Nursing Necklace

I am in love with my new nursing necklace...and I am not the only one!

i think these are just the greatest ideas! i am so bad with cheap costume jewelry...i am like hoggle from The Labyrinth...seriously - its bad. but after bryson could grab i put it all away until he was around 2 and i wasn't carrying him around so much any more...bodie is already at the grabbing stage so away goes my jewelry again - except for this little necklace.

i bought it at an etsy store - Stones of Healing - and love how bodie now grabs this whenever i hold/wear/nurse him! its made from all natural unfinished birch and they have sanded it super smooth.

i found myself with a headache at the end of the day from his fat little hands grabbing my hair all day long. clumps of hair (i must get better at taking my calmag!) anyway...they are getting better now...still he manages to outsmart me! not just that, but it is so great always having a toy/teething ring/grabber at hand. instead of searching every corner for something to occupy him - i have one around my neck. i wore it last weekend in modesto and several people complimented me on my "necklace" - so who knew i am stylish too?

Garden Update

Someone just asked me "how does your garden grow?" so i thought i would share an update. My first box is all sprouted and almost completely thinned - (those onions are killing me!) i reckon we should have some nice heads of lettuce and spinach in a few short weeks time and then time to replant!
in my second box the beans took off like no one's business and my zuchini is starting to take off as well...my poor watermelon never sprouted...our watermelon last year didn't do so hot either - i am going to have to find out some tricks there - anyone have any helpful hints?

charlie bit me

the magic boots

i had a lovely family reunion in modesto this past weekend. i am hoping to post more about that later, but i told bryson i was going to bring him back a present. the perfect modesto present...red cowboy boots. we had such a great discussion about boys and cowboy boots with the many moms of sons at our reunion as well... i am looking forward to sharing stories of my own one day! when he opened them and put them on the first thing he said was, "Texas here I come"...then he told me we needed to go to the desert because sand won't get in his cowboy boots in the desert...i think i made a perfect match!

4 months old

bodie -you are 4 months old today! it seems like you have all of the sudden woken up this month and are all of the sudden HERE! you respond to everyone and flirt with anyone who gives you attention- much to the delight of check-out ladies everywhere...you are grabbing like crazy - mostly my hair...i find it in your fists constantly. when you nurse you pet my breastbone and it is so sweet. speaking of nursing...you recently have been wanting to do it every hour to hour and a half - maybe a growth spurt? your appetite seems to be very healthy. at night you typically do a nice 6 hour sleep and then continue to nurse every 2 hours after that...you are in bed with us so it isn't that big of a deal, but you waking combined with your brother waking (2-3 times per night this week) is making mommy TIRED! speaking of brother - you love it when brother blows on your stomach and entertains you. he also loves taking care of you and insists on bathing you whenever you need it...which is often since you spit up and drool quite frequently! you rolled over completely from back to stomach for the first time a week ago and we are finding we need to strap you in to wherever you are because you are a squirmy baby!

you are also very strong and prefer to stand on our laps to work your muscles - a linebacker in the making! but don't get any ideas...i won't let you play football ever...sorry...it goes against all my mommy sense! daddy calls you "face" because your face tends to light up a room - it goes from dead serious to an all encompassing grin in the matter of seconds. you are still an easy-going baby...unless you are hungry...then you get mad/sad and even produce tears if you aren't fed within a minute. its a good thing your food is just a heartbeat away because i don't think you would tolerate any delay in feeding! you are such a joy of a baby and i am loving every second of you - i have wished i could stop time on several an occasion! but despite my repeated requests you continue to GROW - you are now in 12 month clothes...with your cloth diapers you can not even be squeezed into 9 month clothes, you kinda skipped the whole 6-9 mo category...

i am not sure if you are teething or just always desire something to be in your mouth every second because when you are in anyone's lap you grab at their hands and put them in your mouth. it is the best when you start talking at this point.

you are typically taking 3 naps a day - if i can time it right you take a good ol' long one around 3 that lasts a couple hours. you wake in the morning so happy and make it so easy to get up and we are all truly blessed that you are around!

PS - you are wearing Happy Heinys diapers here - size large...which i love the fit of...but their liners stink...so i use fuzzi bunz liners and they work amazing!

leonard cohen

we saw the great leonard cohen perform at the nokia theater a couple fridays ago...i am just getting down to journal it. i was first introduced to him during college by our friend joel and quickly leonard cohen became a part of the background music of my college life. he was played during many a studying session...among other sessions...basically his greatest hits were the soundtrack of my college summed up. along the way i somehow turned my dad onto him and we had many a great discussions about his music/lyrics/poems. my dad gave me his book of psalms and a couple of his poetry books and my love for leonard grew and grew. he announced his first tour in 15 years and i wanted more than anything to see him live, but the pricey tickets almost deterred me...thankfully i had turned my father onto his music and generously he and Julie bought tickets for bryan and i.

we had an amazing dinner at Boa's steakhouse (thank you josh for the rec) and then waited in a STUPID long will-call line for the tickets, but once inside and in the presence of him i was immediately in awe. his voice can only get better with age, which is a nice surprise when seeing an artist who had their hey-day 40 years ago. part of what is so sustainable about him is his lyrics/poems - his songs are poems sung. at one point he spoke the lyrics "there is a crack in everything, that is how the light gets in" also he sang: hallelujah, suzanne, bird on a wire, i'm your man, tower of song, who by fire, take this waltz, everybody knows, chelsea hotel...

leonard was amazing. not just in his performance, but also his fashion (he had a bolo tie, which i typically loathe, but must forgive him because he has such genuine fashion sense) and presence. in many of the songs he knelt and sang into the mic like it was his last. he poured love into the mic truly. not just his performance, but his entire band was an amazing collection of artists. click here for the bios on the band - a true honor to watch! you could sense his respect for all the artists as well. at one point he had his back-up singers hum "ah doo dum dum dum ah doo dum dum" about 50 times because it was so angelic - and even though he probably did it every concert, it seemed like they were truly surprised as well that he kept them going.

he was on my list of people/bands i want to see before i die and trust me, it is a short list. i feel honored to be able to have seen him perform. i was inspired to pick up his book, Beautiful Losers, and i am enjoying it and can't help but hear his voice through it all. one of my favorite parts of the night is when he said that the last time he toured (15 years ago) he was a young man of 60 years old - "just a kid at the time with a crazy dream" thankfully someone captured the commentary here.

if he already passed your town hopefully you can somehow hear/see some of the crappy videos taken that i linked...if he has yet to come please do yourself a favor and fork out the money for tickets!

rolling over

bodie did the complete roll over for the first time sunday...but i was lucky to have the camera ready this time!

meet our new pool tech

what? why is Conan O'Brien wearing an LA Pool Guys outfit? Stay tuned (and watch the new Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien in June) to find out!

the cutest 1 year old ever...for now

we attended a very special birthday party this past weekend in santa barbara for a very special strapping young man named declan oliver hurley. bryan snapped this shot of him that i think is one of the best photos he has taken - it captures his sweet little spirit so beautifully - not to mention he is the best little model you can hope for...the kid does not take a bad picture! congratulations to the hurleys for making it through the first year and congratulations to declan for being the cutest little thing you possibly can...is this an accomplishment? i would argue yes!

mexican bean soup

the ol' stand-by. the great jessie pee-pie perkins marcus shared this with me during bry and i's first year of marriage and i must have made it 50 times since...after i make it i re-buy all the cans the next time i am at the store so that it is always on hand - all the ingredients can be stored in your cupboard, which makes it my "i didnt make it to the grocery store and all i have is cans of beans soup" but it is always tasty and great a multitude of ways and not to mention healthy! here you go...enjoy!

(and by can i mean the regular sized ones unless noted)

1 can white beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can black beans (i usually use more since we love black beans...that great superfood!)

1 can red beans

2 cups V-8 Picante juice

1 can Green Giant Mexi-Corn (i also like the tomato-less corn chili salsa at TJ's...but it makes it a little too spicy for bryson)

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp seasoned salt

i put them all in the crock pot - turn on and forget about it until dinner - minimun time to cook is probably an hour on high heat - or 3 hours or more on low heat...

i also like to add lemon juice, cheese, sour cream, chicken - whatever! its kinda like a chili.

also - PS - this is a great recipe for kids to make - just open and dump!