite?

#146 - Did you find him?

Last year, when we moved here, we found a turtle. We thought he was just a visitor, but he stayed around. A month later another turtle appeared and we were happy they had each other.

During the summer last year, we did some landscaping and I thought we may have buried our two little shelled friends, but to my surprise, he's back (not sure about his friend.)

So, I guess that means he's part of our family. We just have to name him . . . hope it doesn't take as long as it took to name Baby O.

Any suggestions?

#145 - He's back

Do you see him/her? Do you know what it is? You might have to scroll around (I'm having blog template issues.)

#144 - Me, a crafter?

I'm not really that good at crafts (my cousin, Michelle is, you can check out her crafty blog here), but tonight I had the help of my sister to make a cute Mother's Day present for my mom. Since my mom reads my blog, I can't give you the details until next week. But here are some hints:

2 purchased items from Michael's (both on sale)
30 wet wipes
1 sleeping baby
2 sisters making a mess
1 brother making commentary

I can't wait to show you all. The picture above is a sneak peak.

#143 - Costco Diapers

Seriously, they're a great price and keep Baby O dry. Plus, pulling each one out of the box, sure keeps him entertained.

*Pepe thinks Baby O looks like the baby on the box . . . round face, pale and bald. Too cute!