What A Little Turkish Food Won't Do

This morning I was feeling a lot like the above picture. The weather, my mood, and my job were pretty blah. Then I got my delivery from Barnes and Noble and Suzanne took me here http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A37790 for lunch. I had hummus, three bean salad and felafel. Magically I'm all better. Bless the Turks who braved the strange land that is Pittsburgh. And bless Suz's generousity and her IRS stimulus package.

Motherhood Kills Brain Cells

Keeping track of my belongings is not my strong suite. My constant refrain is "where are my keys, cell phone, shoes, etc...". So, when my keys went missing a week ago I was annoyed but not surprised. Yesterday while my dad and little brother were visiting (yea!) I sent Jason to the kitchen to get young sir a snack and he came back in grinning.
J: I found your keys.
Me: Where were they!?
J: In the top of the graham cracker box, sealed, in the cupboard.
Me: I'm a dope.
Dad: Typical.

It's a miracle I haven't lost Eli yet, good thing he's so noisy.


Eli looking especially grown up and manly, I need to put him in footy pajamas and a bonnet to maintain his babyness.
Young sir looking serious as he is wont to do nowadays, he's not sad, just thinking very very serious thoughts.

Home Away From Home

I wanted to take a photo of the lovely flowers, that I took from some one's yard on Tuesday, that have been cheering up my desk so I thought I'd take a couple shots of my desk. I spend a lot of time here and am bad at organizing which is why it looks the way it does.

Tulips in a plastic cup, and there's some lilac floating in the water which is making my desk smell amazing. I'm amazed at how long the flowers have lasted in fluorescent light with no fresh air. Let's pretend that they're a metaphor for modern life shall we? And check out the Mr. Yuck sticker on my phone; did you know that was invented right her in the Burgh?

Cube sweet Cube. This is it's natural state. I have a proliferation of paperwork that could certainly be kept in a neater fashion, but oh well this works for me.
Pictures. A lot of Eli and the dogs. I need to put up a picture of Hazel-Louise Birds.
My ode, funny and true.

I didn't take a picture of the 11 pairs of shoes that live under my desk because there's already one of those on myspace. 9 out of 11 pairs are ballet flats. Because I have a problem for which there is no support group.

Nothing Exciting

Not a lot going on over at the home front. Eli and I had a stomach bug that was pretty gross over the weekend and he finally seems like he's feeling normal again. The weather is good, rainy and warm which is pretty much my ideal. Yesterday was Administrative Professionals Day which means that I got showered with gifts, praise and comp time at the office which was lovely. My boss wrote me an ode that begins with the couplet:

Emily, Emily you sure are great
And you are only occasionally late

Funny and true. Though I'm late probably more than they realize. I made some kick ass chicken chili with corn and fresh tomatillos last night (I love saying tomatillos, sounds so fancy). Really not anything exciting going on.

Innovative parenting in action. Eli kept shutting the tv off, turning up the volume & changing the channels; so I found a good use for the old cards that were taking up space in my wallet. And note that I'm watching The Lifetime Movie Network, that channel is addictive.

I put him directly in the grass. And he didn't much like it.

So he tried to escape. When he couldn't get the gate open he contemplated digging, luckily those dollar store shovels are pretty flimsy.

When he pushes that arrow it makes a clicking noise and says "you're turning right" he really likes to push that button. Doesn't he look like a big boy in this picture! Makes me a little teary eyed.

Stacking up blocks is his newest skill, he's very very good at it. A block savant even. I clap for him and cheer and praise his smarts with each block added to the pile. I can't help it I think he's the best thing that ever happened. And if my body would get itself in order I'd be making another best thing.

Fellow Pennsylvanians

Get out and vote!!!
***the views of Wesley are not necessarily the views of the blog***

You Gotta Eat A Little Dirt

It seems like the weather has finally decided to get nice and stay nice. In fact yesterday was so nice that upon the minor urging of my cohort I took a half day from work to enjoy it. We went to lunch at The Cheesecake Factory (where I didn't eat cheesecake) then walked around some of the shops at Southside Works. There are about a million things I want for the house from Urban Outfitters by the way; so if you were considering buying me a present that's a good place to start.

After my extended lunch break I headed home to play with the number one men in my life. We put sand in the sand table and Eli got to experience it for the first time.

The pictures are a little out of order, this was after he'd been playing for awhile and the sun made him so tired that he just came over and laid on me like this. Very very sweet.

Here he is in the sunhat he wouldn't leave on, gonna have to buy one that ties. It does look kinda goofy so he may have had the right idea. But ssshhh don't tell him he was right.
In his little summery outfit, ready to play.
What is this crazy substance Eli wonders.
He decided he'd be able to understand it better if he ate a little of it.
Dirt on his face, big disgrace, waving his banner all over the place.
Adelaide and Baby Comet basking in the sun, being beautiful.

Eli and I went back out later in the evening and I started working on getting my wildflowers planted. I had the edging of the porch tilled up, put the seeds down and was tamping down the soil over them with my back turned to Eli for a minute. Big mistake on mama's part. He finished planting my seeds on the cement porch. It'll be a delightful surprise if something grows. Oh well, at least I got started.

Tonight the ladies and I are going to CiCi's pizza buffet, then back to my house where after Eli's in bed we will take home pregnancy tests and watch Juno. Sounds like fun, huh.

Bacon Griddle

My grandma has one of these and uses it every morning. Anyone know where I can find a working one for my house?

Dumpling Heaven

I made those dumplings last night and am in love. I want to make them for everybody I've ever met. I took pictures because I could.
Dumplings pre-butter-sugar-mountain dew bath.
Dumplings post bath
baking, look at that syrupy goodness bubble.
All done!
Butter pocket close up.

Suzanne proclaimed them the best thing ever eaten and my cube mate may want to marry me. I highly recommend that you try this at home.

Eli Likes To Party

Eli likes to party all night long! Monday night he woke up at 2 am and Jason got him out of bed, took him downstairs and let him play. Till 630 am when I got up for work. Apparently I didn't go over the NEVER TAKE ELI OUT OF HIS CRIB AFTER BEDTIME UNLESS HE'S COMPLETELY INCONSOLABLE rule. Luckily it didn't completely mess up the schedule I worked so hard to implement; but I was frightened.

Carrot souffle. Delicious. Eat it. Eat it all the time.

I've got two rows done on my scarf, not a lot, but they're long rows, but I vow to work on it tonight during the American Idol/Biggest Loser Finale extravaganza. It's a true extravaganza because there will be pizza and apple dumplings. The apple dumplings will be prepared by me, from this recipehttp://http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/02/apple_dumplings/ now grandma makes apple dumplings, but hers don't contain mountain dew. I'll let you know how they turn out.

Did you notice how much butter that recipe calls for? All my recipes for the next two weeks require a crap load of butter. I bought FOUR boxes of butter during my grocery binge last night. And none of them are for eating like a candy bar.

Mommy making dinner is the time when it's hardest to entertain Eli so I gave him this little sugar jar (empty) to play with. He was entertained for a good ten minutes

But the thrill wore off and he was rattling the already broken gate, it's screwed into the wall where there is no stud and he keeps shaking it lose, so I decided to just let him in the kitchen. Unfortunately I haven't baby proofed the kitchen yet so Eli was having a party in the cupboard where we keep our stock pot/pet food. He got trapped and started screaming shortly after this picture was taken

I couldn't get him to hold still to get a picture in his flame longies, this is the best i could do. They're lovely and adorable.

Mommy and Eli! He's finally started saying mamama again.

And here's another example of me trying to entertain Eli while I cooked. He wouldn't stop screaming while I sliced potatoes so I washed one and gave it to him. I didn't think he'd actually start gnawing on it.

Yes, I Got That Memo

I should preface this by telling you that my job really isn't high stress. I mean it really really isn't. But currently I'm starting to feel a little harried by people who won't return my phone calls, fellow employees who think I'm their personal lackey, and programs that I shouldn't be handling. I'm starting to feel a lot like this guy:
So, if I come across as a cranky bitch, like I did today during copier training (that's right copier training which was "mandatory" for me), I am sorry. Forgive me. Love me. Roll with it baby. I can't be bitchy with my one year old; the adults in my life might end up bearing the brunt.

On a more cheerful note Eli got these in the mail yesterday from "aunt" Jenna at Oopsy Daisy Designs:
They're new wool longies and they are awesome! I got them too late for a fashion show yesterday but Eli will definitely be rocking them this eve. They're going to look right with his guitar shoes.

Tuesday afternoon J and I took Eli out to play in the backyard. This is when we discovered that he's afraid of grass. He doesn't like to stand grass and if you put him in it he gets back to the cement walk as fast as his untrusting little legs will take him. My little city baby.

That's Eli with his fire truck Play Hut, he didn't cry this time but he still wasn't crazy about it. After all it was on the grass.
I love this picture, Eli looks like he's gonna get you. You can see the little girl who lives next door playing with Adelaide, she's 7 and very adorable and sweet. She also walks across screen in the little video below. Her older brother, who despite looking 12 is in fact 17, is also in the video.

I think the good weather invigorated me because I was ultra productive last night. I did 3 loads of laundry (including folding and putting it where it goes), hung up some pictures in my kitchen and bathroom, did 2 loads of dishes, and most importantly I organized the basket where I keep Eli's clean diapers. I hadn't been folding the diapers out of sheer laziness and unmatched socks, t-shirts, etc... had started to sneak in as well. It looks a million times better now:
See? So organized! I'm a little obsessed with Eli's diapers because they're so cute and good for the environment and kind of addictive to shop for. Really I think all parents should cloth diaper. And I'd be happy to brainwash them into doing it.
All but about 1/2 dozen of Eli's diapers are in there, which means that as of last night they were almost all clean and accounted for. Makes me feel good ; )
Here's Eli playing before bedtime. Possibly we should buy the poor kid some toys.
He looks like he's protecting the sofa here. Really he was watching the cat; "if I hold really really still maybe she'll come to me!". Since she's in heat this theory has been correct as of late. It's kind of gross but Eli could not be happier at how friendly kitty is.

Zoo!

Yesterday the weather was miraculously beautiful; which was good since it was Eli's first trip to the zoo. We went with Aunt Suz and her friend Bridget who has a little girl who's only two weeks younger than Eli. Bridget is also eight months pregnant with baby number two (cue Emily's rampant baby fever). Our zoo is a really nice one and normally is not too busy and very kid friendly. Unfortunately yesterday everyone in the greater Pittsburgh area had the same idea as us and the zoo was a mad house; I think Eli still had a good time.

Yesterday at about ten I went up to take a shower and when I came down Eli and daddy were napping on the couch. It was too sweet to not take a picture of.
Eli arrives at the zoo and gets strapped in.

Look Eli a peacock! The peacocks roam free and one also took a nap in some foliage by us when we were lunching on overpriced zoo food.
Eli during said overpriced lunch, he LOVES pineapple. He also loves to get his shirt so wet that I have to change his outfit.

Eli, mommy and Aunt Suzanne in front of the polar bear statue. Eli was kind of tired and dazed by the sun at this point.

Eli loved the aquarium, he was much too fascinated by the fish to be bothered to look at the camera.

Polar bears! The polar bears came to the Pittsburgh zoo about a year and a half ago and it's pretty cool, they built a whole new "waters edge" area adjacent to the aquarium to house them and the sea otters. There's an underwater area where you can watch them swim if you're lucky enough to catch them in the water. We weren't that lucky, but oh well.

Eli and the fish again, I'm tempted to get him a fish tank for his room, but I'm pretty sure I'd end up killing them much like the goldfish I had in middle school. Poor James Dean and Jim Morrison I didn't feed them and they had to resort to cannibalism.
Eli and Hannah, this is just to demonstrate scale I'm amazed that there is a baby Eli's age that he's actually bigger than!
Eli, Hannah, Bridget and I. As you can see I'm quite a bit bigger than Bridget; which might explain the difference in size between the babies. Did I mention that Bridget is pregnant, and that I'm terribly jealous.

Eli and Aunt Suzanne. They're so photogenic together.
Tiger! He was hiding in a corner and I had to lean over a ledge to get this picture henceforth I'm proud of it. Besides that he just looks so delightfully touchable. When we got there and saw how busy it was I joked that there must be some sort of promotion going on like the first 100 visitors got a baby tiger--I wish it had been so.