Crafty {Thanksgiving} Fun

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The teacher in me comes out every so often, especially around the holidays. We got out the paints and had  fun making festive art for Thanksgiving.

After I had my fun I let Kaili have a little fun too. I mean, sharing is caring. We have an abundance of wine corks, I have no idea where they are coming from. Ahem, anyway I thought it would be a good medium for Kaili to paint with.

Gobble Gobble!

The activity went well, she did great picking up the cork and putting it back onto the plate. Now to just keep her from rubbing her hands on her head. Baby steps!

Crispy Baked Tostada Bowls

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A few years back I planned on getting these but I never did, so now I improvise. It actually turned out to be a blessing because I don’t  have room in my kitchen for much more and I really need a few other things. Like a mandolin, can you believe I don’t own one? Any way, making your own tostada bowls is a cinch, all you need is a muffin tin.

Place a warm/softened and lightly oiled tortilla {microwave for 10 seconds} in between the cups of an upside down muffin tin. Like this…

I put a cookie cutter in the center just to keep it in place

Bake in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Simple right?  While it cools you can make all the fixin’s to go inside. I like smoky black beans and ground turkey with homemade taco seasoning. Yum

I gave Kaili some  toys to sort  and string for a fine motor activity while I made dinner. It was fun to watch her brain and little fingers at work.

Being A Mom

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Things I love about being a mom:

This beautiful face!

Getting her here was the hardest thing I have done and the proudest I have ever been.

Watching her eyes light up,  every little thing is a new adventure.

The way she wraps her legs tight around me when I hold her.

The way she picks a book, brings it to me and then climbs on my lap.

Her pure love of animals.

When you tell her to “be nice” she will give kisses!

Her laugh when I tickle her.

Watching her and her daddy. True love!

Knowing she is a pure and innocent part of half me and half Shane.

Her sense of humor, I don’t know if I should be proud or worried.

As amazing as being a mom is, there are some things I miss about my pre-kid life. Maybe it’s because I am solo during the week or maybe it’s completely normal…Some things we take for granted before we become parents, here are a few that I miss.

Things I miss now that I am a mom:

Sleeping pills. Some nights I just want to sleep sound and through the night.

Reading books during the day, in the sun.

Sleeping in on weekends and by sleeping in I mean at least until 7:30.

Taco Tuesdays, out of the house.

Daily gym time.

Completing simple tasks without being interuppted.

Lunch breaks. Alone! Very rarely am I all alone.

Although I miss these things, I don’t miss them as much as I love K bear. Some day I will get to do all these things again.

Paso To Solvang

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We ended our trip with a couple of days in Solvang. We stopped at a few wineries on our way in. Phantom Rivers, Firestone, Lincourt, Blackjack and one more but the name escapes me.

Our last day was spent wine tasting in Solvang, buying goodies {spicy mustard and spicy chocolate} and then we ended the day in Los Olivos for dinner. Next time we head up there I would like to stay in Los Olivos. Maybe that will be a good anniversary gift. 😉

spicy chocolate. Yum!
Getting the girl some exercise.
playing with uncle Brian at Solvang park

The tasting rooms with toys are the best. Not sure who is having more fun…

Sunday we packed everything up and headed out to Foley winery for a taste. Good stuff but overly priced. We continued down the coast to Summerland winery and a Thai lunch in Carpinteria.

Kaili and I left Shane in Ventura and headed home. Now it’s time to start thinking about Thanksgiving. Is it really next week?

Animals Make the Wine Taste Good

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Thank goodness for Winery animals. These critters allow us to have a great time wine tasting because Kaili is happily occupied.

Isn’t it strange that glasses = studious instead of broken eyes?
brushing up on oenology

Kaili became  fast  friends with the Minassian Young winery cat. She was a sweet little thing.

nice kitty

Kaili chased this thing around the tasting room for a good 30 minutes but then the inevitable happened….the cat turned on her, biting her on the arm. Kaili was devastated. Not so much that it hurt but I think she felt betrayed by her feline friend. It was actually really sad to witness.

bad kitty

The day was full of different wineries, all sorts of animals…even fish.

Kaili was superb all day. She didn’t get an afternoon nap and she started to spiral down around 4:00 pm. Against our better judgement {even though Shane made it clear he didn’t think it was a good idea} we went out to dinner.  Il Cortilie is a highly recommended Italian restaurant and we just had to eat there. The food = AMAZING! Unfortunately it was hard to enjoy because of cranky pants. She was overly tired and wasn’t having it any longer. But I must say my crostini with caramelized fennel and fresh burrata was to DIE for!

Day 2 {sorry, no catchy title}

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We were out of Ventura before 9:00 A.M this morning. We planned it so Kaili would take a nap in the car while we drove north to Avila beach, she did and it worked out perfectly. Shane and I were in Avila beach last year when we stumbled upon Avila Valley Barn. Kaili was just a tiny thing so I knew I wanted to take her back when she was a little older. We made the barn our first stop. Kaili got a little exercise and loved the animals as I suspected.

Apple Valley Barn

We left the barn with some yummy baked goods to enjoy at the winery. Next up, Avila pier. Avila beach is such a beautiful  place. We hit a few tasting rooms and then sat out by the water to enjoy some more wine and cheese.

Avila
Kaili had to see the doggy
Spectacular views
Woods Winery
not too shabby of a view
yum

Our next stop was Paso Robles. Before checking into our loft at EOS we wanted to try a winery nearby. Doce Robles was recommended to us and we were fans, we left with a lot of wine and are now members. Kaili loved the winery animals, I think tomorrow we will only go to the wineries that have cats and dogs. Good plan!

Doce Robles Winery
Ava the winery dog
Min Min the winery cat

Last year when we did some wine tasting in Paso we decided that we would stay at the loft above the EOS winery tasting room. Shane is a member of Three Rivers Winery in Walla Walla and lucky for us they have  some sister wineries in CA. EOS in Paso, Firestone near Solvang and handful more. Part of the member benefits is the Loft at EOS. It’s a 2 bedroom apartment with a full kitchen and living room. We checked in, hit the store, grilled some steaks, pulled the cork and sat back and enjoyed the evening.

EOS Loft
EOS Loft

Destination Paso!

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We are taking a little wine vacation this week. To start, Kaili and I made our way to Orange County  to meet a friend for lunch and visit with my dad. Kaili has adjusted just fine to the time change. She has woken up a little earlier than normal but everything else is right on track.

Enjoying the warm Fall weather
Sunset over Laguna
Talking to daddy during dinner

The next morning we hit the road to meet Shane in Ventura and visit with his co-workers. <—which actually means they wanted to see Kaili. After a nice little tour of the county building, Kaili and I headed back to the hotel for some R&R. After a little rest her and I headed out to the beach. The weather has been absolutely perfect.

It’s been about a year since we have spent some time in Ventura. These days Kaili is a big girl and can walk the pier all by herself.

See ya mama!
checking out the scene

Did I mention the weather? I know I did,  but you have no idea how amazing it was out there. After our little stroll, I talked Kaili into a photo shoot…

The “oh my” look
the “concerned” look
the “anticipation” look
happy girl

After our beach fun, we headed out for a nice walk around town. Then headed to the park. The great thing about where Shane stays in Ventura, is that the beach is across the street to the west and a nice big park is across the street  to the East.  Oh and a ton of fun bars and restaurants just a few blocks up… not too shabby

she slid down all by herself. Then I attacked her with my sunglasses, apparently!
love her face when she swings high

Once Shane got off work the three of us headed back out to the pier for some Tuesday taco’s. The food was good but the weather made it great, sitting outside in the warm weather and the waves crashing can make anything taste good….almost anything.

We ended the night with my Aunt and Uncle, sitting in the room, sipping wine and watching Obama bag four more years. Awesome day my friends!

Weekly Favorites

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Does this ever happen to you?

I am not sure if Pinterest is a blessing or a curse these days. Once I get on, I can’t get off and before I know it I have a menu planned for the week, and the upcoming holiday…sigh.

Favorite Photo– How cute is this lil’ guy?

Favorite Recipe– This lemon loaf cake looks So delicious. I might have to make it on our vacation this week.

Favorite DIY– These Scrabble tile magnets. Clever!

Favorite Funny-

Favorite Destination– Hallstatt, Austria

Favorite Quote–

From Rome to San Diego

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Months ago we had dinner at an Italian restaurant in Del Mar. Turned out our waiter Angelo was from Rome and when we told him about our upcoming trip there he told us to hit up his good friend Marco’s restaurant, located near the Spanish Steps. He wrote down his friends name and the name of the restaurant on a business card. Fast forward to August when we were in Rome we set out to find the restaurant, I wrote a little about it here.

Last night we gathered some friends and headed back to the restaurant in Del Mar to deliver the post card from Marco in Italy to Angelo in San Diego. Being the middle man is fun!

Front
Back

We enjoyed a very good meal, Burrata, prosciutto and arugula to start. Pear and mozzarella ravioli in a champagne sauce. Fresh Fettucinne with smoked salmon and Kaili dined on steamed veggies.

Angelo was happy to see us and his postcard. We enjoyed ourselves, the food, the wine and the sunset over the ocean. It was a fun night!

Can You Hear What I Hear?

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Kaili is now 18 months and still has no real words, although she does pretty much say “yes” . Can she understand? Absolutely. She can follow 3 step instructions and shows empathy, a trait she obviously gets from me!

I told myself that I would look into First  5 San Diego  to get her a speech assessment if she wasn’t talking by 18 months. Well here we are. First 5 is a  program that helps children 0-5 years old in all areas, health, learning, family, for free. They have arranged for us to come in and have Kaili observed by a speech therapist next month. They also wanted  her to get her ears checked, so that is what we did yesterday. Shane and I really didn’t think there was anything wrong with her hearing but hey, it was free, why not double check. They also threw in a vision test for good measure.

The outcome? She passed both the hearing and vision tests as we expected. So, her lack of words has nothing to do with her hearing. I know it’s not a huge deal that she isn’t talking yet, and I know that some children start talking later on but you know, with her birth story and all, I have to {for my own sanity} have her checked out.

After the testing, I took her down to La Jolla for a beach picnic. Why? Because that is what I like to do and that is what I did after a lot of my IVF tests. Plus it was a beautiful day.

However my  daughter doesn’t seem to appreciate the beach as much as I do. She doesn’t like the sand on her feet or her hands for that matter and she isn’t fond of the water. In time, I know she will soon love it and I will have to drag her home. I hope!