Kumquats and such

For anyone watching the weather channel (or living along the mid-Atlantic region), you know that we've had record rainfall in the past couple days.  We used to have a drainage ditch alongside our house, now we have a small river.  Seriously, I could float Reagan down the "river" in her whale bathtub...but Jason won't let me. Ok, back on topic: I have a mild case of cabin fever.  On Tuesday, I baked zucchini bread using the giant zucchini.  Now the recipe calls for 2 cups of shredded zucchini for which it suggests using 3-4 mid-size zucchinis.  My giant zucchini not only yielded 1/4 of its mass for fried zucchini sticks on Monday night, but I used the rest of it to create the required amount of shredded zucchini for my bread!  That's one heck of a vegetable! I started by preheating the oven to 325 and greasing and flouring 2 8x4-in loaf pans.  Then I mixed the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Next, I beat...

As you know, yesterday was Reagan's 2-month appointment where she received 3 shots:(  Jason met us at the hospital where we were "seen" 15 minutes earlier than our 9am appt!  That never happens, right?  Right.  We actually just went back early to get her length/weight (24 1/4 inches, 13.2 pounds) and other vitals...then we waited almost 20 minutes for the nurse practitioner to finally come see Reagan.  No worries, though, we were still on track to make it out of the hospital at a reasonable hour...that is until she said, "Ok, now go take Reagan to the immunization room."  Jason and I look at each other dumbfounded thinking, "What, you mean you don't just take care of that here?!" Turns out, that everyone in Jacksonville was visiting Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital to get shots yesterday. After we signed in and they ushered us to an alternate waiting room due to the max capacity limit being reached in the actual waiting room, Jason decided to go back ...

I went out to the garden to pick a squash and a zucchini for dinner yesterday, and this is what I found: Yup, it's a massive zucchini!  Those squash are normal size, but the zucchini weighed in at 3 3/4 pounds, was 15 inches in length, and had a girth of 12 inches.  I have no idea how this happened, but strongly considered entering it into the local county fair next week. Actual size:  Just a bit smaller than Reagan!

Yesterday we took Reagan on her first trip to the beach!  It was a family adventure to North Topsail and though the wind was wild, we had amazing weather.  In an attempt to shield Reagan from the sun, Jason set up an umbrella we purchased on our way to the beach...unfortunately, the wind outlasted the umbrella and cut our trip short.   No worries, we had a great time.  Reagan followed in her brother's footsteps and freaked out when she "went in the ocean."   After a bit though, she got used to having her feet dipped in and she was all smiles.   Tommy had a blast playing with Jason, "swimming," chasing birds, and rolling in the sand like a little sugar cookie.    Al in all, it was a wonderful trip and we can't wait to do it again before the weather officially becomes fall.  (And it gave us a good opportunity to keep testing out our new camera!)

as stolen from my good friends Lynsey and Brian!  (hope you guys don't mind)

Since having a baby, I must say, that I'm constantly leaning towards easy meals - you know, the frozen kind.  Fortunately, my "foodie" husband insisted on selecting a couple recipes from old Cooks Illustrated magazines.  So one night last week, before he had to go back to work, we decided to make Pizza Margherita.  The article clearly stated that you must have a pizza stone and a pizza peel (one of those things you use to get the pizza in and out of the oven) in order to make the recipe.  Well, we had one out of two, so we said, "What the hell?" and got down to business. First we made the dough for the pizza crust.  Combining unbleached all-purpose flour, cake flour, salt and sugar in a food processor, we pulsed the mixture for about 5 seconds.  Then we added almost 2 cups of warm water that was mixed with rapid rise yeast.  This almost immediately turned into a huge ball of dough rolling around the food processor - exactly what we wanted.  Next...

As a "Happy Anniversary gift to us from us," Jason surprised me with a Canon Rebel XS!  We got him a new point and shoot camera for his deployment, but I was using his old one, so we thought it was time to upgrade!  (especially since we've upgraded everything else - technologically speaking - in our lives)  Since he gave it to me, the only time I've put it down is to pick up Reagan:)  Additionally, on our new computer, Jason got a program called Aperture (like PhotoShop) to edit our images.  So basically, you should be able to see a difference from now on in the quality of the pictures.  If not right away, bear with me, I'm still learning. So to celebrate our anniversary, we headed to Swansboro, where we dropped off Reagan with her Aunt Alexis.  We drove down to Historic Swansboro and ate dinner at Ducks on the waterfront.  It was a wonderful evening filled with great conversation and wonderful food.  And best of all, we didn't have to tak...

Today, while Reagan naps (could be 10 minutes, could be an hour...we never know:), I thought I would take a moment to tell you a few more things - besides the laundry situation - that have changed in our house. 1.  I am able to do almost anything one-handed.  Laundry, check.  Cooking, check.  Responding to an email, check.  Yup, seems that my child loves to be carried.  Thank God for baby slings! 2.  There are now anywhere from 1 to 3 burp rags in every room of our house.  They are in the car, hanging on the stair railing, tossed on the couch...you name it, there's a burp rag on it. 3.  Anywhere you fall asleep is suitable for nap time: 4.  I've heard the same 5 songs over and over since Reagan was born - and will probably hear them for the next 9 months.  Heck, we don't even need the swing or the mat's musical devices anymore...Jason and I can whistle the tunes perfectly.   5.  Bath time is sacred.  Who kne...

Ok, let me explain... Obviously my daughter is over 6 weeks old by now (and my "post partum" life is well established), but I finally got the clear to exercise again!  It's been way too long since the last sit-up/crunch I did, and I haven't run since the 5k Jessica, Sean & I did on May 2nd!  That seems like a lifetime ago. Until my 6-week appointment where I got the go-ahead, I walked a bit and basically ate whatever I want.  Did you know that you get to eat MORE when you're breast feeding than when you're pregnant!  Crazy, huh?  Well, apparently it's hard work.  So when it came to snacking and desserts, this girl NEVER said no.  Today is the day that all changes. Although I'm not planning on going on a diet or anything crazy like that, I am going to be watching what I eat from now on.  The goal is to eat 3 square meals a day and when I want a snack, to pick something healthy like fruits/veggies/etc.  And I'm starting to run again. ...