3 Things

1. Emery is crawling.

So I am babyproofing.  And not blogging much.

2.  This salad, Shaved Brussel Sprouts with Fresh Walnuts and Pecorino is delicious. And easy!  And great for those nights when a regular old salad just doesn't sound that good or the lettuce is lousy at the grocery store.

3. Emery is about to pull herself up on the coffee table.  She has already demonstrated she can do so in her crib.

 So I must end this blog post now!

We've lowered the mattress

I know most parents of nearly 11-month olds lowered their crib mattresses long ago, but we've never had the need to ... until today that is.

What we've been doing and eating

Even as I begin to type, I am scratching my head thinking "What have we been doing?" because it feels like we've been very busy, but I'm not sure what to attribute that all to.  

Perhaps recovering from illness and nursing others back to health takes a fair amount of time and energy - we've spent a lot of time doing that, recently.  Last week, both Matt and I fell ill simultaneously. Now, whenever I think I'm having a hard day, I'll remind myself of how dreadful that day was and feel a lot better.

Fortunately we rebounded in about 24 hours ... now Emery is recovering from a cold that has quarantined us from the YMCA :(.  Her spirits are still wonderful, though, and she often finds refuge underneath the coffee table these days.

Eating?  Yes, we've been doing some of that.  Of note has been:

Baked tilapia with roasted broccoli and grape tomatoes - no link here, but so simple and for some reason, the broccoli tasted so divine. Almost as good as chocolate. 

Just mix mayonaise and mustard and brush on tilapia, top with breadcrumbs and grated parmesan, bake at 375 for about 15/20 minutes. Toss broccoli and grape tomatoes with minced garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil and roast at 425 for 10-13 minutes, or until broccoli starts to brown.

Salsa Couscous Chicken - this won a Pillsbury Bake-Off in 1998, and if you try it you'll know why. I followed a variation of this recipe found in a Junior League cookbook, which calls for an extra cup of salsa and double the amount of almonds, garlic, currants, honey, cumin and cinnamon - all variations that make it doubly delicious.

Whole wheat buttermilk biscuits - again, no link, but if you've never made biscuits before (and I don't think I had), they aren't so difficult and make the whole house smell, well, like biscuits.  And that's a pretty good smell.

Color coordination

I've begun teaching Emery that it's always important to match, even when going to places like Home Depot ... and that you get bonus points if you can match the store's decor!

PS:  However, we don't need to discuss my get-up for the day, just a step above sweat pants.

What we've been eating

This post might be the first of many (no promises, yet!), in which I give a rundown of "what we've been eating" ... well, what we've been eating that's delicious, that is.  I'll spare you from the flops, unless I really feel compelled to warn you about something lurking out there on the food blogs. Here goes:

Chard and White Bean Stew - compliments of Smitten Kitchen, this was fabulous. Emery even loved it. Do not skip the egg on top - it totally makes the dish.

Mega Fries - made these on our anniversary with steak, because the baby Yukon gold potatoes I really wanted to buy where nowhere to be found, which turned out to be just fine because these were awesome. So simple and crispy, a healthy alternative to real fries, and I didn't even have to flip them.

Baked Potato Soup - again, a Smitten Kitchen pick that Emery loved, and we enjoyed it, too. The roasted garlic is what sold me, and I don't think it's complete without bacon on top.

Indonesian Sweet Potato and Cabbage Soup - this was from a cookbook I have, but lo and behold it's on the Internet, too.  It was a little involved, but worth it. So flavorful.  I doubled the recipe, because cabbage is so uninspiring to me ... in fact, I know I will wind up tossing the half a head left in my fridge before I can think of a way I'd want to eat it.  And please don't try to sell me on making stir fry.

Tuna and White Bean Pasta with Gremolata Bread Crumbs - affordable, easy and delicious, this made a lot and I loved having the bread crumb mixture in it. And yes, Emery enjoyed it, too.

I knew she was tired,

But when I walked into the nursery and right after church this morning, I certainly didn't expect to see this:

The nursery couldn't be much bigger than Emery's own bedroom and of course was filled to the gills with infants through toddlers. I don't think I've ever even seen a child asleep in that crib - I really thought it was just for storing toys!

I guess all I have to say is, like father like daughter (not only does Matt sleep like a champ, but he's also been known to "cocoon" himself in a blanket as above).

Thankful for ...

"Winter" in Chattanooga - it's been feeling like spring the past few days, so much so that I had the air conditioning on in the car, ran outside in shorts and took Emery to the park to swing.

This made her HAPPY.

So much so that she really didn't want to leave and practically threw her first public temper tantrum. Fortunately, or unfortunately as it turned out, I had to set her down in the mulch to fix the stroller straps, and she bought herself a little more time, as well as an appetizer of mulch. Yuck.

All Chattanooga YMCA members - I'm thankful for the members, and not just the Y itself because I reason that even the monthly dues of those without children are going toward the "free" Child Watch for all members, and for this I am exceedingly grateful. I can even run outside with my cell phone in hand in case Emery needs anything, which fortunately she never seems to. Hooray!

Small town life - I don't even know that many people here yet, relatively speaking, and yet I still ran into five people I knew today when out and about! I love this.

Three fabulous years - This week Matt and I celebrated our third anniversary and if you had told me on my wedding day what our life would be like today, well, I don't think I'd have believed you. I am also very thankful that the flower delivery man waited long enough for me to jump out of the shower when I heard him knock, throw on some towels and a huge bathrobe and retrieve these! (you better believe I was waiting for him to come - no knock on the door goes unanswered on anniversary day!)