practicing parenthood...

people say they will love whatever comes out, and we are no exception. we just hope ours comes with a head, unlike this poor bastard we found at Old Time Pottery.

yes, girls...i love PD too

in fact, andy JUST brought me home this magazine as a little surprise yesterday (along with a HUGE bag of twix)!! the pic includes my hand so you know it's authentic. also...check out my nails!!!!!!! i haven't gnawed on them in weeks!!!

I have a problem

and it is a serious one....for real you guys...i have a MAJOR addiction to the Food Network. i swear, i cannot stop watching it. and it doesn't even matter if i have seen the episode a zillion times or even if i HATE what they are cooking, i never cease to sit mesmerized in front of the TV. for way too long. Ina is one of my favorites...


i wish one of two things...that Nigella was my BFF oooooor that i myself were Nigella Lawson.

if the Food Netwoork were "food porn," Giada would be Ron Jeremy...i heart her and all she cooks! If you try one of her recipes, make it the Roast Beef w/ Spicy Parsley Tomato Sauce!!

Rachael Ray: television crack...i defy you to turn on 30-Minute Meals and change the channel before the end of the show! you can't do it!!!

It would suck to be incontinent...and a boy

but just in case, there's these: PADS for guys! this is so sad but it amused me to no end...had to share. Here's the details:
Depend Male guard
A cup-like shape designed to fit a man's anatomy.
Wide end helps give protection where men need it most.
Ultra thin super absorbent design provides extra protection without extra bulk.
Soft side barriers help prevent leakage.
Adhesive strip holds the guard securely in place.
Individually wrapped for convenience and disposability.
12" long and available in 14-count packages. 84 count per case

Choco-gasm

So, my husband surprised me with this little piece of heaven the other night!! We desecrated it before I had a chance to take a picture of the top, but it said "princess" in powdered sugar and white chocolate!! How lucky am I?? I love surprises :) :)

pretty cool...

so my mom called me last night and told me to go outside and look at the moon, so i did. it was awesome! there was a moon sliver with a HUGE star right next to it! now, i'm not usually that fascinated with nature crap, but have you ever seen anything like this?? It looked like a picture....so i took one :)

My *First* Two Babies

More Fun With Asparagus!

Sooooo good as a side item instead of french fries...especially since we ladies of "childbearing age" should be getting as much folic acid as possible :) I made these with stuffed turkey burgers last night. Don't forget to eat 'em with your fingers!!

Grilled Asparagus w/ Balsamic Vinegar:
A standard supermarket bunch of green asparagus
1 tsp. coarse sea salt
3 tsp. raw or brown sugar
Balsamic vinegar
Melted butter (or olive oil)

Preheat oven to 425° F or turn on the grill

Lay trimmed asparagus on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.

Sprinkle the asparagus lightly with the salt, and then with the sugar. How much sugar? Just a couple of pinches; you don't want them to be sugar-coated, just to have a hint of the sweetness.

Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar...not a ton.

Put a little melted butter or extra virgin olive oil over the asparagus - again, don't dump. Butter makes it taste a bit sweeter, while olive oil makes it a little more savory.

Bake/grill for 8-10 minutes, turning a couple of times. Remove to plates and spoon over any leftover liquid in the pan over them. Serve immediately.

adventures in the OB's office...

best picture EVER! the heartbeat was the most amazing thing i've ever seen, i still can't get over it! unfortunately, we forgot to take a picture of my vaginal ultrasound "in action." not to worry, we'll get it next time ;) but the u/s room was soooo cool!! it had a big flat screen TV on the wall so we could see the baby really really well! we LOVED it. oh, and as a surprise, the dr. said i have a retroverted uterus so i got the bonus prize of him having to push really hard on my cervix and have me hold my breath so we could get a good picture!! haha...good times.
ah, the all too familiar sight of "the chair." fortunately, i was spared this particular one on my first appointment!
Isn't this the most darling picture? It's directions on how to tie your "gown." doesn't the chick on the right look downright sharp in hers??
how romantic...we're sitting on the dr.'s stool betweent the stirrups :)

i have the greatest friends in all the land!

not only do you guys ask how i'm doing and keep up with all the ttc/baby minutia, but look what i arrived home to yesterday! it was about an hour before we went to our first pre-natal appointment...we were holding our breath to make sure there was a heartbeat so we were suuuuuper nervous (and excited of course)! could this cookie bouquet be ANY cuter or more thoughtful?!?! i cried my eyes out...

Prompted by Shannon...

If my kid (oops, i mean "little blessing") gave me this for mother's day, i'd do one of the following:

1.) tell the little dear that "mommy is allergic to tackiness", kiss him on the forehead, and open the next present from my other kid...hopefully the one that gave me the pendant isn't my favorite. if he is, he has been replaced. but no need to tell him that, he'll figure it out soon enough.

2.) check my watch and quickly calculate how much time there is left before the store closes so i can exchange it.

3.) reveal to the gift giver that santa is not real.

4.) take daddy upstairs and kick him in the balls for allowing this travesty to occur.

5.) buy the kid glasses and/or braces for his next birthday. when he looks at me with bewilderment, respond with "payback is a bitch, buddy."

Lisa says this is a darn good attempt...

...at recreating the Pottery Barn catalog. she was kidding, but the sad part is i have the catalog picture to prove she's right.

Asparagus Pizza

I was planning on making a pizza margherita, but when I stopped at the store this afternoon asparagus was on sale for $1.50 a pound! hence, the birth of my new creation: asparagus pizza! Yes, it does taste as good as it looks :)

Pizza:

1 Pre-made whole wheat pizza dough from WholeFoods Market
grape tomatoes, cut into fourths
fresh torn basil
low fat pizza cheese
smoked mozerella, cubed
6 or 7 stalks of asparagus, trimmed and blanched
freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
mild sea salt (to taste)

Sauce:
2-3 Tbsp. good olive oil
1-2 Tbsp. chopped shallots
1-2 Tbsp. chopped garlic
1 1/2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven and pizza stone to 400 degrees. Trim asparagus and blanche. Set aside.

Flour your counter top, rolling pin, and the ball of pizza dough. Roll dough into shape (eyeball it and make sure it's not bigger than your stone/pizza peel!). Sprinkle the pizza peel liberally with cornmeal, then transfer the crust onto it. Top crust w/ pizza cheese, tomatoes, torn basil, and asparagus. Finish with the cubed mozzarella and grated Parm. cheese. Top with a light sprinkle of sea salt. Transfer pizza onto stone and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil. Add shallots and garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes. Whisk in balsamic vinegar. Drizzle sauce on top of pizza; add more Parm. cheese if desired. Cut and serve immediately.

dude, are you buzzing? cuz i'm damn sure not...

O.k, so of course ever since i found out i couldn't drink, it's all i want...24-7! I'm used to coming home and having a beer or two, then cooking dinner while having my third :) so gayle and andy suggested i try NA beer. i thought that was a GRAND idea! it would cure my craving and provide me with a child sans Fetal Alcohol Syndrome!

Unfortunately, it did not work. apparently i was craving the buzz, not the beer. all this NA shit did was make me want to smoke a cigarette...which i'm sure i'm only craving for the buzz IT would give me! i'm pretty sure this indicates a problem.

On the bright side, here's an FYI: it doesn't taste like ass!

sweet, they're not dead!

Since I cook a lot and use tons of fresh herbs, I decided to try to save some $$ and plant my own. So I did. Andy laughed at me and bet that they would be dead before the week was out. That was OVER A MONTH AGO! HAH! IN YOUR FACE!!!!!!!!! as you can see, they are alive and well :) I wish there was more parsley but other than that they have served my cooking needs famously, thank you very much. In fact, I think i'll make a pizza with the basil tonight. stay tuned!

UPDATE: no pizza here...it's all i can do to lay on the couch and not vomit. better luck next time i guess.

last train to tootsville...

as if THAT part of pregnancy isn't bad enough, now i officially have MORNING SICKNESS. that's right folks; i thought i was doing soooo well and i was soooo happy but i was premature. oh, well. i know it's worth it, it just sucks. i should have gotten the clue that this would be BAD last week, when i tested out a rocking chair and had to get up after 2.5 seconds because i was carsick. haha. or on Sunday in Home Depot when i was getting hot/sweat flashes and i thought "eh, i'm just hungry." good times :)

they could be building a Habitat for Humanity house...

but instead they've spent WAY too much time painstakingly making their Wii characters to look just like themselves. they're called "Mii"...clever, eh? haha. can you say "nerd alert?!"

We're having a baby...

or so these 7 pregnancy tests say! After four months of trying really hard and following NONE of the old wives tales and ALL of the scientific research, we're expecting Baby Leach on January 1st, 2008. Everyone keeps asking "how did you tell Andy the big news" but the truth is, he told ME! I was convinced that this was NOT our month, and Andy was certain that it was, so he made me wait until he got home to test. I refused to look at it. I told him "one line means I'm not and two lines means I am..." His response? "What about one and a half?" hahaha....with that, I screamed loudly and ran to look at my POSITIVE TEST!!! haha, men...he was concerned that the second line wasn't as dark as the one on the picture on the box :)

ok, so my husband has better baby intuition than me...what can i say? let's just hope it ends there b/c he's convinced we're having twin boys. YIKES!! First ultrasound scheduled for 5/15/07...check back for pictures of our baby's heartbeat!

Manhattan's New Jewelry

Check it out...she matches Mommy now!!