Fleur de Aleta

Greg's sister, Madelyn, is called "Yaya" to Gregory.  It's a name she asked for because she has other young children that call her this and I think it's a cute nickname for an aunt :)  This August was Madelyn's 50th birthday party. Below picture is Yaya, Granny and Gregory :) Madelyn wore a beautiful black floor-length dress with rhinestones in the middle.   She looked beautiful.  Madelyn held Gregory and ... as babies do... he spit up... from the top of her dress to the floor.  Yaya said, as she was cleaning her dress, "Does it ever end?!"  I felt bad about it, but what can one do?  I said, "Gregory's birthday gift to you?" Below is a picture of Madelyn's daughter, Katie, holding Gregory.  I love how they look into each other's eyes :) There are four "Greg's" in the O'Brien family gathering.  I asked Madelyn, as the birthday girl, if she would hold our son and if we could get a picture of the ...

My husband enjoys mongolian beef when we go to a Chinese restaurant.  I came across a recipe that seemed easy and lately I've tried to a few Chinese recipes, so why not one more? Pretty easy - the hardest part was trying to find Hoisin Sauce.  And I've never worked with Ginger Root, so I did a Google search on how to cut it and store it.  It's easy to get to the yellow root and then mince it.  The rest can be wrapped in Saran Wrap and then put into a freezer bag to store in the freezer. (You might notice the garlic and onion are in freezer bags, already chopped - yeah, easy cooking!) I was a little disappointed with the meat.  I thought it would fall apart tender, but it wasn't. First step - put cornstach into a resealable plastic bag with steak and shake.  Allow steak to rest for 10 minutes.  Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Brown - 2-4 minutes. Place onion, garlic, steak, green onions, soy, water, sugar, ginger and hoisin sauc...

One of the ladies in my birth group - a group of ladies who gave birth to their children around the same time as Gregory was born and ... a group of ladies in my age range (late 30's, early 40's) - totally awesome group of ladies.. one lady posted a message asking mommies to share their "bragging rights" - special times with their babies. I thought about it... my special time is when Gregory is calm to take a nap.  It's the moment right before, when I know he has the choice to get super cranky or he can choose to relax.  I'm trying to let him nap during the day in his crib, but sometimes he wants to be by me, to know I'm there.  That's the moment I'm talking about. When Gregory is on my bed under the activity gym... he looks at me, slowly closes his eyes... opens them again.  Sees me, smiles and slowly closes his eyes again.  It's that peaceful moment; the knowledge that my presence means something to him, where he can relax and feel confid...

It's easy and I often times forget about cooking asparagus as a side item, but I love it fresh.  Just a little crunchy texture.  The only negative is what my husband said, "Asparagus makes my pee smell like asparagus."  Lol. Ok, so first blanch the veggie in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Preheat oven to 350.  Once the veggies are blanched and drained, mix the rest of the ingredients in a pyrex dish and cook for 10-15 minutes, until cheese is melted. It's not a recipe to "knock your socks off" - but it's something a little different and it's easy!

My friend, Kristen, came to visit earlier this month.  Yes, I'm behind in posting about it :)  My son will take 30 minute cat naps, but when "Auntie Kay" came to visit, he didn't want to miss a thing and refused to sleep.  Even though I could tell he was really tired.  Poor heart. Auntie Kay feeding Gregory: Kristen started to tease Gregory, saying she was going to get his toes.  He looked at her like she'd lost her mind.  Then she said, "And I'm going to EAT those toes." and she touched his feet.  Gregory wailed out; I had to laugh. It was great to visit with Kristen, though I feel guilty because we used to go out to eat or catch a movie or catch up on things going on.  With a tired, crying child... we just didn't have that opportunity.  It was good to see my friend again, but hopefully in the future my son will allow himself a nap instead of staying up cranky. Five minutes after Kristen left.....

There's a reason for the "NO" in the recipe title.  I tried the recipe according to directions and hated it.  I loved it until the enchilada sauce and then remembered.... I never order enchilada's at restaurants because I don't like the sauce - big DUH moment.  But even my husband tried the mixture and loved it and then tasted the sauce and didn't like it.  We have agreed that I will make this again, because really, the meat/veggie mixture is VERY tasty... but NO tortillas and NO sauce.  I'm not much of a bread person, so I don't mind not having to roll a tortilla.  Lol. Ok, so minus the above, it's really very easy - sauté chicken in butter with pepper, salt, garlic salt and cumin.  I cubed the chicken so that it was in bite-sized pieces and would cook quickly.  After the chicken is cooked, remove it to a plate. In the same pan that you cooked the chicken, using the chicken drippings, add onions, garlic and touch of cumin - cook until tender. The...

My husband removed the infant carseat from the car and put in the big boy seat.  Weight wise, our son can go in it now.  Greg is tickled to use it because it was a gift from his parents from the baby shower.  The only negative is that when I take Gregory out of the car, hmmmm, where does he go when we go shopping?  He used to stay in the infant carseat and I would put that in the shopping cart. My parents gave me the shopping cart cover and I'm putting it to use.  But Mommy is a little Slllooooowwwwwww....  Ok, so I hope nobody videos me when I go to the grocery store, because I'm there in the parking lot, talking to the baby and asking him to have some patience while I put the cover on and strap him in.  The hardest part is getting the baby's legs through.  Otherwise, it's pretty neat and holds him well. The cart cover has also come in handy when we went to our favorite restaurant for breakfast.... Gregory is too small to fit into the...

Another new one for me, I've never cooked pizza before.  Because I don't like pizza.  Unless it's a thin crust, it's too doughy.  And often times, the red sauce is too acidic and heavy.  Though I do have a red sauce recipe my husband loves and it's tasty, so maybe I might use that red sauce recipe for a pizza.  But in the meantime, I found a chicken pizza recipe and thought I'd give it a try. My husband went for seconds and so did I.  It's super easy, because most of the ingredients are already prepared, Lol.  But hey, it was fast and easy to make.  I wanted to try it for a Football night (which is when we ate it), because my husband loves to eat pizza and watch TV.  This way, we didn't have to order it. Ok, so I'm going to share the recipe ingredients, but I will add this - if you don't use the dressing, it makes the pizza dry.  My husband isn't a fan of Ranch, so he didn't use the dressing - that didn't stop him from seconds though ...

There's a story to this soup.  The lady who taught the Greek Cooking class always serves artichoke soup, even though she doesn't go through the steps, but will share the recipe.  The reason the chef does this is because her mother loved artichoke soup and she said, "I had the best artichoke soup at this restaurant, can you duplicate it?"  And even though the chef didn't like artichoke soup, she created a recipe to match what her mother liked.  For the beginning of each cooking class, the soup is served as a reminder that her mother was always encouraging of her cooking endeavors. Nice story and the soup was excellent.  I wanted to see if I could duplicate it using her recipe.  I think I came close, but I don't know if I would ever make it again, because you have to babysit the stove and stir for and hour and a half.  I was running out of patience.  But I'm glad I made it. It starts off with sautéing onions, garlic, then adding artichokes, stock an...

My son doesn't believe in counting sheep. Gregory, "Mommy, I don't know how to count.  What are sheep?" My son will sleep through the night (most of the time) thankfully.  But naps?  I'm lucky to get in 30 minutes for a nap time before he wakes up!  You can't get a lot done in 30 minutes, believe me. But I have found a way to sooth my son into sleep.  If I can catch him before he fights sleep too much, I gently, with the softest touch, will use my middle finger and thumb to touch his fingers and toes.  The reason I started doing this was because Gregory started to clinch his fists in his sleep and that bothered me.  So, I used my hands to slowly open his hands and soothed him with the touch.  Now, he will actually hold out his hand for me to touch with the hand open!  I have to say that makes my day.  The next pictures aren't the best, as the room was dark. But still.... it's only 30 minutes.... the ONLY ...

Six months ago you were born.  I can't believe you are already half a year old. Your morning smiles are the highlight of my day.  You still are a little cranky in the afternoon, but it's getting better.  I'm more in tuned to what you need.  And right now, you are cutting a tooth!  At the end of this week, you go to your 6 month doctor appointment and there will be shots involved (so sorry, mommy doesn't like that either). You turn with ease from back to tummy.   Mommy cheers for you.  Then Mommy gets on the mat and shows you how to go from tummy to back.  You watch me closely.  I know you are a sponge, just soaking it in. When you sleep next to me, you can take an hour (sometimes an hour and a half) nap.  You want to know I'm there.  Even if it's just to know I'm in the room.  Mommy is trying to get you more and more used to the idea that nap time is in the crib.  We're making progress! When you hear the w...

All the reviews raved about it and it looked easy.  My first attempt with Chinese food.  My husband will order Egg Fu Yung every now and then, but he often times complains that it's too greasy.  I figured this recipe called for very few items and looked simple.  It doesn't take much time either! *** SEE BELOW FOR UPDATED PICTURES ** Basically, you boil some water, cook the noodles. Mix the eggs and ingredients. Combine them together and flip. Easy, good flavor, but my husband said, "It needs meat."  Would it be cheating if I ordered some Chinese pork and tossed it in with the eggs?  hehe. ****  As I wrote above, my husband wanted to add meat to this.  When he ordered shredded pork from a restaurant and had left overs, I decided to give this recipe another try: First, when you are boiling the noodles, do not try to break them up.   Also, do not break up the noodles when you add them into the pan to cook with the butter. When you mix the other ...