Week in Review

I saw this on a blog I read and I’m totally stealing it.  Call me ego-centric, but though I love, LOVE my son, this blog has become too Liam-centered, right Barrett??  I’ll still post about Liam, but it’s kind of nice to talk about other things besides my too-quickly growing, no longer sleeping like a champ, chubby and purely delightful child.  This is my week in review.

This Week:

What I’m Reading:  I feel a bit scattered in my reading endeavors as of late.  I’m simultaneously reading a few books on parenting:  Shepherding a Child’s Heart and To Train Up a Child, a book on California history, and a study on the book of Jonah.  Given the limited amount of time I have for reading these days, I should finish them all by the end of 2045.

What I’m Watching:  Confession time:  I LOVE the new show SMASH!  I don’t often find a show that I follow save for the Mecca of all shows that is Lost, but SMASH… I am hooked.  I find the behind-the-scenes perspective of Broadway intriguing (minus all of the adultery and general heathen story lines).  We also rented Hugo this week and highly recommend it.  Man, being a mother changes how you react to movies, doesn’t it?  I could have balled like a baby, and promptly turned to Nathan at the end of the movie and told him we needed to adopt all the orphans we could get our hands on and love the bits out of them.

What I’m Listening To:  Perk #679 of being married to a musical genius that is my husband is the man comes up with some incredible new music to delight my little ears.  Just a sampling of what fills our homes these days is fun., Punch Brothers (lead singer used to be in Nickel Creek), Of Monsters and Men, and All Sons and Daughters.  Liam’s favorite is “Some Nights” by fun..  Seriously, he starts to rock when we play it and his whole face smiles.

What I’m Wearing:  On a recent date night to downtown San Mateo, Nathan and I happened upon a great consignment shop where I found a brand new pair of Free People black skinny jeans.  For $20 bucks.  C’mon people.  That’s a steal!  I.  LOVE.  THEM.

What I’m Eating:  I nurse an 8 month old child.  What am I not eating?  Last night I made a yummy pan of Smore’s Cookie Bars.  Yumm-o!  All the yumminess of a smore without the crumby mess and sticky fingers afterwards.  Definitely a keeper.

What I’m Enjoying:  Recently I’ve been evaluating our life here.  What we give our time to, the relationships that we invest in, and the areas that we minister in.  It’s been refreshing to see the little life that God has crafted and built for us in our transplanted home.  It’s helped me see that He was very present at times when I believed He was absent and has girded up my faith and trust in our Father in ways that only the Holy Spirit can.  Now literally everywhere I look, I see God’s hand.  And that, friends, is a welcome change.

What I’m Smelling:  Some of the jasmine near our apartment has begun to bloom, telling me that spring is here and summer is fast on her heels.  This means that soon it will be cherry season, and after that white peach season, and after that garden fresh tomatoes are here.  This also tells me that 98% of our grocery budget and our fridge will be packed with fruit that I can’t possibly eat all by myself.  I’ve also been smelling a clean kitchen for the last 10 days.  Yes, you can smell it.  Trust me.  My mother-in-law has kept our kitchen clean her entire visit and I’m going to grieve the loss of clean counters when she’s gone.

New Noises

I took this hilarious video of Liam yesterday squealing at Nathan.  The new sounds that come out of Liam are hysterical sometimes.

I don’t usually share these things, but this is so incredible, it will change your life.  My mother-in-law got me into America’s Test Kitchen and I’ve been hooked ever since.  They also have a bi-monthly publication called Cooks Illustrated.  Their recipes are tested and tested 100s of times until they are perfect and easily replicable.  Basically fool-proof.

Well, if you didn’t know, I have a little love affair with my slow cooker.  And low and behold, America’s Test Kitchen published an entire cookbook on slow cooker recipes.  Oh. Boy.  My in-laws gave me the book for Christmas and so far I’ve tried four of their recipes and they were amazing.  We’ve had Tequila and Lime Turkey Chili, Balsamic Braised Chicken and tonight I made Red Meaty Tomato Sauce that’s made with short ribs, red wine and lots of tomatoes.  Yum!  Check out the book.  It will save you time and you’re husband will think your even more amazing than you already are!

The cookbook is called Slow Cooker Revolution.

Liam’s First Swing

The Many Faces of Liam

The other day I took this series of pictures of Liam playing in his room while I was picking it up.  They were all so cute I couldn’t choose so you get to see all of them.  My, my how fun he is.

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Training Liam

Who would have guessed that a sweet little boy with this face could ever give mom an attitude or throw a little fit?

Pure sweetness

Yes, I can’t believe it either.  But alas, it’s true.  He’s beginning to get his own mind and opinions about things.  This is uncharted territory for us as parents, so we’ve been discussing a lot how we want to train Liam to do what’s right and to obey.  That may sound strong for a 6 month old, but we’re already finding some situations that need addressing.

Nathan sent me an article that he read in the Wall Street Journal that really resonated with us, and, I think perfectly encapsulates how we’d like to approach discipline in our home.  To think we can learn something from the French.  Anyway, I thought you might also find it interesting.

(I should also mention that this post is not in any way an invitation to share your parenting advice/philosophy.  I know, I’m cold)

Day in Berkeley

Friday we took a little mini family getaway and spent the day in Berkeley. We first made a stop to Solano Road lined with interesting little shops and good restaurants.  We opted for Zachary’s a Deep Dish Chicago-Style pizza parlor.  Best. Pizza. Ever.  Topped with fresh roasted tomatoes.  Yum.

We perused a few stores, found an item for Liam’s room I had been looking for, visited a Bone Shop (yes, they sell bones of many different animals, and dried insects, bleh)  and I bought a cardamom truffle (surprise, surprise).  Berkeley, if you didn’t know is hippy central.  There are plenty of crazies there.  The woman in the chocolate shop commented on how chill Liam was and asked in an equally chill tone if I drank lots of chamomile tea while I was pregnant.  I told her no, just a lot of Pepsi and Doritos(not entirely the true).

I had heard that there were some spectacular homes up in the Berkeley Hills just above where we had lunch so we spent an hour or so driving through the narrow windy roads drooling over houses that we could never afford.  Each home was unique from any other in it’s neighborhood, and all had sweeping views of the San Francisco Bay below.

As the sun was near it’s end, we headed out the Berkeley Marina, a pier that stretches far out into the Bay.  At the end of the pier we could look out and see Alcatraz in front of a sunset washed Golden Gate Bridge.  It was beautiful.

Sometimes it still strikes Nathan and I as odd that we live in such close proximity to so many cool sites.  Liam especially enjoyed his time on the Berkeley Pier guffawing at Daddy.

And what trip to Berkeley would be complete without stopping off at Ikea for a few items and Swedish Meatballs?  Yah, we’re classy.

What “On a Budget” Really Means

Since Liam now resides in his own swanky quarters (read his own room), I’ve begun to create a cute little space for him.  We rent and when you rent you never know how temporary your stay will be, so we don’t really want to drop much money into the place.  This means no paint, generic furniture, and nothing too space specific that wouldn’t easily translate to a future home.  We also are “on a budget” meaning we have a small amount set aside that we can spend on this little project.  So I take to the worldwide web to get my creative juices flowing and my first stop is at one of my favorite sites, Apartmenttherapy.com.  If you’ve never checked it out, I highly recommend it.  They have so many great ideas that I could spend hours perusing other people’s homes.

To my delight I find a plethora of posts on nursery designs coined with the phrase “done on a budget”.  I found this particular nursery that I fell in love with, and in it’s title is “Modern Nursery on a Budget“.  The funny part is, that as I read through the description, it is clear to me that their idea of “on a budget” is very different than mine.  As the fortune gods would have it, they were “able to reuse the crib from their first child for their second child”.  What?!  Your kid was ok with this?  Sleeping in a second hand crib?  Can you imagine?  Other budget friendly purchases were a large crocheted grey bean bag that they used as a footstool for their rocker ($360) and a rickety wooden box with a pad in it that they used for a changing table ($275).  And glory of all glories, in their words “were able to reuse some of the toys and books from their first child for their second”.  You mean, out of Johnny’s library of 20 books, there were 3 or 4 that could be reused?  You mean he shares them?  I hope they’re sitting by their phone because without a doubt Dave Ramsey will be calling them to hear just how they did it?!  Repurposing toys?  Such a novel idea.  I want this family’s phone number so I can pick their brain about all the ways they save money.

Because I’m a jerk, I sat and totalled how much they actually spent on their “tight budget” nursery and it was well over $1,500.  Now that is a budget I wouldn’t mind being tight on.  We live in possibly the most expensive area of the country.  I totally get that cost of living is higher in different areas, and that $1,500 means two completely different amounts in Texas as it does in San Francisco.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat down with my new issue of Real Simple (God’s gift to magazines, in my opinion) to see a headline on the cover reading “Budget-friendly lamps” or “Budget-friendly wardrobe”.  The anticipation builds as I open my magazine to find that I could have this gorgeous floor lamp for $1,000.  Well that certainly isn’t a friend to my budget.  To J.D. Rockefeller, that most certainly is a lamp on a budget, but to the other 99% of us (Occupy!) that is expensive.  C’mon, Real Simple.  I could pull up any website and find a lamp I like.  What I can’t find is a lamp, I like, at the right price.  This is why I pay you for a subscription.

Perhaps it’s because I’m cheap (completely true), but I like to call a spade a spade.  When you term something “on a budget” in the vast majority of everyone’s mind, they think this will be something I can afford.  This is attainable to me.  If you want to spend $1,500 on a nursery, I am completely behind you on that, and I’ll be super excited to see the pictures.  Go for it!  We spend a decent chunk of our budget on home furnishings because we value having our home feel like an escape and a getaway.  If it’s what you value, then feel free.  But seriously, don’t call something “on a budget” that most definitely and clearly was not purchased in a way that you’re pinching pennies, making every last dollar count.

“On a budget” refers to saving for months to buy a couch, accepting hand-me-downs and repurposing them to cut costs.  And if you aren’t on a tight budget for your decorating projects, there’s no shame in that.  Just don’t call it something it’s not.  On a budget is spending hours a week trying to figure out how to make your dollars stretch for all your groceries.  On a budget is saying no to some things to live within your means.  There you have it.  My rant is complete.

Tupperware

I know, I know.  I’m back with…(drumroll please)…another video of Liam!!!!  Shocked?  Excited?  The Barr’s are rolling their eyes (yes, you Barrett).  Here’s the deal.  We live nearly 2,000 miles from family.  We have their grandson 2,000 miles away.  They want to see their grandson.  We could post 10 times a day with different pictures or videos of Liam and they would still ask for more.  So, you get lots of Liam.  If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.  And I promise I’ll make it up to you.  I’m working on a post for later today that’s good and meaty.  But seriously, have you ever seen a cuter kid?  Yah, me either.

This video is much different than Liam playing with a spoon.  In it, he plays with a bowl.  Next we’re giving him the knife set. We want him to be well rounded.  Enjoy.

6 Months!

6 months old!

Whoa, where did the last half of a year go?!  Liam is now 6 months old and my, oh my, is he ridiculously fun!  Daily he’s doing something new that makes me laugh.  He’s a whopping nearly 19 pounds (75th percentile), 29 inches (98th percentile) and a large head (98th percentile).  The doctor assures me it’s extra brains and not ego.

Here are some of the new things he’s doing:

Sitting up all by himself!  He loves it so much he tries to sit up in his car seat or any other time we have him reclined.

Sitting up enjoying some time outside

Playing with spoons.  You’ve probably already seen the video a few times (or 20 – Nana and Grandma) but these have to be some of his favorite toys right now.  Others are an empty kleenex box and empty coffee can.  Why do we buy toys for children again?

He's going to hate me for this one when he's older.

Fake coughing.  This has to be one of my favorites.  Somehow he’s realized that coughing gets a response from Mama, so he does it all the time.  And he’s so dramatic about it.  It’s hilarious.  I’ll try to catch it on video sometime.

Helping Daddy get in shape.

Started eating bananas.  We started feeding him some solids today to see what he thought.  I’m not in a huge hurry for him to start real food, mainly because nursing is so easy and convenient.  He wasn’t that interested in it.  Took a few bites and then was done.  The video is super long and I have a lot of dumb commentary, but it’s mainly for the grandparents.

 

Batting his lashes at strangers.  I think we’re going to have our hands full!

Books!  He loves to have a book in front of him.  Of course, he has no idea what it’s for and certainly doesn’t know what it says, but put a book in front of this boy and he comes alive.  He definitely belongs to Nathan and I.

Reading his book about Noah's Ark (Thanks Grampy and Nana!)

Giving kisses.  He loves to grab my face and lick, suck or kiss my cheeks.  He also likes to rub his nose on my cheek.  He probably feels the same way towards Daddy, but a mouthful of beard is quite a deterrent.

Walks.  He loves his stroller and being outside.  Whether he’s sleep deprived, hungry, well rested or well fed, if he’s in his stroller, it doesn’t matter one bit.  :)

Still sleeping like a champ.  He sleeps about 11 hours straight a night and 3-4 naps during the day.  I don’t know how we got so lucky!

Playing with Daddy.  No one gets as many giggles or squeals of delight out of Liam like Daddy can when he plays “rough” with him.  Mama just doesn’t cut it.  I’ll let that one slide…

We love you baby boy!