Wood in Kitchen

The tile in the kitchen is gone. I'm still not convinced that wood is the best material for a kitchen floor (especially with a messy cook like me), but the house seems much larger with one continuous style of flooring. It was a nice surprise to come home to, and feels very organic underfoot. I hate walking on synthetic materials. Our next project is to sand and paint the cabinets.

Anyway, yesterday I went to Cost Plus World Market (couldn't they think of a shorter name?) to look for a flat weave jute rug to put under the table. I decided to bring Max. He has been walking for about a month now, and I figured that if he got tired of the stroller he could hold my hand and walk. My plan failed. He lasted about two minutes in the stroller so I got him out and said "hold mommy's hand." He yanked his hand free and started laughing and running away from me. I chased him down, grabbed his hand and said "Max, stay with mommy." He clamped down on my hand with all eight teeth until I screamed and let go. He took off running through the store, knocking over as many things as he could along the way. I couldn't keep up because my belly and I couldn't fit through the tight spaces he fit through. When he got to the toy section he grabbed a stuffed monkey, bent over forward and started sprinting like he was heading to the end zone for a touchdown. After I caught up and siezed his loot, he started throwing a mad tantrum. His ammunition included: kicking, hitting, screaming, back arching, and hair pulling. After a long embarrasing struggle and some significant hair loss, I finally got him strapped into the stroller and booked it for the car. I couldn't believe my sweet little boy was capable of being so naughty. If he keeps this up Santa will not be bringing him anything for Christmas!

Lavender Festival

When I was a little girl I wanted to move to England and have a lavender farm. That dream never came to fruition, but yesterday I visited a beautiful lavender farm in Sequim, WA with my mom and grandma. It was gorgeous and smelled just as good as it looked. We had lavender lemonade and lavender lemon sorbet. I'm regretting not trying the lavender white chocolate ice cream, but there was no room in this stomach that is constantly being smashed and kicked by Max's soon to be little brother. He is a mover! Check out more pics here.

Swinging in Pasco

Max loves the swing at grandma's house. It's great to be here. We have been swimming, resting, taking walks, playing, and feasting on fresh pesto and grilled vegetables from the garden, Casa Chapala, the olive bar at Yokes, and seasonal fruit. I love summer! Max is having such a great time here that he has been starting his day at 4:30 a.m. (ouch!) to fit in a few more hours of play. J-P is busy back home ripping out our tile and installing a new floor in the kitchen.

Ah hah!

His lips were much bigger, but you can still see some swelling...

We have been totally stumped over Max's allergic reactions. First reaction: BJ's blackened chicken pizza. The problem is that he has eaten tons of pizza and never had a problem. Second reaction: Macaroni and Cheese. But again, he has eaten lots of mac and cheese and it never phased him. Third reaction: Subway wheat bread. Huh? Who swells up with monkey lips from eating bread? I did some detective work and discovered that both the pizza and the subway bread contain sulfites (preservatives). Sulfites were my only hunch. We have given him cheese (dairy), berries, nuts(almonds), eggs, soy, wheat, and just about every highly allergenic food since his first few episodes and have not seen a reaction. That is until tonight. We decided to make mac and cheese because he wouldn't eat anything all day and we knew it was the one thing he would eat. We were right. He gobbled it up, but before he could finish his lips swelled up so big he could barely open his mouth. We squirted some (probably way too much) benadryl down his throat and waited very quietly for any sign that he was having trouble breathing (our cue to call 911). Luckily he seemed ok (laughing and dancing means ok, right?), and the benadryl started to reduce the swelling right away.

Moral of this story: No more mac and cheese for Max!

To console him, we pulled out his favorite food: blueberries. Blueberries are not my favorite food because they make a huge mess and I have to soak his clothes in Oxyclean (works like magic) everyday. I finally figured out that I could take his shirt off and save myself the trouble of washing it. It only took me 2 months and a bucket of Oxyclean to figure that one out.

Mango Mania

I went through a mango phase in my early 20's. It was a borderline obsession. I spent my summers trying to find deals on mangoes, and then trying to invent masterful mango recipes. I made mango muffins, mango sauce for crepes, mango salsa, mango smoothies, mango salads, mango everything... It was a love affair. I even decided to study abroad in the Dominican Republic because I knew mangoes grew there in wild abundance. And I suppose to learn a little Spanish. Little did I know they have their own crazy version of Spanish that is barely comprehensible.

Back to mangoes. My life was made so much easier when I came across a Martha article that illustrated the correct way to cut a mango. It works like magic every time. I was, ironically, probably the last person to learn about this, but I thought I would post some pics anyway in case anyone is experiencing mango cutting frustration.


Yesterday I was at Sprouts (our local market) and saw a sign that read "mangoes--6 for a $1.00" I wanted to run to the mango bin but I couldn't because for a brief moment I died and went to mango heaven. When I came to, I grabbed a plastic bag and started filling it as fast as I could. I was the only non-Asian in the mango war zone. We were all squeezing and smelling the mangoes, and loading them into our carts as fast as we could. J-P came over and saw the bags full of mangoes in the cart and said "Um, are you really going to eat all those?" I gave him the 'how dare you ask me that' glare and said "did you see the price?" He shrugged and I continued my scavenge through the mango pile until all the good ones were safely stowed in my cart.

Mango season is just about over, and pretty soon we will have to pay $1.89 for a mango that doesn't even taste good. Get yours while you still can.

12 month update

Max is one year old and is already turning into his dad. He loves to tease me. He is just as bad as J-P. It started with playing dead. One day he collapsed onto the floor, closed his eyes, and remained listless. Normally he never stops moving, so naturally I became alarmed. I ran to him, shook him, and said “Max, what’s wrong?” He waited a couple seconds and then opened his eyes and started laughing hysterically. The next day, he was sitting quietly on the floor. As soon as I looked his way, he started picking up mystery items off of the floor and putting them in his mouth as fast as he could. I had just swept, but figured I had missed something so I went to do my usual finger swipe to retrieve the items. As soon as I pried his mouth open he started laughing hysterically. There was nothing there. He was faking me out again. Now he plays dead and pretends to put things in his mouth all day long, but only when he knows I’m watching.

Max’s 12 month check up didn’t go so well. He has lost 2 ½ pounds and hasn’t grown at all since his 9 month check-up. I wasn’t too shocked because he is the pickiest eater on the planet and would much rather throw his food on the floor than eat it. He doesn’t like anything. I spend most of my day using my creative juices to concoct meals that might please his palate. He just shakes his head and pushes all of my hard work away. When I explained this to his Pediatrician, he said “have you tried milkshakes, French fries, ice cream?” I said “yep, he spits it all out.” He didn’t know what to say. After a moment of silence he said “what a funny kid…good luck.” I never dreamed I would have to bring Max in every few weeks for a weight check.

I have had a very stressful month with Max’s eating problems, mysterious allergic reactions, placenta worries (partial placenta previa), and a busy husband. I am also trying to emotionally prepare myself for another boy who seems to be even more active than Max was. Did I mention we have to speak in church next week? Ay, ay, ay. A vacation is in order! It’s a beautiful 115 degrees, and our pool is a nice relaxing 90 degrees if anyone wants to come and visit.

p.s. The pictures are from Max's first real trip to the beach. It was a cold, windy day and he didn't really like it. We took him to the same spot at Newport beach that I always went to with my family. He fell asleep on the long walk down the boardwalk to The Crab Cooker (one of my favorite restaurants).

Happy Birthday (a little late...)

My mom just turned 50, but she doesn't look it. When we went to Spain on study abroad a few years ago, she told the family we were staying with that she was my mom and they didn't believe her. They thought we were just friends playing a joke on them. The last day we were there they overheard a conversation we were having and gasped "You really are her mom!" Hopefully I'll get those youthful genes. So far it doesn't seem like they are in my favor. Here are some great shots of my mom (she's the oldest one with dark hair)...

On the beach at Punta del Este, Uruguay
Sitting with her Abuela (she looks exactly like Max here)
Christmas in Colombia My mom and I in Spain at the running of the bulls
Here we are in Salamanca, one of my mom's favorite cities

Happy Birthday mom. We love you and hope you had a great day.

The tour is coming, the tour is coming...

I discovered that J-P was a cycling fanatic within the first five minutes of our first date. We were at a Shabu-Shabu restaurant and as he dipped his first piece of meat in the boiling water, I noticed he was wearing a yellow rubber band around his wrist. "Um, why are you wearing a yellow rubber band?", I asked. He informed me that it was a livestrong bracelet, and explained the meaning behind it. After a delightful conversation over boiling water, I learned that cycling is the only sport J-P watches, and that it is only on in July. I remember thinking "I can't let this one get away." I'll never forget our first bike ride together. I showed up at his house in a T-shirt and shorts and he walked out the door in full body spandex. I immediately started laughing. I couldn't help it. It was then that I realized cycling was like a second religion for him. It really hit home the first summer we were married...my husband disappeared for the entire month of July. He didn't actually go anywhere, but he was so absorbed in the Tour that it's like he wasn't there. The timing of the Tour de France couldn't be better, July is the perfect time for me to escape the triple digit heat of Phoenix and visit my parents in Washington. Although J-P claims to be sad we are leaving, he will be so glued to the TV he won't even remember we are gone. The Tour de France has become a very integral part of our lives, and the evidence is everywhere...

An outfit in Max's closet:

A vintage 1912 Tour de France poster on our wall:

Cups in our cupboard:

And many more items that have been banished to J-P's office. He claims he feels hurt that I won't allow all of his framed posters to be hung throughout our house. I tell him that we don't want people to think we are crazy. If you are interested, you can catch the Tour on the OLN network.