Charisa Darling

Archive for January 2009

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Ribollita, or Tuscan Soup

This whole running thing is taking off. I'm excited that some of you guys are willing to give it a go. I don't think I'll be ready for a race in March (thanks for thinking of us, Stef!), but maybe in April. Charity and Mark are trying to get Justin and I to do it with them, 5K for the girls, half marathon for the guys. We'll see. Tasha, I hurt too. Glad I'm not the only one. Sarah, I didn't know you had that kind of endurance! 3 miles - that's impressive! Way to go!

On to food!

While looking on the Runners World website, I came across this recipe. It sounded good, so I gave it a try. I got worried half way through, but everything came together and we enjoyed it. Will definitely make it again. It's called Ribollita, but let's just call it Tuscan soup.

The recipe calls for 3 pieces of day old bread. Next time, I don't think I'll add it. I didn't have day old bread, so I just toasted slices of an Italian bread. I ended up adding more chicken broth than what was called for and it was still really thick. It's also one of those soups that tastes even better on the second day, so making it ahead is an added bonus.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Losing my mind

Vance has shed tears twice already this morning. Mini-meltdowns. Is this day over yet?

Vance still hasn't been sleeping well. Every morning he wakes up a little earlier than the one before. Today's wake up call came around 5:15. We sent him back to bed, but he made so much noise that he woke up Vaughnie. So, we've all been up since then and I'm convinced that this day will suck. I've also shoveled half of the driveway. We had to drain all of the gas in the snow blower before the Movers would take it and we never thought we'd have to use it here, so manual labor today. Justin started shoveling in his work clothes and shoes. Silly! 3 years in Wisconsin and he still doesn't own a pair of snow boots. So I geared up and took his place. Vance came out and helped too. We might tackle the other half this afternoon.

I might go crazy today. We have not left the house since Sunday. We've stayed in our PJ's for most of those days. Yesterday, around 1:00, I changed sweatshirts. Put a little fancier one on for the PM. Must get dressed and leave the house today.

I haven't talked about Vegas yet and, like Sarah, I've been cooking all week, so I've got food to talk about too. Maybe this afternoon....

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Cracking Up

Vance cracked his first egg last Sunday. He was very proud of himself and managed to not get any shells in our banana bread! Earth shattering updates, as always around here.

I'm glad everyone is taking up the running challenge! Should be fun!

Monday, January 26, 2009

Updated: Forgot to mention that Vance is fine as of yesterday. Just a random bug. Who knows.

I'm in pain right now and it's all because of a waitress named Ashley.

Ashley was our waitress at Caramel in the Bellagio. She was wearing a teeny tiny leather mini-dress and stiletto heels. You could tell that she worked out, so upon inquiring she told us that, yes, she was a runner. She's actually training for the Iron Woman that will be held in St. Croix this year. Her physique alone was enough to spark an idea in my sister's head.

Charity called a couple of days ago to inform me that she had found a beginners running training program on a website and she was starting on Monday. I told her I'd look at it, but made no promises. I don't like to run. I never have.

Today is Monday and on this day I started the Beginners Running Training Program. I'm hurting. It hurts to physically move. Why do we do this to ourselves? Because of all the Ashley's in the world. Ashley also told us that she's been running for 4 years now. Charity and I are ignoring that part. All we know is that by summer we're going to try our best to look like Ashley. If anyone wants to join in, let me know. I'll send the link. It'll be good motivation.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

It's 6:00 PM and I'm still in my pj's. Today has been all about cleaning, laundry, and taking care of Vance. His fever is still going up and down. No other symptoms. Eating a little bit of food. Mysterious.

We've managed to catch up on some TV that we missed while we were gone. Justin is caught up on 24 and we both watched Housewives of OC and Top Chef. Friday Night Lights didn't tape (grrr...), so when the kids go to bed we'll watch The Office and Lost. Can't wait to see Lost. We missed the half of the season when we moved back here in April, so a few weeks ago we watched the missed shows on my laptop before bed. Not the best show to watch before bed. Had some weird dreams.

Have music on now, Vaughnie is sitting in her high chair kicking her feet and waving her arms to the beat. Her cheeks are chapped, so they're slathered in A & D which makes them shiny. She's so smiley right now.

Vance has been wanting pancakes all day, so I made them for him for dinner. He ate maybe one. And some applesauce. I don't like it when the house smells like certain foods. Pancakes definitely have a smell.

Got the Mini Boden magazine in the mail. They have the cutest clothes. I'll take one of each please.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Viva Las Vegas

We had such a great time in Vegas, but we're happy to be back home. While at the airport in Las Vegas, we found out that Vance was sick and had a 103 fever. He's only been sick one other time, so when he gets a fever that high I freak out a little. It was awful knowing that he was sick and that I wasn't able to be with him. However, I knew he was getting all the love and attention at home, with Gram and Granddad Tractor! We'll keep checking on him throughout the night to make sure his fever stays down.

Highlights of Vegas coming soon.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

More Poladroid!

Finally!

Chilly Willy

So, I'm kind of glad it's this cold here. Now everyone knows what we were dealing with in Wisconsin with for months at a time!

The morning weatherman wouldn't even bother with giving the exact temp, he'd just say that, "We're in the zero's this morning." Waking up to the hum of the neighbor's snowblower signaled that we must have gotten more snow during the night. We had the greatest neighbors, always helping each other snow blow. Some days I miss the winters there, a lot of days I don't. I think living through those harsh winters makes you appreciate and take advantage of the warm months more.

The coldest I've ever been was last year around this time. It was around -30 with the windchill and Vance and I were headed to a friend's house to play. Being only 6 houses down from ours I decided it would be silly to drive. We bundled up and headed out. It was snowy and icy, Vance's little legs were barely moving, and he kept slipping on the ice. I (pregnant at the time) picked up Vance and kept moving. Being so bundled up and the slippery fabric of our winter coats made it hard to hold him and his pant legs kept riding up, exposing his legs. He must have been miserable. I'm sure the neighbors had a good laugh watching all of this from inside their houses. It was awful.

In an unrelated note, I've been having issues falling asleep at night. I'm tired all day, but at 9:00 I'm UP! 11:00 still up! Energy! And with Justin being out of town I have no one to chat with. Last night Dog the Bounty Hunter was my companion.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

I've been playing around with Poladroid. I'm loving it, but I can't figure out how to save or copy the pictures so that I can post them. Can anyone help with this? Why can't I figure this out?

Check it out if you haven't heard of it. You can turn your digital pics into Polaroids.

Oh Baby!

You know, nothing really happened here today.

Vance went to school and didn't cry or scream when I left.

Ran to Target.

I worked out.

My friend, 30 weeks pregnant, had a baby in her car on the side of the road yesterday.

I finished a table runner for my sister.

Justin left for Denver on a business trip. (Gorgeous, gorgeous!)

Did you catch it? Yes, I'm serious and still in disbelief! My friend from Madison gave birth in her car! Her water broke at home yesterday morning and they didn't quite make it to the hospital. They hardly made it out of the neighborhood! Her husband delivered the baby as their 4 year old daughter watched. The baby (3 lbs.) is breathing on her own, but won't get to leave the hospital for 1 to 2 months. I was relieved to hear that everyone is doing well and will continue to send good thoughts their way.

What a story for the baby book!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Weekend Update!

On Friday night I became an Aunt again. After joining our local YMCA, we high-tailed it to the hospital for a meet and greet. He's a very handsome young man, has lots of hair, and I was thrilled to see his little eyes open while holding him. Vance was very concerned about his Aunt Kristin and kept asking questions all weekend long like, "Aunt Kristin will be very hungry at the hospital. When will she eat? Where's the hospital's kitchen? Who will make her dinner?" "Will Uncle Todd stay with her so she doesn't get scared and cry at night?" We're anxious for another visit, but will give them some much-needed time first!

On Saturday we went to the mall, made some Christmas returns, and bought drapes for the loft. Our friends (Hi Dave! Hi Sarah! Hope Samuel is feeling better!) were supposed to come over for dinner that night, but their son has an awful ear infection, so we turned lemons into lemonade and headed back to the 'ville for a dinner party. My parents got new dining room furniture and were having a party to christen it. It was a very nice party and I'm sad to say I didn't have my camera with me to document the occasion.

Today, we went and utilized the Y. We dropped Vaughn off in the childcare room, played some basketball with Vance, then dropped him off with childcare while Justin and I went to work out. We also signed up Vance for his first basketball team. Should be interesting. Hopefully he has fun and meets some buddies. Homeboy needs another friend besides Mommy. Anyways, as soon as we got home I started popping pain reliever. I'm a little concerned that I won't be able to get out of bed in the morning and have already begun devising a plan on how to effectively Parent from the couch. I kid! I know the best thing will be to at least walk on the treadmill tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes.

Backtracking, Vance's last day of Little Gym was Friday and he couldn't have been happier about it. He was done with Little Gym even before we signed him up for this session. Friday mornings have been a struggle and I'm glad that we're done too. He even said it himself, "I'm DONE with Little Gym!" after I had confirmed that it was his last class. Cute picture, goofy smile.

We also had to move Vaughn's crib down to a lower level. She was biting on the top rail and is beginning to pull herself up.

Phew! It's been a long weekend!

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Because making kitchen curtains was my first sewing project, I made sure to get lots of extra fabric in case I messed up. Well, I didn't and now I have a ton left over. Today I finished a table runner. I promised to make one for my sister and even after that I'll still have a ton left.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Putting my OCD tendencies on the back burner, I let Vance put wall decals all over his room. He had a great time deciding which should go where and is really proud of his work.

They are driving me totally nuts. It is taking all that I have to not go in there and re-do them.

(Blogger is not working - won't let me post pictures. I'll try again later.)

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Why is school closed today????????????

Monday, January 05, 2009

I caught Vaughn chewing on her crib rail yesterday. I also caught her opening up the drawer in our coffee table and chewing on the corner. She has had explosive poop for two days and has been whiny for what seems to be the past two weeks. I can multi-task with the best of them, but when there's whining involved, my brain screams out. I can't handle the whining. Sounds like another tooth, or 4, are on their way. This child does not know life without teething. She turned 8 months 2 days ago, must be time for tooth number 8!

Vance starts school again today and I'm dreading the drop-off portion. Drop-off hasn't been going well. Hopefully today will be different. If not, will have to talk to his teachers and devise another plan.

Saturday, January 03, 2009

Kitchen Post: Curtains

Cringe. We all remember how the kitchen used to look. I finally finished the kitchen curtains today.

Friday, January 02, 2009

New Years Eve: A No Go

We postponed our New Years Party due to sick kids. Instead of living it up and eating adult food we had Food That Starts With the Letter P night. Pizza! Pears! Pudding (with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Yum.)!

We played games with Vance and, finally, after 3 rounds of Memory he asked if he could go to bed. Proof that Justin and I are totally lame and boring. That was around 10:00. Justin and I started a movie (Towelhead - has anyone seen it? Opinions?) which we stopped around the 30 minute mark and started another instead. We did make it up until midnight and went to bed right after.

We have plans to "re-do" the party tomorrow night, but will have to see how the kids are feeling.