Child of God

Norelle's baptism is over and it was a really nice day! The service was meaningful and featured a wonderful choir with a soloist we love. Norelle was perfect and sweet all day. The reunion with the birthfamily was peaceful despite our worries it would be otherwise. Godmothers Ellen and Abby recited their lines like conjoined twins(...what does that mean?) Nori received many great gifts and we had so much food! I made chicken tortilla & creamy wild soups, spinach salad and we picked up breads from the Breadsmith and a cake from Buttercream. Liz made a fruit platter and artichoke dip, Charlie baked his famous cookies while Hil brought truffles. It was special to have our families together since we are all so grateful for this day and our long awaited baby girl.

Food drop

Ho's were kind enough to make a Sam's Club run for us yesterday and we have the goods to prove it. Lo even came over for a DQ treat and to spend some time with her BFF. If she wants to know what you are up to, she says "doing?" as in "what are you doing?". It's CCCWTC!

Tiki Mammas

I'm back. Whew, what a week... I have hard time wanting to write when I am tired, stressed or sad and I was all of three due to my upcoming return work, constant plans, travel, company, party prep, etc. But it's all good and we had a busy final week at home, did some shopping, took some naps and shopped way too much for dumb stuff like paper plates or sesame seeds. Anyhoo, most of the work is done for the baptism tomorrow and we are just hoping for a peaceful day for all filled with God's love & grace.

I went to a rocking Tiki Mammas party last night at my neighbor Jill's house. My neighbors are known for hosting theme parties so it's super fun and helps me get to know all the people in my neighborhood, many of whom to go my church. We enjoyed Tiki drinks, lots of apps and good conversation. I'm lucky to live near such cool people and to actually have a small little community in the midst of a big city. We had to write on our name tags what we would call our memoir so obvi I wrote"...sensible of shoe" but that is probably just my first memoir from like 25-35, and my later volumes will certainly have a new theme ala Augusten Burroughs. Jill's husband Eric is an artist and I got to see some of the work in his studio...it's out there! Lots of glitter and highlighter but apparently a huge hit in NY where his shows sell out.

Easter

Alleluia, it's Easter! What a wonderful holiday to have a new baby girl. Despite mom & dad oversleeping, we all got to church on time after Grandma Liz's yummy breakfast. Norelle slept through church, as usual, and then came home to relax with her family. She taught Charlie how to do Sudoku, did brackets with Grandpa Steve, posed for photos in her bunny ears and thanked the Lord above for all her blessings. We are now safely back in Saint Paul and Auntie Ellen is here with us all week so fun is sure to ensue.

Nori meets Great Grandma Rosie & Grandpa Dick

Grandpa Dick not pictured due to March Madness...

Fiesta Baby Shower!

Tonight we had a fantastic baby shower hosted by Welkes and Rollmans with a South of the Border theme...lots of delish quesadillas and burritos! There were tons of friends of Steve & Liz there and we got many cute outfits, sunglasses, gift cards, toys etc. It was awesome to see how excited everyone is for us! Nori was a party girl and stayed up 3 hours past her bedtime just to hang with all the friends. Thanks everyone!

8 week check-up & misc.

It's official, our little pumpkin spice latte is 11 lbs! She had her 8 week check-up and while being weighed, peed 3 times on the table so any concerns about dehydration were put to rest. She is 21 3/4 inches long so that puts her in 25% for length and the 55% for weight. She got her first round of vaccinations and seemed no worse for the wear once the sting of the shots wore off. She did enjoy her first taste of grape Tylenol so I think she actually enjoyed the whole experience. She is battling a sexy case of baby acne and some cradle cap so that should keep the boys away... for now.


Gramsie Holly has been here this week but I do not know where the time has gone. I got back to work on the 1st so that will be tough transition. Today we are driving to Winona in another snowstorm for a baby shower hosted by Jake's parents' friends and then staying for Easter weekend, baby's first real holiday.


Next week (my final week home, boo hoo!) Auntie Ellen will be here and we will be having fun and preparing for Norelle's baptism on Sunday. Her gown is already ready and pressed. It is the same baptismal gown my dad and his brothers wore, Casey and I wore and all the grandchildren have worn so it is a 63-year-old Palbicki heirloom. I am a little stressed just because it will be the first visit for her birth family...I am sure it will go fine but I am just hoping everyone, including Jake & I, get to enjoy this special occasion with Nori. Sometimes it is little hard to think I have to share this baby with other people but that is just me being selfish because I love her so much. Her birth family is very respectful and Tasha has made such a generous and mature decision but I suppose it's only natural to have conflicting feelings from time to time. Tasha sent us the cutest candy bouquet for Easter and cards as well. Hopefully Nori's infant photos will finally be in so we can share them with everyone next weekend!

More Dor

Red Balloon

We just got home from a very neat Baby Storytime at the Red Balloon Bookstore on Grand. We met Missy & Lo there for a very animated session of baby songs, rhymes and stories. It was a full house of kids ages 0-2. It's times like this that I remember how those hours of hard labor were so worth it!

More Nor

"I love Spring fashions"

"Morning Mommy!"

"I like my body out"

"Dad, you are tall!"

"This is my Zoolander face"

Superfudge

It's only 8:00 p.m. on Saturday night and we have already had a full weekend...of chocolate. We just got back from dinner with my dad & MJ at Bonfire followed up but chocolate fudge swirl cheesecake at Cafe Latte. Add that to last night's dinner at Pizza Luce with Lo Lo & fam topped off by chocolate molten lava cakes and I would say we have met our quota of gooey goodness. We are just having so much fun spending our free time with Nori, being a family and squeezing in some exercise/chores/work now and then. It's the best.

Here are some photos from the past week...

Must be a mom thing

I'm not a big movie person, I almost never watch them unless I know it is the best movie of the year or really funny. But lately I have found myself watching whatever is on Encore or Starz, not even during the day as we almost never have the TV on, but at night when I actually have free time. Jake will watch anything so maybe he is the bad influence but recently I have watched The Wedding Planner with J.Lo, The Da Vinci Code (good thing I read the book or I would have never followed it), part of The Man Who Skied Down Everest, The Sixth Sense, 40-Year-Old Virgin and various other forgettable epics. Why? I do not know.

Hot tranny mess

Ferosh lives

My foot, that is. Note to self: do not carry heavy baby around Kohl's in car seat... leave baby at Guest Services counter while you shop. There is a rumor that Norelle weighs 11 lbs! We did the mature thing today and got life insurance so this morning while the nurse was here making sure we are not about keel over, we weighed ourselves with Nori. With clothes and bulky diaper, she rang in at 11 lbs!! OMG, I'm going to die if she keeps growing up! We know the scale is heavy though because Jake came in at 192 lbs and I was almost 94 lbs so obvi that is a heavy scale. Next week we will get the official tally on Norelle's growth. FYI, two night ago she slept the whole night, 9 hours straight, then a bottle, and 3 more hours. As punishment for us enjoying that, she was up 3 times last night. We still adore her though!

Comments fixed?

Okay, some people have wanted to leave a comment and were unable but I think I fixed that now. You should be comment anonymously or just simply make up a name/account. In an effort to test this out, I thought I would post a topic on which you can debate...


Cloth Diapers: Saving the world or truly idiotic?




We are using cloth diapers called bumGenius! 3.0. They work really well *if* you get them on snugly. They are one-size-fits-all, so in theory, they should fit her until she is potty trained. They have snaps to size they can grow with her and Velcro tabs so no pins required. Yes, you do need to spray them after the Deuce Fairy visits but we have a sprayer on our toilet and a wet bag for storage until washes. I do a load of diapers about every other day since we have 24 diapers but only about 18 in circulation (she so is small we needed to buy the newborn liners until she beefs up and can use the regular ones). They cost about $17 a diaper but I got them for about $14 due to a friends' discount. We will need to use disposable at daycare and for trips out but at home this is the protocol.



Questions: Would you do this? Is it cost effective? Is is actually greener since we do more laundry? Do you even care? Discuss amongst yourselves...whoever leaves the best comment wins.

Maternity Leaves

I am really enjoying my maternity leave because I love spending time with my baby. Also (even thought she slept for almost 8 hours last night...a first!!), I don't know how I would go in to work after waking up 1-3x a night with her? I am a person who *needs* my sleep so the daytime sun naps are vital. I go back to work on April 1st which is approaching all too soon. Puke. Not everyday is all fun as I do get bored sometimes or frustrated when she has her non-napping days. I get almost zero housework done, minus some laundry, but we try to make up for that on weekends or just forgo cleanliness all together. It's overrated, just like childbirth (we say everything having to due with pregnancy and biological kids is so overrated...it is!).

So everyday day of my leave I have eaten the same salad, it's antioxidant city. Try it yourself:

Maternity Leaves Salad

• baby spinach
• handful of blueberries
• sprinkle of feta cheese
• Craisins
• few walnuts
• raspberry vinaigrette

Deep freeze

OMG, we actually have one of these in MN? I first saw this concept on the Amazing Race and now I find out from Sabro that we have one called the Ice Chamber at the Chambers Hotel in downtown Mpls. How rad! Had I known this I would have invited both of my friends there for my 30th and we could have downed shots of Ice 101, my favorite college shot. Brrrr!

Oh, this old thing?

Parched

Nurse, start an IV of Riptide Rush Gatorade stat! I am so dehydrated. No, not from too much wine or being sick, just plain lack of H2O. While in Winona I totally forgot to drink anything other than coffee for breakfast. I have been chugging water for 24 hours now but I still feel like a desert. Our house is so dry too both Jake & I have "maladies" from the dryness. So far all the things wrong with us include: red eyes, neck irritation, thinning hair, cellulite, fatigue, sore wrists, parched mouth, chapped lips, skin & noses. So, I decided to create the poor man's humidifier by filling a giant stock pot with water and placing it on the radiator in our bedroom. Is it working? Hells no but I admire my own creativity! Oh Hawaii, we need you and your moist moisture. I don't even care about the frizzy hair anymore, you are so worth it.

Told you!

Ferosha Coutura wins PR!

Some words from Dorothy...

If you are like me and think SoS has gotten way too PG/Babies R Us lately, check out a very humorous blog at DListed. Michael K may be mean and crass but he cracks me up daily.

always your bitch,
Dorothy

zoom zoom zoom

So who would load up her too small sedan with a baby, baby gear, dog, dog gear and take to the freeway? Guilty. Okay, I am leaving the dog at home and the car is only mildly cramped if you let stuff hang out the windows and wear a warm hat. Tomorrow we are heading to Winona, home of the free, to visit family while Jake is working/playing tennis/taking a whole day off to go the HS hockey tourney and tour the establishments of Saint Paul. I am praying I don't have to listen to any "are we there yets". Or country music for that matter. Should be fun to get out of the 55104.

Lazy Sunday

No Parnell but lots of lounging. After my super Saturday what did I expect? Jake slept in and I took a nap after my workout (foot is on the rebound). Grandpa Steve & Grandma Liz and Auntie Elle came all the way up for a visit, too. Nori continues to be a big draw. We had to have Chipotle and Jake & I finished off the chocolate fondue (fond-don't) and fruit from last night. Seriously, I need to get myself hula-ready by April so fine me everytime I mention another sweet I eat. That grass skirt and coconut bra are not going to wear themselves. All in all, a fun productive weekend.

Asian Ribs

• 5 pounds beef short ribs, cut into 4-ounce portions
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 tablespoon peeled and minced ginger
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 quart water
• 1/2 cup sliced green onion bottoms, white part only
• 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons finely grated orange rind, for serving

In a wide stockpot or Dutch oven, combine the short ribs, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, brown sugar, water, green onion bottoms, crushed red pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the orange juice. Make sure that the stockpot is deep enough so that the short ribs are submerged in the liquid.

Bake the short ribs, covered, for about 3 hours, or until the meat is tender and falling off the bones. Remove the short ribs from the braising liquid and cover to keep warm. Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F.

Drain the fat off of the cooking liquid and discard. Place the remaining braising juices in a medium saucepan with 1/4 cup of the hoisin sauce and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the liquid until only about 1 1/4 cups remain. Strain through a fine-meshed strainer, discarding the solids. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of orange juice and the lemon juice.

Return the short ribs and the reduced sauce to the stockpot or Dutch oven, coating the short ribs well with the sauce. Bake for 10 minutes, until the short ribs are heated through and slightly glazed. Serve hot over jasmine rice.

So ambitious!

Weeks of laziness have paid off with one killer day of energy. Already today I have showered (!!) visited my Dad & Linda at their house in Plymouth, made a Costco run, super cleaned the office/guest room, done laundry, created a play area for Nori and now am trying my hand at those ribs from last weekend. Take a peek at my day...

** Linda not pictured due to serious salon issues resulting in red, purple and now black hair.