Baby's First Birthday

Munch got invited to a 1st birthday party this past weekend. I had forgotten what a bittersweet event a first birthday can be. Her little friend was just so squeezably adorable, but now I know how quickly this baby phase passes. I figured that Munch would love the jumpy house, but the real highlight of the day was hunting lizards in the yard!

Food "Accessories"

Just had to share these adorable food picks that I found a while back. After making my first muffin tin meal I was momentarily inspired to search out cute accessories to make Munch's mealtimes a little more fun. It didn't last long- but I did decide to just not make mealtimes such an issue (and we cut out all snacks for a couple of weeks to make sure she got nice and hungry!) Overall, sitting down together for dinner is so much more pleasant now- and Munch's eating better now that she knows not eating isn't going to get a huge reaction out of us.

Slacker

There. I've said it. I'm a slacker. At least computer-wise, lately. Not sure what it is, but I've been slow to follow up on emails, spent minimal time on Facebook, and have been completely uninspired to post anything new. Maybe it's the lure of these bright, brisk spring days. Maybe it's the guilt from not having pruned the roses yet or my little Wii Fit friend who cheerfully reminds me it's been several days since my last workout. Maybe it's the urge to hunt down new, yummy places to eat (cause I sure haven't been home much!) Who knows? But I appreciate everyone that's hanging in there with me...

My brother was in town from LA this weekend, so we got the family together for breakfast at a place called Crepevine. The menu is heavy on breakfast-y items- sweet and savory crepes, french toast, pancakes, benedicts, omelets. As much as I wanted to sample a crepe, I couldn't pass up the New Orleans Benedict- English muffins topped with crab cakes, poached eggs, and a Cajun-spiced hollandaise. Yum! We'll definitely be going back. Munch loved her silver dollar pancakes and hot chocolate. I just don't understand places that do these huge kid servings, and "silver dollar" pancakes that are the size of my regular, home-made pancakes. Even though most kids' meals are inexpensive, it's the waste of food that kills me. I wish places made a "toddler-sized" meal!

Munch, Grandma Corie, and Uncle Brian

Thank goodness we took a couple of hours to digest our late breakfast because we headed to my dad's next to celebrate Munch's other grandma's birthday.
Munch with her Lola (Grandma) Bess and Lolo (Grandpa) Bart
It was so crowded that I quickly lost sight of Munch while we were settling in. When I found her out on the patio, this is what I saw-

All the grandparents (my numerous aunts and uncles) made sure she got plenty to eat! What particularly pleased me was the opportunity for her to taste many traditional Filipino dishes, and the fact that she gobbled them up. I think the early exposure to the different flavors and textures of other cultures' foods helps broaden her palate. She's not a picky eater and I love her adventurousness when I take her out in search of something new and delicious. One of Munch's favorite dishes that my aunt and uncle would make for her when she was an infant was a sour soup. And AudioDad and I were amazed when we had to tell her, "Stop eating your peas and have some noodles" at the dinner table the other night!

Best Friends

Munch's Auntie Gina was in town recently. She's been my best friend since high school. After we graduated, we both did our own thing. After my childhood of frequent moves (dad was in the Air Force), I've been pretty content to stay put and never really went farther then 50 miles or so from home. Gina is now a Navy wife and has lived everywhere (usually much too far for me!) and loves the adventure. But I especially miss her now that we both have kids. Her boys are just adorable and the oldest is just a few months older than Munch. When the kids were younger, it was difficult for them to keep each other in mind since they only saw each other twice a year at the most. Now that Munch is older, it's easier for her to remember and she'll talk about them often. Hopefully they'll be close too as they grow up- Maybe they'll even get married someday...

Family Get-Togethers

I cannot believe it's been 2 weeks since I last posted (sorry!) As I mentioned in a previous post it's report card time, which coincided with my joining the Mom Bloggers Club. I've loved discovering other great mom blogs through this site, but it's sure taking me a while to get around to all the members of the Follow Me group I joined and get through all the posts waiting for me in my reader! It IS fun having some new Followers though- if you're not a Follower yet (and want to be), check out the link to the right!


While we're in catch up mode, I've gotta thank Deb for the Kreativ Blogger award- what a wonderful surprise! (I'm especially relieved to have readers and that I'm not boring anyone to death...) Thank you, thank you Deb! Check out her sweet and funny blog over at Life With Birk. It's one of my new, fave finds!

So the rules of receiving this award are:
List 7 things that you love and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers you love.
Be sure to tag them and let them know they have won! Copy and paste the award on your site.

7 Things I Love-
1. Of course, my sweet husband and my adorable Munch
2. Lattes- sugar free, soy, but full-caff!
3. Schedules/plans- a structured day is a reassuring day
4. Blogging!
5. A good book- my books-to-read shelf is getting full!
6. Searching for good food
7. My best friend, Gina!

7 Blogs I Love/Can't Miss-
1. Dishing With Debbie (she's a hoot!)
2. Foodie at Fifteen (now 16)(I can totally appreciate the way this kid loves food!)
3. C. Beth Blog (I love reading about her cute kids!)
4. Conversations With a Cupcake (This blog just makes me happy...)
5. Sasha Says (as if I wasn't already a die-hard internet shopper- watch for those GDA's-"good deal alerts")
6.Of Mice and raMen (Veronica finds the most interesting photos!)
7. The Trekking Chelini's (Love ya Liz! How could I not include you on this list?)

So even though I've been lax on posting, I sure haven't missed many good meals! Last weekend we had AudioDad's family over for dinner because his niece, Kristen, was in town. Aunt Lynn sent another fabulous gift (note to self: write thank you letter...)- the biggest hit was a box of neon colored bendy straws-water was never so exciting!

Dinner was a big tray of lasagna along with a batch of beer batter bread, roasted broccoli, and a salad of baby greens, beets, oranges, and goat cheese. AudioDad was thrilled to have his sister Lara's adorable mini cinnamon rolls (makes it easier to justify eating many, many more than one...)

And the next night, since the house was clean and I'd had the fabulous idea of making two trays of lasagna, we had my family over to celebrate my mom's birthday. A dinner re-run, I suppose. For dessert, a strawberry and cream topped cake made with white wine. It's delicious and easy-

Wine Cake
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. vegetable or canola oil
1/2 c. white wine (whatever is open- I usually use something like a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc)
1 1/4 c. sifted flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/8 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. frozen sliced strawberries in syrup, thawed
1 pint heavy cream, beaten to soft peaks with 2-3 tbsp. sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch cake pan. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and eggs and mix well. Add the oil, wine, flour, salt, baking powder, and vanilla. Beat for about a minute then pour into the prepared pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.
Serve slices topped with a generous spoonful of strawberries in syrup and a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream.