Stuck at work

I am stuck at work at the U of R and am wishing I could go home. My 6:00 client no-showed on me, and I have a strong suspicion that my 7:00 may do the same. (I try to schedule the people who I suspect may no-show at my last appointment time, so that if they no show, I get to leave early). But if the last two no-show, then I'm pissed, because I could have left at 6. Oh well. Looks like Ramy isn't going to get his 9/80 tomorrow, because his stupid jury is still deliberating. So he'll have to go in to wait on them. He'll probably end up getting to leave early, but it is annoying that he has to go in at all. On the bright side though, it will give him a comp day that he can take at some other point.

We don't have many big plans for the weekend, although we'll probably be getting ready for my mom to visit and for Rebecca's party. Hopefully, Ramy will be spending some time contacting his family members who haven't RSVPd for the party, so that we'll have a better idea of how many people to expect. When we had Rebecca's coming out party, I requested RSVPs. Few of his family responded. So I thought that maybe by doing this party as Regrets Only, they'd have more of an impetus to at least tell us they aren't coming. But apparently not. It's very annoying. What is so freakin' hard about picking up the phone or sending quick email!?!??

Oh, here comes my client...great. Oh yeah, I'm a professional. GREAT!!!

Sleeping baby

Is this the look of peaceful sleep or what?

The best blondies

I tried a recipe for some blondies from a baking blog I read regularly. They are sooooo good. Here's the recipe:

Basic Blondies
8 TBS butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup toasted pecan pieces
1/2 cup white chocolate chunks
1/4 cup toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350°.
Line an 8x8 pan with foil and lightly spray with baking spray.

In a large microwave safe mixing bowl, melt the butter. Allow to cool for 5 mintues. Mix the brown sugar with the melted butter and beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla. Add salt, stir in flour and baking powder. Mix in pecans, toffee bits, and white chocolate chunks.

Pour into prepared pan and use a greased spatula to evenly spread mixture in pan and level the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until set in the middle. Cool on rack before cutting.

Rebecca eating eggs

Rebecca has decided that if it cannot be eaten with her hands, it isn't worth having. Taken another way, she refuses to eat anything from a spoon much of the time. Her mantra is, "I'll do it myself!" (Lord have mercy, where did she get that?) So after not eating anything for lunch at all, she finally ate her scrambled eggs tonight for dinner. But only if she could eat them with her hands and not from the spoon. So that's what we did, and boy what a mess. I had to grab the camera and catch it on film. Check out the slideshow to the right.

A good weekend

It was a good week for all of us, and a good weekend too. Last week was my first week back at Chaffey. Things were pretty slow, which is generally a good thing in a mental health clinic. I ended up getting to leave early and met my friend Julie for late lunch/coffee at Panera Bread before our Psychopharmacology class. Wednesday, my Human Sexuality class (Sex with Karen [the professor], as my friends Tony and Randy refer to it) was cancelled, which gave me an opportunity to do some work toward my dissertation and to talk to my advisor about it. Wednesday evening, I had to go to Safe Spaces Allies training at the University of Redlands, so now I'm officially a friend to the gays (as if I haven't always been a beacon for them anyway). Thursday, I worked at U of R and had kind of a crazy night there with some unexpected twists and turns. Luckily, no one suicidal or homicidal, but still an interesting evening full of clients.

Friday, Rebecca and I slept late and enjoyed hanging out at home. I got the cake ordered for Rebecca's birthday party, and it is going to be soooooo cute. I made fresh pasta for dinner (Ramy had linguini and clams; I just had spaghetti; Rebecca thoroughly enjoyed slurping up the noodles). Ramy got home early, and I went and got my hair cut. Yesterday, we went to a birthday party for Ramy's Auntie Debbie. It was a full on Filipino party, although there was no pig. Of course, lots of questions about when we are having our next child. I just started telling them "never." Maybe they'll give up on it (although I doubt it; they're obsessed with us breeding). We went to see Ramy's dad last night and ate Mexican for dinner. This morning, we made it to early mass, and then we had breakfast at Mimi's. Now we're home; Ramy is preparing for his trial this week (child molestation), Rebecca is taking a nap, and I'm folding laundry and making my grocery list.

Rebecca continues to be doing well. She enjoys her scrambled egg yolks for breakfast, as well as her fruit and veggie pancakes and veggie burgers. It is a lot more of a struggle to get her to eat purees anymore, although we can often still get her to eat yogurt with fruit mixed in. She really just wants to pick everything up. I am probably going to start giving her cow's milk this week, with her meals. I don't want it to detract from her nursing and lead to her weaning prematurely, but since she really doesn't nurse during the day anymore, I think it is okay, and it will give her some additional fat. I've got to schedule her 12 month well-baby checkup and shots. I've done all the additional research I wanted to do before letting her have all the shots, and I'm satisfied with going ahead with all of them at the recommended schedule. I had briefly considered waiting on her chicken pox vaccine, but after learning that her pediatrician carries thimerisol free varicella vaccines, then I was assured that the benefit lies in the direction of getting the vax. Since she isn't in daycare, she should be at very low risk, but because of Ramy being in contact with prisoners every day, there's just no telling what germs hop on him and take a ride home.

I'm gearing up for the election season. I love politics. I'm pulling for Hillary, of course, but even more, I just want a Democrat in the Presidency. I'd happily vote for Obama. Here's my new favorite bumper sticker:

Already over?

Why do long weekends go by so fast? It has been a pretty uneventful long weekend for us. We did some house cleaning and re-organizing, got cars washed, bought a new iron and a new floor accoutrement (for those of who you don't know, my husband is obsessed with vacuum cleaners and other such things. We've owned five different vacuums since we've been married and now we have a steam mop). We've also done a lot of hanging out, watching movies, and playing with Rebecca. Oh yeah, I finally bought my new white everyday dishes. They are the Nantucket pattern from Cost Plus World Market.

Rebecca's birthday party has taken on a life of its own. I think we've invited over 80 people now. Because we've invited so many of the Filipino relatives, Ramy thinks we have to have Filipino food, and apparently they don't do finger food. Whatever - I'm leaving that up to him and handling the food for the white people, apparently. Who knew birthday party food could be segregated? But the invitations are out, and the RSVPs are coming in. I still need to find a cake baker, and now we also need to rent chairs and a couple of tables. Egad.

I have to go back to Chaffey tomorrow. They are finally back in session. So then I'll be booking it to get to Loma Linda for class. It makes Tuesday a fairly long day (okay, to be fair, I'm still away for a shorter period of time on my long day than most people are every single day). Wednesday, I'm hopefully getting rid of a big problem client (woo-hoo!) and then I have Safe Spaces training (to prove I am friendly to the gays) at U of Redlands. I'm hoping Ramy will get some news about his transfer this week.

MLK Weekend

We are here in the middle of our long four-day weekend together (yesterday was Ramy's 9/80 day). It has been a good week for us. Rebecca had good days with Nanny Rebecca, although we learned that Nanny Rebecca has to have surgery on her foot in a few weeks. My mom is going to extend her stay here for Rebecca's birthday to help us out until Rebecca comes back. The rumor mill at the Public Defender's Office has it that Ramy is a short-timer in Norwalk and that he will soon be transferred to Pomona (3 miles from our house!). Whether that will be to Pomona Felonies or to Pomona Misdemeanors as their new DIC wasn't part of the rumor. Ramy never puts much stock in the rumor mill, but from an outsider's perspective, it has been pretty accurate so far. So hopefully we'll find out about that soon. Ramy's dad seems to be making some progress at Claremont Care Center. He has been able to be sitting in a wheelchair and is now moving all his limbs. So that is wonderful news.

The invitations for Rebecca's birthday party went out in the mail yesterday, and we're going to order the food today. Last night, Ramy and I rented the movie The Namesake. Excellent movie!

Yesterday, Rebecca went to see Dr. Katz, her pediatric gastroenterologist who took care of her reflux. That was probably her last visit to him. He wants to quickly wean her off her Prilosec and see if she can go without it. He gave us another prescription, but if the weaning goes well with no return of symptoms, then we won't go back. She hasn't had any Prilosec in 2 days now, and so far so good. He pronounced her as being perfect. She weighed in at 16 lbs, 14 oz and is 27.5 inches long. He is pleased with the way she eats and her weight gain; she's just destined to be tiny probably. He thought that the variety of food she eats is really great for an 11 month old, and he didn't have anything he wanted us to avoid. Before, he was concerned about the likelihood of allergies (since they go along with reflux and eczema), but so far so good. He was also pleased that she continues to breastfeed. He strongly believes it is the single best thing you can do for a baby's nutrition and for protecting them against a whole host of problems later in life.

For those who think that Rebecca probably doesn't eat very much (and I know when people see how little she is, that's what they assume), this is what she just finished eating for breakfast: 2 scrambled egg yolks (the whites are a likely allergen, so we're holding off, but when I scramble the yolks, I mix in enough heavy cream to compensate for the lack of the egg white), about 1/4 cup cottage cheese mixed with peaches, and 3 silver-dollar sized carrot-apple-mango pancakes. Plus, about 3 oz. of water.

That's it for us. Ramy made breakfast for me this morning, and he cleaned up the kitchen. Good lord, am I the luckiest girl there is or what?

Monday

We had a very nice weekend. On Friday, Rebecca and I got a lot of stuff done. We ran around in the mornings, and then Ramy came home early and met us for lunch and ate at Red Robin. In the afternoon, Ramy went to visit his dad at the hospital, then I had a dermatologist appointment. That night, we went to pick out a ride-on car for Rebecca at Toys R Us. Unfortunately, the exact one Ramy deemed perfect has been discontinued and cannot be found, which led to a calling of all the Toys R Us' in a 50 mile radius of our house.

Saturday morning, Ramy went to the hospital to be there when they transferred his dad. He is now at Claremont Care Center and will be there in skilled care until it is determined that he is no longer making progress, and then he'll be transferred to the nursing home portion of the facility. Saturday evening, we went to a get-together at our friends Madeline and Paul's house and saw Vincent, Karen, Monica, and their families. Maddy made prime rib, Karen did the salad, Monica made creamed corn, and I brought a pound cake and made mashed potatoes while we were there. It was delicious! Rebecca enjoyed so much of the food that she massively puked at the table! Glorious!

Sunday we went to mass at 9:00 and then picked up breakfast. Then Ramy put together Rebecca's new car and took her out for a drive in it. We mostly hung out at home in the afternoon, and then we went to visit Ramy's dad last night. It is so, so sad and pitiful. As much as it hurts to not have my dad here on earth anymore, I am so glad I never had to see him the way Ramy's dad is. There truly are worse things than death.

Today, I'm cleaning the house and working on the invitations for Rebecca's birthday party. Then I'm going to attempt my first use of my new pasta rollers to make fresh, homemade pasta for dinner tonight.

Update

Ramy's dad remains in the hospital but is now in a regular room. He doesn't follow commands and has been non-communicative. He will be going to a nursing home after his discharge. Ramy is doing very well, considering the circumstances.

Rebecca has had a very good week. She got back into the routine without any problems, although she is wanting less and less to do with her baby food. She strongly prefers finger foods now. We are sipposed to be going to a party at Maddy and Paul's tomorrow night, and Ramy still wants to go to get his mind off family stuff.

Here's a pic from Christmas morning with Rebecca on her riding car.

Prayers for Ramy's Dad

Yesterday, Ramy's dad suffered another stroke. Lydia was unable to wake him, and they took him to Pomona Valley Hospital. The CT Scan revealed a minor hemorrhagic stroke. What this means for him, we don't really know. Although he was awake last night and was breathing on his own, he was not following commands and was completely nonverbal. Ramy said that he really didn't even make eye contact or anything like that. They want to do a swallow study and see if he is able to swallow or not. Ramy stayed at the hospital until they got him in a room around 1:30 a.m. He is going to work this morning and will come home as soon as he has run his calendar so that he can go back to the hospital.

Rebecca did fine with Rebecca yesterday. She was a little upset for a few minutes when she realized I had left, but she got over it quickly and was a happy girl the rest of the afternoon. She even took a 3 hour afternoon nap, which is a pretty good indication that she is happy.

Back to the ratrace!

Well, my three and a half weeks of vacation is over. I have a class tomorrow afternoon. Nanny Rebecca is going to come around 11 to give Baby Rebecca some time to readjust to her before I have to leave. Then I only have a couple of hours on WEdnesday and then just a few hours on Thursday to be away.

I got so much done today - the Christmas tree is down and all the Christmas decor is put away. I ran a ton of errands - grocery store, Costco, TJ Maxx, post office, etc. Rebecca has been napping much better lately, which makes it a lot easier. For dinner, I made a huge batch of chicken noodle soup for myself and a huge batch of cioppino for Ramy. So we'll be eating on those the rest of this week, since there's so much. Here are the recipes:

Cioppino

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 onion, chopped
3 large shallots, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
5 cups fish stock
1 bay leaf
1 pound manila clams, scrubbed
1 pound mussels, scrubbed, debearded
1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 1/2 pounds assorted firm-fleshed fish fillets such as halibut or salmon, cut into 2-inch chunks

Heat the oil in a very large pot over medium heat. Add the fennel, onion, shallots, and salt and saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and 3/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, and saute 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Add tomatoes with their juices, wine, fish stock and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the flavors blend, about 30 minutes.

Add the clams and mussels to the cooking liquid. Cover and cook until the clams and mussels begin to open, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and fish. Simmer gently until the fish and shrimp are just cooked through, and the clams are completely open, stirring gently, about 5 minutes longer (discard any clams and mussels that do not open). Remove bay leaf. Season the soup, to taste, with more salt and red pepper flakes.

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.


The Lady's Chicken Noodle Soup
Stock:
1 (2 1/2 to 3-pound) fryer chicken, cut up
3 1/2 quarts water
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 bay leaves
3 chicken bouillon cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Soup:
2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups sliced celery, with leafy green tops
2 1/2 cups uncooked egg noodles
1 cup sliced mushrooms
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/3 cup cooking sherry
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 cup grated Parmesan, optional
3/4 cup heavy cream, optional
Seasoning salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Crusty French bread, for serving


For the stock: add all ingredients to a soup pot. Cook until chicken is tender, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool. Remove and discard bay leaves and onion. You should have approximately 3 quarts of stock. When chicken is cool enough to touch, pick bones clean, discarding bones, skin, and cartilage. Set chicken aside.

For the soup: bring stock back to a boil, add carrots, and cook for 3 minutes. Add celery and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Add egg noodles and cook according to directions on package. When noodles are done, add chicken, mushrooms, parsley, sherry and rosemary. Add Parmesan and cream, if using. Cook for another 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning, if needed, by adding seasoning salt and pepper. Enjoy along with a nice hot crusty loaf of French bread.

Oh yeah, here's a picture of me and Molly and our sweet babies in their snowmen outfits. Yes, they coordinate, but we didn't plan it. Great minds think alike, I suppose, because they also had coordinating fall outfits that we also didn't talk about before we'd purchased. Jack is such a doll baby. He and Rebecca are such opposites - he's tall and all boy, and Rebecca is so tiny. Growing up, Molly and I dreamed about the day we'd have babies, and it is hard to believe that now we've got them! They're both so precious, and I'm so glad we have them around the same age so they can grow up together the way we did.

Christmas update

I didn't post at all while we were in Tennessee for the holidays. It was a wonderful time, and it went by all too quickly. Rebecca and I flew to Tennessee on the evening of Friday, December 14 and arrived in Huntsville the next morning. Rebecca was wonderful on the flights and slept peacefully; no problems with making our connecting flight either, although we were a bit late getting in. Mom and Aunt Margaret picked us up, and we met Lynn, Jessi, and Jenni at Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then visited Kathryn at her wonderful quilt shop. She has beautiful fabrics! That night was the Girl Posse Christmas party. I had drawn Jackie's name, and Lisa had drawn my name. Rebecca got to visit with her friend Will, and he gave her the FP Laugh and Learn Puppy, which she adores. Sunday, we went to church with my mom and had another Cracker Barrel visit. That next week, we took Rebecca to see Dr. Swogger to have her heart murmur re-checked. It is still there but a little softer and still gives indication of only being an innocent murmur. We also did a lot of shopping, and we baked and made candy. We took a lot of goodies to my dad's transplant nephrologist and kidney transplant team at Vanderbilt, and it was nice to see them.

Ramy was to arrive at 8 a.m. on Friday, December 21. However, a total freeway shutdown resulted in him missing his flight, in spite of the fact that he had allowed enough time to get there about 3 hours early. After more annoyance with talking to three different people at American Airlines and getting three totally different stories, I ended up booking him on a one-way Southwest flight and he still got in that afternoon. We checked in to the Opryland Hotel and had an atrium view room. That night, we went to see the Rockettes holiday show. Rebecca LOVED IT! She was jumping up and down, singing, and reaching to try to touch all the characters. That was the first 30 minutes; then she fell asleep for the next hour and a half of the show! It was a fun thing to do and something different.

We finished our shopping, got everything wrapped, and cooked and baked until we were spent. We did Christmas Eve at my aunt's house, as always, and we went to Christmas Eve communion at my mom's church. Christmas morning, we got up and ate a wonderful Christmas morning breakfast and then went to Christmas morning Mass at St. Anthony in Fayetteville. As soon as we got home, Rebecca fell asleep! So we ended up waiting to open presents until about 1 p.m. She loved all her things, although she was pretty fixated on her little kitchen and her riding car, which were the first things she saw. Aunt Margaret came for dinner that night, and we were pretty laid back.

After Christmas, we were all dealing with being sick, except for Rebecca. We did more shopping and eating and a lot of laying around. We rang in the New Year with the Girl Posse. We flew back to California on Friday evening, and Vincent picked us up in the pouring rain. Now we're just trying to unpack and get things organized so we can get back into the daily grind.