Success

Follow up to previous blog:
Damn. That was GOOD. Too bad we ate half of it before I remembered to take a picture.

Tradition

Growing up in a family with some serious Italian roots, Sundays were always treated with extra special care- dare I say, almost sacred. There was church in the morning, of course. Then there was the "family day" rule, which meant we were to hang out together ALL DAY LONG and bond and make memories. This meant no friends over, no working, no doing anything other than family or homework. Naturally, I resisted this like it was my job. However, at the end of the day, there was always The Sunday Night Dinner. This I did not resist.

Well, I'm bringing it back. The Dewigs are now carrying on the tradition of The Sunday Night Dinner, hopefully as often as our calendars and pocket books will allow. It makes sense- start the week off right, have something that sets Sundays apart from the rest, set one dinner aside during the week that really allows me to show my family how much I love them. We are ringing in this revived tradition with one my mom's specialties, that I am only hoping I can sufficiently replicate: Roasted sausage with caramelized balsamic onions, potatoes & carrots. Don't worry, we'll totally post pictures of this sure-to-be masterpiece.

Thanks Corralitos Market for your world famous sausage creations. They are my muse this evening. Also, my parents probably aren't even aware that they just passed the torch to us, but regardless- THANKS, mom & dad for the great idea/tradition/memory maker. As it turns out, Meschi Family Days were a great idea after all!

A Last Day of May Update

Already I'm laughing at this blog posting because I can tell it's going to be one of those ones that ramble on & on about lots of different things, and I was just telling my dear Liz how those blogs are always hard for me to read/follow because there's too much information. So....forgive me as I begin my hypocritical blog. It's the last day of May, and I just felt like there's been a few tidbits that I've neglected to share with my vast blogging audience (shout out to Alexis, my FIFTH official blog follower!) Also, if you are reading this and aren't officially "following" my blogs, will you, please? (FAVI! EDITH! LIZ!) Because, then I know that people actually read them. Or skim. Whatever is easiest.

Okay, I know I've shared this already with EVERYONE I KNOW, but it's time for all of you to meet the newest addition to the Dewig Family. Her name is Alice and we are quite fond of her:


She is the wonderful $700 espresso machine we scored on Freecycle (um, for free, naturally) and we are so in love with her and all her tricks and bells and whistles. She can brew espresso in pod form OR in the good ol' fashioned loose espresso form. Incidentally, we've been using her so much the past week, we've completely run out of espresso pods. This morning I felt a bit lost when I had to revert back to boring brewed coffee. Also, I thought I should mention that I am a huge fan of quality cappuccino foam. So far, Shiyah has proved to be the best foamer/barista, and I'm pretty sure I will hit her up on Tuesday night for lessons.

In other news, the Findricks took us to a concert on Friday evening to see Meiko all the way in SF, to celebrate Liz's 40th (!!!!) birthday. The fabulous Findrick/Dewig foursome was together once again (it's been a really long time) and it was nothing short of spectacular. The night included some boys vs. girls caravaning, margaritas, cranberry & vodka (sans vodka until my husband saved the day), very close proximity to Meiko herself, some very friendly banter between Dan F. & Meiko (I'm pretty sure they have identical B.F.F necklaces now) and some really helpful parking advice & assistance from a funny homeless man named Andre. Oh, how I miss SF! All I have to say about Meiko is she is a total doll, has a great sense of humor, has a really unique and different vibe, and now seeing her live, her voice kind of reminds me of Bjork. Here is proof of how close Meiko was to us as she walked on stage:
In other news, my parents have been in Maui for the last week, and will be there for THREE MORE. I miss them. I thought being a 30 year old woman meant you were old enough to not need your parents much anymore, but I was dead wrong. Apparently, they are two of my favorite people. Thankfully we've spoken almost everyday, and my favorite phone call came around 11:30-ish pm the other night, when my parents informed me they were cruising the strip in Lahaina. What a couple of party animals. I hope they are having a blast (and I hope next year they remember to bring us with them).

Also, my mom necklace arrived! It's wonderful, and I've gotten lots of compliments, and I've decided it will definitely be my everyday necklace. The only negative is that I've worn it in the shower about 3 times, and probably shouldn't have. I wanted to include a picture, but for some reason our less-than-competent camera can't capture an un-blurred snapshot of the necklace.

Lastly, only two more weeks of school for Dan, and I am once again re-discovering why I love having a teacher for a husband. Let the fun begin! Let the days of co-parenting begin! Let the days of co-naps, co-lunches, co-activities and thusly co-fun begin!

Snails in the morning

Sometimes being woken up abruptly in the morning (by those cute little ankle biters of mine) reeks havoc on my psyche, especially if I have not yet consumed my first cup of coffee, or "vitamin C" as Dan puts it. When this happens, I'm not quick to respond, I'm not particularly cheerful or pleasant, and I usually don't say a whole lot or find many things funny until I've officially "woken up" and come out of my dream fog. And so, it was especially entertaining this morning, when, at around 7:30 a.m., I hear Dan calling my name from the backyard, while I was in the kitchen doing my usual breakfast prep routine. I look out the window, and what I saw was priceless.

Let me paint the picture.

Dan is all dressed up and looking very handsome in his professional work clothes. He's holding Ella in one arm (she accompanied him during his morning chore of feeding the dog), and in the other hand, he's holding up 2 snails. The snails are stuck to each other, and he's holding one by its shell, while the other one is dangling, still stuck to its friend and hanging on for dear life. So Dan is calling me, over & over- "BAAAABE! Babe! Look!"

I look out the kitchen window, and with his eyes wide and as big as Buick hubcaps, a huge smile across his face, he yells, "LOOK! The snails are totally MATING!!!!!"

It was like my husband turned into a curious 3 year old boy, and felt the need to share his discovery with me, and all nearby neighbors.

I laughed out loud for a few seconds, and when he came back in, I immediately questioned how he knew the snails were mating. When did he become a snail expert? Do snails have male/female parts? How does he know they weren't just hugging? Or maybe even just spooning? He laughed it off as if I was so ridiculous for even asking the question, and through his snicker, informed me:
"Oh Babe! It was SO OBVIOUS! Two snails? Stuck to each other? Totally mating!"

This is my "new thing learned" for the day.

Please tell me this struck your funny bone, too

Tasty

Well good morning, my Wallaby organic Dulce De Leche creamy Australian style low fat yogurt breakfast! Thank you for being the easiest, quickest and tastiest way to get some protein into my tired, tired body this morning. I have a feeling this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship. I intend to stick by your side pretty much til death do we part. I'm not really sure what makes you so "Australian Style" because so far, I'm half way into my yogurt cup and it tastes pretty much like American yogurt, but I don't question your genius flavor. It's the perfect way to say Happy Friday to myself. Happy Friday, self.

Shout Out

Dear Trader Joe's Snack & Sample Lady,

Oh, how I love you.

There you are, ever so faithfully waiting for us, with your electric gadgets going, your warm coffee brewing, and your sunshiny smile flashing for all of us- me & my fellow shoppers- to see. You think you're just doing your simple everyday job of whipping up a few snacks, doing some basic product promotion (thank you for the Poor Woman's Soup recipe, BTW), but it's oh-so-much more. Little do you know that I forgot to pack a snack today for my own 3 year old apparently ravenous son, who is now having a complete low blood sugar meltdown, and who, if you were not there, would throw himself right down on this Trader Joe's floor in wild fits of tantrum. Because of you, we've got a Trader Joe's rhythm: hit up the produce, peruse the cheeses, and BAM! We're met by you & your snack time heaven. You are the reason I have any bribing power at all when I walk in those doors. "If you're a really great listener for the whole shopping trip, maybe we can even go back for seconds!". And when you say things like, "Would you like a cup of juice to go with that, too?" I find myself hardly being able to contain myself. WHY, YES I WOULD, SNACK/SAMPLE LADY.

Sometimes I get frustrated with my fellow shoppers when they walk right up to your stand and grab a sample without saying one word. There's no "thanks" or "how are you today" from some of these ingrates, and I find myself biting my tongue. Hey! Don't' you know who she is? She's the SNACK/SAMPLE lady! Have some respect! Please let me apologize on their behalf. They know not what they do.

You are my modern day hero. You allow me to have a somewhat normal grocery shopping experience. You buy me a few more minutes in the wine aisle, so that I can do a bit more research in my wine pursuits, rather than just grabbing the cheapest bottle of Merlot I can find. You are saving the world by making little children happy, one hungry tummy at a time.


And so, here's to you, Trader Joe's Snack/Sample Lady. Thanks.

p.s. Oh, and to all you check-out cashiers who shower Ben with strips & strips of stickers as we exit your store, you're pretty awesome, too. You should probably know that you provide great drive home, as Ben has decided his favorite new game is to plaster these stickers all over his mouth. It's a pleasantly quiet, peaceful drive home while I sing the Trader Joe's praises.

A gift

After a very long, stressful and tediously exhausting week last week, I decided to treat myself to this pretty little necklace:


Of course, I do not know Traeli & Jaxson (what are these alternative name spellings?) so my version will naturally say "Ben" & "Ella" with a heart on the top. It's what we call a "Mom" necklace, so that my children's names are next to my heart at all times. There are many reasons I'm excited for this necklace. 1) Hopefully, it will be a reminder to pray for my little ankle biters when I hear it clink around. 2) I NEVER EVER EVER purchase or receive jewelry. Ever. I'm a bit too practical for anything glimmery and beautiful, and I don't think it ever even crosses Dan's mind to purchase pieces of jewelry for me, because I'm thinkin' that would be quite the intimidating task. I'm pretty sure the last piece of quality jewelry I received was my engagement & wedding rings, which no longer fit me, thanks to two kids and the extra "baby weight" I'm still fighting with. 3) Speaking of being practical, I'm kind of hoping the multi-colored metal look of this necklace will tie in with just about every outfit I own. It's the piece of jewelry that keeps on giving. 4) The necklace is handmade, and it's creator offered a 10% discount if you used the code "Didn't get it", as in, "didn't get the Mother's Day gift I wanted OR didn't get a Mother's Day gift at all". Funny, right? And ever so helpful. And even more of a reason for me to have ordered it before the offer expired. 5) Darling Dan, if you ever read my blog, pay extra special attention to item #4 and remember to THANK ME for being a bargain hunter when purchasing jewelry for myself.

And after the taxing week I had last week, I kind of deserve it. I'll let you know when my precious arrives.

Birthday presents

Me: Ben, it's your birthday tomorrow! When you wake up you'll be 3 years old! Mama wants to make a special dinner for you. What would you like to have for your special birthday dinner?

Ben: Ummmm, I think I want hot dogs. And ketchup. And mustard. And....a napkin.

Nicole: How about a birthday present? Mommy & Daddy would like to get you a gift. If you could have anything, what would you like for your present?

Ben: I would like a Christmas Tree. With breakable ornaments on it.

Nicole: Oh wow. Um, it might be a bit too early for Christmas Trees. How about some trucks?

Ben: Nah. I think I want a grill instead.

Nicole: A grill? Like a BBQ? Like daddy's?

Ben: Yes.

Nicole: So you can pretend to cook food, just like daddy?

Ben: No. I want a grill so I can throw it on the fence in the yard.

Nicole: Okay, buddy. Mommy needs to think about all of this for a while.

Manners

I was taking a lovely drive today (all by MYSELF!) on this beautiful sunny afternoon, and hit some weekend traffic on my trek towards downtown S.Cruz. One of my biggest pet peeves is when we're all stuck in the jam together, we're all crawling along at a painful 25mph, and yet some people get really territorial and rude about letting another person "in" or allowing them to merge, etc-- as if letting this person in will then allow them to go any faster then the rest of us who have to endure the annoyance of a little weekend traffic. So silly. So, I try to make a conscious effort to let people in who have their blinkers on, blah blah blah. This happened today when I noticed a guy who had his blinker on for quite a while, and everyone was zipping by him in the "fast" lane, ignoring him. So, I slowed down and let him over. His window was down, so as he came over into my lane, I saw him slightly stick his head out of the window as he safely merged. I assumed, naturally, that it was to give me grateful nod, or perhaps a thankful wave or some sort of humble acknowledgment. But really, he stuck his head out the window so that he could SPIT. That's right. Spit. No nod, no smile, no wave, no nothing.

His mother would be SO disappointed in him.

Spell Check

My favorite 15 year old shared with me this week that she is only able to correctly spell the word banana because of Gwen Stefani's song Hollaback Girl. This is a song which references and spells said fruit within its song lyrics. See? Pop culture is ever so helpful in the development of the minds of tomorrow's leaders. Here's to you, Gwen. Thanks for changing lives with your lyrical word spelling, one banana at a time.

Dear Ella

Dearest Ella Portabella,

Today you are 6 months old. Kind of a huge milestone, in my humble opinion. My, my- how time does fly. I mean, just another stretch of 6 months, and you will be a whole year old. Yikes! But for now, my sweet girl, I want to tell you a few tidbits about you, and how much Mommy loves you.

I still can't believe you're a girl. It took almost these last 6 months for me to get over the shock value of opening up your diaper each time and saying, "Wow! Girl parts! That's right, I have a baby girl!" I knew that you would change my life in a completely different way-- I knew it because everyone said so. But my sweet girl, you really have. You melt me into a puddle of butter every time you stare at me with those big brown eyes, just happy & eager to see what your crazy Mama is going to do next. You really think I'm somethin', and that is such a wonderful feeling. I think you & I are kind of like two kids who have just fallen in love, and are walking on cloud 9-- you & I can do no wrong in each other's eyes. Something in my gut screams true happiness when you flash me your gummy grin and I get to see your sweet little dimple (I can't believe you have a dimple!) Also, the whole sucking-your-thumb and/or toes thing is so wonderful and helpful and precious and comforting. You constantly look for that right thumb, and then swing the rest of your fingers over your nose, especially when you are tired or upset.

Seeing those chubby little thighs & buns is perhaps the happiest part of my day, so lately I try to just strip you down a bit when you're on the floor playing to get my fill. (Sorry that Ben takes full advantage of these moments to "spank your buns".....but you don't seem to mind....). I love how much you love our special nursing time, and how you let me know you want the boob simply by burying your face into my neck. It's not so subtle, but pretty funny, and you definitely get your point across. I'm amazed at all you've learned & accomplished in 6 short months. You even have a sense of humor already! You are a sensitive little creature, and although you love a good party, you get easily overwhelmed by too many new faces and strange noises. That's okay, you will learn to love chaos, as it's nearly impossible to avoid with this family.

Sometimes when I'm really super tired and you wake up to breastfeed in the middle of the night, I go get you from your room, and we cuddle up and I feed you, and we fall asleep together, and I wake up hours later to the sound of your little baby snore, and it makes me smile in my drowsy state. And here's a little secret: Even though I act unhappy and complain when you wake up in the middle of the night to have a breast milk snack, I don't really mind. After all, it's the only quiet alone time you & I get these days, living with those two crazy guys we refer to as "Daddy" and "Big Brother". I love that your body is in the 99th percentile for your age, but your feet are not. Maybe you will avoid the big foot gene that your Mama and great-grandmother's carry. I love that every morning I spend far too much time trying to decide which adorable outfit to put you in, and then sometimes later in the day change you into something else just because. I love that Ben ever so affectionately refers to you as baby sis or sissy. I love that you have given our family such a sweet breath of fresh air. You were conceived in so much love, and I'm certain that somehow that same love is part of what makes you such a good, happy, healthy, loving baby. Oh Ell Bell, I know that this honeymoon phase won't last forever, but for now, I feel nothing but gratitude to have you.

Ella, you are so lovely. You have made my life so crazy and wonderful, and I think you are nothing short of a blessing from heaven. Mama loves you. Goodnight, little one.

Busted

Me: (after presenting Ben with a lunch plate of pb&j sandwich, carrots & apple) Hey Ben, do you want some chips, too?
Ben: Oh, no thanks Mama. I have some carrots.
Me: Oh. Right. Excellent. Cool.


When did my not-yet-3-year-old-son get so health conscientious on me? And why doesn't he share my love for chips?

Sabotage

So, it turns out my son is trying to sabotage my chances at having any sort of green thumb. After all my seed shopping/planting/nurturing/categorizing/wishing/cuddling.....I decided to move the larger potted seedlings outside (and remove from windowsill) to get more intense sun rays. Not ten minutes later, I see Ben run inside to show me the sunflower seedlings ripped out by the root, and the soil from two of the pots scattered all over the lawn.
And so, everyone (all 4 of you, "followers") let the records show- IT WAS NOT I THAT KILLED THE PLANTS (THIS TIME). I will do everything in my power to resuscitate said plants, but I sort of feel set up to fail. Gosh, those almost-three-year-olds and their tricky, tricky ways. Maybe I need some sort of plant/garden alarm system.

Oh, and p.s. - the day after this happened, Ben came running in with two new "rocks". I guess I was too busy to really notice that these were not, in fact, new rocks. They were baby baby nectarines/peaches that he yanked off the trees. Perhaps I should threaten only store-bought canned fruit this summer....

Friday is Funny

Ben pretty much summed it all up this morning, as we were running errands all around town: "Mom, today is a funny day. You better stop and get some coffee."

Sigh. Yes, Ben- you are so wise.

Lucky for me, his advice came at the perfect time, right as we were passing by Peet's coffee (the best coffee in the world, of course). Suddenly, Friday became a whole lot sweeter with an almond latte in my hand. And Peet's coffee, if I may address you directly: THANK YOU for taking the time to make the perfect foam, and create a beautiful swirl-like design. Sometimes you even surprise me with a heart design in my foam. You make me feel so special, Peet's. And for that, I pledge to you my lifelong affection and extra spending money.

So I don't have any major blogging stories or news to share, but I have a few tidbits. Here they are in no particular order:

• It's kind of raining today and we celebrated by taking a trip to Trader Joe's where the "sample lady" (God bless her) was making a banana waffle with COCONUT WHIPPED CREAM. That's right, you heard me. Isn't that clever? (she just mixed coconut milk with whipping cream. Try it, you'll like it)
• I made a banana cream pie yesterday. I'm not quite sure what's inspiring me to make pies these days, but first it was a key lime pie last week, and then last night it was banana cream. Actually, I think what's inspiring me are the pastry-alternative- crust options I've been dabbling in. Let me just say....both were to die for, and I'm not even a huge fan of banana + cream ANYthing. But wow, I love how we have access to millions of recipes on the world wide web, which have reviews and suggestions, and I can take someone else's advice from the mistakes they've made and then follow their recommendations. It's like having kitchen mentors all over the globe, who just happen to be strangers. Anyway, the best recommendation for the b. cream pie was to use a Nilla Wafer/melted butter crust instead of traditional pastry. BEST ADVICE EVER. Thank you Betty, from Iowa!
  
• Ben's 3rd birthday is in 11 days and I have no idea what to do for the little guy. I asked him last night what he wanted for his birthday, and he looked outside into our yard, and started naming whatever he could see. For example- "Ummmm, I want.....a tree. And a patio. And some flowers. And a BBQ." Super- it sounds like instead of getting him a gift this year, all I need to do is walk him out into the backyard and say, Here you go!
• I am seriously considering reinstating our Netflix membership. I miss watching movies, and going to the video store is depressing- I'm sorry, $5 to rent a movie? Who does Blockbuster think they are?
• It's Friday. A funny Friday, indeed. Rain is falling, and my babies are napping, and suddenly my bed is calling my name. Best advice my mother-in-law gave me: When [the kids] are napping, you go and nap! I think I'll take her up on this one. Happy Siesta to me.